A Gospel-Rich Beginning

This particular greeting is somewhat unique in that it is one of the longest of Paul's

introductions to any of his letters.

Most of his letters include a brief opening with his name and the name of the recipients.

Paul here with Titus, though, tips his hand a little bit.

He tips his hand in these verses to reveal the main point of his letter, which is that

the gospel produces godliness and that structures must be implemented in the churches on Crete

that would preserve God's truth.

So let's refresh ourselves from last week.

What is it that is the theme of the book of Titus?

I found this helpful.

There was no reason to try to improve on it.

So from your ESV study Bibles, you'll see this as listed as the main theme.

The theme of Titus is the inseparable link between faith and practice.

Between belief and behavior.

And this truth is the basis for its critique of false teaching, as well as its instruction

in Christian living and the qualifications for church leaders.

And when we start off right here at the beginning of the letter, Paul tips his hand a little bit

and he gives us an idea, almost even a synopsis of what we can expect as we continue to study

further.

He states his call to begin.

And in stating his call, Paul not only provides the credentials for his authority, but he connects

the letter as a means by which God is accomplishing his purposes in the churches on Crete.

I know that was a mouthful, so let me just say that again.

Why is it that Paul opens up by telling them he's a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus

Christ?

Part of it does have to do with credentials.

There was some tendency in false teachers to diminish that in Paul's ministry.

And it's not unusual for him to have that purpose at the beginning of his letters, establishing

who he is and what his authority is.

But it's not just that here.

There is this idea where Paul is saying, this is who I am.

This is what God has called me to be.

Therefore, everything that's coming behind this, everything that I'm writing to you is

God's means of building you up as his people.

He's just using me as his instrument to do so.

That's an important fact as we begin to get through this.

He says he's a servant of God, an apostle of Jesus Christ.

His service to God is to bring the elect to faith, understanding, and godly living.

His apostleship for Jesus is to proclaim the Christian hope, which is God's eternal plan

in salvation through Jesus Christ alone.

That's what he means by this.

And he plainly spells it out to us so that we know what follows here is not actually coming

from Paul.

That's important, isn't it?

Because how do we distinguish sometimes when we come to these New Testament letters, and

then maybe we look at some of the extra biblical letters and books, maybe the early church fathers,

and how do we distinguish that this particular book belongs in our Bible, and this particular

book, it may be helpful, but it doesn't actually belong in our Bible.

And some of that comes back to how the apostles addressed it themselves.

Paul knew as he wrote this letter that this was not just coming from him.

This was coming from God.

This was a means by which God was building up his people.

And so the content of Titus serves the very purpose for which God had saved Paul and called

Paul into the ministry.

And I think that's helpful for us to note as we start.

The beginning here is, as we just read, I'm sure you picked up on it, it is rich in gospel

theology.

Paul's testimony here serves as a helpful model to us as to how we should even think of and

evaluate our own Christian lives.

And my aim this morning is to do two things.

Using Paul's greeting, I want to encourage you through the hope that we have in Jesus, because

that is really what this greeting is about.

It's about Jesus, and it's about the gospel, and we should take great encouragement in the

words that Paul says.

I want to encourage you about that.

But I also want to challenge you, as we look at Paul's life as a model for Christian living,

to examine ourselves and ask, is the gospel impacting my life in the way that I write,

in the way that I talk, in the way that I think about others, in the way that I carry

on in my life?

Is the gospel impacting my life in the same way that it impacted Paul's life?

And if it isn't, why isn't it?

Because it's not a failure in the gospel.

It's not that the gospel was more meaningful for the apostles than it is for us.

So there must be something there.

What is it that is preventing me from actually following the pattern that Paul sets forth as

he faithfully followed Christ?

So let's dig into this greeting together.

The first thing I want to note is Paul's gospel purpose.

Paul's gospel purpose.

Look with me again at verse one.

Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ.

So very clearly, right off the bat, the source for Paul's authority was not a religious enterprise.

It was not a denominational council of Christian leaders.

From the opening line, he asserts that his authority came from being a servant of God

and an apostle of Jesus Christ.

And now one of the reasons we can discern that this was a public letter is that Titus

didn't need to know that.

Titus already knew that.

He had, for many years, traveled with the apostle Paul.

He was well aware of Paul's apostleship.

He was well aware of Paul's calling.

He knew Paul's testimony as well as anybody else would have known Paul's testimony.

He knew he was a servant of God.

There would have been no reason for Paul to write a letter to Titus,

intending only for Titus to read it and to give this type of address at the beginning.

Clearly, Paul understood this is not just for Titus.

It's a personal letter, but it is not a private letter.

And given the tendency that the opponents of Paul had to arouse suspicion about his credentials,

it makes sense that Paul would state his authority at the beginning of a letter he intended to be a public letter.

And just a simple note like that is helpful to us.

It's also necessary to see Paul didn't view his authority arrogantly.

He didn't think of this as a means to lord over people.

That's not why he's writing them a letter.

It's not like Paul got word that,

Hey, Paul, you know, there's these churches in Crete.

They're not doing things the way you do them.

And we think you should probably say something.

Because typically, we have that type of personality sometimes, don't we?

Especially in the church world, we can be bad about this,

where we hear about this Christian over here or this church over here,

and we think they're not doing things the way that we should.

We should be the spiritual watchdogs for the churches in our town.

And we should let them know that they're wrong.

That's not what Paul's doing here.

He's not getting word that the churches on Crete are doing something,

and he just needs to correct it because he needs all these churches to look like him

and do things the way that he does it,

as far as just his personality and preferences are concerned.

No.

He described his calling in terms of service to God.

I'm writing this to you because God has instructed me for this purpose.

I serve him, not myself.

I'm not trying to tell you what to do.

I'm trying to instruct you in what God desires for you to do.

He uses the Greek word for slave here.

We translate it servant or bond servant often in modern English translations

because we're so afraid of the word slave.

It has such a negative connotation in the history of our nation

that we're afraid to use it in any sense.

But that's exactly the word that Paul uses here.

He says, I am a slave of God.

Doulos.

Doulos reminds us that he had completely, willingly given his whole self,

all of his life, all of his will, all of his desires, all of his identity,

all of his freedoms.

He had surrendered it all to serve the Lord God.

The theme of Titus, of course, is that the gospel of Jesus radically transforms

those who believe and follow him.

And is there any greater example in the New Testament of this type of transformation

than the man who was once known as Saul of Tarsus?

You can read about it in the book of Acts.

Paul had always considered himself a servant of God.

But prior to trusting Christ, the service he offered to God

had the purpose of self-righteousness.

He was trying to establish his own status before God,

trying to earn his way into God's favor, and it made him an enemy of God.

He was an enemy of Christ, going throughout the churches,

dragging people out in their worship services,

persecuting the church, consenting to the murder of leaders within the church

as we see him consenting to the martyrdom of Stephen.

That's who Paul was.

But that man is now writing to these churches on Crete,

and he's saying, no, I'm not the enemy of Christ.

I am now the servant of Christ.

I am an apostle, a messenger sent by Christ.

Just in the very fact of that identification,

we see that something dramatic and transformative

has happened in this man's life.

He was a servant of God.

He wasn't writing from a sense of entitlement.

He was writing from a sense of responsibility

to fulfill the commission that had been given to him

from the Lord Jesus Christ.

But what was the purpose of this calling?

Look again at verse 1.

Why did Jesus choose Paul?

What was really the purpose of this?

What was the plan that God had for Paul's life?

Well, Paul tells us here that God had saved him,

and Jesus had commissioned him,

quote, for the sake of God's elect.

Those God has graciously chosen to redeem as his people.

And there's three ways here that Paul identifies

that his calling was working itself out

in relation to God's elect, to God's church,

to those who believe in Christ.

First way is this.

It was for the sake of their faith.

For the sake of their faith.

Look at it again.

For the sake of the faith of God's elect.

Now, my intention is not to get into the complexities

of the biblical doctrine of election,

and I'm sure many of you will be appreciative of that.

But this verse actually can be very helpful for us,

especially those of us who struggle to reconcile

what seems to be, in the Scripture,

a contradiction between the doctrine of God's sovereign election

and Jesus' command of evangelization,

of preaching the gospel to the world around us.

And what I want to point out to you here,

and for our purposes this morning,

is this, that Paul didn't view his ministry

as paradoxical to God's sovereignty.

He viewed it as completely consistent with it.

He knew that the Spirit's mysterious work in salvation

was God's business.

That was in his business to determine who is elect

and who is not elect.

His responsibility was to preach the gospel

to all people,

trusting that God would accomplish his saving purposes

as the gospel went forth.

Isn't that what Jesus had in mind in the Great Commission?

He told the apostles,

I have all authority,

therefore go, make disciples,

preach the gospel,

teach them what I've commanded you,

and then remember he followed it up with,

and lo, I am with you always.

In other words, as you go, I'm going,

and as you preach the gospel with your words,

my spirit is gonna stir the hearts of the people

that you speak to.

This is the means by which God does his saving work.

Paul understood that.

He said, God has called me.

He's commissioned me

so that people will be saved for the elect's sake.

Tim Chester said,

Paul knew there were people out there

whom God had chosen to make alive.

All they needed was someone to preach the gospel,

and he could be that person.

If he preached,

then those whom God had chosen

would put their faith in Christ.

It might be a long process,

but God would save his elect.

All Paul needed to do

was preach the gospel.

See, God's sovereignty and salvation

does not negate

the Christian's responsibility of evangelism.

It actually does the opposite.

It empowers those efforts.

It tells us that our evangelization

of our families and of our communities

and of the world

does not rest ultimately on our ability

to phrase things in just the right way

or to have just the right personality.

That burden doesn't rest with us.

God says, go, preach the gospel,

and he's gonna accomplish his work

as he sees fit to accomplish his work.

And as Charles Spurgeon said,

the same sun that melts the ice

hardens the clay.

And there's gonna be times

when we preach the gospel

where God's purpose

is a purpose of judgment,

where he hardens the clay

of someone's heart.

And there's gonna be a lot of times

where we preach the gospel

and the gospel melts

the ice of people's hearts.

That's not because we're good

at sharing the gospel.

It's because God is a faithful God.

And as we go,

he goes.

It is through the sharing of the gospel

that God draws sinners to himself.

And like Paul,

our call from Christ

is to joyfully

and faithfully

spread the good news.

He says, I'm a servant of God.

I'm an apostle of Jesus Christ.

And the first thing God intends for me to do,

the reason he's done this in my life,

is for the sake of the faith

of God's elect

so that people will be saved.

But then there's a second thing here.

It's also their knowledge of the truth,

their knowledge of the truth.

Look again at verse one.

Paul, a servant

for the sake of the faith of God's elect

and their knowledge of the truth.

So if the faith of God's elect

reflects the responsibility of evangelism,

the knowledge of the truth

might be understood

as the ongoing work of discipling.

That was also a part of

Jesus' great commission, wasn't it?

It was go,

make disciples of all nations

by baptizing them,

preaching the gospel,

and teaching them,

training them in the truth.

Paul saw his calling

as one that helped mature

believers in the truth.

And his emphasis on sound doctrine

as we go through this letter

indicates that discipling

was a vital ministry,

not only of Paul,

but he intended it to be

a vital ministry within the church.

And we do well to note that.

But I don't think that's what

he means primarily in this verse.

I think those things are true.

But Paul especially has in mind

in this moment

the full knowledge of the gospel.

The full knowledge of the gospel.

Bill Mount says this.

He's a Greek scholar.

He says,

Truth is a technical term

in the pastoral epistles

for the gospel,

emphasizing the need

to understand the content

of the preached message.

When Paul says,

My purpose

is for the sake

of the faith of God's elect

and their knowledge

of the truth.

He means their full knowledge

of the gospel.

Why would he say this?

Because there's always

a temptation

to water down the gospel

in an effort

to produce as many converts

as we possibly can.

But Paul understood

that true faith

was only possible

with a complete understanding

of the gospel of Jesus.

Not a complete understanding

of the Bible.

Not a complete understanding

of all the different

theologies

and systematics

and what's going to happen

at the end

and what does this mean

and all of that kind of stuff.

Not that.

But for a person

to be saved,

they need to actually know

the fullness

of the gospel.

And when we get our eyes set

on winning

as many people as we can,

there will always

be a temptation

for us

to cheapen

the gospel message,

to shorten

the gospel message

in order to try

to persuade people

to believe.

But that's not true faith.

Churches do that this way.

They emphasize Christ.

They emphasize his love.

They don't really deal

much with sin.

If you don't deal with sin,

if you don't deal

with God's wrath,

you're not preaching

the full gospel.

I think what Paul intends

primarily,

I think the discipling part

is there.

I think that's clear

in the letter.

But I think primarily

what Paul is saying here

is that God has called me

to preach the gospel

for the sake of God's elect

and their knowledge

of the truth,

their full knowledge

of the person work

of Jesus Christ,

which is reflected

in Paul's letters

as we read through.

There's a reason

the apostles return

to the fundamental truths

of the gospel

over and over.

It's because it's tempting

to think that the gospel

is only helpful

at the moment

of conversion.

Sometimes we think,

I know that.

I don't have to keep

thinking about that.

But then you come

to your New Testament

and your Bible reading plan

and you'll find that

the apostles,

they never shut up

about it,

did they?

They just kept talking

about Jesus.

They just kept talking

about the gospel.

Why?

Because there will never

be a day in your life

that you don't need

to at least preach

to yourself

the truth of the gospel.

It's through daily reflection

on Jesus

that the Holy Spirit

shapes us,

that he fashions us

in the likeness of Christ.

And if the end result

of faith in Christ

and knowledge of the truth

is godly living

as we'll see

in just a moment,

doesn't it make sense

that every day

we think on Christ,

we think about Christ,

we think about his gospel,

because that seems

to be the way

that the Holy Spirit

comes in

and he begins

to shape our lives

to be like Christ.

Paul's call

and our call

is to preach

the whole truth

and nothing but the truth.

So help us God, right?

Well, what's his purpose?

It's the forsake

of the faith

of God's elect,

it's their knowledge

of the truth

and then it's

their godliness.

Look again at the verse.

For the sake

of the faith

of God's elect

and their knowledge

of the truth

which accords with

godliness.

It's really complicated,

isn't it?

It lays it right out

for us.

Well, what is godliness?

Godliness is the

total commitment

of one's life

to God

and it emphasizes

the practical

outworking

of one's faith.

I don't remember

which letter it was,

it might have been

to the Philippians.

Paul said,

work out your own salvation

with fear and trembling.

Do you remember that?

That doesn't mean

figure out a way

to be saved.

It means the salvation

that God has put in you,

the gospel that God

has transformed

inside of you.

Let it work itself out

in the way that you believe,

in the way that you live,

in the way that you talk,

and in the things

that you do.

Accords with,

here in this verse,

it means that godliness

is not exclusive

from faith and knowledge,

but instead it is

the inevitable result

that they bring about.

In other words,

faith and knowledge

and godliness

are not three options

and you choose

kind of independently

which one you want

to focus on.

Oh, they all three,

they work together.

They make us like Christ.

And again,

this is the main point

of the whole letter.

Paul's tipping his hand here.

He saw it as a fulfillment

of his call

to instruct godly behavior

that accords with one

who truly belongs to Christ.

It just makes sense,

doesn't it?

If we belong to Christ,

wouldn't that affect

the way we live?

And Paul opens up,

he says it just makes sense.

As you believe the gospel

and know the truth,

things are going to change

in your life.

They're going to change.

You're going to look

at the word different.

Your obedience

is going to be different.

It's going to come

with a different spirit.

Of course,

he's going to flesh that out.

Maybe we summarize

this point this way.

Paul says,

God has called me.

Jesus has commissioned me

so that his chosen

will be saved

so that they'll know

the fullness of the gospel

and display godliness

in the way that they live.

And what I'm writing

to you in this letter,

Titus and Cretans,

is the fulfillment

of my responsibility.

as God's servant.

This is what God

called me to do

and I'm doing it.

And that's how you should

receive this letter.

Not as me lording

over your life,

but as a message from God

and from our Lord

and Savior,

Jesus Christ.

And if that's how

Paul intended the Cretans

to understand it,

that's the way we need

to understand this letter

as we work our way

through it as well.

So we see Paul's purpose.

That was the longest part.

Now we'll see Paul's hope.

His gospel hope.

Look at verse 2.

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.

Well, verse 1 shows

the purpose of Paul's letter.

Verses 2 and 3 revealed

the spirit with which he wrote it.

He did write with urgency.

We talked about that last week,

but his tone was not worrisome.

You know, when I get urgent

or stressed out,

the tone with which I speak

to Julie and the girls

is not typically hopeful.

It's typically harsh

and worrisome and fretful.

If we don't get going

on these things,

it's not going to happen

the right way

and things are going

to fall apart.

That's not the sense

that Paul has here.

He is writing with urgency

because all of this

is important,

but the spirit

with which he's writing

is actually very hopeful.

His eyes are set

on eternity

as he writes this letter.

And it is through the lens

of Christian hope

that we are to understand

the message.

So let's consider it.

Verse 2.

He says,

hope of eternal life.

And can I remind you

that in the Bible,

hope is not a wish.

Hope is a confident anticipation.

By faith,

we believe God is going to do

what God said he'd do.

That's what biblical hope is.

It's not,

I'm clinging to this

as best I can

and hopefully

it all works out.

That's not biblical hope.

Biblical hope is

God has said this,

I believe this,

and I am awaiting

with confident anticipation

the fulfillment

of all that God has said.

When Paul is writing this,

he doesn't mean to indicate

a cautious optimism.

No, he's absolutely convinced

that believers

by faith

receive eternal life.

And that comes through

Jesus Christ alone

because Jesus is our Lord

and Jesus is our Savior.

But hope with Christ

reminds us of our

hopelessness

without Christ.

So let's take a moment

and just rehearse

this truth of the gospel.

What is this hope

that Paul speaks of?

Kids are learning this

on Thursday nights.

Maybe kids,

you can help me out here.

The Bible says

that God created us

to reflect his image

and to bring him what?

Glory.

That's our purpose.

The world tells you

you have no purpose.

It will tell you

that you're here by chance.

What you do with your life

is really up to you.

So you live it the way

that you want to live it?

You live your truth

because your purpose

is whatever purpose

you want it to be.

There's no one else

indicating why you're here

or why you should be here

or why you should do

any one thing.

That's what the world tells us.

That's not what the Bible

tells us.

The Bible says

we actually have a purpose.

That God created us

for the purpose

of his glory.

Kids, what does the Bible say?

How can we glorify God?

God.

God.

God.

God.

God.

God.

God.

God.

God.

God.

God.

God.

By loving him

and obeying him.

Wasn't that Adam and Eve's

purpose in the garden?

Of course, God gave them

responsibilities.

We understand that.

They were to be fruitful

and multiply,

but the ultimate purpose

of all of that

was God's glory.

And they would display

God's glory

and they would give him glory

by loving him

and their love for him

would ultimately be shown

in their obedience to him.

And God comes down

and he says,

you can have whatever you want

in the garden,

but don't eat of this tree.

Now, everything God made

was good.

There wasn't poison

in the tree.

It wasn't a bad tree.

It was just God said,

don't eat of it.

And it's God's prerogative

as creator

to tell us

what he likes

and what he doesn't like,

what he wants us to do

and what he doesn't want us to do.

And for Adam and Eve,

it was don't eat of this tree,

but they did it anyways,

didn't they?

And the problem is

that every one of us

has done the same thing.

We haven't eaten

of a forbidden tree,

but we've fallen short

of God's glory

by sinning against him,

rebelling against him.

And every one of us

are guilty.

That's Romans 3.

All have sinned

and fall short

of the glory of God.

What's the glory?

Loving and obeying him.

How do we fall short?

We sin against him.

We disobey him,

indicating that we love us

more than we love him.

Well, then the Bible

also reveals to us

that God is holy.

He can't tolerate sin.

He can't have communion

with sinners.

Therefore, he must judge

our sins.

And what does sin bring, kids?

Sin brings death.

Now, God even shows

his kindness to Adam

in even the fact that

he could have taken

their life right there

on the spot,

but he didn't.

Graciously,

they live a full life.

They live the life

of a thousand people

in the years that they lived.

That's because of God's grace.

But in that moment,

they died in a different way.

Spiritually, they died.

They could no longer

have fellowship with God

the way they had enjoyed before.

And they never would

apart from God's intervening

in their lives.

The same is true for us.

Sin makes us

the enemy of God.

And our only hope

of peace with God

is if he forgives our sins.

But that's the problem,

isn't it?

God is holy.

How can a holy God

forgive our sins?

Because he wouldn't be holy

and just

if he just pretended

like our sins never happened.

That's not the gospel.

The gospel isn't

if you do these things

that the Bible says to do

that God will turn a blind eye

to all the things

you've done in your past

and he'll give you

a free pass into heaven.

That's not the gospel.

If that's what you think

the gospel is,

you are not a Christian.

And your home

in eternity

is not heaven.

That's a lie.

God can't turn a blind eye

to our sin.

He must judge sin.

That's why Jesus is a gift.

Because God sends his only son,

his perfect son,

his sinless son,

because only a sinless sacrifice

could atone for our sins.

And when we come to Christ in faith,

it's not that God the Father

looks at us

and turns a blind eye

to the things that we've done.

No, he takes our sin

and he pours out his wrath

that's meant for us

on his perfectly sinless son.

That's why atonement

is made at the cross.

Christ, through the cross,

bears the wrath of God

that's intended for sinners.

And because he's absolutely sinless,

it's a sufficient sacrifice.

And God proved

that it was a sufficient sacrifice

by raising him from the dead

three days later.

That was the purpose

of his resurrection.

Yes, indeed.

Death has no claim on him

because he had no sin.

Yes, he has the power

over life and death

because he's the Lord

and creator of the universe.

Jesus, the second person

of the Trinity,

the Son of God.

But it was also to show us

that God received his atonement

as sufficient for us.

Why does Paul write with hope?

Because Paul knows

that it worked,

that we actually have forgiveness.

This is the hope

with which he's writing.

And he means that

because of Jesus,

the sinless Son of God,

eternal life,

is a certainty for him

as a believer.

Two things I want to point out quickly.

Here's the first one.

The foundation of hope

is God's righteousness.

The foundation of hope

is God's righteousness.

Look again at verse two.

in hope of eternal life,

which God,

who never lies,

promised before the ages began

and at the proper time

manifested in his word.

What is Paul basing his hope on?

It's not on his own reasoning.

He wasn't sitting back one day

and just as a genius,

and I think Paul was actually a genius.

I don't think he was sitting back one day

and thinking,

you know,

I'm going to examine

all that I know about world history

from the very beginning.

And he didn't start to piece together

and think,

you know,

here is a method

that I think maybe

we can work our way back to God.

And there's this guy, Jesus.

And I think maybe

there's the stories of him.

That's not what Paul was doing.

His hope wasn't based

in his own reasoning.

His hope was based

in God's righteousness.

His hope was based

in God's word.

Now this phrase,

before the ages began,

it might refer

to God's plan in eternity

to bring about our salvation.

That truth that

even before he created us,

God promised

our ultimate redemption in Christ.

Now that doctrine is true.

Paul talks about it

in other places.

Ephesians chapter one

is the one that comes to mind

most frequently

where Paul says,

even as he has chosen us in him

before the foundation

of the world.

So clearly,

God's plan of salvation

is an eternal plan,

not just eternal future,

but also an eternity past.

This is always God's plan.

But I don't think

that's what Paul means right here

in this text.

I don't think that's what he means.

While that is true,

the context suggests

that what was promised

before the ages began

are the promises of God

shown to us

in the Old Testament.

And what is listed as

at the proper time

was manifested in his word

refers to the gospel of Jesus

in the New Testament.

Now it's very much

like the way Paul opened

his book of Romans.

Would you just flip there quickly?

Let's read it together.

Romans chapter one.

Romans chapter one,

verse one.

Listen to how similar this is.

Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus,

called to be an apostle,

set apart for the gospel of God.

Now look at this in verse two,

which he promised beforehand

through his prophets

in the Holy Scriptures.

And what were the promises

referring to?

Verse three,

concerning his son

who was descended from David

according to the flesh

and was declared

to be the son of God

in power

according to the spirit

of holiness

by his resurrection

from the dead,

Jesus Christ,

our Lord.

I think this is what Paul means

in Titus chapter one.

He's not necessarily referring

to the eternal truth

of salvation.

He's saying,

my hope rests,

not on my own reasoning,

my hope rests on the fact

that God gave us his word

and God never lies

because God is absolutely perfect

and holy

in all that he does.

And I can prove

that he didn't lie here

because if you go over here

and you look at the person

of Jesus Christ,

he fulfilled every prophecy

about the Messiah,

every one of them,

not one is lacking.

And all the power

that was displayed

in his life,

all the power

that we see ultimately

in the resurrection

of Jesus Christ,

Paul says,

my hope is founded

on nothing less

than Jesus' blood

and righteousness.

My hope is not

on what I think,

my hope is on the word of God

and God doesn't lie.

What a wonderful hope this is.

This is real hope

based on God's truth.

Listen,

hope can only be certain

if it's founded

on something

that's perfectly trustworthy.

And the only thing

that fits that description

is the righteous character

of God and his word.

And if your belief system

is founded on anything

other than God's truth,

it's faulty.

And you need to abandon it

before it leads you to hell.

There's hope in Christ alone.

And it's certain

because it's founded

on God himself.

So, hope is founded

on God's righteousness.

Secondly,

the preaching of hope

is a necessary stewardship.

The preaching of hope

is a necessary stewardship.

Look at verse 3.

through the preaching,

this is how it was made manifest,

through the preaching

with which I have been entrusted

by the command of God,

our Savior.

So, the hope of the gospel

is revealed to people

through the proclamation

of God's truth.

Paul said this preaching

of the gospel

was entrusted to him.

It was entrusted to him

by the command of God,

our Savior.

This means that God's purpose

in saving sinners

is accomplished ultimately

through the obedience

of his people

to share the gospel.

Because we know and believe,

we have a stewardship,

a responsibility

to preach the good news

to others.

Paul understood this.

It's true for us too.

He actually uses this word stewardship

in 1 Corinthians.

In 1 Corinthians 9.16,

he says,

necessity is laid upon me.

Woe to me

if I do not preach the gospel.

For if I do this

of my own will,

I have a reward.

But if not of my own will,

I'm still entrusted

with a stewardship.

In other words,

Paul says,

even if I don't want

to preach the gospel,

it doesn't matter

because I have a responsibility,

a stewardship

given to me

by God the Savior

to preach the gospel.

And this stewardship

belongs to us as well.

I know only God can save,

but it is unmistakable

in this text

that he accomplishes

his saving work

when we preach the gospel.

And the stewardship

of the gospel,

it wasn't just given

to the apostles.

apostles,

Jesus commissioned

all of us to go,

all of us to go

with his authority,

all of us to go

and make disciples

of all nations.

And the question is,

are you faithfully

tending to your stewardship,

to the responsibility

you have?

Are you being obedient

to the Lord?

Because it is through

that obedience

that we see

the fruitfulness

of God

come forth

in our lives.

If we don't tell

the people around us,

who will tell them?

Isn't that Paul's point

in Romans 10?

Everyone who calls

on the name of the Lord

will be saved.

What a wonderful assertion.

How then will they call

on him

if they haven't believed?

How can they believe

in him

whom they have never heard?

How are they to hear

without someone preaching?

And how are they to preach

unless they're sent?

For faith comes by hearing

and hearing comes

by the word of God.

In other words,

Paul says,

look,

I know salvation

belongs to God,

but it's our responsibility

to obey his command

to preach the truth.

And if we have a burden

for the lost around us,

we're going to do that.

We're going to share

the gospel.

Even if we don't have

a burden for the lost

around us,

we're going to do it

out of obedience

to the Lord

and a desire for him

to show fruitfulness

in our lives.

Well,

that's the gospel hope.

Finally,

let's look at

Paul's gospel greeting.

Paul's gospel greeting,

verse four,

to Titus,

my true child

in a common faith,

grace and peace

from God the Father

and Christ Jesus

our Savior.

Not as flashy

as the other parts,

but it's good

because it's a model.

This became a standard greeting

in the early church.

You'll see it often

all throughout

the New Testament,

this phrase,

grace and peace

from God,

grace and peace

from God to you.

It was a blessing

that Christians

gave to one another

in recognition

of the hope

that they had.

Some of you do this

when you email me

and you text me

and I love it.

I've tried to do it myself

because of some

of your example

that when I write a note

to not just end

with your friend

or whatever,

but something like

grace and peace

from God

or in Christ Jesus

our Lord

or whatever it is.

I love this

because it shows

that Paul was so consumed

with the truth

of the gospel

that it pervaded

all of his thoughts.

It pervaded

all of his interactions.

Even his personal

greetings to others

were shaped

by his understanding

and the impact

of the gospel

on his life.

Grace to you,

he says.

Peace from God

to you.

It was only because

of Jesus

that Paul,

a Jew,

could refer to Titus,

a Gentile,

as a true child

in a common faith.

For him,

Titus wasn't merely

a friend and colleague.

He viewed his relationship

to Titus

through the lens

of his unity

with Titus

in Christ.

I think this is the way

we should view one another.

We talked about it

in our partnership class

for a little while yesterday.

We view one another

not through the lens

of what we hope

each other will do for us.

We view each other

through the lens

of what Christ

has done for us.

We love each other

that way.

We forgive each other

that way.

We see each other

as brother,

sister,

child in the faith.

Paul was so impacted

by the grace of God

that he used it

as a language

with which he greeted believers.

And I won't belabor

the point.

I just want you

to see what it looks like

when a believer

allows the gospel

to saturate their hearts

and minds.

What does that look like?

It looks like

the first four verses

of Titus.

That's what it looks like.

And if you're here

this morning

and you don't have

a lot of confidence

about your eternal

standing with God,

can I just remind you

that true hope

can only be found

in Jesus?

You'll never be good enough.

You may be good enough

for me

and for most people,

but you can never

reach God's standard.

And you need not even try.

You'll never make it.

You'll fall short

every time.

Jesus is everything

that you need him to be.

He suffered God's wrath

for sinners.

And if you will repent

and believe,

you'll know

that he suffered

God's wrath

for your sin.

This faith and repentance,

it's the only path

to forgiveness.

It's the only path

to peace with God.

It's the only path

to eternal life.

And if you hear

his voice today,

not with your ear,

but with your heart,

you don't need a delay

in responding.

You need to come to him

and you'll find him

to be everything

and more

than what you ever thought.

For those of us

who know Christ,

I think we need

to recognize

that Paul's purpose

and Paul's hope

is not different

than ours.

He had a unique calling

as an apostle,

but his purpose

was the same.

We're here.

Christ has saved us.

He's left us here.

He's commissioned us

for the sake

of the faith

of God's elect,

for their knowledge

of the truth,

and for their godliness.

We owe that

to the community around us.

We owe it

to one another.

It's our cause,

our purpose.

Live out that purpose

to the glory of God

and with great joy.

Maybe today

you need to repent

of a lethargy

in regards to evangelism

or a lethargy

and your commitment

to study the gospel

regularly

and be faithful to it.

Maybe you need

to refresh yourself

on the beauty

of the gospel

so that you'll

once again reflect it

in the way that you live

and in the things

that you do

and the way that you think.

Maybe you'd do well

to evaluate

the extent

of the gospel's

impact on your life,

the extent

of the gospel's

impact on your routines.

Are you with Christ

day by day?

Are you in the word

day by day?

How has the gospel

impacted the way

that you live,

the way that you speak,

the way that you pray,

the way that you regard

the people around you,

the way that you think

about that guy

that cut you off

this morning

or your husband

when he refuses

to make the bed?

The gospel impacts us

in all of those ways.

It really does.

You're going cold

or callous to this?

Oh, I know.

I know if you come

to the Lord today

repenting of those things

and trusting in Him,

He will give you

the grace that you need

to make the change

necessary in your life

because that's the hope

we have in the gospel.

It's not just a hope

we have at conversion.

It's a hope that is good

and sufficient

every single day.

It's good to takeNING

to take