Washed By God And Made An Heir

Titus 3:3-7

This week our New Testament reading brings us to the Epistle, or letter, that the Apostle Paul wrote to Titus.  Titus was a Gentile convert of Paul’s.  Later he was appointed by Paul to become the bishop of the church on the island of Crete.  Paul's letter to Titus was an encouragement and help to him as he led and ministered to the church there.  Let's look at this brief portion of Paul's letter to Titus.

Before any of us were saved, our life was characterized by sin (vs. 3). We did what we wanted, when we wanted to. That was the case for each of us. If it wasn't for God's grace to His own children, we would all still be in such wickedness as Paul describes here.  If it wasn’t for Jesus's forgiveness and the Holy Spirit indwelling us, we would still be bound by our sins.

What did God do, then?  Did He wash His hands of us, and leave us in this condition?  Hallelujah, no He didn't!  God showed us love, and kindness (vs. 4). In this verse, Paul is speaking of Jesus, the Son of God who came to live on earth, and who is kindness and love incarnate.  Kindness is what makes God loving, yet righteous.  It is what makes God’s goodness accessible to us. Kindness is the patient love of God that allowed Him to humble Himself, leave heaven, and come to us, sharing His love with us.  The fruit of kindness in us will show itself in loving others who are unloving to us, and by putting the needs of others ahead of our own.

The Scriptures make it very clear all throughout that there is nothing we can ever do to earn our salvation (vs. 5).  Good works do not save us.  They are a sign that we love the Lord and are grateful to Him for what He’s done for us. God offers salvation through His grace, displayed on the cross.  God cleanses us, He gives us a new nature, and He gives us eternal life.  God has done all of this because of His love for us.

Before becoming saved, the sins that Paul mentioned at the opening of our passage, and all other sins we may have been involved in, have left us dirty and stained.  When we’ve become dirty from any physical activity, we need a good bath.  The same is true spiritually. It is God who washes and cleanses us from sin.  When He does this, He does it head to toe, not just a spotty “bird-bath”. Born again believers are washed, cleansed, and renewed.  God not only cleans born again believers, He dwells within them through the Holy Spirit (vs. 6).  He puts His power within us.  We are given a new Spirit-generated, Spirit-empowered, and Spirit-protected life as God’s children.   When we give our life to Him, the Holy Spirit leads us from a life of sin.  All of our sins are washed away.  We receive eternal life and the treasures of heaven.  The more we yield to the Lord God, the more our heart is renewed.

The central truth of salvation is justification by faith alone.  When we repent and place our faith and trust in Jesus, God declares us just, and He imputes the righteousness of Christ to us (vs. 7).  God gives us eternal life because Jesus died in our place, paying the penalty of our sins.  That is justification, and because of that we become heirs of God, His adopted children.  Many of us were never a part of a wealthy family who left us a big inheritance, never an heir to a multi-millionaire, but here we see that we have something even better! We are heirs of God!  We are joint-heirs with Jesus!

In this short little passage Paul packed so much in for his beloved “son” in the faith, Titus, to pass on to the Christians in Crete.  God pulling us out of the filth of sin, washing us clean, offering salvation to us, and making us His children and heirs.  Have you allowed God to cleanse you from your sins, and accepted His gift of salvation?  If not, please call upon the Lord Jesus as your Savior before we see the end of this year.