Paul in Titus 3:3 linked the DUTY of Christian citizens with the DOCTRINE of their experience and as such we cannot divorce the two. Our expectation of godly behavior matches our experience and as such we are left without an excuse. Indirectly Paul’s words are saying, “Don’t be verbally condescending and combative to your unsaved community; remember what kind of person you were before Jesus transformed your life.”
Reading through the six examples of the expression of our former enslaved life ought to grant us kindness towards those who are currently afflicted with these same ailments. Saints, each of us ought to write down these “six deadly examples of our former life” and follow them up with personal examples from our past. I believe that none of us would have a hard time coming up with a few hundred examples from our past. This list of six should be laminated and keep with us at all times and before we say or act towards an unsaved person we should take the list out with our personal examples and read them to refresh our memory:
•Foolish
•Disobedient
•Deceived
•Serving various lusts and pleasures
•Living in malice and envy
•Hateful and hating one another
At the start of the list of six characteristics of my former life Paul included himself saying “WE” as he graciously described our transformation saying, “FOR WE OURSELVES WERE ALSO ONCE”. The assumption and expectation is these six examples are indeed part of “my former life” not “illustrations of my current life”! I am left with “NO ROOM TO TALK” no high and mighty arrogance of superiority, only a humble gratitude of God’s Redeeming, Reforming and Rewarding grace!