Titus 2

Titus 2:1-10 – Instructions for various categories, continued

• Titus 2:5 – See I Peter 3:5. Submission should not be out of fear.
• Titus 2:6-8 – Young men are to be sensible and have self-control. See I Timothy 4:12. Be sound in speech.
• Titus 2:9-10 – See I Timothy 6:1-2.
• Notice the four purpose statements:
  • Titus 2:4 – “so that they may encourage the young women”
  • Titus 2:5 – “so that the word of God will not be dishonored”
  • Titus 2:8 – “so that the opponent will be put to shame, having nothing bad to say about us”
  • Titus 2:10 – “so that they will adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in every respect”

Titus 2:11-14 – “the grace of God has appeared”

• Titus 2:14 – See I Peter 1:18-19. God wants us to be zealous for good works – not just avoid evil.

Titus 2:15 – “speak and exhort and reprove with all authority”

• The authority comes from God – it is not anything in the speaker.
• The Bible must be the reason we do or teach things. We can’t just say, “because I said so.”

Titus 3

Titus 3:1-3 – General reminders

• If we are being disobedient and constantly griping, we are sinning!

Titus 3:4-7 – “He saved us”

• Titus 3:5 – “Washing of regeneration” here likely refers to baptism.

Titus 3:8-9 – “Speak confidently … avoid foolish controversies”

Titus 3:10-11 – “Reject a factious man”

• Try to work with a divisive man, but if he won’t stop causing trouble, he must be removed from the group.

Titus 3:12-15 – Final greetings

Introduction

• I Corinthians 2:6
• I Corinthians 14:20

I need to recognize my own faults and improve.

• Genesis 3:11-13
• Exodus 32 – Aaron blamed the fire for the golden calf.
• I Samuel 15 – Saul tried to shift blame to the people.
• I Kings 18:17 – Ahab blamed Elijah.
• Blaming others is spiritually immature.
• Adam and Eve both told the truth but still erred in blaming others for their sin.
• Luke 23:39-43
• I John 1:8
• Proverbs 28:13

I need to know that my actions have consequences and plan ahead.

• Proverbs 6:27-32 – These behaviors set you up for trouble.
• Proverbs 19:3 – We mess up our lives and then blame God.
• I Corinthians 8:9, 13 – We must think ahead and watch out for our brethren.
• I Corinthians 9:11-14, 23
• I Corinthians 10:27-33

I need to prioritize spiritual things.

• Luke 9:23
• Luke 12:19-21 – parable of the rich fool
• Luke 16:25 – the rich man and Lazarus
• Luke 18:22 – the rich young ruler
• What is the main thing I need to keep in mind?

Part 3: The Depths of Israel’s apostasy (Judges 17:1-21:25), continued

Moral and societal corruption (Judges 19:1-21:24), continued

Moral outrage at Gibeah (Judges 19:22-30), continued

• See Leviticus 18:22. This was, of course, specifically forbidden by the Law of Moses.
• This is similar behavior to what happened in Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 19).
• This is the kind of behavior that eventually results when everyone does what is right in his own eyes.
• Judges 19:27 – The Levites’ behavior toward her was extremely callous.
• Judges 19:29 – Compare I Samuel 11 when Saul dismembered an ox and sent it throughout the land to bring urgent attention to a matter.
• Judges 19:30 – This low point in Israel’s history is referenced in Hosea 9:9; 10:9.

Civil war (Judges 20:1-48)

• Judges 20:1 – Mizpah is in Benjamin, so Israelites were assembling at Benjamin’ doorstep.
• Judges 20:15 – The 26,000 Benjamites were up against 400,000 Israelites – about a 15:1 ratio.
• Judges 20:18 – Compare Judges 1 when Judah was also called on to go first.
• Judges 20:26 – This was not something often seen from Israel in the book of Judges. They were tearfully seeking God and His guidance.
• See Mark 3:24. A house divided against itself cannot stand.
• Judges 20:12-13 – The Benjamites were offered a way out, but would not take it. How often do we make the same mistake out of pride?

Class 13 Takeaway

• The Israelite civil war began because of the wicked actions of a few men in one town and was exacerbated by their brothers’ unwillingness to stand up against their evil deeds.
• To avoid a similar firestorm in our lives, let’s ensure we are always pursuing what makes for peace and promotes unity in our relationships, but also that we have the courage to take a stand against evil – even when it hits close to home (Romans 14:19; Ephesians 4:3, 13; 5:11).

Scope

“church”

• This refers to ALL the saved (Ephesians 5:23).

“churches”

• This refers to a limited group of (presumably) saved people in a certain location (Philippians 1:1).

Entrance and removal

“church”

• God decides
• Acts 2:47 – The Textus Receptus manuscript (used as the basis for the KJV and NKJV) includes ekklesia here. Other manuscripts do not.
• John 15:6

“churches”

• People decide (Acts 9:26-28; I Corinthians 5:2, 7, 13; III John 1:9-10)
• Acts 18:27
• In I Corinthians 5, they were told to control their membership.
• Diotrephes was attempting to keep people out of a local church in III John 1.
• Church directories are not the same as God’s book of life! II Timothy 2:19

Remember

• The universal church is NOT composed of local churches. It’s composed of individual Christians.

Beginning and ending

“church”

• The church began when people were first saved (~ 33 A.D., Acts 2:36-47) and will never come to an end (Matthew 16:18; I Thessalonians 4:17).
• Hebre3ws 9:15 – Jews under the Law of Moses were also redeemed by the blood of Christ. See also Galatians 4:5
• Hebrews 9:11-12 – When were these Old Testament people saved? When Jesus entered the most holy place and gave Himself as a sacrifice.
• The church will never end. Satan can do nothing to stop it.

“churches”

• They begin and end any time since Acts 2 (Acts 11:21-26; 15:41; 16:5; Revelation 2:5).
• The church at Benchley began on October 23, 1994.

Conclusion

• Are you a member of THE church described in the Bible?

Titus 1

Introduction

• Titus was likely written while Paul was free, between his two imprisonments.
• II Corinthians 7-8 – Titus was a good man and instrumental iin some work in Corinth.

Titus 1:1-4 – Salutation

• Titus 1:2 – What God promises will happen.

Titus 1:5-9 – Elder qualifications

• Titus 1:5 – This implies that a church without elders is not yet fully formed. See Acts 6:3.
• Elders oversee the work of the church. This includes monetary decisions, but decisions about money are not their primary responsibility.

Titus 1:10-16 – The opposition – why there is a need for truth!

• Titus 1:12 – This quote is probably from Epimenides from Crete. In those days, Cretans had a terrible reputation, even to the point that highway robbery was considered honorable.
• The plan and need was for Titus to simply teach the whole gospel. Titus was not told to water down the message because of the environment in which he was preaching.
• How much must Titus has cherished this letter!

Titus 2

Titus 2:1-10 – Instructions for various categories

• Titus 2:4 – In the current environment, it can be tricky to give advice in a way where it will be accepted, but it should still be given. Young ladies, see out advice from wise older women!