TITUS 3:6

Titus 3:6 continues to speak of the salvation that was given to each saved person and it says, “Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour.” One important thing from this verse is the fact that salvation is “through” Jesus Christ. That is why He is called the “Savior.” He can save others because He did not save Himself. There is no other way to be saved than to go through Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ provided for salvation by dying for our sins, and Jesus Christ gives salvation to those who truly believe in Him.

Notice that in Titus 3:4 “God our Savior” is mentioned, in Titus 3:5 the “Holy Ghost” is mentioned, and in Titus 3:6 “Jesus Christ our Savior” is mentioned. Of course, without using the word ‘trinity,” the trinity is revealed here and in many other passages in the Bible. All three of the members of the Godhead are involved in salvation because what One does the Others do also. The same thing is true in creation or in any of the acts of God. For example, the first verse of the Bible says, “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.” Genesis 1:3 says, “and the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.” Speaking of Jesus the gospel of John 1:3 says, “All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.” The same attributes are true for Each of the Three, and sometimes the same names are used interchangeably. That is why the Father can be called “our Saviour” and Jesus can also be called “our Saviour.” In Isaiah 9:6 we are told that one of the names of the Messiah would be “the Everlasting father.”

In Titus 3:7 we are given another phrase that describes what salvation is, and we are also given a phrase that looks to the future concerning what salvation will mean for us. It says, “That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.” One way to describe being saved is to say that we have been “justified by his grace.” To be justified is a wonderful condition to be in. If you were brought before a court of law, and the judge examined all of the evidence, and then the judge declared that you were innocent, then you would go away justified. To be justified by God means that God declares that you are just. It is the same as though he examined all of the evidence against you concerning your sins, and then God declares that you are innocent and without fault. How can this be? In reality you are a sinner and you do have many faults and sins that you have committed.

Therefore, how can God justify you? He can justify you “by His grace.” We already saw that salvation is based upon the mercy of God, in that God does not give you the punishment that you deserve. Now we see that God justifies us by His grace. Grace refers to God giving to us what we do not deserve. We do not deserve to be justified because we have committed sins. What a wonderful gift that God has given to us: this gift of justification. “Thanks be to God for His unspeakable gift.”

The moment that a person believes in Christ with saving faith, that person is justified. Notice that the phrase “being justified” refers to an action that has already taken place. For those who are saved by faith in Christ, there will not be a future judgment where this issue will be decided. It has already been decided. God has already justified you if you are a true believer in Christ. That is why you already are an heir. You are a child of God through faith in Christ, and God takes care of His children. Jesus said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” Do not be one of those faithless Christians who only look for blessings in this life. These verses emphasize what God has in store for you in the next life, not in this one. Believers are “heirs according to the hope of eternal life.” It would be wonderful to have a great and wealthy benefactor to make you an heir of his. God has done that. He wants you to inherit the most important thing for all human beings: eternal life. Jesus said in Mark 8:36, “For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?”

Of course, after we are saved, but before we go to heaven God has a will for each of His children. There is a certain type of life that He wants us to live. The Bible says in Titus 3:8, “This is a faithful saying, and these things I will that thou affirm constantly, that they which have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable unto men.” The first reason that Jesus saves us is so that we will end up in heaven instead of hell. The second reason that Jesus saves us is so that we will live holy lives. It is not enough just to say that you believe. “The devil also believes and trembles.” It is not enough to learn the doctrines of the Bible or to make verbal professions of faith. God wants our lives to be changes. The Bible says in Second Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”

We need to “be careful to maintain good works.” Why? The last part of Titus 3:8 says, “These things are good and profitable unto men.” There will be good results and good consequences to maintaining good works. Many unspiritual people think that there will be good results to living a life of evil or at least to doing certain things that the Bible forbids. This is not true. All of Satan’s apples have worms. Adam and Eve proved that, and millions and millions of other humans have proved it also. A good example of that is adultery. Sometimes the world presents adultery as though a good thing happened if someone managed to commit adultery with another person especially if that person was attractive. Nothing could be further from the truth. The real consequences of adultery are: unwanted pregnancies, abortions, venereal disease including HIV, ruined marriages, ruined reputations, the guilt of sin, and lowered self-esteem. No one has ever benefited from adultery.

When Titus 3:8 speaks of good works as being “good and profitable unto men,” it probably also is referring to the fact that your good works will help to advance the gospel in the eyes of those who know you. Jesus said in Matthew 5:16 “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” Nothing can help Christianity more than when those who claim to believe in Christ actually obey His teachings. Just as this verse in Titus says, it is “good and profitable unto men” when believers are careful to maintain good works. The gospel is adorned and made attractive when those who believe also obey.

Titus 3:8 tells us what we should do, and Titus 3:9 tells us what we should not do. It says, “But avoid foolish questions, and genealogies, and contentions, and strivings about the law; for they are unprofitable and vain.” Some people seek knowledge about the wrong kinds of things. Concerning spiritual things or religious things, Christians should seek knowledge primarily about the Word of God. We need wisdom from God as far as what kinds of things to seek increased knowledge about. The religious cults fill people’s minds with all kinds of things instead of the Word of God. Some people have the wrong kind of interest in genealogies and give them some kind of religious significance. For example, it is not important to be able to trace your human lineage to Abraham. What is important is to have the same kind of faith that Abraham had. There is a type of religious knowledge that is called “foolish.” Those who seek it are wasting their time. You are only gaining the knowledge that God wants you to have if you are growing in the knowledge of His Word.

Another false teaching that was taking place in the first century had to do with “the law.” The law is misused if it is not understood in its proper relationship to grace. “The law came by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.” We are saved by the grace of Christ, and not by law. Salvation by faith in Christ comes first, and then we go about maintaining good works. The order is important. Be careful what you teach about the law. But even if you come into contact with those who are legalistic and who do not teach grace the way it should be taught, remember that this verse says to “avoid” strivings about the law. Jesus set the example in His dealings with the Pharisees. Jesus did not argue with them. The one who speaks forth truth is supposed to do just that: speak forth truth. We do not argue the truth. We declare it. Let those who have ears to hear, hear. But those who do not have ears to hear, let them go their way. God gives them a choice. They have made their choice. The truth is for those who desire to hear it.

The Bible says in Titus 3:10, “A man that is an heretick after the first and second admonition reject.” The word that is translated “heretick” is an interesting word. It means simply “someone who has made a choice.” Of course, they have made the wrong choice. They have chosen error instead of truth. This is a continuation of the idea that was given in the previous verse. The human will is a powerful thing, and everyone is given a choice. Once someone has made the wrong choice, there is very little that can be done for them. God gave them a free choice, and they have made their choice. Perhaps once or twice you can attempt to say something to them; but do not argue with them. Let them go the way that they have chosen.

One implication of this concept has to do with each person’s eternal destiny and how it is determined. God does not send anyone to hell. God wishes to save everyone, but He gives a free choice. God offers His truth about Jesus to everyone, and everyone makes their own choice. That is what Titus 3:11 is talking about when it says, “Knowing that he that is such is subverted, and sinneth, being condemned of himself.”

Such a person who has made a choice to reject truth is described with three words here in Titus 3:11. First of all he is said to be “subverted.” This means “twisted” or “torn up.” A complete human being is one who takes the physical life that God has given to him and adds to it spiritual life through faith in Christ. That is a normal human being. That is human life the way it was meant to be: physical and spiritual. Someone who rejects the spiritual becomes a twisted life. What is really wrong with the people of the world? They chose error instead of truth. Therefore, they did not become what they could have been. They are twisted. They are also “sinning.” The greatest sin is the rejection of truth. Jesus said, “You shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free.” But these are not free from their sins. They remain in them. They continue on in a sinful way and continuing a sinful life.

Who will condemn these people who have rejected the truth? Will you or I condemn them? No, they condemn themselves. With their own words they condemn themselves. At the judgment their own words will be brought before them and there will be no place to hide from the truth.

In the conclusion to the book of Titus, Paul wrote in Titus 3:12-14, “When I shall send Artimas unto thee, or Tichicus, be diligent to come unto me to Nicopolis: for I have determined there to winter. Bring Zenus the lawyer and Apollos on their journey diligently, that nothing be wanting unto them. And let ours also learn to maintain good works for necessary uses, that they be not unfruitful.” What we see in these verses is something of the organization of the Apostle Paul. He planned ahead. He also did not do his work by himself. He needed the help of others in order to accomplish what the Lord had given him to do.

When Paul told Titus concerning Zenas and Apollos “that nothing be wanting unto them,” Paul was talking about their material and physical needs. Unless the people of God provide for those who are called to reach the gospel, less will be done in the spread of the gospel than otherwise could have been done. That is one of the big problems in these last days. On the one hand you have false teachers who are taking the money of the people of God; and on the other hand you have true teachers who are not being supported. The judgment of Christians will reveal many lost opportunities. There will be tears.

Paul encouraged the believers around him not to lose their opportunities. He encouraged them in Titus 3:14 to “maintain good works for necessary uses.” The phrase “for necessary uses” refers to the necessities of life. In the context it is referring to the fact that some people, who have been called by God as preachers of the gospel, need other believers to help them with the necessities of life; if the gospel is going to go forth as effectively a possible. Some people have to support themselves as they preach the gospel, as Paul did for a time. But that is not the best use of everyone’s time and resources. Christian laymen who do not use their material substance in the way that the Holy Spirit is speaking about here at the end of the book of Titus will find themselves “unfruitful.” Christian work is teamwork. That is what God meant it to be. The person who helps a prophet will receive the reward of a prophet.

Finally the Apostle Paul wrote in Titus 3:15, “All that are with me salute thee. Greet them that love us in the faith. Grace be with you all. Amen.” These epistles in the New Testament were personal letters. These people knew each other and cared for each other. The greetings were heart-felt and warm. We live in the last days. You will not find many believers today who really care for each other with Christian love. Notice that Paul said, “Greet them that love us in the faith.” I have bowed at the feet of Jesus, and believed in Him, and because of His great love for me, I was saved. There are many other people who claim to be saved, but how will I ever find out if they are saved or not? The only ones that I can be sure about are those who love me simply because of faith in Christ. Jesus loves me. A few people that I have over the years have loved me because of Jesus. Just like Paul, those are the ones that I greet: the ones who understand and obey Christ’s new commandment to love one another.

I say to them the same thing that Paul said to the believers to whom he was writing: “Grace be with you all.” We were saved by the grace of Christ. We were saved when He gave to us that which we did not and could not earn. And for every good thing that may come our way in this life we are also dependent upon His grace.

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