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TITUS CHAPTER 3
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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 -- 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
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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
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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.
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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
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Tit 3,9-11
(21e) Sin
>>
Disobedience >> Unfruitful
(158c) Works of the devil
>>
Essential characteristics >> Divide and conquer >>
Strife >> Contentions -- 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
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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.
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