Titus 3: Only Through Christ

Hello, and welcome to the Kalamazoo church of Christ podcast.

Thank you so much for listening.

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We pray that you are inspired by what you hear today.

Well, good morning, church.

Thank you very much for the great introduction.

I'm very proud of you and Bianca here in Kalamazoo.

So that I feel blessed, man.

So today we are going to be concluding our study of the book of Titus or Paul's letter to Titus.

Now, give you a little background here.

Paul wrote this letter to Titus while Titus was leading the church in Crete.

About the same time he wrote to Timothy.

Now Titus has an impressive resume.

Titus was a Greek, but that just don't make him a great on a resume, but he was a Greek.

He was converted to the gospel by Paul himself.

Titus labored with Paul to spread the gospel.

He's the one who took the first letter to the Corinthian church.

The first Corinthian letter, Paul gave it to Titus so he can take it to Corinth.

And Paul was also the one who gathered donations for the poor in Jerusalem.

So he's been involved in the ministry quite a bit.

Now Crete is actually a very prominent area when the letter was written.

It's an island said to be about a hundred cities in there, so it's fairly large.

There were many harbors in there and I believe Paul had a vision of spreading the gospel through the merchants and traders there so they can carry the gospel as they go.

However, the people in Crete were not really the best.

You probably already know this by when you're reading Titus.

They were proud, they were arrogant, they were bash, and they were also labeled as liars.

Well, that's pretty strong.

So we know that they were not really solid.

Now Paul's instruction to Titus, I feel are an instructional guide.

You know, it's like an employee handbook when you're first given in a workplace.

Those resources guide us with action to take and to avoid in certain situations.

Now you receive a reward if you follow that instruction.

After two weeks of pay or 40 hours of work, you get a reward.

And the reward is generally financial reward.

However, when receiving a reward for completing your work at the end of the pay period, this chapter, chapter 3, reveals that our efforts don't necessarily earn the reward.

Instead, it's a gift.

It is a gift not tied to our action or our performance in God's mercy.

So, just to let you know this, you're probably already aware, the book of Titus has three chapters in it.

Two weeks ago, we looked at chapter 1, where Paul instructs Titus to appoint elders and to rebuke false teachers.

So there were two key elements in there.

Last week, we did chapter 2, Jaron talked about instruction on life in general.

Practical advice to older men, older women, younger men, younger women.

Today, we're going to examine chapter 3, which discuss how to live a godly life within our community.

I think that's important for us, how we can live a godly life within our community.

So let's start with the first two verses here.

It says here, remind the people to be subject to rulers and authority.

To be obedient, to be ready, to do whatever is good, to slander no one, to be peaceable and considerate, and always be gentle towards others.

You know, to facilitate our understanding of this, even though there are only two verses here, let's break them down into smaller components here.

Now, it says to be subject to rulers and authority.

The reason why we need to break it down is I think it will help us understand this a little bit better.

To be subject to rulers and authority, what does that really mean?

You know, respect for rulers and authority, including government and church leaders, is crucial.

It's crucial for the church leaders to obey the church leaders, and also to respect the authority of the government.

You know, our values and experience and cultural system shapes our opinions.

We all have opinions.

See, Paul's message is not to avoid politics, he's not talking about that, but to prioritize respect for authority.

Now, this is the area in the past that I struggled with.

I struggled with politics and the policies of certain government or certain leaders.

I used to follow primaries, and I can even tell you where the rallies are going to be at, and in which city, so much so, because I was really involved in it.

My struggle was because there was some disagreement with my philosophy and what was going on there.

However, I learned to relinquish that.

That mindset, which is no longer bothering me now, because it was consuming me a lot.

In fact, I was just asked a question, I believe, yesterday, when is the primary, and I did not know the answer.

That's how far away I have been.

Jaron asked me the question, and I don't know the answer to that.

And I thank God for that, because I was consumed by stuff like that.

Now, it's easy to get caught up in the stress of politics, but it is important to remember that things could always be worse.

In the past, people lived under harsh rules, like NATO, during ancient Rome.

And currently, some countries, they suffer from lack of freedom, religious freedom.

So, if your preferred candidate doesn't win, don't worry.

Things could be worse.

Now, the only thing that is necessary for believers, for us, to disobey the government, is when the government command us to do something that will require us to disobey God.

Now, at this point, we must obey God, rather than men.

This is pointed out in the book of Acts.

In Acts, chapter 5, verse 29, it talks about we must obey God, rather than men.

Acts 5:29

Now, we should only stand against anything if human authority tells us, tells men, or leads men to sin.

That's why we need to stand up and be disobedient about it.

But other than that, we need to respect the authority that God has ordained.

The authority that God has ordained.

Now, let's look at a few verses in the book of Romans that will address this.

Okay, here.

In Romans 13, verses 1-2, it says, Let everyone be subject to the governing authority.

Romans 13:1–2

For there is no authority except that which God has established.

The authority that exists has been established by God.

Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against God, as instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves.

That's pretty strong.

That explains itself.

God ordained, we need to respect that.

The next thing here is to be obedient.

To be subject, to be obedient.

Now, to be obedient is very vast.

This is a big topic here.

And we don't have time to go through that.

However, I found a quote that sums it up very nicely.

This is the quote here.

An inward attitude of submission results in the outward action of obedience.

Oh, wow.

So, whether we are submitting to the word of God, whether we are submitting to our relationships, submitting to God, it starts with an inward submission which will result in the outward action of obedience.

Obedience is a behavior.

It's an action that we outwardly project, but it has to come from some place.

That's the inward submission.

I think I've said enough on this.

You probably got what I was talking about that I want to explain.

So, good.

Let's look at the third item here.

To be ready to do whatever is good.

Be prepared to engage in the act of goodness without limitations or boundaries.

Because whatever implies that there are no restrictions or to the extent which you can do good.

So, there is no cap how far you can go with doing good.

So, always remember the word whatever when you're trying to do good.

And then to slander no one.

Now, it's crucial to be mindful of our words and avoid slandering others.

This aligns with the fundamental principle of loving our neighbors as ourselves and treating them as we want them to treat us.

Now, we should be cautious not to tarnish anyone's reputation even if we believe we are justified in doing so.

What do we really gain from that?

The harm caused by slander can be subtle and we must strive to avoid it at all costs.

I'll tell you a little story here.

Many years ago I can't remember whether it was a Sunday service or it was a midweek but it was a church service and I was whoever was in front I made a comment to the individual sitting next to me and he turned around and he looked at me and he said, that's slandering.

I was taken aback by that.

I'm like, I didn't say anything bad.

But you know what?

Those subtle things that we don't see.

I realized after that and I told him, you know what, you're right.

I shouldn't have said that.

The subtle things that we say, we probably don't mean any harm but it can eventually grow deeper and deeper in our heart.

So, at whatever cost we must strive to avoid it.

And then, be peaceful.

Be peaceable.

To be peaceable we must refrain from slandering number one, that we just saw earlier.

Now Jesus is a peaceful figure who attracts people while obnoxious people repel them.

So, people generally are not drawn to people who are not peaceful or anxious.

You're very rarely seeing a group of people huddling around someone who's really anxious.

You won't find that.

So, when we know that, so let's go look at the opposite, how we can be at peace or be peaceable so people will be drawn to us.

To be considerate.

Considering the needs of others can be difficult as we may unknowingly cause harm or cause some kind of offense by not being thoughtful.

We must always consider our consequences of our actions on those around us.

Sometimes we don't mean it, but when we are not considerate it can create some issues around us.

So, we always have to bear in mind that we got to always be considerate.

Finally, number seven, to be gentle towards everyone.

Exhibiting humility is essential in demonstrating gentleness.

You have to have humility in order to do that.

Jesus is a remarkable example of this quality.

You know, it is hard to demonstrate gentleness when we exhibit pride and arrogance.

That's a discussion of a whole other time, pride and arrogance.

So, you know, we look at the seven here, the seven two.

To be subject, to be obedient, to be ready, to slander, to be peaceable, to be considerate, to be gentle towards everyone.

Now, you probably ask, just seven, that's it?

How come there is nothing here about serving the poor or feeding the hungry?

You know, if we focus and excel in these seven areas, again, this is not exclusive.

There are other areas that we need to grow into.

These are, you know, the things that I mentioned, feeding the hungry, taking care of the poor, those are byproduct of obedience and readiness to do whatever is good.

Whatever is good.

So, it is all encompassed in that.

So, it's not just the seven little things here.

This encompasses a lot.

Now, this is verse one and verse two.

We've got a lot more to go yet.

So, I'm going to jump to verse nine and then we'll come back to verse three and eight later.

So, verse nine, it says, But avoid foolish controversies, genealogies, and arguments and quarrels about the law, because these are unprofitable and useless.

Earlier, Paul mentioned things that we should do.

Now he is talking about not to do.

He is talking about avoid foolish controversies.

Well, let's see what that means here.

See, controversies can arise when parties hold different opinions.

Controversies can go endless unless one or more parties show humility.

Now, however, it's important to realize when a controversy is not engaging in, to just stop it.

Engaging in foolish controversy only wastes time and energy and leads down a rabbit hole.

It is best to let them go.

Now, on the flip side, if the controversy evolves on the issue of salvation, we cannot let that go.

We need to go to the Bible because the Bible is clear on this.

We need to refer to the Bible.

Now, if you're having a controversy with someone and discussing this and they are not open to examining the Bible, why engage in it?

Maybe they are not ready yet.

So, we need to see where people are because sometimes we can go into these controversies and it kind of drains you.

You get frustrated, it's not bringing any benefit.

Genealogy is the second one here.

Now, we can engage in discussions that are not relevant to salvation.

Paul's instructions here are not to waste valuable time disputing over foolish matters such as one's ancestry, which is unprofitable and useless.

Who cares whether Jew or Gentile?

You know, Christ came and paid the price.

We are all one.

Let's look at the other one here.

Argument.

Why do you think we argue?

That's good one.

When we feel insecure to prove ourselves, we tend to argue.

However, this behavior doesn't align between considerate and promoting peace.

You know, I don't see Spencer and Gary here.

But, you know, football season is around the corner.

If you see Spencer and Gary in the corner talking about stuff, make sure you tap on their shoulder because they could get into an argument.

You know, Spencer is going to say his Green Bay Packers are the best and Gary is going to come and say that his new Detroit Lions are the best.

So, they are going to kind of get into that.

So, if you see them out in the corner, just make sure that, you know, tell them, hey, you know what, it doesn't matter.

Jesus is still Lord.

You know, we can get arguments on many different items.

And, you know, if I were to ask you, when is the Sabbath?

Saturday or Sunday?

We could have different opinions on it.

Why argue about it?

It's not affecting our salvation.

It's not affecting our eternity.

You can go online and check it.

They will have two different opposing views on that.

Now, the next one here, the quarrel about the law.

You know, false teachers can swear if we don't watch ourselves.

We must bring it back to the Bible and not on opinion.

As I mentioned before, the Bible has the answers to it.

Sometimes we can get into this quarrel about the law, a discussion.

You know, I was reading something, I can't really remember.

It said religious individuals generally get into a lot more quarrels about the law because we have our opinions attached to it and not opening up the Bible and examining what the Bible says.

And even then, when you open up the Bible, we can get into some kind of quarrel.

So, we got to be careful with that.

In fact, not just Paul was talking about it, I believe in Matthew, okay, anyway, before I get to that, this probably will answer some of the questions or probably provide some solution.

Why foolish controversy, arguing about those and quarreling about the law?

The more you know, the less you need to say.

Let your action speak for itself.

Let your gentleness, your kindness reveal that.

Sometimes we let our mouth try to do the convincing, but we have other actions that should compliment that.

In Matthew chapter 7, so it wasn't only Paul talking about false teachers.

Matthew 7 · chapter mention

Even Jesus mentioned this.

He said, watch out for false prophets.

When you watch out for false prophets, they come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves.

You know, a sheep is gentle.

A ferocious wolf, the opposite.

But you got to be careful with that.

Sometimes we can have ferocious wolves come in sheep's clothing.

So, it is important for us to be anchored in our Bible.

Important for us to have a good understanding of the Bible.

You know, it's important because if we don't get into that, we can let circumstances and we can let opinion sway us away.

So, are you guys still there?

Now that I have overwhelmed you with all the things to do and things not to do to avoid from Paul's instruction to Titus, which are equally applicable to us today.

Let's shift gears a little bit here.

Let's see the good news.

See, all the things that he talked about, the seven do's, the seven to do, and then the four to avoid.

We can do all of that, but that's not what saved us.

We can continue doing that.

We can continue doing good, but that's not what saved us.

So, let's look at, remember I told you I'm going to come back to three and eight.

So, let's go to three and eight now.

We'll look at from three to five and then we'll go from six to eight.

So, here it says, at one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived, and enslaved by all kind of passion and pleasure.

We live in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another.

But when the kindness and love of God, our Savior, appeared, He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of His mercy.

He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ, our Savior, so that having been justified by His grace, we might become heirs, having the hope of eternal life.

This is a trustworthy saying, and I want you to stress this thing so that those who have entrusted in God may be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good.

These things are excellent and profitable to everyone.

The other things that he talked about are, you know, remember the controversy, the argument, those are not profitable.

This is what's profitable here.

Here's the good news.

God is always here to transform our lives.

The transformation is only possible because of God's grace and mercy.

There is nothing that's a result of our efforts.

Let's read verse 5 and 6 again here.

Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't click that.

Verse 5, He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of His mercy.

And in verse 6 it says, whom He poured out on earth generously through Jesus Christ, our Savior.

You know, God pours out His grace and mercy generously.

God's mercy means we are not getting something that we don't deserve.

That's God's mercy.

For our actions and for whatever we've done, we're not getting what we deserve.

In John, I'm going to go to John chapter, 1 John chapter 3, it says, How great is the love the Father has lavished on us that we should be called children of God.

1 John 3 · chapter mention

Lavish! You know, lavish means something in generous or in excessive amount.

That's lavish.

That's what he's saying.

How great is the love that the Father has lavished on us that we should be called children of God.

You know, when you are a child of someone, you are entitled to the inheritance, right?

We are incredibly blessed to be called children of God.

So that means we are entitled to inheritance of God.

And what is that?

We are heirs to God's kingdom.

We have inheritance that is in God's kingdom.

So now we must focus on the future or wherever you're going with it and not let our past mistakes or shortfalling hold us back.

It is very easy if you notice, sometimes the past comes into our mind and the devil can manipulate our thoughts and make us feel inadequate.

I don't know if you have felt that.

Sometimes you feel like, I cannot do it.

I'm not good enough.

That's not what God promises.

I think that sometimes we can get into the rabbit hole and that can be difficult to come out.

Because we are children of God.

Maybe it would be good to memorize this scripture here.

How great is the love the Father has lavished on us that we should be called children of God.

So where do we go from here since we have been blessed abundantly?

Some of us here are excited that you are in Christ.

Amen.

That's great.

Continue the journey and share the excitement with others around you.

Some of us are on a journey to find God, but may not be ready to devote ourselves or summit to his plan.

Yet, you might be holding onto something you fear losing.

You know, 34 years ago I was in that situation where I was seeking and I was not ready to let go or surrender to God.

There is one thing that someone told me that made a change there.

There is a comment someone made.

I was studying a Bible with this leader and we go through a bunch of Bible studies.

Finally he told me you know, is it okay if we go and meet with the minister?

They have to pull in a minister to study with me because of my pride and arrogance.

So seriously, they got to bring him.

And this is what the minister said though.

I might be paraphrasing it.

But he told me, Calvin, you think you can do better in life on your own than with God by your side.

I was taken back by that.

And I'm like, how dare you to say stuff like that?

And I'm glad that he said that because it got me thinking and pondering because I always am self-reliant.

I came to this country here on my own.

I had no relatives.

I went to a college that I did not know anything about the American system.

I didn't even know what quiz meant in college.

I took this psychology class in my very first semester and they said, we're going to have a quiz.

Well, if I had looked at the syllabus, I would have known, but I did not do that.

So after the quiz, well, the day before the quiz, my roommate and I were talking.

I said, I have a quiz tomorrow.

He said, are you ready for it?

I'm like, what's there to be ready for a quiz?

In Malaysia, quiz means you go to class, you just raise up your hand and you answer a question.

It doesn't affect your grade.

But here I wasn't ready for it.

So needless to say, I did not do well.

You know, so when that was presented to me, I am glad that I took some time to reflect on it.

That I cannot do this, that I cannot do better in life on my own than with God on my side.

And I'm so glad that I made that decision.

Had I not done that, I wouldn't be here today.

So we always reflect, go back to the Bible and see what God's plan.

God has a plan for every one of us here.

Now, some of us have embraced Christ, but maybe facing challenges that are weighing heavily on your heart, causing us to feel drained and unhappy.

You know, that can happen over a period of time.

That's taking you away from God.

Your joy has been robbed.

And I believe the only way to come back is to reflect on what God has done for us.

So wherever we are, we have God's unfailing love, grace and mercy.

We need to seek that continuously.

Some of us, we've been around for a long time.

We feel like we know this and I personally believe that we need to constantly be seeking that.

That's why we constantly read the Bible.

You know, just because we've been reading the Bible for 20 years doesn't mean we don't need to read the Bible today.

You always will find something in the Bible.

But on the flip side, we are not saved by doing good.

That is, when we are doing good, the things that I showed earlier, that's our way of giving God the glory and doing the work that he has called us to do.

So, in conclusion, we look at Paul's instructions to Titus for the church in Crete, which are applicable to us here.

Now as I speak, as I'm speaking here, I hope something has touched or pricked your heart.

Some areas you feel you are lacking or need to have a deeper growth or need deeper conviction on.

Remember, you are not alone.

And no one is perfect.

So, don't feel bad about it.

Now I'm going to read verse 1 and 2 and then 9 again.

It says, just for the reminder here, it says, Remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to do whatever is good, to slander no one, to be peaceable and considerate, and always to be gentle towards everyone.

But avoid foolish controversies, genealogies, arguments and quarrels about the law.

Now, when we see all that, you know, you feel like, you know, I want to improve myself in some of these areas.

Or you say, well, I want to improve in all of these areas.

Well, it can be overwhelming to do it on your own.

That is why we need Jesus.

We need constant prayer.

We need others around us to hold us accountable.

Or we might need someone to mentor us in that area.

If that's an area you feel compelled to grow, talk to someone that can help you by holding you accountable and praying with and for you.

And you might need someone to mentor you or to coach you through that process.

But we cannot just take a big leap here.

We need to take little steps.

You probably heard that before.

And I'm going to tell you why taking little steps is important.

The importance of little steps.

Now, the individual, they both have the same goal.

They want to get to the top.

But the one on the left, the rungs are smaller, smaller steps.

The one on the right, not too many rungs there.

This is where we need people in our life.

This is where the blind spot that's here that others can see.

And maybe as a solution, we need to get you another rung here.

Maybe a couple more rungs before you get to the first step.

This is why sometimes we feel discouraged and we feel that we cannot change or we cannot grow in whatever area that we're trying to grow.

So, again, never forget the power of God's love, grace, and mercy that he demonstrated by sacrificing his son on the cross.

When God talks about grace and mercy, God's love for us is incredible that he gave up his one and only son so that we can be saved.

Now, as we conclude this message, let's focus on the cross.

Let's focus on the cross and what took place there.

We need to look up at the cross to understand and appreciate God's love and mercy.

It would be hard to understand God's love and mercy if we don't focus on the cross.

The cross is where everything began.

Contrary to a lot of different events, sometimes when something is gone, it's the end of it.

For us Christians, it's actually the beginning of it.

It is the beginning.

So, what happened at the cross?

At the cross, an innocent man gave his body and shed his blood so that we can be redeemed and have eternity.

Now, we are redeemed at a price that we cannot pay.

We can try, but we won't be able to do that.

Jesus has demonstrated the ultimate sacrifice by going on the cross for us.

And it's important for us to be constantly reminded of that.

That's why we take communion every weekend.

Now, it's not only on Sunday that we need to be reminded.

We need to be reminded as we go along in our daily affairs every time.

Now, let us always remember God's love, grace, and mercy.

In fact, I probably used that word many times already.

So, they say you have to use it at least seven times so that you can remember it.

So, as we take the bread that symbolizes his body and the juice that symbolizes his blood, let us remember what happened at the cross.

And the power of the cross is incredible.

And we need to see why did this all happen.

It all happened because God loved each and every one of us.

And we are sons of God.

So, let's pray.

Our Father in Heaven, God Almighty, we are so thankful for you for sending Jesus, the sacrificial lamb that took our sins away and cleanses from condemnation.

We are so glad that we can experience eternity because of your son Jesus.

Because of you, you sacrificed your one and only son for us, God.

As we take the bread that represents the body and the juice that represents the blood of Jesus, we are reminded of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, that you bought us at a price that we could have never paid.

It's in Jesus' name I pray.

Amen.

Thank you so much for listening to the Kalamazoo Church of Christ podcast.

If you're in the Kalamazoo area, we'd love to get connected.

Please go to kalamazoo.church and fill in your information to come to a Sunday service or any other event that we have going on.

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