He Saved Us - Titus 3:1-7

Paul tells Titus to remind the church that grace does not make rebellious people more religiously loud, but makes dead sinners alive and ready for every good work. Titus 3 sets life in the world under the bright light of salvation: submission to rulers, obedience, gentleness, no quarreling, no evil speech, and perfect courtesy toward all people. The little word “for” pulls the whole command back into memory, because the church once was foolish, disobedient, led astray, enslaved to passions, full of malice and envy, hated and hating. God saved a people who had nothing lovable in themselves, nothing that could demand his attention, nothing that could make him say they were worth the cost.

Paul refuses to let Christian obedience become moral posturing, because “for we ourselves were once” humbles every judgment seat the sinner tries to climb onto. The gospel does not teach bad people to become nicer; Christ makes dead sinners alive. God saved his people from their past, gave them a new name, a new identity, and a new image in his beloved Son. Christ does not make temporary contracts, as though salvation lasts only if the saved can keep it. God began the good work, and God will complete it.

The grace of God trains the saved to renounce ungodliness and to live out what God has worked in. Paul’s command to “remind them” assumes forgetful people need steady gospel reminders, not just to relish grace, but to obey with grace applied. Submission is not optional unless obedience to rulers would violate God’s law. Gentleness is not weakness, because Christ, with all power in his hand, hung on the cross and said, “Father, forgive them.”

The goodness and loving kindness of God appeared in the incarnation of Christ. God did not come to help people saving themselves, but to rescue people damning themselves. The three words “he saved us” take the breath away, because salvation came not by righteous works, but according to mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit was not sprinkled in little dabs, but poured out richly through Jesus Christ.

Titus 3 ends with a hopeful future: justified by grace, God’s people become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. Eternal life is not mere endless existence, but knowing the one true God forever. Christ has secured a home where tears, mourning, crying, pain, and death pass away, and the only scars in heaven are on the one who saved.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. Memory keeps mercy near Paul’s word “remind” assumes that forgetfulness is not a small weakness, but a spiritual danger. The church needs repeated gospel memory because obedience grows best where mercy is kept close. God’s grace is not only something to relish in private; God’s grace is also applied in public obedience, good works, and humble conduct. [14:40]
• 2. Former darkness forbids contempt Paul’s phrase “for we ourselves were once” removes every proud seat of judgment. The saved person has no moral platform over the lost person, only a testimony that Christ can save sinners. Compassion does not require agreement with sin, but it does require remembering that grace found the saint in the same deadness and darkness. [23:13]
• 3. Gentleness is strength under control Christ’s gentleness is not softness without conviction, and it is not weakness without power. The cross shows the strongest man who ever lived refusing to revile, refusing to destroy, and praying forgiveness over those who pinned him there. Christian gentleness flows from being handled gently by the Savior first. [20:14]
• 4. Regeneration makes obedience possible The washing of regeneration means God does not merely improve old sinners; God makes them new. The Holy Spirit changes the will, renews the heart, and creates real desire for holiness where there was once slavery to passions. Obedience is not the price paid to get saved, but the life worked out because God has already worked within. [35:29]
• 5. Hope rests on Christ’s scars Eternal life is not a dull forever, but the full joy of knowing God without end. The future inheritance is secured because Christ bore the debt, carried the wounds, and brought his people home by grace. The only scars in heaven will be on the one who saved, and that means every tear, pain, and story of loss will finally be swallowed up.
  
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Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [00:13] - Titus 3:1-7 Reading
• [01:19] - CT Studd and Tribal Revenge
• [04:08] - The Gospel Changes Hearts
• [05:20] - Grace Shapes Life in the World
• [07:07] - Saved From the Past
• [14:05] - Reminded to Obey
• [15:38] - Submission and Good Works
• [19:25] - No Evil Speech or Quarreling
• [20:14] - Christlike Gentleness
• [28:29] - Saved By His Mercy
• [35:29] - Washing and Renewal
• [38:23] - Heirs of Eternal Life
• [43:03] - Only Scars in Heaven

Bible Reading

Titus 3:1-7
“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. For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another. But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, 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, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.” [00:09]

Ephesians 2:1-3
“And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.”

1 Corinthians 6:9-11
“Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.”

Philippians 2:12-13
“Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.”

Revelation 21:3-4
“And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, 'Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.'”

Observation questions

1. In Titus 3:1-2, what specific attitudes and behaviors are believers told to show toward rulers, authorities, and all people? [15:38]
2. In Titus 3:3, what words does Paul use to describe what believers once were before God saved them? [23:29]
3. According to Titus 3:4-6, what actions are credited to God in salvation, and what is specifically denied as the cause of salvation? [34:50]
4. In Titus 3:7, what future blessings are named for those who have been justified by grace? How does Revelation 21:3-4 fill out that picture? [43:24]

Interpretation questions

1. Paul connects the commands of Titus 3:1-2 to the memory of Titus 3:3 with the word “for.” Why does remembering what believers once were help produce humility, gentleness, and courtesy toward unbelieving people? [23:15]
2. Titus 3 says God saved “not because of works done by us in righteousness,” yet believers are also told to be “ready for every good work.” How should that shape the way good works are understood in the Christian life? [13:07]
3. Titus 3:5 speaks of “the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit.” What does that suggest about how deep salvation goes? Is God merely improving behavior, or making a person new? [35:29]
4. Titus 3:7 says believers become “heirs according to the hope of eternal life.” How does that future hope change the way present suffering, regret, or loss should be viewed? [40:08]

Application questions

1. “Remind them” assumes that believers are forgetful and need gospel truth brought near again and again. What truths about God’s mercy are most easy to forget in a hard week, and what regular habits could help keep those truths in front of the heart? [14:40]
2. “For we ourselves were once” leaves no room for a proud or superior spirit. Is there a kind of person toward whom contempt rises quickly—someone immoral, hostile, politically opposite, confusing, or difficult? What would it look like to remember personal need for mercy in that relationship? [22:32]
3. Gentleness is strength under control, not weakness. Where is gentleness hardest right now—in the home, online, at work, in conflict, or with a particular person? What would strength under control look like there this week? [20:57]
4. Believers are called to “speak evil of no one” and “avoid quarreling.” In what settings is the temptation strongest to use sharp words, mocking speech, or constant argument? How can speech become both truthful and gracious? [19:41]
5. Submission to rulers and authorities is not optional except where obedience would require disobedience to God. Is there an area where resistance, cynicism, or anger has replaced prayerful trust? What might it look like to respond with obedience, prayer, and peace instead? [16:47]
6. Regeneration means God has not just patched up the old self but made sinners new. Where is there clear evidence of changed desires, new obedience, or fresh love that could only be explained by God’s work within? [37:19]
7. The hope of eternal life means the present pain is not the end of the story, and the only scars in heaven belong to Christ. What present sorrow, fear, or weariness most needs to be viewed in light of that coming future? [43:03]