As Chad mentioned, we're in Titus. We'll be reading
from Titus chapter 1, verses 1 through 4 in your
New American Standard Bible. No doubt it says
salutation as the heading there. This is God's
holy, inspired, and inerrant word. Paul, a bondservant
of God, an apostle of Jesus Christ. For the faith
of those chosen of God and the knowledge of the
truth, which is according to godliness, in the
hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie,
promised long ages ago, but at the proper time
manifested even his word in the proclamation
with which I was entrusted according to the commandment
of God our Savior. To Titus, my true child in
a common faith, grace. and peace from God the
Father and Christ Jesus our Savior. Let's pray.
Gracious Heavenly Father, as we begin a study
of the book of Titus today, I must confess that
I feel wholly inadequate to do it justice. Lord,
and I'm tempted to believe that Titus must have
felt the same way as he ministered on the island
of Crete. So God, I ask now that as we open your
word and as I attempt to expound upon it, that
God, you would enable me, by your Holy Spirit,
to do an adequate job of expositing this passage
of Scripture. Lord, We are grateful for your
word. And as we consider your word this morning
here from the book of Titus, we ask that it would
have its intended effect on our hearts and our
minds. Holy Spirit, we ask that you would work
within us as we read and expound upon it. As
we sit under the ministry of your word, Lord,
we pray that you would edify your saints and
draw sinners to you. Help us to apply this truth
to our lives as individuals and our corporate
life as a church. For your glory and your praise,
we ask these things in Jesus' name. Amen. Please
be seated. It has been some time since I last
had the privilege of preaching. I've become very
accustomed to Sunday school with the young people,
and no offense to you older folks, but it's a
very comfortable setting to visit with those
kids on Sundays. And there are times when we
get the opportunity to preach, all four of us,
certainly Kyle has the lion's share, but when
Josh and Nicholas and I have the opportunity
to preach, We're no doubt all grateful for that,
but also, I don't know if the other two feel
this way, but if I go for an extended spell without
preaching, I do feel like I need to knock the
rust off just a little bit before I can really
get into a passage and attempt to exposit from
it. I will tell you, I've been reading the book
of Titus off and on, probably for... probably
about nine months, thinking that this is where
I would go next. I had a nice little outline
all set up for this book and had fully intended
to make my way entirely through these first four
verses. But as I started to prepare and rehearse
my message, I noticed that I was going to be
quite long -winded. And I was fearful that you
all would not come back next week if I took too
long this week. So I have... kind of whittled
this down into two parts, and I'm excited for
what's here. In the same breath, I am a little
anxious about preaching it. We're beginning a
short study in the letter or epistle of Paul
to Titus, and I am intentionally referring to
it as a short study so that I keep myself from
being too long -winded. This is one of three
pastoral epistles in the New Testament, all three
of which... were composed by the Apostle Paul.
Many of you already know 1 and 2 Timothy would
be the first two of these pastoral epistles.
And that's important for us to take note of because
Paul takes a very similar tone with Titus to
the tone he takes with Timothy, whom he also
refers to as a true child in the faith. There's
a lot about this letter, and I think at the outset
of the series in it, that we should probably
cover things that are important to our understanding
of this epistle. So at the outset of our study,
what I first want to do is I'd like to establish
the context of the letter. This is a practice,
this is a principle of Bible exposition, a proper
exegesis, to make sure you understand the context
of the passage you're reading. Being that Titus
is such a short book with merely three chapters,
and those three chapters, none of them are very
long, it is going to be, I think, a little easier
for us to keep the context in mind as we're studying
it. because a short letter lends itself to that
very idea. We're going to attempt to establish
the context of the book of Titus, and today will
be more like teaching rather than preaching,
I do believe. But what we'll need to do is perhaps
frame our thinking. around some questions. Now,
I want to be clear, I don't intend to answer
each and every one of these questions directly
or in a certain order, but I want to use these
questions as a way to, again, order our thinking
about the letter, something to give us a framework
to work from. So, I'll begin with this. What's
the immediate context within which the letter
has been written? Who are the people involved?
Where are they located? What is the setting?
And what is going on around them? Also, we need
to observe, and we'll see evidence of this throughout
this letter, that while this letter is theological,
while it is doctrinal, it is not abstract. It
is not ethereal. And what I mean by that is that
this letter does not exist. somewhere outside
of the real world. Quite frankly, this letter
written by the Apostle Paul to Titus as he's
ministering on the island of Crete is profoundly
applicable. It was profoundly applicable to Titus
in the first century when Paul wrote it, when
Titus read it, when it was passed around the
congregations that were located throughout Crete.
and it is profoundly applicable for us today.
It exists in the real world of ministry, as it
were. It's addressing real churches in a real
place facing real problems. It's intended to
aid Titus as a minister and to help him order
the churches on the island of Crete and, as I
mentioned, That makes it extremely applicable
for us today. It helps us to do those same things,
to accomplish those same goals. So the first
thing I want to do, and this is pretty simple
because the letter literally starts off with
Paul's name, is I want to look at the author.
The author, of course, is the Apostle Paul. Of
course you know Paul. formerly known as Saul
of Tarsus, was once a Pharisee and a persecutor
of the church. Paul was not merely a persecutor
of the church. He was the best at it. Paul was
a good persecutor of the church. He violently
opposed Christianity until the risen and glorified
Lord Jesus. confronted him on the road to Damascus.
Turn with me, if you would, to Acts chapter 9.
I think it's easy for us oftentimes to simply
mention a passage or say where something happens
in the Bible, and without going back and making
sure that we understand it and reading about
it, refreshing our memories, perhaps we're doing
ourselves a disservice in that. So look at chapter
9 of the book of Acts and begin in verse 1 with
me. Now Saul, still breathing threats and murder
against the disciples of the Lord, went to the
high priest and asked for letters from him to
the synagogues at Damascus so that if he found
any belonging to the way, both men and women,
he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. As he
was traveling, it happened that he was approaching
Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven flashed
around him, and he fell to the ground and heard
a voice saying to him, Saul, Saul, why are you
persecuting me? And he said, Who are you, Lord?
And he said, I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.
But get up and enter the city, and it will be
told you what you must do. The men who traveled
with him stood speechless, hearing the voice
but seeing no one. Saul got up from the ground,
and though his eyes were open, he could see nothing,
and leading him by the hand, they brought him
into Damascus. And we'll stop there, but that
helps us to remember this radical conversion
of Saul when he was changed by the grace of our
Lord Jesus Christ, called by the Lord Jesus Christ.
After his conversion, Paul became one of the
most significant and prolific missionaries in
the early church. You remember that much of the
first third or so of the book of Acts, perhaps
even just a bit more of the book of Acts, deals
primarily with the twelve. And quite frankly,
Peter is really the star of the show. But not
long after Saul's conversion, when he becomes
Paul, the story shifts dramatically to him. Paul
goes on to have some of the greatest ministry
in the history of the church. We might even say
that Paul was the most dynamic missionary in
the history of the church. Certainly God. used
him mightily. He traveled throughout the Roman
Empire preaching the gospel and planting churches.
This man who once was breathing threats against
the church. This man who was once going and finding
men and women who might be found in the way,
who wanted to, under the authority of the high
priest, bring them back to Jerusalem in order
that they could continue their persecution of
the way. This man who once hated Christianity.
became its most prolific minister. Paul not only
ministered as a missionary throughout the Roman
world, but he wrote roughly half the New Testament.
Now, some people like to split hairs when people
say that because Paul certainly wrote half the
books of the New Testament, perhaps not half
of the volume of the New Testament, but he was
prolific as an author of the New Testament. Letters
that he wrote were used to instruct churches
and church leaders in both doctrine and practice.
We could say that Paul was quite astute at establishing
orthodoxy and flowing from orthodoxy, Paul explained
orthopraxy, how we do church. Understanding,
right understanding precedes right practice.
was a master of this skill. This pastoral letter
to Titus, as we described it earlier, contains
instructions on the order, the government, and
the protection of the church. To say that Paul's
post -conversion contributions to the early church
were substantial would be a gross understatement.
Paul was used mightily by God. His New Testament
writings, including this one, were all composed
under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Oftentimes
when we're reading the Bible, we have a bit of
a tendency, and I don't think it's intentional,
but we often think only of the human author of
Scripture. But that simply is not the case, and
we see how God, through the Holy Spirit, was
using Paul in such a mighty way. As he composed
these books, this particular letter being a good
example of this, Paul would go on to write, or
did write, in 2 Timothy 3, verses 16 and 17,
that all Scripture is inspired by God, profitable
for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for
training in righteousness, so that the man of
God may be adequate, equipped for every good
work. Those are the words of Paul. in what some
might argue is a circular argument, writing under
the inspiration of the Holy Spirit and claiming
that he was writing under the inspiration of
the Holy Spirit. Paul, the human author, this
once persecutor of the church, now this prolific
minister of the gospel who was carried along
by the Holy Spirit as he wrote these letters,
including this letter. As the human author Paul
merely introduces himself with two descriptors.
In verse 1, you can look there with me real quickly.
In verse 1, Paul describes himself in this way.
Paul, very straightforward, easy to understand.
A bondservant of God and an apostle of Jesus
Christ. First, Paul refers to himself. as a bondservant
of God. Here Paul acknowledges his relationship
with God, that of a slave to his master. The
Greek word here, you've no doubt heard, many
expositors use it before, doulos, which does
not mean servant. It does not mean someone who's
here if you want them, but rather it means that
they are a slave. A word that we're a little
scared of in today's culture, no doubt. But a
word that drives home the point Paul is making
here. With regards to his relationship to God,
Paul is a slave to God. He is a man under authority.
But at the same time, this man is operating with
authority. It may sound self -deprecating for
Paul to refer to himself as a slave. And in a
certain sense, it is. It shows a certain amount
of humility for Paul to refer to himself in that
way, to say that he's a bondservant, that he's
almost stuck, that he's somehow obligated to
God. It does almost sound like he's being humble,
but in the same breath, He's expressing the fact
that he is a man under authority who expresses
and wields authority. He also refers to himself
as an apostle of Jesus Christ. Paul has been
sent by Christ. Now, we think of the word apostle
with a capital A oftentimes. As being a very
lofty and grandiose term, we think of it as this
wonderful position. This position that resulted
in authority and resulted in these folks being
remembered throughout all of church history.
And no doubt there is an element of honor that
should be given to them because God chose them
as apostles. Paul here being our particular example.
The word apostle just means sent one. You see
it throughout the New Testament. In certain places
you'll see the phrase an apostle of Jesus Christ,
an apostle of Christ Jesus, an apostle of the
church. And what it means is simply that they
are someone, someone who has been sent. They
are a messenger. Apostles are envoys. apostles
are sent. Think of his conversion in Acts 9.
Paul was not only confronted by the risen Lord,
he was called and sent by him. These two descriptors
here employed by the apostle reveal something
of Paul's relationship to God and they emphasize
this authority, his authority. to write this
letter to Titus as he ministers by extension
of Paul's authority in Crete. Calvin says in
his commentary, this extended and laborious commendation
of his apostleship shows that Paul had in view
the whole church and not Titus alone. For his
apostleship was not disputed by Titus, and Paul
is in the habit of proclaiming the titles of
his calling in order to maintain his authority.
Accordingly, just as he perceives those to whom
he writes to be disposed, he deals largely or
sparingly in those ornaments. Here his design
was to bring into subjection those who had haughtily
rebelled, and for this reason he extols his apostleship
in lofty terms. He therefore writes this epistle,
not that it may be read in solitude by Titus
in his closet, but that it may be openly published.
It's important for us to understand that when
Paul uses these descriptors for himself, when
he writes this letter to Titus, the intention
is not for Titus to read the letter and file
it away and keep it as some way to encourage
himself when he's experiencing difficulties in
ministries. He is not writing this letter with
the intention that Titus alone will be his audience,
but rather that this letter will be shared with
the entire church. And boy, has it ever been
shared with the entire church. Here we are, 2
,000 years later, reading it today. This tells
us that Paul wants to make sure that not only
Titus understands his apostleship, his authority
to write this letter, Titus knows this. Titus
has ministered with Paul, as we'll see in a moment.
They are not unfamiliar with one another. Rather,
there's a very important reason for him to establish
his apostolic authority. Because the people in
Crete need to know that Paul has this authority.
And, as I mentioned a moment ago, by extension,
he is lending some of that authority to Titus
as he ministers to them. During our study, we'll
see what's happening in Crete that would require
Paul to utilize these descriptors in establishing
his apostolic authority. Second, this one's rather
on the nose as well. Let's consider the recipient
of the letter, the one to whom it is addressed,
Titus. Titus was a trusted companion and co -worker
of Paul. Unlike Timothy, Titus was a Gentile
convert to Christianity. You remember that Timothy
was the son of a Jewish mother and a Gentile
father. And there's actually some Pretty famous
passages that we could turn to if we wanted to
learn more about Timothy. One that deals with
circumcision, which of course is important to
the book of Titus, wherein Paul actually has
Timothy circumcised in order to, I guess you
could say, contextualize Timothy as a minister
among the Jewish people. And yet we know of stories
about Titus where the exact opposite happens.
And someone might be tempted to say, well, Paul
is not really being consistent here. But you'll
remember when Paul took Titus with him to Jerusalem
during an important moment in the early church
when the apostles were addressing whether or
not Gentile believers needed to follow Jewish
ceremonial law. in order to be saved. Turn with
me now to Galatians chapter 2. Galatians chapter
2. It's a famous incident in the church, in the
early church, the council at Jerusalem. Galatians
chapter 2, I'll read verses 1 through 5 to you.
Then after an interval of 14 years, I went up
again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, taking Titus
along also. It was because of a revelation that
I went up, and I submitted to them the gospel,
which I preach among the Gentiles, but I did
so in private to those who were of reputation,
for fear that I might be running or had run in
vain. But not even Titus. who was with me, though
he was a Greek, was compelled to be circumcised.
But it was because of the false brethren secretly
brought in, who had sneaked in to spy out our
liberty, which we have in Christ Jesus, in order
to bring us into bondage. But we did not yield
in subjection to them for even an hour, so that
the truth of the gospel would remain with you.
Again, I want to point back to Timothy. Timothy
was circumcised in order, even though he was
half Greek, half Gentile, in order that in the
setting that Timothy would minister, he would
be able to minister in a way that was more effective.
Titus, on the other hand, is not even the slightest
bit Jewish. He is fully Greek. He is Gentile.
And so... Paul does not feel compelled for Titus
to be circumcised for that very reason. There
is no need for contextualization in this instance
because the gospel has been proven to be effective
in the life of Titus. Paul intentionally brought
Titus. a Gentile believer who had not been circumcised
as a living example that salvation comes through
faith in Christ alone, not through the ceremonial
requirements of the Mosaic Law. You see, at the
Council of Jerusalem, there was a question that
needed to be answered. What impact does the ceremonial
law have on salvation? And while the law was
there as a tutor, while the law is there as a
way to point us to Christ, the ceremonial aspects
of the law had been fulfilled in Christ and the
gospel was now able to be applied to all peoples
regardless of these superficial or outward changes.
And later Titus became one of Paul's most dependable
ministry partners. Certainly, they had to be
close. How awkward that exchange must have been
for Titus standing there. Paul entrusted him
with difficult assignments. Paul used him and
gave him assignments wherein he addressed serious
problems in the Corinthian church. Turn back
to 2 Corinthians with me. Again, I think it's
helpful for us to look at these passages because
they are good reminders. of why Paul is writing
what he is writing here. 2 Corinthians, and if
you look to chapter 7, look specifically at verses
6 -7 first. What does Paul write here? But God,
who comforts the depressed, comforted us by the
coming of Titus. And not only by his coming,
but also by the comfort with which he was comforted
in you. As he reported to us, your longing, your
mourning, your zeal for me so that I rejoice
even more. 2 Corinthians, of course, is written
to the church at Corinth after 1 Corinthians,
wherein Paul in that polemic is quite harsh with
the Corinthian church where he calls out sin
and Titus who had been left there to minister
as a trusted minister of the apostle Paul. had
no doubt come to Paul by the time he composed
the second Corinthians and heard, Paul heard
that there had been change in their hearts and
he was comforted by his coming. Look at verses
13 and 15, same chapter. For this reason we have
been comforted and besides our comfort we rejoice
even much more for the joy of Titus because his
spirit has been refreshed by you all. For if
anything, For if in anything I have boasted to
him about you, I was not put to shame. But as
we spoke all things to you in truth, so also
our boasting before Titus proved to be the truth.
Titus is a valued ministry partner of the Apostle
Paul. Look at chapter 8, beginning in verse 16.
But thanks be to God who puts the same earnestness
on your behalf in the heart of Titus. For he
not only accepted our appeal, but being himself
very earnest, he has gone to you of his own accord.
And then in verse 23, As for Titus, he is my
partner and fellow worker among you. As for our
brethren, they are messengers of the churches.
a glory to Christ. In this letter, Paul refers
to Titus, his trusted ministry companion, his
partner, his co -laborer in the gospel. He refers
to him, if you scoot down to verse 4 in Titus
chapter 1, he refers to him in this way, he says,
to Titus, my true child in a common faith. Grace
and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus
our Savior. Titus, my true child in a common
faith. May I just say that it's difficult for
us, I think. It's difficult for us. It certainly
is for me. Perhaps I should only speak for myself.
It's difficult for us to really fully grasp.
what Paul means when he refers to Titus as his
true child in a common faith. I don't know if
you're aware of this or not, but Christianity
in the 21st century is much easier than it was
in the first. Maybe not throughout the world,
but certainly here in southeastern Illinois and
southwestern Indiana. We certainly have not experienced
the same difficulties and trials that Paul and
Titus have shared as they co -labor in the gospel.
That phrase, my true child in a common faith,
tells us that their relationship was not merely
professional. When I worked for an employer for
several years, I developed friendships over that
course of time. I developed relationships in
that place. I spent four nights a week with the
same group of guys for six years, and I became
friends with them. And though it was difficult
when I left that setting, it was not the end
of the world for me. I think about some of those
friends from time to time, and I do miss them,
some of them more than others. Some of them I
don't miss at all, to be honest with you. And
I'm sure many of them feel the same way about
me. I think about them, and while I miss them,
I don't feel a sense of great loss. You know
what I mean? Can you imagine what it was like
in the time of the apostles? There was no means
of communication other than writing letters that
had to be carried by someone, sometimes great,
vast distances, right? When someone left and
was sent, say, to, oh, I don't know, the island
of Crete, it's not as if Paul could simply ring
up Titus at that point. It's not as though...
Paul could get on Facebook and find a post and
see what's going on in Titus' life, right? It's
not as though it were easy for people to communicate.
We know Paul, for instance, was shipwrecked multiple
times, and we know that their lives were constantly
in danger due to persecution. When someone was
sent, there was the very real possibility that
they could die, and you would not know for weeks.
Months? Maybe even years. Here's this man, Titus,
whom Paul considered a true child in the common
faith. And their relationship was not just based
on working together. Their relationship was not
merely professional. Titus was a spiritual son.
to Paul. Someone Paul loved deeply and someone
Paul trusted completely. Their connection was
intimate and familiar, but it was not based on
some superficial common interest. Rather, their
relationship was rooted in their mutual love
for the gospel of Jesus Christ, their common
faith. Now, I do think there's a point to be
made here in the way of application. And I'm
not suggesting that all of us should be as close
as Paul and Titus were. But I am suggesting that
aiming for relationships like that within the
church is not a bad idea. Many of us, myself
included, have a tendency to leave this place
on Sunday mornings. And I'm talking about this
place. I'm talking about Grace Fellowship Church.
Many of us have a tendency to leave this place
on Sunday mornings. And unfortunately, I would
venture to guess, there are weeks that go by
when we think nothing of it again until the next
Sunday morning. And I don't say that to come
down on you. I'm preaching this to myself. But
I am saying that we... Share a common faith.
We have been joined to Christ and to one another.
If you are in Christ and the person sitting on
either side of you is in Christ, you are inextricably
linked to them. You may not minister. alongside
them in the same way that Paul and Titus ministered
for the sake of the gospel in the first century
church, it's unlikely that any one of us will
have as profound an effect on the world as what
Paul and Titus had. However, you have a common
faith. You have a common... with the people who
are sitting right next to you, those little souls
that will go out into that parking lot when we're
done here and climb into your vehicle with you
and will ride with you back to Mount Carmel,
back to Richland County, back to Bone Gap, back
to wherever you're going. Those souls are not
merely flesh and blood to you. They are not just
your physical children, parents. They are like
spiritual children to you as well. And I would
challenge you as a point of application. And
again, preaching to myself. I would challenge
you. How strongly do you feel that bond? How
impactful is it on you to know? that you have
been bound to those people, whether they're the
folks you're sitting next to now or the children
that you'll go home with when we're done, how
much does it affect you to know that you share
a common faith with them? The faith that brings
about eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
And I'm not trying to stir up your emotions.
I'm not trying to whip up some reaction in you.
I'm trying to make you think deeply. About what
this relationship was like between Paul and Titus.
Because it should inform the relationships we
have with other believers in the church. Paul
trusted Titus completely. He loved him deeply.
Paul loved Titus so much and trusted him so much
that he was willing to send him to Crete. And
that's really our third point, the setting of
this letter, the island of Crete. Crete, anybody
like geography? I do. I love geography. I'm not
suggesting that I'm really good at it, but that
was always one of my favorite. I always enjoyed
all of the social sciences and especially geography.
Crete is an island in the Mediterranean Sea.
I don't know about you, but when I think of the
Mediterranean Sea, I think of crystal blue water.
I think of white sandy beaches. I think of beauty.
I think of a wonderful vacation spot, though
I hate travel, so it'll never happen. Kind of
weird to be that way. Crete is in the Mediterranean
Sea. It is south of mainland Greece. It is the
largest of the Greek islands, and it is, as I
read, not that I knew this already, but it is
the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean.
It had a long and famous history stretching back
many centuries before the time of the New Testament.
In fact, I did read that Crete was home to one
of the earliest advanced civilizations in Europe.
By the first century, however, the island had
developed a very poor moral reputation in the
wider Greek and Roman world. Ancient writers
frequently described the Cretans as dishonest,
greedy, and morally undisciplined. This poor
reputation was so strong, the Greek language
actually developed a verb based on their name.
I am going to attempt to pronounce it for you.
Please do not laugh. I believe it's kritizo.
And that word means to act like a Cretan or to
lie or deceive. Later in this very chapter, Paul
quotes. one of Crete's own poets, Epimenides.
And he writes this in verse 12. Cretans are always
liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons. Now I said
that Crete was a beautiful island with... Blue,
clear water, beautiful white sandy beaches, beautiful
terrain, a wonderful vacation spot, but I cannot
imagine that that was helping the tourism industry
in Crete when even one of their own referred
to them as liars, evil beasts, and lazy gluttons.
We often joke, Ashley and I have joked, I have
joked and Ashley pretends to laugh, when we've
been to certain islands in the past. Again, travel
is not my favorite thing. But when we've gone,
I always make mention of the fact that we are
on island time. And I do not mean that for myself
because I'm uptight. And I cannot help it. Ask
my children. They can verify. I really don't
care for sitting still for too long a period
of time. In fact, standing up here right now
for as long as I have makes me want to stomp
my feet. It's difficult for me to sit still.
And when I go to an island, I really, really
struggle because when I look around, everyone
saunters when they walk. They are so much slower
than I am. When I'm walking to a place, I like
to get to the place I'm going. I know many of
you are probably the same way. At least I hope
you are because it makes me feel better about
myself. After service, just lie to me and say
that you're like me. That will make me feel better.
Island time. Here's Crete. An island. An island
full of liars, deceivers, evil beasts. Lazy gluttons.
Now, I don't mean to throw all island -dwelling
people under one broad brush, but in the same
breath, it is something that seems to stand out.
Sometimes things are the way they are. Today,
we even use the word Cretan ourselves, right?
You've called someone a Cretan before, or at
least you know someone who has. And this is why.
because of their moral inactivity, because of
their unwillingness to be truthful, because they
have no ethics. Crete was known in the Roman
world also for piracy, for supplying mercenaries,
and for political instability. Crete sounds like
Chicago at this point. The island's cities were
fiercely independent and difficult to govern.
That sounds like southeastern Illinois. In other
words, Crete was not exactly known as a place
where moral discipline and social order flourished.
The Bible doesn't tell us exactly when or how
the churches in Crete were first established,
but it is possible the gospel reached the island
through Jews who were present. For the apostles
preaching at Pentecost, you remember what Luke
writes in Acts chapter 2, verse 11 in particular,
he says, Cretans and Arabs, we hear them in our
own tongues speaking of the mighty deeds of God.
Perhaps there were men of Crete who had been
in Jerusalem at Pentecost and heard Peter's sermon,
who were pierced to the quick. who were then
filled with the Spirit, who then returned to
the island where they began to establish churches.
Perhaps some of them did carry the gospel back
home to their island. Apparently, Paul and Titus
spent time on the island helping to establish
and support the churches. And again, we don't
really know the timeline for that. Regardless,
though, the work on Crete was not yet complete.
As Paul explains to Titus in verse 5, For this
reason I left you in Crete, that you would set
in order what remains and appoint elders in every
city as I directed you. The churches existed
in Crete, but they still needed more. They needed
biblical leadership. They needed doctrinal stability.
They needed correction of false teaching and
instruction in godly living. Titus had the difficult
but essential assignment to help turn young,
vulnerable congregations into healthy, stable
churches. And he had to do that in the midst
of a corrupt and morally compromised Think about
that for a moment. Think about the assignment.
And I would encourage you to read through Titus
this week. It won't take you very long. But think
about the assignment that's being given here
to Titus. And how this assignment must be accomplished
in the midst of corrupt and compromised people.
Now that's why it's so important for us to know
the context of this letter. Because it demonstrates
just how immensely applicable this letter is
for us today. Do we not live in the midst of
corruption and moral compromise? I hate to admit
this. But you know where the first place my mind
goes when I hear the word island anymore? I'm
sure you can guess. Right? We live in a culture
that is compromised in the same ways as the Cretan
culture of Paul and Titus' day. And we have...
a duty to do the same things that Paul will instruct
Titus to do here in this letter. We see all the
same types of activity going on in the world
around us, don't we? I mean, when was the last
time you heard anyone tell the truth? When was
the last time? You heard someone talk, and I'm
not talking about the people you can stand across
from and have a conversation with. I can't remember
with whom I was having this conversation, but
I told someone, and I think it was maybe at a
fellowship meal here not terribly long ago, that
the only people I trust in the world are the
people I can touch. In other words, the only
people I trust at this point in my life are the
people who are close enough to me who see me
on a regular enough basis that I can give them
a hug, shake their hand, or kiss them. You know
what I mean? Those are the only people I trust.
Because every time I turn on Facebook or YouTube
or any other one of those godforsaken social
media platforms, I listen to people talk and
they take different positions. Different positions.
And there are people... who will tell you something,
even though they know they are lying. And they
know that you know that they're lying, and yet
they do not care. Amen? That's the world we live
in today. And I don't mean to be bleak. I don't
mean to make you feel depressed. This is a good
sermon. Let's enjoy it. But it doesn't change
the fact that we live in an age of compromise.
We live in the age of deceit. This is a post
-truth world that we live in. And they manipulate
everything. I love silver. I love silver. And,
I don't know, within the past few years, I really
started paying attention to the markets and the
futures. And it wasn't too long ago that the
price of silver ran up to over $120 an ounce.
Previously, the historic high had been around
$50 an ounce. And I remember when it shot up
that high, and then within just a few weeks,
it had collapsed. Actually, once it hit $120,
it collapsed pretty quickly. The point here is
that that market moved the way it moved, not
because of some change, some institutional change,
some system... that had changed, but rather because
that market was being manipulated. Now you take
that instance and you can apply it to virtually
anything else in the world right now. And there
are people who are manipulating things, people
who are lying about things, people who will tell
you that they know what's best for you while
they have every intention of the world to see
your demise unfold. Just like Crete. That's our
culture today. So this book, this letter from
the Apostle Paul to Titus is applicable for us.
But I want to tell you something. The cultural
malignancies that we see around us in the secular
world, guys, those malignancies are in the church.
Now, I'm not suggesting they're in this church,
but I am suggesting that they exist and persist
in the church writ large, especially in the United
States of America. How many churches are ordered
rightly? Is our church ordered rightly? How can
we know? Are many Christians' lives, and I say
this with a certain sense of fear, are many Christians'
lives marked by godly living? Is yours? Is your
life marked by godly living? Because you're going
to see what the gospel produces here in the book
of Titus. And you're going to see that when Titus
starts applying these principles, when he's encouraged
to apply these principles from this letter, from
Paul, that people's lives are supposed to be
changed by the gospel. We're supposed to be different
once we have the gospel. So I ask, is your life
as a Christian, is my life as a Christian marked
by godly living? Now this letter is remarkably
applicable for us today. It demonstrates the
urgent need for the gospel in churches and communities
across our land. The gospel rightly understood
and applied doesn't merely save individuals.
It has the power to transform churches and it
has the power to transform, just so you know,
the gospel rightly applied has the power to change
any church. lest we think that somehow we're
special. It has the power to change any life.
Any life. And it has the power to impact entire
cultures. It produces sound doctrine. It produces
godly character, healthy churches, and lives
that are devoted to good works. I believe that's
why Paul, before addressing these specific problems
in Crete, Starts by explaining the purpose of
the gospel. And we're not going to get into this
now because I've already gone too long. But read
with me there. Verse 1. After he introduces himself
as a bond servant of God and apostle of Jesus
Christ, he says, For the faith of those chosen
of God and the knowledge of the truth, which
is according to godliness, in the hope of eternal
life, which God, who cannot lie, promised long
ages ago, but at the proper time manifested even
his word and the proclamation with which I was
entrusted according to the commandment of God
our Savior. Lord willing. We will pick up there
next week, and we will expand upon the gospel
that is described so well here by the Apostle
Paul. And we'll see that this gospel comes from
a God of order, that it contains the hope of
eternal life, that it was promised by God, and
He is a God who does not lie. And what a stark
contradiction that will be. to the world around
us, just as it was to Titus' world around him.