HE SAVED US. Titus 3:5-7 The motivation to serve the Lord faithfully and obey the laws of the land is to remember what God has done for us. Our new life comes from God when He gives us this new life: "Old things have passed away, behold, all things are become new." The Holy Spirit placed us (immersed, baptized) into the body of Christ at Pentecost, and now we are justified by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is the One who initiated justification (the clearing of all guilt) through Christ's blood shed for us. That way of being justified is by faith in Him, who made it happen for us by grace. Now we are justified by His grace—this is so we can enjoy and live in the benefits of eternal life, despite whatever might happen now or in the future.
Our salvation is a work of God from start to finish. The Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, secured our redemption by paying the price for our sins through His sacrifice on our behalf. Our Gracious Father has forgiven us and welcomed us into His family through the righteousness of Christ credited to us. The Holy Spirit has given us new life through regeneration.
Paul instructed Titus to emphasize good works as evidence of salvation, not as a means to attain it, when teaching the believers at Crete. He clearly stated that good works do not save us; it is God’s mercy alone that enables us to escape the penalty of our sins. Righteousness based on our own efforts is like filthy rags in God’s eyes. We lack the power to save ourselves or to live a Christian life on our own. Everything we have is a gift of God's grace. We have received mercy, not justice, even though justice has been satisfied in God’s eyes.
He saved us not because we deserved it or because of any goodness in us, but because He loved us and sent His Son to bring us to Him. He saved us when we appealed to His mercy and trusted in Him alone as guilty, lost, helpless, and deserving of hell sinners. He saved us, and the Holy Spirit gave us new life, which we now have and will have forever. No one or anything can take us out of His hands. He saved us, and now nothing can break the bonds of His love and grace. He has justified us through His blood. The full price of redemption has been paid by the “precious blood of Christ.” He cleared us of all guilt, and by faith, we know our burden of sin was borne by Him. He has justified us; by His grace, there is no remaining debt we owe to God. He has justified us, and through His resurrection power, the new life we have in Him is evident to those we seek to bring the message of salvation by grace.
However, good works are a result of being saved. “Show me your faith by your works,” James wrote. We have been born again by the Holy Spirit, given a new nature, and cleansed from all our sin stains by Him. The Spirit of God restrained the devil, who wanted us to die before we were saved. He would have come in like a flood, but the Holy Spirit lifted up “a standard” against him.
Then, the Holy Spirit convicted us of sin, righteousness, and judgment to come. He revealed our sin, and the futility of human efforts became clear. Like Felix and Agrippa, we were convicted of our sin, but unlike them, we repented of our sin, admitted our guilt, believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, and were born again by the Holy Spirit. We have a new nature and a new life because we are a new creation in Christ Jesus.
This was not achieved through baptism but through an inward moral cleansing by the word of God. We are born again by the Spirit and the word of God. This renewal does not clean up the old nature and old life, but we are made new by being made the righteousness of God in Christ. The Spirit is the agent involved in our death, burial, and resurrection, and the word of God is the instrument needed to bring faith to life in one who was dead in trespasses and sins.
He made us heirs, not of things on earth that are here but are quickly gone, but of God and joint heirs with Christ. All that God has, He gives us to share with His eternal Son. He made us heirs as children in His family; we have been adopted by Him and made citizens of His kingdom. He made us heirs, and our joy will be complete when everyone sees the true King come in power and great glory, bringing His blood-bought bride with Him.