Titus 3:3 (LSB)

Passage

For we ourselves also once were foolish, disobedient, deceived, enslaved to various lusts and pleasures, spending our life in malice and envy, despicable, hating one another.

Nearby Context

Titus 3:1 Remind them to be subject to rulers, to authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work,

Titus 3:2 to slander no one, to be peaceable, considerate, demonstrating all gentleness to all men.

Titus 3:3 For we ourselves also once were foolish, disobedient, deceived, enslaved to various lusts and pleasures, spending our life in malice and envy, despicable, hating one another.

Titus 3:4 But when the kindness and affection of God our Savior appeared,

Titus 3:5 He saved us, not by works which we did in righteousness, but according to His mercy, through the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit,

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "ourselves", "once", "foolish", "disobedient", "deceived", "enslaved", "various", and "lusts". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "ourselves" and "once", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 2's "to slander no one to be peaceable..." into verse 4's "But when the kindness and affection of...", so "ourselves" and "once" belong inside that flow. In Titus context, the local focus is Christ, faith, and discipleship.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "ourselves" and "once" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.