1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:06,160 Today we introduce what Lord willing will be the book that we will be walking through together in the first half of 2 00:00:06,880 --> 00:00:10,380 2025 and I think we're gonna find out before we're done that Paul's 3 00:00:11,140 --> 00:00:13,140 letter to Titus 4 00:00:13,320 --> 00:00:20,140 It's very timely for us because the culture that he that Paul is speaking into on the island of Crete is not 5 00:00:20,360 --> 00:00:24,080 all that dissimilar from the culture that we live in today and 6 00:00:24,720 --> 00:00:26,720 so 7 00:00:26,880 --> 00:00:28,880 It's a world where 8 00:00:28,880 --> 00:00:31,960 immorality and perversion have run wild and 9 00:00:32,960 --> 00:00:37,640 not only that but where some of the world has crept into the church and 10 00:00:38,680 --> 00:00:40,160 impacted the 11 00:00:40,160 --> 00:00:45,880 Effectiveness of the gospel witness for the church both on Crete in the first century and in our world today 12 00:00:46,200 --> 00:00:52,800 So the question that we're gonna keep coming back to throughout the series is how can we live as God's holy people in? 13 00:00:52,960 --> 00:00:54,960 the midst of a pagan culture 14 00:00:54,960 --> 00:01:01,640 That's as important today as it was in the first century. How can we live as God's holy people in a pagan culture? 15 00:01:02,840 --> 00:01:09,460 That's what Paul was driving at in his writing to Titus and Titus is so great because it's it's filled with practical 16 00:01:09,600 --> 00:01:16,280 Ministry advice from an older pastor to a younger pastor giving him all kinds of directions about church organization 17 00:01:17,040 --> 00:01:23,440 about healthy relationships about sound teaching about refuting false teachers and about how to bring 18 00:01:23,440 --> 00:01:29,120 unity to a church that has every reason to be divided based on all kinds of 19 00:01:29,840 --> 00:01:36,760 parameters, but most of all the themes that are woven throughout Titus are how are we saved and how can we better 20 00:01:37,280 --> 00:01:40,400 equip the church for effective evangelism and 21 00:01:40,960 --> 00:01:45,000 Especially as it relates to good works not that we're saved by good works, but we are 22 00:01:45,760 --> 00:01:52,140 Saved for good works. It's about the evangelistic power of living a godly beautiful life 23 00:01:52,140 --> 00:01:56,380 So that we're an example of God's grace to our pagan neighbors 24 00:01:56,380 --> 00:01:59,300 And that's why we've chosen the title that you see on the screen 25 00:02:00,060 --> 00:02:06,620 Living out the gospel of grace that will be the theme throughout this series. So grab your Bibles and let's head there 26 00:02:06,620 --> 00:02:08,780 We're going to Titus chapter one 27 00:02:08,780 --> 00:02:20,140 Titus chapter one and today I'm officially calling this a hashtag nerd sermon 28 00:02:23,020 --> 00:02:28,820 Wow, well, yes, that's true, but especially today whenever we dive into the first 29 00:02:29,900 --> 00:02:31,100 Sermon in a series 30 00:02:31,100 --> 00:02:37,860 It's going to come with some maps and timelines and pictures and all kinds of things as we set the context for the entire 31 00:02:37,860 --> 00:02:39,860 book so this is 32 00:02:40,180 --> 00:02:42,100 hashtag nerd sermon I 33 00:02:42,100 --> 00:02:45,820 Even have a spreadsheet today. Can you I know I know 34 00:02:46,700 --> 00:02:53,500 Write your complaints to Adam at Oak Hill Bible calm and he will address all of them. Okay, let's read together 35 00:02:53,500 --> 00:02:59,220 We're just going to cover the first four verses this morning Titus chapter one. Hear the word of the Lord 36 00:02:59,860 --> 00:03:04,220 Paul a bond servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ 37 00:03:04,220 --> 00:03:10,460 For the faith of those chosen of God and the knowledge of the truth, which is according to godliness 38 00:03:10,980 --> 00:03:15,060 In the hope of eternal life which God who cannot lie 39 00:03:15,660 --> 00:03:17,660 promised long ages ago 40 00:03:17,700 --> 00:03:23,180 But at the proper time manifested even his word in the proclamation with which I 41 00:03:23,660 --> 00:03:29,980 Was entrusted according to the commandment of God our Savior Paul loves long run-on sentences 42 00:03:29,980 --> 00:03:36,600 You see that especially the new American standard there. It's a little clunky, but we'll get to it verse 4 to Titus 43 00:03:36,600 --> 00:03:41,340 my true child in a common faith grace and peace from God the Father and 44 00:03:41,660 --> 00:03:46,020 Christ Jesus our Savior and then just to finish off the context here 45 00:03:46,020 --> 00:03:50,100 Look at the first phrase in verse 5 for this reason Titus. I left you where in 46 00:03:50,860 --> 00:03:52,220 Crete 47 00:03:52,220 --> 00:03:54,540 So here's what we want to talk about this morning 48 00:03:54,540 --> 00:03:59,140 We're going to come back to some of that really important theology that you see there beginning 49 00:03:59,140 --> 00:04:02,940 At the second half of verse 1 and running through verse 3 50 00:04:02,940 --> 00:04:07,820 But first let's talk about the historical and cultural context of the letter 51 00:04:08,180 --> 00:04:10,380 Basically, Paul has just given us three important facts 52 00:04:10,380 --> 00:04:16,980 We need to know about first of all how Paul describes his credentials as the author of the letter 53 00:04:17,180 --> 00:04:18,620 That's number one 54 00:04:18,620 --> 00:04:24,780 second the identity of the recipient of the letter who he's writing to which is this young man named Titus and 55 00:04:24,780 --> 00:04:31,940 Third the location where Titus's ministry is going to take place on an island called Crete 56 00:04:31,940 --> 00:04:38,260 So if you're a Bible underliner if you like to highlight or underline in your Bible underline Paul's name in verse 1 and 57 00:04:38,900 --> 00:04:44,220 Then underline those phrases bond servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ 58 00:04:45,420 --> 00:04:48,500 then drop down to verse 4 underline the name Titus and 59 00:04:49,060 --> 00:04:53,900 How Paul describes Titus as my true child in a common faith 60 00:04:53,900 --> 00:04:54,940 and 61 00:04:54,940 --> 00:05:01,340 Then finally underline the word Crete in verse 5 and you will have all the makings of the context of this letter 62 00:05:01,980 --> 00:05:06,300 So let's start with Paul. How does he identify himself as the author? 63 00:05:06,300 --> 00:05:06,660 well 64 00:05:06,660 --> 00:05:11,860 he does it in two ways and at first glance when you look at it in your brain you might think these two things are 65 00:05:12,100 --> 00:05:19,260 contradictory because one title that he claims is a title of submission and the other title he claims is the title of 66 00:05:19,260 --> 00:05:24,900 Authority do those two things go hand in hand? So first of all, he is a bond servant a 67 00:05:25,380 --> 00:05:28,500 Bond servant of God a doulos in the Greek 68 00:05:28,940 --> 00:05:32,900 He is a he is a he is a slave that has chosen this position 69 00:05:33,620 --> 00:05:38,220 He's a doulos and notice he lists that title first 70 00:05:38,220 --> 00:05:45,380 It's the priority before he gets to authority. He lists that first first and foremost. That's what Paul saw about himself 71 00:05:45,380 --> 00:05:47,540 I am a slave to God's will 72 00:05:47,540 --> 00:05:49,940 Right you see that why? 73 00:05:50,940 --> 00:05:56,140 Why does he see that first and foremost because he knows the truth about the depths of his own sin and 74 00:05:56,540 --> 00:06:00,580 The more we see that the more we begin to see that we're bond servants of Christ 75 00:06:00,580 --> 00:06:05,180 Because when you know what God has done for you in Christ and taking on the penalty for your sin 76 00:06:05,380 --> 00:06:10,740 More and more you will grow in this truth that I don't belong to myself. My life is not my own 77 00:06:11,620 --> 00:06:14,020 Because he paid the penalty saved me from hell 78 00:06:14,020 --> 00:06:19,340 Saved me from having to pay for my own sins. I don't belong to myself anymore. My will is his will 79 00:06:19,340 --> 00:06:24,900 I become a bond servant a slave. I am under orders from Christ to obey and serve him 80 00:06:25,820 --> 00:06:28,620 Paul got that and this is true for all of us, isn't it? 81 00:06:29,300 --> 00:06:31,300 Because we've all been bought with the price 82 00:06:31,820 --> 00:06:35,340 And then secondly Paul identifies himself as an apostolus 83 00:06:36,340 --> 00:06:41,220 In Greek an apostle of Jesus Christ and that word in its most basic form 84 00:06:41,220 --> 00:06:43,700 Means one who is sent forth 85 00:06:44,340 --> 00:06:50,260 It can mean a herald or a messenger and again that is in one sense true of all of us, right? 86 00:06:50,260 --> 00:06:55,620 We've all been given the gospel message and sent forth as messengers as heralds of the truth 87 00:06:55,940 --> 00:06:59,860 But here Paul's using apostle in a very limited technical sense 88 00:07:00,340 --> 00:07:06,500 That term being applied only to the original 12 who walked with Jesus and to himself because Paul says 89 00:07:06,500 --> 00:07:13,300 I've met Christ personally on the Damascus Road. So he is an apostle in that very limited sense 90 00:07:14,100 --> 00:07:18,820 And so understand this title that Paul is claiming here comes with great weight behind it 91 00:07:19,620 --> 00:07:26,020 It's the authority to speak and act on behalf of Christ because Christ is the one who has sent him out with this particular 92 00:07:26,340 --> 00:07:27,940 gospel message 93 00:07:27,940 --> 00:07:32,900 But the thing you see about Paul and you see this all throughout his letters, even though he has this authority 94 00:07:32,900 --> 00:07:39,220 He always wields it with great humility. Now there are a couple times particularly in second Corinthians where 95 00:07:39,220 --> 00:07:45,220 He has to sort of play the apostle card where he has to sort of pull rank because the church is so rebellious 96 00:07:45,220 --> 00:07:52,020 But for the most part he makes it very clear. He says look Paul says i'm an apostle with authority, but I am the worst of sinners 97 00:07:53,380 --> 00:07:58,660 That is great humility, right? He could have been running out going look at me. I'm an apostle everybody listen up 98 00:07:58,660 --> 00:08:05,460 But he says no, I'm the worst of sinners. I don't deserve to be an apostle. I didn't call myself to this role 99 00:08:06,020 --> 00:08:11,540 Christ did I've been sent by Christ himself. I'm his servant and therefore he says I don't have a choice 100 00:08:12,260 --> 00:08:14,260 This is the role that's been set out for me 101 00:08:14,980 --> 00:08:21,380 So because of this calling and because of Paul's sort of built in he's wired this way for the zeal for the things of God 102 00:08:22,420 --> 00:08:26,340 And you know God always makes good choices on who he picks right to the point of calling 103 00:08:26,340 --> 00:08:29,380 God always makes good choices on who he picks right to be apostles 104 00:08:29,780 --> 00:08:34,180 Paul had amazing energy and commitment to do the work of an apostle in the first century 105 00:08:34,180 --> 00:08:37,860 We'll get to that later, but there's no question that he understood his purpose in life 106 00:08:38,020 --> 00:08:40,580 He understood the mission that christ had given to him 107 00:08:41,620 --> 00:08:47,940 Now let's identify where in this where in his life and where in his ministry he wrote this particular letter 108 00:08:48,180 --> 00:08:50,580 This is where it's going to get nerdy. Here's a spreadsheet 109 00:08:51,300 --> 00:08:52,260 I mean 110 00:08:52,260 --> 00:08:53,860 I'm sorry grant 111 00:08:53,860 --> 00:08:58,900 Grant's going to get me for this later. It's a spreadsheet, but it's important to see where this letter fits 112 00:08:58,980 --> 00:09:00,980 I think it's important for us to understand 113 00:09:00,980 --> 00:09:06,500 Where each of these writings fits into the life and ministry of the author and by the way, if you want this graphic 114 00:09:06,900 --> 00:09:10,340 Let me know text me email me. I can send it to you so that you can have it 115 00:09:10,340 --> 00:09:12,900 But let's start we're not we're not going to take a lot of time on this 116 00:09:12,900 --> 00:09:17,300 But if you start at the top, we know in acts chapter 9, so there's the chapters in acts 117 00:09:17,700 --> 00:09:21,540 There's the event there's the the date and by the way, some of the dates are still 118 00:09:21,540 --> 00:09:27,380 They're always being debated by scholars, but but this is pretty close and then you see on the right the letters that were written 119 00:09:28,260 --> 00:09:30,260 during paul's particular life 120 00:09:31,140 --> 00:09:34,500 So in acts 9 we read about paul's conversion on the way to damascus 121 00:09:34,900 --> 00:09:40,580 And then the thing that's sort of the mysterious part of his life is he goes away for a time spends quite a few years 122 00:09:41,220 --> 00:09:43,220 Outside of what we call the holy land 123 00:09:43,940 --> 00:09:46,660 Preparing for this calling that christ has on his life 124 00:09:46,660 --> 00:09:52,500 And that calling is very specific to go out into the greek world and to bring the gospel to the gentiles 125 00:09:53,060 --> 00:09:59,540 So we read that over the next 12 years or so paul's in various parts of the ancient world sort of being trained for this mission 126 00:10:00,020 --> 00:10:04,760 He's in damascus. He's in arabia. He comes back to his hometown of tarsus 127 00:10:05,380 --> 00:10:07,860 Which is the general region of what we know selesia 128 00:10:08,660 --> 00:10:15,300 And then and then when he's prepared and ready to go he embarks over a 10-year period from about the years 129 00:10:15,300 --> 00:10:17,300 47 to 57 130 00:10:17,720 --> 00:10:22,440 He goes on three great missionary journeys and he takes a bunch of his ministry team with him 131 00:10:22,760 --> 00:10:27,080 A bunch of those guys those names that pop up all over the new testament takes them with him 132 00:10:27,640 --> 00:10:30,920 It all gets launched out of a place called syrian antioch 133 00:10:31,480 --> 00:10:35,160 And he goes all the way through asia minor and through the greek world 134 00:10:35,400 --> 00:10:40,600 So the three bars you see there are the three great missionary journeys and their dates that paul took 135 00:10:41,480 --> 00:10:43,400 Does that make sense? 136 00:10:43,400 --> 00:10:46,760 And then in between journey number one and journey number two in the year 49 137 00:10:47,080 --> 00:10:52,760 You see a break and that is where paul travels to judia for the very famous jerusalem council 138 00:10:52,840 --> 00:11:00,280 That's described in acts chapter 15. That is where the early apostles and the early church leaders came together to talk about what? 139 00:11:00,740 --> 00:11:05,560 Gentile inclusion in the church all these jewish men are seeing gentiles come to saving faith 140 00:11:05,800 --> 00:11:10,120 And they come together to say how are we going to handle this? That's the jerusalem council 141 00:11:10,120 --> 00:11:15,480 And then on the right of the spreadsheet you see when paul wrote each of his 13 new testament letters 142 00:11:15,720 --> 00:11:19,560 You see galatians was written first right after the jerusalem council 143 00:11:20,120 --> 00:11:22,840 Then during his second and third missionary journeys 144 00:11:22,920 --> 00:11:28,440 He writes two letters to the church in thessalonica two letters to the corinthians and then 145 00:11:29,080 --> 00:11:31,080 The letter to the church in rome 146 00:11:31,960 --> 00:11:37,240 Beginning in acts 21. We see paul then having to endure a whole series of being arrested 147 00:11:37,240 --> 00:11:40,360 Going through multiple trials being imprisoned 148 00:11:40,920 --> 00:11:43,560 Why because he's an effective minister for the gospel 149 00:11:43,640 --> 00:11:47,640 He is upsetting the ancient world and the roman authorities are not happy with him 150 00:11:47,640 --> 00:11:52,920 So he spends all kinds of time and for an apostle nothing would have been more frustrating than this 151 00:11:53,400 --> 00:11:59,400 Like i'm on a roll. I'm visiting these places and now for years i'm being put in prison 152 00:11:59,800 --> 00:12:02,760 I'm being tried i'm being arrested my life is under threat 153 00:12:02,760 --> 00:12:08,840 In acts 27 he's transferred as a prisoner from cesarea to rome 154 00:12:08,920 --> 00:12:13,960 He's put on several ships. One of them gets shipwrecked along the way. We'll get to that story later 155 00:12:14,280 --> 00:12:16,280 He finally makes it to rome 156 00:12:16,520 --> 00:12:17,400 and 157 00:12:17,400 --> 00:12:19,640 Again god's grace here. He's allowed 158 00:12:20,280 --> 00:12:21,860 to basically 159 00:12:21,860 --> 00:12:23,480 minister from 160 00:12:23,480 --> 00:12:27,640 A rented apartment in rome. He's under house arrest so he can't go anywhere 161 00:12:27,640 --> 00:12:32,840 But he's able to minister and write and actually receive visitors while he's in rome 162 00:12:32,840 --> 00:12:37,560 And it's during those years you see that he writes what we call the four prison letters 163 00:12:38,340 --> 00:12:43,500 Ephesians colossians philippians and a personal letter to a friend named philemon 164 00:12:44,120 --> 00:12:46,680 So it's a productive time even though he's locked up 165 00:12:48,120 --> 00:12:51,720 And then something surprising happens the book of act the book of acts ends 166 00:12:52,920 --> 00:12:56,040 It ends right there with paul still in rome receiving visitors 167 00:12:56,040 --> 00:13:00,840 That's why you see not applicable in the in the bottom left hand corner acts ends 168 00:13:01,560 --> 00:13:05,960 Luke finishes the story with paul there in rome no mention of his death 169 00:13:06,600 --> 00:13:08,280 Remember luke is a great historian 170 00:13:08,280 --> 00:13:12,120 So if he had if he had you know paul had died during this time 171 00:13:12,120 --> 00:13:17,000 He would have written that down and of course that tells you that that luke finished both his gospel 172 00:13:17,400 --> 00:13:23,660 And the book of acts sometime in the early 60s before paul was executed around the year 66 173 00:13:23,660 --> 00:13:28,940 Does all that all that sort of make sense? Okay good again if you want this graphic let me know 174 00:13:29,500 --> 00:13:36,380 Now even though acts ends with paul and rome we know from other parts in the new testament that paul's story continued 175 00:13:36,780 --> 00:13:40,140 It appears that paul was released by the authorities in rome somewhere 176 00:13:40,700 --> 00:13:48,300 Around the year 62 or 63 and then he went back out into the greek world and engaged in more fruitful ministry 177 00:13:48,780 --> 00:13:50,780 Before he was rearrested 178 00:13:50,780 --> 00:13:57,020 Brought back to rome and there's good evidence that that second arrest when he was taken to rome 179 00:13:57,020 --> 00:14:01,100 He did not survive that that he was put to death by the emperor nero 180 00:14:01,660 --> 00:14:04,940 Sometime in the year around the year 66 because nero as we know 181 00:14:05,720 --> 00:14:07,720 Absolutely despised christianity 182 00:14:08,780 --> 00:14:14,780 Okay, so before his rearrest he did quite a bit of traveling you can see during this period he wrote 183 00:14:15,340 --> 00:14:18,940 Several important works. These are what we call the three pastoral letters 184 00:14:18,940 --> 00:14:24,300 Two to timothy and one to titus so that yellow area. This is the historical period 185 00:14:24,300 --> 00:14:29,500 We're going to be in as we read through the book of titus the three pastoral letters 186 00:14:30,060 --> 00:14:34,140 By the way, it makes sense that paul at this point in his life would write these types of letters 187 00:14:34,460 --> 00:14:38,460 He had to know at this point that his time on earth was growing short 188 00:14:38,460 --> 00:14:44,060 He had survived arrest in rome, but who you know who knows maybe he won't survive the next one 189 00:14:44,060 --> 00:14:51,660 Plus he is beginning to get up there in age peter is getting up there in age that sort of generation of older apostles 190 00:14:52,140 --> 00:14:54,700 Is going to give way to younger pastors 191 00:14:55,180 --> 00:15:00,940 So it makes sense that he would now write to that next generation of pastors to men like timothy and titus 192 00:15:01,580 --> 00:15:07,180 So that he can leave them instructions guys. This is how you organize the church. This is how you teach the church 193 00:15:07,180 --> 00:15:12,860 This is how you administer things all of that practical instruction and I got to tell you personally 194 00:15:12,860 --> 00:15:15,900 As a pastor i'm so thankful for these three letters 195 00:15:15,900 --> 00:15:23,100 These pastoral letters because they are full of such important instruction even for today not just for first century churches 196 00:15:23,100 --> 00:15:30,140 But we follow it today very closely as we look to organize this church in a godly way. Make sense? 197 00:15:31,100 --> 00:15:38,140 So what exactly did paul do during those years that i've highlighted in yellow after his release from prison 198 00:15:38,140 --> 00:15:42,540 So what is the actual story behind his letter to titus well 199 00:15:43,260 --> 00:15:50,700 For nerds like me one of the the most fun things about the new testament is trying to track the movements of paul 200 00:15:51,020 --> 00:15:55,180 And you have to be sort of a detective to figure it all out axe gives us a whole bunch of stuff 201 00:15:55,180 --> 00:15:58,620 But other works do as well and not just paul 202 00:15:58,620 --> 00:16:06,540 But this this massive I shouldn't say massive this this ministry team that is filled with men and even some women who are constantly 203 00:16:06,540 --> 00:16:09,820 Moving around the ancient world on his behalf 204 00:16:09,820 --> 00:16:13,580 There's a bunch of them and we know some of the names, you know, they pop up various times 205 00:16:13,580 --> 00:16:15,740 You're like, how do you pronounce that name and who is that person? 206 00:16:16,300 --> 00:16:21,260 Right, but he's got a whole team that goes with him all over the place and they're constantly on the move 207 00:16:22,140 --> 00:16:30,460 They're they're they're going all over the ancient world and they are they're they're checking on churches and checking on leaders and putting out ministry fires 208 00:16:31,100 --> 00:16:33,580 And you have to remember back then travel was not easy 209 00:16:33,580 --> 00:16:36,780 This was not hopping on a plane 210 00:16:37,500 --> 00:16:42,940 Right. This was long grueling trips sometimes on boats sometimes overland 211 00:16:43,340 --> 00:16:48,380 And yet the amount of movement you see among these people in the new testament is remarkable guys 212 00:16:48,380 --> 00:16:50,380 They were committed to seeing each other 213 00:16:51,100 --> 00:16:53,900 It's energy paul didn't just say hey i'm gonna kick back here roma 214 00:16:53,900 --> 00:16:56,220 Just write a bunch of letters and and good luck to you guys 215 00:16:56,220 --> 00:17:00,380 He's like no we need to get out there and see people face to face 216 00:17:00,380 --> 00:17:04,860 And teach and be in communion with one another was very important to him 217 00:17:06,220 --> 00:17:11,100 Now we know from the book of first timothy that after paul was released from rome the first time 218 00:17:11,580 --> 00:17:17,260 We know he goes back to asia minor to the city of ephesus and he says that's where he left timothy 219 00:17:18,300 --> 00:17:22,300 So paul goes to ephesus with timothy leaves him there and says all right 220 00:17:22,620 --> 00:17:27,420 Look man, you now have this job of pastoring this church in the city of ephesus 221 00:17:27,420 --> 00:17:30,700 And paul says i'm continuing north up into macedonia 222 00:17:31,340 --> 00:17:37,660 And we have good evidence that he traveled through several key cities myletas and troas and even down to corinth 223 00:17:38,300 --> 00:17:44,300 And of course we know from the book of titus that paul also went to crete with titus 224 00:17:45,340 --> 00:17:49,420 That they got to crete during this these years in yellow got to crete 225 00:17:50,220 --> 00:17:53,660 And then paul said titus i'm leaving you here and once again 226 00:17:53,660 --> 00:17:59,820 He said i'm back going into mainland greece and so he left titus there to put things in order 227 00:18:00,140 --> 00:18:05,980 And then at some point in his trip as he's heading back north to the greek mainland probably somewhere up in macedonia 228 00:18:06,540 --> 00:18:09,500 Paul decides that he's going to send two members of his team 229 00:18:10,060 --> 00:18:13,340 Back to crete to check on titus to check on the churches there 230 00:18:13,740 --> 00:18:19,420 And he decides i'm going to write a letter to titus give it to these two guys and let them deliver it 231 00:18:19,420 --> 00:18:24,140 And the names of those two guys who deliver the letter are going to show up in chapter three 232 00:18:24,860 --> 00:18:30,220 It's zenas a man who was a lawyer and the very famous teacher in the first century apollos 233 00:18:30,540 --> 00:18:36,140 He sends those two guys back to crete to deliver this letter to titus and to check on him 234 00:18:36,700 --> 00:18:41,580 We also learn in chapter three that paul doesn't want titus to stay there for too long 235 00:18:41,820 --> 00:18:47,820 In fact, he says i just want you to be there long enough to set things in order and then i'm sending relief 236 00:18:47,820 --> 00:18:54,460 He says i'm going to send either artemis or ticacus to come to crete and relieve you and let them take over 237 00:18:54,940 --> 00:18:59,760 And by the way when they arrive what I want you to do is visit me in a city called nicopolis 238 00:19:00,300 --> 00:19:03,820 Because that's where i'm staying for the winter. I want you to join me there 239 00:19:03,980 --> 00:19:08,620 So we're going to get all that information within the letter itself, but it's very very interesting now 240 00:19:09,740 --> 00:19:12,880 Does titus leave crete and get up to nicopolis? 241 00:19:13,500 --> 00:19:16,940 We don't have a passage on it, but it seems that he actually did 242 00:19:16,940 --> 00:19:21,660 Because we find out in second timothy paul's last letter right before his death 243 00:19:22,060 --> 00:19:25,820 He says that he at that point he had sent titus out again 244 00:19:26,700 --> 00:19:33,100 So titus did his job on crete. He sent him back to a place actually not back to but for the first time into new territory 245 00:19:33,580 --> 00:19:35,580 in a land called dalmatia 246 00:19:36,460 --> 00:19:41,900 Which not dalmatians. Nope. Nope. Nope. I saw the smile meredith not dalmatians dalmatia 247 00:19:41,900 --> 00:19:45,740 Which get this now imagine how where the gospel got to that's modern-day 248 00:19:45,740 --> 00:19:48,400 That's modern-day albania in croatia 249 00:19:49,660 --> 00:19:56,140 And that's where the last the last mention we see of titus. So I just gave you a bunch of a bunch of locations 250 00:19:56,140 --> 00:19:57,980 Which means what? 251 00:19:57,980 --> 00:19:59,980 Means maps. Okay good 252 00:20:00,780 --> 00:20:02,780 All right mediterranean world 253 00:20:03,980 --> 00:20:10,300 Okay, again if you want any of these maps just let me know but this is super helpful. So these are the basics blue dot is 254 00:20:10,300 --> 00:20:14,960 Jerusalem so that establishes our eastern border red dot on the top 255 00:20:15,680 --> 00:20:18,720 Is rome that establishes our western boundary 256 00:20:19,440 --> 00:20:22,960 The orange that you see there is syrian anti-auk. That's where 257 00:20:23,520 --> 00:20:29,840 Paul's missionary journeys started that was sort of his home base of missionary work was in syrian anti-auk 258 00:20:30,080 --> 00:20:36,400 And of course every time he traveled he went west right into asia minor and into greece 259 00:20:36,400 --> 00:20:39,920 By the way, there's a whole theory about why he never went east that's for another day 260 00:20:40,560 --> 00:20:43,920 But you should know these things for sure the island of crete there is circled 261 00:20:44,720 --> 00:20:47,120 That's crete. We'll come back and describe that some more 262 00:20:47,840 --> 00:20:50,960 Then let me add a couple more dots. Those are some of the 263 00:20:51,680 --> 00:20:57,040 Some of the places in asia minor that paul visited during his this period of release 264 00:20:57,760 --> 00:21:02,640 On the bottom we have my litus that and then the next the middle dot there is where effesus is 265 00:21:02,640 --> 00:21:07,920 And then up top is where troas is so we know that he got to crete my litus 266 00:21:08,640 --> 00:21:14,240 Ephesus and troas and then over in greece we have corinth that purple dot 267 00:21:14,800 --> 00:21:18,640 And that area i've circled up there is generally the region. We know is macedonia 268 00:21:19,440 --> 00:21:24,400 And that's where paul and up in macedonia is where thesilonica is and where philippi is 269 00:21:25,120 --> 00:21:29,760 So paul spent quite a bit of time up in macedonia and then those two other places i mentioned 270 00:21:29,760 --> 00:21:34,880 That blue dot is necropolis. That's where paul wants titus to meet him for the winter 271 00:21:35,360 --> 00:21:38,800 And that area to the north in the blue circle that is dalmatia 272 00:21:40,480 --> 00:21:41,520 Okay 273 00:21:41,520 --> 00:21:43,040 There's a quiz later 274 00:21:43,040 --> 00:21:48,560 No, but it's important for you to see where all the sort of the the territory that paul's working with here 275 00:21:48,560 --> 00:21:52,640 And again, this is a rather lot for people that have to travel by foot 276 00:21:53,440 --> 00:21:55,680 And on boats, this is a pretty big territory 277 00:21:55,680 --> 00:21:58,880 Okay, I knew you're gonna stare at that for a while. That's fine 278 00:21:59,280 --> 00:22:03,040 Let's talk about the setting for titus's ministry. What do we know about the island of crete? 279 00:22:04,000 --> 00:22:07,280 Okay, first of all, it's the fifth largest island in the mediterranean 280 00:22:08,080 --> 00:22:13,840 It is the largest of what we call the greek isles and you can see on the map there that its shape is long and narrow 281 00:22:14,000 --> 00:22:19,600 It's 160 miles from tip to tip. So basically the driving distance from here to san diego 282 00:22:19,600 --> 00:22:25,760 So it's not small by any stretch of imagination. Okay, the topography of it is really really interesting 283 00:22:25,760 --> 00:22:31,840 Even though if you visited crete today, you'd find that there's some beautiful beaches there. It is not a tropical island 284 00:22:32,480 --> 00:22:37,280 In fact, it's very rocky. It's very mountainous. It's very volcanic 285 00:22:38,320 --> 00:22:40,800 And and that's going to play a role in its history 286 00:22:40,800 --> 00:22:45,840 In fact less than a third of the land that is crete is located in the middle of the island 287 00:22:45,840 --> 00:22:50,640 So very mountainous. Let me show you some pictures so you can get an idea of what the topography looks like 288 00:22:50,640 --> 00:22:52,640 That's a cool picture of a monastery 289 00:22:53,440 --> 00:22:55,440 On crete today 290 00:22:55,440 --> 00:22:57,440 Most of the people there are greek orthodox 291 00:22:58,560 --> 00:23:03,760 In terms of where religion is on crete today, they're greek orthodox. So you see a greek orthodox monastery there 292 00:23:03,760 --> 00:23:05,760 You can see how mountainous it is 293 00:23:06,160 --> 00:23:08,160 There's one of the coastlines there. So 294 00:23:08,720 --> 00:23:10,960 So even like us, it's a little bit more of a mountainous place 295 00:23:10,960 --> 00:23:17,360 And yes, they have some tourist centers and some shops, you know that type of thing where where there's a 296 00:23:17,760 --> 00:23:21,680 Place to attract mainly northern europeans that come to crete for vacations 297 00:23:22,560 --> 00:23:25,520 Okay, so now there's a very interesting history of crete 298 00:23:26,080 --> 00:23:28,080 And it's a very interesting place to go to 299 00:23:28,880 --> 00:23:31,920 And it's a very interesting place to go to and to go to 300 00:23:32,640 --> 00:23:36,080 And it's a very interesting place to go to and to go to 301 00:23:36,080 --> 00:23:40,320 It is very, very interesting history to this island because there's the country of tradition 302 00:23:36,920 --> 00:23:41,600 for vacations. Okay, so now there's a very interesting history of this island, 303 00:23:40,960 --> 00:23:56,820 There's Western world 304 00:23:41,600 --> 00:23:46,240 and this plays into the background of the book of Titus. Crete is filled with 305 00:23:46,240 --> 00:23:51,960 all kinds of Greek mythology and really interesting legends, and there's been a 306 00:23:51,960 --> 00:23:55,680 lot of archaeology done on the island of Crete over the last hundred years, and 307 00:23:55,680 --> 00:23:59,680 we've learned all about its origins. The first people group that settled on this 308 00:23:57,420 --> 00:23:59,420 And thatoria which did not 309 00:23:59,680 --> 00:24:04,960 island are known as Minoans. Anybody take ancient history in high school? You 310 00:24:04,960 --> 00:24:08,080 learned about the Minoans and the Mycenaeans? Okay, good. It's all gonna 311 00:24:08,080 --> 00:24:12,080 come back. I think it's probably ninth grade. Anyway, the Minoans, and they were 312 00:24:12,080 --> 00:24:17,080 a tribe that came from Anatolia or Asia Minor and sailed across the Aegean Sea 313 00:24:17,080 --> 00:24:22,480 and settled on this island. Now when did that happen? Somewhere around 2000 BC. So 314 00:24:22,480 --> 00:24:26,960 comparatively, this is the same time that Abraham is wandering the land of Canaan, 315 00:24:26,960 --> 00:24:32,360 Crete is being settled. The reason we know about the Minoans is threefold. 316 00:24:32,360 --> 00:24:36,360 First of all, there's a record in various cultures around the 317 00:24:36,360 --> 00:24:41,400 Mediterranean of them trading. So they were excellent traders, 318 00:24:41,400 --> 00:24:46,960 probably excellent shipmen and sailors. Secondly, they seem to be the very first 319 00:24:46,960 --> 00:24:51,320 European people that established an alphabet and had a written language, 320 00:24:51,320 --> 00:24:56,180 which has been left to us. So they were advanced in that sense. And third, we have 321 00:24:56,180 --> 00:25:00,960 dug up a number of their largest structures, palace structures, that were 322 00:25:00,960 --> 00:25:03,960 built on the island. Some of you guys may have seen this picture. This is the 323 00:25:03,960 --> 00:25:10,040 Minoan palace at a place called Knossos, right? And this was discovered in the 324 00:25:10,040 --> 00:25:15,000 late 1800s. They are still digging there and still finding more and more things. 325 00:25:15,000 --> 00:25:19,160 And at that site, scholars have found some amazing things in terms of 326 00:25:19,160 --> 00:25:25,000 sculptures and pottery and jewelry and colorful frescoes. So it's a really 327 00:25:25,000 --> 00:25:29,920 interesting culture that flourished there on Crete. Now there's a few scary 328 00:25:29,920 --> 00:25:36,120 things as well. The archaeologists have found chambers of skulls in multiple 329 00:25:36,120 --> 00:25:40,800 sites on the island, which means they practiced human sacrifice. So not so 330 00:25:40,800 --> 00:25:46,000 advanced in that sense. And also some of these frescoes, and they're beautiful, 331 00:25:46,000 --> 00:25:52,160 they worshiped bulls. That was their thing. The bull god was their thing. 332 00:25:52,160 --> 00:25:55,880 How many of you guys have heard of the mythological creature called the Minotaur? 333 00:25:55,880 --> 00:25:59,920 Okay, good. Some of you guys may have studied it. That's an example of what I mean. It's a 334 00:25:59,920 --> 00:26:06,040 half man, half bull. And there's this whole story about Knossos. I won't go 335 00:26:06,040 --> 00:26:11,600 into too much detail, but this creature lived in this place in a labyrinth under 336 00:26:11,600 --> 00:26:16,880 the city. I see little people here, so I'm not going to say anything more. 337 00:26:16,880 --> 00:26:20,640 I'll let you look it up. But it also involves the Prince of Athens, a 338 00:26:20,640 --> 00:26:25,440 legendary figure named Theseus, who comes and slays the Minotaur. Anyway, all of 339 00:26:25,440 --> 00:26:32,160 this is part of the sort of the legends and mythology behind Crete. And of 340 00:26:32,160 --> 00:26:36,300 course, so you have to understand, as Paul and Titus go to minister there, this is 341 00:26:36,300 --> 00:26:39,560 all in the background of the people. Now not that they're practicing Minoans at 342 00:26:39,560 --> 00:26:45,360 the time, but these are their origins and their roots. Now the Minoans disappear 343 00:26:45,360 --> 00:26:49,840 around the year 1500 BC. Again, comparatively, that's the time of Moses 344 00:26:49,840 --> 00:26:55,720 and the Exodus over in Egypt. We don't know why they disappeared, other 345 00:26:55,720 --> 00:27:00,160 than logic tells us that they fell victim to the volcanic activity in that 346 00:27:00,160 --> 00:27:04,960 area, that earthquakes and tsunamis sort of wiped them out, or at least weakened 347 00:27:04,960 --> 00:27:09,360 them to the point where they could be conquered. And they were conquered by a 348 00:27:09,360 --> 00:27:13,080 tribe known as the Mycenaeans, who came from the Greek mainland, from the 349 00:27:13,080 --> 00:27:17,360 Peloponnese, and they sailed to the across the Aegean, and they conquered the 350 00:27:17,360 --> 00:27:22,280 Minoans, absorbed them basically, and set up their own culture. And then 300 years 351 00:27:22,280 --> 00:27:26,600 later, they too were conquered and absorbed by some marauding Dorian 352 00:27:26,600 --> 00:27:31,840 tribes from the Greek mainland. So sort of switching of hands of Greek tribes. In 353 00:27:31,840 --> 00:27:36,600 the fourth century BC, they came under the rule of Philip of Macedon and his 354 00:27:36,600 --> 00:27:41,200 son, Alexander the Great, who conquered all of Greece, including Crete. And then 355 00:27:41,200 --> 00:27:45,960 in the Roman period, there's a guy named Pompey, you should know who he is. He's 356 00:27:45,960 --> 00:27:51,440 the general who eventually conquers Jerusalem and takes control of Israel on 357 00:27:51,440 --> 00:27:56,440 behalf of Rome. He also goes to Crete because there's piracy happening all 358 00:27:56,440 --> 00:28:01,080 around the island of Crete, and he sort of shuts the piracy down and secures 359 00:28:01,080 --> 00:28:05,640 Crete for Rome. And then under Caesar Augustus, Crete officially becomes a part 360 00:28:05,640 --> 00:28:11,100 of the Roman Empire. So there's this long history of Crete changing hands. Now 361 00:28:11,100 --> 00:28:15,080 here's an interesting tidbit about the church that was established there, and 362 00:28:15,080 --> 00:28:19,120 this sort of builds up the veracity of the New Testament record. Archaeologists 363 00:28:19,120 --> 00:28:24,800 have discovered evidence for a very early Christian community established in 364 00:28:24,800 --> 00:28:30,000 a city called Cortina, right? And it dates back to, wait for it, the mid first 365 00:28:30,000 --> 00:28:35,720 century. Shocking, right? The very same time that Paul and Titus are evangelizing 366 00:28:35,720 --> 00:28:40,600 the island. So we know this from Roman records. Cortina was a thriving city at 367 00:28:40,600 --> 00:28:46,840 the time, had a population according to the records of 300,000 people in this 368 00:28:46,840 --> 00:28:50,040 one city on the island of Crete. So it makes sense that a church would have been 369 00:28:50,040 --> 00:28:56,640 planted there. Now a couple more maps to help you understand how did Crete end up 370 00:28:56,640 --> 00:29:01,000 on Paul's radar? Why would he go there in the first place? Well first of all, this 371 00:29:01,000 --> 00:29:06,880 is a map of the nightmare journey that Paul took when he was transferred from 372 00:29:06,880 --> 00:29:12,320 Caesarea to Rome as a prisoner. This is the great shipwreck story that shows up. 373 00:29:12,320 --> 00:29:18,880 The whole story is detailed in Acts 27. So the green dot there is Caesarea by 374 00:29:18,880 --> 00:29:24,480 the sea, and Paul is basically put on a ship. They go to Sidon, and then they sail 375 00:29:24,480 --> 00:29:29,800 north of the island of Cyprus and along the southern coastline of Asia Minor, and 376 00:29:29,800 --> 00:29:35,480 then they turn, because of some bad weather, down towards the island of Crete. 377 00:29:35,480 --> 00:29:40,960 And they creep along the southern part of the island of Crete, and the 378 00:29:40,960 --> 00:29:45,840 weather is getting worse and worse, so they stop in a bay that Luke says is 379 00:29:45,840 --> 00:29:51,200 known as Fairhavens. Now we know exactly where that is today. And so they 380 00:29:51,200 --> 00:29:56,040 have to wait out the storm in this bay on the island of Crete. Does all that 381 00:29:56,040 --> 00:29:59,800 make sense? Guys, that would have been the first time that Paul set foot on the 382 00:29:59,800 --> 00:30:04,960 island of Crete. And here's my guess. I can't prove this, but they stay 383 00:30:04,960 --> 00:30:09,160 there. We don't know how long to wait out the weather, and Paul must have looked 384 00:30:09,160 --> 00:30:13,240 around and thought, I'm coming back here someday, right? Because that's Paul's 385 00:30:13,240 --> 00:30:17,560 heart. He's like, this is a new place I haven't been, but I'm stuck here. God has 386 00:30:17,560 --> 00:30:22,320 a purpose in it. I'm gonna come back at some point. Now eventually they set sail 387 00:30:22,320 --> 00:30:28,120 from Crete, and they get all the way towards Italy, and they get 388 00:30:28,120 --> 00:30:32,640 shipwrecked on the island of Malta. That's that little second black dot there. 389 00:30:32,640 --> 00:30:37,040 They get shipwrecked there. They're stuck there for three months, waiting for a new 390 00:30:37,040 --> 00:30:40,880 ship to come and pick them up. You know, but by the grace of God they all would 391 00:30:40,880 --> 00:30:44,480 have perished. And there's a whole story there. Again, look at Acts 27, and 392 00:30:44,480 --> 00:30:48,280 eventually they make it up to the Italian mainland. So here's what's 393 00:30:48,280 --> 00:30:54,120 interesting to me. If you look at a updated or a focused-in map of Crete, that 394 00:30:54,120 --> 00:30:59,280 bay there is the bay at Fairhavens. We know that's true. And that red dot there 395 00:30:59,280 --> 00:31:05,640 is the city of Cortina, which probably at the time that Paul is staying 396 00:31:05,640 --> 00:31:10,640 there in that bay, the church at Cortina has probably been planted not far away 397 00:31:10,640 --> 00:31:14,960 from where Paul was at that moment. So it seems to me that there's no 398 00:31:14,960 --> 00:31:18,760 doubt that Paul said, I'm coming back here because the church here needs to get 399 00:31:18,760 --> 00:31:26,200 strengthened. Okay, all right. Just to finish the history of Crete, in the year 400 00:31:26,200 --> 00:31:31,080 395, after the Roman period, Crete falls under the Byzantine Empire, which is 401 00:31:31,080 --> 00:31:34,920 technically really just the Eastern Roman Empire. And there is strong evidence 402 00:31:34,920 --> 00:31:39,880 that the church was still thriving on the island. In fact, a very famous church 403 00:31:39,880 --> 00:31:46,140 was built in the 6th century. This is the Church of St. Titus in Cortina on the 404 00:31:46,140 --> 00:31:50,680 island of Crete. And the inscriptions that you see all around this very ancient 405 00:31:50,680 --> 00:31:56,960 church says the building itself was dedicated to, you guessed it, to Titus, who 406 00:31:56,960 --> 00:32:02,120 was recognized throughout Crete as the bishop of all of the churches of Crete. 407 00:32:02,120 --> 00:32:07,600 Now the final country that ruled over Crete before the modern period were 408 00:32:07,600 --> 00:32:12,240 the Ottoman Turks. They actually conquered all of Greece in the 15th 409 00:32:12,240 --> 00:32:16,200 century, and they don't give up power over Crete until the end of World War 410 00:32:16,200 --> 00:32:21,920 I, believe it or not, in the 20th century when the Turks were finally expelled and 411 00:32:21,920 --> 00:32:29,880 Crete came back under the rule of Greece. And as I said, even today, Greek is the 412 00:32:29,880 --> 00:32:33,680 national language, the Greek Orthodox Church sort of dominates the religious 413 00:32:33,680 --> 00:32:40,080 landscape, and the primary economic driver in Crete is tourism. Christians 414 00:32:40,080 --> 00:32:43,720 like us like to go there, right, to see all these things, which I get. But also, 415 00:32:43,720 --> 00:32:47,880 again, to a vacation spot for northern Europeans and a whole bunch of cruise 416 00:32:47,880 --> 00:32:52,360 ships also stop in Crete. So if you want to go someday, I hear it's beautiful. I 417 00:32:52,360 --> 00:33:00,920 haven't been there, but the pictures are amazing. Okay, deep breath. Again, we're 418 00:33:00,920 --> 00:33:03,880 just setting the stage for the letter. Let's talk about the Cretan Church 419 00:33:03,880 --> 00:33:07,960 itself, because this is an important question. If Paul hadn't been on the 420 00:33:07,960 --> 00:33:16,400 island until that moment at Fairhavens, how did the church get planted? How did 421 00:33:16,400 --> 00:33:22,560 the church start? If Peter didn't do it and Paul didn't do it, how did it get started? 422 00:33:22,560 --> 00:33:26,360 Well, we don't have any text for this. We don't have any extra biblical source 423 00:33:26,360 --> 00:33:30,520 for it, but there is a logical answer to this question, and it goes back to Acts 424 00:33:30,520 --> 00:33:35,080 chapter 2. You know the story in Acts chapter 2. It's the text that describes 425 00:33:35,080 --> 00:33:39,600 the day of Pentecost, and on this day of Pentecost, it says that Jews from all 426 00:33:39,600 --> 00:33:43,160 over the Roman Empire had gathered in Jerusalem. They're gathered together 427 00:33:43,160 --> 00:33:47,280 probably on the southern steps of the temple, and that's when the Holy Spirit 428 00:33:47,280 --> 00:33:50,480 comes down upon them, right? They're speaking in tongues, and we all sort of 429 00:33:50,480 --> 00:33:54,280 know this story. It's basically considered the birth of the church, this 430 00:33:54,280 --> 00:34:00,560 moment in Jerusalem. Now here's a list of the nations where Jews had come from to 431 00:34:00,560 --> 00:34:07,560 Jerusalem. These are where they came from. Parthia, Persia, Elam, Babylon, 432 00:34:07,560 --> 00:34:17,240 Cappadocia, Pontus, Phrygia, Pamphylia, Egypt, Libya, Cyrene, Rome, Arabia, and 433 00:34:17,240 --> 00:34:25,960 Crete. So we had Jews from Crete coming to Jerusalem to celebrate the 434 00:34:25,960 --> 00:34:29,960 day of Pentecost. They would have been Hellenistic Jews, and they come to 435 00:34:29,960 --> 00:34:33,760 Jerusalem, and they witnessed the coming of the Holy Spirit, and then most likely 436 00:34:33,760 --> 00:34:38,760 they sat under the evangelistic preaching of Peter over those several 437 00:34:38,760 --> 00:34:44,320 days there in Jerusalem, and a number of them give their life to Christ. And then 438 00:34:44,320 --> 00:34:49,200 what do they do? They go back home to Crete, and they start churches in their 439 00:34:49,200 --> 00:34:52,020 homes. They didn't start building buildings or anything like that. They 440 00:34:52,020 --> 00:34:55,480 started churches in their homes. Now Tani and I were discussing this this 441 00:34:55,480 --> 00:34:59,200 morning because it's such an interesting thing. Can you imagine planting a church 442 00:34:59,200 --> 00:35:04,080 having just gotten saved? You've got just an inkling of information about it. Now 443 00:35:04,080 --> 00:35:07,960 you have the Old Testament, right? The promise is given to you, but only 444 00:35:07,960 --> 00:35:11,680 an inkling of this new covenant and the falling of the Spirit and this 445 00:35:11,680 --> 00:35:16,880 preaching from Peter, and now we're gonna go back and plant a church. How daunting 446 00:35:16,880 --> 00:35:23,320 would that have been? So by the time Paul and Titus arrive on Crete, it's been 30 447 00:35:23,320 --> 00:35:28,680 years since that moment. It's been 30 years since the coming of the Spirit on 448 00:35:28,680 --> 00:35:32,880 Pentecost, and yet we're gonna find out it's probably a significant number of 449 00:35:32,880 --> 00:35:38,640 Christians that were on Crete now, probably more Gentiles than Jews, but 450 00:35:38,640 --> 00:35:42,520 they're still really immature. And you can sort of understand because they 451 00:35:42,520 --> 00:35:45,360 haven't had a whole lot of godly leadership as far as we can tell, and 452 00:35:45,360 --> 00:35:51,400 that's why Paul's gonna say to Titus, hey bro, didn't say bro, said hey Titus, set 453 00:35:51,400 --> 00:35:56,280 things in order, and he starts with what? Get some elders who are qualified and 454 00:35:56,280 --> 00:36:01,000 trained to start maturing these people. We'll get to that next Sunday, but you 455 00:36:01,000 --> 00:36:05,280 can imagine they're still immature 30 years later and still vulnerable to 456 00:36:05,280 --> 00:36:09,520 false teaching. We'll also see that in this letter. By the way, I'll just say 457 00:36:09,520 --> 00:36:14,120 this briefly because this is gonna come up in a few weeks. This is a tough 458 00:36:14,120 --> 00:36:19,360 assignment that Paul is giving to Titus because the people on Crete have a 459 00:36:19,360 --> 00:36:25,040 reputation and it's not good. They have a reputation for immorality and 460 00:36:25,040 --> 00:36:30,600 perversion. They are a mess, and so Paul is choosing Titus to be his guy for this 461 00:36:30,600 --> 00:36:35,320 very difficult assignment. Okay, last thing before we get to the theology, what 462 00:36:35,320 --> 00:36:39,600 about Titus himself? What do we know about this man Titus? Well, he's unusual 463 00:36:39,600 --> 00:36:45,360 as a member of Paul's ministry team because he's not Jewish, and that was 464 00:36:45,360 --> 00:36:51,040 unusual for that period of the church. He is a Gentile, and we don't know exactly 465 00:36:51,040 --> 00:36:57,200 where Titus is from, but the name Titus is a strong Latin Roman name, so we know 466 00:36:57,200 --> 00:37:01,440 that he's a Gentile, and although we're not given any details in the Bible, it's 467 00:37:01,440 --> 00:37:05,760 almost universally accepted that Titus would have come to saving faith either 468 00:37:05,760 --> 00:37:10,840 before or during Paul's first missionary journey. Somewhere in Asia Minor 469 00:37:10,840 --> 00:37:15,040 probably he would have come to saving faith, and then he joined Paul on his 470 00:37:15,040 --> 00:37:19,400 second and third missionary journeys, and I think this is why in verse 4 he's 471 00:37:19,400 --> 00:37:24,480 called, Paul calls him my true child in a common faith, meaning he came to life, he 472 00:37:24,480 --> 00:37:29,800 was born again through Paul's ministry at some point. Okay, so then once he saved 473 00:37:29,800 --> 00:37:33,480 he goes off on these other journeys. Now we also know that Titus went to that 474 00:37:33,480 --> 00:37:39,640 Council of Jerusalem. He accompanied Paul and Barnabas there, and as a Gentile he 475 00:37:39,640 --> 00:37:42,760 sort of stood out, because remember what was the topic of the Council of Jerusalem? 476 00:37:42,760 --> 00:37:47,160 How do we deal with the Gentiles? So Paul's like, hey I got one right here, 477 00:37:47,160 --> 00:37:52,280 and so he becomes sort of a test case for that whole debate, showing that 478 00:37:52,280 --> 00:37:56,720 somebody could come to saving faith and not be a Jew, not have to get circumcised 479 00:37:56,720 --> 00:38:07,800 in order to be saved, and he went, okay. That didn't land like I thought it would. 480 00:38:07,800 --> 00:38:17,120 I actually just made that up on the fly. Okay, stop it Jeff, stop it. Okay, and I'm 481 00:38:17,120 --> 00:38:23,800 turning red. Okay, Titus is mentioned 13 times in the New Testament, nine times in 482 00:38:23,800 --> 00:38:28,360 the book of 2nd Corinthians, and isn't that interesting? Nine of the 13 times in 483 00:38:28,360 --> 00:38:34,080 2nd Corinthians, and that is because before Crete, Paul had placed Titus in 484 00:38:34,080 --> 00:38:38,120 another tough ministry assignment in the city of Corinth, and he dealt with the 485 00:38:38,120 --> 00:38:42,240 Corinthian believers in a number of key ways. I'll give you two examples. First of 486 00:38:42,240 --> 00:38:47,040 all, in 2nd Corinthians 7, listen to what Paul says after Titus had been in Corinth 487 00:38:47,040 --> 00:38:52,440 but then traveled up to Macedonia to visit with him and Timothy. He says, when 488 00:38:52,440 --> 00:38:58,680 we, meaning Paul and Timothy, came into Macedonia, we had no rest. Instead we were 489 00:38:58,680 --> 00:39:04,120 troubled in every way, conflicts on the outside, fears within, but God who 490 00:39:04,120 --> 00:39:09,720 comforts the downcast comforted us by the arrival of Titus. So he must have been a 491 00:39:09,720 --> 00:39:14,520 very encouraging guy, right? An energy guy, like Titus came and he sort of sort of 492 00:39:14,520 --> 00:39:19,440 lifted our spirits, and not only by his arrival but also by the comfort he, 493 00:39:19,440 --> 00:39:25,440 Titus, received from you, Corinthians. He told us about your deep longing, your 494 00:39:25,440 --> 00:39:31,320 sorrow, remember sorrow for sin, 1st Corinthians 5, and your zeal for me so 495 00:39:31,320 --> 00:39:36,280 that I rejoiced even more. So Titus saw, or Paul saw Titus as this really 496 00:39:36,280 --> 00:39:42,520 encouraging saint who was a valued part of his team, and then later we know the 497 00:39:42,520 --> 00:39:48,280 story in 2nd Corinthians of Paul wanting to put together a financial gift from the 498 00:39:48,280 --> 00:39:54,320 Greek churches to the poor saints in Jerusalem, partly because they're in 499 00:39:54,320 --> 00:39:57,720 great need but also partly so that he can bring the church together, Jew and 500 00:39:57,720 --> 00:40:02,520 Gentile, that was very important to Paul. And so who did he call upon in order to 501 00:40:02,520 --> 00:40:08,000 stir up the Corinthians to give? He called on Titus, and we see this in 2nd 502 00:40:08,000 --> 00:40:13,400 Corinthians chapter 8, it says, we urge Titus that just as he had begun, meaning 503 00:40:13,400 --> 00:40:18,720 just as he had started to encourage you and exhort you to give, so he should also 504 00:40:18,720 --> 00:40:24,680 complete among you this act of grace. In other words, finish that collection. By 505 00:40:24,680 --> 00:40:30,120 the way, Paul sees that collection, that the giving of offerings, not as a some 506 00:40:30,120 --> 00:40:35,760 kind of hardship but as a gift of grace, the ability to give to other saints, 507 00:40:35,760 --> 00:40:40,680 which is very interesting. It says Titus welcomed our appeal. He didn't go, 508 00:40:40,680 --> 00:40:45,480 are you kidding me? You're giving me that job? No, he welcomed our appeal and being 509 00:40:45,480 --> 00:40:49,600 very diligent went out to you by his own choice. He said, I want to go out there 510 00:40:49,600 --> 00:40:54,000 and I want to be a part of this. And not only that, but he was also appointed by 511 00:40:54,000 --> 00:40:59,760 the churches to accompany us with this gracious gift, meaning he's gonna go to 512 00:40:59,760 --> 00:41:03,880 Jerusalem with that collection, that we're administering for the glory of the 513 00:41:03,880 --> 00:41:08,920 Lord himself and to show our eagerness to help. And then Paul says, he is my 514 00:41:08,920 --> 00:41:15,160 partner and co-worker for you. So again, very valued ministry partner here and 515 00:41:15,160 --> 00:41:19,440 the point is this, even before Crete, Paul had already given Titus some really 516 00:41:19,440 --> 00:41:24,520 tough assignments and he had come through. He'd shown himself faithful and 517 00:41:24,520 --> 00:41:30,240 a hard worker, diligent, with a good attitude. Everything you want to see in 518 00:41:30,240 --> 00:41:35,200 a ministry partner, that was Titus. He could go into a tough place now. Like 519 00:41:35,200 --> 00:41:39,680 Crete, he could set things in order. Paul had confidence in him and having been in 520 00:41:39,680 --> 00:41:43,240 Corinth, this is so cool because here's what I learned early on as a young 521 00:41:43,240 --> 00:41:49,120 pastor, experience matters. You run into things and you learn. Sometimes you make 522 00:41:49,120 --> 00:41:54,360 mistakes, but you learn and you grow. And so Titus has seen things in Corinth and 523 00:41:54,360 --> 00:41:59,840 he'd worked through them and now he's more prepared to go to Crete and to deal 524 00:41:59,840 --> 00:42:04,440 with some of the same problems, but he's more prepared now. Honestly, when you step 525 00:42:04,440 --> 00:42:09,360 back you look at this, Titus is the exact perfect choice that Paul makes to go to 526 00:42:09,360 --> 00:42:20,000 this tough assignment in Crete. Okay, background, background laid. Thank you. I 527 00:42:20,000 --> 00:42:25,280 always wonder how much of that nerdy stuff matters to you guys, but I know many 528 00:42:25,280 --> 00:42:28,480 of you are growing in this because you're seeing the need. If we're gonna 529 00:42:28,480 --> 00:42:32,360 understand the text, the need to understand the context. So thank you for 530 00:42:32,360 --> 00:42:36,360 your patience. Let's go back up to verses 1 to 3 now. We're gonna close with this. 531 00:42:36,360 --> 00:42:42,000 This very brief but very powerful set of theological principles that Paul puts 532 00:42:42,000 --> 00:42:46,680 in his greeting. And isn't that amazing? Just in my greeting I'm gonna give you a 533 00:42:46,680 --> 00:42:50,400 whole bunch of really important theology, which is really cool. Basically in those 534 00:42:50,400 --> 00:42:54,600 verses he's gonna outline four important theological principles and we're just 535 00:42:54,600 --> 00:42:59,000 gonna go briefly through these. Number one, he says, he says, my, the foundation 536 00:42:59,000 --> 00:43:04,080 of my mission as an apostle is number one, for the saving faith of God's elect. 537 00:43:04,080 --> 00:43:09,780 You see that in the text? For the saving faith of God's elect. Number two, for the 538 00:43:09,780 --> 00:43:15,360 knowledge of the truth that leads to godliness. Number three, for the hope of 539 00:43:15,360 --> 00:43:21,640 eternal life promised by the God who cannot lie. See that in the text? And 540 00:43:21,640 --> 00:43:26,960 number four, for the word that's now revealed and proclaimed. This is what 541 00:43:26,960 --> 00:43:31,680 Paul sees as his foundation for his apostolic mission. So let's walk through 542 00:43:31,680 --> 00:43:36,400 these. First of all, we recognize that Paul had this singular focus to see 543 00:43:36,400 --> 00:43:41,360 sinners get saved. To see the power of God move in the hearts of sinners. To 544 00:43:41,360 --> 00:43:47,200 grant them faith in Christ, who is the only Savior of all men. And Paul knew 545 00:43:47,200 --> 00:43:51,720 that this could happen in any culture, even the most pagan of cultures, even in 546 00:43:51,720 --> 00:43:57,640 Corinth, even on Crete. He knew the power of God. By the way, we should remember 547 00:43:57,640 --> 00:44:03,040 that biblical salvation is a very radical term. We talk about the gospel 548 00:44:03,040 --> 00:44:07,360 going forth into difficult cultures, it is a radical term. Salvation does not 549 00:44:07,360 --> 00:44:12,200 mean, well, it goes out to people that are pretty good but just need a little 550 00:44:12,200 --> 00:44:17,440 push, just need a little help. That's not what it is. We should remember that it 551 00:44:17,440 --> 00:44:21,240 refers to people that are helpless and hopelessly lost. And if God doesn't 552 00:44:21,240 --> 00:44:26,080 intervene, they're not going to be saved. And that's true whether it's America or 553 00:44:26,080 --> 00:44:29,800 it's Crete in the first century. That's what that term means. By the way, just as 554 00:44:29,800 --> 00:44:33,880 an important note, if you take a look at, you took a look again at these first 555 00:44:33,880 --> 00:44:38,520 three verses, first four verses, right here in the greeting, Paul talks about 556 00:44:38,520 --> 00:44:42,400 the deity of Christ. Now I know it's kind of obscure but look at this. In verse 557 00:44:42,400 --> 00:44:49,040 three, he refers to God as our Savior. You see it? And in the next breath, at the 558 00:44:49,040 --> 00:44:55,560 end of verse four, he refers to Christ Jesus as what? Our Savior. Simple deductive 559 00:44:55,560 --> 00:45:03,080 reasoning. If God is our Savior and Jesus is our Savior, Jesus is God. Right? 560 00:45:03,080 --> 00:45:08,240 Trinitarian statement right there. In a greeting. Paul hasn't even gotten to the 561 00:45:08,240 --> 00:45:11,800 bulk of the letter just in the greeting. He's gonna do this two other times by 562 00:45:11,800 --> 00:45:17,280 the way in the letter to Titus. Be very clear about the fact that Jesus is God. 563 00:45:17,280 --> 00:45:23,400 Now don't miss here who is being saved through faith. Right out of the gate, Paul 564 00:45:23,400 --> 00:45:28,440 lays down a truth bomb here about election. He says, for the faith of those 565 00:45:28,440 --> 00:45:34,400 chosen by God. I know this is a hard principle, right? But Paul, when it comes 566 00:45:34,400 --> 00:45:39,680 to salvation, Paul was what we call a compatibilist. He believed in two truths 567 00:45:39,680 --> 00:45:43,720 at the same time. On the one hand, that salvation is a work of God from 568 00:45:43,720 --> 00:45:48,260 beginning to end. It's all by his sovereign grace. That we get none of the 569 00:45:48,260 --> 00:45:53,760 credit so that we can never boast. Right? We are chosen. And it comes from a simple 570 00:45:53,760 --> 00:45:58,200 principle. All men and women are born dead in their sins and only God can 571 00:45:58,200 --> 00:46:03,240 raise the dead to life. Right? We're all born spiritually blind and only God can 572 00:46:03,240 --> 00:46:07,760 open those eyes. So it's a work of God from beginning to end. And yet, he also 573 00:46:07,760 --> 00:46:12,720 believed that no man or woman will be saved unless they hear the truth, repent 574 00:46:12,720 --> 00:46:17,200 and believe. And every single person who hears the truth, repents and believes 575 00:46:17,200 --> 00:46:23,200 will be saved. That those two principles are compatible with one another. 576 00:46:23,200 --> 00:46:28,120 Sovereignty of God, responsibility of man to respond. So we don't have to play 577 00:46:28,120 --> 00:46:32,000 the either or game, do we? Because Scripture always and all the biblical 578 00:46:32,000 --> 00:46:36,080 authors describes those two things working together. And this is what drove 579 00:46:36,080 --> 00:46:40,920 Paul. He understood both principles. He says, look, God has marked out his elect. 580 00:46:40,920 --> 00:46:48,640 They're out there somewhere. My job now is to go and call into salvation. Okay, 581 00:46:48,640 --> 00:46:53,000 amen. Number two, second thing. For the knowledge of the truth that leads to 582 00:46:53,000 --> 00:47:01,880 godliness. Guys, saving faith rests on a body of truth. That us knowing this truth 583 00:47:01,880 --> 00:47:06,560 as revealed in Scripture. So for a person to be saved, a man or woman must 584 00:47:06,560 --> 00:47:11,720 understand this body of truth, both about God and about themselves. They must 585 00:47:11,720 --> 00:47:15,720 understand that Christ, who's God in human flesh, took the penalty that we 586 00:47:15,720 --> 00:47:20,960 deserved on that cross. They must know and understand that God gives salvation 587 00:47:20,960 --> 00:47:27,000 as a free gift apart from any works in us, any good in us, that he grants us this 588 00:47:27,000 --> 00:47:32,120 free gift and we have to trust him alone for salvation. That is the knowledge of 589 00:47:32,120 --> 00:47:37,360 the truth that God uses through our preaching and our evangelism to open 590 00:47:37,360 --> 00:47:41,240 blind eyes and bring people to life. But it rests on that body of truth. So 591 00:47:41,240 --> 00:47:46,280 Paul says the knowledge of truth is critical. But then notice what else he 592 00:47:46,280 --> 00:47:50,240 says. It's not just a knowledge that saves, it's a knowledge that transforms. 593 00:47:50,240 --> 00:47:56,520 It leads to what? Godliness. So you got to have the knowledge of the truth, but 594 00:47:56,520 --> 00:48:01,080 it's got to lead to godliness. Again, not that that's the godliness is what saves 595 00:48:01,080 --> 00:48:06,400 us, but it's evidence that we actually believe in the truth. So if the Cretan 596 00:48:06,400 --> 00:48:10,360 believers were to shine as God's children in a pagan culture, they were 597 00:48:10,360 --> 00:48:13,920 gonna have to live godly lives. They were gonna have to show evidence of their 598 00:48:13,920 --> 00:48:20,000 saving faith to that culture that rejects them. So Paul's basically saying, 599 00:48:20,000 --> 00:48:24,680 look, my ministry is aimed at producing a sanctifying knowledge among those in the 600 00:48:24,680 --> 00:48:28,720 church. He's like, look, I do not want you just to have more 601 00:48:28,720 --> 00:48:32,920 information than the average person or just a whole set of facts that nobody 602 00:48:32,920 --> 00:48:38,800 else has. I want you to have a knowledge that actually produces transformed lives. 603 00:48:38,800 --> 00:48:45,360 Both are important. Knowledge of the truth that leads to godliness. Make sense? 604 00:48:45,360 --> 00:48:50,720 Number three, the third thing is security and hope. For the hope of eternal life, 605 00:48:50,720 --> 00:48:56,280 promised by the God who cannot lie. And here's where you see the reason why I 606 00:48:56,280 --> 00:49:00,120 love Paul, why he's my favorite biblical author, he's so logical. He's like a 607 00:49:00,120 --> 00:49:04,920 lawyer, right? He builds a case. And here we have like a chain reaction. He says, 608 00:49:04,920 --> 00:49:09,240 first of all, you've got the saving faith that's granted to 609 00:49:09,240 --> 00:49:14,120 those that God has chosen, his elect. That is going to lead to a knowledge of the 610 00:49:14,120 --> 00:49:17,840 truth, and that knowledge of the truth brings about godliness, and that 611 00:49:17,840 --> 00:49:22,320 godliness produces security in us because it rests on a certain hope of 612 00:49:22,320 --> 00:49:26,400 eternal life that we've been promised. It's a chain reaction that he's 613 00:49:26,400 --> 00:49:30,920 describing here. And we know that it's true, Paul says, because A, God promised it, 614 00:49:30,920 --> 00:49:37,700 and B, God cannot lie. So you can bank on it. It's security and hope. That's the 615 00:49:37,700 --> 00:49:41,800 third thing. And then last, we'll wrap up with this. He points to the gospel 616 00:49:41,800 --> 00:49:47,040 message and he writes this word of truth that's been revealed or manifested in 617 00:49:47,040 --> 00:49:52,480 this time. And he says, this is the message I proclaim. This is the message 618 00:49:52,480 --> 00:49:58,080 I've been entrusted with. And again, Paul is very aware of the moment that he 619 00:49:58,080 --> 00:50:05,160 lives in. And he says, look, this salvation was promised long ago, ages ago. You can 620 00:50:05,160 --> 00:50:09,000 point back to Genesis 3 and you see it there, but even before that, before the 621 00:50:09,000 --> 00:50:13,960 foundations of the world were laid, God had a plan to redeem his elect. So it's 622 00:50:13,960 --> 00:50:18,800 a promise long ago, but he says, it's here right now. It's the message that I 623 00:50:18,800 --> 00:50:24,160 bring. It's the message that Titus will bring. The faith which was once for all 624 00:50:24,160 --> 00:50:31,180 handed down to the saints. Right? Paul's very aware of this moment, right? The 625 00:50:31,180 --> 00:50:36,060 incredibly high value of the fact that he'd been entrusted with this saving 626 00:50:36,060 --> 00:50:39,800 message. And he took it seriously. By the way, it's the same message, the same 627 00:50:39,800 --> 00:50:43,600 message from the beginning. It was being preached in the first century. It's still 628 00:50:43,600 --> 00:50:47,880 being preached in the 21st century. It doesn't change. Methods change, but the 629 00:50:47,880 --> 00:50:52,680 message never changes. The saving message never changes. By the way, it's important 630 00:50:52,680 --> 00:50:57,340 to see here once again, the doctrine of election doesn't nullify the need for 631 00:50:57,340 --> 00:51:03,640 evangelism. It actually establishes and reinforces the need for missions and 632 00:51:03,640 --> 00:51:11,600 evangelism. Even today, we labor as Paul did to see God's elect come to the truth, 633 00:51:11,600 --> 00:51:16,280 come to trust in Christ. We are called to get out there and proclaim this message. 634 00:51:16,280 --> 00:51:21,400 Not that we can save anyone. Not that the effectiveness or the way, the eloquent 635 00:51:21,400 --> 00:51:26,080 way that we share the gospel is going to save anybody. We put it out there and who 636 00:51:26,080 --> 00:51:32,080 determines who gets saved? God alone. Two things work together. Amen? Two things 637 00:51:32,080 --> 00:51:36,040 work together. It's our calling. We are Apostles in that general sense. We've 638 00:51:36,040 --> 00:51:41,560 been given a message entrusted with it and now we got to go out and be a herald. 639 00:51:41,560 --> 00:51:46,440 We've got to go out there and proclaim that truth and then we let God determine. 640 00:51:46,440 --> 00:51:50,440 The weight of people's salvation was never intended to be put on my shoulders 641 00:51:50,440 --> 00:51:55,680 or your shoulders. Only God bears that weight. God will determine who is saved. 642 00:51:55,680 --> 00:52:03,480 Our job is to be faithful. Amen? Okay guys, we've just dipped our toe in this and 643 00:52:03,480 --> 00:52:07,440 and you may need to re-listen to this message to go back over that context, but 644 00:52:07,440 --> 00:52:11,320 I am so excited to get back to it next Sunday. I hope you'll come back. Let's 645 00:52:11,320 --> 00:52:21,400 pray together. Father, we thank you for your word. We're so grateful Lord for 646 00:52:21,400 --> 00:52:28,200 all of the the truths that you've given us. Some are so lofty Lord, this idea 647 00:52:28,200 --> 00:52:32,400 of your sovereignty over salvation. They're so lofty that we are just, 648 00:52:32,400 --> 00:52:38,620 we stand amazed by it and some of it is so practical at the same time that we 649 00:52:38,620 --> 00:52:43,800 just need to be faithful. Men like Titus who just go out and proclaim the message 650 00:52:43,800 --> 00:52:48,640 and let you determine the results. And all the things that we're gonna learn 651 00:52:48,640 --> 00:52:54,320 in this letter from Paul, Lord, about how the church needs to be equipped for 652 00:52:54,320 --> 00:52:59,520 effectiveness to go out and reach a difficult culture. Lord, I pray in advance 653 00:52:59,520 --> 00:53:04,000 that that you would just lay the groundwork for us to learn so much about 654 00:53:04,000 --> 00:53:08,040 who we're supposed to be as Christians. What this church here at Oak Hill is 655 00:53:08,040 --> 00:53:13,000 supposed to be about and how we can reach our neighbors who need to hear the 656 00:53:13,000 --> 00:53:19,280 saving message. So God, prepare the way for us. We look forward to next week. Lord 657 00:53:19,280 --> 00:53:22,760 willing that you will bring us back together and we'll dive into what Godly 658 00:53:22,760 --> 00:53:27,560 leadership looks like. Lord, until that time draws closer together in this 659 00:53:27,560 --> 00:53:33,000 difficult time for our city, draws closer together, help us to keep praying Lord. 660 00:53:33,000 --> 00:53:37,000 Keep understanding the power of prayer and bringing our neighbors 661 00:53:37,000 --> 00:53:40,920 before you as we seek your face. Lord, thank you for this morning. We pray in 662 00:53:40,920 --> 00:54:07,960 Jesus name, amen.