Speaker: Gary Peters

Passage: Titus 1:1-4

TITUS 1:1-4

Happy Father’s Day to the dads out there. Felt like this morning to let you know you’re enough, not in yourself, but in Jesus, you’re enough. For those of you that have father issues, forgiveness is releasing people, not necessarily trusting them, but you release them. 

So, if you need to release your father from something– you know, dads can be not-good individuals at times. I always say this: there’s no perfect kids, and there’s no perfect parents, but your parents have a responsibility to raise you in the fear and the admonition– the instruction– of the Lord. So, if you have a dad issue, you do this: God, I give it to you. 

And if you are a dad, you feel like you’ve made some mistakes– you know, I remember reading one time when my daughter was very, very young, it said that they did a survey of junior high girls, and the number one thing they asked that their father would do is to admit when he’s wrong and say sorry. 

On behalf of pastors, I say, I’m sorry, but on behalf of dads, I say I’m sorry. But it doesn’t mean you get to hold offense, just means we’re sorry. I’m not trying to minimize it. I’m just saying, you know, I think our society puts things on men, not because I have an ax to grind, but masculinity is always toxic now, and it’s not toxic. God’s called us to do certain things. 

There are gender differences. He established them, not me, and He established them for a purpose. So, little Father’s Day admonition. Love you all.

STARTING THE BOOK OF TITUS

I get to open the Book of Titus. So, if you turn there, we’ll get into it in just a minute. I want to give you some introduction. Titus is one of four letters written to three individuals. 1 and 2 Timothy were written to? That’s a question. Timothy. There you go. You awake? 1 and 2 Timothy were written to? Titus was written to? And Philemon was written to? 

All the other books that Paul wrote were written to churches, not individuals. He is one of Paul’s sons in the faith, along with Silas and Timothy, but unlike Timothy and Silas, Titus is not mentioned in the Book of Acts. 

And unlike Timothy, Titus was not a Jew. He was a Greek who is highly respected and walks in incredible character. Though he’s not mentioned in the Book of Acts, he’s mentioned eight times in 2 Corinthians and two times in Galatians. We’ll explore that later in this teaching. 

The island of Crete was a mess. Titus had quite the job to be sent there. We’ll get into that further in weeks to come. Cretans were mentioned at Pentecost. So, there were Cretans mentioned that were baptized in the Holy Spirit, brought into the church on the Day of Pentecost. 

Paul does not visit this island on any of his three missionary journeys. On the back of your study Bible, you’ll see a map of Paul’s missionary journeys. On his way to Rome, the boat skirts the island, they landed at a couple ports, but he never disembarks because he’s a prisoner. He goes to prison, goes to Rome, gets thrown in prison, serves a time, and is released. And during that time of release, Paul and Titus visit Crete and established churches. 

And Paul then, on his departure, leaves Titus on Crete, goes back, and then he gets thrown in prison for the third time, writes 2 Timothy, and is martyred for his faith. So, that’s kind of the context.

Remember, when he’s writing to the Romans, he says, I want to visit you on my way to Spain. Most people believe that he not only established churches in Crete during that interlude– we don’t know how long it was between 1 and 2 Timothy and before his first imprisonment and his martyrdom– but he probably visited Spain also. So, those are all conjecture because we don’t have a letter to the church of Spain. 

APPOINTING LEADERSHIP

Okay, Titus chapter 1:5 says, “I left you on the island of Crete so you could complete our work there and appoint elders in each town, as I instructed you.” I think it’s interesting, we’ll be getting into this in the book, but he says, ‘appoint elders.” It’s not hold-a-board-and-vote-for-elders. He says, Appoint leadership. 

There’s something important that we got to understand: elders are not established in the New Testament; they’re established in the Old Testament. When Moses selected seventy people, they were elders, and the Spirit of God fell on them. And that group of seventy, was carried throughout Jewish tradition. 

And so, the New Testament Church adopted the same model. But you got to understand those seventy that prophesied, that Moses appointed, go forward a few centuries, they become the Sanhedrin that ordered the crucifixion of Jesus. 

So, it doesn’t matter what kind of church leadership you have if you have bad people in place. Follow me? So, you could have a different form of church government, and if it’s not Godly people, it’s going to be a mess. 

But the Scriptural way, Paul says, “appoint leaders.” And if you want to know if somebody is an elder, they’ve got to have followers. I’ve had people want to be elders, and nobody wants to follow them. I’m like, Maybe there’s a clue there. Maybe there needs to be some spiritual maturity. 

But he left Paul. Paul left Titus on Crete to set the church in order. And there’s like eighty major towns in Crete, and they established, supposedly, a church in every one of those towns. So, Titus was left as basically the bishop, the head elder to the church of Crete. 

THE THEME OF TITUS

There’s only forty-six verses in three chapters, when there’s like one hundred and twenty verses in one psalm– Psalms 119– so this is a smaller book, but it packs a punch. Paul lays some phenomenal theology out in direct and practical terms. While not long in words, Titus is a book with very clear intent to teach the lifestyle that reveals you have correct understanding of who the Father is. 

The theme of Titus is this: right living will always accompany right doctrine, and right doctrine will produce right living. Good words flow from a solid understanding of God’s Word, and an understanding of Truth will bring a demonstration of the purity of our lives. 

The Book of Titus reminds us that our right beliefs will impact every area of our lives, starting with our homes, our families, our relationships, our work, and our community. So much of the church is pointing fingers at the world and saying, You’re doing this and this and this, and yet, in their homes, they’re doing that and that and that. Capiche? 

What we’ve got to understand is if you have correct doctrine, it will affect every area of your life, and it needs to start in your home. If you say, It’s not in my home, start there before you try to venture out and tell somebody else how to live their life, live God’s life in your thought process and what you’re doing secretly. 

Heard somebody saying, if you’ve ever been in Nebraska, Kansas, Illinois, in those tall corn fields or wheat fields out in the middle of nowhere, integrity is stopping at the stop sign in the middle of nowhere when nobody’s watching. That’s integrity. And if you are integris, then you can impact a society. 

And it doesn’t mean that you have to be clean before you share your faith. I’m talking about don’t point out somebody else’s sin when you’re walking in that same sin. I’m talking about being self-righteous. 

We all are strugglers on this path of faith, no matter where we’re at in the journey. But it’s equal ground where we start. What are you going to do, going from where you start? The starting block is this: Jesus, I need a Savior. I can’t make it in life without You. That’s the starting point, and then you grow in your faith. 

A SLAVE TO GOD

Paul is promoting orthodoxy or correct doctrine, and it should result in orthopraxy, which is correct living. Let’s look at the first four verses. Let’s just start with verse 1. “This letter is from Paul, a slave of God, and an apostle of Jesus Christ. I’ve been sent to proclaim faith to those who God has chosen and to teach them to know the truth that shows them how to live Godly lives.”

Paul starts out by stating, “I am a slave.” Very popular topic today. I pastored for twenty-four years in Washington state, it was a heavily union town. My dad was a union member, but it amazes me how many times we forget there is a boss. His name is Jesus. 

When we understand we have been given rights and we yield those rights to God, He gives them back to us as privileges. 

I have people all the time saying, My spouse isn’t meeting my needs, and I look them straight in the eye and say, They’re not supposed to meet every one of your needs because they’ve become an idol. 

We first allow God to meet our needs, and guess what? He releases people then to meet our needs. Your boss is not the nicest person. Maybe you need to learn how to yield rights and trust God to work, and He gives you the privilege of then loving your boss into the Kingdom. 

As Americans, we all have rights, the Bill of Rights, and I trust the Bill of Rights. I love the Bill of Rights. All of them, don’t get to pick and choose. But I’ve got to hold rights not in a closed fist but in an open hand. 

And when I release them to God, it’s amazing what happens in our life. He gives them back to us as a privilege, and when we walk in a privilege, we walk in gratefulness and a heart of gratitude. 

A doulos was somebody who had their freedom but chose to stay a slave. In other words, their master treated them well enough they didn’t want to leave. Maybe you haven’t been treated correctly because your attitude is not correct. So, maybe what God is trying to bring is a correction in how we practice the doctrine. 

LIVING THE GOSPEL

And then he says he’s an apostle. And what an apostle means is one sent from God. So, he starts from Titus, Remember, we’re slaves, and we’re sent from God. And then he says, God sent us to establish faith and knowledge, both in content and function, that leads to proper religious life and practice. 

Somebody that is pregnant, a lady that’s pregnant– only a lady that’s pregnant– a lady that’s pregnant, okay? Make that clear: only a woman can get pregnant. A woman that’s pregnant, maybe she’s four weeks, maybe she’s two months. I remember when my wife was pregnant was like, I’m feeling like I’m just getting larger, but I’m not showing yet. Ladies, can you relate? And the thing is, if she’s pregnant, it doesn’t matter if it’s one week or it’s nine months. She’s pregnant. 

If you’re a Christian, you’re a Christian. Everything you do in life has Christian values and overtures to it. There’s not like, This is my religious life, and this is my work life. And I’m not talking about wearing your Christianity on your shirt sleeve and being obnoxious in the workplace. Everything we do has eternal value. 

How many times have you heard Pastor Greg say, Today affects tomorrow? Today affects our eternity. What we do now affects legacy. I’m a grandpa. I want to be a great-grandpa. I want to see the legacy of people loving Jesus going on in my family, not brokenness. So, everything we do has eternal value. 

The natural progression of growth in the Christian life is this: we have faith proclaimed to us, we accept that faith, then it leads to knowledge of who Jesus is and what He does, and then that leads to living Godly lives. That’s what Paul’s saying. 

I sent you to Crete. I’m a slave of God. I’m an apostle of God. I sent you there to proclaim faith, to teach the people, and to show them how to live. That’s what Vintage is called to in Fort Collins and the surrounding area. Not pointing your finger, not railing at government, not railing at sin. Now, we can call out sin, but I’m talking about we’ve got to live righteous lives. 

The challenge is, many times, we are content with conviction without conversion. I don’t care if you’re convicted, be converted; and I don’t care if you’re converted, be transformed. Follow me? That’s the natural progression. If somebody is twenty years old and their mother is still spoon-feeding them, I think it’s a little weird for a normal human being. Follow me? 

First of all, we’re content with just every week plan of salvation, every week plan of salvation, every week getting people saved. I don’t want to just see people saved, I want to see people converted, and then I want to see people changed, and then I want to see transformation in their life. 

We are challenged to not just experience the Gospel but to live the Gospel. Verses 2 and 3: “This truth gives them confidence that they have eternal life, which God, who does not lie, promised before the world began. And now, just at the right time, He has revealed His message, and we announce it to everyone. It is by the command of the God our Savior that I have been entrusted with this work, the hope of promised eternal life.” 

I don’t start eternal life when I die, I started eternal life when I got born again. The reason why God puts restrictions on sexual behavior is it’s the one thing that two human beings can do in creation of someone who will live forever. That person that you create will live forever somewhere. Every one of us has an eternal soul. We are going to live somewhere. Are we going to live in the presence of God, or is it going to be whatever hell is? The absence of God?

So, we are promised eternal life. God’s promises are grounded in His eternal purposes. One of the commentators says, “The trustworthiness of hope.” I love that statement, the trustworthiness of hope, the certainty of hope. Why? Because it’s based not on some supposition, it’s based on God’s eternal character, free from falsehood because He cannot lie. 

There’s this idea in Scripture, there’s three words for time: there’s chronos, the chronology, or a linear aspect of time. There’s kairos, which is a season of time. And then there’s the age, which is the age we’re living in.

I love where it says, “God promised this long ago.” If you were here with Dr Jay, he always stepped up on the stage when he talked about what God did before our lives. Jesus is not God’s plan B. It’s not, Let’s create man, and if they mess up, then we’ll come up with something else. 

That’s why I don’t have a problem with evil. I have a problem with evil, but people say, Did God create evil? No, God didn’t create evil. And the thing is, He doesn’t even worry about evil because He, before the foundation of the world, the Lamb was slain. We were taught that in Revelation. 

So long ago, these promises were given, now, we get to live them out. Some of us in this room have been given a promise long ago about something, and you are thinking of it in a chronological sense, and God says, Is it now, the kairos time, for it to be revealed? And we’ve got to understand because Paul says, It was long ago, but now, Titus, it is being revealed to the people of Crete. 

How many know Paul had been on three missionary journeys? Had been in prison? And the island of Crete was still untouched, but now it was their time. Let me ask you something: what time is it for you? What does God want to do? What does God want to release in your life? What is God saying for your family?

“You are the first of many.” I love that statement. You say, My heritage is messed up. My grandfather was a turd. Everybody in the family is a turd. Excuse me, I said turd in church. Sorry, bad guy. Then you have the opportunity now, second generation, to change what goes forward. That’s the power of the Gospel. 

You’ve got to see things that way. We’ve got to live for our children’s children’s children’s children. We have the privilege of now making kairos time and implementing the promises of God in our family. Many times, promises are lost because we don’t wait for the appointed time. 

I’ve been pastoring, in ministry, this is my forty-fifth year. This fall will be forty-five years of ministry. My point is this: there are things that God has promised Karen and I, because we’re gonna celebrate forty-six, so we’re in this together the whole time, but there are things that God has promised her and I that we haven’t seen the fulfillment of yet. 

Does that mean God’s a liar? No, it means it’s not the appointed time for many things. Are we going to let go of that and say, We’re not going to hold on to that promise anymore? No, we’re going to trust God. 

I love where it says in 1 Chronicles 12:32, “The sons of Issachar discerned the times and knew what Israel was to do.” We need people in this day and age that are able to discern the times and know it’s time to do something for God. 

ENTRUSTED WITH THE GOSPEL

Then he says this: he was entrusted with the Gospel. His other son of the faith, Timothy, in 1 Timothy 6:20-21, “Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to you.” In 2 Timothy 1:14, “Through the power of the Holy Spirit who lives in us, carefully guard the precious truth that has been entrusted to you.” 

Everybody, look at me again. You’ve been entrusted with precious truth. This isn’t for a select few. I love where Solomon says, “What is my father? And what is my father’s household, that you have bestowed such incredible blessing upon us?” I am constantly amazed. 

One of my professors in college used to say, Every pastor needs to read 1 and 2 Timothy and Titus at least once a month. And he also said Acts 20 because that’s a chapter to the elders of Ephesus. 

And I have been overwhelmed because I understand God has deposited something in me that’s pretty incredible. Why? Because I’m saved. Why? Because I’ve been called out. Why? Because I’m alive in this generation. 

I have people tell me all the time, This is the worst time in world history. I go, You don’t understand world history. It may be dark, but it’s not the worst time. People say, I want the United States to become a Christian nation again. I don’t. I want us to have something new. I want us to have something fresh. 

And I get to live in it. I get to live in this season, in this time of life. It’s not a burden to me. It’s not like, Woe is me, it’s like, Bring it on. Why? Because I’ve been entrusted with something, not in arrogance, but I know God’s deposited something in my heart. And he tells Timothy, “Timothy, guard that which has been entrusted to you.” Paul’s continual amazement that he had been given the task to be entrusted with the Gospel. 

You may be the only Jesus some people ever read. You may be the only Jesus that some people read. You have been placed in your neighborhoods, in your legacy, in your jobs, in your positions to represent Jesus, first and foremost– not Vintage City Church– Jesus. 

And you’ve been entrusted with that. God’s given you a deposit, and he says, Timothy, Titus, guard it. Put a hedge around it. Don’t take it for granted, and also be enthralled. Amazing grace, how sweet the sound that saves someone like me. 

The amazement of God’s grace. I’m amazed every day because I know Gary Peters. I know what I live with, even in my own self– ask my wife. I’m not the most Godly individual. Every day, I don’t wake up with a smile on my face and say, Oh man, I love Jesus today. Sometimes it’s like, I don’t like you, and I don’t like Jesus right now either. Then I fall on my face, and God reminds me, Oh Gary, guard that which has been entrusted to you. 

TITUS IS PAUL’S TRUE SON

And then he says he’s his true son. Sitting to my right, your left, is our pastor. A lot of you don’t know this, or some of you do, we’ve known each other for over three and a half decades, and we still like each other. That’s a true son. I’d give my life for him, and I know he’d do the same.

It amazes me that we don’t have long-lasting relationships in the Kingdom anymore. And you know why that is? Because of the pain that we have to go through to cultivate and keep those relationships. 

Titus has been with Timothy, we know, for at least fifteen or twenty years at this point. He had been sent on missionary journeys. He had been sent to fix two major areas. How would you like to be Titus and sent to Corinth? And then he’s sent to Crete. He was God’s fixer in a good way, but he was trusted by Paul. 

There’s something about lifelong relationships that many of us don’t have because they’re forged in trial. They’re forged in affliction. They’re forged when you have to trust somebody, and you have to give your life to somebody, and they have to be like Jesus to you, and you have to be like Jesus to them. That’s why marriages don’t last, because we quit being Jesus to one another. Paul has been with Titus, and Titus has been with Paul. 

And then he says, “We share this common faith.” You know, I go worship God up on the mountains, and I go paddle boarding to the glory of God the Father every Sunday. I just take in the living water and all the surroundings. It’s just me and Jesus. I’m saying, have a good time, enjoy life, but there’s something about common faith: it’s common. It’s not unique to you. 

Wake up call. It’s not unique to you or me. It’s common. That’s why, in every denomination, everybody that calls on the name of Jesus, that’s why I don’t have problems with certain denominations. There may be some squirreliness in them, but guess what? There’s some squirreliness in us. 

We have a common faith. You know what the common faith is? Jesus is Lord, and our community needs Christ. That’s the common faith. And if I understand that, I can have fellowship with a lot of people that I can exclude, whether they speak in tongues, or how they baptize, or how they do this, or how they do that. Common faith. 

Who have you excluded because you don’t think they’re common faith? What have you done to exclude yourself from the common faith? 

And then he says this: the grace of God’s favor, and He’s at peace with you. “Titus, my true son, in a common faith, grace, and peace from God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.” 

I want you to do something. I want you to write this down, put it on your refrigerator, your bathroom mirror: I have God’s favor, and God is at peace with me. I have God’s favor, and He’s at peace with me. 

God’s not angry. He doesn’t sit in Heaven waiting to smite somebody, or as the King James would say, smote someone. I have God’s favor, and He’s at peace with me. 

ARE WE WILLING TO HEAR WHAT TITUS WILL TEACH?

Some takeaways today: number one, and you can’t answer this truthfully because you don’t know, but just nod in the affirmative and say, God, give me grace. Are you ready for the Letter of Titus to correct your doctrine and correct how you live in this world? 

Remember, if your doctrine is correct, your life will be correct; and if your doctrine is incorrect, it’s going to show up in how you live. Correct doctrine and proper living is the only way we can effectively reach a society. And what the enemy wants us to do is major on minors, get angry at one another, point our fingers at people, and live in the same way, but with a different spirit with them. 

It amazes me the people that rail on abortion and yet practice pornography in their secret closet. It’s of the same root. It amazes me the people that point fingers at somebody and say, You’re not getting along, and yet they treat their spouse a certain way. 

That’s Titus. Welcome aboard. Three chapters and forty-six verses. I’m asking you, Are you ready? You’re going, I don’t know, just say, God, give me grace to accept over the next couple of months the teaching of Titus. Amen? 

Are you aware that receiving what God has promised is always linked to an understanding of the importance of His timing? Listen, God’s delays don’t mean God’s denials. You know, there’s three answers to prayer: yes, no, and wait. I’d rather have a No than a Wait. But many times, my answered prayers are, Wait. God’s delays are not His denials. God moves in seasons of life. 

And the third thing is this: are you in a continuous state of amazement that you’ve been entrusted as a representative of God’s favor and grace? Does the grace of God still amaze you? The longer we’re away from what sin we used to participate in, the more we forget what God has done for us. 

God has chosen you to be His instrument of revelation of His plan on this planet. God has chosen you to be His instrument of His plan on this planet. You have God’s favor, He’s at peace. Does your face show it? Do your actions show it? Are you contagious, or are you suspicious? 

Let’s pray for you. Father, thank You for Your faithfulness to us. God, I ask that You give us ears to hear what Paul is going to be sharing to the church at Crete, to his son in the faith, Titus.

God, we love You. Holy Spirit, You’re the guide, and You’re the teacher, so over the next few weeks, lead us into Truth in this book. Give us ears to hear, we pray in Jesus’ name, amen.