Discerning Relationships
Notes
Transcript
INTRODUCTION
INTRODUCTION
Our final time in Titus has arrived!
3 chapters
46 verses
25 sermons pertaining to Ecclesiology
Outline:
Chapter 1 - Leadership In The Church
Chapter 2 - Character Of The Church
Chapter 3 - Conduct By The Church
Last week, building off the exhortation to remember where you came from and how you were delivered from a life of being dead in sin, the Apostle Paul gave two directives for believers:
Devote Yourselves To Good Works (v. 8)
an indicator of the change that God has made in their life through salvation and the sanctification process.
Avoid Foolishness (v. 9)
so that you can commit yourselves to the task of good works
don’t allow foolish debates to distract from what matters most: glorifying God and loving people.
A genuine transformation in Christ compels us to engage in good works that reflect His love and grace while drawing us away from divisive behavior and toward unity in the faith.
Building on those directives, Paul instructs Titus on how to address divisive individuals within the church.
He emphasizes the need to be Discerning of Relationships and the importance of fostering unity and good works.
Read Titus 3:10-15
Warn with Wisdom
Warn with Wisdom
Titus 3:10
Paul instructs Titus to warn a divisive person once and then twice.
This reflects the seriousness of maintaining unity in the church
It also shows Christ-like patience and grace in giving opportunities for repentance.
As has already been firmly established, unity in the church is of utmost importance.
I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
Remember how the Apostle Peter addressed this issue with Simon the Magician in Acts 8, when Simon brought disunity to the fellowship by trying to purchase the ability to give the Holy Spirit to people:
But Peter said to him, “May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money! You have neither part nor lot in this matter, for your heart is not right before God. Repent, therefore, of this wickedness of yours, and pray to the Lord that, if possible, the intent of your heart may be forgiven you. For I see that you are in the gall of bitterness and in the bond of iniquity.”
The true act of love in a situation where someone is bringing division to the church is to confront them on the issue and give them an opportunity to repent.
This is exactly the church discipline principle given to us in Matthew 18 by Jesus, when it comes to confronting a brother.
Read Matthew 18:15-17
Fellow saints of FBS, I want to encourage you to be bold, yet loving, in addressing conflicts as a step toward building a healthier church body.
Our intent ought to be the well being of our brother/sister, not their punishment or separation.
Recognize and Reflect
Recognize and Reflect
Titus 3:11
Recognition of division is part of discernment, as Paul identifies the divisive person as being warped and sinful.
The word for warped (ἐκστρέφω) literally means “to have departed from the patterns of correct behavior and thus to have become corrupt.”
It is someone who has known the correct way to act, but has willfully chosen to no longer follow the God-given expectation
So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.
Thus, the warped individual is by default engaging in a sinful practice and must be held accountable for their actions.
Read 1 Corinthians 5
It is out of Christlike compassion for others that we warn them of their wayward behavior and grant them the opportunity to repent.
It is out of love for the individual that we take the step of separation when they insist on their own sinful way.
It is out of our concern for the testimony and unity of the Body of Christ that we no longer associate with them until they come to a point of repentance
Foster Fellowship
Foster Fellowship
Titus 3:12-13
While the matters of discipline and separation are important to a healthy church, we must also be actively fostering supportive relationships.
Notice that Paul actively sent believers to Crete (Artemas and Tychicus) to be an encouragement to the Body. [intra-church missions?]
He also encourages Titus to send Zenas and Apollos on their way, lacking nothing [foreign/domestic missions?]
These relationships are of the utmost importance when it comes to building up the Body of Christ.
I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a servant of the church at Cenchreae, that you may welcome her in the Lord in a way worthy of the saints, and help her in whatever she may need from you, for she has been a patron of many and of myself as well.
It is unfortunate when churches are so independent that they are unwilling to welcome brothers/sisters from other fellowships.
Why can’t believers overlook secondary doctrinal disagreements in order to worship with the Saints? [Night of Music]
Why can’t churches be open to working with brothers/sisters from other fellowships in various ministries? [AWANA, SBYG, VBS]
How much more could be accomplished for the gospel when the Body of Christ is working in unison?
Dedicate to Good Deeds
Dedicate to Good Deeds
Titus 3:14-15
Paul builds on the Fostering Fellowship idea by issuing a final command: let our people learn to devote themselves to good works.
The mutual aide of the Saints promotes the building up of the Body.
The special giftedness of individuals being shared among the local assemblies fans the flame of devotion and service
And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.
God gave specially gifted individuals to equip and build up the Church.
Some of those individuals serve a particular Body of Christ (pastors; teachers; musicians; etc.)
Some of those individuals serve in itinerant ministries (preaching; lecturing; music; etc.)
The Body is blessed by both categories of individuals and are built up for the work of service
CONCLUSION
CONCLUSION
As we see in this final section of Paul’s letter to Titus, Christians need to exercise discernment in their relationships to maintain unity and growth in the church.
We must Warn with Wisdom those who are erring from the truth and living in sin.
We must Recognize those who are persistent in their sinful ways and Reflect the compassion of Christ by giving them the opportunity to repent and to be held accountable for their decisions when they refuse to repent.
We must Foster Fellowship with believers from other local assemblies, knowing that the special gifts of the saints encourage the Body to Dedicate themselves to Good Deeds.
