Titus 3:1-2 - Gospel Living

Titus 3:1-2 (ESV)

Remind them to be submissive to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work, to speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all people.

Wow! That’s some list. Imagine what our church experience would be like if we actually did these things. This is written in the context of the gospel. Sandwiched between references to the gospel in chapters two and three are these verses about what gospel living looks like. How often we excuse ourselves from these character qualities that Titus is to remind the Cretan believers about. We are submissive to rulers and authorities as long as we agree with them. We are obedient if it makes sense to us. We are ready for every good work as long as it doesn’t inconvenience us too much. We speak evil of no one except those who deserve to be spoken evil of. We avoid quarreling until we can’t take it any longer. We are gentle and show perfect courtesy to all people who deserve it. But that’s not what the text says. There are no qualifications, no exceptions, no exemptions. This is what the Christian life is to look like. This is what Christ’s life looks like. Maybe we should pay attention. Maybe the world would be convinced that what we believe is actually true if they actually saw us living it out.  Maybe we should treat others as God has treated us through gospel of Jesus Christ.