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Come with me in your Bibles to 
Titus chapter 3. Titus 3 as we continue to move 
through this epistle of Paul to Titus. Our focus this evening 
will be on verses 4 to 8, but I'll begin reading in chapter 
3 at verse 1 and read to the end of the chapter. remind them 
to be subject to rulers and authorities, to obey, to be ready for every 
good work, to speak evil of no one, to be peaceable, gentle, 
showing all humility to all men. For we ourselves were also once 
foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving various lusts and pleasures, 
living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another. But when 
the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, 
not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according 
to His mercy, He saved us through the washing of regeneration and 
renewing of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us abundantly 
through Jesus Christ our Savior, that having been justified by 
His grace, we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal 
life. This is a faithful saying, and these things I want you to 
affirm constantly, that those who have believed in God should 
be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable 
to men. But avoid foolish disputes, genealogies, 
contentions, and strivings about the law, for they are unprofitable 
and useless. Reject a divisive man after the 
first and second admonition, knowing that such a person is 
warped and sinning, being self-condemned. When I send Artemis to you, or 
Tychicus, be diligent to come to me at Nicopolis, for I have 
decided to spend the winter there. Send Zenos, the lawyer, and Apollos 
on their journey with haste, that they may lack nothing. And 
let our people also learn to maintain good works, to meet 
urgent needs, that they may not be unfruitful. All who are with 
me greet you. Greet those who love us in the 
faith. Grace be with you all. Amen. Well, let us again ask 
the Lord's blessing. Father, thank you for the written 
word of the living and true God. Thank you for this wonderful 
section of Holy Scripture that gives us a great glimpse at the 
salvation that is ours in our Lord Jesus Christ. Certainly 
you have taken care of all things necessary to secure our everlasting 
life. We give praise to You for the 
Son of Your love. We give praise to You for the 
ministry of the Holy Spirit. And we would ask even now that 
You would guide our thoughts, that You would instruct our hearts 
and minds, and that You would fill us with thanksgiving, with 
gratitude, and with praise, and worship, and adoration to such 
a good God. We pray now for forgiveness from 
all of our sins and transgression, and for the aid and the ministry 
of Your Holy Spirit. And we ask through Jesus Christ 
our Lord. Amen. Well, as we look at this 
particular section, there is a reason why Paul does what he 
does in verses 4 to 7 in terms of the salvation wrought for 
the sons of men. It does connect with verses 1 
and 2 and the duty and responsibility that believers have first toward 
the civil government, verse 1, and then toward all men, verse 
2. Essentially, what the argument is, in terms of the context, 
is that God's grace has enabled the people of God to engage in 
the sort of conduct they're called to do in verses 1 and 2. That is the very obvious sort 
of connection. As well, when they treat civil 
government and they treat all men in the manner prescribed, 
they are rightly reflecting the God of grace who has treated 
them with such loving kindness and with such mercy. Remember 
the specific responsibilities that are ours in verses 1 and 
2. Remind them to be subject to 
rulers and authorities, to obey, to be ready for every good work. 
With reference to that, we can because God has saved us. And 
as well, we should because God has saved us, and we are now 
representatives of that living and true God. Therefore, our 
conduct must be consistent. He goes on to say in verse 2, 
to speak evil of no one, to be peaceable, gentle, showing all 
humility to all men. Again, God's grace overcame our 
waywardness, God's grace manifested in His kindness to us, then is 
the marching order for the way that we are to conduct ourselves 
toward others. I think it's always very wise 
to tether a particular passage of Scripture with reference to 
the context so we see why the Apostle is arguing the way that 
he is. Now I wanna look at this section, 
verses four to eight, under three heads. First, the appearance 
of God's love in verse four. Second, the application of God's 
grace in verses five to seven. And then finally, the affirmation 
of God's word in verse eight. So those three things we'll look 
at as our meditation before we participate in the supper. In 
the first place, note that there is a contrast as we look at the 
appearance of God's love. There is a what we were, verse 
3, and what we've now become, verses 4 to 7. In fact, Gil says 
the apostle takes the advantage of the above character of himself, 
that described in verse 3, and others in their former state 
to set off and magnify the grace of God in their conversion. And 
this is not something unique to this situation. We know that 
Ephesians 2, 1 to 4, for instance, this is what we were, but God 
has made us alive in Christ Jesus. You see a similar sort of a contrast 
in Romans chapter 6. You see one in Colossians chapter 
3. It is much the case that when we reflect upon what we were 
and what we have become, All glory is given to God alone. 
It magnifies free grace. It doesn't celebrate free will 
on our part. It doesn't celebrate good works 
on our part, but rather it is a celebration and a recognition 
of God's abundant grace to us. Now note the declaration that 
Paul makes in verse 4. He says, But when the kindness 
and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, We see parallels 
even in the immediate context. Look at chapter 2, verse 11. 
For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all 
men. There I take it as all kinds of men. The grace of God that 
brings salvation has appeared to all kinds of men. Young men, 
old men. Young women, old women. kings, 
those who are in authority, from 1 Timothy chapter 2, and it's 
more of a general reference. But here in verse 4, the manifestation, 
or the appearance rather, of God's kindness and love is directly 
connected to the elect. It is directly connected to those 
who are redeemed by sovereign grace, and it is a beautiful 
statement concerning what God does in the Gospel. In the first 
place, notice the perfections in view. He says, "...but when 
the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared." 
The two perfections in view are God's kindness, His goodness, 
and His love. Calvin says he has with propriety 
assigned the first rank to goodness. Our translation reads kindness, 
it's the same word. He has with propriety assigned 
the first rank to goodness, which prompts God to love us. For God 
will never find in us anything which he ought to love, but he 
loves us because he is good and merciful. That's the consistent 
emphasis and testimony of Holy Scripture. He says it clearly 
in Galatians. We love Him because He first 
loved us. We were dead in our trespasses 
and sins. We were undone. We were estranged. We were rebel sinners, transgressors, 
lackers of conformity under God's law. Now that we love God, it's 
a reality, or the reality is that it's because He first loved 
us. And then with reference to the 
particular person in view in terms of the manifestation of 
glory, it says, when the kindness and the love of God, our Savior, 
toward man appeared. Typically, when we read of God 
in the New Testament, not always, but pretty much consistently, 
it's the Father. So it's the manifestation of 
the Father's kindness and love in the sending of the Son of 
His love. Now, all three persons of the 
Trinity are equal in power and glory. All three persons of the 
Trinity are responsible for the acts of God ad extra. Those are 
those things outside of God. But oftentimes in Scripture, 
we see a particular act ascribed to a particular person amongst 
the persons of the Trinity. That's called appropriation. 
And I think that that's what Paul is doing in several places 
in his letters. But also notice the interchangeability. In this epistle, we read that 
Jesus Christ is our Savior, and we read that God the Father is 
our Savior. Again, the interchangeability 
is based on the reality of the triunity of God Almighty. We can refer to the Father as 
our Savior. We can refer to the Lord Jesus, 
I almost said the Savior, as our Savior. We can refer to the 
Lord Jesus as our Savior, and there is a sense as well where 
we can refer to the Holy Spirit as our Savior. And then notice 
the time of appearance. When did this kindness and love 
appear? But when the kindness and the 
love of God our Savior toward man appeared. I don't think any 
of us would discount or negate the reality that creation manifests 
God's kindness and as well God's love. There is a general benevolent 
love that God has for his creation. And so if we look at creation, 
we can see kindness and love from God exhibited in and through 
the creation. We also see it in providence. 
God causes all things to work out for good to those who love 
him, to those who are the called according to his purpose. I think 
we'd all confess, yes, in God's providential dealings toward 
us, I appreciate his kindness and his love. But the primary 
emphasis is on the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is 
when Christ came, the incarnation, the life of obedience, the death 
at Calvary, the resurrection the third day, That is the grand 
manifestation of the kindness and the love of God. John 3, 
16 tells us, God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten 
son. Romans 5, 8 tells us that God 
demonstrates his own love toward us and that while we were still 
sinners, Christ died for us. 2 Timothy 1, verse 9, very much 
a parallel to this particular section, says the same thing. 
When Christ comes, it manifests the kindness and the love of 
God Almighty. And so Paul is highlighting that 
by way of an encouragement to the people of God to indicate 
that the salvation wrought, the benefits that we enjoy, come 
as a result of God's kindness and love. In other words, he 
wants us to stand in awe of those perfections of the living and 
true God. Now brethren, if we get the gospel 
wrong, then we will most likely get those perfections wrong. 
It is the gospel of free and sovereign grace. It is the gospel 
that we find throughout Scripture that shines forth and brightly 
the kindness and love of God. If we twist the gospel, if we 
distort the gospel, if we set up obstacles in front of the 
cross, then we are minimizing those particular perfections 
of our great God. We will not fully appreciate 
kindness and love until we see the fullness and the graciousness 
and the goodness and the kindness of God in the gospel of his son. That book that we're reading 
by Sinclair Ferguson, he indicates that the marrow controversy of 
the marrow man were about that very thing. Bad understanding 
of the Christian gospel promotes a bad understanding of the nature 
and being of God. If we twist things with reference 
to the cross, we twist things with reference to the being of 
God Almighty. And so it is imperative that 
we get this right because we want to stand in awe of the manifold 
perfections of God Almighty. It's not just kindness and love. 
There's a whole host of things that we say concerning God that 
the Bible tells us. But if we get the gospel wrong, 
all of that will be distorted. If we get the gospel wrong, all 
of that will be twisted. If we get the gospel wrong, we 
will not fully appreciate the God of the Bible. And so we need 
to get the gospel right. So let's move on, secondly, to 
the application of God's grace. I wanna look here at the fact 
of salvation, and then the basis of salvation, and then the means 
involved in salvation. But when we look at the fact, 
if you look at verses five, well, verses four to seven is one sentence 
in the Greek New Testament. It's a long sentence and there's 
a lot going on. But when you look at verse five, 
the simple sentence, the main point is He saved us. Everything surrounding that modifies, 
explains, and amplifies that central point. So look with me 
at verse 5. He says, not by works of righteousness, 
which we have done, but according to His mercy, here's the main 
thought, He saved us. So Paul is imitating the consistent 
testimony of Holy Scripture. Jonah chapter 2. What does Jonah 
cry out concerning God? He says salvation is of the Lord. I mentioned Luke 19.10 this morning, 
the salvation of Zacchaeus. The people grumble because Zacchaeus 
is saved, but the Lord Jesus says the Son of Man came to seek 
and to save that which was lost. So Paul says he saved us, and 
that is consistent with the testimony of Scripture. I just mentioned 
Romans 5.8. We ought to consider 5.8 and 
9. God demonstrates his own love 
toward us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for 
us. Much more than having now been 
justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. 
Ephesians 2 8 for by grace you have been saved through faith 
and that not of yourselves the consistent refrain and testimony 
in scripture is he saved us and we ought to rejoice in that as 
we eat this bread as we drink this cup as we rehearse the great 
facts of the mission of the messiah we ought to stand in awe that 
he saved us he god saved not tried to help or tried to save 
but actually saved us, sinners, persons that were in abject rebellion 
against Him, persons that ran from Him, persons that like sheep 
had gone astray, and nevertheless He sought us, He found us, He 
washed us, He cleansed us, He gave us a righteousness. He, 
in short, has saved us. 2 Timothy chapter 1, just alluded 
to that, you can turn there, verse 9. Who has saved us? We'll look at verse 8. Therefore, 
do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me, his prisoner, 
but share with me in the sufferings for the gospel according to the 
power of God, who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, 
not according to our works, but according to his own purpose 
and grace, which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time 
began. but has now been revealed by 
the appearing of our Savior, Jesus Christ, who has abolished 
death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. 
You see, again, this constant refrain in Scripture, He saved 
us. Back to Titus. Titus chapter 
2, verse 14, speaking of Jesus Christ, our great God and Savior, 
who gave Himself for us that He might redeem us from every 
lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous 
for good works, and then turn to the book of Revelation. Two 
passages there that underscore this blessed reality that God 
saved us. If you're ever feeling proud, 
if you're ever feeling pleased with yourself, reflect on this 
refrain. Pride, in light of our salvation, 
has no place in the Christian heart. Rather, glory given to 
God Most High is the proper response. It's not guilt, grace, and then 
pride. It's guilt, grace, and then gratitude. We need to fill our hearts and 
minds with this blessed reality so that we will respond to God 
in a manner that is consistent with the gracious salvation that 
He has conveyed upon us. Revelation 5, 8. Now when he 
had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the 24 elders 
fell down before the lamb, each having a harp and golden bowls 
full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. And they 
sang a new song saying, you are worthy to take the scroll and 
to open its seals for you were slain and have redeemed us to 
God by your blood out of every tribe and tongue and people and 
nation and have made us kings and priests to our God. And we 
shall reign on the earth. It's a beautiful thing, isn't 
it? They're not patting themselves on the back that they've been 
included in the messianic kingdom. There's no self-congratulatory 
assertion of their ability or of their good works. No, they 
give praise to God. Turn over to Revelation 7. At 
verse 9, "'After these things I looked, and behold, a great 
multitude which no one could number.'" Isn't that encouraging? 
Doesn't that make you want to go out and preach the gospel? 
Doesn't that make you want to go out and testify, witness, 
evangelize? It's not the case that there's 
going to be just this tiny little handful of people that fall into 
the new Jerusalem. But rather, there's a great multitude 
that no man can number. Never let anybody discount that 
reality. Never let anybody wag their finger 
and say, well, I think that a church that's beyond 20 is just not 
a good representative of how heaven is going to look. No, 
it's not. We should have a lot more than 20, not because numbers 
are important, but because numbers represent souls that are heading 
either to hell or to heaven. But back in 790, he says, After 
these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude, which no one 
could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, 
standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with 
white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out 
with a loud voice, saying, Salvation belongs to our God who sits on 
the throne and to the Lamb. Again, there's no self-congratulatory 
anthem on the part of the redeemed saying, we did good things. We 
chose for Jesus. When our heads were bowed and 
our eyes were closed, we shot up our hands. We chose. We did 
good work. That's not it at all. Salvation 
belongs to our God and to the Lamb who sits on the throne. 
That's Paul's point in Titus chapter 3 at verse 5. Going back 
there, now let's look at the basis of salvation. As I said, 
the main sentence is in the middle of verse 5. He saved us. Now with reference to the basis, 
there is a denial and there is an affirmation. First, there 
is a denial. It is not by works of righteousness 
which we have done. In other words, we're not saved 
because of our works of righteousness. The tense that is used and the 
construction that is used is a bit difficult. Are they works 
that we did prior to our lives as Christians, or are they works 
that we do in our lives as Christians? Well, if they were works that 
were done prior to our lives as Christians, they wouldn't 
be called works of righteousness because we don't have any. But 
with reference to the latter, there are those who teach that 
election looks this way. God looks down the tunnel of 
time, and he sees that you and I are going to believe, and that 
when we believe, we're going to do good things consistent 
with that belief. So those are the ones that God 
predestines. Those are the ones that God elects. 
That is false. That is not the way it is whatsoever. Blessed be the God and Father 
of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual 
blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as he chose us 
in him from before the foundation of the world. that we should 
be holy and blameless. He doesn't choose us because 
we're holy and blameless. He chooses us unto holiness and 
blamelessness. So probably the referent here, 
not by works of righteousness, which we have done, figures both 
those things we did prior to conversion and those things we 
do after conversion. George Knight says, Paul is telling 
the Christians that neither their present good works, Nor any pre-Christian 
efforts at Good Works are the basis for God's kindness and 
love toward them and for God saving them. It isn't what we've 
done that has brought us into this place. It is not the activities 
that we've engaged in that have made us saved or saveable. Rather, it is God's grace and 
God's mercy. Now, how do we prove that? Well, 
I would suggest the rest of the Bible, starting at Genesis and 
moving all the way to the book of Revelation. A constant refrain 
in Scripture is, He saved us, but another constant refrain 
in Scripture is that we sin. We are totally depraved and we 
are totally unable to merit God's favor. But we don't need to start 
at Genesis and move all the way to Revelation. We simply need 
to read verse 3. Look at what he says, for we 
ourselves were also once foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving 
various lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful 
and hating one another. Those are not the kinds of people 
that help God save them. Those are not the kinds of people 
that are savable in terms of an addition to God's grace. Those 
are the kinds of people that are justly liable to God's wrath 
and curse, both in this life and that which is to come. The 
doctrine of total depravity and total inability is obviously 
here in verse 3. Again, from Genesis to Revelation, 
this is a constant refrain. So it is not according to our 
works of righteousness. Moving through the book of Acts, 
we have had cause to reflect on the doctrine of justification 
by faith alone. And in many of those sermons, 
and in many of our sermons outside of the book of Acts, we have 
shown that it's not by works that sinners come into the life 
of salvation. And so Paul underscores that 
in this place. So that's the denial, but then 
notice the affirmation. Verse five again, he says, not 
by works of righteousness, which we have done, but, and this is 
what's called a strong adversative. It's a big but, in the sense 
that that didn't sound right. It is a strong adversative. Not this, but that. There's a 
softer but in the, well, it's just a horrible sort of analogy 
here, but there's another Greek word, de, when there's not as 
strong of an adversative effect. But Paul uses the strongest here. 
It's not this way, but it's because of this. And He does that in 
this instance because of the great contrast. It's not our 
works that brought us into the sphere of salvation. It's God's 
mercy that brought us into the sphere of salvation. He says, 
not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according 
to His mercy, He saved us. The impossibility of salvation 
based on our works is overcome by the blessed reality of salvation 
that results from the mercy of God Almighty. So we could never 
do it in our own strength. We could never achieve that blessed 
reality of salvation in Christ with our own works or contribution. It is owing to the mercy of God 
that was manifested in the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. I thought 
of Micah 7.18 when I was reflecting upon this. He says, who is a 
God like you? Now, the name Micah means just 
that, who is a god like you. So he says at the end of his 
prophecy, who is a god like you? Pardoning iniquity and passing 
over the transgression of the remnant of his heritage. He does 
not retain his anger forever. Why? because he delights in mercy. So it's not our works, but it's 
owing to the mercy of God Almighty. John Gill says, the mercy of 
God is natural and essential to him, but the actings and exercise 
of it toward this or the other object are sovereign and free 
and according to his will. So he owes us nothing. He is 
not indebted to us. The salvation that is wrought, 
the He-saved-us motif, not according to our works of righteousness, 
but according to His mercy, underscores sovereign grace, underscores, 
again, the inability of man, the depravity of man, and the 
sufficiency of God Almighty to overcome those problems and bring 
us into this state of salvation by grace through faith in Christ 
Jesus our Lord. Now let's look thirdly under 
this hat at the means involved in salvation. Notice what he 
goes on to say in verse 5. He says, through the washing 
of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit. Some of this, 
again, it's very dense, it's very tightly packed, and some 
things aren't as clear, perhaps, as other statements in Scripture. 
I'm going to do the best I can with this. Notice the emphasis. 
He says, through the washing of regeneration and renewing 
of the Holy Spirit. I must dispatch or dispense quickly 
with the idea that this is water baptism. Some commentators, some 
theologians, some Christians see that this is a reference 
to water baptism. Now, if we want to say that water 
baptism visibly represents God's regeneration and all that sort 
of thing, I don't have a problem with that. But I don't think 
that's what's in view in this particular passage. As we begin 
to look at the means of salvation, or the means in our salvation, 
he is speaking about this act of regeneration. where God makes 
dead sinners alive. We just read about it at the 
outset of worship in Ezekiel chapter 36, and especially Ezekiel 
chapter 36, verses 25 to 27. I'll just reread that. He says, 
Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean. 
I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your 
idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within 
you. I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give 
you a heart of flesh. I will put my spirit within you 
and cause you to walk in my statutes, and you will keep my judgments 
and do them." Now, when we look back at what Paul says, he says, 
through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit. 
Again, I take this as a reference to one act, looked at from two 
different vantage points. When we review what we just read 
there in Ezekiel 36, there is this dying to sins, there is 
this washing from sin, and there is now this aliveness to God. Theology refers to this as mortification 
and vivification. dying in the one hand and living 
on the other hand. And I think that's what's represented 
here by the two terms that Paul uses. Through the washing of 
regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit. We oftentimes, 
or we typically, refer the word of regeneration to the Spirit 
of God. We do that based ultimately on John chapter 3, when Nicodemus 
comes to our Lord and Jesus says, for man to enter into the kingdom 
of heaven, he must be born again. And then Nicodemus is inquisitive 
about this, and then Jesus chides him, he upbraids him, he reproves 
him. It's not a harsh, vicious sort 
of launching into him, but he says to him, you're the teacher 
of Israel and you don't know these things? Well, the reference 
is Ezekiel 36, the reality that God will sprinkle water on them 
to cleanse them from their sin. The reality that he will take 
the old stony heart out and put in a new fleshly heart. That's 
regeneration. That's what Jesus meant. Unless 
a man is born again, he shall not see the kingdom of heaven. 
Why? Because he's dead in his trespasses 
and sins. God must make us alive. He must 
grant us the graces of faith and repentance. This precedes 
faith and repentance. It is the act of God wherein 
He makes us alive. And so Paul says that this is 
what happened with reference to the Holy Spirit. The Holy 
Spirit is the agent, the one by whom we are washed the washing of regeneration and 
renewing of the Holy Spirit. We see regeneration as well. 
The language may not be present in some of these other passages, 
but certainly the concept is. 1 Corinthians 6, 11, Ephesians 
5, 26, James 1, 18, of His own will, He brought us forth by 
the word of truth. Again, the word regeneration 
isn't present, but that's the concept, that's the theme. We 
were dead, God brought us forth, not only did he regenerate us, 
not only did he deal with the sin issue from the past, but 
there is this renewal now by the presence and the power of 
the Holy Spirit, wherein he is conforming us onto our Lord Jesus 
Christ. And as I said, he ascribes this 
to the spirit. through the washing of regeneration 
and renewing of the Holy Spirit. Never think that there's only 
one passage in the Bible that teaches the doctrine of the Trinity. 
The Father is here, the Spirit is here, and the Spirit comes 
from our Lord Jesus Christ. So all three persons of the Godhead 
are present in the salvation of sinners. All three persons 
of the Godhead are present from Genesis chapter 1, 1, all the 
way through Revelation chapter 22. It's not just Matthew 28 
that we say, there's the doctrine of the Trinity. But the Bible 
is Trinitarian to the core, because that's who our God is. Blessed 
triune God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. And again, the works 
of God are ascribed to all three persons, but at times appropriated 
to one particular person. We think of the Holy Spirit in 
the sanctification of his people. Well, that doesn't mean the Father 
and the Savior aren't active in the sanctification of His 
people, but that's what Scripture does so that we learn something 
about each of the three persons and so that we may know more 
fully our blessed God. So before you say, well, the 
doctrine of the Trinity is just too hard, just read your Bible. 
Read it consistently. Read it faithfully. Read it with 
an inquisitive mind. Read it to learn of your God, 
because ultimately that's the essence of eternal life, that 
they may know Thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom 
Thou hast sent. The Holy Spirit is sent by Jesus. Notice, whom He poured out on 
us abundantly through Jesus Christ, our Savior. Remember in the book 
of Acts. Acts chapter 2, I know that's going back quite a ways, 
but in Acts chapter 2, the Spirit comes powerfully upon the church 
in accordance with the prophecy in Joel, Joel 2, 28. So the Spirit 
comes and the people start speaking in tongues. And then Peter takes 
the opportunity to explain the significance behind this, and 
he preaches Jesus Christ, his person and his word. And then 
he ascribes to Christ the authority and the power of having poured 
out the Spirit in Acts 2.33. And so I think we ought to learn 
that every redemptive benefit that comes to us comes because 
of Christ. Christ is the mediator of the 
New Covenant. Christ is the prophet, priest, 
and king, and Christ does supply everything that we need right 
down to the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in abundance and 
in fullness so that we may know the blessed joy of being found 
in Christ Jesus. So we have this washing of regeneration 
and renewing of the Holy Spirit, that Holy Spirit whom Jesus poured 
out on us abundantly. And then secondly, in terms of 
the sort of means involved in our salvation, the act of justification 
by God's grace. Verse seven, that having been 
justified by his grace, we should become heirs according to the 
hope of eternal life. So in just a very short compass, 
Paul's getting it all in there, isn't he? This is an ordo salutis. This is an amazing reality. These are the sorts of benefits 
that you and I have received. These are the blessings that 
Paul speaks of when he says, blessed be the God and father, 
of our Lord Jesus, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing 
in the heavenly places in Christ. We have justification, we have 
sanctification, we have glorification in our future. And so he says 
we are justified by his grace. Now some say, well where's faith 
in all of this? Faith is in verse 8, those who 
have believed in God. But faith is also present at 
the beginning of verse 5. When you compare Romans, the 
exclusion of works is based on the principle of grace through 
faith. And so that's the emphasis here. 
We are justified by His grace. And of course, justification 
in that wonderful statement by the Westminster Confession, our 
catechism says, justification is an act of God's free grace 
wherein He pardons all our sins and accepts us as righteous in 
His sight. It's a beautiful thing. He forgives 
us and accepts us as righteous in His sight, only for the righteousness 
of Christ imputed to us and received by faith alone. So when we see 
He saved us, that's the simple sentence. That's the declaration, 
the statement that Paul wants to get across. but He surrounds 
it by amplifying and by giving us these multifacets and these 
details so that we can stand in awe and rejoice over the goodness 
of our God in the salvation of sinners. And then notice the 
blessedness of that inheritance. He says, justified by His grace, 
we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. John Gill says, eternal life 
is an inheritance, and so is not acquired by labor and industry, 
nor purchased, but is a free gift. It is a bequest of God 
the Father to His children of His own free good will and pleasure. Beautiful. It's not our deeds, 
it's not our works, it's not our strivings and our doings 
and our accomplishments, but it's according to God's mercy. It's according to the washing 
of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, which has been 
poured out abundantly on us through Jesus Christ our Lord. We are 
justified by His grace and now we have this inheritance laid 
up for us in heaven that ought to encourage us as we make our 
way through this present evil world. The people of God ought 
to think about the inheritance that God has for them. We ought 
to think about the new Jerusalem. We ought to think about the glory 
of heaven to come. Again, not that that's all we 
ever do. You've heard the old adage, he's 
so heavenly minded, he's no earthly good. I think we're no earthly 
good at times because we're not heavenly minded the way we ought 
to be. We need to think through the implications of our inheritance 
granted to us freely by God in His grace. Now let's look quickly 
and thirdly at the last point, verse 8, the affirmation of God's 
Word. Paul says, verse 8, This is a 
faithful saying. He does this in all three pastoral 
epistles, 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, and Titus. He has, this is a 
faithful saying in special places or in key places. There is one 
in 1 Timothy 1.15, 1 Timothy 3.1, 1 Timothy 4.9, 2 Timothy 
2.11, and then here in Titus 3.8. As I mentioned this morning, 
at times it's difficult to nail down. Does it take up what follows? This is a faithful saying, and 
then whatever he says ought to be what we consider the faithful 
saying. I take this as referring to verses 4 to 7. I take the 
faithful saying being the gospel. the glorious truth that God saved 
us, not according to our works of righteousness, but according 
to his mercy. This is a faithful saying, Titus, 
and as a result of this faithful saying, notice what he then tells 
Titus. And these things I want you to 
affirm constantly. Now, what Paul is saying to Titus 
is that ministers of the gospel ought to constantly minister 
the gospel. Again, that may sound earth-shattering, 
but that's the emphasis. I want you to constantly affirm 
this. I want you to constantly encourage. I want you to constantly comfort. 
I want you to constantly tell the people of God their status 
in the Lord Jesus. I want you to constantly affirm 
this. with unbelievers because they need to hear that God saves 
sinners. They need to hear that justification is according to 
grace. They need to understand that their works will only land 
them into hell. Titus, I want you as a minister 
of the gospel to constantly minister the gospel, not be a CEO, not 
be a cheerleader, not be a revolutionary, not be a whatever it is that 
pastors are seeking to be today, but minister the gospel. That's 
the job, that's the task, that's what you're supposed to do, Titus, 
and every elder that stands in a pulpit on the island of great 
must do the same thing. And then notice the last statement, 
the purpose for this, and this seems so contrary to our logic. He says, this is a faithful saying, 
and these things I want you to affirm constantly, that those 
who have believed in God should be careful to maintain good works. What is the thing that promotes 
good works on the part of God's people? Is it a mercenary attitude? If I do these good works, then 
God will save me? No, it's the gospel. God has 
saved you, therefore do these good works. God has redeemed 
you, therefore do these good works. It really is an amazing 
thing. I bet if we were to tell somebody 
or counsel somebody about their life of good works, you should 
do more good works, you should be better, you should be consistent, 
you should be more concerned with being conformed to the image 
of Jesus Christ. Would we preach the gospel to 
them? Would we tell them about justification according to God's 
grace through faith? That is what empowers and enables 
the life of sanctification. It is when we understand gospel 
truth. It is when we understand we're 
not working for our salvation, but we're working because we've 
been saved. That is the emphasis that Paul 
highlights. And again, I think Gill nails 
it. He says, nothing can more strongly 
engage to a studious concern for the performance of good works 
than the frequent insisting upon the doctrines of grace. See, 
there are those who would say, if you preach justification by 
faith, people are going to conclude, well, this is a great arrangement. 
I can continue in sin that grace may abound. May it never be. The true doctrine of the gospel, 
the true doctrine of justification by faith alone, never results 
in licentiousness on the part of God's people. It always results 
in a conscientiousness, or it's supposed to, there is some remaining 
corruption along the way, but it's supposed to yield a conscientious 
desire to do what God calls us to do. Again, the life of gratitude, 
guilt, grace, gratitude. We do these good works for the 
glory of God. We do these good works for the 
men that we do them toward and for, but it's done out of a right 
understanding. We're not doing this to secure 
God's favor. We're doing this because we have 
God's favor. It really changes the metric, 
and it is the way that we ought to be. But in terms of the context, 
again, Knight says, the unstated but clearly evident implication 
is that he calls on them, his heirs, to express the same attitude 
toward sinners that he, God, has expressed to them, and thus 
be true heirs who reflect their father's character. It shouldn't 
surprise us that verse 8 is there. God saved us. Why? Because he 
wants you now to engage in good works. Vis-a-vis, be subject 
to the civil authority. Vis-a-vis, be this way toward 
all men. Going back even further in the 
context, be this way with reference, or if you're an old man or a 
young man or an old woman or a young woman, these are the 
good works you're supposed to pursue because they represent 
the kindness and the love of God Almighty, and that is what 
we are called upon to magnify. Well, in conclusion, we see in 
the first place the perfections of God. Here in our passage, 
we have two, the kindness and the love of God. Please search 
the scripture sometime and read and learn and understand. Perhaps 
you've heard the shorter catechism. What is God? God is spirit, infinite, 
eternal, and unchangeable. It is being, wisdom, power, holiness, 
justice, goodness, and truth. Typically, we refer to those 
as attributes. At times, that can be a little bit misleading, 
and it almost suggests that God is sort of made up of these things. 
I think perfections better grasps what it is that God manifests. 
Again, if you use attributes, you won't be excommunicated or 
disciplined from the church or anything like that. If you read 
systematic theology, typically they speak about attributes. 
But again, sometimes people think, God's a bit of love, God's a 
bit of justice, God's a bit of holiness, and that he's sort 
of made up of these things. Well, God is simple. God is without 
parts. God is not a composite being. God is his perfections. All that is in God is God. And so I think perfections gets 
at it in a way that is very helpful. But how we view the gospel very 
often is connected to how we view God. If there has been one 
very helpful emphasis in Sinclair Ferguson's book, and I think 
there's actually a multitude of them, it is this. When we 
distort the truth of God's gospel, we distort the truth of God. 
If in our mind there are those who would be wagging their finger 
at the prodigal on his return to the Father, we don't understand 
that parable. We don't understand if it rises 
up in us to try and wag our fingers at somebody to keep them from 
the cross, that is a terrible representation of who our God 
is. So know this, that how you view 
the gospel will ultimately reflect how you view God, and vice versa. If your God is narrow, or your 
God is Ebenezer Scrooge, or your God is the kind of God who stands 
on the porch and shouts at that prodigal, then you will not understand 
these things in a way that is consistent. Secondly, we ought 
to appreciate, and again, it's indirect, but the triunity of 
God. the interchangeability of our Savior with Father and with 
Son, the reality that Father, Son, and Spirit are all present 
in verses 4 to 7 in the salvation of sinners. We need to understand 
this doctrine because that's who God is. In John chapter 8, 
Jesus upbraids the religious leaders of his time and he says, 
if you do not believe that I am, you will die in your sins. So 
you can be wrong on some aspects with reference to the Bible. 
You can be wrong, as I've said, on eschatology and still end 
up in heaven. But you can't be wrong with reference to Jesus. 
If you do not believe that He is the one He says He is, then 
you will die in your sins. And the I am there, with reference 
to His statement, goes back to the bush in Exodus 3, but as 
well to the prophet Isaiah. Because God, Yahweh, reveals 
Himself that way to the nation of Israel. Thirdly, in terms 
of the salvation of God, it is not according to our works, but 
according to God's mercy. It originates in eternity past 
with predestination and election. Paul doesn't fit everything in 
there. Remember that these epistles 
aren't systematic theologies. He isn't Birkhoff, starting with 
God or Scripture and ending with eschatology in every epistle 
that he writes. He's writing to Titus to deal 
with a particular situation of setting things in order on the 
island of Crete, vis-a-vis installing elders in each of the churches 
so that they can withstand the heretical assaults upon the people 
of God. So he's not going to give a detailed 
exposition of every jot and tittle of the Ordo Salutis when he writes 
letters to his companions. But here, specifically, we need 
to reflect upon that reality. He saved us does not originate 
in history. It doesn't originate with God 
on a Thursday saying, you know, that's a pretty good guy or girl. 
I'm going to go ahead and put the salvation whammy on them. 
It originates in eternity. He chose us in him before the 
foundation of the world. The end of verse 4, beginning 
of verse 5 in Ephesians chapter 1, he says, in love, having predestinated 
us unto adoption as sons. See, some people recoil with 
horror at the thought of predestination, election, and sovereign grace. 
Those people who understand it delight in the inner man because 
they realize that apart from predestination, but apart from 
election, apart from sovereign grace, there is none of us that 
would be saved. We would never choose for God. 
We would never choose for Jesus. Remember, we are dead in our 
trespasses and sins. We look like what he says in 
verse three. For we ourselves were also foolish, 
disobedient, deceived, serving various lusts and pleasures, 
living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another. We were 
not coming to Jesus. unaided by God's sovereign grace. 
It originates in eternity. It is applied by the Spirit in 
time, and we can praise God for that. As well, it is applied 
by the Spirit when He effectually calls us out of darkness into 
marvelous light, and the graces of faith and repentance themselves, 
again, not indicated conspicuously here, but Paul assumes that you're 
going to read his other letters, but faith and repentance are 
given to us. They're not something that are 
natural to us. We don't decide for Jesus, as the old song said. 
I just woke up and I'm going to decide to follow Jesus. Well, 
if you decide to follow Jesus, it's because God has awakened 
you. It is because God has regenerated you. It is because God has given 
you the graces of faith and repentance. So give glory and honor and praise 
to the one to whom it is due. Salvation, according to the prophet 
Jonah, is of the Lord. Well, let us pray. Our Father, 
we thank you for your word, and we thank you for the clarity 
with reference to salvation. We know it is that you saved 
us. It's not us helping, it's not us contributing, it's not 
us doing our part, and then you meeting us halfway. Salvation 
truly is of the Lord, and we rejoice in that, and we look 
forward to that day in eternity to come where we will stand before 
the throne and say that salvation belongs to our God and to the 
Lamb who sits upon the throne. We give praise to you, Father, 
Son, and Spirit. for so glorious a work of salvation. And we pray that you would encourage 
and strengthen each of our hearts. We pray for any and all who may 
hear these words or hear the gospel elsewhere, that they by 
grace would believe on him and know the blessing of being saved. 
And we ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.