All right, well this morning we come to our last sermon in the New Testament book of Titus,
the letter that Paul wrote to Titus.
We're going to hear this morning how the Apostle Paul wraps this letter up
and what his final instructions are for Titus there on the island of Crete.
And if you've been here for some of these Sundays where we've been working our way through this,
you'll know that Paul has already given a whole bunch of instructions to Titus
about how he should teach the Christians there on the island to live.
And his emphasis has very much been on living good lives and on doing good works
and on living with self-control because this is the kind of living that adorns the gospel.
It reflects the character of the God who has saved us.
And so we as followers of Jesus are to live that way.
And it's a way that we bring testimony to our God and to our Lord, Jesus.
Well, after proclaiming some wonderful truth about the gospel,
about how God has saved us and the work that he has done in us by his spirit,
Paul now finishes his letter in this way.
We're in Titus chapter 3 verse 8.
He says,
This is a trustworthy saying,
and I want you to stress these things so that those who have trusted in God
may be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good.
These things are excellent and profitable for everyone.
So Titus, this truth of our salvation,
this gospel, teach it,
proclaim it,
declare it,
emphasize it,
emphasize it in the churches.
And not just so that more will hear and be saved,
but so that those who have already been saved
may be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good.
The gospel leads us to live differently,
to devote ourselves to doing what is good,
or good works, literally.
And if we do this,
he says it's going to be beneficial,
it's going to be excellent for everyone.
Verse 9,
But avoid foolish controversies,
and genealogies,
and arguments,
and quarrels about the law,
because these are unprofitable and useless.
There's a contrastive link here.
I highlighted those words in the verses there.
The flow of Paul's thought seems to turn on this word profitable,
which in this case doesn't mean financial.
It means just beneficial.
So what's profitable?
If everyone devotes themselves to doing good works,
that's profitable.
That's beneficial.
What's unprofitable?
Getting caught up in these foolish controversies,
and arguments,
and quarrels about the law,
and genealogies.
This is unprofitable.
It brings zero benefit.
And so let's consider these four things
that we as Christians are to avoid.
The instruction given by Jesus through Paul.
First, he says,
Avoid foolish controversies.
There are some things that are worth fighting over.
There are some hills that are worth dying on.
The apostles made this clear through their lives.
The gospel message,
the truth about Jesus and his kingdom,
is something worth dying for.
It's something worth fighting over to defend.
Paul himself fought to defend the gospel
in his letter which he wrote to the Galatians.
He was willing to go to battle over this.
That it's not by works that we're saved,
but by faith alone.
And so there are some things that are worth fighting over.
There are some controversies
which demand our participation as Christians,
but there are many
that we are to avoid
all together.
Avoid foolish controversies,
says Paul.
And Paul gives us two other things here
in the context
which kind of serve as examples
of what kind of things is he talking about.
What's a foolish controversy?
There are two listed in this little list here.
One of them is genealogies.
This on its own is a thing to avoid,
but it's also an example
of a kind of foolish controversy.
Fighting or arguing over ancestry
is foolish.
And we don't know how much
the Gentile Christians in Crete did this,
but we do know that
some of the Jewish people of this time
were more susceptible
to this kind of controversy.
They would argue about
who was descended from who,
who was of which tribe.
Paul himself even goes so far
as to give an example of this,
this mentality
in his letter to the Philippians
where he boasts
about his ancestry
to the Philippians.
There in Philippians 3, verse 4,
he says,
if someone else thinks
they have reasons
to put confidence in the flesh,
I have more.
I was circumcised
on the eighth day.
I'm of the people of Israel.
I'm of the tribe of Benjamin.
I'm a Hebrew of Hebrews
in regard to the law of Pharisee.
And he goes on,
and then he ends it this way.
He says,
but whatever were gains to me,
I now consider loss
for the sake of Christ.
What's more,
I consider everything a loss
because of the surpassing worth
of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord
for whose sake
I have lost all things.
I consider them garbage
that I may gain Christ.
Ancestry or heritage
is not entirely unimportant.
Of course,
we hear a little bit about this
in Paul's letter
to the church at Rome.
But now,
the gospel message
is that salvation
is for all people.
regardless of heritage,
regardless of ancestry,
as Paul says
in his letter
to the Galatians,
there's neither Jew
nor Gentile
in Christ Jesus.
And as we just heard,
Paul said that
his particular ancestry,
he now counted
as rubbish
compared to the surpassing
greatness
of knowing Jesus,
his Lord.
Ancestry,
whether you're Jew
or Gentile,
who you're related to,
that doesn't limit
your access to Jesus
and it doesn't give you
special privilege
or access to Jesus.
And so going back
and tracing out genealogies
to bolster your status,
it's foolish.
It's pointless.
We all have the same standing
before Christ
and in Christ.
So this is just one
of the foolish controversies
that he names
that's going on
on the island of Crete.
A second example,
he says,
avoid quarrels
about the law.
Avoid quarrels
about the law.
And this is almost
certainly a reference
to the Mosaic law,
like the Old Testament law.
And again,
another distinctly Jewish
point of controversy.
Scribes would get
into battles
with each other
over what
the Old Testament law
meant,
how it was to be read,
how it should be interpreted
and applied.
And there were
different sects
that emerged
within Judaism
and then that would
all filter down
to the people
and there'd be
these factions
that were at odds
with each other.
So this,
on its own,
quarreling about the law
is a thing to avoid,
but it's also
a specific example
of another kind
of foolish controversy
that people were
getting tangled up in
back then.
And here again,
Paul had some
pretty clear words
about our relationship
to the Old Testament law
as Christians today.
He said,
we've died to the law
through Jesus.
He said,
we're no longer
under law,
but grace.
The author of Hebrews
describes how
the Old Covenant
has been made obsolete
by this new covenant
which Jesus
has inaugurated
with his death.
And so the Old Testament law,
it doesn't apply
to us today
in the same way
that it applied
to the people of Israel
before Christ came.
And so it's foolish
to get caught up
in disputes
about Old Testament
law observance
like some of the Jewish
false teachers
were promoting.
So these are just
two examples
of foolish controversies
given by Paul himself
to avoid.
But we also see
that this is broader
than just those two examples.
In between those two examples,
he says,
avoid arguments.
It's pretty general.
There seems to be
a larger principle here.
It's not just about
ancient Jewish controversies.
It's about all kinds
of foolish,
stupid,
senseless,
irrelevant controversies
or arguments
that we could get
tangled up in
even today.
Now,
I thought about
just giving a whole list
of some different ones
but then I thought,
you know,
this is a tricky thing
because
these are things
that we easily
take offense over.
These are things
that we tend to
invest ourselves
into a lot.
We feel very strongly
about some of these
kinds of things.
We put our emotions
into these things.
We come to see
these things
as really important.
And sometimes
in these kinds of issues
we tend to see
everything as truth
versus error
or right versus wrong
when in many of these
issues in our world today
they're not as easy
to sort out
or to get to the bottom of.
And
we can do the same thing
when it comes to matters
of our faith.
Unfortunately,
we can be all too quick
to judge
a brother
or a sister
in the church
as sinning
or as straying
from the word of God.
We could judge them
as being unsubmissive
to the word of God
just because
they might come
to a different opinion
or understanding
of a secondary matter
in the Bible.
We can be so concerned
about that speck
in our brother
or sister's eye
that we fail
to see the log
in our own eye.
So how do we know
whether something
falls into the category
of argument
worth having
or foolish controversy
to be avoided?
Well, Paul gives us
at least one
very obvious
reason or statement,
a way to see
a little bit
what we're dealing with.
He says,
avoid foolish controversies
and arguments
because these
are unprofitable
and useless.
Here we've got
a pair of words,
basically synonyms.
They mean the same thing.
These foolish controversies
and arguments,
they're of no benefit.
They're fruitless,
literally.
Nothing good
is coming from them.
And so that's really,
I think,
maybe the first way
to discern
whether an argument
is worth having
is to,
at the outset,
before we get into it,
before we venture
into this discussion
or debate
or whatever,
ask ourselves
this question,
what good is there
to come of this?
What benefit
is there
to arguing
over this,
to going to battle
over this?
What's really
at stake
in this argument?
If we think
about genealogies,
it's pretty obvious
that arguing
about who's descended
from who
is pointless.
There's nothing
at stake.
If we think
about the precise
significance
of every little detail
of the Old Testament
feasts
and how they were
commemorated,
it's pretty obvious,
I hope,
that arguing
over those details
is fruitless.
We're not even
required to keep
those festivals
and feasts today
because of our
position in Christ.
And so,
how is arguing
over the details
going to help us?
It isn't.
But let's pick
a more contemporary
issue
and let's pick
one that's not
a biblical issue
just as an example.
One of the
hot-button issues
in our world today
is climate change.
And it's not
a simple issue.
There are many
different related
issues to it.
You could talk
about emissions.
You could talk
about global
temperatures.
You could talk
about natural
disasters and how
they affect
or are affected
by the climate.
We could talk
about related
technologies and
their effectiveness
or ineffectiveness
at curbing emissions.
We could talk
about carbon
taxation
or power
generation
and power
demand.
Is climate
change
an important
issue?
Yes.
The policies
being made
around this
issue do
affect us.
But when it's
all said and
done,
does what a
person believes
about climate
change and
each related
sub-issue
really matter
for the
kingdom of
God?
I hope
your answer
is no.
I doubt
it.
What benefit,
what good fruit
can come
from really
arguing with
people over
this?
We might
think that
we're bringing
the benefit
of enlightening
the person
that we're
talking to,
helping them
see the truth
of the issue,
but do we
fully understand
the truth
of the issue?
and all
the related
sub-issues?
Do we know
which scientific
studies are good
and which are
bad?
Do we know
all the
motivations and
agendas that
are being carried
by all the
players around
this issue?
We might
think that we
do, but
you know,
that's kind
of a common
factor in
every useless
argument.
We think
we see things
clearly.
We think
that we have
it all figured
out.
We think
that everyone
would be best
served by
forsaking
their opinion
and adopting
mine.
But as it
often goes,
do people
tend to
change their
views on
these issues?
Or do they
tend to just
get more
entrenched?
We could
probably take
a lot just
from the
word foolish.
Foolish
controversies.
What are
fools known
for?
Well, in the
Bible, one
of the things
that they're
known for is
doing the
same thing
over and
over again
without learning
from the
consequences of
their actions.
There's a
senselessness to
it.
A lot of
efforts put
into an
endeavor or
behavior that
yields, at
the end of
things, no
benefit.
That's why it's
foolish.
It's like just
wasted effort,
wasted words,
wasted time.
The overall
aim of the
actions taken
or the words
spoken is of
little value.
What do we
really hope to
accomplish if
after an hour
of going at
it back and
forth about
climate change
we still haven't
changed the
other person's
mind and
they still
haven't changed
ours?
Should we go
another hour
just for the
fun of it?
Or maybe
there's something
that we could
talk about that
really will build
each other up,
something that
will really
encourage the
other person
or meet a
need or open
the discussion
up to
spiritual
things?
So this is a
question the
Lord wants us
to consider
when it comes
to a matter.
Is this really
of benefit
or value?
Is this worth
fighting over?
Is there
something lasting
and worthwhile
at stake here?
Does this have
to do with
kingdom things?
The things
above?
Or is this
just pointless
quibbling over
stuff that doesn't
really matter
for no real
benefit?
Now let's be
clear here.
Is it okay to
have an opinion
on these kinds
of things?
Yes.
He doesn't say
avoid thinking
about controversial
things.
Is it fine to
have a discussion
with a friend
about a
controversial topic?
I think so.
What's the
thing that we're
really to avoid
here?
It seems
by the way
that it's
worded that
it's really
the fighting
part,
the arguing,
the quarreling
part,
the senselessly
going at it
with each other.
That's the thing
that we're to
avoid.
I mean if you
want to yak
with a friend
about Elon
Musk's
latest
speech on
interplanetary
space travel,
go for it.
God is
not against
the use
of imagination
or reason
or evaluation
but it's
when we
fight over
these kinds
of issues
and in so
doing allow
these issues
to cause
rifts
and hurt
and division
among us
that it
becomes a
problem.
It's when it
becomes your
mission to
win the
argument or
to spread
the good
news of
your opinion
to everybody
else and
convert them
all over
that damage
is done
and factions
are formed.
Avoid that
kind of
behavior
says Jesus.
It's
unprofitable.
It's useless.
There's no
benefit to it.
And here's
what to do
when a person
becomes divisive
like this
as a sort
of pattern
or as a
sort of habit.
He says
in verse 10
warn a
divisive person
once and
then warn
them a
second time.
After that
have nothing
to do with
them.
So this
is serious.
Paul gives
instructions to
Titus about
how to deal
with divisive
people in
the church.
He's first
to warn
them.
And the
word that's
used here
for warning
it has a
very nuanced
specific meaning.
It specifically
means to
counsel them
about avoiding
or stopping
an improper
behavior
with a goal
that they
actually would.
So it's not
just kind of
like lambasting
them or
intimidating
them.
Just stop
it.
It's more
than that.
The goal
of this kind
of warning
is to help
the person
see how
what they're
doing is
improper.
The goal
is to
counsel them,
to warn
them,
to admonish
them so as
to change,
to see them
change from
doing that
to behaving
as they
should.
And so this
kind of warning
should really
address the
heart and
the mind
as well as
the behavior.
So first
warn them
like this,
says Jesus,
and then if
they continue
to be
divisive,
warn them
a second
time.
and then
if they
still
continue
to be
divisive,
he says
have nothing
to do
with them,
a more
accurate
translation,
reject,
reject them.
Some
commentators
see this
as more
of a
passive
thing,
like just
shun that
person,
don't talk
to them,
treat them
like an
unbeliever.
Others
see this
as more
actively
dismissing
them
from the
church,
or excommunicating
would maybe
be a word.
I mean,
we don't use
that word
often because
it kind of
brings up
connotations,
especially in
the Catholic
church.
But I think
I tend to
agree more
with this
idea of
kind of
sending them
out.
Why?
Look at the
next verse.
For you
know that
such a person
has gone
astray
and is
sinning.
He is
self-condemned.
So they're
persistently
deviating
from what
is good
and right.
They're
stirring up
trouble
and conflict.
They're
promoting
foolish
and fruitless
arguments
and controversies
over things
that are
bringing no
benefit to
anybody.
And the
present tense
here is
notable.
Such a
person is
sinning.
Is sinning.
Like right
now, in
doing this,
they are
sinning.
They are
self-condemned.
So if
they're
unresponsive
to this
kind of
restorative
warning that
Titus gives
to them
twice,
then they're
kind of
proving
their own
actions,
that they're
just unwilling
to be
obedient to
the Lord
Jesus and
to the
correction that
he's bringing
into their
life through
the leaders
in the
church.
Now we
might want
to think
for a moment
about the
effect on
that
individual.
It might
seem
harsh,
but the
truth is
that the
Lord Jesus
is concerned
about his
people.
He doesn't
want to see
us all
divided and
in factions.
He wants
to see us
united,
together,
like a
family.
And these
kinds of
behaviors,
when done
persistently,
fight against
that and they
destroy that.
But there
is also a
purpose for
the person
who is being
sent out.
if they
don't yield
to the
warnings that
are given,
it's not
all judgment
or condemnation
and God
may use
that to
help them
really come
to grips
with where
they're at
spiritually.
And the
hope or the
goal would
be that
they would
repent,
that they
would confess
the wrong
that they're
doing and
be restored
to fellowship
in the
church.
We could
look at some
other passages
about that,
but we won't
go into that
this Sunday.
it's probably
worth mentioning
that it fell
to Titus
to do this
in the
churches,
to do the
warning and
also the
rejecting part.
But then
when Titus
leaves,
naturally this
would then fall
to the elders
that he
appointed,
the leaders
in the
church.
We think
back to the
metaphor of
shepherds,
elders are to
be shepherds,
and at times
that's going to
require them to
ward off the
wolves,
those who
would try to
creep in and
do damage or
hurt.
So this is the
first part of
our passage this
morning, and it's
really focused on a
thing that we're
to avoid, because
this doesn't do
anything good for
us.
Avoid arguments and
foolish controversies.
But then as we
shift into the
last little bit of
the letter here,
we're going to see
an emphasis the
other way on what
we're to do,
what we're to
focus on.
And let me just
read it for us
here in verse 12
to 15.
Paul says,
As soon as I
send Artemis or
Tychicus to you,
do your best to
come to me at
Nicopolis, because
I've decided to
winter there.
Do everything you
can to help
Zenos, the
lawyer, and
Apollos on their
way, and see that
they have everything
they need.
Our people must
learn to devote
themselves to
doing what is
good in order to
provide for urgent
needs and not live
unproductive lives.
Everyone with me
sends you greetings.
Greet those who
love us in the
faith.
Grace be with you
all.
So Paul goes on
to give some very
specific instructions
here about how
Titus is to come
to Nicopolis once
his replacement
arrives, and he's
also to ensure that
Zenos, the lawyer,
and this guy named
Apollos are sent on
their way with
everything that they
need.
Paul then passes
along greetings of
those who are with
him, and he tells
Titus to greet those
who love him in the
faith.
What should we make
of these instructions?
What should we make
of these greetings?
things?
Well, sometimes when
we read through our
Bibles, these might
be the parts that we
just kind of skip
over.
Is it even relevant
to our lives today?
But you know, as I
was thinking through
some of these words,
there's actually a lot
here for us.
There's something that
we can take from
them.
We get the sense from
these words that there
is so much more going
on than just the
happenings of one
local church, or the
happenings of one
little island.
We see Paul kind of
quarterbacking efforts
to see the gospel go
forward here and there,
and he's trying to get
people to go this way
and see that people can
go that way.
And even these people
on Crete and their
churches, even though
they're isolated from
others because of
living on this island,
they too have a role to
play in the greater
cause of the gospel.
And so, help Zenos,
the lawyer, and
Apollos on their way.
Be diligent.
Make sure that they
have everything that
they need as they're
coming and as they're
going.
Whatever assignment the
Lord Jesus has for
them, Paul probably
knew where they were
going or what they
were doing.
Each local church,
even on the island in
the middle of the
Mediterranean, has
something to
contribute to the
cause of the gospel,
gospel, to the
mission of Jesus
Christ in our world,
to our brothers and
sisters who are beyond
our community.
And in some ways, as I
was thinking about
Crete, here this island
in the middle of the
Mediterranean, it kind
of wasn't, you know,
it's not really a
destination.
It's not a place people
wanted to get to.
It was a place that was
on the way, usually
traveling by ship, a
place that people would
stop over.
And so, here in this
stopover place, they
had this unique
opportunity to assist
these brothers in
Christ on their way.
And I got thinking
about this, you know,
Davidson is also a
place that's on the
way.
A place between the
big cities.
The coffee pot says it
well.
people often stop to
grab a Timmy's, to
take a rest break, to
get gas.
It's just a long way
to go between Regina and
Saskatoon for most.
We're also a meeting
place where those are
who are looking to
meet halfway for sports
or business or other
things can meet.
I wonder what
opportunities the Lord
might bring to us in
the future to meet the
needs of our brothers
and sisters in this
province as that place
on the way.
Finally, there's the
greetings here.
I love this part.
You get the sense that
wherever Paul is at this
moment, the believers
with him, they're there.
They're thinking about
their spiritual family
members.
They're on the island of
Crete.
I don't know if you
guys do this same thing
that we do in my family
when it comes to
FaceTime.
Sometimes you get on
FaceTime with family or
friends who are far away.
You ever have that
moment where either at
the beginning when it's
hello or at the end
when it's goodbye,
everybody comes and
gathers around the
screen and at least
gives a little wave
and says, hi, goodbye.
Well, back then they
didn't have FaceTime.
They didn't even have
telephone.
So the picture we get
here is of them all
crowding around the
letter that Paul is
penning.
Oh, you're writing to
the churches on Crete,
to our brothers and
sisters on Crete.
Well, tell them I say
hi to.
And eventually there
was just too many names
probably.
So he just says,
everyone with me sends
you greetings.
We are a spiritual
family as a church,
knit together by
Christ.
But we are just one
local expression of
of the larger family.
We have brothers and
sisters all over the
world and in the
neighboring communities
and cities in our
province.
This is why I'm really
excited for us as we
explore this opportunity
to join the Baptist
General Conference to
which we've applied
because it's another
opportunity for us to
open ourselves up to
just some of our
brothers and sisters in
Christ who are in other
churches in our
province.
There's an opportunity
here for us to
participate in the
cause of the gospel
beyond just Davidson
and Craig and the
surrounding areas.
There's an opportunity
here for us to take an
interest in the blood
bought brothers and
sisters in Saskatoon
and Regina and
Wadena and
Mydale and Birch Hills
and Turtleford.
Right now many of
those brothers and
sisters are probably
doing the same thing
we're doing right now.
Maybe they have some
needs in their community
or in their church that
we can help meet.
Even if it's just to
pray for them.
Maybe we have some
needs that God has
uniquely equipped them
to meet.
And they could be
praying for us about
some things.
Our people must
learn to devote
themselves to doing
what is good in
order to provide for
urgent needs and
not live unproductive
lives.
The temptation is for
us to just focus our
attention on ourselves.
Only on our
comforts.
Only on living a
life of ease and
entertainment and
recreation for me.
But no.
Paul shows us a
better way here.
He says the cause of
the gospel is greater.
It's greater than the
local community.
It's greater than the
local church.
There are urgent
needs in the cause of
the gospel all over
the place.
And our people need
to be actively
participating in
meeting those needs.
Devoting themselves to
doing good works that
meet real needs.
Urgent needs.
And to live otherwise
he says is to live an
unproductive life.
There it is again
that word.
Unprofitable.
Unproductive.
A fruitless life.
A wasted life.
As we bring this to a
close we could kind of
sum this whole passage
up.
We're given something
to avoid.
And we're given
something to devote
ourselves to.
We're to avoid being
divisive.
And we're instead
to learn to be
devoted to doing
what is good.
To meeting needs.
In the first half of
this passage we heard
about the thing that is
unprofitable.
The thing that is
fruitless and unproductive.
And it's getting into
foolish controversies and
arguments and fights.
And in the second half
of this passage we hear
about the thing that is
profitable.
The thing that is
beneficial and fruitful.
It's us being
devoting to doing
what is good.
To the meeting of
needs.
This is the profitable.
This is the fruitful
life that Christ longs
for his people to
embrace.
Don't be a divisive
disturber of the peace.
Be a devoted doer of
good works.
A meter of needs.
Paul is saying.
And so I want to just
leave you with this
question.
Are you attuned to
the needs of others?
Are you looking for
them?
Are you responding to
them as you can?
Paul ends with a
simple blessing.
He says grace be with
you all.
May God's generous
kindness.
His favor.
Be with all of you
there on the island
of Crete.
Let's pray.
Father in heaven we
thank you for the
words of this letter.
And we ask that you
would do in us what
you long to see happen
in them all those
years ago.
In those churches.
In any way where we
are the same.
Where we need the
same word of
correction.
Speak that to our
hearts.
Lead us away from the
things that are
unprofitable.
The things that are
that have no value.
And lead us to the
things that will bless
others and benefit
others.
And ultimately
will bring glory to
you.
Our Savior.
And our King.
We pray this in
Jesus name.
Amen.