At One Time We Too

“At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. 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 Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life. 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 3:3-8 (NIV)

Have you ever caught yourself watching or reading the news and thinking, The world has completely lost its mind?

Of course, it doesn’t even have to be the news. Spend five minutes on social media and you’ll probably find people insulting strangers they’ve never met, arguing with someone they’ll never convince, or confidently explaining why everyone else is the problem. It’s easy to look around and wonder, Surely it hasn’t always been this bad.

Then I read Paul’s words to Titus:

“At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures...” (Titus 3:3)

It makes me laugh because every generation seems convinced it’s watching civilization unravel in real time. The first-century church probably felt that way too.

Crete wasn’t exactly known as a model vacation destination for moral character. Even people living in the first century had opinions about the Cretans, and they weren’t particularly flattering. They had a reputation for dishonesty, selfishness, constant conflict, and resisting authority. Sound familiar?

Titus had been left there to help establish healthy churches in the middle of a culture that looked...well...pretty messy.

Paul’s goal wasn’t for Christians to become louder than everyone else. It was for them to become different. That’s why he tells them to be humble, peaceable, considerate, and ready to do good. Their witness wasn’t supposed to come from winning arguments. It was supposed to come from living lives that looked unmistakably shaped by Jesus.

But before Paul explains how Christians should engage the culture around them, he does something that feels both convicting and incredibly compassionate.

He reminds them where they came from.

“At one time we too...”

Those three words quietly dismantle any sense of spiritual superiority. Paul could have written, “Those people are foolish.” Instead, he says, “We were foolish.”

He doesn’t describe the world “out there.” He describes every believer before Christ entered the story.

We were foolish, not because we lacked intelligence, but because we lived apart from the wisdom of God. We were deceived, believing that fulfillment could be found in things that were never capable of satisfying us. And we were enslaved—not necessarily to the same desires, but all of us to something.

That word enslaved catches my attention every time I read this passage. We often think of sin simply as making bad choices, but Paul describes something much deeper. Slavery isn’t just doing something you shouldn’t; it’s looking to something other than God to give you what only He can provide. For some, that looked like pleasure. For others, it might have been power or status.

I can’t help but wonder what Paul would include if he were writing to us today. Maybe he’d mention achievement, approval, productivity, or control. Maybe he’d describe that exhausting feeling that if we could just accomplish one more thing, earn one more promotion, or finally get our lives together, we’d be okay. Whatever promises us life apart from God eventually asks us to serve it.

Which is exactly why verse four begins with two of the most hope-filled words in all of Scripture:

“But when...”

The gospel never begins with what we did for God. It begins with what God did for us.

“But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared...” (Titus 3:4)

I love that Paul chooses those particular words. He could have emphasized God’s power, holiness, justice, or sovereignty—all of which are beautifully true. Instead, he tells us that what appeared was God’s kindness and His love for humanity.

God’s movement toward us was never motivated by our worthiness, but always by His character. That’s why Paul is so careful with his language:

“He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of His mercy.” (Titus 3:5)

I have always found it remarkable how easily we can affirm this truth theologically while quietly living as though it isn’t true practically. Most Christians would never say they have to earn God’s love. We simply live as though God's delight in us rises and falls with our latest spiritual report card.

If you are anything like me, you may, at times, accidentally turn Christianity into the world’s longest performance review. We’d never say God loves us because we had a really good quiet time on Tuesday. We just quietly feel a little more confident approaching Him on Wednesday.

But Paul leaves no room for that way of thinking. Every verb in this passage belongs to God. He saved. He washed. He renewed. He poured out His Spirit generously. He justified. He made us heirs. From beginning to end, salvation is God’s work. His mercy comes first. Our transformed lives are the response, not the reason.

Which makes verse eight a beautiful and necessary conclusion rather than an abrupt change of subject.

“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.” (Titus 3:8)

Notice the order!!

Paul does not say, “Do good so that God will save you.”

He says that because God has saved you entirely by His mercy, devote yourself to doing good.

Grace comes first - Good works follow.

Martin Luther once wrote that God doesn’t need our good works, but our neighbors do. I think Paul would agree. We don’t obey to earn God’s favor; we obey because we’ve already received it.

That was God’s vision for the church in Crete, and it’s still His vision for us today. In a world that often feels marked by anger, division, and self-interest, Paul doesn’t call Christians to mirror the culture—or simply complain about it. He reminds us who we once were, points us to the kindness that rescued us, and invites us to live differently because of it.

Maybe that’s why Paul begins with, “At one time we too...”

It’s difficult to look down on people when you remember you once stood beside them. It’s difficult to write someone off when you remember the patience God had with you. The kindness of God changed everything for us, and the clearest evidence that we’ve truly received that kindness is that it begins to shape the way we treat everyone else.

bytaylormcgee