Treat People Well

The focus of Paul’s letter to Titus:

Moving the Church toward godliness and good works.

Titus 2:11–14 ESV

11 For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, 12 training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, 13 waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, 14 who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.

Today’s message really focuses in on verse 12:

Titus 2:12 ESV

12 training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age,

We are to live:

Self-Controlled

Upright

Godly

Let’s be honest. This is tough to do consistently. It takes effort. It takes community. This is why God describes his church as a body. Our interaction as a family is designed to encourage and strengthen us for this life that we are to live. Pray with me!

PRAY

READ

Titus 3:1–2 ESV

1 Remind them to be submissive to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work, 2 to speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all people.

Reminders

Titus 3:1 ESV

1 Remind them to be submissive to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work,

Why do we need reminders?

Wandering

Hebrews 2:1 ESV

1 Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it.

Laziness

Hebrews 5:11–14 ESV

11 About this we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing. 12 For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food, 13 for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. 14 But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.

In this life we are called to live as an example of Jesus. In order to do that we need to heed his commands:

Luke 9:23 ESV

23 And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.

When we remind each other to walk with Jesus, we lend our strength to each other, we reinforce each other, and we grow stronger together.

Love Your Neighbor

Jesus said this:

Matthew 22:34–40 ESV

34 But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. 35 And one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. 36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 37 And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40 On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”

In our first point about reminding each other, we focused on the importance of loving God and keeping in step with him. The rest of our two verses focus on a natural outcome of our love for God, which is a love for others.

Titus 3:1–2 ESV

1 Remind them to be submissive to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work, 2 to speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all people.

How do we love others?

Be Submissive to authorities

Obey what is right

Be looking for Good Works

Don’t speak evil of others

Avoid Quarreling

Be Gentle

Be courteous to all

Results

The world sees a church that stands out.

1 Peter 3:15–16 ESV

15 but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, 16 having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame.

Sometimes we need to rock the boat with our obedience. Jesus certainly rocked the boat in his day. He questioned the established religious authorities (i.e. the government). He spoke out against corruption. He taught what was true. In all of it he loved them all to the point of death on the cross.

This morning I want to remind you. I want to challenge you to add the habits into your life that cause you to grow. Are you in regular fellowship with other Christians studying the word of God and praying? I encourage you to take this step in your life so that if a season of wandering or laziness comes into your life your brothers and sisters in Christ can encourage and challenge you in your walk.

God wants to bring godliness and good works to the world through his church. What do you need to do in order to be a part of it?