Living With Liars, Evil Beasts, and Lazy Gluttons
Titus 3:1-7
August 18, 2019
When you read the sermon title you may already be a little on edge
Wondering what in the world are we talking about this morning?
A sermon titled: “Living With Liars, Evil Beasts, and Lazy Gluttons”
Seems to be a harsh and quite possibly an offensive sermon.
Where in the world would a pastor get a title like that?
Well the answer is that I got it from Paul.
And Paul got it directly from the evil beasts themselves.
Titus 1:12 “One of themselves, a prophet of their own, said, “Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.”
That’s how the people of Crete described themselves
And Paul says in the very next verse, (1:13) “This testimony is true.”
And the focus of Paul’s letter here to Titus
Is regarding how to live in a culture
That is self-proclaimed as deceptive, evil, lazy, and gluttonous.
If you are not familiar with the book of Titus,
It is a true jewel for the church today.
• It is often thrown in the group as one of the Pastoral Epistles (along with 1 & 2 Timothy) and it fits there because it is after all a letter written to Titus regarding his ministry.
• But it is really the content of the letter that sets Titus apart. In this letter Paul is especially interested in the issue of personal evangelism.
It is all about how to be a witness in a wicked world.
And this morning, we are going to look a little deeper at one passage,
But really, I just want to give you the Cliff’s Notes to the whole book.
THE MESSAGE AS A WHOLE IS WHAT WE ARE INTERESTED IN.
You see the basis for the letter in 1:4-5
“To Titus, my true child in a common faith: Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior. For this reason I left you in Crete, that you would set in order what remains and appoint elders in every city as I directed you,”
Crete is the small island in the Mediterranean Sea just south of Greece,
And just west of Turkey and it still bears the same name today.
Perhaps you remember that the apostle Paul had been arrested in Jerusalem and was taken as a prisoner on an Alexandrian ship to Rome for trial.
Here was the story:
Acts 27:7-15 “When we had sailed slowly for a good many days, and with difficulty had arrived off Cnidus, since the wind did not permit us to go farther, we sailed under the shelter of Crete, off Salmone; and with difficulty sailing past it we came to a place called Fair Havens, near which was the city of Lasea. When considerable time had passed and the voyage was now dangerous, since even the fast was already over, Paul began to admonish them, and said to them, “Men, I perceive that the voyage will certainly be with damage and great loss, not only of the cargo and the ship, but also of our lives.” But the centurion was more persuaded by the pilot and the captain of the ship than by what was being said by Paul. Because the harbor was not suitable for wintering, the majority reached a decision to put out to sea from there, if somehow they could reach Phoenix, a harbor of Crete, facing southwest and northwest, and spend the winter there. When a moderate south wind came up, supposing that they had attained their purpose, they weighed anchor and began sailing along Crete, close inshore. But before very long there rushed down from the land a violent wind, called Euraquilo; and when the ship was caught in it and could not face the wind, we gave way to it and let ourselves be driven along.”
• So Paul was a prisoner the first time he ever landed in Crete.
• It was at a place called “Fair Havens” on the south side of the island.
• And Paul stayed there as a prisoner for many days.
• Discontent with the harbor in Fair Havens the pilot insisted on sailing further along the island of Crete to the harbor of Phoenix for the winter,
• But the ship would never make it.
• A violent storm arose and the ship was pushed out to sea eventually wrecking near the island called Malta.
On one hand that tells you a little bit about the purpose and social scene of a place like Crete.
• An island of sea ports for ships moving in and out and traveling through the Mediterranean; one can only imagine what types of immoralities that occurred there.
What is also true is that while Paul was a prisoner on this island
His heart must have been burdened for an island so lost in sin.
The Biblical record does not give us the timeline,
• But sometime after Paul’s release from Rome he apparently sailed back to this island to share the gospel and plant a church.
• He then left Titus there to organize and continue the work of evangelism.
No doubt this would have been a difficult mission.
BUT TITUS WAS NOT ALONE ON CRETE.
TITUS WAS WITH THE CHURCH.
• Souls had been saved on that island.
• There were some who had no doubt repented at the preaching of Paul and placed their faith in Christ and had been saved.
The main job of Titus was to prepare those people
For their ministry of personal evangelism.
This included establishing the leadership in the local congregations in each city.
• Titus was to “appoint elders in every city” and was even given the qualifications he was to use as he appointed them.
And one of the main qualifications these men were to have
Was that they must be sound in doctrine.
(1:9-11) “holding fast the faithful word which is in accordance with the teaching, so that he will be able both to exhort in sound doctrine and to refute those who contradict. For there are many rebellious men, empty talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision, who must be silenced because they are upsetting whole families, teaching things they should not teach for the sake of sordid gain.”
Paul knew what the people on that island were like.
He described them as “rebellious men, empty talkers and deceivers”
Certainly the men who preached the gospel on that island
Would need to be well established in the faith
So that they could maintain the purity of the gospel.
And just to make sure everyone was aware of who their mission field was, Paul wrote:
(1:12) “One of themselves, a prophet of their own, said, “Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.”
So the churches in Crete were tasked with the mission
Of evangelizing an island that was self-proclaimed as
Deceptive, evil, lazy, and gluttonous.
That’s no easy mission field.
AND YET, THAT’S NOT ALL THEY WERE.
Paul goes on to reveal:
(1:13-16) “This testimony is true. For this reason reprove them severely so that they may be sound in the faith, not paying attention to Jewish myths and commandments of men who turn away from the truth. To the pure, all things are pure; but to those who are defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure, but both their mind and their conscience are defiled. They profess to know God, but by their deeds they deny Him, being detestable and disobedient and worthless for any good deed.”
Now I hope you caught all that Paul was saying there.
• He first confirmed their own testimony about being deceived, evil, lazy, and gluttonous. Paul said, “This testimony is true”
• And because it is true the church must “reprove them severely so that they may be sound in the faith”
This is important for you to see.
We’re going to talk a lot in a moment about
You being kind and meek and gentle and merciful and all those things,
But it is important that you do not take that instruction
To mean that we should not confront sin.
Clearly here Paul mandates that sinners must be severely reproved.
You see that.
But what we also find here is that IN ADDITION TO being deceptive, evil, lazy and gluttonous
• That Paul also refers to them as “defiled and unbelieving”
• And he says that “both their mind and their conscience are defiled”
So to that list of iniquity we now add defiled in mind and conscience.
• That means that they have no bearing for truth or morality.
• They think evil things are ok and it doesn’t bother them to partake.
That’s what it means to be defiled in both mind and conscience.
It means you don’t think evil is wrong and it doesn’t bother you to participate in it.
Now that is certainly bad enough.
• They are deceptive
• They are evil
• They are lazy
• They are gluttonous
• They are defiled.
And yet that still isn’t all.
AND HERE IS THE REAL KICKER
Paul says, (16) “They profess to know God”
• The claim to be believers.
• You can approach them in their wickedness and reprove them and they will respond to you by saying, “I believe in God”.
Now rest assured, they are NOT believers.
They claim to know God, but they do not.
Paul says, “by their deeds they deny Him, being detestable and disobedient and worthless for any good deed.”
So they claim to be believers but they have no fruit.
They are instead deceptive, evil, lazy, gluttonous, defiled, detestable, disobedient, worthless false believers.
And Titus’ job is to show the church how to witness in that culture.
Now I certainly DON’T WANT to make a direct correlation between Crete and Spur ISD. That certainly would not be fair.
BUT AT THE SAME TIME I don’t think anyone in here has too difficult a time listening to the description of Crete and seeing that our current American culture shares a similar description.
America is a land of people who “believe in God” and yet are deceptive and prone to evil and are disobedient don’t seem to care or be bothered by the fact.
My point is that this letter is likely more relevant to our current predicament than we may want to comfortably admit.
And even many who go to the school
May feel like at times they are going to the island of Crete.
It is frustrating isn’t it?
• It would have been hard to live as a Christian in a culture like Crete.
• It is hard to live as a Christian in a culture like America.
• It is hard to live as a Christian in a culture like the public school.
That’s just reality.
And the question is:
HOW WOULD GOD HAVE ME BE A WITNESS IN A CULTURE LIKE THAT?
Well that is precisely the question Paul answers in chapters 2 & 3.
Now, we’re going to move quickly past chapter 2, but I do want you to get the highlights of the instruction.
You will notice in chapter 2 that Paul highlights every class of people.
• Older men, older women, younger women, younger men, slaves, and even Titus.
And the whole idea for all them is that they live godly.
They need to let their godly lifestyle backup their preaching.
And this is made clear throughout the chapter.
• After telling older men, older women, and younger women how to act Paul says in verse 5 “so that the word of God will not be dishonored”
• After telling young men and Titus how to act Paul says in verse 8, “so that the opponent will be put to shame, having nothing bad to say about us.”
• After telling slaves (employees) how to act Paul says in verse 10, “so that they will adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in every respect.”
You understand the reasoning.
Preach the gospel, and then live godly so as to not undo your preaching.
Go preach the gospel and live godly while you do it.
Understand that the world wants to shoot holes in your message
And the easiest way for them to do that is with our unholy living.
After all verses 2:11-14 remind us that God’s grace came
To lead us to live godly in this present age.
And if we had time we could talk a lot here about a lot of things.
PERSONAL HOLINESS
CLEAN LANGUAGE – profanity and gossip will kill your witness.
INTEGRITY – cheating and lying will kill your witness.
DEVOTION TO CHRIST INSTEAD OF THE THINGS OF THE WORLD – when we talk about our love for Jesus, but in reality we are devoted to everything above Him and His church.
MODESTY & SEXUAL PURITY – Christians should not act and dress like the world in these areas. You’re killing your witness.
BUT BASICALLY – Preach the truth and live the truth.
(11-15) “For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus, who gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds. These things speak and exhort and reprove with all authority. Let no one disregard you.”
And all of that is good advice,
But none of that is what I want to primarily talk to you about.
I INSTEAD CHOSE TO EXAMINE THE PASSAGE
That most convicts me and that I most need to hear.
WE LIVE IN THIS WORLD, MUCH LIKE CRETE.
• We have godly desires and place much value on God’s standards.
• And yet we live in a culture that places almost no value on God’s standards.
AND IT IS FRUSTRATING ISN’T IT?
I won’t lie to you, I get frustrated.
You can ask Chris Horn, I had to text him last week to pray for me because the old Rory in me want to just blow a gasket.
• When I look at the school calendar and see that there is not a single Friday night or Saturday that we can have Disciple Now without kids being expected to leave and participate in sports.
• When I see practices being scheduled during Wednesday night church or on Sunday nights during church.
• And when I see that Christian parents place a higher priority on their child’s athletic involvement than their spiritual growth.
I’m not going to lie, I get heavily frustrated and even angry and just want to declare war on the school system in general.
Thankfully I’ve got a Christian brother who will say,
“Don’t blow a gasket, what do you expect from the world?”
You’ll see that’s precisely Paul’s advice.
But we see that mentality among believers today don’t we?
• You know we want to declare war on the ACLU or on LGBTQ or on Liberal politicians or on coaches who schedule practices or games during times of worship.
• We blame some of them for ruining America and prefer that they’d just leave so America can be what I want it to be.
• If we could just get rid of all the socialists, and homosexuals, and pedophiles, and whoever else then we could take this country back to one that pleases God.
• You know, if we could just tell all those liars, evil beasts, and lazy gluttons to leave Crete then this might be a respectable island again.
Friend, I have that sentiment sometimes.
BUT IT IS THE WRONG SENTIMENT
Unbelievers are all too often seen as the enemy.
They are not the enemy, they are the mission field.
Those liars, evil beasts, and lazy gluttons
Where the only reason Paul went to Crete to begin with.
THEY WERE THE ONLY REASON HE LEFT TITUS THERE.
Those people weren’t the enemy, they were the mission field.
And that is what chapter 3 of Titus is about.
• It is a call for you and me to view unbelievers differently.
• It is a call for you and me to quit seeing the lost as the problem and start
seeing them as our calling.
• God DIDN’T send you into the world to run the unbelievers out.
• He DIDN’T ask you to call down fire on the Samaritans.
• He’s NOT sending you into that school to run out all the lost.
He sends us there to reach the lost with the gospel.
That is what I want to show you in the remainder of our time together.
You quickly notice that chapter 3 begins with the word “Remind”.
• That is for us than an indicator that we aren’t about to get something new here.
• We’re about to be reminded of something we should already know.
There’s 3 things Paul told Titus to remind the believers in Crete of.
#1 REMEMBER YOUR SOCIAL EXPECTATIONS
Titus 3:1-2
Here we simply have the calling of God for how believers are supposed to respond towards unbelievers in the world.
• God knows the world is evil.
• God knows the world is corrupt.
• God knows that often times that includes the leadership.
And yet the calling is still clear.
“Remind them to be subject to rulers, to authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good deed, to malign no one, to be peaceable, gentle, showing every consideration for all men.”
I think I can sum those up in 4 attitudes.
1) BE SUBMISSIVE TO YOUR AUTHORITIES
Submission is very important word to God.
• Children are to submit to their parents
• Wives are to submit to their husbands
• Church members are to submit to their leaders
• We all are to submit to the governing authorities
The reason is because all authority is established by God.
Romans 13:1-2 “Every person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God. Therefore whoever resists authority has opposed the ordinance of God; and they who have opposed will receive condemnation upon themselves.”
• God established all rule.
• God established all authority.
• It all trickles down from Him.
And so to resist any authority that He has placed over you
Is actually an act of defiance against God’s ultimate authority.
And this includes the school system.
• Students if you have any hope of honoring God in the school system…
• If you have any hope of adorning the glorious gospel of God…
• If you have any hope of being a good witness in the school…
It starts with you being a submissive student
To your teachers and administrators.
You must submit.
Now obviously I’m not talking about submission in defiance of God.
• When the authorities tell us not to pray, we follow Daniel’s example and pray anyway, we just submit to the consequences.
• When the authorities tell us not to evangelize, we follow the apostle’s example and preach anyway, we just submit to the consequences.
• When the authorities tell us to engage in profane things, we follow those 3 Hebrew boys who wouldn’t bow, and we just submit to the consequences.
• When authorities plan things that pull us away from devotion to the church, we remain devoted to the church and we just submit to the consequences.
BUT WE ARE NOT ALLOWED (even then) TO FIGHT FOR OUR RIGHTS
• Do you understand that when we followed Christ we surrendered our rights?
• We became citizens of Heaven.
• We now submit either to the command or the consequences for His glory.
IT DOESN’T MATTER IF YOUR TEACHER ISN’T TREATING YOU FAIR.
• Do you realize that when Paul wrote these letters the Roman government was in charge and was perhaps the most corrupt, immoral, pagan, and anti-Christian government the world has ever seen?
And by the way parents this goes for you too.
It’s important enough that I’m not going to try and ease into this, I just want to say it clear so that no one misunderstands the point.
When your child gets a bad grade or gets disciplined or doesn’t get enough playing time in the game or doesn’t get the part or any other injustice that you deem horrible for your child.
DO NOT GO TO THE SCHOOL AND ATTACK THEM.
• If you do, you just killed any chance for you or your child to be a witness to that
teacher or administrator.
• You just chose your child’s comfort over their soul, and that is not what
Christians are called to do.
The calling is to “be subject to rulers, to authorities, to be obedient”
It may not be fair, then lead your child to the throne of God
And teach them about the high calling of submission
When suffering unjustly.
But it’s going to be really hard to invite that teacher to church
After you’ve attacked them for not giving your kid enough playing time.
We are called to “be subject” and “to be obedient”
Be submissive to your authority.
2) BE READY TO DO GOOD
Paul says that we must “be ready for every good deed”
You understand that this the way we catch the attention of the lost.
• A teacher or a school mate may not be interested at all in your gospel, but your willingness to serve and help them might just open the door.
Paul will even say later in the letter:
Titus 3:14 “Our people must also learn to engage in good deeds to meet pressing needs, so that they will not be unfruitful.”
It is clear that Paul saw this as a must.
I can brag on Zek a little here because he drives me nuts in this area.
(always the last one out because he was helping the band director)
That’s exactly what Paul is talking about.
When you go into that school go above and beyond in the area of good deeds and in that way adorn the gospel you are preaching.
3) BE MERCIFUL TO SINNERS
“malign no one”
The word is BLASPHEMEO it’s where we get our word for blaspheme.
And let’s be honest, some people are thugs.
• Some people do sinful awful things.
• Some people have awful language.
But verbally maligning them to others will do no good.
We preach the gospel to them and certainly call for repentance,
But attacking their name to the world
Isn’t going to help you win them to Christ.
I just know it’s going to be hard to get them to listen to the gospel
If they’ve already seen you smear them on social media.
4) BE CONSIDERATE OF EVERYONE
“to be peaceable, gentle, showing every consideration for all men.”
All of those words certainly have different meanings,
But mostly this morning I just want you to grasp the theme.
Give people (even lost people) the benefit of the doubt.
DON’T BE A FIGHTER.
That word “consideration” is PRAUTES in the Greek.
Most of the time it is translated “meek” or “gentle”
We often define it as “strength under control”
The people in the school may have different priorities than you,
But that doesn’t give us the right to be disrespectful or mean.
As I said, this is an area God is working on me.
I do get frustrated when the things of the world take precedent over the things of God, but the Bible is clear who NOT to get frustrated with.
Don’t get frustrated at an unbelieving coach or an unbelieving administrator or an unbelieving teacher.
Why would they care more about the things of God?
And just because we have different priorities DOES NOT MEAN
I get to attack them or ruin their reputation or try to take their job.
It’s awfully hard to witness to a person
After you’ve declared war on them.
Jesus was continually kind to unholy and ungrateful men.
God sends rain on the just and the unjust.
And the calling here is simply to remember that
As you walk in a lost world you need to walk in
A submissive, serving, merciful, and considerate manner.
Otherwise the gospel you preach won’t be heard.
Remember Your Social Expectations
#2 REMEMBER YOUR SINFUL EXPLOITS
Titus 3:3
In a minute we’re going to give out bracelets to our youth and teachers.
This is the verse that’s on them.
This is the verse that I need to wear when I get frustrated with the world.
I need be reminded that I used to be lost too.
“For we also once were foolish ourselves”
Psalms 14:1-3 “The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, they have committed abominable deeds; There is no one who does good. The LORD has looked down from heaven upon the sons of men To see if there are any who understand, Who seek after God. They have all turned aside, together they have become corrupt; There is no one who does good, not even one.”
Are they foolish? Yes
• They don’t honor God, they don’t seek after God, they turn aside, they don’t do good.
• Yes, they are foolish for that.
BUT SO WAS I.
What is worse, I was one of those people who professed to know God
But by my deeds I denied Him.
I WAS A FALSE BELIEVER.
• I used to think football was about the most important thing in the world.
• I used to think church attendance was lame, especially on Super bowl Sunday.
• I used to think that getting girls was the highest pleasure.
• I used to think that verbally assaulting people was the highest form of humor.
Why would I now be surprised when other lost people do the same?
• They are spiritually dead.
• They can’t hear.
• They don’t have the spirit of God.
Why would I expect a lost person to care about spiritual convictions?
When I was lost, I didn’t.
• I was “disobedient, deceived, enslaved to various lusts and pleasures”
• I was “spending my life in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another.”
Here’s the reality.
I can’t be too hard on them because I was just like them.
And here’s the other point.
IT’S NOT LIKE I CHANGED MYSELF.
It’s not like I saw the error of my ways, and made a conscious effort to change and now expect them to what is right like I did. You all know that isn’t what happened.
#3 REMEMBER YOUR SAVIOR’S EXAMPLE
Titus 3:4-7
Now there’s a wealth of theology here that is going to be left on the table,
BUT AGAIN SEE THE POINT.
The ONLY reason that we are not like them anymore
Is because: (5) “He saved us”
He was kind, He was loving, He was merciful, and “He saved us”
And it wasn’t “on the basis of deed which we have done”
• He saved us when we didn’t deserve it.
Instead He washed us and He made us new!
“by the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit’
• “regeneration” speaks of the new birth (i.e. being born again)
• “renewing” speaks of the new life you now enjoy
You didn’t change yourself, God did that.
He came and saved you and changed you by His grace.
And He made you (an unworthy sinner) an heir of salvation.
He took you; a deceitful, evil, lazy, gluttonous, defiled, detestable, disobedient, worthless, phony believer;
And washed and transformed you into an heir of heaven.
THE POINT? GOD SAVES SINNERS.
And that includes the people you go to school with.
That includes people you go to work with.
They may be vile and wicked and detestable
And they may not care at all about spiritual things.
Well neither did you, but that didn’t stop God from saving you.
So go into that school; go into that workplace; and preach the gospel.
And while you do it.
• Live Holy and live your convictions
• Be submissive
• Be ready to serve
• Be merciful
• Be considerate
And remember that where it not for the grace of God
You’d still be just like the people you’re trying to reach.
And then take a page from the example of your Savior
And go make heirs out of fools.
John 3:16-17 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. “For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.”
And to help you remember that, we’ve got a gift for you.
And then we want to pray for you.
