Titus 3:3 reminds believers that before they knew God’s grace, they lived in foolishness, rebellion and self-centered habits that hurt themselves and others. The verse is a plain confession: the writer includes himself and his readers in the picture, and the point is that no one starts out spiritually superior. The apostle Paul wrote it to Titus, a trusted co-worker he had left on the island of Crete to organize the young churches there, and the letter gives him practical instructions for how those believers should live.
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
The verse begins with “we were also once,” which is a deliberate look backward. Paul is not describing a stranger in some distant culture. He is describing the life that every Christian in the room once lived. The words “foolish” and “disobedient” point to a mind that ignored what was true and a will that refused to submit to God’s way. “Deceived” adds the idea that people were misled, often by their own desires, into thinking those desires would satisfy them.
The next phrases describe what that deception looked like in daily life: chasing “various lusts and pleasures,” living with “malice and envy,” being hateful, and hating one another. Paul is naming the pattern of a life organized around appetite and resentment. The verse does not promise that a believer will never struggle with these things again, but it does draw a clear line between the old way of living and the new life that God gives.
The Context of Titus 3:3
Titus is one of the Pastoral Epistles, the letters Paul wrote to leaders he trusted with the care of churches. Traditionally Paul is named as the author, and the letter is addressed to Titus, whom Paul had left in Crete to appoint elders and correct false teaching. Its concerns are practical: how believers should behave toward rulers, neighbors and one another, and how their conduct reflects the gospel.
The verses just before this one tell Christians to be obedient, gentle, humble and free from slander. Verse 3 then explains why that kind of behavior matters: people who were once like this have been changed. Verses 4 through 7 move straight to the kindness of God, who saved them by mercy rather than by their own righteousness. Read in that setting, verse 3 is not a harsh list of insults. It is the dark backdrop that makes God’s rescue look as large as it really is.
Key Phrases in Titus 3:3
Ephesians 2:1-5
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. 4 But God, being rich in mercy, for his great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved)…
(WEB)
Paul describes the same former condition here, saying believers were once dead in their transgressions and following the course of this world. The passage then shows how God’s mercy and love made them alive together with Christ. Reading it alongside Titus 3:3 deepens the picture of both the problem and the rescue.
Colossians 3:5-10
5 Put to death therefore your members which are on the earth: sexual immorality, uncleanness, depraved passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry; 6 for which things’ sake the wrath of God comes on the children of disobedience. 7 You also once walked in those, when you lived in them; 8 but now you also put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and shameful speaking out of your mouth. 9 Don’t lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old man with his doings, 10 and have put on the new man, who is being renewed in knowledge after the image of his Creator…
(WEB)
This passage lists practices to put away, including anger, malice and slander, and urges believers to clothe themselves with compassion and kindness. It gives concrete direction for turning away from the attitudes Titus 3:3 names and living out the new identity Christ provides.
A Short Prayer From Titus 3:3
Lord, thank you for showing me who I was before your mercy reached me. Some days I still feel the pull of foolish choices, quiet resentment and the restless hunger for things that never satisfy. Search my heart and show me where I am serving the wrong masters. Replace my envy with gladness for others and my malice with patience. Let the memory of your kindness shape the way I speak and act toward the people around me today. Amen.
