WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:06.879 We're going to gather tonight in the book of Titus, Titus chapter 3, if you want to pull out a pew Bible and turn there with me. 00:00:08.919 --> 00:00:12.240 I'm going to read the first eight verses of this chapter. 00:00:12.439 --> 00:00:18.100 It's one of Paul's letters, writing to Titus on the island of Crete. 00:00:19.500 --> 00:00:22.500 Throughout the course of this weekend in our church planting conference, 00:00:22.500 --> 00:00:26.800 we've been thinking about how the gospel begins to shape the kind of mission we should do, 00:00:26.800 --> 00:00:31.200 how the gospel begins to shape the kind of lives that we concretely live. 00:00:31.320 --> 00:00:34.259 That the gospel isn't just something that has saved us for eternity, 00:00:34.520 --> 00:00:38.359 and now we're kind of sitting around with a bus ticket for heaven just waiting for that day. 00:00:38.560 --> 00:00:46.000 But rather, the gospel is so full, so complete, that his love actually recommissions us to be useful for God today. 00:00:46.420 --> 00:00:49.400 And this is one of those passages that helps us understand that connection, 00:00:49.500 --> 00:00:53.640 the connection between the gospel that we believe and the lives that we actually live. 00:00:53.640 --> 00:00:58.560 So let's look at it together, starting in verse 1 of Titus chapter 3. 00:00:59.920 --> 00:01:07.480 Remind them to be submissive to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work, 00:01:07.900 --> 00:01:15.760 to speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all people. 00:01:15.760 --> 00:01:24.100 For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, 00:01:24.300 --> 00:01:29.880 passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others, and hating one another. 00:01:30.300 --> 00:01:36.460 But when the goodness and kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us. 00:01:37.040 --> 00:01:41.880 Not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy. 00:01:41.879 --> 00:01:45.939 Not because of the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit. 00:01:46.599 --> 00:01:49.579 And we poured out in us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior. 00:01:50.379 --> 00:01:56.899 So that being justified by his grace, we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. 00:01:57.759 --> 00:02:01.219 This saying is trustworthy, and I want you to insist on these things, 00:02:01.319 --> 00:02:07.099 so that those who have believed in God may be careful to devote themselves to good works. 00:02:07.519 --> 00:02:11.199 These things are excellent and profitable for people. 00:02:11.199 --> 00:02:13.299 Friends, this is God's Word. 00:02:13.419 --> 00:02:16.579 So as we come to reflect on it together, let's go to him in prayer. 00:02:19.339 --> 00:02:23.280 Father, once again, we ask that you would meet with us by the power of your Spirit. 00:02:23.479 --> 00:02:26.739 For we know that your Word is perfect, and it always speaks clearly, 00:02:26.919 --> 00:02:32.699 and yet our minds and our hearts are slow and are dull, and so we don't always hear clearly. 00:02:33.339 --> 00:02:36.959 So I pray that you would come in these moments and do something in us. 00:02:37.000 --> 00:02:38.479 Do that thing that you know that we need. 00:02:38.479 --> 00:02:40.539 Some of us need challenged. 00:02:40.699 --> 00:02:41.819 Some of us need encouraged. 00:02:42.239 --> 00:02:44.479 You know, Father, what it is we need tonight. 00:02:44.579 --> 00:02:48.739 So come in the power of your Spirit and speak that word of grace, 00:02:48.780 --> 00:02:53.719 that we might understand more of your love and its implications for our lives. 00:02:53.780 --> 00:02:55.280 We pray these things in Jesus' name. 00:02:56.060 --> 00:02:56.319 Amen. 00:02:56.319 --> 00:02:56.459 Amen. 00:02:57.900 --> 00:03:00.620 Okay, two things that I love to do. 00:03:00.879 --> 00:03:05.060 First is exercise, and the second is eat. 00:03:05.280 --> 00:03:09.739 Now, these two things are not always complementary, so you need to try and keep them in balance. 00:03:09.879 --> 00:03:15.340 And then one day I found the perfect balance when I found myself eating donuts while on a run. 00:03:15.799 --> 00:03:17.740 Anyone else ever find themselves doing something similar? 00:03:17.740 --> 00:03:22.480 Well, by the time of our time together, I'm hoping to persuade you that it's a good idea. 00:03:22.740 --> 00:03:22.920 Okay? 00:03:23.219 --> 00:03:25.680 So to get to that, let's dive into our text. 00:03:26.140 --> 00:03:31.340 I want to look at this text where Paul is going to call us to embrace the gospel life, 00:03:31.500 --> 00:03:36.540 to understand that connection between the gospel we believe and the lives we actually live. 00:03:36.620 --> 00:03:42.760 He's going to call us to embrace a gospel life of joyful obedience. 00:03:42.759 --> 00:03:48.239 Context starts in verse 1, if you want to look down with me, where Paul gives us this command. 00:03:48.439 --> 00:03:49.819 He says, remind them. 00:03:49.939 --> 00:03:53.859 He's talking, of course, to the first Christians there in Crete, but by extension, 00:03:54.259 --> 00:03:56.500 God is also speaking to us this evening and says, 00:03:56.819 --> 00:04:05.719 remind them to be submissive to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work. 00:04:05.799 --> 00:04:08.560 Be ready for every good work, Paul says. 00:04:08.560 --> 00:04:15.900 Now, this command is a deliberate contrast with some corrupt leaders that were introduced to earlier in the book of Titus. 00:04:16.139 --> 00:04:23.459 In chapter 1, we read about these false leaders, these corrupt leaders who have been rebellious and insubordinate 00:04:23.459 --> 00:04:30.220 and haven't followed the Lord or his word and have proved themselves to be unfit for any good work. 00:04:30.220 --> 00:04:39.740 And as they are unfit for any good work, so Paul calls us not to be like them, but instead to be ready for every good work. 00:04:40.160 --> 00:04:45.760 Verse 2, he tells us that we're to be, Christians are to be, model citizens. 00:04:46.220 --> 00:04:54.520 See it there, speak evil of no one, avoid quarreling, be gentle, show perfect courtesy to all people. 00:04:54.519 --> 00:04:59.240 It's such a kind of earthy, practical wisdom from the Bible. 00:04:59.759 --> 00:05:05.579 He's saying, be models of kindness and love, especially with the words that you use. 00:05:05.939 --> 00:05:09.299 Especially in the language that you would use to speak of others. 00:05:09.379 --> 00:05:12.680 Of course, this starts with those who are closest to us. 00:05:12.959 --> 00:05:20.740 How often we have a tendency to be hardest toward, harshest toward those people that we actually know and love the most. 00:05:20.740 --> 00:05:23.879 Perhaps it's our spouse. 00:05:24.040 --> 00:05:29.259 You know, you can always tell when you're in the office when someone's speaking to their spouse on the phone. 00:05:29.720 --> 00:05:32.699 Because they say, yep, okay, got it, bye. 00:05:33.360 --> 00:05:33.519 Right? 00:05:33.740 --> 00:05:37.060 They speak to their spouse in a way they would never speak to anybody else. 00:05:37.199 --> 00:05:39.240 And that's often, sadly, the way. 00:05:39.420 --> 00:05:40.680 Not just our spouses, though. 00:05:40.759 --> 00:05:45.660 Of course, this extends to our roommates, not gossiping about one another behind each other's back, 00:05:45.660 --> 00:05:49.139 but looking to find ways to encourage and build one another up. 00:05:49.139 --> 00:05:54.379 Extends as well, of course, to our teens and to our kids, finding ways to build one another up. 00:05:54.699 --> 00:05:59.240 Never texting anything to anyone that you would not say to them in person. 00:05:59.519 --> 00:06:05.659 We are to use our words to be model citizens and encourage one another, especially those who are closest to us. 00:06:05.860 --> 00:06:10.339 But isn't it a problem that it's not just those who are closest to us? 00:06:10.839 --> 00:06:11.759 See what Paul says there? 00:06:11.839 --> 00:06:13.319 He says, speak evil of who? 00:06:13.459 --> 00:06:14.279 Just people you love? 00:06:14.279 --> 00:06:14.599 No. 00:06:15.000 --> 00:06:17.819 Speak evil of no one. 00:06:17.819 --> 00:06:20.159 People we find challenging. 00:06:20.379 --> 00:06:22.399 People we find difficult. 00:06:23.139 --> 00:06:25.399 But we're not to speak poorly of them either. 00:06:25.620 --> 00:06:27.899 We remember our mother's instruction, right? 00:06:28.019 --> 00:06:31.040 If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything. 00:06:31.040 --> 00:06:41.200 Even when it is the time to speak up and perhaps in cultural moments there is a need for the church to have a kind of a prophetic voice to stand up for the truth. 00:06:41.319 --> 00:06:43.840 Well, even in those moments, we're not to be quarrelsome. 00:06:44.000 --> 00:06:47.060 We're not to be contentious or obnoxious or difficult. 00:06:47.060 --> 00:06:55.439 We're to be model citizens in the way in which we use our words, both with those we love and with those we find challenging. 00:06:56.220 --> 00:06:59.519 I think Paul gives us the positive alternative to this command in Colossians. 00:06:59.639 --> 00:07:03.959 Remember when he says, let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt. 00:07:05.240 --> 00:07:07.120 I just wonder, it's a challenging thing to think about. 00:07:07.120 --> 00:07:11.040 Of all the words that you've said today, how many of them could you put in that category? 00:07:11.879 --> 00:07:15.920 Seasons with salt, gracious, always seasoned with salt. 00:07:16.540 --> 00:07:19.300 Paul is saying this is the kind of language that Christians should have. 00:07:19.759 --> 00:07:30.040 And we should have a profound cultural impact in our day of outrage, in our day that loves to meet irate and inflamed language with equally irate and inflamed language. 00:07:30.040 --> 00:07:36.439 Christians can have a cultural impact, a cultural witness by speaking differently. 00:07:37.200 --> 00:07:38.960 Be model citizens, Paul said in summary. 00:07:39.260 --> 00:07:42.100 Be living examples of kindness and love. 00:07:42.760 --> 00:07:46.420 But the question we want to ask tonight is, why? 00:07:47.180 --> 00:07:51.620 Why ought the life of the Christian be distinct? 00:07:52.140 --> 00:07:54.000 Why ought it to be different? 00:07:54.000 --> 00:08:01.240 What is it that motivates and empowers Christians to live lives that are different to the rest of the world? 00:08:01.339 --> 00:08:04.600 To be these kind of model citizens? 00:08:05.259 --> 00:08:08.740 And Paul's answer is obvious but very important. 00:08:09.279 --> 00:08:17.139 His answer is, well, the why behind this, the reason our behavior should be different is simply because of the gospel. 00:08:17.759 --> 00:08:18.899 So let's look at that together. 00:08:18.899 --> 00:08:20.899 In verse 3, we read, 00:08:21.060 --> 00:08:22.919 For we ourselves were once foolish. 00:08:23.939 --> 00:08:25.719 Christians, we, me, you. 00:08:26.299 --> 00:08:37.639 We were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another. 00:08:38.059 --> 00:08:42.659 Paul invites Christians, he invites us to remember where we came from. 00:08:42.659 --> 00:08:50.879 Jesus did not come from the glories of heaven to earth to find us at the kind of top of the moral chosen pole. 00:08:51.639 --> 00:08:58.539 Jesus hasn't called us to be Christians, kind of picking us for his team because we were like the best people around. 00:08:59.079 --> 00:09:04.379 No, Jesus came from the glories of heaven to earth to find us at the bottom in order that he might save us. 00:09:04.600 --> 00:09:06.899 That's the gospel that we celebrate. 00:09:06.899 --> 00:09:16.600 We don't look down upon anyone else or think ourselves better than anyone else because we know that it is us who need a savior. 00:09:17.319 --> 00:09:27.899 We used to be like those corrupt leaders in Crete, rebellious, caught up in the cycle of hatred, contributing to the cycle of hatred that has so decimated lives. 00:09:27.899 --> 00:09:32.959 But, verse 4, you see it there, but. 00:09:33.600 --> 00:09:36.500 Now we are free to live a different way. 00:09:36.759 --> 00:09:40.679 We used to live that way, but we don't have to live that way anymore. 00:09:41.459 --> 00:09:47.179 Now, if you put one finger at the start of verse 4, put your second finger at the end of verse 7, 00:09:47.480 --> 00:09:51.100 and see all the words that fall in between your fingers. 00:09:51.100 --> 00:09:59.300 In the original Greek, the language that the New Testament was written in, these verses make up one big, long sentence. 00:09:59.860 --> 00:10:09.620 One sentence that's somewhat complicated and a little bit intricate because Paul is unpacking a few related ideas at the same time. 00:10:09.879 --> 00:10:15.899 So let's see if we can catch the flow of this big, long sentence that runs from verses 4 through 7. 00:10:15.899 --> 00:10:20.579 It starts in verse 4 by Paul telling us that we are to live differently. 00:10:21.240 --> 00:10:24.519 He says, but we don't have to live that way anymore. 00:10:24.659 --> 00:10:24.899 Why? 00:10:25.139 --> 00:10:31.120 Because the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior has appeared in Jesus. 00:10:31.840 --> 00:10:34.480 We don't need to live like we used to live anymore. 00:10:35.059 --> 00:10:35.240 Why? 00:10:35.360 --> 00:10:40.519 Because the goodness and loving kindness of Jesus has appeared. 00:10:40.960 --> 00:10:45.519 Now, as soon as he starts this thought, Paul almost gets distracted. 00:10:45.899 --> 00:10:52.399 He interrupts this thought straight away in verse 5 because now that he's brought up Jesus, he's excited to talk about him. 00:10:53.039 --> 00:10:59.899 See, to Paul, Jesus is a little bit like the squirrel that once Jesus is on his mind, he's got to talk about him a little bit more. 00:11:00.299 --> 00:11:01.360 We can't just leave it there. 00:11:01.419 --> 00:11:05.779 We're going to have to reflect on the beauty of the gospel for a minute. 00:11:05.779 --> 00:11:13.819 So having started this thought in verse 4, verses 5 through 6, he interrupts his thought to say, to underline the content of the gospel message. 00:11:14.079 --> 00:11:15.019 And that's what you can read there. 00:11:15.079 --> 00:11:16.000 You see it, verse 5. 00:11:16.459 --> 00:11:20.699 We're saved not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to God's mercy. 00:11:21.679 --> 00:11:26.240 Develops this thought in verse 6 by describing how believers have been washed. 00:11:26.379 --> 00:11:31.500 We've been cleansed by renewing and regenerating work of the Holy Spirit. 00:11:31.500 --> 00:11:40.899 The Holy Spirit who hasn't been given to us in small measure, but has been poured out on us richly, we read, through Jesus Christ our Savior. 00:11:41.799 --> 00:11:43.919 The result of all this is given in verse 7. 00:11:44.399 --> 00:11:46.279 We're justified by his grace. 00:11:46.899 --> 00:11:49.659 We're heirs according to the hope of eternal life. 00:11:50.360 --> 00:11:59.100 We've been brought back into our right relationship with God, not because we've earned our way there, but because Christ has been so good to us. 00:11:59.100 --> 00:12:04.000 And because of that, we now wait an eternity in heaven. 00:12:04.800 --> 00:12:10.840 Now, after this gospel interruption, verses 5 through 7, Paul in verse 8 returns to his original thought. 00:12:11.279 --> 00:12:15.659 So the first thought was, we live differently because of the gospel, because the loving kindness of God has appeared. 00:12:16.139 --> 00:12:17.740 Let's talk about that gospel for a minute. 00:12:18.040 --> 00:12:21.540 But now, verse 8, let's get back to our point. 00:12:22.200 --> 00:12:22.820 You see it there? 00:12:23.040 --> 00:12:26.040 He returns to his point by saying, this saying is trustworthy. 00:12:26.039 --> 00:12:29.819 So this gospel summary that I just gave you, it's trustworthy. 00:12:30.099 --> 00:12:32.639 You can trust this summary of the gospel. 00:12:32.779 --> 00:12:42.120 If there's anything in your life that you should be dogmatic about, that you can be sure of, that you can be certain of, it's that the gospel is true. 00:12:43.120 --> 00:12:46.139 You can insist on it because, you see why? 00:12:46.139 --> 00:12:55.240 So that those who have believed in God, verse 8, may be careful to devote themselves to good works. 00:12:55.799 --> 00:12:59.879 Start and see the connection here between the things we believe and the life that we live. 00:13:00.259 --> 00:13:02.899 This is the gospel that you must insist on. 00:13:03.039 --> 00:13:03.379 Why? 00:13:03.919 --> 00:13:09.939 In order that those who believe this gospel will devote themselves to good works. 00:13:09.940 --> 00:13:13.220 So a summary of this passage before we have some applications. 00:13:14.080 --> 00:13:18.440 We could summarize it by saying, we used to live in foolishness. 00:13:18.780 --> 00:13:20.020 We used to live in deceit. 00:13:20.560 --> 00:13:28.440 We used to be as much of a disaster, if not more, than anybody else living on the face of the earth. 00:13:28.860 --> 00:13:31.700 We were unfit for any good work. 00:13:31.860 --> 00:13:35.240 But now, we've experienced the grace of God. 00:13:35.940 --> 00:13:37.640 We've experienced the grace of Christ. 00:13:37.639 --> 00:13:45.340 Our sins have been forgiven, and his Holy Spirit is here to enable us and empower us to live a different way. 00:13:46.000 --> 00:13:48.000 Before, we were unfit for any good work. 00:13:48.179 --> 00:13:52.639 But now, we can be fit for any good work. 00:13:52.740 --> 00:13:58.860 He's calling us to connect the dots between the gospel we believe and the life that we live. 00:13:58.860 --> 00:14:11.180 Now, the reason this point is so important is that gospel living, Christian living, is really misunderstood by a lot of us in the church. 00:14:12.580 --> 00:14:16.200 And I'm really talking now specifically to Christians. 00:14:16.440 --> 00:14:20.840 There's no reason that people who aren't Christians should have any understanding of what it means to live as a Christian. 00:14:20.840 --> 00:14:28.019 But even for Christians, even for those who believe in Jesus, we often misunderstand what it means to then follow him. 00:14:28.960 --> 00:14:35.600 The studies show, the statistics show us, that the majority of Christians buy into a form of what we would call legalism. 00:14:36.300 --> 00:14:44.139 That they say, okay, I'm going to live my life now because if I don't follow God's laws, then he's really going to be unhappy with me. 00:14:44.139 --> 00:14:48.879 So, I've got to obey in order to remain in his favor. 00:14:50.460 --> 00:14:56.059 Other believers might not believe in this kind of legalism, but they've fallen into what we call a kind of licentiousness. 00:14:56.199 --> 00:15:01.399 This means it doesn't really matter whether I obey or not because God is going to forgive me anyway. 00:15:02.360 --> 00:15:05.379 So, on the one hand, you have a group who says, you've got to obey or God won't be happy. 00:15:05.460 --> 00:15:10.379 On the other hand, you have a group that says, it doesn't really matter if you obey or not because God's going to forgive you anyway. 00:15:10.379 --> 00:15:13.159 And the gospel comes and says, both of those things are wrong. 00:15:13.159 --> 00:15:15.639 Both of those things are wrong. 00:15:16.039 --> 00:15:19.299 And the solution isn't some kind of middle ground between the two. 00:15:19.399 --> 00:15:21.319 The solution is a third way. 00:15:21.959 --> 00:15:28.139 I've got a gospel way to think about it that stands in contradiction to those other two. 00:15:29.539 --> 00:15:33.000 So, perhaps you've found yourself thinking one of those approaches. 00:15:33.500 --> 00:15:40.159 That legalistic approach where you kind of think of God, his expression on his face right now as he looks down on you is frowning. 00:15:40.159 --> 00:15:43.839 And he's sort of just seen your latest report card and he's not very impressed. 00:15:45.120 --> 00:15:48.500 Or perhaps you fall into thinking of God as the genie. 00:15:48.679 --> 00:15:50.100 You know, you've kept up your side of the bargain. 00:15:50.240 --> 00:15:52.259 So, now it's time for him to deliver. 00:15:53.179 --> 00:15:55.219 The gospel comes and says, it's neither of those. 00:15:55.539 --> 00:15:56.699 It's something different. 00:15:56.819 --> 00:15:59.120 It's this thing called gospel obedience. 00:15:59.120 --> 00:16:06.060 Gospel obedience contradicts legalism because it says, you are his beloved son or daughter by grace. 00:16:06.580 --> 00:16:08.519 And his favor is eternally secure. 00:16:08.840 --> 00:16:12.419 You didn't do anything to earn it and you can't do anything to lose it. 00:16:13.379 --> 00:16:16.279 So, fear should not be motivating you to obey. 00:16:16.279 --> 00:16:22.319 Gospel obedience, though, also contradicts licentiousness because what sense does it make you? 00:16:22.319 --> 00:16:27.480 If you're truly in a new relationship with this God who loves you and you love this God, 00:16:27.639 --> 00:16:31.980 how could you carry on living as if you weren't in relationship with him anymore? 00:16:32.439 --> 00:16:38.019 Of course, you want to live in intimacy with the ones that you love. 00:16:38.679 --> 00:16:42.100 The gospel comes and says, we have this new way of living. 00:16:42.100 --> 00:16:44.620 We've been saved because God has been kind to us. 00:16:44.980 --> 00:16:50.840 And now the grace that saved us frees us to live new lives for God. 00:16:51.500 --> 00:16:55.139 Because of what Christ has done for us in the past, dying on the cross, 00:16:55.360 --> 00:16:59.080 because of what he's going to do in the future, returning to make all things new, 00:16:59.440 --> 00:17:05.559 we are a people who live in between, who live in this present moment with the power of his spirit 00:17:05.559 --> 00:17:10.660 to live with freedom, to live with joy, to be who he always made us to be 00:17:10.660 --> 00:17:19.120 and do what we were always intended to do, motivated and empowered by his love toward us. 00:17:19.220 --> 00:17:24.400 It's the gospel, and it's the gospel alone that helps us understand our place here on earth 00:17:24.400 --> 00:17:29.460 and the importance of following him with joyful obedience. 00:17:30.180 --> 00:17:35.620 Now that we've been loved by Christ, we can start to live like Christ. 00:17:35.619 --> 00:17:40.799 We can connect the dots from what we believe to how we live. 00:17:41.619 --> 00:17:48.019 Now, a couple of applications on this, short and then we're done. 00:17:48.439 --> 00:17:54.939 Two quick applications on this theme of joyful obedience that were helpful to me as I reflected on this 00:17:54.939 --> 00:17:57.639 and hope will be helpful for you as well. 00:17:57.640 --> 00:18:06.300 The first one is, I wonder how much we believe that the gospel life, joyfully obeying God, 00:18:06.640 --> 00:18:12.580 is really good for us, is really great for us. 00:18:14.040 --> 00:18:19.880 That the most sort of hedonistic thing we could do would actually be to follow our God. 00:18:19.880 --> 00:18:25.520 See, the problem is that the alternative to joyful obedience is what the Bible calls sin. 00:18:25.840 --> 00:18:27.740 Sin is doing those things we're not meant to do. 00:18:27.900 --> 00:18:30.140 It's not doing those things we are meant to do. 00:18:30.500 --> 00:18:34.680 All of that surface behavior that proceeds from the heart that's far from God. 00:18:35.560 --> 00:18:40.560 But we need to wrestle and understand that the scriptures promise and make really clear 00:18:40.560 --> 00:18:42.700 that you know sin will never make you happy. 00:18:43.920 --> 00:18:46.000 Sinning never makes us happy. 00:18:46.100 --> 00:18:47.660 Now, it always promises that it will. 00:18:47.660 --> 00:18:51.820 If you think about it, in the moment of decision, when we choose to sin, 00:18:51.900 --> 00:18:53.720 when we choose to go against God's will for our lives, 00:18:53.820 --> 00:18:57.540 it's because we think we'll be better off going that way than the way that he has commanded. 00:18:57.680 --> 00:19:03.080 And yet, it over-promises and under-delivers every single time. 00:19:03.860 --> 00:19:07.940 We were just made for so much more than sin, and sin can never satisfy us. 00:19:08.220 --> 00:19:10.500 Now, I think we know this to be true. 00:19:12.180 --> 00:19:14.900 A few examples, I think, that jump immediately to the mind. 00:19:14.900 --> 00:19:21.820 And first of all, we know that impurity and pornography will never make anybody happy. 00:19:22.759 --> 00:19:24.000 That we were made for more than that. 00:19:24.560 --> 00:19:27.600 Because we know that nobody ever looked at pornography and then said, 00:19:28.060 --> 00:19:29.580 man, I feel really good about myself now. 00:19:30.360 --> 00:19:33.280 I'm really becoming the kind of person that I want to become. 00:19:33.279 --> 00:19:38.859 I'm really living the life now that I think I really want to live. 00:19:38.940 --> 00:19:42.399 No, we know that we weren't made for that kind of small stuff. 00:19:42.500 --> 00:19:47.399 We were made for true intimacy and real relationships that are joyful and beautiful 00:19:47.399 --> 00:19:49.460 and complicated and difficult and messy. 00:19:49.639 --> 00:19:54.920 And yet, which in the end are much more satisfying to creatures who've been made in the image of God. 00:19:56.019 --> 00:19:59.139 Joyful obedience will make us much more happy than sin. 00:19:59.140 --> 00:20:02.660 Or think perhaps of materialism. 00:20:02.960 --> 00:20:07.960 The temptation there is in our day and age to think that getting that next thing will be the thing that makes us happy. 00:20:08.080 --> 00:20:13.800 So maybe it's the next promotion, the next home, the next car, the next pay raise, the next whatever it is. 00:20:13.800 --> 00:20:18.800 As if you're going to get hold of something and then you're finally going to be happy. 00:20:18.960 --> 00:20:22.780 So we're just waiting for the iPhone 37 to come down. 00:20:22.779 --> 00:20:27.000 And that's going to be the version that makes us happy. 00:20:27.099 --> 00:20:28.240 Now, of course, we know it won't. 00:20:29.079 --> 00:20:35.299 We know that our hearts have been created with such infinite capacity that they can never be filled by stuff. 00:20:36.180 --> 00:20:37.799 Even if you owned everything on earth. 00:20:38.759 --> 00:20:44.740 That our souls can really only be satisfied when we're in relationship with God. 00:20:45.839 --> 00:20:47.720 Or even the example of our own text. 00:20:48.119 --> 00:20:50.220 The temptation we have to speak evil of others. 00:20:50.220 --> 00:20:52.339 We know that that isn't for our good. 00:20:52.420 --> 00:20:57.360 When we use our words to beat others down or to get our own way or to prove ourselves right. 00:20:57.500 --> 00:21:00.740 We know that that doesn't lead to a satisfying life. 00:21:01.640 --> 00:21:04.140 That we've been made to love God, to love our neighbor. 00:21:04.140 --> 00:21:12.000 And that we flourish when we walk in the joy and the freedom that comes with humility and putting other people first. 00:21:12.100 --> 00:21:12.640 Here's the point. 00:21:13.160 --> 00:21:19.360 Joyful obedience, the gospel life, will bring more fulfillment than anything else on earth. 00:21:20.220 --> 00:21:27.220 There is nothing better you can do for your own joy than to glorify God in your body. 00:21:28.059 --> 00:21:32.900 There is no better way to live this life on earth. 00:21:33.299 --> 00:21:38.360 And so we don't want to bark up the other trees of money, sex, and power and think those things are going to make us happy. 00:21:38.360 --> 00:21:39.420 Because they won't. 00:21:39.620 --> 00:21:44.579 Following Christ is what our souls long for and what our souls need. 00:21:44.579 --> 00:21:48.399 So, first, joyful obedience is good for us. 00:21:48.759 --> 00:21:49.980 Second, and on this I close. 00:21:50.460 --> 00:21:56.679 It's also important to note the esteem that we see in the book of Titus, which is that joyful obedience isn't just good for us. 00:21:56.960 --> 00:22:00.139 It's also really good for our world. 00:22:01.099 --> 00:22:03.480 Really good for the world in which we live. 00:22:03.579 --> 00:22:06.659 For our witness and mission in this world. 00:22:06.660 --> 00:22:18.360 Throughout this book of Titus, Paul has reiterated a few times how the lives that Christians lead impact the reputation and reception of the gospel message. 00:22:18.960 --> 00:22:21.600 Now, that should be a challenging thought to Christians. 00:22:22.300 --> 00:22:28.779 Paul essentially says, listen, the lives that you lead will make the gospel easier or harder to believe. 00:22:28.779 --> 00:22:36.240 If you live like a hypocrite, then people will see you and say, man, Christians are all hypocrites and it'll make the gospel hard to believe. 00:22:37.399 --> 00:22:46.500 Whereas if we live in the newness of life and the power of the Spirit, then there'll be something attractive about that and it will make the gospel easier to believe. 00:22:47.399 --> 00:22:50.339 And so Paul calls us to live this kind of life. 00:22:50.460 --> 00:22:54.299 To live a life that will be compelling to the watching world. 00:22:54.299 --> 00:23:01.039 To live a productive life that will be attractive to the watching world. 00:23:02.019 --> 00:23:06.240 So, a few years ago now, I'm in Chattanooga, Tennessee. 00:23:06.819 --> 00:23:08.919 It was the denomination I'm a part of. 00:23:09.019 --> 00:23:10.639 It was their general assembly. 00:23:11.000 --> 00:23:14.500 And I get up one morning and I go for this run. 00:23:15.399 --> 00:23:20.980 And I'm plodding along at my unimpressive mile pace when suddenly it hits me, right? 00:23:20.980 --> 00:23:25.079 The smell of Krispy Kreme donuts. 00:23:26.360 --> 00:23:30.759 Now, I had to call my brother, thanks Ed, and say, hey, do they have Krispy Kreme in Edinburgh? 00:23:31.019 --> 00:23:32.299 And he said, they do now. 00:23:32.599 --> 00:23:39.180 And in fact, when it opened, it was so busy that the traffic got backed up all the way to the M8, right? 00:23:39.180 --> 00:23:42.860 So, this is what, you know, the most obese nation in the world, America. 00:23:43.420 --> 00:23:45.279 The second most obese nation, Scotland. 00:23:45.519 --> 00:23:46.400 Let's go, right? 00:23:46.740 --> 00:23:48.599 Two nations united by their love of donuts. 00:23:48.599 --> 00:23:51.879 Well, here I am running down the street when this smell hits me. 00:23:51.939 --> 00:23:52.279 And what do I do? 00:23:52.319 --> 00:23:52.740 I stop. 00:23:53.259 --> 00:23:54.480 I stop and I look at the sign. 00:23:55.179 --> 00:23:56.919 Do you know what the sign of Krispy Kreme says? 00:23:57.559 --> 00:24:00.119 It says, hot now. 00:24:00.659 --> 00:24:01.619 Not hot earlier. 00:24:02.099 --> 00:24:02.899 Not hot later. 00:24:03.279 --> 00:24:04.219 Hot now. 00:24:04.459 --> 00:24:06.740 And a dozen for $12.99, right? 00:24:07.219 --> 00:24:10.819 So, before I even went in, the deal was done, right? 00:24:11.199 --> 00:24:15.279 And you can ask me how many I ate and I will not tell you. 00:24:15.839 --> 00:24:17.619 Have you ever walked past one of those places? 00:24:17.619 --> 00:24:19.559 Maybe you can even smell it now, right? 00:24:20.179 --> 00:24:23.839 The liquidy goodness of donuts you can swallow whole, right? 00:24:25.779 --> 00:24:31.019 Paul, in a sense, is saying that's the kind of impact our lives should have on the world. 00:24:32.399 --> 00:24:36.799 We should live the kind of life that stops people in their tracks. 00:24:37.839 --> 00:24:42.319 That the scent allures them to kind of pause and look at the sign. 00:24:42.319 --> 00:24:47.159 That some of them will even come on in. 00:24:47.159 --> 00:24:51.619 That our lives should have the aroma of Christ. 00:24:52.019 --> 00:24:57.659 That will be compelling and attractive to the world that's watching on. 00:24:57.660 --> 00:25:02.500 That they would see something in us that they are drawn toward. 00:25:02.680 --> 00:25:04.680 That they are enticed by. 00:25:04.759 --> 00:25:06.100 Now listen, Paul's not naive. 00:25:07.000 --> 00:25:08.100 He's not saying live this way. 00:25:08.860 --> 00:25:12.480 And, you know, every second person is just going to fall on their face and say, 00:25:12.560 --> 00:25:13.860 well, okay, what must I do to be saved? 00:25:13.859 --> 00:25:19.219 But he is saying that our lives can have an impact. 00:25:19.939 --> 00:25:21.859 That they can have a compelling witness. 00:25:22.299 --> 00:25:27.000 And if we do these small things, if we stop joining our colleagues and ridiculing our boss. 00:25:27.359 --> 00:25:32.079 If we put away anger and hostility and seek to live with gentleness and humility. 00:25:32.079 --> 00:25:34.720 If we start to clothe ourselves in the gospel. 00:25:34.839 --> 00:25:38.319 Start to connect the dots from the gospel we believe to the lives that we live. 00:25:38.359 --> 00:25:42.859 If we start to love others as Christ has loved us. 00:25:43.119 --> 00:25:46.519 Then people will be stopped in their tracks. 00:25:46.659 --> 00:25:48.220 They will be drawn to the gospel. 00:25:48.599 --> 00:25:52.379 Because of the lives that we are living here on earth. 00:25:53.119 --> 00:25:57.779 So, it's the gospel and the gospel alone that helps us understand why life matters. 00:25:58.659 --> 00:25:59.519 Obedience to God. 00:25:59.859 --> 00:26:01.619 It's not motivated by legalism. 00:26:02.079 --> 00:26:03.139 Do this or he'll get you. 00:26:03.939 --> 00:26:06.799 The cross has already satisfied his wrath. 00:26:07.399 --> 00:26:09.079 Nor though is it motivated by license. 00:26:09.220 --> 00:26:10.799 Doesn't matter how you live, he'll forgive you. 00:26:11.419 --> 00:26:13.019 We're in a love relationship with him. 00:26:13.079 --> 00:26:15.199 We want to live lives that honor him. 00:26:15.919 --> 00:26:22.019 Instead, it's this kind of joyful obedience that understands the connection of the gospel to our lives. 00:26:22.019 --> 00:26:25.799 And as we run around busy from one thing to the next. 00:26:26.359 --> 00:26:30.199 We want the aroma of Jesus just to make us pause. 00:26:30.200 --> 00:26:36.000 That we would savor the forgiveness and power we have to live new lives. 00:26:36.580 --> 00:26:39.660 And then we also want to begin to smell like him. 00:26:40.340 --> 00:26:46.380 That wherever we go, we ourselves will spread the aroma of Christ. 00:26:46.380 --> 00:26:47.320 Amen. 00:26:47.960 --> 00:26:48.840 Let's pray together. 00:26:48.839 --> 00:26:49.039 Amen. 00:26:55.939 --> 00:26:56.980 Thank you. 00:26:56.980 --> 00:26:57.759 Thank you. 00:26:57.759 --> 00:26:58.139 Amen.