In these verses to Titus, and everywhere else Paul writes, he takes the issue personally. He reminds Titus, as well as himself, that “we” too were foolish, deceived, enslaved by sin, even hating one another. Then, verse 4 begins “but” – (now there’s the redeeming word if ever there was one), but for the kindness, love, mercy and unmitigated grace Jesus literally and overflowingly pours down on us, we would still be slaves to our sin.
In the Old Testament, God gives mankind a day of rest (Deut 5). This day of rest was to include any servant/slave in the house as a reminder to the Hebrew nation that they too were once slaves and, even as such, they were freed by the compassion and grace of God. Similarly, they should have compassion on every slave they encounter.
You may not be all that God wants you to be, yet. But when you look back over your shoulder you can see the person God rescued you from. We all need to continue on in the mission we received from Jesus to make more disciples. But we must do so, as Paul commands, with compassion. And, perhaps most important in this ministry, remembering our slavery should keep us humble enough to speak to people with the same love, patience and unmitigated mercy that we need from Jesus. People will be freed from the shackles of this world only by the words of truth, spoken gently with constant enduring love.
Because of his grace he made us right in his sight and gave us confidence that we will inherit eternal life. This is a trustworthy saying, and I want you to insist on these teachings so that all who trust in God will devote themselves to doing good. These teachings are good and beneficial for everyone. Titus 3:7-8 NLT
