Spiritually Healthy Behavior [book of Titus]

Title: Spiritually Healthy Behavior

Text: Book of Titus

Introductory thoughts:

Titus is a son in the faith to Paul. He was apparently a young man () called to an important task. He had been instructed to set in order things that were lacking in the churches on the island of Crete.

Because of the apparent culture in Crete (), this made the people easy to be preyed upon by false teachers. These false teachers were teaching unhealthy or unsound doctrine and this led to unhealthy behavior.

Note a couple of consistent emphasis in the book of Titus:

“sound” - , , ,

“doctrine” - , , ,

“works” - , , , , , ,

As one man put it, “Titus was urged to insist on the need for sound doctrine and a high level of moral and social conduct by the Christians.” [Expositor’s]

opens up with the reason for the book. There is a truth that is productive of godly living. There is a behavior that should exist in the life of professing Christians that exemplifies true, unadulterated Christian doctrine.

Could you imagine living in a world where men who are religious take advantage of others? Could you imagine espousing a teaching that produces this kind of anti-Christian living? All the things that Jesus taught can be summarized in loving God and loving our neighbors as ourselves. It is amazing to think that the world attempts to have an ethic of caring for the poor and for one another better than some who profess that they know Christ.

As a believer raised in a Christian environment, there are different attitudes we need to expose today:

(1) Some assess their spiritual health based upon their faithfulness to their Christian duties weekly. This is quite dangerous and misses a key teaching in the book of Titus.

Illustration: We had a gentleman from our church come to our home and look at all of our trees and shrubs. He noted one tree in particular. He peeled back some of the bark looked in places I did not and told me the tree would be dead within a few years. A few years later, he was right.

This is precisely the danger of assessing your spiritual health by your own determined will to do your spiritual duties. You become as a tree that is blooming and beautiful, but you continue to exist with death and rot on the inside.

(2) Then, there are those who consider their lack of sinful behavior to be worthy of note. The problem here is that this individual too has missed a critical piece of what Titus is told. Being a believer is not to be judged merely by behaviors that you do not do, but there are characteristics that should be evident in your life of the spiritually healthy doctrine that you have received.

Illustration: We have a dog. He is not just a dog because he is little, white, furry, and has a tail. You could describe a rabbit this way. He manifests clear behaviors that show that he is a dog.

In like manner, you are not a believer because you merely said you are; but your life should clearly manifest behaviors that are consistent with your profession.

So, it is with this understanding that Titus is instructed to set in order things that are lacking, to preach healthy doctrine, and to see healthy results.

Proposition: So, how do you discern spiritually healthy behavior in your life?

(1) What produces spiritually healthy behavior in the life of a believer?

Having saluted Titus (), the apostle Paul sets forth what needs to take place in Crete. Spiritual leaders needs to be set up in the churches (), and these leaders need to be preaching/teaching the healthy doctrine of the word ().

This is quickly contrasted by the teachers of unhealthy doctrine (). Notice that they are characterized by two primary things (, ): their unhealthy teaching and their unhealthy behaviors.

The evident presupposition here is that sound behavior is to be the product of sound doctrine. In other words, healthy-living is to be the product of healthy teaching. The obvious question here is “What is sound doctrine or healthy teaching?”

It is teaching that is consistent with faith in the promise of God -

It is teaching that is common in faith to all believers -

Healthy teaching that produces healthy behaviors is teaching that exalts God as worthy of faith. This means that it rejects any notion of faith in the knowledge or works of men. See for those who are of the circumcision. Any teaching that leads man to place full or partial faith in the religious working of man is UNHEALTHY and not to be accepted.

Illustration:

Eating breakfast at Hardies one day caused me to become very ill. As a result of that incident, I never ate breakfast at Hardies again....The experience of what I ingested and how it caused me to behave was more than I wanted to experience any more....

Application:

The means the unhealthy teaching of Jehovah’s Witnesses, “Immortality is a reward for faithfulness. It does not come automatically at birth.” (Let God Be True, p. 74) is contrary to the common faith and the sufficiency of Jesus Christ.

This means, as Eddy puts it, “Man as God’s idea is already saved with an everlasting salvation” (Miscellaneous Writings, 261) in contrast to salvation by grace through faith.

“The Mormon doctrine of salvation involves not only faith in Christ, but baptism by immersion, obedience to the teaching of the Mormon Church, good works, and “keeping the commandments of God (which) will cleans away the stain of sin (Journal of Discourses, 2:4)” [Kingdom of Cults, Zacharias & Martin]

There is also unhealthy doctrine communicated in the way we live towards each other. For example:

Is it spiritually healthy to shame people into service for the king?

Is it spiritually healthy when widows don’t even know who their deacons are?

Is it spiritually healthy when children in their SS classes don’t associate love with their teachers?

Is it spiritually healthy when people have to scratch my back in order for me to scratch their back?

Is it spiritually healthy to isolate yourself to your comfort zone and give fake greetings to everyone else? More, what does this teach?

Recapitulation:

(1) Spiritually, gospel-centered, faith-in-God, doctrine produces spiritually, healthy behavior.

(2) What does spiritually healthy behavior look like?

In Paul shows to Titus what healthy behavior looks like among believers. These behaviors are expected of each age demographic and gender demographic. There is a sobriety that is to characterize those who are professors of Christ.

Note how Paul points Titus to the blending of the ages and NOT the segregation of the age groups. Note also how specific Paul gets into the teaching of the younger.

Illustration:

It is funny to watch this natural phenomenon. When my wife and I say, “Clean up the living room,” the kids have this natural tendency to clean up only their own mess. As a matter of fact, one will pick up his two items and then be seated to entertainment without any regard for helping the other who has a bigger, more costly mess to clean up.

Application:

Please understand that the lesson to Titus here does NOT limit older women only teaching their biological daughters. The church is the place where the gospel doctrine should be lived out in actively reaching out and teaching the younger.

Second, note that the teaching was not merely left up to the experience of the older. This is not a platform for people to hear all about your experiences. It is a platform for God’s gracious, gospel work in your life to be communicated.

Notice also, that Paul does not encourage the common lie of the day, “Titus, if the younger don’t find other younger people their, tell the to go somewhere else.” Why, it’s is because when the healthy doctrine of the gospel is taught, we can look beyond the wrinkles on faces or the vibrance of youthfulness and see that we are unified in the body of Christ.

Recapitulation:

(1) Healthy behavior is produced by healthy, gospel-centered teaching

(2) Healthy behavior looks like older teaching the younger whether they deserve it or not.

(3) What has God done to make spiritually healthy behavior both desirable & possible?

is where Paul answers the question of how God has made this spiritual behavior to be desirable. God’s grace in Christ has been made clear. In seeing Christ manifested, we note the selfless, sin-denying life of Jesus Christ.

In accepting the deliverance in Christ, we are taught to deny worldly carnal, old-man passions and to live according to the healthy teaching we have seen in Jesus Christ with a hope to the future return of Jesus Christ.

Paul also undertakes to describe why Christ has redeemed us (). Christ has accomplished redemption so that there would be a people who are passionately eager for good works.

Paul undertakes to

Illustration:

As creatures who are motivated by the new, we must continually be reminded of the freshness of the gospel.

When do you want to drive more, when you get a new car

When do you want to journal more, when you get a new journal

When do you want to cook more, when you’re excited to try a new recipe

When do you want to behave in a spiritually healthy manner more, when the gospel is new every morning.

Application:

Application:

If an individual who seeks to do works for merit with God but still has no true inner life, he is working against his true nature; but when God saves us, He places within us a new nature that is eager for good works.

First, this means that there will be a passion to see other believers enriched by your influence. This means that you will look for and pursue opportunities to teach others to teach. You will manifest the grace of God, extended to you, towards others. You will break the awkward barrier of only going to your little Sunday school on Sunday mornings.

Second, the first presupposes that you will desire and relish times with fellow believers. Attending church will not be a mere spiritual discipline; but it will be something you look forward to.

Third, you will esteem the least esteemed. Children will be a priority to you. Children who come in through our bus ministry will be precious. Begging for volunteers to help with a children’s ministry will be non-existent because there will be people who are zealous to be involved.

This will be a community of believers founded by the gospel, motivated by the gospel, and behaving according to the gospel.

Recap:

(1) Healthy teaching leads to healthy living.

(2) Healthy living looks like people crossing barriers to influence each other

(3) Healthy living is made desirable by the gospel work God does in us.

(4) What has God given to us so that we would be enthusiastically devoted to spiritually healthy behavior?

As Paul rounds the final lap of this letter, he becomes highly practical exhorting that they not live according to the culture that God had saved them from. Of interest, Paul does this by going back to who they were when Christ came to them and how the kindness and love of God had graciously come to them.

Illustration:

What makes the account of the forgiven servant () so striking is how he responded to someone who owed him. The Bible says that he took him by the throat.

What makes the Pharisees and scribes so undesirable is that they desire the chief seats in the synagogues.

In both of these cases, there is an evident hypocrisy that is captivating and repulsive at the same time.

Application:

If you find yourself having a hard time getting over internal bias towards others in the body - stop and reflect on your utter unworthiness.

If you find yourself not showing behaviors that cross demographic comfort zones - stop and remember what you were when God saved you.

If you find yourself not having enough time to behave according to the doctrine you claim - stop and reflect on what God has made the priority.

If you find yourself making excuses because of your personality, stop and reflect on the fact that you have the Holy Spirit.

If you’re the person who shows up just in time for the preaching and leaves as quickly as possible after the service - stop and remember how you were when Jesus saved you.