Titus 1 - Stepping Up to Leadership - September 25, 2011
Tturn with me this morning to the book of Titus, chapter 1. Titus is in the NT, towards the back, 1 & 2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon, Hebrews. (slide of books - Titus highlighted). Titus is a letter written by the Apostle Paul to one of his young protegés, a young Greek man named Titus. We’re going to be looking at this book over the next several weeks, and learning the lessons God has set down for us in this book. I’m going to read the first 5 verses this morning. Follow along with me - I’ll be reading out of the NIV -
Read 1:1-5 - Pray.
We start this book with the author signing his name at the front end. When we write letters, we always start out saying “Dear so-and-so” and we end it signing our name. In the first century, letter writers started the letter signing their name - so I guess you could figure out quickly if you wanted to read it or not. In our culture today, when we get our mail, we look at the return address, pitch all the junk mail without looking at it, and open up the ones that look important or personal. Whenever we get the mail at our house, we ask “any real mail today?” - because we get so much junk mail.
Well, the author starts out giving his name: Paul. Who is Paul? We know from our experiences in church and reading the NT that Paul was NOT one of the 12 disciples, but became a Christian after Jesus died, rose, and ascended back into heaven. Paul was a devout Jew formerly named Saul who was so concerned about this break-off from Judaism called Christianity that he traveled around rounding up Christians and killing them. He was converted during one of these trips, and Christ spoke to him from heaven. Paul then spent time being personally taught by Christ and then began traveling all over Asia preaching the gospel and planting churches. Paul gives his qualifications in Philippians 3: Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee; concerning zeal, persecuting the church; touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless. We read that impressive record and we quickly say, “Boy, I could never be a Paul” - sort of like trying in our day today to be a Billy Graham.
But notice what Paul says next in Philippians 3 - But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ . . . and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, and be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ. Now, a crude question, but do you know what dung is? I’ll give you a hint - it comes out of the back end of the cow.
We look at someone like Paul and we say, there was one gifted man! but Paul says, all those credentials are meaningless - what is really important is the relationship with Christ. Tony Campolo has a great message called A title or a testimony - and he goes through the Bible and says Pharaoh had the title, but Moses had the testimony! What is really important is not our ABILITY but our AVAILABILITY! You know, it’s true, most of us NEVER could be a Paul - but we can be just as available as Paul. And really we need to understand that God DOESN’T want us to be a Paul - He wants us to be just who we are. Be the best YOU that you can be!
Availability is so much more important than ability - because there are a lot of ABLE people who end up accomplishing NOTHING of value in their life! Some are sidelined by sin - they refuse to turn from things that disqualify them from greatness. Some are sidelined by apathy or laziness - they never give the extra effort that would bring about great results. Ecclesiastes 10:10 says, If the axe is dull and its edge unsharpened, more strength is needed but skill will bring success. Some people are like dull axes, either they need to sharpen their edges or work harder, but if they stick with it, they can see great success.
If we will make ourselves AVAILABLE to God, HE is the one who will bring the ability. We understand that every great work of God was accomplished NOT by the effort of man, but by the empowering of the Holy Spirit of God. If you are trusting on your own ability, you will surely fail. But when you turn to the power of God, God can do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us - Ephesians 3:20 tells us.
So, this is a letter from Paul. No, we can be a Paul - but we can accomplish just as great works for God when we make ourselves available for God to work through. So how does Paul view himself? He uses two key words for us to consider: a servant and an apostle. Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ.
So what is a servant - the word here is literally the word for a slave - someone who is bound in service to another. Think Uncle Tom’s Cabin and the slaves on the plantation. Paul says he has nothing to boast about, but rather he is obligated to serve God. Secondly, he says he is an apostle. The word literally means someone who is sent on a mission. Think Hillary Clinton, Condoleeza Rice, Henry Kissinger - someone who travels and conducts business on behalf of another. Paul knew that God had a job for him to do. He had been comissioned by God to preach the gospel. Paul’s specific calling was to go to the Gentiles, those who weren’t Jews, especially in places where the gospel had never been heard. Peter’s calling was to the Jews - Paul to the Gentiles. Let’s realize today that there is something that God has for each one of us to do! There is someone that God wants each one of us to reach. Paul writes in Romans 10 - Anyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. But how can they call on him to save them unless they believe in him? And how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them?
As we go through this book of Titus, we will see in a couple weeks a wonderful explanation of what salvation is, how it is offered freely by the grace of God to everyone. But WE have a responsibility, a calling by God to tell others about that wonderful salvation. That was Paul’s mission.
Paul goes on in verse one to explain his calling more fully: Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ for the faith of God’s elect and the knowledge of the truth that leads to godliness. Paul says here that there were two main reasons he was sent: first, to bring the elect to faith. He ties the ideas of election to faith. What is election? It is the idea that God has elected, chosen, predetermined, predestined who will be saved and who will be damned. Do we understand that? No! I could say we did, but theologians have wrestled with this doctrine for thousands of years. Does God choose? Yes He does. Do we have a choice? Yes we do!
Some on the Calvinistic side - reformed theology - say only the elect can be saved, and they are going to be saved no matter what, because God chose them - so we don’t need to do anything in this life. We don’t even need to share the gospel, because people will be saved anyways. But that is heresy!
The truth is that God calls us to share the gospel so people can be saved. We just saw that in Romans 10. I believe that one of the best explanations given of election was that of Harry Ironside, a preacher from a generation ago. He said imagine you get to heaven and there is a big doorway through a wall around it - over the doorway it says “Whosoever will may come.” When you walk through the doorway and look back, it says, “Predestined from the foundation of the world.” Does God know who the elect are? Yes. But election is tied in with faith. Paul says his calling was for the faith of the elect.
And then secondly, Paul says his calling was to give people the knowledge of the truth. Paul taught people to TRUST and he taught them to TURN to following God’s way. When we know the truth, we will trust God and we will follow God. Paul says the knowledge of the truth leads to godliness. When we know the truth, we will want to follow it.
We have discovered a link between smoking and cancer - if you want cancer, smoke cigarettes.
We have discovered a link between unprotected sex - if you want aids, have sex with multiple partners.
We have discovered a link between alcohol & drug use and birth defects - if you want your child to have fetal alcohol syndrome, abuse your body while you’re pregnant.
But, when we know the truth - we change our actions because we want to avoid the consequences. And when we know and believe the truth about the consequences of our sin - it will cause us to live according to what God says is right. Knowing the truth leads to godliness. Hollywood tells us lies - spice up your life with affairs and multiple sex partners - but God tells us in John 8:32 - You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. The knowledge that God know best and his truth is always applicable to our lives causes us to want to live according to His plans.
So Paul’s mission was to teach people to Trust and to Turn - and that gives HOPE. Look at verse 2 - a faith and knowledge resting on the hope of eternal life, which God, who does not lie, promised before the beginning of time. What is HOPE? It is confident expectation based on the character of God - it is not just wishful thinking, but something you can rely on, you can “take it to the bank.” If God says it, it’s true!
When we trust in God for salvation and turn to follow Him, we have the hope of eternal life. How do we know this? First, because God promised us it was true. It says here, God promised us before the beginning of time. How can that be - how can anything exist before time? Our human minds don’t understand that. But by faith we understand that God created time, God is eternal, He is timeless, He always has been and He always will be. And before Genesis 1:1 and He spoke the word to create the universe, He knew ahead of time that Adam and Eve would sin and mankind would need salvation through the death of God’s one-of-a-kind son Jesus. Revelation 13:8 calls Jesus, the Lamb that was slain from the creation of the world. He didn’t die until mankind had lived several thousand years, but the truth of the crucifixion was know before God created.
Our sin did not surprise God. He didn’t have to come up with a “Plan B”. He understood at creation our sin and our need for salvation. So, our hope of eternal life comes from the promise of God. And notice it says here God does not lie! We’ll see in future weeks that the Cretans, those who lived on the island of Crete DID lie - they were chronic, notorious liars. Kim Cone sent us an email this week, and in it he states how the Fulani look at sinful traits as virtuous. That was what the Cretans were like, the people Titus was called to minister to. But not God! God can’t lie, and his promise of eternal life gives us HOPE!
The second thing that gives us hope of eternal life is the preaching of Paul. Paul says he was sent at the appointed season to bring God’s truth to light through his preaching.
So Paul, this great leader of the church, writes to Titus - verse 4 - To Titus, my true son in our common faith: Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior. Who is this Titus? Titus was probably from Antioch in Syria, where Barnabas and Saul began their missionary work.
• He was a convert of Paul. We see this in Titus 1:4: “…my true son.” Paul discipled and mentored this man in the faith. He was not as shy and withdrawn as Timothy, and seems to have been in better physical health than Timothy.
• He was a companion of Paul at the Jerusalem Council to argue that Gentile converts did not have to keep the Law (Acts 15). In 2 Corinthians 8:23, Paul refers to him as “…my partner and fellow worker among you.”
• He was a confidant of Paul (2 Cor 7:5-7; 2 Tim 4:10). He was entrusted with collecting an offering from the Corinthians in 2 Corinthians 8:6: “So we urged Titus, since he had earlier made a beginning, to bring also to completion this act of grace on your part.”
• He was a man of conviction. Galatians 2:3-5 gives us some detail: “Yet not even Titus, who was with me, was compelled to be circumcised, even though he was a Greek…We did not give in to them for a moment, so that the truth of the gospel might remain with you.”
• He was a comfort to Paul in 2 Corinthians 7:6: “But God, who comforts the downcast, comforted us by the coming of Titus.”
• He had a caring heart. We see this in 2 Corinthians 8:16: “I thank God, who put into the heart of Titus the same concern I have for you.”
As Paul looked at Titus he saw in him the ability to be a trusted troubleshooter. When they traveled together, they stopped to minister on the island of Crete, and when it was time for Paul to go, he left Titus behind to finish up the loose ends. Look in verse 5 - The reason I left you in Crete was that you might straighten out what was left unfinished and appoint elders in every town, as I directed you. So Titus is on the island of Crete. Crete is an island in the Mediterranean Sea below Greece that is 160 miles long and 37 miles wide. This Roman province had a hundred cities, many of which were heavily populated and very independent. To be known as a Cretan was not a good thing. The poet Epimenades, whom Paul quotes in Titus 1:12, referred to these people as “always liars, evil brutes, lazy gluttons.” Cretans were steeped in pagan superstition and false religion, believing that Zeus, the chief of the gods, was born on one of their mountains.
So on this large pagan island, the gospel had come. Acts 2:11 tells us that representatives from Crete were present on the day of Pentecost and they would have brought the gospel message back to the island. Paul had visited the island on his travels. And there was work to finish on the island. And so he sends Titus to this island to finish the work.
The word in verse 5 - “straighten out” - is the word from which we get the words orthodontist or orthopedist. It literally means “to set right, to set in order”- It was used by medical writers to describe the setting of broken limbs or straightening crooked ones. Like a doctor, the task of Titus was to set straight the problems in the church at Crete. What was that problem? Paul was concerned about the lack of leadership in the local churches there. Titus was given instructions by Paul to appoint elders in every town.
What is an elder? There are several terms in scripture that all represent the same office - elders, overseers, bishops, rulers - they all refer to spiritually mature men who take the lead in the church. Next week we are going to look at Titus to see what leaders should be like, but to finish up today, how does a person become an elder. Yes, Titus appointed them, but they were chosen based on their qualifications. And as we have already said, this was not a factor of ability, but of availability. Because when we look at the qualities of leaders, we should all strive to build and develop and grow in these areas.
When Paul writes to his other protegé Timothy, he says this: 2 Timothy 2:2 - And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others. Where do leaders come from? From within the church! We are not to go out to look for “super saints” - but rather to be passing on what we know to be true to reliable men who want to learn and grow. As a Christian, we should constantly be striving to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. That’s why we have programs like LIFT and our Monday Men’s group and the Book of the Month Club. The church needs leaders. But those leaders will only arise as Christians within the church make themselves available to learn and grow.
We need leaders here at Bethel. But we aren’t going to just pray that God brings us leaders. Rather, we need to pray and say God, will you please help me to grow spiritually mature so you can use me as a leader. Sadly, too many Christians take themselves out of commission - they write “Not Available” on their foreheads. They are content to show up Sunday for service and then complain through the week about all the problems in the church. Far too many others say “I’m available - AS IS” - but they never grow spiritually to the point that God is able to use them in leadership.
Yes, we love all people. We are glad that God has each one of you here today. But ask yourself this question, Are you willing to PREPARE to be all that God wants you to be? Just like Paul, God has a mission for you. Just like the church in Crete, Bethel needs leaders. Are you available?
The story is told of a farmer who took an eagle’s egg and placed it in the chicken coop. The eagle chick was hatched by a chicken in a barnyard. It was raised with the other chickens, scratching the dirt and pecking at bugs. But one day is saw an eagle overhead soaring, and something stirred within its heart, and it took off to soar the skies as well. The problem with the eagle wasn’t just that everyone thought he was a chicken. His real problem was that HE thought he was a chicken. Something like that has happened to us. We fail to see what COULD happen in our lives. We fail to believe that God can use us. And so we sit back and live frustrated, defeated lives.
Today, do you want to soar with eagles or do you want to scratch with chickens? Today, make a commitment that you will make yourself available for God to use, that you will prepare yourself and study and grow to become all that God has for you to be. Let’s pray.
