The Bible is filled with sermon material that we can draw from as we preach on this wonderful Christian life that God has blessed us with.
But also the Bible gives us some passages that tell us what our life was like before we accepted the Lord Jesus as our personal Savior.
Such is the case in verse 3. Here it tells us what our life was like then.
But we need to preface this by saying, just because all these things are listed here, does not mean that we were guilty of all these things.
Illus: Dr. Oliver Greene, who is now with the Lord, said this about verse 3, “This is a terrible picture of what life is like without God. Note that we who are believers were living a life just like what is described here before we accepted Christ. This does not necessarily mean that we were actively involved in every sin included in the list, but we are all guilty of at least some of these sins. And being guilty, we stand before God imperfect and short of His glory. Therefore, we need to be saved through the Lord Jesus Christ.
Some things are mentioned that no doubt Paul was not guilty of before his conversion; but he is simply pointing out to Titus that he should preach to the people in the churches ... that they should live holy lives, and especially manifest a spirit of humility, order, peace, kindness, and due subordination to local authorities. Titus should point out to the believers that they were formerly disorderly, wicked, sensual -- sinners by nature; but having heard the Gospel, through the power of the Gospel they had been saved from these things by the grace of God, and now they were new creations in Christ Jesus and by their daily practices should prove to unbelievers that they have had a change of heart.
The minister of the Gospel is never to be proud or arrogant. He is to point unbelievers to Christ -- not to his own righteousness or ability to live above the world. The minister is to remember that before his conversion, he was in the same condition as the unbeliever to whom he now preaches. The minister is not to forget that he is not superior to others because of His ability, but because of the grace of God and the power of God. The minister is to exhort the wicked to repent. Remembering his own life of sin and wickedness will help him to fervently preach the grace of God which worked a miracle in his own heart; and having had a miracle of grace performed in his own heart, he knows what the grace of God can do for all who will receive it" (The Epistles of Paul the Apostle to Timothy and Titus, p.4720.
This one verse of scripture reveals four things about men before they come to know the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior.
I. EVIL MEN LIVE LIVES OF FOOLISHNESS
Look at verse 3. We read, “For we ourselves also were sometimes FOOLISH, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another.”
Look at the word “foolish”. This is the word “anoetoi” which means thoughtless, dull, senseless, and without understanding in spiritual matters; to be ignorant of God and unwise in dealing with God.
What a perfect description of the ungodly.
God’s Word is stating that a man can have more degrees than a thermometer behind his name, but if he is living his life ignoring the teachings of God’s Word, he is a foolish person.
You see, we look at a person who does not believe in God, and we say, “That is a foolish person”. They are foolish!
The Word of God says this about them in Psalm 14:1. We read, “The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God…”
There are those who would not think about standing up somewhere and foolishly say THERE IS NO GOD.
For a person to say such a thing, they would have to be able to say, I KNOW EVERYTHING, AND SINCE I DO, I KNOW THERE IS NO GOD.
So unless a person is able to say such a thing, they are a fool to say THERE IS NO GOD.
But did you know that there are a lot of people who will not say such a thing, but they LIVE THEIR LIVES LIKE THERE IS NO GOD. And that is JUST AS FOOLISH AS TO GO AROUND SAYING IT.
Paul wrote to Titus and told him, “For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish…”
We who have been saved, and our eyes have been opened to our sins, can now look back and say, “Paul, you are so right. I cannot believe I was so foolish as to live my life the way I used to live it!”
II. EVIL MEN LIVE LIVES OF DISOBEDIENCE
Look at verse 3 again. We read, “For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, DISOBEDIENT, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another.”
Look at the word “disobedient”. This is the Greek word “apeitheis”, which means to refuse to obey by not doing what one should; to rebel against and to reject instruction; to refuse to be persuaded; to be obstinate against authority.”
Illus: Did you know that we have people in our society:
• Who can go into a class room and meet the teacher that is teaching their class for the first time, and having never laid eyes on them, immediately dislike that teacher.
• Who can see a policeman on the street that they have never met in their life, but because they are a policeman, wearing a uniform, immediately they dislike the policeman.
• We have teenagers that talk about their parents like they are the worst enemy they have.
WHY ARE THE UNGODLY LIKE THIS?
The ungodly person hates anyone who tells them what they cannot do. They are eaten up with selfishness, and anyone who tries to stop them from doing what they want to do is their enemy.
This is why the man of God is hated. When he stands up in the pulpit and preaches God’s Word, and tells evil men that they cannot live the sinful lives they want to live, immediately the man of God is despised.
This is why the liberal churches are growing so rapidly across this nation. Ungodly men want someone to tell them God loves them, and they can live anyway they so choose, and God will understand.
Well the fact is, God’s Word does tell men that God loves them, but God’s Word commands men to repent of their sins and to live holy lives. Not rebellious lives of disobedience.
Paul told Titus this is how we lived before we got saved. He said, “For we ourselves also were sometimes…disobedient…”
But he reminds him that-
III. EVIL MEN LIVE LIVES OF DECEPTION
Look at verse 3 again. We read, “For we ourselves also were sometimes….DECEIVED, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another.”
Look at the word “deceived”. This is the word “planomenoi”, which means led astray, to err, seduced, wander, be out of the way.
One of the problems with a lot of teenagers is that they are so easily misled.
• Look at the way some of these boys wear their pants. If they do not keep one hand in their pocket, the pants would fall to their ankles.
• Look at the way some of these young girls are putting tattoos all over their bodies. One day they are going to come to their senses, and for the rest of their lives they are going have to look at those tattoos as a reminder of their foolishness.
• Look at the way some wear ear rings, nose rings, eye rings, tongue rings, etc..
Do you know why they do such things? It certainly is not because it improves their looks, it is because they have been MISLED.
They follow after these rap singers and rock singers like they were idols to be worshipped. But listen, these singers could care less about these children who listen to this stuff. All they care about is the almighty dollar.
These children have been DECEIVED to follow after this crowd.
But it is not just the young people; all people who are lost have been deceived and led astray.
Paul tells Titus, “For we ourselves also were sometimes, DECEIVED…”
But he goes on to say-
IV. EVIL MEN LIVE LIVES OF LUST AND PLEASURE
Look at verse 3. We read, “For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, SERVING DIVERS LUSTS AND PLEASURES...”
When you talk to some lost people about accepting the Lord Jesus as their Savior, they will tell you they are not ready to make that decision. If you press them to find out what they mean when they say they are not ready, you find they are saying this; “I AM NOT READY TO SERVE THE LORD, I WANT TO BE FREE TO LIVE MY LIFE.”
What they do not realize is this, the lost person is a servant of sin.
Paul is telling Titus that before we accepted the Lord Jesus, we were SERVING DIVERS LUSTS AND PLEASURES.
Notice, Paul tells Titus that lost man is servant to two things:
(1) SERVING DIVERS LUSTS
The word “lust” is the word “epithumiais”, which means passionate cravings, desires, and urges.
Illus: Have you ever seen a particular food that you like, and the moment you saw it you had a craving from within, and you felt like you could not live without it.
This is how we lived our lives before we came to know the Lord Jesus as our Savior.
There are people that do not know Christ, and every day of their lives, they live craving cars, clothes, houses, boats, golf clubs, guns, fishing rods, campers, and etc..
They are one heart beat away from a Christ-less eternity, and this is all they care about.
They have such a craving for these things they feel they can not live without them. They are SERVANTS OF LUSTS.
But also, they are-
(2) SERVING PLEASURES
People in today’s society are servants of pleasures.
Illus: We have parents today who claim that they know the Lord as their Savior, but when it comes to a choice between their child worshipping God, or playing in a little league baseball game, little league baseball game wins over worshipping God every time.
Paul said this is the way we used to live our lives, but thanks be unto the Lord who has delivered us from the enslavement of LUST AND PLEASURES.
V. EVIL MEN LIVE LIVES OF HATE
Look at verse 3 again. We read, “For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, LIVING IN MALICE AND ENVY, HATEFUL, AND HATING ONE ANOTHER.”
Some people remind us of little boys that hate girls. These little girls have never done a thing to these little fellows, but because they are girls they dislike them.
Why? This is an age that boys go through. They do not want to talk to girls or sit by them, they do not want to do anything with them.
Illus: Boys will set up clubs in their neighborhoods, and every boy in the neighborhood will be allowed to join, but if one little girl applies for membership, she is instantly rejected. Why? She is a g-i-r-l! But then something happens when these little boys reach a certain age.
Illus: One little boy who was making this transition, told a little girl one day, “I hate girls, but if I ever stop hating girls you will be the first one I will stop hating.”
But when boys reach a certain age, they start loving girls with as much zeal as when they hated them.
Paul told Titus that before we got saved, we lived our lives in “hating one another.” But when we come to know the Lord, something very strange takes place in our lives, and we start loving each other.
Conclusion:
The point is this, before men get saved:
I. EVIL MEN LIVE LIVES OF FOOLISHNESS
II. EVIL MEN LIVE LIVES OF DISOBEDIENCE
III. EVIL MEN LIVE LIVES OF DECEPTION
IV. EVIL MEN LIVE LIVES OF LUST AND PLEASURE
V. EVIL MEN LIVE LIVES OF HATE
But those who know the Lord no longer live their lives this way.
