The Root & Fruit of Christian Salvation

When it comes to Christian salvation, the Bible has three great burdens: (1) The first is to teach us what the root and means of Christian salvation is not—that is, what has not caused our salvation. (2) The second is to teach us what Christian salvation is actually grounded upon and who it is accomplished by for all who are saved. (3) The third is to teach us what that salvation inevitably produces in the hearts and lives of all who have truly received it. This is exactly what Paul addresses in our text for this Lord’s Day morning (Titus 3:3-8). Paul does this because he believes that when we either do not understand Christian salvation rightly, or when we have grown complacent and forgetful toward the wonder of the undeserved grace we have received, it will greatly hinder our devotion to God in life. Either misunderstanding the gospel, or losing our wonder and awe at the gospel, will both cause our motivation to live in sacrificial devotion to Christ to dry up. This is because our understanding of grace and our devotion to Christ always exist in proportion to one another. When our view of grace is small, our devotion will likewise be small. But when our view of grace is great—as it should be!—our devotion will likewise be great. A proper view of God’s grace to us in the gospel of our salvation fans holiness into flame, and motivates us to strive to live lives that bring pleasure and glory to God.