The Essentials for Christian Growth

Pray

Read Titus 1:1–4 “Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the sake of the faith of God’s elect and their knowledge of the truth, which accords with godliness, in hope of eternal life, which God, who never lies, promised before the ages began and at the proper time manifested in his word through the preaching with which I have been entrusted by the command of God our Savior; To Titus, my true child in a common faith: Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior.”

Intro

The fall of the Roman Empire

is one of the most fascinating events

in ancient history.

How could such a powerful

and influential

civilization

fall?

The answer is found

when you realize

what made

the Roman Empire

in the first place.

Rome

was a civilization

that was built

on innovation.

Their military

overcame great odds

by learning from mistakes

and adapting

to enemy armies.

Their engineering and infrastructure

seen in grand structures

like the Colosseum

aqueducts

and roads and highways

were truly

marvels of their time

and the peak of innovation.

But once they had no more opposition

they stopped innovating.

Their military stopped adapting

and stuck to outdated tactics.

Their governors

became lazy.

And soon enough

over time

because Rome became stagnant

they stopped growing

and collapsed.

This is why in 2 Peter

it says

2 Peter 1:8 ESV

For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Peter is saying

that the key

to not falling

being useless

in the Christian life

is to be constantly growing

as a Christian.

And this is why

in the very opening

of Titus

Christian growth

is the very first issue

that’s brought up.

Because the spiritual growth of believers

is the number one concern

for pastors.

We are to fulfill

Christ’s command

to feed his sheep

so that they become healthy

and strong.

It’s not a surprise then

that Titus

is part

of a group of letters

called the Pastoral Epistles

which include

1 & 2 Timothy

& Titus.

Rather than address entire churches

the pastoral epistles

address specific people:

pastors:

Timothy

and Titus.

In these letters

Paul’s philosophy of ministry

is to focus

on the growth of the leaders

who in turn

will grow

the congregation.

A trickle-down

type of philosophy.

So to do this

Paul begins

with the second most lengthy introduction

in all of his letters.

The most lengthy being in Romans

and Titus

being second.

And the reason why

this introduction

is so lengthy

is because

it is focused

on the basics

the essentials

of the Christian faith.

This is one reason

I thought it be good

to start with Titus

before Timothy

is because Titus

starts at the foundational level.

The other reason being

is that most of our caregroups

have been using bible study curriculum

that includes 1 & 2 Thessalonians & Titus

together.

So ultimately

Titus

is an excellent letter to start with

as we dive in

to the pastoral epistles.

And because the introduction of Titus

is focused on Christian growth

our title for our sermon this morning is:

The Essentials for Christian Growth.

And our main point this morning is as follows:

Main point: In order for you to grow as a Christian you need leadership, a clear vision of eternity, and grace and peace.

So as we begin Titus

consider

these essential points

and how you can apply them

in your life

so that

you can grow

as a Christian.

1. Christian growth requires leadership (v.1)

Let’s look at v.1

where Paul writes,

‘Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ’.

Now despite

Paul’s great authority

he gives himself 2

interesting titles.

The first is the phrase servant of God.

The Greek word for servant

is doulos

which actually

literally means

slave.

The reason why many English translations

don’t always translate doulos

as slave

consistently

is because

when Americans

hear the word slave

they often think of

American slavery.

They think of

a cruel

plantation master

whipping the backs

of black people in the cotton field.

However

in the historic context of the Bible

the word slave

does not necessarily hold

that same brutal image.

This is why

many translations

prefer to translate it as servant

instead.

You see in the Roman Empire

some slaves were treated almost as celebrities

especially when they were the slaves

of famous individuals

such as the emperor.

This is not to say

that the slaves

in the time of the Roman Empire

was a life

of sunshine and roses.

But rather

the life of a slave

in the Roman Empire

was entirely dependent

on who

their master was.

If the master was evil and cruel

than a slave

was in for a life of pain and suffering.

But if the master was kind and generous

than that slave

would even have a life

that was better

than some free citizens!

The Bible

uses the Roman idea of slavery

not the American one

to teach a valuable lesson

In Romans 6:20-22

it says

Romans 6:20–22 ESV

For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. But what fruit were you getting at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life.

Paul is saying here

that as a slave of sin

a terrible and cruel mater

it gave you death.

But when you become a slave of God

who is a good and wonderful master

you get spiritual fruit:

sanctification and eternal life.

This is what it means

to be a slave of God.

It’s not a demeaning title

but rather

it highlights

how wonderful

a master

God is

compared to the cruel master:

sin is.

The second title

Paul gives himself

is an apostle of Jesus Christ.

Now people tend to think

that apostle

is a high and mighty title.

A great office

like the president

or prime minister.

But the word apostle

simply means

messenger.

There’s nothing special

about a messenger.

If all of a sudden

a random person comes up to you

and says

I have a message for you

from Pedro

the dude over there on the street corner.

You might be thinking

uh ok?

Thanks?

But if someone else

comes to you and says

the king of England

has a message for you

you’ll start thinking

whoa

what’s his message?

You see

in both of these scenarios

there was nothing significant

about the messenger.

The only difference

was who

the messenger

was sent by.

And in the same way

what makes

the title apostle

or messenger

have importance

has nothing at all

to do with the person

but instead

has everything to do

with the sender:

God

the king of kings

and lord of lords.

Both

of these titles:

slave and apostle

point

completely

to God

the Father

and Christ the Son

and their majesty

and their authority

not Paul’s.

They make Paul small

and God big.

And by making himself small

and God big,

Paul is teaching

that leaders

of the church

must be humble.

They must be servant leaders.

In John 13

Jesus teaches his disciples

what it means

to be servant leaders

by washing the feet

of others

the job of slaves

in Jesus’ time.

John 13:12–17 ESV

For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you. Truly, truly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.

Here Jesus just finished washing

the disciples’ feet.

And if Jesus

the king of kings

and lord of lords

God in the flesh

knelt down

to wash feet

and serve

how much more should we?

If leaders

refuse

to be humble

and be servant leaders

then they are disrespecting the Lord.

They are in essence saying

“I’m better than Jesus

I don’t need to serve!

people

need to serve me!”

For a slave

is not greater than his master

and a messenger

is not greater

than the one who sent him.

And church

you do not want pastors

you do not want leaders

who are selfish

and demand to be served.

You need servant leaders.

A church with leaders

who act like kings

creates a church with a bunch

of little kings.

Chaos.

But a church

with leaders

who are servants

creates a church full of servants

and that is a church

you want to be in.

That is a church

that will grow.

Next Paul goes on

to reveal

the goal

of pastoral ministry:

continuing in v.2

‘for the sake of the faith of God’s elect and their knowledge of the truth’.

For the sake of

means

to further

so you can also translate it as

‘to further

the faith of God’s elect

and to further

their knowledge of the truth’.

Paul’s goal

as a pastor

as a leader

is to to further

to grow

the faith of God’s elect

and to grow

their knowledge of the truth.

Now let’s look

at these two things

that Paul wants to grow

more deeply.

First

is the faith of God’s elect.

Faith

simply means

to believe and have confidence

in a specific object.

This is similar to the word trust.

But the difference

is that faith

is something you have

where as trust

is typically something you do.

For example

faith says

‘I know and have confidence

that the chair over there

will hold me up

if I sit on it.’

Trust

goes on

to actually sit

on the chair.

And the more faith

you have in something

such as a chair

the more likely

you are to rely and trust

in that thing or person.

This is why

as leaders of the church

pastors

want to see members

grow

in faith.

Because the more faith

you have

the more

you will live

a life that resembles

trust in God:

that when you are suffering you still have joy.

That when you are treated poorly

you respond with grace.

Now Paul adds

a specific people

of whose faith

he wants to see grow.

He says

the elect.

To elect

means to choose or select.

In this context

the elect

refers

to God’s chosen people.

Ephesians 1:4-5

explains election clearly

Ephesians 1:4–5 ESV

even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will,

To be elect

means that God

has chosen you to be

a part of his holy people

and that he predestined you

to be a part

of his family

before creation

even existed.

Now what does election

have to do with pastoral ministry?

With leadership?

Paul knows

that within the church

there will always be:

true believers

and fake believers:

the elect

and non-elect.

And because

the non-elect

do not have faith

to begin with

he cannot grow their faith.

So he focuses only

on growing

the faith

of the elect.

This

has profound implications.

If the pastors in a church

believe

it is their responsibility

to grow the faith

of both the elect

and non-elect

they will pursue

worldly means

to attract

both

Christians

and non-Christians.

But the problem with this

is that when you try to please everyone

you end up pleasing no one.

Christians

don’t want

fog machines

in their services.

And Christians don’t want

watered down messages.

But when pastors

focus

on growing the faith

of the elect

then they remain unashamed

and unfaithful

to give Christians

what they actually want:

preaching and prayer.

It seems old fashioned.

Doesn’t sound very exciting.

But it’s biblical.

And it’s faithful

to fulfill the Lord’s Command

to ‘feed my sheep’.

He did not command us

to feed goats.

Now growing

the faith

of God’s elect

was not the only thing

Paul wanted to see grow

but also

their knowledge of the truth.

Knowledge

does not only mean

intellectual awareness

but also understanding.

The truth

in this context

refers to the gospel.

So Paul wanted

to see believers

grow

in their intellect

and understanding

of the gospel.

Many today

especially

because of technology

have so much knowledge.

You can within the press of your screen

know

the weather

and every single detail within minutes.

You’ll know the exact temperature

what day is it going to rain

what time it’s going to rain

the dew point

everything!

You even have ChatGPT

where you can ask it

literally any question

and it will give you the information

you’re asking for!

Knowledge

is everywhere

today.

But how well

do you know your Bible?

While 87% of people in the US own a Bible

only 11% of them

have actually read it from cover to cover.

That’s a huge problem.

If you don’t know and understand the Bible

you can’t know God’s will for your life.

You won’t know what to do

with your life!

And if you don’t know your Bible

you can’t grow

as a Christian.

And that’s why

as pastors

the leaders of the church

it is our

goal

to help our people

grow

not only

in faith

but also

in their knowledge of the gospel.

We want to help you

know your Bible more.

We went you to have a deeper understanding

of the gospel.

And when

God’s people grow

in faith

and in their knowledge of the gospel

it results

in spiritual fruit.

Look at the last phrase of v.1

‘for the sake of the faith of God’s elect and their knowledge of the truth, which accords with godliness’.

The word “accords”

in this context

means to produce.

That when you grow

in faith

and knowledge of the gospel

it must

produce godliness.

In other words

there must be a match

in your faith and knowledge of the gospel

and the life you live.

There are many hypocrites

within the church

that claim to be believers

but outside of church

they act no different

than the world.

I remember

the first youth group I ever attended

when I was a young college student

and a new believer

it was the most hypocritical group

I’ve ever seen.

Half of the group

would be drinking and partying on the weekend.

James has a comment about that:

James 2:14–17 ESV

What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.

James is asking here

can dead faith

save a person?

And the answer is no.

He gives an example of a person

who claims to have faith

but when an opportunity arises

to be godly

such as helping

a fellow member in church

who is lacking food or clothing

and you do nothing about it

your faith is useless

your faith is dead

and you’re a hypocrite.

And you’re a real Christian.

Faith that does not have works

is a dead faith.

But faith that produces

works:

fruits of the spirit:

godliness

is a living

and true faith.

So I want to ask you this morning

does your life

match up

to the faith

that you proclaim?

If you call yourself a Christian

do you take part in worldliness?

Do you speak foully

like the world?

Do you engage in sexual immorality

living with someone who is not your spouse?

Do you love money?

If that’s you

and you call yourself a Christian

think about what it means

to be a Christian.

A Christian

is someone who follows Christ.

So if you’re wrapped up in these sins

but deep down inside

you want to follow Jesus

then fight.

You must kill sin

before it kills you.

Matthew 5:30 ESV

And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell.

Jesus is saying

you must do whatever it takes

to get out of the mud

of sin.

Nothing

is too extreme

when it comes to eliminating sin in your life.

If you don’t fight sin

it wil take you to hell.

Because your life

must match

the faith and knowledge of the gospel you have.

But if you’re the person

who deep down inside

you don’t actually want Jesus

you want sin

fighting sin

is not the answer for you.

You cannot defeat sin on your own.

You can only defeat sin

if you have the Holy Spirit.

So how can you receive the Holy Spirit?

By putting your faith

in the gospel:

the salvation purchased by Jesus Christ

as the payment for sin

by his death on the cross

and resurrection from the grave.

Salvation is not something you earn

Christ has already earned it

and he offers it to you for free.

So take it

by puttingyourfor faith in Christ

you will receive eternal life today

and begin to overcome sin in your life

through the power of the Holy Spirit.

So to summarize all of what was said for our first point:

if you want to grow as a Christian

you need leadership.

God did not design

the Christian life

to be lived alone.

That’s why Jesus created the church.

The church exists

to help Christians

to serve one another

and bring the gospel to others

but also

to help

Christians grow.

And God gave the church

leaders

pastors

as a gift

to guide the church

the right away

so that people would grow

as Christians.

Ephesians 4:11–14 ESV

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,

Ephesians 4:11–14 ESV

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, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.

Very clearly

Paul has stated

that God gives leaders

to the church

in the form of

shepherds

which are pastors

and teachers

to equip the saints

and to help Christians grow

and attain

mature adulthood

no longer

being children

being tossed around

by the ways of this world.

So you know what this means?

Without the church

and without church leaders

you cannot grow

as a Christian.

Augustine

was a man

who lived during the mid 4th century

and early 5th century.

All he wanted was to live a quiet life of prayer

and contemplation.

But because of his godliness

he was pushed

to become a pastor

a leader.

Later on in his life

barbarians

began to seek and destroy Christians

and refugees began to seek safety

in the city of Hippo

where Augustine served.

But eventually

the barbarians

came knocking

and besieged the city.

The city was so packed full of people

that it created

an environment of illness.

And Augustine

had three choices.

He could flee the city.

He could stay holed up in his palace

ignore the needs of his people

and stay comfortable.

Or he could be down with his people.

Augustine

chose option 3.

Being the servant leader

that he is

he did not know any other way to lead

than to be with his people

and serve them.

Because of this decision

he caught a fever

that he never recovered from

and died

minstering

to a frightened flock.

Today

Augustine remains

a giant in the history of the church.

His leadership

has help millions grow

in their faith.

If a dead man’s leadership

can help you grow as a Christian

how much more

do you need living leaders

in your very own church

to help you grow?

To help you

when you’re doing things the wrong way.

You don’t need to panic

when death itself is in front of you.

You can take heart and have peace.

God gave leaders

pastors

to the church

to help you grow

in this way

like in the example of Augustine.

Now some people

tell me

I’m not a Christian

but I’m a spiritual person.

I like to seek God on my own.

And even some Christians

tell me

the same thing!

I don’t need an institution

I can seek God myself!

But God has clearly said

that without the church

and church leaders

you cannot grow

as a Christian!

If you are someone

who hasn’t been coming consistently

come and become

a member of this church

so that the pastors

and leaders

of this church

can help you

in a deeper way.

As much as we want to help everyone

membership

allows us

to know who our people are

because just like Paul

we focus on growing

the elect

and membership

while not always perfect

is a biblical way

for pastors

to know

who are the elect in a church

so that we care for them.

This does not mean

we are not interested

in non-Christians

that’s called evangelism.

But for discipleship

where we help believers grow spritually

we focus on members.

And if you’re a member of this church

and a pastor

or leader

is trying to correct you

in something you shouldn’t be doing

realize

that they’re here

not to harm you

but to help you grow.

Or if you’re a believer

and you’ve been fighting sin

and nothing seems to help

ask for help

from your fellow brother or sister in Christ

or from Pastor Jeff and I.

Because Christian growth requires leadership.

2. Christian growth requires viewing life through the lens of eternity (v2.-3)

Look at v.2

where Paul writes,

‘in hope’.

To fully understand this

we need to know

what hope

actually means.

Usually

when we say hope

on a daily basis

we mean it

as a wishy-washy

desire for something.

For example

I hope

I become a billionaire one day.

Or I hope

it doesn’t rain tomorrow.

But the Bible

never uses

hope

in a wishy-washy way

but rather

in a certain way.

For example

when the Bible says

‘hope in the life to come’

as we read in 1 Timothy 4

it doesn’t mean

“it would be nice

if in the future

we would be resurrected

into eternal life.”

No it means

‘I’m certain

that in the future

I will be resurrected

into eternal life!’

So back in Titus v.1-2

when Paul writes

‘which accords with godliness, in hope of eternal life’

he means

that Christians

live godly lives

because

they are looking forward

to a certain future

of eternal life!

Our assurance

our certainty

of where we are going

after death:

the presence of the Lord

is the reason

we are able to live

godly lives!

In other words

having a viewing life through the lens of eternity

is the foundation

of a godly life.

Without hope of eternal life

you cannot live a life of godliness.

And here is real proof of that

look at the next phrase in v.3

‘which God, who never lies’.

How is this proof

that without the lens of eternity

you can’t life a life of godliness?

It doesn’t seem to say that here.

Well

the key

is where it says

God

who never lies.

Why does Paul

choose to write

that God never lies?

He could have said

God is peace

God is love

but no

he chooses to say

God never lies.

The Greek word

ah-pseu-days

which means free from deceit

or never lying

is used only one time

in the entire NT

here in this verse.

This means

there must be a specific reason

why Paul

chose this word.

The answer

is found in the historical context of Titus.

Later in this letter

it’s revealed

that Titus

is a pastor on the island of Crete.

And the people of Crete

worshipped

Zeus

a lying womanizer.

Zeus was a god

who lied

in order to have sexual relations

with a human woman

by disguising himself

as the human form of her husband.

So the foundation

for the Cretan way of life

was a god who lies.

And what happens

when a god of lies

is the foundation of a culture

is that the people

think

that lying

is good.

This is why Paul later writes in the letter

in v.12

Titus 1:12 ESV

One of the Cretans, a prophet of their own, said, “Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.”

Because

the Cretans

did not have

the hope of eternal life

a the lens of eternity

as their foundation for life

but instead Zeus

a liar

they lived ungodly

lying

lives.

But our God

is a God who never lies

and continuing in v.2

‘promised before the ages began’.

God promised eternal life

before creation

before

time itself.

Only an eternal God

can give eternal life.

Zeus

cannot give eternal life

because

he is not eternal.

Zeus

was created in 2000 BC

in the mind

of some mortal

in Greece.

And ultimately

anything in this world

that is not God:

money

relationships

achievement

cannot give you true peace

joy

or fulfillment

because it’s not eternal

and because your soul is eternal

it can only be fulfilled with something eternal:

God himself.

Now this promise of eternal life

from eternity past

is not merely a promise

it’s real.

Look at v.2

and then v.3

‘promised before the ages began, v.3- and at the proper time manifested in his word through the preaching’.

The promise of eternal life

is fulfilled

brought into reality

by God’s Word.

His word in the OT

that promised eternal life

through the coming messiah.

And now in the NT

the promise of eternal life

is brought to reality

in his Word

through the preaching of the Gospel

through Christ

and Paul

and the other apostles.

This is why

the gospel

is the supreme power

and knowledge

in all of existence

because in the gospel

contains

the very essence

of eternal life

itself.

In other words

the preaching of the gospel

is the vessel

the container

the cup

that contains

eternal life.

Many churches out there

in order to attract more people

seek

to remove preaching

as much as possible.

Rather than preach and explain the gospel

they give motivational speeches

feel-good messages

that tickle the ear

of people.

But the reality

is that

if there is no preaching

there is no eternal life.

(repeat)

To hear the gospel preached

on Sunday mornings

is the climax

of Christian worship

in a week.

The music

is not the climax of Christian worship

during the week.

Nor is the fellowship

The preaching is the climax.

In fact

a biblical worship service

centers the entire service

on the preaching.

All the songs

all the prayers

and the order of worship

is to be done in a way

to prepare your hearts

to hear God speak

through his preacher

on the Lord’s Day.

Some will say

“well I can read and study bible on my own

why do I need preaching?”

Think about it.

What will benefit you more?

An hour of personal bible study?

Which is good nothing wrong with that.

Or listening to a sermon

where the pastor

as brother Arnel has said

and he wasn’t exaggerating

has spent over 40 hours

studying the Greek in a passage

researching the history

exegeting the grammar

finding illustrations

tailoring the sermon

to your very own

personal struggles

and bringing your soul

before God almighty

in prayer

night and day?

This is why

every week

in addition to your own personal devotion

you must get excited

to hear preaching

coming Sunday.

Preaching

is what cleans

the gunk

and dirt

from the temptations of the world

your flesh

and demonic forces

trying to blind you

from seeing Christ

and from keeping your lens of eternity

clear.

That

is the power of preaching.

If there is no preaching

there is no eternal life.

Now

there is one more issue

to be addressed here.

And that is the problem

of false preachers.

‘Preaching is powerful

that’s well and good and all

but it doesn’t matter

if the preacher

does not actually

represent God himself.’

This is what Titus and Paul

had to deal with.

False preachers

on the island of Crete

challenged

Titus

and Paul’s authority.

So Paul finishes v.3

by writing

‘and at the proper time manifested in his word through the preaching with which I have been entrusted by the command of God our Savior’.

In this last phrase

Paul refers back to his conversion

on the Damascus road

where he was on the way

to persecute more Christians

but then the Lord Jesus himself

stopped him in his tracks

and sent him the other way

to

bring to faith

more Christians

through the preaching of the gospel.

The reason Paul brings this up

is because

he is establishing the fact

that he is not some random guy

but has been sent by God

and therefore

has authority

not in himself

but from God.

2 Peter 1:20-21 says

2 Peter 1:20–21 ESV

knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation. For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.

Here Peter is saying

that the men

who wrote the Bible

were not just men

writing whatever they thought

but God through the Holy Spirit

spoke through them.

Or in other words

that man did not write the Bible,

God wrote the Bible.

And therefore

Paul had authority

because it was not him speaking

but God

speaking through Him.

The only divine book

in the entire world

is the Bible.

Every other book in the world

is written by man.

Therefore

don’t treat the Bible

like any other book.

Oh this part here

I can just ignore.

This command over there

I don’t have to follow it.

No every part of the Bible

has binding authority in your life.

It’s not a buffet.

It’s bread from heaven.

So then

if we are a people

that are fed from heaven

let us be people

that are focused on heaven

and have a view life through the lens of eternity.

So much of life’s problems

happens

when you focus too much

on the present

rather than focusing on eternity.

Life is far more

than just

this exact moment of time

where problems seem big

and God seems small.

Our life

in comparison to eternity

is just a tiny dot

in an unending line of eternity.

When you remember

that at any moment

according to God’s time

you may die

but rather

than spending an eternity in hell

instead

you will enjoy

eternal life

the problems of life

become light.

But if you instead

continue to look at life

through the lens of the present

life becomes so stressful

and worrisome.

For many years

I lived without glasses.

And my vision while not the worst

is near sighted

and I have astigmatism

which because of one of my eyes

has an uneven shape

it distorts

my vision.

Before I started wearing glasses

I would constantly get headaches.

I would even for some reason

trip on the floor very often

and injure myself.

But when I started wearing glasses

I never expected

for my headaches to go away

and to stop tripping over things.

I noticed

because of my distorted vision

the depth of things was off.

Things would appear slightly closer

than they actually were.

Some things appeared slightly bigger

than they actually are.

No wonder

I had headaches

and was constantly tripping over things.

P.s. I promise this isn’t a plug

to go get checked by our brother Dr. Irving.

So depending on the type of lenses

you use

to view life

the lens of the present

or the lens of eternity

it will complete change

how you see and ultimately experience life.

And if you want to grow as a Christian

you must have the right lens:

the lens of eternity.

You cannot grow

as a Christian

if you are constantly worrying

and tripping over life

because you are too focused on the present.

But if you are focused

not on this present world

but the life to come

you will grow

in faith

and joy.

Romans 8:18 ESV

For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.

Paul is saying here

that sufferings

of the present

are nothing

compared

to the glory

of eternity

that we have

in Christ.

Whatever suffering you are currently experiencing

at this present time

remember

how much better

being with the Lord

will be.

And a Christian

who views life through the lens of eternity

despite

whatever suffering

they are going through

is a Christian

that will grow.

3. Christian growth requires grace and peace (v.4)

Let’s look at v.4

where we finally see the recipient of this letter

‘To Titus’.

Titus

was a fellow coworker

and pastor

with Paul.

He had travelled with Paul

and was often sent by Paul

to send his letter to churches

such as Corinth

and also helped Paul

with collection of money

to send to the churches in Jerusalem.

He was a trustworthy man

hence Paul trusted him

to deliver important documents

money

and now in this letter

to pastor in Crete.

But Titus

was not only

a fellow pastor with Paul

but also as Paul calls him

in v.4

‘my true child in a common faith.’

Paul calls Titus

his true child.

Which is interesting

because as far as we know

Paul doesn’t have

any biological children.

So the only thing he could mean here

is that he viewed Titus

as his spiritual son.

It could mean

that Titus came to faith

under Paul’s preaching.

Or it could just mean

that Paul saw himself

as Titus’ spiritual father

his spiritual mentor.

Either way

what’s not debatable

is that Titus

was part of Paul’s spiritual family.

That every Christian

has not only a biological family

but also a spiritual family.

All of us

who are believers here

at CCBC

are spiritual family to one another.

We are all brothers and sisters

in the Lord

mothers and fathers

sons and daughters

to one another.

Remember that.

Some people in church

don’t take this to heart

so they spend little

to no time

with people in church.

But that’s your family!

These people are people

you will be spending time with in eternity

so start getting know each other now!

What kind of brother or sister

would you be

if you never spent time

with your siblings?

Spend time with one another

your brothers and sisters in Christ

because you are all family in Christ.

Every one of you here

who are in Christ

are my son

my daughter

my brother

my sister

my father

my mother

in the Lord.

And that is why

we love

and serve

one another.

And how comforting it is

especially to those

who didn’t have a brother or a sister

or a father or a mother

or can’t have children

but in Christ

you have all of these now

because we’re all in the family of God.

Paul never had a child

but he had Titus and Timothy

his true

spiritual children

in the Lord.

So you might be wondering

man it sounds great to have such a big family

how can I join?

Paul says in the next phrase in v.4

‘in a common faith’.

That the reason why

Paul and Titus

are in the same spiritual family

because they hold a common faith.

They both believe

in the same God

and in the same gospel.

So if you want to in the family of God

all it requires

is faith in Christ.

Now with all this said

Titus was still

in a difficult situation.

He was left in Crete

to pastor

disorderly churches

with false teachers

surrounded by a people

notorious

for lying

and being immoral.

How was he going to make it through?

Paul tells him how

in the remaining part of v.4

‘Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior.’

Grace

means to receive undeserved favor from God.

That a cop who pulled you over for speeding

but doesn’t give you the ticket

is exercising mercy.

But grace

is when the cop

then gives you a $100.

And in the same way

rather than sending us to hell for our sin

which is what we deserve

for breaking God’s law

God

instead

gives us eternal life.

That’s grace.

And Paul ends every single one of his letters

except one

with grace

because grace

is a fundamental truth

of our faith

that we will always

return to.

We will never stop

to be amazed by grace.

We need it.

And Titus certainly needed it

in the dark world of Crete.

Grace

is to not

repay evil for evil

but to repay evil

with good.

And the only way Titus

will be able to repay evil with good

on a island

full of liars

is if he first has grace

from God.

And Titus also needed peace.

What if Titus

would be persecuted

even killed for his faith

in Crete?

All sorts of worries

could come up for Titus.

How will he have peace at night?

Well true peace

can only be had

if you first

have peace with God.

And thankfully

God has given us peace

by sending His Son

to take the punishment we deserve

for us on the cross.

Through Christ

we are no longer enemies of God

but at peace with Him.

And Titus will have peace

even in this tough scenario

because God has given him peace

through His Son

Jesus.

So the reason

Paul ends his greeting with grace and peace

is because

the only way

Titus

will make it through

his mission on Crete

is by having

grace and peace

from The Father

and The Son.

And likewise

what will keep us going

as Christians

on this difficult journey of life

is by grace and peace

from God.

Without the fuel

of grace and peace

Christians

cannot continue

their Christian walk

and thus

cannot grow

as believers.

For example

children

must be fed a plentiful

and healthy diet

in order

to become strong

and to grow.

Parents always say

drink your milk

eat your broccoli.

And for Christians to grow

instead of milk and broccoli

it’s grace and peace.

So never

stop

relying on grace and peace.

When Christians

first get saved

they are often on fire

and excited for the Lord.

You know why?

Because they are amazed

by the grace and peace

they have received

from God.

Speaking of amazed

I know our youth

were amazed

last week

at youth camp.

I’ve been to quite a few youth camps

and all of them

make youth excited

and on fire for the Lord.

You know what’s acts

as the firewood

for the spiritual fire in our youth

during these camps?

It’s grace and peace from God.

Youth in tears

because they have made mistakes

went the wrong way

and are overwhelmed

by the grace

that God gives

through Christ

forgiving them

and giving them new life

even though deserved punishment.

Peace

because they remember

the peace

Christ has brought them

freeing them

from worry

and sin.

But you know what often happens

when the camp is over?

Their fire goes away.

And the fire goes away

because

they move away

from grace and peace.

They move to other things

worldly things

that drown out the fire.

Church

if you want to stay on fire for the Lord

don’t treat grace and peace

like a napkin

that you use once

then throw it away.

No grace and peace

is the firewood

to keep your fire going

and your fuel

so that you don’t run empty.

Every day

remind yourself

of the grace of eternal life

you received

even though

you deserved eternal punishment.

And remember

that you are no longer an enemy of God

thanks to Christ

taking the punishment

that you deserve

for your sin.

And see if you don’t catch on fire.

As you remember

grace and peace

every day

your fire

will stay burning

and will grow

because Christian growth

requires

grace and peace.

In conclusion

Christian growth requires leadership (v.1)

Christian growth requires viewing life through the lens of eternity (v.2-3)

Christian growth requires grace and peace (v.3)

Main point: In order for you to grow as a Christian you need leadership, a clear vision of eternity, and grace an peace.

May today

be the day

that you grow more and more

in the Lord.

Let’s pray.