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TITUS CHAPTER 2 KJV WEB See previous page Tit 2,1-15 (11a) Servant >> Standard for a servant >> A changed lifestyle (11o) Servant >> Example of God’s people >> Example of the Church – It was important to Paul that the Church should remain a good example to the world. What would he think of the Church in our generation after people like Oral Roberts, Jimmy Baker, Jimmy Swaggart, the Copen/hagen boys, Benny Hinn and Ted Haggardy have sacrificed the gospel for their own personal gain? Paul’s main goal was always to protect the gospel from men like these and from malice, misuse, disobedience, licentiousness and fleshly indulgence, but the Church of our generation has sacrificed these things at the cost of future generations believing in Jesus. The corporate world is now following suit, sacrificing future generations for the sake of their own personal gain, which will ultimately bring down the entire world economy and kick off the unfolding of endtime prophecy. Did they get the idea from the Church to sacrifice the world for their own personal gain? Yes, they did, for the Church is the world's conscience and the salt of the earth. On the one hand, the opponent will always have something bad to say about us, but if all they can do is lie about us, then their case is fraudulent. On the other hand, if we sin and the world condemns us, how can we defend ourselves? The best defense is a good offense. Paul was ready to go to any extreme for the sake of promoting the gospel, and he wanted all Christians to do the same. He wanted the saints to live according to their faith and become the primary beneficiaries of their own good behavior, so that all who were scheduled for eternal life may believe without hindrance. The gospel is more important than us, for it does not belong to us, but God has made us stewards of it. We have an obligation to serve the gospel by adorning it with our best behavior in order that we may make it attractive to those in the world who have not yet made a commitment to follow Jesus, that we might not become a hindrance to them. Paul thought that sacrificing himself for the gospel was well worth human souls, and if Jesus sacrificed Himself for the gospel that people may be saved, then who are we to sacrifice the gospel for our own selfish purposes? See also: Apostasy (Close-mindedness); Act 21,27-32; 163f Tit 2,1-12 (89c) Thy kingdom come >> Fear of God is the beginning of wisdom >> Wisdom never exceeds what is appropriate -- This verse goes with verses 4-7. Paul wanted old people to teach the young. This has been their job for ages, but nowadays older people no longer have a ministry, because our young people don’t think they need wisdom. Old people have been cast aside by society; they no longer have a purpose, but Paul taught that not only should old people divulge their knowledge and be a good example to the youth, young people should also listen and model after them. Over the years older people mellow, which helps them make better, levelheaded decisions, but the wisdom of the elderly in our generation is questionable. Hence, perhaps young people aren’t listening partly due to the fact that in our generation they have little to offer. KJV WEB / Navigation Bar Tit 2,1-10 (4l) Responsibility >> Advocate God’s cause >> Being accountable to your brother -- These verses go with verse 15 (10b) Responsibility >> Bringing order to the Church >> Issues between men and women – All of Paul's words to women were directed toward submission, i.e. “reverent” is a submissive term. If we are going to be reverent to God, then we must submit to Him, who calls us to serve our fellow man. However, in our day women have determined to wander off this trail and blaze their own trail with few exceptions. According to Scripture they are heading in the wrong direction. They would argue with God, and He has an eternity to see where their road is taking them, but they have only a few decades to test their theories and discover that they are ruining society. The instruction that Paul gave to Titus, if women followed it, would preserve mankind, and society would stop disintegrating, for currently no one is at home raising the children. It started during World War II when they lacked a workforce for the war machine, so they employed women. Prior to this women stayed at home and raised their children. When the government required their assistance in factories, they went and then decided it was better than being stuck at home with a bunch of loud, immature children, waiting on their husbands. After they got a taste of independence, they decided to stay employed and let their children find their own way through life, which brought the feminine movement. Now when people feel impulses, they just follow them without asking questions; consequently, the homosexuals are now raising their voices and demanding rights from society, after the biblical standards have plunged into disrepute. The Bible teaches that when Homosexuality gains a foothold, that community, nation and world is destined to perish. See also: History of Israel; Mat 9-16,17; 132k (95h) Thy kingdom come >> Attitude >> Having an obedient attitude >> Ready to do God’s will – Even if we don’t know the Scriptures well enough to teach it, we are all called to teach the principles of Scripture through our conduct and behavior and through a solid base of common sense, learning as a child and passing on a rich heritage of Christian values to the next generation, that mankind may survive and that the gospel may flourish. Embracing biblical principles is better than memorizing Scripture, for we do that with the mind, but we practice Scripture from the heart. Paul did not mention any specifics but referenced the principles of faith and love, which are pillars of the gospel, and we base our sensibilities on them. Older people are to be teachers of the young and “Temperate”, not easily agitated. When something goes wrong, we don’t blow our top but control our anger, assess the circumstances and apply a solution. Tit 2,1-8 (92j) Thy kingdom come >> The narrow way connects you to God >> It demonstrates your faith in Him – The Bible teaches that God has a plan for each person, suggesting there are specific things that He has prepared for us to do. There is also a general calling for all people, and within the general calling there are callings that are gender-specific. When we find our place in God’s will, we take the things that are common to all people, and to our gender, and add them to that which God has specifically prepared for us to do, which collectively is our calling. The road that God has prepared for us will be the easiest road to walk, though it may also be the hardest, meaning that it will no doubt be fraught with obstacles and challenges, yet because it is our calling, we will have thought of solutions and are willing to implement them to circumvent any problem through God's help. If we take an easier road, it may be a shortcut, but it will probably go through rough terrain, and it might lead to a dead end, causing us to backtrack, losing precious time and resources or make us cut a path through dense foliage, in which we may lose our way and go in circles. In short, any other road will appear easier, but none of them go in the direction God is leading us. The road that God has for us goes in the right direction even when we can't see a clear path. It may look rough; it may go up steep climbs and around tight bends, but spiritually and morally it is straight, and it is the road that will get us where God is leading us, safely and efficiently. Tit 2-1 (85h) Thy kingdom come >> Words that are spoken in faith >> Verbalize your faith – Paul was talking to his teachers, instructing them what to teach and how to behave among the brethren. The teaching process is not just in the pulpit, also in our overall conduct. We must correlate our behavior with our teaching to attract listeners, but hypocrisy turns off people. Even if we have something important to say, they won't listen, because they think we don’t believe what we are saying, and if we don’t believe, how can we get anyone else to believe? If we correlate our conduct with our teaching, people will listen even when we don’t know they’re listening, but if we practice hypocrisy, even when it appears they’re listening, they’re not. Their eyes may be feigning attention, but they only hear sounds, not words. If the dam broke and a hypocrite gave the warning, people wouldn’t listen and they would all be swept away; in a bombing raid, they would be blown to oblivion, tornado, hurled in the whirlwind. In contrast, the righteous man may be having a private conversation and say that a hurricane is coming, and those who overhear will begin making plans to evacuate, because they heard the warning from a reliable source. (107i) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Hearing from God >> Church is of the truth >> God’s people speak the truth (150j) Witness >> Validity of Jesus Christ >> Works of the Church bear witness of Jesus >> Speak the word >> Preaching the word to the Church -- This verse goes with verse 15 (239k) Kingdom of God >> Pursuing the kingdom >> Pursuing the knowledge of the kingdom >> Teachers >> Let not many of you become teachers >> Dividing accurately the word of truth -- This verse goes with verse 3 KJV WEB / Navigation Bar Tit 2-2 (3k) Responsibility >> To the Family >> God addresses both genders >> Good men -- This verse goes with verses 6-8 (99k) Thy kingdom come >> Perseverance (Working to keep in motion) >> Persevere in doing good (125b) Thy kingdom come >> Manifestations of faith >> Faith and love >> Faith toward God and love toward man (126l) Thy kingdom come >> Manifestations of faith >> Patience >> Be patient with your brother – The older we get in the Lord, the more these traits should grow and blossom in our lives, the more reverent our behavior, the more temperate and dignified, and the more sensible and sound in faith, love and perseverance. People tend to mellow with age. When we’re young, we’re flashy; we want to experience life fast and furious, but as we increase with age, it becomes easier to be temperate and sensible. We have a propensity to mellow, and much more with the Holy Spirit leading us into these attributes. Tit 2,3-8 (148f) Witness >> Validity of Jesus Christ >> Works of the Church bear witness to Jesus >> Evangelism >> Natural advantage as an evangelist >> Being youthful – Paul wants young people to accept the example of their elders and model after them, and become an example to others. For this reason God desires that the human cycle of life to continue indefinitely; he doesn’t want the end to come, but He also knows that it will come, and therefore He has predestined certain things to happen. We are at that point when the things that God knew would happen are happening and the things He predestined are coming upon us. We need to be spiritually prepared ahead of time or we will be swept away. Tit 2,3-5 (3c) Responsibility >> To the Family >> Instruction about marriage (3h) Responsibility >> To the Family >> God addresses both genders >> Instruction about women (73h) Authority >> Respect authority in the family >> Respect the institution of marriage Tit 2-3,4 (129g) Thy kingdom come >> Manifestations of faith >> Unity >> love perfects unity >> Love is the martyr between the blocks (138l) Temple >> Building the temple (with hands) >> Exhortation >> Admonishments -- These verses go with verse 6 Tit 2-3 (84h) Thy kingdom come >> Words of your mouth >> Gossip >> Attacking a person’s character (127i) Thy kingdom come >> Manifestations of faith >> Goodness >> Rewards for doing good >> Doing good teaches you about the truth (159j) Works of the devil >> Essential characteristics >> Counterfeit >> Counterfeit God >> Counterfeit anointing >> Drunkenness >> The alcoholic (162g) Works of the devil >> Being a slave to the devil (Addictions) >> Bondage >> Addicted to sin >> Being a slave to the sinful nature (176j) Works of the devil >> The religion of witchcraft >> False doctrine >> Extremes >> Truth is never found in your conduct on either extreme of any circumstance (239k) Kingdom of God >> Pursuing the kingdom >> Pursuing the knowledge of the kingdom >> Teachers >> Let not many of you become teachers >> Dividing accurately the word of truth -- This verse goes with verses 11&12 KJV WEB / Navigation Bar Tit 2-5 (7b) Responsibility >> Protecting the Gospel >> Defend the word of God by obeying it – This verse goes with verses 8-10. (9a) Responsibility >> Prevent being blamed for something you did not do >> Prevent accusations (101j) Thy kingdom come >> Ambition >> Be an ambitious businessman for God >> Ambitious in the business world of this life (105a) Thy kingdom come >> Pure in heart >> A pure heart is a genuine heart -- This verse goes with verse 7 (127a) Thy kingdom come >> Manifestations of faith >> Kindness >> Be kind like God >> Practice the kindness of God (203e) Denying Christ >> Dishonor God >> Stepping out of position – Society is disintegrating and nobody understands why. There is nothing innocent about rebelling against God. People have lost respect for the Bible; they treat it as a list of suggestions rather than of a list of commands, and they say their opinions are just as valid as His. God respects our right to have an opinion more than we do, since having one is how He made us in His image, which means God has an opinion too, and His opinion is the truth. He doesn't want to take away our right to have opinions; rather, he wants us to adopt His opinion so we can go on living, but if we resist Him, our godlessness will turn us into the image of Satan. If we determine that God’s opinion is no more valid than ours, we will face the consequences, and then we will blame Him for our suffering, and at no time will we be open to accepting responsibility for our own actions. These are the ways of the heathen. Tit 2,6-8 (3k) Responsibility >> To the Family >> God addresses both genders >> Good men -- These verses go with verse 2 Tit 2-6 (138l) Temple >> Building the temple (with hands) >> Exhortation >> Admonishments -- This verse goes with verse 9 Tit 2,7-10 (7b) Responsibility >> Protecting the Gospel >> Defend the word of God by obeying it -- These verses go with verse 5. This is good instruction, but it is not easy to do. James said that we regularly fall over our tongue. If anybody is able to tame the tongue, he can control every other part of his body. Paul wants us to be an example of good works with purity of doctrine, dignified, but we can’t very well do that if we believe in false doctrine, for there is no dignity in believing a lie. To be dignified in the Church these days is almost impossible, because we have all but lost the truth in a whirlwind of religious thoughts, though the truth is setting right in front of us. Everyone gets a few things right, and some only get a few things wrong, but these are not examples of what Paul wanted in the Church. He hoped that we would all believe the truth, not part of it or most of it but all of it. Paul said, “Jesus came into the world to save sinners” (1Tim 1-15); it is safe to say we all agree on that, but according to the Church today anything beyond that is subject to interpretation. Those who believe the whole Bible without interpreting it are light-years ahead of those who wear rose-colored glasses to interpret what it says according to their religion, or focus on certain passages and ignore the rest. See also: Good speech; Tit 2-7,8; 142d Tit 2-7,8 (12a) Servant >> Examples of God’s people >> Good examples (142d) Witness >> Validity of Jesus Christ >> Witnesses of Jesus >> Having a good reputation >> A reputation of good works – We are to be sound in speech, beyond reproach. This is impossible when we don’t talk right in our personal lives at home when no one is listening. We should develop habits in our language that befits our faith (I am writing this to myself). We should develop a language that is appropriate for Christianity in our own home among our own family members, so when we enter the public, we will speak right to them too. There won’t be a slip of the tongue with respect to the things we normally say, and we won’t have to worry so much about our word choices, because we have already truncated the derogatory words from our vocabulary. To put our opponent to shame we don’t need to win arguments; we only need to put a guard at our mouth and talk right. See also: Good speech; Tit 2-8; 28f Tit 2-7 (86l) Thy kingdom come >> Obedience >> Be doers of the word >> Clothe yourself with the word of God >> Be an example – Paul used the illustration of clothing ourselves with good works, and it is used elsewhere in the Scriptures (Rev 3-18; 16-15). It started with Moses giving Israel the Law. Most of the Ten Commandments have the word “not” in it. 'Do not commit adultery'; 'do not commit murder,' and so the Ten Commandments are mostly things we should not do. If we avoid the things that we shouldn’t do, that still doesn’t address the things we should do. In Mat 22,36-40 Jesus summed up the Law with two verses of the Old Testament, both with the word “love” in them (Deuteronomy 6-5; Leviticus 19-18), and Paul summarized the Law in Rom 13-10, “Love doesn’t harm a neighbor. Love therefore is the fulfillment of the law.” Both old and new testaments teach that we should be students of God’s word and disciples of prayer, until God reveals to us His purpose and calling in our lives, and then we are to step into it. When we do, we will produce the good works that God has prepared for us (Eph 2-10). He graces us with His strength and ability, referring to the anointing. The Bible teaches that He clothes us with His anointing, as Paul said to put on Jesus Christ and make no provisions for the flesh (Rom 13-14). One of Jesus’ parables goes like this, “To what shall I compare God’s Kingdom? It is like yeast, which a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, until it was all leavened” (Lk 13-20,21). The lump of dough was leavened from the inside-out; this is the process that God works in us, starting on the day of our spiritual birth, when God imparts His Spirit of salvation in us, leading to eternal life, and He wants His indwelling Holy Spirit to manifest on our outward form, so it becomes apparent to all that He dwells in us. In doing so he clothes us with good works, and those good works are the product of the anointing, which is our salvation in this life. (105a) Thy kingdom come >> Pure in heart >> A pure heart is a genuine heart -- This verse goes with verse 5 (128d) Thy kingdom come >> Manifestations of faith >> Goodness >> Be an example of good works – Good works is synonymous with purity of doctrine, meaning that a person can’t know the truth if his behavior is below standard. That is, those who believe in heresy tend not to accentuate goodness in their lives. “Goodness” is one of nine spiritual fruits, and if they reject one, they reject them all. In contrast, those whose doctrines are dignified seek to produce good works, showing people by example what they believe, and by the same token heretics also display by example what they believe. Ultimately therefore, we live what we believe, though with varying levels of contradiction interspersed. There will always be disparity between how we live and what we believe, which inversely indicates how strongly we believe, in other words, the more hypocrisy the less faith; conversely the more faith the less hypocrisy. So, hypocrisy indicates that we don’t believe, so it goes right back to the fact that we live what we believe or don’t believe. The spiritual fruit of Goodness in Galatians chapter five is probably least mentioned of them all. We all know about forbearance and patience; we all talk about love, and joy is the happy fruit, but goodness is de-emphasized because our flesh is not good. We must make an effort to produce good works; it doesn’t just happen on its own. In heaven we will be able to produce good works without even trying, but in this life goodness doesn’t come naturally. When someone sees us doing good works, they automatically know we are doing it because of something we believe. A person who doesn’t believe in God doesn’t care about doing good works, except how it may garnish his impression on others. Politicians, for example have an appearance of righteousness to be elected and stay in power and remain in favor with the people, though they may not be divinely inspired, whereas Christians are divinely inspired to produce good works for the purpose of promoting the Kingdom of God in this world. (250c) Priorities >> God’s prerequisites >> Sequence of priorities >> In all things ... >> Be a servant in all things -- This verse goes with verses 9&10. We are not to have good works only, also to be pure in doctrine. We are to obey the truth, as John said, “I have no greater joy than this, to hear of my children walking in the truth” (3Jn-4). This concept of good deeds has a connotation of picking up good works that cross our path and doing them for the glory of God. We are to look for good things to do in the name of Christ to promote His kingdom as it were an advertisement for Christianity, that people might associate our good works with our confession of faith and understand that we are His children, and we want others to come to know Him too. KJV WEB / Navigation Bar Tit 2-8,9 (1d) Responsibility >> Avoid offending God and people >> Maintain a good reputation – There are those who would do anything to pin something on Christians to discredit their character and so ruin their reputation to justify themselves about rejecting the message of Christ. So long as it depends on us these people ought not to get their way, but the only way to stop them is to avoid discrediting the gospel in our personal lives. We must meticulously watch everything we say and do, being perfect before God and man. It is the only way to shut their mouths, but it is not easy. (85i) Thy kingdom come >> Words of your mouth >> That are spoken in faith >> Will justify you Tit 2-8 (28f) Gift of God >> God is our advocate >> He Protects us through our walk >> Wise conduct – People in the Church rightly understand that we are saved by grace through faith, not from works. As a result people are unsure about the critical role that righteousness plays in our faith toward God. If a person does not conduct himself according to the tenets of Scripture, it is questionable if he is saved, but if he is saved and in bondage to various sins, he needs to seek the freedom of Christ, or he might lose his faith. One of the projects we will never finish taming is our tongue. We are not called to live under bondage as Christians, such as having a foul mouth. We say things without thinking about them, and Paul admonishes us to contain our words, for they are easy to say but impossible to unsay. A quick slip of the tongue and people gossip about our word choice, pulling the event out of context, putting their own twist on it, embellishing the story, and if there is a grain of truth in it, we have no defense. See also: Good speech; 42b (42b) Judgment >> Satan destroyed >> Be like Jesus >> Blameless before men -- This verse goes with verse 10. Wouldn’t it be nice to be perfect; well, Jesus commanded us to be just that; the problem is no one has ever attained perfection, especially not in the words we speak. Christ is our standard, the Son of God who maintained perfection throughout His life, who told us to strive for it (Mat 5-48). Think if perfection were not the standard, man would have sinned all the more throughout the age of grace, and he would have gone extinct by now. We who are born of God have the Holy Spirit dwelling in us, and so we have the power of God to help us, and though we will never achieve literal perfection, by the Spirit we can at least strive for it, and in God’s view, the one who strives for it has already reached perfection, but the one who liberates his sinful flesh is incomplete. See also: Good speech; 62e (42d) Judgment >> Be like Jesus >> Innocent >> No evidence against you in a court of law (62e) Paradox >> Anomalies >> Being clever >> Keep your mouth shut – One of the best ways to avoid filling our enemies’ quiver with arrows to shoot at us is to be sound in speech, and the best way to do that is to keep our mouth shut. We can try to say something meaningful, but every time we open our mouth we risk sinning. When we are among our enemies, we had better think at least twice about saying anything to those who would incriminate our reputation and use us to tarnish Christianity. We all have hang-ups, but mostly we need to stop using vulgar language (I am writing this to myself). Jm 1-26 says that if a man, “does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this man's religion is worthless.” We envy those who do not have this problem, yet James said that such a man does not really exist, except Christ. The tongue is a small part of the body, yet it can destroy the works of our hands and all our achievements that we spent years developing if we don't control it. All can be demolished with an untimely word. See also: Good speech; Tit 2,7-10; 7b (124k) Thy kingdom come >> Manifestations of faith >> Love your enemies >> Love your enemies that you may not become like them (153h) Witness >> Validity of the Father >> God bears witness against the world >> Shame >> Walking in condemnation >> Walking in rebellion KJV WEB / Navigation Bar Tit 2-9,10 (2j) Responsibility >> Avoid offending God >> get out of His way >> Do not touch the apple of His eye >> Take advantage of no one (13i) Servant >> Support the body >> Servant in the work force (25h) Sin >> Poverty (Forms of fear) >> Thief >> Stealing from some one – The last thing God has called us to do is to steal from our boss. The opposite of stealing is working hard to help his business grow, especially if he is a fellow Christian. God expects more from us than he did from Israel in the days of the old covenant, for it is stated in the Law of Moses that stealing is a sin, and these laws have been written in our hearts through the Holy Spirit (Heb 8,7-13). We have it cemented in Scripture again through Paul that we should not steal, yet there have been doctrines contrived over the centuries teaching the saints just the opposite. If Paul had to say this back then, how much more do we need to hear it today? (73g) Authority >> Respect Positions Of Authority >> Respect your boss at work (86g) Thy kingdom come >> Obedience >> Be doers of the word >> Clothe yourself with the word of God >> Practice the truth (102e) Thy kingdom come >> Faithfulness (Loyalty) >> Faithfulness is dependable >> Dutiful (233i) Kingdom of God >> Pursuing the kingdom >> Seeking the glory of God >> Seek His glory without wavering >> Seek His glory through obedience -- These verses go with verse 13 (250c) Priorities >> God’s prerequisites >> Sequence of priorities >> In all things ... >> Be a servant in all things -- These verses go with verse 7 Tit 2-9 (55a) Paradox >> Opposites >> Teaching bond-slaves to be good servants (138l) Temple >> Building the temple (with hands) >> Exhortation >> Admonishments -- This verse goes with verses 3&4 (158c) Works of the devil >> Essential characteristics >> Divide and conquer >> Strife >> Contentions, especially about words (semantics) Tit 2,10-12 (127h) Thy kingdom come >> Manifestations of faith >> Goodness >> Rewards for doing good >> Doing good is the will of God Tit 2-10 (42b) Judgment >> Satan destroyed >> Be like Jesus >> Blameless before men -- This verse goes with verse 8 (113c) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> The anointing >> Heaven’s clothes >> Clothe yourself with good works KJV WEB / Navigation Bar Tit 2,11-15 (97d) Thy kingdom come >> Attention >> Facing in the direction of the Lord >> Focusing your attention on God Tit 2,11-14 (60c) Paradox >> Two implied meanings >> The second coming / End time revival (193a) Die to self (Process of substitution) >> Turn from sin to God >> Repent >> Stop practicing sin >> Be zealous and repent – If good people don’t believe in Jesus, “we are of all men most to be pitied” (1Cor 15-19). Good people would seem to have the easiest time patterning their lives after Christ. Sinners in contrast after reveling in bondage would seem to have the most difficult time with repentance, but often the opposite is what we find. God is able to set the captives free, whereas self-righteous people find it very difficult to adopt the righteousness of God through faith. Tit 2,11-13 (210d) Salvation >> The salvation of God >> Jesus is our savior >> Jesus is the savior of the world Tit 2-11,12 (7m) Responsibility >> Use time wisely >> Get ready >> Live right during these times (22d) Sin >> Greed takes without consideration for others >> The worldliness of greed (31f) Gift of God >> Grace >> Salvation >> God is willing to respond to man’s need (41i) Judgment >> Satan destroyed >> Be like Jesus >> Be godly in all your behavior – When it comes to spiritual matters, there is either light or darkness, and the gray areas are just shades of darkness. If we can curb our behavior and demonstrate the Kingdom of God through the members of our bodies, then we will be part of God’s solution, which is to bring the gospel of Christ to the world. However, we can’t do that while we are living in sin, for the gospel promises to remedy that. A changed life is an advertisement that communicates the gospel better than words, but how can we hope it changes their lives if it hasn’t changed ours? We need to believe in Jesus with our life, not just with our mind, otherwise we don’t really believe. If the gospel has not changed us, then we have simply accepted a set of doctrines. (51j) Judgment >> Judging the Church with the world >> No partiality with God’s righteousness (94a) Thy kingdom come >> Perspective on this life >> It is our investment in the Kingdom of God – Our flesh is not very happy with the gospel, though it indirectly benefits from it. Our flesh only wants to indulge in its corrupt desires; when we get angry, we want to lash-out, and if we feel betrayed, we want to take vengeance. However, Paul is telling us to exhibit the grace of God in the members of our bodies, and he promises that if we do, we will be the first to benefit. (109i) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Spirit and the word >> Spirit the teacher >> Spirit trains us to be like Jesus (111a) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Spirit and the word >> Spirit sets you apart by the word >> Set apart through repentance (167j) Works of the devil >> Manifestations of the devil >> Do not conform to the world >> The world of sin (194h) Die to self (Process of substitution) >> Turn from sin to God >> Hate evil >> Victory over sin >> Hate evil by doing good (239k) Kingdom of God >> Pursuing the kingdom >> Pursuing the knowledge of the kingdom >> Teachers >> Let not many of you become teachers >> Dividing accurately the word of truth -- These verses go with verse 1. The religion of easy-believism conveys a gospel of mental ascent, which does not rise above accepting a set of doctrines. This is not the gospel that Paul preached, and it is not the gospel that Jesus taught or Peter or John and especially not James. It is simply not in the Bible. We have misinterpreted it to give our flesh freedom to live contrary to God's will, and this passage proves it, and there are many other passages in the Bible that prove easy-believism was invented by the flesh and that obedience is necessary and even required for salvation! This might cause some people to gasp, because they have been erroneously taught that the gospel according to Paul is by "grace through faith, not as a result of works lest anyone should boast" (Eph 2-8,9). Paul did say that verbatim, but even he taught that if we do not have good works, then neither do we believe (Rom 2-13,17-27; 1Cor 13-2; Eph 5,3-6; Tit 1-15,16). Our works are like the exhaust of a car; it is not what propels it down the road, but if there is no exhaust, it strongly suggests that the engine is not running, and if the engine won't run, we cannot go anywhere. In the same way our good works do not save us, but without them our faith is useless. See also: Easy-believism; Tit 2-15; 70k / Eternal security? (Doctrine of easy-believism); Heb 12-8; 157e (242i) Kingdom of God >> Opposition toward the Kingdom of God >> Persecuting the kingdom >> Worldly pressure >> World pressures you to forsake your values Tit 2-11 (245f) Kingdom of God >> Spirit realm is imposed on the natural realm >> Literal manifestations >> Literal manifestation of Jesus Christ >> Jesus is the manifestation of God’s grace KJV WEB / Navigation Bar Tit 2-13 (61e) Paradox >> Two implied meanings >> God and also our savior / Jesus is our God and Savior (121c) Thy kingdom come >> Manifestations of faith >> Hope >> Expectation >> Hope is the expectation to receive >> Expectation based on hope (126k) Thy kingdom come >> Manifestations of faith >> Patience >> Have patience for the return of Christ >> The physical return of Christ (233i) Kingdom of God >> Pursuing the kingdom >> Seeking the glory of God >> Seek His glory without wavering >> Seek His glory through obedience -- This verse goes with verses 9&10 (237a) Kingdom of God >> Pursuing the kingdom >> Transferring the kingdom >> The Church is transferred to the kingdom >> The rapture >> Appearance of Christ – Paul was referring to the physical return of Jesus Christ possibly happening in his lifetime, but before that happens there must be a spiritual return of Christ. The Church must get right with God before He comes, which is the point of Revelation chapters 2&3. The Church will need to repent of the sins of the seven churches mentioned in those chapters before He returns. There will be a Great Endtime Revival in the last days, and this will bring about the spiritual return of Christ. That is, before He physically returns, He must spiritually return (Act 1-4). See also: Great Endtime Revival (Spiritual ascension); Jd-21; 126ka (253ec) Trinity >> Relationship between Father and Son >> Jesus is equal with the Father >> Jesus has all the internal qualities of the Father >> Jesus is God in heaven – Jehovah Witnesses don’t teach Jesus as God; they might say that Paul was talking about two different persons when he mentioned our “great God” and “savior", Jesus Christ. If Paul were talking about two different persons, he would have kept the sentence parallel by inserting the world “our” like this: “our great God and [our] savior Jesus Christ,” but that is not what he said. Paul wrote it to say that Jesus is both our God and our savior. This is relatively minor support for the trinity, though it plainly states that Jesus is God. Tit 2-14 (29a) Gift of God >> God is our advocate >> Delivered from our persecutors (35a) Gift of God >> God is willing to Give >> He is generous with the flesh of His Son (42h) Judgment >> Satan destroyed >> Transformed >> Conform to the purity of Christ – Purification has to do with receiving the grace of Jesus, after which we live a holy life before God and men. It is easy to receive forgiveness by faith in the cross to be saved for eternity, but to be saved in this life requires repentance to keep sin from eroding our faith. Therefore, incorporating godliness is just as important as having faith in Jesus, for one supports the other. A godly life conveys to those around us that our faith means more to us than a set of doctrines. He doesn’t want us to grudgingly do good works; He wants us to be zealous for them. The indwelling Holy Spirit is happy to live for Him; consequently, it is our zeal for righteousness that identifies us as the children of God. (87e) Thy kingdom come >> Ministry to God through obedience >> Seeking the glory of God (90i) Thy kingdom come >> Keeping the law >> Righteousness of the law >> All righteousness is covered by the law (91c) Thy kingdom come >> The called >> God’s purpose is an inherent component of His calling >> His purpose is for us to be vessels of mercy (99m) Thy kingdom come >> Perseverance >> Persevere in ministering to the body of Christ – Regardless of a person’s background, repentance takes vision and vision comes from the Church, and the vision of the Church should be that all God’s people work together to accomplish His objective: “equipping the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ” (Eph 4-12,13). He wants us encouraging one another in the faith, providing avenues of ministry for the opportunity to share that which God has given to us. It is not His plan for the Church to make spiritual cul-de-sacs of those with a zeal for God. Without building an infrastructure of ministry in the Church that targets the saints for the purpose of edifying one another, expecting this to happen on its own just shows our ignorance. We need to welcome the ministry of the saints, who promote zeal for good works and produce fruit to the benefit of all. (101a) Zeal (Key verse) (101b) Thy kingdom come >> Zeal >> For the manifestation of God’s kingdom >> Zealous for good works – In heaven Jesus owns everything, including streets of gold with mansions lining the streets, and walls consisting of precious stones marking the city limits, yet the only possession that matters to Him is us. We are His pride and joy, His brethren. He humbled Himself to relate to us as a brother, putting Himself on our level as a Father and as our God. We are His greatest possession with righteousness as His greatest attribute; therefore He can relate to us because we are zealous for good works. So if we want to relate to Christ, we must love all that is good and right. (103k) Thy kingdom come >> Purifying process >> God purifies His church >> Jesus purifies His people (119c) Thy kingdom come >> Manifestations of faith >> Freedom >> Freedom from satanic influence >> Free from sin (127n) Thy kingdom come >> Manifestations of faith >> Goodness >> Devote your life to doing good – We are living in an age of apostasy, described as an time when both the commission of sin and the omission of righteousness are prevalent. Most people focus on sin as the cause of apostasy, but that is just a symptom of the underlying problem. We commit sin because we refuse to do the will of God. We are not actively pursuing a relationship with Christ, because we think we have no part in it, as though God must do everything for us, since our righteousness is as filthy rags (Isaiah 64-6), but the Bible teaches that we are God’s fellow workers (1Cor 3-9). We have a job to do and a ministry; He is calling us to complete the works that He has prepared for us before the foundation of the world (Eph 2-10). (136h) Temple >> Your spirit is the temple of God >> The body of Christ >> Body of Christ consists of individual members >> We should live as Christ lived (181d) Works of the devil >> Practicing witchcraft >> Lawlessness >> Lawlessness is no excuse for sin >> Sinning under the law is still lawlessness (210b) Salvation >> The salvation of God >> Jesus is our sacrifice >> Jesus goes to the cross willingly (213i) Sovereignty >> God is infinite >> Jesus owns you >> His will becomes our will >> We are God’s property (222a) Kingdom of God >> The elusive Kingdom of Heaven >> Kingdom hidden behind the veil from the world >> The Church is hidden from the world KJV WEB / Navigation Bar Tit 2-15 (4l) Responsibility >> Advocate God’s cause >> Being accountable to your brother -- This verse goes with verses 1-10 (70k) Authority >> Believer’s authority >> We are the salt of the earth (Preservative) – We are in a war, and we don’t have time for easy-believism that chants love, love, love and pitches discipleship in the dumpster. The Church has given people what they wanted to hear to “draw away the disciples after them” (Act 20-30). This increased their congregations at first, but once the truth was watered-down, church attendance diminished, indicating that their shortcuts have produced the opposite effect. The further the Church veers from God, the more dire circumstances people face and the more they need truth to help them cope with a dying world. The economic system has taken the same shortcuts, which has produced an unrealistic standard of living since the 1970s, and the result is fiscal irresponsibility, leading to the imminent demise of the entire world economy, and they probably got their ideas watching the Church (Mat 5-13). See also: Easy-believism; 138d / Interpreting endtime prophecy; Jn 7,40-43; 83l (71aa) Authority >> Believer’s authority >> We have authority from God to evangelize the world >> We have authority to preach the gospel (72f) Authority >> Transferring authority >> Receiving the delegated authority of men (85f) Thy kingdom come >> Words that are spoken in faith >> Powerful when spoken by the Spirit >> Spoken with authority (123a) Thy kingdom come >> Manifestations of faith >> Boldness to speak the word by the Spirit – Paul was not a man to let people step over him or usurp his authority, but stood his ground, knowing he was in the right. He would not let anyone disregard him, because He knew those who tried had evil motives, and he would not let them trample on the word of God or on His people. (138d) Temple >> Building the temple (with hands) >> Reproof >> Reprove your brother in the right spirit – The things Paul taught in the book of Titus he also taught in his letters to Timothy, exhorting them both to teach and reprove with all authority and to let no one disregard them. Paul knew people would try to make Titus soften his tone so they could introduce their easy-to-believe doctrines and by-pass discipleship. Most people prefer being mere repositories of God’s grace, rather than becoming the headwaters for many to come and drink from their wellsprings. Both Timothy and Titus were younger than Paul, and he advised Titus not to let anyone disregard him because of his age. He told them both to respect those who were older but not listen to an elder wanting to neutralize the gospel. Anybody who wants to make the gospel more palatable to their flesh must change the message itself. See also: Easy-believism; 138k (138k) Temple >> Building the temple (with hands) >> Exhortation >> The discipline of exhortation – We sold the gospel down the proverbial river for the almighty dollar a long time ago through doctrines of easy-believism, but Paul instructed Titus to exhort and reprove with all authority and let no one disregard him. The three books of First and Second Timothy and Titus are all exhortations, not just to Timothy and Titus but to the entire Church in every generation. He spoke hard truth to them, because he knew that people would take advantage of every opportunity they could. Paul was being preventive, saying that this was not just his opinion; he was risking his life to preach Jesus to the known world. They were ambassadors for Christ, and they were telling people the ways of the Lord. We are disciples of Jesus; we need to discipline ourselves for the purpose of godliness, for that is what it takes to receive the grace of God in the first place. See also: Easy-believism; Tit 2-11,12; 239k (150j) Witness >> Validity of Jesus Christ >> Works of the Church bear witness of Jesus >> Speak the word >> Preaching the word to the Church -- This verse goes with verse 1 (239g) Kingdom of God >> Pursuing the kingdom >> Pursuing the knowledge of the kingdom >> Teachers >> Teachers are construction workers >> God raises up teachers to raise up the body – God’s vision for Paul and others was to preach the gospel to teach the people to ground the Church in the word of God to raise up leaders who are competent teachers themselves, who will not desert their post or their calling or trade it in for the unrighteous mammon. See next page