Titus 1:1-4 - Dustin Hawkins

mentioned. We are in Titus chapter 1 today. I

Titus 1 · chapter mention

invite you to turn there with me. We'll be focusing

once again on verses 1 through 4, the salutation

to this letter from the Apostle Paul to Titus.

I'd like to read that aloud for you now as you

follow along silently. And as we do so, remember

that this is God's Paul, a bondservant of God

and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the faith

of those chosen of God and the knowledge of the

truth, which is according to godliness, in the

hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie,

promised long ages ago, but at the proper time

manifested even his word. in the proclamation

with which I was entrusted according to the commandment

of God our Savior, to Titus, my true child in

a common faith, grace and peace from God the

Father and Christ Jesus our Savior. Let's pray.

Gracious Heavenly Father, as we come to your

word yet again this morning, we first and foremost

thank you. For your word. That you have handed

down your word. By the inspiration of the Holy

Spirit. That it has been preserved by your providence.

Throughout history God. And that now as your

people. A people of this book. We can come together

now. To learn more of you. To see this revelation

you have given us. Through the written pages

of scripture. We ask that you would bless. the

reading and preaching of your word today, that

it would affect your intended purpose in your

people. Holy Spirit, we ask that you would illumine

our minds so we may understand these truths rightly.

Open our hearts so we may receive them with faith

and obedience. Lord, edify your saints. Draw

sinners to yourself and magnify the great and

powerful name of our blessed Savior, the Lord

Jesus Christ, for it is in his name we pray.

Amen. Please be seated. Our singer today mentioned

that sometimes when singing we mess up and it

still doesn't keep us from worshiping. And as

he said that, I couldn't help but think that

as the preacher today may very well make a few

mistakes along the way. It will not inhibit us

from knowing more of God. When we speak of his

word and what it means to us as believers, it

is important for us to remember that God has

revealed himself to us through his word. That's

why so often we speak of the ministry of the

word when we come together and worship on Sunday

mornings. We do so because we understand that

this is what God has given us in order that we

might know him. And what's really beautiful about

the word of God is that it is not simply for

our knowing, but it is also for our application.

It is not merely for us to assent to some level

of intellectual understanding of what God says

in his word, but also we are called as Christians.

And this is a key theme of this letter to Titus.

We are called as Christians to apply the Word

of God to our lives. This is the faith once for

all handed down to the saints, as Jude says very

clearly in his epistle, and this faith has an

impact on our lives. Last week we began this

study of Paul's epistle to Titus by establishing

the context and the setting. of this, the third

of the pastoral epistles. I mentioned, of course,

1 and 2 Timothy and Titus being that sub -genre,

if you will, of the Pauline epistles, those letters

that were written by the Apostle Paul, most of

them having been written to the churches to which

Paul had ministered, many of which Paul had planted

himself along with co -workers such as Titus.

Of course, these are slightly different because

they're not addressed to the churches. They're

addressed first to Timothy and also to Titus.

And though we might be tempted to think that

there is one other personal title among these

letters that Paul has written, that of course

being to Philemon. These are different because

these have pastoral intent behind them. There

is a certain amount of instruction here that

is intended for the care, the maintenance, the

structure, the organization of the church and

is clearly written to these men who served as

ministers, as pastors of these churches. We took

some time last week, as I mentioned, to establish

the context and the setting of this letter. And

just to give a brief review, because I think

it will be helpful for us as we move forward,

we asked and attempted to answer, I don't know

how well I did, you all will have to be the judge

of that, but we asked and attempted to answer

certain questions. And though we did not attempt

to answer them in any specific order, we used

these questions as a way to frame our thinking

around the letter. Some of those questions that

we asked were, what's the immediate context within

which the letter has been written? Who are the

people involved? Where are they located? What

is the setting and what's going on around them?

And again, I hope that when we established that

context last week, it was helpful for us. You

will recall that at one point last week we jumped

ahead to verse 5 to see that the apostle wrote

this letter to his trusted co -worker Titus,

who had been left on the island of Crete with

a very specific assignment. There Paul writes

in verse 5, For this reason I left you in Crete,

that you would set in order what remains and

appoint elders in every city as I directed you.

Titus had the responsibility of bringing order.

stability, and sound doctrine to young churches,

young churches that had been established in a

difficult place. This is something that is common

for many pastors, preachers, evangelists, and

church planters. Oftentimes, churches are planted

in places that are difficult to minister. And

of course, Crete was one such difficult place,

a truly difficult place. The island had developed

a reputation throughout the Roman and Greek world

for dishonesty and moral disorder. We mentioned

that Greek verb, pratizo, last week. And again,

I'm not a Greek scholar and I do not pretend

to be one. but certain commentators make a point

of mentioning it. And it's very helpful to us

because that verb was adopted into the Greek

language specifically because of Crete, because

of the people of Crete. And that word means to

act like a Cretan. It means to lie or to deceive.

We noted later in chapter 1 and verse 12 where

Paul actually quotes The Greek philosopher, the

poet Epimenides, and writes, Cretans are always

liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons. No doubt,

Crete was a difficult place by admission of one

of their own, Epimenides. So the churches Titus

was serving were planted in a culture that was

marked by deception, moral corruption, and instability.

Instantly our minds may be tempted to think of

the fact that this is such an applicable truth

and reality about the world we live in today.

No doubt we see such moral corruption around

us all the time, and it is not simply something

that is out there. We mentioned ourselves that

even those... Poor views of the world that we

see here, these malignancies, if you will, exist

within the church too. Yet that is exactly the

kind of place the gospel shines most brightly.

Because the gospel doesn't merely save individuals.

It has the power to transform lives, to order

churches, and to confront cultures. Oftentimes

when we think of the light of the gospel, we're

reminded that it shines most brightly against

the darkest backdrop. If we were to turn on a

flashlight in this room right now, even a high

-quality flashlight, It would not make much difference

in the room, but if this room were completely

dark right now, if there were no light coming

through the windows, if none of the lights over

our heads were turned on, and we were to shine

a bright flashlight in this room today, it would

be spectacular in what it would reveal around

us. The gospel has the same effect. When culture

is corrupt, when people are in sin, when the

world around us is dim and dark, the light of

the gospel shines ever brighter. This really

brings us back to Paul's opening words here in

Titus chapter 1, verses 1 through 4. If you have

Titus 1:1–4

a New American Standard Bible, the heading is

Salutation. Seems pretty simple. Seems like something

we could just gloss over, something that we could

read and move on to the important part of the

letter. But in his typical style, Paul uses words

that are so helpful for us as he writes under

the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, and it behooves

us to take time to consider what is here written.

Before Paul addresses false teachers, We'll certainly

get into that. Before he discusses church leadership,

before he instructs believers on godly living,

Paul begins with something that is far more fundamental,

something essential, something that is utterly

foundational to our faith. In his salutation

to Titus, Paul begins with the gospel itself.

And I think that it will be helpful for us to

first examine the structure of this greeting,

the structure of Paul's greeting, his salutation

to Titus. Now, again, I... I admit to you that

I am not a Greek scholar, but many of the commentators,

if you read them, and other scholars who are

available for reading, will mention that this

is a typical Pauline introduction, a sentence

that is very common with Paul, written in the

Greek originally as a run -on sentence. And there's

notes about the fact that a lot of the punctuation

you'll see in this salutation is added by the

English translators because, quite frankly, as

English speakers and readers, we struggle to

fully grasp the Greek sometimes. So we add these

commas or sometimes semicolons or colons as a

way to help us better break up a sentence like

this. And while it does not lend itself structurally

to an easy outline, there are so many important

truths here, and it almost seems as though because

Paul is being carried along in the Spirit, he

seems to almost be celebrating the fact that

he has this gospel, that this common faith he

and Titus share, as he mentions in verse 4, is

based upon this gospel. And the structure of

this sentence, the structure of the greeting

in total, is helpful for us to understand what

he's trying to say. It appears at first glance

just to be something simple, introductory, a

greeting, but it's actually a compressed summary

of the gospel. I listened to Alistair Begg preach

a couple sermons from this passage. I don't know

about you all, but I love listening to Pastor...

Alistair Begg, I think he's a spectacular Bible

teacher, and he entitled these two sermons, part

one and two, as Truth Tightly Packed. Boy, that's

an appropriate way to describe this particular

passage. Here, with an economy of words, the

Apostle Paul tightly packs truth that is transformative,

not only for individuals, but for the church

at large. That is an appropriate way. to summarize

these few verses, because in short order, in

this one run -on sentence, the Apostle Paul lays

out a robust understanding of the truth of the

gospel and its origin, which is according to

God's eternal purpose. If you look again, beginning

about the second half of verse 1 and through

the end of verse 3, I'd like to look there again

and read them to you. Of course, Paul has introduced

himself as a servant of God, an apostle of Jesus

Christ, for the faith of those chosen of God,

and the knowledge of the truth which is according

to godliness, in the hope of eternal life which

God, who cannot lie, promised long ages ago,

but at the proper time manifested even his word

in the proclamation with which I was entrusted

according to the commandment of God our Savior.

In these opening verses, Paul traces the gospel

through several themes. He talks about the gospel

that produces the faith of the chosen, the gospel

that reveals truth that leads to godliness, the

gospel brings the hope of eternal life, the gospel

rests on the promise of the God who cannot lie,

the gospel has been revealed. at the proper time.

In this short series of statements, Paul demonstrates

that the gospel originates in the eternal purpose

of God himself. These are glorious truths. These

are uplifting truths. These are truths that we

as believers should focus on, that we should

think about, that we should meditate upon, and

they will build our faith in the process. Really,

this is the central theme of the entire letter.

By structuring his opening in this way, Paul

links several ideas together in a carefully constructed

chain. He describes his apostleship as existing,

quote, for the faith of those chosen of God and

the knowledge of the truth, which is according

to godliness. That phrase is extremely important.

Here, the inspired apostle is saying the truth

of the gospel is not merely something to be known

intellectually. This truth produces godliness.

We could say it this way. The gospel produces

godly living. Now, we'll actually hit on this

in just a moment, probably to our edification.

I certainly hope so. But I want to take just

a moment to preview it if I could. The gospel,

as I mentioned in my introduction, is not merely

about intellectual assent. Rather, it produces

godly living. And I guess I would issue a challenge

to you. And as I mentioned last week, when I

preach a sermon like this, I am preaching to

myself as well. I do not say this as if I am

the standard bearer of godly living, and I do

not say this as if I have it all figured out,

but I do say this for the fact, for the benefit

of you people, that you might consider how your

lives are being led. How are you demonstrating

godly living? This becomes the central theme

of this entire letter. We'll see this traced

throughout all three chapters of Titus. We'll

see that Paul repeatedly connects sound doctrine

to godly living. And he does so for these Christians

in the immediate context of the letter who are

living among a deceitful people. For these Christians

who live in a compromised place. in the midst

of a morally bankrupt society. It is so easy

for us to come to a knowledge of the Scriptures,

to come to a certain level of understanding about

what is taught in the Scriptures, and yet we

allow the world around us to have far more impact

on us than we do the Scriptures. It's amazing

to me how we as people have a tendency to know

certain things, but to be completely incapable

of implementing them in our lives. The scriptures

do not work that way. The scriptures are intended

to inform our lives, to shape our lives. Unless

we get things backwards, we're not intended to

do these things as a way to somehow merit. We

don't somehow work in order to achieve salvation,

but rather we're changed by it. That's why the

gospel has been given, for godliness. Additionally,

we'll see more of this when we look at false

teachers. The churches on Crete are being told

how to combat all this cultural evil by people

who themselves are not true adherents to the

gospel. This is something that I think will be

very applicable for us because right now in the

world around us, there's a lot of this going

on. Christianity is actually kind of in vogue

right now. Have you noticed? To say, I'm a Christian,

I mean, I can think of one political commentator

in particular who every other sentence, every

other breath, now I'm a Christian, who says this

constantly, constantly says this. Has his life

started to display godliness? And I don't know.

I've not been around him in a personal setting.

But my question is, is it enough merely to claim

the moniker of a Christian and yet to never have

your life transformed by the gospel? The false

teachers that we'll learn more about as we go

through this book. valued outward expressions.

They valued ceremony. They valued human works

over the life -changing power of the gospel of

grace. That's why Paul places such an emphasis

on sound doctrine. You can think of certain books

that Paul wrote in the New Testament. Ephesians

is one of my favorite books in the New Testament,

and it's famous for this. The notion... that

right understanding precedes right practice.

Ephesians is basically split right down the middle.

There's six chapters. It lends itself to the

structure very well because of the way it's organized

for us in our Bibles. The first three chapters

of the book of Ephesians deal almost exclusively

with orthodoxy. They deal almost exclusively

with right understanding. And the last three

chapters deal almost exclusively with orthopraxy,

with right practice. Paul is famous for this.

Paul is so good at this as he writes under the

inspiration of the Holy Spirit. And even here

in Titus, he does a wonderful job of helping

us to understand how sound doctrine informs our

lives, the way we lead our lives. He says later

in this very... But as for you, speak the things

which are fitting for sound doctrine. Titus 2

.1. Immediately after that, most of you know

Titus chapter 2 is a very famous passage of scripture.

Titus 2 · chapter mention

Immediately after that, he'll describe how believers

in every stage of life should live their lives.

Later. In chapter 2 and verse 14, he writes that

Christ redeemed a people who are, quote, zealous

for good deeds. Zealous for good deeds. Christian,

I say to you, if you have been redeemed by the

Lord Jesus Christ, you should be zealous for

good deeds. Amen? And again, in Titus chapter

Titus 3 · chapter mention

3 and verse 8. He writes, those who have believed

God will be careful to engage in good deeds.

You see, false doctrine, it produces corruption.

But the true gospel produces godliness. And that

theme really begins right here in the opening

sentence. It is a rather long sentence, but it

begins right here in this opening sentence. So

I want to take just a few moments to give you

five points from this opening sentence. And I

hope these will be helpful to you as you kind

of hang your hat here in the salutation of Paul's

letter to Titus. I won't be too long -winded

with these, so I ask you to follow along with

me now. The first point that I would make about

the gospel is this. The gospel produces the faith

of the chosen. The gospel produces the faith

of the chosen. Chosen, that word produces very

carefully. Verse 1, for the faith of those chosen

of God. Here Paul explains that his apostleship

exists for the faith of those chosen of God.

For the faith of the elect. Scripture consistently

teaches that God has chosen a people for himself.

This is a consistent theme in both the Old and

New Testaments. Ephesians chapter 1 and verse

Ephesians 1 · chapter mention

4. Paul has this beautiful opening to the book

of Ephesians. All of this about the glory of

God. All of these things that God has worked

out in his plan of redemption. For His own glory,

right? To the praise of His glory. I can't remember

how many times that phrase is repeated, but it's

at least three or four times. To the praise of

the glory of His grace. We see that over and

over and over. In Ephesians chapter 1 and verse

Ephesians 1 · chapter mention

4, it says very clearly, He chose us in Him before

the foundation of the world. Wow. What a thought.

God. chose us in Him, in Christ, before the foundation

of the world. In eternity past, God, who existed

in this perfect fellowship of the Trinity, the

triune God, chose us in Christ before the foundation

of the world. Romans chapter 8 and verse 30.

Romans 8 · chapter mention

Of course, you're all very familiar with that

passage. Where it is written by the Apostle Paul,

Those whom he predestined, he also... Anybody

remember? What did he do to them? He called them.

He called them the golden chain of redemption.

Those whom he predestined, he also called. Paul

is not saying here that election or God's...

choosing somehow eliminates the need for faith.

Rather, what he's saying here in this opening

to Titus is that the gospel creates faith in

those whom God has chosen. Now, it might seem

like it's a matter of syntax or somehow I am

just parsing words or I'm somehow trying to make

a point that isn't there to you, but I would

challenge you to read through the entire New

Testament and not come to this same conclusion.

The gospel creates faith in those whom God has

chosen. God has ordained both the end, that being

our salvation, our redemption, and he has ordained

the means by which that end comes about. God

is a God of means. What he has decreed in eternity

past is brought about according to his divine

and sovereign will by the means which he has

appointed. So what are the means by which we

are saved? Primarily, the gospel. This produces

the faith. of the chosen. The gospel, according

to God's eternal purpose, the gospel produces

the faith of the elect. God chooses a people

and he sends the gospel so that they will believe.

Think ahead to 2 Timothy, or think back to 2

2 Timothy 2 · chapter mention

Timothy chapter 2 and verse 10. I endure all

things for the sake of those who are chosen.

Now that's the Apostle Paul writing. What all

did Paul endure? Let's think for a moment. What

all did Paul endure for the sake of those who

were chosen? Well, we know he was shipwrecked

a couple times. Spent some time in the sea, dreading

water, right? He was imprisoned. He was beaten.

He was scourged. Paul suffered in ways that most

of us could never imagine, and ultimately he

died because of his faith. He chose willingly

to endure all those things, as he says in 2 Timothy

2 .10, for the sake of those who are chosen.

Now I ask you, if you knew that you were staring

down the barrel of a gun for the sake of someone

who was chosen, wouldn't you want to be confident?

that God was going to bring His will about in

their lives. Paul is willing to endure all things

because he's confident that God will bring His

chosen people into His fold. We should feel the

same way. As believers, we should feel the same

way. We should be confident. Though we may not

know who the elect are, though we may not know

who has been chosen of God from eternity past,

before the foundation of the world, we may not

know who they are, but we do know that God will

bring his eternal purpose about in their lives

through the gospel. Thus, we must be willing

to proclaim it. Second, the gospel reveals truth.

that leads to godliness. Now I know I've already

hit this quite a bit, and we will hit this a

lot as we go through this particular book of

the Bible, because it is just riddled throughout

this letter that Paul wrote to Titus. So I'll

go over this part briefly. We've touched on it

already, but Paul states in verse 1, and the

knowledge of the truth which is according to

godliness. You know, we've talked a lot already

about the fact that Christianity is not merely

about intellectual ascent, but I would also add,

it is not merely about emotional experience.

And this is important for us because as a people,

we tend to fall in one of two categories. We

tend to either be overly intellectual, or we

tend to be overly dependent on emotional experience.

And the church could really be divided in that

way. Don't you think that's possible that you

could see where the church either ends up being

stodgy, dry, and cold, or the church ends up

being ooey and gooey, right? You see that a lot

in the church today, in modern evangelicalism.

It's all around us. Christianity is not merely

emotional experience, and I would tell you, it

is not merely moral improvement, nor is it religious

tradition. You understand that? Christianity

is not merely moral improvement. And this is

important to note because, again, it will apply

very much when we talk about the false teachers

who were in Crete. But it is not merely moral

improvement. That is a component of Christianity.

You should be conformed to the image of Christ.

You want to measure to the godliness of God,

right? You want to be compared to Jesus, and

though you'll never reach that mark, that is

the mark for which you are striving. But Christianity

is not merely that. Christianity is not something

that we set a task in front of ourselves and

say, I'm going to develop a list. And these are

the categories of my life that I need to improve

upon. And by improving upon these things, by

improving upon these areas of my life, somehow

I will attain to godliness. Because godliness

is not merely moral improvement. Certainly it

is not, as I mentioned a moment ago, religious

tradition. The gospel reveals truth that leads

to godliness because it is rounded in. Not merely

truth to be known or assented to. It is the truth

that leads to godliness. The gospel transforms

the mind and the heart. As we mentioned before,

right belief produces right living. False doctrine

leads to corruption. Sound doctrine produces

godliness. Now, we are commanded in other places

in the scriptures. to walk in the Spirit. We

are told in Galatians chapter 5 about how we're

Galatians 5 · chapter mention

supposed to put off the deeds of the flesh, right?

And then Paul in Galatians 5, boy, Paul's getting

a lot of air time today, in the verses immediately

following that list. And it's a long list of

the deeds of the flesh, isn't it? Long list of

the deeds of the flesh. And then we're given

the fruit of the Spirit. Love, joy, peace, patience,

kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness,

self -control, all these things. Against such

there is no law. You know, that whole passage.

Everybody knows it. We're supposed to be transformed.

Our lives are supposed to be transformed by this

eternal truth that leads to godliness. But it

is not. enabled by the Spirit of God, it is merely

intellectual ascent. It is one thing to apply

Scripture to your mind and something altogether

different to apply it to your heart. So, when

we think about leading lives, godly lives, perhaps

the question we should ask ourselves, am I indwelt

by the Spirit of God? Is the Spirit at work within

me, both to will and to work? The third point

I'll make about the gospel is this. The gospel

gives the hope of eternal life. Verse 2, Paul

continues, in the hope of eternal life. Pretty

straightforward. The word hope in Scripture does

not mean uncertainty. When we talk about the

hope of eternal life, We are not merely saying,

oh, I hope we get a new governor in November,

right? Oh, I hope something changes in that situation.

Oh, I hope I win the lottery. This is not the

kind of hope that we're dealing with in the pages

of Scripture. The word hope in Scripture does

not mean some type of uncertain hope. This is

not frivolous. This is not some pipe dream. This

is not some wish. Our hope is not ethereal and

it is not unclear. As Christians, our hope is

certain. It is a confident expectation because

we possess the sure promise of eternal life.

In John 5, 24, Jesus said, Truly, truly, I say

to you, he who hears my word and believes him

who sent me has eternal life and does not come

into judgment, but has passed out of death into

life. Notice what he said. He who hears my word

and believes him who sent me has eternal life.

Not might have. could have, rather has eternal

life. Do you hear the certainty in Jesus' words?

We have a hope that is fixed according to God's

eternal purpose. And it is something that we

can rely upon because it is absolutely certain.

It is the hope. that gives eternal life. I think

it's important for us to notice as well that

our hope is not only certain, it is profoundly

joyful. This is a good point of application for

us. See a lot of Christians who have no joy in

their lives. I must confess, I'm the type of

person who can fall into that category pretty

easily. I like to blame it on my personality.

It's a convenient excuse. But the fact of the

matter is, I possess a promise from God which

He purposed in eternity past. And it's not only

that I'm certain about that promise, I'm expectant

that the promise will be fulfilled and that expectancy

should give me joy. Think of a mother who is

with child. We often talk about pregnant mothers

and how they have a glow, right? What do you

think that is? Not morning sickness. That glow

is joy. That glow of an expectant mother is there

because... She is expecting something. She is

pregnant and there is joy because she is expecting

a child. As Christians, we should be filled with

joy. As Christians, we should be marked by joy.

And again, I confess to you, this is a struggle

for me. But Christians, are you experiencing

joy? Is joy part of your life or do you simply

go through life as a curmudgeon? You simply just

run around acting like you have nothing to look

forward to. Now think about it for a moment because

I'm talking to some of you here right now. Is

there joy in your life and do you realize that

joy is a mark of godliness? It has to do with

godliness because here you are the recipients

of promise. You are a recipient of a promise

and you've been given the down payment of that

promise in the form of the Holy Spirit. He is

our surety. He is our bond. He is dwelling within

us. So if you're indwelt by the eternal God,

in the person of the Holy Spirit, if you believe

the promises that God has made to you, if you

are trusting that Jesus will come again and that

you will be found in Him, shouldn't you, just

like an expectant mother, look to that time and

think, this brings me joy. Amen? So I ask you

again, Is your life marked by joy? Life is busy.

Life is a struggle. Life is hard. Have you ever

watched your wife or your daughter or your granddaughter

go through labor? It's hard. It's painful. It's

difficult. But the moment she holds that baby

in her arms. It is as if she has instantly forgotten

the pain. Now, I know that's easy for me to say

because I haven't had to do it. Praise God. But

you know what I'm talking about. In the midst

of labor, I've heard my wife say things like,

I will never do this again. And then as soon

as she's holding that baby, and I have eight

of them, so I know this for a fact, she says,

We should have one more. Right? She hasn't even

had a shower yet after delivery, and she's, I

think we should do this again. And I'm like,

I don't know that we should. Your life as a believer,

because you have this promise from God, should

be marked by joy as you wait expectantly for

God to fulfill all of his promise. The hope of

eternal life fills us with joy because it reminds

us of these truths. Sin will not have the final

word. That gives me joy. My sin, oh the bliss

of this glorious thought. My sin, not in part,

but the whole. Amen. When we sing those words,

it's hard not to get a little crack in your voice.

Because you know that someday sin will be absolutely

done away with. Suffering, it will not have the

final word. Death will not have the final word.

One day Christ will return. Every tear will be

wiped away. Every sorrow will be removed. Every

believer will dwell forever. in the presence

of God. So Christians, be filled with joy as

you rest on the promises of God. Fourth point

for you. Fourth, the gospel rests on the promise

of the God who cannot lie. Now this one I love.

I gave even a little extra time to it, and I

know I need to hurry up. Paul continues in verse

2, which God, who cannot lie, promised long ages

ago. To fully appreciate this point, let's remember

the context of Crete in the first century. In

his Look at the Book series on Titus, John Piper

notes that lying is so prevalent in the culture

on Crete, their gods lied and the people lied.

The people of Crete were steeped in Greek mythology.

And according to legend, their chief god Zeus

was born there, yet the Cretan gods, including

Zeus, were morally corrupt and deceptive and

lying was so common in everyday life that it

was culturally normalized. Boy, that smacks of

the world we live in today. It's normal to lie.

We expect people to lie to us, don't we? We made

the comment, or I made the comment last week,

Someone in government tells us something that

we know is a lie. They know that we know that

it's a lie and nobody cares, right? Lying is

normal. Lying is just the way it is. And that

was the way it was on the island of Crete in

the first century. So when Paul writes, God who

cannot lie, he is making a profound statement.

We read that phrase and we think to ourselves,

well, yeah, I mean, we know that God doesn't

lie. God would never lie. But this was not obvious

at all in Crete. Deception was the hallmark of

their culture. Their society was known for untruthfulness.

In a culture where lying pervaded religion and

society, Paul contrasts the pagan world with

the true God of the gospel. What a contrast indeed.

What a juxtaposition to see the God of the Bible.

compared to the pagan world. The promise of eternal

life rests not on fallible humanity or some false

deity, but on the character of the God who cannot

lie. Scripture affirms this truth repeatedly.

In Numbers 23 it is written, God is not a man

that he should lie. In Hebrews chapter 6 it's

Hebrews 6 · chapter mention

written, It is impossible for God to lie. The

gospel rests on a perfectly truthful God. Unlike

the gods of Crete, unlike the deceptive people

of that island, God does not lie. Unlike the

ministers who lie, who lead double lives in our

world today, unlike the politicians who lie and

know that we know that they're lying, unlike

the people in business, who commit all manner

of graft and embezzlement, unlike the people

you see around you on a daily basis, God does

not lie. And God is not capricious. He does not

change His mind. He does not vacillate. He does

not change. Think of James 1, verse 17. Every

James 1:17

good thing given and every perfect gift is from

above. Coming down from the Father of lights

with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.

When God makes a promise, he is faithful to see

it through because God does not lie. He, newsflash,

God is not like us. He is nothing like us. Yes,

we were created in his image. but we are fallible,

sinful people. He is an infinite, holy God. Fifth,

the gospel has been revealed at the proper time.

In verse 3, Paul says, but at the proper time

manifested even His word. You see, the promise

of salvation existed in eternity past, but it

was revealed in history. Oftentimes, Scripture

calls this moment the fullness of time. Going

back to Galatians, back to chapter 4 and verse

4, but when the fullness of the time came, what

did God do? Does anybody remember that passage?

But when the fullness of the time came, God sent

forth His Son. Ladies and gentlemen, this is

a reality that has occurred in history. You understand

that? At the proper time, the gospel has been

revealed to us, and it's through the person and

the work of the Lord Jesus Christ. The eternal

plan of salvation became visible through the

incarnation of Christ, the perfect and sinless

life of Christ, the substitutionary atoning death

of Christ on the cross, and... The eternal plan

of salvation became visible through the resurrection

of Christ in power and glory. This has happened.

For Paul's audience, and it's not just an audience

of one, Titus was meant to share this letter,

obviously. That's how we ended up with it today,

right? For Paul's audience, this was an established...

This was an historical fact. On this side of

redemption, we look back and see the truth that

Jesus came into the world. The second person

of the holy Godhead took on human flesh. The

incarnate word of God came and dwelt among us.

And it's so important because it might be tempting

to... to forget to share the gospel when you

preach a message like this because you're so

focused on the eternal purpose of God. You're

so focused on, or I'm so focused on, trying to

explain the passage that maybe I might forget

to say that you and I, all of you, and myself

included, we are sinful people. Do you know there

is none of us who is righteous outside of Christ?

The reason why Jesus came into the world to save

sinners is because we're all sinners. Every single

one of us. Every single one of us. Some of you

have sinned in the process of sitting here even

now. In thought, if not in deed. Right? Thinking

that Dustin should wind this thing down. I'm

just kidding. That's not sinful. All of us are

sinful. All of us need a Savior. It's why we

begin in the catechism where we do. God, man,

and sin. Man and sin. They go together so well,

don't they? There is none righteous. No, not

one. None of us seeks after God. We are slaves

to sin. We are corrupt to our core. And it's

important for us to know that because this gospel,

which produces all of this hope and joy, this

promise that we can rest upon. There's no sense

in knowing these facts about the gospel if you

don't understand that the gospel was given for

you. Not them out there. I mean, for them out

there too. But specifically, as it applies today,

it was given for you. You need it. You had to

have it. Elsewise, you would have been lost forever.

You would have been separated from God forever.

You would have been underneath his righteous

frown forever. God's wrath would be abiding upon

you. But instead, instead, he sent his son into

the world where he lived a perfect and sinless

life. And he went to the cross as our substitute.

And he endured God's wrath. He drank down the

cup of wrath. He was our propitiation and he

did the atoning work through his sacrifice that

makes us right with God. That's how we're justified.

That's how we are seen as holy. So when you think

about the gospel, you have to remember that it

applies for all of us. And that it happened at

a real point in time when Jesus came into the

world. and did His work on our behalf. If you

do not believe that, I encourage you to search

your heart today. Paul's greeting here in Titus

1 -4 reveals really a beautiful timeline of redemption

because it demonstrates the gospel according

to God's eternal purpose. It was planned in eternity,

promised long ages ago. God purposed salvation

before time began. Again, Ephesians 1 .4, He

chose us in Him before the foundation of the

world. What a glorious reality. It was revealed

in history at the proper time it was manifested.

Christ entered history to accomplish redemption.

It was, and even to this day, still is, being

proclaimed in the present. That's why Paul says

it's the proclamation with which I was entrusted.

And he certainly was. Even now the gospel is

being preached so people may believe. And how

do they believe? Faith comes from hearing, and

hearing by the word of Christ. And it is the

only message that is powerful to transform sinners.

It's the only message that is powerful to strengthen

churches, to order churches rightly. It's the

only message that is powerful enough to change

lives and impact entire cultures. And it is the

only message powerful enough to bring glory to

God through Jesus Christ, His Son.