Tuesday, May 14, 2013

Life from Titus - 3

Titus Three
Recap last two weeks.
Week 1 - the call, the message, discipleship, leadership
Week 2 - Honour God, set an example - family life
Week 3 - Living God's way, devoted to doing good
The last chapter of Titus starts with an exhortation to teach the peopel to submit to rulers, to the government, and to the officers, and be ready to do what is good. The word submit here is the same word used in the previous chapter so we can see that it is a voluntary decision to carry proper responsibility to do what is right in regard to civic duty as well as in the home.

Titus is also to remind the people to be kind, gentle, not slandering people etc. Remember in chapter one, the people of Crete we called liars, cruel animals and lazy gluttons. The call to be gentle and kind and to do good works is in direct response to their natural way of life and their reputation. In other words it addresses the natural tendency of the people to be liars, to be unkind, to be misled by lusts and pleasures, full of envy and hate etc. with what we can describe as God's 'norm' for people. There are two main ideas here.

1. Live according to God's norm
What is God's norm for people? God has a standard of behaviour that he expects from us. This flows out of obedience because of what he has already done for us.

Ephesians 4:20-24
But that isn't what you learned about Jesus and the truth that comes from him. Throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life which is corrupted by lust and deception. Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. Put on your new nature created to be like God -truly righteous and holy.

God says we are to live differently from what we used to do before we knew him. We are to have a new nature. This nature is often against our 'norm for behaviour  and God challenges us to change and live according to his normal.

Col 3:5-7
So put to death the sinful earthly things lurking within you. Have nothing to do with sexual immorality, impurity, lust and evil desires. Don't be greedy, for a greedy person is an idolater, worshipping the things of this world. Because of these sins the anger of God is coming. You used to do these things when your life was still part of this world.

Col 3: 12-14
Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humilty, gentleness and patience. Make allowances for the faults of others, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony.

When we look at this scripture, we get a glimpse of what God's norm looks like. If we are to live according to his way and his pattern, there are several things we might want to think about. What is my norm? What is my starting point?

When we address situations in life - we might think about what is actually normal - bear in mind that normal varies depending on the situation.
Medically what is normal for some is not normal for another, but knowing our norm is important. For example we all have a blood pressure that is normal for us. Bit that does not mean it is right or good. We would ask, what is OK medically, what is a persons individual norm, do they match up what is acceptable. Just because something seems normal to us, doesn't mean it matches God's 'norm for us

God has a standard of living that is meant to be the 'norm' for those who follow Christ. His 'norm' is obedience, love, faith, hope, gentleness, etc. In Colossians he says clothe yourself with kindness and humilty. This is God's 'norm' and it is what we are to aspire to as people who follow Christ. We don't do this from duty, or even in our own strength. In Titus 3:4-8 We discover that it is God who has saved us. It is God's love that compels us. He has poured out his Spirit generously on us; it is because of his grace, that we can live in confidence of eternal life.

Therefore, as a result, we are to be people who trust in God and devote ourselves to doing what is good and beneficial for everyone. Our 'norm' changes and begins to become like God's accepted 'norm' when we understand that we are to renew our minds, to make changes. Its not by anything we do, but because God saved us, because he has given us his Spirit, that we are able to follow through on living his way and not our own.

Question: Does our 'norm' actually line up with what God calls normal?
Where do we fall short? What is behind us falling short? Are there wrong patterns of thinking, missunderstandings of what it means to be a follower of Christ?

How will we rectify it? What are two practical things we can do to change our 'norm' to God's 'norm'? For example, wrong patterns of thinking can be rectified as we devote ourselves to God and begin to understand his ways and his desires. As we begin to take tjoughts captive and allow God to work on how we think, through his Spirit. We are to be transformed by the renewing of our mind! We can also be accountable to others, and gain encouragement and support to follow through on the desired changes. What two things that you will do?

2.Be ready for every good work.
This is clearly the theme for this part of Titus. It is mentioned several times throughout the book, but particularly in this chapter.
Verse 1 - always ready to do good
verse 8 - devote themselves to doing what is good.
verse 14 - learn to do good

It is clear that doing good should be a natural outworking of faith and of following Christ. Not because good works gain us salvation, but beacuse we have salvation, we can do good works. And these good works are profitable to everyone. They are profitable for those doing them, and they are profitable to those who receive them. As we do good works, we become productive - as we work alongside others for the benefit of others, we become fruitful. Good works bring advantage to all.

Good works is about the community in which we live. Good works gets people's attention and turns them towards God. It is about a godly, life giving, community building focus. This is the reason to avoid foolish arguments. We touched on this in week one, and Paul addresses it again in chapter 3. Foolish arguments are a waste of time. They are useless and they are not profitable. Foolish arguments detract from the good we are supposed to do.
Foolish arguments, whatever form they take, are totally unprofitable, draining and achieve nothing.

Titus 3:10-11 says to warn a divisive person twice and then have nothing to do with them. These people are those who are deliberately argumentative and who are detracting from the word of God. The word used for devisive is the same as the word for heretic, in other words, foolish arguments about things that are not truth. They are unprofitable, not helpful to anyone. They are ungodly, life sapping, and community destroying behaviour. Paul says remove these people (divisive argumentative heretics) from you if they refuse to change.

Instead of getting caught in arguments, we are to be devoted to good works, and to ensure that the things that are really necessary are carried out, especially where we see that there is a need. The words used here, mean the things that are in our care, the things God has given us guardianship over, the things that God is asking us to give attention to. This will be different for each person, but together we do what God has called us to do. This is how we are to be fruitful because good works bring fruitfulness. In John 15:14-16 Jesus says that we are his friends if we do what he says and that when we stay connected to him, we will bear fruit.

John 15:16,17
You didn't choose me, I chose you. I appointed you to go and produce lasting fruit, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask for, using my name. This is my command: love each other

How do we bear fruit? We bear fruit when we stay connected to Jesus, when we live in what Jesus has done, when we go and do good works that will bear fruit for the kingdom in the communities in which we live and in teh broader world. We can ask ourselves some questions. What good works am I already doing? What good works would I like to do/will I do? What good works is God calling me to do?

Conclusion
Live the way God calls us to live, according to his 'norm' for us. Be devoted to good works because this is what brings fruit for the kingdom. This is beneficial for everyone, for our entire community. It is a life giving, community building focus that God calls each one of us to, in whatever community we find ourselves.

Thursday, May 9, 2013

Life from Titus -1

Titus

The Book of Titus is a letter of Paul's and is written to an individual, unlike most of his other letters which are written to churches. Titus was left in Crete by Paul to continue the work in Crete and to appoint elders in the churches. Crete is an Island, and at the time of this leter was, like most of the Mediterranean world, part if the Roman empire.

Paul says at the beginning of this letter that he has been called to proclaim the faith - to teach people the truth about Jesus. Paul knew his calling and Titus was working alongside Paul to spread the good news. Titus was to complete the work started there, (vs5) and return to Paul.

Titus had a leadership gifting - He was to do the work he had been given,  and to appoint elders in each place to carry on the work. He was to train the people and to encourage right teaching.

This is a short letter but it is full of great teaching. The people of Crete must have been difficult at times.  One of their own men, a prophet from Crete had said they are liars cruel, animals, lazy gluttons. History records this as Epimenedes a poet from 600 BC. The people of Crete had a reputation for greed, for lusting after materialsim, even before the Gospel came to the Island. Paul is clear though that the message of the Gospel, the grace available through Christ is for all epopel everywhere. This message came at the right time and is available to all

What do we learn from this letter?

1. God's message is a message for all
Paul says in verse 1 that his job was to preach the good news - to bring the message of Christ to people. This is a message of truth that shows people how to live godly lives.
This message is of salvation through Christ and gives us confidence of eternal life. This promise of  life was in God before the world began. We are known by God, we are loved by God and God has a plan for us from before the world began.

Eph 1:4
Long ago even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ, to be holy and without fault in his eyes. His unchanging plan has always been to adopt us into his family by bringing us to himself through Christ. And this gave him great pleasure.

God takes pleasure in us and in who we are. Paul says this is the good news they announce to everyone. Paul had a particular gift, but it is the responsibility of every Christian to take the good news, the message of salvation to others. It is a message for everyone to hear. We can't assume that everyone we meet knows God or something of God. The message is for everyone, but not everyone knows that the message is for them. The only way they will know is if we take it.

'Be a friend' is about loving people enough to want the best for them, and to be ready for the opportunity to share the message of Jesus with them.

Romans 10:14-15
But how can they call on him to save them unless they believe in him? And how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them? And how will anyone go and tell them without being sent?

We often use this for cross cultural missions, but Paul is talking about salvation for all, for those near and those far away. We are sent by God to our community, to take with us the good news of Jesus Christ. Titus was left on Crete to complete the work entrusted to him.
We are in Wollongong, by God's design to complete the work entrusted to us. The work entrusted to us is the message of the gospel, the message of love for everyone.

Who is God asking us to take his message to?

2. Right living and Discipleship
The next whole slab in Titus is what Titus is to teach to the people, and especially what he is to look for in people that he appoints as elders. An elder was like a pastor or a leader, an overseer. In truth, each of us leads someone in some way!

Don't be put off by this list. If you look closely at this list, it is actually a repeat of what Paul writes about in his other letters (Eph 4. Col 3,4) about right living for everyone who belongs to Christ. Paul is stressing to Titus that leadership is not to be taken lightly, that for people to lead others, they must be able to show their faith not just by what they say, but it must be obvious by the way they live.

When I look at this list I see what is the result of Discipleship. If we follow Christ, if we love him, we choose to live his way. This does not mean we always get it right, but Paul says to Titus, when you are looking for people to lead, choose someone who is showing by their life that they are trustworthy and able.

Col 3: 5
So put to death the sinful earthly things lurking within you. Have nothing to do with sexual sin, impurity, lust, and shameful desires. Don't be greedy for the good things of this life, for that is idolatry.

Col 3:8
But now is the time to get rid of anger, rage, malicious behaviour, slander and dirty language.

We could probably spend weeks looking at how to develop and build each of these attributes into our lives. Today, lets think about them from a point of view of which one is God speaking to me about today?

Faithful to his wife - faithful to our partners in life - to those we live with and work with. A heart of loyalty to others.

Children who have been taught how to live and who believe/are faithful.
As parents, our greatest desire should be that our children know and follow Jesus Christ.

Children who are not rebellious: If you are a rebellious parent you may well raise rebellious kids! This is worth thinking about.We often think how we want our children to be successful in life and that is good, but ultimately, it's where there heart is and whether they belong to God or not that really counts.

Not arrogant or quick tempered, violent or heavy drinker, greedy for money. Here Paul is addressing the attitudes of life, the things that can stop us from living lives that reflect the love of God.

A blameless life - we are to live lives of integrity, lives that show who God is and not get caught in the things of this world. In other places Paul calls them the lusts of the flesh, the things of this world that seem bright and shiny, that seem fun, but are actually sin.

Enjoy having guests and love everything good. Living wisely (good stewardship of God's household, good stewardship of our own households,) and judging fairly. We can ask ourselves, how well am I looking after what God has entrusted to me in my life, my ministry, my family?

A devout and disciplined life.  A life that puts God first in all things at all times. This is what Paul says is needed to be able to lead others. Notice that they are all Discipleship issues. We may have great leadership skills but on their own they are not good enough. Character is the key competency.

Paul gives no real direction to Titus on the skills needed to lead. Of course there are skills that are helpful, useful, even necessary, if we are to lead others, but Paul is more interested in our attitudes, our behaviour and the type of lives we lead. Skills can be taught but character develops over time.

Are we disciplined, are we devoted to God, do we have a strong and steadfast faith in our amazing God who has saved us?

We rise or fall on the way we live our lives. How we live, how we treat others, will be seen by others, and will impact others. Are we women of integrity, living in a way that promotes right living and the truth of God's word? Paul says if we live this way, we will be able to encourage others with right teaching, and show others who oppose right teaching where they are wrong.

What aspect of your life are you doing well in?
What aspects of your life are you struggling with?
What is God speaking to you about area?
What is God asking you to do to change that?
What tough decisions do you need to make about the way you live?

3. Stop listening to useless talk.
Useless talk is anything that isn't useful for building others up. Titus lived in a time as today, when there were people trying to add things to the truth, trying to distract people with useless information and deceiving other people. Paul tells Titus to stay away from this stuff and to teach others to stay away from it as well because it is damaging to ourselves and to others. These he calls Jewish myths. In verse 16 he says they are of no use and worthless for doing good.

What would this be for us today?

Well there are plenty of people who want to change the Christian message either because they don't like it or don't fully understand the truth. Even in the time of the New Testament writers this was true .

1 Timothy 4:1
Now the Holy Spirit tells us clearly that in the last times some will turn away from what we believe and will follow lying spirits and teaching that comes from demons. These teachers are hypocrites and liars. They pretend to be religious but their consciences are dead. In other words, there will be distractions from the truth, there is plenty to pull people away, but God has the truth. There are plenty who have twisted the truth that salvation is through Christ alone. We are to stay away from them.

Later in Titus 3:9 Paul encourages us to stay away from godless chatter, geniologies etc. When Paul wrote this letter, the Cretans had a reputation for lying, laziness and gluttony. Paul told Titus to rebuke them where necessary to make them strong in the faith. We all have a reputation of some sort. It is worth thinking about what that is, and whether it is a good one or not!

We don't like rebuke do we, but when we get away from the truth, when we need correction, a rebuke from someone we love and respect is actually better for us than anything else. We want a pat on the back, but the bible says that sometimes rebuke is necessary, it is healthy and it makes us strong in the faith!!

How do we stay clear of deceitful people?

Be devoted to God, to the truth, to right teaching, which we learn through reading the word, through applying the word to our lives. God's word has the power to change our lives if we will let it. Lets be listeners of truth and people who live the message of salvation with love and integrity.

What untruths am I listening to?
What will I do to rid them from my life?

At the end of chapter one, Paul says that all things are pure to those who are pure. When we live in purity according to God's word, we will see life in people, we will see the best in people, but we will be aware of those who try to pull us away.

Have you taken hold of the message of truth?

Life from Titus-2


Last week we looked at the first chapter, including Paul's desire to take the gospel to the gentiles, and Titus's call to finish the work on Crete. We looked at developing Godly charachter and not getting caught up in unhelpful ideas. As we approach chapter two we need to understand something of the background of family life in the Roman world. Ot was very different to ours.

The Romans occupied Crete in 67BC and romanised it. In doing do, the traditional style of communal living and communal sharing transitioned to private ownership, and individual households. Houses contained family groups including servants and may have contained extended family groups. The type of family familiar to the Roman world was very different to how we experience family today

As we continue to look through Titus and to learn from Titus, we have to remember that it was a very different world. Paul writes to Titus giving instructions on how the people in the churches were to live and how they should behave. He goes on to instruct Titus on what to teach various groups of people. In doing so Paul particularly addresses the roles of the older and younger women, and the older and younger men.We all fit in to one or other of those categories, but lets not ignore the rest.

To really understand this we need to understand some of the culture of the day. In the Roman world, there was a marriage contract arranged by families but had no legal force, simply a declaration of intent to live together, or in case of divorce to not live together. The wife was often very young, usually early teens, and was therefore very vulnerable. Her place was not necessarily secure.The husband was usually quite a bit older, was responsible for the public side of the family and had total authority. Women were probably poorly educated if at all and had little experience of the world outside the family home. The male had all the power.

When we look at the role laid down for women here, the cultural context is really important, so what can we learn?

1. Honour God in your world
The way we live and interact with one another, particularly how we relate in families, will either honour God or dishonour him. The older men are to be self controlled, worthy of respect and setting a good example. They are to live wisely and to and to have a strong faith. The older women are to do the same. In fact if we look at these instructions the key thought is honour God.

The servant was to be obedient, because that honoured God and showed his devotion to God. The men were to live wisely because that showed their honour of God. Verse 12 says that we are to live in this evil world with self control, right conduct and devotion to God. The role of the older woman was to help the younger women fulfil their role in a way that honoured God. The older women, were to honour God by the way they lived and they were to show the younger women how to live in a God honouring way, in line with the times and culture of the day; in other words, to honour God in their world.

Lets look at some of the things that the women were to teach that would bring honour to God by right living.

Love their husbands and children: If we remember the cultural context we can see that this is about strengthening the marriage in what was a culture of loosely held together marriages. We can relate well to this. It is good to love each other and it is good to love our children. Both Ephesians and Colossians echo this thought.  Live wisely, be pure, living a life that does not lust after the things of the world, but seeks to serve God,

To take care of their homes: We can get our backs up with this, we don't like the idea of the housewife, we get pictures of being stuck in the home, and for me the idea of the 1950's housewife comes to mind. We need to get that picture out of our heads. This is not what taking care of their homes meant. So what does it mean. Older women, what are we to teach the younger women about honoring God?

In this time, in the home, to be a keeper of the house was more than just doing housework. It involved running the household. It meant that the responsibiity of the wife was to ensure that the entire household ran smoothly. This would have included looking after the servants and ensuring that all of the household, had everything they needed to fulfil their roles.

I wonder if Paul had Prov 31:10-31 in mind as he wrote about these things. Here we see a godly women, being diligent to the task at hand, looking after her household, working and ensuring that everything ran well, but she also had freedom within her role. she had responsibilities to fulfil and she did them with love and grace. In doing so, her husband could fulfil his role well. It was a partnership.

This is the role of the women as Paul would have seen it. The husband was able to trust his wife, he was able to do his job in the city, confident that his wife was able and taking care of the household. The wife had a huge responsibility.  Within the home the women had some power and  were probably responsible for behind the scenes running of the entire household and possibly the business as well. These were not insular hones like we know them. There were lots of people and basically the wife worked in Human Rresource management for the family. This is what the older women were to teach. Girls we have a responsibility to work with and alongside our partners to take care of the affairs of our household, whatever that looks like for us in our world.

Today we might suggest that it includes the role of women who are experienced in business teaching the younger women how to conduct godly business. It might be that the younger women need to learn how to work well with other people in the workplace. In other words this is about teaching people to honour God wherever they are, in whatever cultural context they find themselves, and this will be different for different cultures, different families and different circumstances.

Submission to their husbands is the other curly one for us.  Wives are encouraged to submit to their husbands in Ephesians, Colossians and Titus. It seems that wives often wanted to disrespect their husband, and so Paul addresses the issue, and encourages Titus to teach proper submission in the home. So what does it really mean to submit? Submission was originally a military term that was about various military divisions submitting to a leader to maintain order and take responsibility. It became a civilian term meaning a voluntary attitude of giving in or co-operating with, assuming responsibility for or carrying a load. In other words, the older women were to teach the younger women that it honoured God when they voluntarily co-operated with their husbands and took responsibility for their part of running the household.

What is our responsibility and our part today? In our culture it varies, but the principle is the same; that we work together with one another to carry a load, to take on responsibility, and to ensure the smooth running of the family under godly leadership. When we look at submission this way, we can see that today it may also mean submitting to and co-operating with those who have a leadership role in the workplace, to be responsible with the tasks we have been given and to fulfil our job description. This is what older women are to teach the younger women, but it all revolves around honouring God in your own circle and sphere of influence, wherever you are placed.

What does it mean to honour God where ever you are?

Does the way I live bring honour to God or bring shame on his word?

How can you help another person in your sphere of influence to honour God wherever they are placed at work or at home?

2. Intentional Examples

Be a positive example to others. Paul tells the older women to live in a way that is appropriate for someone serving the Lord. Not only does this honour God, but it sets an example for others to follow. The older women (young women, one day you too will be the older woman - we are all older than someone) are  to set an example by the way they live. They are not to be gossipers or speak evil of others.

Col 4:5
Live wisely among those who are not Christians, and make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be gracious and effective so that you will always have the right answer for everyone.

Those older people in our lives that know all the gossip and are happy to pass it on, good bad or otherwise, are not the example for us to follow. When we are looking for someone to mentor us, lets look for someone who is living appropriately, who is living according to God's purpose and is a good example of what it means to honour God. Older women, we need to check out our lives and make a decision that we will be women who can teach good things to others and set a good and godly example for others

Prov 22:1
Choose a good reputation over great riches, for being held in high esteem is better than having silver or gold.

Determine today to live as a positive role model for younger women. In speaking to the young men, (Titus 2 vs 7), Titus is to be an example of how to live and how to behave.  (See also 2 Cor 8:16-24) Titus was a splendid example of those who bring glory to Christ, doing good deeds, reflecting integrity and seriousness of the teaching and ensuring that the teaching is correct. The context for this is Titus being an example to others, to the people he was leading and specifically the men, but the principle is that someone is watching how we live. We live as examples to others, influencing someone by our lives.

The young people who come into our church are watching how we behave. Our children are watching us. The people we disciple are watching us. Who is watching you? What kind of example are we to those people who look to us for wisdom and understanding? Girls, the younger women are watching us and learning from us. At work, others are watching us and seeing how we behave. What kind of example are we setting for others?

Are we living in a way that is a good example of what it means to honour God and to live life his way?

What attitudes and behaviours might we need to change to start being a positive role model to others?

Conclusion
The reason we are to live this way is because of the grace of God that brings salvation to all. We can live, in Christ, in a way that is totally committed to him, totally committed to doing what is right.

Titus 2 vs 14.
He gave his life to free us from every kind of sin, to cleanse us and to make us his very own people, totally committed to doing what is right.

We may not always get it right, but we can determine, that because of what God has done for us, we will live in a way that honours him and is an example to others.