Titus 3:9-11 November 5, 2011
Turn with me this morning to the book of Titus, chapter 3. It’s in the middle of the NT, right after 1 & 2 Timothy, and right before Philemon and Hebrews. This letter is written by the Apostle Paul to one of his young protegés, a young Greek man named Titus. Paul had left Titus on the Greek island of Crete, a 160 mile long island in the Mediterranean Sea, just south of Greece. Paul left Titus on Crete to appoint elders in every town. Why did the church need elders? Because elders are to set an example for all of us to follow. We are to follow the pattern of their lives and live our lives the same way.
Paul talks about the pattern for living in chapter 1 & 2, and Paul reminds us in 2:10 that when we live as we should, we make the teaching about God our Savior attractive. We have the greatest message: a grace that redeems us, a grace that reforms us, a grace that rewards us - but often because of the way we live our lives, the unsaved do not find our gospel, our good news, attractive. Titus goes on to teach about how grace redeems and reforms and rewards us -- but what then? Once we are saved, what should happen in our lives? The book of Titus teaches us that we should be eager to do good works. It should not be what we do, but who we are. I trust you looked this week for an opportunity to come alongside someone else and sought for a way to be a blessing to them.
Today, we’ll pick up the text in chapter 3, verse 9. Our question to consider today is this: Is it loving to give everyone a hearing? What I mean is this. We know that God is love. And we are to be just like Jesus. But what does that love look like in daily living? Yes, we know that we need to be accepting of others, no matter what their race or gender or economic status. But we also know from chapter 1 that we DON’T accept false teachers. We are to refute and rebuke them! We want nothing to do with false teaching. Paul said in Galatians 1:9 - If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let him be eternally condemned! Those are strong, powerful words.
When a Mormon or Jehovah’s Witness comes to our door, we know that we should not accept their false teaching. We talked about that the other week. But the area that is much more dangerous for us, the area that affects far more of us on a regular basis is the issue of how we handle Controversy. That’s what Paul addresses here in verse 9. Let’s look at it and see what God has to say.
READ 3:9-11 -
But avoid foolish controversies and genealogies and arguments and quarrels about the law, because these are unprofitable and useless. Warn a divisive person 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. [Pray]
To start with this morning, let me say that “questions” are not bad - they are the way we learn. Sometimes we are afraid of questions. I’ll be the first to admit - I don’t have all the answers. We never need to be afraid of questions because we don’t know the answer.
Secondly, we know that the way we find the answers is to study. 2 Timothy 2:15 tells us, Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. Jesus says in John 5:39 - Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me. Paul commended the people of Berea in the book of Acts because they studied the scripture - Acts 17:11 - Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.
As Christians we are called to study the scriptures. In fact, we are going to spend a couple months after the new year learning more about HOW to study the scriptures. But it is a fact of life that many of the people we meet do NOT want to STUDY, instead they just want to ARGUE! And that is Paul’s focus here in this section. First, he reminds us to
* Watch out for the THINGS that divide us - The first thing he lists here in verse 9 is
• Foolish Controversies - Many kind-hearted people have said that there is no such thing as a “dumb” question - that may be true, but I’ve heard many that have come pretty close. I remember sitting in seminary class - and here are students who have spent 6-9 years in college studying the bible, and they would raise their hands and ask questions like this - “Dr. Wisdom, (that was the professor’s name - Thurmond Wisdom - pretty fitting for a seminary professor) - Dr. Wisdom, do you think it would be a good idea for us to read the OT or the NT? Well, I would hope that they would read BOTH! 2 Timothy 3:16 - All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable . . .
But scholars for years have wrestled, argued, fought back and forth over controversies that are foolish, stupid, moronic, - issues that divide us and that have no bearing upon our faith and practice. One of the classic examples of this:
• Did Adam have a belly-button. Some answer NO - he wasn’t born by natural childbirth. Some say YES - just like God created the earth with age, God created Adam as though he had been born. Another
• How many angels can fit on the head of a pin? We have probably all heard that and thought, Scholars really didn’t argue about that, did they? Well no, they didn’t - the actual question was Can a million angels fit on the point of a sharp needle? And this brought about great dispute and division among Christians. Or another,
• In the resurrection, will Adam get his rib back? Or in a modern context, what happens to organ donors in the resurrection? Who gets to keep the heart or kidneys or corneas?
In our day today, some denominations argue about the words that have to be said when we are baptized - Do you need to be baptized “in the name of Jesus” or “in the name of the Father, Son, and Spirit” or what specific words need to be said. These are foolish controversies that divide us. Paul goes on an next mentions
• Genealogies - we think, well, there are several passages in the Bible that list genealogies. But that is not what Paul is referring to. Rather, the Jews had a high regard for angels. Colossians 2:18 says, Do not let anyone who delights in false humility and the worship of angels disqualify you for the prize. Such a person goes into great detail about what he has seen, and his unspiritual mind puffs him up with idle notions. He has lost connection with the Head. They had developed a whole hierarchical system of angels and their genealogies and would worship certain angels. But Paul says when they did this, it just showed they had lost their connection to Christ.
Human reasoning is a dangerous thing. Because we can reason our way into just about anything we want to do, if we are not honest. In Matthew 23 Jesus offers stern rebuke to the Pharisees because they played this game of reasoning things away. Woe to you, blind guides! You say, ‘If anyone swears by the temple, it means nothing; but if anyone swears by the gold of the temple, he is bound by his oath.’ You blind fools! Which is greater: the gold, or the temple that makes the gold sacred? They wanted to have arguments over the words they used. We see the same thing in Matthew 7 - You have a fine way of setting aside the commands of God in order to observe your own traditions! For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death.’ But you say that if a man says to his father or mother: ‘Whatever help you might otherwise have received from me is Corban’ (that is, a gift devoted to God), then you no longer let him do anything for his father or mother. Thus you nullify the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And you do many things like that.”
The Pharisees would explain away not helping their parents. They would say, I’m making a big donation in the offering, so I don’t need to take care of my parents anymore. Jesus told them they were disobeying God’s word when they tried to have those rationalizations for wrongdoing. Paul then mentions
• Arguments - 1 Timothy 6 says of certain types of people - He has an unhealthy interest in controversies and quarrels about words that result in envy, strife, malicious talk, evil suspicions and constant friction between men of corrupt mind, who have been robbed of the truth and who think that godliness is a means to financial gain.
There are some people - they claim to be our brothers and sisters in Christ - who love to argue. 2 Timothy 2:23 reminds us - Don’t have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments, because you know they produce quarrels. Some of the biggest arguments come over the smallest things. When we emphasize “non-essentials” it brings about arguments, and it divides us.
In college, a young man from my church loved to argue about the question “Who are the sons of God in Genesis 6? Are they angels or human?” Go home sometime and check it out. It is an interesting question. But it is one that has no bearing on our theology. Who are the Nephilim - also mentioned in Numbers 13. Are they angels? Demons? Humans? Far too often we end up arguing about stupid things.
When we were at Union Chapel in Fort Wayne, it came time for recarpeting the church. A small committee was put together to look at options for carpet selections. They brought back a couple samples, but held up one that cost twice as much money as the second choice. But when they presented it, they said, “This is the one GOD led us to!” Well, who could vote against God. I voted for the other one, but everyone else went along and voted with “God.” We build arguments so easily, and our sinful, selfish wills come into play so often. Paul also mentions avoiding
• Quarrels about the Law - This is not referring to whether or not the OT is relevant for us. Rather, even in Jesus day, there were rabbis who argued about the interpretations written about the commentaries written about the OT law. Jesus faced this in Matthew 19:3 - Some Pharisees came to him to test him. They asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any and every reason?” Haven’t you read,” he replied, “that at the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female’. . . Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate.” The question posed was really, which rabbi was correct - Rabbi Hillel, who said you could divorce your wife if she burnt the toast or didn’t do her hair right, or Rabbi Shammai, who said there had to be serious reasons. Jesus said, you missed the focus. We should not seek to divorce, but to stay married.
Colossians 2:16 warns us not to get caught up in foolish arguments about the law - Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ. - In our day today, it takes the form of saying, don’t get all caught up in arguing about whether you can work on Sunday, can you eat in a restaurant that serves alcohol, can you play cards, or how often do we need to take communion.
Paul says all these things - foolish controversies, genealogies, arguments, quarrels about the law - they are unprofitable and useless. We waste our time when they become our focus. Paul says we are to “avoid” them - to turn around and face the other way - don’t waste you time with a fool who wants to argue. Because when we get caught up arguing and trying to prove we are right, we build contention and we take our focus off of the gospel, off of our calling. So the first thing we are to watch for is
* Watch out for the THINGS that divide us - and then the second thing,
* Watch out for the PEOPLE that divide us - vs. 10 tells us to Warn a divisive person - the KJV has the word heretic. When we hear the word heretic, our first thoughts are someone who is teaching false doctrine, a cult. And that is the meaning the word has come to hold today. But the usage in Paul’s time was a little different. It had the idea of “someone who chooses sides” - someone who is seeking to gain a following and seeks to found a sect, a clique, a faction. Paul warns about these people in Romans 16 as well - I urge you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. Keep away from them. For such people are not serving our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. By smooth talk and flattery they deceive the minds of naive people.
Along with facing people focused on arguing about stupid things, we also face people in the church who seek to gain a following. Whatever the issue, they want to get people on their side. The only side we want to be on in the church is the side of Christ! We are not to focus on following people. That was the issue Paul faced at Corinth. He writes to the church there - I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought. My brothers, some from Chloe’s household have informed me that there are quarrels among you. What I mean is this: One of you says, “I follow Paul”; another, “I follow Apollos”; another, “I follow Cephas”; still another, “I follow Christ.” Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptised into the name of Paul? And the answer to all those questions is NO!
Paul tells Titus, when you face these divisive people - warn them, if they continue, warn them a second time, and if they still continue, SHUN them! Have nothing to do with them! Why? Because God HATES divisiveness! It says, You may be sure that such a man is warped and sinful; he is self-condemned. It means they may not see their divisiveness, but if after you have pointed it out to them twice and they still continue, it’s not a knowledge issue anymore, it’s a SIN issue. They have chosen to defiantly continue dividing the body of Christ. They know they are sinning, but they do it anyways. Because their focus is on themselves, not on glorifying God.
When we were at Ft. Wayne, we saw a big division occur over tongues. There was a woman in the church who declared herself a “tongue-speaker.” She felt that was a give the Spirit of God had given her. She didn’t do this in the church, and it was a non-issue. However, she approached me about wanting to lead a ladies bible study at the church. Knowing her background, I talked with her about the bible study and said, “I don’t want this to become a divisive group focused on these Charismatic issues.” She assured me it would not, because they were just going to study Philippians. However after a few weeks, it became apparent this was a breeding ground trying to develop others into “tongue-speaking Charismatics.” When I talked with the leader, I said, “I thought you assured me you weren’t going to teach this?” She said, “Oh, I didn’t teach it in the bible study, but once we were done with the Bible study, then we would all just sit around and talk about tongues.”
That is one example of a divisive spirit - someone who puts their own agenda ahead of God and His church. These are the types of people who destroy God’s work, and they will have to answer to God one day for their sins. But our response as a church is to WARN them and SHUN them. Have nothing to do with them! Because their goal is NOT the good of the church!
What SHOULD our goal be? Philippians 2 - If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, . . . then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose.
Romans 15 - May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus, so that with one heart and mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
There is so much work to do in reaching the lost, sharing the gospel, ministering to others needs, doing good works - that we cannot afford to let Satan get us sidetracked by focusing on things that divide us or people who divide us. Instead, we need to focus on loving God, loving people, and sharing the gospel. Let’s learn to AVOID the foolish things that tear us apart. Let’s warn and SHUN the contentious people who seek to split the church. Let’s maintain unity in the body, so that, in the words of Romans 15 - so that with one heart and mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Let’s pray.
