A Foundation for Faith and Hope

Titus 1:1-2, 4

January 1, 2006

 

Ancient history is a subject that either intrigues you or bores you-not much middle ground exists with it! Working through the rise and fall of kingdoms with unfamiliar names, the subjugation of the weak by the strong can confuse most anyone. Lost in our history books is the Sargonid era of Mesopotamia and the Menes Dynasty of Egypt! But all recall Alexander the Great, the son of Philip of Macedonia, and short-lived ruler of the mighty Greek Empire. Alexander's rapid rise to power at the helm of his Macedonian troops continues to stagger the imagination. What was Alexander's greatest feat? It was not that of conquering the Persian Empire or conquering the world by the age of 30. Rather it had to do with language. His plan to unite his empire linguistically so that all his people could communicate with each other proved to be his finest achievement. The language that united his empire was called Koine Greek or "common Greek," instead of classical or Attic Greek. Koine, meaning that which is shared together or held in common, united different people and races as no government could possibly do.

 

But our concern this morning is not in common language uniting people since language can only unite people externally. In spite of the common language, divisions still existed in the Greek, and later the Roman Empires. Ethnic, racial, religious, and cultural divides may have been helped by the common language but certainly not conquered and united.

 

As far as I can tell through my own reading and research, only one thing can truly unite the most disparate people of the world. Only one thing can bridge the gap that exists between cultures, races, ethnicities, and languages. This was demonstrated clearly in the 20th century among the Waodani tribal people of Ecuador, in that prior to this one thing existing among them, half of their deaths came by their own violent homicidal hands ["The Rest of the Story," Rebecca Barnes, Christianity Today, January 2006, p. 39]. That one thing is called koine pistin or common faith. By this, I do not mean just any sort of faith or belief or religion. Rather it is the common faith that Paul spoke of to his friend Titus. It is the common faith found in the gospel of Jesus Christ alone. That faith united the once-Pharisaic Jew, Paul of Tarsus, with the Gentile and uncircumcised Titus. Paul called Titus, "my true child in a common faith." They shared the same faith objectively in the body of truth called the gospel. They shared the same faith subjectively by trust in Jesus Christ.

 

That same "common faith" unites believers of every age, every culture, every race, and every people group. We need a "common faith" due to the common problem of our sinfulness and God's judgment. We have a "common faith" because of the uncommon grace of God shown to all believers. We have a "common faith" because of the substitutionary death of Christ common to all that have trusted Him. Yet many do not have this "common faith" that we hold together. So how does this "common faith" become the foundation for our lives?

 

I. Begins with God

 

It's amazing how many in our day put the starting point of salvation with their own desires or will. Of course, that is natural to the mind at enmity with God. We do not want to consider that we can do nothing to put ourselves aright with God nor do we even want to. We would rather think more nobly of ourselves; that if given the right setting and influence we will decide on our own to obey God rather than follow the world. We are perfectly capable we tend to think, of managing ourselves in this world. Oh yes, it is nice if God kind of helps us out a bit here and there. But He need not get in the way or be too obtrusive! We can handle things by the sheer strength of our will.

 

The Apostle Paul knew nothing of that kind of thinking! He remembered all too well his own story. Thinking that he was righteous because of his diligent adherence to the law of God, he vigorously pursued stamping out the Christian religion. None were more zealous for the law or for persecuting this upstart religion than Paul. Still breathing out threats, his mind pounding away with new ideas of wrecking the small band of Christians that had begun to form outside of Jerusalem, Saul the Pharisee made his way to Damascus to imprison more Christians. This was not a man giving warm thought to Jesus Christ and His death on the cross! Luke said that he was "still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord" (Acts 9:1). He was anti-Christ and anti-Christian. But the Sovereign Lord pursued the persecutor! "He is a chosen instrument of mine," declared the Lord to the disciple Ananias (Acts 9:15). Paul the Apostle was changed by the sovereign working of the living God; his whole purpose in life bent on furthering "the faith of those chosen of God." 

 

And so, as Paul writes to Titus who served as the lead pastor among the churches on the Island of Crete, he wrote of their "common faith" that originated in the gracious, sovereign work of God. That must be our testimony as well. We hold a common faith with Christians from every conceivable background, none of which began due to an act of human will. Yes, the human will responded to Christ as revealed in the gospel but only after the Sovereign Lord acted upon the will. I realize that some dispute such this assertion. But our text is insistent upon salvation having its beginning in God.

 

1. Sovereign in salvation

 

Paul explained that his purpose as a servant of God and apostle of Jesus Christ focused on furthering "the faith of those chosen of God." The "chosen" or elect "of God" identifies those set apart by God as His people throughout the ages. Not all are "those chosen of God" or else Paul's wording would be senseless. He intended to highlight the sovereign working of God in salvation to Titus who labored among an untrustworthy people. Home to a civilization that stretched back at least three millennia, Crete had gone through times of prosperity under legendary King Minos, destruction by earthquake, volcano, and tsunami, and conquering by Greeks and Romans. One of their own characterized them, "Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons" (1:12). Dishonest, immoral, debauched, lazy, and self-indulgent people populated the island. Into that setting Titus carried out his missionary work. Would his confidence be boosted by Paul convincing him that he had learned superb persuasive skills that could motivate the Cretans to change themselves? Not at all; but what great encouragement he found in knowing that even among the wicked Cretans, there were "those chosen of God."

 

That is the same truth that motivated William Carey to begin missionary work among the idolatrous, superstitious, and evil people of India in the late 18th century. As we have heard our friend that serves in Central Asia state, the doctrine of the electing grace of God keeps him laboring for the gospel's sake among Muslims. That alone gives assurance that he will have success in his gospel proclamation among them.

 

But let us be forthright. This doctrine makes us uncomfortable before it gives us confidence and assurance. I read a letter recently that a woman wrote against those of us who believe in God's sovereignty in salvation. I'm sure that she had good intentions. Yet when we gloss over statement after statement from Genesis to Revelation that affirms the sovereignty of God in electing a people for Himself and providing redemption for them, our noble intentions are vain. Our fight is against the wisdom, power, and grace of God while coddling the idea that all men are basically good rather than sinful. None would ever be saved apart from the gracious, sovereign work of God on our behalf.

 

2. Faithful to His promises

 

Election does not stand alone. God not only chooses a people for Himself but He also promises them eternal life: "in the hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, promised long ages ago." The ancient Cretans were disposed to follow the Greek pantheon of gods. One characteristic noticeably absent from the gods was faithfulness. Lying, conniving, deceit, and trickery among the pantheon of gods mirrored the same behavior found in their devotees. But not our God! He is without deceit, literally, incapable of lying. Our God does not offer His good intentions and well-wishes for our future. He gives His promise of eternal life for all that believe.

 

Paul declared that God "promised long ages ago" this certain hope of eternal life. Perhaps Paul had in mind the promise made to Abraham that in his seed-referring to Jesus Christ-all the nations of the earth would be blessed (Gen. 12:3). Or maybe he had in mind the promise made in the Garden when Adam and Eve fell into sin, and God announced the proto-gospel (protoevangelium) to the serpent: "I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, and you shall bruise Him on the heel" (Gen. 3:15). I think that the translation of the phrase, "promised long ages ago," offers yet another perspective. The Greek is literally, "before time began" or "before ages of times." This takes us back before creation when God could promise to no one other than Himself. This people that He marked out before the foundation of the world-a people that would be eternally bound to Him through the grace of election, He promised to Himself the hope of eternal life for His people, and in fulfillment of this promise secured it through the redemptive work of His Son [cf. Hayne Griffin, NAC: 1, 2 Timothy, Titus, 270].

 

In election, God marks out a people for Himself. Through the promise of eternal life, the omnipotent God gives assurance to His people that they will belong to Him forever. But how does He bring this about?

 

3. Gracious to His people

 

It is found in the blessing that Paul offers at the close of his introductory remarks: "Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior." Our God does not only choose a people and promise them eternal life but He also brings it about through the active work of His grace. The typical letter from a Greek declared, chairein, "greetings" but Paul declares something more appropriate in a gentle play on words, charis, grace. The word typifies the kindness of God shown to undeserving sinners, acting on our behalf and for our good in spite of our sinfulness. Grace is an active word, God doing for us what we are incapable of doing with regard to righteousness. Grace pursues rebels to make them children of God. Grace conquers the stubbornness of our hearts. Grace delivers us from the crippling bondage to sin and Satan. Grace subdues our wills that are so bent on living life according to our desires until we gladly have a change in our affections toward God.

 

"Peace" naturally follows grace. It is the peace found in reconciliation through "Christ Jesus our Savior." It is the "peace" of Him "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" (2:14). It is the "peace" that "He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by His grace we would be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life" (3:5-7).

 

II. Rests on truth

 

The foundation of faith and hope rests securely on truth. I realize that the idea of something being absolute "truth" meets with resistance in our day. We're told that we have no right to claim that what we believe is the only truth given by God. What is truth for one person may not be truth for another, or so we are told. Yet quite logically, that doesn't make sense. Truth, by the very use of the term, is an absolute whether we believe it or not. Truth in the law of gravity remains absolute whether I agree with it or not. If I decide to stand on the roof of my house and prove my disagreement with this truth by taking a step forward, whether I agree or not, I will soon discover that truth is truth!

 

Men object to the truth of the gospel of Christ. They declare that there are many ways to God other than the one way declared by the truth of Scripture through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Put it to the test. As we shall see in a moment, the truth of the gospel alone can move an ungodly person to living a godly life and give a hopeless person the hope of eternal life. Yet for the present, consider the nature of this absolute truth that we call the gospel of Jesus Christ.

 

1. Qualities in the delivery

 

The truth of Scripture is unlike the claims of other religions. One person, Joseph Smith, wrote the Mormon-truth claims in the Book of Mormon. One person, Mohammed the Prophet, wrote the Islamic-truth claims compiled in the Qu'ran. Unlike these and other religious writings, the Bible alone is the revelation of God given through human personalities, recorded over 1500 years by approximately 40 different authors, and held together by a continuous message of redemption. One of the key biblical writers in the New Testament was the Apostle Paul who wrote with both humility and authority, described by the titles Paul uses with Titus.

 

He began, "Paul, a bond-servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the faith of those chosen of God and the knowledge of the truth which is according to godliness." As a bond-servant, Paul refers to the glad and willing commitment of his life to the living God. A slave in Jewish circles looked for the Year of Jubilee to set him free. But if he chose, he could attach himself to a master and remain forever under the authority of his master. This was the "bond-servant," one that belonged willfully and intentionally to another. Paul had no qualms of belonging to the Lord or serving Him, even when the cost was great in terms of suffering that he faced. Though well educated and gifted as few in any generation have been, Paul's greatest claim was not to personal greatness but that he was "a bond-servant of God." To the Romans and Philippians as well, Paul summed up the status of his life as God's bond-servant. His duty and desire in life belonged to his Master alone. Whatever the Master commanded, he gladly obeyed.

 

Along with that humility of life, came a unique authority, "an apostle of Jesus Christ." Apostle refers to one sent out by Another as His official representative with His authority. We observe the criteria for Christ's apostles as having been called by Him, having heard His teaching, and having witnessed His resurrection. Paul's calling came just days after the Damascus Road encounter with the ascended Lord. Christ taught Him through personal revelations so that the same gospel entrusted to the other apostles, Paul believed and taught (cf. Gal. 1-2; 2 Cor. 11-12). Through this human instrument, both humble as a bond-servant and authoritative as an apostle, God revealed His gospel to Gentiles of the first century and multitudes beyond them. Paul did not have the only revelation of God but that revelation given to him helped to complete the revelation given through Holy Scripture. This revelation given through human instrumentality by the superintending work of the Holy Spirit, we stand upon as truth! The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever!

 

2. Truth to know

 

Truth is truth whether we know it or not. However, God has given His truth for us to know. Paul saw that as his ministry, that he was a bond-servant of God and apostle of Jesus Christ "for furthering... the knowledge of the truth." So much of the weight of the first verse hinges on the preposition kata, which in this case translated as "for the faith... and knowledge of the truth" in our text but I think better translated, "for furthering the faith of God's elect and knowledge of the truth which furthers godliness." Paul sought to further the elect's grasp of the truth. "Truth" in this particular case, certainly has to be the truth that we call the gospel. Paul was a minister of the gospel. His interest was not in geometric truths or scientific truths but in gospel truth! For gospel truth alone "furthers godliness."

 

The foundation of faith and hope rests upon a solid rock of gospel truth. It's not good feelings about the gospel or opinions of the gospel or ideas on the gospel that bears you up in the midst of difficulties. It's the facts of the gospel, what God in Christ has done to redeem sinners, that gives you hope for tomorrow. That's why we profit from regular reading and study of the gospel. You cannot exhaust the depths of the gospel. There are certainly truths other than the gospel that are important but there are no truths more important, more essential to life and eternity than the gospel of Jesus Christ. How do we make sense of this life? Through the gospel of Christ! How do we face the uncertainties of our world? Through the gospel of Christ! How do we conform our lives to the law of God? Through the gospel of Christ! How do we face death and eternity? Through the gospel of Christ! Invest your life in knowing the gospel. You will be a blessing to others and the gospel will be a constant delight to you. I saw this wonderfully practiced by the late R.F. Gates. Though often in ill health, the gospel gave him constant joy! Every time I was around him, the effects of a gospel-centered and saturated life overflowed in blessing to me.

 

3. Truth to believe 

 

"For furthering the faith of God's elect," Weymouth translates that purpose clause of the apostle. He and Titus joined with other believers in the "common faith." God has given eternal hope through that which was "promised long ages ago," a promise to believe. Many study the truths of the gospel but do not believe. The gospel is given so that we might believe, and in believing, we might have life.

 

That's what Paul was about-furthering, enhancing, stimulating, and inspiring the faith of God's people. Is there a more noble aim? Do you see this as your own holy ambition in life to further the faith of God's elect? We can become so absorbed in a multitude of things that we fail to give much thought to further other's faith. I challenge each of us to refocus our lives with an aim to further the faith of God's elect.

 

III. Evidences distinct realities

 

Much of what is called Christian is not Christian. I read a chilling article this week about a movement in Uganda that kills people in the name of the Lord. Known as The Lord's Resistance Army, it claims to be Christian though its whole intent is the brutalizing of a nation to bring people under the iron hand of its leader, Joseph Kony ["Deliver Us from KONY," J. Carter Johnson, Christianity Today, January 2006, 30-37]. Numerous militia movements claim to be Christian, as do organizations promoting everything from food products to household goods. But what kind of evidence do you look for to see true Christianity? Obviously, the truth of the gospel must be foundational in what one believes. Yet Paul demonstrates that the gospel rooted in one's life gives the evidence of two distinct realities: a godly life and an eternal hope.

 

1. A godly life

 

In the process of explaining his life ambition of furthering the faith of those chosen of God and the knowledge of the truth, Paul explains that this faith and knowledge of the truth can be identified as that "which is according to godliness." "Where this truth dwells aright, it frames the heart to godliness," wrote the Puritan Thomas Taylor [An Exposition of Titus, 10]. We are not just professing some truth-claims in Christianity; we're embracing a godly life. The Amplified New Testament expresses it as that "which belongs to and harmonizes with and tends to godliness." It is stated many different ways in the New Testament. "Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature" (2 Cor. 5:17), that certainly implies a distinct change in one's behavior. "Be he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God" (John 3:21), indicating the inward work of God's Spirit in the believer. Or consider Paul's testimony to the Galatians that demonstrates the distinct change in his life through Christ: "I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me" (Gal. 2:20).

 

2. An eternal hope

 

This furtherance of faith in God's elect and furtherance of knowledge of the truth that furthers godliness is anchored by an eternal hope: "in the hope of eternal life." The Greek is more literally, "furthering faith of God's elect and knowledge of the truth furthering godliness upon the hope of eternal life." The emphasis is that the godly life of the Christian is built upon the solid hope of eternal life through Christ. It is quite similar to the way John motivates Christians to godliness: "And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure" (1 John 3:3). The reality of an eternal hope affects the way we live our lives. Some argue that to have such hope, or confident expectation as the word implies is presumption and leads to careless living. But the Scripture demonstrates just the opposite. If our eyes are fixed on an eternity with Christ (which we do not deserve nor merit) then out of profound gratitude and desire to please our gracious Savior, we find new motivation to godliness. If we have hope ringing in our hearts, then not even suffering or persecution can rob us of our joy.

 

Such hope implies a radiant confidence that what Christ has secured for us will come to fruition. The God that cannot lie has given us the promise of eternal life. The God-Man, Jesus Christ has secured it. The Holy Spirit testifies within of the spirit of adoption, assuring us that we are "heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ" (Rom. 8:17). That's why the writer of Hebrews urges us "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" (Heb. 6:18-20).

 

Conclusion

 

Does your Christianity bear the distinct realities of a godly life and eternal hope? These realities are noticeably absent in the world. They appear as testimonies of the sovereign grace of God at work in our lives. They give evidence that we have joined multitudes of believers through the ages in this "common faith" in Christ alone.

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