mentioned. We are in Titus chapter 1 today. I
invite you to turn there with me. We'll be focusing
once again on verses 1 through 4, the salutation
to this letter from the Apostle Paul to Titus.
I'd like to read that aloud for you now as you
follow along silently. And as we do so, remember
that this is God's Paul, a bondservant of God
and 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 come to your
word yet again this morning, we first and foremost
thank you. For your word. That you have handed
down your word. By the inspiration of the Holy
Spirit. That it has been preserved by your providence.
Throughout history God. And that now as your
people. A people of this book. We can come together
now. To learn more of you. To see this revelation
you have given us. Through the written pages
of scripture. We ask that you would bless. the
reading and preaching of your word today, that
it would affect your intended purpose in your
people. Holy Spirit, we ask that you would illumine
our minds so we may understand these truths rightly.
Open our hearts so we may receive them with faith
and obedience. Lord, edify your saints. Draw
sinners to yourself and magnify the great and
powerful name of our blessed Savior, the Lord
Jesus Christ, for it is in his name we pray.
Amen. Please be seated. Our singer today mentioned
that sometimes when singing we mess up and it
still doesn't keep us from worshiping. And as
he said that, I couldn't help but think that
as the preacher today may very well make a few
mistakes along the way. It will not inhibit us
from knowing more of God. When we speak of his
word and what it means to us as believers, it
is important for us to remember that God has
revealed himself to us through his word. That's
why so often we speak of the ministry of the
word when we come together and worship on Sunday
mornings. We do so because we understand that
this is what God has given us in order that we
might know him. And what's really beautiful about
the word of God is that it is not simply for
our knowing, but it is also for our application.
It is not merely for us to assent to some level
of intellectual understanding of what God says
in his word, but also we are called as Christians.
And this is a key theme of this letter to Titus.
We are called as Christians to apply the Word
of God to our lives. This is the faith once for
all handed down to the saints, as Jude says very
clearly in his epistle, and this faith has an
impact on our lives. Last week we began this
study of Paul's epistle to Titus by establishing
the context and the setting. of this, the third
of the pastoral epistles. I mentioned, of course,
1 and 2 Timothy and Titus being that sub -genre,
if you will, of the Pauline epistles, those letters
that were written by the Apostle Paul, most of
them having been written to the churches to which
Paul had ministered, many of which Paul had planted
himself along with co -workers such as Titus.
Of course, these are slightly different because
they're not addressed to the churches. They're
addressed first to Timothy and also to Titus.
And though we might be tempted to think that
there is one other personal title among these
letters that Paul has written, that of course
being to Philemon. These are different because
these have pastoral intent behind them. There
is a certain amount of instruction here that
is intended for the care, the maintenance, the
structure, the organization of the church and
is clearly written to these men who served as
ministers, as pastors of these churches. We took
some time last week, as I mentioned, to establish
the context and the setting of this letter. And
just to give a brief review, because I think
it will be helpful for us as we move forward,
we asked and attempted to answer, I don't know
how well I did, you all will have to be the judge
of that, but we asked and attempted to answer
certain questions. And though we did not attempt
to answer them in any specific order, we used
these questions as a way to frame our thinking
around the letter. Some of those questions that
we asked were, 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's going on around them?
And again, I hope that when we established that
context last week, it was helpful for us. You
will recall that at one point last week we jumped
ahead to verse 5 to see that the apostle wrote
this letter to his trusted co -worker Titus,
who had been left on the island of Crete with
a very specific assignment. There Paul writes
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.
Titus had the responsibility of bringing order.
stability, and sound doctrine to young churches,
young churches that had been established in a
difficult place. This is something that is common
for many pastors, preachers, evangelists, and
church planters. Oftentimes, churches are planted
in places that are difficult to minister. And
of course, Crete was one such difficult place,
a truly difficult place. The island had developed
a reputation throughout the Roman and Greek world
for dishonesty and moral disorder. We mentioned
that Greek verb, pratizo, last week. And again,
I'm not a Greek scholar and I do not pretend
to be one. but certain commentators make a point
of mentioning it. And it's very helpful to us
because that verb was adopted into the Greek
language specifically because of Crete, because
of the people of Crete. And that word means to
act like a Cretan. It means to lie or to deceive.
We noted later in chapter 1 and verse 12 where
Paul actually quotes The Greek philosopher, the
poet Epimenides, and writes, Cretans are always
liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons. No doubt,
Crete was a difficult place by admission of one
of their own, Epimenides. So the churches Titus
was serving were planted in a culture that was
marked by deception, moral corruption, and instability.
Instantly our minds may be tempted to think of
the fact that this is such an applicable truth
and reality about the world we live in today.
No doubt we see such moral corruption around
us all the time, and it is not simply something
that is out there. We mentioned ourselves that
even those... Poor views of the world that we
see here, these malignancies, if you will, exist
within the church too. Yet that is exactly the
kind of place the gospel shines most brightly.
Because the gospel doesn't merely save individuals.
It has the power to transform lives, to order
churches, and to confront cultures. Oftentimes
when we think of the light of the gospel, we're
reminded that it shines most brightly against
the darkest backdrop. If we were to turn on a
flashlight in this room right now, even a high
-quality flashlight, It would not make much difference
in the room, but if this room were completely
dark right now, if there were no light coming
through the windows, if none of the lights over
our heads were turned on, and we were to shine
a bright flashlight in this room today, it would
be spectacular in what it would reveal around
us. The gospel has the same effect. When culture
is corrupt, when people are in sin, when the
world around us is dim and dark, the light of
the gospel shines ever brighter. This really
brings us back to Paul's opening words here in
Titus chapter 1, verses 1 through 4. If you have
a New American Standard Bible, the heading is
Salutation. Seems pretty simple. Seems like something
we could just gloss over, something that we could
read and move on to the important part of the
letter. But in his typical style, Paul uses words
that are so helpful for us as he writes under
the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, and it behooves
us to take time to consider what is here written.
Before Paul addresses false teachers, We'll certainly
get into that. Before he discusses church leadership,
before he instructs believers on godly living,
Paul begins with something that is far more fundamental,
something essential, something that is utterly
foundational to our faith. In his salutation
to Titus, Paul begins with the gospel itself.
And I think that it will be helpful for us to
first examine the structure of this greeting,
the structure of Paul's greeting, his salutation
to Titus. Now, again, I... I admit to you that
I am not a Greek scholar, but many of the commentators,
if you read them, and other scholars who are
available for reading, will mention that this
is a typical Pauline introduction, a sentence
that is very common with Paul, written in the
Greek originally as a run -on sentence. And there's
notes about the fact that a lot of the punctuation
you'll see in this salutation is added by the
English translators because, quite frankly, as
English speakers and readers, we struggle to
fully grasp the Greek sometimes. So we add these
commas or sometimes semicolons or colons as a
way to help us better break up a sentence like
this. And while it does not lend itself structurally
to an easy outline, there are so many important
truths here, and it almost seems as though because
Paul is being carried along in the Spirit, he
seems to almost be celebrating the fact that
he has this gospel, that this common faith he
and Titus share, as he mentions in verse 4, is
based upon this gospel. And the structure of
this sentence, the structure of the greeting
in total, is helpful for us to understand what
he's trying to say. It appears at first glance
just to be something simple, introductory, a
greeting, but it's actually a compressed summary
of the gospel. I listened to Alistair Begg preach
a couple sermons from this passage. I don't know
about you all, but I love listening to Pastor...
Alistair Begg, I think he's a spectacular Bible
teacher, and he entitled these two sermons, part
one and two, as Truth Tightly Packed. Boy, that's
an appropriate way to describe this particular
passage. Here, with an economy of words, the
Apostle Paul tightly packs truth that is transformative,
not only for individuals, but for the church
at large. That is an appropriate way. to summarize
these few verses, because in short order, in
this one run -on sentence, the Apostle Paul lays
out a robust understanding of the truth of the
gospel and its origin, which is according to
God's eternal purpose. If you look again, beginning
about the second half of verse 1 and through
the end of verse 3, I'd like to look there again
and read them to you. Of course, Paul has introduced
himself as a servant 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.
In these opening verses, Paul traces the gospel
through several themes. He talks about the gospel
that produces the faith of the chosen, the gospel
that reveals truth that leads to godliness, the
gospel brings the hope of eternal life, the gospel
rests on the promise of the God who cannot lie,
the gospel has been revealed. at the proper time.
In this short series of statements, Paul demonstrates
that the gospel originates in the eternal purpose
of God himself. These are glorious truths. These
are uplifting truths. These are truths that we
as believers should focus on, that we should
think about, that we should meditate upon, and
they will build our faith in the process. Really,
this is the central theme of the entire letter.
By structuring his opening in this way, Paul
links several ideas together in a carefully constructed
chain. He describes his apostleship as existing,
quote, for the faith of those chosen of God and
the knowledge of the truth, which is according
to godliness. That phrase is extremely important.
Here, the inspired apostle is saying the truth
of the gospel is not merely something to be known
intellectually. This truth produces godliness.
We could say it this way. The gospel produces
godly living. Now, we'll actually hit on this
in just a moment, probably to our edification.
I certainly hope so. But I want to take just
a moment to preview it if I could. The gospel,
as I mentioned in my introduction, is not merely
about intellectual assent. Rather, it produces
godly living. And I guess I would issue a challenge
to you. And as I mentioned last week, when I
preach a sermon like this, I am preaching to
myself as well. I do not say this as if I am
the standard bearer of godly living, and I do
not say this as if I have it all figured out,
but I do say this for the fact, for the benefit
of you people, that you might consider how your
lives are being led. How are you demonstrating
godly living? This becomes the central theme
of this entire letter. We'll see this traced
throughout all three chapters of Titus. We'll
see that Paul repeatedly connects sound doctrine
to godly living. And he does so for these Christians
in the immediate context of the letter who are
living among a deceitful people. For these Christians
who live in a compromised place. in the midst
of a morally bankrupt society. It is so easy
for us to come to a knowledge of the Scriptures,
to come to a certain level of understanding about
what is taught in the Scriptures, and yet we
allow the world around us to have far more impact
on us than we do the Scriptures. It's amazing
to me how we as people have a tendency to know
certain things, but to be completely incapable
of implementing them in our lives. The scriptures
do not work that way. The scriptures are intended
to inform our lives, to shape our lives. Unless
we get things backwards, we're not intended to
do these things as a way to somehow merit. We
don't somehow work in order to achieve salvation,
but rather we're changed by it. That's why the
gospel has been given, for godliness. Additionally,
we'll see more of this when we look at false
teachers. The churches on Crete are being told
how to combat all this cultural evil by people
who themselves are not true adherents to the
gospel. This is something that I think will be
very applicable for us because right now in the
world around us, there's a lot of this going
on. Christianity is actually kind of in vogue
right now. Have you noticed? To say, I'm a Christian,
I mean, I can think of one political commentator
in particular who every other sentence, every
other breath, now I'm a Christian, who says this
constantly, constantly says this. Has his life
started to display godliness? And I don't know.
I've not been around him in a personal setting.
But my question is, is it enough merely to claim
the moniker of a Christian and yet to never have
your life transformed by the gospel? The false
teachers that we'll learn more about as we go
through this book. valued outward expressions.
They valued ceremony. They valued human works
over the life -changing power of the gospel of
grace. That's why Paul places such an emphasis
on sound doctrine. You can think of certain books
that Paul wrote in the New Testament. Ephesians
is one of my favorite books in the New Testament,
and it's famous for this. The notion... that
right understanding precedes right practice.
Ephesians is basically split right down the middle.
There's six chapters. It lends itself to the
structure very well because of the way it's organized
for us in our Bibles. The first three chapters
of the book of Ephesians deal almost exclusively
with orthodoxy. They deal almost exclusively
with right understanding. And the last three
chapters deal almost exclusively with orthopraxy,
with right practice. Paul is famous for this.
Paul is so good at this as he writes under the
inspiration of the Holy Spirit. And even here
in Titus, he does a wonderful job of helping
us to understand how sound doctrine informs our
lives, the way we lead our lives. He says later
in this very... But as for you, speak the things
which are fitting for sound doctrine. Titus 2
.1. Immediately after that, most of you know
Titus chapter 2 is a very famous passage of scripture.
Immediately after that, he'll describe how believers
in every stage of life should live their lives.
Later. In chapter 2 and verse 14, he writes that
Christ redeemed a people who are, quote, zealous
for good deeds. Zealous for good deeds. Christian,
I say to you, if you have been redeemed by the
Lord Jesus Christ, you should be zealous for
good deeds. Amen? And again, in Titus chapter
3 and verse 8. He writes, those who have believed
God will be careful to engage in good deeds.
You see, false doctrine, it produces corruption.
But the true gospel produces godliness. And that
theme really begins right here in the opening
sentence. It is a rather long sentence, but it
begins right here in this opening sentence. So
I want to take just a few moments to give you
five points from this opening sentence. And I
hope these will be helpful to you as you kind
of hang your hat here in the salutation of Paul's
letter to Titus. I won't be too long -winded
with these, so I ask you to follow along with
me now. The first point that I would make about
the gospel is this. The gospel produces the faith
of the chosen. The gospel produces the faith
of the chosen. Chosen, that word produces very
carefully. Verse 1, for the faith of those chosen
of God. Here Paul explains that his apostleship
exists for the faith of those chosen of God.
For the faith of the elect. Scripture consistently
teaches that God has chosen a people for himself.
This is a consistent theme in both the Old and
New Testaments. Ephesians chapter 1 and verse
4. Paul has this beautiful opening to the book
of Ephesians. All of this about the glory of
God. All of these things that God has worked
out in his plan of redemption. For His own glory,
right? To the praise of His glory. I can't remember
how many times that phrase is repeated, but it's
at least three or four times. To the praise of
the glory of His grace. We see that over and
over and over. In Ephesians chapter 1 and verse
4, it says very clearly, He chose us in Him before
the foundation of the world. Wow. What a thought.
God. chose us in Him, in Christ, before the foundation
of the world. In eternity past, God, who existed
in this perfect fellowship of the Trinity, the
triune God, chose us in Christ before the foundation
of the world. Romans chapter 8 and verse 30.
Of course, you're all very familiar with that
passage. Where it is written by the Apostle Paul,
Those whom he predestined, he also... Anybody
remember? What did he do to them? He called them.
He called them the golden chain of redemption.
Those whom he predestined, he also called. Paul
is not saying here that election or God's...
choosing somehow eliminates the need for faith.
Rather, what he's saying here in this opening
to Titus is that the gospel creates faith in
those whom God has chosen. Now, it might seem
like it's a matter of syntax or somehow I am
just parsing words or I'm somehow trying to make
a point that isn't there to you, but I would
challenge you to read through the entire New
Testament and not come to this same conclusion.
The gospel creates faith in those whom God has
chosen. God has ordained both the end, that being
our salvation, our redemption, and he has ordained
the means by which that end comes about. God
is a God of means. What he has decreed in eternity
past is brought about according to his divine
and sovereign will by the means which he has
appointed. So what are the means by which we
are saved? Primarily, the gospel. This produces
the faith. of the chosen. The gospel, according
to God's eternal purpose, the gospel produces
the faith of the elect. God chooses a people
and he sends the gospel so that they will believe.
Think ahead to 2 Timothy, or think back to 2
Timothy chapter 2 and verse 10. I endure all
things for the sake of those who are chosen.
Now that's the Apostle Paul writing. What all
did Paul endure? Let's think for a moment. What
all did Paul endure for the sake of those who
were chosen? Well, we know he was shipwrecked
a couple times. Spent some time in the sea, dreading
water, right? He was imprisoned. He was beaten.
He was scourged. Paul suffered in ways that most
of us could never imagine, and ultimately he
died because of his faith. He chose willingly
to endure all those things, as he says in 2 Timothy
2 .10, for the sake of those who are chosen.
Now I ask you, if you knew that you were staring
down the barrel of a gun for the sake of someone
who was chosen, wouldn't you want to be confident?
that God was going to bring His will about in
their lives. Paul is willing to endure all things
because he's confident that God will bring His
chosen people into His fold. We should feel the
same way. As believers, we should feel the same
way. We should be confident. Though we may not
know who the elect are, though we may not know
who has been chosen of God from eternity past,
before the foundation of the world, we may not
know who they are, but we do know that God will
bring his eternal purpose about in their lives
through the gospel. Thus, we must be willing
to proclaim it. Second, the gospel reveals truth.
that leads to godliness. Now I know I've already
hit this quite a bit, and we will hit this a
lot as we go through this particular book of
the Bible, because it is just riddled throughout
this letter that Paul wrote to Titus. So I'll
go over this part briefly. We've touched on it
already, but Paul states in verse 1, and the
knowledge of the truth which is according to
godliness. You know, we've talked a lot already
about the fact that Christianity is not merely
about intellectual ascent, but I would also add,
it is not merely about emotional experience.
And this is important for us because as a people,
we tend to fall in one of two categories. We
tend to either be overly intellectual, or we
tend to be overly dependent on emotional experience.
And the church could really be divided in that
way. Don't you think that's possible that you
could see where the church either ends up being
stodgy, dry, and cold, or the church ends up
being ooey and gooey, right? You see that a lot
in the church today, in modern evangelicalism.
It's all around us. Christianity is not merely
emotional experience, and I would tell you, it
is not merely moral improvement, nor is it religious
tradition. You understand that? Christianity
is not merely moral improvement. And this is
important to note because, again, it will apply
very much when we talk about the false teachers
who were in Crete. But it is not merely moral
improvement. That is a component of Christianity.
You should be conformed to the image of Christ.
You want to measure to the godliness of God,
right? You want to be compared to Jesus, and
though you'll never reach that mark, that is
the mark for which you are striving. But Christianity
is not merely that. Christianity is not something
that we set a task in front of ourselves and
say, I'm going to develop a list. And these are
the categories of my life that I need to improve
upon. And by improving upon these things, by
improving upon these areas of my life, somehow
I will attain to godliness. Because godliness
is not merely moral improvement. Certainly it
is not, as I mentioned a moment ago, religious
tradition. The gospel reveals truth that leads
to godliness because it is rounded in. Not merely
truth to be known or assented to. It is the truth
that leads to godliness. The gospel transforms
the mind and the heart. As we mentioned before,
right belief produces right living. False doctrine
leads to corruption. Sound doctrine produces
godliness. Now, we are commanded in other places
in the scriptures. to walk in the Spirit. We
are told in Galatians chapter 5 about how we're
supposed to put off the deeds of the flesh, right?
And then Paul in Galatians 5, boy, Paul's getting
a lot of air time today, in the verses immediately
following that list. And it's a long list of
the deeds of the flesh, isn't it? Long list of
the deeds of the flesh. And then we're given
the fruit of the Spirit. Love, joy, peace, patience,
kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness,
self -control, all these things. Against such
there is no law. You know, that whole passage.
Everybody knows it. We're supposed to be transformed.
Our lives are supposed to be transformed by this
eternal truth that leads to godliness. But it
is not. enabled by the Spirit of God, it is merely
intellectual ascent. It is one thing to apply
Scripture to your mind and something altogether
different to apply it to your heart. So, when
we think about leading lives, godly lives, perhaps
the question we should ask ourselves, am I indwelt
by the Spirit of God? Is the Spirit at work within
me, both to will and to work? The third point
I'll make about the gospel is this. The gospel
gives the hope of eternal life. Verse 2, Paul
continues, in the hope of eternal life. Pretty
straightforward. The word hope in Scripture does
not mean uncertainty. When we talk about the
hope of eternal life, We are not merely saying,
oh, I hope we get a new governor in November,
right? Oh, I hope something changes in that situation.
Oh, I hope I win the lottery. This is not the
kind of hope that we're dealing with in the pages
of Scripture. The word hope in Scripture does
not mean some type of uncertain hope. This is
not frivolous. This is not some pipe dream. This
is not some wish. Our hope is not ethereal and
it is not unclear. As Christians, our hope is
certain. It is a confident expectation because
we possess the sure promise of eternal life.
In John 5, 24, Jesus said, Truly, truly, I say
to you, he who hears my word and believes him
who sent me has eternal life and does not come
into judgment, but has passed out of death into
life. Notice what he said. He who hears my word
and believes him who sent me has eternal life.
Not might have. could have, rather has eternal
life. Do you hear the certainty in Jesus' words?
We have a hope that is fixed according to God's
eternal purpose. And it is something that we
can rely upon because it is absolutely certain.
It is the hope. that gives eternal life. I think
it's important for us to notice as well that
our hope is not only certain, it is profoundly
joyful. This is a good point of application for
us. See a lot of Christians who have no joy in
their lives. I must confess, I'm the type of
person who can fall into that category pretty
easily. I like to blame it on my personality.
It's a convenient excuse. But the fact of the
matter is, I possess a promise from God which
He purposed in eternity past. And it's not only
that I'm certain about that promise, I'm expectant
that the promise will be fulfilled and that expectancy
should give me joy. Think of a mother who is
with child. We often talk about pregnant mothers
and how they have a glow, right? What do you
think that is? Not morning sickness. That glow
is joy. That glow of an expectant mother is there
because... She is expecting something. She is
pregnant and there is joy because she is expecting
a child. As Christians, we should be filled with
joy. As Christians, we should be marked by joy.
And again, I confess to you, this is a struggle
for me. But Christians, are you experiencing
joy? Is joy part of your life or do you simply
go through life as a curmudgeon? You simply just
run around acting like you have nothing to look
forward to. Now think about it for a moment because
I'm talking to some of you here right now. Is
there joy in your life and do you realize that
joy is a mark of godliness? It has to do with
godliness because here you are the recipients
of promise. You are a recipient of a promise
and you've been given the down payment of that
promise in the form of the Holy Spirit. He is
our surety. He is our bond. He is dwelling within
us. So if you're indwelt by the eternal God,
in the person of the Holy Spirit, if you believe
the promises that God has made to you, if you
are trusting that Jesus will come again and that
you will be found in Him, shouldn't you, just
like an expectant mother, look to that time and
think, this brings me joy. Amen? So I ask you
again, Is your life marked by joy? Life is busy.
Life is a struggle. Life is hard. Have you ever
watched your wife or your daughter or your granddaughter
go through labor? It's hard. It's painful. It's
difficult. But the moment she holds that baby
in her arms. It is as if she has instantly forgotten
the pain. Now, I know that's easy for me to say
because I haven't had to do it. Praise God. But
you know what I'm talking about. In the midst
of labor, I've heard my wife say things like,
I will never do this again. And then as soon
as she's holding that baby, and I have eight
of them, so I know this for a fact, she says,
We should have one more. Right? She hasn't even
had a shower yet after delivery, and she's, I
think we should do this again. And I'm like,
I don't know that we should. Your life as a believer,
because you have this promise from God, should
be marked by joy as you wait expectantly for
God to fulfill all of his promise. The hope of
eternal life fills us with joy because it reminds
us of these truths. Sin will not have the final
word. That gives me joy. My sin, oh the bliss
of this glorious thought. My sin, not in part,
but the whole. Amen. When we sing those words,
it's hard not to get a little crack in your voice.
Because you know that someday sin will be absolutely
done away with. Suffering, it will not have the
final word. Death will not have the final word.
One day Christ will return. Every tear will be
wiped away. Every sorrow will be removed. Every
believer will dwell forever. in the presence
of God. So Christians, be filled with joy as
you rest on the promises of God. Fourth point
for you. Fourth, the gospel rests on the promise
of the God who cannot lie. Now this one I love.
I gave even a little extra time to it, and I
know I need to hurry up. Paul continues in verse
2, which God, who cannot lie, promised long ages
ago. To fully appreciate this point, let's remember
the context of Crete in the first century. In
his Look at the Book series on Titus, John Piper
notes that lying is so prevalent in the culture
on Crete, their gods lied and the people lied.
The people of Crete were steeped in Greek mythology.
And according to legend, their chief god Zeus
was born there, yet the Cretan gods, including
Zeus, were morally corrupt and deceptive and
lying was so common in everyday life that it
was culturally normalized. Boy, that smacks of
the world we live in today. It's normal to lie.
We expect people to lie to us, don't we? We made
the comment, or I made the comment last week,
Someone in government tells us something that
we know is a lie. They know that we know that
it's a lie and nobody cares, right? Lying is
normal. Lying is just the way it is. And that
was the way it was on the island of Crete in
the first century. So when Paul writes, God who
cannot lie, he is making a profound statement.
We read that phrase and we think to ourselves,
well, yeah, I mean, we know that God doesn't
lie. God would never lie. But this was not obvious
at all in Crete. Deception was the hallmark of
their culture. Their society was known for untruthfulness.
In a culture where lying pervaded religion and
society, Paul contrasts the pagan world with
the true God of the gospel. What a contrast indeed.
What a juxtaposition to see the God of the Bible.
compared to the pagan world. The promise of eternal
life rests not on fallible humanity or some false
deity, but on the character of the God who cannot
lie. Scripture affirms this truth repeatedly.
In Numbers 23 it is written, God is not a man
that he should lie. In Hebrews chapter 6 it's
written, It is impossible for God to lie. The
gospel rests on a perfectly truthful God. Unlike
the gods of Crete, unlike the deceptive people
of that island, God does not lie. Unlike the
ministers who lie, who lead double lives in our
world today, unlike the politicians who lie and
know that we know that they're lying, unlike
the people in business, who commit all manner
of graft and embezzlement, unlike the people
you see around you on a daily basis, God does
not lie. And God is not capricious. He does not
change His mind. He does not vacillate. He does
not change. Think of James 1, verse 17. Every
good thing given and every perfect gift is from
above. Coming down from the Father of lights
with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.
When God makes a promise, he is faithful to see
it through because God does not lie. He, newsflash,
God is not like us. He is nothing like us. Yes,
we were created in his image. but we are fallible,
sinful people. He is an infinite, holy God. Fifth,
the gospel has been revealed at the proper time.
In verse 3, Paul says, but at the proper time
manifested even His word. You see, the promise
of salvation existed in eternity past, but it
was revealed in history. Oftentimes, Scripture
calls this moment the fullness of time. Going
back to Galatians, back to chapter 4 and verse
4, but when the fullness of the time came, what
did God do? Does anybody remember that passage?
But when the fullness of the time came, God sent
forth His Son. Ladies and gentlemen, this is
a reality that has occurred in history. You understand
that? At the proper time, the gospel has been
revealed to us, and it's through the person and
the work of the Lord Jesus Christ. The eternal
plan of salvation became visible through the
incarnation of Christ, the perfect and sinless
life of Christ, the substitutionary atoning death
of Christ on the cross, and... The eternal plan
of salvation became visible through the resurrection
of Christ in power and glory. This has happened.
For Paul's audience, and it's not just an audience
of one, Titus was meant to share this letter,
obviously. That's how we ended up with it today,
right? For Paul's audience, this was an established...
This was an historical fact. On this side of
redemption, we look back and see the truth that
Jesus came into the world. The second person
of the holy Godhead took on human flesh. The
incarnate word of God came and dwelt among us.
And it's so important because it might be tempting
to... to forget to share the gospel when you
preach a message like this because you're so
focused on the eternal purpose of God. You're
so focused on, or I'm so focused on, trying to
explain the passage that maybe I might forget
to say that you and I, all of you, and myself
included, we are sinful people. Do you know there
is none of us who is righteous outside of Christ?
The reason why Jesus came into the world to save
sinners is because we're all sinners. Every single
one of us. Every single one of us. Some of you
have sinned in the process of sitting here even
now. In thought, if not in deed. Right? Thinking
that Dustin should wind this thing down. I'm
just kidding. That's not sinful. All of us are
sinful. All of us need a Savior. It's why we
begin in the catechism where we do. God, man,
and sin. Man and sin. They go together so well,
don't they? There is none righteous. No, not
one. None of us seeks after God. We are slaves
to sin. We are corrupt to our core. And it's
important for us to know that because this gospel,
which produces all of this hope and joy, this
promise that we can rest upon. There's no sense
in knowing these facts about the gospel if you
don't understand that the gospel was given for
you. Not them out there. I mean, for them out
there too. But specifically, as it applies today,
it was given for you. You need it. You had to
have it. Elsewise, you would have been lost forever.
You would have been separated from God forever.
You would have been underneath his righteous
frown forever. God's wrath would be abiding upon
you. But instead, instead, he sent his son into
the world where he lived a perfect and sinless
life. And he went to the cross as our substitute.
And he endured God's wrath. He drank down the
cup of wrath. He was our propitiation and he
did the atoning work through his sacrifice that
makes us right with God. That's how we're justified.
That's how we are seen as holy. So when you think
about the gospel, you have to remember that it
applies for all of us. And that it happened at
a real point in time when Jesus came into the
world. and did His work on our behalf. If you
do not believe that, I encourage you to search
your heart today. Paul's greeting here in Titus
1 -4 reveals really a beautiful timeline of redemption
because it demonstrates the gospel according
to God's eternal purpose. It was planned in eternity,
promised long ages ago. God purposed salvation
before time began. Again, Ephesians 1 .4, He
chose us in Him before the foundation of the
world. What a glorious reality. It was revealed
in history at the proper time it was manifested.
Christ entered history to accomplish redemption.
It was, and even to this day, still is, being
proclaimed in the present. That's why Paul says
it's the proclamation with which I was entrusted.
And he certainly was. Even now the gospel is
being preached so people may believe. And how
do they believe? Faith comes from hearing, and
hearing by the word of Christ. And it is the
only message that is powerful to transform sinners.
It's the only message that is powerful to strengthen
churches, to order churches rightly. It's the
only message that is powerful enough to change
lives and impact entire cultures. And it is the
only message powerful enough to bring glory to
God through Jesus Christ, His Son.