One Thought from Titus 3:3-7

If you’ve been part of the Riverwood family in 2026, you know our theme for this year is To Know Him & Make Him Known. To continue leaning into that theme this fall here on the blog, we are going to do another “One Thought” series, this time based on the gospel reminder found in Titus 3.

This letter is one of encouragement and instruction from the Apostle Paul to his pastoral friend and protégé, Titus. Titus was serving as the pastor (or more likely, the bishop) of the churches on the island of Crete. Paul had left Titus there to raise up elders for the churches in each town, and so he wrote this letter to remind Titus of the type of pastors (elders) he should be looking for, as well as some things to do when resourcing these churches to make disciples of Jesus.

But what I find interesting is that Paul does for Titus what he often did in his letters to churches—he re-explains the gospel. Here is what Paul wrote:

For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another. But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. (Titus 3:3-7, ESV)

If Titus is supposed to be “appointing elders in every town” (1:5), and “teaching what accords with sound doctrine” (2:1), surely Titus, of all people, knows the gospel. So why does he need a reminder?

Because we all need these reminders! Whether you’ve been following Jesus for a month, a decade, or a century, you need to be reminded of the significance of the gospel. We live in a world that screams the opposite of the gospel through its movies, songs, politics, and conversations around the lunch table. To counteract this bombardment, we need to be prompted to remember what God’s love looks like and how it should impact our day-to-day lives.

So join me next week as we launch into verse 3 of Titus 3, which reminds us of the painful “bad” news that helps us realize just how powerful the “good” news actually is.