Titus: God's Stabilizing Plan for the Church

Download the Titus Bible Journal Outline

Hopefully you have a Bible journal, that's this little pamphlet. On the front of it is a map. And I agree with one of my brothers who came up and said, “You know, the map was confusing.” So, in order to figure this map out, which is the region we're going to be talking about today, you have to go like this. But then the words are all messed up. So, then you have to turn your head as well. So, if you can figure out how to read this map, you have accomplished much today. But the island of Crete is this little one at the bottom. Okay, that's 500 miles west of Jerusalem. If you're familiar with Paul in Acts 27, and his shipwreck with this giant Northeaster wind that came in, he sailed under the island of Crete. That's that island. And then he sailed another 500 miles to Malta, where he was promptly bit by a snake. So, this map will maybe help you. Otherwise, you can Google it.

On the inside, you can see a chapter overview of the book of Titus. I'm going to be preaching an overview of the entire book today. If you're a regular with us, you probably are like, “Oh, this will be easy, because there's only three chapters.” If you're new, you might not have ever heard a sermon like this before. So normally, we have an exposition. “Normally”? I guess I've been doing this for about two years this way. But before that, we'd have an exposition of just a few verses. But for Titus, I think you'll really enjoy this little book, it packs a punch. And it's really about, “God's Stabilizing Plan for the Church.” God's stabilizing plan for the church.

A lady tells a story about how she opened her door one morning to get the newspaper. And there was a little dog there, she didn't recognize the dog, and it had brought her paper up to the door. And so, it just was sitting there with the paper next to it. And so, she gave the dog some treats. Dog went away, she got her paper and read and the next morning, she went, and there was the little dog with eight newspapers around it. Expecting a heaping serving of snacks that morning. You know, sometimes our four-legged pets can surprise us with just the slightest of encouragement. They can do amazing things. There was a poet who wrote about encouragement as well, William Arthur Ward. He said, “Flatter me, and I may not believe you. Criticize me, and I may not like you. Ignore me, and I may not forgive you. Encourage me, and I will not forget you.” You know, the little story of the dog is hopefully not the only thing you'll remember this morning. But those things make an impact on us. Just like an encouraging word.

And the book of Titus is really about Paul writing to encourage this young man who was saved under Paul's ministry. So, Paul wrote First Timothy, then he wrote Titus. And then second Timothy was his last book. So, this is probably the second to last inspired letter Paul ever wrote. But it's been encouraging people for about 1,960 years now. It's been encouraging the faith of Christians. And you'll see directly, he aims right at our faith. I don't know about you, but I can always use an encouraging shot to my faith, just about every day. It also has been encouraging to pastors, it lays out a plan to stabilize a church. And this church was quite the spectacle, as you'll see, as we read about it in a little bit. It has also been encouraging to churches as a whole because it lays out a plan for pastors, to organize the church, to encourage the church's faith, and also to set in order what we should be aiming for. As a church and as a people.

Look in Titus 1:1 with me. If you need a Bible, there's one under a seat nearby. You're welcome to use that. If you don't have one please take that home with you. Titus 1:1 says this, “Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the sake of the faith of God's elect and their knowledge of the truth, which accords with godliness.” This little letter, only three chapters long, was written for the sake of our faith. Not just for Titus, not just for that church, but his whole ministry is for the sake of the faith of Christianity. And I think this actually, this first verse, is a pretty good outline for the whole book. It talks about the faith. And soon you'll see that Paul is going to start talking about the appointment of elders, which is for the sake of our faith. Then you’ll see, it talks about their knowledge of the truth. And in chapter two, he's going to talk about preaching and teaching sound doctrine. And then he says there, at the end of verse one, “which accords with godliness.” And chapter three, is going to talk specifically about being devoted to good works.

So, for those of you who like to outline and see the outline derived specifically, from the text, Titus is your book. Paul wanted believers to grow in their faith. You see, faith, plus the knowledge of the truth, produces godliness, or at least it's supposed to. Faith without truth, produces error. Truth without faith simply produces unrighteous living. But believing faith, with the knowledge and acceptance of truth will produce in you godliness. And I want to show you this morning how that is to your benefit. That it is actually profitable to us, as a people of God, to live this way. And Titus just walks us right through that. So church, this book is something that we want to put into practice as a church and as God's people, right away.

To put it another way, a godly life comes from faith built on truth. A godly life comes from faith built on truth. Look in verse two. This faith is not just stagnant, it has this great hope that looks into eternity. Verse two [Titus 1:2-3], “in hope of eternal life, which God, who never lies, promised before the ages began, and at the proper time manifested in his word through the preaching with which I have been entrusted by the command of God our Savior.” Now this verse fires up preachers, because what's the method that this truth is delivered? It is manifested through preaching, through preaching and teaching. That's a way of telling Timothy, his preaching ministry is to manifest the truth of God to the people. That is the purpose of his ministry. It's also the purpose of Paul's ministry, which was commanded by God. So preaching is not something we get to try and figure out how should we preach and what should we teach? It's already commanded by God, as you see in this verse, before the ages began. I know you're getting excited about this already.

This faith that he talks to Titus about is not some kind of faith that Paul had that we could never achieve. Right? We can sometimes think that, “Well, he had that faith. I don't have any faith. I'm kind of like Peter’s faith, where he's sinking in the water. That's me.” No, look in verse four. And it talks about this “common faith.” We have “a common faith” Titus; we have “a common faith” that all believers have. And I don't know about you, but that's encouraging to me, because I would love to have the faith that Paul did, to stand up in the face of any trial and to give a bold witness for God. That is the same faith that is common in all believers.

Well, Titus was going to need a bold faith because he was on this island of Crete, as you know. The island is 160 miles long, and anywhere from seven miles wide to thirty miles wide. It's absolutely stunning. And I love looking up pictures of all these places that Paul went, if you look up this island right now it's going to hit your bucket list of a place to visit. It's just stunningly gorgeous. But, as you'll see, it's filled with these people called the Cretans. And they are not the nicest people in the world. They are not the… if the island is the paradise, the people are not. Okay. So that's who Titus is dealing with. And so, Paul is going to lay out basically three ways for Titus to stabilize the church. Because it did need stabilizing. And Paul didn't plant this church, Titus didn't plant this church. They were probably from the dispersion that happened in Acts 2 as the persecution and the gospel spread, and persecution spread, and people were scattered. They were probably spread out all throughout this region. So, he gives them three ways to stabilize the church. And you can see those three ways in your chapter overview and the middle of your Bible journal.

The first way is to appoint elders, which is for the benefit of our faith. The second way is to teach sound doctrine, which is to give them the knowledge of the truth. And the third way is to teach a devoted lifestyle which accords with godliness. So, the first thing that every single church on the planet should have is elders. Look in verse five. Okay, elders, Titus 1:5, “This is why I left you in Crete…” It wasn't to hang out and enjoy the sunrise and the sunset, and the nice ocean air, and little traffic, and all that stuff. It wasn't that. It was, “so that you might put what remained into order.” “You,” singular. You know, the Greek has y'all, “you” plural. But this is “you” singular, “that you might put what remained into order, and appoint elders in every town as I directed you.”

So, he's got 160 miles to cover. Just pick a direction, you know, towards DC. That's only about 50-60 miles from here. So, he's got 160 miles to cover. And “in every town” he's supposed to appoint elders. Elders are under-shepherds of the church. The Chief Shepherd is the Lord Jesus Christ. So please do not call myself, or Adam, THE ELDERS of the church. We are the under-shepherds of the church, under the direction of our Lord Jesus Christ. Now, “elder” here is an interesting word. I did this a little bit to you last week, but also this week. It's interesting, it's the word from which we get “Presbyterian.” In Titus 1:5, it's “presbyteros.” You can chuck that idea if you don't want that word. But again, in verse seven, you see the word “overseer.” That's where we get “Episcopal” from. Okay, it's “episkopon,” I know you are dying to know that. But I just want you to know that those terms are synonymous with each other. And we have kept their meaning as something significant to the church. In fact, we've got whole denominations named after those two words for elder and overseer. So, we are supposed to appoint elders in every church.

As you know, when I came here, we had a leadership team, made up of some leaders, and one elder, and we had to work to get multiple elders. And for about half of the time I've been here, we've had one elder, with outside guys overseeing stuff. And then half of the time we've had two or three elders, overseeing the church. And our job is to be a steward of what God has given. We’re a caretaker. We don't just get to figure out what we're supposed to do. If you look in the qualifications there in Titus 1:5-9, it says you're to be above reproach as God's steward. Right? Not as your own steward, not as someone who gets to do whatever they want with the church, but God has already given us what the church is supposed to do and be and you are simply to steward that to the people. So, we are waiters delivering what the chef has already made.

Titus 1:6-7 lists this quality, this qualification, that sends fear into the ears of everyone who has ever been, or ever desired to be, an elder. And it is this idea that elders “must be above reproach.” You can see in our day and age of communication, where you could post something on social media, and someone in the Philippines can read it the next second, how someone's reputation could go before them. And hear, to be above reproach, is so that when one town hears about a church and the quality and character of the elder, that it doesn't bring reproach on the name of Christ, because that man lives a double lifestyle. We have, unfortunately, a vast number of examples of men who have disqualified themselves, moved to another town and started another church. Or disqualified themselves, and the church has forgiven them and reinstated them as though everyone forgot what happened last year, or last month. I've watched this, in a loving way, in a church I was in, where the Minister of Music disqualified himself. Confessed it, that he was living a double lifestyle for many years, sat on the front row with the elders, they brought him before the church that Sunday, and he's never been in ministry since, to the glory of God. Why? Because he can never live up to that “above reproach.”

And it's not like elders are sinless. That's for sure. And you know, my family can scream, “Amen!” at that one. But they have to be, in some sense, according to these verses, above reproach. And this should cause us to consider those that are in leadership. And it should cause those of you who may want to be a pastor someday, to seriously consider our lives, just as you all did when we took communion. If you go on to read first Corinthians 11, and it talks about those who take communion in an unworthy manner, in other words, they're living this way, but they disregard that and they take it anyway. Paul says some of you have fallen asleep because of this. Right? So, it's not just that elders have a heavy weight to bear. We all do. You're welcome for reminding you of that.

But they must also have this second qualification. And this is where they are separated from the function of deacons. Deacons are servants, Elders are leaders of the church. Titus 1:9, they must be “able to give instruction in sound doctrine.” And you're going to see this over and over again. This idea, this theme, that the leaders – the elders of the church – must be able to teach. The other list of [qualifications for] elders, in First Timothy, talk about how an elder must be able to teach the Scriptures. That's kind of obvious, right? You don't want somebody leading you in a Book that they don't understand. So that one's kind of a given. But this is just a reminder to Titus, that these two things must occur.

Now, the other aspect of elders that has fallen out of vogue, that you are well aware of, that Paul talks about all the time, is found in verse 13. It is that he must be able to rebuke people with the truth. This is a safeguard for us. When you think about a shepherd and sheep, there's a fence around where the sheep are normally. And if there's a ditch nearby, right, we find it as sheep. I’m sure you've seen those videos where the farmer takes the sheep out of the ditch. And the sheep goes like this, and jumps back in the ditch. That's the picture that God paints of you and me and our ability to follow him. Right? So, the rebuke is the, “No, you've gotten outside the fence. It's more dangerous out there. Come back here.” It's for the stabilization of our faith. And this is good for us. And here's where Titus probably needed a little encouragement, because of the people that he ministered to. It describes these people in Titus 1:12, “One of the Cretans” that is the islanders, those who lived on the island, “a prophet of their own.” So, this is coming from their own mouth, said, “Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.” So, the people that Titus got to spend his fellowship and life with were: lying, lazy and evil. Right. They were, as I said earlier, not the paradise that the island represented. And so, he would need courage to rebuke them. But the point of the rebuke, as it says, in Titus 1:13, is so that they might become “sound in the faith.”

A rebuke is never given to win an argument. A rebuke is never given because we are so offended, we must rebuke that person. A rebuke is always given, with Scripture, to bring us in line with God's Word. And it's much easier, as we are waiters delivering what God has prepared to say, “You know, this is the truth God prepared and I am delivering it to you. And let's look at how things measure up.” The truth is powerful. And I want you to consider this for a moment. We sometimes settle on a truth that we think is powerful, but we're not really sure if it can work in this situation. We sometimes elevate certain situations above the power of God's Word. But if you look at verses 15 and 16 of chapter one, you can see that this truth, this rebuke of the truth is actually going to do its work on someone who is defiled in mind and conscience. These people are living a completely defiled lifestyle. In verse 16 [Titus 1:16], “They profess to know God, but they deny him by their works.” And this rebuke is supposed to make them what? Sound in the faith.

Paul's not saying, “Get rid of all these people.” He's saying, “Give them all the gospel, give them the truth that transforms and changes, give them the truth that has changed you, Titus, my true child in the faith. The one that has set a new trajectory for your life, give them the truth to set a new trajectory for their life.” And it turns people towards the truth. How would he do that? Well, Titus, you need to appoint elders. You need to set these elders in accordance with these qualifications. And you need to then give them the marching orders to unleash the Word of God. That's what the elders are supposed to do, as Timothy said, in all gentleness and patience and kindness. These are the things that are supposed to come about. So that's the first way in which Titus is going to stabilize the church, is that he's going to appoint elders.

The second way he's going to stabilize the church is to preach sound doctrine. Look in Titus 2:1, “But as for you [Titus], teach what accords with sound doctrine.” Sound doctrine. You know, Paul told both Timothy and Titus to preach the Word and to teach the Word. And here, he specifically uses a word that means teach. Teach is more one on one, it's less monologue. It's where we get dialogue teaching from and where we have the Q&A and you ask questions and there are answers, hopefully, given. But he is called nonetheless, like Timothy, to preach and teach the Word. But he wanted to take the Word and apply it to the different people groups in the church. You know, sometimes youth groups, Sunday Schools, Small Groups, all of that, get a bad rap from people who think we should just all be together, all the time. But here, you see a very explicit command to teach different people groups in the church.

Titus 2:2, it’s got instructions for older men. How do you deal with older men in the church? Titus, this is how. How do you deal with older women? That's Titus 2:3. How do you deal with young women in the church? I think some pastors and elders just don't ever talk to the young single ladies, as though Jesus never did, right. John 4, the Samaritan woman at the well, changed the whole town. Jesus did that. Right? So how do you deal with the young women of the church? Well, there's a godly way to do that. How do you deal with the young men of the church? So that's Titus 2:6. So you got the older men and women, you got the younger men and women. He's even going to go on to talk about those in these capacities that we would wish were never there, the bondservants. And he's not calling them to riot against all of government and society. How do I deal with a situation that is just awful in every way? He even gives specific instructions for that. He also deals with those who would come against him in Titus 2:7-8. Right? Live such a godly life, and exemplary life, so that those who want to attack you have nothing to say. Let your character in other words be what? Above reproach, above reproach.

The question arises then, as he teaches these lying, evil, lazy beasts – I'm not saying that’s you guys, that was them, okay? As he teaches them, these lying, evil, lazy beasts. What does he teach them? Does he just start from Genesis, does he have to go find a Genesis scroll and read that to them? Well, Titus gives these little segments that are just packed with doctrine. And he gives it to them so that he will understand what doctrine he's supposed to teach. Look in Titus 2:13, the first doctrine that he needs to teach them is about Jesus, the Messiah. Jesus, the Messiah, “waiting for our blessed hope,” he says, “the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ.” Now, Jesus had already appeared. So why does he say we're supposed to wait for his appearing if he's already come? Well, he's coming back. And here, one of the messages to this church that will help them focus on the right things, is to wait for Jesus's return. It is our blessed hope. It's not like the people who buy lottery tickets and hope they win. Right, that is uncertain. The Return of Jesus is certain. It is a blessed hope, it is something that is fixed. We don't know exactly when Jesus is coming back, but we know he's coming back, and we are going to set our hope on him. “Cretans, we need to set our hope on Jesus, not just hanging out at the beach, drinking our favorite drink, not being lazy.”

Notice the significance of the end of this verse, “the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ.” Grammatically, in the text, “God and Savior” have to refer to one person. This is an explicit declaration of the deity of Jesus Christ. You see, they're not just waiting for some prophet – like the Cretans have prophets – to return. They're waiting for God, himself, to return. They are waiting for his appearing, it is certain. It is something that we can fix our hope on. It is something that we can look forward to. He's already said, God who does not lie. And so, if he is returning, we can trust that he is, and it should actually be a hope and a great encouragement for us as God's people. Now, if you remember in Titus 1:3, Paul calls God the Father “our Savior.” He does so again in Titus 2:10 and says “God our Savior.” Is Paul just getting mixed up here? Or is he using Savior, synonymously, about the Father and the Son. That's obviously what he is doing. God is the Savior, that coincides with specific texts all over the Old Testament. But then to wait for the one who is to redeem mankind, he is going to appear, and he is our Savior. And that Savior is going to appear and come again. Paul is really tying in the redemptive history of who are we waiting for, and who is our hope in: it is God, our Savior, who is also the Lord Jesus Christ.

And he doesn't just save us because we need it, he saves us so that we can be with him, so that we can be near him. He purifies, the text says, a people for himself [Titus 2:14]. He's preparing us to be near to him, not just in our faith, because we can't see him. But one day when we will see him. Friends, are we preparing ourselves to see Jesus? We must prepare ourselves for his return. You don't need to go out and buy an emergency backpack. That's not what I'm talking about. If you want to, feel free. But we need to prepare ourselves spiritually, to see Jesus because he is coming back. And that shouldn't be terrifying, it should be exciting. It should be exciting.

And you say, “Well, we've heard about the Father and the Son, and where's the Holy Spirit in all this? Thank you for asking. He gets to that part of the Trinity in chapter three, verse four. Look there, if you would, as he kind of just puts these segments of theology all throughout this little book. These are the things that Titus is supposed to be teaching. Titus 3:4-6, he says, “But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy,” and here it is, “by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior.” There you have “God our Savior” and “Jesus…our Savior,” very close to each other. [Titus 3:7] “so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.”

You know this is why Paul wrote this stuff down, that is a chunky couple of sentences, right? I mean, there's a lot of theology packed in there. But when you were saved, you were washed, you were renewed, you were regenerated by the Holy Spirit. You did not remain the same. You were changed. You were made new. You were given a new trajectory in life. It wasn't the same as before. You say, “Well, I got saved when I was little.” Well, now you're sorry, you know, when you tackle your sister. Before, it was just fun. Now you're sorry about it. Even little kids have this idea that they are sorry for their sin, they might not be able to talk about it. And, you know, “my sanctification wasn't really working today, Daddy.” They might just say, “I shouldn't have done that.” But they did recognize there is good and bad in life. And as you know, with newborns, you don't have to teach them to be bad. They come out like that. And they demonstrate that, all the time. Yeah, we were all newborns. We all did that. We demonstrate our sin nature to everyone, it's just evident. It's obvious. They demonstrate, when the reigns come off, who they really are.

You and I do this, we demonstrate what we have submitted to God and what we haven't, in our minds most of the time. Scripture says, the sins of some go before them, right? Some of us sin in big, obvious ways. And others, it comes after, more coy about it. Kind of subversive, right? But either way, we need to be subjected to the blessed hope, to the washing and the renewal that the Holy Spirit did upon salvation. And we need to live for those things, for the glory of Jesus Christ.

And he didn't just do this kind of barely. It says in verse six, he poured out this on us richly. Richly! I mean, if somebody gives you a gift, and you know, they don't have much money, they might send you know, a birthday card with $5 in it. And that is a huge, huge blessing. But if you happen to know someone with a lot of money, let's just say a billionaire. If you do no one, please bring them to church. Just kidding. If they give you a card with $5, you’re kind of like, that was cheap, right? When God, who owns all things, blesses us richly. How much should that be? What has he withheld? What has he not given that we need? Do we need instructions for life? He's given us that. Do we need to be saved from ourselves? He's done that. Do we need the grace that only God could give? He's done that. He says, you know, “If you're not holy, you're not going to be with me.” How could any of us claim to be holy? Well, we couldn't. So how did he solve that? We just celebrated that this morning, in Communion, through the life, death, resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. That we are seen as having the perfect righteousness of Jesus Christ, that is richly blessed. That is beyond comparison.

And people sometimes get stuck in ruts, right? If the Cretans are known for something, their culture is stuck in this rut? Well, as you know, cultures ebb and flow. And normally it's like, “Oh, we can't do that.” So, we swing way over here. And now we're into legalism. And that, you know, puts people off too. And we need to keep our focus on the fact that we have been renewed by the Holy Spirit. And Titus needed to teach that to the people. He needed to give them sound doctrine. Not to trust in themselves but to trust in God, through his Word, for all of life and godliness. That is something that they could rejoice in. Why does he do this? Titus 3:7, “so that…we might become heirs.” God is not just marshaling an army, he is developing a family. He is developing a people whom he calls to himself, whom he showers with his love, that he will call his own, his own. That's the kind of sound doctrine that fuels a healthy church.

To summarize, so far, Titus was to appoint elders who can teach and then he was to demonstrate by teaching sound doctrine; so elders, sound doctrine. And the third thing we come to in Titus 3:1, is he is to teach a devoted lifestyle, a devoted lifestyle. He says this in Titus 3:1-2, “Remind them to be submissive to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work, to speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all people.” That's it. That's it. To be submissive to rulers and authorities and to speak no evil of them either. You don't just get to whack your, you know, favorite whipping post guy that you don't like. That is ungodly. And it demonstrates an ungodly life to everyone who hears it. We are to avoid quarreling. You know, those unfruitful conversations we have, where neither one of us are listening to the other, we're just launching grenades, and the grenades are getting bigger and bigger and bigger. And then finally, there's this giant chasm between us. And we're like, “Oh, I don't like that person.” Like, no, you've just been attacking them, like they were some enemy, for the last hour – maybe days, maybe months, maybe years. And then we wonder why we have no relationship with that person. Well, they must just not love the truth that I gave them. Probably not.

Notice, “be gentle.” Right? “be gentle” comes right after that. And “to show perfect courtesy toward all people.” You know, we try and teach this to the young men. To be courteous, loving, and kind to the girls that they are courting, or to their brides. But this is for everybody: perfect courtesy. Just go out of your way to bless somebody with how you treat them. Every single day, that's all, that's what's going to change this island of Crete, for the glory of God. Notice, if they did just these couple of verses, they would be completely transformed. Their conversations would be transformed, their lifestyle would be transformed. I mean, this would become the island paradise it looks like. Filled with just happy people taking care of each other, never taking advantage of each other, and not talking about those on the other side of the island. Like we so often like to do, which we call “the pond,” right? Down there, the other side of the pond. We talk about people in other cultures, or we talk about politicians, or DC people. And we think it's okay, because well, they don't think like us, and they probably have some unbiblical views.

But here, “speak evil of no one.” That demonstrates that we serve the King of kings. And this renewed lifestyle is shocking to people. How come you're not bad mouthing so and so? I mean, this is convicting. It’s convicting for me, it should be convicting for you. And it should indeed prepare us “to be ready for every good work,” every good work. Not just the good work that we like to do, but to be prepared for every work that needs to be done for the glory of God.

He quickly reminds Titus, that he is no better than anyone else. Look in Titus 3:3. You know, when we kind of start to get some of these things in order, we can get puffed up a little bit and think, “you know, I'm just so far ahead of everyone else.” Right? “I just understand things better. I live better. I mean, I pray more, I read more, I’m prideful more.” But Titus 3:3, “For we ourselves were once foolish…” Foolish! He's calling Timothy, “Look, you were foolish in your understanding before I came to you.” “…disobedient, led astray, [and] slaves to various passions and pleasures.” We cannot look down on anyone with these things going on, because we ourselves were just the same. That's why we say, “were it not for the grace of God, I would be like you.” And were it not for the grace of God, I would still be doing the things that are mentioned here: “passing our days in malice and envy.” I mean, that sounds awful. “Hated by others and hating one another.” He's lumping Titus – and by way of lumping Titus in, the leaders of the church, those who are going to teach – “Look, we were just like this.”

That should point us back to Jesus. That should point us back to the grace of God. You didn't get changed because you prayed a prayer, and you came up, and you got dunked by your favorite pastor. That changes no one, the grace of God changes us. And we need to remember that if there is anything good in us, it is only Jesus. If there is any way that we have been transformed, it is only by the Holy Spirit that we can live a renewed life. And this will put us in a good disposition as we try and shine the light of the gospel to the world. This is an attitude that we need to have. But it also needs to cover our speech and our actions. It's a godly attitude. It shares with others the same love of God that we need. That we need.

So, what are we known for? The Cretans were known for something. Right? What are you and I known for? When someone says your name? When someone sees you? What do they think about? Does someone go, “Oh no, here comes so and so.” Right? You know somebody's thought that about you at least 50 or 60 times. You thought I was going to say, once or twice, no. Right? What are we known for, though? When we sin big, do we ask for forgiveness? Do we say, “That way I was thinking about things and talking to you, it was not honoring to God. And I know he's paid for that sin, and he's forgiven me for that sin. But I want to ask you for that forgiveness too.” Is that what we're known for? You know, that kind of person is easy to be around.

Because we will fail, or we will fail each other. And when we do, are we known by who Christ is in us? Or are we just known for pride, for arrogance? Or our friend groups? Or are we more worried about what our friend groups think, than what Jesus thinks? Are we more devoted to someone else than Jesus? Are we more devoted to, you know, pleasure and peace. And labels that the culture has given us, that we like most of that label and hate the other label that that comes up against it. Are we most known for that? Or when someone sees us coming, are they like, “Wow, I'm going to be blessed by this person. They just love people.” Is that what you're known for?

You know, we can be complacent with accepting the sin that resides in our lives sometimes, because we've tried to live the way God wants us to, and it just hasn't worked out very well. Or, you know, I'm just uncomfortable with some of the things God has clearly asked me to do. And we think that's what's profitable for us. But in Titus 3:8 he tells us what's profitable for us, “The saying is trustworthy, and I want you to insist on these things, so that those who have believed in God may be careful to devote themselves to good works. These things are excellent and profitable…” “These things,” that Paul has told to Titus, are the very things that make life excellent. The world's trying to sell a bill of goods, that competes with God's Word, that something else is excellent. Or that you can have all this God-stuff plus this other stuff, too. We, we call that gospel-plus. They add things to salvation. They add things to a lifestyle. But here he's making it so straightforward. And he's laid out this plan for a transformed church: Leaders who can teach, sound doctrine, and a people who are devoted to good works.

Grace Bible Church, let us live out this life faithfully, according to God's plan. Would you bow your heads with me as we pray?

Father God, there's not a single person in this room who doesn't need your grace. Who doesn't need to be changed and transformed in some way. Lord God, I pray that you would just touch the hearts and lives of everyone here, that we might be right with you. That we might give our lives to you and live for you. That we might receive the power that your grace brings to transform, even people like the Cretans, into this beautiful, wonderful people. Let's just take a moment right now and ask God to help us to live faithfully, according to his plan.

Lord God, we love you. We would be nothing without your grace. And we pray that you would help us to live godly, devoted lives for your glory. In your precious, Holy Name. Amen.