October 12, 2026 - Doing What Is Good
“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
I just gave a message tonight about faith being a surrender of the heart leading to salvation then to obedience. It included my testimony of growing up in church and thinking I was a Christian, but it never made a difference in my life. It wasn't until I was an adult and had children of my own that brought me back to church that God revealed my sinfulness to me. That is when I put my faith fully in God. That is when my life began to change. These verses remind me of that.
At one time I was "foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passion and pleasures." We all live that kind of life without Christ. Even if externally, we say and do things that look good. Internally our sinful hearts will be full of malice and envy, and full of hate and all kinds of desires. But when God showed me that His word was full of instruction that spoke against much of my life and personal beliefs, I had to decide if I was willing to give my life fully to Him. I knew about His kindness and love and believed that part of the bible but until then I had not considered the depth of my sin. He showed me that the bible spoke more than just the cool Jesus loves me things to me. When I realized the depth of sin, I understood that depth of His kindness and love when He saved us. There is nothing that I can do to be saved. I have no righteousness of my own. It is only His mercy that can wash me clean and make me new. That is when my reason for going to church and bible study changed from me being curious to learn and enjoying being around the people who were in church (things for me) to me needing to learn and understand what God has given me to better know Him (for relationship with Him). That is when He started to renew my mind and heart through the Holy Spirit. One sin at a time He brought to my attention and convicted me of things that I had never before thought twice about. When we are washed and renewed by the Holy Spirit, He will reveal to us truths in God's word and convict us and empower us to live by His word. When we surrender our lives to Jesus and live for Him it is the Spirit of God that fills us with the hope of eternal life that will compel us to devote ourselves to doing good.
Do I still sin? Of course I do. I will continue to sin until Jesus returns or I am called home but now when I recognize my sin I regret it because I know it displeases God. I have said it before and will say it forever. I am so grateful that He does not convict us of all our sins at one time. Do I sin less now than I did then I think so. I have gone through 30 years of conviction growth and change (sanctification) and I just want to live like Christ as much as I can. I can't thank Jesus enough for giving me a hope for eternity. The best I can do to show my thanks is to be careful to devote myself to doing what is good. Because those things are profitable for everyone.
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