Titus 1

The Knowledge of the hope of eternal life results in godliness.

Well good morning everyone, a few people will be away on holidays for the next couple of weeks, so for the next three weeks we are going to look at the book of Titus. 3 weeks and 3 chapters in the book, coincidence, not in the Anglican church my friend…

Titus is a great book, but it’s a brief book, a brief book that is shot throughout with a message of hope, the hope of eternal life. This hope of eternal life shapes our life now and results in godliness. Or a more common refrain to look for throughout the book is the link between ‘Knowledge and Godliness’.

NOW a few years ago, I was having dinner with a couple of mates from uni just before heading off to a parramatta eels NRL game, where they were playing St George Illawarra. All of us sitting around the table were Parramatta supporters, except for one guy who was an ardent - and quite vocal St George supporter.

And this fella had been talking up the saints and what they were going to do to Parra in a pretty big - and quite frankly - annoying way. So one of my mates who was currently living a life of bachelor fiscal ease, said, ‘ok Big mouth $200 on the game’. To which the married with 3 small children saints supporter, went as pale as the white on his jumper, while trying not to cough up his chicken snizzel. Thankfully for him sanity prevailed, and he decided he let the team do the talking, which was a wise option, because they got beaten badly, but not half as badly as he would have been by his wife if he took the bet.

But my Parra supporting friend who wanted to make the bet, he had a good point didn’t he, if you really believed the message you were saying, you back it up even if it was going to cost you.

In his letter to Titus, Paul introduces himself as being a slave to Jesus Christ. And why? Well Paul is a slave to Christ because of his hope of eternal life.
And this is the theological truth that he wants the readers of Titus to understand, not just to understand it, but to actually draw comfort from it, and not just draw comfort from it but to life in a right way in response.

In the introduction to this letter, We see Paul’s first idea from the passage today that.

1. Paul is a trustworthy messenger of the truth
1:1 Paul, a servant of God
The word translated in the NIV has a wider meaning than just servant, it can also mean slave as is picked up in the footnotes by other translations like the RSV. A slave picks up the idea, that Paul lives for his masters purposes single mindedly and at great personal cost.

Now it is no small thing to claim to be a slave of God. Paul often seems to make some pretty big claims to me when he writes, and this claim was made in front of his peers, people who know him and his lifestyle. They probably could fairly ask the question, ‘who is this guy to talk like this’. But Paul is no ordinary guy, as his teaching and lifestyle testify, he is a slave of God. A slave who has borne a high physical cost to do his masters work.

2 Corinthians 11:23-31 Are they servants of Christ? (I am out of my mind to talk like this.) I am more. I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again. 24 Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. 25 Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, 26 I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my own countrymen, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false brothers. 27 I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked. 28 Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches. .. 31 The God and Father of the Lord Jesus, who is to be praised forever, knows that I am not lying

NOW The worst thing I’ve had to endure in my mission work is wearing a daggy Christian T-Shirt in a caravan park on Beach mission. Hardly fearing for my life is it.

I think you can see why the term slave rather than servant better fits Paul’s undertakings on God’s behalf. IF you’re a servant you wouldn’t make it past the prison sentence, much less the floggings before you hand in your resignation. In contrast, a slave no longer lives for his own purposes but his masters, he can’t leave his masters service and just find a new master – he has to see it through.

And in an important link to Paul’s teaching in Titus, he can say in V31, that it’s not just other people but God himself who knows Paul is not lying. Truth and true testimony are going to be a key issue for Paul in his dealings with Titus and the Cretans. And Paul in an amazing move can make his claim to be true before God, no small feat.

1:1 and an apostle of Jesus Christ
An apostle is an appointed messenger, one who has been chosen to both represent Jesus Christ and one whom belongs to Jesus Christ. Paul stamps his apostolic authority on the message he is about to send to Titus. Paul is both the Slave of God and the apostle of Jesus Christ. And this is a position Paul has been appointed to for a purpose. And this purpose is:
1:1 for the faith of God's elect and the knowledge of the truth
that leads to godliness--

This is summary of the very heart of Paul’s missionary work, His sharing of the true knowledge of God, is for the elect - in order that it may result in their godliness.
The expression ‘that leads’ seems to indicate a movement toward rather than a completed godliness as such. It means the Knowledge of God leads to growth in godliness in this life.

It seems there is a circular relationship between knowledge and godliness in the book of Titus. Knowledge of the truth about God, leads to godliness; and people who are shown to be godly demonstrate that they have a true knowledge of God. There is a circular relationship between knowledge and godliness and it is seen in the reverse also. In contrast those who don’t have a true knowledge of God, they show their lack of knowledge in ungodly living as we see from:

V16 They claim to know God, but by their actions they deny him. They are detestable, disobedient and unfit for doing anything good.

NOW, Our Christian life is not anti-intellectual, but neither is it purely intellectual. Our Christian life is shaped and strengthened by our knowledge of God. Our knowledge of God is personal. We are not botanists looking at a tree, but a people relating with our heavenly father.

If things are a bit tough at the moment and our godliness has stagnated, or maybe even gone south, then the cure that helps to reverse the trend is knowledge, a personal and true knowledge of God, a knowledge that results in godliness. And that’s why things like mid week Bible study and the Bible overview course I am running next year are so key to our growth as Christians. These are key to our practical godliness.

Which brings us to the second idea we see from Paul in the passage today

2. The hope of eternal life results in godliness

2 a faith and knowledge resting on the hope of eternal life,
which God, (who does not lie), promised before the beginning of time,
3 and at his appointed season he brought his word to light
through the preaching entrusted to me by the command of God our Savior,

Paul here picks up the famous triplet of faith, hope and love, and changes it in verse 2 to faith, hope and knowledge. Knowledge and Love go hand in hand, how can they not? You cannot truly love someone, you do not actually know properly – you may think you do – but that is the stuff of teenage infatuation.

Knowledge is essential to true love. But it must be accompanied by faith and hope. Our faith and hope are in a person, a person we love, and a person we can trust. God himself.

God promises, and then is shown to be trustworthy. God’s message is true. A message that was brought forward at the appropriate time. This is clearly speaking of the incarnation, the life, the miracles, the death and then the resurrection of Jesus. A message of God the Saviour, that has now been entrusted to Paul, the trustworthy slave of God and Apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ.

It seems to me that Christian people today, can feel a little embarrassed about the hope of eternal life. It’s a little quaint, a little simplistic for our complex world. Some Christian groups seem to highlight, even to the point of distortion, the benefits of Christianity for the hear and now.

And certainly there are great comforts of the Christian faith for here and now, (as well as great costs as we’ve seen from Paul’s example).
But these benefits of the here and now are nothing compared to the sure hope of eternal life. And while we don’t want to focus so much on the next life, we ignore what’s happening under our noses, - it seems our generation is in no real danger of that!
We are quite capable of knowing, how to be engrossed in our own lives!

God has given us a great gift of a sure hope of eternal life and nothing else in this life is a sure footing to stand on.

[illus] in the calendar year of 2007, Kath and I had three funerals to attend, one for an 18 month old boy, one for a 5 year old girl and one for a 33 year old man. At some point we have to challenge ourselves and other people we care about, to answer the question; is there anymore to life than what we see right in front of us? Because if there is, (and nearly everyone will at least say they hope there is) If there is anymore to life than this, the end has to shape how we live now.
Hope of eternal life shapes life now

YOU SEE Atheism works well for most Australians when they’re down the pub with their mates, with a beer in one hand and a cigarette in the other.
BUT make no mistake - atheism; is cruelly exposed as a hollow philosophy, and cold comfort to anyone, at the funeral of a 5 year old girl.

Jesus is the good shepherd; who has dealt with sin, and defeated death in being raised from the dead, for you and me. We have an sure and certain hope of eternal life.

And Hope shapes life.
faith and knowledge rest on the hope of eternal life;
and the faith of God's elect and the knowledge of the truth
they lead to godliness--


The third idea we see from Paul in his passage today is

3. Titus is a Trustworthy recipient

4 To Titus, my true son in our common faith:
1:4 Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior.
5 The reason I left you in Crete was
that you might straighten out what was left unfinished
and appoint elders in every town, as I directed you.

V5 is a linking piece from the introduction to highlight the purpose Paul’s writing to Titus, But Why is appointing elders such a big deal?
Because whoever is at the top usually sets the tone!

[STORY] Now when I worked for a consulting firm, we had three different bosses over the 7 years I was with the company.

The first was something of a miser, both financially and with praise for the work of the staff. It is safe to say he wasn’t overly popular with the staff, he was however quite good in the technical aspects of his job, so he was more feared than admired.
And this reflected on the mood of the staff, they worked hard, they stayed out of his way and overall while we enjoyed the challenge of work, everyone, and I mean everyone, all earnestly joined in the lotto syndicate for each Monday night, just hoping to find a way out.

The second Boss, was the total opposite, an extremely generous and interactive fellow. Who ensured we all got pay rises to make up for the misers reign. We even got a whole bunch of new office furniture, small things I know, but when you have a desk in the middle of a building from where you can’t even see the sun, new office furniture makes a difference. He was a nice guy, but he also lost money with this approach hand over fist.

So the pendulum swung again and we got our third boss, one who was beyond a miser, one who had spreadsheets for everything, probably had one for the amount of paper clip usage as well. This guy was not only a miser, he was just plain rude with people. So rather than wait to for the Lotto ship to come in, the staff jumped from this ship like it was named Titanic. And I was one of them!

The Boss in a business has an amazing capacity to shape the culture and attitudes of the business and the employees. You see the same thing in families as well don’t you? You see these families that spiral through generation of problems, because what their parents did shapes them, and then they shape their children and so on.

And we see the same kind of influence in churches don’t we? All of us have stories both good and bad about what happens when different leadership comes to a church. But more than any business it matters because these leaders are to carry out God’s work amongst his people as V7 tells us. When they mess up – in action or teaching - they don’t just ruin some business – they give God’s reputation a black eye.

Being a truthful messenger is important to God, because it affects the welfare of his people. Just as God has chosen Paul, to be entrusted with a truthful message, now Paul wants Titus to ensure in the Christian Church in Crete;

The fourth idea we get from Paul in today’s passage is

4. This message is for trustworthy people

You see God sends Paul, Paul sends Titus, Titus appoints leaders and the leaders are to stand against the false teachers we meet later in the letter. This gospel message is for a trustworthy people. These people are God’s representatives.
6 An elder must be blameless,
the husband of but one wife,
a man whose children believe
and are not open to the charge of being wild and disobedient.
7 Since an overseer is entrusted with God's work,
he must be blameless—
not overbearing, not quick-tempered,
not given to drunkenness, not violent, not pursuing dishonest gain.
8 Rather he must be hospitable, one who loves what is good,
who is self-controlled, upright, holy and disciplined.
9 He must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught,
so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it.

Christian Leaders are to handle the truth of God’s word and be blameless, without accusation before other people.

[Appl]It’s a great list to have open in front of you when you pray for the leaders of our church isn’t it? And especially when you pray for the new leader of the parish that God has already in mind?

But Actually, these things are to be common to all Christians and it’s a great list to have open when you pray for yourselves.

It is not hard to conceive of the terrible impact upon the church and the work of the gospel if the leader of a Church were any of those things.

Paul tells us this message is for a trustworthy people.

And why should the leader be like this, Paul goes on to explain
10 For there are many rebellious people, mere talkers and deceivers,
especially those of the circumcision group.

We don’t learn a whole lot about the circumcision party,
[Illus] It seems to me to be the most unlikely party platform to ensure votes from the public for mind. But apparently these people have some success as they pop up regularly as something of a thorn in the side for Paul’s teaching and the work of the Gospel as you can read about in Galatians Ch 2:

You see the problem for Titus becomes as he heads for the Church at Crete, is our final point for today:

5. How do you solve a problem like false testimony?

Nobody likes someone else to say things about them that are untrue, do they? Sydney as City loves to sue others for defamation. We’re affronted when someone speaks falsely or with lack of knowledge about us. So Why would God who has gone to such great lengths to make himself known through the life of his son and the testimony of faithful apostles, why would God not also be just as affronted when someone speaks falsely of him?

SO Paul instructs Titus that:
11 They must be silenced,
because they are ruining whole households
by teaching things they ought not to teach—
and that for the sake of dishonest gain.

The false teachers it seems are to be silenced. Because false teaching ruins households, it ruins the ones under their care. It results, as we learn in Titus, in ungodliness.

True Testimony again
12 Even one of their own prophets has said,
"Cretans are always liars, evil brutes, lazy gluttons."
13 This testimony is true.

[STORY] Now this is the kind of guy you want at your dinner party, I’d love to hear his opinion on Canterbury Bankstown or St George supporters! But then again I might not like to hear what he has to say about Australians in general, or then again what he has to say about people from MT Riv/Glenbrook – I’m not too sure I want to know what he would come out with about Mt Riv/Glenbrook Anglicans – the mind boggles, so we’ll quietly move on and get back to the safer ground of what he thought of the Cretans.

Cretans are always liars, evil brutes, lazy gluttons and this testimony is true – So what is Titus to do? How do you solve a problem like false testimony among Christian brothers and sisters?

Therefore, REBUKE them sharply,
so that they will be sound in the faith
14 and will pay no attention to Jewish myths
or to the commands of those who reject the truth.

Who is the them? Well I think it is probably the Cretan Christians rather than the false teachers. The Cretan Christians are to be rebuked back to sound faith, but it seems the false teachers are something of a lost cause. As Paul explains;

15 To the pure, all things are pure,
but to those who are corrupted and do not believe, nothing is pure.
In fact, both their minds and consciences are corrupted.
16 They claim to know God,
but by their actions they deny him.
They are detestable, disobedient and unfit for doing anything good.

Strong words aren’t they!
How do you solve a problem like false testimony
Silence the false teachers and

2:1 You must teach what is in accord with sound doctrine.

The importance of teaching is Something We’ll talk a little more about next week.

Titus is an extremely practically focused book, a good thing for our age that seems to lament the perceived dryness of much theology, Titus as martin Luther has said, ‘..is composed in such a masterly manner, that it contains all that is needful for Christian knowledge and life.’

This book is challenging us to take a good hard look at ourselves, do you see what others see about you in your actions? Is your hope of eternal life and knowledge of God resulting in godliness? Godliness as a trustworthy witness of the gospel in word, behaviour and relationships?

A difficult task – so why don’t I pray for God’s empowering Spirit to indwell and change us. Let’s pray;