After presenting the negative side of things evident in our lives before Christ in the previous verses, Paul turns to the positive, and to the event of Christ’s mercy itself in our lives.

Take a look at this week’s passage in Titus 3:4-5:

On the one hand, this passage is simple and straight-forward, and very encouraging. On the other hand, the final phrase of these two verses presents a bit of an interpretive challenge.

Paul makes a very strong contrast between our lives pre- and post-Christ. And the difference maker is Christ himself! Christ came. That is the message of the Gospel in a nutshell. Christ came, and did for us what we could not do for ourselves by restoring us to God’s good favor.

And, lest we believe that we had anything at all to do with this, Paul makes it clear that this work is all Christ’s doing. None of our righteous works were enough to even get us close (See Romans 4:4-5; Ephesians 2:8-9, 2 Timothy 1:9). What brings about our salvations is solely God’s mercy, through Christ’s actions on the cross.

Paul then goes a step further, and describes how God chooses to save us; or perhaps when. This happens through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.

As Paul begins to wind down his brief letter to Titus, he takes some time to lay out the simple message of the salvation that came through Jesus. In this week’s passage, he describes our condition before salvation.

You can see this description in Titus 3:3:

Our lives before Christ saved us were bleak. Even if we had a “good” life, without Christ, we had no hope, no purpose, no identity. And, as sinners, we were a mess.

Paul gives a brief description of this deplorable state before moving on the the grace of God in his salvation in the next few verses. But before we can see just how good the Good News is, we must first see just how bad we are without him.

In that light, Paul describes our state before Christ, and he paints a very dark picture.

However, we must remember, as we reach out to those who do not know Christ, that we were once just the same, lost in our sins. Paul realizes this, and knows that he was once just as bad everyone else. As we share our faith, knowing what we were saved from can be a vital part of our testimony to others.

Here are some of the terms Paul uses to describe himself when he was unsaved, and by extension, to all who do not know Christ:

Throughout much of the second chapter, Paul focused on giving Titus instruction of what to teach, and to keep it in accordance with sound doctrine. That theme continues into chapter three, with the focus being on good actions or behavior.

You can see this week’s passage in Titus 3:1-2:

As Paul continues his instructions to Titus, he shifts his attention just a bit to be more specific about how people are to behave in certain circumstances.

In these two verses, he focuses our attention onto two different settings: How to behave towards government officials or superiors, and how to behave towards our fellow citizens.

This jumps directly off of Paul’s last portions of chapter 2. In verse 14, he explains why we should be eager to do what is good. These two scenarios are examples of what that looks like. Interestingly, both of these categories are made up of people who are probably not a part of the church in Crete. That lends a bit of context to Paul’s instruction here, helping us to see just how important our behavior is around such people. This kind of behavior provides both an example and a witness to those who do not know God.

The first phrase used here is that Titus is to remind the people in the church that their behavior is significant. This implies that this is not new material for the believers in Crete. They know this. But a continual reminder is necessary to keep their focus, and ours, on track.

Paul’s final encouragement to Titus in the second chapter of his letter is a poignant reminder to us as well, especially as the year closes. This short verse is a very encouraging reminder to us as we enter into the coming year.

You can find this passage in Titus 2:15:

Paul has encouraged Titus throughout this chapter with several different specific teaching opportunities. He explained to Titus what to teach to older men, to older women, who in turn teach the younger women, the younger men, and slaves. From there, Paul shifted to some basic discipleship and the very foundations of the gospel itself.

In this verse, he expresses to Titus that these are the things that he must teach. The word translated “teach” here is literally the word “speak.” These are the things that Titus is to speak to the people on Crete. These are the things that Titus is to speak to his church. These are the things that Titus is to speak to those he comes into contact with daily.

Titus is called to exhort. That is what this mean. He is called to speak, to teach, to preach these things to the believers on this island. This is no small or light task. The responsibility is huge. But it is powerfully important.

Titus is to encourage the church with his words. And he is to rebuke them with his words, when necessary. The word “encourage” is closely tied with the word “teach” or “speak.” The idea here is to exhort those who are growing and give them the encouragement to carry on.

In this week’s passage, Paul wraps up the thought begun in the last couple of verses. Although he is specifically speaking of the second coming of Christ, it is highly appropriate for this week before Christmas for us to remember.

You can see this passage in Titus 2:13-14:

Paul contrasts this present age with the one we are waiting for, and he uses a few specific phrases that are central to our faith, and to the meaning of Christmas as well.

First of all, he speaks of a “blessed hope.” Hope is not simple wishful thinking, as we tend to define it today. Rather, hope is anxiously waiting for something that is certain. And what is it that we are waiting for? Paul doesn’t allow us to wonder, he gives us that information right away: “the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ.”

This is perhaps one of the most beautifully phrased passages in the entire letter, if not in the entire New Testament. Our hope is centered on the return of Jesus, but is intricately connected with the first appearance, to which Paul will turn his attention next.

But first, Paul’s statement here reflects the deity of Christ. He is both God and Savior. And his return in imminent, for which we longingly wait.