A Reminder
Preached by Jason Abbott
May 1, 2016
We’ve reached the final installment in our series through the letter of Titus. And, we’ve learned that Crete was not an easy place to do pastoral ministry. Cretans had a really ugly reputation as liars, slothful gluttons, pirates, and brutes. Little is known about why they had this reputation. But it was likely well-earned since it was widely held among many ancient commentators across different times and among various societies. Thus, even Paul quotes Epimenides, himself a Cretan, in chapter one saying: “Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons” (1:12). Those are strong words; and, this was a tough bunch to pastor.Yet, without a doubt, the Cretans knew their reputation wasn’t all that great. I mean, you can’t be widely known as liars and beasts and gluttons and not hear about it. What’s really fascinating though is that Paul essentially reminds them of it in this letter. See, this letter wasn’t just for Titus—but for his congregations too. This is implied by the final words of today’s text, “Grace be with you all” (v. 15). This letter was to be read to the church!1Just ponder that for a moment. Consider how such a reminder would go over in our time. I mean, people today would be calling for the Apostle’s resignation. “How dare he stereotype us! How dare he call us liars and beasts and gluttons! Who does he think he is?! How dare he remind us of our bad reputation!”But, what if Benjamin or I wrote a no-holds-barred letter to be read-out-loud to Community? What might we say? Harrisburgers, Pennsylvanians, Americans are always…what? What would one of our “own prophets” say about our culture?
That we’re greedy consumers buying always more than we need?
That we’re entertainment junkies numbing ourselves to the world around us?
That we’re ethnocentric protectionists guarding our little neighborhoods from outsiders?
Yet, the real question isn’t what our “own prophets” would say about us, but, rather, whether or not what they’d say about us was actually the truth about us. In short, how truly different from our culture are we as Christians?Friends, we should look radically different than the culture that surrounds us. And, this is precisely the argument Paul makes to the Cretans (and us) in this text. Let’s read it then pray then study God’s word together (page 1145).
Titus 3:1-15
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. For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another. 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, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. 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 for people. But avoid foolish controversies, genealogies, dissensions, and quarrels about the law, for they are unprofitable and worthless. As for a person who stirs up division, after warning him once and then twice, have nothing more to do with him, knowing that such a person is warped and sinful; he is self-condemned.When I send Artemas or Tychicus to you, do your best to come to me at Nicopolis, for I have decided to spend the winter there. Do your best to speed Zenas the lawyer and Apollos on their way; see that they lack nothing. And let our people learn to devote themselves to good works, so as to help cases of urgent need, and not be unfruitful.All who are with me send greetings to you. Greet those who love us in the faith. Grace be with you all.
Paul essentially says two things in this passage. He says, (1) Remember that you should live good lives and, then, (2) Remember why you should live good lives. Let’s look at each in turn.
1. Remember that you should live good lives (vv. 1-2, 9-15).
Paul tells Titus to remind the Cretans of a bunch of stuff in this passage. And, if we think about it, this is typical of life. We both give and receive a bunch of reminders on any given day.Natalie and I currently parent five kids eleven and under, so, consequently, our lives are a continual process of reminding the five children of various things. (Brush your teeth. Always say please and thank you. You can’t kill your sister.) And we also remind one another of some things. (You’re picking up the kids today. Make sure you give them baths. You can’t kill your son.)When Ezra was two-years-old, he really liked my iPod. He liked to take it off its docking station and carry it around the house while pushing its buttons. This—as you might guess—didn’t make me nearly as happy as it made little Ezra. So, whenever I’d leave for work, I would always remind Natalie to watch him around my iPod. And, whenever Natalie would see him lurking around my iPod, she’d always remind him that it was a “No-No!” And, after about a week of this, whenever Ezra was able to get his hands on my iPod, he’d always bring it directly to us in order to remind us that it was a “No-No!”This images, I think, something of how we live out our struggle against sin. We remind ourselves, over and over again, that God’s ways are what’s best for us. We’re reminded by others, over and over again, that God’s ways are what’s best for us. Yet, we gravitate towards sin anyway. We find ourselves with sin in hand, just like that iPod, reminding ourselves, “No-No!”Because this is so often our struggle in the Christian life, we can be tempted to give up the pursuit of holiness—to throw away reminders like Paul gives here:
. . . 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 (vv. 1-2).
Why would we want to be reminded that things like these please the Lord when it’s far easier to mock leaders, do what pleases us, avoid work altogether, gossip about people we don’t like, seek revenge when we’re hurt, and be courteous when it pays us dividends?Why should we remind ourselves and be reminded even though it’s harder? Why should we—as followers of Jesus Christ—continuously struggle against sin and relentlessly pursue holiness in our lives when it’s so difficult?Well, the answer is found in Paul’s 2nd reminder. He doesn’t just remind us to live good lives, but he also says:
2. Remember why you should live good lives (vv. 3-8).
I’ve a confession to make. I’m a big sucker for really old, cheesy TV shows. Natalie and I watch a lot of old movies and old TV programs. She can testify that, on Friday nights, I’ll often get drawn into reruns of The Lawrence Welk Show. They’re just so bad that they’re actually pretty good.Well, a few years ago I was indulging my ancient television show addiction by watching reruns of The Twilight Zone. In this particular episode, a couple found themselves in this strange, deserted town. So, they spend the rest of the episode attempting to find out where they are, but they can’t find anyone anywhere to ask. This makes them increasingly uncomfortable, but what makes them begin to panic is a little girl’s laugh heard over and over again throughout the town. Where is she? They can’t find her . . . or anyone!Finally, they’re at their breaking point. The man runs to a nice looking car and jumps in. He’s excited! There are keys already in the ignition. He turns them. Nothing! He turns them again. Nothing! He jumps out and heaves open the hood and, in horror, finds there’s no engine in the car.At this revelation, the camera pans out to reveal that the car and the town and the couple are merely pieces in a little girl’s toy play set. Thus, the laughter! Dun, Dun, Dun! (Come on . . . don’t judge, you’d have watched it too!)Look, here’s the point. Godly living, doing good works, is like that toy town if our actions aren’t being fueled by the good news. It’s simply an illusion driven by our own childish whims. See, our ability to live-out these Christian reminders (which the Bible gives to us), our ability to do good works through our own power, simply doesn’t exist. We’re like a toy car that looks real. We look like we can run, but we haven’t actually got an engine under the hood. Friends, only the good news can give us that engine! Just look at Paul’s 2nd reminder.He says, remember to do good works:
For [or because] we . . . were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another. But when the goodness and loving kindness of God . . . appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us…but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. 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 (vv. 3-8).
Why can you forgive? Because the God of creation has forgiven you!
Why can you be gentle? Because the God of creation is gentle with you!
Why can you avoid quarrels? Because the God of creation isn’t provoked against you by your quarrelsome sin!
Why can you submit to rulers and authorities—even the really bad ones? Because the King of the universe has submitted his life for you even while you were his enemy!
How can such otherworldly and divine characteristics come out of you? Because God in the person of the Holy Spirit has gone into you!
Look, I have many friends who are atheists, and they do many good works. They can do so because they prefer doing good works, but they cannot do so because doing good works is always or ultimately better than doing bad works. You see, the distinction between good works and bad works is a false distinction for someone who doesn’t believe in a transcendent God who has once and for all determined what is good and what is bad. It’s simply the atheist’s preference.And, I have friends who are theists but not Christians. Without exception, they also do good works. However, they never do them because the god or gods whom they worship freely first loved them. No, they do them in slavish obedience.Friends, the gospel gives us the most powerful reason to live beautifully. The gospel gives us the best and most substantive reason to live gorgeous lives. See, the Bible tells us what’s good and what’s bad, what’s right and what’s wrong. And these are forever true since they flow from the unchanging character of God. So, we can know, in Jesus, true truth.Moreover, the gospel gives us the most powerful reason to live beautifully because it proclaims that living that way is not mere servitude or slavery to a god. Rather, it tells us that our God has first demonstrated, in the person of Jesus Christ, such beautiful living on our behalf. And he’s done this not to make us his salves but to make us his children and heirs.You see, the gospel tells us that we could not and will not save ourselves through good works, but it also tells us that God—in the person of Jesus Christ—did do good works for us and will accomplish good works in us. God has saved us and is saving us through faith in Jesus.This is what Paul reminds the church in Crete about.And, this is what Paul reminds our church about too.Well, as we close, allow me to suggest a couple very practical ways that you may live out these reminders which Paul gives in the upcoming months.The political season that we’re in is going to steamroll on toward November. You’ll have plenty of opportunities to disparage those running for political office or those currently in political office. But, Paul encourages good citizenship here—because of and for the sake of the gospel! Consequently, whenever you’re tempted to malign the commercials or the speeches or the actions of a particular candidate, perhaps you should take that energy and use it in order to pray for that candidate—that man or woman created in the image of God.Moreover, no matter what the end results in these upcoming elections are—it’s not the end of the world. Paul was probably writing this letter around 64 AD. During that period, Nero was emperor and his vicious persecution of Christians was just ramping up. Yet, he says—be good citizens, live gorgeous lives, do good because of and for the sake of the gospel. Friends, don’t put your hopes in leaders! They’ll always fail! Rather, remember to trust in the Lord who will never fail!
1“The letter closes with a pointer that it is to be read to all in Titus’s charge, for it says, ‘Grace be with you all,’ which suggests a congregational gathering when the letter was read aloud.” Ben Witherington III, Letters and Homilies for Hellenized Christians, volume 1: 166.
