Micah McCormick: and grab a Bible there from the pew in front of you.
Micah McCormick: Titus, chapter 3.
Micah McCormick: We're going to be going through this book tonight and we're doing a series where we are surveying each book of the Bible, so we're in Titus.
Micah McCormick: I'm going to read just a portion for us as we start here Titus, chapter 3, verses 4 to 8.
Micah McCormick: Portion for us as we start here Titus, chapter 3, verses 4 to 8.
Micah McCormick: But when the kindness of God, our Savior, and his love for mankind appeared, he saved us, not by works of righteousness that we had done, but, according to his mercy, through the washing of regeneration and renewal by the Holy Spirit.
Micah McCormick: He poured out his spirit on us abundantly through Jesus Christ, our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we may become heirs with the hope of eternal life.
Micah McCormick: This saying is trustworthy and I want you to insist on these things so that those who have believed in God might be careful to devote themselves to good works.
Micah McCormick: These are good and profitable for everyone.
Micah McCormick: Let's pray, lord.
Micah McCormick: We thank you for your words.
Micah McCormick: We feel such in our own hearts at times, the light that you want us to shine before men, the light we actually do shine.
Micah McCormick: There's a such a gap there.
Micah McCormick: But we pray that you'd make us people who are zealous for good works, make us people who are eager for all the teaching that accords with these good works.
Micah McCormick: And would your word strengthen our resolve, but, more than that, strengthen our dependence on Christ, strengthen our realization of our need of Jesus Christ and the glory of our Savior, who has accomplished so much for us and is even at work in us.
Micah McCormick: Be at work in us through this word.
Micah McCormick: Tonight.
Micah McCormick: We ask in Jesus' name, amen, amen, amen, amen.
Micah McCormick: The book of Titus is a letter that Paul wrote to Titus and their traveling companions, and, according to chapter one, verse five of Titus, paul has left Titus behind on the island of Crete, there in the Mediterranean ocean, and he's got a specific role in mind for Titus.
Micah McCormick: Titus wasn't in trouble, he wasn't getting relegated.
Micah McCormick: He did something wrong.
Micah McCormick: But apparently there were Christians on Crete that had heard the good news, been evangelized, were converted, were starting to meet together, and yet these churches weren't as wellered as they could be.
Micah McCormick: And so Paul leaves Titus behind on Crete to help these churches become more well-ordered churches, and he writes this letter as an encouragement to Titus.
Micah McCormick: And one of the key ideas that Paul's going to reiterate in this letter is that Titus, be sure to tell Christians to maintain good works.
Micah McCormick: Let me show you that emphasis.
Micah McCormick: Chapter 2, verse 7.
Micah McCormick: In everything, make yourself an example of good works, with integrity and dignity in your teaching.
Micah McCormick: Then look down chapter 2, verse 14.
Micah McCormick: He, that is, Christ, gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to cleanse us for himself.
Micah McCormick: A people, for his own possession, eager to do good works.
Micah McCormick: Chapter 3, verse 1,.
Micah McCormick: Remind them to submit to rulers and authorities to obey, to be ready for every good work.
Micah McCormick: Chapter three, verse eight.
Micah McCormick: This saying is trustworthy.
Micah McCormick: I read this already, but listen again.
Micah McCormick: I want you to insist on these things so that those who have believed God might be careful to devote themselves to good works.
Micah McCormick: These are good and profitable for everyone.
Micah McCormick: So you can see the importance of good works.
Micah McCormick: It's repeated.
Micah McCormick: You can even see it in the way that Paul speaks of the false teachers.
Micah McCormick: If you go back to chapter 1, verse 16, there were some that were disturbing some of these churches with wrong teaching.
Micah McCormick: And look what Paul says about them in chapter 1, verse 16.
Micah McCormick: They claim to know God, but they deny him by their works.
Micah McCormick: They are detestable, disobedient and unfit for any good work.
Micah McCormick: So there's a key idea in this letter Christians must maintain good works.
Micah McCormick: But Paul doesn't just leave that theme kind of dangling in the air on its own.
Micah McCormick: He builds a foundation for those good works in the sound doctrine Timothy's called to give to these people.
Micah McCormick: And that sound doctrine, that good teaching, is that foundation from which those good works can grow and flourish.
Micah McCormick: If you want to get a main idea for the book of Titus, I'm going to suggest this as one main idea.
Micah McCormick: We're going to focus on this for tonight.
Micah McCormick: Good doctrine should produce good works.
Micah McCormick: Should produce good works.
Micah McCormick: Good doctrine should produce good works.
Micah McCormick: I'll start with the good doctrine, then we'll move on to the good works.
Micah McCormick: So first doctrine, and I mean by that teaching truths, important truths about who God is, who we are, who Christ is.
Micah McCormick: So if you're thinking you have to have an encyclopedia, that's not necessarily what I mean by that.
Micah McCormick: But if you think teaching good, biblical, faithful teaching of key core truths, look at how the book begins, in chapter 1, verse 1.
Micah McCormick: Paul, a servant of God, an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the faith of God's elect and their knowledge of the truth that leads to godliness.
Micah McCormick: What leads to godliness?
Micah McCormick: Knowledge of the truth, what builds up your faith?
Micah McCormick: When you grasp that you were chosen by God for salvation through Jesus Christ.
Micah McCormick: That's good doctrine.
Micah McCormick: Turn over to chapter two to see some more of this.
Micah McCormick: Verse number 12 of chapter two says that we should live in a godly way in the present age.
Micah McCormick: But what enables us to do that present age?
Micah McCormick: But what enables us to do that?
Micah McCormick: Well, look back in verse number 11.
Micah McCormick: The grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people.
Micah McCormick: It's that saving grace that instructs us and that changes us.
Micah McCormick: Look down to verse 14.
Micah McCormick: He gave himself for us, to redeem us from all lawlessness, to cleanse for himself the people, for his own possession, eager to do good works.
Micah McCormick: Because Jesus Christ redeemed us for that, he cleansed us.
Micah McCormick: He bought us out of the marketplace of sin.
Micah McCormick: Why would we want to go back and dirty ourselves with bad works?
Micah McCormick: He saved us.
Micah McCormick: Remember that.
Micah McCormick: Note how he saved us.
Micah McCormick: If you set out to do good works merely in your own strength, you're going to fail.
Micah McCormick: You might do some good things from a public vantage point, but you're not going to have the kind of good works that God calls us to.
Micah McCormick: Turn to chapter 3, verse 8.
Micah McCormick: That's where he says again that people should devote themselves to good works.
Micah McCormick: But he's just talked about a trustworthy saying and you've got to go back and look at what he's already said.
Micah McCormick: All the way back up in verse number five he saved us not by works of righteousness that we had done, but according to his mercy.
Micah McCormick: We're not saved by good works, we're saved for good works.
Micah McCormick: That's a key doctrine that we have to grasp.
Micah McCormick: We're not saved by our good works.
Micah McCormick: Paul says right there it's purely God's mercy.
Micah McCormick: It's the regenerating power of the Holy Spirit that gave us new birth.
Micah McCormick: It's the declaration of God that we've been justified, declared righteous in his sight, not because of our works but because of the work of Jesus Christ, credited to our account, and even were justified because our sins were credited or laid on Jesus Christ's account.
Micah McCormick: That's the doctrinal foundation.
Micah McCormick: We have to understand that.
Micah McCormick: Do you want to grow in godliness, you have to know who the Redeemer is and what he's accomplished.
Micah McCormick: You have to bask in the light of the glory of good doctrine, seen in the person of Jesus Christ, and then you'll shine.
Micah McCormick: You should shine all the more in those good works.
Micah McCormick: Sometimes you'll hear people say you know, doctrine really isn't that important, it's what counts as a life well-lived.
Micah McCormick: That's wrong, that's unbiblical.
Micah McCormick: Don't say it, don't believe it, don't affirm it.
Micah McCormick: That's exactly opposite of what Paul says right here in Titus.
Micah McCormick: He says just the opposite.
Micah McCormick: No, when you understand justification and regeneration and election, think about these things.
Micah McCormick: That's what will help stir you up to good works.
Micah McCormick: Okay, but I hear someone say and this is a common objection, certainly from unbelievers, sometimes also from Christians People will say, okay, I hear what you're saying, I see that in Titus.
Micah McCormick: But I know some people and they're so excited about doctrine but it doesn't seem like their lives really are showcasing that much of a change, like there seems to be a big disconnect.
Micah McCormick: So, like, I don't get that.
Micah McCormick: That's an objection people will have right.
Micah McCormick: Here's a few responses to that.
Micah McCormick: The first one I think you already know what I don't get that.
Micah McCormick: That's an objection people will have right.
Micah McCormick: Here's a few responses to that.
Micah McCormick: The first one I think you already know what I'm going to say.
Micah McCormick: If we believe that the Bible is God's inspired word, it's perfectly true and sufficient.
Micah McCormick: We never put our own experience ahead of the Bible.
Micah McCormick: We never should say well, I see what it says in scripture and the reasoning Paul uses and inspired by God.
Micah McCormick: But I met this person and that didn't seem like it was the case.
Micah McCormick: So maybe no, we inform our experience from the Bible, not vice versa.
Micah McCormick: Second, yes, there is a certain kind of doctrinal zeal that's not helpful, and Titus talks about that.
Micah McCormick: Look at chapter 3, verse 9.
Micah McCormick: But avoid foolish debates, genealogies, quarrels and disputes about the law, because they are unprofitable and worthless.
Micah McCormick: Reject a divisive person after a first and second warning, for you know that such a person is has gone astray and is sitting.
Micah McCormick: He's self-condemned.
Micah McCormick: There are people that they have a certain kind of zeal and they'd like to talk about doctrine on some level.
Micah McCormick: But they just like to argue.
Micah McCormick: They like to show off their so-called knowledge, their ornery.
Micah McCormick: They don't have the aroma of Christ.
Micah McCormick: They major on minors, say well, okay, well, how do we know what's major and what's minor?
Micah McCormick: That's not an easy question.
Micah McCormick: It's a difficult question.
Micah McCormick: But here's one thing that might help us in that the more a doctrine showcases who the Lord Jesus Christ is in his glory and how people are saved, the more important it is for us to emphasize.
Micah McCormick: So I'm not saying any doctrine is unimportant it can actually be found in scripture but the more it pertains to Christ and his glory and the salvation of sinners.
Micah McCormick: Those things are especially important to emphasize.
Micah McCormick: You might say, okay, I hear you, but there are some people who they're not emphasizing you know the wrong things, they're not majoring on minors, but there still seems to be a disconnect in their life.
Micah McCormick: Well, that can happen and that's a sad thing.
Micah McCormick: That's a them problem, not a Bible problem.
Micah McCormick: So just understand where the challenge lies.
Micah McCormick: And it's okay to challenge a person.
Micah McCormick: Paul actually tells Titus in this letter rebuke, exhort, correct.
Micah McCormick: Those words come up throughout the letter of Titus.
Micah McCormick: So it's okay to challenge a person, but we don't want to challenge scripture.
Micah McCormick: You understand where I'm going with this.
Micah McCormick: Or just help us to think and speak clearly about the Bible's relationship between good doctrine, this foundation, and good works, which we're going to come to in a moment.
Micah McCormick: So you know, it's okay, after the men's study, to say you know, tom, you so well articulated regeneration, and that was wonderful.
Micah McCormick: Has it thoroughly sunk in in your life?
Micah McCormick: What do you mean?
Micah McCormick: Well, just so often, the way you talk to your wife, it sounds more like the old man in Adam than the new man in Christ.
Micah McCormick: That's fine.
Micah McCormick: It's okay to challenge a person, but please don't say well, you know, I think for all of us I mean, you know, regeneration, that's a big word.
Micah McCormick: We don't really care about big words, but we all can agree we should love our spouses more.
Micah McCormick: Yes, we should, absolutely.
Micah McCormick: But when you throw out the doctrine you're eroding the foundation that's going to help you do those good works like loving your wife all the more.
Micah McCormick: So good doctrine and we could even maybe sharpen that Good doctrine should produce good works.
Micah McCormick: We could, if you want, to make it a little tighter gospel doctrine should produce gospel living, just to kind of highlight.
Micah McCormick: We're not talking about every single thing, although all scripture is profitable, but especially those things that pertain to Christ and his glory and our salvation.
Micah McCormick: So that's first big idea is the good doctrine foundation.
Micah McCormick: Now let's press into some of these good works.
Micah McCormick: I'm going to talk about good works in three arenas good works in church leadership, good works in relationships and good works in our public lives.
Micah McCormick: One overarching comment I think for some of us our idea of a good work is an occasional, isolated act of kindness to a stranger.
Micah McCormick: I saw my neighbor struggling to shovel his snow and I helped him last January 14th.
Micah McCormick: Good works are important.
Micah McCormick: Yep, I gave a thousand dollars to Compassion International so they could help with children that are struggling.
Micah McCormick: Those are good works.
Micah McCormick: So I'm not saying don't do those things.
Micah McCormick: What I am saying is I think when you read through Titus and if you haven't done that, I encourage you to do it you could read it in less than an hour, no problem.
Micah McCormick: In the book of Titus good works run broader and deeper than only isolated, occasional acts.
Micah McCormick: When I think about good works I'm thinking about the way we live our lives.
Micah McCormick: That includes our character towards others.
Micah McCormick: We live our lives.
Micah McCormick: That includes our character towards others.
Micah McCormick: It involves the regular life-on-life relationships that we have.
Micah McCormick: So that's harder actually, in a lot of ways to do good works in those spheres.
Micah McCormick: But it's part of what God's calling us to and I hope we'll see that as we go through these things.
Micah McCormick: So first, good works in church leadership Go back to chapter one.
Micah McCormick: And so again, paul's purpose in leaving Titus in Crete was to help some of these churches be more well-ordered.
Micah McCormick: So he encourages Titus to help with overseeing having elders established in every place.
Micah McCormick: That's the first good work for Titus is help get elders established in every place.
Micah McCormick: Look at chapter 1, verse 5.
Micah McCormick: The reason I left you in Crete was to set right what was left undone, undone and, as I directed you, to appoint elders in every town.
Micah McCormick: And he's talking about spiritual leaders here.
Micah McCormick: We tend to think that every town has 50 churches.
Micah McCormick: That wasn't the way it worked in Bible times.
Micah McCormick: So he's talking about not so much political leaders but spiritual leaders.
Micah McCormick: You can see that from the way they're described, how they compare with the elders in 1 Timothy, chapter 3.
Micah McCormick: But you can have a church without any elders, without any pastors those words are interchangeable in the Bible but you can't have a well-ordered church without those things.
Micah McCormick: So church, town, place singular elders plural.
Micah McCormick: That's part of this good work.
Micah McCormick: He's called them to.
Micah McCormick: Singular elders plural.
Micah McCormick: That's part of this good work he's called them to.
Micah McCormick: And, yes, they're supposed to promote the faithful message.
Micah McCormick: Look at verse number nine, holding to the faithful message.
Micah McCormick: This is describing these men who would be appointed as elders, as taught.
Micah McCormick: There's the sound doctrine.
Micah McCormick: But if you scan down, much of this description of these men is taken up with their character.
Micah McCormick: Just scan down verses 7 to 9.
Micah McCormick: And you'll see things like managing their own homes, not being arrogant, not being easily angered, not a bully or a money grubber or drunk, say well, that sounds like.
Micah McCormick: Shouldn't this be kind of true of all Christians?
Micah McCormick: What's so special about those things?
Micah McCormick: Yes, those things should be true of all Christians.
Micah McCormick: Elders are not called to live good works in a saintly halo kind of way that no one else can remotely imitate.
Micah McCormick: Rather, there's the connection here of the elders that are teaching and promoting the faithful message, the sound doctrine, encouraging people to good works.
Micah McCormick: They're living lives, not perfectly, but consistently, modeling what that connection of doctrine and life looks like, so that people can hear and receive and do themselves.
Micah McCormick: They also have to correct people that are bringing in bad teaching.
Micah McCormick: That's one of the good works they have to do.
Micah McCormick: Look at verse 9.
Micah McCormick: Hold him to the faithful message so that he will be able both to encourage with sound teaching and to refute those who contradict it.
Micah McCormick: And I won't go on.
Micah McCormick: But the rest of this chapter speaks of these people who have some influences in the church but they're not teaching a sound doctrine.
Micah McCormick: So part of what Titus has to do is help these men learn how to correct.
Micah McCormick: So you see how that's personal, that's relational.
Micah McCormick: You can imagine a phone call.
Micah McCormick: Hey, this is Titus, I'm just checking in First Baptist Church of Fairhaven that's one of the towns in Crete How's it going?
Micah McCormick: Oh, it's going well, you know.
Micah McCormick: Thank you for checking in.
Micah McCormick: We've been trying to serve faithfully as elders.
Micah McCormick: There is one thing there's some guys that have been teaching you've got to keep the whole Jewish law and they're people like them.
Micah McCormick: They're kind of popular and maybe you could just kind of Titus, come back and do a workshop on the old covenant, the new covenant.
Micah McCormick: That would really help us All.
Micah McCormick: Right, let me, I'll get back to you and Titus calls Paul.
Micah McCormick: Hey, paul.
Micah McCormick: Paul says how's it going?
Micah McCormick: You and Titus calls Paul.
Micah McCormick: Hey, paul.
Micah McCormick: Paul says how's it going?
Micah McCormick: Titus says yeah, it's going pretty good in Crete.
Micah McCormick: Hey, there's a few men in a few churches that got some confusions about the Jewish law and its importance and circumcision.
Micah McCormick: I thought maybe you could just come back to Crete and do a little workshop on the old covenant and the new covenant.
Micah McCormick: What's Paul going to say?
Micah McCormick: Titus, the reason I left you in Crete was so that you could train those other men, so that they could deal with those false teachers.
Micah McCormick: Right?
Micah McCormick: You see how personal this is.
Micah McCormick: Sometimes in America.
Micah McCormick: Our idea of a good work is let's throw money at something Now.
Micah McCormick: Giving generously is a good work and we have a lot of money to give, so I'm all for that.
Micah McCormick: But it's not just for the professionals to do good work or teach about good works.
Micah McCormick: That's for all of us to engage in, and particularly here in this first place.
Micah McCormick: The elders.
Micah McCormick: Second arena good works and relationships Go over to chapter 2.
Micah McCormick: Second arena good works and relationships go over to chapter two.
Micah McCormick: So here paul highlights categories in the first six verses, categories of older men, older women, younger women, younger men.
Micah McCormick: And in verse one he says that titus is to proclaim things consistent with sound teaching.
Micah McCormick: There's the sound teaching, sound doctrine.
Micah McCormick: Then he goes on to tell Titus about the character and lives of these older men, older women, younger men, younger women.
Micah McCormick: And so he's supposed to teach these things, presumably in the context of the church.
Micah McCormick: I'm sure Titus went around to homes as well, but he's teaching in the church about how people are to live in their relationships in the church and in their relationships in the home.
Micah McCormick: There's a spillover kind of effect here.
Micah McCormick: And if you note, there it says that in verse number three, the older women are to teach what is good so that they may encourage the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, and it goes on.
Micah McCormick: So there's this specific idea of good works being modeled, yes, in word and spoken, but also, indeed, older women to younger women and presumably older men to younger men.
Micah McCormick: Good works flourish best from that strong doctrinal foundation and good works in our relationships flourish best in a context of intergenerational discipleship in a church.
Micah McCormick: That was a mouthful.
Micah McCormick: Let me explain that Intergenerational 80-year-olds, 60-year-olds, 40-year-olds, 20-year-olds, people of different age groups coming together to learn and grow from one another in the context of the church.
Micah McCormick: That's what Paul says directly here.
Micah McCormick: Sometimes I'll have a conversation with someone who's maybe new to the area and they're looking for a church, and the conversation turns to kind of what they're looking for in a church and often preaching will come up.
Micah McCormick: I'm looking for sound, bible-based preaching and teaching that magnifies Christ.
Micah McCormick: Absolutely Awesome, let's talk about that.
Micah McCormick: That's great, I'm all for that.
Micah McCormick: And then, as we get talking sometimes nestled right underneath that or sometimes above that, depending on the phone call or whatever whoever it might be new to the area, the person wants to know this about the church how many people in the church are just like me?
Micah McCormick: They don't say it that way, right?
Micah McCormick: It's phrased in a more spiritual way and a sincere way.
Micah McCormick: I don't mean not sincere, but it'd be like this Do you have any discipleship groups for divorced dads in their 30s who like to play ultimate Frisbee?
Micah McCormick: Let me take a wild guess Are you a divorced dad in your 30s who likes to play ultimate Frisbee?
Micah McCormick: You see what I'm saying.
Micah McCormick: Do you have any support groups for mothers who have children who've had their tonsils out in the last six months?
Micah McCormick: Because it's just hard.
Micah McCormick: Yeah, it is hard.
Micah McCormick: Can I take a wild guess?
Micah McCormick: One of your kids had their tonsils out in the last six months.
Micah McCormick: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, there's nothing wrong with that.
Micah McCormick: I'm sure Paul would have been happy for divorced dads to go out and play ultimate Frisbee and have some prayer, maybe afterwards.
Micah McCormick: Wonderful Moms getting together.
Micah McCormick: So it's not that that's wrong.
Micah McCormick: It's just that's not Paul's program for stirring up good works.
Micah McCormick: His program is make sure you get older people together with younger people and that'll stir up good works.
Micah McCormick: You that are greeters maybe?
Micah McCormick: I don't see.
Micah McCormick: I see a few greeters here.
Micah McCormick: Don't raise your hand now, but come up to me afterwards.
Micah McCormick: I'm like I'm sincerely curious.
Micah McCormick: If this has happened, come, tell me how many of you that are greeters?
Micah McCormick: You're talking to someone who's a first-time visitor.
Micah McCormick: She says, hey, we're here in the area.
Micah McCormick: We're looking for a place that really teaches the Bible.
Micah McCormick: Great, that's awesome.
Micah McCormick: You know, let me introduce you to some people.
Micah McCormick: And she says, yeah, you know what else?
Micah McCormick: I've only been married three years but I'm just, I'm struggling to submit to my husband and he loves the Lord and I just I need an older woman in my life who can really get in my life so that the word of God won't be blasphemed.
Micah McCormick: Can I find that here?
Micah McCormick: How many of you have ever had that conversation as a greeter?
Micah McCormick: If you have, please come tell me afterwards.
Micah McCormick: I'd be curious.
Micah McCormick: You know you're a greeter.
Micah McCormick: Young guy comes up.
Micah McCormick: He says, hey, here, looking for a church.
Micah McCormick: That's really sound doctrine.
Micah McCormick: Here's what I'm thinking is biblical, and I saw your website and statement of faith and I'm excited about it.
Micah McCormick: I got to tell you something else, boy.
Micah McCormick: I struggle with self-control, but I'm just, I'm hoping there'll be some older men who just model what a dignified, self-controlled life looks like.
Micah McCormick: That I could get to know and like can I find that here?
Micah McCormick: You ever had anyone say that?
Micah McCormick: Right, it's peculiar, because that's precisely what Paul says that we should be looking for, because Christ changes us and he puts us together with people where he's the center point, not our hobby or our age or our fill in the blank, and it's.
Micah McCormick: I don't don't view this as a negative thing.
Micah McCormick: It's an amazing opportunity.
Micah McCormick: I mean, how awful would it be if I was in a church where 90% of the people were 40 year old singles.
Micah McCormick: That'd be terrible, you know I wouldn't want that.
Micah McCormick: I get a chance to learn from Bob Hornish and Bob Teets and Doug McMasters.
Micah McCormick: Hopefully in some small way I can encourage a Chad Driscoll, a Matthias, a Josiah.
Micah McCormick: That's the way God's designed us.
Micah McCormick: It's like those stories where people talk about how they learned to cook From a cookbook is a good way, but often they spent time with their grandmother in the kitchen just watching her and it rubbed off.
Micah McCormick: That's what life in the church is like.
Micah McCormick: That's how good works can be stirred up.
Micah McCormick: Last category good works in public life.
Micah McCormick: Look at chapter three.
Micah McCormick: So right after he says in verse one to be ready for every good work, he goes on to talk about not slandering anyone, avoiding fighting, being kind, showing gentleness to all people.
Micah McCormick: Now, that certainly would, I think, include people within the church, but I think it extends more broadly to the community.
Micah McCormick: We don't help in our overflow of good works if we're constantly spewing negative things, particularly negative things that might not be true.
Micah McCormick: Even if it's a person that's a bad character, we don't need to assume.
Micah McCormick: Well, someone else online said this bad thing about them, so I know they're a bad person, so it's probably true.
Micah McCormick: I'll just go ahead and retweet it.
Micah McCormick: Just take some time, give some consideration.
Micah McCormick: Yes, titus is urging people.
Micah McCormick: You've got to love the gospel so much that you can't put your preference per person ahead of sound doctrine.
Micah McCormick: You've got to hold that up.
Micah McCormick: But he puts that together with this instruction right here in verse number two if you have to show gentleness to all people, it's not easy to hold both of those things together.
Micah McCormick: But God calls us to in this call to good works, and Christ so amazingly modeled that tenacity for sound doctrine in the gospel and a respectful spirit towards all, and then, right as he said in the same verse, be ready for every good work.
Micah McCormick: He gives an example right before that Submit to rulers and authorities.
Micah McCormick: Did you ever think about public submission to political leaders as a good work?
Micah McCormick: I'll just give the thousand dollars to Compassion International and call it a day.
Micah McCormick: Do that, don't, don't, don't, don't, don't.
Micah McCormick: Keep the money flowing Again.
Micah McCormick: I'm not, I'm not, I'm not, I'm not telling you not be generous in that way.
Micah McCormick: Well, paul does not know what it's like to live with these state taxes in New York.
Micah McCormick: Boy, let me tell you who was ruling when Paul wrote this letter to Titus Nero.
Micah McCormick: By way of reminder, if you weren't here last Sunday night for Mark's wonderful sermon, nero reportedly lit Christians on fire to light his garden.
Micah McCormick: I think, however bad you might feel, like you have it under Trump or Biden, whoever, I think Christians then had it pretty bad.
Micah McCormick: And Paul says you can show how the doctrine of Christ is flourishing in you by the way you submit to that kind of person.
Micah McCormick: Well, it's a challenge For most of us.
Micah McCormick: One of the spheres, and probably the sphere that we live most in in terms of our public life, of good works, is our place of work.
Micah McCormick: So it's good to vote, it's good you ought to go to a town hall meeting, but many of you, hours and hours a week, you're in a workplace where there's unbelievers.
Micah McCormick: How do you relate to your employer?
Micah McCormick: You know, paul instructs Titus, chapter two, verse nine slaves submit to their masters and everything and be well-pleasing.
Micah McCormick: That's an uncomfortable verse for us.
Micah McCormick: In Greco-Roman times the institution of slavery was not identical to what we find in 19th century America.
Micah McCormick: The Bible expressly says don't kidnap.
Micah McCormick: Now I don't mean that to say that in the Bible times it was easy to be a slave, or that they were always treated well, or that they were always treated well.
Micah McCormick: But Paul does say for those that find themselves in that position think that you're not just under a human person, you're ultimately serving the Lord, jesus Christ.
Micah McCormick: So some of you are sure that your boss is a slave driver.
Micah McCormick: Think then, how can I adorn?
Micah McCormick: Think then, how can I adorn doctrine with a way that I treat my boss?
Micah McCormick: Look at verse 10 of chapter 2.
Micah McCormick: Right in the same section Not stealing, demonstrating utter faithfulness so that they may adorn the teaching of God, our Savior, in everything.
Micah McCormick: Don't you want to make the gospel beautiful?
Micah McCormick: Beautiful?
Micah McCormick: It sounds almost heretical.
Micah McCormick: We can't add anything to the gospel.
Micah McCormick: Christ has done it all.
Micah McCormick: We just testify about it.
Micah McCormick: But Paul uses a specific language of adorning.
Micah McCormick: We can make the message.
Micah McCormick: We can't make it effective, but we can make the message sparkle, especially for those who don't have ears to hear and eyes to see.
Micah McCormick: This word adorn is used to describe the temple adorned with beautiful stones in Luke 21.
Micah McCormick: In Revelation 21, it's used to describe the temple adorned with beautiful stones in Luke 21.
Micah McCormick: In Revelation 21, it's used to describe the new Jerusalem coming down prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
Micah McCormick: In a very similar passage in 1 Peter, holy women adorned themselves by doing good.
Micah McCormick: You want to make people say, wow, you could put on some new cologne, you could get a haircut and put in some diamond earrings.
Micah McCormick: But doing good works is the way to make people really sit up and say I want to know more about that Christ that you say you serve.
Micah McCormick: And we can say let me tell you about the one who's redeemed me and made me eager to do what is good.
Micah McCormick: Let me tell you about the one who's redeemed me and made me eager to do what is good.
Micah McCormick: Good doctrine should produce good works, not for our justification, not for our salvation, but as an overflow of what we have received and I'm going to end.
Micah McCormick: This is from our own church's statement of faith.
Micah McCormick: So this is what we've.
Micah McCormick: Those who are members here, we've all covenanted and agreed together that we want to pursue this.
Micah McCormick: This is what the Bible says.
Micah McCormick: So this is from the section on justification.
Micah McCormick: It says we believe the gospel requires of us, out of a true sense of our sin and misery, to turn with grief and hatred from sin and receive and rest on Jesus Christ alone for salvation, that we might receive pardon for our sins and be accepted in God's sight as righteous only for the righteous of Christ and puter to us and received by faith alone.
Micah McCormick: There's the doctrine that Titus speaks of, also right here in this letter, and then our statement of faith goes on to say we believe that a zeal for personal and public obedience flows from this free justification.
Micah McCormick: We're not trying to make that up, it comes right from the book of Titus.
Micah McCormick: So may good doctrine produce good works in our lives.
Micah McCormick: Let's pray.
Micah McCormick: Good doctrine produce good works in our lives.
Micah McCormick: Let's pray.
Micah McCormick: Lord, you've created us in Jesus Christ for good works, prepared from the foundation of the world that we might walk in them.
Micah McCormick: Oh Lord, help us to walk, to walk in a manner worthy of the calling that we've been called, to walk clothed with gentleness, peaceableness, zeal for you and your gospel.
Micah McCormick: Lord, help us to be ready to engage all the relationships in our lives, and some have certain priorities and we honor those, and yet we want to be eager to maintain what is good and right.
Micah McCormick: Lord, for any of us here who are struggling to understand those connection points and need to grow in our love of doctrine, would you cause that to happen?
Micah McCormick: For those of us here who perhaps aren't living out the Christian life as we could and like to talk and don't always live?
Micah McCormick: Oh, forgive us, lord, and cause us to see that justification and regeneration and your character of mercy and our understanding of your role in designing government and work and marriage and family and everything.
Micah McCormick: Life and death, it's all ours, but to be lived out before you.
Micah McCormick: May we do that with great thanksgiving for your amazing grace at work in us, and may we say it's not us but the grace of God in us, in Jesus' name amen.