Titus 3:3-8

“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. 8 This is a trustworthy saying. And I want you to stress these things, so that those who have trusted in God may be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good. These things are excellent and profitable for everyone.”

After talking about our response to sin Paul now talks about the results of sin.

1. Results

• Evil – A malicious man is one who desires to destroy or causes distress and rejoices in doing so.

• Envy – Envy is not just wanting what another person has, but also resenting that person for having it. An envious person is never satisfied with what he or she has and will crave continually for more. Proverbs 14:30 paints a vivid picture of envy: “A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones.” D.L. Moody once told the fable of an eagle that was envious of another that could fly better than he could. One day the eagle saw a hunter with a bow and arrow and said to him, “I wish you would shoot that eagle up there.” The man agreed but said he needed some feathers for his arrow. The jealous eagle pulled out a feather and gave it to the man but it wasn’t enough. So he pulled out one after another, until he had lost so many that he couldn’t fly. The archer took advantage of the situation, and killed the helpless bird. If you’re envious of others, the one you will hurt the most by your actions will be yourself.

• Hate – This is a diagnosis of human depravity. Is there such a thing as evil? Yes, there is, and it lurks within each of us.

The Result is that we opposed God, and hurt others with hate. Sin ruins our life and wrecks our relationships.

It’s here that we see one of the biggest and most blessed words in scripture, BUT, it’s here that Paul tells us that we don’t have to be stuck in sin, because there is a:

2. Solution – Pardon

The bad news is that we are sinners, the good news is that there is a Savior. You must first recognize the fact that you are a sinner before you will receive the work of the Savior into your life. Again its here that Paul present us with both the response and the results

A.             Response

Notice that unlike sin where we were the ones who responded when it comes to the solution God is the one who responds.  It’s here that Paul tells us that while we were stuck in sin, dragged down into the depths of depravity God intervened and sent His Son Jesus to save us. There is only one verb in this sentence, and it’s the main emphasis: “He saved us.” This is the crux of Christianity, salvation is only possible because of the finished work of Christ on the cross. Today the world tells us that the solution to societies problems is more money and more education. If people were just wiser and wealthier they could solve their own problems and somehow save themselves. But the solution to wickedness in the world is not wealth or wisdom it’s the Word made flesh, Jesus Christ the way the truth and the life. The solution to the wars in this world is Jesus. If we don’t talk about sin we will never talk about the solution. We live in a world that wants to skate over sin. Paul doesn’t dance around the issue, he doesn’t mince words when it comes to our condition apart from Christ. Instead he is very direct in describing our disobedience and depravity. Using words like evil and envy. Today we live in a society that wants to soften sin, we talk about little white lies instead of dealing with deceit. We live in a world that wants to call it an affair instead of adultery. But when we soften sin we don’t see our need for a Savior. So we look to society for our solution. But let me remind you that the problems that plague our planet like racism are not a skin problem they are a sin problem, hate is not a political problem it’s a heart problem.

Titus 3:3-8

“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. ⁸ This is a trustworthy saying. And I want you to stress these things, so that those who have trusted in God may be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good. These things are excellent and profitable for everyone.”

After reminding us of the importance of having right relationships at home, in the church and in the work place, Paul now reminds us of the importance of having a right relationship with God and a right response to the world. 

Paul starts with reminding us of both our past and our problem as he tells us about the seriousness and sickness of:

1. Sin – problem

In Titus 3:3, Paul leaves no room for misunderstanding in regards to our crippling condition before conversion: “Once we, too, were foolish and disobedient. We were misled and became slaves to many lusts and pleasures. Our lives were full of evil and envy, and we hated each other.” It’s here that Paul talks about both our response to sin as well as the results of sin.  

1. Response

We were:

• FOOLISH” – 

A foolish person lacks understanding, Sin makes us senseless. Ephesians 4:18 describes the life of a lost person: “They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts.” No matter how smart someone is, if they are not alive spiritually and forgiven they will follow what is foolish. 

• DISOBEDIENT

A person apart from Christ is by nature rebellious, willfully disregarding God’s laws and authority. 

• DECEIVED 

This Greek word describes a wandering and is the root for our word “planet.” We are all prone to wander, 1 Peter 2:25 says that before we are saved, we were “like sheep going astray…” The Devil is the ultimate deceiver, who works to keep people in the dark as stated in 2 Corinthians 4:4: “The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.”

• DEPRAVED

Sin wants to make you a slave, and hold you hostage, a prisoner to all kinds of passions and pleasures. Like the country of Crete, our culture is filled with “all kinds” of passions and pleasures, and these sins will enslave. The phrase, “many” reminds us of the diversity of depravity. Sin comes in many sizes, but no matter what you pick its all poison. The word “Pleasure” here is from the root word that is translated “hedonism,” which is the belief that indulgence is the chief end of life. We hear this all the time, don’t we? People say things like, “I just want to be happy” or “I deserve to have fun” or “I just gotta be me!” Those who want freedom to do whatever they want but instead of finding freedom they eventually end up in the prison of what they are pursuing. It’s the story of the prodigal son who went in search of pleasure and found the pig pen. When we aligning our conduct with that which was false, we became entangled and ensnared by passion and pleasure.