Please turn in your Bible or in the copy of the Pew Bible, please, to the letter of Titus. It can be found on page 998 in the Pew Bible, and I would encourage you to open there and keep it open for the duration of the sermon tonight. We'll be reading from Titus chapter two, verses 11 to 14. This is the word of the living God. For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works. My intention tonight is to give an overview of the whole book of Titus. From time to time, it can be helpful, instead of preaching through a book a few verses at a time, to preach an entire book at once. This allows us to see the larger message of an individual book and helps us understand the various details within that book much better. So consider this sermon tonight an invitation to dig into this short but rich letter to Titus on your own in the near future. Now it's typical when beginning to study a book of the Bible to ask certain introductory questions. What type of book is this? Who are the author and audience? What is the occasion for writing? Where is it taking place and when? The book of Titus is a letter from the apostle Paul to his coworker, Titus, whom he calls my true child in a common faith in chapter one, verse four. We don't know a lot about Titus. The book of Galatians tells us he was a Greek Gentile believer who went with Paul on his second trip to Jerusalem along with Barnabas. He was quite helpful to Paul later in ministering to the church in Corinth. And nearing the end of Paul's life, he was ministering in Dalmatia. The title true child probably means he was converted under Paul's ministry, as Timothy had been. The reference to a common faith in chapter one, verse four, points us to the fact that the gospel was for both Jews and Gentiles. This is important in this letter because Titus is working among the Gentiles in Crete. We're not entirely sure when this letter was written because the mission to Crete is not recorded in the book of Acts. The best theory is that Paul's imprisonment at the end of the book of Acts was the first of two Roman imprisonments. He was released after Acts was completed and did a fourth missionary journey, which included Crete and the letter to Titus, before he was then re-imprisoned in Rome and martyred under the Emperor Nero. Verse 5 of chapter 1 gives us the occasion of Paul's letter. Look at that with me. Paul says, this is why I left you in Crete, so that you might put what remained into order and appoint elders in every town as I directed you. Evidently, Paul and Titus had been involved in planning churches throughout the many cities of Crete, but Paul had to leave before the leadership in the churches was properly established. The fact that Paul only instructs Titus to appoint elders with no mention of deacons may indicate that these churches were in an earlier state of development than other churches mentioned in the New Testament. The book of Titus, therefore, gives us a unique view into a church in its baby stages, if you will. Now I'd like to give you a brief outline of the structure of the book. Chapter 1, verses 1-4 is a greeting from Paul to Titus where he establishes the authority and purpose of his apostolic ministry. It also serves as a kind of overture where he hints on the themes he will develop later throughout the letter. Verses 5–9 of chapter 1 contain Paul's instructions for appointing elders. Their job is to give instruction in sound doctrine and to rebuke those who contradict it. The remainder of chapter one is about a situation which requires rebuking. There were some Jewish Christians who were hanging on to a lot of their former Cretan cultural baggage, who were creating serious problems in the house gatherings through their false teaching. Chapter two, verses one to 10, gives instructions about godly living in the home context, and verses 11 through 15 of chapter two give the theological basis for those instructions. Chapter three goes on to give instructions about godly living in society in verses one and two, then gives the theological basis for that in verses three to eight. Verses nine to 11 give more admonitions to Titus and his elders about things to avoid in teaching, and also give some directions about disciplining those who stir up dissension. Paul ends his letter with instructions for Titus and their mission partners, and an encouragement for the people to help supply their needs. So for the rest of tonight's sermon, we'll focus on the content of the letter. Now, a helpful approach to studying any book of the Bible is to seek to determine what questions the book answers. And if you were in church this morning, you noticed that Pastor Limberopoulos did exactly that with the book of 3 John. And I want to propose to you that a central question which the letter to Titus answers is this. Who does the church belong to and why does that matter? Who does the church belong to and why does that matter? The answer is in verse 14 of what we just read in chapter two. The church is, quote, a people of his own possession who are zealous for good works. So many people in our world today are searching to understand their identity and how to relate to others. Now, when we think about the concept of identity, there's something very specific involved, and that is that people are looking for the group of facts which will best explain their life. But the problem is is that many people when seeking to determine their identity, they leave out the most important fact of all, and that is the matter of God's existence itself, that God is the Lord and maker of every fact in this universe. So it's really impossible for us to find our identity outside of a relationship with the Lord God Almighty. You see, everyone lives their life in relation to God, whether they know it or not. And the book of Titus is teaching us that Christ has himself purchased the church as his own possession. So that if you are a member of the church of Jesus Christ, you know exactly who you are. You're a child of Almighty God and a servant of Jesus Christ. So for the Christian, there is no doubt. We belong to Jesus who loved us and gave himself for us. The letter of Titus is going to show us that the church as Christ's possession is, first of all, grounded in the apostolic teaching Second, a work in progress. And third, is established through the saving activity of God. So first, the church belongs to Christ because it is grounded in apostolic teaching. Look with me at chapter one, verse one. Paul begins, Paul. a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ. Paul had a clear concept of whose he was and what he had been sent to do. He calls himself a servant of God, meaning that he belonged to God and existed to do his master's bidding. Like Moses and David and other prophets who are called servants in the Old Testament, he had been entrusted with revelation from God. He also calls himself an apostle of Jesus Christ. As such, he is sent with Christ's authority and message. He had written to the Ephesians that the church is built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone. Paul's road to becoming an apostle began when he was confronted in a blinding light by the risen Lord as he was traveling on the road to Damascus to persecute Christians. Paul was transformed from total antagonism to wholehearted devotion. It was hard not to admire this man. This is the one of whom God said in Acts 9, He is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel. For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name. This Paul is the one who spent 20 years traveling throughout Asia Minor planning churches at the risk of his own life. He was beaten, stoned, shipwrecked, and imprisoned several times. All this he did, continuing in verse one, for the sake of the faith of God's elect and their knowledge of the truth, which accords with godliness in hope of eternal life. Here we have the purpose of the apostolic ministry. Paul's goal is to ensure the vitality and develop the faith of God's people. The phrase God's elect harkens back to the Old Testament, reminding us of God's covenant promise to gather a people for himself from all the nations. And then their faith is based on a knowledge of the truth. which would come through the preaching with which I have been entrusted by the command of God our Savior. Verse three. For Paul, the transformation from a life of unbelief to a life of faith happens through the mind. To the Romans, he had written, do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind. And this knowledge of the truth accords with godliness. The end of verse one. Faith and godliness for Paul are two sides of the same coin. This is one of the great themes of this letter. The marriage of faith and good works. Now we don't always think about this with Paul. Paul is, after all, is the apostle of justification by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. And that is true. But Paul equally teaches that while we are not saved by works, we are saved to a life of good works. We saw this already in our theme verse, chapter two, verse 14. Look at that with me again. Christians are, quote, a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works. We read the same thing in chapter two, verse 12. The grace of God is training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age. And then looking ahead to chapter three, verse eight, that those who have believed in God may be careful to devote themselves to good works. The apostolic teaching which grounds the church continues in the provision of officers for the church. Like Paul's teaching on doctrine and godliness, an elder's doctrine and character are two sides of the same coin. There are two words given for officers here. Elders, presbuteros in verse five of chapter one, and overseers, episkopon in verse seven. Because verse seven begins with the explanatory word for, it's generally agreed that these two terms are referring to the same office. One way of understanding the two terms is to think of elder as referring to the spiritual maturity of the officer, while overseer refers more to the work. If they do, in fact, refer to the same office, then maybe we can consider becoming Presbyterians or Episcopaterians at our next congregational meeting. But all kidding aside, we should notice a few things about these officers. First, like the list of qualifications in 1 Timothy 3, the list here is almost exclusively based on character, and here I'm referring to verses six through nine of chapter one. Only one skill is listed, being able to give instruction in sound doctrine. Even then, the ability to give instruction is rooted in someone who holds firm to the trustworthy word as taught. See, faithfulness is more important than eloquence. Faithfulness, to God's word, is more important than eloquence. The church remains Christ's possession only as it holds firm to the trustworthy word as taught. The great Princeton theologian Charles Hodge has been quoted as saying, Well, that may not be the case in Princeton now, but that is essentially the perspective we need to have as the church. We stand on the theological shoulders of those who came before us, going all the way back to Christ and the apostles. And this reminds us, of course, of the sufficiency and the completeness of God's word, that it contains everything we need for faith and practice. Next, notice that the elder's character is first measured in his home, verse six. Now our character rubs off most on those who love us and we spend the most time with. The health of a home is often a good indicator of what is happening in a father's heart. But then notice that an overseer in verse seven is called God's steward. A steward is someone who runs a household for a master, as Joseph did for Potiphar in Egypt. Even as an elder must be able to spiritually guide his home, so his character is most important in being an overseer in God's household, the church. Finally, as we have already mentioned, the overseer's role in the church is a ministry of the Word, instructing in sound doctrine and rebuking those who contradict it. Verse 9. The word sound means healthy or correct. We see this word again in chapter 1, verse 13, chapter 2, verse 1, chapter 2, verse 2, and chapter 2, verse 8. Sound, healthy, correct. Our PCA Book of Church Order says that all power in the church is, quote, only ministerial and declarative, since the holy scriptures are the only rule of faith and practice. These verses in Titus introduce the concept of church discipline, which exists, according to our book of church order, for the preservation of both truth and duty. Said another way, our elders are to be spiritual health experts, which leads us to the second point. As Christ's possession, the church is a work in progress. I remember when I was growing up, I had a sticker on one of my school textbooks. It was of a caterpillar. And the caption over the caterpillar says, please be patient with me. God is not finished with me yet. We see this in Titus from chapter one, verse 10, through the rest of the book. In other words, the remainder of the letter is about sanctification and the application of God's word to godly living and the preservation of the church. Christ will not be finished with his church until it is made holy like himself. Look back at our theme verse in chapter 2. 14, which says, Christ gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people. Paul deals first in chapter 1, 10 to 16, with those who need to be rebuked by Titus and his new elders. They are, quote, insubordinate, empty talkers, and deceivers. That's verse 10 of chapter 1. who are upsetting whole families by teaching for shameful gain what they ought not to teach. Now, Paul's quote in verse 12 of chapter one from the Cretan prophet contrasts the Cretans who are, quote, always liars with the God who never lies. from chapter one, verse two. His hope for rebuking them, verse 13, is that they may be sound, healthy in the faith. He has hope for these men who are teaching for shameful gain, incorrect doctrine, upsetting whole families, upsetting the church, doing great harm. His hope is to bring them back. by words of correction, by words of rebuke, by showing them the incorrectness of what they're teaching, but then showing them the correctness of the word of God. That's always the hope in church discipline, is the reclaiming of sinners back into the flock of God. And then here in this latter part of chapter one, we have a picture of what it means to be the church in the world, but not of the world. These Jewish Christians had held on to much of their Cretan cultural baggage. Now the church, by necessity, has always incorporated aspects of the culture into its practices. We can't help that. But the church of Christ, by definition, has been delivered out of the domain of darkness into the kingdom of his beloved Son. There are bound to be collisions, therefore, between the church and the culture which seeks to infiltrate it. The main difference Paul highlights between an unbelieving culture and a believing church, and this is found in verses 15 and 16, is that the unbelievers' minds and consciences are defiled. Verse 15. Quote, they profess to know God, but they deny him by their works. Commentator Philip Towner points out that God intends the mind to be the organ which perceives and approves of the truth. The conscience then evaluates information provided by the mind according to the norms of behavior and the will of God and makes decisions that will produce godly behavior. defiled minds and consciences deny God by their works and produce what Paul calls disobedience. In other words, as Paul said, as the book of Hebrews says, without faith, it is impossible to please God. Then chapter two goes on to outline behavior which accords with sound doctrine in the context of the home. A person's behavior is a measure of their spiritual health. Jesus said, for each tree is known by its own fruit. For figs are not gathered from thorn bushes, nor are grapes picked from a bramble bush. I'm reminded of what we learned recently in 1 John. John said, for this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments, and his commandments are not burdensome. The behaviors given to older men, older women, younger women, younger men, and slaves are summed up in verse 12 of chapter two, which we read earlier. The grace of God is training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age. The word for self-control, which is repeated throughout chapter two, concerns ourselves and points to our physical appetites and desires. To be upright points to others and indicates justice as exemplified in our behavior. And then to be godly is our attitude toward God. That is the knowledge of God acted upon and worked out in all of life. Chapter three goes on to indicate the church's behavior in the world. Verse one, remind them to be submissive to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work, to speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all people. Submission to authority is in accord with the fact that God places governors over us. We're to submit to the authorities that God has put in place, but worship God alone. And then Christians should show perfect courtesy toward all people because as he goes on to point out in chapter three, we ourselves were just like the people we are called to love. Our neighborhoods should be better places because the church is present there. Paul commends the behaviors listed in chapters two and three as a good witness to the truth of God's word to the watching world. He says in chapter three, verse eight, be careful to devote themselves to good works. These things are excellent and profitable for all people. This is reminiscent of the principle taught in Jeremiah 29, verse seven, where Jeremiah says, Well, so far we have seen that the church is grounded in apostolic teaching, It is a work in progress, and lastly, it is established through the saving activity of God. The theological support for all Paul says in Titus is found in the initial greeting, chapter one, verses one to four. And then in two great theological statements, one that we read in chapter two, verses 11 to 14, and then in chapter three, verses three to seven. How did the church become Christ's possession? These three passages explain it beautifully. So I'm going to read them for us in closing. But before that, I want you to listen for a couple things as I read these passages. First, listen for the words manifested and appearing. It's literally the word epiphany in the Greek. Second, Paul repeatedly calls God Savior, and then he mirrors that, they're like bookends, he calls Jesus Savior, making them equal. Third, notice the Holy Spirit is the one who applies this great salvation to us. And then last and best, we are waiting in the present age for the hope yet to come. eternal life and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. Notice how he puts all of those things together. Jesus Christ is our great God and Savior. Have you ever had anyone challenge you and says, the New Testament never says anywhere that Jesus is God? Well, you can take them right to Titus chapter two and read them that verse. Jesus is the great God and Savior. So to close, I'm just going to read these portions for us, the beginning of Titus one, the middle of Titus two, and a portion of Titus three. Here again, the word of God. This is how God made us his own possession. Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the sake of the faith of God's elect and their knowledge of the truth, which accords with godliness, in hope of eternal life, which God, who never lies, promised before the ages began, and at the proper time manifested in his word through the preaching with which I have been entrusted by the command of God, our Savior. Then skipping to chapter two, verse 11. For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, and that is all kinds of people. training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us, to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession, who are zealous for good works. And then skipping to chapter three, verse three. For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another. It's an incredibly accurate picture of our world, isn't it? Yet written 2,000 years ago. Continuing, when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us. not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior. so that, being justified by his grace, we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. The saying is trustworthy, and I want you to insist on these things so that those who have believed in God may be careful to devote themselves to good works. These things are excellent and profitable for all people. May God cause us to be faithful as his sons and daughters. May we ever live for him even as the Apostle Paul was a servant of God. May we also be servants of God. Let us pray. Lord, we thank you for this great word that you've provided for us in the book of Titus. We praise you that Christ has purchased us for himself and has brought us before your throne. He is our great high priest, and he has washed us in his own blood. He's made us a kingdom of priests to his God and Father. Lord, cause us to be faithful. Help us to be faithful to your word, Lord God. Help us to hold on to it, to meditate it, Hide it deep into our hearts. And grow us, Lord, in our faith and love and adoration of you. And bind us together, Lord, as your people. That we would love one another in the way that you have loved us and that we would love this world, even our enemies in your name. Help us, Lord, to be good citizens in this country where you have placed us. To show people by our words and by our actions that you are a God of love and justice and goodness, and that you have sent your Son to redeem sinners unto yourself. Lord, help us to be faithful to this mission and this great work that you have given to your church, we ask in Jesus' name, amen.