Titus 1:1
~16 min read
💭 Consider this: What connection does your life currently have to the Word of God? In your best judgement, how do you think this relationship is helping or hindering your ability to disciple others?
TRANSCRIPT
I greet you in the blessed name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. We have finished our book of James, we will begin a new series of messages from the book of Titus. Allow me to give you a brief background of this book. This epistle, or letter, was written by the Apostle Paul to Titus. Titus was non-Jewish and probably a native of Crete, which was an island located in the southeast of Greece. Although the Bible does not record for us how he was associated with Paul, however he was mentioned several times in the New Testament. From these records, we know that he was a faithful companion and labourer of Paul. Paul took him to the Jerusalem Council in Acts 15 to test the Jewish believers whether they would receive a Gentile Christian unconditionally into the fellowship. He brought Titus. Subsequently, he sent him as a messenger to the church at Corinth, most certainly, Titus had gained much experience through the many problems Paul had faced in the Corinthian church.
Paul himself visited Crete after he was released from his first Roman imprisonment. He had spent time evangelising, pastoring, and teaching the Word of God on that island, but he could not stay there longer. Therefore, he asked Titus to continue the work. Essentially, the purpose of writing this letter was to encourage Titus, the young pastor, as well as the leaders and the congregation on how they ought to function as a church, in order to be an effective witness to the unbelievers living on that island. That is a brief background of this letter.
Whenever we begin with a new book or a new letter, it always starts with the introduction of the writer. Oftentimes, people would skip through the introduction and concentrate on the content of the letter. Since all Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works (2 Timothy 3:16-17), all Scripture means it must also include the introduction. Rather than skipping through it, we want to learn some valuable lessons from it.
The title of our message is ‘The Commitment of a Faithful Servant.’ Our text is Titus 1:1. Let us begin with the first part of verse 1: “Paul, a servant of God, and an apostle of Jesus Christ.” We all know that Paul wore many hats: he was an evangelist, a pastor, a church planter, a theologian, a scholar, and a leader. But he did not identify himself with those titles. Instead, he introduced himself as a servant of God. The literal meaning of ‘servant’ is ‘slave’ (doulos). Basically, a slave lives his life for one purpose, and one purpose only - to serve his master.
In ancient times, there were three ways a person could become a slave. Firstly, by birth; any child born to slave parents automatically became a slave. Secondly, by conquest; when another country conquered your land, you became a slave. Thirdly, a person could become a slave due to debt; many poor people would sell their children or themselves to pay off a debt. Interestingly, the Bible describes all men as slaves to sin, similar to those who became physical slaves in ancient times. Firstly, we are all born in sin, isn’t it true? Secondly, we are conquered by sin—sin has dominion over us. Thirdly, we are indebted to sin; there is a price to pay for sin, for “the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23).
Dear friend, if you are an unbeliever, whether you agree with it or not, whether you accept it or not, you are a slave to sin. You are born in sin, conquered by sin, and there is a price to pay for sin, which is death - physical, spiritual, and eternal death. The only way to be set free from slavery is to pay the price of sin. But even if you were to die a million times, you cannot pay the price of redemption. It takes a sinless, perfect man who has committed no sin to do that.
So, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, came into this world and lived a sinless, perfect life. He died on the cross of Calvary and shed His precious blood to pay the price of sin on your behalf. Once you turn and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, He sets you free. Instead of being a slave to sin, you now become a slave of Christ—a servant of God.
Some people may argue, ‘But it is still slavery, isn't it? It’s just an exchange of slavery, from one master to another, from sin to Christ. You are still a slave, a servant.’ That is why some people would say, ‘Look, you Christians must go to church every week. You must give of your tithes and offerings. You must worship. You must serve. You must pray. You must read the Bible.’ To these people, Christianity is nothing but slavery.
But it is different. We are servants of God out of love and gratitude. Allow me to use an illustration. If you are married, you know you are not free to do anything you want. You are not free to marry another person; you are not free to leave the home; you are not free to neglect your spouse. But you are free - free to serve, free to give, free to offer yourself, free to love. Likewise, it is true that Christ rules over your life. He is your Master; He is your Lord. But you serve Him not in the kind of slavery of the past, but with joy, peace, love, and gratitude you serve Him.
Next, Paul says, “an apostle of Jesus Christ.” The word ‘apostle’ simply means someone who has been sent out or a messenger. In the case of the twelve apostles (minus Judas Iscariot, who was replaced by Matthias), they were directly sent by the Lord Jesus Christ for the foundation of the early church. One important criterion to be part of the twelve apostles was that they must be eyewitnesses of Christ—not just Christ, but the resurrected Christ. One of their primary responsibilities was also to write the New Testament Scriptures.
Once the last of the apostles died, and the Bible was completed, the office for this group of apostles was closed forever. This means there is no more addition to the Word of God. Apparently, John was the last disciple to be alive, and under the inspiration of God, he concluded in Revelation 22:18-19: “For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book”—The Bible—”If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.”
Paul was also such an apostle, like the twelve. He was specially chosen by the resurrected Christ on the road to Damascus to be an apostle to the Gentiles, and God used him to write many books in the New Testament. But in the Bible, there were also other apostles mentioned, such as Barnabas, Timothy, Silas, and some other outstanding leaders in the New Testament church. They were unlike the twelve apostles and the apostle Paul. As we mentioned earlier, the word ‘apostle’ simply means someone who has been sent out or a messenger. Since the establishment of the early church in the book of Acts, there were these people who were specially sent out by the church—perhaps you could call them missionaries.
Today some mega-charismatic churches claim to have apostles with a capital ‘A.’ When they call themselves apostles, they are not referring to themselves simply as missionaries or those sent out by the church; they are implying the office of the twelve apostles. Many of these so-called modern-day apostles have no qualms about coming onto the pulpit and saying, ‘The Lord has given me new revelations; the Lord has spoken to me special things that I’m going to reveal to you.’ In doing so, they have committed the terrible sin of either adding to or subtracting from the word of God. God forbids. Today, are there any more such apostles like the twelve and the Apostle Paul in the New Testament? No more.
I. A Commitment to Evangelism
As a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, Paul was committed to two important things. Firstly, a commitment to evangelism. Paul says, "according to the faith of God’s elect." The word ‘faith’ here can mean either subjective faith or objective faith, depending on the context. In other words, they can either the ‘saving faith’ or the ‘object of faith’ like the gospel. For example, Jude 1:3 says, "ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints," a reference to the objective faith - the gospel, the word of God, which was passed down through the saints of old.
Here (Titus 1:1) is a reference to the subjective faith - the saving faith of God’s elect. An ‘elect’ is someone whom God has chosen to be His child. Anyone who truly believes in God is an elect. According to Ephesians 1:4, God has chosen the believers to come to faith in Him even before the foundation of the world, which means if you are a believer, even before the creation of the world, thousands of years before you were born, God already knew you; He already chose you to be His beloved child.
The only way the elect can come to faith in God is through the gospel. Romans 10:17 says, "So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." Paul recognised that his calling as both a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ was to preach the gospel so that the elect would come to faith in God. His duty was to faithfully preach the gospel in its purity and without compromise.
Sadly, today, some preachers and pastors say that ‘the gospel is too simple’, or that ‘it is not relevant to people living in modern times’. Therefore, you have to change, alter, and adapt it to fit the culture. Others think that simply preaching the gospel is not enough—you need to make it acceptable, you need to make it attractive. So you try to attract the people to come and hear the gospel through whatever means. If the people love rock music, bring in the rock music. If the people love to dance then bring in the dancing. The gospel needs something to make it more attractive. Others, believe that the gospel needs to be enhanced by human wisdom, cleverness, persuasiveness, eloquence, and articulative skills, otherwise the people will not believe.
Dear friend, the Gospel is God's message; we are just His instruments to deliver the message. God can use us or anyone else. Can you imagine how presumptuous it is to think that sinful, imperfect instruments like us can improve on God's message to save the souls of men? May the Lord have mercy. God's Gospel—God's message—is perfect. He does not need our help. We must always remember that salvation is a spiritual, supernatural work that only God alone is able to bring about.
Even before the foundation of the world, God has already chosen those who would eventually come to faith in Him. He will surely save His elect, whether through us, through someone else, or through some other means. When the Gospel is clearly and faithfully preached, those who have been elected - at some point, the Holy Spirit will wake them up, and they will believe.
Do we know who the elect of God are? No, we don't. Anyone who professes faith in Jesus Christ, we assume that he or she has true, genuine faith. We assume that that person is an elect. But in reality, we do not know, and it is not our business to go around and ascertain who the elect are. Our business is to faithfully preach the Gospel in its purity, without compromise, and then through the Gospel, the elect will come to faith in God.
In this regard, we consider our unbelieving loved ones and friends. When we share the Gospel with our unbelieving grandparents, parents, and children, we pray that they will come to believe by God's grace and mercy. Once they believe, we know that they are the elect, and that is the happiest moment in our lives. That is why all of us as believers must be committed to evangelism - to share the Gospel so that the elect will come to faith in God.
II. A Commitment to Discipleship
Next, Paul moves on to speak about his commitment to discipleship. Look at the second part of verse one: "the acknowledging of the truth which is after godliness." The phrase "acknowledging of the truth" means a full knowledge of the truth. Oftentimes, when people talk about salvation, they only think about being saved from Hell. But salvation is more than just being saved from Hell. Theologically, there are three aspects in salvation, sometimes known as positional purity, practical purity, and ultimate purity.
Allow me to briefly explain. At the point of our conversion, when we believe in the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation, we are saved; our sins are forgiven. Positionally, we are pure. But as long as we are alive in this world, living in this mortal body known as the flesh, we are still troubled by sin. We are not perfect; we are not 100% pure. Therefore, on a daily basis, we are commanded to be holy as God is holy. We need to be cleansed; we need to be sanctified. That is practical purity. Ultimately, one day we will be perfectly pure; we will be glorified. That is the day when we see our Lord face to face. As 1 John 3:2 says, "Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is."
Allow me to quote the example of Jesus washing the feet of His disciples in John 13:1-11 to illustrate this point. Maybe you can turn with me to this passage, John Chapter 13. Remember, after Judas Iscariot had gone out to betray Him, Jesus took a towel and a basin of water, and He began to wash His disciples' feet. At that point, Peter refused to be washed by Him because, after all, Jesus was their Master. In those days, it was the servant, not the master, who washed the feet.
Look at verse 8: "Peter saith unto him, Thou shalt never wash my feet. Jesus answered him, If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me." Jesus was referring to his positional purity. ‘If I do not wash you or make you pure by my precious blood, you will not be saved.’
Verse 9: "Simon Peter saith unto him, Lord” - if that is the case then - “not my feet only, but also my hands and my head. Jesus saith unto him, He that is washed” - that is positional purity, you are saved; you do not need to be saved all over again. - “needeth not save to wash his feet” - that is practical purity; on a daily basis, you just need to be sanctified. "but is clean every whit: and ye are clean, but not all". Who was Jesus referring to? Judas Iscariot, who had not experienced positional purity; he was not saved. That was why Jesus went on to say in verse 11: "For he knew who should betray him; therefore said he, Ye are not all clean." The word "clean" is the same as "pure."
In those days, when people walked around the Palestinian region, they wore sandals, and the ground was very sandy and dusty. So, when they walked around, their feet would be dirty. They might have already washed themselves, but the moment they stepped out of the house to a neighbour's house, their feet would be dusty. That was why foot-washing was something very common in those days. They did not need to wash the whole body again, but just the feet. Using that analogy, Jesus was teaching His disciples that they had all been washed by Him, except Judas Iscariot.
Positionally, you have been made pure, but as long as you live your lives in this sin-polluted world, it is inevitable that you will fall into sin, just like your feet will become dirty and dusty. What you need is not positional purity but practical purity. You need to be cleansed; you need to be sanctified on a daily basis. If we use the theological terms of justification, sanctification, and glorification, perhaps you will understand better.
As a believer, you have been justified. What you need is to be sanctified daily, and ultimately, you will be glorified. So, the Gospel leads to salvation - that is only one part of our salvation, our positional salvation, our positional purity. We are saved; we are justified. But as you and I live our lives in this world, we are still being molested by sin because we are living in this mortal body known as the flesh. So we need to be sanctified; we need to be cleansed; we need to be pure, holy, and godly.
God has given to us His Word. When you and I read the Bible and apply God's truth to our lives, through the wonder-working of the Holy Spirit, we will be cleansed; we will be sanctified; we will be godly. And this is the life of the church. As we go out to evangelise, those whom God has elected will come to believe, and they will be brought into the church. They will be taught the whole counsel of God's Word that will lead them to godliness, and they in turn will go out to evangelise, and other elect will come to faith in God, be brought into the church, and will be taught the whole counsel of God's Word and live in godliness. They in turn will go out again, and it goes on and on until our Lord returns.
This is what Bethel BP Church ought to be. This is what discipleship ought to be. That was why Paul was committed to teaching the whole counsel of God's Word, that the elect, the believers, would have a full knowledge of the truth, which would lead them to godliness.
Dear friend, before our salvation, the Bible—the Word of God—is a hidden book. We do not care about it; we do not read it. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is foolishness to us. We do not want to hear about it; we do not believe in it; we do not care about it. But upon our salvation, our spiritual eyes are opened, and then we have this appetite for God's truth. We want to learn more about God; we want to understand what is expected of us and how, as believers, we ought to live our lives so that we may live in godliness.
Divine truth and godliness cannot be separated. A true believer will seek God's truth to know more about God, understand His commandments, and live according to His truth. You and I cannot be godly if we do not know what is expected of us. How can we apply what we do not know? How can we live a life that, we do not know, is expected of us? That is why teaching the Word of God is so vital. That is why the church must be committed to all the spiritual programs, like Bible studies in all the fellowship groups, where the whole counsel of God's Word will be taught.
Ask yourself these questions: Are you still a slave to sin, or are you a servant of God? Have you believed in the Gospel for salvation? If you have, then you are an elect of God. As a believer, your salvation does not stop at believing the Gospel - that is the first part. You must continue to grow in your sanctification, in your godliness, in your practical purity. And the only way that can happen is that you must be taught the Word of God, and the truth of God's Word will then guide the decisions you make, the way you live your life, the way you think, the way you speak, and the way you behave. You will become more and more godly through the wonder-working of the Spirit of God. There is no other way.
Do you find yourself having this appetite for God's truth? The more you read the Bible, the more you want to know about God, the more you want to know, ‘how I can live such a life. What is expected of me? How can I glorify my Saviour, who died on the cross and shed His precious blood to save me?’ If that can be said of your life, then praise be to God - you are an elect. But if it cannot be said of your life, and your life has no connection, has nothing to do with the Word of God, if you have no appetite nor interest in the Word of God, something is terribly wrong. Perhaps you are just professing your faith by paying lip service. Those are just empty professions.
Once you swing into eternity, it will be too late. This is not a scare tactic; this is a reality. A million upon a million years, you will be tormenting in the lake of fire, where the fire never stops burning. Come and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ before it is too late. If that is your spiritual condition, today is the day of salvation. Please do not say tomorrow, or next week, or next month, because tomorrow may never come. Let us pray.
Our Father in Heaven, we give You thanks for this opportunity for us to begin with this new book, Titus. We give Thee thanks for how Thou hast been with us and taught us through Thy infallible and inerrant Word, the Book of James. And as we embark on this book, Thou hast taught us, even in this introduction of Paul, spiritual lessons that we may apply to our lives. We see how the Apostle Paul has this heart, this commitment, for evangelism, for discipleship. We who have been saved by the precious blood of our Lord Jesus Christ - how can we have no concern for evangelism nor for discipleship? We too ought to have a commitment for evangelism and discipleship. And Thou hast taught us that our salvation does not stop at believing in the Gospel; we must grow in our sanctification, in our godliness, in our practical purity.
And the only way that can happen is that we must be taught the whole counsel of Thy Word. And Thy Word, the knowledge of Thy truth, will guide our lives. As we obey and apply Thy Word, we will become more and more godly through the wonder-working of Thy Spirit. O Lord, help us to live such a life to the glory of Thy precious name. We pray all this in Jesus' name. Amen.
THE BOOK OF TITUSThe Commitment Of A Faithful ServantThe Commitment Of A Faithful ServantTitus 1:1
The Hope Of Eternal LifeThe Hope Of Eternal LifeTitus 1:2-4
Why Do We Need Godly Leaders?Why Do We Need Godly Leaders?Titus 1:5-9
How To Deal With Church Troublemakers?How To Deal With Church Troublemakers?Titus 1:10-14
The Product Of Who We AreThe Product Of Who We AreTitus 1:15-16
Message 6: To Fight the Good Fight of Faith is to Hold Fast the Faithful WordMessage 6: To Fight the Good Fight of Faith is to Hold Fast the Faithful WordTitus 1:9-11
