Titus 3 • Living in Response to God’s Grace

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Living in response to God’s grace begins with thanking God for His indescribable gift of life to you and considering all the benefits of having His life in you. Through this life, you can adorn yourself with godliness—for Him, for yourself, and for others who are watching. In the last article, we looked at how adorning yourself with godliness is transferable from woman to woman. This is post #12 in the 1 Timothy & Titus blog series. In this post, we will see how to live in response to God’s grace every day and in all situations.

A People of His Very Own

God’s grace

Titus 2 ends with these words:

For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good. (Titus 2:11-14)

Paul repeatedly affirmed the importance of God’s grace. God offered a solution to our sin problem. We humans have a spiritual problem that can be compared to death caused by a fatal disease. It’s a two-fold problem. Sin is the disease. Romans 3:23 says that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. Everyone has the sin disease. Death is the result of the disease. We are born spiritually dead sinners. Our double whammy problem demanded a two-fold solution. The great news is that God acted on our behalf.

For the problem of sin, people need sin to be removed and replaced with righteousness. God’s answer is Christ’s death on thecross. Because of His finished work on the cross, we can now be cured of the disease.

For the problem of death, people need the restoration of life. God’s answer is Christ’s resurrection. We can now be given life that is forever.

The Gospel message included the answer to both spiritual problems. We are saved from the consequences of our sins. And we are given the life of Christ in us to enable us to live to please God from the moment we receive that salvation.

Read more about God’s gospel message in this blog series, “God’s Gospel Message.”

Redeems us

our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness (Titus 2:13)

Included in our salvation is something called redemption. Redemption means to rescue something held in bondage. Every human born on this planet is born into bondage to “the kingdom of darkness.” Romans chapter 6 describes our bondage as being a “slave to sin.” The slave master “sin” calls the shots. Obedience comes too easily. But you are released from all of that when you trust in Jesus Christ. The Bible calls this “redemption.”

God redeems us to rescue us from the dominion of darkness and bring us into the kingdom of the Son He loves where we have forgiveness of sins (Colossians 1:13-14). Redemption means you become the possession of a loving, merciful God and can live in the security of your freedom from bondage to sin. You have a new master now with greater power living inside of you—the Spirit of God Himself—who can give you freedom from any entrapping sin. Because of His love and His purpose for you, you’ve been released into freedom to live a life that pleases God in every way.

Because you’ve trusted Christ and are now found in Christ, you can know and live with confidence that you’ve been purchased out of bondage and released into freedom from any entrapping sin so you can serve God in obedience as a people that are His very own, eager to do what is good.

For more information on redemption, read the blog, “Redemption: Released…No Longer in Bondage.”

Eager to Do What Is Good

Behaviors consistent with grace

Titus chapter 3 begins behaviors generally exhibited by one who understands God’s grace and wants to live in response to it.

Remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready to do whatever is good, to slander no one, to be peaceable and considerate, and always to be gentle toward everyone. (Titus 3:1-2)

These verses illustrate behaviors generally exhibited by one who understands God’s grace. These are illustrations of adorning ourselves with godliness for every believer regardless of age, gender, or social status. To adorn yourself with godliness means that your life displays the beliefs you claim to profess.

Being obedient to God and authorities, bring ready to do whatever is good, slandering no one, being peaceable and considerate, and being gentle—all those override the natural tendencies to be “liars, evil brutes, and gluttons” (Titus 1:12). All of these reflect our devotion to God as sovereign over all and our desire to represent Him well each day. These all fit with “people that are His very own, eager to do what is good.” That is what He desires of us. That is how we live in response to God’s grace—not as entitled consumers, but as gratefully redeemed.

Behaviors not consistent with grace

These behaviors are opposite of what our lives were like before trusting in Christ and experiencing grace.

At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. (Titus 3:3)

Not a pretty picture!

His Kindness and Love

The next three verses are some of my very favorite in the New Testament.

But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life. (Titus 3:4-7)

God was motivated by His kindness and love to do something for us! He saved us because of His mercy for us and not because of anything good that we had done. There is no room for pride or arrogance here.

Washing of Rebirth and Renewal

He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, (Titus 3:5-6)

The role of the Spirit as described in Titus 3:5 is both rebirth and renewal. These are combined in the word “regeneration.”

Regeneration brings new birth

The English word “regeneration” means simply a new birth, a new beginning, or a new order. Regeneration is often used to describe the restoration of a thing to its pristine state, as in the restoration of a piece of furniture or a classic car. For believers, regeneration refers to the “restoration of spiritual life to one who is spiritually dead.”

In John chapter 3, Jesus told Nicodemus that he had to be “born again.” Everyone is born once in the flesh (physical birth), but salvation provides a new life-giving experience, being born of the Spirit. In John chapter 5, Jesus declared that anyone who believes in Him is given this new life and crosses over completely and permanently from death to life. Paul wrote that we are made alive in Christ (Ephesians 2:5) and are a new creation from that moment onward (2 Corinthians 5:17). Salvation is not just receiving something we did not have before (i.e., forgiveness of sins). It is becoming someone we were not before!

Regeneration brings life

It is the Holy Spirit who makes our spirits alive through His presence (John 14:16-17). At the moment of salvation, the Holy Spirit indwells you.

Regeneration brings life. And this life of Christ is in you, dear believer. In Colossians 1:27, Paul describes this as “Christ in you.” We, who were once dead, are made alive by the indwelling Holy Spirit who unites you to Christ so that “Christ in you” is a fact of your new existence. It happens at the moment of salvation (Romans 8:9) and lasts forever.

Because you’ve trusted in Christ and are now found in Him, you can know and live with confidence that God’s life is now indwelling you forever. You are made alive and no longer dead. Regeneration.

For more on regeneration, read the blog, “Regeneration: Made Alive…No Longer Dead.”

More Blessings

so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life. (Titus 3:7)

Not only does the Holy Spirit wash us with rebirth and renewal, we experience two more blessings: being justified by His grace and becoming heirs having the hope of eternal life.

Justified by His grace

Justification is a legal term that means, “to declare righteous or not guilty.” Because of Christ’s finished work on the cross, God chooses to give a “not guilty” status to anyone who places their faith in Jesus Christ. Not one human deserves this. It can never be earned. God gives this because Jesus paid the penalty for all sin and takes your sin upon Himself. Then, you get His righteousness. You are now presented before God “without blemish and free from accusation” (Colossians 1:22).

The amazing thing is that God does this while we are still capable of sinning. When God looks on you, He sees His Son’s righteousness taking the place of your sin—even your sin after you’ve been a believer for a long time. How do you feel about this?

When you are tempted to think that God could not possibly accept you because of your weaknesses and guilty past, declare this to yourself: “Because of my faith in Jesus Christ, I am declared righteous and, therefore, no longer guilty in God’s eyes.” Justification.

For more on justification, read the blog, “Justification: Righteous…No Longer Guilty.”

Heirs of the hope of eternal life

In the human setting, heirs don’t inherit until the owner of the estate dies (though they may enjoy many benefits in the meantime). But in the spiritual realm the opposite occurs: We do not fully inherit until we have died; yet in this life we can experience many joys and benefits of being heirs of God. Our experience now is only a foretaste of what God has guaranteed to us in the future. (Life Application Bible Commentary)

Christ is our blessed hope (Titus 2:14). And our inheritance in Christ includes so much. A New Testament search would fill a whole page of what we receive as heirs of Christ. Our future is secure, and it is great! It is even better than today even.

Living in Response to God’s Grace

We can adorn ourselves with godliness because we have the life of Christ in us. For you dear reader, this begins a new adventure of learning how to live with Christ in you and depending upon Him to do anything of value in your life.

This new adventure is part of God’s purpose for us on earth. God didn’t take us to heaven right away when we were saved because we have a purpose here. We are here by God’s design to follow Jesus as His disciples and to adorn ourselves with His likeness. That will lead to intentionally sharing our faith with others and helping them grow in their faith so they can reach their peers for Christ. We do all of that through His power in us—the same power that raised Jesus from the dead. We get all of that through God’s grace.

Dear Christian, to live in response to God’s grace begins with thanking God for His indescribable gift of life to you and considering all the benefits of having His life in you. Through this life, you can adorn yourself with godliness—for Him, for yourself, and for others who are watching.

I love this chorus of a song I heard back in the early 1990s. It comes from a lovely poem:

His love in me loving, His mind in me thinking, His life in me living through the Spirit’s power. His eyes in me seeing, His heart in me beating, His voice through me speaking every waking hour. (“Life Is Made Up of Choices,” Ron and Patricia Owens)

That is living in response to God’s grace.

What could be a more beautiful, worthwhile goal than to adorn yourself with godliness … to put yourself in order with the very character of God … to arrange to live your life properly displaying the beliefs you claim to profess … to dress, act, and be like Him for Him!

Let Jesus satisfy your heart with such love for God that you will want to live a life that pleases Him.

All of the above information is covered in the Adorn Yourself with Godliness Bible Study covering 1 Timothy and Titus in the New Testament.

Other Resources