1 Remind them to be subject to rulers and authorities, to obey, to be ready for every good work, 2 to speak evil of no one, to be peaceable, gentle, showing all humility to all men. 3 For we ourselves were also once foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving various lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another. 4 But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, 5 not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, 6 whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 that having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. 8 This is a faithful saying, and these things I want you to affirm constantly, that those who have believed in God should be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable to men.
Commentary
Vs. 1 “Remind
them to be subject to rulers and authorities, to obey, to be ready for every
good work,”
The Apostle continues his admonishing Titus (and us all who are in leadership positions and roles) to due our duty and guide whomever we lead into the truth by reminding them that we as disciples of Jesus Christ are to be subject to rulers and authorities, “For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God.” (see Rom 13:1-7). Therefore, we are to obey all in authority, whether these are civil authorities, or authorities in home, or authorities in the church, we are to obey them and keep their commandants and admonishments to us all including all civil laws and ordinances that they impose upon us; for in doing so we are obeying Christ. That said our obedience to any authority no matter who they are, or how powerful they are, is not mindless or undiscerning. For if anyone tries to command or compel us to do something that contravenes the Commandments of the Lord Jesus Christ and His Apostles then we are to say no. But that is very rare, and so let no use that as an excuse to justify their own rebellion, and or civil disobedience.
“to
be ready for every good work,” Again the Apostle Paul makes it clear that we as
disciples of Christ are to be people who do good works, in his first
admonishing us about this he said we are to be willing, here the Apostle says
we are to be prepared, to be ready for every good work.
Vs. 2 “to speak evil of no one, to be peaceable, gentle, showing all humility to all men.”
Here the commands for us are to lead us into practical Godliness, and so we are to speak evil of no one, for though there are evil people and rulers, we as Christians are to restrain ourselves from venting our feelings, and or ill timed and thoughtless remarks regarding anyone. For the path to peace and reconciliation for anyone is never found through defamation, slander, or evil speaking.
“to be peaceable” In
contrast to those who are always looking for a quarrel, looking for a conflict,
looking for a fight, or looking to stir up people to the same, we are to be
peaceable, for that is our nature and desire, to be peaceable, and live
peaceably with everyone.
“gentle”, then in
our handling of others.
“showing all
humility to all men.” Humility here also implies courtesy, it’s a willingness
to yield the floor to others, to hold the door open for others, to seek the
seat of service, rather than the seat of privilege. It’s the antithesis of
being vulgar, rude, or callous towards another person and their feelings.
Vs. 3 “For we ourselves were also once foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving various lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another.”
Here the Apostle Paul makes it clear that no Christians have come from sinless backgrounds, but having been regenerated by God’s Holy Spirit, we have been transferred from the kingdom of darkness (and thus our once spiritual dead state) and transferred into the Kingdom of the Son of God’s love. And so, it was when we were spiritually dead in our own sins and transgressions we also were once foolish, living our lives without any regards for God or His Word or the consequences of our doing so, and so our choices and decisions then were only being guided by this world and or our cultures norms and values. Disobedient, back then it seemed almost a sign of “maturity” or having “grown up” to be disobedient towards authority. Even today looking at the culture that young people face today, the emphasis is always on doing your own things and living by your own rules regardless of how this will affect you and others in the long run.
Deceived, clearly this
describes what we once were, and what people now are, who have not yet come to
see themselves as they truly are, and the Lord Jesus Christ as He truly is in
the light of His Gospel. Of course, the author of all this worlds deception is
none other than the deceiver himself, Satan, who holds sway over the whole
world. Serving various lusts and pleasures, clearly describes the purists that
we once did, and what those who have not yet been regenerated only live their
lives to do.
“living in malice
and envy” This again clearly describes the state of the unregenerated, who look
at others and what they do and achieve only with eyes of malice (that is ill
will) and envy.
“hateful and hating one another” This then describes the state of affairs in this world where people bear within themselves hateful thoughts and hearts towards others, where neighbors often hate their neighbors, (not love one’s neighbor as oneself), whether these are neighboring people or nations, where unforgiveness and seeking revenge rules, where ancient conflicts and wrongs are always rehashed so as to start a new cycle of the same. In this unregenerate world sadly hate, not love is the driving force often at work. Nonetheless we as Christians have not only been delivered out of such a state of being, but we are now all actively called to rise above the hate and the haters, and become people of love, kindness, mercy and truth.
Vs. 4-7 4 But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, 5 not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, 6 whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 that having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
The Apostle Paul now recounts just how we who believe in Jesus Christ came out of this world of hate, how we were brought into the Kingdom of the Son of God’s love, a Kingdom where peace and love is always preeminent. First it all began with a move by God towards us all. A move that was motivated by His own kindness and love towards us all, which appeared to us all, through the Person of His Son the Lord Jesus Christ. And so, His salvation came to us not by, or because of any works of righteousness which we have done, “…but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, 6 whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior…,” vs. 5-6
Here washing and regeneration are pretty much synonymous.
For being washed by the Blood of the Lamb of God Jesus Christ means that we having
had our sins atoned for by His death on the Cross, He paved the way for the washing
of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit in our persons. Thus, what the
Apostle Paul is describing here is our being born-again, born by God’s Holy
Spirit who brought us to life by faith in Jesus Christ, and thus who transformed
us out of our spiritually dead and alienated state from God and thus who has also
baptized us into the Body of Christ!
“that
having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope
of eternal life.” Vs. 7
Here the sense is all past tense, emphasizing that we
have been justified by God grace, therefore there is nothing that any of us can
do (or are required to do) that could make us anymore justified in the sight of
God. God did this all for us, once and for all time, so that we could become
heirs of His Son’s Kingdom according to the hope of eternal life, which again
only comes by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ!
This then is our motivation for doing good, and wanting to do good, God’s grace and salvation which was so freely given to us when we were still His enemies, which is offered to you too, all by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Vs. 8 “This is a faithful saying, and these things I want you to affirm constantly, that those who have believed in God should be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable to men.”
These things then that the Apostle Paul has been expounding should then be kept by us who believe, that is what he means when he says “…this is a faithful saying, and these things I want you to affirm constantly…, and not just once in a while but constantly, “that those who have believed in God should be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable to men.”
Thus, the church
is not place to come to be served, or entertained, it is a gathering place
where people come to both seek God and to proclaim and live out the Gospel, by worshipping and obeying
God and serving their fellow man. For as the Apostle Paul says, “These things
are good and profitable to men.”
Scripture Quotations
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