To the Faithful ...

Text: Titus 3:8-15

Central Idea of the Text: Paul’s closing reminder focuses on disposing of unnecessary falsehood, and embracing the true servants of God.

Proposition: Those who promote division & controversy will be forgotten, but God’s faithful servants will be remembered forever!

Purpose:

In Miranda’s famous musical Hamilton, the story of one of the US founding father Alexander Hamilton is told, with many catchy and memorable tunes along the way. Familiar faces such as George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and others join him on the journey. But often as I watch or listen to a musical, I’m not always the most fond of the most catchy or famous tune, but the songs with the deepest storytelling, reflection, and emotional depth. Such a song is the musical’s subdued closing number: “Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story”.

In that song, the musical’s great presidents reflect back on the life of Hamilton and his wife Eliza. The great presidents of the past, Washington, Jefferson and Madison, each sing of the great memories of Hamilton’s accomplishments: His founding ideals that formed the backbone of the declaration of independence & constitution, his financial vision to establish the banking and economic standards. Those greats of the past wonder if anyone will tell Alexander’s story, and then they shine the light of his wife Eliza who outlived him by 50 years. She raised the money for Washington's monument, spoke out against the evils of American slavery, and she established the first private orphanage in the United States. The musical simply ends by telling their stories and by asking the audience: In the end, who tells your story? And will it be a story worth telling or remembering?

It is true that there is a story to be told about every human life. In fact, you may not have paused to think about it, but even now, today, your story is being written. But in the end, will it be a story worth telling, of a person who made their life count, or a forgetful and regrettable tale of a person who wasted their life away? I believe today’s text puts this contrast before us. Let’s read Titus’ final passage, Titus 3:8-15.

[Read Text]

Titus 3:8–15 ESV

8 The saying is trustworthy, and I want you to insist on these things, so that those who have believed in God may be careful to devote themselves to good works. These things are excellent and profitable for people. 9 But avoid foolish controversies, genealogies, dissensions, and quarrels about the law, for they are unprofitable and worthless. 10 As for a person who stirs up division, after warning him once and then twice, have nothing more to do with him, 11 knowing that such a person is warped and sinful; he is self-condemned. 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.

This is the word of the Lord for us this morning.

Please pray with me: Father, we thank you for your Word, and we thank you today as we breath in and breath out for the life you have given us. Life is from you, and you know the number of our days. You know us completely, from beginning to end. And you have acted on our behalf in Jesus our Savior, who bled and died so that we might have abundant life, forgiveness, freedom and life eternal. Lord, may we respond to you, and may our lives be made to count, not for trivial things, but for the things that eternally matter. We pray this in Jesus’ name, amen.

Today’s text closes out the letter from Paul to Titus. It’s been a letter that has spoken God’s Grace and peace over Titus and his ministry to the church in Crete. But because of these words acceptance, and their status as scripture, we can know that the grace and peace expressed toward the church are intended to be ours as well, in every area of our lives. We’ve heard the words to Titus guiding people of both genders and in all walks of life, taking them and forming them together as one church of Jesus Christ, one in purpose and love, one under the Grace and Peace of Jesus.

And as we come to the close of this letter, we’ve been reminded of the status of Christ’s followers and our salvation:

Our Past: That we have been saved from our sin.

Our Present: That we are being redeemed and transformed, forgiven and free to become more like Jesus.

Our Future: As Citizens of Christ’s kingdom, our forever home is in heaven.

Any closing words then, Paul? Yes, he’s got some closing words. The things that he wants reiterate and final practical instructions to Titus. Some people would skip this last portion in their preaching of this book. It has a lot of names in it. Several of the things said seem more occasional toward Titus than practical toward us. However, I don’t want us to write scripture off like that. Paul says in 2 Timothy 3:16 that ALL OF SCRIPTURE is God-breathed and inspired. And it is useful.

As we look to see what use today’s text may be put to, I want us to consider it in two portions: The forgotten & the remembered. You see, there are some who will be forgotten in the larger scope of history. But there are also some whose names will be recorded and whose good works will be remembered alongside their good names. Will we be forgotten, or remembered? Let’s look at the text and consider their legacy as well as our own.

The Forgotten (v 9-10)

Earlier in the book, Chapter 1, we heard the warnings of chapter 1 which very much align with the priorities of this warning at the letter’s end. After instructing Titus to identify and establish elders at each congregation throughout Crete, Titus gives the bookend warning and command in Titus 1:10–11: “10 For there are many who are insubordinate, empty talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision party. 11 They must be silenced, since they are upsetting whole families by teaching for shameful gain what they ought not to teach.” The entire reason for establishing these Shepherds is because of the need for the flock of the church to hear the voice of the true shepherd Jesus, over the voice of the false shepherds who do NOT follow nor submit themselves to the teaching of the true Shepherd, Jesus.

In light of that command to the church earlier in the letter, now hear Paul’s command as it comes to the whole church. He first addresses the “What” … the things to avoid, which Paul notes as fourfold. As we identify these things, we ought to distance ourselves from them, and renew our minds in God’s word and truth :

Foolish Controversies: As we come to this phrase, we note in looking back on the book of Acts, and on church history, and on our own experiences as part of this church or other churches, that church and controversy can at points go hand in hand. Now some of that is good, because it causes us to have clarity and find unity on things that matter. There were controversies and discussions over things such as baptism, both in John/Jesus’ time (John 3:25) , as well as during Acts 18. This would be clarified, and the church of Acts would move forward united on the issue. There were other controversies over opinion matters, like that of Acts 15:2,7, when Paul and Barnabas would have disagreements over what to do with John Mark. Well meaning Christians disagreed and went their separate ways, and the Gospel continued to flourish in spite of that momentary disagreement. But these are not the “foolish controversies” that Paul is referring to. He is referring to arguments that go down deep rabbit holes on third-tier issues. When we say third tier, we mean issues upon which believers may hold differing views, but may continue to worship together. The Jews had perfected this, which is why Jesus so often called them out on their legalism. They argued about definitions of the sabbath and work, definitions of tithing and not tithing, and famously as Paul has noted, the idea that true Christian males ought to be circumcised to be obedient Christians. But none of these arguments bring people to Christ. They create confusion about legalism and place barrier or classes to the Christian life and walk. If you take a look at our church’s statement of faith (which I was doing some review on this week), you will note that it spells out our church’s view on primary and secondary issues: primary things like who Christ is, the role of the Holy Spirit, and what the nature of our salvation is (things central to the Christian faith), and secondary things like baptism mode and communion frequency (things that set our church’s practice apart). What you won’t find there? Third tier items: Our style of worship, whether we do or don’t use instruments, what we do and don’t consume dietarily, our eschatological views, our choices of schooling for our kids, the color that the church carpet ought to be. Some of these discussions may feel more significant that others to you, but faithful Christians can “agree to disagree” on such things. To really put the screws down and have a knives out debate on such things? It often distracts from the core of the Gospel and from our purpose as a church.

Genealogies: Following in line with these controversies, Paul mentions genealogies. Now, we know that the Bible has plenty of genealogies in it. and they are all there for specific purposes: To trace the lineage of Adam, to Noah, to Abraham, to Moses, to David, to Jesus. There are several other things that we can learn from reading them, but you know what we can’t learn? An exhaustive record of all humanity, and exactly how every branch or root connects to every other branch or root. Some of Jesus’ biggest detractors spoke up in John 8:48-59, and they fully relied upon their status and roots in Moses and the law as to why they did not need to heed the words of Jesus. Yet now, in this new covenant? Paul has already told us here in chapter 3 that we now have the rights to become heirs of God’s eternal life in Jesus Christ. It doesn’t matter where my family tree roots lie. Paul says in Galatians 3:7, that those who are in the faith ARE the sons of Abraham. No ifs, ands or buts. Debates over genealogies and ranking our hierarchies accordingly is done.

Dissensions: This word can also be translated as strife or quarrels or rivalry. Paul warns again and again about this in Romans 13:13, in 1 Cor 3:3, in 1 Tim 6:4 about avoiding such things. It is a choosing up of sides and teams over non-essential things. Avoiding dissensions is a constant theme, and it flows directly out of the foolish controversy warning. The aim of the church ought to be unity on essential matters. Paul’s warning to the church in 1 Corinthians 1:10-17 reminds the believers there that they were not to be choosing teams … saying I follow Peter, or I follow Paul, or I follow Apollos. We are to be the people who are known for following Christ. I’m not here to make you the followers of Nate. If you are getting on that bandwagon, you will be sorely disappointed. I am here to point you to Christ. In the church there is no other team but his.

Quarrels: The final warning for avoidance is against quarrels. Specifically translated this is “scribal battles” or “quarrels over the law”. Do any of us like walking into a deep debate, where passions are overflowing and they could either come to lost tempers or blows (maybe both)? And yet, these are the tendencies of those who have not been impacted by the Gospel. They consider controversy an occasion for shouting and division, rather than the gentle correction that Paul instructs for the church in her shepherds in 2 Tim 2:25. Jesus’ detractors were famous for missing the mark and making mountains out of molehills, thus missing the heart of God’s greatest commands, to Love God and to Love our Neighbors.

These are the what’s that the church collectively is to avoid. Our shepherds will help us, but we also have a responsibility to identify and run from the things that would distract and take us off mission from the work of proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus. But we may want to identify the who. Who is doing these things? I will say that again appreciate the scripture’s open ended-ness here. Earlier in this same chapter, we noted how when we were instructed to submit to the authorities over us in verse 1 of chapter 3, that too was an open ended command for all Christians. It wasn’t simply timely in that regard, but was timeless. The same is true here. Those who promote these things and practices? They are not named here. You are meant to discern and to fill in the blank. So who might fill in your blanks? You know that I’m not afraid to name names. I’ve done so before, but I do (in the light and spirit of Paul’s writing) want to keep it more broad so that you may analyze and identify the voices of today that give steer us into the realm of foolish controversies and more.

Beware the Socials: Watch out for the very online. Those that are seeking an outsized influence, especially those who do and say things for the likes and the clicks. Beware the comment sections of endless debates, anger and tediousness. Stop giving influence in your life to the algorithms of the tech overlords. Seek to know and be known by people.

Beware the Attention-Seekers: Watch out for the self-promoter, the one who seeks to be an influencer for influencings sake. Watch out for the one who has greedy gain to make from their influence peddling over you. Watch out for the cult of personality, that seeks to convince you that the individual could never say or do anything to dissuade your allegiance.

Beware the Trade-Paperbackers: Watch out for the flavor of the day book peddler, the one who will take an obscure verse and build a new idea around it. The one who will claim to hear from God or have a vision from God, and yet will add to the words of God with trivial, disposable or outright heretical things. Test everything by the word and the Spirit, not pitting one over the other. Choose timeless truth over timely trash.

Beware the Gossip-Mongers: Watch out for the one who continually belittles, falsifies, lives in rumor and innuendo, rather that abiding by sound testimony of Believers and by Biblical truths. Beware of those who have to slander others to make themselves look bigger.

When we identify who they are, Paul is very clear in verses 10-11: Warn them, warn them again, and then have nothing more to do with them. If they will not listen to sound teaching, nor submit themselves to authority, they can be marked and avoided. Warped, sinful, self-condemned. And their name is not recorded here. They will be no one of eternal impact nor difference, aside from their repentance and submission to Christ, from now into eternity. But though they be forgotten, there are some names recorded here that will be ...

The Remembered (v 11-15)

As we come to verses 11-15, we note that Paul does name some names and go on the record in a book of the scriptures to name some people who would be remembered for the remainder of time as God’s faithful and as useful to his cause.

Paul starts by naming the ones who he would be sending to both replace and assist Titus for a time so that he could visit Paul: Artemas & Tychicus. What do we know about these men? Well, we know very little about Artemas, as this is the only place in the New Testament where he is named. But by his being sent with and his association with Tychicus, we can probably extrapolate some things about both men. Tychicus is named in three of Paul’s other letters, and he is named in Acts 20 as one of Paul’s traveling companions. There is also another occasion in 2 Cor 8:18, where Paul is commending Titus to come and serve the church there, along with an unnamed, famous skilled preacher. Many commentators believe that the unnamed preacher of that passage is Tychicus. So he is a support, a protege of Paul, and a skilled preacher. A suitable stand in for Titus while he may have an absence from the churches of Crete.

Then Paul names another pair that are to be sent toward their next assignment: Zenas the Lawyer and Apollos. Now we are in the same boat here as the first pair, as we know little about Zenas. This is his only mention, but we do note that with his lawyer background and training, his trade would prove useful to the early church in a variety of ways. He could defend them or help develop their defense as they would stand in court. Apollos on the other hand, is well known from several scriptural mentions. He was, as we noted earlier, one of the preachers to whom believers might have tried to choose sides. As well, when we spend our longest encounter with him in Acts 18:24-19:1, we remember that it was he who showed up as a skilled preacher in Ephesus, though as Priscilla and Aquilla noted, he was preaching the scriptures with accuracy, but did not have full clarity on baptism. It was there in Ephesus that they offered correction to Apollos’ teaching, and he received it. I do think it’s important to note this with regard to Apollos that he was a preacher, but the preacher was open to correction, and would correct his preaching accordingly. No follower of Christ, including the preacher or evangelist, is above correction or is exempt from submission to God’s word.

Paul emphasizes again then in verse 14 a threefold purpose, the “what”, for which those who are named, those who are coming and going, are to be remembered. Things that the church as a whole is to be actively engaged in:

They are to be devoted to Good works. As we noted last week, we are not saved by good works, but we are saved to good works. The church is to be known and seen walking faithfully in the word and according to the Spirit by their good works. As James says: Faith without works is dead.

They are the be meeting urgent needs: As there would be needs that would arise, the church is to rise to the task of meeting them. Are there specific needs where people near us or among us may be going hungry? Then feed them. Are there specific people displaced from their homes? House them. Are they lacking for clothing? Then clothe them. The eyes of the church ought to always be roaming for specific needs that can be met around us.

They are to be fruitful: The text states it in the negative sense, to “not be unfruitful”. But to state to the positive, the church is to be found fruitful by the savior. How? People following Christ and being baptized! Faith growing! Needs met! Disciples made! The church serving together, one in mind and action.

It is to these ends that we want to be remembered by Christ. To these faithful servants, Paul’s companions and Titus’ peers, their names and status are honored and preserved forever. May the church awaken toward the good works prepared for her as well.

Summary:

Today, the core truth of the passage has stood out regarding the forgotten and the remembered: Those who promote division, controversy and trivial things will be forgotten, but God’s faithful servants will be remembered forever! As we experience God’s grace and peace, those truths extend into every part of us, every area of our lives. And a life lived for King Jesus is meant to be dedicated to his service, for HIS glory, and not our own.

The musical Hamilton asked: “Who lives, who dies, who tells your story.” Sometimes, the who tells your story is me. As a pastor, I do funerals. Funerals and weddings. A couple very big occasions. One of them generally happier than the other. One I can anticipate and know the date of, and the other I can’t. None of us knows the day that we will pass from here into eternity, and so it is often that I get a call from the funeral director, and he asks if I can meet with the family, and talk about the service. And I do.

We have a conversation about the basics of the service. The songs. Who will share. Any special desires of the family for the service. And then, I ask them to remember and reflect, to tell me about the life of their loved one. What were they known for? What made them tick? Who did they love? What did they make? What memories did they build? And I probe and ask about their faith.

I’m the pastor, but I’m also the story teller. And if I had just 15-20 minutes to tell people about your life, what would that time be filled with? Would it be filled with the trival, the controversial, the genealogical, the mundane, stepping around the landmines you’d laid of the people you’d made enemies with and sinned against? Or would I be able to share of a life filled with and lived by faith? A life of prayer, service, sacrificial love and giving? Would your story be one that would point people to Jesus, who said that HE was the only way to heaven? Or would you leave me struggling for words to keep from convincing your family that you’d found some other way to heaven yourself, independent of Jesus? Because if that it what you are relying on, you WILL be wrong. Your life and your faith in Christ provide the Fuel for your Funeral. A life lived for Christ by faith is a life that will be well remembered in the Lambs book of life, and will extend into eternity. A life lived for the self, and the temporary? It is futile and it will be forgotten. As the storyteller, I am not the judge, sending you to hell or welcoming you into heaven. God is the judge. But we can live a fruitful life in Christ, if indeed we have an authentic faith.

To the lost, we plead with you to come to Christ. Bring him your sin, your shame, your brokenness. That is all you can bring. He lived a perfect life and died a sacrificial death on the cross to bring you to God. And now he lives and stands in victory over the grave. This is the Gospel. While you were a sinner, Christ saw you and he loved you. He lives now and God’s people preach to you to plead with you. Come to Christ. Turn from sin. Name Jesus as your Lord. Obey him in baptism and be known as a Christian.

To the saved, walk in the grace that you’ve been given. Do not let sin rule over you, because the blood of Christ has had the final word. Grow in your faith in the Savior that has been established and your knowledge and practice of the Word. Don’t live a life where I only get to talk about your cars or your cooking. Let the church testify of your faith in the Savior and your fruit borne for Him.