Our passage today for exposition is Titus chapter
3, verses 1 through 11. Please follow along silently
as I read aloud. This is God's wholly inspired
and inerrant word. Remind them to be subject
to rulers, to authorities, to be obedient, to
be ready for every good deed, to malign no one,
to be peaceable, gentle. showing every consideration
for all men. For we also once were foolish ourselves,
disobedient, deceived, enslaved to various lusts
and pleasures, spending our life in malice and
envy, hateful, hating one another. But when the
kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind
appeared, He saved us, not on the basis of deeds
which we have done in righteousness, but according
to his mercy, by the washing of regeneration
and renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured
out upon us richly through Jesus Christ, our
Savior, so that being justified by his grace,
we would be made heirs according to the hope
of eternal life. This is a trustworthy statement.
And concerning these things I want you to speak
confidently, so that those who have believed
God will be careful to engage in good deeds.
These things are good and profitable for men.
But avoid foolish controversies and genealogies
and strife and disputes about the law, for they
are unprofitable and worthless. Reject a factious
man after a first and second warning, knowing
that such a man is perverted and is sinning,
being self -condemned. Let's pray. Gracious Heavenly
Father, we come to you this morning thankful
for the mercy and kindness you've shown to us
as sinners. The kindness that you've shown to
us as sinners through your Son. We praise you
that though we were once foolish and disobedient
and enslaved to sin, you did not leave us in
our corruption. Rather, you saved us according
to your great mercy. Lord Jesus, we thank you
that your gospel not only saves sinners, but
it transforms lives too. Lord, cause us to lead
lives worthy of the doctrine we profess. Make
us peaceable, gentle, humble, and ready for every
good deed. Holy Spirit, please accompany the
proclamation of your word and apply its truth
to our hearts this morning. Renew our minds.
Guard us from divisiveness and produce within
us unity, holiness, and love that reflects your
transforming power. In all of this, may Jesus
be honored, may his church be strengthened, and
may your grace be made known. These things we
ask in his holy name. Amen. Please be seated.
We are approaching the end of our study in the
book of Titus. Lord willing, next week we will
finish things up as we take care of those last
several verses at the end of this letter written
by the Apostle Paul to his true child in a common
faith, Titus, who, as we know, is serving, ministering
on the island of Crete where he is setting things
in order, appointing elders, doing the business
of the church. Titus is indeed a churchman. He
is a man who is about the business of God, who
has been commissioned, if you will, by the Apostle
Paul, and I guess we could say also by the Lord
Jesus Christ. As we come into chapter 3, Paul
is continuing the same great concern that's run
throughout this entire letter. At this point,
you probably feel like every time I say it, that
I'm beating you over the head, but it is so consistent
a theme throughout the letter that I believe
it bears repeating each time we discuss it. From
the very beginning of Paul's epistle to Titus,
he has emphasized that sound doctrine must produce
godly living. Many of you may be like me. I can't
help but think that many of you probably are
a lot like me. And repetition is probably something
helpful for you because if you are like me, you
tend to need repetition in order to learn. So
again, I say sound doctrine must produce godly
living in believers. We've noted the difficulty
of this assignment for Titus. We've noted it
multiple times. That, of course, as he's serving
these churches that are scattered in, around,
or about the island of Crete, that they were
surrounded by a corrupt and disorderly culture,
that there were false teachers who, as Paul puts
it in verse 11 of chapter 1, were upsetting whole
families. Many of them, as Paul says in verse
16, also in chapter 1, many of them profess to
know God, but by their deeds, They deny him.
They are disqualified, not necessarily because
of what they say, though certainly some of them
were saying things that obviously disqualified
them. But to drive the point home, Paul makes
sure we understand that they are disqualified
because by the way they were leading their lives,
they were denying God. Honestly, the world around
us today isn't much different. We live in a culture
marked by outrage, hostility, division, slander.
It's amazing. If you look at YouTube, what passes
as reporting nowadays? Some wild and completely,
utterly... Unsubstantiated accusations that simply
pass and we allow them to pass without any real
tangible evidence. Slander is everywhere. Arrogance
is everywhere. And selfish ambition seems to
be the motive behind most of it. People are increasingly
combative. Everything. is a fight. Many people
are angry. They are constantly offended. Or,
if they are not offended, they're in search of
the next thing about which they should be offended.
Amen? This has become patently obvious to us.
No doubt, I would say, social media has probably
heightened our awareness of these issues. But
I will say to you that these issues have been
for sinful, fallen humanity since the beginning
of time. People seem to feel overwhelmingly that
they need to speak harshly. I confess, sometimes,
as I, I guess you would say, practice rhetorical
skills. Sometimes it seems like the more fired
up I get, the better I can hold people's attention.
You might argue that that's true. And I know
that not everyone gets as impassioned, using
careful words here, as impassioned as I do at
times, but I have noticed that the more harshly
I speak, the easier it is for me to command others'
attention. And I think this says something about
all of us. Unfortunately for you, not just me,
but all of us. We tend to enjoy controversy.
Do you catch yourself, though you might not be
in the midst of the controversy, do you catch
yourself wanting to be in the perimeter? Wanting
to make sure you know what's going on? I believe
it's the book of Proverbs that refers to those
words that are like dainty morsels that go down
to our innermost parts. We seemingly, all of
us, but certainly in the world, we seemingly
enjoy harsh speech. We enjoy seeing someone get
called out. We enjoy controversing. And this
is something that's very obvious in the public
sphere because it's basically all we do anymore.
Our politics have degraded to the point of merely
being about soundbites, about owning someone.
There's a very famous political commentator.
I think his organization is experiencing a little
bit of financial difficulty now. But he's famous
as a conservative on the right, and he's known
for owning. The libs. Yeah. That's what it seems
to get our attention because in the world today,
our goal is to be the most bombastic. And our
politics over the last, oh, let's say, 10 or
11 years have really, really degraded and proven
this out to us. And unfortunately, what has happened
is the church has become part and parcel to this.
Many people in the church, many genuine Christians,
God -fearing believers have fallen prey to this
issue, this concern. We might even argue that
it is a cultural or societal disease. We all
have the tendency, the propensity toward these
things. But I tell you, the church is not. to
imitate the spirit of this age, to borrow Paul's
language from 2 Corinthians, because the grace
of God has changed us. Not the grace of God will
change us. Certainly there is a process of sanctification
that's taking place in every one of us as the
Spirit is working within us, as we're being conformed
to the image and the likeness of our Lord Jesus
Christ. Certainly there is a progressive element
to this, but in the same breath as Christians
we must realize we have been changed by God's
grace. We are no longer the people we used to
be. We shouldn't look. and act like the world
around us anymore. And that does not mean you
have to dress like people from the Victorian
era. It doesn't mean that you have to be different
for the sake of being different, but it does
mean that as the Bible prescribes us to be different,
we should obey and honor that prescription. The
grace of God has changed us. God's grace has
changed how we think, and how we speak. It has
changed how we live. It has changed how we treat
others, how we treat others in the world, and,
mind you, how we treat one another in the church.
So here's Paul really beginning to wind down
this beautiful pastoral letter to his true child
in a common faith. And he's instructing Titus
to remind believers how the gospel of grace should
shape their lives. It's interesting. The gospel
of grace. The idea is that God does all of the
work. There is no meritorious work on our part.
None of us have done anything to achieve it.
We understand it. We know what we believe about
the doctrine of justification by faith. We know
what we believe about having faith in Jesus Christ
alone, according to God's grace, which he has
lavished upon us, his free gift. And yet when
we read through a book like Titus, which you
can do in really a matter of minutes because
it's so short, we see that grace changes us and
our lives should evidence that change. And then
we see. The fact that we are called to engage
our will and to work toward these things while
all the same time realizing it's because of God's
grace. I heard a preacher say one time, anything
good I do is because of God's grace. Anything
bad I do is because of my own sinful flesh. Seems
almost unfair, doesn't it? Wouldn't you love
to be able to take just a smidge, just a bit
of the credit? Sometimes I talk to my kids, and
I might be disciplining them in some way, or
maybe instructing or admonishing them in some
ways, and then they might try to justify themselves
by saying, well, yeah, Dad, but I did do this,
right? And I'd love to say that it's only children
who do those things, but... I'm known to do that
myself. We'll soon see, he says, that grace should
change us both publicly and privately. Grace
should change us. Grace has changed us and is
continuing to change us as we engage in the civic
arena, as we engage in our interpersonal relationships.
and how we interact with one another in the church
herself. The grace of God should transform how
we live in society. It should change how we treat
other people. And the grace of God should change
us by causing us to be about the business of
preserving the unity of the church. Our change
lives. should demonstrate that we are citizens
of grace. So let's start with verses 1 and 2
here, where we see our conduct in society. Look
back there with me again, if you would. Chapter
3 and verse 1, Paul writes to Titus here and
says, Remind them to be subject to rulers, to
authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for
every good deed, to malign no one, to be peaceable,
gentle, showing every consideration for all men.
This is about grace and how it changes our conduct
in society. Paul begins with this important reminder
because Christianity does not produce... Oh,
this is a good line. Paul begins with this important
reminder because Christianity does not produce
rebellious, lawless people. Now, everyone in
this room, to my knowledge, is a law -abiding
citizen. To my knowledge. Even I am. To your
knowledge. There's more to this than just obeying
the law. Isn't there? Now, honestly, my mind
kind of goes back to the Sermon on the Mount
where Jesus is talking about these things that
they've heard they're not supposed to do, and
then he says, but I say to you, if, right? And
he gets to the intention of our heart, doesn't
he? A lot of us, and I confess to you, this is
true of me, are rebellious. We are. We may be
obeying the letter of the law, but in our hearts,
oftentimes, and even from the abundance of our
hearts, oftentimes our mouths speak and tell
us how we really feel. and demonstrate to the
world around us what we really, truly think about
authority. And mind you, the first verse here
is specifically about civic government, the civil
sphere, right? It's not to say that there aren't
times when disobeying the law is required, and
I'll talk about that in a moment, but Christians...
should be good citizens. Have you ever thought
about what that means? They used to teach civics
in the public school. I remember when I was in
grade school, we had a, I can't remember what
it was called, but we had a magazine that we
would do. I can't remember if it was once a week
or how often we did it, but we would have these
questions that were related to our duty in the
civic arena. How we were supposed to interact
as part of our social studies program when I
was in school. We'd always end it with critical
thinking questions. I loved it. I loved that
kind of stuff. And it made you think about how
you could be a good citizen. And here Paul is
giving Titus a reminder that is specifically
meant to be applied in the church setting to
help the Christians who worship together week
in and week out. who profess to know sound doctrine
that is supposed to adorn their lives, right?
To beautify this doctrine with the way they live
their lives. And he reminds them to be subject
to rulers, to authorities, to be obedient. Oh,
man. Man. Subject. Don't call me a subject. Don't
call me a subject. I have to be obedient? What
am I, a child? Right? Tell me. Don't tell me,
because we don't have time for everybody to speak,
but I get the mic today. But think for a moment.
Does that bother you? The idea of being in subjection
to another man? The idea of obeying someone else?
I'm an adult. I don't have to obey anybody. Right?
I mean, down inside, it kind of makes you a little
squirmish, doesn't it? I mean, especially in
southeastern Illinois and southwestern Indiana,
because this is an area of the world where we
are individuals, right? Rugged individualism
is the hallmark of the great American experiment,
isn't it? It is. We think of our heroes like
Teddy Roosevelt and the Rough Riders. I see some
people shaking their head no. Politically speaking,
yeah, Teddy had a few issues. We think about
these things and it bothers us. But the fact
of the matter is we should be respectful, peaceable,
and useful citizens. You know, Our citizenship,
temporarily speaking, is here. But we have an
eternal citizenship to which we've been called.
And perhaps we should keep our eyes on it. Now,
we're not called to blind obedience. Here's the
caveat. And everybody starts to kind of, whew,
that was getting a little intense. We're not
called to blind obedience in all things. The
witness of Scripture is very clear about this
because there are times when we must, in the
words of the Apostle Peter, Acts chapter 5, where
we must obey God rather than men. And amen to
that. Amen to that. The apostles, if you remember,
have been arrested. They've been released. They
go out as soon as they're released and they start
doing exactly what the Jewish authorities had
told them not to do, which was preaching the
name of Jesus. And so they drag him back in and
they're like, hey, guys, you're going to make
us guilty of this man's blood. You're going to
have the whole city turned against us. Quit this.
And what's Peter say? We have to obey God. We've
been commanded to tell the world about Jesus.
And in this instance, disobeying authority is
absolutely necessary. The same principle is seen
in the Old Testament. You guys can probably think
of a few examples. I can think of three that
happen in the book of Daniel. His three friends,
Daniel and his three friends, very first thing
that happens when they go into Babylonian captivity,
the king wants to what? Feed them really good,
rich food that's not healthy, and they know it's
not. And these are disciplined men who want to
honor God, even in the mundane things, such as
what they eat. And they refuse. In chapter 3
in Daniel, of course, one of the most famous
Bible stories any of us has ever heard, Shadrach,
Meshach, and Abednego. What do they refuse to
do? They refuse to bow before and worship the
image of Nebuchadnezzar, right? And of course
they face the consequences for that, don't they?
And God delivers them from those consequences
miraculously. So Daniel himself in Daniel chapter
6, when he was told to pray to no other name
except for the king, what does he do? He leaves
his window open and he prays. Notice carefully,
though, these acts were not rebellion for rebellion's
sake. They were not driven by political outrage.
They were not driven by personal preference.
They were not driven by pride or arrogance. These
instances occurred only when earthly authorities
directly contradicted the clear commands of God.
That's the consistent biblical principle. for
us to consider because we do have a caveat here,
yet we also have a qualification. Christians
submit to governing authority unless commanded
to do what God forbids or unless they're forbidden
from doing what God commands. Ordinarily, Christians
are to be marked by respectful submission, not...
a rebellious spirit. If people know you as a
rebel, I would venture to guess your life is
not adorning the doctrine of God. If people see
you as a rebel, as someone who will do what he
wants to do when he wants to do it, and no one
will tell him otherwise, if that is your modus
operandi, if that is your MO, you might consider
changing your ways, Christian. Now, I'm not saying
you shouldn't be individualistic, and I'm not
saying you shouldn't be self -sufficient. I'm
not even suggesting that you shouldn't be your
own man or woman. But you need to do those things
with a view toward what God has commanded in
Scripture. remembering that you are under authority.
And if you are not under the authority of your
civil government, if you are constantly stepping
out from under that authority, you must remember
also that you are stepping out from under the
authority of God because he himself ordained
civil authority. Christians should be marked,
as I said, by respectful submission and not a
rebellious spirit. Even when we disagree, Even
when rulers are flawed, we have nothing but flawed
rulers in the United States of America and in
the state of Illinois. And for those of you who
reside in Indiana, I know you think that you're
so much better because you're a red state, but
I have to tell you, your leaders are quite flawed
as well. Very flawed. Extremely flawed. Even
when the culture around us is increasingly...
hostile to biblical truth, Christians should
be marked by respectful submission. This is especially
important for us to remember in our current cultural
climate. Many people today have cultivated a
spirit of perpetual outrage and defiance. Amen?
But Christians are called to display wisdom,
humility, restraint, and trust. I love this line.
And you know, of course, it seems I would. I
wrote it. Christians are called to display wisdom,
humility, restraint, and trust. Now get this,
because most of you in this room are Calvinistic,
most of you are Reformed Baptists, and trust
in God's sovereign authority over all earthly
rulers. I confess to you there are things happening
now. at the hands of people that I voted for,
for the exact opposite reasons of what they're
doing, and it is tempting for me to sit around
and badmouth those people constantly, to remind
everybody, yeah, I voted for him, but I don't
agree with what he's doing now, right? It's easy
for us to think in those terms. It's easy for
us to operate in that way. But if we truly believe
God is sovereign, that God is in control even
of the president of the United States or the
governor of the state of Illinois, that's tough.
It's a hard one, isn't it? But if we believe
he is sovereign over all things, then we can
still submit so long as they're not commanding
us to do something God forbids or forbidding
us from doing something God commands. I say all
of that to you knowing that I may be the worst
offender of the bunch. Ordinarily, Christians
must live in subjection to legitimate governing
authorities because authority itself has been
established by God. We mentioned this earlier.
And of course, your mind probably goes immediately
to Romans chapter 13, right? Every person is
to be in subjection to the governing authorities
for there is no authority except from God. And
those which exist are established by God. Therefore,
whoever resists authority has opposed the ordinance
of God. and they who have opposed will receive
condemnation upon themselves. Who's going to
punish you? I mean, ultimately, who's going to
punish you for disregarding that authority? It's
actually not them. The condemnation that we'll
receive upon ourselves, it's very much implicit
here, but it's clear God is going to punish us.
We will face... We will face circumstances that
God in his sovereignty will bring about in order
to correct us. Even in a place like Crete, which
was known for disorder and moral instability,
believers were called to display godliness publicly
by obeying legitimate authority. And even today,
Christians, we must do the same. Notice also
in verse 1, Paul says believers must be ready
for every good deed. The Christian life, it is
not passive. We are not merely avoiding evil.
We must pursue that which is good. We're not
simply avoiding evil, but we're supposed to pursue
goodness and godly living. Matthew 5, 16, Jesus
said, Let your light shine before men in such
a way. that they may see your good works and
glorify your Father who is in heaven. Verse 2,
Paul addresses the Christian speech and attitude
toward others. And this really cuts directly
against the spirit of our age. The world thrives
on slander and public humiliation. It rejoices
in constant outrage and division, but the church
is supposed to be different, not weak. Not compromising
on truth. And certainly in broader evangelicalism
and in the mainline denominations, we have seen
such compromise. That has happened, right? But
we should be peaceable, gentle, and considerate
of everyone, showing consideration for all men,
as Paul words it here. Philippians 2 .14 -15,
do all things without grumbling or disputing.
That's a great one to give your kids as a very
simple memory verse if you ever want to use that
one. Do all things without grumbling or disputing
so that you will prove yourselves to be blameless
and innocent, children of God above reproach
in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation
among whom you appear as lights in the world.
Do you want to be a light in the world? I want
to be a light in the world. I do not want to
fade into the shadows. Right? I want to burn
brightly, and then one day, by God's grace, I
want to burn out. James 1, 19 through 20. This
you know, my beloved brethren, but everyone must
be quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to
anger, for the anger of man does not achieve
the righteousness of God. Yelling and screaming.
even if it's just in all caps in a comment thread
on YouTube or Facebook or wherever else you kids
go, is not what God wants. That anger does not
achieve the righteousness of God. This is deeply
practical for us. Right here and right now, this
is practical for us. It applies to our lives.
How do you speak to people? Whether you're online
or you're person -to -person, face -to -face.
How do you speak to or about your co -workers?
Not just when you're with them, but when you're
talking with someone else. How do you engage
in political discourse? How do you interact with
difficult people? I don't know how many of you
have public -facing jobs. But that is one area
that can be kind of hard sometimes. And I think
about the way I have talked to and the way I've
talked about some people in the course of doing
business, and I feel pretty convicted. And I
want to set those things aside. Because what
I've noticed over time is that when I allow those
things to constantly rile me up, I'm only hurting
myself. You know what? The gospel of grace should
visibly shape the Christian's conduct. It should
fashion our conduct in society by changing how
we interact with authority. It should train us
to be at peace with those who are around us,
to be gentle with our speech and in our deeds.
I once heard someone say, Dustin, you're a kind
person. And it really actually kind of bothered
me. For one thing, I thought, you're probably
lying. You don't really feel that way. And I
thought, you know, to me, I don't want to be
a kind person. I'm a strong person. I mean, I'm
not a big guy, but I have a big personality.
I have a loud voice. I don't want to be kind.
I want to be forceful. I want to be dynamic.
Right? I can tell you, I look back on that. And
that was the wrong attitude. To some extent,
we should be kind. We should be generous with
our attitude and our disposition toward others.
We should show consideration for everyone. Some
of us may not struggle with these things like
others do. So to keep us from becoming self -righteous,
In hearing these commands, Paul immediately reminds
us who we once were. And he does so by describing
our former condition in verse 3. Again, our former
condition in verse 3. Look there with me again.
For we also once were foolish ourselves, disobedient,
deceived, enslaved to various lusts and pleasures,
spending our life in malice and envy, hateful,
hating one another. There are a lot of people
in this room who have grown up in church their
entire lives who have really never tasted the
sinful, debauched lifestyle that some others
in this room have. And I think that that is,
number one, glorious and wonderful. And in the
same breath, I think there's a danger to it because
the tendency among people... who have never really
dealt with truly sinful behavior in their lives,
have a tendency to think that they've never really
been sinful people. And that's why I think this
is so helpful right here in the middle of this,
what are we in, the last 15 verses of the letter
that Paul brings it up. In case you're tempted,
To think that you are somehow better. Let me
remind you, Titus, and share this with your congregation.
Paul is writing under the inspiration of the
Holy Spirit. And I love the humility he shows.
Because he doesn't say, you were once. He says,
for we... also wants worth. For we also wants
worth. It kills pride. It destroys spiritual
arrogance and spiritual pride. Spiritual pride
is a very real thing. Christians must never look
at unbelievers as though we are naturally superior,
and we must never compare ourselves to one another.
He writes, we were. What's he say? What were
we? Well, we were foolish. Boy, that hurts. Thanks.
We were disobedient. We were deceived. Nobody
deceives me. Right? We were enslaved to various
lusts and pleasures. We were spending our lives
in malice and envy. We were hateful and hating
one another. This is the natural condition of
fallen humanity. This is what sin has done to
the human race. And apart from God's grace, we
would still... Be like them. Paul writes in Ephesians
2, 1 through 3, And you were dead in your trespasses
and sins, in which you formerly walked according
to the course of this world, according to the
prince of the power of the air, of the spirit
that is now working in the sons of disobedience.
Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts
of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh
and of the mind, and were by nature children
of wrath. even as the rest. Here's what you were,
even if you've grown up in church, even if you've
never tasted alcohol or smoked a cigarette or
rolled a joint or whatever you want to say, you've
never looked at perverted content on the internet,
whatever. Pick your poison. You may never have
done any of those things, but you, too, were
once like them. 1 Corinthians 6 .11, we're reminded,
Such were some of you, but you were washed, but
you were sanctified, but you were justified in
the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the
Spirit of our God. Christian, never forget where
God found you. Never forget where God found you.
I may have shared this story, but it's probably
been long enough ago you don't remember it. I
heard a story of two young men who had been adopted
into two separate families. And one of these
young men was pretty proud and boastful, and
it was in the midst of a class. I don't know
if it was a college level or high school or what
it was, but he stood up and he started bad -mouthing
his parents who had adopted him. And the other
young man sat there and listened to him, waited
for him to finish, and then he stood up and said,
You know, my parents aren't perfect. But I know
where they came to get me. I know what they saved
me from. And so I will honor them. Perhaps you
should do the same. Don't forget where you were
when God found you. Don't forget the condition
you were in when God saved you. We... We're not
saved because we were wiser. You and I were not
saved because we were morally superior. You and
I were not saved because we were more deserving.
We were saved by the grace of God alone. And
that really leads Paul directly into the theological
essence, if you will, of this passage. It's in
verses 4 -7 where he describes our gracious salvation.
Verse 4, but when the kindness of God our Savior
and His love for mankind appeared, we just heard
that word appeared in the previous study, He
saved us not on the basis of deeds which we have
done in righteousness, but according to His mercy
by the washing of regeneration and renewing by
the Holy Spirit whom He poured out upon us richly
through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being
justified by His grace, we would be made heirs
according to the hope of eternal life. Verse
4 gives us one of the most... Beautiful contrasts
in Scripture. That word, but. But, when the kindness
of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared,
what a glorious interruption indeed. We were
lost in sin, dead in rebellion, enslaved and
corrupted, but God intervened by saving us. And
notice what motivated Him to save us. It was
the kindness of God. Certainly, it's for His
glory. But he's motivated by his kindness and
by his love. Verse 5, we see the very heart of
the gospel. He saved us not on the basis of deeds,
which we've done in righteousness, but according
to his mercy. Salvation is not earned. It is
not deserved. Salvation is not achieved through
human effort. Paul writes in Ephesians 2, 8 and
9, we know this because we talk about it all
the time. For by grace you have been saved through
faith and that not of yourselves. It is the gift
of God, not as a result of works, so that no
one may boast. We're saved by grace, by grace,
not by works, not by works. There is no boasting
in your salvation because you did not do it.
There is no boasting because God alone, has done
the work of saving you. He goes on in the remainder
of verse 5 to describe salvation as being accomplished
by the washing of regeneration and renewing by
the Holy Spirit. He speaks of being born again,
spiritual rebirth. Think of John chapter 3. God
does not merely improve people. Right? This is
not a home improvement project. This is demo.
and starting over with a brand new foundation
and building up the whole house. He makes us
new. 2 Corinthians 5, 17, Therefore, if anyone
is in Christ, he is a new creature, right? The
old things passed away, but behold, new things
have come. By God's grace, the Holy Spirit renews
the sinner from within, changing desires and
affections, and He changes our behavior too.
And you notice that there is a Trinitarian work
that's taking place here, which is also beautiful
to see and helps build up our faith. Oftentimes
people struggle to defend the doctrine of the
Trinity, but here it is clearly displayed. God
the Father saves, the Holy Spirit regenerates
and renews, and salvation comes through Jesus
Christ our Savior and through Him alone. Verse
6 makes that absolutely clear when he writes,
whom he poured out upon us, that's referring
back to the Spirit, richly through Jesus Christ,
our Savior. Next, Paul brings us to the result
of our salvation, that being justified by his
grace, we would be made heirs according to the
hope of eternal life. Verse 7, this is who we
are now. This is our position. It is our standing
in Christ. We are justified, forgiven, we've
been adopted, and now we are hope. filled heirs
of eternal life. It's precisely why Christians
live differently from the world around them,
isn't it? At the very least, it's why we should.
Because our conduct flows from this grace. Holiness
is not the cause of salvation. We know this.
We know this. Holiness is not the cause of salvation.
But it is the fruit. of our glorious salvation.
And it was brought about by the sovereign triune
God. The gospel of grace creates a new people
whose conduct adorns the doctrine of God, a new
people whose lives are marked by godliness. So
Paul finishes this section by pointing to our
need for unity in the church in verses 8 through
11. Very quickly, this is a trustworthy statement
concerning these things. I want you to speak
confidently so that those who have believed God
will be careful to engage in good deeds. These
things are good and profitable for men, but avoid
foolish controversies and genealogies and strife
and disputes about the law, for they are unprofitable
and worthless. Reject a factious man after a
first and second warning, knowing that such a
man is perverted and is sinning, being self -condemned.
Verse 8 says that it's a trustworthy statement,
and he tells Titus to speak. confidently about
these things. Clearly, Paul expects Titus and
us by extension to preach these truths boldly,
consistently, and with authority. Why? So that
those who believe God will be careful to engage
in good deeds. There are a lot of Christians
in a lot of churches around this country who
are not engaging in good deeds and who are in
a very real sense withering on the vine because
their preachers don't speak the truth of God
boldly and confidently. A lot of Christians are
emaciated. They are withering because their preachers
don't preach the truth. Doctrine and godliness
belong together. We've seen it over and over.
They are inseparable. Right belief produces right
practice. Proper understanding brings about proper
living. And Paul gives a warning to Titus in
verse 9, but avoid foolish controversies and
genealogies and strifes and disputes about the
law. Now, I could really go off on a tangent,
but I won't. And you're all like, thank you.
I could go off on a tangent right here. Many
of you guys in particular know exactly where
that tangent would be headed because we talk
about these things a lot. Avoid foolish controversies.
and genealogies and strife and disputes about
the law. These things destroy churches. Let me
tell you something. Not every argument is profitable.
That's a fact. That is a stone -cold fact. Not
every argument, though it might be disguised
as genuine concern, right? Though it may have
the flavor, a robust theological discussion.
Not every one of those arguments, not every one
of those debates is a good thing. Because sometimes
those arguments, especially when they're about
foolish things, do nothing but hinder our unity
as a church. Not every debate is good. Not every
debate is godly. Some people simply love conflict.
So they will argue about anything. Paul says
these things are unprofitable and worthless.
Then comes the difficult but necessary instruction
in verse 10. Reject a factious man after a first
and second warning. A divisive person is dangerous
to the church. Division destroys fellowship,
it destroys trust, and division destroys unity.
Notice, however, that patience and grace are
built into this command. First, there is a first
warning. Then there is a second warning because
the goal is restoration, much like Matthew 18,
right? The goal is repentance and peace. But
if someone persists in divisiveness, Paul says
they must eventually be rejected or removed from
the church, knowing that such a man, as Paul
words it in verse 11, is perverted and is sinning,
being self -condemned. Not because the church
is harsh, not because the church is unkind, but
because the church is worth protecting. The church
is worth defending. So eventually, that patience,
that grace, that rope that you're lending them,
it runs out. And they have to be corrected. They
have to be, in some cases, removed. Paul also
wrote of this in Romans 16. Now I urge you, brethren,
keep your eye on those who cause dissensions
and hindrances, contrary to the teaching which
you learned, and turn away from them. We might
be tempted to think such a step is unloving,
but Scripture clearly teaches the necessity of
protecting the church from those who seek to
divide us. You know, when we look at... Titus
chapter 3, verses 1 through 11, a beautiful picture
of the fruit of the gospel emerges. We can see
how the grace of God changes Christians and causes
us to live rightly in society. We become peaceable,
gentle, submissive. We become ready for good
works. We're humbled by the grace of God because
we're reminded of who and what we once were.
We see that the grace of God saves us entirely
by His mercy, not by our works or some righteousness
of our own, but through Christ alone. And we
can see that the grace of God produces a unified
and godly, ordered church of people who are devoted
to good works, of people committed to truth,
of people who protect the peace, unity, and purity
of Christ's body, lest we forget. We are the
bride of Christ. I know many of you men can identify
with this sentiment. I feel very strongly about
my wife. And I will defend her purity against
anyone. If I feel that way about my own wife,
how should I feel about the church? Church, The
world should see something different in us. We
get to do this one more week. I've enjoyed this
immensely. It has been sanctifying for me. I
hope it's been beneficial for you and we'll wrap
up next week. But the world should see something
different in us. I think if you could just kind
of... Make it all fit in one phrase. I think
that's what I would say. It's simple. It's poignant.
It's in common language. The world should see
us differently. When we interact with them individually
in our daily lives, we should be different. They
should say to themselves when they get done talking
to us, when they deal with us in a business transaction,
when they see us at school. When we go and work
on the assembly line or when we're talking to
another farmer while we're waiting in the line
at the elevator, whatever it is, those people
should walk away from a conversation with you
and they should say, wow, something is different
about them. And when they see the witness, the
corporate witness of our church, they should
feel the same. We should be different. We should
live in such a way that our conduct conforms
to and confirms the doctrine we profess. May
our lives bear witness to the transforming power
of the gospel of grace in Jesus Christ our Savior.
May we become citizens of grace who reflect the
beauty, glory, and majesty of our great God and
Savior, not only in our individual lives, but
also here in His church.