Moments in the life of a Pastor

Walking with God

Author Archives: Giles


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34 Teaming Together – Part 2

Titus 3:8-15

8 This is a trustworthy saying. 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.These things are excellent and profitable for everyone. 9 But avoid foolish controversies and genealogies and arguments and quarrels about the law, because these are unprofitable and useless. 10 Warn a divisive person once, and then warn them a second time. After that, have nothing to do with them. 11 You may be sure that such people are warped and sinful; they are self-condemned. 12 As soon as I send Artemas or Tychicus to you, do your best to come to me at Nicopolis, because I have decided to winter there. 13 Do everything you can to help Zenas the lawyer and Apollos on their way and see that they have everything they need. 14 Our people must learn to devote themselves to doing what is good, in order to provide for urgent needs and not live unproductive lives. 15 Everyone with me sends you greetings. Greet those who love us in the faith. Grace be with you all.

  1. Go after Good things – 8b – 

The last part of verse 8 tells us to go after what is good.  Recipients of grace are to be givers of good. Worship should lead to works where our salvation is expresses in acts of service. This idea of going after good things is the “basic message” of Titus. The expression “good works” occurs fourteen times in the letters to Timothy and Titus. One of the greatest ways we can share God is by doing good. The best exercise spiritually for a healthy heart is to bend down several times during the day and serve someone else. Peter pointed to this when he said in 1 Peter 2:12: “Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.” When teaching those with financial means in 1 Timothy 6:18, Paul challenged Christians not just to be rich in dollars but to be rich in deeds: “Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share.” If we want to cultivate a heart of harmony in the church, we need to champion Christ’s cause and make the goal doing good. When we stop sharing salvation story and go after what is good we end up become crabby Christians with critical spirits instead of cheerful ones. When we stop doing good it isn’t long before the griping and the grumbling starts. Third:

  1. Avoid Arguments – 9

Titus is to go after good things and run away from foolish things. The NIV uses the word “avoid” while the New American Standard uses the word, “shun” meaning to turn your back and walk away from controversial conversations. Don’t entertain or engage in pointless arguments. It is important to note that this is in the imperative tense, meaning that it is a command, not a suggestion. Paul is not saying that we shouldn’t discuss or defend the truth. Rather, he is warning against “foolish” controversies. The word “foolish” here is where we get the word “moron” In short Paul is telling us to move away from moronic arguments, steer clear of stupidity. In the early church, there were those who manufactured myths centered on genealogies about angels. We need to be careful about this type of emphasis even today. Bestsellers hit the stores claiming that there are special codes and hidden meanings in the Bible that can predict the future. Other false teachers overemphasized aspects of the Old Testament law, arguing that certain things are “clean” while other are “unclean.” But we are not called to live under the law. Don’t get caught up in these foolish discussions that lead nowhere and have the potential to lead you astray. There are also those who just love to argue. They get off on getting under other people’s skin? Paul calls these people out and says that not only are these people foolish but we don’t have to follow them. If we are not careful we will waste a lot of time and energy arguing over things that in light of eternity are trivial while people around us are heading to hell. Don’t get caught up in petty and pointless arguments that take you away from stressing the salvation story or going after what is good. 


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33 Teaming Together – Part 1

Titus 3:8-15

8 This is a trustworthy saying. 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.These things are excellent and profitable for everyone. 9 But avoid foolish controversies and genealogies and arguments and quarrels about the law, because these are unprofitable and useless. 10 Warn a divisive person once, and then warn them a second time. After that, have nothing to do with them. 11 You may be sure that such people are warped and sinful; they are self-condemned. 12 As soon as I send Artemas or Tychicus to you, do your best to come to me at Nicopolis, because I have decided to winter there. 13 Do everything you can to help Zenas the lawyer and Apollos on their way and see that they have everything they need. 14 Our people must learn to devote themselves to doing what is good, in order to provide for urgent needs and not live unproductive lives. 15 Everyone with me sends you greetings. Greet those who love us in the faith. Grace be with you all.

As we wrapping up our series “Firm Foundations” in the book of Titus Paul concludes his letter to the Cretan Christians with a reminder of the importance of teaming together for the Gospel. According to God’s word we should be treasuring our team mates not trashing them. READ SCRIPTURE Titus 3:8-15. Paul starts his teaching on teaming together by telling Christians to:

  1. Cultivate a Heart of Harmony

To do this he suggests we adopt 4 practices. First we need to:

  1. Stress the Salvation Story – 8a

The first part of verse 8 reminds us of the importance of sharing salvation. Paul doesn’t suggest that we share the salvation story he insists. What are you stressing, what is your focal point, is it eternal things or earthly things? Many of us are living stressed lives because we are not stressing the Lord. We are getting wrapped up in the inconsequential, majoring on mole hills and minoring on the mountains. As we saw last time we were in our series in Titus we must never get tired of teaching the truth and sharing God’s gift of grace. This trustworthy saying in short is that we are sinners in need of the Savior. The word “insist” means to “affirm constantly.” We should never stop speaking about salvation. So let me ask you are you sharing the story of salvation or are you keeping silent. If you are being silent when it comes to salvation you need to ask yourself why. Has society shut you down, are you sacred, or have you just become so busy that you don’t take time to talk about the truth. Have you become blinded by the bling of this world, so caught up chasing the shiny trinkets that you have shelved the truth. Or have you become bound up, stuck in sin that wants to snuff out your light and waters down your witness. Sin will always drowns out our desire for sharing salvation while kindling our desire for depravity. When we make sharing the Saviors story our passion and priority our personal appreciation for God’s work of grace and mercy will skyrocket. If your walk with Christ seems dry and dull, it could be because you are not actively sharing your faith. Every time you tell someone about God’s grace, you will be reminded of God’s work in your own life. If you keep it to yourself, and never talk about it, the luster of your salvation can begin to tarnish. What is true personally will also spill over and show up corporately. If we as a church become selfish and inward-focused, and stop sharing Jesus we will eventually lose the joy of our salvation. Instead of being a people of praise we will begin to pick each other apart. Instead of celebrating salvation we will be critical of service. Instead of harmony in the church there will be heartache. God’s great commission gets replaced by me and my comfort. What happens when we dam up the grace of God and refuse to share His gift of salvation with the world? When there is inflow but no outflow? Look at bodies of water that have no outflow, closed drainage basins that retain water yet allow no outflow to other external bodies of water. These closed bodies of water are interestingly referred to as terminal basins. Over time evaporation causes them to become relatively saline which leads to them being devoid of life. The most famous aptly named the Dead Sea is over 8 times saltier than the ocean. Because there is no outflow it is easier for these bodies of water to become stagnant turning into marshes that become breeding ground for mosquitoes and bacteria.  Over time they start to shrinking and dry up, becoming empty and void of life. Did you know that the church is the only institution that exists for the benefit of its non-members? When we lose our external focus, internal friction will wear us down. There are a lot of churches today that are dying because they have lost their passion for the lost.