Discipline and Devotion: The Responsibilities of God’s Church

Introduction

It might not feel like it after the week that we had, but spring is coming - is anyone else thankful for that? One of the things that we’re blessed to have in the Ozarks is an abundance of waterways. Between creeks, rivers, and lakes, there are many different ways that we can spend a spring or summer day on the water. I remember growing up in Ozark and occasionally we’d go camping with some friends and one place that we loved going was Roaring River State Park in Cassville, Missouri. Some of the other boys and I would fish, hike, ride bikes, and most of all, go floating down the river! I distinctly remember one late spring afternoon while we were floating up and down the river in our tubes, experiencing a problem… My tube hit a rock going downstream, and whenever I got out I realized that half the air was missing because there was a hole in the tube! Now, to a 10 year old this is a tragic situation. Thankfully, a friend had another tube I could use, because my tube was beyond fixing because of this hole.

Think for a minute about being in a boat, and this happening, you hit a rock and it creates a hole in the boat and water comes rushing in while you’re out in the middle of the lake… what do you do? Maybe your instinct is to get a bucket and start pouring the water back out into the lake, but what keeps happening? As fast as you pour it out, it pours back in even faster! How do you actually solve this problem? You have to fix the hole. You can prolong the problem a number of ways… but to solve the problem requires you to address the root of the problem, the hole.

The book of Titus, these last few weeks, has addressed a number of problems. Problems in the church. Problems in the home. Problems in our world. What was the problem in chapter 1 in the church? A lack of Biblical leadership and a rise in false teaching. What is the solution to this problem? Paul clearly outlines the answer in Titus 1:5, every church in the New Testament was led by a plurality of elders, or as we often think of them, pastors. Pastors are called to lead the church. False teaching is the hole in the boat, pastors are the fix, but what have many churches in our world done? Tried to throw a number of other solutions at the hole. We don’t want pastors to lead, we want a committee or team to be the leadership. Maybe it’s this: We have a pastor who will not lead, and someone has to try to patch a hole they are not qualified to patch. The church today needs Titus 1 to repair the hole in our boat. The same is true in chapter 2 for the home. False teaching destroys families and Titus 2 provides the solution to that hole in the boat and the solution is husbands who lead in a way that honors Christ and wives who voluntarily submit in a way that honors and glorifies Christ. The home needs Titus 2 to repair the hole in our boat. What about our world? Are there problems in our world? There are millions of them! Last week we saw the importance of fighting against our fleshly desire to take credit for our salvation by remembering the Gospel is that God saves us.

We saw how there are problems in our world - how we are separated from God apart from the finished work of Jesus. Our world has serious problems… but what do we do whenever the problems of the world start to enter into the church? This will undoubtedly happen because the church is made up of people who live in this world. What do we do whenever God’s Word is violated? What do we do whenever sin is embraced? What do we do whenever there is a temptation in our hearts to prove our rightness at all costs? These are problems that we face, but by God’s grace there is a solution. Let’s read about God’s provision of discipline this morning as we wrap up our study in Titus, Titus 3:9-15.

Titus 3:9–15 CSB

9 But avoid foolish debates, genealogies, quarrels, and disputes about the law, because they are unprofitable and worthless. 10 Reject a divisive person after a first and second warning. 11 For you know that such a person has gone astray and is sinning; he is self-condemned. 12 When I send Artemas or Tychicus to you, make every effort to come to me in Nicopolis, because I have decided to spend the winter there. 13 Diligently help Zenas the lawyer and Apollos on their journey, so that they will lack nothing. 14 Let our people learn to devote themselves to good works for pressing needs, so that they will not be unfruitful. 15 All those who are with me send you greetings. Greet those who love us in the faith. Grace be with all of you.

Titus is one of Paul’s final letters and in this conclusion, we see his pastoral heart. He loves Titus like a son and he loves these Christians deeply. So much so that this letter ends with a challenging and often neglected subject for churches today: Discipline. Let’s ask God to help us see the importance of Discipline and Devotion in the church.

How to Handle False Teaching (9-11) (Avoid and Reject)

Today, Gallup shares that nearly 70% of Americans claim to be Christians. Even though that is down from what it was decades ago, it’s still a high number as the majority of Americans at least say that they are Christians. How can we verify those numbers, though? Obviously, only God knows the heart, but how can we tell if that number is true? We can start by defining what a Christian is and asking those people to explain the Gospel and what it means to be saved. How God made everything perfect, how our world and lives are broken by sin, and how Jesus came to seek sinners like us and save us from our sins! How we repent and turn away from our sins and trust in Jesus to save us.

Another question that we can ask is this: What do you believe about the Bible? Consider that question in your own mind - what do YOU believe about the Bible? Ligioner Ministries in 2022 asked this question and over 50% of respondents said that they believe the Bible contains helpful accounts of things, but is not literally true. 53% of Americans do not believe the Bible is true. Categorically, we disagree with this church. As a Southern Baptist Congregation, our statement of faith shares that the Bible “has God for its author, salvation for its end, and truth, without any mixture of error, for its matter. Therefore, all Scripture is totally true and trustworthy.” We believe in the inerrancy and inspiration of Scripture. All of Scripture is God-breathed and it contains no errors. It is true. It is our authority! It is sufficient. But have you noticed that there are quite a few debates about things in the Bible?

There are some debates that are just fun, let’s think of some:

Which book of the Bible do you think is the best?

Which character in the Bible do you like the most (other than Jesus)?

How old were Adam and Eve whenever God created them?

There are some debates that have been around for a long time:

God’s Sovereignty vs Human Responsibility

Premillennialism / Postmillennialism

Then there are what Paul calls foolish debates

Can God create an object so big that He cannot move it?

Foolish because God is all-knowing

What exact day is Jesus coming back?

Some people believe that they have this figured out… but the Bible tells us that we won’t know the exact date until it happens

KJV-only debate

Some say the only true Bible translation is the KJV - this is a foolish debate that has been refuted many times over by looking at the original manuscripts that our translations come from

We live in a world that loves debates! We love them so much that hundreds of millions of people will tune every 4 years to watch Presidential Debates. We love to argue for our side, our perspective, our opinion. There are some things worth debating! I love watching debates that Christians have with Atheists because we are called to provide a defense of the faith (1 Peter 3:15). I love hearing and reading debates about certain theological beliefs. One of the biggest lies that we’ve believed as a culture is that if someone disagrees with an idea that we have or a position that we hold to, they either hate us, they are a “hater”, or they don’t know what they’re talking about. As we’ve been going through the BFM 2000 on Wednesday nights, we’ve covered a lot of ground!

Some things are primary or essential to our faith - you must believe that Jesus is fully God and fully man. You must believe in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. You must believe in the sinfulness of man. You must believe in the truthfulness of Scripture. There are other things that are secondary, these determine our fellowship in our church. We believe in the security of the believer - that Jesus doesn’t drop you after He saves you. We believe in baptism by immersion after you are saved, or believers baptism. We believe in the office of pastor/elder/overseer and the office of deacon. But there are some issues that are tertiary - things that you can disagree on and still worship in the same church together! Worship preference. Where do God’s Sovereignty and Man’s Responsibility meet? End times beliefs? Thoughts on TV series and movies that show Jesus - some love them and some say that is a 2nd commandment violation, that is adding to what the Bible says, and just because someone disagrees with your view doesn’t make them a hater. We have different preferences… what is Paul’s exhortation? To avoid foolish debates about these types of disputed matters AND things that people twist from Scripture. Adding to Scripture, disregarding Scripture and twisting Scripture… these are foolish debates! Not every debate is foolish, but many are.

What must be the response of Christ’s church to false teaching both outside and within the church? Verses 9-10 share with us our marching orders, 2 commands: Avoid foolish debates and reject divisive people. These are present tense imperative commands, meaning we are to continually avoid these things and reject divisive people. Do you remember verse 8 from last week? It called on these Christians to devote themselves to good works because they are good and profitable for everyone. This is the contrast. There are some things that are good, and there are other things that are bad. This is a serious charge at these people because they attack the theology of the church. They attack what is true. They lead people into confusion and, even into sin.

Adding to the finished work of Jesus. Debating or twisting Scripture. These are foolish things. In Paul’s context there were the Judaizers who taught that to be saved you had to believe in Jesus and practice the Jewish customs such as circumcision, participating in the feasts, and the dietary laws of the Old Covenant. They were teaching a dangerous message: Jesus Plus. Let’s think about this… what do you do whenever you come to church ready to worship Jesus and study from His Word, and the pastor begins to tell you that faith in Jesus is not enough? You need to tithe 10%. You need to stop eating certain foods. And you have to do x, y, or z. That’s a message of dread… This isn’t the Gospel that celebrates the finished work of Jesus Christ that Paul has called on elders and pastors to proclaim earlier in this very letter

Titus 1:9 CSB

9 holding to the faithful message as taught, so that he will be able both to encourage with sound teaching and to refute those who contradict it.

Not only is the expectation to hold onto the faithful message but also to use it to encourage and to rebuke. This means that there will be times when disputes arise. When debates do take place. Some people love debates - have you met a person like that? Some people thrive off the adrenaline. Some people love the theatrics. Some people love the spotlight. Some people just like proving that they’re right, regardless of the cost. There are some things worth disputing and debating - anything having to do with the Gospel, the truthfulness of Scripture, our responsibility as Christians to glorify Jesus and stand on His Word. There is a difference between needing to divide and loving to divide - divisive people love to fight. A divisive person loves to stir the pot. Whether it be on social media, the office, or even the church, we’ve experienced people like this - who have to say something during Bible study every single week, not for their clarification, but to bring about a debate, because they love to debate. To prove their rightness. For both elders and deacons, divisiveness is a disqualifying mark.

What’s taking place on the island of Crete is divisive leaders assuming positions of authority they do not meet the qualifications for in the first place, and spewing foolishness. Teachings that are not profitable and are unwise. What should the Gospel do? Ephesians 1-3 shows us our need for God’s grace and Ephesians 4-6 shows us how we are to live in light of God’s grace and Ephesians 4 begins with a call for unity

Ephesians 4:3 CSB

3 making every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.

Now, many cry for unity and that’s their rallying cry all the time. Everyone, everywhere must be united. Truth determines unity. Unity for unities sake is dangerous. Truth determines unity. As those who believe in God’s Word and have been saved by God’s grace, our rallying cry is in fact unity because we are ONE in Christ. The church is a big deal!

Ephesians 3:10 CSB

10 This is so that God’s multi-faceted wisdom may now be made known through the church to the rulers and authorities in the heavens.

Whenever divisiveness festers or flourishes in the body it it distorts God’s eternal plan and disregards the Son of God’s sacrifice that creates unity in the first place. The church must deal decisively when a divisive person causes disunity. The strategy given in Titus 3:10 is to give them a warning, a second warning, and after this, excommunication. This is similar to Matthew 18 as Jesus gives the process of church discipline. Does Jesus say that you are supposed to go to someone and say, “Well… people have been saying.” That happens all the time, so it must be what Jesus commands, right? No? Go to the brother or sister individually. If that doesn’t work, bring another person. If that doesn’t work, bring it before the congregation. Many are quick to say that this is judgmental - this isn’t the heart of Scripture, and it must not be the heart of the church. The goal is for this to be redemptive! For the person who has taught something false, who gives into these foolish debates, or who is simply a divisive person, after this process the Bible shares that they are self-condemned. We have to see here that sin is destructive as it damages and destroys everything it touches, including people and entire churches. The word “self-condemned” is a compound Greek word which means “to judge down on oneself” - whenever we live in unrepentant sin, we bring judgment down upon ourselves… and often people don’t even realize that it’s happening because this is what sin does. Sin blinds our eyes. Sin puffs up our chest. A few years ago, I had a situation where this happened. An individual left her husband and family behind to move in and start a new family with another man. After talking this through with both her and her husband, she said this, “I know what the Bible says, but this feels right and God is blessing my new relationship.” God’s will will never contradict God’s Word, friends.

That was and remains the hardest season I’ve walked through as a shepherd of a flock - and I pray I never have to walk through another season like it… I pray you’ve never had to walk through a season like this as an individual and as a church. If the situation comes up, though, I pray we are devoted enough to God’s Word to do what He instructs us to do. Overlooking unrepentant sin is not gracious… it is eternally dangerous. We must both avoid foolish debates and reject divisive people, because there is much work to be done!

How to Honor Christ (12-15) (Serve and Work)

Godly leadership is crucial for the church to survive and to thrive. Crucial. Paul had a group of men around him who were second to none when it came to church leadership. Timothy, Titus, Luke, Tychicus, Epaphras, just to name a few. We see in the close of this book, a glimpse of God’s plan. It takes a team. It takes a body. Last Sunday night was the Super Bowl, and it was close for all of 5 minutes! In football, it doesn’t matter how great your QB is… if your receivers don’t make catches, if your linemen don’t block, if your running back fumbles the ball, your team is going to not look very good! The church is a family. The church is a team. Every person has a role to play. Every person is given a gift from God for the good of the body! Look at the early church in Ephesians 4, the Bible says this

Ephesians 4:11–12 CSB

11 And he himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, to build up the body of Christ,

If you are a member of South Gate, you are a minister. You exist for the work of the ministry. You have a role. You have a function. You have a purpose! And that purpose is to build up the body of Christ. We can say this: Those devoted to God’s plan serve and work within the church. This honors God. How do we do this? For some it’s by pastoring - by leading - by shepherding. Titus was called to appoint elders in these churches. Pastors serve in the church by leading the church. Deacons, ministers, lead in the church by serving in the church. Titus 2 taught us how older men teach younger men and older women teach younger women. This is discipleship! It takes a team to do this well!

But sometimes on a team there can be some jealousy. Some envy. Some hard feelings. You’ve never experienced this, have you? Being a basketball fan, this happens all the time. Someone gets jealous of another player and wants to be the star and they hurt the rest of the team because they’re so focused on themselves instead of the success of the rest of the team. They don’t listen to the coach. They start shooting bad shots. They blame their teammates… all because they’re not happy with their role. This is human nature. It can also happen inside the church… This person does this and I haven’t gotten to. They have this gift and I don’t. They have these responsibilities and I don’t. Look at what Paul said about this in 1 Corinthians 3

1 Corinthians 3:4 CSB

4 For whenever someone says, “I belong to Paul,” and another, “I belong to Apollos,” are you not acting like mere humans?

“Paul, why can’t you be more like Apollos?” “Apollos, why can’t you be more like Paul?” We love Apollos, if only you preached more like him. We love Paul, if only you pastored more like him. Paul and Apollos were different people with different giftings and different abilities!

There will always be people who preach the Gospel better, but there is none that preaches a better Gospel. It would’ve been easy for Paul to get a little in his feelings and insecure because of this “competition” between he and Apollos in the eyes of the people… but this isn’t what Paul thinks, because it’s not what the Bible says about ministry. I’m not sure how you’ve thought of this before at South Gate, but I don’t view other pastors at other churches as competitors. I don’t view other local Bible-Believing, Christ-Centered Churches as our competition. In fact, I’d love to bring on more pastors to share the shepherding load at South Gate, because that’s what the Bible commands of churches to do - to have multiple pastors… Other pastors aren’t rivals… they are teammates. Paul goes on in this passage to share that they are both servants of the same Master

1 Corinthians 3:5–7 CSB

5 What then is Apollos? What is Paul? They are servants through whom you believed, and each has the role the Lord has given. 6 I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. 7 So, then, neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth.

Sadly, we can flip this into thinking that we are playing against one another, instead of rooting for one another. This happens with other churches, but it also happens between ministries inside of the same church. Well, this ministry is thriving and this one is floundering… I’m not going to support this or that because of something from years and years ago whenever a different leader was in place, friends, we’re on the same team! This is Paul’s reminder to Titus. He is sending Artemas and Tychicus to continue Titus’ work of being a pastors pastor. Of raising up elders in these local churches. Of continuing to rebuke these false teachers and troublemakers. And this would also allow Titus to go to his next ministry assignment and meet up with Paul on Nicopolis - or Victory City. While he waits, he is instructed to help Zenas and Apollos as they continued on the journey that God had for them.

Friends, we’re a team. We have different God ordained assignments, and instead of complaining about the things God has called us to do, we must rejoice that we get to play a role at all! We honor Christ by working hard and serving well. In fact, this is what verse 14 instructs us to do. Learn to be devoted to good works. The word for learn is a relative word for discipleship. This is what we are saved in order to do according to Ephesians 2:10

Ephesians 2:10 CSB

10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared ahead of time for us to do.

Can you imagine this? God, before the foundation of the earth, had a plan for your life and part of that play involves you doing things that bring Him glory and are for the good of those around you. You and me are apart of something eternal! We honor God by serving well and working hard! The good works that we do meet pressing needs - what are those needs? The greatest need we all have is the Gospel. We devote ourselves to good works in order to share the hope and truth of the Gospel. Sometimes we do this by meeting physical needs. I was reminded this week that there are those who believe that Christians like you and Churches like ours don’t do enough. We’ll talk about how life is sacred from the womb to the tomb, but we don’t do anything about it. We don’t meet needs. We don’t care about the born. We don’t do enough good works. Maybe you’ve heard this before, maybe you’ve thought this before, maybe you’ve liked those types of comments before. Friends, this is one of the foolish debates that Paul is saying not even to engage in. Some people you simply can’t reason with. You can give evidence of the good that Christ has done and that the Church has done. You can share that

One pastor was chewing on this passage and shared this, “I wonder if God is keeping a record of how many hours and how many years Christians have wasted debating fools and foolish things whenever that time could have been spent doing evangelism, discipleship, and worship?” I’m all about apologetics and defending our faith, as a pastor this is what God calls me to do, to be ready in season and out of season, and for all believers to proclaim the truth. But sometimes the response that honors Christ is for us to move on. We pray for them. We do what is good. We take the high road. But we don’t engage any further.

The heart of this final exhortation to do good and meet needs is love. Paul’s companions loved this church. This church loved Paul. Why do we do what is good? Not always because it is easy… but because of our love for others that flows from Christ’s love for us. Why do we share the Gospel with our neighbors and the nations? Because of our love for them that flows from the love that Jesus gives to us. Because we love God and because we love His Word, we must avoid false teachers and reject divisive people. We must help our teammates and love our Faith family, even those who belong to other local churches. What is our hope to get discipline right? What is our hope to be a devoted people? God’s Grace. Without God’s grace, we have no hope… with God’s grace, we cannot and will not fail.

Because God’s Grace Generates Godliness, we have a call to action today:

Meditate on God’s Word - God’s Word is the Cure for Division inside the church and outside the church. We must be people of the Word. The more we know, the more we should grow! God’s Word is our authority, even when it doesn’t line up with what our world says or how we might feel about something. We meditate on God’s Word and we allow the Word to change us, not the other way around. Many times we struggle with our spiritual walk, many times I’ll hear from someone, I feel distant from the Lord. He hasn’t moved! Spurgeon once shared, “You cannot expect to grow in grace if you do not read the Scriptures.” We make time for what we care about, we must make time to meditate on God’s Word.

Meet with God’s People - Titus is given instruction to appoint elders to lead every church and this book is written for these churches. We are not lone rangers! We need one another. Titus 2 reminded us that we need older men to teach younger men and older women to teach younger women. Wherever you are, whatever your past is, there is a role for you to play at South Gate as we meet together!

Make God’s Gospel Known - We are saved to serve God and to share His Gospel. This message that Jesus Saves Sinners is still the best news in human history! As those saved by grace, we should desire to see others respond in faith to God’s Gospel message.

This is Titus. 46 verses. Full of wisdom. Full of instruction that our ears might not be familiar with and our head might struggle with, but our souls desperately need! It’s all grace that we could never earn and never deserve. Have you turned from sin and turned towards Jesus, the sinless Savior? This is what Titus calls on us to do.

Titus

Teaching

Individuals

To

Understand

Salvation

Have you trusted in Jesus? Sin creates a massive hole in our boat. People try to solve this problem in a whole lot of ways… do good things, try to gain a lot of resources, be nice. Do. Do. Do. Let me take that burden off of you today - Jesus will not only fix the hole that sin creates and save you, He will change you. As we pray, ask yourself, “Have I responded to this good news of salvation that Jesus alone provides?”