Titus 3:1-11 says,
Remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready to do whatever is good, to slander no one, to be peaceable and considerate, and to show true humility toward all men.
At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived, and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life. This is a trustworthy saying. And I want you to stress these things, so that those who have trusted in God may be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good. These things are excellent and profitable for everyone.
But avoid foolish controversies and genealogies and arguments and quarrels about the law, because these are unprofitable and useless. Warn a divisive person once, and then warn him a second time. After that, have nothing to do with him. You may be sure that such a man is warped and sinful; he is self-condemned.
Paul opens this passage by asking Titus to remind the people to be obedient, to do good, to not slander, to be peaceable and considerate, and to show true humility to all men. Paul's beginning of this passage of the letter is reminiscent his other letters in that, he is giving his teaching that God has given him to those around him. In this case, Paul is giving them to Titus, his true son in common faith. Paul changes the tone immediately to going to a contrast of his and other Christian's pasts before God's Call.
Paul writes that they were foolish, disobedient, deceived, enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures, and lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating each other. They saw no good in each other and they lived according to their sinful natures. They were sinful and had no love for others. They were slaves to sin and were not interested in giving up themselves. We all start the same way in our sin. We are all naturally evil and hateful beings. We chase after our own pleasures and seek what we want. We don't see brokenness when we look in the mirror. We see something that is perfectly healthy and rich, not the naked and dying creature that we actually are.Our eyes are covered and we have no interest in cleaning them. But then one day it all changes.
The word "But" in the very next sentence separates the parts of this passage and changed the entire tone of the writing. But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us.... And so our whole world gets turned upside down. We become a completely different creation by God's Mercy. He looks at us and everything we've done, good and bad, and says that none of it matters. The bad doesn't matter, and the good doesn't matter either. In His Mercy, God takes our sin, forgives us, and then, having been justified by His Grace, He pours out the Holy Spirit on us to transform us with rebirth and renewing. God gives us the Promise of an eternal life with Him after death by allowing us to take part in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. We become fellow heirs through Faith. God gives us all of this without our doing anything but believing in Him and allowing Him to change us and wash over ourselves. This changes us and makes us new. It makes the opening of the passage possible, to Love others and be obedient and to do good. Paul writes that this is a trustworthy saying. Paul writes that we need to stress these things so that those who have trusted in God may be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good. This means we need to constantly talk about them, wear them on ourselves, impress them on our children, and bring them up in all our conversations. Passively mentioning, "I go to church" isn't enough anymore. If we really believe this, then we wouldn't stop stressing it. I need to believe wholeheartedly. Doing this not only causes the other Christians around us to devote themselves to good, but causes us to do so as well. As we constantly stress these things it just reminds us over and over that God has saved us. That He have forgiven us in His Mercy be declaring everything we have done is worthless. God has taken over forever. In exchange we submit and receive even more through rest and peace and Joy and Love. He gives us more and more. And then we can stress these other examples of what He's given us and draw closer to Him and be more devoted to doing good in His Name. That is why these things are excellent and profitable for everyone. God is willing to bless us all more and more through this if we submit.
Paul gives a warning though. He ends the passage with a warning to avoid foolish controversies and genealogies and arguments and quarrels about the law. He writes that they are unprofitable and useless. Why is it that these are unprofitable? When was the last time any of us saw a debate bring someone to Christianity? Or helped encourage a fellow Christian? Or glorified God? The argument is the need to defend God and our faith in Him. But that is no reason at all. God is Almighty, He can defend Himself much better than we can. And as for our faith, we know what we believe, and God knows what we believe, and if they can see that already, their is no need to argue it. Our faith is set in something greater than stone, it's set in the Book of Life. There is no profit to debating these things. It hides God's Love behind a hostile argument that turns people away. Talk about useless. We must stress the salvation God has given us through His Mercy, not who the great great great great great great grandfather of King David was. Showing God's Love around us is what will show others, and ourselves, the Power and Love of God. Paul also writes that if we find a divisive person stirring up these debates, we must warn them. And then we must warn them again. If they still do not listen then it is clear that they are warped and sinful and self-condemned. I was the divisive person that was easily pulled into a debate. All it took was a small statement and I was turning the Bible into a weapon of anger and malice. I regret those arguments and times I could have been Loving people instead of hurting them. If not for God's Grace I would suffer greatly for those times, I know it. Those who live in debating the Bible do not have Love. We think we do because the subject is Christianity, but the truth is that we just want to win an argument. The fact is that we can't in the first place. We barely understand what it is we are arguing because it is the God who made everything. We can't understand Him in any measurable amount, how can we give a proper argument about Him? But we know His Love for us and His Mercy and Sacrifice, so let us talk about that. Let us sing about it and stress Love instead.
We do not completely understand God's Love, but we know enough to share Him with those around us at any time. God called us to share the Gospel to spread His Kingdom and Glorify Him. God wants us to Love those around us and we can best do that by telling them about the Gospel and not stopping. Bringing up church isn't enough in this world. We need to be active Christians living in Love. We can't do that in our sin or in debates, only in God and His Love.
Thank You For Reading
Long Live Jesus Christ
Amen
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