This morning for our Bible study,
let's turn to the book of Titus. The book of Titus, chapter 3.
And I would encourage you to get your Bible and read these
verses with me. Titus, chapter 3. Let's begin
reading at verse 3. For we ourselves also were sometimes
foolish, disobedient. Now what the Apostle Paul here
is giving, giving to us, the believer's confession. The believer's
confession. of salvation in Christ only. For we ourselves also were sometimes
foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lust and pleasure,
living in malice, envy, hateful, and hating one another. And then
we see this little word here we often read in Scripture, but
God. But after the kindness and love
of God our Savior, toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness
which we have done, but according to God's mercy. He saved us. That is, Paul is saying that
God justified us solely and totally by his mercy, by the washing
of regeneration, making us new creatures in Christ, and renewing
and giving to us the Holy Spirit to dwell in us that testifies
constantly to the glory and necessity of Jesus Christ, which was shed
on us abundantly or richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, that
being justified by His grace, saved by mercy, justified by
grace, we should be made heirs, heirs of salvation according
to the hope of eternal life. Now again, I believe Paul sums
up in these verses the believer's confession. He says, first of
all, he reminds us and tells us of what we were and what we
are by nature. We ourselves, notice he includes
himself in this confession, we ourselves also were sometimes
foolish. Remember, Paul the Apostle was
one time Saul of Tarsus, and he was so foolish as to think
he could merit salvation by his doing rather than looking to
Christ. Disobedient, certainly he was
disobedient, calling upon believers and arresting those who believed
the gospel of Christ, and deceived. Now, all of us by nature fall
into these categories as being foolish, disobedient to the law
of God, foolish by trying to establish the righteousness of
our own, and deceived. The Word of God calls and describes
our heart as being deceitful above all things and desperately
wicked. Now this is us by nature, foolish. The fool has said in his heart
there is no God. Disobedient unto God. Sinning
against God. Being deceived. with religious
lies and deceit of false preachers. And then Paul says here, we were
servants to this way. We were servants to these lusts
of the flesh and lusts of pleasures of the flesh, evil pursuits of
the nature, in bondage to sin, that's what he's saying here.
Living in such a way and serving these lusts and pleasures of
the flesh, pride of life, lust of the eyes, and then he says,
living in malice. Now you see his confession, what
he is by nature? Living in malice, that's hatred,
being bigoted and prejudiced. Paul hated the Gentiles. O Saul of Tarsus, before God
saved him, he was a man of hatred, living in malice, living in self-righteousness,
self-indulgence, envy. Very envious. And that's the
way of the wicked, fallen nature that we have. We envy everything.
We have a lustful, covetous nature of envy and hate. And then he
says here, hating one another. Hating one another. That's a
pretty graphic confession, isn't it? Now, we can see by the way
the Apostle Paul talks here that he's totally excluding any merit
in his flesh. He said, this is what we are.
We're sinners. We've sinned and come short of
the glory of God. We live in malice, serving lusts
and pleasures, servants of sin, hating everybody, hating God.
And that's all of us by nature, my friend. Let's be honest before
God. That's the description of this
fallen, wicked nature that we've talked about over the years on
this radio broadcast, man is totally depraved and sinful. But in verse 4 of Titus 3, verse
4, now look at this verse carefully, and it begins with this little
word, but. But God. Paul has the same idea
when he talks about the state of nature when he describes us
in Ephesians chapter 2 what we are by nature, children of wrath,
even as others. But then he says, But God, who
is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us. There is hope for sinners because
of God's mercy and grace. But God, after the kindness and
love or the pity and mercy of God our Savior, The apostle always
addresses the Lord Jesus Christ with a term of deity. He's God,
our Savior, a just God and Savior. Now, Paul is not only confessing
here what he is by nature, but what God has done for him by
the grace of God. And this is the confession of
every believer. You see, salvation is what God
has done for us. After this kindness and love
of God, Our Savior toward us appeared. Now one thing most
obvious, we did not and do not merit God's grace. Not at all. We were on a fast track to destruction,
deserving of God's wrath. God came to the rescue. God came
to the rescue, uncalled and unsought by us in the fullness of time. God sent forth His Son, made
of a woman, made under the law to redeem us. God appeared in
human flesh to accomplish our salvation. The Apostle John put
it this way here in his love, not that we love God, but that
He loved us. He sent His Son to be the propitiation,
the sacrifice, satisfying unto God, the sacrifice of Christ,
the blood being shed as the appointed, ordained Lamb of God. This is
that kindness and the love of God has appeared. God our Savior,
God from all eternity was determined to save His people. Why, the
angel declared, called His name Jesus. He shall save His people
from their sin. And God in time calls us to Himself
by faith in Christ Jesus. You see what He's saying there?
He's attributing all of the mercy and blessing that He enjoys being
made a new creature in Christ by the appearing of God our Savior. God manifests in the flesh to
work out perfect righteousness for us. And then he goes on in
verse 5 of Titus 3 and he gives us this statement of salvation. He said God saved us and God
called us and then he begins here with a negative not. Not
by. Not by. Now we're not saved or
justified or made more righteous, made more holy by our works,
not by works of righteousness which we have done. We're not
saved by our religious doing or otherwise. No sinner can produce
nor does he possess righteousness that can bring or merit salvation. Now, we read this all through
Scripture, but let me give you just one reference. Isaiah 64. All of our righteousnesses are
as filthy rags in God's sight. You see, we cannot produce, nor
do we possess, a righteousness that can justify us before God. That's why Paul is clearly stating,
not by works of righteousness which we have done. That is,
he's saying that we're not saved or justified by our doing. And then he says, but, here's
this word again, it's not by what we have done, but it's according
to what he has done, what God has done, but according to his
mercy. This is the sovereign mercy of
God, the redeeming grace of God. The Lord saves His people out
of a clear, unmixed, undiluted, sovereign mercy. It's not of
Him that willeth, nor of Him that runneth, but it's God that
shows mercy. That's sovereign mercy and sovereign
grace. You see, it's not according to
what we have done, but rather, According to His mercy, God's
mercy, He saved us. He justified us. Now, if I know
anything of the message of this book we call the Bible, the Inspired
Word of God, it is clearly stated emphatically from cover to cover
that salvation is all of God's grace. save us. If any sinner is to be justified,
it must be God who does the justifying. Now watch this, but according
to His mercy, not according to our goodness, not according to
our merit, but according to God's mercy. You see, salvation is
always determined, dependent, and accomplished by God. We're born again, not of the
will of the flesh, not of the will of man, but we're born of
God. And this is what he talks about,
by the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit. Now, what's he talking about
here? My friend, this is talking about
the new birth. This is talking about being born
from above. This is God invading the heart
of a dead sinner, quickening giving him life, regenerating
him, making him a new creature in Christ Jesus. If any man be
in Christ, he's a new creation. Old things are passed away. Behold,
all things have become new. This washing of regeneration
and this renewing of God in the heart. This is God in Christ
by the power of the Spirit enthroning Himself in the soul of the believer. And this new birth is not something
we do. It is something that God does
in us. Philippians 1, 6 says this. He
says we're confident of this very thing. that God who hath
begun a good work in you, He will finish it. Regeneration
is the creation of a spiritual life in you by the Spirit of
God. Now you see what He's saying
here, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but rather
according to God's sovereign mercy, He saved us, He justified
us by this washing of regeneration. This making us a new creature,
being born from above, being begotten of God. He quickened
who were dead in sin. He made us new creatures in Christ
Jesus. And this is the confession of
every believer. If you're saved, you have to say, it's by God's
purpose and by God's grace. Now, let me close with verse
6 of Titus chapter 3, which he shed on us abundantly through. God shed on us abundantly through
Jesus Christ our Savior, that being justified by His grace,
saved by mercy, justified by grace, we should be made heirs
according to the hope of eternal life. Now let me camp on one
point here and I'll close. God shed His grace and mercy
on us abundantly through Jesus Christ. The love and kindness
of God is in Jesus Christ. Redemption from all sin is in
and by and through Jesus Christ, in whom we have redemption. Regeneration is making us new
creatures in Christ Jesus. The righteousness we enjoy is
in Christ. He is the Lord, our righteousness.
The hope of salvation we have is in Christ. Christ in you,
the hope of glory. All the promises of God are in
Christ Jesus. And the result of all that is
being justified by His grace. We've been made heirs of God
and joint heirs with the Lord Jesus Christ throughout all now,
all grace now, and all glory hereafter.