The Ministry – part 1
Titus 1:1-4 (1)
January 26, 2025
This morning was the “Birds-Eye” view of Titus
So I hope you’ve got a good idea about the concept of this book.
It is Paul’s encouragement
To a trusted ministry partner and child in the faith
To approach the churches of Crete and to set them in order.
1. He was charged with straightening out their leadership.
2. He was to encourage everyone to live lives that adorned the gospel.
Titus was supposed to make missionaries out of all of them.
AND THAT IS A GOOD MESSAGE FOR US TO STUDY.
Well TONIGHT let’s get into the text of the book.
These first 4 verses are obviously the INTRODUCTION to the book.
• They are Paul’s greeting to Titus.
• But there is plenty to dissect and to learn here.
The main instruction we gain here is Paul’s insight into the ministry.
HE OUTLINES HIS MINISTRY
And in so doing he is challenging Titus to follow his lead.
So let’s begin with some questions.
• What is a minister of the gospel?
• What is a ministry?
• What is the purpose of a ministry?
• What is the goal of your ministry?
• Why do we partake in ministry?
If we are going to be missionaries, even here in Spur,
We must begin with a basic understanding that
We all have a ministry that we will either fulfill or neglect.
So let’s look at Paul and perhaps we’ll gain some understanding
Into our own calling and ministry from the Lord.
We’re going to break this opening segment into 6 points.
#1 HIS CREDENTIALS
Titus 1:1a
“Paul, a bond-servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ,”
These are not uncommon titles to us, they are used by Paul often,
But it is important to remember what they mean.
We are aware of “Paul”
• He was formerly referred to as “Saul of Tarus”
• He was a highly educated Jew
• He was a “Pharisee” from the “tribe of Benjamin”
• He was zealous to eradicate the church
But Jesus confronted him and saved him on the Damascus road
Saul went from the church’s greatest enemy to her greatest advocate.
• He began to be referred by his Greek name which is Paul
• He was God’s chosen minister to the Gentiles.
By now, Paul is near the end of his earthly ministry.
Titus is the second to last book he wrote (2 Timothy)
At this point in his ministry he has accomplished many things.
• He was a church-planter
• He was a preacher
• He was a missionary
• He was a prisoner
• He was an evangelist
• He was a healer
• He was a church growth strategist
• He was a great theologian
And the list of all of Paul’s accomplishments and positions
Could go on and on.
And yet he did not refer to himself by his accomplishments.
He called himself a “bond-servant”
• He wasn’t the kind of man who cared if you saw the PhD behind his name.
• He wasn’t the kind of guy who cared if you recognized his credentials.
• He wasn’t the kind of guy who name dropped or sought fame.
He had in fact said:
Romans 15:18 “For I will not presume to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me, resulting in the obedience of the Gentiles by word and deed,”
He was just a servant fulfilling his role in the kingdom of God.
Paul saw himself as a “bond-servant”
In the Greek it is the word DOULOS
It literally means “slave”
It has its roots in the Old Testament:
Exodus 21:5-6 “But if the slave plainly says, ‘I love my master, my wife and my children; I will not go out as a free man,’ then his master shall bring him to God, then he shall bring him to the door or the doorpost. And his master shall pierce his ear with an awl; and he shall serve him permanently.”
According to the Law you were allowed to purchase a slave and he could serve you for 6 years, but on the 7th year you had to set him free.
There was however one exception.
• The slave could willfully choose to stay in your service in which case he was considered to be a “bond-slave” or a “bond-servant”
• He was a willing slave of his master.
And that is how Paul loves to identify himself.
Nothing flashy, nothing self-affirming…
I am just one of God’s slaves.
THE INTERESTING THING HERE
Is that every other time Paul calls himself a “bond-servant” he says he is a “bond-servant of Jesus Christ”, but here he calls himself “a-bond-servant of God”
And this may be splitting hairs a little,
But it is interesting because of other men in Scripture
Who referred to themselves as God’s bond-servant.
Moses and Joshua were both referred to as servants of God,
But the most popular use of the term was for the Old Testament prophets.
Amos 3:7 “Surely the Lord GOD does nothing Unless He reveals His secret counsel To His servants the prophets.”
Jeremiah 7:25 “Since the day that your fathers came out of the land of Egypt until this day, I have sent you all My servants the prophets, daily rising early and sending them.”
If you will remember the people that Titus was going to have the most trouble with were actually going to be the Jews.
Titus 1:10 “For there are many rebellious men, empty talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision,”
So from the outset Paul is setting himself apart as a prophet of God.
Like Amos and Jeremiah and the other Old Testament prophets
Paul speaks of himself as one who speaks the words of God.
PAUL IS ESTABLISHING HIS AUTHORITY TO A JEWISH AUDIENCE.
This would also be true not only in a Jewish sense,
But also from the perspective of the church.
For the second title Paul refers to is: “and an apostle of Jesus Christ”
And “apostle” was very simply one who was sent on a special mission.
BUT IN THE CHURCH it carries an even more important designation
Than just anyone who was sent or commissioned.
The apostles in the church
• Were those who had been eye-witnesses of the resurrected Christ,
• Were those endowed with His authority specifically to write the words of God.
Like the prophets of the O.T., the apostles in the New Testament
Had God’s authority because they spoke God’s words.
1 Thessalonians 2:6 “nor did we seek glory from men, either from you or from others, even though as apostles of Christ we might have asserted our authority.”
They had apostolic power through miraculous gifts,
This was for the purpose of lending credibility to their preaching.
Paul was “an apostle of Jesus Christ”.
SO AGAIN THE ISSUE IS AUTHORITY
It didn’t matter if Titus was addressing members of the circumcision
Or if he was about to address members of the Gentile church;
The instruction Paul had given him came with authority.
THIS IS IMPORTANT FOR US
In order to be a minister of the gospel,
Whatever your ministry may be you need something.
You need credentials.
You need authority.
• Why should people listen to you?
• Why should people follow your counsel?
• Why should people care what you know?
• Why should people do what you say?
They shouldn’t if all you have is your worldly education
Or worldly experience or worldly logic.
But that is not how we approach the lost world around us.
We approach this world as men and women with the authority of God.
Not like Paul did.
We don’t claim to be prophets or apostles.
But we approach the world like Titus did,
With the words of God’s prophet and apostle.
1 Peter 4:7-11 “The end of all things is near; therefore, be of sound judgment and sober spirit for the purpose of prayer. Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins. Be hospitable to one another without complaint. As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. Whoever speaks, is to do so as one who is speaking the utterances of God; whoever serves is to do so as one who is serving by the strength which God supplies; so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belongs the glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.”
Those are our credentials for ministry aren’t they?
• We serve with the strength of God.
• We speak the words of God.
When you go out into the streets of Spur, these people know you.
• Some of them went to school with you.
• Some of them were better in school than you.
• Some of them were smarter, better athletes, even more moral than you.
Some of them have been more successful than you.
Why should they listen to you?
Because you are not speaking your words
You are speaking the words of God.
Our authority comes from this fact that we present to them
The words which God gave through His prophets and apostles.
This is why later Paul can tell Titus:
Titus 2:15 “These things speak and exhort and reprove with all authority. Let no one disregard you.”
• Titus wasn’t a prophet.
• Titus wasn’t an apostle.
But he had the words of one and therefore he had the authority of one.
Paul’s credentials matter because we stand on those credentials.
We stand on God’s authority that flowed through Paul
Into the letters God inspired him to write.
Sometimes the reason we fail in ministry
Is because we forget where our right to speak comes from.
You see the effects of churches who forget this.
• We see these all-out searches for cultural relevance
• We see people trying to find common ways to identify with people
• We see the church trying to identify and meet “felt needs”
• We see the church seeking to appeal to the interests of sinners
There is the constant desire to present ourselves to sinners
And sort of earn our right to talk to them.
But church you have the words of God.
Those words are what the world most needs to hear,
But they are also the words that world is obligated to hear.
The world doesn’t get to decide whether or not
They want to hear the words of their Creator.
They are in fact judged by Him if they refuse to listen.
Our objective is simply to proclaim what God has said
And when the words come from the Bible
We have every right to say them.
THE BIBLE HAS THE RIGHT
To be proclaimed in every setting and in every arena.
There is not a board room, break room, class room, locker room,
Or any other room where the Bible does not have the right to speak.
The Bible has full security clearance to go anywhere it wants
And speak to whomever it wants about anything it wants.
Those are the credentials we carry in the Bible.
Paul listed his credentials and Titus would stand upon them.
So do we.
His Credentials
#2 HIS CALLING
Titus 1:1b-2a
“for the faith of those chosen of God and the knowledge of the truth which is according to godliness, in the hope of eternal life”
Here we want to know what is the purpose of his prophetic and apostolic ministry?
We are asking Paul what is his objective?
What is his goal?
What is the end game he is after?
So he has flashed his credentials, he enters the room to speak, what is he hoping to accomplish?
By association when we take the words of the apostle into the world and preach them, what are we hoping to accomplish?
That is what we are focusing on here.
And here Paul lists 3 things that he seeks to accomplish.
EVANGELISM
EDIFICATION
ENCOURAGEMENT
You see here Paul sort of simultaneously fulfilling 3 roles all at the same time every time he preaches.
Every time he speaks the words of God he is serving as an evangelist, he is seeking to see the lost saved.
At the same time when he speaks the words of God he is serving in the capacity of a teacher who is seeking to rightly divide the truth and lead men to godliness.
And still at the same time when he speaks the words of God is functioning the role of a pastor who is seeking to encourage God’s people regarding the hope of eternal life.
And incidentally this happens often.
I am aware of that tonight.
I’m preaching the same sermon to everyone in the room.
It may lead to the salvation of one who is lost.
It may lead to the sanctification of one who is saved.
It may lead to the satisfaction of one who needs hope and encouragement.
The same words accomplishing different things in different people.
And you understand that when you go out into the world you are doing the same.
So much of the time when we speak to someone we don’t really know where they are.
They could be lost and need to hear the gospel.
They could be saved but needing to be corrected and sanctified.
They could be saved but discouraged and needing hope.
And very rarely do you know which when you strike up a conversation.
But our ministry is uniquely designed to accomplish all three.
So let’s look at what Paul says here about his ministry objective.
Let’s examine his calling a little bit.
1) EVANGELISM
Paul says He is “a bond-servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the faith of those chosen of God”
That’s an interesting way to put it, and it is proof that Paul was a Calvinist before Calvin was ever born.
Paul understood the sovereignty of God.
Paul understood sovereign election.
Paul doesn’t say that he was out to reach all sinners and save them, he says specifically who he is seeking to save and that “those chosen of God”
What do you mean?
Well listen to:
Ephesians 1:3-6 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.”
Paul says that believers were those whom “He chose…before the foundation of the world”
When we look at the Great Tribulation in the book of the Revelation we read about:
Revelation 13:7-8 “It was also given to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them, and authority over every tribe and people and tongue and nation was given to him. All who dwell on the earth will worship him, everyone whose name has not been written from the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who has been slain.”
The only people rejecting the power, influence, and intimidation of the Anti-Christ is not those with a strong enough will or the most resolve, it will be those whom God chose to save.
And incidentally John says that God chose them “from the foundation of the world”
God knows who are His.
He knows who He chose to save.
And I know it is popular, and somewhat soothing to the corrupt human mind, to say, “But didn’t God choose everyone?”
Well if He had, everyone would be saved.
But no, He did not.
Matthew 22:14 “For many are called, but few are chosen.”
God, in His sovereign prerogative, and for His eternal glory, chose before the foundation of the world who He would save.
No man deserved salvation.
Apart from God’s choosing, no man would choose salvation.
If God had not chosen men then no man would be saved.
For there is none who seeks for God.
God is not in heaven restricting men from coming to Him.
God is not at work to keep the un-chosen away.
The fact is that “whosever will may come”
The problem is that God gave mankind the offer and no man would come.
It is God however, who in an act of sovereign grace, chose to redeem some anyway.
2 Thessalonians 2:13 “But we should always give thanks to God for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, “because God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth.”
1 Peter 1:1-2 “Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who reside as aliens, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, who are chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, by the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with His blood: May grace and peace be yours in the fullest measure.”
1 Peter 2:9 “But you are A CHOSEN RACE, A royal PRIESTHOOD, A HOLY NATION, A PEOPLE FOR God’s OWN POSSESSION, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;”
Believers today are referred to as those who have been chosen by God.
No, He did not redeem us against our will and drag us kicking and screaming into heaven, He changes our will through the process of regeneration so that we desire to be saved.
This is all bound up in the sovereign prerogative and grace of God.
No man seeks for God.
No man is good, not even one.
And no man, of his own free will ever choose to be saved.
In fact, no man of his own free will ever responds to the offer of salvation.
But God, being rich in mercy, choose to save some, regenerates them, grants them faith, and calls them to salvation.
And this is where the ministry of Paul comes in.
What is the means by which God regenerates sinners?
What is the means by which God grants faith to a lost man?
What is the means by which God calls out those whom He has chosen?
Romans 10:17 “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.”
Those whom God has chosen remain in a state of lostness and enmity with God until the gospel is spoken to them and God uses that gospel to regenerate their soul, grant them faith, and call them to repentance and salvation.
It is the gospel which awakens the dead.
It is the word of God which calls out the chosen.
Now, we preach the words of God to all men because we don’t have any idea who the chosen are and who they are not.
And we preach the gospel repeatedly to all men because just because a man rejected it today does not mean he is not chosen and might believe it tomorrow.
And we preach the gospel to all men because it is always a valid offer.
But we know that the only men who will ever respond to the preaching of the gospel are those who have been chosen by God before the foundation of the world.
And Paul knew this too.
2 Timothy 2:10 “For this reason I endure all things for the sake of those who are chosen, so that they also may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus and with it eternal glory.”
Paul’s ministry was for the sake of those whom God had chosen.
And you see this even in the book of Acts.
Remember Pentecost?
Acts 2:38-39 “Peter said to them, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. “For the promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself.”
Who is it for?
“as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself.”
Acts 13:46-48 “Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly and said, “It was necessary that the word of God be spoken to you first; since you repudiate it and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we are turning to the Gentiles. “For so the Lord has commanded us, ‘I HAVE PLACED YOU AS A LIGHT FOR THE GENTILES, THAT YOU MAY BRING SALVATION TO THE END OF THE EARTH.’ ” When the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord; and as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed.”
Who believed?
“as many has had been appointed to eternal life believed.”
Or consider Paul’s ministry to Corinth, this is great…
Acts 18:9-11 “And the Lord said to Paul in the night by a vision, “Do not be afraid any longer, but go on speaking and do not be silent; for I am with you, and no man will attack you in order to harm you, for I have many people in this city.” And he settled there a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them.”
Those people in Corinth were not saved yet, that is why Paul had to stay.
But through his ministry they would be. And God promised to protect him until they all came home.
So do you understand Paul’s ministry here?
Do you understand his calling?
Do you understand the purpose?
God had given him the authority to speak the words of God “for the faith of those chosen of God”
And as we said, that authority would be the same authority that Titus would stand on.
This is the authority we stand on.
We also go into Spur and the places we live and work and go to school and we proclaim the words of God.
And we do it because this is how God calls out those whom He has chosen.
We don’t get discouraged when our gospel is rejected.
We know that some seed lands on hard soil, some on rocky soil, and some among the weeds.
We know that if our gospel is veiled it is veiled to those who are perishing because the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving.
We aren’t worried if it is rejected because we know that awakening a soul from death is not our job, that is a God-sized job.
We simply perform our commissioned duty to proclaim the words of God because when God does bring home the chosen it will be through the proclamation of those words.
And Paul said, that is the objective; that is the calling.
When I was a kid we had one of those wonderful Murray push mowers.
It was the special kind that you had to pull somewhere between 7 and 462 times to start it.
And my dad would send me out to mow.
But I didn’t say, “Dad it won’t do any good, that mower won’t start.”
Because inevitably my dad could go out there and start that thing, and typically he would just say, “Yes it will, go mow the yard.”
I also didn’t just go pull it once and then say, “I knew it, this thing will never start.”
Because experience had taught that eventually it would.
I also didn’t quit pulling on the rope and try to figure out another way to start it because there was no other way. When it would start it would start because I pulled that rope.
Now, evangelism is a little like that.
You don’t tell God no one will get saved by preaching the gospel because experience has said that they will, and what is more God can save them whenever He wants.
You also don’t just tell them once and then give up if they don’t believe the first time they hear it.
And you also don’t quit preaching the gospel in favor of another tactic because there is no other tactic.
Romans 1:16 “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.”
Romans 10:13-15 “for “WHOEVER WILL CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED.” How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher? How will they preach unless they are sent? Just as it is written, “HOW BEAUTIFUL ARE THE FEET OF THOSE WHO BRING GOOD NEWS OF GOOD THINGS!”
When they come, and they will come, they will come through the proclamation of the gospel.
We are on a mission from God to call His children home.
And when you are out looking for someone who has a lost child you don’t just call their name once.
And you don’t give up just because it is hard.
You keep going and you keep calling until that child hears and comes home.
Why do you do ministry Paul?
“for the faith of those chosen of God.”
Why are you in Crete Titus?
“for the faith of those chosen of God.”
Why are you in Spur church?
“for the faith of those chosen of God.”
Don’t lose sight of that.
Paul was here for evangelism
2) EDIFICATION
Paul was “a bond-servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ for…the knowledge of the truth which is according to godliness,”
It is true that part of our ministry in this world is evangelism.
We are seeking out the lost and calling them home, but it does not stop there.
You know the Great Commission:
Matthew 28:18-20 “And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
It wasn’t just about reaching the lost.
The command is to “make disciples”
Now certainly “baptizing” them is part of that, but so is “teaching them to observe all that I commanded you”
When Christ saved you, did He just leave you alone after that?
No, of course not.
Ephesians 5:25-27 “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless.”
Yes Christ “gave Himself up” but He also “cleansed her”
Remember the upper room?
John 13:8 “Peter said to Him, “Never shall You wash my feet!” Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me.”
It is not just about calling out the chosen it is also about the sanctification of the chosen.
Titus was surely on Crete that he might call out those who were lost, but he was also there so that he might further the sanctification process of those who are saved.
I have always loved what Paul said to the Corinthians.
2 Corinthians 11:2 “For I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy; for I betrothed you to one husband, so that to Christ I might present you as a pure virgin.”
Paul looked at himself like a best man who was responsible for delivering the bride to the groom and he was passionate about her being as clean and beautiful and pure as Christ deserved.
So listen to what he wrote to the churches:
Colossians 1:9-10 “For this reason also, since the day we heard of it, we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God;”
Ephesians 1:18-19a “I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe.”
To the Ephesians elders Paul said:
Acts 20:31 “Therefore be on the alert, remembering that night and day for a period of three years I did not cease to admonish each one with tears.”
The goal was not only to find the lost children of God but then to wash them off and clean them up.
He desired to bring “the knowledge of the truth which is according to godliness”
That is the goal isn’t it?
Not just for men to be justified, but also for them to be sanctified.
When my dad told me to go and mow the yard, starting the mower was only the first part of the goal.
What was the next step?
I had to push that mower until it finished doing its job.
That’s a good metaphor for sanctification isn’t it?
After we get people started down the path of salvation sometimes we have to push them a little too.
Hebrews 10:24 “and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds,”
This is the purpose of teachers and teaching in the church.
Ephesians 4:11-13 “And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ.”
It’s a knowledge based thing here.
Apostles revealed the word
Prophets proclaim the word
Evangelists spread the word
Pastors apply the word
Teachers explain the word
But all of them work for one common goal and that is that we might “all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ.”
That means that not only are you called to take the word out as an evangelist to Spur, but you are also called to then fulfill the role of a teacher to those who are saved.
Really?
I’m supposed to be a teacher? Yes!
But I can’t be a teacher.
The Bible has an answer for that:
Hebrews 5:11-14 “Concerning him we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing. For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you have need again for someone to teach you the elementary principles of the oracles of God, and you have come to need milk and not solid food. For everyone who partakes only of milk is not accustomed to the word of righteousness, for he is an infant. But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil.”
I don’t think the excuse of not being able to teach is one that you want to take with you when you stand before God.
I’m not saying you have to lecture at a seminary or even stand in our pulpit, but are there not new believers in our church that need instruction?
Are there not children and teenagers who could learn the word of God from you?
That is the ministry.
We teach the words of God to those whom God has redeemed and we do so that they may be conformed into the image of Christ.
We so it so that they may be moved toward “godliness”.
There is more to say here, but we are out of time, we’ll pick up with it again next Sunday.
