Remember What You Were

Remember What You WereTitus 3:3

Before Paul gives us one of the most beautiful gospel summaries in the New Testament, he makes us stop and look at the before picture. Seven words. Foolish. Disobedient. Misled. Enslaved. Malicious. Envious. Hated and hating. And notice — Paul doesn't say you were like this. He says we. This episode is about the kind of humility that only grows from honest memory, and why remembering what we were is one of the greatest gifts we can bring to the people around us who don't yet know grace.

Discussion Questions:

1. Why is Paul's autobiographical "we" so important here? How does remembering your own "before" picture shape your attitude toward people who don't yet know the gospel?
2. Which of the seven descriptors — foolish, disobedient, misled, enslaved, malicious, envious, hated and hating — do you most need to keep in view to stay humble?
3. How does honest self-awareness about what we were become a gift for the way we love others? Where have you seen that in practice?