However, the book of Acts never mentions that Paul and Titus were on the Island of Crete together. This is because the book of Acts does not give a complete list of everywhere Paul went on his missionary journeys.
Paul left the island of Crete, and now he is writing back to Titus to give him instructions on how to deal with the people that live there.
WHAT KIND OF PLACE WAS THIS ISLAND? If you were a pastor, it was your worst nightmare. Why? Because of the wicked people who lived on this island.
Illus: In his commentary, William Barclay says, “The Cretians were famed as a drunken, insolent, untrustworthy, lying, gluttonous people.” (The Letter to Timothy, Titus, and Philemon, p.277)
Some pastors are given a more difficult assignment than others. Titus was given the difficult assignment to deal with the Cretians. They were despicable people.
Illus: If you wanted to insult anyone during this time, all you had to do was call them Cretians, and that was like spitting in their face.
Titus was a young minister with the big assignment of dealing with the Cretians.
Timothy and Titus were both young ministers under the leadership of the apostle Paul.
• Paul led both of them to the Lord, and refers to them as his sons.
• The letters he wrote to them are known as Pastoral Epistles because they deal with pastoral matters.
Some assume that since Paul wrote two epistles to Timothy that he favored Timothy above Titus. But on the other hand we could assume Titus was a much more mature and stronger Christian, and Paul did not feel the need to write to him as much.
Titus was a very special young minister for these reasons:
1. His conversion was an example of God’s work among the gentiles before the Jerusalem council. (Gal 2:12 ff)
2. He became a missionary to serve beside the apostle Paul.
3. He was in charge of the churches on the island of Crete.
We see some similarities between Timothy and Titus, but we also see a contrast. Timothy was a Jew while Titus was a Gentile.
In the book of Titus, we learn a great deal about three things:
• Titus
• The Church
• The Apostle Paul
In verses 1-4 we learn some things about Paul. For example we learn about-
I. HIS MINISTRY
Look at Titus 1. We read, “Paul, a servant of God, and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God's elect, and the acknowledging of the truth which is after godliness.”
Paul identifies himself in two ways in the book of Titus.
A. FIRST, AS A SERVANT OF GOD
If someone is trying to impress people with his greatness, the last thing he wants to do is to reveal that he is a servant.
• For example, a lot of housewives have been put down in our society for being a housewife. Because of that, they no longer tell people they are housewives. When they are asked what do they do for a living, they say they are domestic engineers.
• I have the highest regard for the men who collect garbage. They invented the phrase, “It is a dirty job, but someone has to do it!” But when they are asked what they do for a living, they tell people they are sanitation engineers.
The apostle Paul had credentials that he could have flaunted in people’s faces, but as proud as he was of the credentials, there was something in his life that he was more proud of, and that was that HE WAS A SERVANT OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST. This is why Paul stated PROUDLY that he was a “Slave of the Lord Jesus.”
WHAT DID HE MEAN BY THAT? He meant several things:
1. HE MEANT THAT HE BELONGED TO GOD.
You see, Paul was once a slave to sin.
Illus: A lot of times people will not come to the Lord Jesus for salvation because they state they want to be free to do as they please.
But listen, we need to understand something: Everyone here today is either a slave TO THE LORD JESUS, or a slave to SATAN.
It is not difficult to prove that a lost man is a slave to sin.
• Some are slaves to tobacco products
• Some are slaves to alcoholic products
• Some are slaves to drugs
• Some are slaves to the almighty dollar
• Some are slaves to fame
• Some are slaves to power
• Some are slaves to gambling
• Some are slaves to sex
• Some are slaves to pornography
• Some are slaves to lust
The devil has his chain around their necks and they are his slaves.
The reason that Paul is so proud that he is now a servant of the Lord Jesus Christ, is because once he was in the bondage of sin. God saw Paul in this condition, and through the precious Blood that was shed on Calvary, Paul was purchased and now he belongs to God. Paul is PROUD to declare that he is now a SERVANT OF GOD!
When Paul stated he was a “Servant of God”, he was saying, “I belong to God 100%”. And when we say we are “Servants of God”, we also should be saying that we belong to God 100%. Not 75%, but 100%!
Also, he was saying-
2. HE MEANT THAT HIS WILL TOTALLY BELONGED TO
GOD.
Illus: Kenneth Wuest said it this way, “His will was swallowed up in the sweet will of God.” (The Pastoral Epistles, Vol. 2, p.181)
The greatest men of God who ever walked on this earth were referred to as the “Servants of God”.
• Moses was a slave of God (Deut. 34:5; Ps. 105:26)
• Joshua was a slave of God. (Joshua 24:9)
• The prophets were the slaves of God. (Amos 3:7 and Jer. 7:25)
When we identify ourselves as “Servants of God” we are identifying ourselves with some of the greatest men who ever lived on this earth. We should be just as proud as Paul was, that we are the “Servants of God”.
Today we have many who call themselves the children of God, but they do not have the slightest idea of what it is to be a “Slave of God”, where THEIR LIVES and THEIR WILLS belong to the Lord Jesus.
First Paul identifies himself, as a SERVANT OF GOD.
B. SECONDLY, AS AN APOSTLE OF THE LORD
An apostle is a person who is sent out or sent forth. He is an Ambassador for Christ.
Illus: Suppose you had the high honor of being an Ambassador of the United States. But suppose you were sent forth to a country that did not know very much about the United States:
• Suppose that you wore your coat backwards
• Suppose you wore your shoes on the wrong feet
What would the people in this foreign land think about us? They would think we are a nation of weird people, because you represent our nation and you look weird. And if we, as an Ambassador, conducted ourselves like that they would have a right to think that about us.
A lot of folks have some unusual ideas about God, simply because we, who call ourselves Christians, gave them a false impression of what God was like.
Paul was proud to declare that he was an “Apostle of Jesus Christ.” He recognized that he was sent by God, and he was very conscious that he must represent Him in such a way that his life would bring glory unto the Lord.
In verse one we have looked at HIS MINISTRY. But now let us take a look at-
II. HIS MISSION
The believers are referred to as “God’s elect”. In other words he is addressing the Saints of God.
WHAT IS HIS MISSION TO THE SAINTS OF GOD?
I want to remind you that Paul is aware that Titus is working with the Cretians, who were known for their wickedness. Paul’s mission was to tell these ungodly people that once they come to know Christ as their Savior, they are to cease living ungodly lives and start living godly lives. Paul was telling Titus that his mission was to stir the people of God to live “Godly lives.”
Look at verse 1 again, we read, “Paul, a servant of God, and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God's elect, and THE ACKNOWLEDGING OF THE TRUTH WHICH IS AFTER GODLINESS.”
That is, Paul’s MISSION was to stir believers to acknowledge that it is the will of God for them to walk in godliness. Not just to TALK IT, but to WALK IT!
This is the same mission that Peter had. Look at 1 Peter 1:16. We read, “Because it is written, Be he holy; for I am holy.”
We have looked at HIS MINISTRY and HIS MISSION, but also let us look at-
III. HIS MESSAGE
Look at verse 2, we read, “IN HOPE OF ETERNAL LIFE, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began.”
The message God gave Paul is the same message that God has given to us to deliver. WHAT IS THE MESSAGE? It is the message of, “Eternal life”.
Every one of us here today knows that one of these days we are going to die. These bodies that we live in only last the average person about seventy years.
Many of us do everything we can to prolong life:
• We watch what we eat
• We go regularly for medical check-ups
• We exercise as much as we can
• We get as much rest as we can
• We do not smoke or drink
We do everything we know to do, but we know that one of these days we are going to die. THEN WHAT?
1. Some tell us that after death, reincarnation is going to take place. This crowd tells us that when we die we are going to be reincarnated and will come back in the future as a human, or some kind of animal or insect.
Illus: This is why the people of India are literally starving to death, but they will not eat the cows that are walking around, for fear they might be eating a relative.
Well, if that is true, I would like to invite you over for dinner because we are going to be eating someone’s relative.
Illus: One man who believed in reincarnation had a nagging wife. He said with my luck, I will come back as a dog and my wife will come back as a flea!
2. Some tell us that after death we have Purgatory to look forward to. That is, we have one more chance to atone for our sins. But nowhere in the Word of God is there any mention about PURGATORY or REINCARNATION.
The one thing we know for sure about what happens after death is what God’s Word says. Look at Hebrew 9:27. It states, “…it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment.”
The Bible says two things are certain:
1. There is Death
2. There is Judgment
At Death, the thing that will determine where we are going to live; in HEAVEN or HELL, will be determine by what we did with Christ Jesus.
The good news is that Christ died for our sins. The GLORIOUS MESSAGE is that we can have eternal life in that great place called heaven, if we receive Jesus Christ as our Savior.
Look at verses 2. We read, “In hope of ETERNAL LIFE, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began.”
God promised us eternal life before the World began. God never created anyone for this place called hell. The Bible says in Matthew 25:41, that hell was, “…Prepared for the devil and his angels.”
Before the world began, God made the promise that everyone can have eternal life in this glorious place called heaven.
We have looked at HIS MINISTRY, HIS MISSION, and HIS MESSAGE. Now let us look at-
IV. HIS MOTIVATION
Look at verse 3. We read, “But hath in due times manifested his word through preaching, which is committed unto me according to the commandment of God our Saviour.”
As long as the world stands, you will find ministers preaching the Word of God because of the promise He has made to all of us. The hope of eternal life was entrusted to the hands of Paul and to us, His servants, today.
The Lord said this glorious message should MOTIVATE us to tell all of our family and friends that they can have ETERNAL LIFE in this glorious place called heaven.
Look at Matthew 28:19-20. We read, “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.”
Conclusion:
What is the first thing we do when we have good news? We are motivated to find someone to share the good news with. The message of the gospel is the most glorious news that mankind has ever heard. The reward for spreading the gospel is the fruit that comes from it.
The gospel seed was planted in the life of Titus. Paul had the privilege of planting that seed and leading him to the Lord Jesus.
Look at verse 4, we read, “To Titus, mine own son after the common faith: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ our Saviour.”
Paul became the spiritual father to Titus. He calls him, “…Mine own son after the common faith…”
I. HIS MINISTRY
II. HIS MISSION
III. HIS MESSAGE
IV. HIS MOTIVATION
