The Ministry – part 2
Titus 1:1-5 (1b-2a)
February 2, 2025
Last Sunday morning we began our study of the book of Titus.
We are calling the study “Adorning the Gospel”
Because that is what Paul is encouraging Titus to lead the church to do.
Certainly the gospel must be proclaimed,
But the thrust of the letter is that the gospel must also be lived.
Over and over we hear Paul stress the importance
Of God’s people engaging in good deeds
And living lives that did not detract from the gospel, but rather adorned it.
Last Sunday night we began working through the text of Titus.
We considered the fact that we are all ministers of the gospel.
• The ministry is NOT limited to those who are employed to do it.
• The ministry is for all believers.
Every one of us has a ministry
And we will either fulfill or neglect that ministry.
Certainly Paul will talk about elders to Titus and their requirements,
But he doesn’t stop there.
Consider:
Titus 2:3-5 “Older women likewise are to be reverent in their behavior, not malicious gossips nor enslaved to much wine, teaching what is good, so that they may encourage the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, to be sensible, pure, workers at home, kind, being subject to their own husbands, so that the word of God will not be dishonored.”
Paul there starts by encouraging “older women”
Did you catch their ministry?
• They are to teach “what is good”
• Specifically to the “young women”
• Namely that they should “love their husbands…love their children…be sensible, pure, workers at home, kind…subject to their own husbands” etc.
That is the basic ministry of an older woman.
That is just one example, but it makes the point.
EVERYONE HAS A MINISTRY.
• There are no jobless Christians in the kingdom.
• There is no retirement from kingdom responsibility.
It is true that your ministry may change or shift over the years,
But there is always a ministry that you are called to fulfill.
WE CAN EVEN RECOGNIZE THAT
There is a sense in which each person’s ministry may be UNIQUE.
• Your ministry may not look exactly like the ministry of the person sitting next to
you.
That is certainly ok too.
• All are not eyes, all are not ears, all are not hands, all are not feet.
• We are differing parts of the same body each with different functions,
responsibilities, even ministries to fulfill.
BUT YOU DO HAVE A MINISTRY.
And yet, at the same time there is also a sense
In which all of our MINISTRIES ARE THE SAME.
While we may fulfill different roles,
WE ARE ALL WORKING TO THE SAME BASIC END.
A father and a mother may fulfill different roles to their children,
But they are both working to raise godly children who fear the Lord and serve Him.
WELL THAT IS HOW THE BOOK OF TITUS BEGINS.
We begin by talking about
That basic ministry that we all have in common.
And we are discussing it by listening to Paul describe his ministry.
We started this text Sunday night as we said there are 6 elements here to Paul’s ministry.
#1 HIS CREDENTIALS
Titus 1:1a
“Paul, a bond-servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ”
You will remember that “bond-servant of God”
• Was a typical title for the prophets of the Old Testament.
• And by declaring himself as such Paul was gaining credibility among the Jews on Crete.
• Paul was one who spoke the words of God from God as a prophet of God.
The title “apostle”
• Certainly gave reference to Paul’s apostolic authority as one sent specifically by Jesus Christ to the Gentiles.
• An “apostle” in this sense was an eye-witness of the resurrected Lord and one commissioned with power to go and literally reveal the words of Christ to the people.
Those titles together spoke of Paul’s authority
As both Old Testament prophet and New Testament apostle.
Those credentials are what Titus would stand on as he labored in Crete.
When people would disagree with what Titus would tell them,
• He would pull this letter from his pocket
• And read that it was a direct command of Paul, the prophet of God and apostle of Jesus.
TITUS WOULD STAND ON PAUL’S AUTHORITY.
We do the same in our ministry when we open the Bible and preach it.
WE STAND UPON THE AUTHORITY OF PAUL.
The Scripture is now our authority
We have the right and the obligation to proclaim it everywhere.
So you saw Paul’s 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 Paul describes the basic goals of his ministry.
This is the objective.
This is the end goal.
And we said he lists three here.
• EVANGELISM
• EDIFICATION
• ENCOURAGEMENT
1) EVANGELISM
“for the faith of those chosen of God”
Paul refers here to the fact that God, in His sovereign prerogative,
Before the foundation of the world, chose those who would be His.
Ephesians 1:4 “just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world…”
Paul would tell Timothy:
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.”
It is true that God has chosen who are His from the foundation of the world, but that does not render ministry unnecessary.
FOR EXAMPLE:
It is true that God has chosen those who are His from the foundation of the world,
• BUT in order for them to be His it was still necessary for Christ to come and die on the cross and pay for their sins.
Apart from His righteous life and atoning death
Those whom God has chosen could not be saved.
AND IN THE SAME WAY
It is also necessary that someone preach the gospel to them.
Romans 10:14 “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?”
The preaching of the gospel is the means
Through which God awakens the chosen sinner to new life
And grants them the faith to believe in Christ.
PAUL UNDERSTOOD THIS.
He did not know who the chosen were.
• But he knew that by preaching the gospel he would call out the chosen unto faith in Christ.
THIS WAS HIS MINISTRY, JUST AS IT IS OURS.
We engage in evangelism
As though we are out looking for God’s lost children,
Calling all men to salvation so that the chosen may hear and believe.
THAT IS YOUR MINISTRY.
• While the scope of our respective ministries may differ…
• While our audiences may differ…
• The ministry is still the same.
We are called to fulfill our ministry “for the faith of those chosen of God”
2) EDIFICATION
“and the knowledge of the truth which is according to godliness”
We started this one Sunday night, but there is more to discuss here.
Our ministry does not end when a sinner is saved.
• The final goal of our ministry is NOT repentance.
• The final goal of our ministry is NOT even saving faith in Christ.
• The final goal of our ministry is “godliness”.
And we know that “godliness”
Comes about through “knowledge of the truth”
I came across an article about 15 years ago
That I now keep in my desk and read periodically.
It is called “Practical Thought On An Enduring Ministry”
And it was written by John MacArthur.
He gave 10 pieces of advice, and they are all good,
But two of them really resonated with me.
The first was:
“Learn to be patient. Humble patience with people may be the most important virtue you’ll ever exercise. After all, your goal as a pastor should be to bring the convictions of your congregation into line with the full message of God’s Word, and their lives to spiritual maturity. And this is a process of sanctification that takes time (decades not just months or years). It only comes from trusting the Spirit’s power in using His Word as it is faithfully proclaimed week after week, year after year.”
https://www.gty.org/library/Articles/A223/Practical-Thoughts-on-an-Enduring-Ministry-Part-1
It is a great reminder that our ministry to the redeemed
Has REALLY ONE GOAL
That is to conform people into the image of Christ.
Consider the admonitions of Paul throughout the New Testament.
1 Thessalonians 4:3a “For this is the will of God, your sanctification…”
1 Thessalonians 5:23 “Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Paul reminded the Romans that this was one of the primary purposes of their election by God.
Romans 8:28-29 “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren;”
Paul instructed Timothy that godliness was more important than anything else.
1 Timothy 4:7-8 “But have nothing to do with worldly fables fit only for old women. On the other hand, discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness; for bodily discipline is only of little profit, but godliness is profitable for all things, since it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.”
And Paul encouraged Timothy to watch out for any would-be minister who ignores the importance of godliness.
1 Timothy 6:3-5 “If anyone advocates a different doctrine and does not agree with sound words, those of our Lord Jesus Christ, and with the doctrine conforming to godliness, he is conceited and understands nothing; but he has a morbid interest in controversial questions and disputes about words, out of which arise envy, strife, abusive language, evil suspicions, and constant friction between men of depraved mind and deprived of the truth, who suppose that godliness is a means of gain.”
This was Paul’s ultimate goal
To take those whom God had chosen and saved
And then to drive them on to spiritual maturity and godliness.
AND CONSIDER THE IMPORTANCE
Of achieving such godliness in your life.
Jesus outlined that brothers who fall into sin
• Are to be disciplined by the church and brought to repentance.
• Ultimately if they refuse to conform to godliness they are to be treated as a
gentile and a tax collector.
The writer of Hebrews warned:
Hebrews 12:14 “Pursue peace with all men, and the sanctification without which no one will see the Lord.”
That is to say, if you aren’t sanctified, you aren’t saved.
Which is what Paul pointed out to the Romans
Romans 8:12-14 “So then, brethren, we are under obligation, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh— for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.”
There believers are actually described as
• Those who are “being led by the Spirit of God”
• Which is explained in the previous verse as those who are “by the
Spirit…putting to death the deeds of the body.”
Sanctification and godliness matters.
Peter testified to the coming wrath of God which will fall on this sinful world and then he asked:
2 Peter 3:11 “Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness,”
YOU SEE IT.
Our objective IS NOT to just see someone get saved and then abandon them without any care to their sanctification.
We are called to patiently minister to them
Over and over and over and over for decades
Until Christ is formed in them.
And Paul saw this as part of his ministry.
He wasn’t just an evangelist, he was also a teacher.
BECAUSE THE MEANS
Through which we produce godliness in the lives of our fellow believers
Is “the knowledge of the truth”
How do you take a newly redeemed Christian and lead them on to Christian maturity?
• You faithfully teach them the whole counsel of God.
• You relentlessly saturate their lives with Scripture.
• You chisel away at their old man with the sword of the Spirit until nothing is left but the new man.
THAT IS THE GOAL.
IT IS WORK.
That is what Paul told the Galatians:
Galatians 4:19 “My children, with whom I am again in labor until Christ is formed in you”
We labor to teach God’s word
Because it is what produces godliness in the lives of a believer.
Peter said:
2 Peter 1:2-3 “Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord; seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence.”
• Peter said that God has granted us everything we need pertaining to godliness “through the true knowledge of Him”
In short, redeemed men are taught to be godly.
They are washed with the word.
Colossians 1:28-29 “We proclaim Him, admonishing every man and teaching every man with all wisdom, so that we may present every man complete in Christ. For this purpose also I labor, striving according to His power, which mightily works within me.”
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.”
You get the point don’t you.
We are called to teach one another over and over
Until our lives are brought into conformity with the word of God
And we look like Christ.
I read that encouragement from John MacArthur regularly.
The second piece of information in that article that I also like is:
“Don’t lose sight of the priority. As a pastor, your duty is to shepherd your flock—this means nourishing them on the Word of God, leading them toward Christ-likeness in tender affection, while protecting them from error. You are a pastor. You are not primarily an event coordinator, a financial analyst, a vision-caster, or even a leader. Your ultimate responsibility is not to innovate or administrate but to disseminate divine truth. Only in that way will you be training up people within your congregation to live and serve effectively and obediently for the honor of God and the impact of the gospel. A church environment dominated by the Word and the Spirit will produce a congregation that will serve alongside you so that you will be able to concentrate on what you are called to do: teaching the Word while humbling yourself before God in dependent prayer.”
https://www.gty.org/library/Print/Articles/A224
That is what Paul was shooting for.
That is what he is modeling for Titus.
That is what we are called to do.
AGAIN,
Your sphere of ministry may be different than mine,
But it is still the same ministry.
You may be focused on leading your kids to Christ
• And then you teach them the word over and over until they look like Christ.
• It may be your Sunday school class…
• It may be your KFC kids…
• It may be friends or coworkers…
But you are called to be teaching someone
To help them be conformed to Christ.
So who are you teaching?
• Who are you discipling?
• Who are you patiently covering with the truth of God to help them become more like Christ?
Hebrews 5:12 “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.”
THAT IS THE MINISTRY.
Evangelism
Edification
There is a third aspect to Paul’s calling
3) ENCOURAGEMENT
(2a) “in the hope of eternal life”
The ministry becomes real clear here
When you throw in this final piece of the puzzle.
It is SALVATION leading to SANCTIFICATION leading to SATISFACTION
Here Paul calls it “the hope of eternal life”
In Romans he calls it “the hope of glory”
Romans 5:1-2 “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God.”
It is what we studied Wednesday night as we talked about
THAT WHICH MAKES OUR SUFFERING WORTH IT.
Romans 8:18 “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us.”
Paul saying also:
2 Corinthians 4:16-18 “Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day. For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.”
WHAT WE ARE TALKING ABOUT HERE IS
Producing the belief or hope in the minds and hearts of all believers
That their separation from the world will be totally worth it.
The call of sanctification is a call to separate yourself from the world.
• We call one another not to love the world.
• We call one another to put off sin.
• We call one another not to store up treasure here.
• We call one another to deny self and follow Christ.
And that is a hard call.
Necessary, but hard.
Where does the encouragement to do that come from?
It comes from “the hope of eternal life”
Namely that there is something better waiting for us.
AND IT IS ESSENTIAL that we instill this hope
Into the lives of those who are striving to follow Christ.
I don’t think you can overstate
The importance of hope in the life of a believer.
What is it that allows you to face trials?
What is it that allows you to endure persecution?
What is it that allows you even to return to God after a failure?
IT IS HOPE.
You might also refer to it as assurance.
It is the absolute confidence that your life is hidden in Christ,
Cannot be separated from Him and will one day end with Him in glory.
• This is where a believer finds his courage.
• This is where a believer finds his endurance.
• This is where a believer finds his joy.
• This is where a believer finds his contentment.
And it is the goal of our ministry to impart that to one another.
1 John 5:13 “These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life.”
When Peter wrote to persecuted believers he said:
1 Peter 1:3-5 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.”
The writer of Hebrews wrote to Jews who were being cut off from the synagogue:
Hebrews 6:17-20 “In the same way God, desiring even more to show to the heirs of the promise the unchangeableness of His purpose, interposed with an oath, so that by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have taken refuge would have strong encouragement to take hold of the hope set before us. This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and steadfast and one which enters within the veil, where Jesus has entered as a forerunner for us, having become a high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.”
Paul wrote to believers who faced suffering for Christ:
Romans 8:24 “For in hope we have been saved, but hope that is seen is not hope; for who hopes for what he already sees?”
He also wrote to Timothy when Timothy wanted to quit:
2 Timothy 1:12 “For this reason I also suffer these things, but I am not ashamed; for I know whom I have believed and I am convinced that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him until that day.”
And again:
2 Timothy 4:6-8 “For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith; in the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing.”
That is Paul actually speaking of facing his impending death,
But he has nothing but anticipation for what is coming.
This is why we are so adamant about
• Doctrines like security of the believer.
• Doctrines like the sufficiency of Jesus’ atoning work.
WE DO NOT bring a new believer into the church,
Call them to sanctification, and then say,
“Now you better not slip up or you’re out of here!”
How can you ask someone like that to risk their life for the gospel?
How can you expect someone to go on the mission field like Christ and Meegan have done and fact unknown threats?
If there is no confidence that their eternity is secure?
A believer with no hope is paralyzed.
A believer with no security has no confidence for obedience.
Why would a believer let go of this world if you cannot assure him that he is gaining the next one?
WOULD WE DARE SAY;
Give up this world, deny yourself, lose it all for Christ, and who knows, if you do it well enough there might even be a reward for you?
NO!, that is not what we preach.
We preach “the hope of eternal life”
• Hope is what drives a believer to obedience, for the reward is coming.
• Hope is what drives a believer to endurance, for the reward is coming.
• Hope is what drives a believer to forsake the world, for the reward is coming.
• Hope is what drives a believer to long for Christ’s appearing.
• Hope is what drives a believer to fix their eyes on things above.
It is almost impossible to lead a believer to an obedient life for Christ
If they do not have the hope of eternal life.
We tell them what Jesus said:
John 3:14-16 “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up; so that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life. “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.”
John 5:24 “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.”
John 6:40 “For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day.”
John 10:27-28 “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand.”
We remind them of Jesus’ promise:
John 14:2-3 “In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. “If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also.”
That message is not simply an evangelistic one,
That message is for the redeemed.
Our ministry must not stop with the message of sanctification,
We must press on to make sure those we teach know the reward.
We tell sinners to believe in Christ.
We push one another to godliness.
But we also remind one another that our toil in the Lord is not in vain.
We remind one another that it will be worth it all.
THAT WAS PAUL’S MINISTRY CALLING.
And by example he was showing Titus that this would be his ministry.
And through this letter that has been preserved for us,
We are taught that this is our ministry as well.
THIS IS OUR CALLING.
EVANGELISM – EDIFICATION – ENCOURAGEMENT
We go to men,
• Standing on the authority of the word of God which came to us through this
apostle.
• And we call those men to faith in Christ with full assurance that those who are
chosen will come.
We then take those who have believed
• And we wash them relentlessly with the Scriptures until they look like Christ.
And as we do,
• We remind them of the hope of eternal life which will make their separation
from the world totally worth it.
Your ministry may have varying specifics
Regarding numbers and ages and location and what not,
But regardless of you minister to, or where you minister,
THIS IS YOUR MINISTRY.
THIS IS MY MINISTRY.
We are called
“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…”
ARE YOU DOING THAT?
IF NOT, LET ME ENCOURAGE YOU A LITTLE THIS MORNING.
No one is asking you to go to China this weekend
Or to get a microphone and start street preaching.
I believe in starting simple.
Look at those 3
• EVANGELISM
• EDIFICATION
• ENCOURAGEMENT
Make it your goal to do one of each of those this week.
Pray and ask God for the opportunity and for help.
MAKE IT YOUR AMBITION
1. To share the gospel with 1 person this week.
2. To teach one person something that will aid in their sanctification.
3. To encourage one believer to endure because of the hope of eternal life.
Have a conversation, mail a card, even take advantage of social media,
But take a step towards fulfilling your ministry this week.
And as you grow ask God to grow your ministry
And to grow your opportunity for those things.
You are in the ministry, don’t neglect it, seek to fulfill it.
Titus 3:8 “This is a trustworthy statement; and concerning these things I want you to speak confidently, so that those who have believed God will be careful to engage in good deeds. These things are good and profitable for men.”
