Concluding Thoughts on Titus (Titus 3:12-15)

Introduction

If you have your Bible, please turn it to Titus 3:12-15.

We’re finally in our last week with the letter to Titus and really with our series on the pastoral epistles, so before we jump into today’s text, let me refresh your memory on the series itself. Over the past few years, we’ve periodically worked through a series over all the pastoral epistles, which include 1 and 2 Timothy and Titus. They’re relatively short letters and they’re written to two younger men who are pastoring in two rather difficult churches; and yet, Paul chose them both specifically to lead both churches through some difficult situations.

In both churches, Paul points out certain issues that he knows they’ll have to correct before giving them bits of advice that can really be summed up in three ways—deal with the false teaching in your churches because the false teaching is hurting people, get the people to actually be about the work of the ministry, and proclaim the truth accurately with boldness.

As Paul wraps up his letter to Titus, he doesn’t give Titus anything new to do, but he does focus in on a certain issue while asking Titus to send greetings to certain friends in Crete.

Let’s read today’s text and I’ll explain how today’s sermon will work out.

Titus 3:12–15 ESV

12 When I send Artemas or Tychicus to you, do your best to come to me at Nicopolis, for I have decided to spend the winter there. 13 Do your best to speed Zenas the lawyer and Apollos on their way; see that they lack nothing. 14 And let our people learn to devote themselves to good works, so as to help cases of urgent need, and not be unfruitful. 15 All who are with me send greetings to you. Greet those who love us in the faith. Grace be with you all.

As we wrap up our time in Titus, we’re going to split this sermon in two: (1) Paul’s Greetings (12-15) and (2) Recap of Titus. We’re going to start by finishing up the last four verses of the letter. You’ll notice that we won’t spend too much time in this section because we don’t have many details about who the people are. We will note Paul’s plans in the near future and his final exhortation to Titus for the people. In the recap portion, we’ll then take a brief look at the primary argument in the letter to Titus and that’s where the bulk of our application will come for this morning. The goal for today’s sermon is to glean from how Paul ends this letter and the overall argument what he intends for Titus to do as the leader in the church of Crete before then applying these truths to our lives today.

Prayer for Illumination

Paul’s Greetings (12-15)

This final section of Titus shows us two things about Paul, himself—the first is that when it comes to ministry, he’s strategic. The second is that despite being strategic, Paul shows a genuine care for these people (12-13, 15)

Let’s talk about the strategy that he has in hand—we see this throughout the four verses:

He’s currently sending Artemas (don’t mix this person up with the false god Artimis) and Tychicus to Titus—it seems as if Artemas and Tychicus are being sent to Crete for the purpose of replacing Titus on the island, but within the same sentence, Paul tells Titus do do his best to meet him at Nicopolis.

We don’t know much about the two people that are being sent to replace Titus—this is literally the only instance that we see Artemas in the New Testament. The only other instance of Tychicus being mentioned in the New Testament is Acts 20, which informs us that he’s from Asia (more than likely Asia Minor, which is modern-day Turkey).

All that we know from this passage is that they’re being sent to replace Titus, which means that they (more than likely) also meet the qualifications given in ch. 1 concerning eldership, which I’ll remind you about later this morning.

The location of Nicopolis is debated because the term Nicopolis was given to several different cities throughout the Roman Empire—Nicopolis was a term utilized by the Roman military when a new town was founded that simply meant something along the lines of City of Victory—during this time of history, there were about 9 Nicopolises.

Most scholars believe that the one Paul is mentioning is the one closest to Corinth, which places it near the northern part of Greece.

Regardless, Paul tells Titus to meet him there because that is where Paul had determined to spend the winter—again, he’s speaking from a strategic point of view.

In addition, Paul tells Titus to speed up Zenas the lawyer and Apollos in v. 13, which again is a strategic movement.

We can assume that the Apollos mentioned here is the same Apollos that we see in the book of Acts, who was known as an eloquent speaking or preacher of the Gospel in Acts 18.

But Zenas is only mentioned this one time and the only thing we know about him is that he is a lawyer.

Many scholars believe that Paul had sent Zenas and Apollos with this letter, which is why he speaks to meeting their needs before sending them away.

The last bit of strategy that we see concerns the devotion to good works, but we’ll get back to that—do you see how Paul is being strategic in his last few verses not for his own benefit but really for the benefit of the church?

He’s sending people to replace Titus because Titus was never intended to stay in Crete—Titus was only in Crete to select new elders.

He’s sending Artemas or Tychicus with the intent of replacing Titus quite possibly as a long-term replacement for the church in Crete—quite possibly because they’re better suited to serve that community for a greater length of time.

When telling Titus to send Zenas and Apollos on their way with speed, he makes sure that Titus provides for them, “see that they lack nothing.”

Or, in other words, even though Paul is being very strategic through all this, he’s also doing it out of care, love, and concern for the people.

Just think through the comments that he’s making to these people:

He knows Artemas and Tychicus, which is why he’s able to send them to replace Titus—he only knows them because he cares for them and loves them.

He tells Titus to come and see him in Nicopolis—he’s only suggesting this because he knows Titus well enough to know that Titus can be beneficial for his ministry efforts in Asia Minor—he loves and cares for him.

He tells Titus to speed Zenas and Apollos on their way while making sure that they lack nothing—he does this because he loves and care for them.

Even in how he ends the letter in v. 15, “All who are with me send greetings to you. Greet those who love us in the faith. Grace be with you all,” shows us this amount of love and care that he has for the people in Crete—for the church in Crete.

He has relationships and friendships and partnerships with all these people—and they’re not just friendships, relationships, and partnerships of convenience, but rather he genuinely cares for them and loves them.

Paul isn’t using these people for his own benefit or his own pleasure—yes, he’s moving them around and strategizing for better Kingdom impact, but it’s not because he sees them as pawns nor does he see them as people to use, but rather, he genuinely cares for these people and he’s trying to place them and maneuver them where they can best serve the Lord with their respective gifts and roles.

Now, there is one verse that we jumped over, so let’s take a quick look at it, v. 14 says, “Let our people learn to devote themselves to good works, so as to help cases of urgent need, and not be unfruitful.”

Note again, Pauls push for the people of Crete to do good works.

Remember, that this is not Paul saying that they must do good works in order to be saved or anything like that, but rather that they must do good works because good works is the fruit of genuine faith.

And as I mentioned last week, good works have temporal as well as eternal effects—you’re meeting the needs of the average person while revealing to them Jesus Christ.

This is why Paul points out the idea of helping cases of urgent need—while the role of the local church itself isn’t to step in and meet every need out there, it is part of the role of being a Christian to meet the needs of those around us—or, in other words, while the local church doesn’t necessarily need to start a food bank or adoption agency or whatever else a community might need, it is right for the individuals within the local church to help in those ways if possible.

It’s really no wonder why Paul would emphasize good works, yet again before concluding his letter to Titus.

Now, before we get to application, because we’re at the end of a letter, I do want to briefly recap the entire letter and then we’ll jump into application. It’s important for us to see how the whole letter comes together.

Recap of Titus

The letter to Titus is a very short, very clear letter concerning Titus’ role within the church in Crete.

He was never supposed to be the full-time, long-term pastor of the island of Crete, but rather, his role was to always set the church up in a way that it could survive into the future.

And in doing so, there were three specific issues that needed to be confronted immediately—(1) the need for qualified church leadership, the importance of sound doctrine, and the fruits of good work.

First, from ch. 1, Titus is to go and find qualified elders and deacons within the church of Crete—these elders and deacons are to match the character-related qualifications in Titus 1 with the elders also having the requirement of being able to teach.

Paul’s push for Titus to find qualified elders is notable because of how important eldership is within the local church—very rarely will the congregation of the church be able to grow and mature if the elders of the local church aren’t spiritually mature.

Very rarely will a local church be effective if their leadership isn’t spiritually maturing.

It’s really the eldership of the local church that drives the vision and the motion of a local church—thus, with unqualified eldership, you can expect the church to go the wrong direction.

Second, from ch. 2, Paul then emphasizes the need of right doctrine within the local church, which is heavily tied to the idea of qualified eldership because the eldership is responsible for the teachings of the church.

With that in mind, Paul states that all the teaching within the local church needs to not just be derived from the Scriptures, but rather needs to come directly from the Scriptures—that is, the intent of all the teaching within the local church needs to be exposing what the text itself says—what we today call exposition.

There is a reason why Paul ties this in with the idea of qualified elders and it’s because the elders within the local church are the primary ones responsible for teaching and preaching within the local church—whether that’s teaching through the Scripture Readings, the prayers during corporate worship, the sermons, or whatever other opportunities are mentioned throughout the week.

If the church’s teaching isn’t right, you’ll have a church filled with people who (as Voddie Baucham) says, who supposedly love God, even though they don’t know Him very well and are usually worshiping a god of their own design.

Third, from ch. 3, Paul hits up the issue of good works, that good works are to be expected of Christians, not because it saves them, but rather because it is through their good works that they reveal their belief and (in many cases) show the Gospel to those around them.

Again, it’s never that salvation is earned through good works, it’s always that good works is the fruit of your salvation.

So, the question if you aren’t doing good works is always, “are you even saved?”

Which should be an eye-opening question for those that don’t have the good works that show genuine belief.

Application

So, let’s talk about application. I want to start by giving you general application concerning the overall letter to Titus, but then we’ll wrap everything up by focusing our application specifically on the last few verses of Titus 3.

The letter to Titus actually has a very simple and easy-to-follow argument throughout and that’s where it’s application really is:

From ch. 1, you need to make sure your church leadership is actually qualified to lead according to Scripture

As I’ve said various times, it doesn’t really matter if you like the people leading you, it doesn’t matter if they’ve been with you during all the greatest difficulties in your life, it doesn’t really matter if they’re very charismatic, an entertaining speaker, or funny to listen to.

If they’re not qualified to lead the church according to what Scripture dictates are the requirements for church eldership, they shouldn’t be leading your church—and that applies to every elder we ever place in front of you here—Josh, myself, and anyone else we could ever recommend later.

When the church disregards the qualifications for eldership, it never ends up good—people end up getting hurt, people don’t hear the truth, and the church always suffers.

You need to make sure your church leadership is biblically qualified to lead.

From ch. 2, you need to make sure that the doctrine that you’re learning is sound

This is such a vital issue because if the teaching isn’t sound, you aren’t actually following what Scripture says—thus, it puts you in the precarious position of thinking you know God when in reality you might not.

And, the reality is, you will never know whether the teaching within the local church is sound unless you actually make the effort to learn what Scripture teaches—read your Bibles, look at the London Baptist Confession of Faith, consider what’s taught in our church with what you see in Scripture—if what you hear, read, or watch doesn’t align with Scripture, you need to reject it.

Just like you need to reject teachers who teach false things with no regard to the truth—you need to reject them.

You need to make sure that the doctrine that you’re following and listening to is actually sound according to Scripture.

From ch. 3, you need to make sure that your doctrine and your belief in Jesus Christ leads you to good works.

Or, in other words, don’t just say that you believe, actually live like you believe.

If you genuinely believe, there ought to be fruit that backs up the fact that you profess belief in Jesus Christ, thus, if you don’t have the fruit, reconsider your heart.

You need to make sure that what you’ve learned as right teaching and true doctrine influences your belief in Jesus Christ in such a way that you do good works.

Essentially, make sure your church leadership is qualified and only teaches true, sound doctrine. Because the effects of sound doctrine influence not just your understanding of God and the Gospel, but also how you live your life and whether you produce the fruits that salvation is meant to produce.

From these last few verses (at the end of Titus 3) we notice Paul’s continuing relationship with not just Titus, but other people in Crete.

Paul isn’t just being strategic with the way he’s sending people to Titus and asking Titus to come to him. He’s not just being strategic when he tells Titus to speed certain people up making sure that they have no lack.

Yes, he is being strategic, but he’s also showing great care for the people themselves.

There is certainly an aspect in these verses in which Paul is sending people around for the benefit of the universal church, but he’s also doing it for the benefit of the people themselves.

He’s sending these people around based on their roles, gifts, and needs.

He’s sending Artemas or Tychicus to Titus to replace Titus—because Titus isn’t intended to stay at Crete permenantly, but to return and serve with Paul.

More than likely, that’s because Artemas or Tychicus is better suited for long-term ministry in that context, whereas Titus is better suited to short-term ministry with Paul—contrast this idea with Timothy. Timothy remains in Ephesus permenantly—probably because he’s better suited for long-term ministry in Ephesus.

Paul asks Titus to speed up Zenas the lawyer and Apollos to get on with what they’re supposed be doing while making sure they don’t need anything. Assuming that this is the same Apollos from Acts, we know that he’s a gifted speaker; and we already know Zenas’ role from this text, that he’s a lawyer—it would make sense that Paul would need both of them at this time because he’s in the part of his life in which he regularly experienced house arrest and prison for preaching the Gospel (though it doesn’t seem like he is imprisoned at the moment, he could very well face prison again, which he does)—he would need an eloquent speaker and a lawyer.

But note, in all these situations where he’s moving people around, he’s basing it on who the people are, what their giftedness is, and he’s making sure that they have what they need to serve well in whatever location and capacity that they’re going.

Or, in other words, he’s still caring for people that he personally knows and is hoping for them to continue serving the Lord in the best capacity that they can wherever they’re most needed.

I think we ought to learn from this when it comes to our own interpersonal relationships. Unfortunately, most relationships, friendships, and even partnerships end up being more for convenience than actual friendship and true partnership.

What I mean by this is often after the relationship stops being convenient, the relationship ends—so, for instance, Natalie and I have moved between states (and I lived in Ohio prior to my first move to Pennsylvania). While I was heavily connected with many many people in most cases, what we learned was that the moment we moved and those same people didn’t see us week after week, the friendship waned and eventually you no longer communicate with them.

Very few friends have made the effort to be more than just friends of convenience—we know because we hear from so few of them, but the ones that we do hear from genuinely care.

They’re praying for us, they ask us how things are going, they offer suggestions, they even keep us accountable. Every time we’re anywhere close to these sorts of people by location, I can assume that we’ll be spending time with them discussing life, ministry, and what all God is doing in our lives.

How many relationships do you have that are like this? Relationships in which you actually make the effort to keep up with someone, to care for them, to pray for them, to see how they’re doing, to offer suggestions that point them to Christ, to even keep them accountable?

I’m willing to guess that you’re answer might be few if any.

And that ought to be convicting for all of us when we consider what it means to actually make disciples as Matthew 28 commands us to. Disciple-making isn’t a one-time ordeal where you just get people to say a prayer or doing something along those lines.

Making disciples involves actually coming alongside someone, sharing your life with their life, and jumping into the trenches with them—it involves getting to know them, caring for them, and actually loving them.

And if you don’t really have relationships like this at all with anyone around you, you really ought to be asking why?

The reality is that even though you probably won’t be in a similar position as Paul is where he is literally directing people and their lives, you do have the ability to have significant impact on those around you if you make the effort.

The reality is that it takes effort to reach out to other people, it takes effort to pray for them. It takes effort, to offer suggestions that point them to Jesus Christ. It takes effort to keep people accountable.

Are you willing to make the effort to influence others not just in a positive way, but in a godly way—in a way that influences them and grows the Kingdom of God?

So, are you willing to reach out to other people? Are you willing to pray for them? Are you willing to point people to Jesus Christ and to keep them accountable?

Or, are you more interested in having friends of convenience rather than true friendships that can have an eternal or Kingdom impact?

Paul is more interested in impacting the Kingdom of God through His relationships with other people, so should we, and really, so should you.

You need to be impacting other people with the Gospel—it starts by simply making the effort.

Put Simply, Titus 3:12-15 shows us the importance of developing and maintaining relationships that have a Kingdom impact. If we aren’t actively doing this, then we aren’t doing it at all—we need to make the effort to influence other people in the Gospel.

In the framework of Titus, we see a significant emphasis about right teachers, right teachings, and right actions—we need to make sure those who are teaching us teach us what the Bible teaches us, which then results in right or good works.

Pastoral Prayer