Now that You're a Christian

Titus 3:8-11

April 2, 2006

 

 What am I to do as a Christian? That question has been asked on many occasions. The Christian life begins with "being" but quickly moves into "doing." The "being" implies that due to the work of Christ and your union with Him by faith, you are a Christian. As a Christian, you are called to a life of obedience and service in the name of Christ. Some have the mistaken notion that a Christian is someone called Christian in name only. How you live is really of no consequence. But that is foreign to the whole of Scripture. A Christian unites with the church-the visible body of Christ. He identifies with Christ and other believers through baptism. As a member of a local church, he has responsibilities to live in a community of faith with a heart of love and service to others as well as concern for the world to know Christ. He is to serve Christ through his local church, using whatever gifts and abilities that the Lord has entrusted to him.

 

None of the Christian's works or service is for the purpose of earning God's favor. That is already settled and secured in Christ! He is not serving for the purpose of "Christian busy-work"; that would be contradictory to the heart of Christ who lived each moment with the great purpose of pleasing His heavenly Father (John 4:34; 5:30). Christian service is not to be done as clones that act in robotic fashion, mindlessly and legalistically doing certain things without engaging the mind. Granted, some fall into this pattern, going about busily doing nice things but with no heart of consciously serving Christ. As the Christian goes about doing good for others and for the sake of God's kingdom, he must never do so with a motive to appease others or to gain the favor of others, whether church leaders or some notable person. That motive fails to reflect the Christ-centered focus that every believer is to seek to maintain.

 

In a thoroughly worldly setting, the small churches on the island of Crete faced the challenge to live like Christians day after day. But what did this look like? They had no Christian history to build upon since they were first generation believers. With great simplicity, Paul set forth how believers are to live in relationship to the church, social relationships, and the world. The challenge for the Christian is to live as a Christian every day. That challenge is no less now than in the first century. God has given us all that we need in Christ, through the gospel, by the regenerating and renewing work of the Holy Spirit to live daily as Christians. So, where do we start?

 

I. Something to believe

 

Several times in the Pastorals, Paul draws special attention to the truths that he has taught by using a formula: "this is a trustworthy statement" (1 Tim. 1:15; 3:1; 4:9; 2 Tim. 2:11). With each of these declarations of trustworthiness, he has been explaining and exhorting believers in relationship to the gospel and its effects upon the believer. Its trustworthiness means that it is "true" or "faithful." In this particular use of the formula it seems that Paul looks back at least to the beginning of the 2nd chapter of this epistle, if not to the beginning of this little letter. So what is the "trustworthy statement"?

 

To begin with, Paul insists that doctrine matters (2:1, 15). He goes on to show that doctrine is not peripheral in the Christian life but central to all that we understand and all that we do. He shows that the Christian's relationships with others must demonstrate the sensibility of life in Christ. The repeated use of sophrona, a word that means to engage the mind, to think biblically, or as I've pointed it, implies having a Christian worldview, such a mind is to characterize our relationships (2:2, 5, 6, 12).

 

In the first of two gospel explanations Paul explains, we are to grow in our understanding that salvation is all of grace from start to finish (2:11). It is God who has brought salvation to us, taking the initiative and providing all that we need to know Him. God's initiative in our lives transforms everything. Faith in Christ affects the way that we view the world, how we behave, what we value in life, and where we have our sights set in the future (2:11-14). Christ stood in our place in bearing God's judgment-He is our substitute; and what He accomplished He did so effectually-He actually redeemed a people for Himself (2:14). The work of Christ affects our legal standing with God-Christ has redeemed us from every lawless deed (2:14). He also transforms us inwardly, even in our moral practices as we serve Him by serving others (2:14; 3:5). Being a Christian means living in such a way in society that our lives bear the distinctive marks of Christ in all our relationships, even with the unbelieving and ungodly (3:1-2).

 

Paul's trustworthy statement reminds us that apart from grace in Christ, everyone is bent on sinning, living selfishly, and without hope before God (3:3). But God broke into our existence in kindness and mercy, so that we see that grace does not originate with us but in His own excellencies and eternal purpose. Nor does God's kindness and mercy continue to us due to our good deeds (3:4-5). Therefore, salvation, being all of grace, is all of God in a wonderful display of Trinitarian unity (3:4-7). God shows His kindness, love, and mercy in saving us. The Holy Spirit brings our minds and hearts to life in regeneration and changes the quality of our lives by His renewing work (3:5). The gift of the Holy Spirit takes place because Christ's work is totally sufficient (3:6). All of the righteousness necessary to stand forgiven and accepted before God comes by grace through Christ alone as the sinner is justified in Christ (3:7). This legal declaration of justification also includes adoption, so that the Christian is an heir of eternal life with a hope that sustains him through all of life (3:7).

 

So, it is no wonder that Paul declared all of this to be "a trustworthy statement." And it is no surprise that he was insistent: "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." Do you believe these things in such a way that they prove to be an anchor for your life?

 

II. Something to do

 

Notice how Paul calls for action: it is on the basis of this "trustworthy statement" (noted by the hina clause-"so that"). But who will find this motivating them to action? "Those who have believed God."

 

1. Believing God-a foundation

 

What does it mean to "have believed God?" The perfect tense of the participle, "those who have believed," demonstrates that it is a transforming belief, no passing fancy; it is a belief that began at a point and continues passionately in the believer. Here is a firmly rooted reliance upon God and His revelation that continues to sustain and affect the believer. But you cannot believe in God unless you know who He is. You do not believe that He is a god or any god but the God of whom Paul spoke and called "God our Savior" (1:3; 2:10; 3:4) and described as "He who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone possesses immortality and dwells in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see. To Him be honor and eternal dominion!" (1 Tim. 6:15-16) Further, he praises Him: "Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever" (1 Tim. 1:17). He is the God who has given us Holy Scripture, which He inspired for teaching, reproof, correction, training in righteousness, for the Christian's adequacy in living every detail of the Christian life, and for equipping him for every good work (2 Tim. 3:16-17).

 

To believe God is to not only accept the veracity of His promises, realizing that He cannot lie and that He promised eternal life in Christ long ages ago (Titus 1:2), but also to cling to these promises as your very life. You rely upon what God has spoken; you trust in the sufficiency and dependability of what He promised. That promise has its central focus upon life in Christ. Now, having believed God, your one great passion in life is to glorify Him in whom and through whom you have believed!

 

2. Good deeds-an occupation

 

I use the word "occupation" since the word translated "be careful to" can be used as practicing a profession or an occupation. To "engage in" is another present tense verb, implying being careful regarding good deeds, making them the practice of your life as though your new occupation as a Christian is a doer of good deeds. These deeds hold no merit. Salvation doesn't depend upon them by providing some reason for God to save you and to keep you saved. That reason is in Christ alone as we've already noted. Yet it is just as true that salvation can only be evident by engaging in good deeds. John Stott has written, "Good works are not the ground of salvation, but they are its necessary fruit and evidence" [Guard the Truth, 206]. The good deeds that Paul speaks of, is the kind of behavior toward those in the church and the world that demonstrates the love, mercy, grace, kindness, patience, and humility of Christ. Jesus Christ went about doing good for others. He came to serve, not to be served. That is the spirit of good deeds, serving others for the sake of Christ. It can take on multiple dimensions and approaches.

 

So when we speak of "good deeds," it can mean acts of service in helping to disciple a fellow believer, providing food for someone that's been ill, visiting a shut-in, giving an extra gift to help with a mission project, teaching a Sunday School lesson, caring for preschoolers in the nursery, working in Vacation Bible School, hosting a Bible study in your home, showing hospitality to strangers, et. al. I think that you get the point. There's no end to the kind of "good deeds" that the believer can be involved in-all for the glory of God and out of love for others.

 

Being careful to engage in good deeds presents a conscientious life. It means that as a Christian you are always on duty; that others will benefit from your faith in Christ ("These things are good and profitable for men"); that you always have a purpose in life; that others will be affected by your actions. Believers will be strengthened and unbelievers will get a clearer picture of the power of the gospel through your good deeds.

 

III. Something to avoid

 

There are some important negatives in the Bible! Negatives help to get our attention and restrain us or prevent us from falling into sinful patterns. In this case Paul wants to call attention to avoiding some particular conversations that would not profit us.

 

1. What is not implied?

 

When Paul speaks of avoiding foolish controversies, we might be rather broad in defining such foolishness as anything that I am not interested in! But that's not the case. Paul doesn't have in mind our personal preferences nor does he have in mind passivity for those that just don't like to talk to others. Both Christ and the apostle often engaged their opponents, sometimes in calm settings, other times in heated settings. Consider how Jesus did not hesitate to confront the scribes and Pharisees in serious discussions. Paul also engaged Roman officials, Jewish leaders, and Greek philosophers. Always at issue in these talks was revealed truth, and never careless opinions. Christ engaged in dialogues regarding His nature as God, the necessity of a Redeemer, clarification of the nature and office of the Messiah, the necessity of the new birth, the certainty of resurrection and judgment, the reality of man's sinfulness, and the purpose and certainty of His redemptive work. Paul dialogued regarding the nature of God, the reality that God alone is God, the fact that men's imaginations fall short of grasping the true God, that God will fulfill His promises, that salvation is all of grace, that God accomplished His saving work through Christ, that the resurrection is certain. I think we can add plenty more-but you get the idea.

 

We have plenty of vital issues to discuss and at times to debate. Here are a few necessary topics that we are not to avoid:

       (1) Whatever is central to biblical revelation

       (2) Whatever regards the honor and glory of God

       (3) Whatever regards the person and work of Christ declared in the gospel

       (4) Whatever regards the biblical revelation concerning man, sin, salvation, and judgment

       (5) Whatever regards the nature and purpose of the church as the body of Christ

 

2. What is implied?

 

"But avoid foolish controversies and genealogies and strife and disputes about the Law, for they are unprofitable and worthless."

 

Foolish controversies or foolish speculations or foolish questions have to do with issues that have no clear biblical testimony. Paul "emphasizes the lack of substance" when he calls something "foolish controversies" [Wm. Mounce, WBC: Pastoral Epistles, 458].Where the Bible is silent we are to be silent. Medieval scholars used to have endless debates about how many angels could fit on the head of a pin. That was foolish since the Bible is silent on such a subject! Modern men debate whether Jesus would be a Republican, Democrat, Libertarian, or Independent. That too is foolish and speculative since the Scripture offers nothing in that regard.

 

Genealogies probably related to tracing one's Jewish genealogy in the Old Testament so that it became the devotion of one's life or the means by which some favor could be obtained from God. It seems apparent that some used their genealogy as a claim to superiority over those that did not have similar family trees.

 

Strife and disputes about the Law specifically relate to the clever and fanciful interpretations regarding the Law in order to use such interpretations as a means to regulate people's lives. It's the height of legalism and is still carried on today by those who promote certain hairstyles as necessary for the Christian life, or certain attire or particular eating habits or certain relationships as necessary to be in God's favor. These put other areas into a codified way of living in order to attain God's righteousness or highest blessing. These things lack the gospel or at least, keep it peripheral. They are used to control and manipulate others. And they certainly fall in the category of religious abuse! Paul tells us to avoid such wrangling since it is unprofitable and even destructive.

 

I remember facing this when I was in my first year of college. One of my close friends and I were attending a college basketball game out of town. We knew a young lady in that city whose father happened to be a Baptist pastor. We invited her to join us for the game. When we went by to pick her up we saw a look of angst on the mother's face. My good friend, a faithful Christian brother, had facial hair. Yes, he had a beard-a red beard (though he called it strawberry blonde!). To top it off, our nickname for him was "Hag," which had nothing to do with his looks but a mispronounced and shortened version of his name. So when the pastor arrived home his wife said that their daughter had gone to a basketball game with me and a bearded fellow named Hag! We were read the riot act when we returned! All of it was due to my friend having facial hair, something that this man had codified as a violation of God's law! My friend and I took Paul's counsel: from that point on, avoid such controversies!

 

This is where we must evaluate our interaction at work or in other settings. Do we enter into foolish controversies or misuse the Law in order to prop up a personal position? Avoid it! It is unbecoming of us as Christians.

 

IV. Something to reject

 

Jesus Christ addressed church discipline in Matthew 18, laying the foundation for this mark of the church. The purpose remains to maintain the integrity and purity of the church, to correct and urge repentance in those who've fallen into patterns of sin, and to keep the testimony of the church honorable before the world. Paul's teaching regarding a "factious man" continues this same practice established by the Lord of the Church.

 

1. Identifying a factious man

 

Rejecting someone is strong language. But so important is the church's stability and unity that Paul exhorted, "Reject a factious man after a first and second warning, knowing that such a man is perverted and is sinning, being self-condemned." What is a factious man? Admittedly, this doesn't mean that someone who disagrees with you or who holds a different opinion than you do on a given issue is factious. Disagreements are part of life; we hold a variety of views on many subjects-obviously I do not have in mind the cardinal doctrines of Holy Scripture. The word "factious" (heiretikon) became the root for our word heretical but it did not have that meaning in the 1st century. That change came along in the 2nd century through the writings of Ignatius [Mounce, 454]. Instead, it meant "a self-chosen part" or "having the power of choice." It points to an attitude that divides brethren due to a stubborn, unteachable heart that persists in driving attention away from Christ-crucified onto his own position. It is a view of superiority, on one hand, and a virtual ridiculing of those with differing views, on the other. This person persists in pushing his teaching or position without regard for the centrality of the gospel or the health of the church. The content of the factious person is out of line biblically.

 

The factious person might operate by sleight and innuendoes and cloaked teaching in order to worm his way into a place of controlling others' lives. His concern is for himself, as the meaning of the word suggests. He feels free to use whatever means are at his disposal for drawing others into his corner. He lacks true humility though may mask his actions with false humility. He lacks the evidence of the fruit of the Spirit. He callously disregards or subverts God-ordained authority, particularly the authority given to the church and its leaders.

 

2. Dealing with a factious man

 

How do you deal with a factious man? First, you warn him of his error. Paul uses a word that means "to lay on the mind" (nouthesian). We often see it translated as admonish. So the warning is not a threat but an admonition to repent because of the teaching of Scripture that contradicts him. That's what is being laid on the mind. It is a call to stop his sinful ways immediately, to repent, and to seek God for mercy.

 

If he doesn't respond, then secondly, you must warn him again. A factious person, being extremely self-centered and self-absorbed, may not respond well to a first warning. He is characterized by an unteachable spirit. The second admonition demonstrates a charitable spirit and a desire to see him restored to fellowship in the church.

 

But if he fails to respond to these warnings, then the believer is to recognize the factious person's character and the danger of associating with him. Paul declares that he is "perverted," a term that means that he has a twisted and warped purpose in life. Paul's use of the perfect tense implies that this is no temporary condition. He's devoted to his twisted, sinful, and factious ways. It's not merely a brief phase or an honest mistake; it's his life. His whole way of thinking and viewing life, the Scripture, and even the Christian faith is distorted-and his aim is to spread the distortion!

 

Paul further declares such a man to be "self-condemned." In other words, you need not worry that you may not be giving him a fair shake. His rejection of biblical exhortations proves that he lacks the inward grace to respond. I take the apostle's language-"knowing [a perfect tense verb] that such a man is perverted and is sinning, being self-condemned" to imply that the factious man demonstrates that he is an unbeliever by his unwillingness to listen to others' biblical admonitions, and repent. He willingly spreads strife, distracts the energies of the church away from the gospel, defiles the beauty of Christian unity, and desires to control rather than serve others.

 

Such a one, Paul tells us, we must "reject." The use of the present middle imperative shows that this is a command-an imperative duty for the church. We are not to get soft on it since the present tense implies continued action. The middle voice makes it emphatic. 'You yourself reject a factious man!' It is the responsibility of the church for the sake of the church's health and testimony.

 

This means that you avoid getting around him, excuse yourself from any ongoing involvement with him. You do so for two reasons: (1) he needs to understand that as a Christian you do not and will not stand in agreement with him-this is a testimony on your part to the truth of God's Word. (2) You need to realize your own propensity to be affected by the factious man's poison-so you do not give him ground to sow his seeds of discord.

 

Conclusion: The gospel is practical, affecting everything about us. That's what Paul is getting across in this little epistle. If you are a Christian then live like it. Some things you will do because you're a Christian; some things you will avoid; some things you will reject because you are a Christian.

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