Titus 3:3-8 What We Were, and How God Changed Us
What
We Were and How God Changed Us
3
We ourselves were also at one time foolish, disobedient, deceived,
serving various evil desires and pleasures, passing our time being
spiteful, envious, obnoxious, and hating one another.
4
But as soon as the kindness and love of God our Savior toward mankind
appeared,
5
He saved us, not by works of righteousness, which we have done, but
according to his mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal by
the Holy Spirit,
6
Which he abundantly poured out on us through Jesus Christ our Savior,
7
That having been justified by means of his grace, we should be made
heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
8
This is a trustworthy saying, and I want you to insist on them, so
that those who believe in God might be conscientious to keep up good
works. These things are right and beneficial to people.
Notes
B1
Before we believed the Gospel
C1
Sin is defined as
D1
Transgressing God’s law 1 John 3:4 NIV Everyone
who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness.
D2
Unrighteousness 1 John 5:17 NIV All
wrongdoing is sin, and there is sin that does not lead to death.
D3
Knowing what is right, but refusing to do: James 4:17 NIV If
anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn't do it, it
is sin for them.
D4
Anything not of faith (believing God): Romans 14:23 GNB But
if they have doubts about what they eat, God condemns them when they
eat it, because their action is not based on faith. And anything that
is not based on faith is sin.
D5
Foolish plans as here: Proverbs 24:9 GNB Any
scheme a fool thinks up is sinful. People hate a person who has
nothing but scorn for others.
C2
Penalty and punishment are necessary
C3
All humans are addicted to sin. We are enslaved. John
8:34, Romans 6:12-20, Titus 3:3
C4
The characteristics of the human addicted to sin
D1
Pride
D2
The lie of believing ourselves to be good
D3
The lie that we can overcome sin on our own strength
D4
Blind and in darkness to truth and the
reality of our condition
D5
The free will is hindered because of our
addiction to sin
D6
We are addicted to what is pleasurable to us
D7
We do
the opposite of the Ten Commandments
E1
We have other gods, namely ourselves
E2
We have idols of some type of material or imagination
E3
We blaspheme God’s character
E4
We don’t rest from anything to worship the creator, the King of the
Universe (and beyond).
E5
We don’t honor our parents
E6
We commit sexual sins
E7
We steal
E8
We murder
E9
We lie
E10
We covet
D8
If we sin 10 times a day, then in one year,
we break God’s law 3,650 times every
year. Each sin
will receive the death penalty. Some protest that it is not fair to
suffer for eternity for committing one lie, but they forget or are
ignorant that God, the King of the Universe, warns them that one sin
will receive this penalty. James 2:10 NLT For
the person who keeps all of the laws except one is as guilty as a
person who has broken all of God's laws.
D9
The penalty (and God warns us) is death. Death is spiritual and
physical. The spiritual death of the unconverted is spiritual,
emotional, intellectual, and physical resulting in physical death and
eventually eternal death of torment in
fire.
E1
Genesis 2:17 CSB but you must not eat
from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for on the day you
eat from it, you will certainly die.
E2
We earn something for what we work for. The wages of sin in death.
Romans 6:23 CSB For
the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in
Christ Jesus our Lord.
E3
Works count, but all have sinned.
Punishment is eternal: Revelation 20:12, 14-15 CSB I
also saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the
throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the
book of life, and the dead were judged according to their works by
what was written in the books. ... 14 Death and Hades were thrown
into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. 15
And anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was
thrown into the lake of fire.
E4
Matthew 25:46 NLT And they will go away
into eternal punishment, but the righteous will go into eternal life.
D10
All these sins are done in thoughts,
desires, words, and/or deeds. Matthew 5:28 NLT But
I say, anyone who even looks at a woman with lust has already
committed adultery with her in his heart.
D11
People have different levels of how evil
they are. Some are more evil than others.
D12
We show our sin by actions. People live the
way they believe. What they say is not necessarily
what anyone really believes. Some of these actions are shown in our
passage. ... foolish, disobedient,
deceived, serving various evil desires and pleasures, passing our
time being spiteful, envious, obnoxious, and hating one another.
D13
We do not and we can not seek God. We are enslaved to our sins.
E1
Romans 3:11 WEL There is no one who is
understanding, there is no one seeking for God.
(See Romans 3:10-18).
E2
John 8:34 NLT Jesus replied, "I
tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave of sin.
D14
All are sinning.
D15
All will be judged.
D16
All will be found guilty.
D17
All will die.
D18
All will be sentenced to eternity suffering
as our punishment.
D19
The salvation that is offered is because God is kind and loves us
enough to genuinely offer it.
B2
After we believed the Gospel
C1
What God does
D1
God initiates salvation. If God does not, then no one will be saved.
John 16:8 and John
6:44
D2
God in His sovereign power frees the will from darkness, blindness,
ignorance, etc. to understand our sin and God’s punishment. Acts
16:14
D3
Having a freed will, God presents the Gospel through the preaching of
it. 1 Corinthians 1:21
D4
One can then believe or not believe, resist or not resist, comply
or refuse the Holy Spirit of God. God has
freed our will, that is, given us the ability to make a choice or
contrary choice. Acts 7:51, Isaiah
63:10, Isaiah 1:20
D5
If one believes, then God gives new life (regeneration), the earnest
of the Holy Spirit, forgiveness of sins, eternal life, etc. 2
Corinthians 5:17
D6
All sin must be punished. Romans 6:23 and
Romans 1:18
D7
Either I can be punished or someone else.
D8
If someone else is chosen, they must be sinless. Otherwise, they are
being punished for their own sin.
D9
Jesus, Son of God and Son of Man, is sinless. 2
Corinthians 5:21 and Hebrews 4:15
D10
Jesus is the Passover Lamb. He did this
only one time. 1 Corinthians 5:7 and
Hebrews 9:28
D11
The blood of Jesus paid penalty. 1 Peter
1:2, Hebrews 12:24, Ephesians 1:7
D12
Jesus suffered for our sins bearing the
wrath of God. 1 Peter 2:24 and 1
Peter 3:18
D12
Salvation is not something earned. Our
passage shows this. Faith is not a work.
D13
Jesus raised from the dead proving He is
God, He is sinless, and He has paid that penalty successfully. Romans
1:3-4
D14
Jesus lives forever to make intercession for believers. Hebrews
7:25
D15
If we drift and finally and forever deny Jesus Christ, we will be
apostate and go to eternal punishment. It is rare but does happen.
When it happens? Only God knows. Let us stay in the grace of God.
Hebrews 6:4-6 and Hebrews 10:26-31
C2
Characteristics of the regenerated
D1
Fruit of the Spirit. These are not something is ourselves but a fruit
of the Holy Spirit working in our life. Galatians
5:22-23
D2
We are sanctified.
We are separated from addiction and slavery
to sin to be separated to God for serving Him, His kingdom, and His
will.
E1
Instant and completed sanctification when believing is justification.
Acts 26:18, 1 Corinthians 6:11, Hebrews
10:26
E2
The Holy Spirit's
continuous teaching and convicting
is a ongoing work of sanctification. This is progressive
sanctification. 2 Corinthians 7:1
and 1 Thessalonians 4:3
E3
Instant and completed sanctification after physical death is
glorification. Romans 8:30, Philippians
3:20-21
D3
God frees us from our
sins. Romans 6:7
D4
His grace gives us the grace and power to know His will and do it.
Philippians 2:13
D5
The gift of the Holy Spirit who works in our lives Romans 8:7-9
B3
Verse 5 He
saved us, not by works of righteousness, which we have done, but
according to his mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal by
the Holy Spirit,
C1
Works of righteousness do not save us from
God’s wrath. Isaiah 64:6
C2
Faith is not works. The Scripture states it so: Romans 4:2-4 LEB For
if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about,
but not before God. 3 For what does the scripture say? "And
Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him for righteousness."
4 Now to the one who works, his pay is not credited according to
grace, but according to his due.
C3
Mercy is receiving what we do not deserve. We deserve the wrath of
God, but the Lord Jesus, the Son of God and Son of Man, received
God’s wrath for us.
C4
Washing of regeneration and renewal
D1
These are the work of the Holy Spirit John
1:12-13, 1 Corinthians 6:11, Romans
6:3-9 (baptism does not make one saved, it is the result of being
saved and then identified with Jesus Christ).
D2
Renewal. What was dead in now alive.
Colossians 3:10, Psalm 51:10, Ephesians
2:4-7
B4
Verse 6 Which he abundantly poured out on us through
Jesus Christ our Savior,
C1
Not just a little but much
C2
Done in love, wisdom, and holiness
B5
Verse 7 That having been justified by means of his grace, we
should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
C1
Justification is instant sanctification accomplished entirely by God
for those who believe in His son Jesus Christ.
C2
It is God’s grace, not our work
C3
God made us heirs of a heavenly kingdom Romans 8:17, Galatians 3:29,
Ephesians 3:6
B6
Verse 8 This
is a trustworthy saying, and I want you to insist on them, so that
those who believe in God might be conscientious to keep up good
works. These things are right and beneficial to people.
C1
Good works glorify
God. So the works we do must be works that are approved by
Go.
Stealing to help the poor would not qualify as
a good work.
C2
The good works we do are first for our family, then for our local
brothers and sisters, then for our other brothers and sisters
worldwide, and finally as a witness to those who do not believe.
C3
It must be a work that we can do. Some can give money, food, clothes,
necessities. Some can give in labor as cleaning, repairing, running
errands, etc. All can pray, but for some that is all they are able to
do.
B7
Philippians 1:9-11 GNB I
pray that your love will keep on growing more and more, together with
true knowledge and perfect judgment, 10 so that you will be
able to choose what is best. Then you will be free from all impurity
and blame on the Day of Christ. 11 Your lives will be filled
with the truly good qualities which only Jesus Christ can produce,
for the glory and praise of God.
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