Text: Titus 3:4-7
Date: January 9, 2022
Event: The First Sunday after Epiphany, Year C
Titus 3:4-7 (EHV)
But when the kindness and love of God our Savior toward mankind appeared, 5he saved us—not by righteous works that we did ourselves, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and the renewal by the Holy Spirit, 6whom he poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs in keeping with the hope of eternal life.
God’s Kindness and Love Saved Us
Have you heard about “love languages”? It’s the concept that people tend to like to be shown love in different ways. Perhaps it’s the physicality of a hug, or the surprise of a gift, or the prioritization of quality time with that person. It varies from person to person, but knowing the love language of a spouse or a child or a parent can help you tailor the way you show your affection for them.
Sometimes, though, love is shown in ways that maybe the receiver wouldn’t necessarily have chosen but in a way that is necessary. Maybe the child balks at the vegetables on the plate for dinner, but the parent knows that it is love for their physical well-being that makes the veggies part of the meal. Maybe one spouse does routine preventive maintenance on the house or car while the other never really thinks about it, but love is shown in making sure the vehicles run well and the house is safe from people and animals and weather. Sometimes love is shown in ways we weren’t thinking of or seeking after, but which are very, very important.
That is the case with God’s love for us. God showed us love in ways that we would not have chosen and in ways that we didn’t even know were possible, but it is love shown to us to meet the greatest needs we had. God’s kindness and love saved us—he’s forgiven our sins and will bring us to eternity with him.
The apostle Paul, when writing to Pastor Titus, begins our reading for this morning this way: When the kindness and love of God our Savior toward mankind appeared, he saved us—not by righteous works that we did ourselves, but because of his mercy. We learn a couple of things in these two short verses. First, God’s love and kindness were focused on saving us. Secondly, this was not anything we brought about. Our life of good works and good choices didn’t cause God to look at you or me and say, “Wow, that person really has it together. I should give them a little boost to get them over the hump to save them.”
No, it was purely God’s mercy that caused him to save us. Mercy, because we were completely lost on our own. Our sin had totally destroyed our relationship with God; we were adversarial with God, not kind and loving. His mercy saw our helpless state and sought to intervene because we could do nothing to save ourselves.
And so that kindness and love of God appeared. We just spent the better part of two weeks celebrating that first appearing with Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem. The child there in the manger was born for a purpose, to save us, to rescue us. But this morning we celebrate another appearance of God’s kindness and love, Jesus’ baptism. His baptism served a different role for him than our baptisms do for us. Jesus’ baptism is his appearance because it is the public start of his work to save us. At Jesus’ baptism, the Father was able to proclaim his joy in his Son and what he had come to do. At Jesus’ baptism, he publicly took our place under God’s law, to live a life that would be credited to us. Jesus’ baptism is the clear, public appearance of the kindness and love of God our Savior.
And so Jesus did what he came to do, what we needed him to do. We couldn’t save ourselves so he came to save us. Our sins had brought punishment on our heads, and not the type of punishment that a parent or the judicial system might hand down. This was not temporary and finite; the punishment for sinning against the eternal God is eternal separation from him in hell. That’s what you and I had coming, and that’s what Jesus came to change.
So he took our place under punishment. That will come about three years after the events of our Gospel when he will suffer and die on the cross. That death was not just painful from a physical standpoint; the greater suffering on the cross was the spiritual suffering as he suffered hell in our place. Jesus took the punishment that our sins deserved on himself so that you and I would never face it. Hell is no longer a concern for us because Jesus took it on himself and removed every one of our sins. His resurrection from the dead three days after his death proves his victory and the removal of our sins.
But he doesn’t leave us a blank slate with all the sin removed but nothing else. Jesus’ perfect life has been credited to you and me. Which means when God looks at you he doesn’t see the sins we’ve committed nor does he see someone who’s done nothing. No, when God looks at you he sees the life filled with good works that Jesus did for us. We are perfect in God’s sight because Jesus removed our sins and gave us his life of flawless obedience!
But how do we benefit from this work of Jesus? If you still have your Christmas tree up at home and there’s still a wrapped present under that tree, how useful is that present? That gift is of no use to anyone until it’s opened, right? As long as it remains wrapped and tucked under the tree it is a gift prepared and given, but no one is benefiting from it.
So too, Jesus’ work on behalf of all people doesn’t benefit us unless we trust what he’s done. But, just like we couldn’t work our way out of our sins, we also couldn’t make ourselves believe this truth. God not only had to remove our sins, but he also had to give us the faith to trust him. Paul describes it this way: He saved us through the washing of rebirth and the renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs in keeping with the hope of eternal life.
The Holy Spirit comes and gives us rebirth and renewal. The tool he uses to do that is his Word. It’s the Word we’ve heard proclaimed this morning from the Bible, and his Word specially attached to earthly elements in the Sacraments of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper. As he writes to Pastor Titus, the apostle Paul seems to have baptism especially in mind as he describes this as a washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.
We said that Jesus’ baptism was different than ours. Jesus’ baptism served a lot of purposes, but he did not need faith to trust in God for forgiveness; he was perfect! But you and I do need that. And this morning we were privileged to celebrate not one but three baptisms! For Jaidyn, Sienna, and Rocco, this baptism washed them, renewed them, gave them that rebirth by the Holy Spirit’s work. Baptism may create faith if it isn’t already there or it may strengthen faith that God has previously given, but regardless, we saw the Holy Spirit very active this morning in very subtle ways through these washings, these adoptions into God’s family.
And for those of us who weren’t baptized today but were baptized some months or years or decades ago, our baptisms hold the same meaning and the same blessings. You are uniquely cleansed of sin by your baptism. You are assured that you are not a slave to sin any longer but a member of God’s family. You are not an outsider or an outcast in this family either. You are an heir of God.
Being an heir means you have an inheritance to look forward to. The inheritance that we have in God’s family is far greater than any earthly inheritance. I read a post online last week written by a 19 year old asking for help because he has just inherited over $100,000 at his great grandmother’s passing. How could he make that be a blessing and last? How could he ensure he did not waste it and have it disappear? Whether an earthy inheritance is $10 or a billion dollars, that’s always a danger, isn’t it? There’s always a chance you might spend it foolishly or invest it in a way that goes belly-up, or be cheated and deceived out of it. Even if you are wise enough to turn that inheritance into something you can pass on to others, who’s to say they will actually be responsible with it? Earthly treasures, even inheritances, do not last forever.
But not so with the inheritance our heavenly Father gives. Because our inheritance is life with him in the perfection and eternity of heaven. That life with God will never end; the perfection will never end. There will never be anything to ruin it or corrupt it. That’s what God has promised to us and that is exactly what will happen.
How did we ever get so fortunate to have such blessings given to us? Well, it wasn’t about you and it certainly wasn’t about me. When the kindness and love of God our Savior toward mankind appeared, he saved us. Jesus came to rescue us from everything bad we had done and made it so we would have nothing but good to look forward to after this life. And during this life, he still provides for us, still takes care of us, still give us what we need. He loves us in ways that we didn’t know were possible. He loves us in ways that we could never have guessed were coming. But he has loved us in those ways just the same. May we all rejoice in God’s kindness and love every day, through eternity! Amen.
