Pastor Brad DeLong - Let's Talk About Titus

you can be seated thank you for your faithfulness to the house of the Lord and hasn't the Lord been good to us especially the last several weeks and months God has been so good to us we thank the Lord for at least two that have been filled with the gift of the Holy Ghost in recent weeks and I'm so thankful for the outpouring of his Spirit we experience last Sunday and the Sunday before that and the Sunday before that and you get the picture it's every Sunday we we show up deciding to meet with him and he meets with us just like brother Chris Bowie said we determined to follow him and God's just as determined to come into contact with us so what an awesome time to be a part of his church I'm thankful that each one of you is here and apart

tonight I want to Circle back to a subject that I hinted at several times in August when we walked through II Timothy together and if you recall I mentioned on several occasions that after listening through II Timothy I would listen through the book of Titus as well and I found quite a few portions that really piqued my interest and I've alluded to this already but at the top of that list we're going to get into this in a moment was Paul's explanation in Titus Chapter one of why he left Titus there in the first place apparently he didn't fully tell Titus why he was leaving him on that island in my imagination I just pictured Paul getting on the boat tied us next to him and Paul turns around and says no no Titus you stay here and the vote just moving away and he's waving he says I'll write to you I'll tell you why you're staying you know and Ty's like what is going on here that's the way I pictured it probably didn't happen that way I'm going to grabbed my attention so much that tonight I want to take some time to discuss this three chapter letter gain some insights into Paul's discourse with his other true son in the common Faith as he puts it you see the title up there it probably blew your mind when you read it it's simply this let's talk about Titus had a little bit of alliteration there that's all I got for you I'm so sorry All I Got Tonight is a average title in the word if that's okay the word will make up for the title we do have a handout if you don't have a handout for taking notes you can lift your hand in one of our faithful and true ushers will meet with you looks like they already did their job and everyone has a handout if you don't give it up for the chair and Arnold everybody look at that he's vigilant we're going to talk about Titus and at face value it's it's a somewhat obscure book it doesn't get a lot of press but it does have a great wealth of meaning and insights also has a good deal of historical context even some interesting and historical tidbits that help us get the full picture as we read it together and we are going to read it together in case you're wondering we're going to read it in its entirety in a couple of moments it should take about six or seven minutes in total to do that it'll benefit us we couldn't spend that six or seven minutes doing anything better but reading the word before we do that I want to give some background on this small But Mighty book of the Bible

for the sake of time we won't do a real deep deep dive I'm hoping just to make it through these three chapters God will help us all right but it's helpful to understand some things about the book before we dive in first of all according to the apostolic Study Bible and a lot of Scholars they estimate that this was written between 80 63 and 65. this was just after Paul's first prison sentence in Rome and for reference second Timothy which we discussed it was it most likely his last letter It Was Written they estimate around 80 68. so this letter to Titus is written a couple years before the end of Paul's life as far as we know it's written to Titus obviously but it may have been read to the entire church or or all the house churches that were on the island of Crete which is where Titus was commissioned and stationed in and possibly marooned on that island by Paul so you stay here Titus I'm leaving uh so at first glance it appears that Paul and Titus travel there together and that Paul decide to leave him there Titus there on the island with all the cretans that made up the churches and that word cretans is to be distinguished from cretans with an eye which is an insult okay but that insult would not be far off from the actual cretans the inhabitants of Crete it's they were known for quite a few things in fact Paul references we're going to read this and it's humorous to me it's one of the things that caught my attention Paul references one of their own poets in chapter one and this poet said that all cretans are liars and they're basically good for nothing according to this poet this was their reputation for several reasons one of which was they constantly lied about the god Zeus being born and buried on their Island also because uh this was reflected in the in their culture and we'll see this in this letter it was a rough place apparently this island of Crete even the the Greek word cretizo it spells this out okay this word has two meanings it means to be Crete and it means to be a liar so if you're a critique so or the Cardinal sorry so sorry uh it means you were you were from Crete and you were also a liar although those just went hand in hand okay uh so I got like I said it's a rough place apparently they're they're all liars there and Titus was left there to help them to set some things straight speaking of Titus himself we know from this book and two other places at least that he was a Greek follower of Jesus Christ he was a trusted companion he's a co-worker of Paul he's seemingly very close to Paul he worked under Paul's leadership According to second Corinthians 8 he had been sent on other important assignments before for Paul at the end of second Corinthians 8 he's heralded as someone who's compassionate he's called an honor to Christ he was sent to gather offerings from that church in Corinth that was a pretty uh touchy subject so he was sent to gather those offerings on behalf of Paul he was found trustworthy in those assignments and now he is marooned on the very strategic island of Crete it's an island with several house churches on it and one that had a whole lot of ports for coming in and out ports that could be used to spread the gospel to other places it's this critical place for the church which is why Paul saw fit to leave his only other mention son in the faith there to combat some false teaching and some culture that was trying to overcome the church see there was this contingent of corrupt leaders they had infiltrated the church they were spreading false teachings they had made their way into the home churches and in other households and they had caused a lot of upheaval so titus's task taught us your task to confront these teachers and in the same right you need to appoint trustworthy leaders to stand for what's right and true and also to teach right living to the people who were there so those Instructions make up the majority of the first chapter right after the introduction the second chapter is concerned with how our homes and the leaders of our homes should conduct themselves it essentially asks the question what does a Christian home look like in light of the gospel and the grace of Jesus Christ and the last chapter chapter 3 along with portions of the second chapter it's concerned with practical Christian Living and Paul's final address and remarks so as I said fairly small straightforward book most probably would not Peg it at being as being at the top of their Bible study list like I really want to study Titus but it is helpful and insightful nonetheless

we're going to read it together in just a moment and I encourage you to consider all that context I threw a lot at you fast but consider that context everything that we just talked about think about what Titus is facing how it's applicable to what we are facing consider Paul's instructions in in their response in light of this warped and twisted culture that was around them a culture that you and I can very much identify with and then lastly take some notes as we read through this maybe write a scripture down or something that stands out to you because you're most likely going to be sharing that with someone nearby you in just a couple moments okay no pressure but just something that stands out to you something that helps you I've asked about the Cody Stucker to help me he's going to read chapter two and brother Chris boo he's going to read the third chapter that right I got that right I didn't mix those up okay hopefully they hopefully I got it right so we'll start with chapter one we're reading in The New International Version the Lord help us all all right Lord help us we're going to make it we're going to make it we're going to make it all right chapter one thank you for the McLean I was looking for that

it says Paul a servant of God an apostle of Jesus Christ to further the faith of God's elect and their knowledge of the truth that leads to Godliness in the hope of eternal life which God who does not lie promised before the beginning of time which now at his appointed season he's brought to light through the preaching entrusted to me by the command of God our savior to Titus my true son in our common Faith Grace and peace from God the father in Christ Jesus our savior the reason I left you in Crete was that you might put an order what was left unfinished and appoint Elders in every town as I directed you an elder must be blameless faithful to his wife a man whose children believe and are not open to the charge of being wild and disobedient since an overseer manages God's household he must be blameless not overbearing not quick tempered not given to drunkenness not violent not pursuing dishonest gain rather he must be hospitable one who loves what is good who is self-controlled upright holy and disciplined he must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught so that he can encourage others by sound Doctrine and refute those who oppose it for there are many rebellious people full of meaningless talk and deception especially those of the circumcision group they must be silenced because they're disrupting whole households by teaching things that they just ought not to teach and that for the sake of dishonest gain I want to create's own prophets has said it cretans are always Liars evil brutes lazy gluttons this saying is true therefore rebuke them sharply so they'll be sound in the faith and will pay no attention to Jewish myths or to the merely human commands of those who reject the truth so the pure all things are pure but to those who are corrupted and do not believe nothing is pure in fact both their minds and consciences are corrupted they claim to know God but by their actions they deny they are detestable to disobedient and unfit for anything good chapter two by the Cody Stecker must teach what is appropriate to sound Doctrine

teach the older men to be temperate whether of respect self-control and sound and faith and love and endurance likewise teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live not to be Slanders or addicted to much wine but to teach what is what is good then they can urge the younger women to love their husbands and children to be self-controlled and pure and be busy at home to be kind and to be subject to their husband so that that no one will malign the word of God similarly encourage the young men to be self-controlled in everything set them an example by doing what is good and in your teaching show Integrity sincere sincere seriousness and soundness of speech that cannot be condemned so that those who oppose you may be ashamed because they have nothing but bad to say about us teach slaves to be subject to their master in everything to try to please them not to talk back to them and not to steal from them but to show that they can be fully trusted so that in every way they will make the teaching about God our savior attractive for the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people and it teaches us to say no to ungodliness and worldly passions and to live and to live self-controlled upright and godly lives in the present age while we wait for the Blessed hope the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ who gave himself for us to redeem us from the wickedness and to purify from himself for himself a people that are very that his very own eager to do what is good these then are the things you should teach and courage and rebuke with all authority do not let anyone despise you chapter 3

remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities to be obedient to be ready to do whatever is good to slander no one to be Peaceable and considerate and always to be gentle toward everyone at one time we too were foolish disobedient deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and Pleasures we lived in Malice and envy being hated and hating one another but when the kindness and love of God our savior appeared he saved us not because of righteous things we had done but because of his Mercy he saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewing renewal of by the Holy Spirit whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ Our Savior so that having been justified by his grace we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life this trust this is a trustworthy saying and I want to stress you to stress these things so that those who have trusted in God may be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good these things are excellent and profitable for everyone but avoid foolish controversies and genealogies and arguments and quarrels about the law because these are unprofitable and useless warn a divisive person once and then warned them a second time after that have nothing to do with them you may be sure that such people are warped and sinful they are self-condemned as soon as I sin Artemis or to chickas to you do your best to come to me at necopolis because I have decided to Winter there do everything you can to help Zenith the lawyer and Apollos on their way and see that they have everything they need our people must learn to devote themselves to doing what is good in order to provide for the Urgent needs and not live unpredictable unproductive lives everyone with me sends your greeting greet those who love us in the faith Grace be with you all I paused the last time that we did this just to allow it to sink in to us how powerful it is when we just read scripture aloud in a corporate setting like this we're going to walk through the these chapters in an expository manner in just a moment but I thought about this this week there's really nothing that I could say that is more powerful or beneficial to us than just the word of God itself it is powerful I've talked about Revival here of late and wrapped up in that call to Revival is a call to get back to and to love and to live the word of God we need his words before we move any further I wonder if we could just stop and thank the Lord for his word and thank the Lord for the power that's in his word would you do that together Lord we thank you for your word and everything that was just gleaned a moment ago and all the understanding and insights that we're gaining and all the the people that were edified just by reading your word together we thank you for the power of your word we recognize it tonight and we're so great grateful Lord that we have it that we can share it with one another we thank you Jesus we thank you Lord amen amen I want to

start with Paul's greeting in chapter one because there are a couple points to draw out very quickly he says Paul servant of God an apostle of Jesus Christ 's task is to further the faith of God's elect and their knowledge of the truth that leads to Godliness and the hope of eternal life he says which God who does not lie promised before the beginning of time which now is appointed season he's brought to life through the preaching entrusted to me by the command of God our savior that's the first three verses and then he rounds out that introduction verse 4 to Titus my true son or common Faith Grace and peace from God the father in Christ Jesus our savior notice right from the jump Paul's already setting up his approach his response his his instructions in light of the culture that the cretans and the false teachers are creating light of the false teaching that's happening he says that his role is to further the faith of God's elect and their knowledge of the truth that leads to Godliness that's the truth this truth that he's talking about it's the exact opposite of what these false teachers are teaching and what the the cretans who are notorious Liars are propagating in that godliness that he reference is also in contrast to what's going on in this culture and the island of Crete he says this in the hope of eternal life which God who does not lie promised before the beginning of time in other words he knew Timothy or titus's contacts he knew what those churches were facing everyone around you lies we know that this God that you lie about Zeus on the island of Crete the god that you say was born there and was buried there he lies he's actually heralded on this island Zeus he's heralded as a trickster a Seducer he's celebrated as both and in many ways they kind of take their cues in their cultural norms from him Paul says but our God who promises eternal life he does not lie he's not a liar what he promised to us is not a lie his word and his truth are not lies this is the truth that Titus is defending and it was solid and sure because it was given by God who has never lied and will never lie so your God on your Island who is we don't know if he was buried or born there we think that's a lie he lies but our God does not lie so this is the way Paul begins his letter he made sure it's abundantly clear the god they are serving he's not to be compared with Zeus or any other God who lies and then of course he addresses Titus and just like with Timothy he showcases this close and familial relationship he calls him his son in the faith something he only ever wrote it as far as we know to one other person and that's Timothy this is important to know it helps kind of give some clarity to these admonitions that Paul gives him later on in the letter after a short greeting Paul just Dives right in verse 5. he says listen Titus the reason I left you in Crete was that you might put in order what was left unfinished and appoint Elders in every town as I directed you and then he starts to talk about what an elder should be an elder must be blameless faithful to his wife a man whose children believe they're not open to the charge of being wild and disobedient now remember Paul is confronting and addressing false teachers and a contrary culture on the island of Crete and these These are his first instructions to Titus on how to confront those things he says in other words Titus if you're going to overcome these teachers in this this culture as a whole You've got to put some leaders and Elders in place to counteract all of what's happening on the island and in the churches as I said these are house churches that's important to remember because you notice what Paul's instructions for elders revolve around this text needs to be faithful to his wife and his spouse this was not the norm on Crete the culture land did not support healthy marriages in monogamy so Paul tells Titus says these Elders need to be blameless they need to have healthy marriages they also need to be men whose children believe you notice it's all Sinners around a healthy home and a healthy family these children should be believers they shouldn't be wild it shouldn't be disobedient and for some of the parents in the room who are reading that and they're putting themselves down and disqualifying themselves from ever being Elders don't worry too much these words are not describing a kid that just kind of runs around the church and gets up on the platform every now again I see you parents those words allude to people who are riotous outright rebellious and those were commonplace on Crete like I said it's a wild west and I also say and speaking of Elders that the word there doesn't necessarily mean always older or always senior but in Christian circles it was more of an overseer and one who watched over or presided over now many times they were older simply because they were more mature they were more experienced but age did not seem to negate the status of an overseer especially in someone like Timothy and even some of the disciples so if I ever walk up to you and you don't consider yourself an elder and I call you Elder it's a High Praise all right it's a compliment to you we should all want to be Elders right we should all want to be elders so continuing with the qualifications of the Elder and again these are qualifications we should all aspire to Paul says since an overseer managers manages rather God's household and there's that word again household he must be blameless not overbearing not quick tempered not given to drunkenness not violent not pursuing dishonest gain these were all things that happened regularly on Crete you notice he's saying don't do all that the the elders need to be distinguished from the people that are already on that island rather he must be hospitable one who loves what's good who's self-controlled upright holy disciplined he must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it's been taught so that he can encourage others by sound Doctrine and refute those who oppose it notice again words like household andhospitable the surface regularly those are words that would have fit into this household Church model these are also used because of the nature of the attacks that the churches were facing in verse 10 he says there are many rebellious people full of meaningless talk and deception especially those of the circumcision group I told you last time we talked about Timothy Paul didn't hesitate to call people out he immortalizes them in the words of scripture he says they got to be silenced because they're disrupting whole households by teaching things that they ought not to teach and that for the sake of dishonest again they were going after house churches and they were going after what was happening in the home and I thought about this earlier this week is it any different today still going after the homes now the approach and the methods are different but the home is still very much under attached truth is still embattled in our churches and in our homes and I know that truth is embattled it seems like more than ever before but it's helpful for us to know that truth was under attack then this truth has stood the test of generations this truth has stood the test of hundreds and thousands of years it's not under attack really in our society any more than it was there now it's more in our face probably but truth has always been under attack and yet it still stands and yet we still need it in our homes and it's still valid and vital in our lives so Paul's response and our response is still to raise up leaders and elders and spiritual leaders in homes to hold firmly to the trustworthy message at his as it has been taught so that he or she can encourage others by sound Doctrine and refute those who oppose it in other words it's still vital to have people in the home and in the church that speak teach and live by the word of God he said this is our response it's under attack get to know it more hold on to it and teach it to others that's the response this is part of the reason why our connect groups are so vital and Powerful it's the same Apostolic model and approach teaching the word of God in our living rooms and making sure that the word is taught in our homes but even with that said our groups are not the extent of the teaching of the word that should happen in our homes we need overseers Elders parents and apostolics to stand for truth and make sure that it's lived by and defended even in the home we need a Revival of the word in our homes well I I want us to I want us to get back to it we need to it needs to be a not get back to it we've been on it but we need to focus on all the more we need to be intentional about it in this setting but this cannot be the only setting because our homes are it's not just the church as a whole that's under attack your home is under attack as well this word has to be an integral part of your home and I didn't come to preach this necessarily but our homes are just as important today as they were on that island of Crete and they are also just as much under attack today as they were on the island of Crete in fact listen to the culture they face if there's any parallels with your own culture Paul says one of Crete's own prophets has said this and this is humorous to me in some ways uh he says Credence are always Liars they're evil brutes they're lazy gluttons this saying is true Paul would say some you know there's a poem in the third chapter and he's like this is a trustworthy saying he cites this poet and says this is also true they are lazy you know like he just throws them all under the bus he immortalizes the people of Crete therefore rebuke them sharply so they'll be sound in the faith and that they'll pay attention or they won't pay attention rather Jewish miss or to the merely human commands of those who reject the truth God help us not to pay more attention to merely human commands of those who reject the truth and we do the word of God into the he says to the pier all things are pure but to those who are corrupted and do not believe nothing is pure that sounds familiar even the the pureness and the truth of the word of God is Not pure it's being twisted he says in fact both their minds and their consciences are corrupted they claim to know God but by their actions they deny him he says they're detestable disobedient and unfit for anything good and I thought well tell us how you really feel Paul they're good for nothing their culture is corrupted it's twisted Paul even decides like I said with the cretan poet he condemns him all his liars and evil brutes and lazy gluttons this was the backdrop of what tied its face and ours seems to get closer and closer to that each day so Paul tells him and us how to face it

in chapter two he says you however in light of all this you must teach what is appropriate to sound Doctrine keep teaching the word keep teaching it and start here teach the older men to be temperate worthy of respect self-controlled sound and faith and love and endurance likewise teach the older women to be reverent in the way that they live not Slanders or addicted to much wine but to teach what is good you can tell what the people of Crete struggle with by these phrases then they can urge the younger women that they should love their husbands and children to be self-controlled and pure to be busy at home to be kind to be subject to their husbands so that no one will malign the word of God now if we stop here and consider it does it stand you like a lot of these teachings and direction would lend themselves to healthier homes and Families you have to teach what's appropriate to sound Doctrine you have to do that and you have to teach it to every generation to husbands to wives to families teach older men to be temperate worthy of respect self-control sound Faith love endurance teach older women to be reverent not Sinners not addicted to wine teach what is good and once those older women are taught that and those older men are taught that it's expected that they will teach it to others into future Generations it's expected that a man or woman of God will pick up the word and teach it to someone else so Titus you're not doing this on your own you've got to raise up some other people and you've got to call them higher and you gotta you gotta Empower them that they need to go and teach it because Titus you can't teach Everyone by yourself you can't teach the entire Island you've got to raise up some people and teach them how to live a Godly and appetite life and then allow them to teach it to someone else in a home that was oftentimes multi-generational especially in this culture it was expected that the older men and women would teach the younger men and women what was true and right and godly so the older women can teach the younger women to love their husbands and children this will lead to healthy homes and families are also teach them to be self-control pure busy at home to be subject or exercise healthy and biblical submission to their husbands so that no one will malign the word of God in other words live in such a way that when someone sees you and your home and your family and your marriage they will not or that they'll want to have and live by the same word of God and the same standard that you're living by again God forbid someone look at my home and think and no I don't want to live like that they don't they don't have it right they're arguing every day of the week now we're still flesh we're still prompt but they are look at what you are doing and not be able to malign the word that you are living by instead they should want to do the same as they see your Healthy Home in your Godly family and that's so applicable for today it's a common theme in this chapter chapter two that others should see your conduct in your home life and want to emulate it even in a culture and on an island like Crete where this would have been an extremely foreign and counter-cultural verse six similarly encourage the young men to be self-controlled in everything set them an example by doing what is good and your teaching show Integrity seriousness and soundness of speech that cannot be condemned there it is again so those who oppose you may be ashamed because they have nothing bad to say they can't malign the word of God they've got nothing bad to say about it there's that theme again living in such a way that others will see your good works and glorify your father who is in heaven Paul makes sure to include the young men his approach and remarks as well every age and generation is represented and the home as a whole is addressed in fact even the household servants and slaves of that day are addressed as well and just in case there's any confusion on this I want to touch on this briefly especially since I know this is a very sensitive area and rightfully so that's why it's important for us to note the early church had an entirely different and truly revolutionary view on these servants and slaves that Paul addresses in verse 9. in many ways they probably would not have made it in a letter like this but because they were considered part of the family Paul addresses them as well in fact in the next letter to Titus after Titus it's the book of Philemon Paul urges Philemon to treat anisimus his his runaway slave who stole from him as a brother and a fellow believer this is Paul's disposition on servants and slaves of that day it was it was counter-cultural it was revolutionary typically if a slave stole and ran away from his master he would have been beaten or even killed under Roman law but the early church had a different view on servants and slaves one that was biblical and counter-cultural no one in that day and age would have treated a slave as an equal but the church did because of love of God and the teachings of his word this is seemingly why Paul chose to address them in the first place many of them were becoming a part of the church but they were still subject to Pagan laws as well as subject to Pagan Masters and leaders so Paul reminds them to have a submitted approach not to take advantage of their Newfound Christian Liberty as a license to sin verse 9 he says teach slaves to be subject to their masters in everything to try to please them not to talk back to them and don't steal from them but to show that they can be fully trusted so that in every way they will make the teaching about God our savior attractive again there's that language you're part of the home you're part of the family so make sure your conduct is Godly and it's appealing to others apparently servants and slaves on Crete were prone to theft and they were often involved in riots Paul's admonition them instead was make sure to show that they can be fully trusted and doing so they'll make the teaching about God attractive to others for the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people says that right after he addresses those slaves all people I love that elsewhere in Galatians he says you need a junior or Greek slave no free male nor female for your all one Christ Jesus you have his grace and that Grace he says teaches us to say no to ungodliness and worldly passions to live self-controlled upright and godly lives in this present age he should be reflected in our homes and families while we wait for that blessed hope the appearing the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ and I read this part Sunday who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness to purify for himself a people that are his very own people that are eager to do what is good can you imagine being in that church setting that house Church you had been a slave your entire life and you hear that good news this grace is for all people all people and furthermore those of us who have had a debt to pay we can relate as well we have Grace Grace it helps us say no to evil into ungodliness we have that Grace because Christ paid for it and paid to redeem us from all wickedness to purify for himself a people that are his very own eager to do what is good these then he says in verse 15 as he rounds out the chapter these the then are the things that you should teach encourage and rebuke with all authority don't let anyone despise you Titus you live by this word and you don't let anyone despise you the hasten of chapter 3. it says remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities to be obedient mind them to be ready to do whatever's good to slander no one to be Peaceable and considerate and always be gentle toward everyone this was not the norm on Crete it's not the norm here in our culture this would have been distinguished this would help distinguish the Christians from the cretans and that's still very much the case today now Paul doesn't say lay down your beliefs and your doctrines and your values and just let people run all over you those rulers and others let them run all over you let that culture run over you he says the exact opposite of that says to stand for it but he also says we ought to do that in a way that distinguishes us from everyone else in our culture and I won't go too far down this road simply because I don't have the time but this goes from everything to treating our neighbors and others well to making sure that we keep our heads above water during the midterms it's true what happens in the culture around us should not dictate Who We Are what happens in America should not dictate Who We Are should not how we respond as Believers and Christ followers so they're attacking the truth keep teaching it keep living it keep sharing it with others and he says remind the people to slander know him to be Peaceable and considerate always gentle towards everyone he continues at one time we too are foolish we were disobedient to seed and slave by all kinds of passions and Pleasures we lived in Malice in an Envy we we were being hated and we hated one another and that is so applicable especially in a world that hates the the person on the other side of the debate and the aisle this is how the world reacts and responds it's how they did on Creek but when the kindness and love of God our savior appeared he saved us not because of righteous things that we had done but because of his Mercy he saved us through the washing of rebirth and Renewal by the Holy Spirit whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ Our Savior he did that just this past Sunday generously so that having been justified by his grace we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life this is a trustworthy saying that's actually a poem verses four through seven a poem that Paul recites he says this is trustworthy and I want you to stress these things so that those who have trusted in God may be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good

notice he says these things are excellent and profitable for everyone I'll just add this thing is excellent and profitable for everyone this works whether you're on Crete or you're in St Louis or you're halfway across the world it works it's excellent and it's profitable for everyone so we don't live like the cretans live we don't talk like the cretans talk we don't slander and lie and disobey and live and Malice towards others like the cretans do we adhere to a different standard into a different formula we've received the kindness and the love of God Paul says we've received the washing of rebirth and Renewal by his Spirit we've tasted of his grace we're inheritors of eternal life in this in the face of all the lies of Crete and the world that we're living in this is a trustworthy saying it's also a powerful realization and Truth he says it's excellent and profitable for anyone and everyone it's the word of God and it's the truth from a God who does not lie his word and his Direction so in live at verse 9 avoid foolish controversies and genealogies and arguments with quarrels about the law because these are unprofitable they're just useless there's probably some arguments that we've had recently they're just useless all right warn a divisive person once and then warn them a second time and after that have nothing to do with him you can be sure such people are warped and sinful they're self-condempt Paul encourages us to be kind and gentle towards others but he also makes no room for those who are divisive including those false teachers and anyone who'd want to stand against the word of God those things are not profitable he says in Paul and admonishing mercy and kindness just a few verses earlier he also makes sure to mention that Division and falsehood do not belong in the church so while we do stand for being gentle or gentle and peaceful rather with all men we do not stand for someone who would take advantage of the body and use the opportunity to harm it and even in that though you notice he says at least one them once at least give them a chance it's always some room for Mercy at least and with all that Paul rounds out his letter in his Direction and of course he closes with his final remarks closes with some greetings which you heard a little earlier than doing so he wraps up this book that encourages us to be set apart and distinguishable from the culture in the darkness that's around us to keep teaching the word in the face of it and we obviously do that by standing for truth like he talks about in the first chapter by teaching it and living in our homes like he does in the second am I making sure it's appealing and noticeable to others

elsewhere Paul said like this in Ephesians 2 and 17 as I come to close he says so I tell you this insist on it in the Lord you must no longer live as the Gentiles do if I could insert as the cretans do the futility of their thinking they're they're darkened in their understanding and they're separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that's in them due to the hardening of their hearts having lost all sensitivity they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity they're full of greed verse 20 that however that's not the way of life you learned when you heard about Christ and you were taught in him in accordance with the truth that's in Jesus you were taught with regard to your former way of life to put off your old self which is being corruptful or corrupted rather by its deceitful desires to be made new in the attitude of your minds and to put on the new self create a be like God and true righteousness and Holiness these words are applicable whether you're again an Ephesus Crete St Louis or anywhere put on the new self be like him follow his word that's our aim as individuals it's our aim as this wonderful church family and it's our aim in our homes and I want to write now as we close

would you just stand with me and we're going to pray a simple prayer in light of what we just heard and I know what we discussed in the book of Titus that the Lord would help us to continue to teach and live by his word even in the face of a culture that may hate or despise it I wonder if you just lit your voice right now and pray with me Lord I again so thankful for your word and the instructions that it gives and the insights that it gives and we know that we're living in a difficult day and time just like Titus was and just like the people on the island of Crete were but we know that the same formula is true and it will continue to be true that if we'll live by your word and we'll teach your word to others Lord as well it is we'll live by its standards and we'll live by its principles in its precepts we know that your truth will endure that your truth will help us it will carry us that you'll help us to live by it and that it will help others in the process they will see our good works and they will glorify Our Father which is in heaven it will be appealing to them and they'll see the way that we live and conduct ourselves and it will be a light and a Beacon of Hope to them in their homes and their families we thank you Lord again for your word and the power of it we honor you tonight in Jesus name we pray in Jesus name amen amen