Good morning to everyone. She was a little chilly out there. I'm glad you all made it. I feel so sorry for all my friends when I go out and take care of them on a morning like this. The pigs are shivered and the cows have frost on their face, but we're giving them lots of food and bedding, and I guess they probably are doing better than I think they are usually. 

We're going to be finishing the book of Titus this morning, Titus 3, 9-15. This will be our last message. We began our study of these pastoral epistles back in February of last year, pre-pandemic, which seems like ages ago. We've done 40 messages on these letters. And this study of 1 and 2 Timothy and Titus has really been a very rewarding study for me. 

I've greatly appreciated the relevant, applicable messages of Paul to these young men, summarized in the first letter to Timothy in chapter 3, where Paul said, "I write you these things that you may know how you ought to conduct yourselves in the house of God." And we've learned a great deal about how we should conduct ourselves in the house of God, the church, the local body of believers. 

We've learned that doctrine is the focus, that preaching and teaching the word of God, the truth, is the primary role of the pastor. And we've learned that there will always be false teachers, false doctrine to contend with, meant to lead away believers from the truth. 

We've learned in particular in Titus how we should relate to one another in the body, what our individual roles are for the health and soundness of the church, and how we should conduct ourselves toward those who are outside. Truth is always the answer. It's always the exhortation and the encouragement of the apostle to these young pastors, truth from the word of God. And the church is the pillar and the ground of the truth. 

If the truth is not the focus, the message, the plan and purpose of the church, then the truth is lost because the world does not have it. These letters have convinced me, reinforced, that my job, my role, is to say what God says, to preach the word. And they've sharpened my focus on doing just that through the study, preparation, preaching, and teaching of God's word, verse by verse, book by book, seeking to say what he says. 

In the letter to Titus, we've seen that this ground of truth finds its purpose and application in relationships, in roles in the church, applied and lived out for the purpose of evangelism. And this is consistent in the scriptures throughout. The local church exists for the purpose of equipping the saints, for the growth and the maturing of the body, so that each part does its share to encourage, to strengthen, to prepare the body, to prepare each of us as individuals to go out into the world to do the work of ministry. 

And that is to take the gospel, the good news message to the world, to every man, to every opportunity that God gives us to tell people about Jesus. And the truth doctrine is the basis for a holy life, for living in consistency with who I am in Christ, so that my life is a testimony to the transforming power of the gospel of Jesus Christ. This all works out through relationships in the church, out of the church, roles and responsibilities, and relationships. 

And we have seen this in this short epistle to Titus. And now in the closing words of this letter, Paul gives us some last instructions, final words on how we should relate to those who may bring contentions and divisions, and also how we should relate to those who are fellow workers in the gospel ministry. 

Let's look at our text in Titus 3 at verse 9. "But avoid foolish disputes, genealogies, contentions, and strivings about the law, for they are unprofitable and useless. Reject a divisive man after the first and second admonition, knowing that such a person is warped and sinning, being self-condemned. When I send Artemis to you, or Tychicus, be diligent to come to me at Nicopolis, for I have decided to spend the winter there. Send Zenos the lawyer and Apollos on their journey with haste, that they may lack nothing. And let our people also learn to maintain good works, to meet urgent needs that they may not be unfruitful. All who are with me greet you. Greet those who love us in the faith. Grace be with you all. Amen." 

I've given you three points on your outline this morning. First, avoid strivings. Second, reject a divisive man. And third, maintain good works. 

Well, our tendency is sometimes to dismiss the final words of a letter. Usually there's a list of names, some greetings, some basic words of departure. But I've found that the last words are usually very practical and instructive, and usually in regard to the reality of ministry, especially relating to people, relationships, real life, and real ministry. 

Here Paul gives some final instructions concerning some very practical concerns, what I should be doing and what I should not be doing. How do I handle opposition, distractors, divisive men? This was a very practical concern for Titus, and it is for us in our day as well. And where should my heart and love and focus be? 

I remember many years ago, Pastor Krenz gave me some very practical advice. Someone was upset with me. It must have been something I said from the pulpit. I remember what it was actually. But the guy backed me into the kitchen and put his finger in my chest right into the refrigerator. But this person addressed me rather aggressively, and I was upset that he was upset. 

And when I met with Pastor Krenz that week, as I've done most weeks for the last 20 years now, I was kind of bemoaning this situation. And Pastor took out a piece of paper, and he took a pen, and he put a dot in the middle of the paper. And he said, "What do you see?" I said, "I see a dot." And he said, "That's your problem. Look at all this beautiful white paper all around, and all you see is this little dot." 

And that's how the ministry is sometimes. God's doing all these amazing things, fruit abounding everywhere, people growing and witnessing. And when there's one little bit of trouble, we tend to focus on it and let it consume us. 

Titus had more than a little of this to deal with. There were men in the churches of Crete, like some in the churches today, who wanted to argue and strive about all kinds of details and doubtful things, who made it their life ministry to wrangle over words, to come up with fanciful allegories concerning the genealogies of the Old Testament and to strive about the law endlessly. And Paul tells them in verse 9 of our text, "These things are unprofitable, and they're useless." 

I find this to be a very practical exhortation from Paul because these men have always existed in the church, and they still do today. They're way down deep into some detail, some favored doctrine, usually way off the beaten path, but they want to spend their lives arguing over it and pressing it and drawing you into it. 

I remember a man like this who came to our Bible study years ago. He was at the home where we were having this study when I arrived, and he introduced himself to me, and he said, "I'm an ah rapture, ah millennial partial preterist." I wasn't even sure what all that meant, but I told him that was quite a handle. And this man wanted to argue about these things incessantly and push strange ideas. 

It turned out he was into theonomy and reconstruction doctrines, and he told me that he was saving up $1,500 so that he could buy all of Gary Norse's commentary set. He came to the church here one time. At the end of the service, he showed up and stood out in the hallway handing out some sort of literature and harassing people, and he bounced from church to church, study to study, purveying his foolish disputes and contentions, striving about doctrine. 

He was a nice guy. He was passionate about his mission, but he had become distracted. He had become caught up in the minutia of useless wranglings, and most of the brothers and sisters had no idea what he was talking about most of the time, and it was detrimental to growth and fruit in the body. 

We see this kind of thing Paul is talking about sometimes in academic circles as well, men who write books about some detail in the depths of the Old Testament law and spend their lives arguing over it. These men in Titus' time were likely Jews, and they were all hung up on the genealogies in the Old Testament, bringing allegorical interpretations that had no basis in the Scripture. 

They came up with all kinds of fanciful things that had no reasoning, and they made it their life's work to propagate these doctrines. They were contentious, striving men, hung up on the law, and we see this in different forms today. A desire to place the law of Moses on believers as a rule of life, and allegorizing and spiritualizing of texts that have no application for us in the New Covenant. 

The main instruction here from Paul is this. Avoid. Avoid such men. The word has the literal meaning of standing off from, aloof from, or literally to turn your back on. Paul says avoid these kinds of men. Don't engage them and spend your time striving with them. It's only harmful to you and to the church. 

I can remember a couple of different men like this who sort of drifted through my life. One in particular used to email me questions, striving, looking for an argument. And I'd spend hours studying, researching, to give him a solid biblical response to some obscure question. And then he'd just go on to the next one. 

I spent a lot of time disputing with a man who had no desire to learn anything or to rightly divide the word of truth. He just wanted to argue. And that's not profitable. When I studied these words in verse 9, it made me think of seminary as well. 

I enrolled years ago in a master of ministry program in a theological seminary, and there were 10 courses in this program. I'd already completed two undergraduate degrees, and this master's program required these 10 courses. And I completed four of the courses, but as I progressed in the program, it became evident to me that the whole thing was worse than useless. The courses were not biblical. 

Most of the professors were not even believers. There were textbooks that were nothing but endless foolish disputes and strivings about any and all things. I would have to write maybe a dozen papers for each course. And I found myself making a defense of biblical truth and spending all my time refuting these tremendous errors found in the materials for the course. And I kept getting perfect scores. So finally, I wrote to the dean of the college and asked him if the hundreds of other people enrolled in this program were also picking up on all this error that was being forced on us through these classes. And what about the ones who were not so discerning? 

And that was the end of my seminary endeavors. There are many under the umbrella of Christianity who are the types of men that Paul is talking about. And they come in many different forms. Paul says, avoid such men. Stay away from them, Titus. They will drag you down into uselessness and unprofitableness. 

And next we see in verse 10 that we must reject a divisive man. This man is a little different, a little more dangerous than the first man. This is a divisive man. His intention is to sow discord, to cause discontent among the brethren and undermine those in authority. The word translated divisive is where we get the word heretic, and it literally means to cause division. 

In Romans 16, 17, Paul wrote these words concerning heretics. He said, "I urge you, brethren, note, that word means to mark out, to call out publicly by name. Note those who cause divisions and offenses contrary to the doctrine which you learned and avoid them." This man is purveying some divisive doctrine, a heretical teaching that's sole purpose is to confuse and draw away believers from the truth, to cause division in the body. 

And it's a more serious and dangerous situation. And surely Titus had to deal with this again and again in the churches in Crete. There were false teachers, those set on undermining Titus and his authority, just like Timothy had dealt with in Ephesus. And also Paul. 

We're just getting to the end of our study in 2 Corinthians, and you'll remember that 2 Corinthians was largely about the false teachers who had infiltrated and undermined Paul. Paul called them false apostles and ministers of Satan. And he spent the whole letter defending his ministry and the gospel and rejecting those false teachers. 

We see a promise of this kind of what Paul calls warped and sinning person all through the Scriptures. Jesus, Paul, Peter, Jude, all promise that there would be false teachers among us, that there will be those who will come into the church to draw away the disciples, to undermine the true teachers and to cause division in the body. And we see again and again that we will know them by their fruit, by their doctrine, by their living. 

Paul says to Titus, you must reject a divisive man after the first and second admonition. Sometimes a divisive man is a false teacher with a false gospel, but sometimes a divisive man can be a brother who has some sincere doctrinal disagreement that he cannot let go of. And that's fine. I think we can disagree on doctrine. Good men who love the Lord certainly can have different understandings of the Scriptures in various areas. 

And I think they can have fellowship in the body and be fruitful together. But if a man has a different doctrinal position on something in the church, and that man begins to make it his aim to sow division, to fracture the body, undermine the elders concerning that disagreement, then it's a serious problem. For the sake of the body, Paul says, that man must be rejected. 

He must be put out of fellowship. Notice Paul says, after the first and second admonition. This is Jesus' prescription for church discipline in Matthew 18. The issue should be addressed, the man should be warned, the matter should be clear. But if his heart is set on division, this will only bring harm and potentially great damage to the church, and he must be put out. This was a practical instruction for Titus, and it is for us today as well. 

So we see avoid, we see reject, and last in our text we see that we should maintain good works. Titus 3.12, when I send Artemis to you, or Tychicus, be diligent to come to me at Nicopolis, for I have decided to spend the winter there. Send Zenos the lawyer and Apollos on their journey with haste, that they may lack nothing. And let our people also learn to maintain good works, to meet urgent needs that they may not be unfruitful. 

All who are with me greet you, greet those who love us in the faith. Grace be with you all. Amen. Well here we see the positive admonition which Paul closes his letter with. As important as it is to avoid foolish disputes and men who want to continually strive about things, and as vital as it is to reject a divisive man and put him out of the church for the sake of the body, perhaps the most important instruction here is to encourage, to help, to provide for those who work with us in ministry. 

I know this is the heart of our church, really, to support missions, to support those preaching the gospel, to work together and encourage one another and grow to go out into our communities and do the work of ministry, preaching the gospel. 

Well first we see Paul appeal to Titus to come to him at Nicopolis. Paul wants to see Titus. He wants to be encouraged together, mutually edified, and this is reminiscent of Romans 1. You remember that passage where Paul said, "I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world. For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of His Son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers, making request if by some means now at last I may find my way in the will of God to come to you." 

Listen to Paul's heart, "For I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift, that you may be established, that is that I may be encouraged together with you by the mutual faith both of you and me." Real ministry involves real people and real relationships, and as much as we often have to focus on the negative, our focus and energy should be on the positive. That is encouraging in helping those who are faithful, who want to work together and give themselves and their lives to the gospel. Paul's going to send Artemis or Tychicus to Crete so that Titus can come and spend some time with him over the winter in Nicopolis. 

In verse 13, Paul encourages Titus and the churches in Crete to help Zenos and Apollos with their ministry. Send them on their journey with haste and be sure that they lack nothing. Wish them Godspeed, help them in any way you can, support them, supply for their journey, avoid foolish disputes, reject divisive men, but by all means team up with those who want to further the gospel, who have the right focus and heart for the Lord. 

Work together, encourage one another, give yourselves your time, your prayers, your encouragement, your money. Make sure they lack nothing. And let all our people, verse 14 he says, learn to maintain good works, to meet urgent needs that they might not be unfruitful. Our heart, our passion and desire is to be fruitful, to bear fruit for God's glory. 

Jesus gave us that great picture of the Christian life in John 15, abide in me and I in you as the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. I am the vine, he said. You are the branches. He who abides in me and I in him bears much fruit, for without me you can do nothing. Our desire, God's purpose for the church, is to be fruitful for His glory. 

Turn over to Ephesians 3 with me please, Ephesians 3 verse 14. Ephesians 3:14, "For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that he would grant you according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, that you being rooted and grounded in love may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height, to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God." 

Now to him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think according to the power that works in us, to him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen. If we want to be fruitful, to bring him glory in the church, then it must be through an abiding relationship day by day through faith in Jesus Christ, and God gives strength to our inner man through His Spirit, Jesus Christ can settle down and be at home and be fully functional through our lives, that's what those words mean. 

And Paul gives us some very practical instructions here at the end of the book of Titus concerning fruitfulness. Yes, there's the necessity of the negative to avoid, to reject, but the positive is so powerful. Let our people also learn to maintain good works, to meet urgent needs that they may not be unfruitful. 

And my friends, this comes to fruition in fellowship. Fellowship in the gospel work. Find those who are on fire for the gospel, who want to know the truth, hear the truth, grow by the truth, and fellowship with them, encourage one another, help each other with needs, supply anything that is lacking, and in this way there will be fruit. 

Paul says it so beautifully in Ephesians 4, turn over to Ephesians 4:11, he explains God's plan here. "He himself gave some to the apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastor-teachers, for the equipping of the saints, for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, that we should no longer be children tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine by the trickery of men and the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting." 

"But speaking the truth in love may grow up in all things into Him who is the head Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love." 

This is the application that we can take from the book of Titus and the letters to Timothy as well. How we should conduct ourselves in the house of God. And we need to understand three things and keep coming back to this. We need to understand our purpose, we need to understand our priority, and we need to understand God's plan for accomplishing His will through the church. 

We must never lose sight of the fact that God has called us to a very specific purpose. It's easy to become caught up in the world and the carnal earthly things, setting our minds, our hearts on temporal earthly matters. But the reason we are here is to make disciples through the preaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Jesus said, "Go into all the world and make disciples." This is the Great Commission. This is our purpose. 

And salvation comes to a man only by the grace of God, only through faith. Romans 10:17 says, "Faith comes by hearing, hearing by the Word of God," literally hearing a message about Jesus. Romans 1:16 to 17 tells us that it is the gospel that is the power of God unto salvation. Jesus said to Paul, listen to these words, I think they're so instructive. This is His testimony before Agrippa in Acts 26. Jesus spoke these words to Paul, "Rise and stand on your feet, for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to make you a minister and a witness both of the things which you have seen and of the things which I will yet reveal to you. I will deliver you from the Jewish people as well as from the Gentiles to whom I now send you, to open their eyes, to turn them from darkness to light, from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in me." 

God has sent us to open their eyes, to turn them from darkness to light, from the power of Satan to God. How? By the preaching of the gospel truth, the message about Jesus, and imploring them to believe Jesus, to place their faith in Him alone and what He accomplished on the cross. Men are sanctified, Jesus said, by faith in me. 

In His high priestly prayer, Jesus said that we, the believers, are left in this world for the express purpose that the world may know that He is the Christ. Our purpose is clear. The reason God has left us here on this earth is to be His witnesses, to be His ambassadors, to herald the message of salvation by grace through faith in Him. 

Our priority to accomplish this great mission is the local gathering of the believers for the study, preaching, and teaching of the Word of God. The Word of God must be at the center of everything we do. We sing the Word of God, doctrinal truth, in the hymns and songs we sing and worship together. We preach and teach the Word of God, verse by verse, book by book, precept upon precept. 

We encourage and rebuke and exhort one another based on the truths of the Word of God. And when we go out into this world and seek opportunities to witness, it is the Word of God, the gospel that we speak, the promise of salvation for all who will believe. God has sent us to open their eyes. 

The Word of God is our priority because it is God's plan for accomplishing His will through the church. When we come together, our purpose here is for the equipping of the saints, and it's the Word of God that sanctifies, that matures, that causes health and growth, that these are the sound words that Titus was to preach. 

When the sound words of truth, biblical doctrine, is taught continuously, regularly, it brings growth and maturity over time, and it produces fruit, the fruit of good works, the fruit of salvation of lost souls. This is God's plan. This is God's way for equipping His saints to do the work of ministry, which He has called them to, and He does this within the context, primarily, of the local body of believers. 

So when we study these pastoral epistles, we see specific instruction to the pastor-teacher, Timothy, Titus, as to what they are to be doing. But we see instruction also to the older men, to the younger men, and likewise the older women, the younger women, all have a role, a share in the health and growth of the body. Everyone needs to do their share, and that brings wellness, soundness, wholeness, and the body can thrive and function as God intends. 

All of this is centered on the Word of God, sound words, truth from God, as the basis for living out a holy life that brings glory to Him and is a witness in this world to men. Our purpose, our priority in God's plan for the church. 

We've learned so much in this study over these many months about how we should conduct ourselves in the house of God, and it's not complicated, my brothers and sisters. It's a simple truth, a simple message, a simple focus, the simplicity that's in Christ. That's where we need to keep a reject divisive man. Don't get entangled in all these things. Keep your focus on Christ. That's the answer. 

Let's close in prayer. 

Father, we thank you for these great epistles, the pastoral epistles to Timothy, to Titus. Thank you for the opportunity to spend these many months studying and learning and growing and understanding more clearly our purpose in the church and how we should conduct ourselves, Lord. And we just pray that you would help each one of us to have a passion and a focus on Christ, to strengthen the body, to do our share, to do our part, to help each other, to rebuke when necessary, to correct, to encourage, to strengthen, to teach all these things we do with each other. 

Help us, Lord, always to be focusing on you, abiding in Jesus, that you might produce fruit through this body in this place at Living Hope Church, for your glory in Jesus' name. Amen.