Grace Received Transforms How You Live

You can spend years in a church and slip, without noticing, into a way of life where the gospel becomes a memory of your conversion instead of a driving force for today. Bill Cameron, in a message based on Titus 3, takes us back to the source. God's grace isn't just what saved you one day. It's what still changes, today, the way you act as a citizen, a neighbor, a brother or sister.

This message picks up the thread left by last week's teaching on Titus chapter 2. There, Paul gave instructions about the behavior of Christians in the different groups within the church, and he always tied that behavior back to the plan of grace. Chapter 3 continues the same movement: first concrete instructions for living in society, then a reminder of what we once were, then the immense work of salvation, and finally clear guidance for avoiding division and supporting God's work.

This article walks you through Titus 3 point by point with Bill Cameron, to see how grace received becomes a lived-out ethic, and why you're called to keep insisting on this gospel of grace, without ever adding anything to it.

Outline of the message

1. God's grace teaches you to behave well in society (Titus 3:1-2)

The text opens with very concrete instructions. Titus 3:1-2 tells you to submit to rulers and authorities, to be ready for every good work, to slander no one, to be peaceable, gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all people.

You're called to be a good citizen and a good neighbor. In Titus's day, ministering in Crete, that meant cultivating good relationships even with the Roman occupier. That's not an easy instruction to receive in a context of political tension. Bill Cameron reminds us of the general rule: give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, which means paying your taxes, respecting the common good, accepting a certain number of constraints for the sake of living together.

There's one exception, found in Acts 5:29: "We must obey God rather than men." When authorities forbid the proclamation of the gospel, obedience to God comes first. But outside of that exception, the rule is peaceful submission to authorities.

Slander no one. That instruction is especially relevant in your day, the age of social media, of algorithms that reinforce your own opinions and turn disagreement into hostility. People stop talking to each other and start throwing jabs instead. The Christian is called to be a thoughtful person. That word comes up again and again in chapter 2 for older men, older women, young people. Sober-minded, self-controlled, which is what makes it possible to be peaceable, kind, and courteous, even toward someone who doesn't share your life or your values. And in the verses that follow, Paul shows that it's precisely a right understanding of grace that makes you capable of these attitudes.

2. God's grace reminds you of what you once were (Titus 3:3)

Titus 3:3 is a verse that brings you very low. "For we were also once foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving various lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another."

This verse paints the exact opposite of kindness. There are degrees to all this, but there's no exception. We were foolish. The Psalms say it more than once: "The fool has said in his heart, 'There is no God.'" Living with no reference to God means living as if no one sees, as if there were no judgment. What can't be seen stops counting. But when you believe God sees you even when no one else is watching, you think differently. That's Hagar's line in Genesis 16:13: "You are a God who sees."

A person living with no reference to God pursues whatever pleases them, potentially at the expense of others. That doesn't mean they don't love their family or friends. It means there's a risk, the risk of chasing your own plans and passions to the point that anything standing in the way becomes an obstacle, an object of hatred.

Bill Cameron insists: we were no different. The Christian isn't someone who was born righteous, or virtuous, or Christian. They became a Christian. That truth should give you great humility, a great gentleness in how you look at those who don't yet follow Christ. You're never more than a sinner saved by God's grace. On your own, you're in no way superior to the person in front of you. And the person you see living in a way that offends you might be a future apostle Paul, transformed by grace. You can't file anyone away in a fixed category, God's grace is for all people.

3. God's grace reminds you of the love that saved you (Titus 3:4-7)

The text then turns to a theological high point. Titus 3:4-7: "But when the kindness of God our Savior and his love toward mankind appeared, not by works of righteousness which we did ourselves, but according to his mercy, he saved us through the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, that being justified by his grace, we might be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life."

Chapter 2 had already presented God's grace as a source of salvation for all people (Titus 2:11). Chapter 3 goes even further back: this grace has its source in the love of God. God is the one who takes the initiative in salvation. If the reminder of what you once were should stir up humility in you, the reminder of God's undeserved love should stir up wonder.

Bill Cameron points out a helpful distinction between two words Paul pairs together here: grace and mercy. Grace is when God gives you what you don't deserve, forgiveness, the status of a child. Mercy is when God doesn't give you what you do deserve, judgment, condemnation. Both together should bring you back to humility and gratitude.

God cleanses you through the regeneration of the Spirit. You were dead to the life of God, and the Holy Spirit entered your heart to give you life. If the Holy Spirit hadn't opened your eyes, you couldn't have repented or exercised faith. But once you repented and believed, God declared you righteous. He forgives your wrongs. He cleanses you from the stain of past sins. And he keeps on renewing you by his Spirit, day after day. God is not stingy in giving his Spirit, the Spirit is poured out richly.

And he doesn't stop at declaring you righteous. He gives you the status of an heir, like the father with the prodigal son (Luke 15:22-24). He welcomes you as a son or daughter. He puts the finest robe on you. Your inheritance goes beyond your earthly life, you've already entered eternal life today, and you experience its firstfruits in your relationship with God.

Ephesians 1:6 says the Christian's calling is "to the praise of the glory of his grace, by which he freely gave us favor in the Beloved." How should you look at the world around you as someone who has received such a great salvation? Bill Cameron puts it simply, echoing the song: "You can be born again, you can start all over again. No one is beyond the grace of God."

4. God's grace calls for insisting on the gospel and on good works (Titus 3:8)

Paul sets verse 8 apart from the previous section to underline what he expects of Titus. Titus 3:8: "This saying is faithful, and concerning these things I desire that you affirm confidently, so that those who have believed God may be careful to maintain good works."

Titus must insist on the gospel of grace. It's that gospel that produces good works. It's not by merit that the Christian does what they do. It's out of gratitude for the greatness of the grace received in their life. God's grace comes first, and the actions that reflect it follow.

Your good deeds toward others aren't optional, they testify to your humility, your gentleness, your wonder at God's work in your life. You want to be good and useful to the people around you so you don't become an obstacle to the gospel, and, if possible, so you bear witness to the grace you've received.

This is also the basis of Christian unity. What makes a church is that people believe the same thing and stay focused on that same thing. It's around the gospel that the church is built, together with everyone who shares that same message: a love of God that offers undeserved salvation, that regenerates you, justifies you, cleanses you, gives you the status of an heir, and gives you the hope of eternal life.

5. God's grace calls you to avoid pointless arguments and divisions (Titus 3:9-11)

Titus 3:9-11: "But shun foolish questionings, genealogies, strife, and disputes about the law; for they are unprofitable and vain. Avoid a factious man after a first and second warning, knowing that such a one is perverted, and sins, being self-condemned."

Between the lines, Paul describes teaching that doesn't line up with the gospel of grace: speculation. Human beings are always drawn to hidden reasons that supposedly explain everything happening in the world. The bigger the events, the more conspiracy theories multiply. Christians can fall into this speculation too, especially around end-times prophecy, at the expense of what really matters.

Bill Cameron offers some questions for discernment, drawn from Paul: does this question build up my faith? Does it move me forward with God? Does it make sense? Does it line up with what Scripture says? Or does it create arguments that divide? The fruit of the gospel of grace isn't argument and division. It's unity around grace.

Paul takes seriously the case of a brother or sister who causes divisions. Adding to the gospel of grace turns that gospel into something else. That's the warning of Galatians 1:6: "I marvel that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ." And Galatians 3:3: "Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now completed in the flesh?"

What happened in the churches of Galatia was subtle. They still believed they were saved by grace. But for sanctification, they believed that keeping certain rites inherited from Judaism made them holier. Paul says no. It's the Spirit who produces everything, including good works. Nothing should be added to the gospel.

Bill Cameron gives a real-world example: the McAll Mission in Paris, once a beautiful network of small evangelical churches paired with social outreach. Little by little, the social outreach took over. Doing social work ended up being treated as the same thing as doing the gospel, and gospel proclamation dropped off sharply. It's just one example among others: when you add something else to the gospel, that something else eventually takes over. Even evangelical trends and fads need to be weighed against the gospel of grace.

6. God's grace encourages you to provide for his work (Titus 3:12-14)

Titus 3:12-14: Paul asks Titus to help Zenas the lawyer and Apollos on their way, so that nothing is lacking for them. And he adds: "Let our people also learn to maintain good works for necessary uses, that they may not be unfruitful."

Titus isn't only meant to provide for these needs himself. He must also encourage the community of believers to do good works, to support the Lord's work. Bill Cameron highlights a connection here: the theme of good works, already present earlier, comes back applied to concretely supporting the mission. Supporting the Lord's work is itself a good work. It's part of what God expects of you, and part of what the Holy Spirit stirs you up to do. It's one more good work to add to the believer's arsenal.

Key takeaways

• Grace isn't just the starting point, it's the ongoing engine. Behaving well in society, slandering no one, being peaceable: all of it flows from a right understanding of the grace you've received.
• Remembering what you once were stirs up humility. Foolish, enslaved to your passions, hateful, never forget where you came from. It changes how you see those who don't yet follow Christ.
• Remembering God's love stirs up wonder. It wasn't your righteousness that saved you. It was God's kindness, his mercy, the regeneration by the Spirit poured out richly.
• The gospel of grace is the foundation of church unity. It's around this gospel that the church is built, together with everyone who shares this same message.
• Add nothing to the gospel of grace. Speculation, arguments, and added rites always end up taking the gospel's place.
• Supporting the Lord's work is itself a good work. It's a concrete way to let the grace you've received bear fruit.

Personal application

• The way you speak about authorities, your neighbors, those who don't share your faith, is it marked by peaceableness and kindness, or by slander?
• When you look at the person in front of you, do you remember that you were also like them before grace reached you? Can you say, "I used to be like that, and this person is not beyond the grace of God"?
• What are you insisting on in your Christian life? The gospel of grace, or things added to it that are slowly taking over?
• Have you gotten drawn into pointless arguments recently? Do those discussions build up your faith, or do they pull you away from what matters most?
• How are you concretely supporting the Lord's work around you? Are you learning to do good works to meet real needs?

Verses cited

• Titus 3 (full chapter)
• Titus 2:11
• Titus 1:1-2
• Acts 5:29
• Genesis 16:13
• Luke 15:22-24
• Ephesians 1:6
• Galatians 1:6
• Galatians 3:3

FAQ

What's the difference between grace and mercy?

Bill Cameron offers a simple, useful definition. Grace is when God gives you what you don't deserve: forgiveness, the status of a child, eternal life. Mercy is when God doesn't give you what you do deserve: judgment and condemnation. Both come together in the salvation described in Titus 3:4-7 · God had mercy on us (mercy) and declared us righteous by his grace (grace).

Why does the apostle Paul tell us to avoid certain discussions?

Because the fruit of the gospel of grace is unity, not argument. Speculation about genealogies, disputes about the law, and, today, pointless debates that divide, pull the church away from what matters most. Bill Cameron reminds us of the criteria drawn from Paul: does this discussion build up your faith? Does it line up with Scripture? Or does it create division? If it divides without building up, it should be avoided.

What does it mean to "add nothing to the gospel of grace"?

It means that salvation is received by grace, and that sanctification, day-to-day Christian living, is also lived out by the Spirit, not through rites or added efforts that claim to make you holier. Paul warns the Galatians, who, having begun by the Spirit, were trying to reach perfection through their own resources. Adding something to the gospel slowly turns that gospel into something else, as the history of more than one mission has shown.