Live Out Your New Life in Christ!

How the Church Family Functions....

A study of the NT book of Titus

by Pastor Frank Rice

Titus 3:1-7

If a man is a doctor, a woman a teacher, or a student an athlete, there’s usually a plan to maintain effectiveness and usefulness, a conscious pursuit of things to facilitate and further effectiveness and usefulness.

 

v      Remember to live out your faith practically. Live differently because of your relationship with the true God! (This will not be easy!) These duties are not new to them.

 

v      Contribute to the sanity and stability of your society (v. 1)! “Christian behavior in contemporary society was of utmost importance for the furtherance of the gospel.” And “The apostle evidently fears that the turbulent Cretans might too readily implicate the Church in political agitation which could only bring the gospel under suspicion.” (Guthrie)

1.      Be submissive to designated forms of government. Develop an attitude that desires to cooperate with those in authority.

2.      Be obedient; societal sanity and stability rests on a citizenry that seeks to keep the spirit of the law,.. or humbly pay the fine.

3.      “Authorities are part of God’s overall order for human society. Christians are not exempt from reasonable and appropriate obligations toward the governmental authorities.” (Lea-Griffin)

4.      Be eager to get involved; do more than just keep the law! Look for opportunities to make a difference. Don’t withdraw! Christianity must be a constructive force in society.

 

v      Contribute to a positive atmosphere in your community (v. 2)!

1.      Don’t bad-mouth people. This may refer to government officials or neighbors. Respect others. Maligning, verbally attacking, or insulting them is inappropriate and unacceptable for Christians.

2.      Be peaceable and gentle, not contentious, caustic, or crude!

3.      Be known for humility, not demanding. We are to be gracious and conciliatory. Don’t misunderstand this!

 

v      Remember from where you came (v. 3)! There was a time when our lives, like the Cretans’ lives, were characterized by self-destruction!

1.      We also lived in darkness, devoid of spiritual understanding and discernment, thoughtless and senseless.

2.      We also lived in disobedience, willfully disregarding and disrespecting authority, obstinate and stubborn.

3.      We also lived in deception, willfully placing ourselves under the influence of lies. We were deluded and misled.

4.      We also lived in degradation, addicted to fulfilling our passions, slaves to various demeaning vices and pleasures.

5.      We also lived in depravity, marked by an evil disposition of the mind, an attitude of ill-will and hateful envy toward others. Envy “denotes a continual dissatisfaction with one’s own position, possessions, or power as compared to that of another.” (Lea-Griffin)

6.      We also lived as disgusting, odious, and repulsive, to each other, to God, to ourselves! (If only we saw what God sees!)

7.      We also lived in danger, at war with one another! What a sorry, pathetic, but accurate spectacle of the human race!

 

v      Christians, or even the unsaved, do not exhibit all these hideous qualities to the same degree, but we are all infected.

1.      The apostle describes “the degenerate condition of the pagan society” from which they were saved and “in which Christians had to live.” (Lea-Griffin)

2.      “Reflection upon our former condition makes it easier for us to be mild and kind toward others.” (Hendrickson)

3.      “It is salutary to remember our own past moral condition when dealing with the unsaved in their degradation.” (Hiebert)

4.      If we deny or forget who we were and where we came from:

(a)    we tend to become proud, egotistical, and aloof, overly critical of others and faultfinding.

(b)    we tend to become impatient with those with whom we live and reluctant to get involved in the lives of others!

(c)    we may become of no practical value to ministering!

5.      You were there. Don’t be too hard on them. Be forbearing, kind, and compassionate! No one said they deserve it!

 

v      Reflect on the time God made Himself known (v. 4)!

1.      This one long sentence is simplified; subject, verb, and object!

(a)   He saved us! He alone did it!

(b)   He saved us. We were destined for an eternity in hell because of our sin (1 John1:8) and sinning (1 John 1:10).

(c)   He saved us! Those who have believed the truth about ourselves and our condition and about Christ and what He has done about it.

2.      At a point in time, God’s kindness and love for mankind appeared; it was manifested so all could see it! God’s kindness and love broke through (Rom 5:8)! The light dawned and the darkness dissipated!

3.      This no doubt refers to the totality of Christ’s ministry!

 

v      Reflect on the basis and means of your salvation (vv. 5-6)!

1.      It was not based on any good thing you did, even if you were sincere!

2.      It was based totally on the mercy of God, His compassion in not doing to us what we so richly deserved!

3.      It was accomplished by means of the Holy Spirit’s work of rebirth and renewal, not reformation, but regeneration (John 3, Ezek 36). This is one imperceptible event! The washing refers to a spiritual cleansing which is symbolized by physical baptism.

4.      It was the joint effort of the Trinity; God our Savior, the Holy Spirit, and Jesus Christ our Savior!

5.      You have nothing about which to feel proud (Ephesians 2:9)! All of this is very humbling! And that’s the point!

6.      “Paul; could not be more clear in addressing the matter of the basis of salvation: People cannot save themselves! Salvation depends solely and completely on God’s grace, displayed in His ‘mercy,’ revealed and achieved by His Son, Jesus Christ, and applied to humankind by the Holy Spirit.” (Lea-Griffin)

 

v      Reflect on the purpose of your salvation (v. 7)!

1.      There were immediate and unobservable results! At the time of salvation we were declared, by grace, not guilty (justified).

2.      At that time, we were made heirs of eternal life!

 

My inheritance may be in Heaven but I still have responsibilities on Earth. Of what value am I to my church and my community?

 

If you were to “check out” today would there be a hole? Would anyone notice?

[This may seem like a harsh question, but it is a valid one.]