… in the Church
Truth that leads to godliness • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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So obscure, yet so recognisable
So obscure, yet so recognisable
(context)
Paul writing to Titus…
Paul had left Titus, in about 62-64 A.D. Titus had been an apprentice to Paul for 15-20 years by the time of Paul’s death.
1 Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ to further the faith of God’s elect and their knowledge of the truth that leads to godliness—
4 To Titus, my true son in our common faith: Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior. 5 The reason I left you in Crete was that you might put in order what was left unfinished and appoint elders in every town, as I directed you.
<Crete map>
Crete
Possible churches established with return for Jews from Jerusalem during the time of the Jerusalem church
Paul sailed by Crete in Acts 27, but did not stay there. He was under house arrest in Rome (Acts 28) until about 62 A.D. When released he continued his mission, at this time it is assumed he visited Crete, leaving Titus there and subsequently writing this letter.
In this sense, Titus is obscure, so far removed from us and our experience; in another time; another country.
And yet, as with all scripture, it is recognisable.
God’s word always peels back the layers of our lives so that we can see him - his character, his plans, his purpose, his actions (centred on Christ) - and so that we see ourselves - created in his image, enslaved by sin, in need of grace and mercy, in need of a Saviour (Jesus Christ), brought together as a community of believers, his church, his people, his family.
It happens as we read and study Titus.
The issues facing Titus and the church in Crete are faced by us today… maybe not the same circumstance, but definitely the same truths, the same struggles, the same dangers, and therefore the same antidote.
“… further the faith of the elect and their knowledge of the truth that leads to godliness.”
“… further the faith of the elect and their knowledge of the truth that leads to godliness.”
10 For there are many rebellious people, full of meaningless talk and deception, especially those of the circumcision group.
16 They claim to know God, but by their actions they deny him. They are detestable, disobedient and unfit for doing anything good. 1 You, however, must teach what is appropriate to sound doctrine.
Titus 2:11–12 (NIV)
11 For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. 12 It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age,
1 Remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready to do whatever is good, 2 to slander no one, to be peaceable and considerate, and always to be gentle toward everyone.
7 so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life. 8 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.
Themes introduced in Paul’s greeting…
1 Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ to further the faith of God’s elect and their knowledge of the truth that leads to godliness—2 in the hope of eternal life, which God, who does not lie, promised before the beginning of time, 3 and which now at his appointed season he has brought to light through the preaching entrusted to me by the command of God our Savior, 4 To Titus, my true son in our common faith: Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior.
Grace’s measure … “Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ” … religious zealot, pursuing his own righteousness, to the point of persecuting Jesus’ people … but, God’s grace is greater, now a servant of God, sent by Jesus himself … God’s grace is greater than any of our shortcomings!
Grace’s means … “further the faith of the elect (God’s choosing, God’s actions, God’s love, and not the work of our human hands) and their knowledge of the truth (not just intellect, but relational knowledge, personal relationship with our living God through the very word of truth, Jesus himself) that leads to godliness.” … “The order is absolutely essential to note. Godly conduct itself does not lead to a relationship with God. Rather, the relationship with God that gospel faith establishes leads to righteous actions. God is not waiting to love us until we have gotten our own lives straightened out. Thus Paul makes clear the means of grace: mercy alone.” [R. Kent Hughes and Bryan Chapell, 1 & 2 Timothy and Titus: To Guard the Deposit, Preaching the Word (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 2000), 277.]
Grace’s duration … (2,3) we get to look both ways in history; in hope to eternal, that God has graciously given to all who have faith in Jesus, and back down history to his ‘promise before the beginning of time.’ Forever! … Note: God does not lie c.f. V12
Grace’s effect … (4) Description of Titus… common faith… my true son (vs racial divides)… grace not competition / striving and peace (reconciliation through Jesus to God and one another)… family unity.
Grace’s application … “What should happen when we see these features of the God of grace so clearly? To answer, consider what always happens when the people of God see him.
When Isaiah saw the Lord on his throne high and exalted, he said, “Woe to me.… For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty” (see Isaiah 6:5).
When Moses approached the burning bush and understood that he was looking upon the great I AM, the future leader of Israel hid his face (Exodus 3:6).
When Job ultimately faced the greatness of God, he said, “My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you. Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes” (Job 42:5, 6).
Clear sight of God brings a keen awareness of sin, deep humility, and an intense desire to remove any source of shame from before the face of the Holy One.” Hughes and Chappell.
With this application of God’s grace - God being generous to us - everyone addressed in Paul’s letter to Titus have responsibilities for others:
Titus’s mission is to appoint other elders (1:5).
The elders’ mission is to encourage and instruct others (1:9).
The sin of false teachers was their ruin of others (1:11).
Older men, older women, younger women, and younger men were to set examples that influence others (2:1–8).
Slaves are to order their conduct so as to promote the spiritual well-being of their masters (2:9, 10).
The church is responsible for responding with respect and good conduct in the midst of external attack (3:1–8).
The church is to avoid and discipline internal divisiveness (3:9–11).
Truth that leads to godliness…
in the church (ch. 1)
in the home (ch. 2)
in the world (ch. 3)
Today, Truth that leads to godliness in the church
Godly Elders
Godly Elders
Character (6-8)
6 An elder must be blameless, faithful to his wife, a man whose children believe and are not open to the charge of being wild and disobedient. 7 Since an overseer manages God’s household, he must be blameless—not overbearing, not quick-tempered, not given to drunkenness, not violent, not pursuing dishonest gain. 8 Rather, he must be hospitable, one who loves what is good, who is self-controlled, upright, holy and disciplined.
Blameless… not sinless, but beyond accusation from others, above reproach.
This is about community reputation…
“When blamelessness is properly understood as relating to one’s community reputation, comfort may result for some and distress for others. There is comfort for those who realize that they are not disqualified for church office simply because their lives are not perfect, or else there would be no church officers. At the same time, there may be distress for one who does not want to be held accountable for what others think about how consistently he lives according to Scripture. Such accountability grates against our independent spirit. “Why should I have to worry about what others observe and think?” we question. The answer is that Christian leaders should always be concerned for the testimony of the gospel. Because we are responsible for the spiritual welfare of others as well as ourselves, we should seek to make the gospel credible to others by our example.
A Christian leader’s readiness to accept spiritual responsibility for others becomes evident in the first measure of blamelessness that the apostle gives. Paul says that elders must be “blameless” (i.e., not open to community accusation of un-Biblical living) in their relationships.” Hughes and Chappell
Blameless relationships
Blameless conduct
Convictions (9)
9 He must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it.
Gospel witness… encouragement and refutation
Godly Elders for the problem: false teachers
Godly Elders for the problem: false teachers
False teaching for dishonest gain (10-11)
10 For there are many rebellious people, full of meaningless talk and deception, especially those of the circumcision group. 11 They must be silenced, because they are disrupting whole households by teaching things they ought not to teach—and that for the sake of dishonest gain.
wrong words… hurting households… for dishonest gain.
Character and convictions that don’t fit with the faith / truth (12-16)
12 One of Crete’s own prophets has said it: “Cretans are always liars, evil brutes, lazy gluttons.” 13 This saying is true. Therefore rebuke them sharply, so that they will be sound in the faith 14 and will pay no attention to Jewish myths or to the merely human commands of those who reject the truth. 15 To the pure, all things are pure, but to those who are corrupted and do not believe, nothing is pure. In fact, both their minds and consciences are corrupted. 16 They claim to know God, but by their actions they deny him. They are detestable, disobedient and unfit for doing anything good.
One of Crete’s own prophets has said.
Wisely, Paul does not criticise the decadence of Cretan society directly but quotes a Cretan author instead and then quickly agrees with him (this testimony is true). Of course Paul means this as a generalization, not necessarily true of every single inhabitant of Crete. The quotation seems to be from Epimenides of Crete, though some have questioned this since his writings are known only through other authors’ quotations of him (see note on Acts 17:28).
Cretans are always liars, evil brutes, lazy gluttons.
Crete was proverbial in the ancient world for its moral decadence. The ancient historian Polybius wrote that it was “almost impossible to find . . . personal conduct more treacherous or public policy more unjust than in Crete” (Histories 6.47). Cicero also stated, “Moral principles are so divergent that the Cretans ... consider highway robbery honorable” (Republic 3.9.15).
To the pure, all things are pure echoes Jesus’ teaching (Luke 11:41) and Paul’s earlier writing (Rom. 14:20). In light of the Jewishness of the false teaching and the contexts of the earlier similar teaching by Jesus and Paul, the issue here seems to concern Jewish food laws. The false teachers seem in some way to be concerned with this ritual purity, although they are themselves defiled by their unbelief and sin.
Wrong doctrine… concerned for those who have lost their focus (12,14)
Wrong deeds… hurting God’s reputation (15-16)
