Titus 1:1 (KJV)
Paul, a servant of God, and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God's elect, and the acknowledging of the truth which is after godliness;
· Nothing in the Bible is accidental and
· Nothing in the Bible in incidental
· Every sentence
· Every phrase
· Every word
· Every jot and tittle
is worthy of solid examination and, I am sure, would provide profit and value.
That’s why we just keep studying the Bible again and again, hopefully digging deeper into those things we have seen and anew into those things we haven’t had opportunity to study deeply before.
Paul was very close to Titus. He was perhaps one of his best friends,
· A partner and fellowhelper and
· A son in the faith
But as close as they were to each other, Paul still believed it was important to remind him of:
· The position he held
· The person who had placed him there and
· The steps he had taken to get there
I am going to call them, his calling, his claim and his credentials.
Notice first that Paul gave,
I. HIS CALLING
Titus 1:1 (KJV)
Paul, a servant of God, …
The words I hope will grab your attention right now are:
· Of God and
· Of Jesus Christ
Paul’s whole life, after his salvation, was consumed with God and with Jesus Christ.
· He preached Christ everywhere He went
· He surrendered everything he was and had to gain more of Christ in his life.
· He lived only to please the Lord and make His name known
Listen to some of my favorite lines written by Apostle Paul:
1 Corinthians 9:16 (KJV)
For though I preach the gospel, I have nothing to glory of: for necessity is laid upon me; yea, woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel!
When I was a welder I liked to write Bible verses on my welding helmet.
I often had verses like, Romans 10:13
For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved
on the outside of my helmet where other might read it.
But when I was pastoring and working at the same time, I wrote 1 Corinthians 9:16 (KJV)
For though I preach the gospel, I have nothing to glory of: for necessity is laid upon me; yea, woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel!
on the inside of my helmet.
It was there so that I would remember what my first and true calling is.
Paul said of himself, “I preach the gospel.”
Galatians 2:20 (KJV)
I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.
Paul was happy to be alive but spoke often of death.
· He told us to reckon ourselves dead to sin[1]
· He said that he died daily[2]
And here he said that
· He was dead so Christ could live in him
A healthy spiritual life recognizes the value of dying so that Christ might live in us.
1 Thessalonians 2:4 (KJV)
But as we were allowed of God to be put in trust with the gospel, even so we speak; not as pleasing men, but God, which trieth our hearts.
Let me ask you, whom do you seek first to please?
Paul said he sought to, “…speak: not as pleasing men, but God…”
I am certain that the Apostle Paul didn’t want to be obnoxious and unpleasing to men.
But he did understand who had called him and to whom he was responsible.
Are we any less responsible to God than Apostle Paul?
Did God preserve these words all of these thousands of years just so we knew the kind of man Paul was?
Do you not agree that this is written to provoke us to be the same sort of man as Paul was?
Notice secondly
II. HIS CLAIM
Titus 1:1 (KJV)
Paul, a servant of God, and an apostle of Jesus Christ, …
A good argument can be made that the term apostle is more of a duty than a title.
The word means “one that is sent out.”
Indeed, there is one man called apostle who we know was not of the twelve.[3]
For the most part, though, we use the term to refer to those twelve men specifically chosen of the Lord as the foundation of the church, Jesus Christ being the Chief Cornerstone.[4]
It is an office Paul took up in the place of Judas Iscariot and defended over and again, especially in 1 and 2 Corinthians.
But please notice that, before he was an apostle, he was a servant.
Whatever else God might make of you, be a servant first!
· Serve the Lord and
· Serve people
Never let yourself think you are too important to do the smallest of tasks.
It might be that God has, or will one day put you in a position where the things you are needed for require others do most of the smaller tasks.
But
· Never be above doing them and
· Once in awhile do them just to keep your feet on the ground
I have heard that the Jewish educational system required that all of the “learneds” in Israel have skill or trade they could use with their hands.
· Paul was a Pharisee of the Pharisees but
· He was also a tentmaker
Jesus, you remember, was a carpenter.
I am still of the opinion that everyone of us ought to know how to use our hands.
· It might be that we don’t use them as our primary occupation.
· It might even be that we only use them as a diversion
But we really ought to know how to use them.
In the Jewish system, a person was not considered mature enough to teach until he was 30 years old.
That means a person could easily spend 10-12 years learning and working a physical job with his hands BEFORE he trained went to become a preacher or missionary.
I am pretty sure we have misunderstood the Biblical lesson of 1 Timothy 3:6 (KJV)
Not a novice, lest being lifted up with pride he fall into the condemnation of the devil.
We are sending a bunch of novices into the ministry and it is hurting them and the cause of Christ.
And then notice,
III. HIS CREDENTIALS
Titus 1:1 (KJV)
… according to the faith of God's elect, and the acknowledging of the truth which is after godliness;
This is what Paul accepted when he accepted his calling from God.
I want to divide this into three pieces for our examination:
A. According to the faith of God’s elect
When he took the position, he accepted that his job was “According to the faith of God’s elect.”
Another term we could use here is, “the apostles’ doctrine.”[5]
Consider this passage
2 Peter 1:20-21 (KJV)
Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.
For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.
Paul had no license to write his own religious ideas out for us to read.
His calling and commission was to preach and teach consistent with faith that had been passed down through the Word of God.
B. And the acknowledging of the truth
He knew what had been preached and he believed it to be the truth.
Did you ever find yourself in a position where you disagreed with your teacher, but you had to learn what he was teaching anyway, just to pass the class?
· It happens a lot to Christians in a secular college.
· It happens to teenagers in High School science classes
But it ought never happen with your preacher.
Your preacher must not only be able to preach and teach the Bible, but he needs to believe it to be true.
Might seem strange to say it, but there was a time when almost no pastor believed what he was preaching.
It was just his job.
When we lived in Astoria I always chuckled in amazement ever summer when pastor of the Presbyterian Church and the pastor of the Methodist church in town would take turns going on month long vacations.
· For one month all the Methodists would go to the Presbyterian church while their pastor was away.
· The next month all the Presbyterians would go to the Methodist church while their pastor was away.
Those two denominations are doctrinal polar opposites.
· One believes you can lost your salvation while the other believes you cannot lose your salvation
· One believes you earn your way to heaven while the other believes God has to choose you for salvation
· One believes you are basically good while the other believes there is no good thing in you until God puts it there
The only reason they could do what they did during the summers was because no one believed what their denomination taught.
Worse, the only reason the pastors could do it is because they didn’t believe it either.
Paul said that he was commissioned to preach the faith of God’s elect and that he acknowledged it to be true.
C. Which is after godliness
Furthermore he accepted that the faith of God’s elect was not only truth, but was the way (and the only way) to godliness.
Consider with me our Great Commission, Matthew 28:18-20 (KJV)
And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.
Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.
There are three parts to the commission:
· Winning people to the Lord
· Baptizing them into local churches and
· Teaching them to observe all thingsChrist commanded
There are many ways to be saved, there is only one way, Jesus Christ.[6]
There are many different right churches with different ways of baptizing, there is just one Lord, one faith and one baptism.[7]
There are all sorts of doctrines that are fine as long as you are sincere, there is just one that leads to real godliness.[8]
Conclusion
Who Paul is matters.
· It mattered to every church he wrote to and preached in
· It mattered to every man he trained for the ministry
· It mattered to friend that he had
It matters to you and me.
And it matters who preaches to you and teaches you.
It’s why I am as protective of the pulpit as I can possibly be.
I don’t invite anybody and everybody to preach here.
I don’t allow them to preach just because they are in the area
· I check people out
· I research their doctrines
· I read their statements of faith
And, to the best of my ability, they only step onto this platform if I have evidence that:
· They preach the same doctrines I do
· They acknowledge those doctrines to be true and
· They believe them to be the keys to your godliness and spiritual growth
[1]Romans 6:11 (KJV)
Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.
[2]1 Corinthians 15:31 (KJV)
I protest by your rejoicing which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily.
[3]Acts 14:14 (KJV)
Which when the apostles, Barnabas and Paul, heard of, they rent their clothes, and ran in among the people, crying out,
[4]Ephesians 2:20 (KJV)
And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;
[5]Acts 2:42 (KJV)
And they continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.
[6]John 14:6 (KJV)
Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
[7]Ephesians 4:5 (KJV)
One Lord, one faith, one baptism,
[8]1 Timothy 3:15-16 (KJV)
But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.
And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.