Titus 3

Christians are homeward bound, and heaven is our home. We know of heaven by faith. Faith stands on the truth of God's Word in light of the fact of Christ's victory over the grave. We have never seen heaven with our eyes. We live in the only world that we have known with our senses, this world here below. God is using us to establish His kingdom here. How are we, who are a part of the kingdom of heaven through Jesus, to relate to the kings and kingdoms of this world? Paul tells Titus to instruct the new believers on the island of Crete that they must submit to earthly rulers and authorities.

If God had not instructed us so clearly on these matters, we might have imagined a very different relationship between the Lord's church and the civil leaders where we live and serve right now. We might have thought that revolution would be our aim, or that the Lord's kingdom would find converts through strategies of coercion. What is plain from passages like Titus 3 and Romans 13 is that we are not to be looking for ways that we can fight against existing social order, but for ways that we can be obedient and ready for every good work. Though we may occasionally have to resist an evil rule where obedience to governing authorities would be to sin against God (Acts 5:29), resistance must be pursued with respect. We need to see the trap of angry evil speech and continuous quarreling, and choose instead the gentleness of perfect courtesy.

This makes good gospel sense, since we remember that we are not bringing to the world a message of our own merit. When we teach others about the cross, we do not speak about our natural innocence, but about our guilt. Christ is the sinless substitute for His people. We were foolish, disobedient, insubordinate, and full of lust and hate. He had none of these things until that moment on the cross when all our sins were placed on Him. He did not save us because of our works of righteousness, but because of His goodness, mercy, and covenant faithfulness. He is God our Savior, and He commands that, as much as it depends upon us, we should live at peace during our sojourn here below.

This life is not easy. Sometimes peace is not even possible, since others may insist on war. We have a powerful companion and comforter in our battle of quiet love in the Holy Spirit. Christ has washed away our sins and brought to us a new life in our souls by the Spirit He has poured out upon the church from heaven. We have received the righteousness of Christ as a gift, and we are heirs of an eternal heavenly kingdom that will never be taken away for us. Whatever suffering we may face as we seek to live in a peaceful and respectful way, it is only for a limited period of time. Our troubles here are temporary. Heaven is forever.

This understanding of the journey of life for the individual Christian and for the church is not a speculative doctrine, but something that we must insist on in the church as we devote ourselves to good works. Have we believed in God? We need to show that faith in this present age in the only world that we have ever known with our senses by living the life of quiet love according to God's commandments. This is the excellent and profitable way to use our days here below. Each day that we are given here is an opportunity to rest in Jesus and to follow Him in His love, and is not to be despised or squandered.

There is another way of spiritual living that must be rejected. It is the way of endless and contentious debates and foolish controversies that distract us from a life of service. This type of spiritual life is fruitless and worthless both for this age and the age to come. Any strange instruction that moves us far away from the truth of Christ and the cross, any esoteric and special religious pursuits that have little to do with faith, hope, and love, these are to be rejected by the Lord's ministers. Any people that insist on such things and who stir up division among the people of God cannot be tolerated. They need to be warned once or twice, but then Paul instructs Titus to have nothing to do with such a person. They would distract the church from the path of the Lord's dying love, and their example would not lead others in a good direction.

This world is not lacking in need. There are many opportunities to serve the Lord by caring for others. We have gifts that are to be used in our place and time. This is the way to experience fellowship with Jesus. This is the way to have unity of purpose and the power of the Holy Spirit. This is the way of the grace of God.