Titus 3:4-7
Devotions for Sunday 14th December
This wonderful and inspirational passage follows on directly from Paul’s advice (which we looked at yesterday), advising God’s people about moral and ethical forms of behaviour. Whilst it is necessary and important for all of us to be challenged about how and why we speak and act as we do, it is the heart of the Gospel that must surely be our exclusive guide. In every place Paul writes lists of ‘do’s and don’ts’ (3:1-3) it is almost always part of a larger piece of advice which includes his urging of his readers to keep in close contact with the Gospel of salvation. Frankly, unless we begin with the full Gospel of the living God, then Paul’s moral advice does not stand; it is like a dangerous set of impossible demands which only set up ordinary folks for a fall. Only by the power and mercy of God, as found in the salvation of the world can any of us find the route towards such moral goals.
Kindness and love The way in which Paul expresses the Gospel here in these few verses of Titus is inspirational. The first verse is not like other sentences found in his writing, and the words for ‘goodness’ and ‘love’ are not the ones he normally uses. The first word (Greek ‘chrestotes’) means kindness, with the added sense of doing what is right; in this way, Paul wanted us to know that when God acted for the salvation of the world through Jesus Christ, He was indeed ‘doing what was right’ for the whole of His creation. Salvation, you might say, must always be right, but remember, God’s salvation is a salvation which demands our choice, and the hard facts of it are that many people, when faced by the facts, do not chose to take up the Lord’s supreme offer of eternal life. We should never forget that, and this should mean that we must always be ready to argue for the ‘rightness’ of what God has done to other people, for the sake of their salvation. The second word in this sentence is translated ‘love’ (Greek ‘philanthropia’), but it contains the idea of hospitality, generosity and openness. Sometimes we treat the love of God as if it was a private benefit, but this word reminds us that our Lord is constantly seeking to make Himself available to all people in a completely free and open way. If we make Him into our private God, then He will break out of the bounds we seek to place upon Him.
Rebirth and the work of the Holy Spirit The next part of Paul’s description of salvation is fairly standard, and explains directly the chief characteristic of the redemptive work of Christ; it is not achieved through anything we can do or decide, but only through the supreme mercy of God found in the act of re-birth (3:5). Paul does not use the word ‘re-birth very much, but it is obvious to any reader of the New Testament that there is connection here between the writings of Paul and of John. It is in John’s Gospel that we find the great explanation given by Jesus to Nicodemus that in order to enter the Kingdom of God we must be ‘reborn’, not physically, but spiritually (John 3:5-10). Indeed, although Jesus preached a great deal about repentance, He never taught a theology of ‘water’ baptism, but he did teach a distinctive and clear theology of spiritual re-birth by the Holy Spirit, and this is particularly clear within John’s Gospel and the Acts of the Apostles.
Baptism? Paul uses the language of baptism here because this is so central to the Gospel of salvation. Baptism (in whatever way we practice it) is a matter of spiritual rebirth by the Spirit of God, or it is nothing; but when we celebrate this gift, we do need to display the essentially hospitable nature of God, because His offer of salvation is to all and the grace and favour of God has been made available to us all! This is the ‘rich’ blessing ‘poured out’ on us (3:6), for which all God’s people are eternally grateful. This is what makes Christian people excited, zealous and enthusiastic, a people who have a message and a purpose, and the energy to pursue a witness to faith which should be the envy of others. We can almost hear this energy and vitality come through as Paul says ‘so that ... we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life!’ (3:7).
If we look at the original Greek sentence structure of the letter of Titus, we will find that the first seven verses of Titus 3 are in fact one sentence. Like other famous instances where Paul is genuinely excited about the Gospel, this excitement shows in his tendency to write long sentences (see also Ephesians 1, e.g.). For us, the Gospel becomes alive in our midst as we allow the Holy Spirit to fill us and enthuse us, so that we, too, are excited and thrilled at everything the Lord God has done and will do in us. We are His partners in the glorious enterprise of the Kingdom of God, by which the world is being saved!
4 But when the goodness and love of God our Saviour appeared, 5 He rescued us, not because of any righteous deeds we had done, but according to His mercy, through the cleansing of rebirth and renewal of the Holy Spirit, 6 that has been poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Saviour, 7 so that, having been put right with God by His grace, we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
© All text and pictures on this page copyright Paul H Ashby 2008 - all rights reserved
Father, we worship You and adore You. Be careful with us pray, so when our lives do not make sense and nothing appears to work out for good, then touch us with Your compassion and make us aware of Your presence. May we bear the heartaches and enjoy the thrill of the lives You have given us, and may we catch a glimpse of the life You have prepared for us in Your Kingdom: AMEN
Save us Lord, Creator of all things. Open our eyes to see you.
For people own so much and think they can do what they want,
Yet really, You have given us everything:
Everyone can communicate easily using the internet,
But it is You with whom we need to keep in touch:
Many people drive miles for work, leisure or enjoyment,
But You are with us wherever we are:
Doctors perform marvels, can even reconstruct a human face,
But only You can mend a broken heart:
Trained engineers know how to utilise the world’s resources,
Yet You hold all mysteries and secrets of the world:
Save us Lord, Creator of all things. Open our eyes to see you.
Weekly Theme: Fire Services
In most country there are services responsible for helping us fight fires. Those who have this job do difficult work on our behalf, so pray for them, and any fire-fighters you know.
On-going prayers
- Pray for small businesses struggling to keep going
- Give thanks to God for safety whilst you travel
- Pray for people in Tibet and the political problems there
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