Thayer Thursday – Toothpaste spitting
Chris Thayer is the Director of Discipleship at Good Shepherd Church in Charlotte, NC where he oversees adult life groups and Biblical education. On Thursdays I share his weekly “Thayer’s Thoughts” for small group leaders, which are based on the previous Sunday’s sermon. Click HERE to watch or listen to the accompanying sermon.
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 kindnessand 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 his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life. This is a trustworthy saying. And 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.
Titus 3:3-8
My son is three and a half years old. Every night before he goes to bed and every morning after he eats breakfast, we help him brush his teeth. When he was younger, we used toothpaste without fluoride. Now that he’s older, we’ve started using toothpaste with fluoride – meaning that he has to spit the toothpaste out of his mouth and not swallow it.
You would think that teaching a three and a half year old boy how to spit wouldn’t be difficult, but I’ve had quite the time at it! I started by telling him to take the toothbrush out of his mouth and spit in the sink when I noticed it was time for him to do so. Because it’s instinct to swallow anything that’s in his mouth: he removed the toothbrush, closed his lips, swallowed the toothpaste, and then tried to spit into the sink. I kept trying to instruct him this way for several days to no avail.
Realizing this was going nowhere (and being the clever parent I thought I was), I adjusted my tactics. Instead of simply telling him when to spit, I reminded him before he put the toothbrush in his mouth: “Remember, you need to spit the toothpaste out of your mouth.” Being the obedient son he is, he followed my directions exactly. He put the toothbrush in his mouth, sucked off the toothpaste, and then (without brushing) spit the blue glob into the sink. I learned quickly that I needed to teach the concept of brushing and spitting together!
This is what it is like to look out across people, churches, denominations, and history at how people have handled the Biblical concepts of God’s grace and living a life consistent with our relationship with Him. People usually gravitate toward or emphasize one at the expense of the other. As I learned through the simple task of teaching my son how to spit toothpaste out of his mouth when brushing his teeth, some things must be taught together to get an accurate picture.
We see Paul do this with these topics in today’s passage, Titus 3:3-8. He doesn’t separate the ideas of God’s grace and how we live. Here in Titus (and I would argue in the rest of the New Testament) these two concepts are inextricably linked.
Read back through the passage and pay close attention to verse 8. Paul tells Titus to stress Gods mercy in the midst of their enslavement to sin precisely so that people would “…be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good.”
Gods mercy is the catalyst (and through the Holy Spirit – the enabler!) of a faithful life in Jesus. God’s grace isn’t only forgiveness for sin but also directly leads to a life that is free from sin and influenced by the forgiver.
What we do flows out of who we are in Christ.
Chris Thayer
[For those whose eyebrows raised when you read “a life that is free from sin” above, I encourage you to read what is meant by this in my book “Cleansed and Abiding” which you can order in both paperback or Kindle format! -JM]
Categories: New Testament, Thayer Thursday