JEAN'S BIBLE STUDY
| KJV WEB
| Endtime Prophecy
| Parallel Gospels
Page Numbers | Plywood Canoe
OT Commentary | Books
Contact | Gospel Tract

TITUS CHAPTER 3 KJV WEB See previous page Tit 3-1,2 (13g) Servant >> Serve the body >> Promoting its health >> Be a blessing (41j) Judgment >> Satan destroyed >> Be like Jesus >> Be godly toward one another – Paul knew that people would not line up to ferocious protect the gospel after he went to be with the Lord. He knew he had to give the gospel a good sendoff, teaching the true doctrines of the faith, especially the necessity of godliness, which defends against spiritual deception and false brethren. When people saw the benefit of Christianity, that it was about caring for each other and loving the brethren and tending to their needs, people wanted security and were willing to contribute what they could to have that, for they saw hope in everyone meeting the needs of others above their own needs. (95j) Thy kingdom come >> Attitude >> Obedient attitude >> Positive attitude about authority – God has saved us and placed us in this world to give mankind a glimpse of heaven. If we call ourselves Christians, then we should be Christ-like. If Christians want to be politically active, the best way to do that is to respect authority. Christians should be model citizens of their community, state and country, not troublemakers, and they should not malign their governors and congressmen. We can have an opinion, but it should be mediated by our overarching reverence for God and His word as servants of Christ. We are not to rebel against authority, unless we are restricted from serving the Lord. We should be compliant and demonstrate the will of God through our good behavior. Tit 3-1 (73d) Authority >> Respect positions of authority >> In the Church – Paul is talking about being subject to both secular authority and Church authority. We may not agree with people in office, yet we are to respect their positions, so if we are rebellious, we are not ready for any good deed. We may feel strongly about some things, but rebellion will not resolve anything. Maybe we actually have the truth, and people in authority are wrong, so stay with the facts, and make an effort to communicate those facts, whether it be with governmental or with the Church. (83l) Thy kingdom come >> Be on the alert >> Remain on duty >> Be ready (87k) Thy kingdom come >> Obedience >> Obey authorities (127h) Thy kingdom come >> Manifestations of faith >> Goodness >> Rewards for doing good >> Doing good is the will of God (238j) Kingdom of God >> Pursuing the kingdom >> Pursuing the knowledge of the kingdom >> Teachers >> Teachers "remind" their students >> Teaching by rote – The Bible teaches that the kingdoms of the earth are viewed as a single group called "the world", and that Christianity is a kingdom unto itself. There are many secular governments, but they all have one thing in common, none of them serve the living God, for there is no such thing as a Christian nation, but there are some people who live in those nations who serve God. They are considered members of the True Church, which is separate from the governments that represent them. Therefore, they should dissociate themselves from their respective secular governments and seek to find their place in the Kingdom of God. Christians who mind political issues communicate the message that they think this world and this life is more important than God's kingdom that is to come and the life to come. The Bible specifically tells us to be separate from the world, and that the True Church is of the light and is not of darkness. For us to get politically involved as Christians is an attempt to combine the kingdoms of church and state, but they don’t belong together, just like light and darkness don't belong together. See also: His Kingdom is opposite the world; Rev 11-17; 245g Tit 3-2 (84i) Thy kingdom come >> Words of your mouth >> Gossip >> Attacking a person’s name (128f) Thy kingdom come >> Manifestations of faith >> Gentleness >> Be gentle in all your ways >> Be gentle toward one another (158c) Works of the devil >> Essential characteristics >> Divide and conquer >> Strife >> Contentions, especially about words (semantics) -- This verse goes with verses 9-11 (235f) Kingdom of God >> Pursuing the kingdom >> Invest in the kingdom >> Giving (your inner self) >> Giving preference to one another KJV WEB / Navigation Bar Tit 3,3-8 (31e) Gift of God >> Grace >> Salvation >> God’s mercy overrules man’s sin – This list of evil practices once defined us, but now we are saved, and the person we are becoming resembles Christ. We should not allow negative traits to reign in our flesh, because we have the Holy Spirit dwelling in us. Grace through faith is the motivator of a changed life. If God gets His way, He will use us to make the world a better place. After we believe, our lives will need to change, in that before we discovered faith we exhibited the traits of those who need salvation. It wasn't necessary to prove anything to God before He saved us; we only needed to believe in Jesus, and through that faith He will equip us to engage in good works that are acceptable to Him. God entrusted His heart to us without receiving any proof that we will reciprocate. He loved us even as wretched sinners, much more His holy children. We are forgiven, and now the ball is in our court; it is our turn to show Him our love through repentance and faith toward God. See also: Salvation; Tit 3-3; 145f (205i) Salvation >> Salvation is based on God’s promises >> Faith versus works >> The faith of God versus the faith of men >> Faith is the work of God – Thank God for Paul who slam-dunked the principle of being saved by grace through faith; nobody else said it so succinctly as him. If it weren’t for Paul, the Church would have regressed to Israel prior to Christ, trying to please God through the works of the law, only we would have enacted new covenant laws, inventing ways to prove we are saved. People do this anyway, requiring certain behaviors, clothing and rules to follow before they will approve their disciples, but God doesn’t care what we wear. Paul said, "Believe in the Lord Jesus and you shall be saved" (Act 16-31). He told Titus to encourage those who have believed in Jesus to engage in good works. He didn’t want anyone getting the wrong impression that we can just believe in a set of doctrines and continue practicing sin. A person cannot change his life without changing the way he thinks; Proverbs 23-7 says just that, "As [a man] thinks in his heart, so is he." The way we live is based on an entire system of thought. If we want to change our lives, we must change the way we think, which is a massive undertaking. The only way we can do this is through Christ. It requires a fundamental change of perspective, a paradigm shift, which is the work of God. Tit 3,3-7 (124a) Thy kingdom come >> Manifestations of faith >> Love >> Acts of love >> Love takes from the rich and gives to the poor >> Love takes sacrifice Tit 3,3-5 (25b) Sin >> Poverty (Forms of fear) >> Hate evil with hate (193g) Die to self (Process of substitution) >> Turn from sin to God >> Repent >> God grants repentance Tit 3-3 (22f) Sin >> Lust (craving pleasure) >> Fleshly desire (24k) Sin >> Poverty (Forms of fear) >> Anger >> Unforgiveness (145f) Witness >> Validity of Jesus Christ >> Jesus’ works bear witness of Himself >> Deliverance from demon possession >> Human state >> Filthiness >> Being defiled – Paul was describing his former manner of life prior to his conversion, and by that described us before we were saved. Many consider themselves good people, yet a person who would feel this way is probably a greater sinner than the one who admits being a sinner. Who is worse, the one who receives Jesus’ blood sacrifice for the forgiveness of his sin, or the one who doesn’t? If a good person doesn’t believe in Jesus, then how is he a good person? Some people believe Jesus died for evil people, but the Bible teaches that everyone is evil (Mat 7-11); none of us are good (Mk 10-18). We may be law-abiding in the eyes of man, but to God we are sinners in need of salvation. We are talking about how God sees us, not about how others see us or how we see ourselves. God sees that we need to be saved because we were born into a flawed world because of the curse that He imposed on it. We need salvation, not because we committed a sin, but because we are sinners by nature. We would think that the good person would be the first to believe in Him, but this is not always the case, for we must first realize we’re sinners before we can be saved. See also: Salvation; Tit 3,4-7; 32c / Salvation (Choose this day whom you will serve); 1Cor 15,30-34; 193l (162g) Works of the devil >> Being a slave to the devil (Addictions) >> Bondage >> Addicted to sin >> Being a slave to the sinful nature (183g) Works of the devil >> The origin of lawlessness >> Spirit of Error (Anti-Christ / Anti-Semitism) >> Spirit of the broad road >> Spirit of the world (186e) Works of the devil >> The result of lawlessness >> The reprobate >> Man’s role in becoming a reprobate >> The fool >> The fool does nothing with Christ (250i) Priorities >> God’s prerequisites >> Lists >> List of traits that can be found in man >> List of deeds of the body KJV WEB / Navigation Bar Tit 3,4-8 (108e) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Balance >> God's sovereignty balances good from evil Tit 3,4-7 (32c) Gift of God >> God is our Father >> Grace >> The Spirit of His grace – Paul said that God saved us, not as a result of our good behavior, not by weighing our works on a scale to determine our worthiness, but based on His mercy. God sent the Holy Spirit to us through Jesus Christ as a direct result of the cross. The righteousness of the cross is the fact that Jesus was without sin, but more than that; the cross was the Fathers idea, meaning Jesus was obeying His Father when He died for our sins. In fact, the reason the cross has power to forgive sin is that the Father has ordained it so. Consequently, the cross broke down the dividing wall of sin and death standing between God and man and created a door that we should walk through it. This door represents the pearly gates, the break in the wall made of precious stones that surrounds the holy city. This requires every citizen of heaven to access the New Jerusalem through a gate, similar to the one that Jesus traversed riding on a donkey in the days leading to His crucifixion. He places upon us a crown of righteousness for overcoming sin as he deposits the indwelling Holy Spirit, who is our salvation. See also: Salvation; Tit 3-4,5; 238a (103a) Thy kingdom come >> Purifying process >> God’s cleansing power >> Blood of Jesus – God washes away our sin with the Holy Spirit, that is, with the blood of Jesus, for His blood and His Spirit are one. Jesus sent the Holy Spirit only after He spilled His blood on the cross, after He rose from the dead and returned to the Father in heaven. So the ministry of the Holy Spirit is a direct result of the cross. Hence, the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit is to be washed in the blood of Christ. 1Jn 5,6-8 says, "This is the One who came by water and blood, Jesus Christ; not with the water only, but with the water and with the blood. It is the Spirit who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth. For there are three that testify: the Spirit and the water and the blood; and the three are in agreement." (230c) Kingdom of God >> God’s kingdom is a living organism >> Partaking >> What we must do to partake of the kingdom >> Partaking which requires no participation – This is God’s goal for us that we should inherit eternal life. Paul said in 1Cor 15-19, “If we have hoped in Christ in this life only, we are of all men most pitiable.” Our labor and striving is for the purpose of bringing more people to the saving knowledge of Christ, that we might be brothers and sisters with them in heaven. God would have it that we take many souls with us to paradise. Each person’s calling is different, though they all have one thing in common, the great commission: leading people to Christ with the hope of eternal life. Paul is talking about partaking of God’s kingdom, requiring no participation. This is called "abiding in Him". We just sit back and absorb it, like a baby whose mother gives her a bath in the sink, who completely relies on her mother for everything, until she matures enough to begin doing things on her own. There are other instances where we partake through participation. Some people prefer to remain babes in Christ and refuse to mature, but eventually this backfires on them. God expects us to grow-up, and after a while, if they never do, it becomes apparent that they are not God’s children, and they find themselves in spiritual trouble, because they can’t feel God anymore. They read their Bible and pray, yet God remains distant. When they were first saved, they needed only to pray a few minutes, and God was with them; they opened the Bible and the words leapt off the page into their hearts, and they were refreshed and blessed, but none of these things happen anymore, because they refused to mature, and now their faith is questionable. If we abide in Him, we ought to walk in the same manner that He walked (1Jn 2-6). Tit 3,4-6 (103d) Thy kingdom come >> Purifying process >> God’s cleansing power >> Cleansing power of the Holy Spirit – It is not by our works that we are saved but by His mercy, which consists of washing and regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit. God’s mercy started with the choosing of Abraham, who was the father of Isaac, who was the father of Jacob, who was the father of the twelve tribes of Israel. Moses was a son of Levite; if we compare Abraham to Moses, salvation through Abraham was in relation to eternal life; God was looking toward heaven when He chose Abraham, but when He gave the Law to Moses, it pertained to salvation in this life only, saving us from misery, various entrapments of sin and an early death. If we follow the Law, things will go well for us, but it never promised eternal life. Centuries after Moses, Jesus finally came and brought an earthly salvation and a heavenly hope, promising that if we walk with Jesus in this life, it will go will with us, and with that the hope of eternal life. Jesus spoke about Abraham and reminded the religious establishment that though they fancied themselves sons of Abraham, they didn't have his faith. Jesus died on the cross, rose from the dead, ascended to heaven and sent the Holy Spirit in His place. Now it is the Holy Spirit’s turn to save us in this life, and if we let Him do this, we also possess the hope of eternal life. In the eons to come, God will create a new people and command them to be fruitful and multiply, and over the course of eternity God will stand before His people, speaking to Abraham, reach down and pick up a handful of sand along the seashore and say, ‘I promised you a people plentiful as sand, and now you have them.’ When we think of the number of people who have lived and died since the beginning of time, it would account for perhaps sixty-four cubic feet of beach sand; meanwhile God promised Abraham more children than there are grains of sand on the whole earth! That will happen after God creates a new heavens and a new earth and creates a new Adam and a new Eve and commands them to increase and multiply, after He defeated death. See also: Abraham formed his life around the words he heard; 2Pet 1,16-19; 107c; New heavens and a new earth (God will create another race of man and put us in charge of them); Jm 1-18; 212c (103g) Thy kingdom come >> Purifying process >> Spirit like water >> Anointing cleanses you from the practice of sin (238f) Kingdom of God >> Pursuing the kingdom >> Transferring the kingdom >> The kingdom is transferred to the Church >> New creation >> The new creation is our spiritual composition Tit 3-4,5 (174e) Works of the devil >> The religion of witchcraft >> Form of godliness >> Self righteousness >> Justifying yourself (238a) Kingdom of God >> Pursuing the kingdom >> The kingdom is transferred to the Church >> Born again >> Born of the Spirit by the will of God >> Born again by the will of the Father – On the day of our death Christ will look for His Holy Spirit dwelling in us to determine whether we are worthy of eternal life. If He doesn't find Him, it will mark the end of the road for the condemned. If we possess the indwelling Holy Spirit, He forever gives us access to the Kingdom of Heaven and to all things pertaining to God. The fact that we have His Spirit dwelling in us defines us as His children, being the essence of eternal life. We don’t receive Him through acts of righteousness that we perform in His name, though some would rather salvation were based on works, since faith seems too intangible for unbelievers. Meanwhile, the believer rejoices that he has received the indwelling Holy Spirit on the basis of faith, though the world cringes, because they don’t know how to believe in God. Salvation is easy for those who are among the elect, but those who are looking for a way around Christ and around His Father are wasting their time. Trying to enter the holy city some other way or to fit Christianity into their lives when their first love is this present world is an exercise in futility. Their total lack of interest in God restricts them from believing in Jesus. Salvation comes to those who believe, but the unbeliever can search the world over and never find Him, yet what did Jesus say, “The kingdom of God is in your midst” (Lk 17-20,21). See also: Salvation; Tit 3-8; 127e Tit 3-4 (51j) Judgment >> Judging the Church with the world >> No partiality with God’s righteousness (127d) Thy kingdom come >> Manifestations of faith >> Kindness >> God is kind (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 Tit 3,5-7 (137d) Temple >> Building the temple (with hands) >> Jesus is the foundation of God’s favor in our lives Tit 3-5,6 (114j) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Working the grace of God >> Working God’s grace through Christ >> Salvation is through Christ (234aa) Kingdom of God >> Pursuing the kingdom >> Seeking the glory of God >> God chooses us as we seek His glory >> As we appeal to Him Tit 3-6,7 (244e) Kingdom of God >> The eternal kingdom >> Eternal life of the trinity >> Father is the source of eternal life Tit 3-7 (36h) Gift of God >> Inheritance >> We are heirs according to the will of God (205d) Salvation >> Salvation is based on God’s promises >> According to promise >> Promise of His inheritance – Paul said, ‘Justified by grace.’ In other instances he talked about being ‘justified by faith.’ What is the difference between these two? Actually nothing, Paul wrote about having faith in His grace. Believing in His grace we are justified, and we don’t trust anything else. We don’t trust in our knowledge, or in our prayer life, or in our good works, or in our ministry, or in keeping the Law. There is no salvation other than faith in the grace of Jesus’ cross. John said it best in one of the last verses of the Bible, “If anyone adds to [the words of the prophecy of this book], God will add to him the plagues which are written… If anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his part from the tree of life” (Rev 22-18,19). We could say the same about Jesus’ cross; if we add anything to it, God will add to him the plagues of hell, and if anyone takes from the grace of God, He will take away His right to the tree of life. KJV WEB / Navigation Bar Tit 3,8-11 (121l) Thy kingdom come >> Manifestations of faith >> Confidence in God >> Confidence in God as you fulfill your ministry – Confidence is linked to faith, not to arrogance. There are “confidence men” who are arrogant, and there are godly men whose confidence resembles boldness. On the one hand, Paul wanted Timothy to boldly convince people to engage in good deeds, and on the other hand arrogance convinces people to give their money. Here lies the difference between a holy man and a confidence man in the pulpit: how much money do they need to finance the gospel? One man equates money to faith, while the other treats it as a necessary evil. Money comes into play even among holy men, though its priority is down a few rungs compared to the conman. Whether the holy man or the huckster, the goal is to convince people. The holy man wants to convince them to engage in good works, while and the charlatan engages his audience to pilfer their pockets. Giving money to a confidence man is not a good work, but giving to a holy man promotes the Kingdom of God. The gospel operates through frugal means; nothing is wasted, like manna sent from heaven for the Israelites; there was no stockpiling it. When they tried it went foul; no doubt people tried, and their tents reeked with the stench of greed. One day at a time, this is how God would have us live. He only called us to stockpile treasures in heaven (Mat 6,19-21). Tit 3-8 (10a) Responsibility >> Bring order to the Church >> Dealing with problems in the Church (11a) Servant >> Standard for a servant >> A changed lifestyle -- This verse goes with verse 14 (12a) Servant >> Examples of God’s people >> Good examples (86g) Thy kingdom come >> Obedience >> Be doers of the word >> Clothe yourself with the word of God >> Practice the truth (88b) Thy kingdom come >> Faith produces works >> Relationship between faith and works >> The work of faith (90l) Thy kingdom come >> The called >> God’s purpose for us is to fulfill His calling >> Our purpose is to do God’s will (95k) Thy kingdom come >> Attitude >> Having an obedient attitude >> Ready to do good – Paul always made sure to include a phrase such as: “engage in good works” whenever he mentioned the free gift of God’s grace through faith. For example, Eph 2,8-10 says, "By grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast." This is an often quoted passage, but we should include the next verse too, "For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them." Nothing motives us like the grace of God. We could put a whip across a person’s back and try to force him to work, and it wouldn’t be effective as setting him free to work. We are all called to be disciples. There are many people who never knew discipline until they met the Lord. One of the very first things we discipline ourselves to do is study the Scriptures and to model ourselves after Him. (102e) Thy kingdom come >> Faithfulness (Loyalty) >> Faithfulness is dependable >> Dutiful (127e) Thy kingdom come >> Manifestations of faith >> Goodness >> Rewards for doing good >> Sow the seeds of goodness >> goodness yields a harvest of righteousness – Our righteousness does not save us. Rather, God has called us to engage in good deeds through the power of the Holy Spirit to avoid contradicting our faith. He wants us complete; this entails simulating the restoration of our flesh, like caging an angry, wild lion to stop it rampaging the countryside. God wants us to prove that He dwells in us through our good behavior. Our righteousness honors His good name to our benefit, and it builds confidence in our salvation. Our righteousness also builds faith in the brethren that we have fellowship with Him, and it demonstrates to the world that God loves us and therefore loves them, showing the way to the Lord for all people. Our good works also proves that God has given us power to overcome sin that others might be saved. Our salvation comes through faith in Jesus Christ, but if we refuse salvation in this life, then how can we be saved in the life to come? See also: Salvation; Tit 3,3-8; 31e (138l) Temple >> Building the temple (with hands) >> Exhortation >> Admonishments (150j) Witness >> Validity of Jesus Christ >> Works of the Church bear witness of Jesus >> Speak the word >> Preaching the word to the Church – Paul wanted Timothy’s anointing to manifest as boldness, as Paul said in 2Cor 3-12, “Therefore having such a hope, we use great boldness in our speech.” He wanted Timothy to use his anointing to know what to say and how to say it with confidence. The word of God is convincing, so when we add a Spirit-driven boldness, it is all the more convincing. Divine boldness is a manifestation of the Spirit, so that whenever the Kingdom of God manifests, it has a very convincing effect on those who see and hear God at work through us. The Church more than ever needs people like Timothy to speak the word of God with boldness, based on the teachings they received from Paul in His letters to the churches. (187c) Die to self (Process of substitution) >> Separation from the old man >> Die to the flesh >> Ministry of dying to self >> Die to self to minister to people >> die to self to help the weak -- This verse goes with verse 14 (249h) Priorities >> God’ s preeminence >> Wealth >> True perception of wealth >> The infinite and eternal wealth of God >> Being rich in Jesus KJV WEB / Navigation Bar Tit 3,9-11 (21e) Sin >> Disobedience >> Unfruitful (158c) Works of the devil >> Essential characteristics >> Divide and conquer >> Strife >> Contentions, especially about words (semantics) -- These verses go with verse 2. God doesn’t want us to be contentious or to focus on issues; rather, he wants us focusing on godliness, which is able to defend our faith better than bulleted points of debate. Although our opponent may lie to win an argument, which he considers more important than godliness, his conscience is not involved. Debating controversial issues is unprofitable, and if we get sucked into it, we have no chance of winning, for people debate over their pride, not over issues. We should know that those who practice the art of debate are avoiding faith in Jesus Christ, and sharpening their sword on pet issues is not the will of God. We should let those who fixate on issues grapple with each other. (162j) Works of the devil >> Being a slave to the devil (Addictions) >> Bondage >> Being slaves of men >> Bad company >> Do not associate with people who practice sin – Those who like to engage in contentious arguments produce division instead of healing people or adding to their faith. Those who love to debate social and controversial issues don't care about Truth. Some try to cultivate faith in God and cannot find it, because there are other things in the way that contradict their pursuit of Him: their pet issues. When their emptiness becomes acutely painful, they pine for faith in God, but they hide the truth from themselves and claim ignorance about their darkness. Still, they don’t understand why faith evades them. Those struggling with their faith find it difficult to let go of their darkness; before they can see Truth in Christ they must confront the truth in their hearts. They have defined themselves by their bitterness and have bonded with the issues of their discontent too long to let it go. Abandoning it now would be like denying themselves, but that is exactly what Jesus told them to do! So, they have come full circle and arrived on the very spot where Jesus told them they would be standing when they realized what they must do to be saved. (172f) Works of the devil >> Manifestations of the devil >> Tares among the wheat >> Hypocrites among the just >> Talkers among the walkers (178d) Works of the devil >> The religion of witchcraft >> Presumption (Hinduism) >> Presuming the facts about the circumstances >> Philosophy (196i) Denying Christ >> Man exercises his will against God >> Spiritual laziness >> Replacing God’s standard of excellence with yours >> Lukewarm Christianity (223c) Kingdom of God >> The elusive Kingdom of Heaven >> Conceit >> Imposing your opinion of self on others >> Cliques make people seek your acceptance Tit 3-9 (171e) Works of the devil >> Manifestations of the devil >> Outward appearance >> Vanity >> Vanity lacks worth (197h) Denying Christ >> Man exercises his will against God >> Man withers when he is in control >> False doctrine is fruitless – Apollos was an eloquent speaker of God’s word, and it says that he knew only about the baptism of John; and when the disciples heard about it, they took him aside and explained to him the baptism of the Holy Spirit (Act 18,24-28). That is an example of correcting a disciple and brother in the faith who has a mind to listen, but there are others who claim to be followers of Christ who are clearly not brothers, because their teaching is not in accordance with the Scriptures, and they are not correctable. If we discern that a person is not a brother in the faith, we should not bother trying to correct him. If he is a brother, though he is teaching false doctrine, we should be able to take him aside and explain to him a more accurate account of the truth, but if he doesn’t listen, it is an indication that he is not a true follower of Christ. It is important to know who are our true brothers and who are not. It is expedient to find people who believe as we do, in that the more we have in common with each other’s faith, the better we can unite around a single truth through the Spirit of Christ. Every false doctrine takes away from the truth and from our ability to promote the Kingdom of God in the world. When our lives are unfruitful, it is time to scrutinize what we believe, find the offending doctrines and replace them with the truth. This requires objectivity, and people are anything but objective, especially religious people, who have the attitude that they already know the truth, and we can’t tell them anything. Since they have this attitude, they should take special care to understand the truth from the beginning, so they don’t have to change their minds, being they are too proud to admit they were wrong. Of course this advice is tongue-in-cheek in that pride and arrogance lead away from the truth. God can’t use pride and pride can’t understand the truth, because it always interprets God according to its own selfish principles. The only thing we can do is humble ourselves before God and man. If we do that, the truth will come easy to us. Tit 3-10,11 (178f) Works of the devil >> The religion of witchcraft >> Hypocrisy >> Hypocrisy of the Church is rebuked >> The Church is rebuked for sin – A “factious” person is one who causes division in the church. We could say that factious people have caused all the denominations that we see in the Church today. For example, Martin Luther was a factious man, but the Church needed to be fractured, like breaking a stone to reveal the gems within its core. Many denominations were an attempt to restore certain aspects of the truth to the Church, which resulted in another branch of Christianity. Some see denominations as a good thing, for it offers variation to the body, while others see them as schisms. We know that in heaven there will be only one Church, and it will know only one Truth, and so the Church in this life should also know only one Truth, yet what were Christians supposed to do when they saw the need for change, knowing that change would probably create another denomination? There is another kind of factious person: he has evil motives for dividing people, and he is not interested in the truth but is self-serving; this is the kind that Paul was addressing. His instruction to us was to warn him once or twice, and then eject him from the assembly. This kind of factious person is contentious and breeds strife and division for the purpose of attracting attention to himself. KJV WEB / Navigation Bar Tit 3,12-15 (14m) Servant >> Ministry of helps >> Helpers fill in the gaps >> They are always there when you need them – It sounded like Titus needed help moving; Paul was going to send one or the other of his companions to assist him in rendezvousing with Paul in the Greek city of Nicopolis, where Paul was waiting for him and preaching the gospel, and he needed Titus to help him set up churches there. He entrusted Titus with the people that he won to the Lord at the risk of his own life; the human souls he won to the Lord were his life’s work. Our ministry lies with the people; that is where we keep our hearts, and our benefit to them is why we live. Tit 3,12-14 (96i) Thy kingdom come >> Attitude >> Positive attitude about giving Tit 3-12,13 (100d) Thy kingdom come >> Diligence >> Diligence in your service to others – There were wealthy people in the Church like Zenas the lawyer who offered his talents and abilities to the body of Christ, though most Christians were poor. A person’s talents integrate into his gifts, and God leads others to learn new skills to help fulfill his calling. Paul is pressing on the people again to be fruitful in good deeds and help the brethren. Top priority should be our personal family, and once their needs are met, our next priority is with the Church, and when the Church’s needs are met, then we can help the world. These are the priorities of the Bible, though whenever Paul talks about meeting pressing needs, he is talking about the Church, for it is assumed we are taking care of our family members. Tit 3-12 (228h) Kingdom of God >> God’s kingdom is a living organism >> God working in you >> God works in you to keep you in His will – Paul decided to winter in Nicopolis. Walking with God is not always about following the dictates of the Holy Spirit. God gives us room to make our own decisions, and He will work around our choices. Some people won’t go to the store without clearing it with God first, but this is silly. God doesn’t usually lead us to do certain things throughout the day, but prefers to plan our entire lives, and He lets us decide how we will fulfill His plan and works with us to that end. Tit 3,13-15 (124m) Thy kingdom come >> Manifestations of faith >> Love is the action of faith >> Love is the motive of faith Tit 3-13,14 (130f) Thy kingdom come >> Manifestations of faith >> Unity >> Committed to caring for the needs of the body >> Committed to supporting one another – The phrase “our people” (NAS) implies that there were other people, such as the Cretans that he mentioned earlier (Tit 1,12-14). There were church factions and sects of Christianity even in Paul’s day, but he didn’t approve of them. He wanted people to minimize differences between groups and seek unity instead. He wanted everyone to have one mind, one truth, one faith and one Church (Eph 4,3-6), but it doesn’t always work that way. Some people are so different they must have their own views, and sometimes we must let them, so long as their views don’t deviate from the truth. The question is not whether people understand the gospel differently but whether their faith is similar enough that they can integrate into each other to become one family. This was Paul’s vision, and it was also the vision of Christ. He wanted all people who believed in Him to become one people, one Church and one family, not to be divided into sects and factions and religious denominations as we see today. Not even those within a church can agree on anything. A spirit of division has been loosed in the world, and it has created an isolationist society, and it has crept into the Church; how then can we agree with people of other denominations? Most people don’t know what their fellow believers think within their own church, because they never talk to each other about their faith. We just assume everyone believes the same as we do, but it is usually not the case. The question, again is not whether they believe exact as we do, but whether we can be a family of believers without sacrificing the truth, discounting our differences and focusing on things we have in common. We know the Church will be perfectly unified in heaven; Jesus said, “Your kingdom come. Your will be done, On earth as it is in heaven” (Mat 6-10), but He doesn’t want us to wait till we get to heaven before we seek unity. Tit 3-14 (11a) Servant >> Standard for a servant >> A changed lifestyle -- This verse goes with verse 8 (34l) Gift of God >> Be generous like your Father >> Give to your brother (127f) Thy kingdom come >> Manifestations of faith >> Goodness >> Rewards for doing good >> Sow the seeds of goodness >> Goodness bears the fruit of the Spirit (187c) Die to self (Process of substitution) >> Separation from the old man >> Die to the flesh >> Ministry of dying to self >> Die to self to minister to people >> die to self to help the weak -- This verse goes with verse 8 (197f) Denying Christ >> Man exercises his will against God >> Man withers when he is in control >> Fruitlessness >> Neutral is unfruitful Tit 3-15 (69m) Authority >> Righteous judgment (outcome of discernment) >> Judging Those in the Church (123g) Thy kingdom come >> Manifestations of faith >> Love >> Spiritual affection >> Ministry of the saints >> Emotional benediction toward helpers (131l) Thy kingdom come >> Manifestations of faith >> Unity >> Having soul ties (222i) Kingdom of God >> The elusive Kingdom of Heaven >> Do not give what is holy to dogs >> God shares no intimacy with dogs >> Do not fellowship with dogs – Paul requested Titus to greet those who loved him and his companions, meaning that if they didn’t love the Lord, not to give them Paul's greeting. Does that mean Paul didn’t care about people who didn’t love the Lord? If there was the slightest chance they would repent and come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ, Paul cared deeply for them, but if they were unwilling to believe in Jesus, then they were his enemies, and giving them his greeting would not end well. Paul had been through it all; he suffered at the hands of his enemies, and he bore the brand marks of Jesus on his back. Jesus said, “He who is not with Me is against Me” (Mat 12-30). More people rejected the gospel than believed it, meaning he had more enemies than friends, and he has heard their words, felt their whips and visited their prisons. His purpose in life was to save souls, not to become an object of derision for unbelievers to take out their frustration on him. It is possible that if Titus greeted Paul’s enemies, they would have sought his whereabouts and arrested him. Paul was a wanted man both by the evil and the good; he was considered a criminal, primarily by the Jews, since he had broken all their religious laws and taught against them in the process of serving Christ.