The Apostle Paul wrote a letter to Titus who was a pastor/teacher that Paul had won to the Lord. The early church was not big buildings or big ministries, it was local teacher/pastors that were holding meetings in their own homes. Of course, these were not big congregations, but these people were meeting together in small groups and then dispersing out to the community teaching and witnessing to others of the love of Christ that these, themselves had witnessed and felt. It seems that Titus, as all pastors everywhere do, was having trouble with some of the congregants. Duh! So what else is new? When you oversee people and try to give some sort of direction to them, there is always some sort of trouble and/or drama.
There is a lot more of the directions that Paul was giving to Titus (you can read the whole book of Titus: it is a very short book), but I will give just the first seven verses of chapter 3, which relates how a normal Christian life should be lived:
“Put them in mind to be subject to principalities and powers, to obey magistrates, to be ready to every good work, To speak evil of no man, to be no brawlers, but gentle, shewing all meekness unto all men. For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another. But after that the kindness and love of God our Savior toward man appeared. Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior; That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.” Titus 3:1-7
I am going to work backwards with these verses:
First of all, we have been made heirs. If you have been made an heir you have been adopted. If you have been adopted, you can legally get into Heaven (the hope of eternal life).
We have been adopted by His grace (His grace that he bestows to all), which is the prerequisite for being adopted.
This all happens at the foot of the cross, where He shed His blood (blood that has the power to cover all mankind).
This happens not because of anything we do, or can do. In a natural state we have no righteousness, all righteousness belongs to Him. In His righteousness and with great mercy He saw us all in our natural state and He saved us by washing away our sins with the renewing power of the Holy Spirit. Through this, God no longer sees our sins – they have come out in the wash!
Through the kindness and love of God, our Savior appeared on the scene to bestow grace and mercy to all of us.
That was verse seven through four going backwards. At that point Paul, in verses two and three had given a list of things that he had actually lived, as Saul (before he was converted). Let me list these again, for emphasis:
He gave instruction to speak evil of no man, to be no brawlers, but gentle; instead he was being hateful to other men, being foolish, disobedient, deceived (heretical teachings), living in lustful pleasures, living in a state of bad attitude, hating everyone and everything, envying (or coveting) what other people have. Whew!
Who do you expect falls into the category of living like this? These attitudes, these lifestyles?
Lest you think I am pointing fingers at someone I will give you a hint:
EVERY SINGLE ONE OF US is guilty of these attitudes and lifestyles. Want to know how to break these habits? Go back to Titus 2, verse 1 and start there:
“But speak thou the things which become sound doctrine: that the aged men be sober, grave, temperate, sound in faith, in charity, in patience. The aged women likewise, that they be in behavior as becometh holiness, not false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things; that they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children, to be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed. Young men likewise exhort to be sober minded. In all things shewing thyself a pattern of good works: in doctrine shewing uncorruptness, gravity, sincerity, sound speech, that cannot be condemned;” Titus 2:1-8a
Now to ask this question, in reading these to sets of scripture, which category do you fall in? I know we all try to work on the Titus 2 things, but we keep falling back into the old habits of Titus 3:2-3. I have this problem too, and there is only one thing to do in this time of the many problems and circumstances of today’s generation. In the book of first Peter tells us that this is a universal problem, so don’t get downhearted when you fall back into Titus 3:
“Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour; Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.” 1 Peter 5:8-9
~AE
Voice of the Introverts 