Naylor Community
Christian Church
Naylor, Georgia
I. Introduction
-- turn in Bibles to Titus 3:1-8
Titus
3:1 Remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient,
to be ready to do whatever is good, 2 to slander no one, to be peaceable and
considerate, and always to be gentle toward everyone.
3
At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all
kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and
hating one another. 4 But when the kindness and love of God our Savior
appeared, 5 he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but
because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by
the Holy Spirit, 6 whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our
Savior, 7 so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs
having the hope of eternal life. 8 This is a trustworthy saying. And I want you
to stress these things, so that those who have trusted in God may be careful to
devote themselves to doing what is good. These things are excellent and
profitable for everyone.
-- When the author Robert Louis Stevenson
was a young child, he was sick much of the time -- He couldn’t go out and play
like the other children, so all he could do was sit at the window and look
outside at the other children playing and life just passing him by
-- one day, Stevenson continued to sit at
the window till well after dark -- too dark to see anything through it -- his
nurse noticed him sitting there and said to him, “What are you doing?” --
Stevenson looked out of the window and watched the gasman light the lanterns
along the street -- “I’m watching the man knock holes in the darkness.”
-- in a very real sense, this is what our
series on the trustworthy or faithful sayings of Paul has been about -- in
these five statements of Paul, we are presented the foundational truths of the
gospel -- the very words that turned this world upside down in the days of the
early church and that continue to reverberate through our world today --
changing lives and transforming hearts for Christ
-- as His people, called by His name, it
is our charge to knock holes in the darkness by knowing these statements -- by
knowing the word of God -- and by carrying these words into this dark world as
the harbingers of light, so that those who are living in darkness might see the
light and be drawn into the light of love, forgiveness, and eternal life
through Christ
-- today, in our last message in this
series, we find ourselves in Titus Chapter 3 -- Titus was another one of Paul’s
disciples -- a pastor who ministered on the island nation of Crete
-- Crete was one of the largest islands in
the Mediterranean Sea -- it was about 140 miles long and 35 miles wide, and may
have been the original home of the Philistine people
-- during Paul’s day, the people of Crete
were known as being corrupt, immoral, and ungodly people -- as Paul himself
described them in Titus 1:12, quoting from one of their very own poets, “The
Cretans are always liars, evil brutes, and lazy gluttons”
-- they were not a nice people, but in the
darkness of this place, the light of God was blossoming -- there were Jews from
Crete at Pentecost, and when they returned home, they apparently carried the
gospel and the light of Christ with them -- and now, having found a group of
believers in this place, Paul has called Titus to come and serve them and help them
continue to grow in grace and not turn back to the darkness where they had once
lived
-- in this short letter, Paul gives
practical instruction to Titus on how to pastor these people and what to teach
them -- and here in the third chapter, we find our last trustworthy statement
-- a summary of the gospel which Paul gave to Titus to inspire and encourage
the Cretans so they might live a godly life as they sought to follow Christ in
that place
II. Scripture Lesson (Titus 3:1-8)
-- so, with that introduction, let
us turn now to the Scriptures and see what we might learn from Paul’s
instructions to Titus
-- let’s begin with verse 3, and
we’ll start there
Titus
3:3 At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all
kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and
hating one another.
-- as I said, this last, lengthy
trustworthy statement is a summary of the gospel message -- the good news of
salvation and redemption through Christ -- and, as with any good story, we
start at the beginning -- with who we were and how we were living before Jesus
called us to Him
-- as Paul says here, all of us at
one time lived just like the Cretans -- liars -- evil brutes -- and lazy
gluttons -- we lived for ourselves and were driven by our passions and
pleasures -- we lived to satisfy all of our desires, regardless of whether they
were profitable for us or not
-- Paul describes us here as
“foolish” -- in the Bible, a foolish person is defined not by intelligence, but
by their spiritual knowledge and understanding -- a foolish person is someone
who either has no knowledge of God or who deliberately rejects the truth of God
in exchange for a lie
-- Romans 1:22-23 makes the same point --
it reads, “Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged
the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds
and animals and reptiles”
-- it doesn’t matter how much knowledge
you might possess or how much education you have, if you don’t know God, you
are foolish, for in Him and Him alone do we find life, salvation, and
redemption
-- Paul goes on to say we were disobedient
-- sinners -- not following the commands of God but doing what seemed right to
us
-- deceived -- believing the father
of lies and the lies of this world -- believing what Satan and the world called
wisdom and following them rather than God -- not believing the truth of God,
even when we see it plainly
-- he calls us enslaved -- held in
bondage to sin and death -- chained and bound by sin through the power of the
flesh, the world, and Satan
-- because of this, we lived in a
continual state of malice and envy -- being hated and hating one another -- every
thought of our hearts was bent to evil -- and we were as lost as lost can be
-- Paul reminds us here that this is who
all of us were at one time -- now you’re probably listening to these words and
thinking, “this isn’t me -- this isn’t who I was -- I know there were some evil
people who lived in the world, but I wasn’t like that -- I was a good old boy
or a good old girl -- I did what was right -- I did what my parents told me --
I lived a good life -- I didn’t get into any trouble” -- but the Bible says
otherwise
-- what we, as fallen humans bound by our
sin nature and living in this fallen world -- deceived by Satan and our own
desires -- thought was good, was not
-- in the light of Christ -- when compared
to His holy standard -- we quickly see that all of us are sinners and have
sinned, fallen short of the glory of God
-- C.S. Lewis pointed out that one of the
problems he had in evangelizing his peers was that he first had to convince
them that they were sinners -- that is why Paul is taking so much time to
remind us of the truth of this fact -- this description here in verse 3, even
though we may protest and say, “not us,” is us -- as Pogo said, “We have met
the enemy, and he is us”
-- God wants to remind us here of the
depths from which we have come -- He wants to remind us of who we were before
Jesus came -- sinners without hope -- sinners condemned to Hell because of our
sin -- so that we will recognize just how amazing is the grace and mercy that
He gave us in Jesus and we will not be so quick to judge others we see in the
world today
-- for that is who we were, but God didn’t
leave us that way -- and now we move on to see who we became through the grace
and mercy of Christ
-- verse 4-5a
Titus
3:4 But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, a5 he saved us,
not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy.
-- having reminded us of the depth of our
sin and of who we used to be, Paul now turns our attention to the source of our
salvation
-- when there was nothing we could do to
save ourselves, God sent His very Son into the world to save us from ourselves
and from the sin that enslaved us and bound us
-- he tells us here that we were saved
when the kindness and love of God penetrated our reprobate minds and took away the
veil Satan put before our eyes to deceive us and keep us away from the truth of
God’s word -- and because of His kindness and love, we were able to see and
hear the truth of God and turn from our sins and receive Jesus as our Lord and
Savior
-- I like Paul’s use of the word, “appeared,”
here -- because just as Christ appeared in the world as described in the
gospels -- coming as a baby born in a manger to live a sinless life and show us
what life with God should look like all the way to the cross and the
resurrection -- Christ still appears to us today
-- He appears to us when He opens our eyes
so we see past Satan’s veil to the truth of God’s word
-- He appears to us when the Spirit
convicts people of their sin and they turn from their sins and turn to Him in
faith and trust for salvation and eternal life
-- and He appears to us when someone shows
the love and kindness of God in a real and tangible way and they come
face-to-face with the presence of God in others
-- in regards to that, I listened to
sermon on the radio this week that was critical of what is known as the social
gospel -- the social gospel is a movement within the church whereby Christians
try to address social problems in the world today, such as poverty, injustice,
racism, and other issues -- they do this by seeking to meet the needs of people,
working to feed the hungry and clothe the naked and minister to people in their
need
-- the criticism of this movement is that
some of the more liberal and progressive churches only do this, and the pastor
said that they were not doing anything more than what the Government was doing
-- he said that in emphasizing this, they were neglecting the gospel and the
good news of salvation through Christ
-- and there is some truth to that viewpoint
-- but the pastor went on to explain that our calling was only to preach the
gospel and to lead people to Christ -- that our focus should be spiritual and
not secular -- but the problem with this approach is that the emphasis on the
spiritual over the physical can lead to a cold, spiritless approach to the
gospel where the church doesn’t share the love and kindness of God with others
-- several years ago, there used to be a homeless
man in Valdosta who lived near Langdale Ford -- he became the target for all
the churches in the area -- everyone wanted to reach that man for Christ -- and
we were no different
-- so, Kim and I made him a bag filled
with clothes, food, and other items, and we put a Bible in it -- and one night,
we went by and literally threw the bag at him and left, hoping that by giving
him food and clothes and the Bible he might find the Lord
-- a friend of ours from another church
went by and just preached at him -- he tried to reason with him through the
Bible that he needed Jesus -- but he did nothing to meet this man’s physical
needs -- he didn’t bring any food or clothes or anything
-- and although we were both trying to
reach this man in our own way, both of us were wrong in our approach -- this
man didn’t just need food and clothes -- and he didn’t just need the gospel,
because it wouldn’t satisfy the physical hunger within -- he needed both the
social and the spiritual -- and that’s the point Paul is making here
-- this man, and all of us, need kindness
and love -- kindness that meets our physical needs and the love that meets our
spiritual needs -- and this was the example of Jesus -- as He healed and fed
people and met their physical needs at the same time He was speaking to their
deepest spiritual needs
-- notice here the clear message that our
salvation is an act of God’s grace and mercy -- we are not saved because of any
righteous things we have done -- but simply because of God’s grace and mercy
-- and what that tells us is that we can’t
make anyone come to Christ -- it is not us who saves anyone -- it is an act of
the Spirit who draws a person to the cross
-- as the old proverb goes, you can lead a
horse to water, but you can’t make them drink -- you can lead a person to
Christ, but you can’t make them receive Him -- only the Spirit can
-- but what we can do is to be salt and
light in the world today -- and to pour out so much salt by loving others and
being kind to them that they become thirsty and drink deep of the living water
of Christ
-- look at the second part of verse 5b-6
Titus
3:5b He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit,
6 whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior
--
having realized that Jesus is the only source of salvation -- that there is no
other name under heaven by which men are saved -- we are now reminded of the
means of our salvation and sanctification
-- first, we are saved through the washing
of rebirth -- in other words, we are born again by being washed in the blood of
the Lamb -- it is through His cleansing blood that our sins are washed away and
we are changed from being the foolish, disobedient, and enslaved people we once
were into the children of God
-- second, we read that we are renewed --
this is another term for sanctification -- the process by which the Spirit
works within us to renew us from the inside out -- to make us holy as God is
holy -- to make us more like Jesus every day
-- if you remember, Jesus criticized the
Pharisees for striving for holiness outwardly only -- He said they were like
white-washed tombs -- they looked good on the outside, but the inside was still
unclean
-- so, for those who have been saved
through the washing of the blood, the Spirit works in our lives from the inside
out -- so that we won’t just be outwardly holy, but we will be holy inside and
out
-- we call this the “process” of
sanctification because it is an ongoing event -- we are continually being
washed and renewed through the Spirit to make us more and more like Jesus
-- since we have become born again through
the blood of Christ, we now have to grow up into holiness through the renewal
and sanctification of the Spirit until we become mature Christians and
recognize the end result of our salvation
-- verse 7
Titus
3:7 so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having
the hope of eternal life.
-- we are washed and renewed by the grace
and mercy of God, so that we might live eternally with Jesus forever -- when we
are saved, we are born again -- this time into the family of God -- and we
become His children and heirs -- the very children of God who live in the hope
and promise of eternal life with Christ our Savior
-- as it says in John 1:12, “Yet to all
who received Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to
become children of God”
-- don’t just gloss over this -- but revel
in it -- bask in it -- think about what this means -- you are a child of God --
you are someone that God chose -- someone that God loved so much that He sent
His only Son to earth to die for you and to pay the penalty for your sins --
you are that important and that loved
-- when Brooke was little, like most
little girls, she wanted to be a princess -- so, I constantly reminded her that
she already was one -- I would tell her, “Remember who you are -- you are the
daughter of the King -- you are a princess -- and you should be treated like a
princess and live like a princess” -- we all need to remember that, too
-- during the Super Bowl, there was a
commercial from the NFL on the work their players were doing in the community
with children and teens -- and it showed several NFL players surrounded by kids
leading them in the saying, “I am somebody -- I am somebody” -- the point being
that when the world told them otherwise or when the world tried to tell them
they were not important, they were to remember, “I am somebody important”
-- we need to remind ourselves of this
every single day -- only we are not just important in this world -- we are
important in eternity because we are the children of God -- heirs with Christ
-- and we will reign with Him forever
-- verse 8
Titus
3:8 This is a trustworthy saying. And I want you to stress these things, so
that those who have trusted in God may be careful to devote themselves to doing
what is good. These things are excellent and profitable for everyone.
-- so, knowing that -- knowing that we are
loved and important and the children of God -- what are we to do? -- Paul tells
us here -- we are to live a godly life -- we are to live up to the name that we
claim as the sons and daughters of the King
-- as the recipients of God’s love
and kindness -- of His marvelous and amazing grace -- as the heirs of God saved
through Christ -- we should live godly and holy lives for God
-- here in verse 8, Paul stresses
that we are to devote ourselves to doing good -- remember that “good” in the
Bible always refers to godly action or godly behavior or character -- to do
good, then, means that we live as God would have us live -- to do good, then,
means that our relations with others is such that they see the good in us as
the Spirit empowers us to live holy lives in the world today
-- when we started looking at this
passage, I had you skip verses 1 and 2 because I felt that they were really
part of verse 8
-- in verses 1 and 2, Paul had opened this
chapter with a command for Titus to remind his church members to be holy and
how they should live, and then he went into the reason they were to do so --
the trustworthy statement that we just went over
-- look back at verses 1-2
Titus
3:1 Remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient,
to be ready to do whatever is good, 2 to slander no one, to be peaceable and
considerate, and always to be gentle toward everyone.
-- this is what a holy and godly life
looks like
-- first, we are to subject or submit
ourselves to the rulers and authorities above us -- and this includes both the
secular authorities and the spiritual authorities that God has placed above us
-- in doing so, we are being obedient to God because He is the One who put
these people in their positions of authority
-- but having said that, let me just
make a comment here about this -- this command from God to respect and submit
to the authorities above us is not a statement about the moral rightness of the
government -- in other words, it doesn’t mean the authorities above us are
godly leaders -- remember who the authorities were in Paul’s day when he wrote
these words
-- “the Roman government under which the
early church lived not only was thoroughly pagan and morally debauched but also
was despotic, oppressive, unjust, and brutal.” [Source: Austin Precept
Ministries] -- no one could look at Rome and at Caesar and say, “These are
godly people so we should follow them and do what they say” -- that is not what
Paul is saying here and that is not what God intends for us to take from this
passage
-- to submit to the authorities and rulers
above us does not mean that we agree with who they are or what they do, but we
respect their positions as the God-ordained leaders that He put in place to
regulate human society -- when that government is cruel and immoral and unjust,
as the Romans were, then we are not to follow their example, but to submit to
their authority as best we can for the general order and welfare of society --
but when the government demands something other than what God demands, we must
follow God above any human authority or ruler
-- recently, I have had some quote
to me Jesus’ command to render unto Caesar the things of Caesar and to God the
things of God as justification that we are to follow the rules of the
Government, regardless of whether we like them or not -- but those who are
hanging onto this verse to support their position are forgetting the many
exceptions to this statement of Jesus and Paul’s guidance to Titus here in
Titus 3:1
-- for instance, when Peter and the
apostles were brought before the Sanhedrin and commanded by those authorities
and rulers above them to quit teaching and preaching in Jesus’ name, Peter
responded in Acts 5:29, "We must obey God rather than men."
-- and we have the two notable
examples from the Book of Daniel of disobedience to rulers and authorities --
the first being when Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refused to bow down to the
statue of Nebuchadnezzar when commanded to, resulting in their getting thrown
into the fiery furnace -- the second being when Daniel refused to stop praying
to God and to pray only to Darius as the law commanded, resulting in his being
thrown into the lion’s den
-- so, even though the scriptures
tell us to submit ourselves to rulers and authorities, when those rulers and
authorities demand that we do something that is expressly forbidden or that
goes against the word of God, we must obey God rather than men, even though we
know we will have to face the consequences of our actions
-- verse 1 goes on and tells us that we
are to be obedient to God -- to do whatever is good and right and just -- to
not slander anyone -- to be peaceable and considerate -- to show true humility
to all men -- in other words, to live good and godly lives as we remember who
we used to be and the depth from which we have come through the love and
kindness -- the grace and mercy -- of Christ
-- one thing to note here is that
that we have to be reminded of these things -- the fact is that we live in a
fallen world -- and although the power of sin and death have been overcome by
the cross -- and although our sin nature within has been overcome by the blood
of Christ -- we are still prone to hear its siren call and to give in to
temptation and sin
-- it is far easier to fall back into a
life like that than it is to live a godly life -- as the hymn says, “Prone to
wander, Lord, I feel it, prone to leave the God I love”
-- so, we must be reminded of these things
and we must be careful to devote ourselves to doing what is good, as we read in
verse 8 -- we have to intentionally choose to walk with God every single day --
to live good and godly lives through His power -- or, as Jesus said, “to pick
up our cross, die to self, and follow Him”
-- look back at the end of verse 8
-- “these things are excellent and profitable for everyone”
-- these things are excellent -- these are
things to strive for -- this is a pattern of life to seek to live -- this is
the standard by which good lives are measured
-- and these things are profitable
to everyone -- profitable here means that there is value to them -- not
financial value -- but spiritual value -- for in them, we find ourselves living
as Christ, loving as Christ, and changing the world as Christ -- not in our own
strength, of course, but in the power of God
-- and that is a trustworthy
statement and a calling that we should all embrace
III. Closing
-- in The Princess Bride, arguably
one of the best movies in history, Buttercup is the daughter of a farmer on a
large farm -- and when she commands Wesley, one of the farmhands on her
father's farm to do something, he always replies with the statement, “As you
wish”
-- over time, Buttercup came to
realize that Wesley’s reply was not just the reply of a servant, but that when
he said, “As you wish,” he was really saying, “I love you” -- and it was his
love of Buttercup that compelled him to do what she wanted
-- as we close out this series of
trustworthy statements, we need to adopt Wesley’s reply of “As you wish” as our
own -- for as we realize who we were before Christ -- as we really realize the
depth and darkness of our souls before Jesus -- and as we realize just how
amazing His grace and His mercy -- how amazing His love and His kindness -- are
to us -- we should be compelled to live good and godly lives for Him out of
gratitude, thankfulness, and love
-- when He tells us to do something,
our reply should be, “As you wish” -- and our hearts should be filled with love
-- and our desire should only be for Him
-- that is the take-home message
from this series -- and I hope that you will spend some time looking back over
these five trustworthy and faithful statements of Paul so that we would all
begin living godly lives and devoting ourselves to doing what is good
-- and, with that, let us join in
prayer to our Lord and our Savior -- our Creator and our Redeemer -- and let us
be quick this week to say, “As you wish,” and to share God’s love and kindness
with all that we meet
-- let us pray
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