Titus 1

[00:00:00] You are listening to the Through the Bible Studio series with Pastor Nate Holdridge. Join us as we continue our study through the new Testament book of Titus. Here's Nate.

[00:00:20] Today we come in our studies to the book of Titus chapter 1. Titus is a letter from Paul the Apostle to a young pastor named Titus who had a particular ministry to fulfill on the Mediterranean island of Crete.

[00:00:41] A really a theme concept from the book of Titus comes from chapter 2 verse 11 and following. For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness in worldly passions and to live self-controlled upright and godly lives in the present age.

[00:01:04] Waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.

[00:01:24] Now I know that's a long quotation to begin our study with but the first line of it and the sum total of it but also the final line of it put together help us really understand the flow of the book of Titus.

[00:01:41] And it's simply this when you smash them together the grace of God has appeared training us amongst other things to purify for Christ himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.

[00:01:58] I think a theme that you could look at from the book of Titus is simply that God's grace trains us to be zealous for good works in every compartment of life.

[00:02:11] And the urging of the pastor from Titus is going to simply be to have a people who are devoted to a life of good works.

[00:02:22] So simple outline then for the book of Titus follows like this chapter one zealous for good works in the church chapter two zealous for good works in the home and chapter three zealous for good works in the world.

[00:02:37] But notice that it is God's grace that trains us to be zealous for these good works.

[00:02:47] It isn't moralism, it isn't legalism, it isn't a desire to self perfect. No, it's God's grace.

[00:02:54] In other words, we realize the great favor that is ours in Christ, the great position that is ours in Christ.

[00:03:02] And residing in that and stemming from that great position, we then learn that okay, that's who I am. There is no good work they can get me any more of God's grace. I have it.

[00:03:15] I have every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places according to Ephesians chapter one it's all mine. I am completely in the kingdom.

[00:03:24] But therefore because of what God has done for me, I want to respond with a life that is zealous for good works. And I've found that it's really only the grace of God that can produce that zeal for good works.

[00:03:40] Legalism can produce a slight desire for good works which really usually aren't actually good works.

[00:03:49] But a zeal for good works comes when a person is released by the love of God and they begin to understand the grace of Christ toward them.

[00:04:00] Paul begins his letter in verse one very simply and so this first chapter is zealous for good works in the church.

[00:04:10] So he begins his letter like he begins all of his letters by naming himself and then giving a few unique details about himself and here in Titus a little bit of doctrine.

[00:04:22] He says Paul a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ. So Paul quickly mashes together two roles that at first glance seem to be contradictory but actually flow quite well together.

[00:04:43] He calls himself a servant or a slave of God and an apostle which is a high and significant and if you could say it this way an authoritative role.

[00:04:56] Any mentions them really in the same breath I am both I am enslaved to God yet have great significance in his kingdom.

[00:05:06] I have been brought low by the gospel but God has lifted me up in his kingdom and church.

[00:05:15] I have acted humbly and humbly want to serve the Lord but he has granted into my hands great authority and this of course is the flow of the New Testament.

[00:05:26] Humble yourselves in the side of the Lord and he will lift you up we learn in James chapter 4.

[00:05:33] Now he says to them for the sake so now we know the reason that Paul is a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ here he describes it for the sake of the faith of God's elect and their knowledge of the truth which accords with Godliness.

[00:05:56] Now this is powerful because what you are seeing here is that Paul is saying that my whole life my whole reason for being a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ the whole thing that I am devoted to is to the faith of God's people and their knowledge of the truth.

[00:06:17] In other words what Paul wanted to awaken in people who didn't know the Lord was faith and knowledge but also what he wanted to cultivate in the lives of people who are already believers was faith and knowledge.

[00:06:33] Now this faith and knowledge according to Paul accords with Godliness in other words it produces this faith and this truth it produces a godliness with us.

[00:06:47] Now the desire to be set apart a desire to behave as God would behave rather than as the world would behave.

[00:06:56] Now right there in the first verse Paul is getting to the real theme of this book he's going to urge Titus to urge the citizens of the church on creed to be a people who are zealous for good works.

[00:07:10] Here he says it it accords with Godliness.

[00:07:14] Now if you are sitting at what is to come? If you teach them Titus, if you develop their faith then godliness will flow from their lives.

[00:07:25] Now in verse 2 concerning that godliness he says it is in hope of eternal life which God who never lies promised before the ages began and at the proper time manifested in his word through the preaching with which I have been entrusted by the command of God.

[00:07:43] Paul here is saying very simply that a truly godly life, a life that accords with Godliness, a truly godly life has an expectation of eternal life.

[00:07:59] And really the more a person sets their mind upon their eternal life the more godly they will likely want to become in this life.

[00:08:09] As John said in verse John chapter 3 verse 2 and following he says yes we are God's children now and what we will be has not yet appeared you know in heaven but we know that when he appears when the Lord appears we will be like him

[00:08:26] because we will see him as he is and everyone who thus hopes in him in the return of Jesus purifies himself as he is pure.

[00:08:37] So when you consider where you are going and you consider your eternal life the apostle John tells us there is a tendency or a desire to purify yourself like the Lord.

[00:08:49] Now all of this is beautiful in the way that Paul is saying it because you notice here that he's basically telling us that the grace of God toward us as the children of God extends into eternity future.

[00:09:09] But there's also an element here which helps us understand that the grace of God has been extended to us from eternity past eternity past notice that he says here God who never lies promised this grace before the ages began.

[00:09:31] Paul told Timothy in 2nd Timothy chapter 1 that we have been saved and called to a holy calling not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace the purpose and grace of God which he gave us so what did he give us a purpose and grace.

[00:09:50] He gave it to us in Christ Jesus that makes sense before the ages began.

[00:09:57] So it's helpful to the believer to understand that the beautiful position of grace, the beautiful position that we have before God is secure so secure that you would say it extends into eternity future but also has extended into eternity past.

[00:10:19] And the reason for that of course, that we have God's grace now but also in both directions as far as the eye can see.

[00:10:29] The reason for that of course is because Jesus's position is ours and his position has been and will be forever of course as the Son of God secure in the sight of God.

[00:10:43] Now this kind of acceptance, this kind of embrace from God, this kind of favor and adoption and full immersion into his kingdom from God ought to set a believer's heart on fire.

[00:11:02] Notice also there in his introductory comment Paul says that this word was is manifested through the preaching.

[00:11:10] The beautiful plan of God has been committed to the mouths of men and specifically here, the mouth of this apostle.

[00:11:18] So those are Paul's introductory comments like I've mentioned he is alluding to things to come but here he gives us just sort of the beginning thoughts of his epistle.

[00:11:30] He says to Titus, verse 4,

[00:11:41] Now Titus is an interesting man in the New Testament partly because he isn't found in the book of Acts but is mentioned 13 times in Paul's letters.

[00:11:56] The phrase my true child in a common faith helps us think that it's likely that he came to Christ through Paul's preaching.

[00:12:07] We learn in Galatians chapter 2 that he was a Gentile man.

[00:12:13] Now Titus, actually as you look at the different scriptures concerning his life had a difficult ministry.

[00:12:21] The first time that you see him comes in Galatians chapter 2 where he's embroiled and thrown right into the midst of a controversy in Jerusalem over circumcision.

[00:12:35] Do new Gentile believers need to be circumcised or not?

[00:12:39] And of course the church eventually decided rightly on the side of liberty and freedom rather than on the side of addition to the gospel and legalism.

[00:12:52] And Titus when he went to Jerusalem with Paul in Galatians 2 was not compelled or forced to be circumcised.

[00:13:01] Paul also had sent Titus we know from 2nd Corinthians to Corinth to conduct a difficult ministry.

[00:13:11] The two things that I think were difficult about it is that he had to number one deliver a rebuke from Paul the Apostle but also as well he had to collect a financial offering from the people.

[00:13:25] I think both of those can be sticky things rebuke and finances.

[00:13:31] Also 2nd Timothy 4 verse 10 tells us that eventually Paul sent him to Dalmatia which is modern day Bosnia and church tradition tells us that after he had finished his time in Dalmatia he came back to Crete and that's where he is right now in this letter.

[00:13:51] But that in the future he came back to Crete and he ministered there for the rest of his life.

[00:13:57] And Cretans were hard disorganized people who had embraced some bad doctrines.

[00:14:04] Paul tells Titus in verse 5 the reason for writing when he says this is why I left you in Crete so that you might put what remained into order and appoint elders in every town as I was in the church.

[00:14:20] So here we have the mission of the letter Paul was telling Titus to stay there on Crete this small island in the middle of the Mediterranean.

[00:14:35] A people group who had a bad reputation in New Testament times some people would even say that to play the Cretan meant to be a liar.

[00:14:46] They were famous for their drunkenness and general immorality on that island sort of a party town kind of place.

[00:14:54] And Paul here tells Titus I've put you there so that you might organize the church and appoint elders or pastors in every town as I directed you.

[00:15:08] Now as I mentioned earlier the theme of this book is that God's grace trains us to be a people who are zealous for good's work.

[00:15:18] And God's grace had clearly trained Titus don't you think?

[00:15:22] Looking at the history of his life looking at the history of his ministry it seems very clear that this man Titus was willing to go to difficult places and he was willing to minister to difficult people like the Cretans,

[00:15:37] Titus embraced the hardship he embraced the difficulty.

[00:15:44] And it is God's grace that propels us to hard places with hard people from time to time.

[00:15:53] Jesus of course incarnated came to a hard place planted earth with hard people human beings.

[00:16:01] And we follow our Lord in going to hard places with hard people.

[00:16:08] Now I think that there's a tricky element to this because there is an asceticism or a ferriscical legalism that can do a similar thing.

[00:16:19] Sacrifice, give up money, give up comforts to go to hard places and to do hard things.

[00:16:26] But it either won't endure or it will be done for the wrong motivation for people to see you to rejoice over you to say my mind that's so impressive what you've committed yourself to.

[00:16:41] But the gospel God's grace propels us privately, quietly to go to hard places with hard people.

[00:16:51] Now this might be an application in your life in the place that God has called you to or a mission that God is putting you on but it can also just come right to your doorstep family members, co-workers, friends, situations that are just hard, just difficult.

[00:17:10] I've talked to so many people over the years who when they go to work it's a hostile environment.

[00:17:17] God's grace can send you there and great strength and power and might.

[00:17:22] Titus here is sent by God to be zealous for good works by the grace of God on the island of Crete.

[00:17:30] Now because his primary responsibility was the organization of the church and part of the organization of the church would be the pointing of elders or pastors in the various towns on the island of Crete, Paul gives Titus a list whereby he can vet potential pastoral candidates.

[00:17:54] The first line of it found in verse 6, if anyone is above reproach.

[00:17:59] Now above reproach simply means to be someone who is not marred by disgrace, a man of good character publicly and privately.

[00:18:11] It of course doesn't mean a perfect man because a perfect man does not exist.

[00:18:17] So Paul says look, in general he must be a man of good character publicly and privately.

[00:18:25] Paul then first talks about or deals with the home of this man and then deals with the specifics of this man's character.

[00:18:36] Concerning the home he says the husband of one wife.

[00:18:42] Now that's an interesting phrase that many people have tried to figure out the exact interpretation of.

[00:18:51] Obviously Paul is attempting to exclude someone here.

[00:18:55] There's someone that when being interviewed by Titus who says I'd like to be considered for the pastorate, I'd like to be trained.

[00:19:04] I'd like to be seen or operate as an elder.

[00:19:09] There is someone who when their life goes through the husband of one wife test, there are some who will fail that test.

[00:19:19] The question of course is who?

[00:19:22] Now there are lots of views on this and I'll mention a few of them.

[00:19:29] I don't think that he's saying if they've never married, they cannot be considered for the pastorate.

[00:19:36] I don't think that marriage is a requirement of the pastorate.

[00:19:41] Obviously there are some segments of Christianity or public chrysanthem who forbid pastors or priests to be married.

[00:19:51] But here some would say no they must be married.

[00:19:56] But Jesus wasn't married and Jesus and Paul both taught that singleness is an actual biblical calling for some people.

[00:20:06] So I don't think that's what he's referring to.

[00:20:09] I don't think he's referring to polygamists.

[00:20:12] Although this would apply to them and cover them, I don't think that was the big problem that needed to be dealt with.

[00:20:18] Make sure that they're only married to one woman at a time.

[00:20:22] And I personally don't think that he's saying never let anyone who's been divorced or remarried serve as a pastor.

[00:20:33] I take that one very cautiously because there are those who have been divorced or remarried in a very unbiblical kind of way,

[00:20:41] who really shouldn't be considered for the pastorate for they have taken the word of God very lightly.

[00:20:49] But there are biblical divorces, there are biblical remarages and there are also unbiblical yet pre-fore conversion

[00:21:02] divorces and remarages.

[00:21:05] In other words, if there's a pastoral candidate who yes had been divorced unbiblically and remarried unbiblically before he was a Christian,

[00:21:14] is he not allowed after his conversion and making things right with God in man?

[00:21:19] Is he not allowed to be considered for the pastorate when another brother in Christ who before he became a Christian was a murderer?

[00:21:28] Is allowed to be considered? I don't know that it carries logic all the way through.

[00:21:33] I think that what Paul is specifically referring to as Titus, as you're vetting these guys,

[00:21:38] make sure that they are not guilty of marital unfaithfulness.

[00:21:43] These are candidates after all. They got to be godly, dedicated men to their wives.

[00:21:50] Then he also says concerning the home that their children must be believers and not open to the charge of debauchery or insubordination.

[00:22:00] Now this is also a tricky concept when it comes to the pastoral home and the requirement here,

[00:22:07] because oftentimes that word for children refers to early childhood.

[00:22:13] However, it's hard to imagine early childhood being a place that debauchery or insubordination would actually ever really truly fit.

[00:22:25] The bottom line here means it seems to me he's an involved father and his house is not out of control.

[00:22:33] Now neither of these things were norms in that culture and more and more in the culture I'm living in at least,

[00:22:39] they are no longer norms as well. But God's grace can make us of people who are zealous for good works even in the realm of the family.

[00:22:48] God's grace can redeem the family and God's grace can produce men who truly care for their families.

[00:22:57] So Paul begins to outline that and say look these guys, they're going to be examples to the rest of the church.

[00:23:03] I need to show the church how to be married and how to take care of their families.

[00:23:08] So they've got to be good husbands, they've got to be good fathers.

[00:23:12] Foreign overseer has God steward must be above reproach.

[00:23:18] Now interestingly here Paul did first called them elders, now he calls them overseers.

[00:23:25] The word elder is the word pres buteros and that's the position.

[00:23:34] Episcopus here overseer is the role that of seeing over the church, some translations say bishops.

[00:23:42] And then also there's a third title pastors that Paul or excuse me Peter uses.

[00:23:49] And in the New Testament these titles are used interchangeably.

[00:23:53] Pastors, elders, bishops, they are one in the same it seems in the New Testament economy.

[00:24:00] And so Paul says look these men they must be above reproach.

[00:24:04] He must not be and then he lists some things he cannot be quick tempered.

[00:24:10] He can't be angry, he's got to be a humble man.

[00:24:13] He can't be a drunkard, no he has to be moderate and understand how to handle the liberties that he might feel or have in moderation.

[00:24:23] He can't be a drunkard, can't be given to drunkenness.

[00:24:26] He can't be violent, he can't be greedy for gain and or arrogant.

[00:24:33] So he must not be arrogant or quick tempered or a drunkard or violent or greedy for gain but he should be verse 8.

[00:24:41] A hospitable, a lover of good self-controlled, upright, holy and disciplined.

[00:24:49] And when you really think about it it is the grace of God that can turn a man into these things.

[00:24:56] Jesus wants to transform us by his spirit.

[00:24:59] He wants to turn men into men who are humble and long suffering and moderate and peaceful and content and welcoming and healthy and righteous and disciplined.

[00:25:10] God's grace teaches us to say no to our passions and to say yes to holiness and Jesus.

[00:25:18] So God's grace can turn a man into this and Timothy or excuse me Titus was to look for men who fit the bill.

[00:25:26] Now additionally not only that, he must also verse 9 hold firm to the trustworthy word as Todd so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and not be able to be a good man.

[00:25:39] So he says here the pastor, he's got to be able to have two tongues.

[00:25:49] He has to speak words that build up and teach and instruct and sound doctrine but he has to also be able to rebuke those who contradict that sound doctrine inside the body of Christ.

[00:26:05] Now the reason that he has to have that dual ministry which I think in this day and age is so important is listed for us in verse 10 and following.

[00:26:15] He says for there are many who are insubordinate, empty talkers and deceivers especially those of the circumcision party.

[00:26:26] They must be silenced since they are upsetting whole families by teaching for shameful gain what they ought not to teach.

[00:26:35] Now it appears here that the Creighton Church had been attacked by dead religion legalists perhaps in the form of those in the circumcision party who had come along and said yeah, the gospel is great but you also need to add something and we want to talk to you about circumcision.

[00:26:55] God's grace however combats religious legalism don't you think there's always a feeling or a tendency to add something to the simple message of the gospel.

[00:27:07] Gospel plus political affiliation gospel plus environmentalism gospel plus homeschooling gospel plus a mysterious line of teaching gospel plus you know serve your church so much that you become unhealthy and completely out of balance.

[00:27:28] And so here Paul is saying no the pastries to rise up and correct it now also there's another side of things listed in verse 12 one of the Creightons a prophet of their own said Creightons are always liars evil beasts lazy gluttons this testimony Paul said is true.

[00:27:50] Therefore rebuke them sharply that they may be sound in the faith not devoting themselves to Jewish myths and the commands of people who turn away from the truth.

[00:28:00] Now Paul quotes from a poet or who they what they consider to be a prophet not a biblical prophet from the sixth century BC named epimenides and he says in quoting him Creightons are always liars evil.

[00:28:19] So he's always liars evil beast lazy gluttons then Paul says that's true now that's a little uncomfortable for us because at first glance we wonder is Paul accepting it like this ethnic stereotype.

[00:28:35] Now Paul knew that some Creightons were believers and that meant that he knew that some weren't liars and evil beasts and lazy gluttons he after all is sending Titus into creed to look for good men to pastor these churches the assumption is that he'll find some so apparently however some inside the church were beginning to fit this negative sterile.

[00:29:05] So he's a very old type and there on the island of creed and Paul wants that to be rebuke God's grace will combat this kind of license that exists in life where people just want to do what they want.

[00:29:21] Here they lied, they were evil beasts lazy gluttons so Paul says look pastor you go out and you speak into that reality and you correct that laziness you correct that license that's there to the pure he says in verse 15 all things are pure but to the defiled and unbelieving nothing is pure but both their minds and their consciences are defiled.

[00:29:51] They profess to know God but they deny him by their works. They are detestable disobedient unfit for any good work. Now we've all seen this played out haven't we those whose minds are defiled nothing is pure to them every single thing that they come across there's a perversion of the things that they come across in life what Paul says to the pure all things are pure.

[00:30:17] In other words purity comes from within Jesus taught that the heart must experience transmission that it's from the heart of man that evil thoughts and sexual immorality and the like come from and things external cannot stop the indulgence of the flesh collotions to verse 23 but God's grace invades the inner man making him so pure in the heart of the heart.

[00:30:47] Internally as he begins to realize who he is positionally that he wants Christ to bring out of him experientially those internal realities in his life and he no longer wants to live an unholy life but a holy and righteous life and everything

[00:31:06] that he comes across becomes more pure as a result of his presence in that environment and so Paul here gives us the desire to be zealous for good works in the realm of the body of Christ God bless you and amen.

[00:31:26] Thank you for listening for additional resources and teachings or to contact us please visit us at nameholdridge.com

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