Titus 3 Because of His Mercy Part 33


Titus 3:5-6

“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.”

We often like to think that we are good people, that we generally do good, and that we deserve to go to heaven. Paul, however, points out the flaws with this ideology and the Bible is full of texts that contradict this idea. In our text, Paul is making the point that even the things we consider our “best works” cannot contribute to salvation. The reality is that there is not an iota within us that can contribute to our salvation. Salvation is only through God alone. Because of His mercy, God does not give us what we deserve, but rather, as we learned in verse 4, He sent His kindness and love in Jesus to give us what we don’t deserve. 2 Timothy 1:9 says, “He has saved us and called us to a holy life – not because of anything we have done but because of His own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus, before the beginning of time.” Man likes to claim they have done good because it appeals to our vanity and sinful nature, but we will never be able to work our way to a right standing with God. God knew this before we were even conceived. Ephesians 1:4 tells us, “For He chose us in Him before the creation of the world, to be holy and blameless in His sight.” We are not what God intended when He created us in the Garden of Eden. But time and again, we can see in the Bible, that God in His goodness, provides us with what we need. People long for something better than they have, not realizing that what they need is the mercy and grace of God. Only God can save and regenerate us and answer the longings of our hearts. Ephesians 2:8-9 reminds us of the point of today’s text when it says, “For it is by grace you have been saved – and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast.” We cannot boast about things we have done, for it is only by God’s mercy and the work of the Holy Spirit that we can do any good at all!

1. Think of a story in the bible where God provided for His people – as an example, He parted the waters of the sea to make a way for His people to get away from the Egyptians. How did God’s people react? How should we react?

2. Find a passage where Jesus speaks about righteous and good works. What conclusion can we come to regarding these things?

3. Jesus often compared good works to fruits or plants, find a parable that speaks about these things. What does the parable tell us?

4. The Bible tells us we are conceived and born in sin. How then, are we able to do any good works? 

Heavenly God and Father, I humbly come before You now to praise You for Your great and awesome works. You alone are worthy of praise and I thank You for the good things You have blessed me with. Please fill me with Your Spirit and use me to do good things. Forgive me where I fall short and help me to live to Your honor and glory. Amen.


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