Draw your attention to verse 4 and 5. I'll be reading these two verses of Titus 1, Titus 1, verses 4 and 5, but our focus will be on the first portion of verse 4. To Titus, mine own son, after the common faith, grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ our Savior. For this cause I left thee in Crete, that thou should set in order the things that are wanting, and ordain elders in every city, as I had appointed thee." Thus far, the reading of the Word. We began last week with an examination of verses one through three. noting how God had commissioned Paul as both a servant of God and an apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ. And we examined very carefully how God had designed not only to commission him with a particular office that he had as elder, but then we noted the message that he proclaimed, which was a message of truth that propagated godliness among those who heard and nurtured in them a hope of everlasting life in Christ Jesus. in the assurance that God does not lie when he promises. And we noted then the preaching of the word that had been committed to Paul as an apostle of Christ by the commandment of God. We noted that these were really Paul proclaiming to Timothy someone who's really familiar with Paul. Titus is really familiar with Paul. Titus knew Paul for an extended period of time. He was a co-worker of Paul's. He was with Paul, presumably about 13 years after Paul began his ministry, when Paul went up to Jerusalem to defend the gospel that he was preaching at the Council of Jerusalem, declaring what God had taught them regarding salvation or justification through faith alone, that there was not needed circumcision of the believer. And Titus was present at that time, and the scriptures make clear that Paul refused to circumcise Titus. Even though we're told in another place he circumcised Timothy, both of whom were Greeks. He refused circumcision to Titus, though Timothy was circumcised because of the nature of the ministry he was going to carry forward amongst Jewish people. So Paul is proclaiming to Titus, not because Paul doesn't think that Titus can remember who he is. But he's proclaiming because this letter, as I suggested to us last week, would be presented to the churches in the cities of Crete, where Paul was commissioning Titus to establish and set the churches in order. And so it became his letter of credentials. And now we come to verse 4, where Paul briefly mentions who Titus is. And I would suggest to us, just as it's important to know who the one is who's giving the message, who's writing the letter, it's important that the people would know who the person is who's to execute the instructions given in the letter in their midst. And so, Paul briefly introduces Titus to them. as his own son after a common fate. Perhaps we can assume here, because Titus, like Timothy, is of a Greek background, that these, on Crete, were already familiar with Titus. We're told that these men were Greek men, and if you recall your geography, Crete is the largest of the Greek islands, and so it was very appropriate that the Apostle Paul would leave Titus there to minister, even as he left some of his other co-workers in other cities where they were their hometowns, where they were ministering. So as we look at the statement regarding Titus that we have recorded for us in the scriptures, not only is there a sense that Paul describes Titus in this way perhaps to remind Titus of how he holds them with endearment in his own heart because of his affection for him as a spiritual son, but we see here that that there's good reason to believe that he's introducing Titus in a certain way that when he begins the organization of the churches, that he can present this letter to the churches to confirm his ministry. And you might say, am I not stretching it a bit to suggest that? And perhaps, let me defend why I would suggest this to you. You remember that Paul continually had to defend his own apostolic ministry because so many rejected. Also consider this verse from 2 Corinthians 8 and verse 23, when Paul sends Titus to the church at Corinth. He does so with these words, If anyone inquires about Titus, he is my partner and fellow worker concerning you. Or if our brethren are inquired about, they are messengers of the Church, the glory of Christ. So what I'm suggesting is not far-fetched regarding how we should take this statement regarding Titus. There is continually this need, as men are addressing the Church, to show that they have the apostolic authority to carry out the work that has been commissioned to them. So we ask ourselves, what do we know about Titus? He was a Greek. He apparently was from Antioch, or it would seem that way, because he's associated with Paul's ministry from very early on, when he goes up from Antioch to present his case before the council at Jerusalem. We see that he is sent by Paul from Ephesus to Corinth with the passage that I've just read from 2 Corinthians 8 to minister to the Church regarding some of the scandals and some of the dissensions that have been going on within the Church in Corinth. And then we see in another point, Titus is sent to organize the collection so that the Christians are cared for in Jerusalem. The reasoning for this is that you're seeing in 2 Corinthians 8 that Paul is introducing Titus to them, and the rest of chapter 8 and chapter 9 of 2 Corinthians is devoted to the offering that's going to be taken to Jerusalem to minister to the saints. So it's very important that they understand who these ones will be, not only ministering the word, but you know how it touches people in the pew. Who's holding the treasury purse for the church? Who's going to be conveying that purse as a gift to Jerusalem to make sure it arrives and is expended and is shared with them in a way that they might see how it is a blessing from that Gentile brother? And so this Titus is not someone that is unfamiliar to the saints. And later on, we see after Titus has been presumably left in Crete to do the ministry that we'll be studying about here in Titus, Titus is sent to Dalmatia to carry out a ministry. And sometimes that's hard to understand. In 2 Timothy 4, 9 and verse 10, it talks about Demas having forsaken me, having loved this present world, and has departed for Thessalonica, which seems to indicate that he's backed off from the ministry and is not faithful. And then just in passing after that, Crescens to Galatia, Titus to Dalmatia. And so Titus is ministering in Dalmatia. John Gill, in his commentary, mentions this ministry of Titus and Dalmatia, and points out to remind us so that we have sort of an idea, because it is important where the missionary journeys were carried out. Dalmatia was part of Illyricum, which we might more identify with the area of modern Croatia, and he was ministering to that area. Presumably, Paul had been there in Asia Minor, ministering and winning people to Christ, and now again, He was in need of a co-worker to organize the work of the church in that place. And church history would testify that there were churches in Dalmatia in the 2nd century, 3rd century, 4th century, 5th century in that area that would simply collaborate the testimony of the scriptures regarding Titus' ministry there. So, a little bit of what we know of Titus. And then briefly, too, what was his task? Why was he there? Well, verse 5, for this reason, Paul says, I left you in Crete that you should set in order the things that are lacking and appoint elders in every city as I commanded you. This is important. This is how the church was established in those places. The gospel was presented, but But so that there would not be disorderliness within the churches, there needed to be headship or leadership within the church. And I would suggest to us this is desperately needed. You may be thinking, oh, pastor's just giving us some of this boring history about Titus and the church, depending on what your attitude. Some people love history, and you might be eager about this, but others are saying, oh, But it's important because there's a ho-hum attitude about such passages that often lead the church in our own day to be careless whether they follow the directions of the scripture in terms of the leadership that is established in the church. Many churches in our own day are floundering because the churches are doing, like in the days of the judges, everyone doing what is pleasing in their own sight. And there's no sense of godly leadership, and even among the leadership of the church, those who are providing leadership to the church, they're allowing things to take place that are contrary to the prescribed way that the Lord has established His church. It's not just a history lesson that we're being given when we have described and we'll deal with in subsequent weeks the qualifications for elder and bishop. Now many a church has disregarded those things. They just arbitrarily elect elders. Which one of the men in the church is the most popular? Some cases, well, you know, maybe we elected that man. He's got a lot of money. That might be helpful for the church treasury. Oh, the man has a lot of influence in the community because of his position. That might advance certain causes within the church. And this is how many in the contemporary church approach the electing of officers within the church. I think I've shared with you, I get into my rambling sometimes and I don't remember what I've shared and what I haven't, but I think I've shared with some of you at least of a time in my experience when a man was selected as a deacon in one of the churches here in Atlanta some years ago. He was a young man who'd grown up in the church and he hadn't set foot in the church for two years. And he was approached by some of the members of the churches whether he would stand for election as a deacon. And by his own testimony, he wasn't even a believer at that time. I share this because these teachings are important. And Paul, by what we're reading here, is setting the stage for what he will share as to what is necessary for someone to serve as an elder, and an elder in the sense that he is exercising spiritual oversight. There's both the word elder and bishop mentioned here. Bishop simply means one who oversees. And the word steward is one who's caring for and rightly distributing the things of God amongst the people. Here, he's describing what's going to set the stage for churches having godly officers. And so he's telling Titus, I left you there for this purpose. Now, we might, because we're not told, we might imagine Titus has forgotten what he's been left there for. He's gotten distracted and he's doing other things than what he's supposed to be doing. But there's no... Usually when somebody has been doing something in error, Paul is reproving them because they're not doing. There's no word of reproof here for Titus. And so I would suggest to you again, The reason Paul is saying these things to Titus is not for Titus' benefit, but for the church's benefit. That they might understand that he has an official calling that has been granted to him by the Lord Jesus Christ through the appointment of one of Jesus' apostles, the apostle Paul, servant of God. These shepherds are important. We'll look at it in more detail in the future, but we can be reminded of Acts chapter 20, where the Apostle Paul calls the elders of the church at Ephesus down to Miletus that he might fellowship with them, and he pastorally cares for the elders there, so that they might be encouraged to fulfill their calling as elders. And he reminds them of the example that he provided for them when he labored for the two and a half years there in Ephesus, demonstrating what the work of an elder was all about, how he presented to them the whole counsel of God, and how he went from house to house pleading with people and weeping with people and seeking to draw them to the things of God. And he points them to that very example of his shepherding ministry to encourage them to be faithful as those who must give an account to God for the souls of men, women, and children. So this is important. This is his task. But because I believe that the passage here is really talking about Titus's qualifications I would draw your attention to two statements that are made here regarding Titus. He's described as Paul's son, and he's also his true son, and he's a son after our common, or the common thing. What we see here is Paul is pointing out Again, not what Timothy needs to hear, I mean, what Titus needs to hear, but what the people need to hear. That he has been trained by Paul, and that he shares the same ministry and perspective as Paul. He's not Paul's physical son, he's Paul's spiritual son. That he reflects the training of his father. And this is probably not needed in most cultures, but it's more so needed to be reminded of in the culture today, because there's a need for the gospel promise to be fulfilled that Malachi mentioned, that turning the hearts of the fathers to their children and the hearts of the children to their fathers. In this culture today, there's a lot of contempt between children and their parents. A lot of sons have no desire to actually follow the discipleship that their father provides for them. A lot of times it's because the father has done a poor job. But in our culture, that kind of breakdown of the family is seen abundantly, sadly. And what we desperately need is this sense of a spiritual sonship where there is a discipling and the son is seeking to glean everything that his father possibly can give him. Practically speaking, I would suggest to you, you look at your earthly fathers and you say, I can see all kinds of things that are wrong with them. But what are you doing to benefit with the things that are ripe about them? When you think of who ministers the Word to you regularly, if you look carefully, surely you can see the flaws of the pastor who ministers to you. And you can focus on that and you can do like is being done in this world saying, the flaws invalidate the ministry. Or you can do, I'm going to benefit from everything that God can give me through that individual. I often said to my own children as I was trying to train them up, I said, your dad has failed in so many ways. My heart's desire for you is that you'd be able to climb up on your father's shoulder and go further than your father ever could. That we might grow in grace. that we might be true spiritual children. So it's important that we understand what Paul is saying here. He's saying that Timothy and Titus both have the same designation in the epistles addressed to them, that they are true sons. And he's pointing to them. as those who are genuine, those who are not illegitimate children, but spiritual children that are faithful. Paul would say regarding Timothy and Philippians 2, I have no one like-minded who will sincerely care for your state, for all seek their own, not the things which are of Christ Jesus. But you know his proven character. that as a son with his father, he served with me in the gospel. And I would suggest to you as we look at Titus, because we've been given only this designation regarding Titus, which is identical with the designation that Paul gave to Timothy, that we may assume that certain things that Paul says regarding Timothy, at least in part, are true of Titus as well. that he was a man of proven character. He wouldn't have left him in Crete to establish the churches and to organize them in a faithful way if he could not trust him. He was a proven character. He was a son, as with his father, serving in the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. So I turn your attention to what Paul describes in 2nd Timothy chapter 3 at verse 10. If you have your Bibles, you may want to turn to that because that's going to be our focus as we conclude the message this afternoon. I'm making a grand assumption, as I've already said, that what is true of Timothy, we might assume is true of Titus as well. They're both sons true sons of Paul after the common faith. What do we read in 2 Timothy 3 verse 10? Paul's addressing Timothy and he says, you have carefully followed my doctrine. Manner of life, purpose, faith, suffering, Love, perseverance, persecutions. See, he's describing a spiritual offspring. He's seeing Timothy and Titus as those who have faithfully been trained, not because they sat in a classroom where they were given a lecture on what the truth is, in a vacuum, as it were, as if you're not in real life. But rather, Timothy has been trained in the school of experience. He's been an apprentice, as it were, to Paul. And likewise, Titus. And what Paul is alluding to, yes, Timothy, you've seen my doctrine. You know fully what I teach. He's heard the Apostle Paul preach the gospel. He's heard the Apostle Paul reason with the people in the synagogue. He's experienced all that Paul as he describes to the elders at Ephesus when he preached the whole counsel of God. Timothy was there. And we have reason to believe that in a certain degree, Titus likewise. So he knew the doctrine that the Lord Jesus Christ had committed to the Apostle Paul to declare to the world. Paul goes on to say that he knew Paul's manner of life. You see, that's why we're going to be going into the requirements that God stipulates by the Holy Spirit for someone who serves as elder or overseer in the church. It's not just someone who can take a theology exam and get all the answers right. It's not just an intellectual faith. It's a faith that comes and lives itself out in the person's life. Paul is saying, you've seen me live the faith He saw my lifestyle, how I lived. He didn't contradict his message. Others were filled up as they observed how Paul lived his life. Paul tells Timothy that you've known my purpose. The scriptures tell us where there is no vision or revelation, the people perish. When there's no sense of why you're calling people to Christ, if you're simply calling them to Christ and then you leave them there with no sense of purpose, well, you're here. Now, in the past, I've heard the saints cry out, well, I was in a gospel church and I was led to Christ and I love the Lord Jesus, but then I was never fed anything more than that. I wasn't nurtured, I wasn't encouraged in sanctification and grace to grow up into Christ. I became spiritually starved. It's not an either-or. Some congregations say, well, we just train up the saints in the way. No, you've got to win. And you've got to nourish and build up. Timothy, and we assume Titus, Saul, Paul's example, Paul had a sense of purpose. If you don't have that sense of purpose when you hit what he talks about later on, the persecution, you quit. If you don't know why you're doing what you're doing and everything seems to become discouraging, Now, pastors get discouraged sometimes. You see the church flounder at various times, and a pastor can get discouraged. But it's not just the pastor. Congregations look at how the congregation is doing, and you see the congregation floundering at times, and you get discouraged. If you don't have a sense of purpose, why are we doing what we're doing? What are we about as the people of God? And Paul demonstrated that by the way he lived. Can you imagine being alone with the Apostle Paul when he goes into some of the cities? And he's railroaded out of town? Can you imagine what it's like to stand alongside when they drag him outside the city and they stone him to death and you're asking yourself, am I next? And then you see the Apostle Paul get up. They thought he was dead. He's been so badly beaten. He goes back into the town. He ministers briefly to the saints there, and he goes to the next village. That's purpose. Where did he get the purpose? He's the apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ. You go back to this conversion experience on the road to Damascus, and Jesus makes it absolutely clear that he's been called as an apostle to the Gentiles. And so you see Paul saying something like this. I desire to go to preach where no one else has preached, that I might not lay my work on the foundation of another. He wants people to hear the gospel, because the Lord and Savior who called him to the ministry has said that this message of the gospel shall be preached to every creature, the whole of the globe. Every tribe and tongue and nation of people shall hear the gospel of the Lord. That doesn't necessarily mean that the gospel has to be translated into every tongue. Some have interpreted it that way. But it needs to be in a tongue in which every person on the globe can understand so that they are able to hear the message. Paul speaks of the proven character that he had. Proven character. You know my character. You've seen Timothy's proven character. His character, his manner of life was expressed in his faith. He had faith in Christ. He was promoting the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ. It was critical in that time, and it's critical in these days as well. Peter and Jude especially addressed the corruption that had already entered the church of the Lord Jesus Christ in the New Testament days. And during that time, they were saying, you know, our Lord warned us that there would be false prophets, there would be false teachers, and it's happening in our day. There's perversion going on within the church. And Jude writing says in verse 3, Beloved, while I was very diligent to write you concerning our common salvation, common faith, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints. That's a powerful statement if you understand it right. See, there are people still running around in our own day saying that the word of God is still being, new revelations still being given. That was the problem back in those days, men coming in, heretics who were who are bringing new doctrine that was not of the Lord. Jude wrote these words under inspiration of the Spirit, telling us there is a need to contend for the Scriptures of the Word of God. Contend for that faith that was once for all delivered to the saints. How many people are running around today? Saying, God told me this and God told me that. And I know more about God than you do. I know, I understand a passage of Scripture. God has a hand spread of 16 inches because I understand a passage you never understood before. You have such silly things as that being taught by people who profess that they're receiving new messages from the Holy Spirit. And we're being admonished to be people with the Word. Jesus appointed apostles who were eyewitnesses of his life and ministry. There are no apostles alive in our day. No one meets the qualification that they observe the earthly ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ from the day he was baptized until he ascended to heaven. That was the requirement you see at the end of Acts 1 when they sought to replace Judas as a disciple, or as the Apostle of Christ. Beloved, we need desperately to contend for the faith. And this is what the Apostle Paul has commissioned Titus to do in establishing those who would be as resident shepherds in the flocks of the churches in Crete, who would be able to refute, as we read in the Scriptures, refute those who are bearing a false witness, holding fast, verse 9, holding fast the faithful word as he hath been taught, that he may be able by sound doctrine both to exhort and to convince gainsayers. There needs to be some doctrine. Those who can encourage the saints in what is true, and those who can stand and declare when a message is false, misleading the flock of God, that's the purpose of an elder, an overseer. Now, not just standing in front of you proclaiming from a pulpit, but meeting with you in your homes and wherever you would face the temptations and trials of life to get someone who would encourage you to walk faithfully with the Lord Jesus Christ. This is the task that is given. 1 Corinthians chapter 4 and verse 17, he says, For this reason I sent Timothy to you, who is my beloved and faithful son of the Lord, who will remind you of my ways in Christ as I teach everywhere in the church, in every church. What's Paul saying? Here are men who have observed my life, my style of living, my ministry, my faith, everything about my life, they've observed it. And they're coming to convey to you what Christ has taught me, that it might be faithfully translated to others as well. If you instruct the brethren in these things, he's telling Timothy, you will be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished in the words of faith and of the good doctrine which you have carefully followed. doctrine and life. It's all about holding fast to faith. And if we don't have that, we don't have what's proclaimed in the Scriptures. In conclusion, as we move forward as a congregation in this place, the hope is that we will have additional elders that will be appointed in our midst. We need to understand what this scripture teaches, so that we don't just arbitrarily do whatever seems right to us, but we seek to follow the model that Christ has established for his church. We need such leadership if there's going to be a translation of what Paul experienced in his relationship with Christ. what Titus and Timothy experienced in their relationship with Paul, which they in turn conveyed to the churches of their day, and what is hopeful that Christ, by the ministry of His Word in these days, will convey to every saint in the pew, that your experience in life will be very much like the experience of that of the Apostle Paul. Right doctrine. a life that can be examined and be commended before God, a faith that is steadfast, a purpose that you know. You're not just coming and saying, well, my job is just to come and show up and sit in the pew for a couple hours every Sunday and go home again. Do you have a sense of purpose why you've been called? What are you doing as a child of God to make Christ known, to encourage others to bear witness to Him, These things are all important for the nurture of that faith that the Lord said should be in his own. There's a similar passage, and I close with this, in Philippians 1, as Paul is addressing the whole church in similar language to what he's addressed Titus and Timothy, particularly Timothy. He says, only let your conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of your affairs, that you stand fast in one spirit, with one mind, striving together for the faith of the gospel, and not in any way terrified by your adversaries, which is to them a proof of perdition, but to you of salvation, and that from God. For to you it has been granted on behalf of Christ not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for his sake, having the same conflict which you saw in me and now here is in me." What's he saying? He's saying that the church should experience the same things that Paul did. And like Paul, who suffered and then got back up because he had a sense of purpose and went on, the church is to suffer. The same kind of things that Paul did. And to realize that this is God's gift to you, not only to believe, but to suffer. And that we are to be steadfast, pursuing the things for which the Lord Jesus has laid hold on us, in absolute confidence that He will perform what He's promised. This is a faith that doesn't retreat, that stands the test of trials. It's the one hope that is for the whole Church of God. May the Lord grant us grace to live out this holy faith. Let's look to Him in prayer. Our Heavenly Father, we come to you and we ask, Lord, that we might be able to see Paul as our spiritual father. That we might be able to see Titus as the one that you sent to organize your church. That we might be able to see beyond the churches in Crete where Titus ministered. that we might be able to look at your own church this day, Lord, and expect such things from you. Lord, we ask that you would guide and direct us as your people, that we might be found faithful in doctrine, in purpose, in manner of life, Lord, in faith that we live. We ask this in Jesus' name. Amen.