Titus 3:3-8

Why should we as Christians show grace to outsiders? Take a look at Titus 3:3-8. Verse 3 reminds us that we once were foolish. We were saved by God’s mercy and grace according to verses 4-7. God’s goodness and lovingkindness appeared (vs 4). He saved, washed, regenerated, and renewed us by mercy, not works (vs 5). He richly poured out his Holy Spirit on us (vs 6). We are justified and given an eternal hope by grace (vs 7). Read verses 4-7 of Titus chapter 3,

[4] But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, [5] he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, [6] whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, [7] so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

As believers we love these verses. We love the clear expression of the gospel. God saved us. Our salvation is not based on works, but on God’s own mercy. Our salvation resulted in our being washed clean, God breathing his new life into us, and our being made new by the indwelling Holy Spirit. All of this has been liberally and abundantly poured out in our lives through Christ. Our salvation is all of grace with an eternal expectation. There is nothing of us in it. It is all by God’s grace. We love this truth. What we don’t do is read it in its context.

Paul is not writing these things so that Titus will be clear on the gospel. Titus already knew the gospel. He is not writing these things because he is writing a treatise on the gospel. That is not the purpose of this letter. He is not even writing these things to explain what healthy doctrine is. He did that in chapter 2. He is writing these things to remind us of how we are to live in the context of a blind, broken, sinful world.

We are to live lives characterized by “every good work” (Tit 3:1). That good work is to be expressed for the benefit of “all men” (Tit 3:2). Why? Why should we be nice to unbelievers? Why should we do good works for the benefit of sinners? Why should we willingly place ourselves under the authority of governments and authorities? Shouldn’t we just cut ourselves off from a sinful world? Why would we even associate with them? Because we too were once as blind, and broken, and sinful as they are, and because the changes that occurred in our lives was all by the grace of God..

We were not transformed by our own works. We did not clean up our act and become acceptable. We did nothing to bring new life, clean living, or Holy Spirit power into our lives. It was all an act of mercy and grace on the part of God. As representatives of God in a blind, broken, sinful world, we are to reflect that same mercy and that same grace toward others. These verses in Titus 3 do not explain how we ought to live inside the church. They explain how we ought to live outside the church. They remind us of the grace and mercy of God, and they call us to be as gracious, grace filled, and merciful toward outsiders as God has been toward us. When they see grace in us they are drawn to grace in Him. We should therefore do good works for the benefit of outsiders.