A TRUE SON IN OUR COMMON FAITH

Posted by Pastor Greg Allen on January 18, 2010 under 2010 |

Preached on Sunday, January 18, 2010
from
Titus 1:4-5; with various passages

Theme: The New Testament record of Titus’ ministry gives us an example of “a true son” of gospel faith.

(Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture references are taken from The Holy Bible, New King James Version; copyright 1982, Thomas Nelson, Inc.)

I believe that one of the best habits a Christian can have to advance his or her Christian life is to read good Christian biographies. There’s nothing quite like a well-written story of how God has worked in the lives of others in the past to inspire us with how He can work in our own life today!

I have found that, whenever I read someone’s biography, I tend to become a little bit more like them. And for that reason, I try to carefully select the biographies I read. And what’s more, I have found that not all biographies about the same person are alike. Some Christian biographies tell the story in a detached sort of way; and report the facts about a person—good and bad—in a way that leaves you informed but uninspired. Some biographers are clearly unsympathetic to the Christian faith; and the book they write is too biased to be of any edifying value. But some Christian biographers plainly focus on the greatness of God’s work in that person; and inspire the reader not only with the facts about their life, but with a greater love for—and a greater devoted to—the God they served.

Personally, I get the greatest and longest-lasting spiritual blessing from reading that last kind of biography. Don’t get me wrong. I would never want to have anyone ‘sugar-coated’ for me. I want to know the truth. But in my opinion, the best kind of Christian biographies are the ones that tell me about an otherwise-fallible Christian’s great trust in God in such a way as to inspire me to model their Christ-like character. Such biographies make me excited about what Jesus Christ can do in my life. They are, by far, the very best kind of biographies to read!

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This morning, I’d like to share just such a biography with you. And it’s a biography that you already happen to own, because it’s found in your Bible—although you’ve probably never put the pieces together into a whole story. It’s the biography of Pastor Titus—the man to whom Paul wrote the New Testament letter that we’ve been studying the past few weeks.

When Paul began his short letter to Titus, he testified powerfully to Titus’ character in two ways. First, he wrote, “To Titus, a true son in our common faith . . .” (v. 4). Just think of the endorsement this man Titus received from the great apostle Paul! He called him, “a true son” of the faith. That’s like the greeting that he gave to another pastor, Timothy (see 1 Timothy 1:2). In both cases, Paul was saying, “I know your life, dear brother. I know your history. And I can testify that you are the real deal! You truly are a genuine son of the faith!” And even more, Paul made it clear that he considered this man Titus to be on an equal standing with himself—that he was a true son in their “common faith”. Anyone who’d receives a Spirit-inspired, apostolically authorized endorsement like that deserves to be read about!

And we can also see Titus’ character through the task Paul entrusted to him in this letter. The next verse reads, “For this reason I left you in Crete, that you should set in order the things that are lacking, and appoint elders in every city as I commanded you—” (v. 5). Paul knew, and trusted in, the character of Titus so much that he gave him the enormous job of organizing and establishing leadership over the various churches of the island of Crete. That was no easy task! In fact, it was humanly impossible! But Paul clearly thought highly of Titus—and of the God that he knew Titus trusted.

As I searched through the New Testament for the details about Titus’ life, I became surprised by how much the Bible tells us about him. But even more, I became amazed at the remarkable life he lived—and at the kind of character qualities that made him the kind of man God could use in such a remarkable way. I found myself inspired to be like him as a pastor and as a servant of God.

I hope to pass some of that inspiration this morning. So; I ask you to open up your Bible and follow along with me; and let me share with you the story of someone whom the Bible holds up to us as “a true son” of gospel faith.

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As far as the Bible’s record is concerned, the ‘first chapter’ of Titus’ life story tells us about . . .

1. HIS EARLY FAITH IN ANTIOCH.

There were two cities called Antioch in the New Testament. One was in the regions of Pisidia in Asia Minor. The other was in Syria—north of the land of Israel. Syrian Antioch is, by far, the most important to the story of the early church; because it’s where the gospel of Jesus had first become established among the Gentile world.

The Bible tells us that persecution had broken out against the Jewish Christians who were living in Jerusalem; and that some of those who scattered after the persecution went as far north as Syrian Antioch. And it was then that a very remarkable thing began to occur. Jewish Christians began to share their faith in Jesus Christ with Greeks who lived there. Many Gentiles began to turn to Jesus Christ! We’re told that it was such a remarkable thing that

the news of these things came to the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent out Barnabas to go as far as Antioch. When he came and had seen the grace of God, he was glad, and encouraged them all that with purpose of heart they should continue with the Lord. For he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And a great many people were added to the Lord. Then Barnabas departed for Tarsus to seek Saul. And when he found him, he brought him to Antioch. So it was that for a whole year they assembled with the church and taught a great many people” (Acts 11:22-26a).

The “Saul” that Barnabas sought out was the recently converted, former persecutor of the church we know as Paul. Barnabas saw the things that were developing in Antioch among the Gentiles; and knowing he’d need help in this newly-developing work, he got hold of Paul and made him his partner. They ministered for a full year—teaching the Gentile Christians in Antioch about the Savior in whom they had come to believe. And we’re told this wonderful fact: “And the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch” (Acts 11:26b).

Titus was a Greek who was one of those early believers at Antioch. So; one of the outstanding facts of Titus’ story is that he came to the Lord Jesus Christ at one of the most remarkable moments of history—the spread of the gospel to the Gentiles. He grew up in his faith at what soon came to be the center-point of Christian missions around the world! And it may even be that he had been led to the Lord and discipled by Paul personally!

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The next chapter of Titus’ life story tells us about . . .

2. HIS BOLD TESTIMONY IN JERUSALEM.

Sometime after Paul’s and Barnabas’ first missionary journey, after they had returned to Antioch, a very serious controversy arose. Some Jewish Christians were deeply disturbed that Gentiles were trusting Jesus Christ while remaining uncircumcised. Up to that time, only Jewish people had believed on Jesus; and it was natural for them to expect that Gentiles who also believed on Jesus would be faithful to the requirements of the ceremonial laws of Moses. Some were even going to Antioch and insisting on this—even to the point of telling the Gentile believers, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved” (Acts 15:1).

This was no small controversy It had to do with the very nature of saving faith. Would the message to the Gentiles be that justification was a free gift of God’s grace through faith in Jesus Christ apart from the law? Or would the Gentiles be told that they have to keep the law in order to be justified? The message that God had given Paul to preach was that of ‘justification by faith’. He wrote a whole New Testament letter—the Book of Galatians—to explain and defend it.

And here’s where we find another important event in the life of Titus. In that letter, Paul told his own story of how he himself became a Christian apart from trying to earn righteousness before God through the law, and was commissioned by Jesus to preach the gospel. And he wrote;

Then after fourteen years I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, and also took Titus with me. And I went up by revelation, and communicated to them that gospel which I preached among the Gentiles, but privately to those who were of reputation, lest by any means I might run, or had run, in vain. Yet not even Titus who was with me, being a Greek, was compelled to be circumcised” (Galatians 2:1-3).

One of the things we learn from this, certainly, is that Titus had—over the first ten years or so of his Christian faith—had become so significant to Paul and Barnabas that they wanted to take him with them to Jerusalem for this important meeting. But their doing so had even greater theological significance. They brought Titus—the Greek believer—before the leaders of the church in Jerusalem; and found that those leaders accepted him just as he was! They didn’t insist that he conform to the Jewish ceremonial law and be circumcised! There was apparently great pressure from many of what Paul called “false brethren” to have Titus circumcised while he was there; but Paul said that he “did not yield submission even for an hour, that the truth of the gospel might continue with you” (Galatians 2:5).

This is even more striking when we compare it with another event a short time later. Paul wanted to take that same gospel message of ‘justification by faith’ to Jewish people living elsewhere. He decided at that time to bring another young man—Timothy—along with him as a helper (Acts 16:2-3). But Timothy, born of a Jewish mother, had a Greek father; and had never been circumcised. And Paul felt, at that time, that it wise to have Timothy circumcised because he didn’t want anything to hinder Jewish kinsmen from hearing the gospel.

That was a decision that Paul made to help spread the gospel of justification by faith in Jesus. But in the case of Titus, it was a matter of defending the integrity of the very gospel that Paul had been given to preach! And this makes Titus a man who is enormously significant to our understanding of the gospel. He was displayed as ‘proof-positive’ that a non-Jewish man could be a genuine, sincere, faithful disciple of Jesus Christ apart from conformity to the outward ceremonial law of Moses! The refusal to circumcised Titus demonstrated Paul’s commitment to the truth he wrote in Galatians 2:16; that “a man is not justified by works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ . . .”

How grateful to God we should be for the bold testimony of this believing Gentile named Titus!

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Now; as the years rolled on, Titus grew to be more and more significant to the ministry of Paul. And it’s in the next chapter of his life that we discover . . .

3. HIS CHARACTER TOWARD THE CORINTHIANS.

Paul was, at this point of the story, serving in his third missionary journey. And while in Ephesus, he wrote his two letters to the Christians living in Corinth. One of the things he wrote to them about was the fund-raising drive that they had participated in. The churches in Macedonia began to raise funds for the support of Jewish Christians who were suffering persecution in Jerusalem (Romans 15:25-28); and the Corinthian Christians—inspired by their example—got involved in this effort as well.

Paul, at one point, had planned to go to personally help them get their effort organized (1 Corinthians 16:1-4). But as it turned out, he was unable to. And so, he sent a ministry partner to go to them in his place. And, as you may have guessed by now, that ministry partner was none other than Titus! Paul introduced him to them in his letter; saying, “If anyone inquires about Titus, he is my partner and fellow worker concerning you” (2 Corinthians 8:23). Apparently Titus was ministering with Paul in Ephesus; and yet, Paul sent him to go to the Corinthians as his own representative. What a high commendation this was of Titus! Paul counted him his “partner” and “fellow worker”.

And it’s clear that Titus himself had a real heart for the ministry that Paul had shared with him. 2 Corinthians 8:6 tells us that it was Titus himself who had first inspired the Corinthians to follow the example of the Macedonian brethren, and raise support for their suffering fellow Christians. He wrote, “So we urged Titus, that as he had begun, so he would also complete this grace in you as well” (2 Corinthians 8:6). Paul let the Corinthians know that the idea of urging them to raise support was Titus’ own! Clearly he had grown to have Paul’s own compassionate heart for the needs of the body of Christ!

And what’s more, we also discover that Titus had proven to be a man of great administrative diligence and integrity. He strove to make sure that things were done in a responsible manner, and who gave attention to detail. Paul writes, “But thanks be to God who puts the same earnest care for you into the heart of Titus. For he not only accepted the exhortation, but being more diligent, he went to you of his own accord” (2 Corinthians 8:16-17). He wanted to personally watch over the gift that the Corinthians raised; “avoiding this: that anyone should blame us in this lavish gift, which is administered by us—providing honorable things, not only in the sight of the Lord, but also in the sight of men” (vv. 20-21).

Titus was showing himself to be a faithful co-worker in ministry. He demonstrated compassion, initiative and trustworthy administrative abilities. No wonder Paul would have entrusted him later on with the responsibility of caring for the churches on the island of Crete!

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Now; the handling of that fund-raising effort wasn’t the only thing that Titus did with respect to the Corinthian believers. It’s next that we discover . . .

4. HIS LABORS AS PAUL’S ‘BRIDGE-BUILDER’.

One of the most hurtful aspects of Paul’s ministry to the Corinthian believers was a considerable ‘falling-out’ he had had with many of them. Opponents to his gospel ministry had been stirring-up hostility against him; and a very divisive spirit had grown in the church. It had cause Paul so much concern that, before he felt free to come to them, he thought it necessary to send Titus to help set things right; and to see how the Corinthian believers were with respect to him.

He hinted at how painful this division was to him in his second letter; when he wrote, “Furthermore, when I came to Troas to preach Christ’s gospel, and a door was opened to me by the Lord, I had no rest in my spirit, because I did not find Titus my brother; but taking my leave of them, I departed for Macedonia” (2 Corinthians 2:12-13). Apparently, the concern was so great that Paul stepped out of a thriving ministry opportunity in order to find Titus and get the news from him of how things were in Corinth. “For indeed,” he wrote, “when we came to Macedonia, our bodies had no rest, but we were troubled on every side. Outside were conflicts, inside were fears” (2 Corinthians 7:5). Paul just couldn’t have any peace until he learned from Titus how he stood with his beloved friends in Corinth.

But the good news finally came from Titus—and it truly lifted Paul’s spirits. He writes, “Nevertheless God, who comforts the downcast, comforted us by the coming of Titus” (2 Corinthians 7:6). And it’s here that we see Titus’ vital role as a ‘bridge-builder’ and ‘peace-maker’ in the body of Christ. Paul writes, “. . . and not only by his coming, but also by the consolation with which he was comforted in you, when he told us of your earnest desire, your mourning, your zeal for me, so that I rejoiced even more” (2 Corinthians 7:7). Titus’ labors among them helped reinforce their acceptance of Paul’s spiritual authority (vv. 8-12), and even brought blessing to the heart of Titus. Paul goes on to write,

Therefore we have been comforted in your comfort. And we rejoiced exceedingly more for the joy of Titus, because his spirit has been refreshed by you all. For if in anything I have boasted to him about you, I am not ashamed. But as we spoke all things to you in truth, even so our boasting to Titus was found true. And his affections are greater for you as he remembers the obedience of you all, how with fear and trembling you received him. Therefore I rejoice that I have confidence in you in everything (2 Corinthians 7:13-16).

And that’s not all! Titus’ character even paid dividends later on when Paul had to deal directly with those who still opposed him and questioned his integrity. Near the end of this letter, Paul writes, “”Did I take advantage of you by any of those I sent you? I urged Titus, and sent our brother with him. Did Titus take advantage of you? Did we not walk in the same spirit? Did we not walk in the same steps?” (2 Corinthians 12:17-18). Titus was such a faithful ‘bridge-builder’, that Paul could point to him as proof of the integrity of his own ministry!

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The next chapter in Titus’ story comes some three to five years later. And it’s there that we encounter . . .

5. HIS PASTORAL WORK IN CRETE.

We know this portion of Titus’ story through the letter that bears his name. And it’s in our study of this letter that we’ll see all of Titus’ character traits—developed by God through his past years of ministry experience—come into clear focus in Paul’s call to serve in Crete.

Apparently, Paul had labored in Crete before Titus; because we’re told that he “left” Titus there (Titus 1:5). And as Paul says at the very beginning of the letter, he worked toward “the faith of God’s elect”, and to proclaim “the truth which accords with godliness”.

These things had to be carried on faithfully in Paul’s absence. And he wouldn’t want leave the work in the hands of someone he couldn’t trust. Paul wanted the believers in Crete to be taught to live lives that were consistent with the message of the gospel; and whoever would teach such things would have to be the kind of person that lived-out a faithful example of what was taught. And so; it was to Titus that Paul committed that great task.

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And that leads us to the closing chapter of Titus’ story; and to . . .

6. HIS LAST RECORDED MINISTRY.

The time was three years or so after the book of Titus had been written. Paul was in prison in Rome, awaiting execution. And in his final letter—the second letter to Timothy—Paul truly pours out his heart.

He had some sad news to report. One of his former co-workers—a man named Demas—had proven unfaithful and had left the ministry of the gospel. Paul wrote to Timothy, “Be diligent to come to me quickly; for Demas has forsaken me, having loved this present world, and has departed for Thessalonica—” (2 Timothy 4:9-10a). It must have truly broken Paul’s heart to have to write those words.

But even though he was very specific to say that Demas forsook him out of a love for this world, he said no such thing about the next two co-workers that he mentions; “Crescens for Galatia, Titus for Dalmatia” (v. 10b). Given all that we read of Titus elsewhere in the Scripture, it’s hard to imagine that he would have been on his way to Dalmatia—and would have left his beloved co-worker Paul alone in prison—for any other reason than because he was being sent by Paul to yet another appointment of ministry.

Titus was, no doubt, faithful and trustworthy to the very last mention of his name in the record of Scripture.

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So; there you have the biography of a great servant of God. He was brought to faith in Christ by the grace of God, and stood strong on the standard of justification by faith in the finished work of Christ alone. He grew to be a faithful partner in the work of the gospel, who had a heart for the people he served, and who fulfilled his labors to them with diligence and care. He grew to be a valued ‘bridge-builder’ among the saints; and received the difficult tasks of ministry that were entrusted to him with confident faith and faithfulness of character. He ministered for the cause of Christ to the every end of what the Bible tells us about him.

As a pastor, I have much to learn from such a man. But as Christians, I believe we all have much to learn from him! His is a good and inspiring biography—a story of steady growth in usefulness to Jesus Christ, and faithfulness to the tasks God had given him.

As we study this letter together; may his story inspire us to be the kind of ‘true sons and daughters of the gospel faith’ that God would see fit to use in His service.