Titus, lesson 12

We are in the last class of the Book of Titus. And we're in lesson 11. And we are working through just the last verses. So last week, we talked about, let me get it up here. Last week we started, I think we started in verse 7, so that being justified by His grace we would be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life. We talked about the results of salvation and what are they, and the results are justification, and it's done by His grace alone. And then verse 8 says, the statement is trustworthy. And concerning these things, I want you to speak confidently so that those who have believed God will be careful to engage in good deeds. These things are good and beneficial for people. So what are the profit, well, first of all, why would he encourage Titus to speak with confidence?

What is that about? Is it enthusiasm, is it go to class and learn how to be an orator, or who's that Greek guy, Demophenes, you remember about him? The guy that walked, put marbles in his mouth, or stones in his mouth, and he'd stand at the ocean and yell as loud as he could so he could become a great speaker.

What's a confidence issue here? Notice that he says, to speak confidently so that those who have believed God will be careful to engage in good deeds. So what's the issue here? And I think it's an issue that we see in all kinds of places today. What are good deeds? Maybe that's a good place to start. What are good deeds? Shovel on the sidewalk? Run in for somebody? What makes a deed good?

From the Lord. From the Lord. Morning, Russ. Good morning, guys, over in Philippians. Maybe that's where everybody else is. One of the things we're going to talk about in the 1030 hour is those that are of the flesh pay attention to the things of the flesh, and those that are of the spirit pay attention to the things of the spirit. And one of the issues there is the flesh has both evil and good. So I can do, well, Courtney could do this, I couldn't do it. Give a million dollars to CSU. And if he did it out of the flesh, it would not be pleasing to God at all. It wouldn't be considered a good deed.

You see that? Now, helping somebody across the street might or might not be. The point is, what's the source of what you're doing? Is it source and or motive? Motive? I mean, selfish or out of the manifestation of Christ in your, you know, there are two different things that I can do it because I would, you know, I think it's such a good thing and God will smile on me a little bit more.

Yeah. Well, he gave me this money. I might as well, you know, or, or like, uh, as an example, um, J.B. Hickson rallied everybody in Douglas County to throw out the liberal school board members and replace them with conservative ones. I wonder if he ever sat down and thought, is this something God would have me do? Or is this something I think I ought to do because I'm a conservative and those liberals are screwing things up?

I mean, that's hard to distinguish, you know, I mean, if they're doing, you know, horrible things you want, you want it to be salt, light, you know, different things. So I, if it's again, motive that it's to, you know, remove people who are evil or doing things, you know, promoting, transgender, this and that, whatever. If we have the ability to impact that, I don't think that's wrong. But if it's the motive to make himself greater, you know. Again, I think there are things in politics, I mean, we hope that there are lots of believers in our government. It would be nice. I don't see a lot of that. So, I mean, I don't think it's, again, I go to the motive. Yeah, overall, you know, Paul never preached the change of society or the improvement.

He's focusing on individuals, and I think that's what he's telling Titus here, is that you speak confidently. to believers about what you know, and that you say it in such a way that you're convinced about it, and this is the way that God's Word is. And then he relates that to good deeds. So in order to qualify for a good deed, I think you need a pretty a fairly extensive spiritual education, because you have to judge what you're doing as, is this something from the Lord or of the Lord or not?

What is my motive? We don't have a responsibility, I don't think, to be in the performance of it, but we do have a responsibility to judge what we do or who's going to control us. We do have that responsibility. So, you know, lots of times we do things that, so that people will say, give us an attaboy about them.

Donna? Like there's a danger there, focusing on, you know, Is this a proper word? Sure. You know what I mean? Spend your whole life. That's what you're thinking about. So how would you solve that? I mean, how would you, if you're aware, how would you, you know, what would be the method that you would use to make sure you're not doing that? Because you're not under law, you're under grace.

And we're talking about, in plenty of verses, doctrine is not without a behavior pattern that's consistent with the doctrine. Paul never says just sit down on positional truths and don't worry about doing anything. He never says that. Doctrine and life go together.

So how do you know? I think, one, it has to be, you know, obviously if it's against Scripture, that's number one. But number two, I think it's, you know, maybe, Donna, it's, you know, if you're constantly worried about that, your focus is wrong, because you're really worried about what you, you, or the United, focuses. Am I, am I, am I, am I?

And I think it's more than, to me, it's more the manifestation of Christ's life as you have that relationship. It's just, It's who you are. I think the keys relationship, but but I think kind of knowing it is more peace and rest. I think as you have that relationship, there's peace and the other is I was thinking of too is that.

Sometimes you do screw up, but God allowed you to do that. If I'm worried about the good deed or whatever, you may think it's a great deed and you have peace about it, but you'll find out it was the wrong direction or wrong, but God allowed that for his purposes.

Calvin told me on Friday night, he said, I'll never touch a kid again. And all he was doing was coaching. And he said, you're supposed to be over here and he shoved him. I think intimacy with Christ is a secret because in all the interpersonal relationships we have, especially ones with husband and wife or people that you really care about, you're careful. It doesn't have anything to do with offending them, but you're careful. not to engage in something you know is going to either cause them to sin or upset them or whatever. And I think that as we grow in the Lord Jesus and our intimacy grows, we get a sense through this intimacy, well, the Lord would not have me do that, and I don't know what book and chapter it is, it just isn't of Him. It isn't his life. It doesn't fit the paradigm. So I think that a relationship is key. Now, this is what I really wanted to get to today. I'm going to run out of time before I get going. And I told a guy, I had lunch with a guy this week. And here's what I told him.

I said, well, verse 9, but avoid foolish controversies and genealogies and strife and disputes. about the law, for they're useless and worthless. Reject a divisive person after first and second warning, knowing that such a person has deviated from what is right and is sinning, being self-condemned." So I'm going to put you through the sieve here. You get two shots, and that's it. Actually, I said to this guy, based on what you're telling me, you've tried more than twice, I'd walk away from the situation. Can I do that as a Christian?

Says so. past lives, you know, and leadership and things. It's like, you know, there are just some people who are, their whole persona is to be... factious or you know it always Foolish controversies not genealogies and that but they're they're just they're always just picking you know and and I Think it is to stay away from or and there have been a few here that you know I can name that have come and gone And it there it's just you know like dripping water. You know it's just they're always the little things, and they're always picking at little, and I think that's what this is. So let me... Verses and always, you know, it's factious.

So I think we have to acknowledge that in the world system, there are people like this all over the place. But how about in the body of Christ? It's kind of an interesting thing, because like Paul warns on some of these that, you know, reject them, but don't throw them out. In fact, I was just finishing in Thessalonians. Admonish them, but don't throw them out. I mean, stay away from them, but don't. Well, and I think that's the same message here. Yeah, I think it's, you know, just be wary of them, you know, and deal with it. Don't let it fester, don't let it, you know, Well, let's say that this happens all over the place. In Christianity, you belong to Church A, and you're cruising along pretty well, and you're growing a little bit. And here comes a wolf in sheep's clothing.

You don't really know. And they are of a different mindset. Let's say that you're a dispensationalist, and they're not. And they carefully and quietly, but more openly as time goes on, try to insert their doctrine into the church or into your thinking. I think this is the answer right here. And it isn't that you take somebody and show them the door, but you might have to publicly denounce them. You might have to, avoid them, and not engage in that kind of controversy.

And it's interesting. Titus gets two shots at this, and then Paul says, yeah, it's twice and that's enough. And I think you see that as an example. One guy I can think of is Roland Hedrick. When he was here, was an ultra-dispensationalist and believed in three or four doctrines that we didn't. One day he was passing out Bollinger information to people in the parking lot, so we sat him down and talked to him and said, you can't do that here. You can do it wherever you want, but you can't do it here, and you can't be a member of this body if you continue going down that road.

And he said, oh, yeah, I agree. He agreed. didn't change his doctrine any, but he agreed that he couldn't proselyte his theology. Yeah. So this pertains to doctrine, right? Not like a Republican or a Democrat. No, it has nothing to do with political opinion, no. It's strictly doctrine. Well, look what he talks about. He said, foolish controversies Genealogies, why genealogies? Why would he bring it up? Because it was a huge deal in Judaism.

What family do you come from? With the advent of computers today, there are lots of people getting involved in genealogies, like Jessica Johnson is the one I can think of. And a lot of people, they want to find out where they came from. I'm not so sure I do. I knew I came from Adam, and that's enough. But the Jews, because of the 12 tribes and because of different things, would argue on and on about genealogies.

And so Paul says, this is an example. Don't engage in that. And then he says, strife. That really fits with the church because church is getting these doctrinal disputes and it splits them. The church has a history of splits because of strife and disputes. And especially if you're a grace-based church and the law is trying to be interjected.

We don't, and I may have mentioned this this morning, at 10.30, we don't realize what a devastating doctrine that the One Nature guys present. It totally destroys dispensationalism, if you buy into it. And you can say, well, gee, John MacArthur's such a great teacher. He's got great delivery. His doctrine stinks, you know.

So I'm just wondering, in response to Donna's, that it's only about the law or whatever. I'm wondering about that, like foolish controversies and things like that. I think of families. Yeah, I mean, there could be all sorts of, or politics, like you said, politics, or whoever you're just saying, or the guy down in Castle Rock or Sedalia, whatever, and bringing in the, if you don't sign my, I think it's more than just doctrine. I think this is a factious person. Somebody who's in there that's dividing based on either... because they can divide based on worldly things that would divide a church or divide a body.

I'm trying to figure it out. Geno is in disputes about the law. I don't know if that's a separate or just foolish controversies. They're all separate or they all relate to the law. I don't know, but I'm thinking that there could be a whole lot of divisions based on stupid things, not particularly doctrine-related.

Does yours show that there's a definite article in front of the word law? The law. So we're talking about the mosaic law, right? Or is it just law principle? Law is capitalized. The law. The law. So it's interesting, isn't it? So what does the debate include? which laws are relevant and which laws aren't. I remember when I was in high school with the Catholic teaching about morality, all the guys all had the same thing in their mind, how far can I go before it's a sin? That was the dispute. How far? Well, I can, you know, and that's the way the law-based people are. How far can I go?

Well, like Courtney pointed out, anything that's self-centered in terms of your performance is a law system that takes your focus off of the Lord Jesus and puts it on you and your performance. So disputes about the law are interesting. the law, if it's a Mosaic law, we positionally have been separated from it. It isn't our rule of life. Our rule of life is the Holy Spirit and grace, and so if you live in an environment of grace and you have a law-based person who is encroaching on your freedom, the instructions here are to talk to them twice about it, and if they won't, comply, you ignore them, shun them. And does it presuppose that you better be right? Because they may think they're right.

I know Roland Hedrick thought he was right. I had a lot of conversations with him, and he tried his best to convince me that ultra-dispensationalism was—in other words, what he believed is that from the time of Pentecost to the time of Paul coming on the scene, there was another group of Christians or believers in there that weren't really members of the body of Christ. That's what an alto dispensationalist believes. The church doesn't really start until Paul shows up on the scene.

Actually, the Greek word for that is, it says, about the law. It's a different thing. It's pertaining to the law, a matter of the law, someone skilled in the law, a lawyer. And then it's, you know, the lawyer Zenas, whom Paul mentions in Titus 3.13, was probably attorney of Roman law and not Mosaic law. So it's more... It's law as a principle. Yeah, as a principle. Yeah. And that's the way, that's the way Weiss says, he quotes it, but stupid questionings, genealogies, wranglings, and contentiousness, contentions about laws, turn away from and shun them. Okay.

So it comes down to, well, what can I do and what can't I do? Well, a lot of times people that live in a grace environment decide the best way to deal with that is not do anything. The problem is that the Word of God, grace is a stimulant to serve Christ. Who are these guys? I wrote down their heretics as one, therefore, who refuses to accept true doctrine as it is revealed in the Bible. So it puts the focus and the onus on understanding what God's Word says.

As a matter of fact, the conference we just got back from, the title was, overcoming a confusion about certain five or six things. And parts of it was really good. Parts of it, I'm not sure that they made their case. So you OK with that? I mean, I'm going to get a sign hanging on somebody being shunned.

So question six, what concluding instructions did Paul give? And 12 through 14, he says, when I send Artemis Tychicus to you, make every effort to come to me at Nicopolis, where I have decided to spend the winter there. Diligently help Zenos, the lawyer, and Apollos on their way so that nothing is lacking for them. And let our people also learn to engage in good deeds to meet pressing needs, that they may not be unfruitful." So it's interesting. Paul talks about future plans, where he's going to spend the winter. So obviously, it gets cold wherever he was, and he couldn't move around.

Artemis or Tychicus, who are these guys? What the wish says is that Artemis or Tychicus would be Titus's replacement in Crete when he comes to Paul. So when Titus comes to see him, the guy in charge that's left behind is gonna be this guy, Tychicus. He says, nothing is known of Artemis, but Tychicus is a co-worker who on occasion traveled with Paul, and he gave references to Acts 20, Ephesians 6, Colossians 4, 2 Timothy.

Zenos and Apollos were probably the bearers of this letter to Titus, so that identifies who all these people are. And the designation of Zenus as a lawyer could mean one of two things. He either was a Jew, which meant he was proficient in the Mosaic law, or he was a Gentile, which meant he was a Roman jurist. One of those two things. Apollos is most associated with the Corinthian church.

Notice in verse 14, verse 14, he says, our people must also learn to engage in good deeds to meet the pressing needs so that they will not be unproductive. He makes a short appeal for funds and people to be productive. Why does he do that? How did he get funds out of that? Because the months where my study went to funds. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

Paul always reminds those petitioned that giving is their opportunity for good works and will thus bring blessing to them. You remember when we were talking about Titus, how you love your neighbor? Or was it 1 Thessalonians? It was 1 Thessalonians. Here's how you love your neighbor. And when I read that, I thought, really? The first thing is, this is how I love my neighbor. First thing, I mind my own business.

The second thing is, I stay out of your business. And the third thing is, I work. I work. Why do I work? Right here. If I work, I have gain. I can help somebody. If I don't work and I'm homeless and I'm government assistance, they're always helping me because I'm lazy. And so I think that good works have a lot to do with one, your desire, motivated by the work of the Spirit in you, but two, that you're engaged in the service of the body of Christ in some manner. Like we drove up this morning, here's Bill out there with a snow shovel, and he's shoveling the aisles between where the cars are gonna park. I marvel at what some of the things that people in the body of Christ, God calls them to do, and no one ever knows that they do them.

They just do them. It's like making a coffee. So we get to the beam of judgment, and Brian gets a bunch of crowns from the Lord for making the coffee. Last question. What does this final greeting tell us about the believers at that time? You read this whole book, this whole letter, it tells us a couple of things, really interesting. If you sat down—you can do it in 30 minutes—if you sat down and read this thing and then reflected back, what would you find?

You would find that there's love that existed among those whom Paul was associated with. That would be overwhelmingly apparent. not only the people in Crete, but the people that worked with Paul. And this goes far beyond a social relationship, however, because it is bond shared within the body of Christian doctrine. True unity is unity of belief. resulting in the love towards those of like faith.

I think your example, when those people, I never can remember their name, spent at your house, and that guy mentions none but the hungry heart. You hear that, and the whole world opens right up. I think Miles and Alyssa, when we went to Georgia, for them to sit with Brian and Julia, and Dennis Roxer, and John Clark, and some of these other people, and the conversation is all about grace, and it was like, wow. They instantly loved everybody there, and everybody loved them. It's like when they came here. Miles told me when he went back, he said, we've never experienced love like that, ever.

Doctrine. There it is. There it is. All right. I just noticed that we're over. So next week, we will start on 1 Timothy. I'll do a little overview and history. The questions are there, and I'll send out the electronic one. Actually, I'll do it today. So let's close.

Father, how we thank you for your word. How we thank you for the opportunity to spend time, to read it, to study it, to come to understand exactly the grace that's there and the doctrine that's there that we might live profitable lives, glorifying you and serving you in whatever manner you've called us. We thank you for that. We pray in your son's precious name. Amen.