Titus 3

Titus 3:1–2 ESV

Remind them to be submissive to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work, to speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all people.

Titus 3:1–2 ESV

Remind them to be submissive to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work, to speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all people.

sounds so much like the book why are we the bad guys ....public good=Good new =gospel ....if you dissent form this you are evil ....wrong ...out of step ....and face presecution

5. Stress These Things

31

Titus 3:1-15

Talkabout

How do you think of God? What words do you use to describe him?

Investigate

DICTIONARY

Righteous (v 5): good.

Mercy (v 5): an act of not giving someone the punishment they deserve.

Justified (v 7): declared not guilty, completely innocent.

Read Titus 3:1-8a

*What uncomfortable truths about ourselves do we discover in verse 3?

32Remember, “appeared” is Paul’s phrase for the coming of God’s salvation in Jesus.

*How is this appearing described here (v 4-5a)?*Why did God save us (v 5)?What is the Holy Spirit’s role in saving us?

Getting Personal

Verse 6 tells us that God measures out the Spirit to us in accordance with what his Son deserves—he comes to us “through Jesus”. How much do you think that is? How much do you think Jesus is worth to the Father? The Spirit has been poured out “generously”—not like a cup of water, but like a waterfall.

How much do you expect the Spirit to be at work in your life?

The answer depends on how much you think the death of Jesus is worth to his Father.

*How do these verses help us to “measure” the kindness and love of God? 33

Apply

Share with your group which truth about God’s kindness particularly thrills you today.How do verses 3-5 prevent us feeling: proud?worthless or hopeless?

Investigate

DICTIONARY

Profitable (v 8)/unprofitable (v 9):helpful/unhelpful.

Genealogies (v 9): lists of people’s ancestors.

Self-condemned (v 11): proving themselves to be guilty.

Apollos (v 13): a prominent and popular church leader.

Read Titus 3:1-2, 8b-15

What should Titus: remind his church (v 1-2)?stress to his church (v 8)?34avoid (v 9)? *Why do you think Paul uses such strong language in verses 10-11 (think about the letter as a whole)?

Explore More (Optional)

What does Paul want Titus to do for Apollos and Zenas (v 13)?

Read 1 Corinthians 1:11-12

Why might Paul have been tempted to hinder, or at best not to help, Apollos in his ministry? What is impressive about Titus 3:13?

Read 1 Corinthians 3:1-9

What truths about ministry meant that Paul wanted to support Apollos, not compete with him?

Apply

Why do we often find ourselves focusing on disagreements and quarrels, rather than the gospel?*35How, practically, can we “stress these things”—that is, the content of verses 3-8a—in our conversations and lives?

Getting Personal

How, specifically, will you stress the kindness of God to yourself this week?

Who do you know who needs you to remind them of God’s kindness today? How will you do that?

Pray

Thank God for…

Confess to God…

Ask God…

5: Stress These Things

Titus 3:1-15

The Big Idea

We need to stress the kindness and love of God in saving us through the work of his Son and his Spirit; and avoid getting sidetracked by arguments or controversies.

Summary

Paul is focusing here on the time in the past when God’s grace appeared. Now, he describes it as “the kindness and love of God our Saviour” appearing (v 4).

But that description of God’s kindness is prefaced with a hard truth about us in verse 3—our relationship with God was a mess, and our relationships with each other were therefore also a mess. We will never understand the wonderful kindness of God until we face the reality of what we are like without him.

Verse 3 shows us just how kind God is, to save (v 5) people like us. He saves us not because of anything in us, but because of his mercy. Then in v 4-7, Paul explains how God saved us. First, it was through the appearing of his Son, our Saviour (v 4), to justify us (v 7). The verdict on us should be “guilty”—but God’s Son took the sentence we deserve, dying in our place to pay our penalty. Then, God’s Spirit “rebirth[ed]” us (v 5). He opens our eyes to recognise Jesus as our Saviour, so we put our faith in him.

Having described the gospel in this “trustworthy saying” (v 8: verses 3-7 may be an early hymn, or creed), Paul then tells Titus to “stress these things” (v 8). We can never talk about the gospel too much. What we and our church family most need is to have these things stressed, again and again. This is “profitable for everyone” (v 8).

This means we need to “avoid foolish controversies” (v 9), which are “unprofitable and useless”. It is easy to put our energy into arguments and quarrels—Paul urges Titus (and us) to put it into stressing the gospel. We see Paul modelling this in his attitude towards Apollos (v 13—see Explore More).

As we “stress” the gospel as a church, we learn to “devote [ourselves] to doing what is good”—living the “good life” which is the purpose of Paul’s letter to Titus (v 8). Verses 1-2 give part of the shape of that life: submission to authorities, and gentleness to those around us (even when they respond in the malice and envy that characterise our natural state, v 3). Paul repeats his desire for Christians to be devoted to living this “good” life in verse 14: as we reflect on and enjoy the gospel of verses 3-7, we’ll live the gospel life, the good life, the missional life.

Optional Extra

Verses 3-7 are one long sentence in the original Greek. So challenge your group, in turn, to speak the longest sentence they can, without pause, hesitation or repetition. You could also challenge them to read verses 3-7 as one sentence, ignoring the full stops/periods, without taking a breath.

Guidance for Questions

How do you think of God? What words do you use to describe him? Ask people to limit their responses to single words or short sentences!.....father…savour ,friend

What uncomfortable truths about ourselves do we discover in verse 3? We were:we were hopeless.....lost with dorection in our lives

foolish—in the Bible, a fool is someone who acts as though there is no God eg: Psalm 14:1.

disobedient—whether or not we acknowledged God, we did not obey him.

This rejection of God affected our thinking (we were deceived) and we could not sort it out—we were enslaved by our foolish disobedience. We were trapped by our sinful habits.

Because our relationship with God was in a mess, our relationships with each other were, too: “We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another”.

Do you recognise this is what you were/are naturally like? How does it make you feel? greatefull....The reality is that we will never understand what God has done for us in verse 4 until we face the reality of what we are like without him.

How is this appearing described here (v 4-5a)?…God Loving kindess

As the coming of “the kindness and love of God our Saviour” (v 4). Point out that these are the two words Paul uses to describe the God who came as Jesus—kind and loving.

“He saved us” (v 5a). This, of course, is referring to Christ’s death in our place, taking the punishment that our foolish disobedience towards God and our malice and envy towards each other deserve.

Why did God save us (v 5)?.....out of his great mercy

Not because of anything we have done (“righteous things”). Only “because of his mercy”. God did not think we were, on balance, OK; or that we had potential. He knew we were the people of verse 3—and he had mercy on us because he loves us.

What is the Holy Spirit’s role in saving us? Verse 5—the “washing of rebirth and renewal”. “Rebirth” captures the idea that we are dead, and then born. The Holy Spirit brings us to life by opening our eyes to see who Jesus is and to put our faith in him. In his kindness and love, God the Father saves us through his Son, and gives us faith in his Son through the work of his Spirit. We are totally renewed.

Note: “The washing” is probably a reference to baptism—but this does not mean that baptism is the moment at which rebirth takes place (that happens when the Spirit gives us faith in Jesus). Baptism is the outward sign of the inward reality—the great celebration and sign of God’s initiative in regeneration.

How do these verses help us to “measure” the kindness and love of God?

Try to measure it in terms of…

what God has given. He has given us himself. He has kindly and lovingly given us his Son (v 4). And he has generously poured out on us his Spirit (v 6). There is nothing more God could have given.

what God has done. He has done everything. He has justified us, with no cost to us and at great cost to himself (v 7). He has given us new birth; he has renewed us (v 5). Every step of the way, he has provided. Everything that was needed and is needed he has done and is doing. There is nothing more that he could have done.

what God has promised. He has promised us eternal life in a world reborn (v 7, see 1:2-3). He saved us to become heirs, looking forward with certain hope to an eternity spent enjoying all that Christ deserves (v 7). This is “the hope of eternal life”, and it is promised by God, “who does not lie” (1:2). There is nothing more that he could have promised.

APPLY: Share with your group which truth about God’s kindness particularly thrills you today. It might be helpful to give your group a minute in quiet to think about and (if they want to) write down their answer, before you share responses. You might like to have a time of thanksgiving, to turn the responses into prayers of praise.

How do verses 3-5 prevent us feeling:

proud?we have done absolutely nothing …it is all of Gods grace.... Verse 3 shows us that all we bring to our salvation is our sin. We have contributed nothing to the rescue. Nothing we are or do in the Christian life deserves our relationship with God or our future with him.

worthless or hopeless? ....we have a god is sees us in our hopelessneess and rweaches out to us....Despite the truth about who we are, God in his kindness loves us so much that he sent his Son to die for us, and his Spirit to give us new life by giving us faith in Jesus’ death. We have great worth in God’s eyes. And we have a wonderful future—however difficult or desolate life is right now, the Spirit has been poured into us, and glory lies ahead of us. There is always hope.

What should Titus:

remind his church about (v 1-2)? top be submissive

To be subject to authority—and not only this, but proactively to “be ready to do whatever is good”. We should be looking for opportunities to bless our cities and serve our neighbours.

up to here

To avoid slandering, and to be peaceful (literally, “don’t quarrel”), considerate and gentle. Notice how different this is to who we naturally are (v 3)—and how the world often treats us. The challenge is to be gentle in the face of malice and envy.

stress to his church (v 8)? “These things”—that is, the kindness and love of God in saving people like us.

avoid (v 9)? Controversies, arguments, and quarrels—things that are unprofitable and useless (unlike stressing the gospel, which is profitable, v 8). These are “divisive” (v 10).

Why do you think Paul uses such strong language in verses 10-11 (think about the letter as a whole)? Christ “gave himself for us” to make “a people” (2:14)—a united church. Acting in a way that is divisive goes against God’s eternal plan. So when someone sows disunity among gospel believers, the purposes of God, the work of the cross and the sake of mission are all at stake. That’s why Paul tells Titus to warn, then warn again, and finally to put out of the church (“have nothing to do with”) someone who continues to divide God’s people.

Explore More (Optional)

What does Paul want Titus to do for Apollos and Zenas (v 13)? Everything he can to help them, giving them everything they need.

Read 1 Corinthians 1:11-12. Why might Paul have been tempted to hinder, or at best not to help, Apollos in his ministry? What is impressive about Titus 3:13? Apollos was being touted as Paul’s “rival”, with many in the Corinthian church (which Paul had founded) loudly preferring Apollos and shunning Paul. So it would be easy for Paul to feel competitive, or bitter, towards Apollos. At least, it would be easy for Paul to tolerate Apollos’ ministry, but not to help it. Yet here in Titus 3:13, he wants Titus to do everything possible to help Apollos and his ministry.

Read 1 Corinthians 3:1-9. What truths about ministry meant that Paul wanted to support Apollos, not compete with him? Neither Paul nor Apollos are the ones who grow gospel ministry—that is God. And neither Paul nor Apollos deserve the praise—that is God, too. So there is no need for (or room for) ministry competition—Paul wants Apollos to have everything he needs to continue to preach and “stress” the gospel, for the glory of God.

APPLY: Why do we often find ourselves focusing on disagreements and quarrels, rather than the gospel? Because we are still, naturally, the people of Titus 3:3. So malice and envy are never far from our hearts. Our sin and pride and self-righteousness come out in us devoting our time and words and energies to stressing controversy instead of the gospel. Dispute seems more interesting and exciting to us than the “same old” gospel truths.

APPLY: How, practically, can we “stress these things”—that is, the content of verses 3-8a—in our conversations and lives? Encourage your group to think of specific, real, regular situations. And encourage them to think about how exactly they would stress what God has done, and what that means, in those situations.