The Depths of Salvation (Titus 3:4-6)
[But] when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, ⁵he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, ⁶whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, —Titus 3:4-6
If you’ve ever been to the ocean you know that once you walk out to a certain point the relatively shallow blue waters quickly drop off into inky dark depths. Similarly, this week's passage has us stepping into profoundly deep waters as Paul takes us into trinitarian theology.
In these three little verses Paul gives us a glimpse of how our triune God works in the act of restoring people to a right relationship with Himself. He shows us how God saves people. Paul is clear that this has everything to do with God’s work and nothing to do with ours.
Paul tells us that God is our savior (vv. 4-5) and that Jesus is our Savior (v. 6). He says it is the Holy Spirit, richly poured out on us by God, who regenerates us and cleanses us (vv. 5-6). Negatively, Paul explicitly states that our right standing with God has nothing to do with any righteous works we may do. Instead, our right standing depends entirely on our triune God’s immense mercy.
Those who want to live a fruitful Christian life should meditate on this crucially important reality. I see at least three reasons for this. First, it is only God who can actually make a person right with God—our works simply cannot do that. Thus, the only effective remedy for our sin is God Himself. A Christian can know with confidence that the God who spoke everything into existence can just as easily redeem and restore him. This is solid ground for our hope.
Second, meditating on our dependence on God’s mercy ensures that God gets all the glory for our right standing with Him. Paul’s clarity that our works don’t contribute in any way to our salvation helps guard us from faulty, prideful thinking about ourselves.
Third, remembering how God has acted on our behalf leads to massive gratitude in our hearts toward Him for all that He has done. The second question in the Heidelberg Catechism refers to this gratitude as a kind of fuel that impels the Christian to wholeheartedly live for God. In essence, because God did all the work to make a Christian right with Him, the Christian naturally responds with gratitude toward Him in a life that brings glory to Him.
What is the purpose of these deep theological waters? Theology is never merely knowledge about God. It should always lead to worship of God. Our passage this week does just that, ushering us into the praise of God for all He has done in being our Savior!
For Reflection
Why should a Christian be overflowing with gratitude toward God?
How should gratitude serve as fuel in the life of a Christian?
What can you do this week to encourage a fellow believer in their gratitude toward our triune God?
Patrick Dirrim helped to start Grace Fellowship church, with his wife Barbara 22, years ago. They have worshipped there ever since, outside of the two years when they served as missionaries in Guatemala. They've been married for 30 years and have seven children and two grandchildren. The Dirrims have been using Truth78 curriculum from the start and have introduced it to many other churches, as well as trained others how to use it.
