Sermon for MHBC (27 June 2021). You can listen on Facebook, YouTube, Vimeo, or our website. Live at 11:00am on Sundays. Also available as a podcast here or by searching “Monument Heights Baptist Church” in your favorite podcast app.
Today we finish Titus. Paul’s message to Titus has been to teach sound doctrine because it will produce transformation. That’s the amazing claim of the gospel. It has the power to change us from the inside out, to radically alter who we are, to reorder our loves and priorities and desires. And this has been seen throughout every generation. People have been radically changed by the gospel. Some have been changed so much that they would give their very lives away like Maximilian Kolbe, a Catholic priest, who volunteered to die in the place of a stranger at Auschwitz. That’s the sort of thing the gospel does to people.
Let’s jump into our text, beginning with vv. 1–2: 1 Remind them to be submissive to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work, 2 to speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all people.
Where the state is not violating the law of God, we are called to obedience. We are not called to worship the state or give ourselves entirely to the state. In a public speech during WW2, C. S. Lewis said, “A man may have to die for our country: but no man must, in any exclusive sense, live for his country. He who surrenders himself without reservation to the temporal claims of a nation, or a party, or a class is rendering to Caesar that which, of all things, most emphatically belongs to God: himself.”[1] Lewis strikes the right balance. Our nation, our state, our city, do not have exclusive claims to our lives. But insofar as we can be good citizens, the gospel demands it.
I’ve been a pastor through three presidential administrations. I’m always disappointed by the rhetoric I see from Christians. Paul is calling for submission to rulers who were far more abusive than any we’ve experienced in the US. There’s not even a comparison. So my encouragement to you would be to avoid engaging in the nasty and toxic talk of today. Quit idolizing political parties and politicians. You can have opinions, of course, and you should because we live within a republic and a democratic system. But you must not engage in slander and disrespect. And we will see in just a moment that our hopes are higher.
All of this is in keeping with what Paul wrote in chapter 2. Remember what we talked about last week. The concern is that our behavior would not give the gospel a bad reputation.
How we live in society is an unavoidable witness to the gospel. We tend to think lightly of Paul’s list here, but speaking negatively of others, causing divisions, being brash and combative, being rude is a detrimental witness against the gospel.
One of the greatest challenges facing Christianity in our day is the general public perception of our hypocrisy. People look at our lives and they don’t find them compelling. They don’t see gentleness or patience or courtesy. In short, they don’t see any change or transformation. Instead, they see people who claim to believe in a god that makes such little impact on how they live that their lives wouldn’t be any different if they quit believing. But for Paul, the gospel changes everything.
Look at v. 3: For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another.
I’m afraid we have weakened the gospel message. We’ve made it merely about praying a prayer to go to heaven. And another mistake we’ve made is we make it one of human determination. On the one hand, we act as though humans are responsible for its effectiveness. We paint the picture of meek, sad Jesus knocking on a door, standing in the rain, hoping someone will open it up. We act as though the gospel is something that can be hindered by humans. On the other hand, we act as though humans are capable of making a decision to pull themselves up by their bootstraps and get themselves out of the kingdom of darkness. But that’s not the way the gospel is presented in the NT.
The gospel is a massive invasion by the triune God. It is a dismantling of the powers of sin, death, and Satan. And as for our predicament, it’s much closer to that of Lazarus buried in the tomb. Remember what Paul says in Ephesians 2. We were dead in our trespasses and sins. According to v. 3, we were just doing what was natural. But the gospel is about God’s unilateral and decisive action to break the natural order. Look at v. 4: But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared.
Do you see how this is all initiated by God? When his goodness and his kindness appeared. Not when we wised up. Not when we decided to change. But when the blinding light of God’s goodness knocked us to the ground like Paul on the way to Damascus.
Now v. 5: he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit. We didn’t save ourselves. He saved us. Just let that sink in for a moment.
Imagine being lost at sea. What would you do? There’s not a lot you can do. That’s really the situation as Christianity sees it. We are helplessly treading water, but the one true God, out of his abundant goodness, acts to save us.
Salvation is not in our power. We didn’t clean ourselves up. We didn’t get it together. Look what the verse says: “Not because of works done by us in righteousness.”
Notice the contrast. “But according to his own mercy.” On the basis of his mercy. Why does God save people? Because it’s in his character. This word mercy is probably more loaded than just being compassionate. In the OT, it is usually equivalent with that word translated steadfast love or lovingkindness. It speaks to God’s unbreakable character, to his unrelenting faithfulness, to his loyalty and commitment to his promises.
And what does this salvation entail? How does it work? Look at the end of the verse: “By the washing of regeneration (i.e. new birth) and renewal (i.e. new creation) of the Holy Spirit.” All of this is ours in Christ. Look at the next two verses: 6 whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
Here is what is yours in Christ. You have been transformed and changed. And we can press into this transformation because we have a better hope. We can live in this world patiently and gently because we are heirs of God’s kingdom. We are heirs because Christ has made us righteous (i.e. justified) us by God’s grace. This grace of justification, this hope of eternal life, produces transformation.
Look at v. 8: The saying is trustworthy, and I want you to insist on these things, so that those who have believed in God may be careful to devote themselves to good works. These things are excellent and profitable for people.
“Insist on these things” may refer either to the whole preceding letter or to these verses about the gospel. In any case, notice that this teaching, this truth of what God has done in Christ, should lead to transformation. “Insist on these things so that those who have believed … may be careful to devote themselves to good works.” Transformation happens through the gospel. The gospel changes us. The more we lean into it, the more we understand, the more we reflect on it, the more we embrace our identity in Christ, the more the Holy Spirit continues to transform us.
How can we practically respond to the gospel and this amazing announcement of God’s grace? Timothy Lane and Paul Tripp have some advice that’s helpful. They write: “The only way to properly celebrate these realities is to humbly ask, “God, where are you calling me to further change? What qualities that you promised to your children are still not active in my heart? What do you want me to see about you?”[2]
See, it is continued reliance on God’s grace. It’s continuing to ask God to do the work we cannot do. They write elsewhere: “He calls us to wrestle, meditate, watch, examine, fight, run, persevere, confess, resist, submit, follow, and pray until we have been transformed into his likeness.”[3]
Notice what Paul said at the end of v. 8: “These things are excellent and profitable.” The good life isn’t more money or more fame or more success. The good life is being transformed into the image of Christ by his gospel.
Now remember Paul is writing to combat some issues in the church. The character in the next verses is the opposite of what we’ve just seen. It is unprofitable as opposed to profitable. So he addresses those in the next three verses:
9 But avoid foolish controversies, genealogies, dissensions, and quarrels about the law, for they are unprofitable and worthless. 10 As for a person who stirs up division, after warning him once and then twice, have nothing more to do with him, 11 knowing that such a person is warped and sinful; he is self-condemned.
The gospel calls for transformation. Sadly, we don’t always see it. Sometimes we see no transformation and we just shrug our shoulders. But notice what Paul says. If there is a person continuing to stir division, failing to be transformed by the gospel, warning once or twice is sufficient before breaking fellowship. Why? Because that person has revealed a failure to embrace the gospel. They are self-condemned because the gospel hasn’t taken root in their heart. They aren’t interested in Christ. They are interested in their own desires.
Again, I remind you that such issues in the church cannot be simply overlooked. Too many churches act as though factionalism and stirring up division are just routine and to be expected. Paul says such things are toxic and cancerous. They require removal not passive peace-keeping. The hope, of course, is restoration, but we can’t be afraid to address destructive behavior within the church.
It may sound harsh but think about it this way. When the church addresses toxic behavior, it sends a signal to everyone watching that the gospel should produce transformation. When a church takes disciplinary measures against a divisive member, everyone watching sees that the church takes hypocrisy seriously, that holiness is important, and that the gospel calls for transformation.
Then Paul closes with a fairly typical conclusion in vv. 12–15:
12 When I send Artemas or Tychicus to you, do your best to come to me at Nicopolis, for I have decided to spend the winter there. 13 Do your best to speed Zenas the lawyer and Apollos on their way; see that they lack nothing. 14 And let our people learn to devote themselves to good works, so as to help cases of urgent need, and not be unfruitful.
Notice how he repeats his concern that they devote themselves to good works—actions that evidence gospel transformation. In the present context this seems especially concerned with caring for fellow believers. Notice how he says in v. 13 to see that Zenas and Apollos lack nothing.
Then he concludes by reminding Titus of the gospel of grace. Verse 15: All who are with me send greetings to you. Greet those who love us in the faith. Grace be with you all.
Last week we talked about being a distinct community founded upon sound doctrine. That’s the message of Titus. The gospel has to get into our heads, our hearts, and our hands. It has to be part of us, in our bones, in our blood, the air we breathe, the way we see the world. When the gospel takes root like that, then it produces transformation. And we do that together. We have to be a community fixated on the gospel, on sound teaching, calling each other to deeper faithfulness to the faith that has been delivered to us.
[1] “Learning in War-Time,” in The Weight of Glory, 53.
[2] How People Change, 133
[3] Ibid., 135
I found this teaching very insightful and helpful to everyday life. Enjoyed the message very much!
Thank you!
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