Well, we're gonna start the book of Titus this morning. Welcome to everybody. It's starting to look a little bit like winter, but looks like it's gonna hold off according to the forecast some 40s this week. 

Actually wanted me to remind everyone on Thursday night to bring your Bibles. So remember to bring your Bibles with you to the Thanksgiving dinner on Thursday night, and I'm not allowed to tell you why, so physical Bibles, okay? The ones with pages and books and paper and stuff in there, okay? 

All right, so we're gonna start the book of Titus. This letter is really similar to those we've spent the last several months studying in first and second Timothy. Paul's writing to a true son in the faith, a protege, a young pastor whom he sent to set things in order in the churches in Crete. 

But the letter to Titus is different in many ways than those written to Timothy. First of all, we know much less about Titus than we do about Timothy. There's very little information in the scriptures concerning who Titus is, when he first joined Paul, and how he fit into Paul's missionary journeys. 

We do not see Titus mentioned at all in Luke's recording of the book of Acts. We learn first of Titus in Galatians 2:1-3 where Paul wrote, "Then after 14 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 preach 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." 

Titus was a Greek; he was uncircumcised and this was important at the time because the great controversy in Galatians Jerusalem was concerning the necessity of circumcision and the keeping of the law of Moses for salvation. 

So when Paul went up to Jerusalem in the council in Acts 15, he took Titus with him likely as an example of a Gentile Christian who was not circumcised. 

I'd like you to turn to Acts 15 with me, please. As we begin, Acts 15 at verse 1, and follow along: 

"Certain men came down from Judea and taught the brethren, 'Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.' Therefore, when Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and dispute with them, they determined that Paul and Barnabas and certain others of them should go up to Jerusalem to the Apostles and elders about this question. So being sent on their way by the church, they passed through Phoenicia and Samaria, describing the conversion of the Gentiles, and they caused great joy to all the brethren. 

And when they had come to Jerusalem, they were received by the church and the Apostles and the elders and they reported all things that God had done with them. But some of the sect of the Pharisees who believed rose up saying, 'It is necessary to circumcise them and to command them to keep the law of Moses.' Now the Apostles and elders came together to consider this matter. 

And when there had been much dispute, Peter rose up and said to them, 'Men and brethren, you know that a good while ago God chose among us that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel and believe. So God who knows the heart acknowledged them by giving them the Holy Spirit just as He did to us and made no distinction between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith. 

Now, listen to what Peter says: 'Now therefore why do you test God by putting a yoke on the neck of the disciples which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear? But we believe that through the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved in the same manner as they.' Then all the multitude kept silent and listened to Barnabas and Paul declaring how many miracles and wonders God had worked through them among the Gentiles." 

What a tremendously clear and important meeting that was, and God has preserved that text for us. 

Well, it's likely that Paul met Titus perhaps leading him to Christ on his first missionary journey. He was clearly with him on his second journey and apparently played a role in settling this dispute in Acts 15, if only as an example of an uncircumcised Christian. 

The rest of what we know about Titus, other than from this epistle before us, is concerning his work in and relationship to the church in Corinth. We know that Paul had many frustrations with the church in Corinth; he wrote them several letters, some very severe, two of which we have in our New Testament. 

At least twice he sent Titus to Corinth to work with the church there, and it appears that Titus had great success in Corinth, setting things in order there. 

Turn over to 2nd Corinthians 7 with me, please, 2nd Corinthians 7:5. Paul writes, "For indeed when we came to Macedonia our bodies had no rest, but we were troubled on every side. Outside were conflicts, inside were fears. Nevertheless, God who comforts the downcast comforted us by the coming of Titus. 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. 

For even if I made you sorry with my letter, I do not regret it; though I did regret it, for I perceived that the same epistle made you sorry, though only for a while. Now I rejoice, not that you were made sorry, but that your sorrow led to repentance, for you were made sorry in a godly manner that you might suffer loss from us in nothing." 

For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation not to be regretted, but the sorrow of the world produces death. 

For observe this very thing: that you sorrowed in a godly manner, what diligence it produced in you, what clearing of yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what vehement desire, what zeal, what vindication—in all these things you proved yourselves to be clear in this matter. 

We learn in this letter to Corinth that Paul was in great distress, having written a very severe letter to the Corinthians, chastening them for their many transgressions. 

I wonder if you've ever met with a Christian, a brother who's fallen into sin or there's some kind of problem, and you kind of laid it on him. You felt like you needed to lay it on him, right? And then what happens when you go away? No, boy, maybe I shouldn't have said that; maybe I should have said it this way. 

Paul wrote this very severe letter, and then he said, "I don't regret it, although I did regret it." He was worried about it; he was stressed. He wanted to know their condition. He's worried about them not knowing how they had received the rebuke, not knowing their state. He could not go to them, but it says he could wait no longer to learn their state. So he sent Titus. 

Then Titus was to meet him back in Troas, but Paul didn't find him there. We see this in 2nd Corinthians 2:12. He says, "Furthermore, when I came to Troas to preach Christ's gospel and a door was opened to me by the Lord." 

He goes to Troas, and he's got all this opportunity, and he's preaching the gospel and there's fruit, but he says, "I had no rest in my spirit." Why? Because he's worried about Corinth. He's wanting to know what's going on. He's wondering where Titus is. He says, "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." And that's where Paul met up with Titus and heard this good news, brought the good news of the condition of things in Corinth—how they had received Paul's letter, had sorrowed with a godly sorrow, under repentance, and were now zealous for Paul to see him, to hear him, to obey his words. This brought tremendous joy to Paul. 

So we see that Titus was very useful to Paul in the ministry. He was a dependable and trustworthy servant of Christ and apparently was a very capable and skilled pastor who was able to get results in setting things in order. 

It's interesting in this letter that we don't see a lot of correction or exhortation or personal appeals as we did in Timothy's epistles. This letter is much more formal, much more compact, and to the point. 

I believe Titus was a very mature and capable pastor at this point in his life, and that he had been effective in all that Paul had asked of him throughout their relationship. I believe that this letter was not so much for the sake of setting Titus right, as we might surmise Timothy was, as it was to bolster the authority of Titus and assist him in his endeavor to set things in order in Crete. 

We learn in verses 12 to 13 of chapter 1 of this epistle that the Cretans are perhaps not the most submissive or ruly bunch. Look at verse 12 in chapter 1: 

"He says one of them, a prophet of their own, said, 'Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.' This testimony is true. Therefore rebuke them sharply that they may be sound in the faith." 

That sounds like a good spot to go, pastor, doesn't it? It may have been the purpose of this letter to bolster Titus with some apostolic authority, showing that Paul was behind all that Titus did, backing him up so that Titus could be effective in his ministry there. 

It would take a strong man, a mature believer committed to the ways of Paul, the means of God, to go to that island of Crete and set things in order in all the churches, and it seems that Titus was Paul's man for the job. 

Let's look at our text in Titus 1:1. 

"Paul, a bondservant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ according to the faith of God's elect and the acknowledgment of the truth, which accords with godliness, in hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, promised before time began, but has in due time manifested His word through preaching, which was committed to me according to the commandment of God our Savior, to Titus, a true son in our common faith. Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ our Savior." 

"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." 

I've given you four points on your outline this morning for our text: first, Paul; second, preaching; third, protege; and fourth, purpose. 

Whenever we begin to study a book of the Bible, it's important for us to pay close attention to some key hermeneutical principles. We want to think about who the author is, what his intent is in writing, who his audience is, and the context in which he writes. These things guide us in our interpretation and application of the text, and in this little epistle, these things are very clear. There's no guessing about this. 

First, we see the author, the Apostle Paul. Verse 1: "Paul, a bondservant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ according to the faith of God's elect and the acknowledgment of the truth, which accords with godliness, in hope of eternal life which God, who cannot lie, promised before time began, but has in due time manifested His word through preaching, which was committed to me according to the commandment of God, our Savior."

It's always difficult when you start these epistles to get past that first word, Paul. We could spend months here studying the author himself and his relationship to Titus, and all that Paul means to every young man, to every young pastor, and to every believer in Jesus Christ. 

But there are some key things we should not skip over in these first words. First, Paul characterizes himself as a bondservant, literally a bond slave of God. This speaks to Paul's understanding of his commission, of his relationship to God through the Lord Jesus Christ, and this is really important. 

The word "do-loss" refers to the most abject servile form of slave. It refers in fact to someone born into slavery. Paul, like every man, was born into slavery to sin in Adam, but gloriously born into slavery to Christ in his second birth, his new birth and regeneration in Christ. He was a slave to sin in Adam, but now he's a slave to Christ. 

The word refers to one who is swallowed up, whose will is swallowed up in the will of another. Think about that—one whose will is swallowed up in the will of another. In Adam, our will is swallowed up in the will of the devil; he is our father in his works, we wish to do, Jesus said. 

But in Christ, in the new birth and regeneration, our will is swallowed up in the will of Christ. This is how Paul saw his life, his mission. He says the word is also used of one bound with bands so tightly that only death could separate them. This is the very thing that separated Paul from sin and law and Satan—his death, burial, and resurrection with Jesus Christ. 

That's true for every one of us. When he was united to Jesus through faith, his old man was crucified with Christ. He was buried with Christ, and he was raised to a new life with Jesus. We see this spelled out in Romans 6. 

I was writing these notes, and writing, and I gotta go to Romans 6. Let's go to Romans 6 and look at that. Romans 6:1. 

Paul's talking about grace abounding at the end of chapter 5. The law entered that sin might abound, but where sin abounded, grace abounded much more. 

Verse 1 of chapter 6 says, "What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?" 

See, we died to sin. "Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. 

For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection." 

Knowing this, look at this fact—knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him. Our old man in Adam, the old man controlled and dominated by indwelling sin—he was crucified with Christ in order that the body of sin, this physical body controlled by indwelling sin, might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. 

For he who has died has been freed from sin. Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over Him. 

For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all, but the life that He lives, He lives to God. Likewise, you also reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord. 

Jesus, having died and having been raised again, death no longer has dominion over Him. The death that He died, He died to sin once for all, and now He lives forever. 

It's a band so tight that only death could separate, and guess what? He never dies again. Death cannot separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord; it cannot break the bands that bind us to Him. A bond slave serves his master at the disregard of his own interests. 

In Adam, those interests were the interests of Satan, but now in Christ, Paul serves selflessly the cause of Christ as his foremost goal and passion in life, and God has put that very desire within us. 

I want to serve Him. I have a great desire to serve Him. I want to love my wife. I want to teach my children. I want to preach the Word, the Gospel. It is a great example of the great Apostle here to us that he saw his life, his salvation, his mission as a bond slave to Christ. 

And these next words are so full, describing Paul's calling, his understanding of his ministry. It says, "an Apostle of Jesus Christ." 

According to the faith of God's elect and the acknowledgment of the truth which accords with godliness, in hope of eternal life which God, who cannot lie, promised before time began. 

We could literally spend several sermons on these words. Paul is an Apostle of Jesus Christ, meaning he was a sent one. Jesus personally called and sent Paul on a personal mission for Him. 

His Apostleship was according to the faith of God's elect and the acknowledgment of the truth which accords with godliness. What Paul is saying here is that his Apostleship was congruent with, in conjunction with, working toward, and in agreement with, the faith of the elect and the acknowledgment of the truth. 

Notice here, as we see so often, the definite article that's used with the word faith. Wiest comments, he says, "Since faith and truth are brought together here, we take it that the faith spoken of here is not an act of faith exerted by the Saints, but the Christian faith, that body of truth which we call the doctrines of the Christian system." 

Paul characterizes his Apostleship as one that corresponds with the body of truth, the faith, which is embraced by believers, God's elect, and a full knowledge of the truth. 

And when he says that both of these things have to do with life eternal, which the God who cannot lie promised before time began, notice that this truth, this promise, this full doctrine and the acknowledgment of it accords with godliness, piety. 

In these short words, the whole of the Christian faith and life and hope are all wrapped up. Paul's Apostleship was to preach the truth, the word, the doctrine, the faith once for all delivered to the Saints, and by this, those who fully acknowledge this truth—believe it, God's elect—are not only equipped but moved to live a life worthy of their calling, a life of holiness for the cause and the purpose of God in Christ, and are constantly looking for, in sure hope and confidence, eternal life promised by the God who cannot lie. 

And that's not all. Look at verse 3: "God promised this eternal life before time began, but it says, in due time, at the proper time, at the right time, manifested His word through preaching, which was committed to me according to the commandment of God our Savior." 

We learned so much from the man Paul, from his ministry, calling, teaching, and example. 

The promise was manifest, revealed, made known in due time, in God's time. In John 1, it says, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men, and the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it." 

There was a promise, a covenant made before time began, between the Father and the Son, a promise of salvation, of eternal life. "In the beginning was the Word, Jesus, but in due time, in God's time, at the right time, in the fullness of time," verse 14 says, "and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. And we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth." 

The Word, God the Son, took on flesh, and dwelt among us. Turn over to Hebrews 2 with me, please. Hebrews 2 at verse 9. 

In this section, the author is talking about how God intended to set everything under the feet of man, of Adam, in the beginning, but then the fall of Adam in the garden brought the curse on the world, and everything's upside down, and now we're in a cursed world fighting against nature, thorns and thistles and storms and all these kinds of things. 

He says we do not see all things put under His feet in verse 8, and as God intended, verse 9 says, "But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honor, that He by the grace of God might taste death for everyone. 

For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings. For both He who sanctifies and those who are being sanctified are all of one, for which reason He is not ashamed to call them brethren, saying, 'I will declare your name to my brethren. In the midst of the assembly I will sing praise to you,' and again, 'I will put my trust in Him,' and again, 'Here am I and the children whom God has given me.' 

And as much then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. 

For indeed He does not give aid to angels, but He does give aid to the seed of Abraham. Therefore, in all things He had to be made like His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. 

For in that He Himself has suffered being tempted, He is able to aid those who are tempted. 

In due time, Jesus was manifest; the promise was made known, realized in Christ. And Paul says through preaching. 

Turn over to Galatians 3, I want you to look at one other passage about this promise. Galatians 3 at verse 10. 

Notice these great truths that we're hitting on in these various scriptures. 

"For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse. For it is written, 'Cursed is everyone who does not continue in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them.' But that no one is justified by the law in the sight of God is evident, for 'the just shall live by faith.' Yet the law is not of faith, but the man who does them shall live by them. 

Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us. For it is written, 'Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree.' That the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. 

Brethren, I speak in the manner of men, though it is only a man's covenant, yet if it is confirmed, no one annuls or adds to it. Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. 

It is not saying 'to seeds,' as of many, but as of one, and to your seed, who is Christ. And this I say, that the law, which was 430 years later, cannot annul the covenant that was confirmed before by God in Christ, that it should make the promise of no effect. 

For if the inheritance is of the law, it is no longer of promise, but God gave it to Abraham by promise." 

By promise. The promise of eternal life. Jesus is the promise fulfilled. Jesus is the promise made manifest. Jesus is what Paul preached to make this truth known. Jesus is eternal life. Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except by me. If you'd known me, you would have known my Father also, and from now on you know Him and have seen Him." 

John 17:3, Jesus said, "And this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent." 

The mission of Paul, the man Paul, the Apostle sent to the Gentiles, was to preach Jesus Christ, to preach the whole counsel of God, the faith once for all delivered to the saints. 

And this Apostleship, this mission, this method accords with godliness in hope of eternal life. 

I have to just stop here again for a minute—the gospel, the truth accords with godliness. It's congruent; it's an agreement with godliness. 

Did you know that God saved you, that He crucified you, that He buried you, and raised you with Jesus for the express purpose that you might live a new kind of life as a witness to this world of the transforming power of the gospel of Jesus Christ, that you might be different, that you might be separate from the world, that you might glorify God in all that you do, and have consistent victory over sin and have a singular passion to live as a bond slave to your Master Jesus Christ, your will being swallowed up in His will? 

And all of this with a constant view and fervent desire for the consummation, the final realization of the promise of eternal life. 

Let me ask you, is that how you're living? My brother, my sister in Christ, is that how you're thinking these days? Or are you all fretted up about who's going to be the next president of the United States? 

Oh, I'm guilty. I know. Guilty, guilty, guilty. But God has that. He's in control. And you know what? He sits in the heavens and laughs. He holds them in confusion, in derision. They think they are somebody, the kings of the earth, but He has set His King, His Holy King, on His holy hill of Zion. You better kiss the Son, embrace Him, lest He be angry and you perish in the way when His wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all those who put their trust in Him. 

Blessed are those who put their trust where? In the kings of the earth? In government? In man? Blessed are those who put their trust in Him, who put their trust in the faith once for all delivered to the saints, who put their trust in the doctrine that accords with godliness, who put their trust in the means and the method of God, the preaching of Jesus Christ, the gospel of salvation. 

Blessed is the one who puts his trust in Jesus, in the promise manifest, the promise from the God who cannot lie, the promise and the sure confident hope of eternal life which we now have, which will be made manifest soon in glory. 

1st John 3:1 says, "Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us that we should be called children of God." 

Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. 

Watch this now, "and everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself just as He is pure." 

This apostleship of Paul to preach the word, the truth, the gospel accords with godliness, accords with the faith, accords with the promise. 

And all this is encompassed by example, by the life, the ministry, by the words of Paul. And it's so clear that his method—this is so important, this is so unknown in the churches—it's so important to understand, so clear that his method, God's method, the means by which God accomplishes His will, this great salvation for those who believe, is through preaching. Notice once more quickly for emphasis verse 3: 

"But has in due time manifested His word through preaching, which was committed to me according to the commandment of God our Savior," through preaching. 

This is the means; this is the method of God to bring all of this to fruition in real time, in real lives, that the promise might be fulfilled. You go out and preach the gospel; you go out and preach the truth—that's God's means. 

Well, Paul is the author and the audience is Titus, the protege. Verse 4: "To Titus, a true son in our common faith, grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ our Savior." 

We learn about who Titus is as much as we know about him from the scriptures. We've seen his skill, his effectiveness in ministry as a leader of men, as a pastor, a reconciler, an edifier of the saints through truth. 

And we see an important truth here in this verse: Paul calls him a true son in the faith. Paul had a close relationship with Titus, and it's likely that he led him to Christ directly or indirectly as he did with Timothy. And Titus had grown in his faith. 

God had gifted him and raised him up and used him mightily in the church as a pastor. He'd done great work, difficult work in Corinth. He traveled with Paul and had been useful, faithful to him. He was another of Paul's protégés. He was a son in the faith to Paul. He was a fulfillment of the plan of Christ in the ministry and life of Paul. 

As Paul wrote to Timothy in 2 Timothy 2, listen: "And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also." Multiplication. This is still the plan of God in the church today. 

And Titus was an example of this in the life and ministry of Paul. We see nothing negative about Titus anywhere in the scriptures. He was just a faithful bond servant of Jesus Christ, useful in the ministry to Paul and to the churches. 

And that brings us to his important purpose if you look at verse 5: "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." 

Here we see the intent, the purpose of the letter, the commission given to Titus by Paul. We learn a couple of important things here in this verse, and we'll go into more detail and more depth next time, but briefly here as we close, we see that the plan of God for the church administration was to appoint elders in every city. 

The local church, the body of believers, is to have overseers, elders, to guide and direct the church, to make decisions concerning the administration of the church and how things should be done. Many problems come into the church by a disregarding of this clear command here in Titus 1:5. 

Churches who organize in a congregational manner invite all kinds of trouble and problems into their church. Paul says the key to setting things in order, having proper administration in the church and oversight, is a plurality of elders. 

This is God's system, and that's why we have adopted that system here at Living Hope Church. The Bible says nothing about rules for membership, nothing about rules for church constitutions, but it says clearly that elders should be appointed in every church to oversee the affairs of the local body. 

And there are clear qualifications for these elders, which we will get into next time, which we already looked at in 1 Timothy 3. But this was the purpose. 

This is the reason that Paul left Titus in Crete, to set things in order, to appoint elders in every city—faithful men who could guide and direct the local body and oversee its mission. 

So we have an introduction to this jam-packed, full little letter to Titus. We see the author, Paul, and his great example to us, his apostleship and commission, and his means of fulfilling his ministry, preaching. 

And we see his protege, Titus, left in Crete for a purpose, to set in order the things that are lacking to appoint elders in every city. This is an important and exciting letter, and we're going to spend some time, Lord willing, unpacking it over the next several weeks, and I hope that you're looking forward to it as much as I am. 

Let's close in prayer. 

Father, we're so thankful for your words, your truth that's so consistent, so clear. Thank you for the gospel message. Thank you for the power, the power of the gospel. Thank you that it's available to every man, and that every man who will believe can be moved from being in Adam to being in Christ, from eternal death to eternal life. 

Thank you that we have eternal life, and thank you that we know and can trust your promise that you will bring us to be with you forever in heaven. Help us to understand that you're in control. Help us to understand that you have a great purpose for us. Help us to understand your means for carrying that out, your intent for godliness in our lives. 

Help us to be witnesses that bring glory to you in all that we do. 

In Jesus' name, amen.