This is a faithful saying, and these things I want you to affirm constantly. That those who have believed in God should be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable to men. But avoid foolish disputes, genealogies, contentions, and strivings about the law, for they are unprofitable and useless. Reject a divisive man after the first and second admonition, knowing that such a person is warped and sinning, being self-condemned. When I send Artemis to you, or Tychicus, be diligent to come to me at Nicopolis, for I've decided to spend the winter there. Send Zenas, the lawyer, and Apollos on their journey with haste, that they may lack nothing. And let our people also learn to maintain good works. to meet urgent needs that they may not be unfruitful. All those who are with me greet you. Greet those who love us in the faith. Grace be with you all. Amen. The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever. I don't know if most people got outlines, by the way, but there are some outlines. Cui, can I ask you maybe to hand those outlines out? They're on the chair. If you didn't get one, Thank you. Well, those of you who have been Christians for any length of time know that one of the greatest dangers in our Christian life is the danger of lukewarmness, the danger inwardly, and the corresponding danger of fruitlessness outwardly. Many of you were in Sunday school when we studied Horatius Bonner's little book, Words to Winners of Souls. He begins this way by quoting the Swiss reformer, Ecclempodius. You don't have to learn how to spell that, by the way. Just say it and you'll sound very erudite. Ecclempodius. He begins by saying. How much more would a few good and fervent men effect in the ministry than a multitude of lukewarm ones? He says, speaking to ministers in this book, even when sound in the faith, through unbelief, lukewarmness and slothful formality, they may do irreparable injury to the cause of Christ, freezing and withering all spiritual life around them. The lukewarm ministry is one of who is theoretically Orthodox, is more often extensively and fatally ruinous to souls than one of grossly inconsistent or flagrantly heretical. Well, certainly our Lord says as much when he says to the lay of the church ministers at all, I know your works that you are neither hot nor cold. I could wish you were cold or hot. So then, because you are lukewarm, Neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of my mouth. There is a great, great danger in the Christian life that nothing will happen. For the Christian, nothing is a catastrophe. And we must therefore learn in the words of this text, not only to be careful to maintain good works, but actively to avoid things which are unprofitable and useless. We not only need to, he says, learn to maintain good works, we need to take care that we may not be unfruitful. This is what we're going to do, God willing, in this our final study of Paul's letter to Titus. My first point to you taken from verse eight, borrowing some language from elsewhere, but the grace of God leads to fruitfulness. The grace of God leads to fruitfulness. This is more or less a review of last time. But the simple truth announced in this book over and over again, for example, chapter two, verse eleven, is that the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us That denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously and godly in the present age. And this truth is applied to us here at verse eight, the start of our text, where we began reading where he says that those who have believed in God. Should be careful to maintain good works. In a sense, doctrine determines practice, if you like. Faith leads to works. Bad doctrine produces bad living. Sound doctrine produces godliness. And you remember how this has been his emphasis all through the book from the very first verse, where Paul declared in verse one that it is this truth which we receive that leads to godliness. of which Titus is now appointed a minister. That's where Paul began. Lack of teaching in this matter of his truth that leads to godliness, lack of teaching or error leads to a complacent, lax, lukewarm Christianity, a salt that was lost its savor. And because of this, a decadent society. Now, of course, people Scott, sometimes it is connection between the truth and the works, faith and practice. As we said this morning, there are people, plenty of people that say, look, it's possible. It's entirely possible to be a decent moral person and to be an atheist, for example. And while that is true of various individuals, we're living on some borrowed capital from a Christian society. Generally speaking, the Bible disputes that claim. Psalm 14 begins, the fool has said in his heart, there is no God. And then it goes on in that same verse to explain the consequences of that statement in one's heart. They are corrupt. They have done abominable works. There is none who does good. The Book of Romans begins by explaining the consequences of failing to glorify and give thanks to God. What consequences repeated three times over? He gave them over. He gave them over. He gave them over. He gave them over worse every time. There's only one direction for individuals that have this commitment in their hearts, societies as well, downhill. And you don't need a Bible to tell you this. Of course, you could just look at what's happened in the Western world as more and more men decide that he doesn't need God for anything. We'll increasingly live in a society awash with sin as the Lord sends revival. Well, there's a connection between what people believe and the way they live. As a man thinks in his heart, says Solomon, so is he. I will not beat this drum anymore. You know, Paul's emphasis over and over again. faith works in that order. Now, why do I mention this besides by way of review? Well, it's because I'd like to get to the next point that Paul says here that we have to learn to maintain good works. We now need to learn as Christians to maintain good works. Paul says this in verse eight, that we should be careful We should take care to maintain good works. And down in verse 14, the very end of the letter, let our people also learn to maintain good works to meet urgent needs that they may not be unfruitful. For those of you who are keeping score, this is now the 10th and final reference in the short letter about the Christian life to doing good works, to doing what is good. And you remember the law of in stress, right? How we need to look at the end and see the emphasis. Well, Paul wants this emphasis to be ringing in the ears of the reader as he now concludes. This is the emphasis for those of us who have believed, for those of us who have believed a productive Christian life comes to us by way of a learning process. It comes to us by way of a learning process. By the new birth, by the renewing of the Holy Spirit, which we read about earlier this morning, just up a couple of verses, we've entered a whole new life. There's a new heart within us, a new spirit, a new life, a new principle at work. And we've got to learn how to live it out now in practice. In fact, he says we must be careful to maintain these good works. Or some of you have in verse 14, learn to devote themselves to good works. Although Paul repeats this admonition various ways, 10 times, you realize he's not actually specific here. Something that a couple of you have mentioned. Well, he says good works, good works, good works. What's he getting at? You notice he's not particularly specific in this passage. We do need to take our cue from what he said earlier, and of course, from the rest of the Bible. But one practical thing does come up in this passage that hasn't come up before in this letter. Practically speaking, in order to learn to maintain good works, we need to be faithful with the opportunities that God places in our way. And I'm getting that, for example, from verse 14. In these last bit of instructions, look, Venus, Apollo's are coming Titus and the churches. You need to show them hospitality, you need to give them what they need and speed them on their way to serve the interests of Christ's gospel and kingdom. Certainly. Devoting ourselves to maintaining good works means that when such a need comes along, that we need to be ready to meet it. And as we are ready to serve and we just meet simply meet the needs that are coming down the path, that is an advance in living a productive life. One of the things that's not mentioned earlier, but it's in verse 14 about this matter of learning to maintain good works. You'll notice in verse 14 that, um, he speaks about, uh, so if you have different translations, the NIV has daily necessities, which, um, I'm afraid if you're reading that it's not as helpful a translation. I hate to, uh, put things like that out. Nevertheless, I think if you're reading that, you might get a different impression. What Paul writes is simply necessary needs. Let people meet necessary needs. Say, isn't that isn't he repeating himself? Yes, of course, that's a Hebrew ism, a way of repeating the word twice for emphasis, big needs, urgent needs, pressing needs. Seems he's still talking here about the people that are coming through these strangers. But Paul is eager that the Christians on Crete learn to be ready at all times to do good, to invest their lives in the service of others and the service of the gospel, these ministers. Then when the opportunity arises, they will be ready. So this is one of Paul's practical prescriptions here for a fruitful Christian life, not to beat a dead horse. But Paul has mentioned this 10 times before. So I hope you don't grow weary. Paul says, I want you to continue emphasizing this. And we have done that, haven't we? Well, the point now is, though, as we apply this to ourselves, what is the danger that we face? This is something we haven't really considered. This emphasis on fruitfulness, on devoting ourselves to these things, what difficulty do we face in our American life? The danger, I think, that we face in particular as Americans this century is that we are so busy spending our time in matters that are unfruitful, unproductive. And need I give any illustrations of this particular Lord's Day of the fact? One spectator of American life, Cornelius Plantinga, he summarizes our American devotion to vanity this way. He says, making a career of nothing. Wandering through malls, killing time, making small talk, watching television programs until we know their characters better than we know our own children. which not only robs the community of our gifts and energies, but shapes life. Into a yawn at the God and savior of the world. Like I write or what shapes life into a yawn at the God and savior of the world, the person, he says, who will not be stirred himself, the person who hands herself over to nothing. In effect says to God, you have made nothing of interest and redeemed no one of consequence, including me. Beloved, not for us. Not for this kingdom of priests to our God. We have few enough years to live for Christ in the world. Let's not fail to make the most of the new life we've been given, redeemed, called, empowered to live to the glory of God. And don't misunderstand me, please. Don't want to lament what's going on tonight, squandering of time and all that here. You know, there's, of course, a place for diversion, entertainment, of course. My point is simply, let us be careful in Paul's words that we don't squander our lives in fruitless living. That's it. Let's take care as Christ's redeemed people that we are, in fact, answering the end of our salvation, the goal of our salvation, which, as we read, a holy people zealous for good works. William Cooper wrote this elegy for his friend John Thornton. Indeed, it was a friend and a helper to many godly ministers. John Newton, Harry Venn. I want this to be said of me. And you, when our day is done. Cooper wrote this in verse for his elegy, he says. Thou hast an industry in doing good, restless as his who toils and sweats for food. Hit it. Cooper says of him to him, thou hast an industry in doing good, restless as he who toils and sweats for food. It was to him like the same passion people have who are just trying to get their own food, sustain their lives. It was his food and drink to do the will of his father. So we have in this passage this now a very familiar emphasis, but especially saying that we need to learn to maintain these good works. We also have a warning in this passage about something that leads to fruitlessness. So as much as we need to concern ourselves with devoting ourselves to fruitfulness, we need to take care And we avoid the things that lead to unfruitfulness, okay? See his logic in this? He says, thirdly, that foolish disputes and strivings about the law lead to fruitlessness. Try that again. Foolish disputes and strivings about the law lead to fruitlessness. Say it plainly, there are people that get so wrapped up in petty arguments that they actually plunge the church into controversy, Distract them from the work at hand, distract them from the gospel of grace, and thereby leave the church practically fruitless. Verse 9, he speaks of this, but avoid foolish disputes, genealogies, contentions, and strivings about the law, for they are unprofitable and useless. Churches that fall into this are characterized by a certain zeal. And yet, when one looks at the fruitfulness of the matter, it seems to be a zeal for controversy rather than a zeal for good works, as Paul commands here. The solution is that the churches of Crete need people that are utterly devoted to things which are good and profitable to men, not such things which are actually unprofitable and useless. And you see in this passage where he's talking about these disputes and strivings, you know, the worst thing he says about them. Verse nine, they're unprofitable, useless as opposed to verse eight, as opposed to the things that are good and profitable, these things make Christians fruitless in the Christian life. Such need to learn to live their lives and spend their zeal on ministry rather than controversy. Now, of course, we need to balance this with the other truths that he's given. Nevertheless, I think you can tell what he means, right? How people can just get wrapped up in foolish disputes, takes all their zeal and energy, blogging away, whatever it is, makes them fruitless. I talked to a family that was very, Zealous for various truths, important truths. And in their previous churches, they had this experience that wherever they went, they would disagree with the pastor on something, the leadership on something. So that there was always this controversy, wherever they went, brewing in the church. Not that these were necessarily small things. The doctrines of grace, eschatology, view of creation, not small matters, okay. Nevertheless, when they came here, not here tonight, don't worry. They came here, said, you know, we realize that everywhere we've been, our energy has been sort of spent in this controversy, and now we get here, and we agree with you on everything. But we find that our spiritual lives were just in so many ways just based on controversy. That was where we got sort of the energy to study and to discuss and debate. And now we have the truth priest to us every week, and we find that we're struggling. And I think it's very honest. It's not a private story. I can share that with you openly. But you understand. Some people, if they don't have that controversy, they don't have a Christian life. And that is exactly what Paul is working against. Our spiritual life needs to have another end. Paul gives remarkably similar warnings about these sorts of unprofitable arguments and controversies in both First and Second Timothy. Obviously, Paul regards the growth of irrelevant, useless, and unimportant teaching as a serious danger to the church in various places. Now, unfortunately, we don't know many of these specifics that Paul was referring to, and that would help us make more application to ourselves. He talks about genealogies. What kind of genealogies? Probably a Jewish thing, but beyond that, we don't really know. What are these strivings of the law in particular? What were these things that were wasting their time? Well, Paul knows that Timothy and Titus are familiar with these things. Of course, he doesn't have to explain them. What we do know for certain from these passages is that these people are not denying the faith. These people are not like the people in chapter one opposing the truth, leading whole households astray. The impression left clearly in all three pastoral letters is that this teaching is simply a waste of time. It's just foolishly speculative. He calls these things foolish and ignorant disputes that generate strife. Second Timothy two twenty three in a similar passage. He says these things amount to strife about words. Second, Timothy to 14 things which are to no profit, but rather to the ruin of those who here. So he warns them, for example, first Timothy one for about these very things, things like endless genealogies, which cause disputes rather than godly edification, which is in faith. Paul's words, not mine. These things that cause like endless genealogies. Who cares? Things which cause disputes rather than godly edification. which is in faith. He warns them about proud men who are, quote, obsessed with disputes and arguments over words from which come envy, strife, reveling, evil suspicions. And so, although we don't know the exact nature of these things, I think that we could see this danger. Can you understand the danger? One writer talks about, you know, look, this esoteric teaching, esoteric only known by some. that emphasizes subtle distinctions that can only be understood by an enlightened minority. That characterize some of the conversations you've had with people talking about, you know, subtle distinctions of doctrines flying over people's heads, start arguing about them. Hmm. Well, he says. These things are to the contempt, even of those who have not received this higher enlightenment. In several places in the pastoral letters, he says, Paul warns that this tendency will only get stronger and must lead eventually to a departure from true Christianity altogether. The inevitable consequence of emphasizing teaching that's speculative and detached from the central affirmations of the gospel is that the life that comes from this teaching is not the same life as the gospel is designed to produce. Understand those words? You devote yourself to things on the fringe, you have a fringe life. You need to hold all things in proper balance. Have you seen those churches that get so wrapped up in subtle controversies that they become no good to anyone? Fruitless, distracting, from the true Christian life. Now, beloved, we hold the Reformed faith. We have a very detailed teaching in our confessions and catechisms, historically considered biblically literate. Yeah, exactly. And we've diligently worked that we might make important distinctions where they need to be made, but understand the Reformed faith, the biblical faith, is in biblical balance. This is so important. The Reformed faith is the biblical faith in biblical balance. What we seek for, what we work for, is that, as I said, if the Christian church is a great big wide river with tributaries, things off to the side, the Reformed church is not like some side tributary with a little spring going off to the side. We're not just some small branch off of a branch off of a branch. In that analogy, We're the center of the river where the water is purest and deepest. We're trying to hold the whole Bible in biblical balance. Remember how, for example, we said that not all sins are equal. Not all doctrines are equal. There are weightier matters to the law. Matthew 23, woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites, for you pay tithe of mint and anise and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law, justice, mercy, and faith. These you ought to have done without leaving the others undone. It's not that we're trying to ignore things. It's not that we're trying to say, well, small things are unimportant. We're trying to hold everything in biblical balance. That's the faith we profess. That's the faith we pursue. When we decenter important things, when we spend so much time and energy on subtle distinctions, things which really have absolutely no value to those who hear, we dishonor our calling in Christ. We do not answer the end of our redemption, which is a holy people zealous for good works. Well, Paul says there are actually two results of this sort of strife. One is fruitlessness, as we've just covered. The second, he mentions in verses 10 and 11, these foolish disputes and strivings about the law lead ultimately to division. Immediately, they lead to unfruitfulness for the people involved in them that ultimately, over time, division. And he gives this admonition here, reject A divisive man after the first and second admonition warning, knowing that such a person is warped and sinning, being self condemned. This harkens back very similarly to our Lord's teaching about the unrepentant sinner who refuses to heed the church. Matthew 18, 15 following. If after these two warnings, somebody remains stubbornly unresponsive, if they will not let it go, let him go. Do not let the church be divided over such things. In a very similar passage, First Timothy six, Paul says from such withdraw yourself. Such divisive people will come. Elders, the church must not be allowed to divide. This must not come to distract us. from the important work at hand. Now again, holding this in balance with chapter one, Paul very clearly gave directions about what to do with those teaching heresy. These people leading households astray, they need to be exposed, rebuked sharply, he says, their mouths shut, their ministries curtailed. All that chapter one, the problem here again is different. These people causing disputes and divisions where none should exist. And it goes on and on. We need to recognize in the church harken back to the old words of Gregory, the first back in the sixth century. Oh, Gregory said in wisdom, I think here, the holy church. Corrects certain things with fervor. She tolerates other things with meekness, She closes her eyes on still others and bears with them with reflective attention. You see, the Holy Church corrects certain things with fervor. She tolerates others with meekness. She closes her eyes on still other things and bears them with reflective attention. We need to take care We do not become like those who practice controversy with a mean spirit who have such a zeal for controversy rather than a zeal for submitting themselves to the truth. Anyone who reads church history knows how often a controversial spirit in the defenders of the faith who are right have muddied the waters and sometimes made even heresy more attractive than truth, who actually adorn the opposite of the gospel. Jerome, fourth century church father, was, sad to say, a terrible controversialist. He often entered the lists on what he took to be the cause of truth, and behaved as a little more than a grumpy, cantankerous, hostile man. And he did not hesitate to blacken the reputations of men as worthy as Ambrose, Chrysostom, Augustine. You think about that controversy later between Augustus' top lady, the Calvinist, and John Wesley, the Arminian. Wesley was fairly thoroughly frustrated with Toplady's attacks, condensed and severely distorted Toplady's 134-page book called Absolute Predestination. He condensed it into a 12-page tract, which ended with these words. This is Wesley. The sum of all is this. Speaking as if he's Toplady. Rock of Ages, right? The sum of all is this. One in 20, suppose, of mankind are elected. 19 in 20 are reprobated. The elect shall be saved. Do what they will. The reprobate will be damned. Do what they can. Reader, believe this or be damned. Witness my hand. Augustus Toplady. And he publishes this as though it were Toplady's. Now, of course, Toplady had written no such thing and believed no such thing, but Wesley printed the track as if it were Toplady's own. circulated it. So the top lady replied in kind, to which then Wesley refused to reply, saying, I do not fight with chimney sweepers. He is too dirty a writer for me to meddle with. I should only foul my fingers. Well, this about the author of Rock of Ages Cleft for Me, and of course, one of the Great Awakening's most fruitful preachers of salvation through faith in Christ. Not to say that one wasn't right and one wasn't wrong in the matter, but the fact is the way they went at it. Well. Bishop J.C. Ryle is obviously sympathetic to top lady in this matter. He nevertheless says it's a top lady. I regret to say. Did an advocate of truth appear to me so entirely to forget? Never did an advocate of truth appeared to me so entirely to forget the text, in meekness instructing those who oppose." As Paul says in 2 Timothy 2. No wonder that Alexander White would say, look, if we can't conduct controversy with clean and men-loving hearts, let's leave all debate and contention to stronger and better men. than we are. John Newton said something very similar. He says, look, there is within us this principle of self, which disposes us to despise those who differ from us. And we form people of all men, bound by our own principles to the exercise of the gentleness and moderation. We are of all men, bound by our own principles. to exercise gentleness, moderation. You've got people in Zovai, people that come to the Reformed faith. Yeah, you need to believe in the doctrines of grace. Punch them in the eye. Grace. Punch them in the eye. OK. Shouldn't be. So let's conclude our study of this book, reflecting now on this ministry that Paul sets up in Crete You know, Crete was a place where a great civilization had risen and had been failed. They're living on the end of that. And this speaks well to our postmodern civilization, which likewise sees itself as having risen and now is faltering badly. The fact is, when a society's vision of itself and its future and its ideals collapses, people are left like this. People are left confused, disoriented. Ideals of truth, justice, virtue and love toward men simply lose credibility. These things are regarded as meaningless, impractical. Subjectivism takes over. The only thing people want to know is, how does this affect me? And people are brought, like the people in Crete, into the miserable bondage of self-centeredness. There it is. Happened in Crete. It's happening again. The spirit of the age powerfully affects Christians also, who then become themselves careless, and selfish, even in their Christian lives. The result. Chapter two, verse five, the word of God is blasphemed. Versus people, they have evil to say of God's people. Paul's very concerned. He says we need real show and tell Christianity. Otherwise, no lives will be transformed in the churches. No hearts drawn to Christ, no sins forgiven. No feet set on the way of eternal life. No lives cheerfully submitted to the authority of Almighty God. People will live with a form of godliness and deny its power in a life. And so there's this urgency, you see, from the apostle, this repetition, this drum beat in the letter 10 times. We need the doctrine of God our Savior to be made not simply credible, attractive. We need people that can demonstrate the truth to these people who don't even believe in truth anymore. We need elders. who could shut the mouths of these people, leading households astray. We need saints who adorn the gospel and teach others to do so. Teachers of good things, patterns of good works. Chapter two, verse seven. Those who adorn or make beautiful or admirable, desirable the doctrine of God in all things to 10. And we need to get the older, more mature ones to teach the younger. This might continue in the church. Here is the Christian life, according to the book of Titus, a life transformed by the grace of God, a life carefully dedicated to love, by faith, from the heart, as restless, working for what is good, as a man who is working for his very sustenance and food. What a grand thing. What a high thing. to have that even above our daily bread. What a noble purpose for one's existence and what a demanding calling. It is one of our worst sins, yours and mine, that we make this Christian life into something so casual, so careless, so ordinary. when the testimony of Scripture is it is not. It is so high and so great that I think that you and I see only glimpses of it here and there as we live our lives. For in such a small matters, offering hospitality to a friend of Paul, a devout heart truly sees Christ. In that guest, loving Him as Christ, doing good to Him as a small installment on the debt which it owes to Christ, who, while we were yet sinners, died for us. Therefore, we must learn to maintain good works. Let us pray. Our Father in heaven, we do pray that you would give us this grace of which we have read for these past weeks, a couple of months, that we should be these change agents, these patterns, these teachers of good things. We pray, our Father, that you would give our church fruitfulness, that from us would flow the love, the mercy of Christ. in ways that are life transforming. We pray, Our Father, that you would take from us the sinful lethargy, this deadness which hangs on our heart, that is killing our lives, eating our time away, leaves us with nothing. Our Father, we pray that you would open the eyes of our hearts. In every need, we should see Christ there. We pray that you would bestir us. to awaken to the kingdom of heaven as a treasure, buried in a field as a pearl of great price for which a man will gladly sell all and buy. We pray our Father that you would give us the grace, having put our hand to the plow, not to come back. You have saved us with a delightful calling. You have given us the ministry of priests and of kings, of ambassadors for the king of kings. Oh, our Father, we pray that you would build these graces into us that we could answer to such a call, even though it take all that's within us. In Jesus' name.