It hasn’t been all good news for QANTAS lately. There was the A380 incident with an uncontained engine failure. Other incidents include another engine failure, smoke in the aircraft, a bird strike and one aircraft hit by lightening. These incidents have hurt the QANTAS brand and how the company responds will be interesting.
I find the response of the pilots even more interesting. When an aircraft becomes unstable, I am confident that our pilots are well trained and respond to emergencies in the most professional way. Because when you’re a passenger in a plane, there is only one option for you, trust in those who are leading the way.
And in our unstable world, the grace of God is leading the way. The Christian life is a response to the love of God. Living in accord with sound doctrine is a response to the love of God. Appointing godly elders to watch over you is a response to the love of God. Vigorously engaging false teachers is a response to the love of God. Older men, be temperate, this is a response to the love of God. Older women, adorn yourself with reverent beauty because you love God. Younger women, be self-controlled and pure in response to the love of God. And young men—as brash as you can be—please control your affections and passions— do this in response to the love of God.
Isaac Watts wrote, ‘Were the whole realm of nature mine, that were a present far too small; Love so amazing, so divine, demands my soul, my life, my all’. Charles Wesley reportedly said he would give up all his other hymns to have written this one. Pretend for a moment that all of creation was yours to give away (be descriptive). This gift doesn’t even come close to matching the incredible grace of God that brings salvation to all people.
A common strategy in marriage counselling is to take couples back to their first love for one another. What sparked the flame? What drew you together? Remember that time when loving one another was easy? In Tit 3:3–7, Paul takes us back to a time when we were unlovable. There was no reason for God to love us. We were, according to verse 3, ‘foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another’.
In our rebellion there was nothing to commend us to God. Relationships usually start with something praiseworthy in the other person. There is a reason for the attraction. There is motivation to explore one another further. There is passion within our souls. But when God looked at us there was none of that at all. Verse 3 says that we hated others and others hated us. Sinners have a disdain for one another because autonomous beings will invariably clash with one another. Sin promotes self-centredness which leads to discord in relationships. People fight with one another. Relationships are fractured because the unregenerate person is enslaved by passions and pleasures. Alan Jones on 2GB spends every morning try to glue the pieces of humanity back together.
Hell is when God fully withdraws himself from life. It’s what we all deserve because that was our chosen direction in life. We were willing slaves to sin, we lived in collusion with the evil one, we were participants in a world destined for destruction. We were unattractive to God and deserving death. You once thought if there was a God, that somehow he would approve of you. Or maybe you didn’t even care. Whatever the case, God’s love is not unconditional. He is not just another ‘good mate’. Nor is his love incompatible with his justice. Our loving God is a just God who deals with his people according to their response to him.
This is what makes verses 4 so attractive. ‘But when the kindness and love of God our Saviour appeared, he saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy’. If you missed the point in verse 3, then surely its clear in verse 4, our unregenerate self could do nothing righteous. There was nothing to commend us to God. Yet the love of the God burst forth into this world.
The love of the God is a committed, strong, powerful love which penetrates a world frustrated by darkness. We needed a saviour and according to verse 4, God appeared as our Saviour. The kindness and love of God expresses itself in mercy. We needed a merciful Saviour because we cannot save ourselves. We didn’t even know that we needed rescuing. But in his mercy God came to us as our Saviour. Verse 5, ‘He saved us by the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out generously through Jesus Christ our Saviour’.
A medieval monk announced he would be preaching next Sunday evening on The Love of God. As the shadows fell and the light ceased, the congregation took their place. In the darkness of the altar, the monk lit a candle and carried it to the crucifix. First he illuminated the crown of thorns. Next, he shone his candle on the two wounded hands. Then he illuminated the marks of the spear wound. In the hush that fell, he blew out the candle and left the room. There was nothing else to say.
Notice how the drama unfolds. God the Father is kind and loving. Even though we were unlovable and deserving death, he moves to saves us. He sent his Son into the world who chose the way of the cross. On the cross, Jesus made payment for sin. The price is paid—the Father’s righteous anger is satisfied—forgiveness is possible.
At Pentecost the Holy Spirit comes. And on that great day, Peter said to the crowd, ‘Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit’ (Act 2:38).
The power of Pentecost is revealed in Peter’s speech to the crowd. Death could not keep Jesus down. God raised him from the dead, he freed him from the agony of death; the Son was raised to God’s right hand and now his name is higher than every other name! The great message of Pentecost is that the risen Jesus is Lord and Christ. And the Spirit has been poured out upon the church—the Spirit who will convict people of their sin, who will bring them to repentance and trust in lordship of Christ.
After Peter’s speech, many heard and they were baptised as a sign of repentance and sins forgiven. Then were are told that these new believers devoted themselves to the apostle’s teaching and they enjoyed fellowship with one another. As a renewed people, ‘they broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favour of all the people’ (Acts 2:46 47).
This is the work of the Holy Spirit: washing and renewal. There’s a lot said about the Holy Spirit these days, but the greatest and most profound work of the Spirit is what we see in Acts 2 which is summarised in Tit 3:5. Flowing from the death of Jesus, the Father saves us ‘through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit’ (Tit 3:5).
This is the language of a new beginning. So radical is this fresh start that it can be likened to a birth—the birth of a bouncing baby saint who needs love and training. With spiritual rebirth comes a whole new life because there is a whole new person. The old has gone, the new has come. God’s elect are a new humanity who delight in living in accord with sound doctrine. We are a people who thirst for the knowledge of the truth that leads to godliness.
The language of salvation is love, kindness, mercy, washing and renewal. In an earlier verse in his hymn, Watts says, ‘Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast save in the cross of Christ my God; all the vain things that charm me most—I sacrifice them to his blood’. Our contribution was unrighteousness, we had nothing to boast about, for in the words of verse 7, we have been ‘justified by his grace’.
When we are justified in a court of law it means that an accused person is declared innocent. I got done earlier in the year when I accidently drove down a T-way at night and got caught by a camera. When I phoned the RTA to ask about some aspect of the paperwork, the guy said, ‘Wait on, I’ll check your driving record’. Brief pause, ‘You haven’t lost a point since 1976. I’ll let you off the hook’.
Notice what happened! I did! The one who had the legal right to punish me agreed the offense was committed. But (in an act of mercy) he absorbed the punishment for me. The law-maker satisfied the requirement of the law on m behalf. Although I was guilty, I was nevertheless justified, I was declared innocent and set free.
In a much bigger and more profound way, we are justified before God as an expression of his grace toward us. Here in Titus, Paul doesn’t explain the details, he simply reminds us of the fact of our justification. It is indeed on account of our justification that we are ‘heirs (verse 7 again) having the hope of eternal life’.
Now if the apostle were to stop his discussion at the beginning of verse 7, we may well be satisfied. For to live our days under God’s blessing is itself an incredible reward. But the apostle extends our glorious position from this world into the world to come. He says that we have inherited something, we have inherited the hope of eternal life. Paul wants us to know the hope of our calling. In another place the apostle says ‘that Christians have been called with a holy calling’.
Are you assured of your salvation? Do you realise that you have inherited something far bigger and more profound than any earthly inheritance? When someone dies we receive an inheritance. After paying the legal fees, we see it straight away. When Jesus died we received an inheritance. Eternal life was his alone by virtue of his resurrection. But his inheritance is shared with us because by faith we belong to him. But at the moment we do not see our inheritance. It remains a certain hope. We have the certain hope of eternal life.
The secret of a happy Christian life is to know the grace of God. It is to know your calling. Do you have assurance of your salvation? Do you believe that God has unsearchable riches saved for you? Assurance and certainty should be the possession of all Christians. The great Welsh preacher, Martyn Lloyd-Jones, says ‘to have an assured hope, to have a deep certainty, we must seek a deeper knowledge of the God who called us. Nothing can give me greater hope and assurance than my knowledge of the character of God’ (God’s Ultimate Purpose, 373). So we see that teaching what is in accord with sound doctrine not only produces righteous character and godly relationships. Sound doctrine sharpens our hope and it gives us eternal perspective on the things of this world.
This gospel is meant to be mildly exciting! Come on! It’s the greatest truth in the universe! In fact, the gospel, ‘this trustworthy saying’ referred to in verse 8, is the very foundation of Christian ethics. It’s why we do the things we do. It’s the engine room of our lives. It’s our motivation for life. It’s the reason why we hop up in the morning. The gospel shapes who we and where we are heading in life. It’s the reason, verse 8, why we devote ourselves to doing what is good.
So come with me to Tit 3:1, for here are some good things we ought to be doing. Titus is to ‘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 to show true humility toward all men’ (Tit 3:1).
The island of Crete was in the hands of the Romans, and by all accounts the Cretans were very restless under their yoke. ‘I’ll remind you again’, Paul says, ‘You may wish that you were free from Roman rule, but for the time being God has placed you under it. It is your duty to submit to it. Do what the authorities tell you. Fulfil your obligations’.
And, of course, we are to do the same. We are to recognize the hand of God in the appointment of those who have authority over us, and we are to be obedient to them. We are to be law-abiding citizens. We may be unhappy with certain government actions and we may pray that in his mercy God will one day give us new leaders. But until that time comes, it is our duty to live in conformity with their laws.
So must we always submit to the laws of the land?
Of course we are to pay our taxes, observe the speed limits, fasten our seatbelts, pay our rates and in all other respects keep on the right side of the law. But in Acts the apostles refused to stop preaching about Jesus when ordered to do so by the Jewish authorities. When challenged, Peter and the other apostles replied, ‘We must obey God rather than men’ (Acts 5:29). Remember that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego choose to be thrown into a fiery furnace rather than worship the golden image that their king had commanded them to worship.
Our loyalty is to the Lord Jesus Christ. And when those who rule us subvert that loyalty, there may be a case for disobedience. But this is a very serious action. In the normal course of life, the apostle says, ‘remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient’ for God has appointed them in his timing.
In earlier talks we’ve covered goodness and slander. Now we are reminded in verse 2 to be ‘peaceable and considerate and to show true humility toward all people’ (Tit 3:1). ‘Peaceable’ is a word that can be translated ‘not looking for a fight’ or ‘not quarrelsome’. We are not to be people who resort to violence in difficult situations. Tensions may be running high in the office, in the home or the church meeting, but we are not to make matters worst by exploding in uncontrollable anger. Instead we are to be ‘considerate’, conciliatory, we are to be peace-makers. A Christian is concerned with preserving peace rather than destroying it.
Paul concludes his instructions for Christians by reminding us ‘to show true humility toward all men’. Humility is not about thinking less of yourself, its about thinking about yourself less. In our relationships with others we are to be gentle, humble, considerate, and courteous—not arrogant, abrasive, domineering and proud. We are not to be worldly people. We are to treat others as Christ has treated us—with patience, forbearance, kindness and humility. Jesus was peaceful and considerate towards others. And he subject himself to Roman rule, ‘Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s’ (Matt 22:21).
As we’ve moved through this letter, it is evident that Titus had much work to do—teaching, reminding, encouraging, organising elders, silencing false teachers. He probably organised the inter-church football competition! Be that as it may, we learn from Tit 3:12 that Titus himself must soon leave the island. Paul says in verse 12, ‘As soon as I send Artemas or Tychicus to you, do your best to come to me at Nicopolis, because I have decided to winter there’.
But before Titus leaves, there is another reminder—not to forget to deal with the false teachers who were peddling destructive Jewish myths. Their harm cannot be overestimated. So in devoting yourselves to doing what is good, verse 9, ‘avoid foolish controversies and genealogies and arguments and quarrels about the law, because they are unprofitable and useless’ (Tit 3:9). Most of us have probably had stupid arguments that have taken us nowhere. Like the church in Crete, we don’t need teaching that diverts us from gospel truths. When Paul wrote to Timothy, he stressed that all Scripture is profitable and useful. So why indulge, why give time to ‘unprofitable and useless’ teaching from other sources?
Our authority is the word of God. The Scriptures alone are useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteous, so that we are thoroughly equipped for every good work (2 Tim 3:16–17). So if a divisive person comes, verse 10, ‘warn him once, and then warn him a second time. After that, have nothing to do with him. You may be sure that such a man is warped and sinful; he is self-condemned’ (Tit 3:10–11).
Paul is not referring to the diversity of discussion and opinion that comes when we discuss the Bible. The situation is far more severe—when a person places himself clearly outside the authority of Scripture and his teaching divides people on the basis of a lie. Such a person is to be dealt with swiftly.
If he doesn’t heed this first warning, he is to receive a second one. The elders must not shrink back from confronting the man again and repeating what they said before. And if he still will not listen, Paul’s instruction is to ‘have nothing to do with him’ for such a person is ‘warped and sinful’. We are to dissociate ourselves from him so that he will no longer be able to divide us. His membership must be severed and there is to be no re-admission until he gives clear evidence of repentance. Sadly, he condemns himself before God.
When we started these studies on Titus, we started with Tit 3:14, ‘Our people must learn to devote themselves to doing what is good, in order that they may provide for daily necessities and not live unproductive lives’. This world is not our home. Yet for a while it is our home. This world is more like a dressing room and we are getting ready for the main game—and we are to do this by devoting ourselves to doing good. We honour the Lord Jesus when we live with the knowledge of the truth that leads to godliness. We live in step with the Spirit when we live in accord with sound doctrine.
Robert Louis Stevenson wrote books like Treasure Island and Kidnapped. He also wrote his own epitaph, ‘Here he lies where he longed to be; Home is the sailor, home from the sea, And the hunter home from the hill’. We each have within our hearts that which longs for home. For home is not just a place to be, its the place where we belong. And we belong to our Saviour and our King who will come soon and take us home. And so we cry, ‘Come, Lord Jesus, come’!
