As you preach and teach the Word of God, you influence how people think, how they speak, and how they live. God’s Word changes people. It leads them to do “strange” things—strange in the eyes of the world, anyway. In short, God’s Word leads them to act like their heavenly Father. That is exactly what Paul is talking about in these verses. How our heavenly Father has treated us fills our lives with an out-of-this-world love.

1 Ὑπομίμνῃσκε αὐτοὺς ἀρχαῖς ἐξουσίαις ὑποτάσσεσθαι, πειθαρχεῖν, πρὸς πᾶν ἔργον ἀγαθὸν ἑτοίμους εἶναι, 2 μηδένα βλασφημεῖν, ἀμάχους εἶναι, ἐπιεικεῖς, πᾶσαν ἐνδεικνυμένους πραΰτητα πρὸς πάντας ἀνθρώπους.

Translation: Remind them to submit to the authorities that exist, to be obedient, to be prepared for every good work, to speak ill of no one, to be peaceable and considerate, showing humility towards all people.

In this section Paul is instructing Titus about how to teach the believers on Crete about sanctified living. The focus shifts from the government to all of society. We submit and obey the authorities God has placed over us, and we live each day “prepared” to serve all people with “good works.” Those good works permeate our interaction with people. While unbelievers may be contentious, rude, greedy, self-centered, and immoral, believers will interact with them in a spirit of gentleness, kindness, patience, and humility. We will listen peaceably and respond gently.

What Paul suggests is counterintuitive. Some might call it unwise. It seems radical. It is very difficult to do. For such love we need out-of-this-world help.  

 3 Ἦμεν γάρ ποτε καὶ ἡμεῖς ἀνόητοι, ἀπειθεῖς, πλανώμενοι, δουλεύοντες ἐπιθυμίαις καὶ ἡδοναῖς ποικίλαις, ἐν κακίᾳ καὶ φθόνῳ διάγοντες, στυγητοί, μισοῦντες ἀλλήλους. 4 ὅτε δὲ ἡ χρηστότης καὶ ἡ φιλανθρωπία ἐπεφάνη τοῦ σωτῆρος ἡμῶν θεοῦ, 5 οὐκ ἐξ ἔργων τῶν ἐν δικαιοσύνῃ ἃ ἐποιήσαμεν ἡμεῖς ἀλλὰ κατὰ τὸ αὐτοῦ ἔλεος ἔσωσεν ἡμᾶς διὰ λουτροῦ παλιγγενεσίας καὶ ἀνακαινώσεως πνεύματος ἁγίου, 6 οὗ ἐξέχεεν ἐφʼ ἡμᾶς πλουσίως διὰ Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ τοῦ σωτῆρος ἡμῶν, 7 ἵνα δικαιωθέντες τῇ ἐκείνου χάριτι κληρονόμοι γενηθῶμεν κατʼ ἐλπίδα ζωῆς αἰωνίου.

Translation: For at one time we also were foolish, disobedient, deceived, slaves to sinful desires and pleasures, living in wickedness and envy, hated and hating others. But when the kindness and love of our Savior God appeared, he saved us, not by works we had done in righteousness, but because of his mercy, through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, in order that justified by his grace we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.

These verses are one of the most beautiful summaries of God’s gracious gift of salvation in all of Scripture. They tell us what we were: disobedient, deceived and deceiving fools who once lived in a cesspool of wickedness and envy. And what did our heavenly Father do for us? He had mercy on us. He rescued us.

We do well to ponder the “what” and the “how” of this salvation. The “what” includes the redeeming work of his Son and the sanctifying work of his Spirit. The Son appeared in human flesh and demonstrated the love of the Father by redeeming us with his own lifeblood, taking our place under divine wrath on the cross. The Spirit brought the saving work of the Son to us by giving us new birth and renewal, creating and nurturing faith in our hearts. The Holy Spirit uses means to make us holy, from the time we are reborn until the time we enter the glorious presence of God. The Spirit uses the Gospel in the Holy Bible, in Holy Baptism, and in Holy Communion. These are the Lord’s means of grace—the tools he uses to bring us into his kingdom of grace.

The message of salvation is so beautifully explicit in these verses! But there is also something implicit in these verses: Believers will be prepared and motivated for engaging a sinful world in a spirit of mercy and grace only as they remember what their God has done and is doing for them.

In the next verse, Paul states the connection between God’s love for us and our love for the world explicitly.

 8 Πιστὸς ὁ λόγος· καὶ περὶ τούτων βούλομαί σε διαβεβαιοῦσθαι, ἵνα φροντίζωσιν καλῶν ἔργων προΐστασθαι οἱ πεπιστευκότες θεῷ· ταῦτά ἐστιν καλὰ καὶ ὠφέλιμα τοῖς ἀνθρώποις.

Translation: That is a trustworthy saying. And concerning these things, I want you to speak firmly so that those who have believed in God may be intent on engaging in good works. These things are good and profitable for people.

There are five Πιστὸς ὁ λόγος sayings in the Pastoral Epistles: three in Paul’s first letter to Timothy, one in his second letter to Timothy, and this one in this letter to Titus. In three instances Πιστὸς ὁ λόγος points forward; the saying itself follows immediately, is generally concise, and has a clear start point and end point. Here, as in 1 Tim 4:8-9, “trustworthy is the saying” is pointing backwards to what has already been stated. In these two instances the saying is relatively longer, and the boundaries are not as clear.

How much of the previous verses is included in the trustworthy saying? Theologians have argued for a variety of possibilities: vv. 1-8, vv. 3-7, vv. 4-7, or parts of verses 5 and 6. I am inclined to think that this “trustworthy saying” is a credal statement that early Christians would have spoken (or sung) whenever an infant or adult was baptized. At its core are these words: ἔσωσεν ἡμᾶς διὰ λουτροῦ παλιγγενεσίας καὶ ἀνακαινώσεως πνεύματος ἁγίου. Whether the words that precede and the words that follow are included in the trustworthy saying or not, they certainty add depth to these words. Baptism is pure grace. He washes away our sins. He makes us alive. He renews our hearts. He unites us to Jesus. He pours the Spirit into our hearts. He makes us his own.

None of us could have accomplished this salvation by our own effort. None of the unbelievers around us can either.

It is the responsibility and privilege of the saved to serve the not-yet-saved. It is excellent (καλὰ) and profitable and for the world (ὠφέλιμα) when believers approach the unbelievers around them with the same kindness and love that their heavenly Father has poured upon them.

Prayer: Dear Father in heaven, you loved us when we were unlovable. You have redeemed us by your Son and sanctified us by your Spirit. You have washed away our sins, delivered us from death and the devil, and made us heirs of eternal life. You have replaced our foolishness with wisdom from heaven. We praise and thank you for all your good gifts to us. Motivate and equip us and all the members of our church to love each other and to engage the unbelievers around us with out-of-this-world love; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

 P.S. For further reading, we recommend Pres. emeritus David Valleskey’s recent book, The Splendid Task of the Ministry: A Pastoral Commentary on the Pastoral Epistles (NPH, 2023).