Paul tells us how to be gentle and patient with others by recalling that we were once living in the wrong ways ourselves.
"Remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready to do whatever is good, to slander no one, to be peaceable and considerate, and always to be gentle toward everyone." (Titus 3:1-2) This is sensible advice for anyone, and particularly for Christians so that no one can malign the name of Christ by being able to criticize His followers.
It will be easier to be "gentle toward everyone" if we keep in mind that we ourselves were not always so respectable. It's true that we are now new creatures in Christ, but our pasts aren't necessarily so pretty. Yet God had patience with us and we should return the favor by being patient with others. "At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another." (Titus 33)
We can't look down on people who haven't yet come to Christ. It's not as if we deserved salvation ourselves; therefore we can't be prideful about it. Christ didn't look at us and decide we were better than anyone else and more worthy of salvation than anyone else. At one time we were just as lost and just as full of sin as anyone we know. It's because of the Lord's mercy alone that we are redeemed. "But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of His mercy." (Titus 3:4-5a)
Did we do any of the work that made us righteous? No, that work is the Lord's and we owe our thanks to Him, not to ourselves. "He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by His grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life." (Titus 3:4b-7) We didn't clean ourselves up. We couldn't. We were like children who roll around in the mud and then try in vain to wipe the mud off with dirty hands. But we were washed by the only One who could make us clean, the One of whom John the Baptist prophesied, saying, "I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me comes One who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire." (Matthew 3:11) John was saying, "There is One coming who will wash you with the Holy Spirit and will purge impurities from you like a metalworker purges impurities from gold."
There is a right way and a wrong way of remembering what Christ has saved us from. Remembering where we came from doesn't mean living in regret and depression. It doesn't mean telling ourselves, "I sinned too much in the past to do anything for the kingdom of God." Remembering where we came from should make us grateful for how the Lord has changed us, and it should also make our hearts soft toward others who have not yet allowed the Lord to change them. This remembrance is not intended to be used to beat ourselves up but to keep us humble. If we aren't humble in spirit we can't successfully minister to those around us. "This is a trustworthy saying. And I want you to stress these things, so that those who have trusted in God may be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good. These things are excellent and profitable for everyone." (Titus 3:8)
No comments:
Post a Comment