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:

• Foolish – One who lacks an understanding of God’s truth. This is not rational, nor is it completely understandable. But our lives make little sense without Christ.
• Disobedient – An unwillingness to do what is right. Stubborn refusal to obey what God desires of us.
• Deceived – Led astray from the path of truth, intentionally, by the adversary.
• Enslaved by all kinds of passions and desires – The Greek here is a present participle, indicating a continuing action. As we are enslaved, we continue to be enslaved. This is the habitual seeking out of pleasures that do not satisfy.
• Lived in malice – This can mean wickedness in general, but can also imply intentionally seeking to harm another. This is ill-will.
• Envy – Simply put, this is covetousness, looking at what another has and desiring it for oneself.
• Being hated – This is the only place this word is found in Scripture, and it carries a connotation of disgust. Our sin leaves us offensive, disgusting and repulsive, both to God and to others.
• Hating one another – Where the Christian’s life is marked by love, the unsaved are marked more by hatred. This can mean an intentional attitude, or simply the indifferent disregard held for others because we are too focused upon ourselves.

This is a disgusting list. But the point of the next few verses is that Christ saves us from this. And, as a result, the believer does not live and behave like the unsaved do.

Instead, our lives should reflect much higher values.

Question: How are you doing? How does your life compare now to what it was before you met Christ? You can leave a comment by clicking here.