Titus 3 - Come Holy Spirit!

Titus 3

Enduring Word Commentary

Saved in Order to Do Good

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

Paul again reiterates that Christians are to be subject to the governing authorities. All authorities have been appointed by God to exercise rule and order in the temporal realm. In our day it is often called, "the rule of law". 

Paul says in Romans 13 that if a Christian disobeys a law they deserve to be punished like anyone else. Elsewhere Paul calls it the "power of the sword". While the authorities in govern the secular world (government, police, teachers, ...), the church has authority in the spiritualrealm to announce the forgiveness of sins in Jesus' name. Luther called it the "power of the keys". 

The way a Christian behaves in the world affects the witness he or she can have. If a Christian is a lawbreaker how can they talk about obeying God. 

3 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. 4 But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, 5 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, 6 whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life. 8 This is a trustworthy saying. And I want you to stress these things, so that those who have trusted in God may be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good. These things are excellent and profitable for everyone.

Paul reminds them that before they came to faith in Jesus, they too lived lives of rebellion against God. You can see his laundry list of ways we were enslaved to our sinful nature. As we say in our Lutheran Confession, 

"We are in bondage to sin and cannot free ourselves. We have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed. By what I have done and by what I have left undone. I have not loved you with my whole heart, or my neighbors as myself."

The Good News is that God saw our miserable condition and in his kindness and mercy sent His Son to die for us. Note the importance of Titus 3:5, which is worth memorizing. 

"He saved us not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy."

It is obvious by the things we have done, that we need a Savior, but there is no amount of good things we can do to reverse our standing before God. We had a problem that only God could solve. God gave us the solution by sending Jesus to do for us what we could never do for ourselves. 

Note Paul also mentions the role of the Holy Spirit. Paul says, "He saved us by the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit." 

We know the language of "rebirth" from John 3, where John says we are born once naturally and then born again of the Spirit. We receive the Holy Spirit when we come to trust in Jesus as our Savior. The Holy Spirit lives inside and is the key to our living a life worthy of our calling. With the Holy Spirit, we can overcome the power of our sinful nature and live a new life of freedom to obey God. Note we can't claim credit for our good works, because it is only through the Holy Spirit that we can measure up to Spirit of the Law.  

The Holy Spirit is also our down payment guaranteeing our future inheritance. As reborn children of God, "We have become heirs having the hope of eternal life."   

We are not only reborn through Holy Spirit, but we are also renewed by the Holy Spirit. Since the Holy Spirit is a person of the Trinity, we can have a personal relationship with the Spirit, like we have a relationship with the Father and the Son. Every day is a chance to be renewed by the Holy Spirit. 

A very simple prayer that was used in the early church was, "Come Holy Spirit." 

"Come, Holy Spirit" is a central invocation in Christianity used in prayers, liturgy, and worship music to invite the presence and guidance of the Holy Spirit." Google AI

9 But avoid foolish controversies and genealogies and arguments and quarrels about the law, because these are unprofitable and useless. 10 Warn a divisive person once, and then warn them a second time. After that, have nothing to do with them. 11 You may be sure that such people are warped and sinful; they are self-condemned.

Once again we see the ugly scourge of legalism which threatened all the churches in the 1st century. Since we are saved by grace, there is no reasons to have arguments about the Law. We have no need to be obsessed with genealogies either.  If our ancestors could have done something to save us, Jesus would not have had to die on the cross for us. 

All of these types of arguments only lead to arguments and division. They do nothing to build up the church, or people in their faith. The Word of God has everything we need for life and godliness. And the Word of God is Jesus. Trying to obey every jot and tittle of the law is a worthless pursuit and only leads to pride. But when our only goal is to follow Jesus and do the things he would do if he were us, we can become the type of person who can be an ambassador of Jesus in the world. 

At a certain point if these type of people will not listen to the admonition of the pastors and elders telling them to stop it, they should be removed from the church. It might sound harsh, but having a divided church is a lot worse. A church in the throes of division and dissension is a completely ineffective church. Satan is the only winner in this situation. 

Final Remarks

12 As soon as I send Artemas or Tychicus to you, do your best to come to me at Nicopolis, because I have decided to winter there. 13 Do everything you can to help Zenas the lawyer and Apollos on their way and see that they have everything they need. 14 Our people must learn to devote themselves to doing what is good, in order to provide for urgent needs and not live unproductive lives. 15 Everyone with me sends you greetings. Greet those who love us in the faith.

Paul closes by recognizing some individuals you may not have heard of. Paul always encouraged each church to do their best to support others from other churches by helping provide for their needs. 

Artemas… Tychicus… Zenas… Apollos: These personal words of Paul – common at the end of his letters – may seem insignificant, but are really very important. They communicate that Paul was a real man in a real world with real friends that he had regular contact with and care for.

“It is natural to suppose Artemas or Tychicus would take the place of Titus as apostolic legate in Crete. This temporary exercise of apostolic superintendence marks a stage in the development of monarchial local episcopacy in the later sense.” (White)

'That they may lack nothing: “The final word concerning occupation shows clearly the duty of members of the Christian Church to contribute to the support of those devoted to the work of the ministry.” (Morgan)

How often do you recognize or ask for the Holy Spirit to be part of our your life? How do you help keep the unity in your church and rebuke those who cause division and dissension?