Titus 3 — Born Not by Works but Unto Works
Believers are to be subject to rulers, ready to every good work, peaceable, gentle. We ourselves were once foolish and disobedient, but the kindness and love of God toward man appeared — He saved us, not by works of righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost. Maintain good works. Avoid foolish questions. Reject a heretic after a second admonition.
“Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost.”
— Titus 3:5
- v.1-2 Believers' conduct in society
- v.3-7 The kindness of God in salvation
- v.8-11 Maintain good works; reject heretics
- v.12-15 Personal instructions and greetings
The catalog of what the believer was before salvation. We ourselves — Paul includes himself. The list is unflattering and personal: foolish, disobedient, deceived, slave to lusts, malicious, envious, hateful, hated.
Before despising the lost, remember what you yourself were. Compassion for those still trapped in what we have been delivered from should mark every Christian conversation about sinners.
The kindness and love of God... toward man appeared. The Greek philanthropia — literally love of mankind. The deepest motive of the Incarnation named in two words.
Christ is the appearance of God's love for humanity. Not love in the abstract but love that walked, ate, wept, bled. God so loved the world, that he gave (John 3:16).
Salvation defined negatively and positively. Not by works of righteousness — earned obedience cannot save. According to his mercy — unearned grace alone saves. Two means named: washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost.
Most theologians read washing of regeneration not as water baptism alone but as the cleansing of the new birth. The phrase parallels John 3:5 — Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit. The new birth, signified by baptism, is the work of God.
Justified by his grace — the legal standing of being declared righteous, given as free gift. Made heirs — adopted into the family, given inheritance.
The salvation Paul describes is rich. Forgiveness (verse 5), cleansing (verse 5), new birth (verse 5), justification (verse 7), adoption (verse 7), inheritance (verse 7), eternal life (verse 7). The gospel does not give one benefit — it gives a cascading abundance.
Notice: salvation is not by works (verse 5); yet the saved are careful to maintain good works (verse 8). The same letter holds both truths without contradiction.
Salvation is not earned by works. But salvation produces works. The same chapter teaches both. James 2:18 — I will shew thee my faith by my works. The order matters. Faith first; works second; never reversed.
Heretick — Greek hairetikos, a divisive person, one who creates factions. The instruction is patient — after the first and second admonition. Then reject.
The pattern: confront once, confront again, then separate. Modern church discipline is often either too quick or too slow. Paul's pattern is neither — patient initial engagement, decisive eventual action.
Maintain good works for necessary uses. The believer's work should meet real needs. Galatians 6:10 — do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith. Practical kindness toward concrete needs is the form Christian love takes.
Christianity is not first a set of theories. It is a network of practical good works that meet the real needs of brothers and sisters. The believer who is fruitful in this sense gives evidence that the doctrine has taken root.
The believer is saved not by works but unto works. The grace that justified you produces fruit. Examine the fruit. Are you ready for every good work, peaceable, gentle, doing concrete kindness for those in need? The grace that saved you teaches you to live this way. If the fruit is absent, do not first improve the fruit — return to the root and check whether grace has really taken hold.
Christ is the appearance of the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man (Titus 3:4). He is the philanthropia of God incarnate. Every Christian good work flows from gratitude for what He did. The salvation Paul describes — washing, renewing, justifying, adopting, making heirs — is His gift, purchased at the cost of His own blood, given freely to those who believe.
The believer's civic duty. Subject to authorities, ready for every good work. Christianity in its earliest centuries was characterized by good citizenship — paying taxes, obeying laws, doing good visibly in society.
Romans 13:1-7 develops the same. The believer's witness in society is partly through ordinary civic faithfulness. Trouble-making for trouble's sake is not the Christian calling; doing good is.