Sermon Tone Analysis

A Fruitful Farewell

This is our season finale on the book of Titus.

We have seen what the Master Architect desires for a congregation the under contractor Paul has sent the blueprint and Titus is working to follow the directions.

The goal is a healthy congregation a sturdy home that is a testament to God’s work in the life of His people.

A congregation sound in the faith, ready to face the external elements of wind and rain.

There are just a few unfinished items.

What to do with these rotten beams that have been placed in the frame?

Where do they find the replacement materials?

We are not left to wonder.

Lets read Titus 3:8-15, the final remarks.

(Read):

8 This saying is trustworthy.

I want you to insist on these things, so that those who have believed God might be careful to devote themselves to good works.

These are good and profitable for everyone.

9 But avoid foolish debates, genealogies, quarrels, and disputes about the law, because they are unprofitable and worthless.

10 Reject a divisive person after a first and second warning.

11 For you know that such a person has gone astray and is sinning; he is self-condemned.

12 When I send Artemas or Tychicus to you, make every effort to come to me in Nicopolis, because I have decided to spend the winter there.

13 Diligently help Zenas the lawyer and Apollos on their journey, so that they will lack nothing.

14 Let our people learn to devote themselves to good works for pressing needs, so that they will not be unfruitful.

15 All those who are with me send you greetings.

Greet those who love us in the faith.

Grace be with all of you.

(Pray)

Chip and Joanna Gains enter the house, outside the roof is practically falling off, inside the floor is sagging.

The people living inside are desperate.

Help us they scream internally.

After some conversation and some vision casting the scene goes to a commercial.

We all wait in anticipation to see what happens to the house.

Will it be renovated?

Will the owners be happy with the changes.

What unforeseen problems will arise?

Reading Titus is like watching the first half of a renovation show.

We don’t get to see a full picture of the finished product.

Will this congregation commit to good works?

Will the truth of Jesus Christ’s life, death and resurrection transform these crumbling congregations into stately mansions?

Probably everyones favorite part of renovation shows is demolition day.

Basically everyone gets hammers and crowbars and get to work stripping the house down to its bones.

In order for this house to be structurally sound the bones, the frame and foundations have to be solid.

What will be the fruit of their labor?

Paul is concerned with faithful Christians, and tells Titus these false teachers are causing problems, and its wrecking the rest of the Church.

Termites in the foundation.

Time wasters have infiltrated the church.

Or worse these False teachers are building a pagan temple, a temple to the god of Self.

Lest you think this doesn’t apply to you, remember every member of a local Church is a brick in the structure, we all have a spot in this construction.

If you are not producing fruit, that is you are not displaying this good works that Paul is talking about you might have dead roots, but

Because of God’s plan for the church, you must be fruitful.

VS 9-11 Paul highlights again who these people are and what to do with them.

Paul identifies some hinderances to being fruitful and some helps too fruitfulness.

The people of God have to remove divisive ideas and divisive persons.

Sandwiched in vs 12-15 among the final greetings Paul identifies helps to fruitfulness.

Lets start with VS 9-11,

Hindrances to Fruitfulness

Two types of bad roots are addressed in 9-11.

Divisive ideas and Divisive people.

Remember that Chapter 1 Paul warned about false teachers bringing false teaching into homes and upsetting whole families.

He circles back to it here because this is a pressing concern in the early church and indeed today.

Let’s look at verse 9.

read: But avoid foolish debates, genealogies, quarrels, and disputes about the law, because they are unprofitable and worthless.

(Subpoint 1) Four errors are mentioned here in vs 9. Paul tells Titus what the congregation needs to avoid, if you would be fruitful you must avoid these too, we are to avoid 1) foolish controversies, 2) genealogies, 3) dissensions, and 4) quarrels about the law.

We will examine each in turn.

a. Foolish debates, arguments about things that have no real purpose, Some translations say foolish questions.

Really arguments over speculation.

Something like this can get into a Church and divide it from the inside.

mentioned in each of the Pastoral Epistles (1, 2 Tim and here in Titus).

It is important that we don’t separate the words foolish debates they go together.

Any debates that do not pertain to the truth are essentially foolish and unhelpful.

This foolish contending consumes so much time of our lives, which ought to be spent in our honest employments, in serious devotions, and doing the offices of justice, friendship, and charity one towards another.

b.

Genealogies, Paul said something similar in 1 Tim 1:4.

Apparently some people were spending their time speculating about the importance of pedigree, thinking that it had some type of religious significance.

Paul says it is endless and ultimately a time waster.

Essentially divisive.

What is in view here is that prideful concern about who their ancestors were and how much higher it would make them then somewhere else.

c.

Quarrels, when this word is used in other letters of Paul it is always mentioned with Jealousy or rivalry. 1 Tim 6:4 describes a person that fights over words, quarrels over words.

Not just once but ongoing arguments or fights.

d.

Disputes about the law, many false teachers brought in arguments about the law, the Jewish law that is.

Seems like this is a common problem in the early church as Paul brings it up a lot.

In fact Titus has experienced this divisive dispute personally.

Gal 2:1-5 explains the experience.

Read: Then after fourteen years I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, taking Titus along also.

I went up according to a revelation and presented to them the gospel I preach among the Gentiles, but privately to those recognized as leaders.

I wanted to be sure I was not running, and had not been running, in vain.

But not even Titus, who was with me, was compelled to be circumcised, even though he was a Greek.

This matter arose because some false brothers had infiltrated our ranks to spy on the freedom we have in Christ Jesus in order to enslave us.

But we did not give up and submit to these people for even a moment, so that the truth of the gospel would be preserved for you.

In Galatians like here Paul and Titus are dealing with false brothers who sought to divide people with the law.

Back in Titus,

Paul concludes this verse with an explanation of ultimately how these are fruitless, idle, empty.

These errors of ideas must be avoided.

Individually we must all examine our hearts and lives and see if we get caught up on any of these 4 types of errors.

As a congregation we have a duty to avoid getting involved with these errors.

The word avoid carries the meaning of Shunning the bad ideas, Push them away from our fellowship.

Unfruitful/unhelpful ideas are usually brought by people, and they are often the ones that keep them going.

The second root must be cut off is the divisive person.

- (Subpoint 2) Divisive peoples (10-11)

Read 10-11: Reject a divisive person after a first and second warning.

For you know that such a person has gone astray and is sinning; he is self-condemned.