While We Were... (10-21-12)

Titus 3:3-5 - "For we also once were ourselves, disobedient, deceived, enslaved to various lusts and pleasures, spending our life in malice and envy, hateful, hating one another. But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared, He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior."

Throughout the New Testament we're told about the state of man before Christ, and what God did in spite of that fact. In Titus 3:3-5 we're told that before Christ we were disobedient, deceived, enslaved to lust and pleasure, spending our lives in malice and envy, and we were hateful. But in spite of all that, these verses go on to say, God saved us, not because of ourselves but in spite of ourselves. According to His mercy He saved us. In Romans chapter 5 we have 3 verses that give us descriptions of our state before Christ and what He did in spite of that. Romans 5:6 says - "For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly." We were ungodly and unable to do anything about it. We were helpless to help ourselves. Hopelessly lost in sin. But in spite of that Christ died for the ungodly, He died for us. Through His death He became a help to the helpless. In verse 8 we read - "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." Not only were we helpless, but we were also sinners. The Bible states in Ezekiel 18:4 - "The soul who sins will die." Gods perfect justice demands death for sinners. But in His great love with which He loved us He died in our place. He took the death that His perfect justice demanded. While we were helpless He died for the ungodly. While we were sinners He demonstrated His great love toward us by dying for us. And in verse 10 we read - "For if while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life." We were Gods enemies. And yet even though we were hostile toward Him He reconciled us to Himself through the death of Christ. We read a similar statement in Colossians 1:21-22 - "And although you were formerly alienated and hostile in mind in evil deeds, yet He has now reconciled you in His fleshly body through death, in order to present you before Him holy and blameless and beyond reproach." Can you imagine Hitler facing the death penalty and a Jew stepping in and taking his place in order that he wouldn't have to die? He was an enemy of the Jews, they would never do that. No one is going to die in place of their enemies. In fact that's what Romans 5:7 says - "For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die." But even when we were Gods enemies He died for us. What an amazing love!

We were helpless ungodly sinners, enemies of God, and yet He demonstrated His own love toward us by dying for us in order that we might be forgiven and reconciled to Him. But beyond that, Ephesians 2:4-5 tells us - "But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ, (by grace you have been saved)." God showed His mercy, love and grace to us by making us alive when we were dead. He did what only He could do. Who but Christ could make the dead live? Colossians 2:13 says - "And when you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions." When we were helpless, ungodly sinners, enemies of God and dead in our transgressions He died for us, reconciled us to Himself, made us alive together with Him, that is, He imparted His own life and righteousness to our accounts, He saved us and He forgave us all our transgressions and sins.

In light of all this, what should be our response? To answer this question fully we simply need to read the entire New Testament. The Bible is full of instruction on how we need to live our lives in view of all these things. I won't quote the entire New Testament here, but I will highlight a few key verses that deal with the proper response. Our first response is to repent. To recognize that we cannot help ourselves, we are ungodly sinners, dead in our sins, and enemies of God deserving His wrath. We must confess these things and rely solely on His love, mercy and grace to save us and reconcile us to Himself through His own blood. This is essential to salvation. If someone does not repent they cannot be saved. God desires our repentance. We read in 2 Peter 3:9 - "The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance." And not only does He desire our repentance, but He also demands it. In Acts 17:30-31 we read - "Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent, because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead."

Another response we need to have in view of these things is one of service. Hebrews 12:28 says - "Let us show gratitude, by which we may offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and godly fear." Romans 12:1 says - "Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship." We need to give ourselves completely to Him, recognizing that we are not our own because we were bought with a price, and we need to glorify God in our bodies and in our spirits which are His.

Another response that we need to have has to do with our relationships with other people. In 1 John 4:11 we read - "Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another." He loved us in spite of ourselves, and He loved us so much that He died for us and we also ought to lay down our lives for each other. Ephesians 4:32 says - "Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you." We have been forgiven. We owed an immeasurable debt that we could never pay, and Christ forgave us of that debt by dying in our place. How can we not forgive someone who sins against us? Colossians 3:12-13 - "So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience; bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you."

Ephesians 5:1 - "Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children."