Page 91 - Pastoral Epistles I & 2 Timothy, Titus

In this passage from Titus 3:1-8, Paul speaks as a kind father in the faith, giving Titus and the believers in Crete
some gracious reminders of how God has laid hold of their lives.
 Remember how we should act toward others in this ungodly world.

 We are subject to government rulers and authorities.
 We should be obedient and ready for every good deed.

 We should be peaceful and gentle and be considerate of others.
 And remember – at one time we were ungodly just like them.
 We were foolish and disobedient and deceived.

 We gave in to lusts and pleasures and lived with envy.
And then what happened? God gave us His undeserved kindness.

 All of us should be able to look back over our lives every six months or so and do a
spiritual evaluation. We should be able to review that we have overcome some sin
and/or rejoice that we are adding a spiritual discipline to our life now, which was not a
part of life previously. All of us should be able to identify ongoing changes in our lives –
not just immediate changes that take place at the time of our spiritual rebirth.

 If we received mercy when we deserved judgment, then we should show God’s
kindness, love, and mercy to unbelievers who do not deserve it.

Is this easy or difficult? What are some of the times or situations that you personally have difficulty with
forgiving another person?

Paul tells Titus not to get involved in meaningless controversies and theological speculation and
to deal with disruptive people who promote such ideas in the church. Paul’s words are
meaningless unless there is such a thing as knowable, absolute spiritual truth. Because the
gospel is true, and it is the responsibility of the leaders in the church to maintain that truth by
dealing with those who try to destroy it. Paul is saying that to maintain the truth of the gospel,
church leaders must deal properly with disruptive and quarrelsome people.
 At all costs – the church is to maintain the truth of the gospel.

Speculations about matters that do not lead to godliness and good deeds are unprofitable and worthless. We
want to keep our focus on the truth of the gospel that changes lives.

For a few moments, erase from your mind the past 1,900 years of church history. Go back to the first century.
Rome ruled the world. If you were to ask for a list of the prominent religions of the world, Christianity would not
even be on the list. Maybe it would be listed as a minor offshoot of Judaism – maybe not. Its followers claimed
that some obscure Galilean Jew who had been crucified was the promised Jewish Messiah and that He had been
raised from the dead. But the average man on the street had never heard the Good News of Christianity. The
world was basically pagan.

Into that scene comes an obscure little Jewish man named Paul, who was from the
southern coast of what we call Turkey. He had met the risen Lord Jesus Christ, who had
commissioned him to take the gospel to the Gentile world. It was an enormous task!
How should he go about doing it?
Remember, he had no radio or television. He didn’t have the printing press, much less
Facebook and the Internet. He didn’t even have a post office to send out bulk mailings.
Furthermore, there was no rapid transportation system. He couldn’t drive on modern
highways or take a train or fly from city to city. He had to walk or take a boat. He
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