Dig Deeper:
REMIND, STRESS & INSIST UPON: Whether your a parent, teacher, or supervisor (maybe you have all of those aspects in your life), you know that when it comes to communicating ideas or policies, that you need to be continually pushing people to get them to comply. Some people might think our weekly worship services are repetitive: read the Bible, confess & repent, pray, read the Bible some more, talk about the Bible, pray some more, Sunday after Sunday. But this is exactly what Pastor Titus is instructed to do (v1, v8), so this is the pattern we continue to follow each week in the church.
SIMPLE INSTRUCTIONS: The things in v1-2 which Pastor Titus is to continually remind his congregation of are not complicated:
Obediently subject themselves to the government (as long as they can do so without violating God's commands);
Be devoted to doing whatever is good (v8 also);
Be peaceable, gentle, and get along with everyone.
As simple and uncomplicated as these instructions are, they are in direct conflict with our human nature, which is why we need the continual reminders to do these things.
BIG CHANGE: It would not be possible for God to accept you the way you were, mired in sin. God is holy and cannot have His holiness corrupted. He can't just say that you're acceptable, as that would violate His justice. That's why v5-6 is so critical: the Holy Spirit has given you new birth and made you completely new again, so that now you are acceptable to God, so that "we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life (v7).
BE PATIENT, BUT NOT TOLERANT: Last week we read that Paul told Pastor Timothy to "Opponents must be gently instructed in the hope that God will grant them repentance... so that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil (2 Tim 3:25-26)." As long as a person is struggling to press forward in their sanctification, patience must be extended. However, there must be no tolerance for people who don't seem to care about becoming more like Christ in their life, and if their behavior begins to divide the church, they should be warned twice, and if the sinful behavior persists, they must be cut off (v10). Sin is like a cancer, and if that cancer is not responding to medicine, it needs to be surgically removed so that the entire body is not infected.
Follow the AAA Prayer Pattern:
ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: A God full of kindness and love who saved you because of His mercy (v4-5)
ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray for the strength to devote yourself to doing whatever is good (v1, 8)
ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED:
