Sermon Tone Analysis

Titus 1:1-4 Outline

perspective of Hope

Introduction: (Illustration) How do you choose a restaurant?

A church?

While many of these aspects of choosing a church can be helpful, the problem is we look from the wrong perspective.

We have a self-centered, this is about me perspective.

When we look at all these tertiary issues,

We miss the most important aspect, how healthy is it.

What makes a healthy church?

I have a whole shelf in my study on what a church should be like.

The early church struggled with these same issues, not so much based on preferences because they didn't have all the options we have today, but what should their church look like.

They all had an opinion I’m sure.

God in His wisdom does not leave us to wonder.

Through the Apostle Paul God speaks about what a church should look like, how the people of God should act in a church.

The book of Titus is like a pocket guide to life in the church.

We are launching into the book of Titus.

We are going to call this series Foundations: A biblical community.

The book of Titus contains the elements on how God uses the church for evangelism, it contains information on elders, and church members, in essence it tells us how to live our lives as Christians and how the church should operate.

My prayer is that this series will do two things… encourage you to live as God has called you, and second paint a picture of what God expects of us.

Some important background information.

Location: Crete had a substantial Jewish community and some Cretan Jews were present at Pentecost and mentioned in

Acts 2. Crete was under Roman control and used as a port for Roman vessels.

Crete, an Island about 160 miles long and 35 miles wide south of the Aegean Sea.

Time: Between 62-64 AD, Paul was likely writing this between his first and second Roman imprisonments either from Corinth or Nicopolis while he was ministering to the churches in that area.

Recipient: Titus, who was placed in Crete, and Titus likely served with Paul on several of his journeys and was on assignment to Crete to strengthen the new churches there.

The Cretans had a bad reputation, in the church some of them were living sexual immoral lives and others were living hypocritical and legalistic lives.

But the gospel must have made quite a difference there, for today the name of Titus is honored in many villages, churches, and monasteries on the island.

Titus is mentioned by Paul in the following passages of Scripture (Gal.

2:3;2 Cor.

2:13)

Interestingly Titus is not mentioned in the book of Acts.

But we can learn a few things about him based on his being mentioned in other places.

Paul had quite a bit of trust in Titus and his abilities, when Paul had issues with the Corinthian church, he sent Titus as his messenger.

In his letter to Titus Paul’s tone is different than his tone with Timothy.

While Paul seems to care and value both of them he has to encourage Timothy to be brave and courageous, but he does not do that with Titus, this seems to indicate that Titus was braver or more experienced.

Now in this letter that Paul writes to Titus, the purpose of the letter really is to instruct the church as to what it is supposed to be like.

It is a treatise on Christian living, faith and practice.

And there are several things that fall very clearly from these chapters.

First of all, chapter 1 looks at the character and conduct of leaders, a very appropriate subject for us to discuss in our own contemporary setting in the church.

Chapter 2 looks at the character and conduct of members - the members of the church.

And chapter 3 deals with character and conduct regarding the church's witness before the world.

Let us read the text: Tt 1:1

Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the faith of God’s elect and their knowledge of the truth that leads to godliness,

2 in the hope of eternal life that God, who cannot lie, promised before time began.

3 In his own time he has revealed his word in the preaching with which I was entrusted by the command of God our Savior:

4 To Titus, my true son in our common faith.

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

(Pray)

Greeting section of letter, look at the form of these first 4 verses, do you see any periods?

The first 4 verses are one long sentence.

If you read this without knowing the background you would think that Titus didn't know much about Paul so Paul is explaining himself to Titus.

However, what is really going on is that Paul is really investing authority into Titus for the sake of the church.

Paul is writing this so that the church knows that Titus is following the instruction of Paul.

Because these letters were read to the whole church, Paul is basically saying here is Titus who I sent to you on orders from me.

This passage is primarily about hope, Because of this hope we can make solid and lasting commitments.

Paul starts with his own characteristics, but he does it in a peculiar way.

Paul lays out the marks of a godly leader.

The commitments of a godly leader.

Paul is the type of leader that he is, precisely because of his perspective.

Because of the hope we have in eternal life, you can model two commitments, Submission to God, Sacrifice for others.

Hope: In this passage.

Leads to Submission to God

Which leads to Sacrifice for others

Which Guides us in where we place our priorities.

1) Where does Paul place his hope?

(vs 2)

Look in Verse 2, When you read this during the week, did you see this hope?

a) Hope in eternal life?

(what is eternal life?) (1 Cor 15:19) Paul explains that if we only have hope in this life, we are most to be pitied.

What a pitiful situation we would be in if this is all there is.

If death is the end how would we live?

Take a look at culture today our behavior is directed by our future hopes.

b) Rooted in the character of God (never lies, has a plan)

Paul roots this hope in two things, the character of God and His divine purpose.

Why would Paul tack on about God never lying?

The more we consider this little addendum the more significant it gets.

The more we learn about humankind and their relationship with their Creator God the more we realize we humans have a hard time believing that God will not lie.

Let’s illustrate this by going over to Gen 3:1, the great manipulator the serpent twists God’s word and gets Eve to believe that God lied.

Gen 3:4.

If we took the time to read the entire Bible, what we would see is that God says He will do something people laugh, imagine the conversation in Lot’s house “God said He will destroy this town” The people of Sodom laughed in derision.

Will God do as He said He would?

Over and over again God’s promises are “yes and Amen” what God says will happen happens.

This is often called the doctrine of God’s immutableness, essentially God is the same “yesterday, today, and tomorrow” Because God does not lie He is unchanging in His promises, we also know that He has a plan.

A plan that we do not always know but parts of which He has revealed to us in Scripture.

"God is not a man that He should change, nor the son of man that He should lie" from Numbers 23:19.

God’s utter truthfulness is a grounding for our hope.

The next is the plan, lets read verse 2 again.

The hope we have for our eternal souls is not written in shifting sand.

How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord,

Is laid for your faith in His excellent Word!

The soul, that on Jesus hath leaned for repose,

I will never, no never desert to its foes;

That soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake,

I’ll never, no never, no never forsake.

"How Firm a Foundation”

-Side note, this is why what we sing is so important.

If we sing songs that are untrue, or lack truth we can have the wrong view of God.

God’s plan is most clearly displayed in the coming of Jesus Christ.

No more evident is this than in the coming of Jesus Christ.

c) Displayed in Christ (manifested in the Word)

Hope consists of two parts, desire and expectancy.