So please turn to Titus chapter 3, the text I announced this morning, a text very similar to the one that we studied this morning in Galatians chapter 4. And the main similarity in these two sections of scripture is the word when. in this construction, when the fullness of time came, God sent forth His Son, and when the kindness of God, our Savior, and His love for mankind appeared, He saved us. They're very parallel in that respect. So let's ask the Lord to bless our brief meditation on this portion this evening. Lord, thank you for the great work of salvation which you accomplished for us through your Son and your Spirit in history. And we praise and glorify you because we are unworthy of such great grace. and we also marvel of this grace, especially as we see it here in our passage for this evening. So we pray that you will thrill our hearts tonight as we set our attention on these words of Paul, these words of the Spirit, and we pray that we'll be greatly encouraged and that we will be sure to be saved. In Jesus' name, amen. So this morning, in looking at the Galatians 4, 4 through 7 passage, we went through it verse by verse, and I basically took the headings right from the phrases and the verses that that passage speaks about the fullness of time, the sending of the sun, or the sending of Jesus, then the redemption, the reception, and the relationship of sonship. So this passage seems to me to fall under these three categories. First, the disposition of God toward mankind, which is what you see in verse four. The disposition of God toward mankind. And just the thought of such a heading should grabbed our attention, the disposition of God toward mankind. There's such a great divide between God and mankind, and it's evident in the way man is, the way man lives, and the problems of the world and human history, and God Even in just the pure conception of a God who created all things, there's a great divide between God and man. And so you would naturally wonder, well, what would such a being as God, the God whom we know, think about mankind and the condition in which He is found? And this passage tells us the disposition of God toward mankind. We know all about disposition in life and relationships. in family life, or in work, or in intercourse with the world, you know that a lot depends on the disposition of other people. The disposition of other people can make or break your day, your week, your year, your life, your job, and many other things. But the disposition of God toward us is really critical. And that's what verse four is talking about. The kindness of God and His love for mankind appear. And again, the similarity to Galatians 4.4 is, to me, very profound. Not just by the word when, the fullness, or when, the kindness, but the sense that there is a time issue and there's a heart issue in salvation. The time issue reminds us that God has a plan and a purpose, and at the precise moment of human history, He acts. But there's a heart issue as well. And the heart issue is what is described in verse 4. And it is that from the very beginning, you see, is implied, from the very beginning, from the very beginning of creation, when God first created man, and man first fell, this has been God's disposition. toward mankind. It's called kindness, and in Greek, philanthropia, or love of mankind. But that's the whole point of the appearing in verse 4. This has always been God's disposition toward mankind. But at a certain time, the designated time, the appointed time, this disposition appeared. And you could see it. It's not that God's disposition of love or kindness was so hidden in the Old Testament that you couldn't possibly conceive of it, because God did many wonderful, loving, kind, and gracious things through his people, the nation of Israel. But the whole point of God's salvation is this great event of the appearance of God and the manifestation of His heart. Notice it doesn't say that Christ appeared, although it certainly is what is involved in verse 4, but notice that what appeared in this verse is the kindness of God and His love for mankind. You see the difference? That's what appeared. You saw At the fullness of time, the heart disposition of God, which is described again in these two terms, kindness, and this wonderful Greek word, philanthropia, which is self-explanatory, philos, love, like Philadelphia, the city of brotherly love. I know they call it the city of brotherly shove, but it's the city of brotherly love. Or philanthropia, the love of mankind. So this is the disposition of God toward mankind. You remember how Jesus said to his opponents, I didn't come to judge the world, but to save the world. That's quite a profound statement. Jesus said, I did not come to judge the world. Even though we know there's a judgment coming, in the appearance of the Savior, there is a disposition of kindness and love for mankind. And don't let your theology spoil the emphasis here in the word mankind. We're all on the same page theologically, we grant that, but we also, the Bible emphasizes different things in different places. And here, it says love for mankind. God so loved the world that he gave his only son. And that's how we're to think. God loves mankind. You don't have to analyze it, you know, all the time in every detail. Just take the force of it. God loves mankind. And that disposition appeared. so that we will also love mankind and never think of anyone in any other way, such as, oh, well, maybe God hasn't chosen that person. You should never think that way. God loves mankind. But that's his heart. It's great to know what God's heart is like, isn't it? The heart of God. We know all about his plan, and we know all about his will, and we know all about his law, and we know all about the things he requires of us, but it's just very, there's a fragrance to thinking about the heart of God. What is God's heart like? And here it is. It's kindness and love for mankind. That word, notice, it doesn't just say the kindness and the love of God, like John 3.16, God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son. It's a separate word. It's a distinct word. It's a special word. Philanthropia. It's God's love for mankind. That's how it's characterized. And he's always had that disposition, but at a certain point in time, it appeared. Then you have, secondly, in this beautiful passage, the salvation of God in Christ and the Spirit. So the headings are a little longer in this one. The salvation of God in Christ and the Spirit. For here, in this passage, different from the other one, there are some differences. As I mentioned this morning, you have the mention first of the Spirit and then through Jesus Christ. So the Spirit is mentioned in verse 5 and then what is spoken about the Spirit in verse five is attributed to Jesus in verse six. So you have here the salvation of God. Now I've taken the verb and turned it into a noun, right? He saved us. It's talking about the salvation of God in Christ in the Spirit. And the Bible says a lot about that, but we just are interested in what this particular verse says. So, The similarity of this verse here to the Galatians passage is the word saved and sent. In the fullness of time, God sent his son, Galatians 4, 4 and 5. And here, in the kindness and love for mankind, God saved. It's very similar to what Jesus said, you remember. The Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost. So the seeking is the sending and the saving is the doing or the working. And that's how these two passages complement each other. He saved us, Titus. God sent his son, Galatians. Not by works, Paul is very clear about this here, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, which is just another way of saying, not by works, Ephesians 2, 8 through 10, we are not saved by works, or all of our righteousnesses, Isaiah said, are as filthy rags. That's the idea. He saved us not by works, but by his mercy and kindness, or you might say, by the disposition that's described in verse 5. He saved us, not on the basis of deeds, which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy. That is the same disposition that is referred to in verse 4. So verse 4 is the way we are saved. The reason we can be saved is because God is kind and He loves mankind. So that's the principle. We say, sola gratia, or salvation by grace, not by works. And that is the principle, that is correct. The principle is grace. The principle is mercy. The principle is kindness. The principle is God's love for mankind. The principle is not works. We cannot work our way to heaven. Children, you cannot work your way to heaven. When you keep God's commandments, it's not to earn salvation, it is to do what is right. Salvation comes through Jesus Christ. And so Paul says, not by works, not by that principle. And Paul deals with this in Romans. extensively, but by mercy, kindness, God's love for mankind, or grace. That's the principle. Now he gives more specifically how this happens in verse 5. And that is a beautiful and very unique verse in the New Testament. It's really one of a kind in the sense of the way it puts the work of the Spirit. So according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit. Now I really think that the washing and the renewing are synonymous and so that it's not two separate things, the washing of regeneration, renewing by the Holy Spirit. You have the washing of regeneration is the new birth and the renewing by the Spirit is the consequence of the new life. So He gives us, He makes us alive for we are dead in our trespasses and sins and by virtue of that new life By virtue of that new birth, we have a new life. It's a beautiful word in Greek. It's a long word, so I won't try to pronounce it for you. But it means to restore. It's a word that was used by the apostles in the apostolic preaching in the book of Acts as to what God is going to do with this earth. He's going to regenerate it. Same word. And this washing and this renewing comes through the Holy Spirit, who has been poured out. upon us richly through Jesus Christ. Romans 5 and verse 5 also talks about this pouring out of the Spirit, the love of God poured out into our hearts by the Holy Spirit. It's the language of Pentecost. Pentecost was a historical event, but there's a personal Pentecost that happens to each one of us when we are converted. So you have the disposition of God toward mankind, the salvation of God in Christ and in the Spirit. I can't remember which theologian or theologians it was in the early centuries, sorry about that, but they spoke of Christ and the Spirit as the two hands of God. And actually that is quite correct. And then you have thirdly, the gift of justification the gift of justification and eternal life, or it's one gift. And that's verse 7. So that, being justified by His grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life. Now, it's not a complicated sentence, but it's involved. And the key word here is justification. The justification, notice, as I said earlier, is by His grace. The principle of grace not works. So the justification is by grace. The justification is the acquittal. No, your sins are forgiven. You are no longer legally bound to my law. Galatians 3.13, Christ became a curse for us. He removed the curse from us, so that we are no longer cursed, but blessed and justified in the sight of God, pronounced righteous, even though we are not, yet we are in Christ. And this gift of justification, which comes by His grace, gives us, you can either say the status, but you can also say the gift. Here it's described as the hope. But all three apply. It's the status, it's the gift of eternal life. Paul uses the word the gift in Romans chapter 5 several times. The gift of life, the gift of justification, the gift of eternal life. The Bible speaks often about the gift of eternal life and the hope of eternal life. So when you put it all together, God has given me great grace, by pronouncing me righteous in Christ, because he was born under the law, so that he might redeem those who were under the law, having become a curse for us. And he has granted to me now this gift, which has given me this hope. And hope in the Bible is not wishing, but it's assurance and confidence that what he promises, he will give. Thank you, Lord, for such a great salvation. Thank you for these two texts, these two gospel texts. Lord, help us to meditate on them and help us, Lord, to grow in gratitude, adoration, appreciation, devotion, based on what you have done for us. Lord, you have a basis of dealing with us. I pray that we will have a basis of responding to you. As you have formed for us a basis of grace and not works, We pray that we will live on the basis of gratitude, adoration, and devotion for what you have done for us. And in all of this, Lord, we, by your grace, are able to rest confident and assured that even if you should take us from this life, even this night, we would wake up in heaven, in the presence of Jesus and the glory of God. And we would see what Stephen saw. But Lord, whatever you will for us, however many days you have for us, however many years you have for us, oh Lord, help us to adore you, to worship you, and to grow in your grace. In Jesus' name, amen.