Titus 3
Titus • Sermon • Submitted
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Chapter 3 Review
Chapter 3 Review
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Overview
Paul shifts from how we are to live in the “church” to how we are to live in society
Q: Do we still live in a Christian nation?
First 150 The first 150 years there was a strong Christian, biblical influence
— Rapid decline in the last half of the 20th century 50s-90s
— Witnessed during my life time
— Engle v. Vitale (1962-63) Scotus said school sponsored prayer and bible studies were unconstitutional
— Abington School District v. Schempp Separation of Church and State
Post-Christian U.S. is largely pagan
— Legislative bodies and courts are not non-christian but rather anti-christian
— The many biblical standards that were once the fabric of our society are not gone
Prevailing The prevailing gods are
— Moral Freedom
— Self Expression
— Materialism
— Hedonism
Result The result is a breakdown of families
— 23% of families are single mothers (2016)
— Black families it is 66% (2016)
— The result is illegitimate births; drug addiction, abortion, sex trafficking
— Prostitution, public school education, homosexuality
— Escalation of immorality and ungodliness
Change Agents We can not weaken our spiritual mission or our priority of gospel proclamation by getting involved in efforts to change cultural behavior
— At the same time, we cannot become enemies of the people we are trying to save
Start The starting point is us
— Our own spiritual and moral welfare is the starting point
— Righteous living is pleasing to God and the unsaved
— Righteous living makes the gospel believable to the lost
Not Jesus did not condemn pagan beliefs and practices
— He was not a community organizer against practices like
— temple prostitution
— Slavery
— Exorbitant taxation
— Jesus called us to preach, teach and witness the transforming power of Salvation through Jesus Christ that our lives give clear evidence of that power
Q: Who is the “Them” in Titus 3:1?
1 Remind them to be subject to rulers and authorities, to obey, to be ready for every good work, 2 to speak evil of no one, to be peaceable, gentle, showing all humility to all men.
Remember your duties
(3:1) be subject to rulers and authorities
— Our attitude toward secular government
— Not specific about the kind of government, good or bad, no exceptions
— Jesus was tested in Matt 22:16-21.
— If he answered “Yes” he would anger the Jews who hated the Romans
— If he answered “No” he would be arrested for treason against the Romans
16 And they sent to Him their disciples with the Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that You are true, and teach the way of God in truth; nor do You care about anyone, for You do not regard the person of men. 17 Tell us, therefore, what do You think? Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?” 18 But Jesus perceived their wickedness, and said, “Why do you test Me, you hypocrites? 19 Show Me the tax money.” So they brought Him a denarius. 20 And He said to them, “Whose image and inscription is this?” 21 They said to Him, “Caesar’s.” And He said to them, “Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”
Herodians Jews who supported Rome, Political Party
Pharisees A religious party that hated Rome.
— The fact that they teamed up shows their hatred toward Jesus
— They wanted him dead (Luke 13:31)
Poll Tax — One (1) Denarius per person
— Represented a full day’s wages for the common man (Matt 20:2; John 12:5)
— The poll tax was used to pay the Roman army
— It suggested that Rome also owned the people of Jerusalem
Unambiguous Jesus is unambiguous that taxes should be paid (Matt 17:24-27)
— cf. Rom 13 gives additional reasons
(3:1) to obey, be obedient to human authorities
Q: Is there ever an exception to this? Think of the Covid-19 pandemic
Except when The exception is when it goes agains the command of God
— Peter and John were told not to teach in the name of Jesus (Acts 4:18-20; 5:40-42)
— Grace Community Church responded to the Government’s order to shutdown with a statement which in part read
In short, as the church, we do not need the state's permission to serve and worship our Lord as He has commanded. The church is Christ’s precious bride (2 Corinthians 11:2; Ephesians 5:23–27). She belongs to Him alone. She exists by His will and serves under His authority. He will tolerate no assault on her purity and no infringement of His headship over her. All of that was established when Jesus said, “I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it” (Matthew 16:18).
Christ’s own authority is “far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And [God the Father has] put all things in subjection under [Christ’s] feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all” (Ephesians 1:21–23).
Accordingly, the honor that we rightly owe our earthly governors and magistrates (Romans 13:7) does not include compliance when such officials attempt to subvert sound doctrine, corrupt biblical morality, exercise ecclesiastical authority, or supplant Christ as head of the church in any other way.
The biblical order is clear: Christ is Lord over Caesar, not vice versa. Christ, not Caesar, is head of the church. Conversely, the church does not in any sense rule the state. Again, these are distinct kingdoms, and Christ is sovereign over both. Neither church nor state has any higher authority than that of Christ Himself, who declared, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth” (Matthew 28:18).
(3:1) to be ready for every good work
— Be ready to perform good deeds
— Eagerness to sever others (Gal 6:10)
— Direct contrast to the false teachers (1:16)
10 Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith.
(3:2) to speak evil of no one,
— malign no one (NASB)
βλασφημέω (blasphēmeō) We get the English word blasphemy
— to speak evil of, with contempt, curse
— We are not to speak contemptuously of politicians, public figures
— By doing so, we hinder the work of redemption (1 Tim 2:1-4) (NIV)
1 I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people—2 for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. 3 This is good, and pleases God our Savior, 4 who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.
(3:2) to be peaceable
— to be uncontentious (NASB)
— friendly, peaceful towards the lost instead of quarrelsome and belligerent
— We have no right to be angry at unbelievers when they act like unbelievers
— Paul said, if possible so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men (Ro 12:18)
(3:2) gentle
— Does not grudge, give others the benefit of the doubt
(3:2) showing all humility to all men
— Humility (NIV)
— Meekness (NKJV)
— Opposite of self assertive, self interest
— Our attitude toward unbelievers should reflect humility
— Deal with sinful and disobedient believers with gentleness
Q: Who is the “we” in Titus 3:3?
3 For we ourselves were also once foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving various lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another.
We are all sinners We all once were unregenerate sinners
— If you grew up in a Christian home and were saved as a child, you may not be able to identify with some of these sins
— Or if you were saved as an adult but lived a moral life
All depraved But we are all depraved (Ro 5:10; Eph 2:3; Col 1:21)
— All at enmity with God
Mourn How can we not mourn what we see in the world
— Pornography, homosexuality, sex outside of marriage, casual dating - general acceptance in society
— Sexual education in school that promotes everything but chastity
Seven Vices that characterize the Unsaved:
1. (3:3) For we ourselves were also once foolish
— Complete lack of understanding of the things of God
— We were all once foolish
2. (3:3) disobedient
— Disobedient to all authorities instituted by God
— Human laws are ordained by God to restrain evil
— They cannot change men
— (Jer 17:9) The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked, who can know it?
3. (3:3) deceived
— Purposely lead astray
πλανάω (planaō) o go astray, to be led astray. Refers to straying from what is right either physically, ethically, or spiritually
— Satan’s goal is to lead sinners into even greater sin and ungodliness
— Rev 12:9 John calls him “The great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan who deceives the whole world”
4. (3:3) serving various lusts and pleasures
— enslaved to various lusts and pleasures (NASB)
— The unsaved willfully sin because his/her nature is sinful
— This person has no desire to do anything but sinful
— He/she is therefore enslaved
— Also applies to the misuse of what God has given us in the context of marriage
5. (3:3) living in malice
— The unsaved person spends his/her life maliciously
6. (3:3) and envy
— Envy is never satisfied
— We were once envious
— All these things (foolishness, disobedient, deceived, enslaved to lusts, malice and envy) all applied to us
7. (3:3) hateful and hating one another
— The fruit of envy is hate but it is also produced by many other things
— Often it is not rational, but blind hatred
— We should not hate sinners, we were once sinners
— This was us
— They need salvation just as we did
Remember our Salvation
4 But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, 5 not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, 6 whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 that having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
Q: How often do we hear the phrase “Jesus saved me” How does 3:4-7 more accurately phrase that?
7 Aspects of Salvation 7 glorious truths of salvation
— Each is sovereignly initiated and empowered by God
— We could study these doctrines for months and still not scratch the surface:
— (1) God’s kindness (2) God’s love (3) His Mercy
— (4) Washing of regeneration (5) Renewing by the holy spirit (6) Jesus Christ our saviour
— (7) His Grace
Q: The only reason we are different?
— A: Because he saved us!
— Every aspect of salvation is of God
1. God’s Kindness (3:4) But when the kindness
χρηστότης (chrēstotēs), goodness; kindness, generosity
— His entirely gracious concern to draw us to Himself and redeem us from sin forever
— His kindness initiates and leads to repentance
— This is the first step in salvation (Ro 2:4)
4 Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance?
2. God’s Love (3:4) the love of God
— God’s love for mankind
— Kindness and love for mankind are almost the same
— After Paul’s shipwreck in Malta the natives showed Paul extraordinary kindness (Acts 27:22-26)
3. His Mercy (3:5) according to His mercy
— Our salvation is not because of anything we did
— It is all because of God’s kindness, Love and mercy
ἔλεος (eleos) mercy relates to our affliction
Grace relates to the sinner before the judge; Mercy relates to the sinner in his sin
Grace judicially forgives the offender; Mercy compassionately helps him/her recover
— Compassion is another word for ἔλεος
4. Washing (3:5) through the washing of regeneration
— Carries the idea of washing to bring forth new life
— James 1:18 said it this way “Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth,
that we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures.” (cf. 1 Peter 1:23)
5. Renewing (3:5) and renewing of the Holy Spirit
— Our new life comes to us by the renewing of the Holy Spirit
— The Spirit works with the Word to make you a new you (2 Cor 5:17)
17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.
6. Jesus Christ (3:6) through Jesus Christ our Savior
— We are only saved by Christ and His substitutionary death
7. Grace (3:7) justified by His grace
“There but for the Grace of God go I”
— Attributed to John Bradford upon seeing a group of prisoners led away to their execution (mid 1600s)
— His grace gives us what we do not deserve (2 Tim 1:9, cf. Ro 4:2-8, 9-11; Eph 2:8-9)
(3:7) we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life
— Another amazing benefit is that we are heirs with Christ
8 This is a faithful saying, and these things I want you to affirm constantly, that those who have believed in God should be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable to men.
A message Here is a message to Christians
— Remember who you were before Christ
— Remember His mercy, His washing, His grace
— Remember that you are called to be a witness
(3:8) should be careful to maintain good works
— Good works are good for you as a Christian
— But they are even better for a watching world
(3:8) These things are good and profitable to men
— These things are profitable for men (a watching world)
— You are a witness
9 But avoid foolish disputes, genealogies, contentions, and strivings about the law; for they are unprofitable and useless.
Q: Why do you think Paul gave Titus this command?
(3:9) avoid foolish disputes
— avoid controversies
— These could be philosophical or even theological based on human reason and imagination
Novel Insight The problem with false teachers is that they invariably replace scripture with novel insights, ideas, notions
— They twist scripture to say what it doesn’t say
— They appeal to wordly, self-centered man who are poorly grounded in the word
— Paul’s advice to Timothy (2 Tim 2:15-17)
15 Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. 16 But shun profane and idle babblings, for they will increase to more ungodliness. 17 And their message will spread like cancer. Hymenaeus and Philetus are of this sort,
Genealogies (3:9) genealogies
Matthew opens up with Jesus genealogy (Matt 1:1)
— Pau is warning of allegorical interpretations that fascinated many Jews for centuries
Disputes (3:9) contentions, and strivings about the law
— The council of Jerusalem was called for the purpose of dealing with Judaizers (Acts 15:5)
5 But some of the sect of the Pharisees who believed rose up, saying, “It is necessary to circumcise them, and to command them to keep the law of Moses.”
10 Reject a divisive man after the first and second admonition, 11 knowing that such a person is warped and sinning, being self-condemned.
(3:10) Reject a divisive man
αἱρετικός (hairetikos), factious; divisive; from which we get the word “heretic”
— But simply meant “to Choose” but eventually came to mean to placing self willed opinions above the truth
— Refusing to even consider another view
— A divisive man will not even submit to the Word of God
— He has no concern for the truth
12 When I send Artemas to you, or Tychicus, be diligent to come to me at Nicopolis, for I have decided to spend the winter there. 13 Send Zenas the lawyer and Apollos on their journey with haste, that they may lack nothing. 14 And let our people also learn to maintain good works, to meet urgent needs, that they may not be unfruitful. 15 All who are with me greet you. Greet those who love us in the faith. Grace be with you all. Amen.
Fellow Servants (3:12-15)
Two Favors (3:12) be diligent to come to me at Nicopolis, for I have decided to spend the winter there
— Paul asks two favors
— First, come and visit me (3:12)
— Second, care for my servants Zenas and Apollos (3:13)
— Make sure that they lack nothing
Replacement (3:12a) When I send Artemas to you, or Tychicus
— Paul did not know when he would send a replacement for Titus
— He wasn’t sure who it would be - Artemas or Tychicus
Artemas We know nothing about Artemas but we must assume that he was well qualified
Tychicus Tychicus went with Paul from Corinth to Asia Minor (Acts 20:4)
— He hand delivered the letter to Colossae (Col 4:7) and probably Ephesus (Eph 6:21)
— Tychicus replaced Timothy as pastor in Ephesus (2 Tim 4:12)
Nicopolis (3:12) be diligent to come to me at Nicopolis
— Paul decided to stay the winter there
— This was between his first and second Roman imprisonment
— Nicopolis means “City of Victory” and there are at least nine (9) cities in the NT called Nicopolis
Zenas A lawyer but we nothing about him
Apollos An elegant Jewish preacher
— Some scholars think that he may also be the author of Hebrews
— He was very well versed in the OT and was preaching about John the Baptist but didn’t know Jesus
— He came to Ephesus to preach (Acts 18:24-25)
24 Now a certain Jew named Apollos, born at Alexandria, an eloquent man and mighty in the Scriptures, came to Ephesus. 25 This man had been instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in spirit, he spoke and taught accurately the things of the Lord, though he knew only the baptism of John.
— Aquila and Priscilla took him aside and told him “the rest of the story” so to speak (Acts 18:26)
— Apollos would profoundly influence the Corinthian Church (1 Cor 1:12)
12 Now I say this, that each of you says, “I am of Paul,” or “I am of Apollos,” or “I am of Cephas,” or “I am of Christ.”
All of us It is out duty each and everyone of us to meet the needs of the people
— Not just the Pastor’s duty
Additional Resources
Grace Community Church Open Letter in response to Covid 19: https://www.gracechurch.org/news/posts/1988