Titus 3:3-7

3. For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another.
4. But after that the kindness and love of God our Savior toward man appeared,
5. Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;
6. Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior;
7. That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

1. What do you understand to be the meaning of “hateful” in verse 3?
2. What changed Paul according to verse 4 from what he was in verse 3?  If your answer is ‘love’ what function, if any, does discipline have in verse 4?
3. According to Rev 22:14 our eternal reward is according to our work; according to Titus 3:5 what is not realized by works?
4. How is mercy exercised in verse 5?
5. To what end is mercy exercised in verse 5?
6. Define “washing of regeneration”.
7. What do you think – – if one is never washed does mercy end?
8. Regeneration; to be born back or to be born again.  To what of that which used to be is that to which we are regenerated, if such is the meaning of the word?
9. What is “renewal of the Holy Spirit”?
10. What does “which” refer to in verse 6a?
11. Who is “he” in verse 6a?
12. Define justified.  What is the message, if justification is based in God’s mercy, as compared to the message where justification is said to be by grace.

    To define justification, or justified, use a theological dictionary, or consider carefully individually, Biblical texts about justification.

    You can check your work by listing the points set forth about justification in the following sources:  1 S.M. 366; paragraphs 1, 2; 1 S.M. 389, paragraph 1; 1 S.M. 393, paragraph 3; 1 S.M. 394, paragraph 1; 1 S.M. 397, paragraph 1, the last sentence; 1 S.M. 397, paragraph 4, the first sentence.  Or, see 6 SDABC 1070-1072.

    Note:  “The righteousness by which we are justified is imputed. The righteousness by which we are sanctified is imparted. The first is our title to heaven, the second is our fitness for heaven.” (MYP, p. 35).

    “. . . justified . . . means pardoned” (My Life Today, p. 250 (Sept. 3).

13. What is the function of justification by grace in verse 7?

Titus 3:8

8. This is a faithful saying, and these things I will that thou affirm constantly, that they which have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works.  These things are good and profitable unto men.

1.  What is “a faithful saying”?
2. What is “these things” which Titus is to affirm confidently?
3. What is the function of the affirmation of verse 8b?
4. To whom is the affirmation of verse 8b directed?

Titus 3:9-11

9. But avoid foolish questions, and genealogies, and contentions, and strivings about the law; for they are unprofitable and vain.
10. A man that is an heritick after the first and second admonition reject;
11. Knowing that he that is such is subverted, and sinneth, being condemned of himself.

1. What constitutes “an heretic” in verse 10, in the context of chapter 3?
2.  Titus is told to avoid “a factious man after one and a second admonition:, in 3:10.  In 3:2 slaves are instructed “no one to rail at, uncontentious to be, forbearing, showing forth all meekness to all men.”

   Why is the instruction in verse 2 different than the instruction found in verse 10?

Titus 3:12-15

12. When I shall send Artemas unto thee, or Tychicus, be diligent to come unto me to Nicopolis; for I have determined there to winter.
13. Bring Zenas the lawyer and Apollos on their journey diligently, that nothing be wanting unto them.
14. And let our’s also learn to maintain good works for necessary uses, that they be not unfruitful.
15. All that are with me salute thee.  Greet them that love us in the faith.  Grace be with you all.  Amen.

1. State in your own words the counsels contained in verse 13 and 14.

Assignment Answers

Titus 3:1, 2

1. The servants of 2:9 in context; perhaps it is a general reference, without a context, to the people Titus was to serve after he received Paul’s letter.
2. Yes.  Note 2:7 where Titus is instructed to be an example of good works.
3. One is “uncontentious to be” because saved by the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit – – salvation in the life is to be displayed by one’s acts.
4. Our showing meekness to all men (3:2) is because we were what they are (3:30).  However showing meekness to all men does not describe the attitude we are to display to those famous for being a perpetual problem (see Titus 1:12, 13).

Titus 3:3-7

1. Hateful in verse 3 means not only doing evil as described, but very unlikable!  (Greek: strugatos)
2. Paul was changed by beholding (after the kindness and love of God appeared).  The revelation of God’s love that draws men includes the cross of Christ.  Therefore it is clear that a life-changing revelation of the love of God includes the discipline of self-denial for the good of others.  The discipline revealed by the cross enables God to forgive sinners and yet control His subjects.  The discipline in verse 4 appears in the price God paid in suffering to pay our ransom.  The Father was crucified with the Son (7LB50; 5SDABC 1108).  The kindness of God that draws is the revelation of suffering He chose to endure for us when there was no one obligating Him to act on our behalf.  Therefore the function of discipline in verse 4 is to effect our salvation.
3. Salvation is not realized by works.
4. Mercy is exercised in verse 5 by the washing of regeneration in the life of a defective being, and by the renewal of the Holy Spirit.
5. Washing and renewing.
6. Loutrou paliggenesias is the greek phrase translated washing of regeneration.  Loutrou is from Loutron, meaning bath or washing (A&G 481).  This word should not be confused with lutron, meaning ransom.  Loutron appears in the New Testament, in various forms of the word, approximately 10 times – – always with reference to washing.

   The literal ordinary concept of washing appears in Acts 16:35 where the jailer washes wounds.

   Baptism as a washing away of sins appears in Acts 22:16.

   In 1 Cor 6:11 we read that the real washing is done by the Spirit.

   Jesus adds another dimension where He says that the one having been bathed needs only to wash his feet and is wholly clean (John 13:10).

   Finally in Rev 1:5 (the MS evidence is divided between loosed and washed), we read that Jesus loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood (KJV).

   Eph 5:26 may add to our study that the washing of water comes by the word; that the water (grace) comes to cleanse when the Word (the Bible) is read or listened to for the purpose of learning God’s will.

   Regeneration, paliggenesias, simply means rebirth (A&G, p. 611).

   With these background concepts we can define the washing of regeneration as an act of God that causes one to be reborn.  The washing can be in conjuction with baptism, is a work done by the Holy Spirit, can be in accompaniment to the experiencing of the Bible, includes the washing away of sins, and needs to be updated periodically.

7. Mercy effectually ends for each individual when they cease to listen to the voice telling them of a need to change.  Mercy actually ends for each individual when God ceases to draw him or her.  Mercy ends for groups of people when the angel of mercy folds her wings and takes her departure, as in the case of Jerusalem (see 3 RH 286, col. 2, paragraph 2).  Mercy ultimately ends when “mercy steps down from her golden throne, and folding her wings, departs.  Then the enemy is permitted to do that which he longs to do”  (4 ST 128 col. 2, paragraph 2.  See also D.A., p. 587, paragraph 1).
8. In my opinion the being born again is to a prior condition; not in each individual as to an earlier state possessed by that individual, but is a being born again in the sense of each reborn individual being restored to where human nature was before the fall.  The fall marred the image of God in man, while continuing-in-sin has almost obliterated the image of God from the soul.  The new birth is to a state where the image of God is imprinted again on the soul, to a state where the cooperation between the individual and God that is characteristic of a born-again individual results in the progressively full restoration of the image of God in the soul.
9. In the phrase the “renewal of the Holy Spirit” our linguistic interest is toward the word renewal – – anakainoseos.  The dictionary entry for our word (A&G, p. 55) displays our word and then reads, “not quotable outside Christian lit. . . . “ The dictionary meaning of our word is simply renewal.  It occurs twice in the New Testament:  Rom 12:2, and our text Titus 3:5.

   In the phrase “of the Holy Spirit” the definite article is supplied by the translator.  The Holy Spirit is of course well known to all Bible students.

   The following is an example of statements appearing in the Spirit of Prophecy in the context of the renewal of the Holy Spirit.

   “The Christian’s life is not a modification or improvement of the old, but a transformation of nature.  There is a death to self and sin, and a new life altogether.  This change can be brought about only by the effectual working of the holy Spirit” (D.A., p. 172).

   “The Lord Jesus acts through the Holy Spirit; for it is His representative.  Through it He infuses spiritual life into the soul, quickening its energies for good, cleansing it from moral defilement, giving it a fitness for His Kingdom.  Jesus has large blessings to bestow, rich gifts to distribute among men.  He is the wonderful Counselor, infinite in wisdom and strength; and if we will acknowledge the power of His Spirit and submit to be molded by it, we shall stand complete in Him.  What a thought is this!  In Christ dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily.  And ye are complete in Him.  Never will the human heart know happiness until it is submitted to be molded by the Spirit of God.  The Spirit conforms the renewed soul to the model, Jesus Christ.  Through the influence of the Spirit enmity against God is changed into faith and love, and pride into humility.  The soul perceives the beauty of truth, and Christ is honored in excellence and perfection of character.  As these changes are effected, angels break out in rapturous song, and God and Christ rejoice over souls fashioned after the divine similitude (M.Y.P., 55, 56).

   “In the work of redemption there is no compulsion.  No external force is employed.  Under the influence of the Spirit of God, man is left free to choose whom he will serve.  In the change that takes place when the soul surrenders to Christ, there is the highest sense of freedom.  The expulsion of sin is the act of the soul itself.  True, we have no power to free ourselves from Satan’s control; but when we desire to be set free from sin, and in our great need cry out for a power out of and above ourselves, the powers of the soul are imbued with the divine energy of the Holy Spirit, and they obey the dictates of the will in fulfilling the will of God” (D.A., p. 466).

   “God takes men as they are, and educates them for His service, if they will yield themselves to Him.  The Spirit of God, received into the soul, quickens all its faculties.  Under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, the mind that is devoted unreservedly to God, develops harmoniously, and is strengthened to comprehend and fulfill the requirements of God.  The weak, vacillating character becomes changed to one of strength and steadfastness.  Continual devotion establishes so close a relation between Jesus and His disciples that the Christian becomes like his Master in character.  He has clearer, broader views.  His discernment is more penetrative, his judgment better balanced.  So quickened is he by the lifegiving power of the Son of Righteousness, that he is enabled to bear much fruit to the glory of God” (Gospel Workers, pp. 285, 286).

“If we are true to the promptings of the Spirit of God, we shall go on from grace to grace and from glory to glory until we shall receive the finishing touch of immortality” (My Life Today, p. 99).

1. The Holy Spirit.
2. God the Father – God our Savior in verse 4.
3. There is an on-going theological debate as to whether dikaioo (justified) means declared righteous or made righteous.  If justification is said to be based in God’s mercy then a definition of declared righteous and not made righteous is possible but if justification is said to be by grace – – the power of God which restores the soul from the destructions of sin – – then the definition of justification must include the element of being made different; changed from something to something.

   If one were to seek to draw-up a statement regarding justification by using the entries appearing under “Justification” in the Index to the Spirit of Prophecy materials, that document might look something like the following:

   No man can make himself worthy of justification (1SM390).  To be called by God and to be justified by God are not one and the same thing (1SM 390), because justification cannot take place until the heart is fully surrendered to God (1SM366).  Christ died for mans’ justification, Christ is man’s justification (AA476; pp 431).  Christ’s obedience is placed to the sinners account by justification (6BC1073).  This is imputed righteousness (1SM377).  This blessing comes not to all men but through faith in the atonement made by Christ (1SM389).  God saves us under a law that we must ask if we would receive, seek if we would find and knock if we would have the door opened to us (1SM377).  Justification is a gift of God (1SM391) but faith is a step in receiving justification (SL81), for by repentance and faith we are justified before God, and through divine grace enabled to render obedience to His commandments (SL81).  Thus we see that good works are not a means of justification (6BC1071).  And because Christ asks justification for His people during the investigative judgment (GC484) it is clear that justification is the opposite of condemnation (6BC1070-1071).

   Thus we can conclude about justification that man cannot do it for himself (TM456), and that it can’t be obtained without Christ’s grace (1SM372).  Because justification is by grace man is placed by justification where he can receive the blessings of sanctification (7BC908), that justification is manifest in transformation of character (6BC1071).

   Having made these observations about justification we can now define justification:

   Justification means pardoned (ML250) from the guilt of sin, from the penalty of transgression, from the condemnation of the law (1SM389).

   Justification is imputation of the righteousness of Christ (1SM394), and is our title to heaven (MYP35).

   We can also note the conditions for justification:

   The entire surrender of the heart (1SM366) and supplicating the throne of grace with unwearied entreaty that the renovating power of God may come into one’s soul (1SM393).

   To retain justification there must be continual obedience through active, living faith that works by love and purifies the soul (1SM366).  There must also be continual surrender of the will (1SM397).

   (This brings to mind a statement I once read that the will of God for Paul was everyday out of harmony with the will of Paul for Paul.)

   Justification is granted the moment a sinner accepts Christ; that moment the sinner is pardoned (6BC1071).

   Conclusion:  Justification places fallen man where he can serve God.  The past is forgiven and sufficient grace is imputed to the individual to enable the man to follow the promptings of God’s Spirit, if he responds with faith – – faith which activates the grace imputed to him and makes it become imparted grace working in him.  The resultant progressive growth being sanctification.

   The chance to live a Christian life – – justification; the growing Christian life – – sanctification.

4. Being made heirs to the riches of Christ.

Titus 3:8

1. Verse 7
2. Titus 3:1-7
3. The function of the affirmation is that listeners think about maintaining good works.
4. The affirmation is directed to the ones having believed God.

Titus 3:9-11

1.  An heretic, or “a factious man” in verse 10 is one who won’t leave alone the topics listed in verse 9. 
2. The Christian work of a slave is to reveal Christ by patient kindness.  The work of a minister is to correct those erring, in verse 10.

   Where the minister’s work was successful the slave’s life was much easier I can think; but notice also the following concept:

   “Love, courtesy self-sacrifice, – – these are never lost.  When God’s chosen ones are changed from mortality to immortality, their words and deeds of goodness will be manifest, and will be preserved through the eternal ages.  No act of unselfish service, however small or simple is ever lost.  Through the merits of Christ’s imputed righteousness, the fragrance of such words and deeds is forever preserved” (SD270).

Titus 3:12-15

1. Verse 13 can be summarized as urging Titus and his people (v. 14) to liberally supply the needs of workers for the Gospel who pass through their region.

   Verse 14 adds that providing for others makes a Christian a fruit-bearing tree; that Christians are to keep themselves (middle voice) busy with good works, meeting the necessary needs of others.

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