Saved By God

INTRODUCTION

The past couple of weeks in Titus 3, we have observed how we are to engage with our community:

being submissive and obedient to human authority

doing good deeds

speaking evil of no one

avoiding quarreling

being gentle and courteous

However, as we are seeking to live in holiness to the glory of God, we must not forget where we came from… what our conduct used to be.

Remembering this all important truth will help us to maintain a compassion for those who are desperately lost and in need of a Savior

It will help us to remember that we are utterly incapable of saving ourselves because we stand condemned:

Romans 3:10–12 as it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.”

Now as we continue in our trek to the end of this amazing epistle, we see that we can only be Saved by God.

Read Titus 3:1-11

We are now radically different from the way we once were, and from the way the unsaved still are, solely because of the sovereign working of God.

His Goodness/Kindness

The Greek word implies providing something beneficial to someone as an act of kindness.

It suggests genuine goodness and generosity

ESV is the only translation that uses goodness Every other translation = kindness

God’s nature is to be kind to the lost. It is the reason that we are commanded to love and do good for our enemies.

Luke 6:35 But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil.

As we covered last week, before we come to Christ the works of the flesh defines our lives and puts us at odds with God.

Titus 3:3 For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another.

James 4:4 You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.

John Calvin God will never find in us anything which he ought to love, but he loves us because he is good and merciful.

It is God’s kindness that initiates repentance.

Romans 2:4 do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?

His Love

The Greek word φιλανθρωπία (φιλέω + ανθρωπος) = love for mankind

This is the disposition of God toward His creation.

John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

Romans 5:8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Both of these verses show that the love of God was instrumental in providing the means of salvation for us: namely, Jesus Christ dying for our sins.

Based on the Apostle Paul, this is arguably the most important doctrine in all of Christian theology.

1 Corinthians 15:1–5 Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve.

God’s love for humanity is what sent His Son to the cross, to bear the penalty of our sin.

He is the satisfactory sacrifice to absorb the wrath of God on our behalf

1 John 2:2 He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.

His Mercy

Mercy = withholding of deserved punishment

John MacArthur In some ways, mercy is similar to grace, which Paul mentions in verse 7. But whereas grace relates to guilt, mercy relates to affliction. Whereas grace relates to the state of the sinner before God the judge, mercy relates to the condition of the sinner in his sin. Whereas grace judicially forgives the offender for his wrongdoing, mercy compassionately helps him recover.

Consider what we learn from these passages:

Romans 3:23 & 6:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God… for the wages of sin is death but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

John 3:16–17 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.

What do we deserve?

Death

To Perish

Condemnation

What does He offer?

Eternal life

Not to perish

Saved through Christ

The mercy of God withholds what we deserve while the grace of God offers what we don’t deserve.

Ephesians 2:4–7 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

His Washing of Regeneration

When we were saved in the name of Jesus, we were cleansed of our sin.

The filthy rags of our works based righteousness have been taken and replaced with the righteous robe of Jesus

Regeneration carries the idea of receiving new life, being born again, or being born from above.

John 3:3 Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

John 3:6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.

The miracle of the new birth takes place through the agency of the Holy Spirit.

The Father sent the Son to be the final sacrifice for sins (atonement)

The Son appeased the Father’s wrath on the cross (propitiation)

The Father and Son send the Spirit to convict the world of sin and to make alive those who believe in Jesus (regeneration)

His Renewal By The Holy Spirit

This is the new life that emerges from the new birth.

Since we are born anew in Jesus, we are new creatures with a new purpose.

2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

Ephesians 2:10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

This is such good news, as we consider the fact that we are by nature dead in our trespasses and sins (Ephesians 2) and slaves to various passions and pleasures (Titus 3).

Romans 8:2 - But Now… For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.

Romans 12:2 - Set Free and Being Renewed Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

John 17:17 Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.

The born again believer is being renewed through the working of the Holy Spirit through the Word of God.

His Son (Our Savior)

We must remember that we are saved only by the substitutionary and atoning sacrifice of God’s Son, Jesus Christ our Savior.

Matthew Henry He it is who purchased the Spirit and his saving gifts and graces. All come through him, and through him as a Saviour, whose undertaking and work it is to bring to grace and glory; he is our righteousness and peace, and our head, from whom we have all spiritual life and influences.

His Grace

If God’s mercy deals with our affliction (withholding what we deserve), then God’s grace deals with our guilt (giving us what we cannot earn).

The Apostle Paul used his own life as proof that salvation is based entirely on the gracious merit and work of Christ.

Read Philippians 3:4-9

CONCLUSION

In Titus 3:3-7, Paul reminds us of our former lives filled with malice and envy, but He emphasizes the kindness of God that saved us.

Consider a stained glass window in a church—before the light shines through, it looks dull and dark. Each of us was like that window; before Christ, we were opaque and marred by sin.

But when Jesus shines His light upon us, we become beautiful reflections of His grace and glory.

Let's not forget the transformation that has taken place in our lives.

Because Jesus paid the price for our sins, they are graciously removed; justice is fully satisfied; and God’s kindness, love, mercy, regeneration, renewing, and grace are therefore enabled to act.

Grace gives us what we do not and cannot deserve.

We do not deserve to be forgiven, to have our sins removed, to have Christ’s own righteousness imputed to us, to be given heavenly citizenship, to be justified, sanctified, and one day glorified in the very presence of our gracious Savior and Lord.

Simply put: we are Saved By God