The Text: Titus 3:4-7 "But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour 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 Saviour; 7 That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life."

The only reason we are now different from the rest of the unsaved world is that Jesus Christ saved us from our sins. Every aspect of Salvation is from God. In verses 4-7 Paul points out Seven Aspect of Our Salvation All Initiated By God. Our Salvation is based on…

The Greek word translated kindness is crhstothv chrastotas (kray-stot-ays), which carries the idea of goodness of heart or generosity of heart. The truth is, we all deserve to go to Hell. But, God has a generous heart. We know that from what we read in 1 Timothy 2:4 "Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth." Consider also 2 Peter 3:9 "The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance."

Out of the goodness of God’s heart or as it says in verse 3 "after the kindness…of God our Savior," He sent His Son to be the Savior of the world (1 John 4:4). That was a very generous thing for our Lord to do, was it not?

Verse 4 says, "But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared." The Greek word translated love here is filanyrwpia philanthropia (fil-an-thro-pee’-ah). This is where we get our English word philanthropy which means a love for mankind coupled with inclination to increase the well-being of humankind. The Greek word means virtually the same thing. God’s plan of salvation was founded on His love for man, and was the highest expression of that love. We read of his love for mankind in John 3:16 "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."

However, do not take this love for mankind to mean that God approves the conduct of sinful men, but that He had benevolent feelings toward them, or was "earnestly desirous" of their happiness. God hates all wickedness, but he still desires the Happiness of those who are sinful. "He hates the sin, but loves the sinner." In fact, God is the The Great Philanthropist. The same love that induced God to create man and rejoice at his creation also induced God to devise a plan of Redemption when man fell into sin so that he might be restored to fellowship with God. That indeed is love.

Titus 3:5a "Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us…"

Christ did not save us because of anything that we were or anything that we could be. This verse makes it clear that our good works have absolutely NO value in gaining our Salvation (see Matthew 7:22; Romans 3:20; 2 Timothy 1:9; Galatians 2:16; Ephesians 2:8-9). We were Saved "according to his mercy."

The Greek word translated mercy is eleon eleon (el-e-on). Mercy is the kindness or good will of God towards the sinner, joined with a desire to help them. In God’s mercy, He does not give us what we deserve. He mercifully sent us a Savior, Jesus Christ.

Titus 3:5 says, "by the washing of regeneration…"

When we were saved, we were cleansed from all our sins. Praise the Lord. The Greek word translated regeneration is paliggenesiav paliggenesias (pal-ing-ghen-es-ee’-as) new birth, recreation, regeneration. This is the second birth, the spiritual birth, which comes about the moment, we believe in Christ. We read in 1 John 5:1 "Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God: and every one that loveth him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him."

Titus 3:5 says, "renewing of the Holy Ghost." The "renewing of the Holy Ghost" is an indispensable part of being saved. The Greek word translated renewing is anakainwsewv anakinoseos (an-ak-ah’-ee-no-sis) and means a complete renovation of something, a change for the better. When someone trusts Christ as Savior, the Holy Spirit, working through the Word of God makes a RADICAL inside change in the life of that person (2 Corinthians 5:17). The Holy Spirit essentially gives us a new mind so that we can understand the Bible and think the thought of Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 2:16; Romans 12:2). Our Salvation is based on…

Titus 2:6 says, "Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour." We must remember that it is only through the shed blood and death of God’s Son, Jesus Christ that we are saved. His death was a substitutionary death. That is He died in my place. He died in your place (Isaiah 53:5; 1 Peter 2:24). As one preacher put it, "His death in our place and for us is the means, and the only means of our Salvation. Our Salvation is based on…

Titus 3:6 says, "That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life."

Grace gives us what we cannot and do not deserve! We do not deserve to be forgiven. We do not deserved to have our sins removed. We do not deserve to have Christ’s righteousness added (imputed) to our account. We do not deserve to he heirs to eternal life. But God in His love for us, graciously and freely gave all these things and more to those who believe in Christ. That’s wonderful.

I will close by having you turn in your Bibles to 1 Peter 1:3-5 "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, 5 Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time."