Transcript

Brian Wilkerson tells the following true story. Taylor University is a Christian college in Indiana. Years ago, they were pleased to learn that an African student, Sam, was going to be enrolling in their school.

This was before it was commonplace for international students to come to the U.S. to study. He was a bright young man with great promise, and the school felt honored to have him.

When he arrived on campus, the President of the University took him on a tour, showing him all the dorms. When the tour was over, the President asked Sam where he would like to live.

The young man replied, “If there is a room that no one wants, give that room to me.” The President turned away in tears.

Over the years he had welcomed thousands of Christian men and women to the campus, and none had ever made such a request. “If there is a room that no one wants, give that room to me.” That’s the kind of selflessness God desires.

If there is a job that no one wants to do, I’ll do that job. If there’s a kid that no one wants to eat lunch with, I’ll eat with that kid.

If there’s a piece of toast that’s burnt, I’ll take that piece. If there’s a parking space that’s far away from the church, I’ll park in that space. If there’s a service time that’s less convenient for people, I’ll worship at that service.

If there’s a hardship someone has to endure, I’ll take that hardship. If there’s a sacrifice someone needs to make, I’ll make that sacrifice.”

As the love and grace of God touches our heart, and we grow in becoming more and more like our Savior, this is the type of humble, selfless attitude and actions that will mark our lives and service.

The Book of Titus is a book about selfless service and good works done for the Lord after we get saved.

It challenges us to be a peculiar people who are zealous of good works. There’s a lot of work that needs done for the Lord in reaching out with the gospel and ministering to the church. There’s always people that need to be shown His love and grace.

This is a power-packed little epistle that challenges us in many areas of our Christian lives. As we live by its truths, our lives will be transformed by God’s grace.

Titus 1:1 reads, “Paul, a servant of God, and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God’s elect, and the acknowledging of the truth which is after godliness.”

Titus’ name means “honorable.” Galatians 2:3 tells us that he was a Gentile. Paul calls him “mine own son” (v. 4), so we learn he was saved under Paul’s ministry.

2 Corinthians 8:23 describes Titus as Paul’s “partner and fellowhelper” in the ministry. Titus is not mentioned in Acts, but is mentioned over a dozen times in Paul’s epistles.

From those references we learn how Paul took Titus to Jerusalem to defend Gentile liberty from circumcision and freedom from the law (Gal. 2:1-5). Circumcision was required for salvation in previous dispensations, but not under grace.

Salvation is by grace through faith alone today. Titus was made a public example of this, he was an example, a living illustration, that a change had taken place in God’s dealings with man, that though he wasn’t circumcised according to the law of Moses, he was saved, saved by grace through faith ALONE.

Titus also had been sent by Paul to Corinth to minister to the church there, to help them with their various problems, to encourage them to give assistance to the needy at Jerusalem, and to bring Paul a report of the condition of the church.

As we come to the book of Titus we find that Titus had been left on the island of Crete, located SE of Greece in the Mediterranean Sea. He was left there by Paul to organize and work with its churches and he was ministering here when Paul wrote this letter.

Paul writes him to remind him of his responsibilities and to give him instruction concerning administrative and doctrinal matters in the local church.

Crete wasn’t an easy place to minister as we see by the content of the letter. Paul writes how the Cretians were “always liars, evil beasts, slow bellies.”

So between going to Jerusalem to defend liberty from the law, to ministering in Corinth and Crete, it all shows that Titus was a man of grit and determination in being able to minister in tough places.

The first four introductory verses lay the groundwork for the rest of the letter. If you look closely, you find that these verses are actually one long, compound sentence.

The phrases in the sentence reveal important themes that we see in the letter. It foreshadows the themes of service, authority, hope, grace, doctrine, and godliness.

Paul speaks of his apostolic authority in these verses and the book speaks of church authority and church elders, and governmental authority magistrates, principalities and powers (3:1), and of servants obeying their masters (2:9).

In verse 1, Paul speaks of our “faith” and “truth” here and the letter speaks of the need for “sound doctrine” (2:1) because of false teachings and false teachers which abound.

Paul speaks of “hope” and later he speaks of our “blessed hope” (2:13). He speaks of “eternal life” and later says we are “heirs according to the hope of eternal life” (3:7). He says God cannot lie, and then he speaks of deceivers and the Cretians who are “always liars.”

Paul speaks of “grace” and later teaches of “the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men” (2:11) and being “justified by His grace” (3:7). Paul speaks of “mercy” and he later says by God’s “mercy He saved us” (3:5).

He calls Christ “our Savior” and later says we look for “the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ” (2:13).

Paul starts the letter by calling himself “a servant of God.” Now Paul could have pulled out his impressive resume, and referred to himself as a scholar, appealed to his accomplishments for Christ, his authorship of many letters, his having traveled the world, planting churches, facing hardships, and reaching thousands for Christ.

But he didn’t. Paul humbly saw no honor in the world greater than bearing the title of “a servant of God.” He found no greater freedom than slavery to Almighty God. And he found no greater place to belong, than to belong to God.

The term “servant” literally speaks of a bondservant. It speaks of one whose “will is swallowed up in the will of another.” Paul’s life was swallowed up and devoted to God. And his will was lost in God’s will.

A young African pastor wrote this of his newfound faith: I’m now a part of the fellowship of the unashamed. I have stepped over the line. The decision has been made. I belong to Christ. So I won’t look back, let up, slow down, back away or be still.

My past is redeemed. My present makes sense. My future is secure. I’m finished and done with low living, sight walking, small planning, smooth knees, colorless dreams, tamed visions, mundane talking, cheap living and dwarfed goals.

I no longer need pre-eminence, prosperity, position, promotions, plaudits, or popularity. I don’t have to be right, first, tops, recognized, praised, regarded or rewarded.

I now live by faith, lean on God’s presence, walk by patience, live by prayer and labor by power. My face is set, my gait is fast, my goal is Christ, my road is narrow, my way rough, my companions few, my Guide is reliable, my mission is clear.

In God’s strength I cannot be bought, compromised, detoured, lured away, turned back, deluded. I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice, hesitate in the presence of the adversary, negotiate at the table of the enemy, ponder at the pool of popularity or meander in the maze of mediocrity.

I am a follower of Christ. I must go till He comes, give till I drop, preach till all know and work till He stops me. I’m pressing on for the prize, the high calling of my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. This was Paul’s testimony and desire as well as God’s servant. That testimony is a challenge for us all to feel and do the same for the Lord.

This book has much to say about service to the Lord and good works. Before Paul instructs and challenges others to serve the Lord, he shows how he too was a servant of God. This is a high title for every believer in the Body of Christ to be called “a servant of God.” It is a privilege to be in the service of the true and living God.

Paul was “a servant of God,” and “an apostle of Jesus Christ. He was a bondslave and he was a “sent one.” A “sent one” is what the word “apostle” means.

In Acts 26:17,18 the Lord told Paul at his conversion: “Delivering thee from the people, and from the Gentiles, unto whom now I SEND THEE, to open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God.”

As an apostle of Christ, Paul was commissioned by Christ directly on the Damascus Road and had divinely bestowed authority. Paul had authority on the basis of the One who sent him: Jesus Christ Himself.

Paul’s apostleship was unique, it was separate from Israel’s earthly program, it was distinct from the twelve apostles.

After Israel’s fall in her unbelief, Christ raised up Paul and revealed to him God’s heavenly program of today for the Church, the Body of Christ.

Christ made known and committed to Paul the dispensation of the grace of God which had been hid in the mind of God from eternity past.

And He sent him out with authority to proclaim God’s grace to the world. Paul is the apostle of the Gentiles. He is our apostle. And it’s in his epistles that we find the doctrine, position, walk and destiny for us, the Church, the Body of Christ, under grace.

We see how that Paul’s obedience as an apostle flowed from his submission to God as His bondservant.

Paul was a bondservant by personal commitment, and he was an apostle by divine appointment. But Paul knew who he was, and he knew what he was supposed to do. He knew his identity and purpose in life. Do we?

God has equipped each of us with a unique set of gifts and abilities, and He develops them through time, spiritual growth and life experiences. He has invested these things in you that you might use them for His glory.

Sometimes we need to stop and take inventory how God is working in us so we might consider how He wants us to serve and what He wants us to do for Him.

Paul knew he was a servant and an apostle “according to the faith of God’s elect.” The “elect” are those who have trusted Christ and believed the gospel, that Christ died for our sins and rose again the third day.

When we believe, by the Holy Spirit, we are placed into and joined to the Lord Jesus Christ, whom Isaiah 42:1 calls the “Elect.” Being in Christ, we too are called the “elect.”

Paul was sent as an apostle according to “the faith” of those who belong to God in the present dispensation of grace, which is the Church, the Body of Christ.

He was an apostle according to the “faith” of God’s message for the Church, which is “the preaching of Jesus Christ according to the revelation of the mystery” (Rom. 16:25).

The mystery is that body of truth revealed to him by Christ for how the Body of Christ is to live, serve, and function in this dispensation of grace.

Paul’s mission as God’s apostle was to make known and ground believers in “the faith,” the doctrine of God’s message for today, and then to grow the church into godliness, by “the acknowledging of the truth which is after godliness.”

D. L. Moody once said, “The Scriptures were not given just for our information, but for our transformation.” Truth is to transform the way we live. Outward behavior reflects inward belief. The truth we believe should lead to godliness and a godly life.

How we behave in the Christian life is based on what we believe and what we know from God’s Word. Doctrine and practice can’t be separated.

Our salvation and position in Christ and all our blessings in Him are to affect the way we live. We are to live in light of God’s abundant grace to us, to have God change our thinking, our attitudes, our heart, and our lives.

As we live by and apply the grace truth found in Paul’s letters our lives will be transformed by grace.

Godliness has been defined as “God-like-ness.” It’s about having our behavior reflect the character and mind of God, in His goodness, kindness, love, grace, righteousness, etc.

This takes place by living out our lives by God’s Word where we learn about God and grow in Him. One commentator put it well when he said, “Godliness is a love for the things of God and a walk in the ways of God.”

Titus 1:2: “In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began.”

We, as believers in Christ, have the hope of eternal life. Eternity can be hard to grasp sometimes. Dr. Tony Evans says this about eternity: “If we were to empty the Pacific Ocean, the largest body of water in the world, we’d be left with a hole that’s beyond imagination.

If we were then to fill that hole with sand and make a pile as high as Mount Everest, we’d be talking about a lot of sand because Mount Everest is the tallest mountain peak in the world. Since the ocean is fairly deep and Mount Everest is fairly high, we’d have a fairly sizable sandpile!

Now, if we had a bird that would take one grain of sand from that sandpile every 100 billion years, how long would it take the bird to finish the sandpile? I don’t know that in human language we have such a number. It is probably beyond numerical count.

Whatever that number is, when the bird finishes the last grain of sand, you will have been in eternity your first second.” It’s amazing isn’t it, to think of the hope we have in heaven of eternal life in Christ.

Paul’s ministry as a servant and an apostle and the faith and truth he proclaimed were all on the basis of the sure hope of eternal life that we have as believers in Christ.

Therefore, Paul knew that all his labors, his life and his service for Christ was not in vain, it was not fruitless in light of our sure hope of eternal life.

We too can live our lives for Christ confidently, knowing that nothing we do for the Lord is ever in vain (1 Cor. 15:58).

We have certainty in what we believe. We know we’re going to heaven. The “hope” Scripture holds out is not a hope-so hope. Our hope is a complete certainty, a confident expectation. It is a destiny.

Godliness is built on our sure hope, and it can and should accelerate godly living knowing that we have eternal life. Christianity is not like religion in which people try to live for the Lord HOPING that the good things MIGHT earn them eternal life.

We don’t do good works to gain eternal life. We live for Him because we already have it. We live for the Lord knowing we HAVE the sure hope of eternal life. The grace of that truth drives us to live for the Lord and do even more for Him because He is so good to us.

Eternal life is both a present possession and a future hope. It doesn’t just begin when you die; we have it at conversion, the moment we trust Christ as our Savior.

God is “eternal” (Deut. 33:27), and having “eternal” life means we have been given God’s life, which is Christ in us the hope of glory (Col. 1:27; 3:4).

Our future hope of eternal life is in the sense that we confidently look forward to eternal life in its final, victorious form when we’ll be in our eternal home in heaven, having received our eternal, incorruptible, glorified bodies (2 Cor. 5:1), dwelling in Christ’s presence forever (1 Thes. 4:17), forever free from sin, sorrow, suffering, and death.

The hope of eternal life is based in God Himself. Our faith is secure by virtue of God’s unchanging character and the fact that He cannot lie.

God is Truth and free from all deceit (Deut. 32:4). Numbers 23:19 says, “God is not a man, that He should lie.” Hebrews 6:18 tells us it is “impossible for God to lie.”

God’s character backs up our absolute hope of eternal life. If He said it, it’s true, He cannot lie, and it will happen.

From eternity past, “before the world began,” God promised what He was going to do for those who believed. God is a promise-keeping God. What He has said, He will do.

You can place your soul’s eternal destiny in His hands, and you don’t need to be anxious about it. You can count on Him, and on His character.

On his deathbed, Joshua said, “and ye know in all your hearts and in all your souls, that not one thing hath failed of all the good things which the Lord your God spake concerning you, all are come to pass unto you, and not one thing hath failed thereof” (23:14).

And when we find ourselves in heaven one day, we’ll say, “The Lord was faithful, faithful to me, faithful to all His promises.”

Titus 1:3-4 reads, “But hath in due times manifested his word through preaching, which is committed unto me according to the commandment of God our Saviour; To Titus, mine own son after the common faith: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ our Saviour.”

In verse 3, Paul says that in “due times,” God’s “word” in relation to His promise of eternal life for the Body of Christ in the dispensation of grace, was committed to Paul.

The Word which was “committed” to Paul “according to the commandment of God our Savior” is “the preaching of Jesus Christ according to the revelation of the Mystery.”

This revelation given to Paul reveals how all people everywhere can receive God’s promised eternal life today under Grace: by faith alone in Christ’s finished work.

And the revelation given to Paul reveals why all men everywhere can receive eternal life. The basis upon which God gives eternal life to all the saved today, and for that matter those of all dispensations, is through Christ’s shed blood and resurrection.

Paul said in I Corinthians 9:16,17, “Necessity is laid upon me; yea, woe is unto me, if I PREACH not the gospel! For if I do this thing willingly, I have a reward: but if against my will, a dispensation of the gospel is committed unto me.”

Paul understood that preaching, the proclamation of the gospel, the preaching of Jesus Christ according to the mystery was entrusted to him. And Paul’s mission, like ours as ambassadors for Christ, is to get the message out, and to beseech all to be reconciled to God before it’s too late, and to make all see what is the fellowship of the mystery.

Paul addresses his letter to “Titus, mine own son after the common faith.”

Here was Paul who was a Jew and Titus a Gentile, looked at by Paul as one in a “common faith.” This “faith” is the body of truth which reveals the joining of Jew and Gentile in one Body, and that there is no difference between the Jew and Greek.

This common faith is the truth of the Mystery and the gospel of the grace of God revealed to Paul, under which they were both saved.

By this common faith they had the same Savior, the same indwelling Holy Spirit, the same eternal life, the same imputed righteousness, the same hope of heaven. They, and all in the Body of Christ, are one in Christ.

And through this “common faith” we learn, as v. 4 says, that God “our Savior” and the Lord Jesus Christ “our Savior” is declaring and revealing grace, mercy and peace to this world giving all people an opportunity to be saved by grace alone.

Judgment and wrath are coming to this world in the Tribulation period following the catching away of the church. But today in the dispensation of Grace, God offers the opposite of judgment and wrath, offering grace and peace to this world.

He offers grace and peace to both sinners and saints. To sinners, God in His grace and peace offers salvation to all, and to saints He offers grace, mercy and peace as a way of life for all of us to live in, enjoy and grow in.