Letter for April 1987

Dear Friends,

“He saved us”. These are the first three words of verse 5 of chapter 3 of Paul’s letter to Titus. This is what Christianity is all about, and this is the glory of the Gospel.

If we are saved we must he saved from something, and when we begin to enquire what the Christian is saved from we find that the Bible gives a number of terrible things we are saved from which before we became Christians we did not know we needed to be saved from. One of these things is given to us by Paul in verse 3 of this chapter - “At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another”.

If human beings are really like this then we are not naturally very nice people. But are we really like this? Christians have come to realise that this is a picture of what they were like before they were saved. It is not a pleasant experience when the Holy Spirit opens our eyes to what we are really like deep down inside us, but it a most wonderful experience when the Holy Spirit teaches as that Christ still loves us just as we are. Listen to how Paul puts it in verse 4 of this chapter - “But when the kindness and love of God our Saviour appeared”. This is Christ. He appeared on this earth. He was God and Saviour. He came in kindness and love to save us. Jesus is called our Great God and Saviour in chapter 2 verse 13.

Most people will resent any idea that they are anything like the picture Paul paints of human beings as quoted above, but the Holy Spirit teaches Christians to see the reality in their hearts, and we don't just say, that is like so and so down the street, but we see these horrid things in our own nature. However as we begin to hate ourselves, it is wonderful to learn that Christ loves us even though we are hateful inside, and that he does wonderful things for us. “He saved us through the washing of rebirth and the renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out generously through Jesus Christ our Saviour”.

When God saves us by Christ, he generously - notice the word for it describes so well God’s action towards us - pours out the Holy Spirit on us. The Holy Spirit produces rebirth, which is rebirth of spiritual life so that we love and know spiritual things and know and love God, and this includes the washing of our sins. All that horridness we now see in us is washed away as far as God is concerned and we are forgiven. Further the Holy Spirit is with us and in us to renew us each day, and give us help and strength to overcome that horridness. Further still the Holy Spirit assures us that we are heirs of eternal life (v.6). The result is a settled peace in our hearts.

All this God’s grace and mercy. It is because of his mercy he saved us. This is the extra wonder, because as we are taught the nastiness of our human nature we realise that there is nothing in us that can make us acceptable to God.

Paul ends this statement about God’s goodness to us in verse 8 by saying “This is a trustworthy saying". In other words he tells us that we can rely on it as true. In this he speaks from his experience in the Holy Spirit to our experience; and we find ourselves saying from our experience it is true.

Your servant for Christ’s sake,