Text: Revelation 2:1-7

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Text: Titus 3:1-15 Title: “Growing Disciples … Living Good Lives” Pt.1 Open your Bible again today to Titus 3 and as you do allow your imagination to take you back nearly 2000 years to the Mediterranean island of Crete. In the little town where you live someone introduced you to Christ and you were saved. It’s Sunday and you and the other believers in your town gather in the home of one of the disciples to pray and sing and hear the Word of God. Today there’s a guest who has joined you. His name is Titus, and you learn that he’s a special assistant to the famous Apostle Paul. Paul came to preach the Gospel on your island and many were saved. And Titus has been left on Crete to strengthen and structure the churches to grow as disciples of Jesus. He has in his hand a piece of parchment on which is written a letter from Paul. As Titus reads the letter you learn that your little church needs pastoral leaders called elders or overseers and what their qualifications are. They will teach you sound doctrine because, as you are well aware, there are false teachers roaming around trying to lead people away from the Gospel. As Titus continues to read you learn how everyone should behave in whatever season or station of life they’re in … men, women, and slaves. You are all to behave in a godly way because Christ Himself has redeemed you to be His people who are eager to do what is good. Titus looks up from the letter and makes eye contact with every one of you in the room then he continues to read the part of the letter that we have in our Bibles today in Titus 3:1. You’ve heard this before but the urgency in Titus’ voice causes you to lean in. Titus 3:1 - Remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready to do whatever is good, As believers we need to be reminded of all that is true about our life as growing disciples of Jesus. Now, this has to do, first of all, with… 1. WHAT WE OUGHT TO BE Titus 3:1 - Remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities… Our discipleship is connected to our citizenship in our nation and in our communities. Paul is concerned that proper doctrine be taught that would result in true goodness and godliness seen in the way we relate to everyone but especially those in authority over us.

Now this was a huge challenge on Crete. In Titus 1 Paul has already quoted one of Crete’s own poets who describes Cretans as liars, brutes and gluttons. Historians tell us that the government on Crete was so unscrupulous that it was virtually impossible to find a decent ruler. Injustice and corruption was rampant. But here you have Paul telling believers that they should be good citizens who obey the laws and the authorities, even when they may feel they are not worthy to lead. How could he teach that? It’s based on the premise that Paul sets forth in another one of his letters. Romans 13:1 - Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. So one of the ways we show submission to God is by submitting to the leaders God has placed over us. Titus 3:1 teaches us that we should be ready to do good and to work for the benefit of our communities. This isn’t just church work. This is what it means to be salt and light in our community. We are to be ready to do whatever is good, but it all starts in our attitude. Titus 3:2 - to slander no one, to be peaceable and considerate, and to show true humility toward all men. So believers are not to slander or insult others. Instead we are peaceable (not argumentative), considerate (focused on the needs of others) and humble toward all people. We need to remind one another of this as we post stuff on social media. Our First Amendment rights of free speech end where the commands of Scripture begin. We do not have the freedom to slander or speak evil of those in authority over us. Instead we should be peaceable, considerate and humble toward all people. And one thing that can help us do that is for us to be reminded of not only of what we ought to be but also… 2. WHAT WE USED TO BE Before we judge others we need to remember what we are all capable of.

Titus 3:3 - At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. Here’s a dark and sinful list that describes what we are apart from Christ. We were “foolish.” In another place in the NT it says without Christ we are darkened in our understanding because we are separated from the life of God. Also we were “disobedient.” We rebelled against the authority of God. Apart from Christ we are “deceived” by our own ignorance and the deception of the devil. We were “enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures.” Instead of being mastered by the will of God we are mastered by our on sinful impulses. While we were lost we lived in “malice,” meaning hostility toward others. Along with that there is “envy,” which is resenting others because they have possessions or positions greater than we have. We were “hated” by others and in turn hated them. Our life was just a tangled mess of broken relationships. Maybe you’re thinking, “I was a child when I was saved and I wasn’t ever that bad.” True, but you were just as lost. Paul says in v.3, “We were once this way.” This meticulously upright former Pharisee includes himself. Even if all that evil fruit didn’t show up, at the very least because of our sin nature the seeds of this wickedness were in our hearts and ready to spring up at any time. ILLUSTRATION – John Bradford, the great British preacher and martyr, once watched as a criminal was being led to the gallows to be hanged. He reportedly turned to a friend next to him and said, “There, but by the grace of God, goes John Bradford.” Now here’s the kicker: We can’t be as good as we ought to be, nor can we change what we used to be, without God’s help. So next we are reminded of… 3. WHAT MAKES THE DIFFERENCE The next few verses contain one of the greatest explanations of the Gospel to be found anywhere. If you write or mark in your Bible draw a circle around this passage. Read Titus 3:4-7. This is what makes the difference. This is what turns mean-spirited, self-centered, proud, deceived lost people into humble, gentle, helpful citizens of the community and of the church. This is the great movement of God toward us. Notice the verbs describing the activity of God. There are four of them.

HE APPEARED TO US. Titus 3:4 - But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, “But when…” changed everything. Our sin was great, but God’s kindness and love was greater still. In Romans 5 Paul talks about how powerless we are to save ourselves, then he says… Romans 5:8 - But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. And the same is true here in Titus 3:4. We were foolish, disobedient, hateful and selfish, but God moved toward us. His kindness and love appeared to us. Yes, God is a holy and just God and He must punish sin. Yes, in our sin we are objects of God’s righteous wrath. But God is also kind and loving which causes Him to move toward us to rescue us. A kind and loving God comes looking for us. He turns the light on that allows us to find our way to Him. The kindness and love of God first appeared in the person of His Son Jesus who was promised by the prophets in the OT and who came at just the right time. And it appears every time someone hears the Gospel. So the first great movement of God toward us is that He appeared to us. Next… HE SAVED US. Titus 3:5a - he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. “Saved” is a great biblical word. People might shy away from it because it sounds kind of preachy, but it’s a good word. Back in v.4 God is called “God our Savior.” It’s His heart to save, rescue and deliver us from our sins. God our Savior became a man in the person of His Son Jesus Christ. In Luke 19:10 Jesus said that He came to seek and to save what was lost. Acts 4:12 - Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.” It’s not because of our righteousness because we have none. God put His Son upon the Cross of Calvary as the payment for our sin because we had no righteousness

of our own. Salvation is not because of our righteousness, but because of His mercy. He has pity and compassion for us as we are completely helpless to save ourselves. 2 Corinthians 5:21 - God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. What a reason to celebrate. He appeared to us. He saved us. And the next thing God did was… HE POURED OUT THE HOLY SPIRIT ON US. Titus 3:5b-6 - He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, When we are saved the Bible says that God pours out the Spirit on us, and He does it generously. This is the full experience of God the Spirit coming to take up residence in us making our bodies the temple of the Holy Spirit. And that happens when we receive Jesus Christ our Savior. With the coming of the Holy Spirit comes “the washing of rebirth.” We were dead in our sins, but through the coming of the Spirit into our lives we are born again and our sins are washed away. Then there is “renewal by the Holy Spirit.” There’s new life! The new birth happens to us instantaneously when we receive Christ. The renewing is a process by which the Holy Spirit makes us more and more like Jesus. The Spirit indwells us, sustains us, encourages us, empowers us and He guarantees our life to come. And it starts when God pours out His Spirit on us. But then… HE JUSTIFIED US. Titus 3:7 - so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life. Justification means that based upon the payment of our sin debt by Christ on the Cross we are made right with God. The debt has been paid; the sentence has been served. We are no longer enemies of God. We are now heirs. Our names are included on the list of those heirs who are eligible to receive the inheritance of eternal life. So we have hope.

Eternal life begins the moment we are saved. Jesus said, “I have come that you might have life and have it abundantly.” But this “life” really kicks in after we die when we go immediately into the presence of God where we will live for eternity in a place called heaven which He has prepared for us. What makes the difference is that God appeared to us, saved us, poured out His Spirit on us and justified us. This is the great movement of God toward us. It’s the picture of the lifeguard seeing someone drowning in the surf. They leap from their stand, crash through the waves, dive into the surf and rescue the drowning person. I think of a person helplessly, hopelessly trapped in a burning building when through the flames and the smoke appears the lone figure of a firefighter coming to save them. But to be more accurate picture yourself already dead on the floor of the ocean when the lifeguard plunges deep into the waters scoops you up, pulls you to the shore and miraculously resuscitates you. Picture yourself lying dead on the floor of your burning house, your lungs filled with acrid smoke when the firefighter scoops you up, pulls you outside and breathes new life into your lungs. QUOTE: John Pollock in his biography of pastor and song-writer John Newton tells of a conversation John Newton had with a friend when Newton was on his deathbed. Newton told his friend: “Although my memory's fading, I remember two things very clearly: I am a great sinner and Christ is a great Savior.” Now is this automatic? Does God do this for everyone? No. We learn from the rest of the Gospel what our part in this is. What must I do to be saved? Acts 16:31 - “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved… Today, all this can happen for you. Repent of your sins. Put your trust in Christ for the gift of eternal life.