Men, Spiritual Leaders, Be Reminded!

Titus 3:1–2 NIV84

Remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready to do whatever is good, to slander no one, to be peaceable and considerate, and to show true humility toward all men.

Be reminded to be subject to authorities, obedient, and ready for every good work.

Also, be reminded to slander no one, be peaceable and considerate, and show humility.

Be Subject to Authorities

Let’s get a little background in the book of Titus first to see who exactly Paul is talking to here.

In chapter 2, Paul refers to specific groups.

Older men.

Older women.

Younger men.

Bondservants.

Now he transitions to all believers.

And in verses 1 & 2 we see some general instruction for these believers.

The first is that believers be subject to authorities.

Most of you have the word “subject” in your Bibles, but some of you will the word “submit,” or “submissive.”

This word brings the idea of following directions.

More specifically, the law.

I know there are laws we don’t like and there are some that may even violate scripture. Paul is not talking about these. The Bible doesn’t tell us to follow our government blindly, but to do so in light of scripture.

Paul is reminding the believers that God Himself instituted government and it’s leaders for His glory.

Romans 13:1 NIV84

Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God.

Being subject, or submissive to authorities is honoring:

It honors God as our authority.

It honors the ones God set in place.

It is honoring to our families and local church as we set a good example.

Recently we did a study on Sunday evening entitled ‘Love and Respect.’

The overall essence of the study was that women need and desire ‘love’ and men need and desire ‘respect.’

What we men have a hard time with, and some women too, (I’ve heard people say “I’m not giving anyone respect who hasn’t earned it or who doesn’t respect me!”) is that we tend not to want to give respect if we feel it isn’t earned.

The Bible commands us otherwise; especially here regarding those in lawful authority over us.

But men, when we do this, and make it a goal to respect those in authority with our speech and actions, something happens: we get respect from those around us.

We are able to lead in our churches, our homes, and our workplaces.

Be Obedient

This word Paul uses here is very interesting.

It is a forceful Greek word meaning to “completely heed or follow admonition.”

Paul used it in Acts 27:21, but it is less forceful there.

Acts 27:21 ESV

Since they had been without food for a long time, Paul stood up among them and said, “Men, you should have listened to me and not have set sail from Crete and incurred this injury and loss.

It’s also used in Acts 5:29

Acts 5:29 ESV

But Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than men.

Part of the problem for us as believers, is that it is our culture to be subversive.

sub•vert

1 : to overturn or overthrow from the foundation : ruin

2 : to pervert or corrupt by an undermining of morals, allegiance, or faith

Inc Merriam-Webster, Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary (Springfield, MA: Merriam-Webster, 1996).

We have a history of it.

The Puritans.

The expansion west due to religious, political, and space issues.

The American Revolution

Our own Civil War

Our major two party political system

Our freedom to establish new or side religious groups.

But the Bible calls us to be obedient to those in authority over us.

Men, do your families see you as obedient not only to your governing authority, but to the Lord?

I’m afraid we are really struggling with this one, especially in the area of faith.

Check out this web site and scroll down to the article entitled, “The Fishless Fisherman” and you’ll see what I’m talking about.

www.churchgrowthinternational.com/blog

Be Ready for Every Good Work

Notice the importance of this:

Titus 2:7 ESV

Show yourself in all respects to be a model of good works, and in your teaching show integrity, dignity,

Titus 2:14 ESV

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.

Titus 3:8 ESV

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.

Titus 3:14 ESV

And let our people learn to devote themselves to good works, so as to help cases of urgent need, and not be unfruitful.

We’ve been journeying through the book of James on Wednesday evenings where we see James relating our “being saved” with “good works.”

But here, I’d like to pause on the word “ready.”

The Theological Dictionary of the New Testament ἕτοιμος, ἑτοιμάζω, ἑτοιμασία, προετοιμάζω

In the NT readiness is demanded in three respects: readiness for good works: … πρὸς πᾶν ἔργον ἀγαθὸν ἑτοίμους, Tt. 3:1; cf. 2 Tm. 2:21; readiness to bear witness to the Gospel: … ἕτοιμοι ἀεὶ πρὸς ἀπολογίαν παντὶ τῷ αἰτοῦντι ὑμᾶς λόγον περὶ τῆς ἐν ὑμῖν ἐλπίδος, 1 Pt. 3:15; … ὑποδησάμενοι τοὺς πόδας ἐν ἑτοιμασίᾳ τοῦ εὐαγγελίου τῆς εἰρήνης, Eph. 6:15; and readiness for the return of the Lord. The last requirement Jesus put to His disciples with particular urgency: διὰ τοῦτο καὶ ὑμεῖς γίνεσθε ἕτοιμοι, ὅτι ᾗ οὐ δοκεῖτε ὥρᾳ ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ἔρχεται, Mt. 24:44; Lk. 12:40. It is illustrated in the parable of the Ten Virgins. In virtue of it the life of Christians becomes a life of conscious and vigilant expectation of a goal which brings salvation and of openness to the possibilities of action determined by this goal. This readiness gives the Christian life a distinctive dynamic character.

Generally, we as believers do not struggle with “good works.”

We know what those are, what they look like, and if we are not careful, will tend to lean toward doing “good things” as an alternative to the Gospel. (Or as a means to get to the Gospel, but never actually get there.)

We struggle with the “being ready” aspect.

This readiness assures us of more opportunities, provides us with a plan, and gives evidence of the faith living within us.

Be Nice to People

We need this reminder!

Some of your translations will use the words or phrases “slander, malign, or speak no evil.

The word used here is blasphemeo-blaspheme

It means to speak against someone in such a way that harms their own reputation.

We need to take a word of caution with this though.

We need to be careful to differentiate between not harming someone’s character and not biblically rebuking when necessary.

When we stand up for truth, we are not blaspheming a person.

Remember, when we aren’t “nice” to people, especially in a small town, they’ve listened to the hate or contention coming out of our mouths AND know where we go to church, AND see our Christian tee shirts, AND many have seen our Happy Easter FB posts where we’ve rejoiced that He’s risen.

We need to match our words and actions.

Be Peaceable and Considerate

The word “peaceable” here can be translated as “no brawlers.”

Very seldom to we see someone (especially a Christian) go looking for, and get into a fist fight on purpose.

But what we do see from people who profess Christ as their Savior is a desire to do verbal damage.

Paul goes on to say, “be gentle.”

Another way of translating that word would be “tolerant.”

Not tolerant of sin, but of the rights and dignity that other people deserve as an image bearer of God.

Be Humble

I like how the NASB and the ESV translate this section.

The NASB says “showing every consideration for all men,” while the ESV says, “show perfect courtesy toward all people.”

Notice how it says “all people.”

Christian or not.

Gay, straight, trans, or self-identifying.

Man, woman; young or old.

Men, Christian leaders, fellow believers; show perfect courtesy to all people.

Open the door for others, not just women, or the elderly.

Smile at the kid with the offensive shirt on and give him a Red Book.

Ask the gay couple in the parking lot beside you at Wal-Mart if you can take their cart to the corral.

People see enough hate, judgement, and negativity from professing believers; it’s time for them to see the side Christ intended.

And not only see it, but hear it.

Men, spiritual leaders, are you sharing the Good News of the Gospel on a regular basis?

Do you take leadership in your family in order to show them what it looks like to love people enough that they might know the love and forgiveness of Christ as you do?

Maybe you are here today and you are wondering “what exactly is this Good News and why is it so Good?”

The Good News of the Gospel is good because we are so bad.

The Bible tells us that we’ve sinned and have fallen short of His glory

Romans 3:23 NIV84

for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

Because of this we get death.

Romans 6:23 NIV84

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

But God loves us and provided a way for us.

Romans 5:8 NIV84

But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Ephesians 2:8–9 NIV84

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.

Ephesians 2:8-9 tell us we’ve been saved by grace through faith. You can’t do anything to earn it. It’s a gift from God.

Would you like to repent and receive Jesus as your Savior today?

If the Holy Spirit is calling you to repent today, please pray to receive Christ.