Well, this morning we are finishing a brief series on the book of Titus.
Three weeks, three chapters, three weeks.
So today we're looking at chapter three.
This is one of Paul's three pastoral epistles.
These were letters Paul wrote to pastors who were in particularly difficult situations, giving them advice, encouragement, instruction.
The two other pastoral letters are first and second Timothy.
You're probably familiar with those.
On Paul's missionary journey, he traveled throughout the Greco-Roman Empire, preaching the gospel, starting churches, and he, in particular on the island of Crete, right next to Greece, he did that and he left Titus behind as an overseer and instructed him to bring order to the churches there.
We saw in chapter one how he instructed how elders were to be identified, elected, and installed.
And this wasn't an easy job for Titus, and we see that throughout this letter.
Titus faced opposition both from within the church and from without.
He faced opposition from a what's called the circumcision group, and you read about them throughout the New Testament.
These were early Jewish Christians who taught that to become a Christian you had to become fully Jewish.
And so absorb and obey the whole Old Testament law.
Hence they were called the circumcision party.
On the other side were the Cretans, those who lived on Crete who were either inside or outside of the church.
And Paul described them in chapter one as liars, evil beasts, and lazy gluttons.
So Titus had his work cut out for him.
In this letter, Paul's primary concern as he longs for the church to grow in maturity and grace, he's instructing Titus about how Christians are to live in this world in various categories or contexts.
In chapter one, he focuses on how we are to live together as the church.
In chapter two, he focuses on how we are to live within the household.
And in chapter three today, he's talking about how we as Christians are to live in relationship to the wider world around us of non-Christians.
And the funny thing is, I mean, it's not unexpected, but in all three chapters, Paul's answer to the question, how do we live in these different contexts is the gospel.
He presents to us the gospel as like a lens, a lens through which we look when we ask questions.
How should I live in this crazy world that we live in today?
He says, if you want to know, look through the lens of the gospel.
So that's what we're going to look at this morning.
Point number one, we'll just jump right off here.
Christians are to be perfectly courteous to all people, inside and outside the church.
Let's look again at verses one and two in Titus three.
He says, Remind them, Titus, to be submissive to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work, to speak evil of no one, to avoid quarrels, to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy to all people.
I find Paul's list fascinating as he, what is he gonna say?
How is he instructing the Christians?
First, he tells them that they are to submit to earthly authorities.
Rather than seeking to overthrow their earthly uh those in power over them or to subvert them, Christians are to be good citizens, to submit to those in power, and not just not just to acquiesce, but to be ready for every good work.
This is uh why Saint Augustine in the early church taught that Christians should be the best citizens of what other whatever country or nation they reside in, because we serve a king that is above every nation.
And so we don't seek our own welfare, but the welfare of our neighbors and the nation that we live in.
Paul doesn't want, uh, he doesn't give reason here, but in other places, both he and Peter instruct that the church is not to be primarily focused on uh influencing the earthly government.
We are to seek peace with those around us, both in authority and those who live around us.
And he's and he gives a few reasons.
First, excuse me, if we focus too much on influencing our local earthly authorities or governments, we shift our focus from the kingdom of God to the kingdom of this world.
And that gets us off track.
Second, it subverts God's own authority.
Listen to what Paul writes in Romans 13.
He says, There is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God.
Therefore, whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment.
Remember the context where Paul is writing this in the first century world, living under the thumb of Rome and under the persecution of Israel, the nation of Israel itself.
You see, what's motivating Paul is he wants us as Christians to see ourselves as representatives or ambassadors of the kingdom of God.
We represent a kingdom that is not of this world at all times.
That's why some Christians talk about living missionally, that all of our lives, whether you're in full-time ordained ministry or you're just an everyday Christian, we are all called to the mission of Jesus, and that is to represent and to be citizens of the kingdom in this wider world.
And I think it's important in our own context to remember that this instruction is given to us no matter what political party is currently in power.
Something for us to really think about and ponder in our highly polarized day.
The only caveat Scripture gives us is when our earthly authorities instruct us to disobey God's word.
Like in the first century, when they told Christians they had to worship the emperor as well as Jesus or whatever God you wanted to, Christians said, no, we worship one God alone, and they faced persecution.
And so today, if and when our earthly authorities instruct us not to worship Jesus or to worship something else, or not to love our enemies, or to do something that is contrary to God's word, we will, with Peter, have to tell say that we are obligated to obey God rather than men.
But not only are we to submit to our earthly authorities, we are not to speak evil of others, we're not to slander others, we're not to gossip, we're not to try to get behind someone's back through speaking evil against them, nor are we to be particularly argumentative or known as someone who is always making arguments or trouble.
Let's see, where did we go?
Rather, we're to be kind, gentle, and tolerant.
And this phrase, he says, we are to be perfectly courteous, which is which means a kind of humility, which makes us treat others as better than ourselves.
And we know Paul wrote about that in other places.
So Paul wants us to live at peace, live at peace with our earthly authority over us and with our neighbors beside us, so that the gospel can go out, so that others can hear the good news of God's love, sacrifice, and mercy, and pledge allegiance to a different king and to a different kingdom.
But how are we as the church to do that?
How was the church in that day able to do that in a world and a context that was sometimes hostile to Christians?
Well, that brings us to our second point.
Compassion breeds empathy, patience, and love.
Listen to what Paul goes on to say in verse 3.
Why are we to be perfectly courteous toward all people, including perhaps our non-Christian enemies?
Because we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, and slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another.
What a description.
See what Paul is saying is it's it's way easier to relate to someone if you have struggled with what they currently struggle with.
This is such a basic principle, but it's powerful for us to be reminded of.
Like most teenagers, um, I'm a parent of teenagers, and I once was a teenager.
And I remember the days when I believed at, you know, 16 years old that I had it figured out.
And that mom and dad were really behind the times and didn't know what they were talking about.
It was only until years later, uh, as I grew older and experienced the world, and then myself became a parent.
Every year I got older, I became more and more compassionate towards my mother and father who loved me well and sacrificed much for me.
Amen.
Anybody?
That's right.
My children, my teenagers are here this morning, so I hope they're paying attention.
Um it's when we can relate to others in their struggles, even their sins, that we become more uh compassionate.
One of the worst things a Christian can say is, can you believe what that person did?
I would never do that.
Have you ever said that?
Ha ha, yes, you have.
And I have too.
The scriptures teach us that there is no distinction between people.
We've all fallen short of the glory of God.
And it's only because of the grace of God that we stand righteous, united to Christ.
And so look at the way Paul describes these non-Christians.
He says they're foolish and disobedient, they're led astray and slaves to their passion.
These are passive words, as if they don't have control over themselves.
They are slaves to their sin, just as we once were.
They live out their days in malice and envy, hating one another and being hated.
As I read Paul's description slowly, what I find unexpectedly is that compassion rises in my heart.
I remember that I was once a slave to my sins and my passions, and I didn't care much of anything for God.
And so Paul's words, rather than moral outrage, pity rises as I look at others who struggle with uh with what I struggled with, and that's exactly Paul's intention.
That leads us to point three, that God's love changes us.
After reminding us that we too were once dead and our trespasses and sins, he goes on to say this but when goodness and loving kindness, the good and loving kindness of God appeared, he saved us.
Not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, who he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ, our Savior.
This is one of the most beautiful and full descriptions of the gospel we have in the scriptures.
You see, even while we were foolish and disobedient, even while we were led astray by the Spirit of the age, even while we were slaves to our passions and sins, God appeared.
God's goodness and loving kindness, read Jesus, took on flesh and walked among us, giving himself over to the cross, to torture and death, separation from his father, and then resurrection for the dead for our forgiveness of sins and resurrection to new life.
When we were God's enemies, when we were unlovable, God loved us.
And so Paul says to us if you want to know how to love your enemies, if you want to know how to treat non-Christians who have a different worldview, have a different political persuasion, have a have very different opinions on social issues, if you want to know how to treat them, remember how God treated you.
When you had very different opinions about the world than he does.
Now, for some of you, this may be difficult.
There are some of you in this room who don't remember a day without Jesus.
Don't remember a day not believing in him.
And that's an incredibly beautiful and wonderful gift.
I have some family members in my family who have that story.
But all of us, whether you can remember the time before knowing Christ or not, we all, even as Christians, we know the tug of sin that remains in this mortal flesh, as Paul calls it.
The temptation to sin every day, and not just the temptation, how we fall into sin.
We fall into fear, we fall into temptation again and again, and so we run to Jesus in confession, why we confess every week.
And we rejoice knowing that he has forgiven us, past, present, and future.
That even in our sin, Jesus' heart towards us is compassionate.
If you've ever read the book or haven't read the book, Gentle and Lowly by Dane Ortland, I highly, highly recommend it.
This is the thesis of the book that Jesus' attitude towards sinners is not condemnation, but compassion and mercy.
And what Paul is telling us in this passage is that is to be the heart of God's people in the world.
This is something I need to hear, something I need to be reminded of.
But how do we actually do this?
Right?
It's one thing to say, hey, God loved you, now go out and love others.
Okay.
I'm just gonna pull myself up by my moral bootstraps and I'm gonna get out there and do it.
That doesn't work, right?
We know that.
We've all tried willpower.
You might get a couple days in, you might get a week if you're super good at it.
But eventually our own moral efforts fail us.
So what do we do?
Well, it's exactly what Paul says in this chapter.
How do we love our enemies?
We remember who we are and we remember where we came from.
We turn back to the Lord and we say, Lord, I am a beloved son or daughter of the king.
That is a truth you need to be reminded of, and I need to be reminded of every day.
You are completely accepted through and through.
There is no sin you can commit.
There is nothing you can do to separate yourself from the love of God in Christ Jesus.
But you're not there because of anything you've done.
You're there because of the grace and loving kindness of God that moved toward you.
And as we reconnect with that truth, as we re-experience that truth on a daily or a weekly basis, it is there that we connect with the power of God to then go out into the world and to give that love to others.
That's what Jesus taught with the vine and the branches.
If we will connect our hearts to Jesus' heart, his love will flow through us and through us to the world.
To be patient with people who don't deserve our patience, to love people who don't deserve our love.
This is the gospel.
This is the good news.
Brothers and sisters, we gain the power to love the unlovely by resting in the love that we have already received and receive every day from our Father in heaven.
Beloved, we don't have it within us, within ourselves, to be patient and kind and courteous to everyone we meet.
But when we turn to the Lord and remember and experience who we are in Christ, the love that is ours in Christ Jesus, then we have the power to be conduits of that love and grace to everyone around us.
Amen?
Amen.
Let's pray.
Our Father and our God, Lord, we thank you for this good news.
Or that we are loved unconditionally.
We were loved prior to any righteousness we had on our own, and now we have been given the righteousness of Christ.
Lord, give us compassion for the world.
Give us compassion for our neighbors.
Give us a willing spirit to submit to those in authority over us.
Not because they deserve it, but because you call us to it.
Lord, make us a kind and a loving people because you are kind and loving to us.
In Jesus' name we pray.
Amen.