Leading By Example Series

Titus 1:1-4 Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the sake of the faith of God’s elect and their knowledge of the truth, which accords with godliness. 2 in hope of eternal life, which God, who never lies, promised before the ages began. 3 and at the proper time manifested in his word through the preaching with which I have been entrusted by the command of God our Savior 4 To Titus, my true child in a common faith: Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior. (ESV)

Why has God put us here in Ajax? Why have we been gathering for prayer, bible study, corporate worship and other activities? What brings us together, what unifies us and what is our purpose? What is our core message and what is our public call? The answer to all these questions is the same. It is the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The message of the Gospel is the message that brings people to faith, it is the center of all our activities and the essence of our message. Without it, we are northing. With it, it is everything to our identity, assurance, and call.

For the Apostle Paul, his discussions with Titus in Titus 1, had the issue of the Gospel at stake. With an emphasis on God’s saving work (both God and Christ are repeatedly called Savior: 1:3, 4; 2:10, 13; 3:4, 6) the opening greeting sets this theme by centering on the nature of gospel ministry. Titus was the direct legate, envoy, or ambassador of the apostle, sent to Crete to strengthen the churches for the purpose of effective evangelism in that pagan culture. Under the compulsion of divinely revealed absolutes from the Lord in the power of the Spirit. God, who desires to save sinners, wanted to prepare Titus for the building of congregations able to reach the lost.

If we desire to have the life changing Gospel of Christ impact the lost as it has impacted us, then we need to have particular commitments. There are many voices, from our own thoughts, from other well-meaning Christians or even those in marketing that want to convince us that we need to dumb down the message in order to have the greatest impact. They suggest that we follow the principles of modern marketing that says to have an easy message, presented in a easy way, calling for an easy response. Paul shows Titus in that the only real way to impact the lost for Christ is to be controlled by God, following His mission, message, means, while serving one another. Such a process is guaranteed to produce life changing results because they are of God and He has promised to bless them.

In Titus 1:1-4, Paul calls Titus in Leading by Example revealing five core features to guide his life and service to God upon which the Church must be built in order to reach the lost. Effective Gospel Ministry must be 1) Committed to God’s Mastery (Titus 1:1a), 2) Committed to God’s Mission, Message and Means (Titus 1:1b-3), as well as 3) Committed to God’s Members (Titus 1:4).

In order to reach the lost, effective Gospel Ministry must be:

1) Committed to God’s Mastery (Titus 1:1a)

Titus 1:1a Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, (for the sake of the faith of God’s elect and their knowledge of the truth, which accords with godliness) (ESV)

Above all else, the apostle saw himself as a man totally under divine authority, “a servant of God”. This was his commitment to God’s mastery The apostle’s Hebrew name was Saul, after the first king of Israel. Soon after his miraculous conversion and calling by Christ, however, he came to be known exclusively by his Greek name, Paulos (Paul). With full truthfulness, Paul could have identified himself as a brilliant scholar, a highly educated Jewish leader who also was learned in Greek literature and philosophy. He could have flaunted his inherited Roman citizenship, an extremely valuable advantage in that day. He could have boasted of his unique calling as apostle to the Gentiles, who was granted full privilege and authority alongside the Twelve. He could have boasted of being “caught up to the third heaven, … into Paradise” (2 Cor. 12:2, 4), of his gift of miracles, and of being chosen as the human author of a great part of the Scriptures of the new covenant. He chose, rather, to identify himself foremost as a servant of God. This wording would suggest a direct connection to Moses, David, and others in the OT who were described as servants of God (e.g., Moses, Ps. 105:26; David, 2 Sam. 7:4, 8; and the prophets, Jer. 7:25; 25:4; Amos 3:7; Hag. 2:23). The effect is to place Paul in the long line of those who have been God’s spokesmen from the beginning (Crossway Bibles. (2008). The ESV Study Bible (p. 2348). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles).