{Reading The Book of Titus~Week 9}

The Church is Entrusted with the Truth of the Gospel: The church is Called to Holy Living

God called Paul as an apostle, He sent him as a messenger of Jesus Christ and entrusted him with that gospel. The word “entrusted” sticks out to me in this first chapter. I remember in 2 Timothy that Paul told Timothy to entrust the gospel to faithful men.

“The things which you heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.” 2 Timothy 2:2

In this letter to Titus, I believe Paul to be doing the same thing. He has left Titus on the Isle of Crete and entrusted him to set in order what remained or correct the wrong doctrine and practices of the churches. According to chapter 1:10-13 Paul already knew about these men who needed to be corrected and he describes them as:

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{Live Well-Pleasing in the World~A Study in Titus 2}

 FREE STUDY IN THE BOOK OF TITUS. INFO AT THE END OF THIS POST!

Do you remember when you were younger and you were getting ready to go out with your family maybe to dinner at a friends house or to a play…and  your parents would say to you, “now ___________ insert your name. I want you to be on your best behavior.” I have said that many times to my own children. We expect our children to honor and respect  those whom they come into contact with. It is no different with our Christian walk. When we go out into the world there is a specific behavior that we are called to. We are to be well-pleasing to God first and then to those whom we come into contact with.

{Bible Study in the Book of Titus}

Showing all good faith so that they will adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in every respect.  Titus 2:19

 

Learning to adorn the doctrine or teachings of God is to read and study His word so that we may learn what is pleasing to Him. When we study we show ourselves approved unto God which brings glory and honor to His great name. Through prayer and study, we ask God how we are to act and behave in this world and in the body of Christ. God’s word guides us and teaches us how to adorn or walk in a manner worthy of our calling. Titus is a small book but is packed with much doctrine and teachings. We learn how men and women are to function in the church. We learn God’s standards for selecting a godly elder. We are given instruction as to how to conduct ourselves in the workplace and how we are to act towards our government and those outside the church. When we learn the truths from the word of God  and conform our lives to the teachings in this book the doctrine of God will be worn well and God will be glorified in us. 

{What are the Qualifications of a Godly Church Elder?}

FREE STUDY IN THE BOOK OF TITUS. INFO AT THE END OF THIS POST!

We are in our third day of Titus chapter 1. Today we will be looking at the qualifications of an Elder or pastor. We will be asking questions of the text such as,what are the qualifications of our pastor or elder, who decided the qualifications or characteristics of this position? Why are they important to the life of the church? Why does it matter that I know this?

Doctrine, doctrine, doctrine. Is it really that important? The answer to that question is, Yes, doctrine does matter and is very important. Most of us are looking for a message that will lift us up and encourage us as we struggle with daily life. Encouragement  is important but there comes a time when our walk with the Lord must have balance. We do not need all encouragement with no doctrine and vice versa, we do not need all doctrine and no encouragement. It is not just about us and our felt needs. As a believer, there is a bigger picture. The glory and honor of God through our conforming to the truths in His word. Learning what is pleasing to Him. In Titus, we will learn what pleases God with respect to the church. Our first look will be at the Elders or pastors that are stewards of the church of God.

Jesus Loves You Just the Way You Are?

 

Facebook posted this article I wrote a year ago on my Facebook feed. I took a minute to stop and read it. It is still a very relevant  message. Maybe more today than it was when I wrote it!

We were in deep discussion this morning in Bible Study and one of the ladies brought up a phrase that’s tossed around the church house rather flippantly. I will not go into the topic of discussion at this time. I will save it for another post. The phrase used is this:

I have heard this phrase used  many, many times and really have not given it a lot of thought until this morning. On the surface this saying sounds great, wonderful, and true. But, if you think about it, really think about how it’s being taught in many congregations today; it completely demolishes the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and what the church really is.

Before you stop reading this post, let me make it clear that I do believe in the LOVE of God and the LOVE of Christ. There would be no gospel, no salvation without their unconditional love.  Yes, Jesus does love us as we are or there would be no salvation. Paul teaches in Romans 5:8,”But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us.”

That is not what is in question here.  There are many being invited to come and  be a part of  the church today with no EXPECTATION of change. Come on in and bring your sin with you. It does not matter how you live. We are all sinners. ” Jesus Loves You just the way you are.”

“This simply is not true”

The Scriptures call unregenerate, unbelieving persons sinners, enemies of God, unrighteous, evil and wicked.  When true conversion takes place a believer is no longer labeled a sinner but a saint that is holy and righteous. ( According Christ’s righteousness which is imputed to us)

Our discussion in Bible Study this morning was in the book of Romans chapter 6. Before chapter 6 Paul spent 5 chapters teaching the depravity and corruption of man. He makes it very clear that the wrath of God rests on man because of their suppressing the truth in unrighteousness. Romans 3 tells us there are none righteous, there are none that are good. The truth of the gospel is that man is dead in his trespasses and sins. Christ died to save us and to CHANGE us. Titus 2:14 teaches, ” Christ redeemed us from every lawless deed, to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds.” (This is the church.)

2 Corinthians 5:16-17 teaches, “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.”

Romans 6:4 teaches, ” Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.”

Romans 6:1-11 teaches, “What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase?  May it never be! How shall we who died to sin still live in it?  Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death?  Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.  For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection,  knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin; for he who has died is freed from sin. Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him,  knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, is never to die again; death no longer is master over Him. For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.”