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A Little Letter of Enormous Importance · INSIGHT FOR LIVING: Biblical Wisdom For Everyday Living

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Speaker 1: As the Apostle Paul reached the very end of his life,
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Speaker 1: he took the time to write a second letter to Timothy.
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Speaker 1: He was in a dungeon. He would soon be beheaded
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Speaker 1: for the cause of Christ. Prior to that, he took
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Speaker 1: the time to write his friend Titus, who was ministering
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Speaker 1: on an island in the island of Crete in the
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Speaker 1: middle of the Mediterranean. This little letter has never gotten
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Speaker 1: the press or attention or notoriety of the last letter
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Speaker 1: Paul wrote due to the nature of that passionate final letter. However,
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Speaker 1: Titus dare not be overlooked as we consider the significant
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Speaker 1: sections of the New Testament. And today we begin our
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Speaker 1: study in this letter And you'll find an outline in
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Speaker 1: the worship folder that you may wish to follow as
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Speaker 1: today we answer several questions about the letter and then
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Speaker 1: get an overview of it in a sort of a
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Speaker 1: survey manner. Let me read sections of it for you.
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Speaker 1: Between 2 Timothy and the little letter to Philemon is
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Speaker 1: the letter to Titus. Paul, a bondservant of God and
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Speaker 1: an apostle of Jesus Christ for the faith of those
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Speaker 1: chosen of God and the knowledge of the truth, which
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Speaker 1: is according to godliness. Verse 4, to Titus, my true
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Speaker 1: child in a common faith, grace and peace from God
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Speaker 1: the Father and Christ Jesus. our Savior. For this reason,
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Speaker 1: I left you in Crete that you would set in
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Speaker 1: order what remains and appoint elders in every city as
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Speaker 1: I directed you. Verse 10. For there are many rebellious men,
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Speaker 1: empty talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision who
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Speaker 1: must be silenced. Because they are upsetting whole families, teaching
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Speaker 1: things they should not teach for the sake of sordid gain.
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Speaker 1: Verse 1 of chapter 2. But as for you, speak
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Speaker 1: the things which are fitting for sound doctrine. Verse 11.
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Speaker 1: For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to
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Speaker 1: all men. instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires
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Speaker 1: and to live sensibly, righteously, and godly in the present age.
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Speaker 1: Chapter 3. Remind them to be subject to rulers, to authorities,
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Speaker 1: to be obedient, to be ready for every good deed,
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Speaker 1: to malign no one, To be peaceable, gentle. Showing every
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Speaker 1: consideration for all men. Verse 8. This is a trustworthy
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Speaker 1: statement and concerning these things, I want you to speak
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Speaker 1: confidently so that those who have believed God will be
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Speaker 1: careful to engage in good deeds. These things are good
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Speaker 1: and profitable for men. And finally, verse 12. When I
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Speaker 1: send Artemis or Tychicus to you, make every effort to
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Speaker 1: come to me at Nicopolis, for I have decided to
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Speaker 1: spend the winter there. Father, thank you for the greatness
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Speaker 1: of your name and the glory of your majesty. Our
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Speaker 1: words as the rain falls this morning Express our gratitude
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Speaker 1: for how great you are over nature, opening the windows
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Speaker 1: of heaven for those raising cattle, raising crops. For all
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Speaker 1: of us in the midst of a drought, helpless to
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Speaker 1: change things, you show your greatness in a moment of
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Speaker 1: time by breaking forth the fountains. rain from the clouds.
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Speaker 1: You have your way in the whirlwind and the storm
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Speaker 1: and the clouds are merely the dust of your feet.
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Speaker 1: How great you are over all nature. How great you
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Speaker 1: are to protect us as a people so undeserving. Most
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Speaker 1: of this nation lost, having long since forgotten their roots.
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Speaker 1: How great you are to show us your grace in
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Speaker 1: protecting us yet another week from terrorism and the assault
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Speaker 1: of the savage enemy who would attack innocent children and
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Speaker 1: women and men. How great you are to show yourself
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Speaker 1: strong to those who represent our country in a land
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Speaker 1: far away. How great you are to bring order to
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Speaker 1: a place once dominated by brutality and torture. How great
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Speaker 1: you are to change our lives through the power of
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Speaker 1: the gospel. You are great. And on top of all
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Speaker 1: of this, you have met our needs in abundance. How
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Speaker 1: great you are to do that. We worship you With
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Speaker 1: our gifts. And since you own it all. We return
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Speaker 1: to you what is yours. And we do so with
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Speaker 1: great gratitude. And joy. In your great name. Because of
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Speaker 1: your great son. We give and we pray. And all
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Speaker 1: God's people said. Amen. sometimes enormously important information, is contained
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Speaker 1: in a small and insignificant-looking package or letter. Emerging from
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Speaker 1: the brutal days of the war between the states came
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Speaker 1: an 18-word telegram that turned the tide and two days
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Speaker 1: later led to the end of the bloodiest battle in
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Speaker 1: the history of our country. It was written by a
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Speaker 1: battle-weary president to the field general Ulysses S. Grant, dated
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Speaker 1: April 7, 1865, 11 o'clock in the morning. It read,
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Speaker 1: General Sheridan says, if the thing is pressed, I think
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Speaker 1: Lee will surrender. let the thing be pressed. A. Lincoln.
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Speaker 1: General Grant got the message, nodded in agreement, and carried
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Speaker 1: out the order. He let the thing be pressed. Two
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Speaker 1: days later, with great dignity and humble sadness, the magnificent
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Speaker 1: Confederate general dressed in his best dressed gray uniform, tied
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Speaker 1: a red sash around his waist, and rode his horse
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Speaker 1: to Appomattox, where he, Robert E. Lee, surrendered the armies
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Speaker 1: of Northern Virginia to Ulysses S. Grant and the Union troops,
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Speaker 1: thus officially ending the war. Sometimes enormously important information comes
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Speaker 1: in brief, simple messages. Today we step into the time
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Speaker 1: tunnel back 18 centuries from even that time. And we
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Speaker 1: look at a little 46 verse 3 chapter letter that
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Speaker 1: has somehow lost its way in our spiritual growth. It
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Speaker 1: has been here all the time, and it is of
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Speaker 1: immense importance. God preserves nothing that isn't important to be
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Speaker 1: included in his word. So important is it that John
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Speaker 1: Phillips writes, it is a variable, miniature manual for ministers
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Speaker 1: and includes several outstanding doctrinal statements. As brief as the
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Speaker 1: letter is, he adds, It contains 44 words that occur
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Speaker 1: nowhere else in the New Testament. John Stott comments, the
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Speaker 1: apostle's instructions to his trusted lieutenant have extraordinary contemporary relevance.
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Speaker 1: We need to hear Paul's exhortations. In the 16th century,
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Speaker 1: Martin Luther made a study of the little letter and wrote,
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Speaker 1: Titus is a short epistle, but it contains such a
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Speaker 1: quintessence of Christian doctrine and is composed in such a
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Speaker 1: masterly manner that it contains all that is needful for
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Speaker 1: Christian knowledge and life. Isn't that amazing? All that is
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Speaker 1: needed for Christian doctrine, Christian knowledge and life, And most
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Speaker 1: of you hearing my words today would be hard pressed
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Speaker 1: to quote one verse from the letter to Titus. Or
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Speaker 1: to name one truth in it that has transformed your life.
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Speaker 1: It waits to be discovered. Since most folks, including most Christians,
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Speaker 1: aren't all that well acquainted with the letter to Titus,
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Speaker 1: I thought it would be helpful to answer several questions
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Speaker 1: that to me are crucial for an understanding of it.
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Speaker 1: Four come to mind first. Who wrote it? I'm so
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Speaker 1: grateful that they wrote letters in the first century better
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Speaker 1: than they did than we do in the 21st century.
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Speaker 1: They put the name of the one who wrote it
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Speaker 1: at the top of the letter. Isn't that the way
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Speaker 1: it ought to be? We've all gotten long letters handwritten
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Speaker 1: by someone we don't know. And before we even read it,
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Speaker 1: we go, oh, it's from. We look at the end
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Speaker 1: of the letter. First century, you never had to do that.
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Speaker 1: You looked at the beginning of the letter and you
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Speaker 1: read the name of the writer. And when you read
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Speaker 1: the name, Paul, you see in your mind a 60-plus-year-old seasoned,
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Speaker 1: scarred missionary, an itinerant evangelist, a faithful pastor, a founder
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Speaker 1: of churches, a servant of God and an apostle of Christ.
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Speaker 1: Still on the move, still actively engaged in things eternal,
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Speaker 1: still mentoring younger men to carry on beyond his own life.
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Speaker 1: And speaking of his travels, you knew I would get
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Speaker 1: to this. Go back to the maps in the back
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Speaker 1: of your Bible. If you have a Bible with no maps...
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Speaker 1: You have the wrong Bible. So buy one this week
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Speaker 1: that's a real Bible. In my Bible, I have a
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Speaker 1: map that is marked as the missionary journeys of Paul
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Speaker 1: and across the page, the spread of Christianity, which is
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Speaker 1: a broader map. I love maps. It always helps me
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Speaker 1: get oriented so that I'm not just reading about places
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Speaker 1: that I couldn't possibly read. Identify geographically. Let me give
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Speaker 1: you a quick and dirty analysis of Paul's latter years.
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Speaker 1: He has been under house arrest and has been released,
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Speaker 1: probably because those who first charged him didn't press the
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Speaker 1: charges any further. So he's released. He's released in Rome.
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Speaker 1: So locate on the larger map the boot camp. that
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Speaker 1: pushes its way into the waters of the Mediterranean, travel
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Speaker 1: up from the point of the boot on the western
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Speaker 1: shores of Italy, halfway up you'll find Rome. That's where
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Speaker 1: Paul was released from his house arrest. He, with other
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Speaker 1: traveling companions, made his way across the Adriatic Sea, across Greece,
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Speaker 1: called here Achaia, across the Aegean Sea to the shores
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Speaker 1: of what we know today as Turkey. In the first century,
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Speaker 1: it was known as Asia or Asia Minor. On the
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Speaker 1: westernmost shores of western Turkey or Asia Minor, you'll locate
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Speaker 1: the busy metropolis of Ephesus. Here at Ephesus, Paul leaves Timothy.
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Speaker 1: one of his longtime friends and children of the faith,
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Speaker 1: he leaves Timothy to carry on in the church at Ephesus. Busy, profitable,
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Speaker 1: fast city of Ephesus located on the shores back then
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Speaker 1: of the Aegean. Paul then traveled back across the Aegean
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Speaker 1: and went up into Macedonia. You see the three fingers
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Speaker 1: of Greece? Look above Corinth and you'll get into Macedonia.
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Speaker 1: In that region, Paul took the time to write his
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Speaker 1: first letter to Timothy. He has left him at Ephesus.
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Speaker 1: He pauses now to write Timothy his first letter. We
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Speaker 1: have it in the New Testament, five or six chapter
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Speaker 1: letter of first Timothy. Paul then travels again across the waters,
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Speaker 1: out into the Aegean, down through the Mediterranean, and comes
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Speaker 1: to the little island in the middle of the Mediterranean
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Speaker 1: that looks a little bit like Cuba. It's 160 miles
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Speaker 1: long and from 7 to 35 miles wide. It is
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Speaker 1: known as Crete. It's there. He stays briefly. He leaves
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Speaker 1: another traveling companion named Titus there. and then sets sail
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Speaker 1: north-northwesterly direction and comes up to the edge of, once again,
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Speaker 1: that region far removed over along the Adriatic to a
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Speaker 1: little place called Nicopolis. Now, I don't know if your
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Speaker 1: map shows Nicopolis. One of mine does. You've got to
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Speaker 1: come up the Adriatic Sea, And you will see it
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Speaker 1: on the right, just above that little finger of water
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Speaker 1: that reaches into the western shores of that region over
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Speaker 1: there in Macedonia. Now, if you will hang on to
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Speaker 1: that or leave that for now and go to chapter
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Speaker 1: 3 of Titus, you will see in verse 12, that's
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Speaker 1: where Paul is when he writes the letter to Titus. 3.12,
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Speaker 1: when I send Artemis or Tychicus to you, make every
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Speaker 1: effort to come to me at Nicopolis. That's where he
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Speaker 1: is when he writes the letter, most likely. For I
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Speaker 1: have decided to spend the winter there. Sounds nice, doesn't it?
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Speaker 1: That would be good. You think it even sounds nice
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Speaker 1: to be left on an island. We'll get to that
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Speaker 1: in a minute. It isn't all it's cracked up to be. Now,
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Speaker 1: who is the letter written? To whom is the letter written?
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Speaker 1: Go back to chapter 1. Verse 4, again, beginning of
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Speaker 1: the letter, we're given this information. Paul, verse 1, to Titus,
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Speaker 1: verse 4. Who's Titus? He is a thoroughly Gentile pagan
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Speaker 1: until he meets the Apostle Paul. Wherever they met and
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Speaker 1: whenever they met, Paul led him to Christ. which explains
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Speaker 1: why he is called my true child in a common faith.
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Speaker 1: So he has known Titus since the beginning of Titus'
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Speaker 1: salvation experience. Unlike Timothy, who was born of Greek and
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Speaker 1: Jewish parentage, Titus is born of complete Gentile parentage. He
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Speaker 1: comes from a pagan background. He is... dear to Paul
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Speaker 1: and becomes one of Paul's traveling companions. He surfaces in
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Speaker 1: the ministry at Corinth where he is with Paul during
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Speaker 1: that 18 plus months of time where the apostle pours
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Speaker 1: himself into the lives of the people of Corinth. Corinth
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Speaker 1: was sort of the, oh, the Southern California, sort of
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Speaker 1: the Las Vegas region of the ancient world, if you
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Speaker 1: will allow me. It was a fast-moving, busy kind of place,
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Speaker 1: and it was there the apostle ministered for an extended
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Speaker 1: period of time, and Titus watches him and studies him
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Speaker 1: and learns from him as they minister together in this
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Speaker 1: prototypical problem church in all the New Testament, Corinth. It
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Speaker 1: was my privilege, if I may interject this, to spend
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Speaker 1: some time with my mentor, Ray Steadman, in the busy
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Speaker 1: city of Palo Alto, located in the shadow of Stanford University.
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Speaker 1: It was there that Cynthia and I, she was carrying
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Speaker 1: our first child, she and I learned much from Ray
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Speaker 1: and Elaine Steadman. We watched how ministry was done in
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Speaker 1: a metropolis of a church full of students and people
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Speaker 1: in the crossroads of life as they would come to
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Speaker 1: that church and watching Ray and listening to Ray and
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Speaker 1: learning from Ray and questioning Ray, it became more and
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Speaker 1: more a part of my life so that to this
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Speaker 1: day I still draw on principles I learned from my mentor.
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Speaker 1: Titus became the poster child for grace when the apostle
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Speaker 1: Paul went to Jerusalem to carry the message of grace
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Speaker 1: he took with him uncircumcised Titus a man whose life
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Speaker 1: has been transformed by the gospel of Jesus a man
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Speaker 1: who no longer must live in obedience to mosaic law
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Speaker 1: to be righteous in God's sight. Titus becomes a wonderful
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Speaker 1: example of a Gentile believer who, because of grace, is
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Speaker 1: allowed by the Lord to live the life called the
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Speaker 1: Christian life that became his to live and to model.
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Speaker 1: He's mentioned in Galatians 2, verses 3 through 5. Titus
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Speaker 1: is seen as an example of what the Lord can
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Speaker 1: do by grace in the life of a pagan believer.
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Speaker 1: who comes to the Savior. So Paul has mentored him,
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Speaker 1: spent time with him in Corinth, taken him with him
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Speaker 1: to Jerusalem. All the while, Titus is being prepared to
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Speaker 1: stand alone, to be God's spokesman, and even to handle
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Speaker 1: the errors that would be a part of the lifestyle
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Speaker 1: at Crete. Third question, where was Titus? Verse 5, chapter 1.
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Speaker 1: For this reason I left you in Crete, I left
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Speaker 1: you in Crete. Sounds so idyllic. It's almost like the
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Speaker 1: Lord saying, for this reason, Chuck, I left you at Maui. Well,
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Speaker 1: somebody needs to fill the role at Maui. If you've
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Speaker 1: ever done island ministry, you know that only a tourist
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Speaker 1: would laugh because island ministry has to be among the toughest.
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Speaker 1: It's touristy, it's transient, or there's a cross-section of people
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Speaker 1: who are not coming there to grow deeply in the
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Speaker 1: Word of God or to develop a life of faith
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Speaker 1: in Christ, not for the most part. Many of them
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Speaker 1: are escaping something. They're running from someone. They're hoping to
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Speaker 1: become anonymous as they live their lives of freedom and
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Speaker 1: ease and with the prevailing winds of the island washing
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Speaker 1: across them. He leaves him in Crete. I imagine Titus,
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Speaker 1: as he stands there in his sandals, heart pounding in
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Speaker 1: his throat, as he watches Paul's ship fade in the distance,
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Speaker 1: and then turning to look at what would be his parish,
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Speaker 1: his calling, to serve Christ on this island. What was
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Speaker 1: it like? Well, hang on and you'll see why I
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Speaker 1: say it wasn't all that you might think it was
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Speaker 1: cracked up to be. Crete had a pagan influence from
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Speaker 1: its inception. It was strong there and made stronger because
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Speaker 1: it became a Roman soldier training center and all that
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Speaker 1: went with the lifestyle of soldiers in training. It was
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Speaker 1: also a stopping off point for sailors traveling across the
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Speaker 1: Mediterranean on great trade ships. And you know what life
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Speaker 1: would be like in a harbor city. The large population
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Speaker 1: in Crete included Judaizers, Jews who believed that if you
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Speaker 1: really wanted to be spiritual, you must be circumcised and
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Speaker 1: you must obey the law of Moses. Here stands Titus,
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Speaker 1: one of their own, most likely a native of Crete,
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Speaker 1: to give them a message that would differ from that,
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Speaker 1: and they were tough to deal with. Verse 10, chapter 1,
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Speaker 1: here are the people he'll be ministering to. There are
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Speaker 1: many rebellious men, empty talkers, deceivers, especially of the circumcision.
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Speaker 1: When you read that, you know it's referring to Jews
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Speaker 1: who must be silenced. Why? Because they are upsetting whole families,
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Speaker 1: teaching things they should not teach, For the sake of
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Speaker 1: sordid gain. They're in it for the money. They're in
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Speaker 1: it for the notoriety. And you've got to stand against them, Titus.
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Speaker 1: That was also part of what he faced in his parish.
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Speaker 1: Cretans also had a bad reputation. Look at verse 12.
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Speaker 1: One of themselves, a prophet of their own, said, Cretans
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Speaker 1: are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons. You know, when
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Speaker 1: I read that, I think, go ahead, Paul. Don't hold back.
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Speaker 1: Just say it like it is. You can count on
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Speaker 1: this from the Apostle Paul. Nothing is sugar-coated. He says
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Speaker 1: it straight. And he says it to the man who's
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Speaker 1: going to minister to them who needs to be thinking
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Speaker 1: straight about what he's dealing with. And why was it
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Speaker 1: that the letter was written? Verse 5, I left you
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Speaker 1: in Crete. that you would, A, set in order what remains, B,
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Speaker 1: appoint elders in every city as I directed you. I
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Speaker 1: found it fascinating, and I think you would too, to
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Speaker 1: go back to the second of Acts and to locate
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Speaker 1: the Pentecost message that Peter preaches on that great day
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Speaker 1: and to notice that among the people who had gathered
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Speaker 1: in Jerusalem for the celebration of Pentecost were the people
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Speaker 1: of Crete. Some came to Christ, and they returned to
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Speaker 1: the island of Crete and established churches. The problem was
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Speaker 1: they were not well taught. So they were off and running,
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Speaker 1: starting churches, developing ministries, not being rooted and grounded in
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Speaker 1: a solid biblical faith based on the truths of the
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Speaker 1: Old Testament and the teachings of the apostles. So here's Titus,
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Speaker 1: younger than Paul, saying, left to stand alone for truth,
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Speaker 1: and the demographics of his parish is quite challenging. Young,
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Speaker 1: immature believers, strong and stubborn legalists, passive and lazy island dwellers,
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Speaker 1: false teachers who stood against the truth and would stand
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Speaker 1: against him, and those who taught truth but lived a lie.
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Speaker 1: Other than that, it was a great place to minister. Recently,
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Speaker 1: we have taught, we've been teaching a group of men
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Speaker 1: who are part of the Doctor of Ministries program that
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Speaker 1: is a part of Dallas Seminary's curriculum. Their curriculum brought
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Speaker 1: them to our church here at Stone Brow Community Church
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Speaker 1: in Frisco, where a number of us on the staff
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Speaker 1: had the privilege of teaching them and being with them
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Speaker 1: and hearing from them and spending time in dialogue as
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Speaker 1: well as lectures. One of the best parts of this
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Speaker 1: is how we wrap up the time, which took place recently.
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Speaker 1: We had a question-answer time where three of us from
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Speaker 1: the staff stood before the class, and several of them
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Speaker 1: had brought their spouses, and we answered questions. One of
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Speaker 1: the questions asked me was, Chuck, since you have done both,
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Speaker 1: which is harder, to step into a church that's established
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Speaker 1: and to be the pastor of that church, or to
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Speaker 1: start a church from scratch as a pastor? I wish
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Speaker 1: I would have answered yes. I think they are equally difficult,
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Speaker 1: equally challenging, both with their unique problems. When you step
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Speaker 1: into a church that's established, there are long-standing traditions that
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Speaker 1: you wish had not been in place. There are people
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Speaker 1: in leadership that are not qualified. that you had no
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Speaker 1: hand in their being appointed or elected. There are things
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Speaker 1: in motion that you would not necessarily have put in
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Speaker 1: motion had you been in leadership when the place got
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Speaker 1: going or was underway. And on the other side, when
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Speaker 1: you start a church from scratch, you don't have any
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Speaker 1: of those problems. The problem is you don't have any money.
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Speaker 1: and you don't have any land, and you don't know
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Speaker 1: who the leaders are, and you don't know who can
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Speaker 1: be trusted, and you really don't know for sure what
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Speaker 1: God's plan is as it all unfolds, and you're scrambling
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Speaker 1: to sort of keep your sea legs under you as
28:16
Speaker 1: you make your way into this uncharted course that is
28:20
Speaker 1: before you. There was a little of both for Titus.
28:26
Speaker 1: And furthermore, island dwellers can be very myopic. Cynthia and
28:31
Speaker 1: I had a a wonderful week of vacation with a
28:34
Speaker 1: longtime friend of ours on one of the Bahama Islands.
28:39
Speaker 1: It sounds like all we do is spend time on
28:41
Speaker 1: the island, doesn't it? Well, that's one of the few
28:43
Speaker 1: times we have been even to that area, but this
28:46
Speaker 1: was a wonderful excursion. A man has built a lovely
28:49
Speaker 1: big old yellow house on the end of the island.
28:51
Speaker 1: The island isn't very big. You can walk the whole
28:54
Speaker 1: island in about 45 minutes, which we would do from
28:59
Speaker 1: end to end. And then you turn around, you walk
29:01
Speaker 1: all the way back. Well, in the process of several days,
29:05
Speaker 1: we got to meet the lady who runs the sales shop.
29:09
Speaker 1: They mend sales, they make sales, they sell the sales,
29:12
Speaker 1: et cetera, for all the people who have the boats
29:15
Speaker 1: in that area. There are no vehicles on the island.
29:17
Speaker 1: Only way you get around is you hoof it. And
29:20
Speaker 1: so we walked into the sales shop one day and
29:22
Speaker 1: I got to meet her and I found out of
29:23
Speaker 1: all things, she listened to our broadcast. Is that amazing?
29:26
Speaker 1: And She said, well, you're new on the island. We said, yeah,
29:29
Speaker 1: we are. She said, well, where are you staying? I said, well,
29:32
Speaker 1: we're at that big yellow house at the end that
29:34
Speaker 1: so-and-so owns. She said, yeah, I've heard it's down there.
29:38
Speaker 1: And I said... you've never been down there? She said, oh, no,
29:42
Speaker 1: I've never been to the end of either end of
29:44
Speaker 1: the island. Oh, my gosh. I thought, get a life, toots.
29:53
Speaker 1: I mean, there is... There is a big world out there.
29:57
Speaker 1: You might find something you haven't seen before. Take a walk.
30:03
Speaker 1: Very focused. Very concentrated. And as often comes with that,
30:11
Speaker 1: very stubborn. Very determined. And he leaves Titus with the
30:21
Speaker 1: training Titus has had to minister to How does all
30:29
Speaker 1: this letter flow together? I love to get the overview
30:36
Speaker 1: of it. I see all the way through this letter,
30:40
Speaker 1: don't miss this, the emphasis on the grace of God,
30:45
Speaker 1: strong in doctrine, standing firm in one's belief in Christ.
30:51
Speaker 1: and filling one's heart and mind and direction with grace.
30:59
Speaker 1: At the same time, godliness. That's the other theme that
31:04
Speaker 1: is woven as a part of the fabric of this letter.
31:09
Speaker 1: The strong doctrinal message promoted and presented balanced with the
31:15
Speaker 1: strong life lived in righteousness and godliness. So, The outline
31:23
Speaker 1: is really not difficult. In chapter 1, we have balancing
31:27
Speaker 1: grace and godliness in the church. Chapter 2, we have
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Speaker 1: balancing grace and godliness in the home and family. In
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Speaker 1: chapter 3, we have balancing grace and godliness in the world.
31:47
Speaker 1: By the way, there's a little introduction and there's a
31:49
Speaker 1: little conclusion, both of which are very personal. We'll look
31:52
Speaker 1: at the introduction next time. How does the letter fit today?
31:55
Speaker 1: Let me tell you very easily. If this message of
32:00
Speaker 1: Titus were to be lived out, you would find it
32:04
Speaker 1: the simplest thing in the world to share Christ. First
32:08
Speaker 1: of all, you wouldn't be sidetracked because you're solidly rooted
32:11
Speaker 1: in the truths of God's grace. You know that salvation
32:15
Speaker 1: is by grace through faith apart from works. You came
32:19
Speaker 1: to Christ because of God's grace, and grace therefore guides
32:22
Speaker 1: you in your salvation, in your doctrinal understanding. However, that's
32:27
Speaker 1: not enough. That'll keep you from being invaded by the cults.
32:31
Speaker 1: That'll keep you from falling prey to false teaching and
32:34
Speaker 1: false religions. But if there's also the righteous life that
32:39
Speaker 1: backs it up, you have an irrefutable message. You have
32:44
Speaker 1: a life that stands on grace, based on grace. And
32:49
Speaker 1: I'm telling you, those without Christ are attracted. They are
32:54
Speaker 1: taken by that. And that's why the apostle says to
32:58
Speaker 1: this wonderful young man he's mentored, verse 1 of chapter 2,
33:04
Speaker 1: as for you, speak the things which are fitting for
33:08
Speaker 1: sound doctrine. Verse 7, in all things, show yourself to
33:13
Speaker 1: be an example of good deeds. See the two? Sound doctrine,
33:18
Speaker 1: good deeds. Grace, godliness. Look at verse 8 of chapter 3,
33:23
Speaker 1: which could very well be the the key verse of Titus.
33:26
Speaker 1: It's a trustworthy statement and concerning these things, I want
33:30
Speaker 1: you to speak confidently. What things? One, so that those
33:35
Speaker 1: who have believed God, that's doctrine, that's grace, that's salvation,
33:40
Speaker 1: will be careful to engage in good deeds. There's the horizontal.
33:44
Speaker 1: Always think of the cross. When you think of the
33:47
Speaker 1: Christian life, always think of the symbol of a cross.
33:50
Speaker 1: The vertical has to do with your relationship with Christ
33:54
Speaker 1: by faith because of what Christ has done on the cross,
33:58
Speaker 1: paying your sins in full so that all the penalty
34:02
Speaker 1: for sin is removed. And all of that truth that
34:05
Speaker 1: comes from God to you, his forgiveness, his grace, his hope,
34:10
Speaker 1: his plan. Then there's the horizontal part as you relate
34:13
Speaker 1: to other people. And as that relationship is cultivated based
34:18
Speaker 1: on a life of purity and righteousness and sensibility and sanity,
34:24
Speaker 1: then you have a message that cannot be ignored. You
34:29
Speaker 1: model the message of Christ. That's how the letter fits today.
34:34
Speaker 1: Blending sound doctrine with true godliness, we have a message
34:42
Speaker 1: that cannot be ignored. And that is my hope for
34:46
Speaker 1: Stonebriar Community Church. That we will be rooted in the
34:50
Speaker 1: things of God's grace and God's mercy and God's power
34:55
Speaker 1: in all of our God. And at the same time,
34:58
Speaker 1: we will evidence that in lives that are different from
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Speaker 1: the world system. We think differently. We live differently. We
35:05
Speaker 1: act differently. We respond differently. So all of that brings
35:10
Speaker 1: me to three lingering lessons that I get from these
35:13
Speaker 1: three chapters of Titus. And they will emerge over and
35:17
Speaker 1: over as we work our way through this. It seems
35:19
Speaker 1: the three chapters, it shouldn't take us very long. I
35:21
Speaker 1: had one of the fathers say to me, you know,
35:23
Speaker 1: you gave us the assignment to read the letter through twice.
35:26
Speaker 1: So he said, I read it through once. And then
35:28
Speaker 1: on the way to church this morning, they drive almost
35:31
Speaker 1: from Highland Park out to Frisco. He said, on the
35:33
Speaker 1: way to church this morning, I had my son read
35:35
Speaker 1: it to me the second time. And so my son
35:38
Speaker 1: is reading. He said, I figured it'd be better than
35:39
Speaker 1: my reading it while I'm driving on the towway. And
35:41
Speaker 1: I thought it's a good idea. So his son is
35:43
Speaker 1: reading him the letter to Titus. And he got all
35:45
Speaker 1: through And the little boy looked at his daddy, and
35:48
Speaker 1: his daddy said, son, you want to know something amazing? Well,
35:50
Speaker 1: what is that? He said, what took you 10 minutes
35:54
Speaker 1: will take Pastor Chuck 10 weeks to preach. And the
36:00
Speaker 1: little kid looked at him and said, why? Isn't that
36:03
Speaker 1: a great question? Probably thought, I'm glad I'm in Children's Church.
36:06
Speaker 1: I have to sit through all of that. Here are
36:09
Speaker 1: three lessons we'll come back to over and over and
36:11
Speaker 1: over again, and I have a story that I think
36:14
Speaker 1: you'll never forget. First of all, God's grace and goodness
36:22
Speaker 1: make a church effective and stable. When you have a
36:27
Speaker 1: message of grace that goes out faithfully and regularly, not legalism,
36:32
Speaker 1: but grace, not what we do for God, but what
36:35
Speaker 1: God does for us, and when we live it out
36:37
Speaker 1: in righteousness, the church becomes stable and effective. We are
36:43
Speaker 1: not invaded by the cults. We will not have false
36:47
Speaker 1: religions grow and fester and mess the place up in
36:52
Speaker 1: this assembly if there is the faithful teaching of God's
36:56
Speaker 1: grace mixed with lives of godliness. It makes a church
36:59
Speaker 1: effective and stable. Second, grace and godliness make a home
37:05
Speaker 1: sensible and sane. That's right, sane. Over and over again,
37:12
Speaker 1: we're going to read the word sensible in this letter.
37:14
Speaker 1: It occurred to me as I was reading of truth
37:16
Speaker 1: this past week yet again. Sensible, sane. You say, well,
37:21
Speaker 1: why would you use that? Listen, if you've been in
37:22
Speaker 1: as many Christian homes as I've been, there's a lot
37:25
Speaker 1: of insanity going on out there. There's a lot of
37:28
Speaker 1: weird stuff that parents teach kids. There are a lot
37:31
Speaker 1: of strange things said to you and me as we
37:33
Speaker 1: were growing up that we've had to unlearn. And it's
37:36
Speaker 1: harder to unlearn than it is to learn fresh. It's
37:39
Speaker 1: harder to go from one set of instructions to another
37:44
Speaker 1: than it is from total ignorance to truth. And most
37:47
Speaker 1: of us have been rooted in some things that we
37:52
Speaker 1: have no business worrying over, feeling guilty about, struggling with.
37:58
Speaker 1: And so there is a sensibility and a sanity that
38:00
Speaker 1: will accompany the home and family, and we'll see that
38:03
Speaker 1: in chapter two. The third lesson I learned from this
38:07
Speaker 1: is that grace and godliness cause the world to be curious.
38:13
Speaker 1: and attracted. That's E-D, not I-V-E. The world becomes curious,
38:21
Speaker 1: and they're attracted. They can't stay away. If the church
38:25
Speaker 1: is doing what it ought to be doing, I learned
38:27
Speaker 1: this from Ray Steadman, if the church is doing what
38:29
Speaker 1: it ought to be doing, it would be the most winsome,
38:31
Speaker 1: magnetic place in the community. People would rather be there
38:36
Speaker 1: than anywhere else except their homes. If the church is
38:40
Speaker 1: doing what it ought to be doing, giving the message
38:43
Speaker 1: it ought to be giving, living the life it ought
38:45
Speaker 1: to be living, folks will love being a part of
38:49
Speaker 1: that community. And that is, of course, always our hope.
38:55
Speaker 1: My friend Kent Hughes ministers at the College Church in Wheaton, Illinois.
38:59
Speaker 1: He's written a book on Timothy letters and on Titus,
39:03
Speaker 1: and I found this story from Kent's writing, and I'd
39:07
Speaker 1: like to have you hear it carefully. He makes the
39:11
Speaker 1: point beautifully about grace and truth. Kent Hughes writes, Life
39:17
Speaker 1: must conform to doctrine. The message is the same for
39:22
Speaker 1: leaders and servants, parents and children, male and female, young
39:27
Speaker 1: and old. Grace should produce godliness. At the end of
39:34
Speaker 1: Paul's numerous examples, the apex statement of this truth appears.
39:39
Speaker 1: For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared
39:42
Speaker 1: to all men. It teaches us to say no to
39:46
Speaker 1: ungodliness and worldly pleasures. Titus 2, 11 and 12. He continues,
39:54
Speaker 1: With the theme repeated so often, some readers might have
39:57
Speaker 1: grown tired of the message that a right understanding of
40:01
Speaker 1: grace leads to godliness. Move the sermon along, preacher, they
40:07
Speaker 1: might think as they listen to Paul driving the point
40:10
Speaker 1: home from so many different angles. The reason for the
40:13
Speaker 1: apostle's persistence in this epistle to Titus, however, can be
40:17
Speaker 1: detected in a letter written I received not long ago
40:21
Speaker 1: from another young preacher. He wrote, It is with a
40:26
Speaker 1: heavy heart of discouragement that I write this letter. I'm
40:32
Speaker 1: so troubled at the number of men who are failing
40:34
Speaker 1: in ministry. I always knew that this happened, but these
40:39
Speaker 1: are no longer statistics. They are close friends and mentors
40:43
Speaker 1: that I've had in ministry. I look at these men
40:47
Speaker 1: who have walked far longer and deeper with God than
40:51
Speaker 1: I have, and I wonder how in the world will
40:55
Speaker 1: I be expected to make it if they did not.
41:01
Speaker 1: Most fall because of sexual immorality. Others left under clouds
41:06
Speaker 1: of suspicion. In the last three weeks, this man writes,
41:12
Speaker 1: I have been told of four ministers who All friends
41:16
Speaker 1: of mine who have had to resign from ministry. I
41:22
Speaker 1: fear becoming another statistic and watching my family suffer for
41:26
Speaker 1: my sin. Please forgive me for dumping these burdens on you.
41:31
Speaker 1: But at this point, I doubt myself so much that
41:33
Speaker 1: I'm not sure what is true and what is not.
41:41
Speaker 1: Kent Hughes writes this as a follow-up. When the message
41:44
Speaker 1: of the gospel comes unglued from godliness, faith shatters. No
41:53
Speaker 1: matter how commendable our intentions may be, the message of
41:56
Speaker 1: grace falls apart. The message of grace apart from godliness
42:04
Speaker 1: or godly endeavor apart from an understanding of grace destroys
42:09
Speaker 1: the hope that the gospel offers. This truth was powerfully
42:14
Speaker 1: and sadly demonstrated in the lives of many of my
42:17
Speaker 1: young minister friends after we graduated from seminary, writes Hughes.
42:23
Speaker 1: As pastors in training, we often challenged each other with
42:26
Speaker 1: the phrase, we will live for the glory of God.
42:31
Speaker 1: Though the words sounded noble, they damaged us. What we
42:38
Speaker 1: were really saying to one another in our youthful zeal
42:41
Speaker 1: was that we would strengthen our resolve, bow our necks,
42:47
Speaker 1: and through our own goodness and grit, march the kingdom
42:50
Speaker 1: of God forward. The focus was not upon our need
42:55
Speaker 1: for a dependence on grace, but upon our personal determination
43:00
Speaker 1: to live more godly lives than those who had preceded us.
43:05
Speaker 1: The result? were devastating. We could not measure up to
43:11
Speaker 1: our own standards. Of those who graduated with me, very
43:16
Speaker 1: few are still in ministry. Many fell to sexual immorality,
43:23
Speaker 1: relational incompetence, or dishonesty. By trying to live godly lives
43:30
Speaker 1: without due focus upon God's pardoning and enabling grace, we
43:37
Speaker 1: had no protection from the despair that our own weaknesses
43:41
Speaker 1: and hypocrisies created. Such joylessness only exacerbated spiritual weaknesses that
43:51
Speaker 1: robbed us of spiritual health and credible ministry. Only those
43:56
Speaker 1: who discovered the power of grace, don't miss this, only
44:00
Speaker 1: those who discovered the power of grace found the strength
44:05
Speaker 1: to continue in ministry. For these reasons, and he closes
44:10
Speaker 1: with this, much ministry training in recent years has endeavored
44:14
Speaker 1: to follow Paul's example in making grace the foundation of
44:18
Speaker 1: pastoral training. As the epistle to Titus makes plain, biblical
44:28
Speaker 1: grace spiritually strengthens for ministry by enabling leaders to acknowledge weakness,
44:37
Speaker 1: And depend upon the mercy of God rather than upon
44:40
Speaker 1: the strength of personal resolve. I hope the length of
44:48
Speaker 1: that quote didn't cause you to drift. Because I want
44:52
Speaker 1: to drive this point home. It has been this that
44:57
Speaker 1: has saved me in ministry. It is this emphasis that
45:02
Speaker 1: has delivered me from a self-discipline that's going to hold
45:08
Speaker 1: it all together or a resolve that I will glorify God,
45:13
Speaker 1: implying I'm going to do this in my strength. I
45:16
Speaker 1: find that ministry that's effective is a ministry that is
45:21
Speaker 1: based on reality. I'm not able to fulfill such a resolve.
45:27
Speaker 1: I don't have that much discipline. I can't do that.
45:31
Speaker 1: So you know what that says to me? I must
45:34
Speaker 1: lean on one who does have the strength. I must
45:37
Speaker 1: draw my life's power and energy from him who never
45:43
Speaker 1: failed or fell. And knowing that he in grace will
45:50
Speaker 1: enable me to live his life and to live it
45:54
Speaker 1: through my life, I simply say to him, Lord, I'm
45:59
Speaker 1: yours this morning. I'm yours today. I'm the same old
46:03
Speaker 1: Chuck with the same old drives and the same old nature.
46:09
Speaker 1: But as you, by your grace, empower and enable me,
46:14
Speaker 1: I can live the life. I can stay at it.
46:20
Speaker 1: And I can finish well. And it's not about me.
46:25
Speaker 1: That pronoun could be we.
46:26
Speaker 2: We.
46:28
Speaker 1: So I challenge you who hear what I've said and
46:31
Speaker 1: are tempted to think what I need to do is
46:32
Speaker 1: just gut it out harder. Please. You can't gut it
46:38
Speaker 1: out hard enough. Acknowledge that you're weak. You're depraved. You
46:45
Speaker 1: have no power in yourself. If it weren't for the
46:47
Speaker 1: delivering grace of God, you couldn't pull it off for
46:50
Speaker 1: the next 20 minutes. You'd be losing your temper before
46:54
Speaker 1: you got home in your car. You'd be missing the
46:58
Speaker 1: mark in your own strength. I want us to bow
47:02
Speaker 1: our heads together. Thank you for staying with me through
47:05
Speaker 1: this a little longer than I wanted it to be.
47:13
Speaker 1: Perhaps I speak to some who are just exhausted from
47:15
Speaker 1: just trying and trying and working and working and battling
47:19
Speaker 1: the flesh and making more resolutions and promising God, stop.
47:25
Speaker 1: Just stop. As the old song says, nothing in my
47:31
Speaker 1: hand I bring, simply to the cross I cling. If
47:35
Speaker 1: Christ is the only way of salvation, then believe me,
47:37
Speaker 1: Christ's power is the only way to the Christian life.
47:41
Speaker 1: If he's the only one who can deliver us from hell,
47:43
Speaker 1: he's the only one that can deliver us from ourselves.
47:47
Speaker 1: And I plead with you to leave the legalism of
47:50
Speaker 1: do's and don'ts and demands, the negatives and the expectations,
47:56
Speaker 1: and to step into the marvelous life of grace where
48:01
Speaker 1: you see and acknowledge that you are not adequate to
48:07
Speaker 1: live the life. Christ must live it through you. When
48:12
Speaker 1: you get there, you will begin to understand the value
48:15
Speaker 1: of the doctrine as well as the strength that comes
48:20
Speaker 1: from it. If you've never met the Lord Jesus Christ,
48:24
Speaker 1: of course, that's plan A that starts everything. But I
48:28
Speaker 1: speak mainly today to you who know the Lord and
48:30
Speaker 1: are trying to live it in your own strength. You're
48:33
Speaker 1: headed for a terrible, terrible downfall. And you'll be disillusioned
48:39
Speaker 1: and exhausted. And if you're not careful, you'll leave it all.
48:45
Speaker 1: You'll chunk it all. Father, help us today to keep
48:49
Speaker 1: a balance between grace and godliness. Deliver us from pride,
48:55
Speaker 1: from that old Temptation and tendency to practice in front
49:02
Speaker 1: of a mirror, to play a role and to cultivate
49:06
Speaker 1: an image that isn't truth at all. Use us in
49:11
Speaker 1: all of our frailty and weakness and inability and inadequacy
49:17
Speaker 1: to model the message that you wanted. to carry. Use
49:22
Speaker 1: these simple truths from Titus to help make that happen.
49:29
Speaker 1: These things, our Father, we trust you for and ask
49:31
Speaker 1: you to use the truth in the days to come
49:34
Speaker 1: to drive this point home again and again. We pray
49:38
Speaker 1: this in the name of the God of all grace
49:41
Speaker 1: and mercy and love, even Jesus Christ. Everybody said amen.
49:52
Speaker 2: The preceding message, A Little Letter of Enormous Importance, was
49:57
Speaker 2: copyrighted in 2006, 2007, and 2024, and the sound recording
49:58
Speaker 2: was copyrighted in 2024 by Charles R.
49:59
Speaker 1: Swindoll, Inc.
50:08
Speaker 2: All rights are reserved worldwide. Duplication of copyrighted material for
50:12
Speaker 2: commercial use is strictly prohibited. In the preceding message, Charles R. Swindoll, Inc.
50:18
Speaker 2: is grateful to Crossway Books, a division of Good News Publishers,
50:22
Speaker 2: for permission to quote from the book First and Second
50:25
Speaker 2: Timothy and Titus by R. Kent Hughes and Brian Chappell,
50:29
Speaker 2: copyrighted in 2012.