Many of you know that, for the next twelve weeks, the church has granted me a sabbatical. So, I’ll be out of office and spending some focused time with the family. We’ve got a short trip to Colorado; we’ll also be visiting some of the churches we pray for regularly. I will miss you during this time, and so will my family. But thank you for caring for us and helping us in this way.

We’re finishing Titus today; and Paul’s closing words seem so fitting as I move into the sabbatical and our church celebrates its twentieth anniversary. Titus ends like most of Paul’s letters. We find the names of other Christians, plans for missionary travels, some greetings, and a final blessing. This one also reinforces a theme we’ve encountered in the letter; and that is a focus on good works. So be watching for that.

If I had to boil it down, we’re looking at staying fruitful by leaning on God’s grace—that’s todays main idea. But what I’d like to do first is read the letter in its entirety and then focus on Paul’s closing words to see how we might stay fruitful by leaning on God’s grace. So 1:1, let’s listen carefully to the reading of God’s word…

¹ Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the sake of the faith of God’s elect and their knowledge of the truth, which accords with godliness, ² in hope of eternal life, which God, who never lies, promised before the ages began ³ and at the proper time manifested in his word through the preaching with which I have been entrusted by the command of God our Savior; ⁴ To Titus, my true child in a common faith: Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior. ⁵ This is why I left you in Crete, so that you might put what remained into order, and appoint elders in every town as I directed you— ⁶ if anyone is above reproach, the husband of one wife, and his children are [faithful] and not open to the charge of debauchery or insubordination. ⁷ For an overseer, as God’s steward, must be above reproach. He must not be arrogant or quick-tempered or a drunkard or violent or greedy for gain, ⁸ but hospitable, a lover of good, self-controlled, upright, holy, and disciplined. ⁹ He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it. ¹⁰ For there are many who are insubordinate, empty talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision party. ¹¹ They must be silenced, since they are upsetting whole families by teaching for shameful gain what they ought not to teach. ¹² One of the Cretans, a prophet of their own, said, “Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.” ¹³ This testimony is true. Therefore rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith, ¹⁴ not devoting themselves to Jewish myths and the commands of people who turn away from the truth. ¹⁵ To the pure, all things are pure, but to the defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure; but both their minds and their consciences are defiled. ¹⁶ They profess to know God, but they deny him by their works. They are detestable, disobedient, unfit for any good work. ¹ But as for you, teach what accords with sound doctrine. ² Older men are to be sober-minded, dignified, self-controlled, sound in faith, in love, and in steadfastness. ³ Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good, ⁴ and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, ⁵ to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled. ⁶ Likewise, urge the younger men to be self-controlled. ⁷ Show yourself in all respects to be a model of good works, and in your teaching show integrity, dignity, ⁸ and sound speech that cannot be condemned, so that an opponent may be put to shame, having nothing evil to say about us. ⁹ Bondservants are to be submissive to their own masters in everything; they are to be well-pleasing, not argumentative, ¹⁰ not pilfering, but showing all good faith, so that in everything they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior. ¹¹ For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, ¹² training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, ¹³ waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, ¹⁴ who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works. ¹⁵ Declare these things; exhort and rebuke with all authority. Let no one disregard you. ¹ Remind them to be submissive to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work, ² to speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all people. ³ For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another. ⁴ But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, ⁵ he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, ⁶ whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, ⁷ so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. ⁸ The saying is trustworthy, and I want you to insist on these things, so that those who have believed in God may be careful to devote themselves to good works. These things are excellent and profitable for people. ⁹ But avoid foolish controversies, genealogies, dissensions, and quarrels about the law, for they are unprofitable and worthless. ¹⁰ As for a person who stirs up division, after warning him once and then twice, have nothing more to do with him, ¹¹ knowing that such a person is warped and sinful; he is self-condemned. ¹² When I send Artemas or Tychicus to you, do your best to come to me at Nicopolis, for I have decided to spend the winter there. ¹³ Do your best to speed Zenas the lawyer and Apollos on their way; see that they lack nothing. ¹⁴ And let our people learn to devote themselves to good works, so as to help cases of urgent need, and not be unfruitful. ¹⁵ All who are with me send greetings to you. Greet those who love us in the faith. Grace be with you all.

Again, our focus will be Paul’s closing words in verses 12-15; and the main idea is staying fruitful by leaning on God’s grace. We’ll cover this in four parts. Ready on mission in verses 12-13. Fruitful with good works in verse 14. Together in Christ, verse 15. Then, lastly, leaning on God’s grace. Let’s take each of those in turn.

Ready for Mission

First, ready for mission. Many of Paul’s letters close with travel plans. That’s no different here. Verse 12: “When I send Artemas or Tychicus to you, do your best to come to me at Nicopolis, for I’ve decided to spend the winter there.” He’s writing to Titus from one city, with plans to travel to another city, Nicopolis. This would be on the western shore of Macedonia—possibly in process of getting the gospel to Spain.

But we know from elsewhere that travel was often avoided during winter, especially by sea.[i] Now, it’s not clear to me why Paul wants Titus in Nicopolis instead of Artemas or Tychicus. Perhaps there were newer works that Titus was better suited for; so Paul wants to meet up and discuss these missionary endeavors. According to 2 Timothy 4:10, it seems that the meeting in Nicopolis happened; and from there Paul sent Titus north to Dalmatia. We also learn in 2 Timothy 4:11 that Tychicus was sent to Ephesus. So, likely Artemas ends up replacing Titus on Crete for that winter.

In any case, we must appreciate how concerned Paul is for the maturity of the churches. Until things are in good order, he doesn’t want these churches to go without faithful representatives. But these representatives are often on the move, discipling multiple churches on one island, then sailing across sea to another town, then circling back to visit and make sure all is well. The apostles never stop with just evangelism. They were always concerned to see churches onto maturity. And we’re getting a little window into that activity as Paul moves his delegates around.

But notice too what’s unique about these representatives. Artemas is a Greek name. Tychicus appears in Acts 20:4. He’s a convert from Asia. He eventually becomes one of Paul’s trusted letter carriers.[ii] In verse 13, we meet Zenas the lawyer—also a Greek name. But we’re also seeing how Christianity spread to all levels of society. Not just the uneducated but also lawyers were converted and then commissioned to advance the gospel. He’s traveling with Apollos, who is a Jew, a native of Alexandria in Egypt. From Acts 18:24, we learn that he’s skilled in rhetoric and mighty in the Scriptures.

In other words, just by naming these brothers and knowing even a little of their backgrounds—it helps us see the mission of God. Don’t let your eyes glaze over when you read the endings of Paul’s letters. Even as he’s describing his missionary travels and people he knows, God’s mission stands out. It’s the whole point of everything that’s gone before. The church’s good order is set within the framework of mission. Having good order isn’t just about us; it’s for reaching the world.

God is saving people from all over. In this letter, God has saved people from Asia to Egypt, from Macedonia to those on the Island of Crete. Also, at all levels of society—you had the “liars and lazy gluttons” on Crete, and you had a lawyer and an educated orator from north Africa. God was bringing people of all kinds to faith in Jesus.

Part of staying fruitful is staying ready for mission. When you read the New Testament, mission was not something Christians squeezed into whatever margins they had left. Rather, their whole lives were ready to serve Christ in whatever place he had them. For some—like Titus, Artemas, Tychicus, Zenas, Apollos—that meant traveling to other cities, other regions, other countries as needed for the gospel’s advance. For others, that meant staying put and serving the family, your local church, staying ready for every good work—as Paul already explained in chapters 1-3 of this letter. Elders were needed, godly families needed, good works adorning the gospel needed—all that needed to keep happening on Crete. But whether going or staying, all of it serves the mission of God; and we see that more clearly when these missionary travels cause the lens to zoom out.

Do you experience this when hearing from some of our missionaries? I can get so fixed on solving immediate problems—or maybe I’m focusing for a long time on that next thing that needs to be done—and in the process I lose sight of God’s mission. But then you get an email update from a missionary, or you hear a report about God’s work in Thailand (like at our last members meeting), or you’re praying for Joshua’s trip to Hong Kong this summer—and suddenly the lens widens. All that you’re doing fits into that grand story of God’s mission; and through Christ he has made us part of it. The whole church has a role to play in the grand mission of God.

Fruitful with Good Works

Which leads to a second point—fruitful with good works. In this mission, God has given us good works to be doing. This is a major theme in Titus. In 2:7, Titus was to model good works. 3:1 says to be “ready for every good work.” 3:8 says, “insist on these things, so that those who have believed in God may be careful to devote themselves to good works.” Now again in verse 14, “And let our people learn to devote themselves to good works, so as to help cases of urgent need, and not be unfruitful.”

Notice how he says it: “let our people.” He’s drawing a contrast between others in the letter. The Cretans themselves tended to be lazy gluttons (Tit 1:14). Also, the false teachers weren’t in this for good works; they were only in it to serve themselves, “for shameful gain” (Tit 1:11). And those who followed them became the sort of people who were “unfit for any good work” (Tit 1:16). In 3:9—those who distract themselves with foolish controversies become unprofitable and worthless.

By contrast, “let our people learn to devote themselves to good works.” How did they become “our people”? Who set them apart from the others in Crete? Well, 2:14 already answered that: “Jesus Christ gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.” Jesus breaks our bondage to selfishness. Jesus purifies our hearts to love what’s good, to pursue what’s good on behalf of others. As Christians, the grace of God in Christ causes us to devote ourselves to good works.

Still, we have to learn this, don’t we? It doesn’t just happen automatically. We must give ourselves to practicing good works. We must think strategically about good works and then apply ourselves to them. A few weeks ago, we learned that the phrase “good works” refers to Christ-like actions that reflect God’s goodness in seeking to meet the needs of others. Isn’t that what we find here? “So as to help cases of urgent need.”

Verse 13 even provides an example: “Do your best to speed Zenas the lawyer and Apollos on their way; see that they lack nothing.” That means show them hospitality. Give them a place to stay. Feed them. Clothe them. Send them on their way with plenty of supplies. The opportunity is similar to the one we find in 3 John 6-8, “You will do well to send them on their journey in a manner worthy of God. For they have gone out for the sake of the name, accepting nothing from the Gentiles. Therefore we ought to support people like these, that we may be fellow workers for the truth.”

Doing good works is basically recognizing immediate needs like this and then seeking to meet those needs. George Knight put it this way: “[providing] for people with pressing needs, must be the logical and natural extension of submitting to the Lordship of Christ.”[iii] I think you guys do this well. Just this week, you were jumping on two different Meal-Trains. Others of you were taking care of our facilities. Without being asked, one of you repaired the chair racks. Bill works with IJM, and some of you have signed up to help their family when he’s out of town. Others of you will learn of needs and then pass along money to help pay a bill or fix a car. In grief, you surround one another.

But something else—I took thirty minutes this week to consider the various missionaries that Redeemer Church has helped support over the last 20 years. These would be families you’ve sent out and supported, or gospel workers that have passed through town, needing a place to stay (like what Paul describes here). And this map on the screen shows what that looks like close-up [Map #1]. This is what it looks like worldwide [Map #2]. Sometimes you might wonder whether your efforts are making an impact, whether the Lord is using you. Yes, you guys are like a hub for missionary care. You are truly touching the world as you meet the needs set before you.

Are there ways we could grow in these efforts? Of course. Are their needs we could’ve met more fully and didn’t? I’m sure. But I hope you’re encouraged by what the Lord has done through you. As one of your pastors, I’m encouraged by you; and I hope these truths in Titus stir you to abound in good works even more. A fruitful church is a church devoted to good works. So, let’s keep thinking strategically about our lives and about the pressing needs God wants us to meet, so that we don’t prove unfruitful.

Together in Christ

A fruitful church is also together in Christ—that’s our third point. Verse 15, “All who are with me send greetings to you. Greet those who love us in the faith.” Paul started this letter by saying he’s an apostle “for the sake of the faith of God’s elect” (Tit 1:1). He also addressed the letter to Titus, “my true child in a common faith.” The faith in view is faith in Jesus Christ as he’s revealed in the gospel entrusted to the apostles. The greeting in view is one of brotherly affection for Titus; and Titus is to show the same brotherly affection for those who share that common faith in Christ.

But what’s also seems implied is that Titus should not greet those who fail to love Paul and the others in the faith. 2 John 10 brings serves as a clarifying contrast. In 2 John, some teachers were infiltrating the church saying Jesus Christ hadn’t come in the flesh (2 John 7). They were not preaching the same Christ as the apostles. John says this: “If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching [i.e., the teaching of Christ as delivered by the apostles], do not receive him into your house or give him any greeting, for whoever greets him takes part in his wicked works.”

These weren’t just non-Christians in general. These were teachers pretending to be on the inside but deceiving others. Something similar is happening in Crete. We learned from 1:10 that deceivers had gone out, and they were upsetting entire households by teaching what they ought not to teach. Titus must not greet them as if everything is fine. 3:10 showed how Titus must warn divisive false teachers. But for those who “love us in the faith,” for those who share a brotherly affection for Paul and the others who preach the true gospel—Titus must greet them wholeheartedly as family.

What’s Paul doing by stating things this way? He’s helping Titus (and us) discern that the center of Christian fellowship revolves around faith in Christ. Our love for each other as a church is carefully defined by our common faith in Christ. Our fellowship isn’t built around a particular ethnicity or cultural background or social status or age-group. It’s not about anything in us or done by us. Our togetherness is built around our common faith in the gospel of Jesus as preached by the apostles.

And we must protect that togetherness around Christ. If someone comes into our church preaching a different Christ, we can’t pretend to have fellowship with them, greeting them as if everything is fine. If someone comes in saying, “You know, you could really grow this church by basing it on a particular affinity group,” or “You know, this social cause is a hot topic right now, let’s make everything in our church about that”—if people bring stuff like that, we must say No. We can’t let anyone distract us from keeping the center of our togetherness Jesus Christ as preached by the apostles. And for those who love Christ, greet them as your closest family members.

Leaning on God’s Grace

Final point—leaning on God’s grace. Nearly every Sunday since February, you’ve heard us repeat this main line: a church in good order devotes itself to gospel doctrine, godliness, and good works. But none of that is possible apart from the grace of God. Paul ends the letter with “Grace be with you all.”

God is the source of grace. We learned that in 1:4, “Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior.” We also learned that God, in grace, planned our salvation, even before we had a chance to mess things up. God elected us in Christ, 1:1. He formed a plan before the ages began, 1:3 says.

This grace also appeared in the person and work of Jesus Christ, 2:11 says, “bringing salvation for all people.” Jesus gave himself to redeem us. God saved us not because of works done by us in righteousness, 3:5. No, God saved us according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, who he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ. He justified us by his grace, 3:7 says.

But his grace still didn’t stop. Even more, his grace continues to train us—2:11. It trains us to “deny ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age.” And one day, this same grace will bring us home. 2:13, we are “waiting for the blessed hope, the appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ.” The grace that had a plan before history and appeared in history, will finish our salvation at the end of history. In Christ, 3:7 says, we are “heirs according to the hope of eternal life.”.

This is the grace in view when Paul says, “Grace be with you all.” It’s God’s free and extravagant generosity in Christ. I hope you find immense assurance in that grace. It’s not just for Titus; it’s for you all. Very soon, you too might face false teachers who undermine the gospel. You might face lies that confuse you and lead to doubts. The world will try to allure you from the truth. You might face a steady string of hardships causing you to lose hope. You might enter days of great need and people fail to see you and help you. In the middle of all that, you’ll have your own sinful tendencies to battle. How will you make it? How will you stay fruitful? With man, it’s impossible.

But not with God. With God all things are possible. That’s why Paul prays, “Grace be with you all.” A church in good order doesn’t look to their own strength and resources to make these things happen. We look to the Lord and ask his help. Grace will be with you at the office tomorrow. Grace will be with you in the morning when kids argue over who’s first in the bathroom. Grace will be with you when your brother or sister offends you and you must forebear and forgive. Grace will be with you when cancer hits a family member, and you need help holding on to God’s promises. Grace will be with you when you’re tempted to give up. God’s grace will be with us every day.

Titus himself will soon have to move on from these churches. He will no longer be present; and that could be a frightening thing for them. What will they do without Titus? They will look to the Lord. God’s grace will always stay; it will always be enough for them. He’s their true Shepherd. The same is true for us. God’s grace will always stay; it will always be enough for you, beloved. He will meet you in your need and see you through. We stay faithful only by leaning on his grace.

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[i] Acts 27:12; 28:11; 1 Cor 16:6.

[ii] Eph 6:21; Col 4:7.

[iii] George Knight, The Pastoral Epistles (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1999), 460.