In Titus 3:5 the Apostle Paul writes, “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us…”  The word “saved” used in this verse is a word that implies rescue.  Imagine for a moment that you are on the Titanic. The ship has gone down, and you are floundering in the icy waters of the Atlantic.  Then a rescue ship appears and pulls you out of the freezing water, and now you are safely onboard, warm and dry. From your point of view, you might say, “I got saved.”  But from the captain’s point of view, he would say, “I saved you.”  This is the point of view Paul presents to us in Titus 3:5: “he saved us.”  Notice how certain and final it sounds.  In our rescue ship example, could you imagine that the captain, having saved you, might later throw you overboard again? No, of course not. The captain, having rescued you, did so with the intent of delivering you safe and sound to your destination.

Running the risk of overemphasizing the point, let me say it another way. When Paul writes, “he saved us”, God is the one acting and we are the objects of his action.  The Message translation brings this out clearly: “It was all his doing; we had nothing to do with it.”  That is the perspective we should have on the subject of salvation. It’s his work, not ours.  This same thought is conveyed in Ephesians 2:8, also from the Message translation: “Saving is all his idea, and all his work. All we do is trust him enough to let him do it.”  Our only part in salvation is simply “trusting him enough to let him do it.”

Notice also that salvation is not a reward for good behavior.  Paul emphasizes that it is “not by works of righteousness which we have done…”  Our behavior, good, bad, or in between, is not a factor at all – salvation is purely a matter of God’s grace and our faith.  Ephesians 2:9, from the Message translation says, “It’s God’s gift from start to finish! We don’t play the major role. If we did, we’d probably go around bragging that we’d done the whole thing!” A question you should ask yourself is this: why did Paul bother to write all of this in the first place? Why did he use the kind of language that he used? What was his intent in presenting this perspective to his readers? Paul (who has the benefit of inside information on the subject) is attempting to engender an attitude of confidence and security in the minds of his Christian readers. He is suggesting that your salvation is not something fragile or uncertain, but is permanent, fixed, and eternal. Why? Because it is based on God’s work, not yours. It is only when you know for certain that you are secure in your relationship with God that you can face the world with confidence and live the kind of life that God intends for you to live.