A Healthy Church

Titus 3:8-15 “A Healthy Church”

A church that trusts and treasures the gospel message will devote themselves to good works. Even as Paul wraps up his short letter to Titus, he is singing the same tune he has been singing the whole book. The church must devote itself to sound doctrine and sound living in order to adorn the gospel message in the world. Devoting ourselves to sound doctrine and sound living is not so we can have a cozy, trouble-free life. It is for the fame of Christ in the world.

A healthy church will have healthy doctrine and healthy living. In our passage, Paul gets specific: a healthy church

1. Devotes itself to good deeds
2. Disciplines divisive people
3. Does its duty with diligence

1. A healthy church devotes itself to good deeds (8)
Vs 8 begins with: This is a faithful saying and these things I will that thou affirm constantly. What is the faithful saying and what are these things? Normally, what is right before. It is the gospel message that Paul lays out for us in verses 3-7. It is the message of God’s mercy to us despicable sinners in Christ. This gospel is to be insisted on or constantly affirmed. 2:15 is similar to this: declare these things. “These things” are at least the gospel in vs 11-14 but also may include the teaching in vs 1-10.

Why insist on the gospel? So that they which have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works. The idea is for us to be intent on doing good works. Or, as 2:14 has it, eager to do good works.

God’s way of producing good works in people is for them to believe the good news about Jesus Christ. Paul wants the Cretan church to be devoted to good works. He doesn’t give them a pep talk about working harder. He doesn’t guilt them into doing more good works. He gives them the good news about Jesus Christ. The way to produce good works is to insist continually on the message of God’s grace to sinners. The gospel—when believed—produces the fruit of good works.

Next, Paul uses another “these things.” These things are good and profitable unto men. These things refer to doing good works. Good works done by believers profit men: referring to people outside the church. Good works are good for people outside the church, especially because they adorn the gospel of Jesus Christ.

When I was an electrician, my co-worker and I always dreaded my boss’ words: “Oh, and you’ll need to rent a concrete saw for this job.” Electricians work with wire not cement. Might as well ask a chicken to fly.
At one memorable job, my co-worker and I had to cut a small trench in the concrete floor of a small store in a mall. They wanted to move a cash register, and so they needed the power to run in the floor. We had to work at night when the store was closed. Handheld concrete saws make lots of dust, we covered the entire store with plastic sheeting. Since we were indoors, we had to use an electric concrete saw, which was very anemic.

So, we made our marks and began cutting the floor. One person operated the saw under a plastic sheet and the other sprayed water on the blade to keep the dust down. It was slow going. We were soaked with gray water and covered with dust. In wee hours of the morning, halfway through the second cut the unthinkable happened. The saw died. We tried to resurrect it to no avail. And you can’t rent another one at 3:00 in the morning. That was not a fun call to make to our boss. Our job remained undone. We cleaned up our mess, uncovered all the merchandise and went home soaked, dirty, and discouraged. We knew that our boss could have had a professional concrete cutter do the job in ½ hour for ½ the cost to him with a machine that wouldn’t make a big mess. That was a completely unprofitable night for everyone involved.

Paul wants Christians to be profitable to others- that’s why he desires them to do good works. In vs 9, he contrasts the profit of good works with the unprofitability of false doctrine and fighting. False doctrine and fighting are bad in and of themselves. But beyond that, they are unprofitable for the church and its testimony in the world.

2. A healthy church disciplines divisive people (9-11)
Verse 9 is really a description of the activities characteristic of the false teachers (see 1:10-16). These must be avoided, but in verses 10-11, another step must be taken. The person who does these things and does not repent, must be disciplined. In the KJV, the word is heretic. A heretic is a person who believes and teaches false doctrine. This Greek word was eventually was used of a heretic. But at this point in history, it meant a divisive person. It is a person who causes strife and division in the church by teaching false doctrine or just by quarreling with others. This kind of person must be dealt with in the church. They are to be warned one, then twice, then dismissed from the church. Such a person is dangerous for the health of the church and must be rejected as a member. Vs 11 describes such a person- subverted (warped or perverted) and sinning. Such a person is self-condemned…meaning, he has been warned that he is wrong and still continues in his sin. A person who repents from his error can be restored, but a person who does not is rejected. These instructions sound harsh, but they mesh with the commands of our Savior in Matthew 18.

“If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. 16 But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. 17 If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector.

We often underestimate the damage false doctrine and quarreling have in the church. Let’s says you get into a fender bend and you take your car into a body shop for repairs. They say- your front bumper needs replaced and your left head light. With labor, that comes to $800. That damage is immediately obvious and has a price tag your wallet can feel. We can quantify it. Divisive people in the church cause spiritual damage that is harder to see and quantify. You may never see it or you may see it years later. Paul says- false doctrine and false teachers capsize people’s faith and capsize whole houses. A person who fights or teaches false doctrine must be rejected from the church for the health of the church.

Paul is certainly concerned for the health and stability of the church, but he wants health and stability for the sake of their witness in the community. A church that lets sin unchecked will not be able to be a profitable witness in the world.

A healthy church devotes itself to good deeds and disciplines divisive people. There is a third point here that could go unnoticed. Verses 12-15 are Paul’s conclusion with some matters of business included. Even here, he urges believers to do good works.

3. A healthy church does its duty with diligence (12-15)
Paul is going to send another coworker to Crete (Artemas or Tychicus). When this man arrives, Titus is to go to Paul and bring with him Zenas and Apollos. In the second of verse 13, Paul urges that these men should lack nothing for their journey. Vs 14- he says- let our people learn to maintain good works. What’s happening here? Paul is saying: I’ll give you a change to do good works. Here are 2 men that need provision for their trip. Make sure they lack nothing. These believers were to learn good works by doing them. He gave the churches in Crete an opportunity to show that they would follow God’s Word given through Paul.

Maybe you know people who says- let me know if you need help; I’ll be glad to help with anything. Then you ask them for their help…and they give you a blank stare. Or maybe you have a friend who promises to do many things, but they do very little of what they promise. Paul says- I want you to be eager to do good works, so here’s some to start out with. Are you eager to do good works? You may say you like to help others. Great. Do it.

Brothers and sisters, the book of Titus is first about the truth of the gospel. Without the truth of the gospel we are lost. Practically, obeying the teaching of this book means doing good works. Doing good works is serving others for the glory of God. We are grounded in the gospel and nourished in our faith as we come to church, then we are released into the world eager to help others for God’s glory.

A lack of good works in your life, points to:

1. You are not saved
You profess to know God but deny by your works (1:16). Good works come from a heart that treasures and trusts the gospel. The call of the Bible is: repent of your sins and trust only Christ for your salvation. The love and mercy of God appeared to us foolish, disobedient sinners. He will save you through his mercy, not your works. We can be saved by his grace from stupidity and sin.

2. You are not grasping the gospel
God doesn’t just want us to do good works…he wants us to be eager or zealous for good works (2:14). Eagerness and zeal are not born from compulsion or guilt. Zeal for good works is born from a heart changed by the gospel. But we don’t leave behind the gospel when we come to Christ. A zeal for good works is fed by trusting and treasuring the gospel…by growing in experiencing God’s grace. Again, Titus is to insist on the gospel, so that those who have believed may be careful to devote themselves to good works.

When I see a Christian who is not eager for good works…when I am not eager to do good works, I assume they have gospel amnesia…that they have forgotten the amazing grace that rescued them from their sins…that they have forgotten that by God’s grace they are kept in the Christian life and will arrive safely in heaven…that they have forgotten that they, like us all, are filthy sinners who are daily forgiven of their sins by a merciful Father.

God’s grace is incredible…it saves us, changes us, and unleashes us into the world to serve Him.