Born Again? I Know I Am. New Life

"Remind the believers to submit to the government and its officers. They should be obedient, always ready to do what is good. They must not slander anyone and must avoid quarreling. Instead, they should be gentle and show true humility to everyone." Titus 3:1-2

New Birth = New Life

The passage above was taken from the letter of the Apostle Paul to Titus. Titus is among the first Non Jewish leaders of the early church.

In the passage above, Paul was instructing Titus to remind believers under his leadership to do five things.

1. Be law abiding citizens

2. Do good

3. Not to slander

4. Not to fight

5 Be humble and gentle

Like the instructions to Timothy, which we talked about in the previous message in this series*, this new kind of living is not easy and hard to fake. It can only be done with and through the Spirit of God.

Yes, in fact, without being reborn in the spirit, this new life will be impossible to live.

Christian Belief

In this letter, Paul went one step further and explained to Titus the doctrine behind the Christian faith. It could be because, unlike the first believers (Jewish people), Titus being a Gentile (non-Jew like most of us) did not grow up with the knowledge of God like Jews would have.

God's Love, Mercy & Grace

I think the Contemporary English Version puts it quite nicely and easy to understand --

"We used to be stupid, disobedient, and foolish, as well as slaves of all sorts of desires and pleasures. We were evil and jealous. Everyone hated us, and we hated everyone.

God our Savior showed us
    how good and kind he is.

He saved us because
    of his mercy,
and not because
of any good things
    that we have done.

God washed us by the power
    of the Holy Spirit.
He gave us new birth
    and a fresh beginning.

God sent Jesus Christ
our Savior
    to give us his Spirit.

Jesus treated us much better
    than we deserve.

He made us acceptable to God
and gave us the hope
    of eternal life."  Titus 3:3-7

And thus the newly born believer is a new creation. Not anymore their old self. Not doing the old things they used to do. But like a new baby, reborn and has become a little child learning to talk, to walk and to act. And yes needing a father or a mother and older brothers and sisters to love them, care for them, teach them and show them how.

*Note: this is the fourteenth message in this series, below are the links to the previous messages.


Born Again Series

Born Again? I Don't Get It!

Born Again? I'm Starting to Get It.

Born Again? I Get It!

Born Again? I Want It!

Born Again? I Believe I am. What's Next?

Born Again? I Believe I am. What Now?  (Two Part)

Born Again? I Know I Am. But, But, But Why?

Born Again? I Know I Am.

Born Again? I Know I Am. But Why?

Born Again? I Know I Am. The Big Why.

Born Again? I Know I Am. Sing It Out!

Born Again? I Know I Am -- A Stone Singing Out!

Born Again? I Know I Am. Hard To Fake It