The Meaning of Baptism Titus 3:1-8
The eminent psychologist, Dorothy Rowe, was talking about religion on ‘Women’s Hour’ on Radio 4 and on her observations of how religion affects society. She argued that religious people construct a fantasy about how they are superior to those who don’t share their views. They point the finger at others and says: ‘You are the problem, not me.’ Religion is therefore by nature exclusive - it breaks us into tribes, and it divides society. That was her view.
Many looking in on spiritual matters have had a similar experience of Christians; arrogant, bigoted, self-righteous, divisive, and hypocritical! The aim of this article is to demonstrate that the pseudo-Christianity many of us have experienced and have rejected is not the Christianity of the Bible.
The apostle Paul wrote a short letter to his colleague Titus and it might surprise you that Paul’s expectations for Christians are the complete opposite of Dorothy Rowe’s experience of religion. He wrote:
“Remind the people [that’s the Christians] 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 to show true humility toward all men.” Titus 3:1-2
Notice that instead of being divisive and tribalistic, Christians are to be “peaceable and considerate”, “ready to do whatever is good”. Notice that instead of being arrogant, proud, and holier-than-thou Christians are to “show perfect humility towards all people”.
The big question is this: what stops Christians from falling into the patterns that Dorothy Rowe describes? What stops Christians from thinking they are better than everyone else?
Paul gives us some reasons.
1. Our past is not flattering
A common accusation levelled at wealthy celebrities is that they’ve forgotten their humble origins. But just in case followers of Jesus are in danger of forgetting their humble origins and start looking down on those who aren’t Christians, Paul gives us a reminder of we were like in the past, it’s as though he holds up an unflattering old photograph that includes himself in the picture. He writes:
“At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures.” Titus 3:3
In the Bible the fool is not a comic character, but a tragic one. The fool is someone who tries to live life as though God doesn’t exist. Like a spoilt child at Christmas, the fool is happy to take all the gifts such as life but doesn’t show any interest in the giver. We have been given family, friendships, home, holidays and many gifts. In effect, the fool says to God,
“I’m content to live my life, my way, without you”
The irony is that whilst this might give the appearance of freedom this person is in fact,
“. . . deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures.” Titus 3:3
In the Human Planet documentaries on television there is an episode showing how the Inuit people of the Arctic Circle catch wolves. They take a razor sharp knife and cover it in seals blood, which then freezes. Then they stick the knife in the ground, blade upwards, and walk away
Over night, a wolf would come, attracted by the smell and it would begin to lick the knife, enjoying the taste of seals blood but soon he gets frustrated with the limited payout, so he licks harder and harder. Eventually, the wolf is delighted once the blood starts to flow. By this point his tongue is so numbed by the cold that he doesn’t realise what he is doing. As he gets weaker and weaker with the loss of blood, his appetite gets stronger and stronger. When the hunters return the next morning they find one dead wolf.
It’s a gruesome story, but Paul is making a similar point here: our appetites can be fatal. We take these ‘good’ things from God, and then worship them as though they are God! We expect they will offer us life, satisfaction and freedom. Whether it’s our wealth, our jobs, our passions
Ironically, they enslave and entrap us. The payout is limited but being numbed to the dangers, we just carry on.
Paul’s reminder of a Christian’s unflattering past begins with how he treated God but he goes on to show the ensuing knock on effects - how we treat one another:
“We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another.” Titus 3:3
You may think:
“Steady on Paul - I’m not quite sure that quite describes me…”
The philosopher CS Lewis argued that the single biggest motivation and drive in human existence (next to our fear of death) is our desire for approval, for respect, and for status. We are desperate to climb in people’s estimations of us. We want to be the most loved, the most successful, the most approved of. It is that insecurity which drives us to push others down (malice) It’s what drives us to desire the position others are in (envy). The inevitable result of malice and envy is “hating and being hated”. We see this in our schools, our workplaces, sometimes even our families!
Christians have no no reason to be self-righteous. In fact, we should show “true humility” because we too have an unflattering past.
2. We have received an undeserved rescue by our heavenly Father!
This is the second reason why Christians need to be humble. After the darkness of verse 3, there comes a wonderful gear shift. Here Paul explains how our God our Father has acted to save people like us.
“But when the kindness and love of God our Saviour appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy.” Titus 3:4-5
Paul begins by describing the Father who saves people so that they cane be part of his family. Many people imagine that God the Father is a bit distant and disinterested, a stoic Victorian patriarch, with a cane in his hands, and no smile on his face. That couldn’t be further from the truth!
Here he is described here as being kind, loving, and merciful, he desires to save the very people who have ignored and rejected him. We who have turned our backs on him, are made the recipients of his love! This salvation is not given in exchange for the good things we might have done, it is completely free, it is a gift! This is what separates Christianity from every religion.
Max Muller was one of the greatest ancient language experts of the last century he once said this in a lecture to his peers:
“For 40 years at the University of Oxford I have carried out my duties as Professor of Sanskrit. I have devoted as much time to the study of the holy books of the East as any other human being in the world. And I venture to tell this gathering what I have found to be the basic note, the one single chord, of all these holy books - be it the Veda of the Brahmans, the Qur'an of the Muslims, the Sendavesta of the Parsis. The one basic note or chord that runs through all of them is salvation by works. They all teach that salvation must be bought and that your own works and merits must be the purchase price. Our own Bible, our sacred book from the East, is from start to finish a protest against this doctrine”.i
Christianity is not a religion…it is a rescue! Dorothy Rowe’s radio broadcast has described the effect of religion on society, the superiority complexes, the finger pointing, the tribalism. She is right, religion does do those things but followers of Jesus will not.
Imagine for a moment what it would mean if God did save or accept us on the basis of what we do. Then, not only would Christians become intolerably self-righteous, we would also be chronically insecure , wondering if we have ever done enough to please God.
God however has rescued us simply on the basis of his undeserved mercy. This means we can enjoy complete security in our salvation and we have no reason to boast or point fingers. We have a Father who loves us and saves us.
God’s Spirit then changes us
Paul goes on to tell us about the Spirit who washes us clean of all sin:
“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 Saviour,” Titus 3:5b-6
God the Spirit’s role here is described a bit like a bath but the cleanliness of a bath is temporary, soon we will need another bath, and then another bath.
The washing that the Spirit gives us never needs to be repeated. It is a one off event that has continual effects. So the moment that someone puts their trust in Jesus and determines to follow him, the Spirit comes and washes them of their guilt, sin, and shame. He makes us clean before the Father, we are credited with and clothed in God’s righteousness that we cannot deserve. But more than that, he continues to renew and empower us, so as to make us more like him.
Baptism is a picture of this washing. It anticipates what the Spirit’ will begin to do in a person. They die to the old life, they are washed of their sin and then they are raised up to live a new life for God. This is so meaningful for those who come to Christ after living away from God. For a child born into a Christian family, people pray that one day they will confirm for themselves these promises made on their behalf. They must declare that they themselves are now committed to the salvation planned the Father, having been washed by the Spirit. But how are we cleansed?
It is the Son who justifies
Paul wrote:
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 Saviour, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life. Titus 3:5-7
‘Justified’ is a legal term - the sort of thing you might hear in a law court. It means the person who believes in Jesus has been declared innocent of all charges
A rather eccentric Englishman went on holiday to Europe. Having more money than sense he decided to ship his pride and joy along with him - it was his car, a Rolls-Royce – then the crown jewels of the motoring world. There he was, enjoying the lack of speed limits on the German Autobahns. All of a sudden, disaster struck. And his precious car broke down! He called the Rolls-Royce people back in England and said,
“I’m having trouble with my car, what do you suggest I do?”
Rolls Royce flew a mechanic over to him to fix the car. The man was amazed at this extraordinary service and when he got back from holiday he wrote to the company asking how much he owed them. He got this reply back:
“Dear sir, there is no record anywhere in our files that anything ever went wrong with a Rolls-Royce”.
For the person who trusts in Jesus, God has no record anywhere that you’ve ever done anything wrong. We have been justified by grace, free of charge.
This is why the Son of God entered our world, his world, as the heir and inheritor of all creation, He lived the most attractive and blameless life and yet he chose to go willingly to the cross to die. There he bore upon himself the punishment that we deserve. He took our guilty verdict onto himself and in exchange, we received his innocence, the status of his righteousness. We became heirs with him of eternal life.
We have an unflattering past and we have an undeserved rescue orchestrated by the triune God.
This is a trustworthy message
“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
Each of us will be at different points in our thinking about Christianity. Whoever we are, Paul commends to us this message of salvation. He says it is “excellent and profitable for everyone”
For the person who has already entrusted themselves to the triune God, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, having understood his kindness and grace that has been shown to us, having enjoyed the security of knowing God’s undeserved approval, there is a real need for us to realise why God has done this. He has called us to himself so we can pass on that same grace to others We must:
“ . . . devote yourself to what is good”
We Christians must be careful to avoid the charges levelled at religion by people, like Dorothy Rowe. As our culture swings more and more violently away from Christ and his values we must stand up for Jesus. We are not better, we are not wiser, we are not some exclusive club, we are merely beggars showing other beggars where to find a feast
For those who are still investigating, please be aware that Christianity is not a religion, it is a rescue, it is a free gift. But like all gifts, it’s a gift which must be accepted.
Salvation, cleansing, and an innocent verdict are on offer. Will you accept them as the free gift that they are? At the very least, will you aim to find out more and make it a priority to search for the truth?
This article is based on the talk given by my son, the Rev. Andy Palmer at the baptism of his eldest daughter Chloe
iMax F. Muller, ‘India: What Can it Teach Us?’ 8 Jan. 2002
