Living the WOW!
Notes
Transcript
Prioritizing Grace
Prioritizing Grace
Introduction/ illustration
Everyone has things that they would consider to be priorities.
Family, health, work, home, relationships, friendships, hobbies, entertainment.... etc....
Hopefully growing in your faith and relationship with Jesus is one of your priorities.
What do our priorities do for us?
They enable us to decide what to do first. They help us to put our lives in order.
Let’ say that being an Ohio State fan is one of your top priorities.
Today at 1pm, Ohio State plays Michigan. At the same time there is a really cook show on PBS about how hotdogs are made. — which one do you choose? (pretty easy choice)
Now here is a tougher choice....
Even though you are a die hard Ohio State fan, your best friend plays for the Cincinnati Bearcats.
Today at 1pm, while Ohio State plays.... Cincinnati is also playing ( I know… the nerve right!?).
Now you have a choice. What do you do? Do you watch the Ohio State game… being constantly distracted by the thought of missing watching your best friend play? Or, do you watch your friends game.... while constantly checking your phone for the lates Ohio State score?
— either way… you are going to be distracted from paying attention.
Here is where priorities come in. When we clearly define our priorities… then that can help us to not be tempted to get distracted.
Whether you are a sports fan or small business owner. The same principle is true: Clearly defining our priorities helps to accomplish our goals.
As Christians, we have priorities outlined for us in God’s Word.
What we need to do is identify those priorities and then live according to them. As we do that... we will be enabled to live out the purpose for which we were created.
Is Grace your priority? Is the gospel your priority?
How amazing is grace to you? Did you think about that this week?
Last week Bob challenged us with that question.
Grace is amazing! Sometimes we just need to stop and think about how amazing God’s grace is. The fact that while we were rebelling against God, God himself provided a way for us to be forgiven of all of our sins and receive His inheritance of eternal life!
That is pretty amazing. Sometimes all you can say is WOW!
Something that amazing… needs to be put at the top of our list of priorities as Christians.
It is one thing to be amazed at God’ grace in here. It’s pretty easy to be “wow”ed by God’s grace in here on Sunday morning. But what about the rest of the week? How do we live it on Monday?
How are we to live the WOW each day? We live the WOW by making Grace a priority in our lives.
As we open our Bible’s to Titus chapter 3 today, I hope we’ll leave having a better understanding of doing just that. Living the WOW. Living a life that is a reflection of God’s amazing grace… by making the gospel one of our top priorities.
So far in this letter, Paul has challenged us to make sure that sound doctrine is one of our top priorities. Without a sound doctrine… healthy theology.... you will not be able to truly live a profitable/ fruitful Christian life.
The Word of God must be our foundation. It is powerful… sharper than any two edged sword.... it alone is able to cut to the heart… and bring you to a place of repentance and transformation.
Another priority Paul challenged us with was making sure that we are living out our sound doctrine through our actions. Our good works are to be driven by good theology… highlighting the beauty of the gospel for the purpose of attracting people to Jesus.
As Paul comes to the close of his letter to Titus, he gives some aspects of grace that must be practically prioritized by the church if they are to fulfill their God ordained role on the island of Crete.
Remember the main idea of the entire epistle is to “build strong churches that would be effective in evangelism (multiplying disciples)
So, pretty much every principle in this epistle, especially the ones we will look at today, points us to be effective in evangelisms… in multiplying disciples.
Let’s look at Titus 3:8-13 and see the priorities of Grace that Paul highlights that when followed, will help us to “live the WOW”.... live a life truly reflecting God’s amazing Grace to our community, city, country, and world.
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. But avoid foolish controversies, genealogies, dissensions, and quarrels about the law, for they are unprofitable and worthless. As for a person who stirs up division, after warning him once and then twice, have nothing more to do with him, knowing that such a person is warped and sinful; he is self-condemned.
When I send Artemas or Tychicus to you, do your best to come to me at Nicopolis, for I have decided to spend the winter there. Do your best to speed Zenas the lawyer and Apollos on their way; see that they lack nothing.
In the beginning of chapter 3, Paul challenged Titus to remember and remind others about how amazing God’s grace truly is. Starting in verse 3, it is almost like in a play or musical when one of the main characters walks out on the dark stage all alone with a spotlight shining down on them as they express a deeply moving and informative monologue.
That is kind of what Paul is doing in chapter 3:3-7. It’s an amazing monologue expounding the richness of God’s grace… and the extent of our depravity from which the amazing grace of God has rescued us. Paul is actually quoting a well known and deeply rich hymn of the day in verses 5-7.
he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
Wow is about all that you can say!
Then, in verse 8 Paul ends his monologue and hymn sing and returns to the real-time drama in progress as he says, “the saying is trustworthy”. This phrase serves as a literary tool indicating that he is returning to a direct address of the audience. Look at verse 8.
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.
“The saying is trustworthy, and I want you to insist on these things,” refers back to the hymn Paul quoted in verses 5-7 which describe the processes and products of grace. By saying, “the saying is trustworthy”… Paul is emphasizing the truth of what he has already expressed and now charges Titus… and every believer by saying… “… and I want you to insist on these things,”!
Insist is a pretty strong word, right? It means to make firm, assure firmly… to make sure that it happens.
What was Paul wanting Titus to insist on? These things!
What are “these things?” — “These things” are basically everything Paul has written in chapter 2 and so far in chapter 3.
teach was accords with sound doctrine
self-controlled
sound in the faith
sound in love
pure
loving our spouses and children
being submissive
being a model of good works
not arguing
not stealing
highlighting the beauty of the gospel
etc...
If you were to break down Paul’s instruction in chapters 2 - 3 it would break down like this:
2:1-15 focus on the believer’s behavior inside the church
3:1-7 focus on the believer’s behavior before the (fallen) world
Titus’ charge was to make sure that all of the instructions given in chapters 2 and 3 were taught, understood, embraced, and applied by himself… and all those in the church.
Why? Why is it so important that we make sure that all of these instructions are understood, embraced, and lived out”?
look back at verse 8:
“… 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 was to teach, model, and stress all of “these things” so that.... all those who have come to faith in Christ would be dedicated to living out godly behavior in every sphere of their life… every day of their lives.
So that… all those in the church would know how to behave towards one another so that the church would be built up....
and So That… all those in the community who have not yet responded to faith in Christ would see the church as a beautiful cosmetic… highlighting the beauty of the gospel.... drawing them towards Christ.... inviting them to respond in faith to Christ.
These truths help to make up the main point of the entire epistle.
Paul was deeply concerned that God’s people “devote themselves to doing what is good”.. because “these things are excellent and profitable for everyone.”
Titus was to teach and live out that good works go hand in hand with sound doctrine… and both must be lived out if the Church is to be the evangelistic light it was created to be.
As every believer in the church is to insist that each other live out these truths... there are certain things that must be avoided.
As the church focuses on making Grace a priority.... they are to deal with distractions.
I. Deal with Distractions
Insist on all of these things that promote the gospel… and that will help you to live out the demonstration of your faith through good works.... now look at verse 9.
But avoid foolish controversies, genealogies, dissensions, and quarrels about the law, for they are unprofitable and worthless.
Each of these distractions from Grace were being taught and promoted by false teachers in the church.
Paul is warning the true believers not to be distracted by those in the church who are pretending and who are promoting ungodly and unbiblical teachings.
In verse 9, Paul instructs Titus and those in the church to avoid being distracted by the things being taught by the false teachers.
The word “avoid” in verse 9 is a word that means to “turn oneself around, or to purposely turn away from someone or something”. It could also be translated as “to shun” and applies to each unhealthy activity listed.
Avoid/ shun foolish controversies: Foolish is a word that comes from a root word that gives us our word “moron”. And Controversies comes from a word that means “to debate” and is pretty much always used in the Bible to describe something that is negative.
The healthy Christian that is living a life focused on leading the lost to Christ is to Avoid… or shun foolish controversies… we are to avoid moronic debates that distract us from the truth of the gospel… and gives false teaching and false teachers a platform to promote their propaganda.
(Illustration —> See print out from Church Answers)
Avoid/ shun genealogies:
Now, there are many genealogies in the Bible and Paul is not telling us to avoid reading through all of those lists of names. All of the genealogies are in the Bible for a reason and are very important in laying out the God prescribed line of the priesthood, kings, and the Messiah.
What warning here is to avoid the many fanciful and allegorical interpretations of genealogies that had fascinated the Jews for centuries. During Paul’s day there were false teachers who had taken the genealogies from the Old Testament and developed their own ungodly interpretations and then spreading their lies throughout the church. (being a specific descendant of a famous person gave you more credit with God. (Aaron’s descendants… were more holy than other people…)
What is an example of a foolish genealogy conversation to not get lost in? — Cain’s wife,.... numerology, etc…?
Avoid/ shun dissensions:
The word “dissensions” could also be translated as “strife”.
We are to avoid any kind of self-centered rivalry about the truth. Avoid people, conversations, and activities that are focused on distracting people from the truth and disrupting the true scripture based unity of the church
Avoid/ shun quarrels about the law:
Since the early church included so many converted Jews, it was common for people to spend time arguing and disputing about the Law. You see this in Paul’s letter to the Galatians (Gal. 6:12-13) and 1 Timothy (1 Tim. 1:6-7).
Many of these discussions were concerning whether circumcision was necessary for believers… and whether those in the church were obligated to follow the Law of Moses. The Council of Jerusalem dealt with these topics in Acts 15. After that meeting, believers who recognized the authority of the Apostles and the authority of God’s Word… any disputes about the Law and its relation to Christians should have been permanently settled.
(Practical illustration: We may not have people in the church that argue about being circumcised or not. but we do have people that come into the church attempting to twist Scripture… and bend Scripture to their preferences..... My worldview over Scripture...... that’s wrong. — We have to approach the word of God as the authority and final say.... and when we disagree… we don’t twist or bend the Scriptures to us.... we are to always conform to the Word of God )
All of these things (foolish controversies, genealogies, strife, and arguments) are distractions from grace.... keeping people from believing the gospel and they are all to be avoided and shunned.
Why? — Because verse 9 tells us that all of them are unprofitable and worthless! (fill in the blank)
There is a direct contrast here between those who embrace sound doctrine and those who embrace false teaching.
All “these things” that Paul taught in chapters 2 and 3 which equip and enable the believer to be able to be a witness for Christ are excellent and profitable, according to verse 8.
Then here in verse 9, this list of distractions are labeled as being unprofitable and worthless!
Being involved in any of these things is a waste of time and is considered to be foolish behavior for anyone who claims to be a Christian.
Prioritize Grace.... and don’t waste your time with all of these things that have no eternal significance!
Titus, the other elders, and all of the believers in the church on Crete were to turn away from (avoid or shun) morally and spiritually destructive teachers who not only corrupted the churches but, by their sinful lifestyles were distracting people from believing the gospel.
What is so bad about false teaching? —> Its effects.
The effect of false teaching unsettles the soul (Acts. 15:24), shipwrecks faith (1 Tim. 1:19), leads to blasphemy (1 Tim. 1:20) and to the ruin of the hearer (2 Tim. 2:14), produces ungodliness (2 Tim. 2:16), and spreads “like gangrene” (2 Tim. 2:17).
When our priority is grace.... when we have the gospel first in our minds, lives, and hearts..... then we are able to easily set aside these distractions… and focus on the main thing!
Modeling a life of Grace by proclaiming the truth (with our mouths) and living the truth (through our good works) with our lives.
Once we are able, by God’s grace, to deal with the distractions of the false teachers, we are to be bold in the truth so that the false (teaching and teachers) are condemned.
II. Condemn the False
As for a person who stirs up division, after warning him once and then twice, have nothing more to do with him, knowing that such a person is warped and sinful; he is self-condemned.
Paul moves from warning about the content of the false teachers to actually avoiding and condemning the false teachers themselves.
The ESV translates the first phrase in verse 10 as: “… a person who stirs up division”.
The NASB translates the phrase as “a factious man”
Both translations are accurate and help explain the original word.
The original word used here in verse 10 gives us our word “heretic or heretical”.
The word is being used as an adjective here, but when it is in its noun form it is associated with some pretty serious “works of the flesh” (immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, envy, dissensions, drunkeness, carousing).
This type of “factious” or divisive person will not submit to the Word of God or to godly leaders in the church.
He is a law to himself and has no concern for spiritual truth or unity.
— This is the type of person we are to rebuke.... and not allow any kind of platform for teaching in the church.
We are charged here by the Word of God to avoid false teachers who desire to stir up division through their heretical teaching and unbiblical living.
Verse 10 actually tells us (those in the church) to reject or have nothing more to do with these kinds of people after warning them 2 times about their heretical and/or divisive words/ actions.
Is this harsh? Shouldn’t we love them? You might be surprised to hear that it is actually not harsh to avoid and discipline these kinds of people. It is actually the most loving thing we can do.... and it is what God calls us to do so that His Church is protected from error and ungodliness.
If anyone does not obey what we say in this letter, take note of that person, and have nothing to do with him, that he may be ashamed. Do not regard him as an enemy, but warn him as a brother.
In Titus 3, Paul is reminding us of the process of Church Discipline described by Jesus in Matthew 18.
What is the purpose of Church discipline? Restoration.
A church member who is living in unrepentant sin.... is to be disciplined and put out by the church. They are to be cut off from the body.... so that they can be brought back in.
They are refused from being able to participate in the benefits of being part of the local church body (Lord’s Supper and benefit from the biblical fellowship of the Body)... so that they will be convicted of their sins and be reconciled with God.
When we talk about Church Discipline, remember that Reconciliation is the goal.
The most loving thing you can do for another Christian is to hold them accountable for their spiritual growth. Sometimes that means calling out their sin… and demanding that they repent and get their lives right with God.
[This is one of the many reasons why church membership is so important. It provides a vehicle to affirm your salvation.... and guard / oversee your spiritual growth… spiritual health… and discipleship. Until you submit yourself to membership.... the local church really has not authority to help you grow… or keep you from falling because you have not submitted yourself to the system that God has put into place. If you are not a member of a local church then you are missing out on one of the biggest blessings that God has provided.]
Why is church discipline (“having nothing to do with a false teacher”) loving?
Because you love your brother or sister enough not to let them stay in their sinful condition. You love them so much… that you refuse to let them slip away from the Lord. You love them so much… that you are willing to do the hard task of confronting error.... and dealing with sin.
Paul says in Romans 12:5
so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.
Then in Ephesians 4:4-6 he continues
There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
He goes on to talk about the importance of unity in Ephesians 4:11-13, 1 Cor. 10 and 2 Cor. 13.
Christ’s gospel is too beautiful… and God’s glory is too precious to allow error and ungodliness to exist in His church. Therefore.... to the believer who is well grounded in the Word… these errors and sinful behaviors should be obvious.
Therefore, Paul says.... “Have nothing more to do with them:”
Paul’s warning includes actual heretical false teachers but also includes a broader group. Paul’s warnings here also include anyone in the church who is divisive and disruptive.
Any insubordination, non-submission and bickering can be horribly destructive to the unity in the church… and must be dealt with.
Real, godly love is the binding force behind our spiritual unity and is a key part of making our testimony for Christ attractive before the world.
Our purpose and goal must be to highlight Christ’s gospel to the world..... we can’t do that if we are arguing amongst ourselves.
(That is actually probably Satan’s best weapon against the gospel. Get the saints arguing about things… get them to self-destruct… and the illustrative power of the gospel is rendered powerless.)
Paul is seriously warning us about anyone in the church who is factious… who stirs up division.
This is serious stuff! In a similar way, Paul firmly warns the church in Rome about this same issue:
I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them. For such persons do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites, and by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive.
We are to go to these people.... warn them of their sin and error. If they don’t repent… we are to go to them again… warning them a second time. After that... if they are unchanged… unrepentant… we are to have nothing more to do with them.
Why? According to Paul the unrepentant heart is warped, sinful, and self-condemned.
warped =turning inside out, twisted, perverted
self-condemned = It is interesting that Paul does not say that God condemns this person. But, anyone who tries to justify himself by causing foolish controversies, presuming on his heritage or family status, or by trying to twist the Scriptures to bend to their will has really cut himself off from his only hope of justification — grace. .... That person is self-condemned.
Verse 10 is narrowly talking about false teachers… but broadly talking about anyone in the church who is divisive and disruptive.
Serious stuff here! We have to pay attention!
Why? Because our unity as believers is key to our effectiveness in evangelism. (Rom. 12:5; Eph. 4:4-6, 11-13)
Illustration: Unity as a missionary team: “if you people can’t get along… then why should we listen to you?
Friends, if we could live in such a way that truly demonstrates the unity of the gospel.... people would be drawn to it like a moth to a flame. That kind of unity doesn’t exist in the fallen world. All other versions of unity are temporary… and conditional. --- the unity the gospel gives… is eternal… and completely unchanging.... because it is based on God’s unchanging and eternal character.
The glorious grace of God is worthy of our full attention. We are to avoid any distractions and condemn all false teachers.
While we are to avoid and condemn the false.... we are compelled to commend the godly
III. Commend the Godly
Paul draws his letter to a close on a positive note. He has now addressed how the church is to deal with false teachers… and their false teaching. Now, Paul encourages the church to commend those godly leaders who are truly being used by the Lord.
When I send Artemas or Tychicus to you, do your best to come to me at Nicopolis, for I have decided to spend the winter there. Do your best to speed Zenas the lawyer and Apollos on their way; see that they lack nothing.
It seems like Paul was going to send someone to either help Titus or replace him as the main church planter/ elder on the island of Crete.
There are a few names he lists here that we can learn from.
Artemas = We really know nothing about Artemas. His name is in the Bible… in a positive way… so that tells us something! Since Paul seems to speak favorably of him, we can only assume that Paul had confidence in his godliness and leadership ability. He most likely was a faithful pastor/ teacher who was qualified to take over the leadership of the Church on Crete.
Tychicus = Tychicus is mentioned a few times in the New Testament. He went with Paul from Corinth to Asia Minor (Acts 20:4) and delivered Pauls’ letters to the church at Colossae (Col. 4:7). He is also probably the person who took the letter to the church at Ephesus (Eph. 6:21). In Ephesians Paul calls him “our beloved brother and faithful servant and fellow bond-servant in the Lord” and in Colossians Paul refers to Tychicus as “the beloved brother and faithful ministry in the Lord.”
According to 2 Tim. 4:12, Tychicus had already been used in an amazing way when he replaced Timothy as the pastor in Ephesus. We can only assume that since he did such a good job of ministering in Ephesus that now Paul is considering sending him to Crete to help deal with the many problems in the church there.
Two other people are mentioned in verses 12-13; Zenas and Apollos.
Zenas the lawyer = We don’t really know anything about Zenas other than he was a lawyer. That could mean that he was a Roman lawyer or it could mean that he was a Jewish expert on the Mosaic Law. We can probably safely assume that Zenas was a faithful and godly believer in whom Paul had a great deal of confidence.
Apollos = Apollos is mentioned a few times in the New Testament. He is always mentioned in a favorable way. He was a very eloquent Jewish preacher from Alexandria, Egypt. He was “mighty in the Scriptures” and had “been instructed in the way of the Lord.” Apollos had mainly taught the need for repentance but did not understand the full gospel until he met Priscilla and Aquila in Ephesus. From that point on many believed in the Lord because of the teaching and ministry of Apollos.
Paul here urges the church to treat Zenas and Apollos well when they arrived on the island of Crete. Apparently they were going to be passing through and Paul wanted to make sure that his cherished co-workers were well taken care of.
What we can learn from the way Paul commends these godly men is that a healthy spirit of mutual support and care should characterize any and all local churches. We are to commend/ encourage all those who labor faithfully for the Lord, especially those who are involved in spiritual leadership. Paul calls the church to do all that they can to support, commend, and encourage the godly leaders that have been called to serve and lead.
Conclusion/ Application
We have been challenged today to make Grace a top priority. When we place the Gospel of Grace first in our lives… then it is much easier to resist distractions and respond appropriately to false teaching and false teachers.
Putting grace first… making the gospel a top priority helps to bring everything else into perspective.
Main Idea: When our priority is grace…. distractions are dealt with… error is corrected… and the gospel is loudly proclaimed!
That our purpose on this earth. Loudly proclaiming the gospel with our words.... and our lives. When we do this disciples will be multiplied… and lives will be transformed for the glory of God!
Our Response:
Prioritize Grace
Make the Gospel your top priority…
… it will be a benefit to your own soul
(we need to preach the gospel to ourselves every day.... it should never get old to you..... if it is getting old to you.... if you heart and soul are not still stirred by the power of the gospel… then there is a good chance that your priorities are out of line.
… it will be a blessing to all those around you.
Let’s Pray: