This sermon on Titus was given in a series at Kew Baptist Church, London.
What is the gospel? That is the kind of question that I am sure many of you would love your non-Christian family or friends to ask you. Having a few minutes to explain the good news of Christianity would be a precious opportunity. Have you thought about what you would say given such an opportunity? What Bible passage would might bring them to so they could see what God says about this good news? Perhaps you would turn to that most famous of verses: ‘For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.’ John 3:16 would be a good place to turn, for there you can find squeezed into a single short sentence the key aspects of the gospel: Who God is, what man deserves, what Jesus did and how to respond. While no other sentence explains the core of Christianity as concisely as John 3:16 does, there are a number of other passages that also describe this gospel. Time and time again, in passage after passage, the New Testament records the same good news for us. 1 Corinthians 15, Romans 3 and Ephesians 2 are but a few such passages. However, each approaches the gospel from slightly different angles. They tell us the same truths, but with slightly different terms. Each gives a unique glimpse of the gospel, draws out particular components of it. The gospel is like one of the great paintings found in art galleries here in London. Depending on how you approach these paintings, what angle you are standing at, what the light conditions are at that time of the day, different features are highlighted to you. Certain colours stand out.
Last week in 2:1-10 we seen how Paul told Titus to ‘teach what accords with sound doctrine’. Titus was to explain to the different groups in the churches how they were to live godly lives. In those verses, Paul not only spelt out their conduct, but he also explained its consequences. He told them that their godliness would both protect and promote the Gospel. However, having told Titus to ‘teach what accords with sound doctrine’, Paul turns in 2:11 to the sound doctrine itself and tell Titus to also teach it. That is how the chapter ends in 2:15: ‘Declare these things, exhort and rebuke with all authority…’. These things include not only the conduct and its consequences which he clarified in 2:1-10, but also the sound doctrine which is the cause. This is what Paul sets out in 2:11-14. We know these truths are foundational to 2:1-10 because 2:11 begins with the connection: ‘For…’. Why are older men and younger women to behave in this way? Yes, Paul has told us the consequence of this conduct, but what has caused it? What would cause a suffering slave to be submissive to their cruel master? What would hold back an older women from slandering others? In short, what is it that produces such godliness? Well, as we shall see, Paul makes it clear here that the Gospel is the cause of it all. Godliness not only protects and promotes the Gospel. The Gospel produces godliness.
In these verses we find the sound doctrine with which godliness accords. The doctrine of God our Saviour that we have just been told to adorn. Though Paul doesn’t use the same terms as in John 3:16, these verses contain the truths that are at the heart of our faith. This is a a glimpse of the gospel. Like in Romans 3 and Ephesians 2, Paul once again takes us by the hand and helps us approach God’s great masterpiece from a new angle. In these verses he gives us a unique glimpse of the gospel. Like a masterpiece of art, or a beautiful view, we could surely sit and stare at these verses all day. Like John 3:16, there is so much in this single sentence. So much in fact, that the Puritan Thomas Manton preached a series of 22 sermons on them! However, I hope that we can get a sense of the whole in a single sermon by noticing the two distinctive details Paul draws out for us here. There are two colours that are prominent in this painting, two features that Paul positions at the forefront of his paragraph. Here he shows us that at the core of Christianity is a Gospel of Grace and Glory. Did you notice how everything in our verses is connected to one of these two themes? Paul starts off by stating ‘the grace of God has appeared…’ before then telling us of ‘the appearing of the glory of our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ…’. Everything else Paul describes is associated with one of these two appearings. Here we see that the gospel can be described as the good news of the appearing of the grace of God (2:11-12) and the appearing of the glory of God (2:13-14).
1. THE APPEARING OF THE GRACE OF GOD (2:11-12)
The decades of the 1920s and 1930s were packed full of significant moments. During this period there was both economic prosperity as well as economic catastrophe around the world. A manufacturing boom created an economic boost, which was then undermined by the Great Depression, perhaps the most famous credit crunch in history. Other important historical events also occurred in these years. Many empires that had dominated regions for centuries, like that of the Ottomans or the Austro-Hungarians, were dismantled during this period. There were also political changes that continue to have ramifications right down to today. New ideologies infiltrated entire nations during this period: communism in the Soviet Union and China and fascism in Italy and Germany. All these events were incredibly significant. Worthy to be remembered long into the future. And yet when we come to think about this period, it is hard not to see all these great events overshadowed by the even greater one that marked the beginning of this period. The First World War, which ended in 1918, dictated and dominated world events throughout the 1920s and 1930s. The war was so significant, that its ripple effect lasted for decades. Every single event I have mentioned from this period was in some way connected to or caused by the First World War. Global economic changes were largely a result of the increased production and new technologies developed during the war. The Ottoman and Austro-Hungarian Empires were dismantled because they were defeated in the war. Both the revolution in Russia and the rise of fascism in Europe were reactions to the cost and consequences of World War One. This conflict was so great, its consequences so widespread, that its shadow could be felt for years. After the war, the world was never the same again. In an even greater way, Paul tells us of an event of such magnitude, that all of creation was never the same again. More than World War One, a global pandemic or an economic crisis, the rise and fall of historical empires or political ideologies, there is one event that Paul sees overshadowing all others. There is one event that has an impact not just for years or decades, but an effect that reaches to the ends of the earth and into eternity. What is this great event? What could have such an impact? In 2:11 Paul writes, ‘For the grace of God has appeared…’.
What is this appearance of the grace of God? Well perhaps surprisingly, Paul doesn’t dwell too much on this. Unlike when he speaks of the appearance of the goodness of God in 3:4-7, where he specifically mentions this is done through the work of the Spirit and the Son, Paul doesn’t explicitly say anything about what happened when grace appeared! However, from what Paul says in 2 Timothy 1:9-10, it is clear that this appearance of grace is the appearance of Jesus. There Paul speaks of God saving us because ‘of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began, and which now has been manifested through the appearing of our Saviour Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel…’. The appearing of the Son of God was the appearing of the grace of God. If you remember, that is how John starts his gospel. Rather than a manager scene, he told us, ‘the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth….For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.’ (John 1:14–17) As Brain Tabb puts it, here we see that ‘grace has a face, and that face is Jesus’. He is the personification, manifestation, revelation of the grace of God. When Jesus appeared, grace appeared.
However, instead of focusing on the reality of this appearance, Paul draws our attention to its result. He highlights two outcomes of this appearance of grace: ‘…bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age…’. The first is only briefly mentioned, and that is the scope of grace. The appearance of this grace has ‘brought salvation for all people’. I believe that this summarises what Paul has just told Titus. Paul has just went through all the different groups in the churches on Crete (older men and women, younger men and women, Titus himself and slaves) and said that salvation was to be seen in every single life. There was nobody excluded or exempt from this salvation. Because of God’s grace, all kinds of people, had responded by faith in the gospel and were empowered to live godly lives. Here we see that there is no group in our society, no tribe, tongue, people or nation in our world, to whom the grace of God does not bring salvation. As seen last week, this grace is for all generations and genders. It is even for gentiles like Titus. This salvation is even for slaves.
Having reinforced the scope of grace, Paul turns to focus on the school of grace. ‘For the grace of God has appeared…training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age…’. Paul tells us that the impact of this grace of God in our lives is that it puts us on a training programme, it enrols us in a school. There seems to be two subjects taught at this school, the first is to renounce (that is reject, abandon, leave) what is ungodly and the second is to accept, embrace, live out that which is godly. These are two things that should characterise the life of every Christian, all those who have been saved by God’s grace should see a struggle with sin and a growth in godliness. In theological terms, this is the school of sanctification, that process through which we pass as we increase in holiness. These two lessons are, in theological terms, mortification and vivification. Mortification - putting to death that which is ungodly. Vivification – bringing to life that which is godly. In this school of God’s grace, we are trained to stamp out the smouldering sparks of the flesh and fan the flickering flame of the Spirit. I wonder do you think about holiness in that way? As a perfect balance between, an equal combination of, avoiding sin and accomplishing good works? In your own life are you concentrating on both? On both putting to death the deeds of the body (Romans 8:13) and also growing out the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22)? We should be praying and aiming for the whole of holiness. To both slay our sins and grow in our godliness. To both pull up weeds and tend to emerging plants.
Paul has already alluded to the kind of ungodliness and worldly passions he means here. Back in 1:12, he reminded Titus of what these Cretans were famous for: ‘Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons’. There Titus was told to rebuke them for this. Failing to control their speech made them liars, failing to control their senses made them beasts, failing to control their stomachs made them gluttons. Rather than controlling these worldly passions, they were in fact controlled by them. As Paul will go on to tell us in 3:3, they were ‘slaves to various passions and pleasures’. And then the grace of God appeared. ‘Amazing grace! how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch; like me! I once was lost, but now am found, was blind, but now I see.’ God’s grace had not only paid the penalty for sin, but broken the power of sin in their lives. Grace was training them to renounce the very things they had a reputation for and to cultivate the completely opposite kind of character. At this school it seems they were not only going to renounce their greatest sins, but they were going to learn the opposite virtue. Many of you noticed last week in 2:1-10 that there is one virtue that is commanded of every group regardless of their gender or generation. What conduct was to characterise these Cretans perhaps above all else? This society that could not control its speech, senses or stomach? Paul tells them that at this school they will all learn self-control. It is commanded of older men, women and younger men. Here in 2:12 it is the first quality in Paul’s list of what they will learn to live out. See what a difference the appearance of the grace of God makes. See what a transformation takes place. Those controlled by worldly passions learn self-control. Those of disrepute, become upright. Proud become humble. Sensual become chaste. It seems that it doesn’t matter what way sin has twisted us, there is training at this school to undo all of Satan’s tricks. It doesn’t matter how enslaved we are to worldly passions, this programme will wean us onto far greater heavenly pleasures. No sin stains us so badly, that it cannot be removed by grace. No pattern of life is so ungodly, that we cannot learn to live another. Now that God’s grace has appeared, no chains are unbreakable.
2. THE APPEARING OF THE GLORY OF GOD (2:13-14)
As we have seen, despite many great events occurring throughout the 1920s and 30s, they are all overshadowed and impacted by the greater event that began the period: the First World War. However, there is another shadow that lurks over this same period. Not from the great event at its beginning, but from the great event at its end. We have seen how so many of the key events in these years were the result of the First World War. However, the very same events were also the road to the Second World War, which began in 1939. The economic problems brought about by the Great Depression, the confiscation of large areas of territory and the growth of political ideologies like fascism. These are all glowing embers that were left after the First World War. And they all ultimately caught fire and caused the whole world to descend into conflict once again. This period of the 1920s and 1930s can only be understood when it is seen in light of those two great events which sit like bookends around it. Every significant moment in these years can be seen either as a result of WWI or the road to WWII. So great are these two events, everything connects back and looks forward to one of them. Paul tells us what is true of the interwar period is also true of our lives in this present age. We have already seen how a great event of the past, the appearing of the grace of God, was to shape our present lives. However, in 2:13-14 Paul explains how a great future event should do so as well. We are to live in this present age, ‘waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ…’. We are to spend our present lives not only looking back on what God has done in the past, the appearing of grace, but forward to what he will do in the future, the appearing of his glory. We are realise that our present age is not only the result of God’s grace, but it is the road to God’s glory.
This time, Paul leaves in no doubt about the nature of this appearance. It is the appearing of ‘the glory of our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ…’. As an aside, this is the clearest statement of Christ’s deity in the whole Bible: Jesus Christ is not only our Saviour, but he is also our great God. At his first appearing, we have already seen that there was glory. John recorded how ‘the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father….’ (John 1:14) However, the great glory which Jesus had before the world existed was largely veiled during his first appearing (John 17:5). As we sing at Christmas time, ‘Veiled in flesh the Godhead see.’ Only on the mount of transfiguration was it possible for Peter, James and John to get a momentary glimpse the great glory behind the covering of the incarnation. Only then were they, as Peter remembers it in 2 Peter 1:16–18, ‘eyewitnesses of his majesty…when he received honor and glory from God the Father, and the voice was borne to him by the Majestic Glory, "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased"’. However, we see here that his return and reappearing will pre-eminently be an appearing of glory. Jesus himself spoke in this way, talking of, ‘When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne.’ (Matthew 25:31) At that appearing, no longer will Christ’s glory be held back behind a veil. Instead, all shall see it! Again, Jesus promised this, he said ‘then they will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory.’ (Mark 13:26) On the day of Christ’s return, the glory of God will shine out over this world like the rays of the sun break out over us in the morning. For it is then that he who is called ‘the radiance of the glory of God’ (Hebrew 1:2) shall be seen in the skies. On that day, we shall be able cry those words that we sometimes sing: ‘Look, ye saints, the sight is glorious: see the Man of Sorrows now; from the fight returned victorious, ev'ry knee to him shall bow. Crown him! Crown him! Crowns become the Victor's brow.’ That face of grace is also the face of glory: ‘the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.’ (2 Corinthians 4:6) As Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 13:12, ‘now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.’ As we seen John tells us ‘when he appears…we shall see him as he is.’ (1 John 3:2) A face full of both grace and glory. In this current moment we long for and get so much joy out of seeing people face to face again. How great will it be when we are face to face with Him, when we not only get to glimpse, but can gaze at his great glory!
Over the past few weeks, a number of you have spoken about trying to get a better perspective on things. In the stresses and strains of this current moment, many of you have felt the need to remind yourself of the big picture. Friends, do you see here in these verses the big picture. The great Christian perspective. Take a step back for a moment with Paul and plot your life on this timeline he tells us about. The appearing of grace – this present age – the appearing of glory. Do you see that you live in a passing present age, an interim, intervening moment of time between the two great events of history? Is this the backdrop against which you think about your life? Is this the context in which you consider yourself? When you think of the future – are you waiting for it or worrying about it? If it is the latter, if it is anxiety and fear that fills you, you need to look further forward. Look beyond the deadlines and pressures of next week, the uncertainty of next month, the unknown of next year. Paul tells us that our perspective is much broader than that. We need to take a step back. We need to pull your head out of the sand of this present age and lift them up to look to what is just over the horizon for all of us who have been saved by God’s grace. Paul says that our lives should be lived in light of, spent looking and longing for, the future. The final appearing of the glory of our great God and Saviour, Jesus Christ. That was Paul’s perspective. He spent his life, looking and longing for this appearing. In Romans 5:1-2 he wrote, ‘Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.’ Is that how you are facing, are feeling about the future? That no matter what next week, month or year may bring, though as it may be, you know how the story ends. You know that just the other side of what slope of suffering you may have to struggle up is the appearing of the the Saviour. Are rejoicing in hope of the glory of God? Or as Paul puts it here in 2:13, waiting for our blessed hope. That could equally be translated ‘our happy confidence’. If you aren’t feeling that way about the future this morning, pray over that this week. Struggle and strive to see things in this way. To put this perspective into practice this week. Friends, this is far more than positive thinking, the simple slogans you see spread over Facebook. This is a matter of faith, of deep conviction, of happy confidence in what God has promised. This hope of glory is why Christians can be sorrowful, yet always rejoicing. How Christians can have nothing, yet possess everything. For we know that when the sun rises over the horizon, we will forget all about the cold dark days of this present age. We are confident that when the eternal summer comes, this short winter season will not only seem, but will actually be, an eternity ago. Christians can sing on their way to the scaffold, hum hymns as they lie in hospital, smile even when they feel scared, because they know their current light momentary afflictions don’t move the scales one iota when placed alongside the weight of eternal glory that is their hope.
As we close, see that Paul not only highlights the hope of glory, but also the holiness of glory. In 2:14 we see that one of the greatest aspects of our great God and Saviour’s glory is that he ‘gave himself for us, to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.’ Here we see that our blessed hope is not only of his glory, but also of our glorification. We seen this as well in 1 John 3:2, there John explained ‘we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is.’ Because we see him as he is, we shall be like him. It seems that in that moment, as we gaze at his glory, we too shall be glorified. Only then do we graduate from this school of grace. Only in that moment will we finally be pure as he is pure. What is it that secures such a hope? How is it that these corrupt Cretans will be made into a pure people? ‘…the glory of our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us.’ Why this sacrifice? What could possible require a price of this magnitude? Our Creator to die on a cross? Paul tells us it was to achieve two things ‘to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.’ To redeem from lawlessness and to purify for good works. Do you see that these two consequences match the two classes at the school of grace. The school of grace may be free to us, but have not doubt that this is only because Jesus picks up the fee. We are able to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions because Jesus has redeemed us from all lawlessness. We are able to live self-controlled upright and godly lives in the present age, because he died to purify for himself a people for his possession. A people who are no longer controlled by worldly passions, but constrained by heavenly ones. Zealous, that is passionate, for good works. Once they were slaves to sin, now they are slaves to their Saviour.
Friends, this is the good news at the core of Christianity. The Gospel of Grace and Glory. As we seen Samuel Crossman summarise it when he wrote those lines in 1664: ‘Love to the loveless shown, that they might lovely be.’ Or Spurgeon when he said in his sermon on this text, ‘[Christ] gave himself for you that you might give yourselves for him.’ In light of all that we have seen in these verses, I begin to sense what moved Charles Wesley to pen certain verses in his great hymn. On the first anniversary of his conversation, as he reflected back on the grace and glory of the God who saved him, we wrote: ‘O for a thousand tongues to sing; my great Redeemer's praise, the glories of my God and King, the triumphs of his grace! He breaks the power of cancelled sin, he sets the prisoner free; his blood can make the foulest clean; his blood availed for me. To God all glory, praise, and love be now and ever given; by saints below and saints above, the Church in earth and heaven.’
ALEXANDER ARRELL