Teachings Of Titus #7

This has always been a problem in the church. But when we get to the third chapter of Titus, Paul starts to talk to him about salvation, and this becomes a little confusing.

WHY DID PAUL TALK TO TITUS ABOUT SALVATION?

Why? Paul wanted to make sure that Titus preached sound doctrine concerning salvation. Listen, we Christians can differ on some doctrines, but when it comes to salvation it is not up for debate.

For example, there are some Christians who believe that the Bible teaches foot washing. These Christians practice this custom in their churches.

(Humor) But most of us differ with these good people. We believe a person ought to wash their feet before they come to church, not after they arrive.

Now for those who believe that this is something the Bible teaches, I respect their beliefs. And if they feel this is something the Bible teaches that they should do, let them wash each other’s feet with our blessings!

There are a lot of things that people believe the Bible teaches that we do not believe!

And we certainly do not want to be like some of the militant fundamentalists, who refuse to have fellowship with Christians who do not believe the way they believe.

In fact, some of the militant fundamentalists believe in second degree separation. That is, if I fellowship with someone that believes in something they do not believe, then they will not fellowship with me because I fellowship with them.

If the Lord was here, I am sure he would say unto these, “Woe unto you scribes and Pharisees and hypocrites!”

We do not have to believe in everything that someone else believes in to have fellowship with them. However, when it comes to salvation we can not budge on this issue in the slightest.

In verses 4-7, Paul gives us one of the greatest summaries of salvation in the Bible.

Let us look at these verses that so clearly deal with salvation. Let’s look at-

I. THE ORIGIN OF SALVATION

Look at verses 4-7. We read, “But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared, Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour; That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.”

Many people today say they believe in salvation by grace, but they no sooner get the words out of their mouths, before they start telling you all the things their group says a person must do to be saved.

Paul responds to that group by saying, in Titus 3:5, “Not by works of righteouness which we have done, but according to his mercy He saved us…”

If we could do one thing to deserve salvation, God would not have had to give it to us through mercy.

Look at verse 4, we read, “But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared.”

The only reason any of us are saved, is because of the KINDNESS and LOVE of God that has appeared unto all of us. These verses of scripture help us to see the kind of God He is!

Some people have the idea that God is the Creator of all things, but once He created everything, He sat back, and from a distance He is now only an observer.

But that is not the God of the Bible. God’s Word states clearly that He reaches out to us in KINDNESS and LOVE.

Bible salvation comes from THREE things:

(1) GOD’S KINDNESS

The word “kindness” is the word “chrestotes”, which means goodness.

This is a goodness that reaches so deep, it always gives whatever is necessary. You could say, God had to save those of us who come to Him for salvation, because that is the kind of God He is.

But Bible salvation comes from another place.

(2) GOD’S LOVE

The word “love” here is the word “philanthropia”.

That is, God is a good God, but He also is a loving God. And it was His love that motivated Him to die on the cross for our sins. It was not the spikes that held Him on that cross, it was His love for us that held Him there.

Salvation has come to us because of God’s GOODNESS, and GOD’S LOVE, but also because of-

(3) GOD’S MERCY

The word “mercy” here is the word “eleon”, which means feelings of pity, compassion, and kindness.

Illus: Sometimes when you help people who need help, they will say, “I do not want anyone feeling sorry for me.”

Well, none of us enjoy having someone feeling pity for us, but when it comes to God, we want God to feel sorry for us.