Titus 2:11-15 - The Pursuit of Healthy Discipleship

Remember, this is the Apostle Paul’s letter to his own disciple, his true child in a common faith, Titus, who was left on the island of Crete to establish healthy churches there, to set in order what remained from their mission there to make more disciples of Christ and gather them into healthy churches.

The first step in establishing healthy churches in chapter 1 was to establish healthy leadership.

Leadership that focuses on faith, hope, and fellowship in Christ.

Leadership that faithfully teaches God’s Word and lives as an example of how God wants all of his church to live like.

Leadership that silences, rebukes, and identifies unhealthy leaders to maintain that healthy teaching and example in the church.

The second step that we began looking at last week in chapter 2, is to establish healthy discipleship.

Discipleship seen in all areas of life: in the home, in the church, and in the workplace.

Discipleship worked out as young and old, male and female, everyone teaches each other and models to each other what living like Jesus looks like.

Discipleship that the world sees and glorifies God because there’s nothing evil to say about it, and it highlights the beauty of the gospel.

Now, we come to the second half of Titus chapter two where Paul explains the reason why we ought to pursue healthy discipleship.

Now, our discipleship, how we grow in our Christlikeness and how we look more and more like Jesus, is intended to be pursued in community, not in isolation.

We’re supposed to bring God’s Word and the implications of the gospel to encourage each other and rebuke each other so that we will all follow Jesus better and look more and more like him.

But we tend to disregard those encouragements and rebukes if they aren’t from someone in authority, or if they come from someone who we know is struggling to look like Jesus in a particular aspect of their life.

We quickly remember Jesus’ words in Matthew 7:3–5 “Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.”

We think of that passage as a sort of defense mechanism, and we dismiss what our brother or sister in Christ has to say because of their failures.

Jesus meant for that passage as a check against hypocrisy, not as an excuse to dismiss their message, God’s message.

We tend to base our reception of encouragement or rebuke from God’s Word on the authority of the messenger rather than the authority of God.

And God knows that we tend to do this, Paul knew that we tend to do this.

So, in our passage in Titus 2:11-15 we are given the reason why we are to pursue the healthy discipleship described in the previous passage along with the reminder that we are to do this under God’s authority so that we won’t dismiss each other.

And, interestingly, the structure this passage takes is the same structure as the introduction for the whole letter.

The reason we are to pursue healthy discipleship is because the powerful message of the gospel transforms us into the likeness of Christ by training us in our faith, encouraging us in our hope, and uniting us together in our fellowship in him.

The gospel compels us to discipleship… it’s what God intended the gospel to do in our lives.

So, let’s read our passage in Titus 2:11-15, and then we will address how we are to pursue healthy discipleship in each of these aspects of faith, hope, and fellowship in Christ.

Titus 2:11–12 ESV

For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age,

Titus 2:13–15 ESV

waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works. Declare these things; exhort and rebuke with all authority. Let no one disregard you.

First, in verses 11 and 12, we see that as we teach and model it to each other…

The Gospel Trains us in our Faith in Christ (11-12)

The very first word here is the word, “for,” indicating that what follows is the basis or the reason why we ought to pursue what was depicted in the previous passage.

This structure here in chapter 2 is actually the same as chapter 1.

A depiction in the first half followed by a basis or reason to pursue that depiction.

In chapter one it was the picture of healthy leadership followed by the basis or reason for pursuing that healthy leadership.

Now in chapter 2 its about healthy discipleship.

So, the big question we are answering today, the question this passage answers, is…

Why should we pursue healthy discipleship?

And the answer, very succinctly, is that the gospel of Jesus Christ compels us to pursue it.

Paul says that it’s all about the gospel when he says that “the grace of God has appeared bringing salvation for all people.”

God’s grace, his unearned gift, has appeared in the person of Jesus Christ, God’s own Son.

Now, Jesus’ appearing is not just his incarnation.

His incarnation is amazing and wonderful as God became a man, adding humanity to his divinity, so that now he is 100% God and 100% human.

But his appearing also includes his perfect life.

He was perfectly sinless, and he perfectly loved people and he perfectly loved God the Father.

And his appearing includes his death on our behalf.

John wrote in 1 John 3:5 “You know that he (Jesus) appeared in order to take away sins, and in him there is no sin.”

And Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 5:21 “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”

He took our sin and gave us his righteousness, and he died in our place so that we could be forgiven.

And his appearing also includes his resurrection.

He rose from the dead three days after he was crucified, and he appeared in his resurrected and glorified body to his disciples many times.

Jesus’ appearing includes all of these things because all of them play a part in how he purchased our salvation through his incarnation, life, death, and resurrection.

They all play a part in the gospel message.

And Jesus, in his appearing, brought salvation to all people.

The way the Greek sentence is structured here makes more sense to me rendered this way:

“The saving grace of God has appeared to all mankind.”

The point Paul is getting at with this phrase isn’t that salvation was brought to all mankind, though it is available to all mankind.

Rather, Paul is saying that God’s grace is the person of Jesus who saves, and Jesus appeared to all mankind when he became a man, lived perfectly righteous among us, died in our place, and rose from the dead three days later.

Salvation is not necessarily brought to all people because we know there are many people who are not saved and will not be saved because they refuse to put their faith in Jesus.

But the message of salvation, the message of God’s grace in the person of Jesus Christ, that is for all people.

And it’s especially for all kinds of people in the church.

Paul just mentioned a bunch of different kinds of people in the church in the picture of healthy discipleship.

Old and young, male and female, slave and free, all of us pursue healthy discipleship by teaching and modeling what accords with sound doctrine in every aspect of our lives.

Paul also mentioned the gospel being for all kinds of people in Romans 3:21–23 “But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”

All kinds of people need to hear the gospel because all have sinned, all need salvation, and Jesus is our salvation.

Paul also mentioned something similar in Galatians 3:26–28 “for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”

All kinds of people who have been saved by faith in Christ are all considered heirs of Christ.

The gospel is for everyone without distinction.

That means that the gospel is not just a message to tell unsaved people so that they will hopefully believe it and be saved.

It is that, but it’s more than just that.

It’s also a message to remind saved people, Christians, so that we will grow in our Christlikeness, so that we can follow Jesus better in our discipleship.

That’s what verse 12 is about, all kinds of people in the church, old or young, male or female, slave or free, all of us are trained by the gospel to live in light of Christ.

That word translated as “training” is the same Greek word rendered in other places in the New Testament as disciplined, educated, and instructed.

It usually applies to children being trained up or disciplined by their parents.

God does this with all of us through the gospel.

And it’s not a one-time information dump.

It’s multiple exposures over time like training your form in a martial art, or training different plays on a sports team, or training how to play a musical instrument.

You practice over and over, you drill the concepts and implications and actions over and over so that over time you become more and more proficient.

And if ever you stop or take a break, you don’t completely lose what you had worked toward, but there is a certain amount of proficiency that gets lost and has to be made up when you get back at it.

We have to drill and practice the concepts, implications, and actions of the gospel over an over so that we will be more and more like Jesus.

God trains us through the gospel, and he uses other brothers and sisters in Christ in the church to do that.

We have to remind each other of the gospel because the gospel compels us to do so out of love for our brothers and sisters in Christ.

Paul sums up all the different aspects of discipleship that he brought up in the previous passage in two categories, one negative and the other positive.

The gospel trains us negatively to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and it trains us positively to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives.

In short, it trains us to live out our repentance.

Stop or refrain from doing what God doesn’t want you to do… ungodliness and worldly passions.

And start or keep doing what God want’s you to do… self-control, righteousness, godliness.

And remember, that the motivation for this repentance is not the rules themselves, it’s the gospel.

The gospel trains us to live out our repentance because God’s grace should compel you to want to please him with your life since he loved you so much to give you his best when you were at your worst.

So, take a good look at your life, at every aspect of your life and ask yourself, “is this something that pleases God, or is this something that displeases God even though it might please me?”

Is this aspect of my life an ungodly, worldly passion that I should renounce because of the gospel?

Or is this aspect of my life self-controlled, upright, and godly that I should embrace because of the gospel?

And Paul says that the focus of all of these things is in the present age.

It’s how we make decisions in the present, in the moment based on what Jesus did for us in the past.

But he’s going to go on in the next verse to switch perspectives to see how the gospel affects us as we look forward to the future in hope.

So, first we saw how the gospel of Jesus Christ trains us to live like him because of our faith in him.

Next, in verse 13 we see that as we teach and model it to each other…

The Gospel Encourages us in our Hope in Christ (13)

Paul says that we are “waiting for our blessed hope.”

The word translated as “waiting” is a compound word which basically means, “to look forward to something in longing.”

This is like a child on Christmas eve anticipating the gifts and excitement and joy that would come the following morning.

We wait, we look forward, we anticipate with joyful longing our blessed hope, our hope that makes us happy, that puts a smile on our face because of the excitement, the joy, the glory that’s coming.

Paul identifies what exactly our blessed hope is, “the appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ.”

The joy and excitement, and glory that’s coming is the return of Jesus.

He’s coming back to rule and to judge and to make all things new.

It’s going to be glorious, and joyful, and amazing, and good, and we get to be a part of it, we get to participate with him in all of it.

This is better than Christmas morning!

This is better than the first day of Summer vacation!

This is better than your wedding day!

This is better than anything you could ever anticipate with joy and longing.

Let’s briefly look at how God revealed a glimpse of this to the Apostle John in Revelation.

Revelation 21:1–7 “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” And he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment. The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son.”

This is like the anticipation of Christmas, Summer vacation, your wedding, all of that rolled into one, but better!

This glimpse is so exciting, and the reality’s going to be even more exciting.

And when we think about the gospel, what Jesus has already done for us, it should encourage us to look forward to what he’s going to do for us when he comes back.

Jesus saved us by dying in our place and then rising from the dead three days later.

Jesus’ resurrection is the promise that we will also be raised like him.

Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 15:19–20 “If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied. But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.”

So, Jesus’ resurrection is the firstfruits of what we will also experience, and we are to encourage each other with this hope of a resurrection like Jesus.

Again, Paul wrote in 1 Thessalonians 4:16–18 “For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. Therefore encourage one another with these words.”

The excitement and anticipation of our joy in Jesus’ presence is an encouragement to live like him, but also the anticipation of the destruction of the world and the destruction of sin and death ought to encourage us to live like Jesus as well.

It ought to encourage us to not live like the world, but to abandon living like the world and live like Jesus instead.

John wrote in 1 John 2:15–17 “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.”

And Peter wrote in 2 Peter 3:9–13 “The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed. Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn! But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.”

Our blessed hope, the appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ should encourage us to live like him.

When he comes back we will be with him forever in glory and joy where there will be no sadness or pain.

When he comes back he will destroy all of the ungodliness and sin and selfishness of the world.

So, as we wait for his return, let’s encourage each other with the gospel, the truth that as Jesus was raised from the dead, so we will be also.

Raised to live with him in his loving and satisfying presence forever.

And let’s encourage each other to live like him in self-control, and righteousness, and godliness renouncing ungodliness and worldly passions as we anticipate living with him in the same way forever when he comes back.

So, we saw how the gospel of Jesus Christ both trains us to live like him because of our faith in him and it encourages us to live like him because of our hope in him.

Finally, in verses 14 and 15 we see that as we teach and model it to each other…

The Gospel Unites us in our Fellowship in Christ (14-15)

Paul describes what Jesus did through his death and resurrection here in verse 14 in terms of redemption and purification of an entire people.

Jesus gave himself to redeem us from all lawlessness.

Redemption in our context usually has something to do with a coupon or gift certificate or something like that.

Some document that promises a particular good or service rendered once that document is “redeemed.”

That’s not the kind of redemption the Bible talks about.

Biblical redemption is more along the lines of purchasing a slave in order to free that slave.

All of humanity is enslaved to sin, slaves to lawlessness.

But Jesus gave his life as payment to free us from our slavery to sin.

Jesus explained a bit of this concept in John 8:34–36 “Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin. The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.”

Paul also explained this in Romans 6:17–18 “But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness.”

Jesus also gave himself on the cross to purify us, to cleanse us from our defiling sin.

This is described as part of the new covenant.

In the new covenant God is the one who cleanses us of our sin, whereas under the old covenant people had to ritually cleanse themselves as a foreshadow of what God would do through the coming Messiah.

God promised this cleansing, this purifying in Ezekiel 36:25 “I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you.”

And the author of Hebrews reflected on the ritual purification under the old covenant as it looked forward to God cleansing us through the blood of his Son Jesus.

Hebrews 9:13–14 “For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.”

This is a cleansing of our conscience, a cleansing of our soul, not our bodies.

And John relates this cleansing to our fellowship in Christ and our collective pursuit of living like Jesus in 1 John 1:7 “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.”

You see, when Jesus redeemed us, when he paid for our freedom from sin and cleansed us with his blood shed on the cross…

When he did that, he took special ownership of us.

Yes, he owns everything because he’s the sovereign creator and sustainer of everyone and everything.

But he purchased you with his own life, to redeem you from slavery to sin.

And not just you, he purchased a whole people from slavery to sin.

We are now, collectively, his special possession, but not in a way that he treats us like an object, no he treats us like his bride.

Paul explained this in Ephesians 5:25–27 “Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.”

Peter wrote about our collective identity, our fellowship in Christ in 1 Peter 2:9–10 “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.”

At the end of that passage Peter referenced the book of Hosea in which God told Hosea to take a wife who was a prostitute and to redeem her from the slave block.

He had a few children with his prostitute wife which he named “No mercy” and “Not my people” terrible names, I know, but God told him to name them like that.

And God said in Hosea 2:23 “I will have mercy on No Mercy, and I will say to Not My People, ‘You are my people’; and he shall say, ‘You are my God.’ ”

Peter is saying in 1 Peter 2:10 that this is the church, all of us together are God’s people whom he has shown mercy by saving us through the death and resurrection of his Son Jesus.

We are a chosen race, like Israel was God’s specially chosen people, but we are a chosen race from every tribe, and tongue, and people, and nation.

We are a royal priesthood, little king-priests like Jesus after the order of Melchizedek.

I don’t have time to get into all the nuances of Melchizedek right now, but suffice to say that he was the first king-priest who foreshadowed Jesus as the ultimate king-priest.

And now, as we follow Jesus, we are all little king-priests, collectively making up a royal priesthood, a fellowship of royal priests.

Peter is referencing what the Lord told Moses to say to the people of Israel in Exodus 19:5–6 “Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine; and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words that you shall speak to the people of Israel.”

We, as the Church, are God’s special nation, set apart for his purposes, again made up of every tribe, and tongue, and people, and nation.

Back to our passage in Titus, Paul says at the end of verse 14 that collectively as a redeemed and purified people for Jesus’ own possession, we are zealous for good works.

This is how Jesus intends for us to respond to our redemption and cleansing.

Zealous for good works.

This makes me think of what Paul wrote in Ephesians 2:10 “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”

God saved us, redeemed us, cleansed us, made us new creations in Christ.

And he intends for us to respond in good works that he prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

Remember earlier in Titus chapter 2 Paul urged the older women to teach and model kindness or goodness to younger women in the context of being hospitable and caring for other believers, especially those in need as he explained in 1 Timothy 5:10.

And he also told Titus to be an example of the same good works in Titus 2:7.

We are all to be zealous for good works, caring for each other in our fellowship in Christ.

Well, Paul concludes this section by commanding Titus, and all of us really, to do the very same thing he commanded back in verse 1 of chapter 2.

Declare these things!

It’s the exact same word as verse 1.

Speak, teach, declare what accords with sound doctrine.

Make sure everyone in the church knows what the implications of the gospel are: how we are to live and how we are to influence each other’s lives to live like Jesus.

If we are living according to the gospel, then this declaration of the gospel is a help, or an encouragement or exhortation.

We’ve seen this Greek word before, it’s the word para-ka-LE-oh, the same word used to describe how the Holy Spirit would help, encourage, and exhort in Jesus’ absence in John chapter 16.

And if we are living contrary to the gospel, then this declaration of the gospel is a rebuke.

And similar to how unhealthy leaders are to be rebuked, the declaration of the gospel rebukes us not to rejection but to repentance, so that we will be sound in the faith.

And this declaration of the gospel is done with all authority because the gospel is not our opinion, it’s not declared in our own authority.

It’s the truth of God’s love for you and his authoritative will for your obedience because of his love for you.

The gospel is preached under God’s sovereign authority, all authority.

And all of us have this same authority when we remind each other of the gospel in our fellowship.

All of us are to engage in declaring these things, declaring the gospel and how we ought to live like Christ because of our faith, hope, and fellowship in him.

Let no one disregard you.

It doesn’t matter if you aren’t the pastor, or if you aren’t whatever demographic group, or even if you aren’t living perfectly like Jesus yourself…

You have the gospel, so declare it!

And don’t let anyone disregard you when you are declaring the gospel because it’s God’s authority backing your declaration.

If anyone disregards your declaration of the gospel, they aren’t disregarding you, but God.

Conclusion

This is why we pursue healthy discipleship.

The gospel compels us to train each other in our Christ-likeness by reminding each other of our faith in Christ.

The gospel compels us to encourage each other in our Christ-likeness by pointing each other forward to our hope in Christ.

The gospel compels us to be united together in our pursuit of Christ-likeness because we are all one in Christ.

So, remember this when you interact with each other.

Remind each other of the gospel as much as you can.

Talk about Jesus as much as you can.

Declare these things in God’s authority.

So that we can all grow together in our Christ-likeness.

So that we can all live like Jesus as we follow him.

Now, if you listened to this entire sermon and you still don’t know what the gospel is, then let me spell it out for you again.

You are a sinner in need of salvation from the penalty and power of your sin just like all the rest of mankind.

And God sent his own Son, Jesus, the Christ, to become a man, to live a perfectly righteous life, to die in your place, and to rise again three days later.

Jesus did all of this willingly so that if you put your faith in him, you will be forgiven and live with him forever.

But what’s at stake… what if you don’t put your faith in him?

If you refuse, they you will remain under the power and penalty of your sin.

The power of sin is spiritual death, all of us spiritually dead in our sins enslaved to sin so that we can’t help but sin.

Without putting your faith in Jesus you are bound to keep sinning to be stuck in your selfishness and pride in a cycle that produces more and more sin and suffering.

The penalty of sin is also a kind of spiritual death, but its more accurately described as eternal condemnation.

Without putting your faith in Jesus you are bound to pay the just penalty for your own sin.

And that just penalty is based on the one who you have sinned against.

You have sinned against almighty eternal God, so your just penalty is also eternal.

The good news, though, is that you don’t have to remain under the power and penalty of your sin because payed with his life to ransom you from the power of sin and he died in your place taking your penalty on himself.

And all you have to do is put your faith in him.

So, if you haven’t done so yet, then I beg you to believe, put your faith in Jesus and be baptized into new life in him.

Pray

Father, thank you for this reminder from your Word that you want us to follow your Son more and more by reminding each other about the gospel.

Thank you for giving us faith so that we could be saved from our sin because of what Jesus did for us at the manger, the cross, and the empty tomb.

Thank you for giving us hope, the assurance that you will do what you’ve promised to do, that you will raise us up to live forever with you in joy and love.

And thank you for giving us each other, our fellowship, our commonality in Christ that we could encourage and rebuke each other to be more like Jesus as we remind each other of the gospel.

Please help us to do this as often as we can, so that we can become more and more like Jesus together.

As we help each other to look more and more like Jesus, I pray that you would also use our pursuit of Christ-likeness to bring people to new life in Christ as well.

I pray that you would use us here at GBC, use our local church to share the love of Jesus with Eureka, with Humboldt county, Lord with the whole world.

Give us the words to say so that we can give a defense, an answer for the hope that’s in us.

Give us boldness to tell others about how amazing Jesus is.

It’s in his glorious name we pray all of this. Amen.

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