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11 Now on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. 12 As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy[b] met him. They stood at a distance 13 and called out in a loud voice, “Jesus, Master, have pity on us!”
14 When he saw them, he said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were cleansed.15 One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. 16 He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him—and he was a Samaritan.
17 Jesus asked, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? 18 Has no one returned to give praise to God except this foreigner?” 19 Then he said to him, “Rise and go; your faith has made you well.”
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Remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready to do whatever is good, 2 to slander no one, to be peaceable and considerate, and always to be gentle toward everyone.
3 At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. 4 But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, 5 he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, 6 whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.
Introduction
Titus was a Greek convert under the ministry of Paul. He was based in Crete and became the first Bishop of Crete. Titus also did some troubleshooting ministry in Corinth, Niopolis [West Greece] and even Jerusalem. Polybius, a Greek historian, said ‘Cretans were quarrelsome people.’ Philosopher Epimenides, described them more harshly: "Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons." Crete at that time was troubled showed a lack of courtesy. In our 21st century, we live in a world that is divided, cynical, and quick to rage. Turn on radio, TV or social media, you are met with opinions and judgements. Paul, writes to Titus, saying remind them of some good news. The Gospel, and he urges Titus to teach the Cretan believers that the Good News should influence every-day life.
Let’s look at this under 3 simple headings: All tied together with ‘Remind’
Reminder of: our present responsibility, of our past condition, our great rescue!
1.Reminder of:- our present duty
2. Reminder of:- our past condition
3. Reminder of:- our great rescue!
Reminder of our present duty
Paul begins this way: "Remind them" I’m of an age now that I forget when I go into a room what I went in there for! We forget what we ought to remember. As Christians, we forget who we are and we forget how we ought to behave. We forget to give thanks when prayers are answered [Luke 17]. On Armistace day it is good to be prompted to say ‘We will remember themHere.’
Heer is what Paul says these Cretan believers should be reminded of:
"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 quarrelling, to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all people." Submit to authorities, obey, be readiness for every good work, speak evil of no one, and show "perfect courtesy toward all people."
Notice he doesn't say, "Be submissive to the politicians you voted for."
He doesn't say, "Be gentle to the people who agree with your faith or your politics."
Show perfect courtesy toward all people. When there is a community need, Christians should be there to roll up their sleeves, "ready for every good work." If our Christianity only makes us grumpy, moaning, critical, and combative where we live, our testimony is trashed, it makes us look like hypocrites. Our gentleness of spirit is a great witness to the world of Christ in us.
Reminder of our past condition
In Titus 3:3 Paul also reminds us of our past:
"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."
Do you hear that? We ourselves. Spiritually, we are all wayward before Christ meets us. We were trapped in our own selfishness, our pride, and our own efforts to justify ourselves. When we are self-righteous or condescending toward the unbelieving world around us, we have forgotten our own testimony – ‘I once was lost but now I’m found,’ wrote John Newton in 1779, Amazing Grace, surely that is the testimony of every believer!
Paul says, "Don't look down your nose at the world. That was you!" Even for myself, I became a Christian at a young age but before I was found by the Lord, I was still lost, disobedient, enslaved to my own desires. The only difference between the believer and the unbeliever is not that we are better or more moral. The only difference is the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and fellowship of the Holy Spirit.
When your friends or family are ignoring the goodness and loving kindness of God, the correct response is not frustration or annoyance. The correct response is a heartfelt humble prayer for the light of Christ to pierce their darkness.
It is important to remember what we were before we became Christians, thirdly….
3. Reminder of our great rescue!
There is a great rescue in v4-7. hat do I mean by rescue? To be rescued is to be saved and v4-6 is the story of our rescue , the Good News.
"But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Saviour appeared..."
There it is - we were a mess; the world was dark…. but God. Notice how this rescue happened. V5: "He saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy." Mercy!
This is the Gospel in a nutshell. You cannot ‘do good’ your way into heaven. You can’t buy your way into heaven. You cannot even be deserving of heaven. Our salvation is entirely a work of God’s mercy. ‘Through the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ." In other words, we are born again and empowered by the Holy Spirit. Notice the renewal of the Holy Spirit is poured out generously.
He doesn't renew us in droplets; he pours down torrential renewal like Ventnor hail last Saturday! He pours it out generously or richly as another version puts it! He washes us, cleanses us, and gives us a brand-new start. And the result? Titus 3:7:
‘Being justified by His grace, we become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.’
Conclusion
If you do not know Christ, you need to know that you cannot fix yourself. Turning over a new leaf, being a good citizen, doesn’t wash; you cannot wash your own soul. Only the amazing grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the mercy of God will do.
And for those of us who do know Him. How will we react to this word for today?
Let us walk out of here into our families and our town not with fists clenched, but with our hands open. Let the goodness and loving-kindness of our merciful God and the fullness of the Holy Spirit be seen in us today.
