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Titus 3:1-7

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Be Ready for Every Good Work 3 1 Remind them x to be submissive to rulers and authorities, y to be obedient, to be ready for every good work, 2 z to speak evil of no one, a to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and b to show perfect courtesy toward all people. 3 For c 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. 4 But when d the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, 5 he saved us, e not because of works done by us in righteousness, but f according to his own mercy, by g the washing of regeneration and h renewal of the Holy Spirit, 6 whom he i poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 so that j being justified by his grace we might become k heirs l according to the hope of eternal life.

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Main point summary

Titus, remind the church of their renewed personality, for God saved us and cleansed us from our old personality through his mercy so that we might possess everlasting life.

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Titus 3:1-7

Remind them x to be

Remind them to be subject to rulers and 1 authorities,

(You - Titus) exhort your church

submissive to rulers and authorities,

(exhort them) to give respect to governments and offices of the land,

y to be obedient,

to be obedient,

(exhort them) to obey their rules,

to be ready for every good work,

to be ready for every good work.

(exhort them) to be prepared for good service in God's name,

z to speak evil of no one,

They must not slander 2 anyone,

(exhort them) not to detract from anyone in speech,

a to avoid quarreling,

but be peaceable,

(exhort them) not to bicker over meaningless disputes,

to be gentle,

gentle,

(exhort them) to be meekly kind,

and b to show perfect courtesy toward all people.

showing complete courtesy to all people.

( and exhort them) to exhibit all respect to everyone they meet.

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For c we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures,

For we too were once foolish, disobedient, misled, enslaved to various passions and desires,

Because us believing Christians were also formerly inconsiderate, rebellious, deceived, lackeys of lustful desire and gratification,

passing our days in malice and envy,

spending our lives in evil and envy,

by wasting our time in depraved jealousy,

hated by others and hating one another.

hateful and hating one another.

by detesting and being detested by our so-called "friends".

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But when d the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared,

3 But “when the kindness of God our Savior and his love for mankind appeared,

But because the good benevolence of God our Savior touched our lives,

he saved us,

he saved us

therefore God saved us,

e not because of works done by us in righteousness,

not by works of righteousness that we have done

not as though we earned this through our own good works,

but f according to his own mercy,

but on the basis of his mercy,

but on the basis of God's compassion,

by g the washing of regeneration

through the washing of the new birth

through the cleansing of rebirth

and h renewal of the Holy Spirit,

and the renewing of the Holy Spirit,

and the renovating work of the Holy Spirit.

whom he i poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior,

whom he poured out on us in full measure 4 through Jesus Christ our Savior.

(the Spirit which) God generously drenched us with through Jesus Christ our Savior.

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so that j being justified by his grace we might become k heirs

And so, 5 since we have been justified by his grace, we become heirs

so that we (being vindicated through Jesus' grace) might become posessors (of everlasting life)

l according to the hope of eternal life.

with the confident expectation of eternal life.” 6

according to our confident expectation of everlasting life.

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Testimonial

An experiment in positioning myself for evangelism. With a love for the gospel truth burning in my heart, I wanted to see how sharing the gospel might play out in my everyday Christian walk. One winter day, I went to a nearby shopping mall to exercise. As I concluded my walking routine, I began praying for the many people I encountered. I determined to dedicate fifteen minutes specifically for the purpose of being available to share the gospel. I sat down in a busy open foyer and asked God to open the door for conversation. I asked God to use me. A wide array of mall shoppers passed by. Some were young and others were old, some wore frowns while others had pleasant expressions. Male and female, introverted and extroverted, slow and hurried—each person was unique. Ten minutes passed . . . fifteen minutes passed . . . twenty minutes passed. No incident. No open door. No gospel witness. No point. Or was there? As I left the mall, I reflected on several changes that I had noticed slowly taking place in my own attitude towards all of those potentially unbelieving people. God had affected my attitude. My heart, soul, and strength were touched: My earthly cares began to give way to more heavenly concerns, calibrating my priorities in light of my calling. Was I standing with God such that nothing dimmed the light of my good works ( Matthew 5:16 )? For any hope of successfully sharing God's message, I learned that I needed to lean on the Author Himself. He would need to enable my lips and understanding. Finally, my mind was affected: As the minutes passed, I rehearsed the gospel to myself. Ultimately, God “opened my eyes" just as I had prayed. God allowed me to see people as he saw them. Compassion grew within me as God reminded me who I once was without his amazing grace. I agreed with Paul’s assessment and expression in Titus 3:1-7 , "for we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient...but God saved us..." The Titus passage reminded me, in vv1-2 of how I need to continue living out my new spiritual personality. I am known as one who is submissive, obedient, prepared, respectful and gentle. But the reason why I am a new person, revealed in v3, is still surprising to me after all these years; that even when I was mired in my old foolish ways, God saved me! v4 shattered all notions of my own goodness. It was through the goodness and loving kindness of God my Savior that he drenched me in his Holy Spirit through Jesus Christ (v5-6)! And so I found myself reflecting and recalibrating my "why" - and I love how v7 filled me with purpose. God did all of this merciful saving so that I might be justified in being known as his heir, possessing a confident expectation of everlasting life! I found this personal interaction with the gospel valuable in preparing me for future encounters. I had audience with no one that day. Yet the exercise impacted my life for the better. He taught me that simply being available brings about good. Future opportunities will be afforded. And when they come, I’ll be ready.