Sound Exhortations

Speak these things, exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no one despise you. Remind them to be subject to rulers and authorities, to obey, to be ready for every good work, to speak evil of no one, to be peaceable, gentle, showing all humility to all men. For we ourselves were also once foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving various lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another. But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit... that having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. This is a faithful saying, and these things I want you to affirm constantly... (Titus 2:15–3:8)

How should the recipients of God's grace live—especially when we find ourselves in conflict with the culture and the authorities over us?

Living in a Culture of Anger

This week it was hard not to be bombarded by the constant raucous anger of our society, especially over the political craziness at our southern border—which hits close to home for us in San Diego County, just fifty miles away. I'm not interested in venting all our different views, because in any family—and a church family is a family—there are differing opinions. You've probably experienced the debates that arise at a family gathering with uncle so-and-so.

I do hope that as we walk with Jesus, we are more and more learning how to disagree agreeably, which seems to be a lost thing in our culture. But the level of anger from left to right is very high—not just in this debate, but in every political debate we seem to have.

When I see these things, it brings me to a place of reflection, especially as a pastor: How should I respond? How should I encourage others to respond? How should we carry ourselves as followers of Jesus if we find that we are in conflict with the policies of those in authority over us? What if we believe those things are in conflict with the nature of God and the Scriptures? What if we think the authorities are acting foolishly, with malice, or from evil desires?

As is almost always the case, we happen to be at a place in Scripture that speaks to that very question.

There Are Some Truths Worth Offending Over

I find it fascinating that the Apostle Paul, writing this 2,000 years ago, knew that our flesh—our natural human nature—would be resistant to this teaching. That's why he began with a word of exhortation at the end of chapter 2: "Speak these things, exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no one despise you." Paul anticipated that what Titus taught might conflict with people's nature, but he still needed to speak it. Don't back down.

This leads to point one: there are some truths worth offending over. (An English teacher might correct my grammar there, but you get the point.)

In our 21st-century Western culture, about the only thing totally out of bounds is offending somebody. We're hypersensitive to anything offensive, so we tiptoe around, not wanting to make anyone feel bad. Now, when I say some truths are worth offending over, I don't mean we should aim to offend. Sometimes Christians think being a jerk is a prophetic gift—"I'll say whatever I want and don't care what anybody thinks." That's not a spiritual gift; that's just our fallen nature coming through. But we do need to realize that there are strong truths in the Bible that can be offensive and challenging, and we still need to speak, exhort, and sometimes even rebuke.

The day will come—it has already come to Canada and parts of Western Europe—when there will be legislative moves pushing the church into a difficult position, where certain passages are deemed too offensive or discriminatory to speak. How should Christians respond? We will continue to speak forth the Word of God, because of a simple truth.

Why We Stay Committed to God's Word

In the next book, 2 Timothy 3, Paul writes that all Scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, and for instruction in righteousness, that the man or woman of God would be thoroughly equipped for every good work. We stay committed to God's Word because we believe it to be the inspired, God-breathed Word. Even when it conflicts with our society or our nature, it sets the right line of doctrine, reproves us where we're wrong, corrects us, and instructs us in righteousness.

A few sentences later, in chapter 4, Paul says, "For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers, and they will turn their ears away from the truth and be turned aside to fables." We move into that space at various times. But just because a broken society doesn't want to hear the instructive Word of God doesn't mean we should back down from it.

Be Submissive to and Obey the Authorities

So what are the hard truths Paul says to speak? Look at Titus 3:1: "Remind them to be subject to rulers and authorities, to obey, to be ready for every good work." That same phrase—"every good work"—appears in 2 Timothy 3. How can we be ready for every good work? This brings us to point two: be submissive to and obey the authorities that govern you.

We may have a hard time with this because of our fallen nature. Every parent of a two-year-old knows it's human nature to resist submission. (In our family, the two-year-old phase seemed to extend into three and four.) So when Scripture drives this truth home, objections flood our minds.

The first objection: "Paul must have lived under a better government and couldn't understand how hard it is for us." Wrong. Paul wrote this around the mid-60s AD, and the governing authority of his day was the Roman Empire under a lunatic named Nero. This was no utopia.

The second objection: "We cannot submit if they disobey God." To that I say—yes, you are right. If the governing authorities command something in opposition to the character, nature, or command of God, then as citizens of heaven and ambassadors of God's kingdom, we obey God more than men. We see this in Acts 4 and 5: the disciples were commanded not to preach in the name of Jesus, but Jesus had told them to go into all the world. They said, in effect, we will obey God more than man. That is civil disobedience.

But notice the limit: we only disobey those authorities if they are in direct opposition to the nature, character, or command of God. We don't disobey simply because we don't like them or their rules. And if we do refuse, we must be ready to suffer the consequences. Throughout the New Testament and church history, Christians who opposed authorities calling them to disobey God suffered for it.

Suffering, Rights, and the Tension of Submission

I think of Jesus. The crucifixion was God-ordained for our salvation, but in context, why was Jesus crucified? He opposed the religious structure of his day because it was not in line with the nature of God—remember him driving the money changers from the temple. He suffered the consequences. The Apostle Paul opposed the religious and political structures of his day and suffered as well.

There may come a time when our government says you cannot preach certain passages classified as discriminatory or hate speech. This is already happening in parts of the world. What do we do? We will always continue to preach the Scriptures because they are inspired for our good—even if it means we suffer the consequences.

We should also understand our rights. When the religious structure came against Paul and wanted to kill him, he appealed—his right as a citizen of Rome—to Caesar. We have a wonderful thing called the First Amendment, and we'll continue to use our freedom of religion and speech, even if it means standing before judges.

Yet alongside this, we have the rule given in Titus 3 and elsewhere to submit to governing authorities. There's a tension, and any time we find tension between our experience and the Word of God, we must prayerfully approach it. In Romans 13, Paul wrote to Christians in the epicenter of Rome under Nero: "Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God." Those words would have been tough to swallow. He continues, "Whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God."

Paul says the ruler is "God's minister" to execute wrath on those who practice evil. If ever you find yourself in a position of authority—in the church, the household, society, or a corporation—recognize that God wants you to be a minister of justice in that place. As Micah 6 says, "He has shown you, O man, what is good... to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God." Paul concludes by telling us to pay taxes (none of us love that), and to render to all their due—taxes, custom, fear, and honor.

Meek, Humble Peacemakers

There's a heavy tension here: my fallen nature does not want to submit, but the exhortation of Scripture is to obey. Paul continues in Titus 3:2: "Remind them to speak evil of no one, to be peaceable, gentle, showing all humility to all men." That's challenging—because speaking evil is the first thing we want to do toward those in authority we don't like. This brings us to point three: followers of Jesus make it their aim to be meek, humble peacemakers.

It didn't take long for the early followers of Jesus to be called Christians—and they were given that name by those outside the church, in Antioch of Syria (Acts 11). The word means "little Christs" or "imitators of Christ." Hopefully the term Christian applies to you because you imitate Jesus, not just because you have a sticker on your car. People who see us should say, "There's an imitator of Jesus."

What was Jesus like? The descriptive words in Titus 3:2 describe him perfectly. First, we are to "speak evil of no one." The word for "speak evil" is blasphemeo, from which we get "blaspheme." We are not to blaspheme anybody, even authority structures we dislike. We are not to level character assassination or venture into ad hominem attacks. What does that look like? Spend ten minutes on Facebook, or scroll to the comments at the bottom of a news article—that's where you'll see it everywhere. Paul says: don't be like that.

Instead, be peaceable. About 700 years before Jesus, Isaiah 9:6 prophesied of his character: he is the Prince of Peace. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus taught, "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God." We should also be gentle—mild, patient, moderate. In Philippians 4:5, Paul says, "Let your gentleness be known to all men." And we are to show humility to all men.

Quite frankly, many Christians in our current American climate are known more for being obnoxious than peaceable, gentle, and humble. But Jesus, even when led to be condemned and crucified, "opened not his mouth." This is not in line with my nature. I did martial arts for years, and my flesh likes the idea of knowing how to deal with someone who disagrees with me. But James says the wrath of man does not accomplish the righteousness of God. What's amazing in church history is that the oppressive Roman Empire was effectively dethroned not by obnoxious Christians, but by the peaceful, gentle meekness and humility of the church.

The Renewing Power of the Spirit

We must remember who we were. Look at Titus 3:3–5: "For we ourselves were also once foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving various lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another. But when the kindness and love of God our Savior toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and the renewing of the Holy Spirit."

Point four: the renewing power of the Holy Spirit is meant to transform every aspect of our nature. Paul wrote elsewhere, "If anyone is in Christ, they are a new creation; all the old things have passed away, behold, all things have become new." This is the new covenant prophesied by Ezekiel some 500 years before Jesus: "I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of you and give you a heart of flesh." God's aim is to remove that broken, stony heart and transform us radically from the inside out—not just our thoughts and emotions, but our external actions and words.

This is a covenant of grace, not religious effort. Ephesians 2:8–10 reminds us: "By grace you are saved through faith, and that not of yourselves... for we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works." We are not made righteous by our good works; we are transformed by the abiding power of the Holy Spirit so that we can do good works that show forth the glory of God.

But we must never forget where we came from. We were once foolish, disobedient, deceived, living in malice—wishing harm on others—hateful and hating one another. What changed us? When the kindness and love of God appeared, according to his mercy he saved us. Note this well: what drew you to Christ was his kindness, love, and mercy. What do you think will draw foolish, disobedient, deceived people to him? Not your obnoxious, heavy-handed demeaning—but the kindness, love, and mercy of God at work in us and through us.

Good News That Inspires Good Works

Verse 8: "This is a faithful saying, and these things I want you to affirm constantly, that those who have believed in God should be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable to men." Tell the church over and over again about the grace of God that took them from being foolish, deceived, hateful, and malicious to being heirs of eternal salvation.

Point five: the good news of the gospel should inspire our good works, which are good and profitable for all. When we grasp the greatness of God's mercy, that good news inspires us to live out the good works he prepared beforehand. As we walk those out, they are ultimately profitable for all people. North County San Diego needs to see the body of Christ—those at Cross Connection, Emmanuel Faith, Mission Hills, North Coast—inspired by the gospel to walk in a way that is right and good, contrary to our fallen nature. That's what this culture needs to see.

This is why Paul strongly urged Titus to constantly affirm these things: it is the grace of God that transforms us from sons and daughters of disobedience into recipients of his grace for eternity. Would to God that the world would see us let our light so shine before men that they would see our good works and glorify our Father in heaven. We need God's grace.

Closing Prayer

Father, thank you for your grace, that it justifies us and deals with all our past sin. But your grace not only deals with our past sin—it deals with our present condition, the fallenness of our human heart, so that our lives would be transformed to mirror your life. May we be Christians not merely because we went to church or were baptized, but because we are identified as imitators of you, that people would see in us your character traits inherited by the abiding Spirit.

Pour out your grace on us this week, so that on Monday, Tuesday, and every day we would walk in a way that glorifies your mercy. When it is our nature to respond with frustration or anger, enable us to respond with your self-control, mercy, patience, and grace. Let the fruit of your abiding Spirit—love, joy, peace, kindness, gentleness, self-control—characterize the way we treat our spouse, our children, our coworkers, those below us and those over us.

And if anyone here has never received the grace of God, may you receive it today. Dear Jesus, I know I need you. I know I can't save myself. Come into my life and forgive me, transform me by your grace, and help me to follow you by faith for your glory. Jesus, we thank you for the glory and power of your name, for there is no other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved. What an honor that we are called by your name. Help us to walk in that way this week, that you in heaven would be glorified. Do that work in us, we pray. We bless your name. Amen.