The Good Works Army
Titus 3:1-15
INTRODUCTION… Christians are known for (www.orcmagazine.com)
If you were to Google the phrase “Christians are known for” what do you think the results would be? What are people who call themselves followers of Christ known for… whether good or bad?
The following are some of the results you would find:
… being trustworthy and honest and having high levels of integrity
… building governments based on fairness
… respect for others and tolerance
… their intolerance of non-Christians and other religions
… their high level of integrity, their moral character
… their homophobic views toward anything remotely gay
… their gratitude and thankfulness
… their hatred, not the good and love they claim to practice
… what they are against, not what they are for
… denying birth control to families in the so called ‘third world', resulting in hungry, unwanted babies … replacing science with superstitions in the schools
… looking for trouble in the hopes of controlling others
… their love of others and towards God
If you think about that list you will see some things that are quite contradictory. You will see items that are fortunately true, unfortunately true, and items that are false. What I hope you see is that the simple question of: “what are Christians known for” is not an easy question to answer.
So I wondered if this had always been the case. What about the first Christians? How did they let people know about their faith and their identity in Christ? Our answer actually comes from a non-Christian source.
ILLUSTRATION… Emperor Julian on Christians (www.onenewsnow.com)
In the earliest days of Christianity, the Roman emperor Julian was contemptuous of Jesus' first followers. But he recognized that their generosity to the poor was making converts of many. He is quoted as saying: “Nothing has contributed to the progress of the superstition of the Christians as their charity to strangers...the impious Galileans provide not only for their own poor, but for ours as well.”
This makes sense. The Bible in the Old Testament is pretty clear about providing for the poor and focusing on those in need. Deuteronomy 10:17-18 says, “For the LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality and accepts no bribes. 18 He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the alien, giving him food and clothing.” And from Psalm 146:7-9: “He upholds the cause of the oppressed and gives food to the hungry. The LORD sets prisoners free, 8 the LORD gives sight to the blind, the LORD lifts up those who are bowed down, the LORD loves the righteous. 9 The LORD watches over the alien and sustains the fatherless and the widow, but he frustrates the ways of the wicked.” Many other passages in the Old Testament describe God in the same manner so we get the feeling that we should care about those who need help because God does.
What does the New Testament say? What was Jesus’ example? Jesus was always helping those in need. In fact, in Matthew 11:3-4, Jesus describes what He is doing to John the Baptist’s disciples, “Go back and report to John what you hear and see: 5 The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor.” The Bible is full of passages that tell us what we should be known for and how we should act. The Bible is full of passages that command us to do good and be good and look after those around us. We are part of a “Good Works Army” and we are going to look at such a passage today.
Titus is a book in the New Testament written by the Apostle Paul to one of his dear followers and fellow workers named Titus. Titus’ job at the time the letter was written was to strengthen the churches and believers on the island of Crete. Crete was not known for being a Mediterranean island paradise, but was known as a home of “liars, evil brutes, and lazy gluttons” (Titus 1:12). And that was just how they described themselves! It was into this interesting field of people that Paul had sent Titus and was now sending a letter. The letter of Titus is 3 chapters long and we will look at the third chapter where Paul describes, among other things, this “Good Works Army.”
I. THE GOOD WORKS ARMY: IDENTITY OF THE SOLDIERS (VERSES 1-7)
READ TITUS 3:1-7
Remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready to do whatever is good, 2 to slander no one, to be peaceable and considerate, and to show true humility toward all men. 3 At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. 4 But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, 5 he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, 6 whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.
Paul instructs Titus to “remind the people” in verse 1 of some important facts about their character and their identity. As Christians, they are to do their best to be different than they once were when they were outside of God’s will. He makes quite a distinction between the characteristics of those outside of the Good Works Army and those who have accepted the gift of being a part of it. Just note the list of words he uses to describe those outside of Christ:
Foolish
Disobedient
Deceived by passions and pleasures
Enslaved by passion and pleasures
Full of malice and envy and hate
The description that Paul gives to Titus about non-Christians would have made total sense to him. Remember, Titus was ministering to people whose claim to fame was being rough and uncultured and all-around despicable. Paul tells Titus that no one is exempt from having those characteristics. We all have temptation to be that way.
Verses 4-5 tell us that something happened to change all that and to change our identity. Paul says very specifically, “kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, 5 he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy.” Jesus Christ made all the difference. Jesus always makes the difference. The picture we get is that Jesus is the Divine Philanthropist who came and shared His love with us and we did not deserve anything. Paul reflects that once Jesus saved us that our characteristics and identity changed from being foolish, disobedient, and all-around “Cretans” to being:
Good
Considerate
Peaceable
Humble
It is Jesus that has made the difference and has washed us new. Our identity in The Good Works Army of Jesus Christ is one that is rooted in Him. He has saved us and we are His. We are people who are committed to rebirth. That is who we are. We are people who are committed to renewal. That is who we are. We are people who are considerate of others and seek the best for those around us. We want to be humble and point people to God as the result of what we say and do. That is who we are.
ILLUSTRATION… http://www.sermoncentral.com/illustrations/illustrations-about-good-works.asp
St. John of the Cross (1542-1591) said, "A Christian should always remember that the value of his good works is not based on their number and excellence, but on the love of God which prompts him to do these things."
ILLUSTRATION… http://bible.org/illustration/doing-good
John Wesley encouraged those who followed after him in the Christian faith with these important identifying words: "Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as ever you can."
II. THE GOOD WORKS ARMY: MARCHING ORDERS (VERSES 8-13)
READ TITUS 3:8-13
8 This is a trustworthy saying. And I want you to stress these things, so that those who have trusted in God may be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good. These things are excellent and profitable for everyone. 9 But avoid foolish controversies and genealogies and arguments and quarrels about the law, because these are unprofitable and useless. 10 Warn a divisive person once, and then warn him a second time. After that, have nothing to do with him. 11 You may be sure that such a man is warped and sinful; he is self-condemned. 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. 13 Do everything you can to help Zenas the lawyer and Apollos on their way and see that they have everything they need.
An army is really no good without any orders. It is the orders that tell the soldiers what to do, how to do it, and when. Orders are the direction for action or inaction and the reason for effort.
Paul tells Titus and us right away in verse 8 that “those who have trusted in God” (that is us) must be “careful to devote themselves to doing what is good.” Paul not only identifies who is in this Good Works army, but also gives the marching orders. He gives the directions for action and inaction. Avoid controversies. Avoid arguments. Avoid useless things. Avoid divisive people. Those are our marching orders. We are to devote ourselves to what is good and of benefit to those around us. Those are out marching orders. The marching orders contain 3 key words:
The first is Devote. The word “devote” is only used 11x in the Old and New Testaments and 2 of those occurrences are in Titus. In 1 Chronicles (22:19), 2 Chronicles (31:4), Job (11:13), Jeremiah (30:21), and Micah (4:13) all have the object of devotion as God. 1 Corinthians (7:5) and Colossians (4:2) have as the object prayer. 1 Timothy (4:13) admonishes others to devote themselves to God’s Word. And the 2 uses in Titus 3 tell us to devote ourselves to doing good. Based on how the word “devote” is used elsewhere in Scripture, it would seem it is a word that denotes a high calling for a worthy object. “Doing good” is a worthy object of our devotion. I would hope that our orders to be devoted to good would guide us in decision making.
The second is Excellent. I would hope that we as a Body of Believers are committed to doing things with excellence. Everything we do is done for the glory of God and should be done with excellence. Excellence is our goal. Excellence is the bar that is set for us. Paul says elsewhere in Philippians 4:8, “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable-- if anything is excellent or praiseworthy-- think about such things.” Paul also describes the way of love in 1 Corinthians 13 as the “most excellent way” (1 Corinthians 12:31). I would hope that our orders for excellence would describe for us the amount of effort we should put forth and the criteria by which we judge ourselves.
The third is Profitable. The sense we get is that devotion and excellence of the Good Works Army brings about advantage for others. It allows others to benefit from our efforts. In everything we do, we should ask “Who will profit from this?” That is a good guiding question when spending time, energy, money, spiritual gifts, and effort to do good. We should not do things to benefit ourselves and to give an advantage to ourselves, but the verse clearly says “profitable for everyone” (verse 8). The other sense I think we get from this word and from the other 2 is that believers in Jesus Christ should be taking the lead when it comes to good works. The end result is that when you hear about a family being provided for in the community… a church should be behind it. The end result is that when you hear about a church running a program or doing something… that you know it will be done very well. The end result is that people in need benefit no matter who they are or what they look like or what the cost… but that God gets the glory and people are provided for.
These are our marching orders. Even in this chapter, Paul tells Titus how he can be of benefit to himself and to other travelers who preach the Gospel. These were not orders to do good that would happen sometime, but would happen right away for Titus.
III. THE GOOD WORKS ARMY: THE GOAL OF THE BATTLES (VERSES 14-15)
READ TITUS 3:14-15
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. 15 Everyone with me sends you greetings. Greet those who love us in the faith. Grace be with you all.
The goal of anything is what must be accomplished. It is the end. It is the completion of the task. I could make this more complicated than it needs to be, but the goal for us as Christians, of those who are part of the Good Works Army, is that good is produced from our words and actions. Paul tells Titus in verse 14 “our people must learn to devote themselves to doing what is good.” The goal is devotion to good for the provision of daily lives and productive lives. The goal is that we wage war against the evil and oppression in the world so that good is produced.
ILLUSTRATION… http://www.biblical-illuminations.com/2010_Jul/mustang_life.asp
A minister tells the story, “A few weeks ago I was driving down Route 3 from Augusta to Belfast, and I noticed the car in front of me - a bright, shiny red Mustang with two signs printed on the back. The first sign was the name of a driving academy and a telephone number. The second sign had three simple words: "DRIVE THIS MUSTANG!" It was quite a contrast to the driving academy in my hometown; their cars are nondescript, uninteresting vehicles, and if the academy put a sign on their cars that said, "DRIVE THIS CAR", everyone would laugh.
And I thought, "The car represents the academy in two ways: The sign represents the academy in words, but also, the car itself is a representative of the academy. People who see the Mustang will know all the information they need to contact the academy, but it is the Mustang itself that is the real advertisement. People who see this car will say, "That is the academy I want to go to!"
In the same way, we must be the "advertisement" for Christianity both in our words, and in our lives. Our words tell others about Salvation which is to be found only in Christ. But our lives must be an advertisement for Christianity as well; when people look at our lives, they ought to say, "That's a life that's a cut above the rest, and if that's what Christianity is, I want that!" The words and the deeds must go hand in hand. One without the other is pointless.
SUMMARY
So Paul informs Titus about the Good Works Army. He encourages him with words about his identity in Christ. He gives him commands about devoting himself to good in excellent and profitable ways. He tells him the goal is that good is done and people are provided for and that we are walking advertisements for salvation in Jesus Christ.
APPLICATION/CHALLENGE
So what does this have to do with us? Coming very soon you will be hearing about “UServe.” UServe is a program that gives you an opportunity to serve with time for those who need help. UServe is a program that gives you an opportunity to give material things to those in need. UServe is a program that gives us an opportunity to serve outside the walls of this church and devote ourselves to good. You will have the opportunity to put these verses in Titus 3 into action in a big way.
