Who are you? Titus 3:4-7
Who are you? Recently I have been searching for the answer to that question. Remember how at Christmas Eve I told you I bought my parents the “I want to hear your story” books? Well unbeknownst to me at the same time Michelle bought for me an Ancestry DNA test. Having been warned by a friend who is cynical beyond his years that a nefarious foreign country would use my DNA to bring me to ruin, I threw caution to the wind spit in the test tub and sent my saliva off to be tested. As I await the results, I have been reaching out to family members and researching genealogical records. So far I have been able to trace my family back to Merionethshire Wales in the 1500’s. With the possible exception of a ship captain who may or may not have been a pirate and a land baron who was the 18th most wealthy man in New York, so far there is nothing scandalous or sensational to report. My people were mostly craftsmen, businessmen, and farmers. Has anyone else done this, maybe not spit your DNA into a test tube but research your family tree? I wouldn’t be surprised if several of you have, genealogical research is a billion-dollar business. It can be both fun and fascinating to research your family tree, but that is where you come from it is not who you are.
Who are you? Perhaps the answer to that question lies not in the past but in the present. If I asked your classmates or coworkers to tell me who you are, your classmates might tell me you are an athlete, academic, or artist and your coworkers might tell me you are a salesman, engineer, or entrepreneur, but those are things you do they are not who you are. I could ask your friends to tell me who you are. They might tell me you are cautious or adventurous, serious or silly, relaxed or intense, but those are your personality traits, they are not who you are. I could ask your family to tell me who you are, they know you better than anyone else. If they are in an appreciative mood, they might tell me you are honest and loyal, kind and compassionate, humble and patient, but those are descriptions of your character, they are not who you are.
Who are you!?! Deep down at the very core of your being, in your inner most places, in the hidden recesses of your soul who would you say you are? It can be a very unsettling question to ask. Most dare not ask such a question, for they are afraid they won’t like the answer. What about you? Are you afraid? I would understand if you were. As Christians you are more self-aware than most. You know the natural inclinations of the heart are only evil all the time, you know that by nature the sinful mind is full of hostility, you know that mouths are naturally full of cursing, hands naturally grope after sinful desires, and feet naturally walk the path of perdition. You know that by nature you were a lost and condemned creature but that is what you were, it is not who you are.
Who are you? Today, under the direction of one big, beautiful gospel sentence recorded in Titus 3:4-7, I am going to tell you who you are. You are an object of God’s love, you are a recipient of God’s mercy, and you are an heir of God’s salvation.
First, you are an object of love. In Titus 3:4-5a we read, “4 But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, 5 he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done…” Here we read about God’s kindness and love. I don’t know that I would say God’s kindness and love are strictly speaking synonyms but rather that the one influences the other. God’s kindness is a predisposition to do good; to do that which is beneficial. We see an example of God’s kindness in passages like Exodus 34:6 where God describes Himself as a “compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness.”.
God’s Kindness is His natural disposition. God’s Love gives that disposition a direction. You have heard me previously mention that the Greek language has several words to describe different types of love. In the past I have mentioned it to point out the selfless sacrificial love of God represented by the word ἀγάπη. Here, however, the word for love that is used is not ἀγάπη but rather φιλανθρώπως. You can hear the word philanthropy in φιλανθρώπως because philanthropy comes from φιλανθρώπως. The kind of love represented here is a philanthropic love; that is, a love for mankind.
Out of the kindness of His heart God desires to that which is good and beneficial. God’s love is what directs His good benefits towards you. God’s kindness and love are a source of a great deal of relief and comfort because they show you to be the objects rather than the subjects of love. God is the subject of love you are the objects; you are the recipients of God’s action and that is the way you want it. You don’t want your relationship with God to be based on your actions. You know how you are. At your best you could be described as spiritually fickle and flighty, at your worst you could be described as downright rebellious and disobedient. Your relationship with God is thankfully not based on the righteous things you have done, rather it is based on God’s natural disposition to do to good which God has directed toward you. You don’t want to be love’s subject you want to be its object and thankfully that is what you are. You are the object of God’s love.
You are also the recipient of God’s mercy. In Titus 3:5b-6 we read, “...but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, 6 whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior...”. In the previous section we focused on God as the doer, here let us focus on that which God has done, namely shown you mercy. That you needed God’s mercy is honestly not flattering. I think we romanticize the word mercy, but pity is a synonym for mercy and we tend to pity the pathetic. Mercy is show to the pathetic; to those who are in serious need; those who are unable to help themselves and if left to themselves would surely perish.
Because of your sinful state you were pathetic people in need of pity. So, God showed you mercy. Here at this font, or one like it, God’s mercy washed over you. This washing, though performed by the hands of a man, was done at the command of the Heavenly Father, through the working of the Holy Spirit which was empowered by the life, death, and resurrection of God the Son.
Through this washing pitifully pathetic people like you have been reborn and are being renewed. Through this washing you have mercifully been reborn. You who once were dead in your transgressions and sins have been born again, not of flesh and blood but of the spirit, which is a good thing because as Jesus told Nicodemus, “I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.”[1] Through this washing you are being mercifully renewed. You who are now no longer dead in sin but alive in your Savior are now able to live the life you were created to live. You no longer are pathetic people in need of pity. Because you have received God’s mercy you are now the people of God. You are His chosen people, His royal priesthood, His holy nation and as such you can now live a life that declares the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light. Because you were washed at this font or one like it, you are no longer pathetic people to be pitied. Rather, you are the recipients of God’s mercy.
Finally, you are an heir of God’s salvation. In Titus 3:7 we read, “…7 so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.”. There is still more that God has done for you. In addition to His love and mercy, God has justified you; He has restored the relationship between you and your heavenly Father that sin once destroyed. He restored the relationship by restoring you. To do this the heavenly Father had to forsake the heavenly Son; He had to take all your sin that separated you from your heavenly Father and put that sin on Jesus. Jesus had to pay a price so that you could receive an inheritance.
With His death on the cross Jesus paid the price; the Son was forsaken, and your sin has been forgiven. Your relationship with your heavenly Father has been restored which means you are now entitled to an inheritance of hope and heaven. The first part of your inheritance, hope, is presently something that you possess. Now that your relationship with the heavenly Father has been restored you do not live without hope. You may still live with pain and sorrow sickness and sadness but because of your relationship with the heavenly Father you know these things are but temporary frustrations and momentary afflictions. Like saint Paul, hope allows you to consider that your present suffering are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in you. [2]
Speaking of the glory that will be revealed, heaven is the part of your inheritance that is still to come. An existence where your lowly body is transformed from its currently sin saddled state to glorious perfection, where you will be filled with joy and given eternal pleasure, where you will fearlessly stand before the throne of God as prince and princess of your Father’s heaven kingdom. Because you have been justified; because your relationship with your heavenly Father has been restored you are now and forever will be an heir of God’s salvation.
Who are you? Who am I? I am eagerly awaiting the results of my DNA test to see if they match the genealogical research I have been doing. I hope they do match because maybe then I can convince Michelle we need to go on a scientific expedition to discover if I am descended from Welsh peasants or princes. Either way, be they princes or peasants, I think it would be fun to find out from where my people come, but I know DNA testing and genealogical research are not going to tell me who I am any more than your ancestry, activities, personality, character our natural condition can tell you who you are.
Today under the direction of one big beautiful gospel sentence recorded in Titus 3:4-7 I have told you who you are. You are an object of God’s love, you are a recipient of God’s Mercy, you are an heir of God’s salvation. That is who you are. Amen.
[1] John 3:3
[2] Romans 8:18