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We've been thinking about what makes the church attractive, what makes teaching attractive, and now we turn to a vital question: what does it look like for Christians to be attractive as we go out into the world? Today we'll see that an attractive Christian becomes so because they embody the story of salvation.
Let's read Titus 3:1-15:
Remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready to do whatever is good, to slander no one, and to be peaceable and considerate, and always to be gentle towards everyone. At one time, we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived, and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. But when the kindness and love of God, our Savior, appeared, he saved us not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ, our Savior, so that having been justified by grace, we might become heirs of eternal life...
If you owned a supermarket and wanted to sell Brussels sprouts, you wouldn't just advertise the price — you'd tell a story. Think of Christmas adverts: a girl on Earth, her granddad on the moon, and somehow buying sprouts from Waitrose brings them closer together. You're not just buying vegetables; you're buying into a story.
All of us live inside stories or narratives that shape how we live, what we hope for, and what we expect from life. The Cretans that Paul writes to had their own chaotic stories, shaped by a pantheon of competing gods and even negative stereotypes about their own character. Paul doesn't just give the Christians instructions to "do good" — he reminds them of a story: the salvation story, found in verses 3-7.
Attractive Christians live out salvation's story.
As we revel in God's kindness, it should make us kind. As we consider his mercy, it should make us merciful. As we consider his love, it should make us loving. When Christians root their lives in the better story of the gospel, they become attractive — people whose lives invite others to ask, "What is this? What drives you?"
This matters for London. How will God use us to win this city for Christ? I believe cultures change through stories. Think of smoking — once considered cool and glamorous, now widely seen as unhealthy and uncool. The story around it changed, and behavior followed. The gospel is a far greater story — not an invented tale like Harry Potter, but true history: how God has worked in time and space, preserved in Scripture, and applied by the Holy Spirit to change lives.
At one time, we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived, and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another.
What's the villain in this story? Not some external force, lack of education, or bad environment — the Bible says the problem is internal. It's a fallen nature issue. We have no true moral compass; we make bad choices, and we're deceived and enslaved.
Notice Paul says we — including himself and Titus. This is the default state of humanity apart from God's grace: malice, envy, mutual hostility.
Why is this good news? Because it's an honest diagnosis. A good doctor doesn't tell you a broken arm is "just a scratch." The gospel gives us the same honesty about our condition. If we believe humanity just needs a little guidance, we'll be devastated by how people — including ourselves — actually behave.
The heart of the issue is the issue of the heart.
This truth should humble us, not make us feel superior. I remember walking through East London with a former alcoholic, now a missionary. Seeing a man slumped in the corner drunk, he said, "There but for the grace of God go I." Not judgment, but compassion — and then we went and helped him. That's the posture salvation gives us.
But when the kindness and love of God, our Savior, appeared, he saved us not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy.
This is the turnaround. God saves because of who he is — loving, kind, merciful — not in percentages or moods, but as his very nature. Father, Son, and Spirit are equally, eternally loving. Unlike the competing, capricious gods of Crete's pantheon, our God isn't divided against himself — the Father isn't waiting to punish us while Jesus protects us from him. Salvation flows from the Father, Son, and Spirit acting together in perfect unity.
This truth should make us both humbled and compassionate — humbled because we needed rescuing, sacrificial because God gave everything to rescue us.
Our culture's story is: save yourself. Work harder, be the best, earn your worth. I found a local school with the motto: "There are no excuses not to achieve success." That story crushes people — either producing arrogance in the successful or despair in those who fall short.
The only contribution Christians make to their salvation is the sin that made it necessary.
That's hard for pride to swallow, but it's the truth we need.
He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs of eternal life.
We've been adopted — given a completely new identity, not because we deserve it, but by grace. We've been justified — declared not guilty, "just as if I'd never sinned." And we've been renewed and reborn through the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit's role matters deeply here. Even if you'd witnessed Jesus dying and rising in the first century, that alone means nothing to you personally without the Spirit applying it to your life. Like a perfectly written email that never sends because there's no internet connection — except the Spirit is a person, not a mechanism. He unites us to Christ, washes us, grows us, empowers us, renews us.
The world builds identity on achievements, appearance, or overcoming personal struggles — but it's still all about us, and it can be lost. I have a friend who spent a decade bodybuilding and then a further decade recovering from the drugs that came with it — but his identity was still self-built, and he was no happier for it.
The gospel offers something different: an identity rooted in what Jesus has done, which can never be taken away.
Every other identity, however good, will be snatched away by death. Not so with this identity — it goes on forever with the God who defeated death.
Consider Brian Johnson, a millionaire biohacker spending fortunes trying to add years to his life, only to discover a chronic illness eating away at his body. The world has no real answer to death — it mocks failed attempts to escape it, but offers nothing better. We need a better story than "eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die."
For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have everlasting life.
Is that your story today? If you're tired of carrying the pressure of saving and fixing yourself, I urge you: find your identity in Christ. Trust him. Receive the Holy Spirit and embrace the love and kindness of the Father.
I want you to stress these things, so that those who have trusted in God may be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good. These things are excellent and profitable for everyone.
This story isn't just for our own comfort — it benefits everyone. A society shaped by "love your neighbor, love your enemies, do good to those who persecute you" is far better than one built on selfishness.
How should this look practically?
Paul ends his letter simply: "Grace be with you all." That final blessing reaches down to us 2,000 years later. This whole letter — beginning, middle, and end — is soaked in grace.
We need that grace to keep living out the better story of the gospel: to be an attractive church, with attractive leaders, attractive teaching, and attractive Christians who embody salvation to the world around us. This isn't about being better than others — it's about letting Jesus work powerfully in our hearts and minds so that his story becomes visible in our lives.
Let's keep telling each other the old, old story of Jesus and his love.
As we live out and share that story — not just as "Sunday Christians" but in every part of our lives — may we become a people who look, sound, and smell like Jesus, inviting others into this same story of salvation.
