Salvation Summaries

Overview of Book

Can you know whether another person is saved? Can a person have assurance of eternal life? Do you know three things that happen, from a spiritual standpoint, when a person becomes saved? The book of Titus answers these and other questions on salvation.

Titus is a short book of three chapters written by the apostle Paul to his assistant and now pastor, Titus.  After starting this book with a brief discussion of his purpose in life (e.g., to preach the Good News, to bring faith to those God has chosen, and to teach believers to know the truth so that they live godly lives), Paul moves to his main reasons for writing it:

1) To instruct Titus to appoint qualified elders in each town, and

2) To instruct Titus to preach/teach others so that they will live in a godly way and perform good deeds (see 2:12, 14; 3:8).  

The strong emphasis on godly living and performing good deeds (where “deed”, “good deed” or “good deeds” is mentioned at least six times using the NAS) is likely in response to the environment in which Titus finds himself.  We learn in Titus 1:10 that there are many rebellious men, empty talkers and deceivers who are upsetting whole families, and in 1:16 we are told that these people “profess to know God, but by their deeds they deny Him, being detestable and disobedient and worthless for any good deed.” It may also be a reminder that believers are supposed to live this way (godly and perform good deeds), for this is what Jesus instructs us to do (2:12) and is one of the reasons why He died for us (2:14).     

Salvation 

This small book actually has a number of verses (I counted 13) that pertain to salvation, but I want to focus on only a few that I believe are the most important.

Can you know whether another person is saved?

I would guess that a small but growing percentage of our population is unfamiliar with the term “saved” and salvation, and thus would not be able to answer this question.  I would also guess that of those who are familiar with these terms, many would doubt whether you can know, in part because they may not even know if they are saved (and if you don’t know this, how can you know whether another person is?).

As a result, my answer of “yes” may come as a surprise to many. There are two verses in Titus that support this view though, so please read on.

FIRST, in Titus 1:4, Paul refers to Titus as “my true child in a common faith” (NAS). Here we see that Paul knows that Titus has faith.  Paul also knows that it is the same type of faith that he has.  The book does not tell us how Paul knows – only that he does. However, it’s safe to assume that he knows from having a close relationship with Titus.

Now, being close to someone does not make a person saved, but by being close with Titus, Paul would have had the opportunity to evaluate Titus in certain areas.  In what areas?  I can only speculate here, but I believe that Paul and Titus very likely spoke with each other about spiritual matters, and likely prayed with each other too.  This would have given Paul the opportunity to assess Titus’ spiritual understanding, and to some extent his relationship with the Lord.

I also believe that Paul could have evaluated Titus’ desire to know the Lord, his willingness to serve and obey Him, and the extent to which Titus loved others.  I believe such evaluation by Paul would have given him enough information to determine whether Titus had faith in the Lord, and thus know whether Titus was saved.

But regardless of the method Paul may have used, Paul knew, and we know, that Titus was saved, for he had faith in the Lord, and the Bible is clear that a person is saved by grace through faith in the Lord.

We also learn in the same verse that Paul refers to Titus as “my true child.”  Now, we know that Paul is not referring to Titus’ age, for Titus had been tasked with pastoring churches in Crete, teaching sound doctrine to people of all ages, etc., and a child cannot do this.  So, what could he mean? Child can refer to Titus’ spiritual status relative to Paul, with Paul playing more of a father role to Titus.  Child can also refer to Titus’ position in God’s family, as a child of God.  In both cases though, the term “child” would have a spiritual component to it.  

So, how does one become a child of God?  A person becomes a child of God, or adopted into God’s family, when a person is “born again.”   Everyone who lives on this earth right now has been born once; they had a physical birth.  Born again means that a person has been born twice; physically the first time, and spiritually the second.  There are many verses in the Bible about being born again, with John 3:3 likely the most popular one. In this verse, Jesus declared, “I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again” Other examples can be found in 1 Peter 1:3-5, 22-23, and 1 John 4:7-8; 5:1.  As we will learn from other books in the Bible, when a person is born again, he or she receives the Holy Spirit. This is a miracle, really, and it is what enables a believer to think and do things that unbelievers don’t think and do.  A person who is “born again,” or who receives the Holy  Spirit, is saved.  The Bible is very clear on this.  As such, by referring to Titus as a child of God, Paul means that Titus has been born again, and is therefore saved. 

SECOND, in Titus 1:6, Paul requires that an elder have “children who believe” (in the Lord).  For Paul to require this, it must mean that an elder has the ability to know whether his children believe or don’t believe, right?  If an elder cannot know this, Paul would not have made it a requirement to be an elder.

Similar to above, the text does not tell us how an elder can know.  However, like above, I believe it is safe to assume that an elder, or a father, can know from having a close relationship with his children, and thus an opportunity to evaluate them in certain areas (their spiritual understanding, desires and motives, behavior and love for others).

CONCLUSION

Paul knows that another person – Titus in this case – has faith, and thus he knows that Titus is saved, for the Bible is clear that a person is saved when he or she has faith in the Lord.  As a child of God, Titus has been born again.

In addition, an elder can know whether his children believe and are therefore saved, for Paul requires that a person know this before he can become an elder.

In both instances, the text in Titus does not tell us how Paul knew or how an elder can know, so we are left to speculate on that.  As I work my way through other salvation-related verses in other books of the Bible, I believe we will learn how a person can know whether another person is saved. So if you want to know, please keep reading!