Please turn in your Bibles this morning to Titus chapter 3 as we deal with a controversial subject, what we as Christians are to do in the society we are living in, how we are to respond toward the evil that is out there.  Before we get to our text this morning, listen to the following story that will help keep the perspective of things. We are told:

            In his book Illustrations of Bible Truth, H. A. Ironside included a story of a new convert who gave his testimony during a church service.  With a smile on his face and joy in his heart, the man related how he had been delivered from a life of sin.  He gave the Lord all the glory, saying nothing about any of his own merits or what he had done to deserve the blessings of redemption. The person in charge, who was very legalistic, didn’t fully appreciate the reality of salvation by grace through faith alone, apart from human works.  So he responded to the young man’s comments by saying, “You seem to indicate that God did everything when He saved you. Didn’t you do your part before God did His?” The new Christian jumped to his feet and said, “Oh yes, I did. For more than 30 years I ran away from God as fast as my sins could carry me.  That was my part. But God took out after me and ran me down. That was His part.”  Commenting on his testimony, Ironside wrote, “It was well put and tells a story that every redeemed sinner understands.”

- Our Daily Bread, December 10

            It does sound so simple and it is but I also think we loose sight of where we came from and because of where we are presently, we look down upon those who are not with us, those that are not saved.  We even fight against them.  Let me show you what I mean as we read over our text this morning starting in Titus chapter 3, beginning in verse 1 and let’s see what the Lord has for us.  May we see clearly what we as Christians have been called to do and not lose sight of it.

            Now here is the controversy.  I think we as Christians waste too much time trying to make this nation a Christian nation!  I know, “How can you say that?”  I think we as Christians waste far too much time trying to pass Christian laws!  Again, “How can you say that?”  I do realize that those comments may upset some of you. I do realize that some of you would strongly disagree with me. But please, hear me out on this one. Don’t tune me out, don’t turn me off, listen to what I am going to say and then pray about it and see where God leads you on this issue, that I feel is very important today.

            As I study the Scriptures I don’t see Jesus or Paul call for any uprisings or sit-ins or protests.  Jesus said in Matthew 28:19-20, the Great Commission, what we are to be doing, “‘Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.’ Amen.”  That is what I believe we are to do – go and make disciples, bring people to Jesus and then teaching them the things of God, building them up in the faith. You see, it is one heart at a time and as peoples hearts are changed, so too will their lives be changed and that will have a far bigger impact on a community, society, a nation, than changing laws or forcing people to believe a certain way even though they don’t.  You see, what we are trying to do right now is to put the cart in front of the horse, and that doesn’t work, unless their hearts are changed, the effort is futile!

            Let me give you an example to show you that laws don’t change people, Jesus does!  We have laws in this country that say it is perfectly legal for women to have an abortion if they want to, to kill their unborn child in the womb.  Here’s the thing.  Just because there is a law that says women can have abortions, there is a higher law of God that says it is wrong.  Thus, Christian women who are being obedient to the Lord will not have abortions no matter what the law of man says!

            Now, on the other end of the spectrum are those that don’t know Jesus as Lord and Savior.  You see, we have laws that say murder is wrong, if you murder someone you are breaking the law.  So in this country, because we have that law, there are no murders, right? Absolutely wrong!  Why is that?  Because the heart of man is evil and it is only the Lord who can change it, transform it. Now that doesn’t mean that Christians are perfect, they can sin, they can break the law, but when they do, they are not being obedient to the Lord, but to their own fleshly desires, their own lusts and-so-on.

            Now, as we look around and we see what is happening in our nation, as we see the moral decay, the ungodliness, don’t you just want to get those people that are doing those evil things?  Don’t you want to destroy those ungodly organizations and those that are working there?  You see, it is easy to respond in an ungodly manner, calling fire down from heaven to destroy people.  We begin to hate people, become angry at them, put them down, but folks, those are the ones that need to come to Christ, aren’t they?  Of course they are!

            King Asa, King of the Southern Kingdom of Judea, a godly king was trying to bring reform to the nation and this is how he was going to do it. In II Chronicles 15:10-13 we are told, “So they gathered together at Jerusalem in the third month, in the fifteenth year of the reign of Asa.  And they offered to the LORD at that time seven hundred bulls and seven thousand sheep from the spoil they had brought. Then they entered into a covenant to seek the LORD God of their fathers with all their heart and with all their soul; and whoever would not seek the LORD God of Israel was to be put to death, whether small or great, whether man or woman.”  You can’t force people to follow God, it is a work of the Spirit of God. You see, if you are going to force someone to worship God or die, they will worship God with their lips but their heart will be far from God.  We can’t legislate morality, we can’t make this a Christian nation, but we are to win people to Jesus, the one who can transform lives from the inside and that work of God will then overflow to their actions!

Listen to how John MacArthur sums this up, and I believe correctly so. He tells us:

            In reaction to the rapid and pervasive escalation of immorality and ungodliness, believers have become both saddened and angered. Hostility among some of them has been intensified still further when they learn that their taxes are being used to fund ideas and practices that only a few generations ago were condemned even by most secularists. They fear for their children and even more for their grandchildren because of the kind of world into which they will be born, educated, and have to live.

            Many well-meaning Christian leaders have founded organizations to counteract anti-Christian influences and assaults. Attempting to fight fire with fire, as it were, Christian organizations, publishers, and broadcasters have sought to counter anti-Christian ideas and programs by using non-Christian tactics. They have decided it is time to stand up for their “rights” and have declared war on the prevailing non-Christian culture, especially the liberal national media. They have become hostile to unbelievers, the very ones God has called them to love and reach with the gospel.

            But neither the New Testament nor the example of the early church justifies such a mentality. The cause of Christ cannot be protected or expanded by social intimidation any more than by government decree or military conquest.  Ours is a spiritual warfare against human ideologies and beliefs that are set up against God and that can only be successfully conquered with the weapon of the Word (see 2 Corinthians 10:3-5).  In his book The Evangelical Pulpit, John Seel writes,

            A politicized faith not only blurs our priorities, but weakens our loyalties.  Our primary citizenship is not on earth but in heaven. . . . Though few evangelicals would deny this truth in theory, the language of our spiritual citizenship frequently gets wrapped in the red, white and blue. Rather than acting as resident aliens of a heavenly kingdom, too often we sound [and act] like resident apologists for a Christian America. . . . Unless we reject the false reliance on the illusion of Christian America, evangelicalism will continue to distort the gospel and thwart a genuine biblical identity. . . . American evangelicalism is now covered by layers and layers of historically shaped attitudes that obscure our original biblical core. ([Grand Rapids: Baker, 1993], pp. 106-107)

            We must repudiate our confused loyalties and concerns for the passing world and put aside our misguided efforts to change culture externally.  To allow our thoughts, plans, time, money, and energy to be spent trying to make a superficially Christian America, or to put a veneer of morality over the world, is to distort the gospel, misconstrue our divine calling, and squander our God-given resources. We must not weaken our spiritual mission, obscure our priority of proclaiming the gospel of salvation, or become confused about our spiritual citizenship, loyalties, and obligations.  We are to change society, but by faithfully proclaiming the gospel, which changes lives on the inside.

            As this passage in Titus and many others in the New Testament make clear, we must not become so engulfed in trying to force social behavior to conform to our standards that we become enemies of those our Lord has called us to win to Himself.  We must reject sin and never compromise God’s standards of righteousness.  But we also must never engage in defamation and denigration of the lost sinners who make up our corrupt culture. When Christians become political, sinners become the enemy instead of the mission field. 

            Paul obviously was consumed with the divine mandate to evangelize when he wrote this letter to Titus.  It was not his desire for Christians living in the pagan culture of Crete to turn on the unbelievers and try to force changes in cultural standards and personal behavior in order to be less offended by their society.

            No Christian can help wishing that the moral standards of society were better.  We do grieve over the rampant lewdness, indecency, deceitfulness, vulgarity, unchastity, extreme self-indulgence and every other form of depravity that is corroding our society.  But, as noble as the desire to reform culture may be, God does not call the church to impact society by promoting laws and judicial decisions that support biblical standards of behavior.

            The single divine calling of the church is to bring sinful people to salvation through Christ. . . .

- John MacArthur

            I think it is easy to lose our focus as we stand up for all kinds of causes but what about Christ?  My prayer, as we go through this study, is that it would be a wake up call to each of us.  In these verses here in Titus there are five main points that Paul is making.  He starts out with: BE OBEDIENT TO GOVERNMENTAL AUTHORITIES – TITUS 3:1.  Next, Paul says: BE OBEDIENT TO ALL – TITUS 3:2.  Then he moves onto: REMEMBER THE PAST – TITUS 3:3.  And then he moves onto: REMEMBER OUR PRESENT SITUATION – TITUS 3:4-7.  And lastly, Paul speaks of: THE RESULTS OF REMEMBERING – TITUS 3:8.  And so with the rest of our time this morning, let’s look at these areas and see what we can glean from them.

1.  BE OBEDIENT TO GOVERNMENTAL AUTHORITIES – TITUS 3:1

            We have talked about this before but Paul in Romans chapter 13 goes into great detail on how we are to honor those who are in authority over us in the government.  We are to pay our taxes, we are to obey the laws, we are to be good citizens.  As we have seen, Rome was not a godly nation, they were immoral, they were wicked and yet Paul never called for an uprising against Rome, a sit in, civil disobedience.  In fact, there were some 60 million slaves in Rome, 25% of the Roman population were slaves and if Paul called for a revolt, they could have made an impact.   But Paul never called for the abolishment of slavery. In fact, he said that if you were a slave you were to serve your master to the fullest, to do you best. Why didn’t Paul speak against slavery?  Because Paul was more interested in seeing people saved than changing laws and if a slave could shine forth the love of Christ in the position he was in, maybe his owner would get saved.  And when you look at slavery, it was the changed hearts that lead to changed behavior, from which slavery was abolished.

            In our society today we have lost the meaning of what respect is all about, even in the church.  And because of that lack of respect that God has called us to show, even our own government is the target of all kinds of jokes, mocking and it truly should not be. You see, God has placed them in that position either for our good, or to teach us a lesson but God appoints them. Remember what God said of King Nebuchadnezzar, he was a brutal, wicked king of Babylon and in Jeremiah 25:8-9 we are told, “‘Therefore thus says the LORD of hosts: 'Because you have not heard My words, behold, I will send and take all the families of the north,’ says the LORD, ‘and Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, My servant, and will bring them against this land, against its inhabitants, and against these nations all around, and will utterly destroy them, and make them an astonishment, a hissing, and perpetual desolations.’”

            This is one I have been learning over the years, to respect those leaders in our government be it on the local, state or national level because God has called me to and by my actions I can bring honor to God or I can give the enemies of God a chance to blasphemy God. We saw that with Pat Robertson and his remarks on national television that we should assassinate the president of Venezuela because he is an evil man.   That may be true, that is not the issue.  And think about that, if we were to do that we might as well get a nuclear bomb and destroy the world!  That is ridiculous, those are the ones we are called to share our faith with and by his actions he gave the enemies of God a chance to blasphemy God and because he is part of the body of Christ, all Christians were linked as being like-minded. That is not how we are to feel, that is not what we are to say.  We are to be OBEDIENT TO GOVERNMENTAL AUTHORITIES.

2.  BE OBEDIENT TO ALL – TITUS 3:2

            What does Paul mean when he tells us that we are to be obedient to all? He tells us that we are not to speak evil of them, blasphemy them, curse them.  How easy that is as they rub us the wrong way, they come against what we believe.  Our tongue is flapping before we even think about what we are saying. It is as Solomon said in Proverbs 15:1-2, “A soft answer turns away wrath, But a harsh word stirs up anger.  The tongue of the wise uses knowledge rightly, But the mouth of fools pours forth foolishness.”  Also, in Proverbs 21:23 we are told, “Whoever guards his mouth and tongue Keeps his soul from troubles.”

            We are to live peaceably, gentle lives, we are to show humility to all men.  This can be very difficult to do especially in the self-centered world we live in today.  Paul, in Romans 12:18 tells us, “If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men.”

            Please understand what Paul is saying here. We are to do our part, making peace, being peacemakers and there may be times where the other party doesn’t want peace.  You can’t do anything about that, just make sure you did your part, did your best, and be careful not to let your heart get hard towards that person or people.  Love them and let it go.  They may never respond back in peace, but you did do what God called you to do, be peacemakers!

            I will give you an example to show you what I mean, how this can be beautiful if we allow it.  Several years ago there was a family who left the church, I am still not sure why, but they both were actively involved in ministry here.  When they left they dropped the ministry stuff off at my door and that was it. That was not easy and in a small town like ours, we saw them often in the stores and restaurants.   Now the woman had a hard time every time we ran into her, she would start to shake, she would be very nervous and we just loved them both, spoke to them as family in Christ, but there was not that peace there, even though we did try.  Several weeks ago, it may even have been longer now, my wife ran into her, I believe at the store, and they had a wonderful conversation, there was peace again, and how awesome that was to hear after all these years.

Do your best to live at peace, sometimes it will work, and sometimes it won’t, and sometimes it may take a long time, but you do your part!  We need to be ready for good works, look for them to be manifested in our lives.

And thus, we are to BE OBEDIENT TO ALL, we are to allow the fruit of the Spirit to flow from our lives, that AGAPE love which will then manifest itself with, “ . . . joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.”  Galatians 5:22-23.

3.  REMEMBER THE PAST – TITUS 3:3

            This one really spoke to my heart because as I look at those who are promoting ungodly things I am ready to call fire down from heaven to destroy them, wipe them off the face of the earth.  And folks, I truly can justify it because they are evil!  Now why do I respond like that? The reason I respond like that is because I have forgotten my past.  You see, that was me apart from Christ, I did those things that were evil and now that I am saved, I am looking down upon those who are lost in their sins, complaining about them, putting them down for living out their natural instincts, the lusts of the flesh, apart from God just as I once did!

            Paul, in I Corinthians 6:9-11 tells us, “Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God.  And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.” 

            You see, as we forget our past, where we came from, the things we did apart from Christ, it is very easy then to put people down, to look down upon them, to come against them. But Paul is saying, “Titus, don’t forget where you came from, the past because by remembering the past you will be able to minister to people in the present.”

            You see, we can’t boast in ourselves or what we have done in regards to our salvation, there is nothing to boast about.  If we want to take credit for anything in regards to our salvation all we can boast about is how big of sinners we were, that is all we brought to the table.  We were dead in our trespasses and sins and thus, we must REMEMBER THE PAST so we can minister to people the love of Christ!

4.  REMEMBER OUR PRESENT SITUATION – TITUS 3:4-7

            Yes, it is important to remember our past but it is just as important to remember our present situation - that God reached down and saved a sinner like me, like you!  And it is not by works of righteousness that we are saved, you can’t work your way into heaven but God saved us, washed us as white as snow and once we are saved we can have a cleansing from the dirt of this world that comes upon our lives as we go through God’s Word.

            We went over these verses on Thursday but they are so powerful, so important that we are going to look at them again.  Paul, in Ephesians 2:1-9 tells us, “And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.  But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.  For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.”

            Paul looks back on our old condition, dead to God, walking aimlessly through life, being carried away by the philosophies of the world, being manipulated by Satan and his forces – BUT GOD!  You see, those two words changed everything for us, God stepped in and made us alive again in Christ, by His Grace we are saved!

            You see, in knowing our past and our present, we know where we have come from and we know how we have gotten to where we are at today, and all the glory goes to God and what He has done, it keeps us humble.  And so, we are to REMEMBER OUR PRESENT SITUATION – what God has done for us, how He saved a wretched sinner like me, like you, and thus, He can save anyone, which leads us to our last section we are going to be looking at this morning.

5.  THE RESULTS OF REMEMBERING – TITUS 3:8

            When you receive a gift, something you always wanted, what do you want to do?  Do you hide the gift in a closet?  Do you say to people who ask you about it, “That is very personal and I would rather not talk about the gift”?  Of course you don’t do that, you want to tell everyone about the awesome gift you have received and of the person who gave it to you.

            God has given to us the greatest gift ever – eternal life with Him and that eternal life is all wrapped in Christ.  Paul put it this way in Romans 5:6-11, “For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. And not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.”  Thus, we should be shouting from the rooftops of what God has given to us, that is our mission, to share our faith with others.

            You see, we are not to resent or be angry at the way people act, the way they behave, but we are to share our faith with them, the lost!  Thus, as you remember your past, where you came from, and you remember your present situation in Christ, that He saved you, you can share the love of Christ with sinners!

            Paul put it this way in II Corinthians 5:17-21, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation. Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ's behalf, be reconciled to God. For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”

            We have been reconciled to God, we have peace with God through Jesus Christ and thus, He has given to us the ministry of reconciliation, we are to be peacemakers or to bring the peace of God to people as Paul said in Romans 5:1-2, “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.”

            As I close this morning, keep your heart soft, be open to God as He brings people across your path, your life and you can minister to them the love of Jesus, you can bring to them the peace of God that is only found in Christ.  May we truly shine for Him in this dark world!