Titus 3

Phil Campbell June 20 1999

What is it that makes those Chinese boat people we've seen on TV these last few weeks pay thousands of dollars to be packed in the hold of a fishing boat like sardines; smelly, so cramped they have to take turns lying down. With hardly any food and water for weeks and weeks and weeks while they're tossed on the waves. What is it that makes them put up with conditions like that? Well, for them it's obvious, isn't it. That what lies AHEAD is so much better than what lies BEHIND, they'd put up with almost ANYTHING to get there. The NOW doesn't matter. Because they're looking forward to SOMETHING BETTER. And back to something that they'd rather leave behind.

Now that's a thought the Apostle Paul puts to Titus; a thread you'll see over and over again through this little letter, the same idea. That the CHRISTIANS in Crete where Titus is have got something to look forward to. That they've left other things behind. And that it's worth putting up with doing it tough in the mean time… because what's up ahead is something SO MUCH BETTER… than what they've left behind.

WHAT'S BEEN LEFT BEHIND

Let's have a look at the passage. And you'll see from verse 3 where we're starting, there's a clear picture of how things USED TO BE. It's a clear picture of WHAT THEY'VE LEFT BEHIND. Paul's writing to Titus in CRETE, and if you were here last week you'll remember it's a place we saw was FAMOUS for it's dishonesty, it's corruption. Paul takes it further than just Crete. To himself. And everyone.

Now when you look at what he says in verse 3, your first reaction might be to get offended. The things that YOU, if you're a Christian, you've left behind. That used to be part of your life, that used to be YOU… but now are not.

And if you're offended when you look at the sort of picture he's painting, it either means you've been a Christian so long you can't remember what it was like before; or else, you were so busy BEING LIKE THIS, you didn't NOTICE.

Verse 3, he says, here's what it's like looking back. He says, "At one time, WE TOO WERE FOOLISH; foolish because we didn't recognise GOD AS GOD. Don't often make mistakes as big as that… though I've got a friend whose sister's got a friend who's often travelling overseas. And a few months ago she was upgraded from Business Class to First Class on a trip to London. Found herself sitting next to a very nice well dressed man who spent the trip chatting to her about her work, what she did, whether she enjoyed it.

And she said to him, what about you? Do you live in ENGLAND, or AUSTRALIA? To which she got a funny look. Australia. She didn't pay much attention. Until the hostess on the plane called him MR KEATING. Now I know there's nothing quite as ex as an EX PRIME MINISTER. But wouldn't you feel a FOOL. Not recognising someone like PAUL KEATING when you're sitting next to him?

Well, Paul says there was a time when YOU WERE LIKE THAT. Foolish. Not recognising GOD AS GOD. But more than that. At one time we too were foolish, DISOBEDIENT, DECEIVED and ENSLAVED by all kinds of passions and pleasures. You don’t realise, do you? But it's true. That passions and pleasures can so easily make you their slave. One guy was telling me how much he loved playing the pokies at the club… and by the time he'd said the words there were tears in his eyes. Because he knew he had a problem. He didn't play the pokies. The pokies PLAYED HIM. Paul says before we came to Jesus we were PLEASURE SLAVES. I mean, what else is there, if there's nothing else but this life? And to top it off, still in verse 3, we lived in MALICE AND ENVY, being hated… and hating one another.

Great place to get out of, hey? Great place to leave behind. Which he says, is exactly what we've done. Left it behind. BEEN RESCUED. SAVED FROM IT.

THE RESCUE

Now you know, the trouble with those boat people who keep getting arrested trying to sneak into Australia, they meet this guy, he says, $30,000 and I'll SAVE YOU. Take you somewhere better. But they haven't been saved at all. It's not legal. They never make it. Because the guy they're paying doesn't have the power to DELIVER what he offers.

But with us, it's different. And will you notice how Paul spells it out here, the fact that we've BEEN SAVED… from how things used to be. By someone who CAN DELIVER. Verse 4 and 5, classic verses that spell out THE GOSPEL in a nutshell. The sort of verses you should write out and stick on your fridge. Great verses - saying almost exactly what we looked at in our back to basics group during the week. That GOD SAVED US FROM THAT… not because of how GOOD WE'VE BEEN. But because of how much we needed HELP.

We used to be the way he just said. But when the kindness and love of God our saviour appeared, he says, when JESUS CAME… HE SAVED US. Verse 5. NOT BECAUSE OF RIGHTEOUS THINGS WE HAD DONE, but because of his MERCY. He saved us. Don't have to pay at all. Don't have to scratch together your life savings of good deeds. It's a FREE RIDE.

And more than that, he says, he washes us by his Spirit, gives us REBIRTH. A whole NEW START. And we become heirs of the hope of eternal life.

In other words, if you're a follower of Jesus, if you're part of the rescue, then you're living with an inheritance waiting. If you've trusted in Jesus, if you've received God's mercy - then you're Lachlan Murdoch; you're Jamie Packer. Your dad's the boss… and you get the benefit.

Verse 7 in chapter 3; that's what it says. That having been justified, having been DECLARED RIGHT, having been put right with God by his grace; having had your sins forgiven through the death of Jesus on the cross, you're an HEIR. With the hope of eternal life drawing you forward.

You know, you can live to be the oldest person in the world. Which Emma Massey did. Reached 118. Born in 1881. Died in Texas last Monday. Must have seemed like eternal life sometimes. On and on and on. But it's not. It comes to an end. Even for the oldest person in the world. I mean, death gets EVERYONE. This life doesn't last.

And yet Paul says, we Christians are people DRIVEN BY A HOPE. We're the people who he said back right at the start of the letter in verse 2 of chapter 1, we're the people who have a FAITH AND KNOWLEDGE RESTING ON THE HOPE OF ETERNAL LIFE. We are the people who say that death won't kill us - because it didn't kill Jesus. That death won't extinguish who we are. That there's more to come. Because that's how it was with JESUS. That's what it boiled down to for the first Christians. That simple. They didn't see what happened to Jesus as some sort of distant myth. Because it wasn't. By the time Paul's writing this, I guess it's a generation. So people still knew people who'd seen for themselves. And saw what happened to Jesus He died. He rose. So will we.

Now think that through for a minute. Because if you look around you when you walk out of here this morning, you'll find you're surrounded by people who DON'T HAVE THAT SORT OF HOPE. Might have a bit of wishful thinking. And they'll do things like ring the number I saw in an ad in New Idea magazine the other day. Pages of ads for PSYCHICS. And this one said, YOU DON'T HAVE TO KEEP WONDERING. Phone now, and we'll contact your departed LOVED ONES… and find out if they're OKAY. Clutching at straws, isn't it. About as good as the other Psychic who was written up in CHOICE magazine; sends out letters saying, Amazing… my Psychic Powers have revealed to me your date of birth… but I can't reveal it in this letter, because I realise you'd want to keep it confidential.

A world without hope. Nothing substantial to base any sort of future hope on at all… where death is death. And that's that. And in the midst of that comes ONE MAN… who says otherwise. And then DOES otherwise. We hope in him. And the CONSEQUENCE OF THAT, the fact we're people with a hope, should make a very practical difference. In the way we live. In the things we're prepared to put up with… as we're looking up ahead.

I mean, lets face it. If this life's all there is, suck it dry. Make the most of it. Take what you can. If this is all there is, don't spend it living in a caravan; GO FOR BROKE. Seize the day. Because there won't be another one.

But Paul says that for us, it's not like that at all. And we're the people of a NEW START. Of a NEW BIRTH. A NEW SPIRIT. Back to verse 5 in chapter 3; he saved us through the WASHING OF REBIRTH and RENEWAL by the Holy Spirit who he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our saviour. Which means in spite of what we USED TO BE, now we're different. And we should LIVE LIKE IT.

There's an old man I know back in Maclean, and he tells me this story is absolutely true. Years ago, and I gather this goes back to about 1901, his little brother who was aged 3, was eating his dinner and sucked a PEA up his nose. Got stuck up there SO BADLY they had to go to the hospital in Grafton… which was a three hour trip by boat and horse and cart; and the doctors had to stick really long tweezers right up his nostrils to get it out. Really, really painful. And the doctor got it out and gave it to him, and he put it in his pocket.

And when he gets home that night, his older brother who hadn't been there at lunch time says to him, WHAT DID YOU DO? What happened? And this little guy, he gets the pea out of his pocket where he's kept it, and he says, well, I was doing this, sniffing this pea to see what it smelt like… and he showed him exactly what he did. And the pea goes POP - right back up his nose. Back off to the hospital - all over again.

Here's what the Christians in the island of Crete need to get right. You already got saved from living the wrong way, you've been washed clean… so DON'T GO BACK TO THE MUD. Verse 8, have a look what it says, because it's a verse for you and me as well. This is a trustworthy saying… make sure you take notice! And I want you to stress these things, so that THOSE WHO HAVE TRUSTED IN GOD may be careful to DEVOTE THEMSELVES… to DOING WHAT IS GOOD.

He's said something similar before, hasn’t he? Remember verse 14 in chapter 2? The who reason Jesus gave himself for us; the reason he saved us, the reason he redeemed us from wickedness in the first place… was to make for himself a new sort of people. A people that are his very own… EAGER TO DO WHAT IS GOOD. Busting to do right. Not being deflected, he says in verse 9 and 10, by divisive people; people who want to fuss about foolish controversies. The main game is TRUSTING JESUS. And living for him. While you keep your eyes on the prize… eternal life.

And he says it again right near the end of the letter. Verse 14. After he's organised for Artemus and Tychicus and Zenas and Apollos to be looked after when they visit… one final word. A summary. On this pretty island of Crete where the people are famous for their lying. Where even their poets write poems about their LAZINESS. Paul says, OUR PEOPLE NEED TO BE DIFFERENT. Counter culture. Look what he says. Because he's saying it to us as well. "Our people must learn to DEVOTE THEMSELVES TO DOING WHAT IS GOOD, in order that they may provide for daily necessities and not live unproductive lives." Be devoted to doing good. That's your job. It's that simple.

TWO WAYS TO GO WRONG ABOUT DOING RIGHT

Can I say as we finish up, there are two ways Christians seem to keep getting this stuff wrong. And here's a good time to take stock. Paul says, whatever you do, don't forget CHRISTIANS ARE MEANT TO DEVOTE THEMSELVES TO DOING GOOD.

But the mistake lots of people make is to then say, the DEFINITION of a Christian, is SOMEONE WHO DOES GOOD. A good person. So if you want to be a Christian, what you do is, you try harder to be good. And if you're good enough, then you EARN ETERNAL LIFE.

And my guess would be, that's the picture of Christianity that probably 90% of ordinary Australians have got in their heads. Including a lot of Presbyterians. Being a Christian = Being Good.

Which is a TERRIBLE MISTAKE to make. Because it misses the whole point. Did you see it? It's there in verse 5; you don't save yourself by being good at all. HE SAVED YOU… not because of the righteous things you've done... but because of his mercy. He saved you… by handing his son over to death on a cross; carrying the punishment YOU DESERVED. And all the good deeds in the world, all your best efforts - they'll never save you. Or even get you close.

But here's the other mistake. And that is to say, if God's SAVED ME BY HIS MERCY, then who cares WHAT I DO? Which is getting it totally wrong as well, isn't it? Going back to the mud you've been saved OUT OF. You have been saved TO BE a person who's devoted to doing good. So BE DEVOTED - with all your heart. Do it!

So often we're not like that, are we? Koorong Books, Brisbane's biggest Christian bookstore. The sort of place I guess mainly Christians go. Not many other people want to buy bibles and Christian books, are there? But a couple of months ago I saw a big sign in there… that said this… it said, we apologise for any inconvenience while we're installing our ELECTRONIC SECURITY SYSTEM. The increase in SHOPLIFTING FROM THIS STORE means we need to search your bag as you leave.

Christians. In a Christian bookstore. Browsing through books about LIVING FOR JESUS. Mmm. I like that one but I can't afford it. I think I'll steal it. Doesn't add up, does it. But then, maybe there's stuff in YOUR LIFE… that doesn't add up either. Is there? Paul says. Look back at what you've left behind… and make sure you leave it there. LOOK UP AHEAD. You're heading for ETERNAL LIFE. An heir of eternity. So if you've trusted in God, live like it. Devoted… to doing what is good.