|















| |
|
COLLECTIONS
Commentaries, Word
Studies, Devotionals, Sermons, Illustrations
Old and New Testament. |
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
Titus
Resources
Commentaries, Sermons,
Illustrations, Devotionals
See
Disclaimer
|
|
Titus 1:15 A Searching Test
NO. 3521
PUBLISHED ON THURSDAY, JULY 20TH, 1916
DELIVERED BY C.H. SPURGEON
AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON.
ON THURSDAY EVENING, 18TH JANUARY, 1872
“ Unto the pure all things are pure,
but unto them that are defiled and unbelieving, is nothing pure, but even
their mind and conscience is defiled. ” - Titus 1:15 .
I Shall not profess
this evening to enter into a full exposition of this text, for there are
many deep things in it, and many intricate questions are suggested by it.
I shall only make some observations upon it intended to be of practical
service.
This text has often
been misused — made to mean what was never in the Apostle’s mind. He does
not mean that a wrong thing becomes right to a pure-minded man; that is
the very opposite of what he does mean. He means that when men’s minds are
pure, other matters become pure to them, but when their minds are impure
then they use these things for impurity, We shall endeavor to pick out the
meaning as we go along, but it by no means means that I may pretend that I
am of pure mind, and that that, therefore, sin make impurity itself pure.
That would be to prove, if I found any pleasure: in impurity, that my mind
was impure. The true solution of the conduct of a man who professes to be
pure in mind, and yet commits himself to an unholy course of life, is not
that the man makes that unholy life pure but that the fact that he falls
into unholy living proves that his mind is not pure at all.
Our text has in it
to-night two kinds of men — the pure and the defiled and unbelieving; and
secondly, it has two kinds of effects produced upon these men by outward
things: to the one all things are pure; to the other there is nothing
pure. First, let us talk about these: —
—————
I. Two Kinds Of
Men.
First, the pure —
where shall we find them? Where are they born? We answer, no men are born
so. Who shall bring a clean thing out of an unclean? No! not one. As our
parents have sinned, we, their children, are born with tendencies to sin;
we are impure even from the birth. There are none pure but those who are
made so by a second creation. The first time they are marred upon the
wheel. They must go under the Creator’s hand a second time; they must feed
the power of the purifying Spirit of God creating them anew, before they
can be called pure at all. And these are not absolutely pure. Even in
those who are entitled to be called “ pure in heart, ” there remains
impurity. If any man shall question that, let him remember the first
Epistle of John, the first chapter, at the eighth verse: — ”If any man
say he heath no sin, he is a liar, and the truth is not in him. ” There is
sin in the best of men, and if they do not perceive it, it must be because
they are blinded with a foolish self-conceit, for in the purest heart
there still remains connected with it the old nature and the impurity
inherited from the first Adam. This makes life a perpetual conflict until
life’s close. Still, we name men by their predominant characteristics. The
partial impurity of a good man does not entitle him to be called impure.
If the master-principle within him, the reigning principle, be purity, he
is a pure man. A man may once in his life have spoken an untruth; he may
have been surprised into saying that is a thing which is not; but if the
general tenour of his life be stern integrity, we do not, therefore,
condemn him and brand him as a liar, otherwise where were the men living
upon earth who would be worthy of a name implying praise? The godly are
pure — have been made pure by regeneration, and they are pure, though not
absolutely so. They are pure in their affections. They love not that which
is unchaste, unhallowed, untruthful, unlawful before God. Their soul loves
that which God approves; they seek after that which Cod himself commands.
If they do not always keep God’s statutes, yet they love them; and if they
do not always walk in his ways without slipping, yet they lose his ways
and desire to walk in them without a single turning aside to the right
hand or to the left. The set of the current of their soul is towards
purity. They mourn over those currents and eddies into which they are
turned by temptation. They are the last men to excuse them; the rush and
current of their soul, their deepest and truest life, is that they may be
cleansed from all false ways and from sin. And as they are pure in their
affections, they become pure in their actions. They, if they be, indeed,
the people of God, cannot run with the multitude to do evil. The swine may
find its pleasure in the mire, but God’s sheep love cleanly pastures. The
raven may feed upon its garbage and be at home there, but not so the dove,
— it likes the clean garner and the clean roosting-place. The child of God
shuns not only the darker sins which defile so many, but even those which
others think but a trifle; and what some would permit and rejoice in, the
Christian mourns, abhors, laments, and avoids. The actions of the
Christian — I do not claim perfection for them, but I do claim that the
true Christian strives after perfection in his actions, that he seeks
after it, aye! and that, as a rule, he comes nearer to it than his enemies
would allow, or than even his own reflections, when he is examining
himself, would permit him to believe. God has a people who walk uprightly
still in the world. There are still some that are as pillars in the house
of God upon whom he has written the name of our God; some who have not
defiled their garments who shall walk with him in white, for they are
worthy made, so by his grace. And these men being thus pure in their
affections and in their actions are most of all pure in their desires.
Their greatest desire is towards purity. I am sure I speak the language of
every renewed heart when I say that if the Lord were to appear by night
unto, you, and say to you, as he did try Solomon “ What shall I give
thee? ” there is no renewed heart here that would say, “ Lord, give me
riches! ” there is no one that would say, “ Give me health! ” We may
desire both of these things in a secondary degree, but our main desire
would be this, “ Lord, give me that holy character which would please thee
and bring honor to the religion I profess. ” Holiness, holiness, holiness
— it is a thing which every renewed heart longs after beyond everything
else. I would have perfect orthodoxy in my head if I could, but I know
even if I had that, an unhallowed life would render it of little service
to me; but could I have the clean heart, other things would come with it,
and from it, for the pure in heart shall see God; and if they see God,
what is there else that he shall not see, for the eye which has glanced on
God himself will be able to perceive the difference between truth and
error, and will not be liable to be deceived. The Christian is pure in his
desires. Now if it be so, that in his affections within, and his actions
without, and in the desires of his entire nature, he would be pure, he is
entitled to this name, and God has given it to him.
But there are some,
on the other hand, who are defied and unbelieving. These two things appear
to go together. Now it was denied some time since that every unbeliever is
unclean in his life, and I think there is some ground in the denial. I
should not like to stand here and say that I believe every infidel, every
rejector of the religion of Christ is a man unfit for the social circle,
and a sinner against the laws of decency. I do not believe it. Honestly, I
must say that there are some men who have rejected the gospel — I grieve
that they have — have denied God, and yet somehow they have been a vast
deal better than their creed, and they have managed to walk in a
consistency of moral conduct towards man which has almost been worthy to
be set up as an example to Christians. I believe such cases are not the
rule, and that candour, when it has made the admission which I have made,
is compelled to add that this is an extraordinary thing, and cannot have
been produced by the creed, for the creed itself of the godless is
necessarily logically and properly the creed of the unbelieving, producing
sin. Why should they obey a law if they do not believe in a law-giver, or,
if they only believe in a law-giver who will not punish, and who cannot
reward? When men have denied God, they have surely given up the sanction
which should lead them to anything like purity, and if they live as most
of them do live, it cannot be said that they are inconsistent with their
creed.
Yet, indeed, as a
rule, and as a rule without exception — having said what I have said (and
I do not contradict myself) — as a rule without an exception, the
unbelieving heart is a deviled heart for all that. For what did we admit?
That the man who rejects his God is not, therefore, a thief. Has he not
robbed God? What did we say? That the man who rejects Christ is not,
therefore, licentious. Is that purity which rejects perfection? Is that
heart pure that cannot see loveliness in the character and the person of
the Redeemer? What did we admit? That the unbeliever is not seditious. Yet
is he a loyal subject of God who denies the Godhead, who rails against
God, and who lives from day to day as if there were no God at all? Men, if
they were called sinners, would not shudder at the word; they admit it.
Call them criminals, and at once they are angry and defend themselves —
the reason being, I suppose, that with the mass of mankind it seems a
trifle to offend against God, but a very serious thing to have offended
against man. And here is the whole stress of the matter; the defilement of
the unbeliever lies always God-ward, even when it is not apparent
man-ward, and when the unbeliever, somehow or other, keeps his garments
clean as before his fellow-men, yet as before his God what is he? He is
one who has cast off all obligations to his Maker, who denies all
responsibilities to his King, who receives bounties from Jehovah’s hand,
but is not grateful, and will not even acknowledge that the mercies come
from that hand at all; who lives in habitual contempt of the adorable —
destitute of all admiration for the infinitely glorious — who does what
angels must shudder to think of — lives without love to Christ, without
trust in the promises of God. There is a defilement there, which, I
venture to say, is even greater, if looked at in a right light, than any
form of defilement which becomes perceptible by men as between themselves.
But notice in this
text that it seems to correct a good deal of the mental philosophy we have
heard of. For instance, I have heard it asserted that conscience is God’s
vicegerent among men. I have often heard expressions from the pulpit, and
read them in books, which fed me to infer that every fallen man had got
not only something good in him, but some strong principle almost akin to
the Divine. I believe in the fall of man, and I believe that to be total,
and that conscience — is a power which has fallen with all the remit, and
that there does not exist in the world a pure conscience, except so far as
God has purified it by the work of his Spirit. Conscience itself is a
defiled thing; and so far from being a representative of God, I could not
think for a moment of comparing it with that ever-blessed and pure being.
The fact is that conscience, although it must be to man practically his
guide, is not a safe one ever, for the true guide of every man is the
Bible, the revealed will of God. That is true, and pure, and right, but my
conscience may often be a dark conscience, an ignorant conscience, a
perverted conscience, and my business is not to follow my conscience as I
find it, but to go to God and ask him to enlighten my conscience, and
guide it. Neither is it an excuse for a man for doing wrong when he says
he was conscientious in doing it. It is an excuse as far as men are
concerned, but not before God. God’s law is not of variable quantity or
quality depending upon the quantity or quality of the conscience; it is
fixed and definite. Just as if a man were to take prussic acid believing
that it would benefit him — he would die, despite his conscience; or as if
a person were to walk northward, expecting to reach his home in the south,
he would not do anything of the kind; or as if a man were to go to sea in
a leaky vessel, and a storm came on, his conscience would not save him —
so it is with you; if you are astray, you are astray. Your business was to
have waited upon God to have had that conscience corrected; your business
was to have laid that conscience at the foot of the cross, and ask the
Master to purify it — to have waited upon the Holy Spirit for his
teaching, and consulted the infallible oracles of God’s book, to know what
was the will of the Most High. It is not, therefore, for every man to be
crying up his conscience. I believe in conscience by all means among men,
but there is none perfect before God. There conscience should be bowed to
God’s law, to God’s gospel, to believe his teachings, and to obey his
precepts. Conscience no mare than any other power, is irresponsible. It is
under law in him. He created man, and put the conscience within him, which
conscience has been despoiled and injured by the Fall. Now there are men
in the world with defiled understandings and defiled consciences. They
cannot judge rightly; their understanding is defied. They put bitter for
sweet, and sweet for bitter. “ A man cannot do that, ” says one. He does
do it. There are thousands in this world who deliberately judge amiss, and
who, when they sit down even to think of a question (which, alas! we
cannot often bring
them to do),
naturally come to a wrong conclusion because the scales which they weigh
are out of gear. The measure which they use is not the measure of the
sanctuary. Their understanding is defiled. And even when they bring their
moral sense to bear upon some question, they are inevitably mistaken
because their conscience itself has become defiled also. A sad state for
men to be in, but into this state each man, according to his degree, is
brought, until his will turneth unto God, and is rectified by the great
Spirit. We are all impure — impure in every part. “ The whole head is
sick, and the whole heart is faint ”; we are all fallen. In manhood’s vast
temple there stands not a solitary pillar that is quite erect. Here and
there, there are masses that seem as though they stood as once they were,
to let us know how grand a thing human nature might have been; but there
is enough upon the whole to let us see that it is all in ruin, and in such
ruin that unless he who built it at the first shall put forth his
omnipotent power and use again the old fiat which created the world, it
will still be a ruin and desolation — a den of all manner of unclean
things. Thus have I spoken upon the two sorts of men, the pure and the
defiled. But now, secondly, here is the main point that we have to speak
of: —
—————
II. The Two
Affects Produced On These Two Kinds Of Men.
To those who are
pure all things are pure; to those who are impure and unbelieving,
everything becomes impure. Only a few things by way of specimen.
First, let us think
of the attributes of God. To the believer in Christ, whose heart is pure,
how glorious is God! And every time we think of him, adore him, and have
fellowship with him, we grow purer for it. The true believer cannot think
of God and draw nearer to him without becoming more like his God. But look
at the unbeliever. Oft-times his very thoughts of God have been themselves
defiled by the defilement of his understanding, irritating him, filling
him with wrath and abhorrence. He does not delight in the holiness of God;
he says it is severity. “ How can a man be happy with such laws to bind
him? ” He does not delight in the, wisdom of God in providence; he thinks
things are ordered very much amiss, seeing they do not all conduce to his
pleasure in the ways of sin. And, especially, if you set before him God’s
mercy, that most blessed of all attributes which, to the believer, is
purifying to the last degree, you will find the unbeliever saying, “ God
is Merciful, ” and making that an excuse for his continuing in sin. How
sad it is that when we preach the gospel, and give the invitations of
infinite mercy, there are many who will say, “ Ah! then, I can turn to God
just when I like, and he is very gracious, and he will forgive me;
therefore, I will continue in my rebellion against him. ” And when we have
been pathetic, and our soul has poured over from our eyes as we have
spoken of those saved at the eleventh hour, while there have been some
minds that have been led to Christ thereby, there are some who have drawn
the horrible inference that they, too, might wait until the eleventh hour,
and venture their eternal interests upon the mercy of God at the last.
Brethren. I believe you cannot preach of God without some men making
mischief of it, even of just so simple a truth as his mercy. But when you
come to his sovereignty — a deep that can never be fathomed — how many
have been drowned in it! I believe we ought to speak about it. I am not of
those who say we should be silent upon it, but how many have been drowned
in those deeps, wilfully, because they leave said, “ Who hath resisted his
will? Why doth he find fault? If it is to be, it is to be. If it will be,
it will be. ” They have even dared to make God the author of their sin,
and drawn an apology for their unrighteousness from the thrice holy King
of Kings. To the pure in heart all things are so pure that we ourselves
sink into nothing in humility and penitence before him; but to the
ungodly, even God himself becomes an argument for continuance in sin.
Now take another. It
is so with God, but it is equally is so with the gospel. The doctrines of
the gospel are to the believer very pure. There is not one of them but
what has a practical effect upon his life. I take the doctrine of
election. Then if he hath chosen us, he has chosen us to be a peculiar
people zealous of good works, and special love we feel binds us to special
service. We often sing: —
“ Loved of my God,
for him again
With love intense I burn
Chosen of him ere time began,
We choose him in return. ”
So with the doctrine
of redemption that he hath redeemed us by his precious blood. The
inference from it is, “ Ye are not your own; ye are bought with a price;
therefore, glorify God in your bodies and in your spirits, which are his.
“ Take the sweet doctrine of final perseverance, “ The righteous shall
hold on his way. ” Now the godly man feels that he must so live as to
prove that he is a godly man by persevering, and he looks for daily grace
to hold him on, and to keep him to the end. He blesses that infinite
affection that does not turn aside from him, and he feels drawn to it by
constant watchfulness. I might mention all the doctrines, but every
Christian will admit at once that he that hath this hope in him purifieth
himself. But take the effect of these truths upon the unbelieving and the
impure. Why, you know how they will pervert election. How often men have
made that a coverlet for the grossest licentiousness. As for the redeeming
blood, alas! how many have made the cross, which is the tree of life, to
be the tree of death to them! It has become a savor of death unto death to
them. We have known some whose damnation is just — who have said, “ We are
the children of God, and we will live as we like, ” and they have,
therefore, given themselves over to uncleanness. Surely of all
blasphemers, they must bear the palm; they stand among the worst. But when
men thus turn the gospel into licentiousness, are we to say it is the
gospel’s fault? Are we to keep back some of these doctrines? By no means,
for “ unto the pure all things are pure ”. Unto the unclean and
unbelieving, these holy things will always be impure. You might as, well
forbid the sun to shine because when his beams fall upon a dunghill, it
brings forth unwholesome reeking. Yes, but that same sun, when it falls
upon the flowers, makes them shed their aromatic perfume on every hand. It
is doing incalculable good. It is not the sun, but the dunghill that must
be blamed. And when the truth is perverted, you must not blame the truth,
but blame the unclean, unbelieving heart that turns it into sin.
Now the like thing
is true of the ordinances of the gospel, and dreadfully true here too.
When you come to the ordinances of the gospel, such, for instance, as the
preaching of the Word — the true believer every time he hears the Word is
purged by the Word. “ Now ye are clean, ye are purged through the Word
which I have spoken unto you. ” The truth of God shows him his own
sinfulness. He seeth his face in a glass, and endeavors to remove the
spots which the Word of God reveals to him. But an ungodly man hearing the
Word, grows the worse, perhaps, not only openly, but in his heart worse.
Oh! there are some that sit in this very place — have done so for years. I
thank God they are getting very, very few now. I hope there will be none
such soon. May grace grant there may not be one. But you will notice that
the very truth which made them tremble once does not now; and whereas some
years ago the preaching of the gospel often brought tears to their eyes
and sent them on their knees, it does not now; and sins which they were
fain to give up at one time, and which pricked their conscience, are now
indulged in without compunction, for the same gospel which softens
hardens, as the sun, which shines on wax and melts it, shines on clay and
hardens it. Even the blessed ordinance of preaching — the hearing of the
Word — may make some men to become yet more and more unclean. Alas! that
it should be so. But see how baptism and the Lord’s Supper, both of them
(for I cannot now stay long to discriminate), have been misused. Whereas
these are both of them ordinances to lead men to remember precious truth —
the death and burial of the Lord in the one case, and the soul’s feeding
in the other case, on the precious body and blood of Jesus, and rejoicing
in him as blessed spiritual meat, how is it that we have been told (and it
is preached from thousands of pulpits in England) that baptism washes away
sin, and absolutely regenerates the soul? And though I have been chidden
for putting too strong a sense upon the word “ regenerate ”, I have lived
to see a stronger sense put upon it by some than I put until it has become
with some simply a superstitious ordinance, and nothing more, full of
mischief. And as to the Lord’s Supper, they tell us that there in it a
power to forgive all sin, even the most heinous. And this is not spoken
now and then accidentally — a slip of tongue, but is printed and scattered
all over England as true doctrine. Well, these men’s minds are impure,
and, therefore, even those two precious ordinances are turned into
superstition and into impurity, and I suppose it always will be so. But if
the mind becomes pure, and becomes believing in Christ, it will never
exalt mere bread and wine into the place of Deity, and water into the
place of the divine Spirit itself. God save us from having our minds
rendered so impure as to fall into superstition by simple ordinances which
are full of instruction. I do not doubt that there are many that are now
depending for eternal life upon having gone to the Sacrament or Mass, and
are expecting to enter heaven because they have reposed their confidence
in a man who was arrogant enough to call himself the exclusive priest of
God. God save us from having our understanding defiled, for it must be
before it can submit to the belief of such superstition as this.
But I must pass on.
I have often noticed how the Church of God itself becomes to pure minds
one thing, and to impure minds another. You shall find a man a member of a
Christian church, who will tell you that wherever he has gone in that
church he has met with brethren full of love, full of earnestness, and he
has been delighted to associate with them. I have been at the bedside of a
venerable brother just now, whom nearly all of you know, and if you were
to hear his opinion of the church of which he is a member he would speak
of it in the most glowing terms. The reason is that he sees in his
fellow-Christians very much what there is in himself. The man who is
loving comes to love the brethren. The man who is chaste, pure, and
zealous, attributes to others a like spirit, and believes they are pure,
and they are to him so assuredly. But you shall meet with another, a
carnal, worldly-minded professor, and he says, “ Oh! there’s no love! ” He
has not any. “ There’s no zeal ” saith he. There certainly would not be if
all were like himself. “ Ah! ” says he, “ I don’t see any of the apostolic
living that I read of in the Scriptures now. ” There is no apostolic
living in his own case. He didn’t see it because he hasn’t got it. To use
are old illustration — if you send a kite or a buzzard flying over a tract
of country, what will it see? Why, it will be looking out for all the dead
carcasses and it will be sure to be able to tell you how much carrion
there is about. But if you send a dove over that same space, it won’t have
an eye for it, for it has no taste for it, but it will tell you of
everything that is fair and beautiful, like itself. So is it with the pure
mind in the midst of God’s people; it sees purity. It cannot shut its eyes
to impurity, but it rejoices in the truth, and speaks of it, and speaks it
as well as it can at all times with a charity that thinketh no evil. But
with the impure and the unbelieving, every place is defiled, and the man
tars everything wish the filth that is in his own bucket.
Now the events of
providence — I will not detain you much longer, but let me observe that
all the events of providence, are to some men one thing, and to some men
another. Is a man with a pure mind suddenly lifted up in the world in
wealth — he uses that for the poor of the Church of Christ. Is he impure
then that wealth allows him to gratify his impure taste, and he sinks
deeper in impurity. Does a pure man come to poverty — then his poverty
drives him nearer to God, and he seeks to make himself useful among the
poorer brethren where he dwells. But if he is impure, he assumes the most
grovelling tastes, and becomes the more wicked. Is a man a Christian —
then health is a delight to him — to consecrate it all to his Lord. Has a
sinner health — then that health shall enable him to go farther it to sin,
or, at any rate, to indulge himself the more, for he will not consecrate
it to his God. Anything that happens may be used two ways, and the pure
shall see in every event something which he can turn to God’s glory, and
the impure can see in everything, a means by which he may indulge himself.
Now it is so if
you mingle with the sons of men and see their sins.
We are grieved at
them. But when the Christian sees sin he thinks, “ This is what I should
be but for the grace of God. ” So he praises God for his grace. “ This is
what I shall be, ” saith he, “ if I am not watchful. ” So he becomes the
more watchful, and out of the very sin of his fellow-men he extracts some
reasons for greater holiness, and grows more pure because he observes the
loathsomeness of impurity, and turns from it the more earnestly. But the
ungodly man is carried away by the evil example; his conscience is more
deadened by it, and he becomes bolder in sin in consequence of what he
sees in others. I am sure you will have observed it so, that where the
good man gathers grapes, another finds nothing but poisoned apples, and
where the Christian turns over this mans depravity and finds in it a
reason for greater holiness in his own person, the ungodly man only sees
the more excuse for himself for the past, and the greater licence for
himself in the future.
Take another list of
things, namely, the treatment of men to us. Suppose men praise us. The
Christian man says, “ I must be watchful, for the praise of man is often
inconsistent with the favor or God. ” The ungodly man says, “ Everybody
praises me. What a silly fellow I must be! ” There is a foulness of pride
which comes upon him. The man who lives near to God, if he is sneered at
by the sons of men, says, “ It comes upon me for God’s sake; I will bear
it ”; but the other says he will not have any more of that, and turns
aside from a path which becomes rough, even though he knows that path to
be right. How often has unjust treatment driven the ungodly man to anger,
and in some cases to malice, and to resolutions of revenge! To the impure
an injustice makes him more impure. But see the Christian who is like his
master. Every injustice makes him cry for grace to forgive, and when yet
more injustice heaped upon him, he forgives the more, and tries to heap
yet more coals of fire upon the head of his enemy by doing him the greater
kindness if by any means he may win his soul. So out of the worst of
things the Christian extracts the best, while from the very best of things
an unhallowed mind may extract the worst.
Let us close
— though there are many, many illustrations that might he given of this —
by saying, Here you have tonight means afforded for judging yourselves. Do
you find in God’s Book that which makes you angry with God? Do you find in
the gospel that which makes you complaisant with yourself while you are
unregenerate? Do you find in Providence that which irritates you, or which
seems to excuse you in sin? Then your mind is impure, for these things are
with you according to what you are. “ It is dark, ” say you. It is your
eye that is dark; the light is light and bright. “ It is bitter, ” say
you, when we bring you the honey of the gospel. is not the honey that is
bitter; it is your mouth; it is your mouth that is out of order. How often
ought people to recollect this when they hear a true gospel sermon! George
Herbert says, “ Judge not the preacher; he is thy judge. ” And very often
when a man has condemned the sermon he had far better condemn himself. He
has not agreed with it! No; if he had, it would not have been true. When
sometimes we have heard some man of low life railing at us, We have said,
“ Thank God! Supposing that wretch had praised us, we should have known
there was something amiss about us. There are public prints which, if they
praised a man, you would know at once that the man deserved hanging, or
something near approaching to it. Their censure is the only homage, they
can give to that which is right. So when any soul kicks against Christ,
the precious blood of Christ, the gospel of God, the purity of God, do we
condemn God because this man condemns him? Nay, but God is glorified by
the unrighteous nature of this man rebelling against him. If God were
other than he is, an unrighteous man might love him, but, being hated and
despised, and forgotten of ungodly men, it does but prove that God is not
such as they are, but infinitely superior to them. Let us judge ourselves,
then, by this.
But, provided we are
obliged to come to the conclusion that our minds are not pure, we need not
end there, for there are means by which they may be made so. Glory be to
God, if my mind and conscience are defiled, they need not always be so.
There is cleansing. I cannot effect it for myself, nor can any outward
forms do it.
“ No outward form
can make me clean,
The leprosy lies deep within ”
But God has set
forth Christ to be a Savior, and he shall save his people from their sins,
from their sinfulness too, and whosoever believeth in Christ Jesus, that
is, trusteth in him, there is already in him the beginning of purity. God
the Holy Spirit will give him more and more of the likeness of Christ, for
he that believeth shall be saved from sin, from indwelling sin, from all
sin, from the power as well as from the guilt of it; faith will cleanse
him, applying to him the precious blood and the water which flows from the
side of Christ; faith will, by the Holy Spirit’s power, become a cleansing
as well as a saving grace. God grant it to us, and may we all be among the
pure, unto whom all things shall be pure. We ask it, for Christ’s sake.
Amen.
(Copyright
AGES Software.
Used by permission. All rights reserved. See
AGES Software
for their full selection of highly recommended resources)
|
|
Titus 2:10 Sermon Notes - Gospel Jewelry
That they may adorn the doctrine of God
our Saviour in all things. — Titus 2: 10
THE apostle greatly
values the doctrine of the gospel, or he would not care so much to have it
adorned.
The apostle highly esteems the practical part of religion; hence he
regards it as the beauty and ornament of the gospel. What a wide range of
practical instruction we find in this short letter! With what holy
ingenuity is this interwoven with the doctrine!
We are bidden to obey the precept that we may adorn the doctrine.
We have in our text—
I. A NAME OF ADORNMENT FOR THE GOSPEL. "The doctrine of God our
Saviour."
1. It sets forth its greatness: "doctrine of God."
Our fall, ruin, sin, and punishment
were great.
Our salvation and redemption are great.
Our safety, happiness, and hopes are great.
2. It sets forth
its certainty. It is "of God."
It comes by revelation of God.
It is guaranteed by the fidelity of God.
It is as immutable as God himself.
3. It sets forth
its relation to Christ Jesus: "of God our Saviour."
He is the author of it.
He is the substance of it.
He is the proclaimer of it.
He is the object of it. The gospel glorifies Jesus.
4. It sets forth
its authority.
The whole system of revealed truth is
of God.
The Savior himself is God, and hence he must be accepted.
The gospel itself is divine. God mind is embodied in the doctrine of the
Lord Jesus and to reject it is to reject God.
Let us believe,
honor, defend, and propagate this "doctrine of God our Saviour." What else
is so worthy of our love and zeal?
II. A METHOD OF ADORNMENT FOR THE GOSPEL.
This is a remarkable
verse. Observe—
1. The persons
who are to adorn the gospel.
In Paul's day, bond servants or slaves.
In our day, poor servants of the humblest order.
Strange that these
should be set to such a task!
Yet, the women
slaves adorned their mistresses, and both men and women of the poorest
class were quite ready to adorn themselves.
From none does the
gospel receive more honor than from the poor.
2. The way in
which these persons could specially adorn the gospel:
By obedience to their masters (verse
9).
By endeavors to please them: "please them well."
By restraining their tongues: "not answering again."
By scrupulous honesty: "not purloining" (verse 10).
By trustworthy character: "showing all good fidelity."
All this would make
their masters admire the religion of Jesus.
3. The way of
adornment of the doctrine in general.
Negatively, it is found:
Not in the decoration of the building,
the priest, the choir, or the worshippers.
Nor in the attraction of peculiar garb and speech.
Nor in the finery of philosophical thought.
Nor in the tawdriness of rhetorical speech.
Positively, it
lies in another direction.
We must adorn it by our godly lives.
Adornment, if really so, is suitable to beauty. Holiness, mercifulness,
cheerfulness are congruous with the gospel.
Adornment is often a tribute to beauty. Such is a godly conversation; it
honors the gospel.
Adornment is an advertisement of beauty. Holiness calls attention to the
natural beauty of the gospel.
Adornment is an enhancement of beauty. Godliness gives emphasis to the
excellence of doctrine.
Let us all
endeavor to adorn the gospel, by:
Strict integrity in business.
Constant courtesy of behavior.
Unselfish love to all around us.
Quick forgiveness of injuries.
Abundant patience under trials.
Holy calm and self-possession at all times.
Gems
Yes, and mark you,
this is to be done not as the prerogative of a few grandly gifted spirits
and on some occasion which may lift them proudly up to the gaze of the
universe. As found in the text, it was of the power of the poor Cretan
slaves the apostle was writing, of their power, too, not in some
tremendous trial, as of torture or martyrdom, to which the cruelty of
their masters sometimes subjected their faith, but of their power to do it
"in all things": in the daily, lowly, degrading service of a menial; in
the small things as well as the great; in the squalid stall and fold as
well as in the splendor of the palace; absolutely, in "all things" to
adorn the glorious gospel of God. O blessed bondsmen of Crete, going forth
under the lash and the chain, yet with hearts of faith under their burdens
and smiles of love amid their tears, doing work for God impossible to an
angel! — Charles Wadsworth, D. D.
We have all heard the story of the girl who said she had been converted,
for she now "swept under the mats." Koba, an Indian warrior, recently gave
evidence of his conversion by saying, "I pray every day, and hoe onions.
"An Indian could not give a much better evidence of his sincerity than
that. Manual labor is not the chief joy or pride of an Indian warrior.
Fox says, "When people came to have experience of Friends' honesty and
faithfulness and found that their yea was yea and their nay was nay; and
that they kept to a word in their dealings, and that they could not cozen
and cheat them; but that if they sent a child to their shops for anything,
they were as well used as if they had come themselves, the lives and
conversations of Friends did preach. All the inquiry was, Where was a
draper, or shopkeeper, or tailor, or shoemaker, or any other tradesman
that was a Quaker?"
A Brahmin wrote to a missionary, "We are finding you out. You are not as
good as your Book. If your people were only as good as your Book, you
would conquer India for Christ in five years."
Light conceits and flowers of rhetoric wrong the Word more than they can
please the hearers. The weeds among the corn make it look gay, but it were
all the better they were not amongst it. — Leighton
All may of thee
partake:
Nothing can be so mean,
Which with this tincture (for thy sake)
Will not grow bright and clean.
A servant with this clause
Makes drudgery divine:
Who sweeps a room, as for thy laws,
Makes that and th' action fine.
— George Herbert |
|
Titus 1: Exposition by C H Spurgeon
Titus 1:1-4 . 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; in
hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the
world began; but hath in due times manifested his word through preaching,
which is committed unto me according to the commandment of God our Savior;
to Titus, mine own son after the common faith: Grace, mercy, and peace,
from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ our Savior.
While reading this chapter, we must
understand that Titus was sent to Crete, to superintend the preaching of
the gospel throughout that island. Crete was at that time inhabited by a
people who were only partially civilized, and sunk in the very worst of
vices. Paul, therefore, tells Titus to speak to them about things which
would hardly be mentioned to Christians nowadays.
You have probably noticed that Paul’s
benediction, when he is writing to a minister, is always. “ Grace, mercy,
and peace. ” Writing to churches, his usual formula is, “ Grace be to you,
and peace; ” but God’s servants, called to the work of the ministry, need
very special “ mercy ”-as if the higher the office, the greater the
liability to sin, and therefore, in his Pastoral Epistles, whether he is
addressing Titus or Timothy, Paul wishes for his sons in the faith,
“ Grace, mercy, and peace. ” Oh, what a mercy it will be for any of us
ministers if, at the last, we are clear of the blood of all men! If,
having been called to preach the gospel, we shall do it so faithfully as
to be acquitted and even rewarded by our Lord and Master, it will he mercy
upon mercy.
This “ charge ” of the beloved Pastor
has even more force and pathos now that he has gone “ away ” to heaven.
Titus 1:5 , 6 . For this
cause left I thee in Crete, that thou shouldest set in order the things
that are wanting, and ordain elders in every city, as I had appointed
thee: if any be blameless, the husband of one wife,
For there were many converts there who
had two or three wives. Whatever position they might be permitted to
occupy in the church, they could not become officers, they must keep in
the rear rank.
Titus 1:6-12 . One of
themselves, even a prophet of their own,
According to Jerome, this was
Epimenides, a prophet-poet, who lived in Crete in the sixth century before
Christ.
Titus 1: 12 .
Said, The Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, slow bellies.
They were a degraded people; and hence,
those who would teach them had a most difficult task, and needed great
grace. Paul exhorts Titus that only specially fit men, men whose example
would have influence, and whose characters would have weight, should be
allowed to be elders in such churches.
Titus 1:13-16 . This
witness is true. Wherefore rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in
the faith; not giving heed to Jewish fables, and commandments of men, that
turn from the truth. Unto the pure all things are pure: but unto them that
are defiled and unbelieving is nothing pure; but even their mind and
conscience is defiled. They profess that they know God; but in works they
deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work
reprobate.
This was bad soil; but it had to be
ploughed, and to be sown, and with an Almighty God at the back of the
gospel plougher and sower, a fruitful harvest came even in Crete. We need
not be afraid of the adaptation of the gospel to the lowest of the low. If
there be any quarter of the town where the people are more sunken in vice
than anywhere else, there the gospel is to be carried with more prayer and
more faith than anywhere else. Depend upon it, God can bless his Word
anywhere, among Cretans, or among any other sort of degraded people.
Titus
2: Exposition by C H Spurgeon
Titus 2:1 . But speak
thou the things which become sound doctrine;
There are certain things which are
suitable to go with sound doctrine; they are meet and fit and appropriate
thereto.
Titus 2:2 . That the aged
men be sober, grave, temperate, sound in faith, in charity, in patience.
Among the heathen, old men often gave
themselves up to drunkenness and gluttony; so now, this is the teaching
that is to be given to aged Christian men. They need faith, love, and
patience, as well as the virtues of sobriety, gravity, and temperance. The
infirmities of old age often create petulance, so the grace of God is to
make the venerable Christian to be full of faith, love, and patience.
Titus 2:3 . The aged
women likewise, that they be in behavior as becometh holiness, not false
accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things;
Old women also among the heathen were
often addicted to the taking of much wine, so here they are cautioned
against it by the Spirit of God.
They are also tempted to spread
slanderous reports against people: having little to do in their old age,
they are apt to do that little by way of mischief; so they are warned that
they are not to be “ false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of
good things. ” And how beautifully can an aged Christian woman, by her
kindly example, be a teacher of good things! There is no more charming
sight under heaven, I think, than that of an elderly Christian lady, whose
words and whose whole life are such as becometh the gospel of Christ.
Titus 2: 4 ,
5 . That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their
husbands, to love their children, to be discreet, chaste, keepers at home,
good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not
blasphemed.
There were some women who supposed
that, the moment they became Christians, they were to run about
everywhere. “ No, ” says the apostle, “ let them keep at home. ” There is
no gain to the Christian Church when the love, and the industry, and the
zeal, which ought to make a happy home, are squandered upon something
else. The young women of Crete appear to have been such that they needed
to be taught “ to love their husbands. ” That expression does not occur
elsewhere in Scripture. Christian women do not need to be told to love
their husbands; but these Cretans, just brought out of the slough of sin,
had to be taught even this lesson. Oh, what a blessing is love in the
marriage relationship, and what a gracious influence love has upon
children! How are they to be brought up aright except the whole house be
perfumed with love?
Titus 2: 6 .
Young men likewise exhort to be sober minded.
That exhortation is as necessary in
London as it was in Crete. Young men often know a great deal, or think
they do; and they are very apt to be intoxicated with the idea of knowing
so much, and being able to do so much, so that the exhortation to them is
to “ be sober minded. ”
Titus 2:6 . Young men
likewise exhort to be sober minded.
They are full of spirits, they are very
sanguine, they are apt to be carried away with novelties; exhort them to
have that which is thought to be a virtue of age, namely, sobriety. Let
them be old when they are young that they may be young when they are old.
Titus 2:7 . In all things
skewing thyself a pattern of good Works:
Titus was himself a young man; he must,
therefore, be a pattern to young men; and as a pastor or evangelist he
must be a pattern to all sorts of men.
Titus 2:7 , 8 . in
doctrine shewing uncorruptness, gravity, sincerity, sound speech, that
cannot be condemned; that he that is of the contrary part may be ashamed,
having no evil thing to say of you.
It is a pity when truth suffers at the
hand of its own advocate; and perhaps the very worst wounds that truth has
received have been in the house of its friends. You must be careful,
therefore, “ that he that is of the contrary part may be ashamed, having
no evil thing to say of you. ”
Titus 2:9 . Exhort servants to
be obedient unto their own masters,
They were mostly slaves in those days.
A sad condition of society was that in which service meant slavery; yet
even slaves were “ to be obedient unto their own masters. ”
Titus 2: 9 ,
10 . And to please them welt in all things; not answering again;
not purloining,
Not practicing petty thefts, as, alas!
some servants do even now,-
Titus 2: 9 ,
10 . To be obedient unto their own masters, and to please them
well in all things; not answering again; not purloining,
Not picking and stealing, which very
naturally was the common habit of slaves; and who wonders at it in their
wretched condition?
Titus 2:10 . But shewing all
good fidelity; that they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in all
things.
Is not that a wonderful passage? Here
is a slave able to be an ornament to the gospel of Christ! This blessed
gospel is not sent to kings and princes only; when Paul preached it, the
great mass of the population were in cruel bondage, treated like dogs, or
even worse; yet the gospel had a message even for them, it told them that
they might, by a godly character, adorn the doctrine of God their Savior.
Titus 2:10 .
But shewing all good fidelity; that they may adorn the doctrine of God our
Savior in all things.
The life of the Christian, even if he
be a servant, is to be an ornament of Christianity. Christ does not look
for the ornament of his religion to the riches or the talents of his
followers, but to their holy lives “ that they may adorn the doctrine of
God our Savior in all things. ”
Titus 2: 11 ,
12 . For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to
all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we
should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;
Christians are not to run out of the
world, as monks and hermits sought to do, but to live “ in this present
world. ” Yet, while in the world, we are to be godly, that is, full of
God. That kind of life which is without God is not for Christians. Those
worldly desires, the pride and ambition, which are common to worldly men,
are not to have power over us; we are to deny them, and to live soberly.
This word relates not only to eating and drinking, but to the general
sobriety of a man’s mind: “ Denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we
should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world. ”
Titus 2: 13 ,
14 . Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of
the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us, that
he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar
people, zealous of good works.
See what Christ died for, see what
Christ lives for, see what we are to live for,-that we should not only be
a people purified, but purified unto Himself. We are not only to have good
works, but we are to be zealous of them; we are to burn with zeal for
them, for zeal is a kind of fire, it is to burn and blaze in us until we
warm and enlighten others also.
Titus 2: 15 .
These things speak, and exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no
man despise thee.
As I have already reminded you, Titus
was a young man; and people are apt to despise the pastoral office when it
is held by a young man. Yet they ought always to respect it, whether it be
held by a young man or an old man. God knows best who is most fitted for
the work of the ministry: and those of us who are getting old must never
look with any kind of scorn or contempt upon those who are commencing
their service, for we, too, were young once. You cannot measure a man’s
grace by the length of his beard, nor by the number of his years.
Titus
3: Exposition by C H Spurgeon
Titus 3:1 , 2 . Put them
in mind to be subject to principalities and powers, to obey magistrates,
to be ready to every good work, to speak evil of no man, to be no
brawlers, but gentle, shewing all meekness unto all men.
Gentleness was not reckoned a virtue
among the Greeks; I do not suppose that the people in Crete had ever heard
of it before Paul wrote this Epistle to Titus. Among the Romans and the
Greeks, it seemed to be a virtue to stand up for your own, to be like a
gamecock, who is always ready to fight, and will never miss a chance of
fighting; but this Christian virtue of gentleness is a most amiable one,
and greatly adorns the doctrine of Christ. The world has run away with
this word gentle, and now calls many a person a gentleman who has no right
to the name. I wish that every gentleman were indeed a gentleman. It is
very significant that Moses, the type of the Lord Jesus under the law, was
the meekest of men; should not Christians therefore excel in gentleness
under this milder dispensation?
Titus 3:1 . Put them in mind to
be subject to principalities and powers, to obey magistrates, to be ready
to every good work.
You see, they were a rough, wild,
rebellious people in Crete, and Christianity comes to civilize, to sober,
to sanctify, to save.
Titus 3:2 . To speak evil
of no man
Oh, how necessary is this exhortation
even to this day!
Titus 3:2 . To be no
brawler, but gentle, shewing all meekness, unto all men.
Meekness and gentleness are two of the
ornaments of our faith. I would that some professed Christians would
understand that unholy contentiousness is not after the mind of Christ, it
is not according to that gracious command, “ Take my yoke upon you, and
learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart and ye shall find rest unto
your souls. ” No, the Christian must be willing to suffer wrongfully, and
to bear it in patience; he is never to be one who renders evil for evil,
or railing for railing.
Titus 3:3 . For we ourselves
also were sometimes foolish,
Well, then, if other people are
foolish, we ought to bear with them.
Titus 3:3 . Disobedient,
deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy,
hateful, and hating one another.
That is what we were once; and if the
grace of God has made a change in us, we must not boast, we must not
censure others, we must not set up as self-righteous judges of others. Oh,
no! our action must be the very reverse of all this.
Titus 3:3 , 4 . For we
ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving
divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, a d hating
one another. But after that the kindness and love of God our Savior toward
man appeared,
“ The philanthropy of God ” would be a
good translation, or rather, a sort of borrowing from the Greek itself.
“ After we had seen the philanthropy of God, ”-
Titus 3:4-7 . But after
that the kindness and love of God o r Savior toward man appeared, not by
works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he
saved us, by the washing of regeneration, a d renewing of the Holy Ghost;
which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior; that being
justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of
eternal life.
This is a very practical Epistle. See
how closely Paul keeps to the doctrines of grace. He is never like Mr.
Legality, he never teaches that we are to be saved by works; but, being
saved by the grace of God alone, and being made heirs according to the
hope of eternal life, we are then, out of gratitude to God, to abound in
everything that is good, and holy, and kind, and after the mind of Christ.
Titus 3: 5-8 .
Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his
mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the
Holy Ghost; which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our
Savior; that being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs
according to the hope of eternal life. This is a faithful saying,
It would be worth while for you to turn
to the other places in which this expression, “ This is a faithful
saying, ” occurs.
Titus 3: 8 , 9 . This is
a faithful saying, and these things I will that thou affirm constantly,
that they which have believed in God might be careful to maintain good
works. These things are good and profitable unto men. But avoid foolish
questions,
There are always plenty of thorn about,
and there are certain professors who spend half their lives in fighting
about nothing at all. There is no more in their contention than the
difference between Tweedledum and Tweedledee; but they will divide a
church over it, they will go through the world as if they had found out a
great secret,-it really is not of any consequence whatever,-but having
made the discovery, they judge everybody by their new-found fad, and so
spread a spirit that is contrary to the Spirit of Christ.
Titus 3: 8 .
And these things I will that thou affirm constantly, that they which
have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works. These things
are good and profitable unto men.
They are saved by faith; let them be
careful to maintain good works. “ These things are good and profitable
unto men, ” that is, to those who practice and observe them.
Titus 3: 9 .
But avoid foolish questions, and genealogies, and contentions, and
strivings about the law; for they are unprofitable and vain.
There are hundreds of questions, which
are thought by some people to be very important, but which have no
practical bearing whatever, either upon the glory of God, or upon the
holiness of man. We are not to go into these matters; let those who have
time to waste take up these questions; as for us, we have not time enough
for things that are unprofitable and vain.
Titus 3: 9 , 10 . And
genealogies, and contentions, and strivings about the law; for they are
unprofitable and vain.
A man that is an heretic-One who really
turns aside from the truth, and sets up something contrary to the Word of
God; what is to be done with him? “ Burn him, ” says the Church of Rome.
“ Fine him, put him in prison, ” say other churches; but the inspired
apostle says only this,-
Titus 3: 10 . After the
first and second admonition reject;
Just exclude him from the church that
is all. Leave him his utmost liberty to go where he likes, believe what he
likes, and do what he likes; but, at the same time, you as Christian
people must disown him, that is all you ought to do, except to pray and
labor for his restoration.
Titus 3: 10 ,
11 . A man that is an heretic after the first and second
admonition reject; knowing that he that is such is subverted, and sinneth,
being condemned of himself.
When it comes to unbelief of
fundamental and vital doctrines, we who are like Titus, set in office over
a church, must deal with such deadly evils with a strong hand.
Titus 3: 11-14 .
How the apostle comes back to that
point! Let all our people, our friends, our brethren, our kinsfolk, “ let
ours also learn to maintain good works for necessary uses, that they be
not unfruitful. ”
Titus 3: 12 ,
13 . When I shall send Artemas unto thee, or Tychicus, be diligent
to come unto me to Nicopolis: for I have determined there to winter. Bring
Zenas the lawyer and Apollos on their journey diligently, that nothing be
wanting unto them.
Paul had already told Titus to bid the
saints in Crete to abound in good works; now he is commanded to take care
of certain travelling Christians, and to speed them on their way. It was
the custom in olden times, when travelling was very different from what it
is now, when the Christians passed from one town to another, to find out
the church, and to be entertained and speeded on their journey by their
fellow-believers. Thus they kept up a practical fellowship of love to all
the saints.
Titus 3:14 , 15 . And
let ours also learn to maintain good works for necessary uses, that they
be not unfruitful. All that are with me salute thee. Greet them that love
us in the faith. Grace be with you all. Amen.
May that final benediction drop like
the dew upon this whole company! “ Grace be with you all. Amen. ”
(Copyright
AGES Software.
Used by permission. All rights reserved. See
AGES Software
for their full selection of highly recommended resources)
|
Titus 1:1
F B Meyer
Our Daily HomilyTHESE
seem to have been the two guiding stars of the apostle's life--faith and
knowledge. Some are afraid of the conjunction. The men of faith are afraid
of science, and the men of science often despise faith. But they are not
antagonistic.
Faith.--The faith that
inspires all elect souls is one and the same. In some there may be more,
in others less; but its attitude toward God and its phases of experience,
trial, and triumph, are the same in all who believe. In addition to this,
the general facts and truths on which our faith lays hold, and from which
it extracts its nourishment, are the same: and it is a comfort to know
that these have been passed on from age to age from the earliest days, and
that we are called to believe in them, and hold them fast.
Knowledge of the Truth.--We
need not fear or shun knowledge, which is simply the exploring and
discovery of the ways and thoughts of God. "Let knowledge grow from more
to more." Only let her always concern herself with the great facts and
methods of God's universe, rather than with human speculation and fancy.
There is a distinction between knowledge and wisdom. The one may be only
intellectual; the other is always moral. Those who pretend to know are not
always wise; but the wise always know.
Godliness.--True knowledge
will make you godly, reverent, devout; filling you with the Spirit of God
within, and with likeness to God without. It is only as you are godly,
that you will really be wise and know things that are hidden from the wise
and prudent. True knowledge leads to godliness, and godliness back to
knowledge. |
Titus 1:5
I left you in Crete, that you should set in order the things that are
lacking (Titus 1:5).
Golf teaches us, among other things, that we can't always take the easy
way out of a difficult situation. When a ball rolls off the fairway and
into the rough, the golfer isn't permitted to pick it up and place it
where it will be easier to play. He must hit the ball from the rough.
Young Titus found himself "in the rough." He had been left in Crete,
charged with the task of building up the Lord's work there. But he
encountered problems. The Cretans were generally deceitful, immoral, and
lazy, and this spirit had invaded the churches. Problem people were
causing division. Paul realized that his friend needed encouragement, so
he wrote to him. He began his letter by saying, in essence, "Yes, things
are bad in Crete. But that's exactly why I left you there. God can use you
to bring about great and necessary changes." Titus listened, and he
succeeded. Although the Bible doesn't record the results of this
encouraging letter from Paul, archeologists have found the remains of
stately churches that had the name "Titus" inscribed on their
cornerstones.
Whenever we are in a difficult place, we don't help ourselves by looking
for the easy way out. Instead, by exercising our faith in God and facing
the challenge, we can battle our way through the problem. We'll become
better people, and we'll discover that God can make us victorious. —H. V.
Lugt (Our
Daily Bread, Copyright RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. Reprinted by
permission. All rights reserved)
The greater the problem, the greater our opportunity to tap God's power. |
Titus 1:7
Marching Into A Dead End
Stuart Briscoe writes about a funeral for a war veteran in which the man's
military buddies had a role in the memorial service. The friends requested
that the minister lead them to the casket for a moment of silence. They
would then follow the pastor out a side door.
The plan was carried out with military precision--until the minister
marched them into a broom closet. The soldiers had to make a disorganized
retreat.
That pastor made an honest mistake, but it illustrates that leaders must
know where they are going. As go the leaders, so go the followers.
The apostle Paul left Titus on the island of Crete to establish a witness
for Jesus Christ. Titus was to appoint leaders for the growing band of
believers. Except for preaching the gospel, nothing Titus did for the
Christians on Crete was more important than finding them the right
leadership.
Church leaders are to meet the standards set forth in Titus 1:6-9 and to
guide others to greater maturity in their relationship with Christ. And
followers must lovingly hold their spiritual leaders accountable to those
goals.
Whether you're leading or following, know where you're going. Don't march
into a dead end. --H W Robinson (Our
Daily Bread, Copyright RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. Reprinted by
permission. All rights reserved)
Before you follow a leader,
Check his beliefs, and pray;
Be sure he's following Jesus,
And that he knows the way. --Hess
The only leader worth
following
is the leader who is following Christ |
Titus 1:12-14
TODAY IN THE WORDA
British ambassador was reporting to Queen Elizabeth II about a head of
state he had been having difficulty with. The ambassador tried to approach
the subject delicately, using large words and complicated language.
However, the more he spoke, the less clear he became. Finally, the
exasperated queen interrupted and said, “Are you trying to tell me that
the man is just bonkers?”
Paul was just as blunt in his
assessment of the false teachers that Titus had to refute. Quoting the
philosopher Epimenides, Paul declared, “Cretans are always liars, evil
brutes, lazy gluttons.” Epimenides was a religious teacher who lived in
the sixth century B.C. Aristotle and Cicero referred to him as a
“prophet.” Paul quotes him because Epimenides was from Crete and because
of his strong criticism of his own people. Although his assessment was
harsh, his opinion was widely shared. So much so, in fact, that in Greek
culture, to call someone a “Cretan” was synonymous with calling that
person a liar.
TODAY ALONG THE WAY -
When are “sharp words” warranted in dealing with another believer? Paul’s
directive to Titus provides a helpful checklist that can be used when we
are considering a possible rebuke. First, how serious is the offense?
These false teachers required a sharp rebuke because of the nature and
impact of their teaching. Others were being seriously damaged by their
false doctrine. Second, what is our motive? Is the goal redemptive? Do we
want to sound off, or do we want them to be sound in the faith? (Copyright
Moody Bible Institute. Used by permission. All rights reserved) |
Titus 1:13-16
Throughout history, Crete has been a difficult place in which to live.
Epimenides, a Cretan poet who lived in the sixth century before Christ,
wrote, "Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons" (quoted in
Titus 1:12). In Greek literature, to "cretanize" meant to lie. Morally
and spiritually, Crete was bankrupt.
Yet Paul established a church there and asked Titus to organize it and
appoint leaders.
The people on this island were known throughout the Mediterranean world
as lazy and dishonest. Titus had to be a rock in a hard place. Through his
teaching he was to expose error and proclaim truth; through his life he
was to be an example of what it means to live for Christ (2:7-8).
God expects some of us to represent Him in neighborhoods where people
laugh at the slightest mention of God. He expects others of us to be His
representatives in workplaces where Christ's name is a curse word.
To do this, we must not only know God's truth, but also be convinced that
it is the best way to live with others in this life and the only way to
live with God in the life to come.—H W Robinson (Our
Daily Bread, Copyright RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. Reprinted by
permission. All rights reserved) |
Titus 2:1-10
Surprise and Astonish Them
MARK Twain took delight in exposing the follies of human behavior. He once
said,
"Always do right. This will gratify some people and astonish the rest."
People are often surprised when someone does what is right. That's why it
made national news a few years ago when a high school basketball coach
turned in his state championship team after discovering that he had
unknowingly used an ineligible player. He and his team had achieved the
dream of every coach and every prep athlete—one that carries with it a
lifetime of cherished memories. But they gave it all back—the trophy, the
glory, the pride. They gave it back so they could keep something more
important—their integrity.
Doing what's right is not a new idea. David realized what it took to walk
in integrity. He knew that to do right he would have to avoid hypocrisy
and dishonesty. Integrity was worth more than anything he could gain by
sacrificing it.
Doing right has a price tag. It may cost money if we refuse to cheat; it
may cost time if we refuse to cut corners; it may cost plea-sure if we
refuse to compromise a moral standard; it may cost relationships if we
refuse to support unethical behavior.
But none of these is worth more than integrity.—J D Brannon (Our
Daily Bread, Copyright RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. Reprinted by
permission. All rights reserved) |
Titus 2:1-10a
TODAY IN THE WORDAs you
read the last two days' studies on the qualifications of church leaders,
the thought may have occurred to you, ""That's wonderful. But what about
the rest of us?""
These few important verses of
Scripture answer that question admirably. But Paul's instructions to the
church through Titus are more than a series of good ideas. As you read
these directives in light of the personal, family, and society-wide
meltdown happening in American life today, you'll realize the divine
wisdom built into the church.
The Bible's admonishments to older men should sound familiar. These
personal and spiritual qualifications are many of the same qualities
required of elders. While the elders are charged with specific leadership
responsibilities in the church, all of the older men in Christ's body need
to be examples of godly maturity.
Older women have an incredible mentoring and teaching role to fulfill
toward the younger women in the congregation. The New Testament
consistently highlights the home as the incubator for the church--a church
in miniature, as a matter of fact. The pivotal place of a wife and mother
is obvious here, but God knows that being a good spouse and parent doesn't
happen automatically. Someone needs to show the way.
Young men are told to be self-controlled, a command that covers an awful
lot of territory. Titus himself probably fit in that category in the
church on Crete, so young men can read in Paul's words to Titus a
spiritual challenge to themselves.
The last group to be addressed is workers with the hardest ""job
description"" ever: slaves who were obligated to serve their masters. Even
in this situation, a Christian slave was to show good faith and integrity.
Notice how often Paul refers to our testimonies as the reason for being
faithful in our actions. No one should be able to ""malign the Word of
God"" because of what we do (v. 5). Our behavior should be so blameless
that even our opponents can't make any charge against us stick (v. 8). And
workers can make the gospel ""attractive"" by their faithful service (v.
10).
In other words, there is much at stake spiritually in the way we live. The
world is still watching.
TODAY ALONG THE WAY -
The days when our culture reflected Christian values and moral standards
have gone the way of black-and-white television.
The guidelines for Christian
behavior in Titus 2 are not only missing in the culture at large; they are
absolutely counterculture today. But then, God has called His people to
avoid being conformed to the world. Romans 12:2 addresses this issue of a
counterculture commitment. Read this powerful verse as your prayer to the
Lord today. (Copyright
Moody Bible Institute. Used by permission. All rights reserved) |
Titus 2:1-12
An Eye On You
YOU wouldn't think that a bunch of hard-driving hockey players would fear
someone as non-threatening as a Christian. But when the Washington
Capitals, a National Hockey League team, acquired Jean Pronovost, players
were warned, "Keep an eye on the new guy."
Two teammates, Mike Gartner and Ryan Walter, did just that—and were
surprised by what they saw. As they observed Pronovost's life, they saw
something they liked—his Christian testimony. Soon Mike and Ryan were
attending Bible studies with Jean. And in time both players turned their
lives over to Jesus.
What is it about genuine Christians that some people find offensive and
others find irresistible? Paul talked about the irresistible qualities in
his letter to Titus. He mentioned traits like sober-mindedness (Titus
2:6), good works, integrity, reverence (Titus 2:7), and lives about which
no one can speak evil (Titus 2:8).
Unbelievers are suspicious of Christians. Many of them are watching us to
find a reason not to believe in Jesus. Others are keeping their eyes on us
to find out if there's anything genuine about our faith.
Our lives say one of two things to unbelievers: "Jesus is real," or "Jesus
is phony."
Each of us must choose which message
we will send. —J D Brannon (Our
Daily Bread, Copyright RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. Reprinted by
permission. All rights reserved) |
Titus 2:3-5
TODAY IN THE WORDIn his
book entitled The Weight of Glory, C. S. Lewis tells the story of an old
woman who met an enemy on her way out of church. When her opponent began
to speak ill of her and to abuse her verbally, the old woman replied,
“Isn’t it a shame for ye to be talking to me like that, ye coward, and me
in a state of Grace the way I can’t answer ye? But you wait, I won’t be in
a state of Grace long!”
Ideally, age and growth in grace
ought to coincide. The older we get, the more spiritually mature we should
become. Yet this is not always the case. Just as there are some
temptations that are especially common to youth, age brings with it its
own set of trials. In these verses the apostle Paul highlights some of
these temptations and points to a more godly alternative.
First on Paul’s list are sins of the tongue. He urges Titus to warn older
women not to be “slanderers.” The root idea of this word is that of
accusing or bringing charges against someone. It’s the term from which we
get the word devil. Whenever we slander or gossip, we are speaking the
language of the devil. No wonder the Bible calls him “the accuser of the
brethren” (Rev. 12:10). The second pitfall Paul mentions is the sin of
drunkenness. The abuse of alcohol was a problem for many in the New
Testament times. In Titus 2:3 Paul warns older women not to be “addicted,”
or more literally “enslaved,” to wine. Frequent use can lead to bondage.
This is true of many things, not just alcohol. Perhaps in our day, Paul
would also warn about the danger of being enslaved to the Internet or to
television.
TODAY ALONG THE WAY -
Paul’s advice is a valuable tool for women’s spiritual growth in today’s
society. “Older women”–not necessarily in age, but more mature
spiritually–can still help “younger women” meet the challenges of everyday
life and to grow in faith. Younger women, on the other hand, have a lot to
glean from the experience of those “who have been there.” If you’re a
woman equipped to minister to younger sisters, or the one who needs
ministry, ask God to show you how to expand the spiritual scope and
efficiency of interacting with other women. (Copyright
Moody Bible Institute. Used by permission. All rights reserved) |
Titus 2:4-5
The Tattered Rug
A preacher tells how he was once entertained by a teacher and his wife who
had two boys in their middle teens. He writes, "Immediately on entering,
I felt the home atmosphere. They were evidently a | |