WEBVTT 00:00:09.699 --> 00:00:16.660 mentioned. We are in Titus chapter 1 today. I 00:00:16.660 --> 00:00:18.899 invite you to turn there with me. We'll be focusing 00:00:18.899 --> 00:00:22.960 once again on verses 1 through 4, the salutation 00:00:22.960 --> 00:00:28.219 to this letter from the Apostle Paul to Titus. 00:00:28.879 --> 00:00:32.840 I'd like to read that aloud for you now as you 00:00:32.840 --> 00:00:35.280 follow along silently. And as we do so, remember 00:00:35.280 --> 00:00:42.990 that this is God's Paul, a bondservant of God 00:00:42.990 --> 00:00:46.450 and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the faith 00:00:46.450 --> 00:00:49.149 of those chosen of God and the knowledge of the 00:00:49.149 --> 00:00:52.789 truth, which is according to godliness, in the 00:00:52.789 --> 00:00:55.850 hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, 00:00:56.170 --> 00:01:00.929 promised long ages ago, but at the proper time 00:01:00.929 --> 00:01:03.929 manifested even his word. in the proclamation 00:01:03.929 --> 00:01:06.750 with which I was entrusted according to the commandment 00:01:06.750 --> 00:01:12.150 of God our Savior, to Titus, my true child in 00:01:12.150 --> 00:01:16.450 a common faith, grace and peace from God the 00:01:16.450 --> 00:01:21.909 Father and Christ Jesus our Savior. Let's pray. 00:01:23.890 --> 00:01:26.349 Gracious Heavenly Father, as we come to your 00:01:26.349 --> 00:01:30.469 word yet again this morning, we first and foremost 00:01:30.469 --> 00:01:34.450 thank you. For your word. That you have handed 00:01:34.450 --> 00:01:36.730 down your word. By the inspiration of the Holy 00:01:36.730 --> 00:01:40.269 Spirit. That it has been preserved by your providence. 00:01:40.390 --> 00:01:44.189 Throughout history God. And that now as your 00:01:44.189 --> 00:01:48.849 people. A people of this book. We can come together 00:01:48.849 --> 00:01:54.450 now. To learn more of you. To see this revelation 00:01:54.450 --> 00:01:58.230 you have given us. Through the written pages 00:01:58.230 --> 00:02:01.849 of scripture. We ask that you would bless. the 00:02:01.849 --> 00:02:04.709 reading and preaching of your word today, that 00:02:04.709 --> 00:02:09.009 it would affect your intended purpose in your 00:02:09.009 --> 00:02:12.310 people. Holy Spirit, we ask that you would illumine 00:02:12.310 --> 00:02:16.189 our minds so we may understand these truths rightly. 00:02:16.409 --> 00:02:20.469 Open our hearts so we may receive them with faith 00:02:20.469 --> 00:02:24.960 and obedience. Lord, edify your saints. Draw 00:02:24.960 --> 00:02:27.860 sinners to yourself and magnify the great and 00:02:27.860 --> 00:02:31.039 powerful name of our blessed Savior, the Lord 00:02:31.039 --> 00:02:34.659 Jesus Christ, for it is in his name we pray. 00:02:35.020 --> 00:02:40.039 Amen. Please be seated. Our singer today mentioned 00:02:40.039 --> 00:02:43.180 that sometimes when singing we mess up and it 00:02:43.180 --> 00:02:46.020 still doesn't keep us from worshiping. And as 00:02:46.020 --> 00:02:47.979 he said that, I couldn't help but think that 00:02:47.979 --> 00:02:51.139 as the preacher today may very well make a few 00:02:51.139 --> 00:02:54.460 mistakes along the way. It will not inhibit us 00:02:54.460 --> 00:02:59.080 from knowing more of God. When we speak of his 00:02:59.080 --> 00:03:01.300 word and what it means to us as believers, it 00:03:01.300 --> 00:03:04.460 is important for us to remember that God has 00:03:04.460 --> 00:03:07.840 revealed himself to us through his word. That's 00:03:07.840 --> 00:03:10.060 why so often we speak of the ministry of the 00:03:10.060 --> 00:03:13.159 word when we come together and worship on Sunday 00:03:13.159 --> 00:03:16.780 mornings. We do so because we understand that 00:03:16.780 --> 00:03:20.780 this is what God has given us in order that we 00:03:20.780 --> 00:03:25.539 might know him. And what's really beautiful about 00:03:25.539 --> 00:03:28.400 the word of God is that it is not simply for 00:03:28.400 --> 00:03:31.939 our knowing, but it is also for our application. 00:03:32.479 --> 00:03:37.280 It is not merely for us to assent to some level 00:03:37.280 --> 00:03:40.759 of intellectual understanding of what God says 00:03:40.759 --> 00:03:44.460 in his word, but also we are called as Christians. 00:03:44.560 --> 00:03:48.120 And this is a key theme of this letter to Titus. 00:03:48.460 --> 00:03:51.740 We are called as Christians to apply the Word 00:03:51.740 --> 00:03:56.560 of God to our lives. This is the faith once for 00:03:56.560 --> 00:04:00.740 all handed down to the saints, as Jude says very 00:04:00.740 --> 00:04:04.439 clearly in his epistle, and this faith has an 00:04:04.439 --> 00:04:08.560 impact on our lives. Last week we began this 00:04:08.560 --> 00:04:12.960 study of Paul's epistle to Titus by establishing 00:04:12.960 --> 00:04:16.939 the context and the setting. of this, the third 00:04:16.939 --> 00:04:20.160 of the pastoral epistles. I mentioned, of course, 00:04:20.240 --> 00:04:24.740 1 and 2 Timothy and Titus being that sub -genre, 00:04:24.740 --> 00:04:28.279 if you will, of the Pauline epistles, those letters 00:04:28.279 --> 00:04:31.300 that were written by the Apostle Paul, most of 00:04:31.300 --> 00:04:34.139 them having been written to the churches to which 00:04:34.139 --> 00:04:36.939 Paul had ministered, many of which Paul had planted 00:04:36.939 --> 00:04:41.240 himself along with co -workers such as Titus. 00:04:41.790 --> 00:04:43.829 Of course, these are slightly different because 00:04:43.829 --> 00:04:45.610 they're not addressed to the churches. They're 00:04:45.610 --> 00:04:49.569 addressed first to Timothy and also to Titus. 00:04:49.709 --> 00:04:51.629 And though we might be tempted to think that 00:04:51.629 --> 00:04:54.509 there is one other personal title among these 00:04:54.509 --> 00:04:56.430 letters that Paul has written, that of course 00:04:56.430 --> 00:04:59.480 being to Philemon. These are different because 00:04:59.480 --> 00:05:03.319 these have pastoral intent behind them. There 00:05:03.319 --> 00:05:06.240 is a certain amount of instruction here that 00:05:06.240 --> 00:05:09.360 is intended for the care, the maintenance, the 00:05:09.360 --> 00:05:12.360 structure, the organization of the church and 00:05:12.360 --> 00:05:18.300 is clearly written to these men who served as 00:05:18.300 --> 00:05:23.019 ministers, as pastors of these churches. We took 00:05:23.019 --> 00:05:25.240 some time last week, as I mentioned, to establish 00:05:25.240 --> 00:05:28.360 the context and the setting of this letter. And 00:05:28.360 --> 00:05:30.379 just to give a brief review, because I think 00:05:30.379 --> 00:05:32.399 it will be helpful for us as we move forward, 00:05:32.600 --> 00:05:35.980 we asked and attempted to answer, I don't know 00:05:35.980 --> 00:05:38.540 how well I did, you all will have to be the judge 00:05:38.540 --> 00:05:40.660 of that, but we asked and attempted to answer 00:05:40.660 --> 00:05:44.379 certain questions. And though we did not attempt 00:05:44.379 --> 00:05:46.819 to answer them in any specific order, we used 00:05:46.819 --> 00:05:49.500 these questions as a way to frame our thinking 00:05:49.500 --> 00:05:52.889 around the letter. Some of those questions that 00:05:52.889 --> 00:05:55.649 we asked were, what's the immediate context within 00:05:55.649 --> 00:05:57.430 which the letter has been written? Who are the 00:05:57.430 --> 00:06:00.250 people involved? Where are they located? What 00:06:00.250 --> 00:06:03.089 is the setting and what's going on around them? 00:06:03.250 --> 00:06:06.230 And again, I hope that when we established that 00:06:06.230 --> 00:06:09.379 context last week, it was helpful for us. You 00:06:09.379 --> 00:06:11.779 will recall that at one point last week we jumped 00:06:11.779 --> 00:06:14.759 ahead to verse 5 to see that the apostle wrote 00:06:14.759 --> 00:06:17.139 this letter to his trusted co -worker Titus, 00:06:17.220 --> 00:06:20.720 who had been left on the island of Crete with 00:06:20.720 --> 00:06:23.120 a very specific assignment. There Paul writes 00:06:23.120 --> 00:06:26.259 in verse 5, For this reason I left you in Crete, 00:06:26.360 --> 00:06:29.019 that you would set in order what remains and 00:06:29.019 --> 00:06:32.439 appoint elders in every city as I directed you. 00:06:33.720 --> 00:06:37.800 Titus had the responsibility of bringing order. 00:06:38.379 --> 00:06:42.000 stability, and sound doctrine to young churches, 00:06:42.259 --> 00:06:45.180 young churches that had been established in a 00:06:45.180 --> 00:06:47.920 difficult place. This is something that is common 00:06:47.920 --> 00:06:51.980 for many pastors, preachers, evangelists, and 00:06:51.980 --> 00:06:55.199 church planters. Oftentimes, churches are planted 00:06:55.199 --> 00:06:59.240 in places that are difficult to minister. And 00:06:59.240 --> 00:07:03.660 of course, Crete was one such difficult place, 00:07:03.740 --> 00:07:07.540 a truly difficult place. The island had developed 00:07:08.060 --> 00:07:11.939 a reputation throughout the Roman and Greek world 00:07:11.939 --> 00:07:15.800 for dishonesty and moral disorder. We mentioned 00:07:15.800 --> 00:07:19.439 that Greek verb, pratizo, last week. And again, 00:07:19.519 --> 00:07:21.519 I'm not a Greek scholar and I do not pretend 00:07:21.519 --> 00:07:24.930 to be one. but certain commentators make a point 00:07:24.930 --> 00:07:28.230 of mentioning it. And it's very helpful to us 00:07:28.230 --> 00:07:30.850 because that verb was adopted into the Greek 00:07:30.850 --> 00:07:34.189 language specifically because of Crete, because 00:07:34.189 --> 00:07:37.089 of the people of Crete. And that word means to 00:07:37.089 --> 00:07:42.230 act like a Cretan. It means to lie or to deceive. 00:07:42.490 --> 00:07:47.610 We noted later in chapter 1 and verse 12 where 00:07:47.610 --> 00:07:51.790 Paul actually quotes The Greek philosopher, the 00:07:51.790 --> 00:07:55.029 poet Epimenides, and writes, Cretans are always 00:07:55.029 --> 00:07:59.370 liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons. No doubt, 00:07:59.430 --> 00:08:04.230 Crete was a difficult place by admission of one 00:08:04.230 --> 00:08:08.209 of their own, Epimenides. So the churches Titus 00:08:08.209 --> 00:08:11.670 was serving were planted in a culture that was 00:08:11.670 --> 00:08:16.230 marked by deception, moral corruption, and instability. 00:08:17.000 --> 00:08:19.480 Instantly our minds may be tempted to think of 00:08:19.480 --> 00:08:22.220 the fact that this is such an applicable truth 00:08:22.220 --> 00:08:25.279 and reality about the world we live in today. 00:08:25.540 --> 00:08:30.100 No doubt we see such moral corruption around 00:08:30.100 --> 00:08:33.320 us all the time, and it is not simply something 00:08:33.320 --> 00:08:36.840 that is out there. We mentioned ourselves that 00:08:36.840 --> 00:08:41.519 even those... Poor views of the world that we 00:08:41.519 --> 00:08:45.120 see here, these malignancies, if you will, exist 00:08:45.120 --> 00:08:50.659 within the church too. Yet that is exactly the 00:08:50.659 --> 00:08:54.840 kind of place the gospel shines most brightly. 00:08:55.460 --> 00:08:59.200 Because the gospel doesn't merely save individuals. 00:09:00.019 --> 00:09:03.919 It has the power to transform lives, to order 00:09:03.919 --> 00:09:07.779 churches, and to confront cultures. Oftentimes 00:09:07.779 --> 00:09:11.120 when we think of the light of the gospel, we're 00:09:11.120 --> 00:09:14.379 reminded that it shines most brightly against 00:09:14.379 --> 00:09:18.580 the darkest backdrop. If we were to turn on a 00:09:18.580 --> 00:09:21.500 flashlight in this room right now, even a high 00:09:21.500 --> 00:09:25.250 -quality flashlight, It would not make much difference 00:09:25.250 --> 00:09:27.169 in the room, but if this room were completely 00:09:27.169 --> 00:09:29.309 dark right now, if there were no light coming 00:09:29.309 --> 00:09:31.549 through the windows, if none of the lights over 00:09:31.549 --> 00:09:34.129 our heads were turned on, and we were to shine 00:09:34.129 --> 00:09:37.289 a bright flashlight in this room today, it would 00:09:37.289 --> 00:09:40.110 be spectacular in what it would reveal around 00:09:40.110 --> 00:09:44.090 us. The gospel has the same effect. When culture 00:09:44.090 --> 00:09:47.759 is corrupt, when people are in sin, when the 00:09:47.759 --> 00:09:51.399 world around us is dim and dark, the light of 00:09:51.399 --> 00:09:55.759 the gospel shines ever brighter. This really 00:09:55.759 --> 00:10:00.539 brings us back to Paul's opening words here in 00:10:00.539 --> 00:10:03.820 Titus chapter 1, verses 1 through 4. If you have 00:10:03.820 --> 00:10:06.179 a New American Standard Bible, the heading is 00:10:06.179 --> 00:10:09.980 Salutation. Seems pretty simple. Seems like something 00:10:09.980 --> 00:10:12.279 we could just gloss over, something that we could 00:10:12.279 --> 00:10:15.019 read and move on to the important part of the 00:10:15.019 --> 00:10:19.600 letter. But in his typical style, Paul uses words 00:10:19.600 --> 00:10:22.379 that are so helpful for us as he writes under 00:10:22.379 --> 00:10:25.179 the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, and it behooves 00:10:25.179 --> 00:10:29.759 us to take time to consider what is here written. 00:10:30.940 --> 00:10:34.759 Before Paul addresses false teachers, We'll certainly 00:10:34.759 --> 00:10:38.100 get into that. Before he discusses church leadership, 00:10:38.500 --> 00:10:41.740 before he instructs believers on godly living, 00:10:41.960 --> 00:10:46.220 Paul begins with something that is far more fundamental, 00:10:46.559 --> 00:10:50.179 something essential, something that is utterly 00:10:50.179 --> 00:10:53.860 foundational to our faith. In his salutation 00:10:53.860 --> 00:10:59.019 to Titus, Paul begins with the gospel itself. 00:11:00.299 --> 00:11:02.740 And I think that it will be helpful for us to 00:11:02.740 --> 00:11:06.440 first examine the structure of this greeting, 00:11:06.539 --> 00:11:09.679 the structure of Paul's greeting, his salutation 00:11:09.679 --> 00:11:16.289 to Titus. Now, again, I... I admit to you that 00:11:16.289 --> 00:11:19.350 I am not a Greek scholar, but many of the commentators, 00:11:19.350 --> 00:11:22.110 if you read them, and other scholars who are 00:11:22.110 --> 00:11:25.230 available for reading, will mention that this 00:11:25.230 --> 00:11:28.129 is a typical Pauline introduction, a sentence 00:11:28.129 --> 00:11:30.590 that is very common with Paul, written in the 00:11:30.590 --> 00:11:34.110 Greek originally as a run -on sentence. And there's 00:11:34.110 --> 00:11:37.090 notes about the fact that a lot of the punctuation 00:11:37.090 --> 00:11:40.470 you'll see in this salutation is added by the 00:11:40.470 --> 00:11:42.929 English translators because, quite frankly, as 00:11:42.929 --> 00:11:45.889 English speakers and readers, we struggle to 00:11:45.889 --> 00:11:49.929 fully grasp the Greek sometimes. So we add these 00:11:49.929 --> 00:11:53.090 commas or sometimes semicolons or colons as a 00:11:53.090 --> 00:11:56.230 way to help us better break up a sentence like 00:11:56.230 --> 00:11:59.320 this. And while it does not lend itself structurally 00:11:59.320 --> 00:12:03.419 to an easy outline, there are so many important 00:12:03.419 --> 00:12:05.879 truths here, and it almost seems as though because 00:12:05.879 --> 00:12:08.899 Paul is being carried along in the Spirit, he 00:12:08.899 --> 00:12:11.759 seems to almost be celebrating the fact that 00:12:11.759 --> 00:12:15.460 he has this gospel, that this common faith he 00:12:15.460 --> 00:12:18.919 and Titus share, as he mentions in verse 4, is 00:12:18.919 --> 00:12:23.220 based upon this gospel. And the structure of 00:12:23.220 --> 00:12:25.559 this sentence, the structure of the greeting 00:12:25.559 --> 00:12:28.620 in total, is helpful for us to understand what 00:12:28.620 --> 00:12:31.659 he's trying to say. It appears at first glance 00:12:31.659 --> 00:12:34.659 just to be something simple, introductory, a 00:12:34.659 --> 00:12:37.740 greeting, but it's actually a compressed summary 00:12:37.740 --> 00:12:42.860 of the gospel. I listened to Alistair Begg preach 00:12:42.860 --> 00:12:45.980 a couple sermons from this passage. I don't know 00:12:45.980 --> 00:12:48.139 about you all, but I love listening to Pastor... 00:12:48.519 --> 00:12:51.100 Alistair Begg, I think he's a spectacular Bible 00:12:51.100 --> 00:12:55.740 teacher, and he entitled these two sermons, part 00:12:55.740 --> 00:13:01.000 one and two, as Truth Tightly Packed. Boy, that's 00:13:01.000 --> 00:13:03.519 an appropriate way to describe this particular 00:13:03.519 --> 00:13:06.980 passage. Here, with an economy of words, the 00:13:06.980 --> 00:13:11.639 Apostle Paul tightly packs truth that is transformative, 00:13:11.860 --> 00:13:15.039 not only for individuals, but for the church 00:13:15.039 --> 00:13:19.179 at large. That is an appropriate way. to summarize 00:13:19.179 --> 00:13:22.019 these few verses, because in short order, in 00:13:22.019 --> 00:13:25.820 this one run -on sentence, the Apostle Paul lays 00:13:25.820 --> 00:13:29.000 out a robust understanding of the truth of the 00:13:29.000 --> 00:13:32.620 gospel and its origin, which is according to 00:13:32.620 --> 00:13:38.059 God's eternal purpose. If you look again, beginning 00:13:38.059 --> 00:13:40.399 about the second half of verse 1 and through 00:13:40.399 --> 00:13:43.200 the end of verse 3, I'd like to look there again 00:13:43.200 --> 00:13:46.480 and read them to you. Of course, Paul has introduced 00:13:46.480 --> 00:13:48.980 himself as a servant of God, an apostle of Jesus 00:13:48.980 --> 00:13:52.259 Christ, for the faith of those chosen of God, 00:13:52.299 --> 00:13:55.000 and the knowledge of the truth which is according 00:13:55.000 --> 00:13:59.100 to godliness, in the hope of eternal life which 00:13:59.100 --> 00:14:02.320 God, who cannot lie, promised long ages ago, 00:14:02.440 --> 00:14:05.820 but at the proper time manifested even his word 00:14:05.820 --> 00:14:08.600 in the proclamation with which I was entrusted 00:14:08.600 --> 00:14:12.940 according to the commandment of God our Savior. 00:14:14.830 --> 00:14:19.529 In these opening verses, Paul traces the gospel 00:14:19.529 --> 00:14:23.090 through several themes. He talks about the gospel 00:14:23.090 --> 00:14:26.570 that produces the faith of the chosen, the gospel 00:14:26.570 --> 00:14:31.370 that reveals truth that leads to godliness, the 00:14:31.370 --> 00:14:35.789 gospel brings the hope of eternal life, the gospel 00:14:35.789 --> 00:14:39.769 rests on the promise of the God who cannot lie, 00:14:40.009 --> 00:14:44.259 the gospel has been revealed. at the proper time. 00:14:44.519 --> 00:14:49.419 In this short series of statements, Paul demonstrates 00:14:49.419 --> 00:14:54.240 that the gospel originates in the eternal purpose 00:14:54.240 --> 00:14:59.399 of God himself. These are glorious truths. These 00:14:59.399 --> 00:15:02.440 are uplifting truths. These are truths that we 00:15:02.440 --> 00:15:05.559 as believers should focus on, that we should 00:15:05.559 --> 00:15:08.440 think about, that we should meditate upon, and 00:15:08.440 --> 00:15:12.779 they will build our faith in the process. Really, 00:15:12.879 --> 00:15:16.700 this is the central theme of the entire letter. 00:15:17.299 --> 00:15:19.960 By structuring his opening in this way, Paul 00:15:19.960 --> 00:15:23.940 links several ideas together in a carefully constructed 00:15:23.940 --> 00:15:28.340 chain. He describes his apostleship as existing, 00:15:28.440 --> 00:15:32.679 quote, for the faith of those chosen of God and 00:15:32.679 --> 00:15:34.919 the knowledge of the truth, which is according 00:15:34.919 --> 00:15:39.919 to godliness. That phrase is extremely important. 00:15:40.840 --> 00:15:44.059 Here, the inspired apostle is saying the truth 00:15:44.059 --> 00:15:48.019 of the gospel is not merely something to be known 00:15:48.019 --> 00:15:53.580 intellectually. This truth produces godliness. 00:15:54.460 --> 00:15:58.059 We could say it this way. The gospel produces 00:15:58.059 --> 00:16:01.799 godly living. Now, we'll actually hit on this 00:16:01.799 --> 00:16:05.379 in just a moment, probably to our edification. 00:16:05.440 --> 00:16:08.269 I certainly hope so. But I want to take just 00:16:08.269 --> 00:16:11.970 a moment to preview it if I could. The gospel, 00:16:12.070 --> 00:16:14.750 as I mentioned in my introduction, is not merely 00:16:14.750 --> 00:16:18.429 about intellectual assent. Rather, it produces 00:16:18.429 --> 00:16:23.470 godly living. And I guess I would issue a challenge 00:16:23.470 --> 00:16:26.370 to you. And as I mentioned last week, when I 00:16:26.370 --> 00:16:28.389 preach a sermon like this, I am preaching to 00:16:28.389 --> 00:16:31.330 myself as well. I do not say this as if I am 00:16:31.330 --> 00:16:33.990 the standard bearer of godly living, and I do 00:16:33.990 --> 00:16:36.250 not say this as if I have it all figured out, 00:16:36.289 --> 00:16:41.029 but I do say this for the fact, for the benefit 00:16:41.029 --> 00:16:45.610 of you people, that you might consider how your 00:16:45.610 --> 00:16:50.289 lives are being led. How are you demonstrating 00:16:50.289 --> 00:16:58.519 godly living? This becomes the central theme 00:16:58.519 --> 00:17:02.379 of this entire letter. We'll see this traced 00:17:02.379 --> 00:17:06.180 throughout all three chapters of Titus. We'll 00:17:06.180 --> 00:17:10.319 see that Paul repeatedly connects sound doctrine 00:17:10.319 --> 00:17:14.039 to godly living. And he does so for these Christians 00:17:14.039 --> 00:17:16.500 in the immediate context of the letter who are 00:17:16.500 --> 00:17:21.259 living among a deceitful people. For these Christians 00:17:21.259 --> 00:17:26.039 who live in a compromised place. in the midst 00:17:26.039 --> 00:17:31.079 of a morally bankrupt society. It is so easy 00:17:31.079 --> 00:17:36.519 for us to come to a knowledge of the Scriptures, 00:17:36.720 --> 00:17:41.460 to come to a certain level of understanding about 00:17:41.460 --> 00:17:44.720 what is taught in the Scriptures, and yet we 00:17:44.720 --> 00:17:49.299 allow the world around us to have far more impact 00:17:49.299 --> 00:17:53.890 on us than we do the Scriptures. It's amazing 00:17:53.890 --> 00:17:57.950 to me how we as people have a tendency to know 00:17:57.950 --> 00:18:00.829 certain things, but to be completely incapable 00:18:00.829 --> 00:18:05.829 of implementing them in our lives. The scriptures 00:18:05.829 --> 00:18:08.910 do not work that way. The scriptures are intended 00:18:08.910 --> 00:18:12.589 to inform our lives, to shape our lives. Unless 00:18:12.589 --> 00:18:15.470 we get things backwards, we're not intended to 00:18:15.470 --> 00:18:19.900 do these things as a way to somehow merit. We 00:18:19.900 --> 00:18:24.900 don't somehow work in order to achieve salvation, 00:18:25.279 --> 00:18:30.900 but rather we're changed by it. That's why the 00:18:30.900 --> 00:18:35.500 gospel has been given, for godliness. Additionally, 00:18:35.700 --> 00:18:37.619 we'll see more of this when we look at false 00:18:37.619 --> 00:18:40.400 teachers. The churches on Crete are being told 00:18:40.400 --> 00:18:43.400 how to combat all this cultural evil by people 00:18:43.400 --> 00:18:47.019 who themselves are not true adherents to the 00:18:47.019 --> 00:18:50.240 gospel. This is something that I think will be 00:18:50.240 --> 00:18:53.980 very applicable for us because right now in the 00:18:53.980 --> 00:18:56.240 world around us, there's a lot of this going 00:18:56.240 --> 00:19:00.299 on. Christianity is actually kind of in vogue 00:19:00.299 --> 00:19:05.559 right now. Have you noticed? To say, I'm a Christian, 00:19:05.779 --> 00:19:08.119 I mean, I can think of one political commentator 00:19:08.119 --> 00:19:10.900 in particular who every other sentence, every 00:19:10.900 --> 00:19:13.799 other breath, now I'm a Christian, who says this 00:19:13.799 --> 00:19:19.109 constantly, constantly says this. Has his life 00:19:19.109 --> 00:19:23.809 started to display godliness? And I don't know. 00:19:23.890 --> 00:19:26.430 I've not been around him in a personal setting. 00:19:26.849 --> 00:19:31.009 But my question is, is it enough merely to claim 00:19:31.009 --> 00:19:35.869 the moniker of a Christian and yet to never have 00:19:35.869 --> 00:19:42.390 your life transformed by the gospel? The false 00:19:42.390 --> 00:19:44.450 teachers that we'll learn more about as we go 00:19:44.450 --> 00:19:47.700 through this book. valued outward expressions. 00:19:47.940 --> 00:19:51.880 They valued ceremony. They valued human works 00:19:51.880 --> 00:19:55.700 over the life -changing power of the gospel of 00:19:55.700 --> 00:20:01.019 grace. That's why Paul places such an emphasis 00:20:01.019 --> 00:20:05.000 on sound doctrine. You can think of certain books 00:20:05.000 --> 00:20:07.740 that Paul wrote in the New Testament. Ephesians 00:20:07.740 --> 00:20:09.799 is one of my favorite books in the New Testament, 00:20:09.839 --> 00:20:13.900 and it's famous for this. The notion... that 00:20:13.900 --> 00:20:17.299 right understanding precedes right practice. 00:20:18.380 --> 00:20:21.000 Ephesians is basically split right down the middle. 00:20:21.039 --> 00:20:23.539 There's six chapters. It lends itself to the 00:20:23.539 --> 00:20:25.859 structure very well because of the way it's organized 00:20:25.859 --> 00:20:29.359 for us in our Bibles. The first three chapters 00:20:29.359 --> 00:20:32.880 of the book of Ephesians deal almost exclusively 00:20:32.880 --> 00:20:36.220 with orthodoxy. They deal almost exclusively 00:20:36.220 --> 00:20:39.799 with right understanding. And the last three 00:20:39.799 --> 00:20:42.960 chapters deal almost exclusively with orthopraxy, 00:20:42.980 --> 00:20:48.200 with right practice. Paul is famous for this. 00:20:48.480 --> 00:20:52.319 Paul is so good at this as he writes under the 00:20:52.319 --> 00:20:54.980 inspiration of the Holy Spirit. And even here 00:20:54.980 --> 00:20:57.640 in Titus, he does a wonderful job of helping 00:20:57.640 --> 00:21:01.900 us to understand how sound doctrine informs our 00:21:01.900 --> 00:21:06.759 lives, the way we lead our lives. He says later 00:21:06.759 --> 00:21:11.119 in this very... But as for you, speak the things 00:21:11.119 --> 00:21:15.039 which are fitting for sound doctrine. Titus 2 00:21:15.039 --> 00:21:18.859 .1. Immediately after that, most of you know 00:21:18.859 --> 00:21:22.299 Titus chapter 2 is a very famous passage of scripture. 00:21:22.619 --> 00:21:25.859 Immediately after that, he'll describe how believers 00:21:25.859 --> 00:21:30.599 in every stage of life should live their lives. 00:21:31.680 --> 00:21:35.799 Later. In chapter 2 and verse 14, he writes that 00:21:35.799 --> 00:21:39.299 Christ redeemed a people who are, quote, zealous 00:21:39.299 --> 00:21:46.319 for good deeds. Zealous for good deeds. Christian, 00:21:46.480 --> 00:21:50.960 I say to you, if you have been redeemed by the 00:21:50.960 --> 00:21:55.180 Lord Jesus Christ, you should be zealous for 00:21:55.180 --> 00:22:00.539 good deeds. Amen? And again, in Titus chapter 00:22:00.539 --> 00:22:04.369 3 and verse 8. He writes, those who have believed 00:22:04.369 --> 00:22:09.130 God will be careful to engage in good deeds. 00:22:10.750 --> 00:22:14.250 You see, false doctrine, it produces corruption. 00:22:15.730 --> 00:22:20.589 But the true gospel produces godliness. And that 00:22:20.589 --> 00:22:24.509 theme really begins right here in the opening 00:22:24.509 --> 00:22:27.829 sentence. It is a rather long sentence, but it 00:22:27.829 --> 00:22:31.319 begins right here in this opening sentence. So 00:22:31.319 --> 00:22:32.940 I want to take just a few moments to give you 00:22:32.940 --> 00:22:37.940 five points from this opening sentence. And I 00:22:37.940 --> 00:22:41.039 hope these will be helpful to you as you kind 00:22:41.039 --> 00:22:45.200 of hang your hat here in the salutation of Paul's 00:22:45.200 --> 00:22:48.220 letter to Titus. I won't be too long -winded 00:22:48.220 --> 00:22:51.059 with these, so I ask you to follow along with 00:22:51.059 --> 00:22:53.819 me now. The first point that I would make about 00:22:53.819 --> 00:22:58.759 the gospel is this. The gospel produces the faith 00:22:58.759 --> 00:23:04.740 of the chosen. The gospel produces the faith 00:23:04.740 --> 00:23:09.019 of the chosen. Chosen, that word produces very 00:23:09.019 --> 00:23:14.519 carefully. Verse 1, for the faith of those chosen 00:23:14.519 --> 00:23:19.319 of God. Here Paul explains that his apostleship 00:23:19.319 --> 00:23:24.160 exists for the faith of those chosen of God. 00:23:24.319 --> 00:23:30.799 For the faith of the elect. Scripture consistently 00:23:30.799 --> 00:23:36.859 teaches that God has chosen a people for himself. 00:23:37.400 --> 00:23:41.460 This is a consistent theme in both the Old and 00:23:41.460 --> 00:23:45.980 New Testaments. Ephesians chapter 1 and verse 00:23:45.980 --> 00:23:50.319 4. Paul has this beautiful opening to the book 00:23:50.319 --> 00:23:53.960 of Ephesians. All of this about the glory of 00:23:53.960 --> 00:23:56.559 God. All of these things that God has worked 00:23:56.559 --> 00:23:59.599 out in his plan of redemption. For His own glory, 00:23:59.779 --> 00:24:01.940 right? To the praise of His glory. I can't remember 00:24:01.940 --> 00:24:04.440 how many times that phrase is repeated, but it's 00:24:04.440 --> 00:24:07.000 at least three or four times. To the praise of 00:24:07.000 --> 00:24:09.720 the glory of His grace. We see that over and 00:24:09.720 --> 00:24:11.779 over and over. In Ephesians chapter 1 and verse 00:24:11.779 --> 00:24:20.180 4, it says very clearly, He chose us in Him before 00:24:20.180 --> 00:24:25.660 the foundation of the world. Wow. What a thought. 00:24:27.240 --> 00:24:34.609 God. chose us in Him, in Christ, before the foundation 00:24:34.609 --> 00:24:42.730 of the world. In eternity past, God, who existed 00:24:42.730 --> 00:24:46.369 in this perfect fellowship of the Trinity, the 00:24:46.369 --> 00:24:52.650 triune God, chose us in Christ before the foundation 00:24:52.650 --> 00:24:55.769 of the world. Romans chapter 8 and verse 30. 00:24:55.849 --> 00:24:57.490 Of course, you're all very familiar with that 00:24:57.490 --> 00:25:00.970 passage. Where it is written by the Apostle Paul, 00:25:01.210 --> 00:25:05.269 Those whom he predestined, he also... Anybody 00:25:05.269 --> 00:25:08.910 remember? What did he do to them? He called them. 00:25:09.230 --> 00:25:11.630 He called them the golden chain of redemption. 00:25:12.710 --> 00:25:16.950 Those whom he predestined, he also called. Paul 00:25:16.950 --> 00:25:21.369 is not saying here that election or God's... 00:25:21.529 --> 00:25:25.029 choosing somehow eliminates the need for faith. 00:25:25.170 --> 00:25:28.289 Rather, what he's saying here in this opening 00:25:28.289 --> 00:25:33.609 to Titus is that the gospel creates faith in 00:25:33.609 --> 00:25:40.269 those whom God has chosen. Now, it might seem 00:25:40.269 --> 00:25:44.829 like it's a matter of syntax or somehow I am 00:25:44.829 --> 00:25:49.569 just parsing words or I'm somehow trying to make 00:25:49.569 --> 00:25:51.450 a point that isn't there to you, but I would 00:25:51.450 --> 00:25:53.670 challenge you to read through the entire New 00:25:53.670 --> 00:25:56.950 Testament and not come to this same conclusion. 00:25:58.849 --> 00:26:04.710 The gospel creates faith in those whom God has 00:26:04.710 --> 00:26:10.029 chosen. God has ordained both the end, that being 00:26:10.029 --> 00:26:13.769 our salvation, our redemption, and he has ordained 00:26:13.769 --> 00:26:18.210 the means by which that end comes about. God 00:26:18.210 --> 00:26:24.430 is a God of means. What he has decreed in eternity 00:26:24.430 --> 00:26:27.869 past is brought about according to his divine 00:26:27.869 --> 00:26:32.349 and sovereign will by the means which he has 00:26:32.349 --> 00:26:36.529 appointed. So what are the means by which we 00:26:36.529 --> 00:26:44.369 are saved? Primarily, the gospel. This produces 00:26:44.369 --> 00:26:50.170 the faith. of the chosen. The gospel, according 00:26:50.170 --> 00:26:54.509 to God's eternal purpose, the gospel produces 00:26:54.509 --> 00:27:00.450 the faith of the elect. God chooses a people 00:27:00.450 --> 00:27:06.130 and he sends the gospel so that they will believe. 00:27:06.490 --> 00:27:10.029 Think ahead to 2 Timothy, or think back to 2 00:27:10.029 --> 00:27:13.609 Timothy chapter 2 and verse 10. I endure all 00:27:13.609 --> 00:27:16.799 things for the sake of those who are chosen. 00:27:16.900 --> 00:27:19.279 Now that's the Apostle Paul writing. What all 00:27:19.279 --> 00:27:23.619 did Paul endure? Let's think for a moment. What 00:27:23.619 --> 00:27:27.579 all did Paul endure for the sake of those who 00:27:27.579 --> 00:27:30.359 were chosen? Well, we know he was shipwrecked 00:27:30.359 --> 00:27:34.619 a couple times. Spent some time in the sea, dreading 00:27:34.619 --> 00:27:38.460 water, right? He was imprisoned. He was beaten. 00:27:38.539 --> 00:27:42.579 He was scourged. Paul suffered in ways that most 00:27:42.579 --> 00:27:45.680 of us could never imagine, and ultimately he 00:27:45.680 --> 00:27:50.599 died because of his faith. He chose willingly 00:27:50.599 --> 00:27:54.799 to endure all those things, as he says in 2 Timothy 00:27:54.799 --> 00:27:58.180 2 .10, for the sake of those who are chosen. 00:27:58.200 --> 00:28:01.160 Now I ask you, if you knew that you were staring 00:28:01.160 --> 00:28:04.599 down the barrel of a gun for the sake of someone 00:28:04.599 --> 00:28:08.920 who was chosen, wouldn't you want to be confident? 00:28:09.900 --> 00:28:12.599 that God was going to bring His will about in 00:28:12.599 --> 00:28:18.759 their lives. Paul is willing to endure all things 00:28:18.759 --> 00:28:24.900 because he's confident that God will bring His 00:28:24.900 --> 00:28:31.299 chosen people into His fold. We should feel the 00:28:31.299 --> 00:28:35.079 same way. As believers, we should feel the same 00:28:35.079 --> 00:28:37.650 way. We should be confident. Though we may not 00:28:37.650 --> 00:28:40.589 know who the elect are, though we may not know 00:28:40.589 --> 00:28:43.569 who has been chosen of God from eternity past, 00:28:43.890 --> 00:28:46.769 before the foundation of the world, we may not 00:28:46.769 --> 00:28:50.950 know who they are, but we do know that God will 00:28:50.950 --> 00:28:55.369 bring his eternal purpose about in their lives 00:28:55.369 --> 00:28:58.869 through the gospel. Thus, we must be willing 00:28:58.869 --> 00:29:04.230 to proclaim it. Second, the gospel reveals truth. 00:29:04.759 --> 00:29:06.880 that leads to godliness. Now I know I've already 00:29:06.880 --> 00:29:09.319 hit this quite a bit, and we will hit this a 00:29:09.319 --> 00:29:13.440 lot as we go through this particular book of 00:29:13.440 --> 00:29:16.279 the Bible, because it is just riddled throughout 00:29:16.279 --> 00:29:20.079 this letter that Paul wrote to Titus. So I'll 00:29:20.079 --> 00:29:22.700 go over this part briefly. We've touched on it 00:29:22.700 --> 00:29:25.740 already, but Paul states in verse 1, and the 00:29:25.740 --> 00:29:28.700 knowledge of the truth which is according to 00:29:28.700 --> 00:29:32.059 godliness. You know, we've talked a lot already 00:29:32.059 --> 00:29:34.890 about the fact that Christianity is not merely 00:29:34.890 --> 00:29:37.509 about intellectual ascent, but I would also add, 00:29:37.710 --> 00:29:40.789 it is not merely about emotional experience. 00:29:41.730 --> 00:29:44.410 And this is important for us because as a people, 00:29:44.509 --> 00:29:47.390 we tend to fall in one of two categories. We 00:29:47.390 --> 00:29:51.089 tend to either be overly intellectual, or we 00:29:51.089 --> 00:29:54.450 tend to be overly dependent on emotional experience. 00:29:54.990 --> 00:29:57.609 And the church could really be divided in that 00:29:57.609 --> 00:30:00.869 way. Don't you think that's possible that you 00:30:00.869 --> 00:30:03.369 could see where the church either ends up being 00:30:03.369 --> 00:30:07.309 stodgy, dry, and cold, or the church ends up 00:30:07.309 --> 00:30:11.329 being ooey and gooey, right? You see that a lot 00:30:11.329 --> 00:30:14.349 in the church today, in modern evangelicalism. 00:30:14.410 --> 00:30:18.670 It's all around us. Christianity is not merely 00:30:18.670 --> 00:30:20.910 emotional experience, and I would tell you, it 00:30:20.910 --> 00:30:25.269 is not merely moral improvement, nor is it religious 00:30:25.269 --> 00:30:30.319 tradition. You understand that? Christianity 00:30:30.319 --> 00:30:34.140 is not merely moral improvement. And this is 00:30:34.140 --> 00:30:36.680 important to note because, again, it will apply 00:30:36.680 --> 00:30:39.420 very much when we talk about the false teachers 00:30:39.420 --> 00:30:44.519 who were in Crete. But it is not merely moral 00:30:44.519 --> 00:30:47.160 improvement. That is a component of Christianity. 00:30:47.460 --> 00:30:50.220 You should be conformed to the image of Christ. 00:30:50.759 --> 00:30:53.079 You want to measure to the godliness of God, 00:30:53.140 --> 00:30:55.500 right? You want to be compared to Jesus, and 00:30:55.500 --> 00:30:57.579 though you'll never reach that mark, that is 00:30:57.579 --> 00:31:01.099 the mark for which you are striving. But Christianity 00:31:01.099 --> 00:31:06.099 is not merely that. Christianity is not something 00:31:06.099 --> 00:31:09.160 that we set a task in front of ourselves and 00:31:09.160 --> 00:31:12.299 say, I'm going to develop a list. And these are 00:31:12.299 --> 00:31:14.420 the categories of my life that I need to improve 00:31:14.420 --> 00:31:17.259 upon. And by improving upon these things, by 00:31:17.259 --> 00:31:20.000 improving upon these areas of my life, somehow 00:31:20.000 --> 00:31:23.519 I will attain to godliness. Because godliness 00:31:23.519 --> 00:31:28.680 is not merely moral improvement. Certainly it 00:31:28.680 --> 00:31:31.079 is not, as I mentioned a moment ago, religious 00:31:31.079 --> 00:31:35.940 tradition. The gospel reveals truth that leads 00:31:35.940 --> 00:31:43.789 to godliness because it is rounded in. Not merely 00:31:43.789 --> 00:31:47.809 truth to be known or assented to. It is the truth 00:31:47.809 --> 00:31:50.849 that leads to godliness. The gospel transforms 00:31:50.849 --> 00:31:53.750 the mind and the heart. As we mentioned before, 00:31:54.069 --> 00:32:00.190 right belief produces right living. False doctrine 00:32:00.190 --> 00:32:03.069 leads to corruption. Sound doctrine produces 00:32:03.069 --> 00:32:08.829 godliness. Now, we are commanded in other places 00:32:08.829 --> 00:32:13.109 in the scriptures. to walk in the Spirit. We 00:32:13.109 --> 00:32:16.250 are told in Galatians chapter 5 about how we're 00:32:16.250 --> 00:32:18.630 supposed to put off the deeds of the flesh, right? 00:32:19.069 --> 00:32:21.630 And then Paul in Galatians 5, boy, Paul's getting 00:32:21.630 --> 00:32:26.529 a lot of air time today, in the verses immediately 00:32:26.529 --> 00:32:30.170 following that list. And it's a long list of 00:32:30.170 --> 00:32:32.500 the deeds of the flesh, isn't it? Long list of 00:32:32.500 --> 00:32:34.180 the deeds of the flesh. And then we're given 00:32:34.180 --> 00:32:36.740 the fruit of the Spirit. Love, joy, peace, patience, 00:32:36.859 --> 00:32:38.940 kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, 00:32:39.039 --> 00:32:41.359 self -control, all these things. Against such 00:32:41.359 --> 00:32:43.180 there is no law. You know, that whole passage. 00:32:43.259 --> 00:32:47.880 Everybody knows it. We're supposed to be transformed. 00:32:49.019 --> 00:32:52.680 Our lives are supposed to be transformed by this 00:32:52.680 --> 00:32:56.619 eternal truth that leads to godliness. But it 00:32:56.619 --> 00:33:02.849 is not. enabled by the Spirit of God, it is merely 00:33:02.849 --> 00:33:06.490 intellectual ascent. It is one thing to apply 00:33:06.490 --> 00:33:09.210 Scripture to your mind and something altogether 00:33:09.210 --> 00:33:15.349 different to apply it to your heart. So, when 00:33:15.349 --> 00:33:20.009 we think about leading lives, godly lives, perhaps 00:33:20.009 --> 00:33:24.509 the question we should ask ourselves, am I indwelt 00:33:24.509 --> 00:33:28.279 by the Spirit of God? Is the Spirit at work within 00:33:28.279 --> 00:33:33.980 me, both to will and to work? The third point 00:33:33.980 --> 00:33:37.759 I'll make about the gospel is this. The gospel 00:33:37.759 --> 00:33:42.619 gives the hope of eternal life. Verse 2, Paul 00:33:42.619 --> 00:33:46.359 continues, in the hope of eternal life. Pretty 00:33:46.359 --> 00:33:49.460 straightforward. The word hope in Scripture does 00:33:49.460 --> 00:33:52.680 not mean uncertainty. When we talk about the 00:33:52.680 --> 00:33:56.960 hope of eternal life, We are not merely saying, 00:33:57.200 --> 00:34:00.400 oh, I hope we get a new governor in November, 00:34:00.619 --> 00:34:05.400 right? Oh, I hope something changes in that situation. 00:34:05.960 --> 00:34:10.579 Oh, I hope I win the lottery. This is not the 00:34:10.579 --> 00:34:13.219 kind of hope that we're dealing with in the pages 00:34:13.219 --> 00:34:16.639 of Scripture. The word hope in Scripture does 00:34:16.639 --> 00:34:21.000 not mean some type of uncertain hope. This is 00:34:21.000 --> 00:34:25.380 not frivolous. This is not some pipe dream. This 00:34:25.380 --> 00:34:31.559 is not some wish. Our hope is not ethereal and 00:34:31.559 --> 00:34:36.820 it is not unclear. As Christians, our hope is 00:34:36.820 --> 00:34:43.099 certain. It is a confident expectation because 00:34:43.099 --> 00:34:48.619 we possess the sure promise of eternal life. 00:34:49.670 --> 00:34:54.570 In John 5, 24, Jesus said, Truly, truly, I say 00:34:54.570 --> 00:34:58.210 to you, he who hears my word and believes him 00:34:58.210 --> 00:35:01.550 who sent me has eternal life and does not come 00:35:01.550 --> 00:35:04.929 into judgment, but has passed out of death into 00:35:04.929 --> 00:35:09.030 life. Notice what he said. He who hears my word 00:35:09.030 --> 00:35:14.269 and believes him who sent me has eternal life. 00:35:15.550 --> 00:35:23.280 Not might have. could have, rather has eternal 00:35:23.280 --> 00:35:27.679 life. Do you hear the certainty in Jesus' words? 00:35:31.199 --> 00:35:37.059 We have a hope that is fixed according to God's 00:35:37.059 --> 00:35:42.000 eternal purpose. And it is something that we 00:35:42.000 --> 00:35:45.940 can rely upon because it is absolutely certain. 00:35:46.159 --> 00:35:50.489 It is the hope. that gives eternal life. I think 00:35:50.489 --> 00:35:53.429 it's important for us to notice as well that 00:35:53.429 --> 00:35:56.369 our hope is not only certain, it is profoundly 00:35:56.369 --> 00:36:00.090 joyful. This is a good point of application for 00:36:00.090 --> 00:36:05.210 us. See a lot of Christians who have no joy in 00:36:05.210 --> 00:36:08.409 their lives. I must confess, I'm the type of 00:36:08.409 --> 00:36:12.289 person who can fall into that category pretty 00:36:12.289 --> 00:36:15.969 easily. I like to blame it on my personality. 00:36:17.500 --> 00:36:21.079 It's a convenient excuse. But the fact of the 00:36:21.079 --> 00:36:27.059 matter is, I possess a promise from God which 00:36:27.059 --> 00:36:32.000 He purposed in eternity past. And it's not only 00:36:32.000 --> 00:36:38.380 that I'm certain about that promise, I'm expectant 00:36:38.380 --> 00:36:42.519 that the promise will be fulfilled and that expectancy 00:36:42.519 --> 00:36:47.059 should give me joy. Think of a mother who is 00:36:47.059 --> 00:36:50.739 with child. We often talk about pregnant mothers 00:36:50.739 --> 00:36:54.880 and how they have a glow, right? What do you 00:36:54.880 --> 00:37:01.980 think that is? Not morning sickness. That glow 00:37:01.980 --> 00:37:11.300 is joy. That glow of an expectant mother is there 00:37:11.300 --> 00:37:16.750 because... She is expecting something. She is 00:37:16.750 --> 00:37:21.130 pregnant and there is joy because she is expecting 00:37:21.130 --> 00:37:27.889 a child. As Christians, we should be filled with 00:37:27.889 --> 00:37:32.289 joy. As Christians, we should be marked by joy. 00:37:32.449 --> 00:37:35.130 And again, I confess to you, this is a struggle 00:37:35.130 --> 00:37:40.469 for me. But Christians, are you experiencing 00:37:40.469 --> 00:37:44.929 joy? Is joy part of your life or do you simply 00:37:44.929 --> 00:37:48.590 go through life as a curmudgeon? You simply just 00:37:48.590 --> 00:37:53.130 run around acting like you have nothing to look 00:37:53.130 --> 00:37:56.989 forward to. Now think about it for a moment because 00:37:56.989 --> 00:38:03.530 I'm talking to some of you here right now. Is 00:38:03.530 --> 00:38:07.409 there joy in your life and do you realize that 00:38:07.409 --> 00:38:12.750 joy is a mark of godliness? It has to do with 00:38:12.750 --> 00:38:15.670 godliness because here you are the recipients 00:38:15.670 --> 00:38:20.349 of promise. You are a recipient of a promise 00:38:20.349 --> 00:38:24.010 and you've been given the down payment of that 00:38:24.010 --> 00:38:26.510 promise in the form of the Holy Spirit. He is 00:38:26.510 --> 00:38:30.349 our surety. He is our bond. He is dwelling within 00:38:30.349 --> 00:38:33.989 us. So if you're indwelt by the eternal God, 00:38:34.400 --> 00:38:36.920 in the person of the Holy Spirit, if you believe 00:38:36.920 --> 00:38:39.699 the promises that God has made to you, if you 00:38:39.699 --> 00:38:43.840 are trusting that Jesus will come again and that 00:38:43.840 --> 00:38:47.219 you will be found in Him, shouldn't you, just 00:38:47.219 --> 00:38:50.539 like an expectant mother, look to that time and 00:38:50.539 --> 00:39:00.639 think, this brings me joy. Amen? So I ask you 00:39:00.639 --> 00:39:09.119 again, Is your life marked by joy? Life is busy. 00:39:09.219 --> 00:39:13.119 Life is a struggle. Life is hard. Have you ever 00:39:13.119 --> 00:39:17.119 watched your wife or your daughter or your granddaughter 00:39:17.119 --> 00:39:26.500 go through labor? It's hard. It's painful. It's 00:39:26.500 --> 00:39:30.460 difficult. But the moment she holds that baby 00:39:30.460 --> 00:39:34.760 in her arms. It is as if she has instantly forgotten 00:39:34.760 --> 00:39:37.380 the pain. Now, I know that's easy for me to say 00:39:37.380 --> 00:39:42.780 because I haven't had to do it. Praise God. But 00:39:42.780 --> 00:39:47.840 you know what I'm talking about. In the midst 00:39:47.840 --> 00:39:50.139 of labor, I've heard my wife say things like, 00:39:50.219 --> 00:39:54.340 I will never do this again. And then as soon 00:39:54.340 --> 00:39:56.760 as she's holding that baby, and I have eight 00:39:56.760 --> 00:39:59.460 of them, so I know this for a fact, she says, 00:39:59.869 --> 00:40:04.989 We should have one more. Right? She hasn't even 00:40:04.989 --> 00:40:08.329 had a shower yet after delivery, and she's, I 00:40:08.329 --> 00:40:10.889 think we should do this again. And I'm like, 00:40:10.929 --> 00:40:17.769 I don't know that we should. Your life as a believer, 00:40:17.969 --> 00:40:22.130 because you have this promise from God, should 00:40:22.130 --> 00:40:26.250 be marked by joy as you wait expectantly for 00:40:26.250 --> 00:40:31.239 God to fulfill all of his promise. The hope of 00:40:31.239 --> 00:40:34.260 eternal life fills us with joy because it reminds 00:40:34.260 --> 00:40:38.840 us of these truths. Sin will not have the final 00:40:38.840 --> 00:40:44.940 word. That gives me joy. My sin, oh the bliss 00:40:44.940 --> 00:40:48.739 of this glorious thought. My sin, not in part, 00:40:48.780 --> 00:40:52.860 but the whole. Amen. When we sing those words, 00:40:53.099 --> 00:40:56.199 it's hard not to get a little crack in your voice. 00:40:57.289 --> 00:41:03.590 Because you know that someday sin will be absolutely 00:41:03.590 --> 00:41:09.130 done away with. Suffering, it will not have the 00:41:09.130 --> 00:41:13.829 final word. Death will not have the final word. 00:41:14.530 --> 00:41:19.449 One day Christ will return. Every tear will be 00:41:19.449 --> 00:41:23.210 wiped away. Every sorrow will be removed. Every 00:41:23.210 --> 00:41:27.260 believer will dwell forever. in the presence 00:41:27.260 --> 00:41:34.980 of God. So Christians, be filled with joy as 00:41:34.980 --> 00:41:43.239 you rest on the promises of God. Fourth point 00:41:43.239 --> 00:41:48.320 for you. Fourth, the gospel rests on the promise 00:41:48.320 --> 00:41:52.940 of the God who cannot lie. Now this one I love. 00:41:53.710 --> 00:41:56.030 I gave even a little extra time to it, and I 00:41:56.030 --> 00:41:59.389 know I need to hurry up. Paul continues in verse 00:41:59.389 --> 00:42:02.989 2, which God, who cannot lie, promised long ages 00:42:02.989 --> 00:42:07.550 ago. To fully appreciate this point, let's remember 00:42:07.550 --> 00:42:11.530 the context of Crete in the first century. In 00:42:11.530 --> 00:42:14.369 his Look at the Book series on Titus, John Piper 00:42:14.369 --> 00:42:16.889 notes that lying is so prevalent in the culture 00:42:16.889 --> 00:42:19.969 on Crete, their gods lied and the people lied. 00:42:20.070 --> 00:42:24.030 The people of Crete were steeped in Greek mythology. 00:42:24.409 --> 00:42:26.769 And according to legend, their chief god Zeus 00:42:26.769 --> 00:42:29.949 was born there, yet the Cretan gods, including 00:42:29.949 --> 00:42:32.769 Zeus, were morally corrupt and deceptive and 00:42:32.769 --> 00:42:35.750 lying was so common in everyday life that it 00:42:35.750 --> 00:42:40.309 was culturally normalized. Boy, that smacks of 00:42:40.309 --> 00:42:45.550 the world we live in today. It's normal to lie. 00:42:45.650 --> 00:42:49.289 We expect people to lie to us, don't we? We made 00:42:49.289 --> 00:42:51.150 the comment, or I made the comment last week, 00:42:51.599 --> 00:42:54.820 Someone in government tells us something that 00:42:54.820 --> 00:42:56.960 we know is a lie. They know that we know that 00:42:56.960 --> 00:43:01.860 it's a lie and nobody cares, right? Lying is 00:43:01.860 --> 00:43:06.619 normal. Lying is just the way it is. And that 00:43:06.619 --> 00:43:09.519 was the way it was on the island of Crete in 00:43:09.519 --> 00:43:15.079 the first century. So when Paul writes, God who 00:43:15.079 --> 00:43:19.000 cannot lie, he is making a profound statement. 00:43:20.489 --> 00:43:23.750 We read that phrase and we think to ourselves, 00:43:24.010 --> 00:43:26.190 well, yeah, I mean, we know that God doesn't 00:43:26.190 --> 00:43:29.750 lie. God would never lie. But this was not obvious 00:43:29.750 --> 00:43:32.570 at all in Crete. Deception was the hallmark of 00:43:32.570 --> 00:43:35.550 their culture. Their society was known for untruthfulness. 00:43:36.150 --> 00:43:38.690 In a culture where lying pervaded religion and 00:43:38.690 --> 00:43:41.409 society, Paul contrasts the pagan world with 00:43:41.409 --> 00:43:44.889 the true God of the gospel. What a contrast indeed. 00:43:45.030 --> 00:43:48.750 What a juxtaposition to see the God of the Bible. 00:43:49.900 --> 00:43:56.139 compared to the pagan world. The promise of eternal 00:43:56.139 --> 00:43:59.579 life rests not on fallible humanity or some false 00:43:59.579 --> 00:44:02.760 deity, but on the character of the God who cannot 00:44:02.760 --> 00:44:05.860 lie. Scripture affirms this truth repeatedly. 00:44:06.239 --> 00:44:10.000 In Numbers 23 it is written, God is not a man 00:44:10.000 --> 00:44:13.780 that he should lie. In Hebrews chapter 6 it's 00:44:13.780 --> 00:44:17.929 written, It is impossible for God to lie. The 00:44:17.929 --> 00:44:21.769 gospel rests on a perfectly truthful God. Unlike 00:44:21.769 --> 00:44:24.610 the gods of Crete, unlike the deceptive people 00:44:24.610 --> 00:44:29.469 of that island, God does not lie. Unlike the 00:44:29.469 --> 00:44:34.849 ministers who lie, who lead double lives in our 00:44:34.849 --> 00:44:39.150 world today, unlike the politicians who lie and 00:44:39.150 --> 00:44:41.869 know that we know that they're lying, unlike 00:44:41.869 --> 00:44:44.539 the people in business, who commit all manner 00:44:44.539 --> 00:44:48.039 of graft and embezzlement, unlike the people 00:44:48.039 --> 00:44:52.199 you see around you on a daily basis, God does 00:44:52.199 --> 00:44:58.780 not lie. And God is not capricious. He does not 00:44:58.780 --> 00:45:02.460 change His mind. He does not vacillate. He does 00:45:02.460 --> 00:45:06.219 not change. Think of James 1, verse 17. Every 00:45:06.219 --> 00:45:08.960 good thing given and every perfect gift is from 00:45:08.960 --> 00:45:11.739 above. Coming down from the Father of lights 00:45:11.739 --> 00:45:17.280 with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow. 00:45:19.340 --> 00:45:23.659 When God makes a promise, he is faithful to see 00:45:23.659 --> 00:45:29.440 it through because God does not lie. He, newsflash, 00:45:29.599 --> 00:45:36.079 God is not like us. He is nothing like us. Yes, 00:45:36.099 --> 00:45:39.360 we were created in his image. but we are fallible, 00:45:39.480 --> 00:45:47.159 sinful people. He is an infinite, holy God. Fifth, 00:45:47.340 --> 00:45:50.199 the gospel has been revealed at the proper time. 00:45:50.260 --> 00:45:53.019 In verse 3, Paul says, but at the proper time 00:45:53.019 --> 00:45:56.239 manifested even His word. You see, the promise 00:45:56.239 --> 00:45:59.500 of salvation existed in eternity past, but it 00:45:59.500 --> 00:46:06.329 was revealed in history. Oftentimes, Scripture 00:46:06.329 --> 00:46:10.690 calls this moment the fullness of time. Going 00:46:10.690 --> 00:46:13.570 back to Galatians, back to chapter 4 and verse 00:46:13.570 --> 00:46:17.070 4, but when the fullness of the time came, what 00:46:17.070 --> 00:46:19.190 did God do? Does anybody remember that passage? 00:46:19.789 --> 00:46:23.590 But when the fullness of the time came, God sent 00:46:23.590 --> 00:46:29.710 forth His Son. Ladies and gentlemen, this is 00:46:29.710 --> 00:46:35.300 a reality that has occurred in history. You understand 00:46:35.300 --> 00:46:41.380 that? At the proper time, the gospel has been 00:46:41.380 --> 00:46:45.659 revealed to us, and it's through the person and 00:46:45.659 --> 00:46:50.579 the work of the Lord Jesus Christ. The eternal 00:46:50.579 --> 00:46:53.480 plan of salvation became visible through the 00:46:53.480 --> 00:46:56.679 incarnation of Christ, the perfect and sinless 00:46:56.679 --> 00:47:00.559 life of Christ, the substitutionary atoning death 00:47:00.559 --> 00:47:04.840 of Christ on the cross, and... The eternal plan 00:47:04.840 --> 00:47:07.519 of salvation became visible through the resurrection 00:47:07.519 --> 00:47:14.699 of Christ in power and glory. This has happened. 00:47:16.480 --> 00:47:21.500 For Paul's audience, and it's not just an audience 00:47:21.500 --> 00:47:24.659 of one, Titus was meant to share this letter, 00:47:24.719 --> 00:47:26.940 obviously. That's how we ended up with it today, 00:47:27.079 --> 00:47:32.219 right? For Paul's audience, this was an established... 00:47:32.679 --> 00:47:38.619 This was an historical fact. On this side of 00:47:38.619 --> 00:47:42.460 redemption, we look back and see the truth that 00:47:42.460 --> 00:47:46.539 Jesus came into the world. The second person 00:47:46.539 --> 00:47:52.519 of the holy Godhead took on human flesh. The 00:47:52.519 --> 00:47:56.239 incarnate word of God came and dwelt among us. 00:47:56.380 --> 00:47:58.639 And it's so important because it might be tempting 00:47:58.639 --> 00:48:01.880 to... to forget to share the gospel when you 00:48:01.880 --> 00:48:03.780 preach a message like this because you're so 00:48:03.780 --> 00:48:06.380 focused on the eternal purpose of God. You're 00:48:06.380 --> 00:48:08.840 so focused on, or I'm so focused on, trying to 00:48:08.840 --> 00:48:11.119 explain the passage that maybe I might forget 00:48:11.119 --> 00:48:16.320 to say that you and I, all of you, and myself 00:48:16.320 --> 00:48:21.119 included, we are sinful people. Do you know there 00:48:21.119 --> 00:48:23.860 is none of us who is righteous outside of Christ? 00:48:24.480 --> 00:48:27.000 The reason why Jesus came into the world to save 00:48:27.000 --> 00:48:31.099 sinners is because we're all sinners. Every single 00:48:31.099 --> 00:48:34.739 one of us. Every single one of us. Some of you 00:48:34.739 --> 00:48:37.199 have sinned in the process of sitting here even 00:48:37.199 --> 00:48:41.480 now. In thought, if not in deed. Right? Thinking 00:48:41.480 --> 00:48:44.739 that Dustin should wind this thing down. I'm 00:48:44.739 --> 00:48:49.039 just kidding. That's not sinful. All of us are 00:48:49.039 --> 00:48:52.829 sinful. All of us need a Savior. It's why we 00:48:52.829 --> 00:48:56.309 begin in the catechism where we do. God, man, 00:48:56.489 --> 00:49:01.309 and sin. Man and sin. They go together so well, 00:49:01.369 --> 00:49:05.090 don't they? There is none righteous. No, not 00:49:05.090 --> 00:49:08.650 one. None of us seeks after God. We are slaves 00:49:08.650 --> 00:49:13.909 to sin. We are corrupt to our core. And it's 00:49:13.909 --> 00:49:16.329 important for us to know that because this gospel, 00:49:16.349 --> 00:49:19.710 which produces all of this hope and joy, this 00:49:19.710 --> 00:49:22.329 promise that we can rest upon. There's no sense 00:49:22.329 --> 00:49:25.429 in knowing these facts about the gospel if you 00:49:25.429 --> 00:49:28.409 don't understand that the gospel was given for 00:49:28.409 --> 00:49:32.650 you. Not them out there. I mean, for them out 00:49:32.650 --> 00:49:35.809 there too. But specifically, as it applies today, 00:49:35.929 --> 00:49:42.469 it was given for you. You need it. You had to 00:49:42.469 --> 00:49:46.289 have it. Elsewise, you would have been lost forever. 00:49:47.230 --> 00:49:49.510 You would have been separated from God forever. 00:49:49.730 --> 00:49:52.130 You would have been underneath his righteous 00:49:52.130 --> 00:49:57.050 frown forever. God's wrath would be abiding upon 00:49:57.050 --> 00:50:02.130 you. But instead, instead, he sent his son into 00:50:02.130 --> 00:50:05.309 the world where he lived a perfect and sinless 00:50:05.309 --> 00:50:08.329 life. And he went to the cross as our substitute. 00:50:09.010 --> 00:50:13.929 And he endured God's wrath. He drank down the 00:50:13.929 --> 00:50:17.530 cup of wrath. He was our propitiation and he 00:50:17.530 --> 00:50:20.489 did the atoning work through his sacrifice that 00:50:20.489 --> 00:50:24.429 makes us right with God. That's how we're justified. 00:50:24.650 --> 00:50:29.329 That's how we are seen as holy. So when you think 00:50:29.329 --> 00:50:31.909 about the gospel, you have to remember that it 00:50:31.909 --> 00:50:39.349 applies for all of us. And that it happened at 00:50:39.349 --> 00:50:43.050 a real point in time when Jesus came into the 00:50:43.050 --> 00:50:47.860 world. and did His work on our behalf. If you 00:50:47.860 --> 00:50:50.159 do not believe that, I encourage you to search 00:50:50.159 --> 00:50:56.519 your heart today. Paul's greeting here in Titus 00:50:56.519 --> 00:51:02.280 1 -4 reveals really a beautiful timeline of redemption 00:51:02.280 --> 00:51:05.800 because it demonstrates the gospel according 00:51:05.800 --> 00:51:09.239 to God's eternal purpose. It was planned in eternity, 00:51:09.500 --> 00:51:12.820 promised long ages ago. God purposed salvation 00:51:12.820 --> 00:51:16.699 before time began. Again, Ephesians 1 .4, He 00:51:16.699 --> 00:51:19.019 chose us in Him before the foundation of the 00:51:19.019 --> 00:51:22.719 world. What a glorious reality. It was revealed 00:51:22.719 --> 00:51:25.460 in history at the proper time it was manifested. 00:51:26.059 --> 00:51:29.780 Christ entered history to accomplish redemption. 00:51:30.039 --> 00:51:34.219 It was, and even to this day, still is, being 00:51:34.219 --> 00:51:37.119 proclaimed in the present. That's why Paul says 00:51:37.119 --> 00:51:40.440 it's the proclamation with which I was entrusted. 00:51:40.940 --> 00:51:45.519 And he certainly was. Even now the gospel is 00:51:45.519 --> 00:51:48.780 being preached so people may believe. And how 00:51:48.780 --> 00:51:52.659 do they believe? Faith comes from hearing, and 00:51:52.659 --> 00:51:57.719 hearing by the word of Christ. And it is the 00:51:57.719 --> 00:52:01.260 only message that is powerful to transform sinners. 00:52:01.539 --> 00:52:05.780 It's the only message that is powerful to strengthen 00:52:05.780 --> 00:52:10.820 churches, to order churches rightly. It's the 00:52:10.820 --> 00:52:14.019 only message that is powerful enough to change 00:52:14.019 --> 00:52:18.679 lives and impact entire cultures. And it is the 00:52:18.679 --> 00:52:22.639 only message powerful enough to bring glory to 00:52:22.639 --> 00:52:25.059 God through Jesus Christ, His Son.