Titus 2:1-15 "God's grace and relationships" 21st September 2003
Main Point- God saves His people from lives of godlessness for lives of godliness.
1:1-16 Titus is to Appoint Elders who will refute rebels in doctrine and life.
1:1-4 Truth is in agreement with godliness. v3 Titus and Paul are entrusted with this teaching.
1:5-16 Appointed leaders are faithful and must refute those who contradict in life or doctrine.
2:1-14 Titus to teach God's household to behave according to sound doctrine because God rescued sinful men to be His own pure People.
2:1-10 As a contrast to "empty talkers and deceivers" (1:10), Titus is to speak things which are "fitting" for "sound doctrine".
a) 2:2 Older men.
b) 2:3-5 Older women and younger women. A special purpose of these behaviours is "so that the word of God will not be dishonoured" (2:5).
c) 2:6-8 "Urge" and "show" the young men. V8 re-echoes v5: "so that they will have nothing bad to say about us."
d) 2:9-10 "Urge" slaves to be trustworthy, "so that they will adorn the doctrine of God".
2:11-14 they are to live this "sensible, righteous, godly" life because of
a) The grace of God that brings salvation.
b) The glorious hope of our Lord Jesus Christ.
c) The purpose of God's salvation is to "purify for Himself a people of His own for good works.
2:15 Titus is to teach these things with all authority.
2:15-3:15 Paul reminds Titus to urge them to conduct themselves as People who have been rescued by God's grace and renewed by His Spirit.
2:15-3:2 They are to conduct themselves as considerate citizens.
3:4-7 Because by "God's mercy" and the "washing of the Holy Spirit" they are no longer "foolish" but are "heirs of eternal life"
3:8-11 Titus is to teach things that are profitable for men and avoid controversies and reject a "factious" man.
3:12-15 Paul conducts administrative matters and passes on greetings to Titus and his church.
Context: This was a pastoral (?) letter written by Paul to Titus in c60A.D.. Titus was a Gentile, Greek convert (Gal. 2:3) who was left in charge of the Cretan church. They were young spiritually or had ungodly and disruptive members (1:10-16).
Audience: Titus, leader of Christian converts in a pagan and a morally weak society.
Genre: A Pastoral Letter in that Paul exhorts Titus to boldly instruct his people (2:15).
Sermon skeleton
"God's Grace and Relationships"
A) Introduction
B) Main Point: God's Grace generates Godliness in God's people in Every Relationship1. The Gospel rescues Christians.
2. The Gospel teaches Christians to be godly and say no to ungodly living.
3. God's plan is to rescue godless people and turn them into godly people.
4. Godly living affects all our relationships.
C) Summary
God's grace and relationships
Imagine a clear, spring day. There is not a whiff of cloud in the bright and blue span of the sky. As you get driven to Gordon library for Youth Fellowship, you look through the sunroof or the windscreen. You can read these words jet-sprayed onto the sky: "Lucy, Marry Me, Love Gary". In this way Gary's message of love to Lucy is shown to people everywhere in Sydney. There is no better way to show all of Sydney that he is serious about marrying her. And in the same way, God has shown His grace most clearly in the gospel.
1. The Gospel of Grace rescues all people.
What has appeared to all people of the world to see? Just read verse 11. It is the "grace" of God. Grace simply refers to God's kindness and generosity. You might wonder how you can see God's kindness? It is not exactly like a person's hair or glasses or some mole that we can see. You may even say that Gary's love for Lucy can't be seen in words alone. But we know that in the gospel, the kindness and generosity of God is shown to people everywhere in action. Look at verse 14 "Christ, who gave Himself for us to redeem (or rescue) us from all wickedness". The Gospel records that God's Son gave Himself over to death on the cross, to pay for everyone's sins. So the Gospel shows God's kindness or His grace to people everywhere. There is no better way to show God's grace. And look at verse 14 again, it reads "who gave Himself for us". It does not say that we gave ourselves for Him, but that He gave Himself for us. This is the true meaning of God's grace, out of the kindness of His own heart, He freely chooses to die for us, and we did not earn this kindness. So on the cross, God says to all people that He loves them and cares for them and wants to rescue them.
Why do all people need rescue? The Bible tells us in verse 11 that "the grace that brings salvation to all men". This means that the gospel Rescues all people, or better, every sort of people. It is because whether you are in high school, or university; whether you were born here, or overseas; whether you are good or bad, you need rescue. Look at verse 14, "Christ, who gave Himself for us to redeem (or rescue) us from all wickedness." Now Look at Chapter 3 verse 3 with me: "At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved (which means hooked) by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice (which means meanness) and envy, being hated and hating one another." So the bible tells us that we are filled with all kinds of evil. You might be saying, "Hang on, I'm not really that bad, and what ever little thing I've done can't be that serious". But our God is so perfect that any sin, no matter how small is serious to Him. If it took Jesus to die for your sins, how serious must sin be!
I went to an all boys' school. In year 8, the whole grade had to go camping at a national park. There was no way out of it. No one could get out of it, not even if your mother wrote you a sick note (you know, those ones you give to your PE teacher for not wishing to participate in swimming carnivals). We went a whole week bush walking, trudging through obstacle courses, bike riding, cooking in billies in front of raw, sooty fires in early summer. But we went through a whole week without SHOWERS. Imagine the grit, the dirt and the stench of our face, necks, armpits, feet and bottoms. We all stank. No one could have stayed clean, and everyone needed their shower when they got home. Likewise every person needs rescue, because all our sinful acts we have done have made us unclean. And sin does stink.
I suggest 3 steps to respond to the Gospel of God's Kindness. The first is to see that we all need His rescue. So let's be honest to God, who knows us all and all parts of us. Ask God for forgiveness of everything, and I mean everything. Secondly, trust God's kindness in Jesus' Death for you. Trust that He hasn't shut you off despite your sins. Trust that when Jesus died, He died for you, to rescue you. As you trust, you receive it as a free gift from God. And don't forget this last step. Be thankful, be extremely thankful. No one has or will do anything as beautiful as what Jesus has done for us, even though we all stank and were stuck in sin. He does make us clean and pull us out of the muck. Remember that it cost Jesus' life to rescue us, and you will be thankful.
So God's grace rescues all people.
2. God's grace commands Godly living.
God's grace is powerful to command godly living in Christians. Have a look at verse 12. (Please don't worry about the time, we will get to godly relationships soon and finish on time, I promise you) "It (God's grace) teaches us to say 'No' to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age," You see, God's grace is powerful, it can teach or command people to throw away ungodly living. God's grace helps us to say "No" or "Get outa Here" to ungodliness with no reservation, like a scream at the top of your voice that leaves no reserve of air in your lungs. And it is powerful for all Christians, for the bible says "It teaches us", because only we can see the extreme good God has done to rescue us from sin and death.
a {I will now go on an aside in explaining the 2 words "ungodliness and worldly passions". What exactly are we to say "No" to? Ungodly living. This includes behaviours and desires, which you think are hard to throw off; yet God's grace leaves no room for their existence. First, "ungodliness". They are behaviours that are unchristian and most are self-explanatory. "Ungodliness" may come from activities such as watching unhelpful movies or even unhelpful TV shows. It isn't the things we do that really are ungodly, but the potential for ungodliness if we do them without thought. It can be good to watch shows that our friends are watching, so that we can keep conversation with them, but if we do not pay attention to what we watch, then all the unchristian ways can produce ungodliness. For example, the friendships as seen in "Friends", the impure romance and unfaithful dating as seen in "Temptation Island", the worshipping of the idea of becoming an "Australian Idol", and many other things, can make us ungodly. Secondly, to "worldly passions". You can think of "worldly passions" as desires that our world, our friends and even our family are full off. These "passions" occupy their minds all the time. An easy way to know these "worldly passions" is to listen into people's conversation. What boys tend to talk about most are gadgets. Whether it is a mobile phone with Bluetooth and camera capture and polyphonic ringtones, or a P4 4MHz with WiFi, LCD screen, USB2, Firewall I/O, Combo Drive, or… whatever. What girls tend to talk about are clothes, hair, makeup, and pretty boys. Too much emphasis placed on the outward person, on how she looks, weighs and walks becomes an unhelpful "worldly passion". But a person with "Godly passion" fills her mind with godly living, inner beauty, wholesome talk and godly desires.}
b {Now back to the point on how God's grace is powerful. Please read verses 12 & 13 with me. "…to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope- the glorious appearing of our great God and Saviour, Jesus Christ, who gave Himself…" The little word "while" explains to us that we should always "hope" or look forward to the future as we live now! Because God's grace has won for us the hope of seeing Jesus or God face to face on the day He returns! Just imagine being made perfect in heaven, to have the best time with the coolest person, God Himself. So we have two powerful forces helping us in godly living, one is in remembering God's grace to us shown on the cross, and the other is in hoping for God's coming, when we will have perfection with Him forever.
I remember choosing to run cross-country races in high school. And the 2 best things that helped me run a good race were, firstly, a good night's meal and rest, and secondly, the knowing fact that when I finish the race there'd be a shower, rest and plenty of food when I got home. These two essentials gave me a fresh start and energizing hope at the finish. And both helped me race well. Like running that race, godly living starts and finishes with God's grace, we need both to help us!}
What does this mean for us? It means that we make a decision to say "No" to those parts of our lives that we think are unhelpful or ungodly. It may mean changing what we watch and listen, it may filling our minds and time with less of clothes and hair care, with less of computers and games. It means making a decision to say "Yes" to godly lives. And when we get tired of trying, we need to remember God's kindness to us on the cross and look forward to the hope of perfection that we have. Do not tire or run out of breath as you say "No" to ungodliness.
So God's grace commands godly living.
3. God Rescued People for Godly living.
Because God was kind, He rescued people so that they would live godly lives. You can see God's plan clearly in verse 14, which reads: "Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are His very own, eager to do what is good." This means big changes happened when God rescues people. These people became Jesus' People, they belong to Jesus or Jesus owns them. Another version says they are "for His [Jesus'] own possession". That is why Godly living for God's people makes perfect sense! God rescued them so that they would become Jesus' possession. Jesus does this by wrenching them out of ungodly lives or "wickedness" and "purify"ing them by His death. And because He is the rightful owner, His people now follow the plan of Jesus. And His plan is that they would be "eager to do what is good." So we know what God had in His huge mind when He rescued us. Godly living is something that must happen and will happen because God carries out His plan.
Do you ever feel that you are owned by your parents, either your mum or dad? Well, if you don't, talk to the person next to you. If your neighbour doesn't feel that way either, then I'm not sure whether I am preaching to ND Chinese Christian Church. I am, right? [ad lib] Good. You feel owned because you do as you are told. You try out for and go to that selective school, as you are told. You do and work at Maths and Science, as you are told. You play and practise on the piano because they asked you. Some of you will even follow a particular career, because they wish that you would be rich, comfortable and secure. I am not saying whether this ownership is good or bad. But I've mentioned this so that you would understand ownership. Similarly, we are God's possession, He owns us, and so we follow His plan for us. And my friends, I just want to say that Jesus is the best owner you can ask for. He knows what is ahead, He made all things, and He is kind to us. If He thinks godly living is the way for His people, we do not have to doubt that it is rewarding, wholesome and simply the best for us.
Hence, since we have been rescued by God, we must change the way we plan for our lives. Instead, the right question to ask is "How can I live this God-owned life for Him?". Most of us already know that God rescues us; but this is only half the truth. The whole truth is that He now also the Ruler who rightfully owns us. So accept Him as your Ruler and Owner. And if you understand this, then make every effort to make good works your life goal, because that is God's plan for you. Life is too short to be lived out for ourselves, make God our Ruler and live in godliness and make that your life plan too. Don't just plan to be rich, but plan to be rich in good deeds, in giving. Don't just plan to play and go out, plan to share the gospel with your friends.
So God rescues His people for godly living.
4. Godly living Rules all relationships.
Now we can look at how Godly living Rules every relationship of the Christian. The section from verse 11 to verse 14, which we have just covered, begins with the word "For". This means we now know the reason for godliness as explained in the first 10 verses. We see Christians in all positions here. There are Older men, Older women and Younger women, Younger men, Masters and Slaves. This means that no matter who you are, girl or boy, no matter where you live, no matter which school you go to, no matter how old you are, godly living affects all relationships. This is because all relationships involve God! They involve His reputation! In verse 5, why are the younger women to be self-controlled, pure, kind, subject to their husbands? It is so that "no one will malign [or speak badly of] the Word of God." In verse 8, the young men are to be "self-controlled" and "sound in speech", so that "no one will say anything bad about them". Or in other words, so that "no one will bag out God Himself" because they are God's people. And lastly in verse 9, the slave should not talk back at or steal from the Master; but instead he is to be trustworthy so that "they will make the teaching of God our Saviour attractive." Hence God is involved with all our relationships and His reputation matters.
I don't know if any of you or your friends have boyfriends or girlfriends. Well, I do. Danielle is her name and she is a lovely christian girl. Whenever our friends asks one of us out now, they usually have to ask the other too. So when her friend has a birthday dinner, I am invited. When they make fun of her during dinner, I feel the brunt of their jeers. And when they speak of her honestly about her niceness in high school and her amusing hobbies, I am delighted. Do you get the picture that I am involved in, or put more crudely, I'm in the way of, all these parts of my girlfriend's life, even though they are her friends, her past, her quirks and her qualities? And so God, in a much better way, is in the centre of our every relationship, every conversation, every joke, every night out with our friends, every where we go and everything we do. So our every action and every word, either brings our friends and neighbours to speak well of God, or bring Him shame, bringing Him joy or bringing Him tears!
And the way to bring God joy is by being godly in all our relationships. What would our lives then look like? I suggest several areas in which we can put this into action. Firstly, be "self-controlled", our passage repeats this characteristic 4 times. Our world always tells us to do whatever we want, at the cost of everyone else. So I'll talk when I want, I don't care if it's the teacher or the principal speaking, and I don't care if it's the middle of a film. Or I may say to my family, I don't care about how you all feel, I am just going to be me, if I'm angry or unhappy I'll show it. Or I may lack self-control in wordly desires, so I'll buy whatever my Dad can afford me because I want this necklace, this watch and this bag. But we are to be self-controlled in every circumstance for others' sake and God's sake. So be self-controlled in your relationships and control your desires because of God.
Secondly, be godly in romantic Boy-Girl Relationships. Again, act with self-control. If you are not serious enough to think about marriage, don't go out with any one, you are just playing with the other's emotions. And when you do go out in the future, be godly in the person that you choose. God cares for your relationship with Him first, so go out with someone who is christian, who will encourage you to seek God first in your life. Girls and Boys who are not God's people will probably tell you, or subtly tell you, to throw God out of the centre of your romantic relationship. And remember that God is in the middle of that Boy-Girl relationship. So seek to be pure with one another, seek to help the other live for God, to Read His Word, to do His work, and not just enjoy each other and leave God out.
Thirdly, be Christian Students. All of us are in a teacher and student relationship. We, like the slave, should be trustworthy. We should do the work as we have been set; we do not cheat and we will be polite to teachers. We do all this so that they will praise our God who owns us! May God help your teachers to see that you are christians from the way you work and behave in the school yard.
Lastly, be rich in good deeds to friends and strangers. This will make you different to everyone else. I do not mean giving away money, because you shouldn't have much now. But you can talk to the "nigel" at school, relate to him with kindness, because God is concerned about how you treat Him. And when he sees your kindness, he too will want to know God. Help out your friends at school work, don't see them as your competitors. When you love them like this, they will be attracted to our God.
So Godly living rules all our relationships.
5. Summary
In summary, I hope that you all now see how God's grace rescues us to become Jesus' people and that His grace teaches us to be godly in all our relationships because God is in the centre of them all. As God's grace rescues people, as God's grace commands people to be godly, as God's people belong to God and are made for godly living, so godly living rules all our relationships.
