Titus Session 7
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Alright… here we go! We are looking to complete our study on the Pastoral Epistles this evening as we aim to close out Titus!
Our study this evening will look at the final remarks that Paul gives to Titus. These final remarks serve as a recap of what had been instructed and as final instruction on what Paul desires for Titus to do.
And much of it… still holds on to the theme we have been looking at the last several weeks. In light of presenting to Crete the God who does not lie… as the believers worked to confront the cultural deceptions of their day… they need to remember to do what is good. The people need to do what will honor God and what will lead people back to Him.
Again… this is NOT doing what is good in the eyes of the world but doing what is good in the eyes of God.
Paul has laid out clear instruction for Titus to follow, and as he gets ready to give his final remarks, he gives some last-minute instruction that is beneficial for Titus… and for us to consider.
Mind Your Conversations.
Mind Your Conversations.
The first point comes from Titus 3:9 and it reads
9 But avoid foolish controversies and genealogies and arguments and quarrels about the law, because these are unprofitable and useless.
Paul lays out three areas of concern… things that Titus should avoid if possible.
One - foolish controversies. How might we define what a “foolish controversy” is?
These disagreements can eat up a lot of time, a lot of energy, and can serve as a major distraction to what the Lord is wanting to do. And many times… these controversies are a result of our preferences not being met.
We all have a list of things that we “prefer”, correct? Sometimes these lists line up… but other times we might not see eye to eye on things.
Now, having an idea of how we want things done is not a bad thing… unless it begins to feed behaviors and attitudes that are not so good.
Preference is a part of self. It is derived from past experience, family tradition, a person’s immediate context, and so on. It is grounded in personal opinion.
It’s okay to speak of your preference or how you like things to be done. It is NOT okay for your preference to cause you to do things that god against God’s principles or truth.
Defending the principles or truth found in the Word is never a waste of time… However… standing on preference as if it were principle can cause all kinds of problems.
Remember what matters most… focus on what the Lord would have us focus on, and avoid foolish and time-consuming controversies that would only distract us from what God is wanting to do.
Two - genealogies. Why would this be a thing in Titus’ day?
Genealogies in Paul’s day were kind of a big deal. They were a list of a person’s ancestors that normally would include the members of each generation in succession. Basically, it was a family tree or family history.
Because people did not have access to materials in order to write things down, these genealogies were often committed to memory.
These lists were important to the people in several ways:
It helped the Hebrews manage inheritance rights and land allotments.
They proved useful in deciding who was qualified by birth to act as priests.
While in the wilderness, it helped in the organization of the tribes as well as for deciding the amount of taxes and offerings to be contributed.
For Jesus… the list shows that He is a descendant from the house of David.
It is unclear what kind of issues these lists brought up… it is speculated that perhaps there existed a dispute regarding the genealogy of Jesus. it is also speculated that these lists were used to allow for “stories” or “legends” of extracanonical heroes and beliefs that ran counter to the apostolic faith.
Whatever it was… it was becoming an issue.
Three - Arguments and quarrels about the law.
Was the law a bad thing to talk about? Only if it was distracting form the gospel truth.
Some of this is still in plat in our day. Jesus fulfilled the law… He fully satisfied the payment required by the law. To say that we must follow the law to be saved is simply not true.
A person is saved by grace through faith in Christ. That new relationship with Jesus should cause a person to steer away from any and all sin. Our goal should be to follow Jesus… and in following Him, we will do better than follow the law… His heart will become our heart.
Paul indicates these things are unprofitable and useless. THEY SERVE NO PURPOSE. They only take away from what is important.
Church, I pray we would be careful to stay away from anything that would distract us from what is important.
No Division
No Division
Secondly, Paul speaks of the division such things can cause… and he gives instruction on how a divisive person should be handled.
Titus 3:10-11 reads
10 Warn a divisive person once, and then warn them a second time. After that, have nothing to do with them. 11 You may be sure that such people are warped and sinful; they are self-condemned.
The Greek term for the phrase “divisive person” was adopted by the early church to describe those who caused dissension in the church by promoting extreme views and ideas based loosely on legitimate Biblical truths.
This might include Scripture taken out of context or other forms of improper interpretations.
Give a warning. If they do not listen, give a second warning. If they still do not listen, have nothing to do with them.
Why would Paul say to cut them off? Why would he say to let them go? Well, verse 11 gives the reason why. They are warped (perverted) and sinful. They condemn themselves with their actions.
God takes the sowing of division and discord VERY seriously!
Proverbs 6:19 speaks against “a person who stirs up conflict in the community.” This is a part of a list of seven things that the Lord finds detestable.
The body of Christ is to be a unified, missional, spirit-empowered ministry machine until Jesus comes back. sowing division among the brethren only slows down our efforts. Again, this most frequently happens when preference takes priority.
I wish I could say that we will always agree with everything! Yet we know today that at times, we might have our differences. So long as those differences are NOT regarding the truth of the Word, we can remain united.
Paul gives wise instruction… Christ-like instruction… on how to deal with our differences.
Jesus gives a teaching very similar to this in Matthew 18:15-19. He tells us how to deal with sin in the church.
Sowing division for preference sake is sin. It is discord. And it has no place in the body of Christ. Jesus says to point it out, if that doesn’t work then bring a witness and do it again. If that doesn’t work bring it before the body. If that doesn’t work then treat them like a pagan or tax collector.
BUT… if it DOES work… Jesus says you have won them over… you have brought resolve where the enemy tried to bring division.
God tells us two things: Divisive talk should be addressed and if unresolved, should be dismissed or removed from the body.
No one desires to see anyone removed… but unity within the body is something that must be protected with action and the authority of Scripture.
Do Good.
Do Good.
We close out the study by looking at Titus 3:14-15
14 Our people must learn to devote themselves to doing what is good, in order to provide for urgent needs and not live unproductive lives.
15 Everyone with me sends you greetings. Greet those who love us in the faith.
Grace be with you all.
it is no surprise to me that Paul closes the letter out with one more reminder to do what is good.
In order for this to happen, we have to live life led by the Spirit of the One who IS good. Doing so accomplishes two things:
Provision for urgent needs.
Resources will not be wasted in chasing the “good” things of the world. Instead they will be utilized to provide for the urgent needs of the day
Live productive lives.
Time will not be wasted, but rather our lives will be productive for the kingdom of God.
We must be devoted to this way of life… resolved that this is how we will live in a culture of deception.
A person must be willing to give all to Jesus. We cannot hold anything back. This means a surrender of our entire self: mentally, physically, and spiritually. As the church continues to present to the world the God who does not lie, His truth must be observed within us… we need to live His words.
God’s ways are GOOD ways. He gave His Son that we might find our way back to Him. He gave His Spirit that we might live empowered of Him. he has GOOD things in store for those who fully devote their lives to Him.
Let’s live devoted lives for Jesus.
Let’s choose His way over the world’s way no matter what.
Let’s do good in the eyes of the Lord!