Titus 3:3 describes what human life looks like apart from God’s grace: foolish, disobedient, deceived, and driven by desires and cruelty toward others. Paul writes this to Titus, a young pastor he had left on the island of Crete to organize churches, and he says it about himself and his fellow believers as well as the people Titus was serving.
For we were also once foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving various lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another.
Titus 3:3 (WEB)
What Titus 3:3 Means
Paul begins with “foolish,” meaning people who do not see clearly what is good for them or what is true about God. “Disobedient” describes a pattern of resisting what one knows to be right. “Deceived” points to being misled, often by one’s own appetites, and “serving various lusts and pleasures” describes a life where wants become masters. The list then turns to relationships: “living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another” shows how a self-centered heart spreads harm into every connection.
The verse does not describe a few bad people on the fringe. Paul uses the word “we,” placing himself and every believer in the same condition before they encountered Christ. It is a diagnosis, not a caricature of outsiders. It also does not claim that a person who once lived this way is beyond hope, because the very next verses speak of God’s kindness and mercy appearing to change this situation.
The Context of Titus 3:3
Titus is one of the Pastoral Letters, traditionally attributed to Paul and written to a younger colleague who was given the task of setting right the churches on Crete. The letter gives practical instructions for believers, including how to live under civil authorities and how to treat outsiders with gentleness. Paul is shaping a community whose behavior would reflect the gospel in an often hostile and disorderly setting.
The verses just before Titus 3:3 ask believers to be subject to rulers, ready for good work, and humble toward everyone. Verse 3 explains why that humility makes sense: those who now live this way were once just as foolish and hateful as anyone. The verses that follow shift from memory to gratitude, showing that God’s kindness, not human merit, produced the change. Read in that sequence, the verse is a reminder of shared need that should make believers patient and charitable rather than proud.
Key Phrases in Titus 3:3
Ephesians 2:1-3
1 You were made alive when you were dead in transgressions and sins, 2 in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the children of disobedience; 3 among whom we also all once lived in the lusts of our flesh, doing the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest.
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Paul makes a very similar point in Ephesians, describing believers as once dead in trespasses and following the desires of the flesh. Reading this passage alongside Titus 3:3 shows that Paul consistently viewed the pre-Christian life as one of spiritual death and enslavement, and that the change comes entirely through God’s initiative.
Romans 6:17-18
17 But thanks be to God, that, whereas you were bondservants of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were delivered. 18 Being made free from sin, you became bondservants of righteousness.
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In Romans, Paul speaks of believers who were once slaves to sin and have now been set free to serve righteousness. This passage echoes the theme of slavery to desire in Titus 3:3 and reminds you that the new life Paul describes is a true liberation rather than a different form of servitude.
A Short Prayer From Titus 3:3
Lord, you see the foolishness, disobedience, and hard feelings that still live in my heart. Thank you that I am not defined by how I once lived. Help me remember where I came from so that I can show patience and humility to those who are still struggling. Where I have let my desires become my masters, loosen their hold on me, and teach me to find my joy in you. Give me the kindness you have shown me, and let it flow into my words and actions today. Amen.
