Ready For Every Good Work

Austin Prince

Titus • Sermon • Submitted 4 months ago • Presented 4 months ago

0 ratings

· 7 views

Notes

Transcript

Welcome

“ Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, …” (Revelation 1:4, ESV)

Announcements

Sunday school and inquirers class begins next Sunday, Jan. 12th

Prayer on the 14th

†CALL TO WORSHIP based on Psalm 27; John 4:23 Pastor Austin Prince

Minister: Let us worship God, our light and our salvation.

Congregation: The Lord is the stronghold of our lives.

Minister: We desire to live in God’s house and to seek God in his holy temple.

Congregation: We have come with shouts of joy, to sing and to make music to the Lord.

Minister: Let us worship God in spirit and in truth.

Congregation: Teach us your ways and make straight our paths, in this hour of worship and always.

†PRAYER OF ADORATION AND INVOCATION

Glory be to you, O Father everlasting, who sent Thine only-begotten Son into the world that we might live through Him. Glory be to you O Jesus Christ, who hast brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. Glory be to you O Holy Spirit, who quickens us together with Christ, and does shed abroad his love in our hearts. Come to us now O Blessed Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; Blessed be thy glorious name now and forevermore.

†OPENING PSALM OF PRAISE #33

“With Joy Let Us Sing to the Lord (vv.1-2)”

†CONFESSION OF SIN & ASSURANCE OF PARDON

Romans 12:1-2, Ephesians 1:7-14

“I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” (Romans 12:1–2, ESV)

Minister: Christians, we are called not to be conformed to this world, but to be transformed by the renewal of our minds. He has given us the Holy Spirit, and, by testing, we may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

Congregation: But many times, and in a variety of ways, we have failed to discern and failed to do God’s will. We have much to confess.

Pastoral Prayer of Confession

(based on Psalm 51)

Have mercy on us, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy.

O God, blot out our transgressions!

We know our sin only too well. It is painful to us and offensive to you.

We would be holy, but sin keeps getting in our way.

Have mercy on us, O God. Have mercy!

For your love is steadfast; your covenant is an eternal covenant.

You are our God, and therefore we cry out when sin gets the better of us.

And it does get the better of us, even when we do not want it that way.

Have mercy on us, O God. Have mercy! Send your Holy Spirit, that our spirits be renewed through your Spirit. Send forth your Holy Spirit, that our lives may be recreated in the image of Christ, that at last we may be the men and women you always intended.

Have mercy on us, O God, through Jesus Christ, ever seated at your right hand. And to you be all glory, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,

One God, forever. Amen.

Minister: Christians, in him we have redemption through his blood.

Congregation: In him we have the forgiveness of our sins, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight, making known to us the mystery of his will. In him we have obtained an inheritance, according to the purpose of him, who works all things according to the counsel of his will. When we heard the word of truth, the gospel of our salvation, and believed in him, we were sealed with the Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it. All to the praise of his glory, amen!

CONTINUAL READING OF SCRIPTURE Psalm 20

Paul Mulner, Elder

THE OFFERING OF TITHES AND OUR GIFTS

CONGREGATIONAL PRAYERS

THE LORD’S PRAYER

Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

†HYMN OF PREPARATION #399

“For Your Gift of God the Spirit”

SERMON Titus 3:1-3 // Ready For Every Good Work

PRAYER OF ILLUMINATION

(based on Nehemiah 8:6)

Blessed you are, Lord, Great God!

Blessed you are, eternal God in times past and yet today!

You have spoken in the past and your people have been guided through all kinds of wildernesses and supported in all kinds of exiles and tribulations.

Speak to us today in the midst of our own peculiar confusions.

Speak to us through your Law and give us a sense of order and direction.

Speak to us through your gospel. Transform us by your grace.

Renew us in hope. For yours is the future, even more than the past. Amen and Amen.

Text: Titus 3:1-10

Titus 3:1–10 ESV

1 Remind them to be submissive to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work, 2 to speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all people. 3 For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another. 4 But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, 5 he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, 6 whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. 8 The saying is trustworthy, and I want you to insist on these things, so that those who have believed in God may be careful to devote themselves to good works. These things are excellent and profitable for people. 9 But avoid foolish controversies, genealogies, dissensions, and quarrels about the law, for they are unprofitable and worthless. 10 As for a person who stirs up division, after warning him once and then twice, have nothing more to do with him,

AFTER SCRIPTURE

The ordinances of the Lord are sure, and altogether righteous. They are more precious than gold, than much pure gold.

Intro

In John 17, Jesus prays before going to the cross and says to the Father,

“I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth. “I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me.” (John 17:14–23, ESV)

Jesus says that we are to live in this world, even though we are not of this world. And because of that we may be seen as odd or be outcasts like Him, since our allegiances and loves and appetites have changed. Since this world is no longer our home we do not share in its idols but actively call others to faith and repentance. As 2 Cor 2:15-17 says, “For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life. Who is sufficient for these things? For we are not, like so many, peddlers of God’s word, but as men of sincerity, as commissioned by God, in the sight of God we speak in Christ.” (2 Corinthians 2:15–17, ESV)

But Jesus prays not that we will be taken out of the world, but that we would be sanctified by truth (by the word of God), and that we would live in such a way that the world would believe on Christ, that others would come to join the church and be perfectly one, as Christ is in the Father, so the church would one with them together.

We live now with a duel citizenship. As we still live in this world, we are strangers and aliens (1 Pt.2:9).

And what might this dual citizenship for a Christian bring?

For one, the Christian might feel a temptation to withdrawal from this world. You may have heard it said before that someone is “so heavenly minded that they are no earthly good”.

That is, they see all the benefit and glory and rest in the next life that they neglect to be faithful now. But as Jesus prayed in John 17:15, “I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one.” We are saved by grace for good works, as Ephesians says. And we are saved with a faith that accords with godliness, as we have been learning from Titus.

So we are not to be so heavenly minded that we abdicate our work here. We are called for a purpose.

But the pendulum can swing the other way, and this is what Paul is addressing here to Titus. There can also be a temptation to be so earthly minded that you are no heavenly good. Your call to serve as an ambassador of Christ, a minister of reconciliation, can be overshadowed and rendered useless by quarrels and controversies and pride. Confrontations with rulers and neighbors.

Look at two things for a moment. First, look how Paul situates our new lives in the gospel. And second, look at what effect that is to have on our lives among others.

The gospel summary: (Titus 3:3-7)

“For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another. But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.” (Titus 3:3–7, ESV)

We used to be just like the world, but now we are heirs of Christ by the sheer grace gift of God. We are not of this world.

Not by works of righteousness, sheer grace. God’s kindness.

The gospel effect: (Titus 3:8-9)

“The saying is trustworthy, and I want you to insist on these things, so that those who have believed in God may be careful to devote themselves to good works. These things are excellent and profitable for people. But avoid foolish controversies, genealogies, dissensions, and quarrels about the law, for they are unprofitable and worthless.” (Titus 3:8–9, ESV)

Insist on these things. What were “these things”? The gospel of grace in Christ.

But what did they have a tendency to talk about instead? Controversies, genealogies, dissensions, quarrels, slander, gossip, fads, etc. The things of earth hadn’t grown strangely dim, they were still too important. Too earthly minded for heavenly good.

Paul reiterates that, yes, they are not of this world, “we were once foolish and led astray to various lusts and passions”, but they were saved by grace.

***And there is a way to forget grace that makes you a prideful and useless pill, both to your earthly rulers and your earthly neighbors.

If you forget grace, you can think that your salvation makes you “enlightened”. And since you are saved and enlightened, the earthly rulers above you have no authority over you and the sinners next to you have no importance. You sort of scoff and look down your nose upon both.

Jesus said that the world may see you as its enemy if you follow Him.

There have been times when our world was more accepting of our Christian faith. If you know Aaron Renn’s taxonomy, he posits that there was a time in America that could be called “positive world” where being a Christian was seen as a good thing, a brief period of “neutral world”, where being a Christian didn’t really gain you or lose you any cultural merit, but now we are increasingly in “negative world”, where being a Christian is seen as bad, oppressive, backwards.

The world may call us its enemy, but we are not to make the world our enemy by following Christ. That is not the way that He taught us. That’s not a fruit of faithfulness.

If you forget grace, you may be in danger of pride that makes you an enemy of the world. And if you are an enemy, then how are you to live faithfully and usefully among it?

So the question becomes, how do I love a world that might not love me? If the world is increasingly against me, am I to be increasingly against the world?

[Transition]

Paul gives us two realms to check ourselves: Our service to our rulers and to our neighbors.

Submissive to Ruler and Authorities

“Remind them to be submissive to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work,” (Titus 3:1, ESV)

Reminder

The Greek historian Polybius said of the Cretans that they were, notoriously turbulent, constantly involved in “insurrections, murders, and internecine wars.” (cited in Barclay’s commentary)

First, they needed to be reminded to knock it off with the rebellions and instead be ready for every good work.

Here you have an example of taking a cultural practice and trying to baptize it into Christianity. “We revolt against our government, but now we revolt against our government in the name of Christ”.

And the Roman empire, like all empires, hated what they deemed seditious and insurrectionist cults. (Keener, Bible Background Commentary, 630)

They needed to be reminded about how the gospel logic worked, even if the government was unjust and their neighbors pagan.

Titus 1 was about how the gospel makes fruitful our leaders and elders. Chapter 2 was about the gospel makes fruitful and useful our members (intergenerational discipleship and service). And chapter 3 tells us how the gospel makes us faithful and useful citizens and neighbors.

But what if our rulers are unjust? That is the context into which Paul was already speaking, and far worse so than our context. They were likely under the reign of Nero at the time. A man who had murdered his wife and used burning christians on poles as candles the light his dinner parties.

What are we to do? How are we to be fit for good works in this situation?

Well, there are lots of instances where Christian civil disobedience is what is called for:

The Hebrew midwives, Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, Mordecai, Esther, the wise men defying Herod, Paul and Silas appealing to Caesar, Peter and John preaching the gospel…

“So they called them and charged them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John answered them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge, for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.”” (Acts 4:18–20, ESV)

Those cases exist not when the laws are arbitrary or don’t suit our convictions, but when they defy the clear Lordship and authority of Christ. When we are called to sin or partake in sin, or when a government tries to take authority over worship and the church, as we have seen in recent years, we have a higher loyalty to God.

“When the state stands in opposition to God, it becomes time to obey God and not human authorities” (Samuel Ngewa)

But outside of those parameters, we are called to Christian civil obedience.

Paul says that we are to submit, be obedient, and ready for every good work.

Submissive

What are we to do when the laws are arbitrary and frustrating? The budget causes inflation? When taxes are high?

We are called to submit. To render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s.

“for he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer.” (Romans 13:4, ESV)

“or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good.” (1 Peter 2:14, ESV)

{Prayer for your leaders] “First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” (1 Timothy 2:1–4, ESV)

“Paul is not blindly ordering Titus to enforce lockstep adherence to civil rule no matter what. He is confirming that, under conditions like those in Crete at that time, Christians should be exemplary subjects, even in a pagan social order. The special grace they have received in Christ should enhance, not curtail, their cooperation with the common grace of human government to the extent this is possible”

(Robert W. Yarbrough, The Letters to Timothy and Titus, 538-539).

“If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.” (Romans 12:18, ESV)

Cretan submission, our submission, isn’t passive. Sometimes you’ll hear people say that Christians give in too easily in the public square, that we have just accepted that we “lose down here”.

But this is saying something differently. It’s not passivity, it’s magnanimity. It’s submission and obedience not to stay out of the way, but in such a way that demonstrates Christ’s lordship. He has become Lord of our lives, our impulses, our demeanor, and our manor. We do not submit as cowards. We are just as happy to rebel if the state tries to step over their rightful authority. But outside of that, you should’nt find that we are cheats in business, or in the paying of our taxes, or in the compliance of ordinances, though they may be irksome.

Submission is not a silent and passive evangelism, a belief that if we don’t make waves then we will be in the good graces of the state and that is the highest good. No, we are called to be in good graces with God. He is the one who put the rulers that we have over us and He it is that authorizes when it is time to rebel. Our submission must demonstrate a submission to Him.

Instead, we are to be obedient and ready for every good work:

The gospel compels us to go even farther than mere compliance. Instead, we are to be ready for every good work. We are to seek the good of the city, as Jeremiah told the captive Israelites in Babylon.

Hospitality, benevolence, and charity. The grace of God is lavish and overflows its banks. It makes the recipients of it so wealthy in grace that they, too, give it away freely, even to their enemies. Think of Jesus’ interaction with Roman centurions and Paul and Silas’s grace with their jailers.

Christ died at the hands of the Romans, so did Paul. But was their rebellion on religious grounds (their obedience to the Father), not insurrection that won the day.

Summary statement: This world may not be our home, but it is not to be forsaken and abandoned by us. Nor are we to cling onto it in such a way that causes endless fights and quarrels. Instead, we are to serve it faithfully. In the world, but not of the world. Not retreat, but not idolatry, either.

You can’t score goals if you are always in the penalty box, so don’t be needlessly at odds with your rulers. Demonstrate that our submission to authorities is ultimately in our submission to Christ.

Neighbors: Perfect Courtesy Toward All People

“to speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all people.” (Titus 3:2, ESV)

Again, how do you love a world that doesn’t love you? Much of what our culture loves and celebrates are things that Christians can’t love and celebrate, and we can easily blur the line between opposing sin and being in opposition to the sinner. We can see people as our enemy to be avoided.

C.S. Lewis asks somewhere, what if you heard a story of some misdeed that someone did and then later found out that it wasn’t quite so bad as you originally thought. But instead of being relieved you are disappointed. You wanted it to be worse. If you start to wish that black were blacker and chase that spirit, then you will begin to see gray as black and then white as black. We don’t want to make a caricature of our neighbors. They are not our enemy — the sin that has a hold on them may be the enemy, but the neighbor is contested ground .

We are not to slander and speak evil of anyone. But what if it fits a general description of the type of thing they may do? I mean, they are a pagan after all?

We are to speak evil of no one. It’s not that we can’t say things that are true, even though they are bad. We can call a murderer a murderer. But we can’t say evil things. That is, things that God defines as evil. Slanderous and false things. And we can say them about no one.

We live in an age where this is incredibly common. We are so far removed from situations and yet we think we have such insight that we easily and frequently slander to a great audience.

No, we are to do good to our neighbor. We are to love God and serve our neighbor.

Be the kind of person that no one wants to tell juicy gossip to. When someone comes up to you in church and says, “can you believe what so and so is doing?”, take them by the hand and say “oh man, let’s go talk to them about it”. They’ll say, “no, no, no”.

Blessed are the peacemakers Matt 5:9

“For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” (Matthew 5:46–48, ESV)

Who was it that Jesus served and loved? It was His enemies. That was you. You were the enemy of God, but for grace you wouldn’t have been saved.

“for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”” (Matthew 12:37, ESV)

We are to avoid useless quarrelling (fighting).

Fighting with family, fighting with other Christians, fighting with our rulers. There is a time to fight, but our magnanimous faith makes sure that that fight counts. For most things in the world, our energy and effort and frenzy makes us seem like we are squabbling over a few scraps of earthly bread when we should be known to have the Bread of life. Like Jesus said, “I have food that you know nothing about”. We should live with the same sense of mysterious fullness.

For most of our quarrels, we are awarded no points, and we are all now dumber for having listened to them.

Summary statement:

We Ourselves Were Once Foolish

Treat others as you were treated. How did you wish others would have loved, served, and spoke about you before you came to Christ?

Get the enemy right. The enemy is our sin.

Don’t make unnecessary enemies.

Conclusion

Being called out of this world doesn’t have the effect of loving it or serving it less, but loving and serving it more. Because this world is not our home, we are not fighting to make it heaven, nor are we fighting against it as if it were hell. No, God loves the world. He is kind and gracious to this world, and so are we. We are fighting that the kingdom would come as it is in heaven. And Jesus told us how the kingdom would come, like leaven through a loaf. The seemingly small and insignificant ingredient that goes to die and to serve and ends up impacting the entire character of the loaf. Jesus went to die, and look what His life accomplished. He told his disciples to put away the sword. Paul went to Rome and died, and look what happened to Rome shortly after. We pray that His kingdom would come, but not from a place of pride. The grace of God has not made us indifferent to the world or antagonistic to the world; it calls for us to be a light in the world. We are saved all of grace and not of works, but we are saved for good works. We pray that His kingdom would come as He prayed, that they may be one, as we are in Christ and as He is in the Father.

†HYMN OF RESPONSE (Insert)

“O Church, Arise”

THE MINISTRY OF THE LORD’S SUPPER

Minister: Lift up your hearts!

Congregation: We lift them up to the Lord.

Minister: Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.

Congregation: It is right for us to give thanks and praise!

CONFESSION OF FAITH

The Apostles’ Creed p. 851

INVITATION TO THE LORD’S TABLE

This table is for those who belong to Christ through repentance, faith, baptism, and continuing union with his Church. You who do truly and earnestly repent of your sins, and are in love and charity with your neighbors, and intend to lead a new life, following the commandments of God and walking in his holy ways: draw near with faith, and take this holy sacrament to your comfort; and make your humble confession to almighty God.

PRAYER

Minister: Let’s pray together.

Congregation: We do not presume to come to this thy holy table, O merciful Lord, trusting in our own righteousness, but in thy great mercies. We are not worthy so much as to gather up the crumbs under thy table: but you are the Lord, who is always able to have mercy.

Grant us therefore, by thy grace, so to eat the flesh of thy dear son Jesus Christ, and to drink his blood, that our sinful bodies may be made clean by his most sacred Body, and our souls washed through his most precious blood, and that we may evermore dwell in him, and he in us. Amen.

DISTRIBUTION OF THE ELEMENTS

THE WORDS OF INSTITUTION 1 Corinthians 11:23-26

For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.

SHARING OF THE LORD’S SUPPER

†OUR RESPONSE #234

Tune: The God of Abraham Praise

The whole triumphant host gives thanks to God on high;

“Hail, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost!” they ever cry.

Hail, Abraham’s God and mine! I join the heav’nly lays;

all might and majesty are thine, and endless praise.

†BENEDICTION: GOD’S BLESSING FOR HIS PEOPLE

Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it.

1 Thessalonians 5:23-24 (9/8/24)

Grace Notes:

Being a Christian should make us better, not worse, citizens and neighbors. Our obedience to earthly rulers, and our service to others, should be seen as our obedience and service to Christ. If we are to be a thorn in the side of our world, then it should be because of our faithful and unyielding obedience to Christ. We need to make clear that when we are offensive, it is because God’s holiness is offensive and Christ’s gospel with its call to repentance is offensive. But if we are a thorn in the side of our neighbors and our rulers, not because of Christ but because of our opinions and passions and preferences, and have grown quarrelsome and contentious contrarians, then may we lear submission to rightful authorities and may we hold our tongue from useless slanders and gossip. This world is not our home, but neither is it our enemy. We have been summoned to serve it with gospel faithfulness, not gospel fickleness.

Where in your life can you grow in submission? Where are the areas where submission to Christ is hard, but it is rightfully what He is calling for?

Do you ever speak evil (lies, gossip, slander, accusation) against others that might not be accurate and true? What should you do if you don’t have all the information? Even if you don’t know all the facts but believe that it is the type of thing that person would do, what is your obligation to that person in your speech?

Related Media

Related Sermons

Earn an accredited degree from Redemption Seminary with Logos.