Titus 3:5-10

Titus 3:5-10 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. But avoid foolish controversies and genealogies and arguments and quarrels about the law, because these are unprofitable and useless. Warn a divisive person once, and then warn him a second time. After that, have nothing to do with him. You may be sure that such a man is warped and sinful; he is self-condemned.

Again Paul addresses his concerns about those who insert the law into God's plan of salvation. By arguing the need for following the law and in emphasizing genealogies, they were furtively undermining Jesus' claim as the Messiah, for only a Levite could hold the position of high priest. Jesus was not a Levite, for He was out of the tribe of Judah; therefore, to some of those who followed the law strictly, Jesus could not be the consummate mediator between God and man. This idea of the law-bound was a dagger at the heart of Christianity. If Jesus were not the Messiah, then their message of salvation through him was untrue, a distortion of the Old Testament. Paul warned Titus to avoid this kind of talk as unprofitable and useless. He knew this divisiveness would eventually distort the "good news" and make the message impotent, especially to the Jews who would be led astray most easily.

The author of Hebrews addresses this concern of whether Jesus was the Messiah by pointing out that Jesus' priesthood was in the order of Melchizedek, not the Levites. Abraham paid tithes to Melchizedek; therefore, Levi, in the loins of Abraham, also paid tithes to Melchizedek. Consequently, Melchizedek's priesthood superseded the Levitical priesthood. It is important to know the nature of Jesus' priesthood because Melchizedek's priesthood was an eternal one. The writer of Hebrews quotes Psalms 110 concerning Christ, For it is declared: “You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek." (Hebrews 7:17) Therefore, if Jesus Christ is of his order, we can have confidence that He is presently before the Father advocating for us, presenting himself as our salvation. The law was established for the flesh, to keep the flesh under control. The law was not from the beginning. Christ came not necessarily to keep the flesh in control, but to redeem man from his hopeless state of sin. Therefore, Christ's message is to our spirits: we must be born again. His message was to provide freedom from sin and eternal life to a lost and dying race. Because of our faith in him and HIS WORK at the cross, we are no longer controlled by the dead letter of the law, which has power only to show us our sins. We now have a new life, a new spirit, and abundant life, which is attuned to the voice of God through the Holy Spirit within us. We no longer have to make retribution for our sins, for Jesus, our high priest, has done that for us. We are free, free at last.

Now, do we continue to sin to show God's great mercy and grace? No, we bring our flesh under the authority of God by obeying the voice of the Holy Spirit within us, for He is revealing truth to us and teaching us all things, especially the nature of God. We, therefore, no longer allow ourselves to be vehicles of division, but instruments of unity. We seek peace, rather than disruption. We seek salvation, rather than judgment. We seek God our Father, rather than law, for we are children of God who can approach the throne of grace boldly, for we have A PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD through his Son. Paul said any other plan that includes the law makes the good news of grace of none affect. One's need of obeying even ONE LAW, places all else under jeopardy, for we are not children of the law, we are children of grace, children of hope, children of the good news--Christ has come to save sinners, and He lives forevermore to make intercession for us and to receive us to our heavenly home.