Audio Access Available Above
"From Monday
To Sunday" • 10.23.16 • Calvary
Christian Fellowship, Sunday Morning Service
Intro.
- Titus has been given a direct set of
instructions for the command structure and the character of the church in
relationship to itself.
- At the close of this book, Paul turns his
attention to the church's relationship to the world.
- How should a Christian act as he or she
intersects with the World? What grounds them mentally as they perceive the
world around them?
- At the end of the letter, Paul concludes with
final instructions for the church. Think of this chapter as a reflection on a
typical week. I call it "From Monday to Sunday!" It breaks down like
this:
I. Command For Civic Responsibility (v.1,2)
II. Compassion For Unregenerate People (v.3-7)
III. Concern For The Church (v.8-15)
Text
I. Command For Civic Responsibility (v.1,2)
•
Titus 3:1,2 : "Remind them to be subject to rulers
and authorities, to obey, to be ready for every good work, to speak evil of no one, to be
peaceable, gentle, showing all humility to all men." : The believers in Crete knew the information that Titus was
bringing them, but Paul knows that they especially needed to recall this on a
regular basis.
-
If we were to hear Paul saying this to us, we would hear it like this:
"You keep bringing this information to their minds! You make sure that
they don't forget!"
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Given the pervasive culture, new believing Cretans would be susceptible to
failure in this area particularly. Whoever Pastored that church would need to
share this message often.
-
They are to order, to arrange themselves behind their rulers and authorities.
Their newfound loyalty to the Kingdom of God did not negate their
responsibility to their human authorities.
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Paul has just spoken of God's Kingdom and the fact that He was making them into
a peculiar or special people for himself.
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Perhaps it was a temptation to believe that they should forego their civic
responsibilities in light of their Kingdom status. Paul says, "Being a
Christian should make you a better citizen!"
-
Aside from the single caveat of non-compliance with overt rebellion against
God, the church should be persuaded to comply with their wishes and to be
prepared for every good work.
-
They aren't simply avoiding trouble. They are to seek to be useful in every
good work.
-
Consider the consequence of not submitting to authority. How damaging would
that be to their witness? Simple civil obedience keeps the door open for
greater ministry opportunity.
-
Be prepared for every good work! Understand that God may open an opportunity at
any time!
-
Titus needs to remind them to be subject to authorities and not to speak evil
of anyone! The word is "blasphemy" and it's written in the present
tense.
-
The idea is that it's out of character for a Christian to continually villify
another person. Note that this extends to every single person.
-
Is that a matter that God's Holy Spirit would communicate to you? "But
what if they are evil? Can't I be the one to point that out?"
-
There may be times when you may be called upon to assess a person's quality and
honesty may demand a thorough report. But that is a different matter than the
language of scripture allows.
-
The believer is not to be in the habit of doing this, making it their business
to find new and compelling ways to speak evil of a person. Refuse to make that
your modus operandi.
-
Instead, we are to be peaceable, not brawlers, not contentious. As a present
tense word, Paul is saying that our practice should be peaceable. It should be
out of character to be otherwise.
-
Therefore, Christians, don't give in to a contentious spirit. Make the choice
not to fight, to walk away and allow cooler minds to prevail. Be peacable and
gentle.
-
There should be an air of fairness and equity, as we seek to embody what it
means to be meek, which refers to the ability to harness what power you have
and to control it's dispensation.
-
In this way, instead of overpowering people, you are demonstrating humilty to
every man. Why is it important to approach
men in this way? Take a look at verse 3.
II. Compassion For Unregenerate People (v.3-7)
•
Titus 3:3 : "For we ourselves were also once
foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving various lusts and pleasures, living in
malice and envy, hateful and hating one another." : Wanting to speak evil, to fight or to exert our power over
other people is often symptomatic of a poor memory regarding our pre-Christian
state!
-
"We ourselves!" The sense is "even us Titus!" That isn't
meant to be high minded, but to be a reminder that whatever they were at
present was a function of God's grace toward them.
-
"I wasn't alway an Apostle and you weren't always a disciple." Share
in the humility of that!
-
They should teach God's people to respond this way to other people because they
once acted as the world acts now!
-
"Foolish" has changed a bit in our use today. A better understanding
would be that there are those that simply do not have an understanding about
things. They are completely uninitiated.
-
A person who does not understand the inner workings of your day to day life is
not an unintelligent person. They simply lack the experience to understand how
you live your life!
-
But even if they understood to a certain extent, they had also been disobedient
to the call of God upon their life!. Paul and Titus, you and I were once
apathetic, impersuadable.
-
If I were to translate this freely, I might use the phrase, "Nobody could
talk to us!"
-
You could not approach Paul or Titus before their encounters with the Lord.
They were out of touch and arrogant about it. Overall they were deceived.
-
They were continually being seduced away from the truth of God. You can almost
see a person being led away from the truth each time it was presented to them.
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"No, you don't want to go that way. Look at these impressive sights!"
Every time the truth presented itself, their varying desires called upon them,
requiring them to serve at their request.
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Every general and forbidden desire called out to them. When that wasn't calling,
their service to hedonism was. The first term refers to general desires, the
second refers to sensual experience.
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How can you not have compassion upon the ones who are being led around like
slaves?
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When we were in their condition, every day was a new day to explore every facet
of our inherited depraved nature. We lived in them. Our natural response to
people was malice and envy.
-
Malice is the enjoyment and the unashamed experience of that which is morally
corrupt. Vincent calls this word "a visciousness of mind opposed to
humanity and fairness."
-
Envy is quite worse than simple jealousy of another person's goods or position
in life. This word speaks of the gods begrudging all happiness and prosperity!
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"I don't want what they have. I hate that they have it!" What a
wicked mindset! No wonder Paul and Titus were hateful types of people. The word
that is used here is "stugatos."
-
For those who listen to sports talk radio, you have heard the name "Stu
Gotz." I'm not sure if he knows it, but it means to be despicable!
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This is the type of person that everyone just hates to be around and they
compound that sentiment by being people who hate others.
-
They are hated or perceive others as hating them and so they hate in return,
giving out as much as they receive. That's the picture Paul paints of his own
pre-converted state.
-
In fact, can't you see yourself in much of that list? Can you not say that
these terms bear some resemblance to your life before Christ? For your sake and
the world's, look at verse 4.
•
Titus 3:4-7 : "But when the kindness and the love
of God our Savior toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according
to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the
Holy Spirit, whom
He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, that having been justified by His
grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life." : There is a lot to unpack here, but we had to hear it in one
sentence, which is how Paul wrote it.
-
His premise has been that God's people need to demonstrate a humble spirit
toward those growing alongside of them, and potential Christians, because of the
common past that we all share.
-
And contrary to our nature, God acted in contrast to what we rightly deserved.
We were hateful people who loved hating people! There seems to be only one
outcome in such a case.
-
"But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man
appeared!" Isn't that a tremendous picture! God would not allow our
wicked, evil natures to have the final word!
-
We deserved God's wrath and He in turn showed us His gentle and benign
kindness. We loved hating people and He showed us His benevolent love!
-
Our word "philanthropy" comes from this Greek expression. If you see
a person with altruistic motives, seeking to bring a benefit upon a community
at his own cost, Jesus did it first with the World!
-
God's kindness and love were manifested in the person of Jesus Christ, God our
Savior. He is the embodiment of these virtues. He is the most full expression
of God's heart toward us!
-
He manifested Himself and revealed this to us without any obligatory response
to humanity's law keeping. Even on our best day, God couldn't be motivated to
move toward us!
-
These are important reminders that are consistent throughout scripture. You did
not in any way, move the heart of God to act toward you in the way that He did!
-
Before you knew of Him, He had already acted toward you according to His own mercy.
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That motive comes from Him alone. It was through His mercy and His mercy alone
that He deemed to saved His people from their sins!
-
Salvation, the word, is so profoundly rich, as it encompasses a work that is
past, present and future as it relates to us.
-
God has saved us, meaning that He has justified, declared righteous, the guilty
sinner that has come to believe upon His Son.
-
He is saving us, meaning that He is sanctifying, purifying us from our moral
filth, causing us to take on the character of His Son.
-
Someday, He will save us, bringing us into a glorified state, where we will
abide in the presence of His Son forever and ever!
-
The context speaks to each part of salvation, beginning with regeneration, a
word meaning a "new birth" or a "new beginning."
-
Old things from your nature and your past, in the eyes of God, have passed away
and all things have been made new! (II
Corinthians 5:17)
-
Paul likens this to the ceremonial bath that the priest would take before
beginning his service. If you are a Christian, you are a ceremonially clean,
new and fresh creation, fit to begin your service!
-
He washes us and then He renovates us. He takes us from what we are and begins
to transform our lives, polishing and working until He sees His own image in
us!
-
God's Holy Spirit begins that work at your conversion and never stops a work
until you take your final breath! He is renewing you right now as you receive
His Word!
-
For the Christian, as God's Word is proclaimed, there is a gift of God in the
Holy Spirit, who teaches us how to apply what we are hearing to our lives! This
is no small matter.
-
The Holy Spirit has been given to us in profound measure! "Poured"
doesn't quite convey the sense, as the thought seems to be that God has opened
up the floodgates to release Him!
-
This isn't trickle down spirituality. This is flood level overflow! There is a
mighty river that is ever coming toward you.
-
His presence is richly with us as a measure of our Lord's grace. Why has He
given us of His Spirit? He has done this that we who have been justified might
become heirs of eternal life's hope!
-
This is the certainty that God wishes for us to transition into. We have been
made alive and are now being made like Christ. The Holy Spirit wants us to
expect to receive what He deserves!
III. Concern For The Church (v.8-15)
•
Titus 3:8 : "This is a faithful saying, and
these things I want you to affirm constantly, that those who have believed in
God should be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and
profitable to men." : This is reliable and
everything we've read to this moment should be confidently established in the
hearts of the church.
-
The church isn't a place for new revelation, or shocking, never before heard
truths. This is a place where Christians are again reminded of what they have
already been taught!
-
You have believed in God. You have put your faith in Him. Now, be thoughtful, anxious
in anticipation, that you are practicing the good works that God has set before
you.
-
Several of the translations (NLT, NIV, HCSB & ESV) use the
phrase "be careful to devote yourself to good works." The RSV says "apply yourself" to
good works.
-
My favorite however is the NET which
says, "be intent on engaging in good works!" That suits the intention
of this passage the best. Look for opportunities to do good works.
-
Be sensitive and watchful. Hope that you will have the opportunity to share.
Seek out the possibility to use what you have for His Kingdom purpose. This is
good and helpful for you!
-
Predictably, there are things that are not good for you. Take a look at verse 9.
•
Titus 3:9-11 : "But avoid foolish disputes,
genealogies, contentions, and strivings about the law; for they are
unprofitable and useless. Reject a divisive man after the first and second admonition, knowing that such a person is
warped and sinning, being self-condemned." :
The word "avoid" means to turn oneself away from. It is written in
the present imperitive. This is Paul's command to Titus: "Turn and keep
yourself turned!"
-
Sometimes it's a temptation to turn back around for the sake of winning a
person or even shutting them up! But Paul is definitive in his language. Don't
give any room for this.
-
There were stupid, moronic debates that Titus had no business engaging in. If
the talk turned to genealogies, Jewish fables and myths, Titus was to walk
briskly away.
-
How about personal strife or fighting about the law? The same command applies
to them all. Why? Because they are useless and serve no purpose! Please hear
the Apostle Paul.
-
He is a Jewish man, a former Rabbi, a student without equal in matters of
Jewish law. He says right here that such strivings about the law are
unprofitable and useless!
-
He is not saying that there aren't difficult questions to be answered. He is
not saying that you shouldn't seek an explanation to things which genuinely
confuse you.
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But there are areas of scripture which remain tense and unresolved. God does
this purposely, to remind us that He is God and we are not!
-
Sadly, there will always be people who get into these areas because they want
nothing more than to find a new and more spiritual sounding way to be superior
to others! Don't feed that beast!
˚ "It is much easier to discuss
theological questions than to be kind and considerate and helpful at home, or
efficient and diligent and honest at work.”
-
A person given to such unanswerable questions is to be rejected, shunned,
avoided.
-
Titus was to have no business with such a person, a literal heretic! He is a
person who is given to false doctrine.
-
Now, please notice that Paul does not tell Titus to reject him outright. But he
is also not to continue to seek engagement beyond two warnings for them to
desist.
-
Afterward, the heretic is to be rejected. Why? Because that person is turned
inside out, twisted like a spiritual pretzel! They are in sin and are
condemning themselves by their actions.
-
Titus is to protect the church and his own time by cutting this relationship
off!
•
Titus 3:12-14 : "When I send Artemas to you, or
Tychicus, be diligent to come to me at Nicopolis, for I have decided to spend
the winter there. Send Zenas the lawyer and Apollos on their journey with haste,
that they may lack nothing. And let our people also learn to maintain good works, to meet
urgent needs, that they may not be unfruitful." : We have not heard of Artemas before. Tychicus was a part of the
protective convoy that traveled with Paul in Acts 20 after the Ephesian incident.
-
We also saw his name in II Timothy 4,
Paul telling Timothy that he had sent Tychicus to Ephesus. At this juncture,
what is important to us is that Paul still directed traffic.
-
Artemas and Tychicus were trusted men. At this time in Paul's writing, I'm
suggesting prior to writing either epistle to Timothy, Paul thought to send
these men to relieve Titus.
-
Paul could have pulled rank and called all the troops to his side for a final
discipleship session. Instead, he carefully marks out personnel for relief. The
church mattered more than he did!
-
The plan was for Titus to join Paul at Nicopolis where he was going to winter.
-
Paul seems to believe that he will be able to do this but his call for Zenas
and Apollos betrays that trouble is on the horizon.
-
These men were obviously with Titus, who is instructed to send them to him as
quickly as possible, with whatever they had need for. This provided an
opportunity for the congregation.
-
This is why Paul instructs Titus to give the people the chance to give
attention to good works, one being the meeting of need.
-
As a church, we are under zero obligation to meet greed. But when we have the
ability to do so, we must meet need! Otherwise, we will be barren spiritually!
-
When Paul wrote the Philippians about the support that they had rendered to
him, he was more excited about the fruit that was coming to their account! (Philippians 4:17)
-
Here, that fruitfulness is the priority as they meet the urgent needs of the
servants that do the Lord's bidding!
•
Titus 3:15 : "All who are with me greet you.
Greet those who love us in the faith. Grace be with you all. Amen." : Paul signs off with a final greeting from those that were with
him and a wish to reach out to the ones that loved him from Crete.
-
In both cases, the word "greet" means to stop someone with a hug and
a kiss. With all of his heart filled with love, he wishes every last one of
them grace.
-
It was the word that changed his life and the word that changed ours. May His
grace be ours as well!
Conclusion
Let's pray!