His Word Today

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,” (Titus 3:3–5 (ESV)

 The following message was preached by Pastor John Piper February 3, 2008. He entitled it Through Washing of Regeneration. The biblical text is Titus 3:5.

1. By the Kindness of God.

If you are born again—if you were wakened from spiritual death, and given eyes to see, and ears to hear, and a spiritual sense to taste that Jesus is supremely satisfying, and a heart to trust him—it is owing to the kindness of God. That key first word in verse 4 (chrestotes) means kindness or goodness. Paul uses it in Ephesians 2:7: “[God made us alive] so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.”

God loves to lavish kindness on us. The bigger your conception of God, the more amazing this is. God is the creator of the universe. He holds the galaxies in being. He governs everything that happens in the world, down to the fall of a bird and the change in your hair color. He is infinitely strong and wise and holy and just. And Paul says, he is kind. And because of this kindness we were born again. Let your very existence as a Christian tell you every hour of every day: God is kind to you.

2. By the Philanthropy of God.

The second way Paul describes what God is like is translated in the ESV “loving kindness.” The word is philanthropia from which we get our word philanthropy. Love of humanity. This is not a common word for the love of God. In fact, it only occurs here in the New Testament. Paul says that God’s heart inclines to do humanity’s good. He is in the highest sense a philanthropist. So, Paul is saying, if you are born again, it happened because of God’s inclination to bless humanity.

Then he says something absolutely essential and Christ-exalting. He says in verse 4 that this kindness and this humanity-blessing inclination “appeared.” “But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us . . . through the washing of regeneration.” What does that mean? The kindness and love of God appeared. It means that if they simply stay there in the being of God and don’t come down and take human form among us, they would save nobody.

Jesus: The Appearing of God’s Kindness and Philanthropy.

How did they appear? How did the kindness and love of God appear? The answer is found in noticing the fact that God is called “our Savior” in verse 4 (“the kindness of God our Savior appeared”). And Jesus is called “our Savior” in verse 6: “Whom [that is, the Spirit] he [God] poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior.” In other words, God “our Savior” appeared in the person of Christ “our Savior.” Jesus is the appearing of the goodness and love of God.

This means that our regeneration is owing to the historical work of Christ. We have seen this over and over. New birth is not a vague spiritual change disconnected from history. It is an objective historical act of the Spirit of God connecting us by faith to the historical, incarnate—the appearing—Lord Jesus so that the life he now has as the crucified and risen Savior has become our life because we are united to him. New birth happens because Jesus came into the world as the kindness and love of God and died for sins and rose again.

3. By the Mercy of God, Not Our Deeds.

We close by mentioning the third aspect of God’s nature that explains our new birth, and by mentioning the opposite, which would be to explain it by our own deeds. Verse 5: “He saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration.”

Mercy. If you are born again, you owe it to the mercy of God. God is merciful. We didn’t deserve to be born again. We were hard and resistant and spiritually dead. God would have been just to pass us by. “But God, being rich in mercy . . . even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ” (Ephesians 2:4-5). We owe our new life—our new birth—to mercy.

4. Not Our Best Works and Best Motives.

God is kind. God is loving toward humanity. God is merciful. That is how we were born again. God did it. Paul could have left it like that. Only positive statements. But he didn’t. He said in verse 5, “He saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness.” He knows our tendencies. We tend to think that if something good happens to us, it must be because we did something good. Paul knows this about us. And he warns.

When it comes to salvation through the new birth, don’t think that way. Notice carefully, he does not say: This salvation was not owing to works done in legalism. He says: This salvation—this new birth—is not owing to works done in righteousness. Not only your worst works and worst motives, but even your best works and best motives are excluded. They didn’t make you regenerate; they don’t cause you to stay regenerate. Staying regenerate causes them.

5. Not Baptism.

This is one reason why I do not think the “washing of regeneration” in verse 5 refers to baptism. Whether circumcision in the old covenant or baptism in the new covenant—it is not good things we do that causes us to be born again. The kindness of God. The love of God. The absolutely free mercy of God explains our new birth. Not circumcision. Not baptism. Not any works done by us in righteousness. New birth comes and brings righteous deeds with it, not the other way around.

Gladly Submit to God’s Mercy.

May God give you eyes to see that nothing could make you humbler and nothing could make you happier than the truth that you have born again, not because of anything you did, but because of the mercy of God. Submit to that, and be glad.

More to come. May the Lord’s truth and grace be found here. Have a blessed day in the Lord.

Soli deo Gloria!

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,” (Titus 3:3–5 (ESV)

 The following message was preached by Pastor John Piper February 3, 2008. He entitled it Through Washing of Regeneration. The biblical text is Titus 3:5.

The Meaning of Grace: But God . . .

Then comes one of the most precious phrases in the Bible (verse 4): “But . . . God.” We were foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to sinful pleasures, malicious, envious, hated and hating. But . . . God . . . “But when the goodness and loving kindness of God appeared, he [God!] saved us.”

This is the same amazing sequence that we saw in Ephesians 2:3-5: “[We were] carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved.” We were dead, but God made us alive. This is the meaning of grace. The dead can do nothing to make themselves live. But God . . .

That’s what we have here in Titus 3:3-5. We were slaves to desires and pleasures that were so powerful we could not taste and see that the Lord was good. So far as our ability to know and trust and love God was concerned, we were dead. But . . . God. Verse 4-5: “But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, 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.”

How Does the New Birth Happen?

So we turn now to today’s question: How does God do it? How does the new birth happen? Just like we saw in the words of Jesus in John 3, Paul describes regeneration as a cleansing and a renewing. At the end of Titus 3:5, Paul says that God saved us “by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit.” Regeneration is a kind of washing. And regeneration is a kind of renewal.

Recall that Jesus said in John 3:5, “Unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.” So in John 3, you have born of water and the Spirit. And in Titus 3, you have washing of regeneration and renewal in the Holy Spirit.

My argument in John 3 was that this language of water and Spirit came from Ezekiel 36:25-27 where God promises his people,

I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. . . . And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes.

Jesus was saying that the time of the new covenant promises has arrived. Ezekiel’s promise is coming to pass by the Spirit in connection with me. The Spirit gives life (John 6:63). And I am the way the truth and the life (John 14:6). And when the Spirit connects you to me by faith you experience a new birth. And there are at least two ways to look at it: cleansing from all that is past and renewal for all that is future.

Both Clean and New

So when Paul says here in verse 5 that God “saved us . . . by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit,” he means roughly the same thing: The promises of the new covenant have arrived. The beginning of the kingdom of God is here. The final universal “regeneration” has begun. And your new birth is a cleansing from all the sin that you have ever committed; and it is the creation of a new nature by the Holy Spirit. You are still you after the new birth. But there are two changes: You are clean, and you are new. That is what it means to be born again, regenerated.

How did God bring that about?

What Paul wants to emphasize here is that it is owing to the way God is, not owing to what we have done—even done in righteousness. Verses 4 and 5 give three descriptions of the way God is and puts this in contrast to anything we might try to do to be born again. “But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, 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.”

Salvation is the big overarching idea in this text (verse 5: “he saved us”). But the specific way he does it is regeneration. And Paul traces both of them back to God’s “goodness,” his “loving kindness” (verse 4), and his “mercy” (verse 5). This is Paul’s ultimate answer to how God regenerates sinners. God is good. God is loving. God is merciful.

More to come. May the Lord’s truth and grace be found here. Have a blessed day in the Lord.

Soli deo Gloria!

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,” (Titus 3:3–5 (ESV)

 The following message was preached by Pastor John Piper February 3, 2008. He entitled it Through Washing of Regeneration. The biblical text is Titus 3:5.

Notice the word regeneration in verse 5: “He [that is, God] 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.” Regeneration is another way of speaking about the new birth or the second birth or being born again. So that is our focus again today. The new birth. Or: regeneration.

We have talked about what the new birth is. And we have talked about why it is necessary. And in the last message in this series, we talked about how it happens. Today we continue that question: How does God bring about the new birth? But first, there are some very important new signals here about what it is and why we need it. Consider one of each.

New Signals About the New Birth

Consider an unusual signal about what the new birth is. The word for regeneration in verse 5 (“[God] saved us . . . by the washing of regeneration” [palingenesias in Greek]) is used only one other place in the entire Bible, namely, Matthew 19:28. Jesus says to the twelve apostles, “Truly, I say to you, in the new world (a very loose translation of “in the regeneration” [Greek en te palingenesia]) when the Son of Man will sit on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.” This a reference to the rebirth of the creation. It’s like saying “in the new heavens and the new earth” that Isaiah spoke about in Isaiah 65:17 and 66:22.

1) The Regeneration of All Creation

Jesus conceives of the new birth as something that will happen to all creation, not just human beings. Humans are not the only beings that are fallen and defiled and disordered. The whole creation is. Why is that? The answer is that, when human beings sinned at the very beginning, God made all creation a visible display of the horrors of sin. Disease, degeneration, natural disasters—these are all part of the visual, audible, touchable images of the moral outrage that sin entered the world and pervades the world.

The most important passage in the Bible about this is Romans 8:20-23. And it’s important for this sermon because it confirms and clarifies what Jesus said about the creation undergoing a “new birth”—the “regeneration.”

The creation [All of it! Not just the people.] was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, [namely, God, since only God can subject the creation to futility in hope] in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. [There will be a great renewal someday and it will happen so that creation joins the children of God in their glorious renewal.] For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. [There’s the imagery of new birth, just like Jesus said.] And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.

So, if we put it all together, the picture seems to be something like this: God’s purpose is that the entire creation be born again. That is, the whole universe will replace its futility and corruption and disease and degeneration and disasters with a whole new order—a new heaven and a new earth. This will be the great, universal regeneration. The great, universal new birth.

When Paul uses this word in Titus 3:5, he wants us to see that our new birth is a part of that. The newness we have by virtue of our regeneration now is the first fruits of the greater newness we will have when our bodies are made new as a part of the universe being made new. Paul said in Romans 8:23, “We . . . who have the first fruits of the Spirit [because we have been born again by the Spirit] groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.”

So, when you think of your new birth, think of it as the first installment of what is coming. Your body and the whole world will one day take part in this regeneration. God’s final purpose is not spiritually renewed souls inhabiting decrepit bodies in a disease and disaster ravaged world. His purpose is a renewed world with renewed bodies and renewed souls that take all our renewed senses and make them a means of enjoying and praising God.

When you hear the word regeneration in Titus 3:5, hear it that big. “[God] 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.” When he says in verse 7 that the aim of the new birth is “that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life,” he means heirs of everything included in that eternal life—new heavens, new earth, new body, new perfected relationships, new sinless sight of all that is good and glorious, and new capacities for a kind of pleasure in God that will exceed all your dreams.

That’s the unusual signal of what the new birth is: It’s the first installment of the final, universal regeneration of the universe.

2) Why We Need This Regeneration

Then there is a clear signal why we need this regeneration. It’s found in verse 3: “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.” That is not a description of the material creation. That’s a description of the human heart. Those are all moral evils, not physical evils. Foolish. Disobedient. Led astray. Slaves to sinful pleasures. Malice. Envy. Hated and hating. We are all in there somewhere.

The reason we need regeneration is that God will not welcome such hearts into his new creation. As Jesus said, unless we are born again, we will not see the kingdom of God (John 3:3). This is why all of us must be born again.

More to come. May the Lord’s truth and grace be found here. Have a blessed day in the Lord.

Soli deo Gloria!

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.” (Titus 3:14–15 (ESV)

The Apostle Paul brings his letter to Titus to a conclusion focusing on the believer’s good works accompanying salvation. It is how he began this epistle when he wrote, “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,” (Titus 1:1 (ESV).

Knowledge of the truth, which another way of saying justification by grace alone, through faith alone, in the person and work of Jesus Christ alone, results in good works or sanctification (Eph. 2:8-10). Without accompanying sanctification which evidence the believer’s justification, an individual’s so-called faith is dead (James 2:14-26). In other words, sanctification follows justification.

“Justification is based entirely upon the work of Christ wrought for us; sanctification is principally a work wrought in us. Justification is a deliverance from punishment; sanctification is a capacity to worship Him acceptably. Justification is by a righteousness without us; sanctification is by a holiness wrought in us. Justification is by Christ as Priest; sanctification is by Christ as King,” explains A.W. Pink in The Doctrine of Sanctification.

Paul described sanctification with the words good works, fruit and help in today’s text. Without sanctification, which is a dedication for holiness and godliness, the individual is unfruitful. Jesus said that by their fruits you will know who is a true believer (Matt. 7:15-20; Gal. 5:16-24).

Believers in Christ are to devote themselves to good works. The phrase, devote themselves (προΐστασθαι; proistasthai), is a present middle infinitive verb. This means the believing community must presently, personally and unceasingly strive to be active in helping.

Being active in helping may involve cases of urgent need (ἀναγκαίας χρείας; anankaias chreias). These are indispensable and immediate situations in which the pastor and the church must respond. It may involve helping a family with meals and child care when a family’s mom is hospitalized. It is rising from sleep when the phone rings a 3:00 am and you become aware a church member has suffered a heart attack. It’s driving a family to the airport during a snowstorm on Christmas morning because their mini-van snaped a serpentine belt while they were in route.

“Since we are created “in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them” (Eph. 2:10), every Christian (who is justified by faith alone) will begin to obey the commandments of God, however hesitantly and flawed that obedience might be. This is true not because we have a divine spark within us that responds to God’s grace but because “it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure” (Phil. 2:13),” explains Dr. R. C. Sproul.

“Since our sanctification is every bit as much an act of God’s grace as our justification, all those who have been justified by grace alone, through faith alone, on account of Christ alone, will live according to all of God’s commandments. Since our obedience (like our sin) is covered by the blood and righteousness of Christ (making our imperfect works truly good), our heavenly Father delights in our feeble efforts to do good. And knowing this to be the case creates within us the desire to obey all the more,” concludes Dr. Sproul.

As far a we can ascertain, what were the Apostle Paul’s final words to Titus and the believers in Christ on the Island of Crete? Grace be with you all. May God’s unmerited favor not only deliver you from the penalty of sin, but may His sovereign and sustaining grace also deliver you from the power and presence of sin. As Paul’s words to Titus be my words of prayer to you.

May the Lord be glorified in all who claim Him to be their Savior, God and King. Have a blessed day.

Soli deo Gloria!

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.” (Titus 3:12–13 (ESV)

As was the Apostle’s Paul literary custom, he concluded his letter to Titus by mentioning fellow servants and disciples of Jesus. These followers specifically included Artemas, Tychicus, Zenas and Apollos. What do we know of these individuals?

“Artemas was a Christian coworker with Paul, whom the apostle considered as a replacement for Titus on the island of Crete (Titus 3:12). Later tradition describes Artemas as bishop of Lystra,” explains Walter A Elwell in the Tyndale Bible Dictionary. Aside from Paul’s mention of Artemas in today’s text, nothing else is known.

There is more information concerning Tychicus. He was one of the believers who accompanied Paul to collect and deliver an offering for the Jerusalem Church (Acts 20:1-4). He is also mentioned with Trophimus of Ephesus, and was likely also a native of that city. He served as the courier for Paul’s letter to Ephesus (Eph. 6:21), Philemon and the Colossians (Col. 4:7). Tychicus was involved with the delivery of these so-called Prison Epistles.

“Most believe that he was also one of the two Christians (with Trophimus) who accompanied Titus in the delivery of 2 Corinthians (2 Cor. 8:16–24). Paul mentioned Tychicus twice in his later letters, first sending him to Crete to be with Titus (Titus 3:12), and later mentioning to Timothy that he had sent Tychicus to Ephesus (2 Tim. 4:12). Evidently, Tychicus and Paul were close friends as well as coworkers, since Paul frequently referred to Tychicus as a “beloved brother,” states Elwell.

Zenas was a lawyer who Paul requested Titus to help with his travels in Crete (Titus 3:13). Aside from this, nothing else in know of him.

Much more is known about Apollos. He was an Alexandrian Jew (Acts 18:24). The name is abbreviated from Apollonius. He came to Ephesus in ad 52 during Paul’s visit to Palestine (Acts 18:22). He had accurate knowledge of the story of Jesus. He combined natural gifts of eloquence, or learning, with an understanding of the Old Testament. He was also enthusiastic in proclaiming biblical truth as he knew it (Acts 18:24–25).

There was a conspicuous gap in his knowledge concerning the outpouring of the Holy Spirit and the ordinance of believers’ baptism. Aquila and Priscilla patiently instructed him (Acts 18:26). From Ephesus, Apollos went on to Corinth. He was an expert at Christian apologetics when dealing with the Jews (Acts 18:27–28). He ultimately had a fruitful ministry at Corinth (1 Cor. 1:12; 3:1-6, 21-23; 4:6; 16:12).

“He is last mentioned in Titus 3:13 as making some sort of journey,” concludes R.E. Nixon in The New Bible Dictionary.

Why was it important for Paul to mention these four men? Aside from the historical reasons given in the text, it shows that even the most inconspicuous disciples of Jesus are profitable in the Kingdom of God. There is no such thing as an unimportant servant of Christ.

Wherever, and however, you currently serve the Lord, rest assured that it has merit and value in bringing glory to God (I Peter 4:10-11). Have a blessed day in the Lord.

Soli deo Gloria!   

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.” (Titus 3:10–11 (ESV)

“In doctrine, therefore, we should always have regard to usefulness, so that everything that does not contribute to godliness shall be held in no estimation,” says 16^th century Protestant Reformer John Calvin. In other words, believers in Christ, especially pastors, must discern when it is useful to debate a fool and when it is not (Prov. 26:4–5).

What is a storm warning? At sea, a storm warning is a warning issued by the National Weather Service of the United States when winds between 48 and 63 knots are occurring or predicted to occur soon. The winds must not be associated with a tropical cyclone. If the winds are associated with a tropical cyclone, a tropical storm warning will be substituted for the storm warning and less severe gale warning. 

How may this term be used regarding the church? Within the local body of Christ, a storm warning would be concerns about an errant church member or attendee who is beginning to stir up trouble. This may be over doctrine, philosophy of ministry or the church’s leadership. How should the pastor and church elders handle such a situation or an individual?

“Apparently, Titus and the church he served on Crete were beset by divisive persons, and it may even be that the leaders were uncertain as to how long they should put up with the troublers, which would explain why Paul gives the instructions he does in Titus 3:10–11. In this case, the malcontents were false teachers who were promoting rank heresy of some kind (1:10–16), and division in the church plainly results whenever teachers deny cardinal doctrines of the Christian faith. Contrary to the notions of heretical leaders who control certain denominations, those who teach against biblical doctrine are divisive, not those orthodox congregations who wish to separate from them,” states Dr. R. C. Sproul.

When it becomes obvious someone in the church delights in stirring up trouble and division, the Apostle Paul instructed Titus as to the appropriate response. Pastors and elders are to warn the individual once, and then, if necessary, twice. Thereafter, the individual in question is to be rejected.

The word warning (νουθεσία; nouthesia) means to admonish and correct ungodly behavior; especially divisive speech. The phrase have nothing more to do with him (παραιτέομαι; paraiteomai) means to shun and avoid.

“Anyone in the church who is unsubmissive, self-willed, and divisive should be expelled. Two warnings are to be given, following the basic pattern for church discipline set forth by Christ (Matt. 18:15–17; cf. Rom. 16:17–18; 2 Thess. 3:14–15),” states Dr. John MacArthur.

This type of response by church leadership should be done cautiously, seriously and prayerfully. The reason is because the divisive person is warped (ἐκστρέφω; ekstepho) meaning perverted, sinful (ἁμαρτάνω; harmartano) meaning disobedient to the Word of God, and self-condemned (αὐτοκατάκριτος; autokatakritos) or judged by one’s own actions.

Great care must be shown by church leaders in such a situation. There have been elders who reject a church member because the individual questioned the behavior of the church’s leadership, even when the elders were wrong. Elders are not perfect, nor should they believe themselves to be.

“The apostle frequently condemns quarreling and strife (Rom. 13:13; 1 Cor. 3:3), so it is no surprise that people who foster such things are likewise to be avoided (Titus 3:10). We must stand for the truth but never be the kind of people who are always itching for a fight. Otherwise, we will sacrifice good works for the sake of finding new and “exciting” battles to wage,” explains Dr. Sproul.

“The apostle demands that when the time is ripe such a person shall be rejected. The expression “Have nothing further to do with” must be taken in the sense of refuse, reject (cf. 1 Tim. 5:11; 2 Tim. 2:23). There seems to be a reference here to Matt. 18:15–17. Official exclusion from church-membership is probably indicated. This is not surprising, for Titus will know that such an individual (cf. Rom. 16:18, etc.), who not only creates division but also after repeated warnings persists in this practice, “is distorted” and is sinning. The word rendered “is distorted” is very descriptive. Such a person is not living and seeing straight. He is mentally and morally turned or twisted. He is even worse than the man who colloquially is sometimes called “a screw-ball.” He is actually living in sin. What makes his sin very bad is the fact that he knows that he is sinning. If his conscience has not already spoken plainly, he has at least been warned, and that not once but twice. Hence, he sins “being self-condemned.”^[1]

Pray for the elders in your local church. Pray that they will have the courage to stand for truth and obey God’s Word; even when it is difficult. May the Lord’s truth and grace be found here.

Soli deo Gloria!

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^[1] William Hendriksen and Simon J. Kistemaker, Exposition of the Pastoral Epistles, vol. 4, New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1953–2001), 395–396.

“But avoid foolish controversies, genealogies, dissensions, and quarrels about the law, for they are unprofitable and worthless.” (Titus 3:9 (ESV)

A pastor’s responsibilities in a local church are multi-faceted and never ending. They extend beyond the normal work hours of 9-5. They include also stressful problems and controversies. The pastor needs wisdom from the Lord to navigate these stormy ecclesiastical seas (James 1:5).

The Apostle Paul’s warning to Titus involved the false teachers of which the apostle spoke of in Titus 1:1-16. Paul did not want Titus to become bogged down in nonsensical issues that could prevent him from performing his duties as a pastor.

Foolish controversies (μωρός ζήτησις; moros zetesis) refers to moronic disputes. In others words, nonsense. These are subjects that make no sense for the pastor to become involved and to devote any significant time or energy.

Genealogies (γενεαλογία; genealogia) addressed one’s ancestry. Perhaps this would include an individual assuming church leadership because his family helped plant the church. Or, it might be an individual who placed great status upon themselves because they were a charter member of the church.

Dissensions (ἔρις; eris) are contentions. It is conflict resulting from rivalry and discord.

Quarrels (μάχη; mache) are disputes and fights. These are serious conflicts, which may become physically violent. They are intense and bitter.

“This is in strong contrast with the preceding: Titus must do the one, but avoid the other. The order of the words in the sentence (the compound object placed before the verb) and the absence of the article before any of the four nouns, these facts clearly prove that all possible emphasis is placed on the quality and contents of the object. It is exactly foolish inquiries, namely, investigations into genealogical lore, that must be avoided. It is precisely wrangling, namely, skirmishes about the law, that must be given a wide berth. See also on Titus 1:9, 10, 14.^[1]

“The matters referred to have been described in detail in connection with 1 Tim. 1:3–7, 19, 20 and 1 Tim. 6:3–5 (see on these passages). Let Titus then shun (cf. 2 Tim. 2:16) the Jewish legends and the stipulations, the inquiries and the wrangling. When he sees them coming, let him turn around and flee! Let him see these things for what they truly are: unprofitable, futile. What a sharp contrast between all this useless nonsense and the very useful matters about which Paul has just spoken in verses 4–7 (see also verse 8). A minister who does justice to the latter will have no time for the former.”^[2]

I recall attending a Christian men’s conference several years ago in a major American city. There were protestors who gathered outside the venue in order to stir up controversy. They also sought to confront several of the attendees during a lunch break. The best tactic of engagement in such situations is to not engage. That is what the protestors want. Deny them that desire.

“Genealogies and details about the law (including arguments of Jewish legal scholars over spellings or vocalizations of Hebrew words) were minutiae that missed the genuinely critical issues in the spirit of the Old Testament (Titus 1:10; 1 Tim 1:6; 2 Tim 2:14),” explains biblical scholar Craig S. Keener.

“Paul returns to the false teachers in Titus 3:9. His admonition to avoid “foolish controversies, genealogies, dissensions, and quarrels about the law” is not only sound advice from the Word of God but also a parting shot at the falsehood of Titus’ opponents. These teachers were trying to stay connected to a perverted form of Judaism, speculating about minor figures in biblical genealogies, like Timothy’s Ephesian enemies (1 Tim. 1:3–4), to promote esoteric and erroneous doctrines. Our generation is not the first to encounter those who major on the minors or who embrace rank heresy, and it will not be the last. Dealing with such problems now, as in Paul’s day, means that we reject as church leaders those who prefer their own ideas to the faith once for all delivered to the saints (Jude 3),” explains Dr. R. C. Sproul.

Paul concluded all of these controversies are unprofitable and worthless. Unprofitable (ἀνωφελεῖς; anopheles) means to be without advantage and of no special benefit. The word worthless (μάταιοι; mataioi) refers to what is empty or fruitless.

It can be easy to become embroiled in foolish arguments with people who desire to major on the minors. It is wise to walk away from such people. I recently had to cease conversing with a friend on social media because of his argumentativeness.

To an angry individual on social media, one pastor wrote, “You are cordially invited to take your angry rants elsewhere. A response is self-evidently pointless. Bye . . .” See Matthew 7:6.

May the Lord’s struth and grace be found here. Have a blessed day in the Lord.

Soli deo Gloria!

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^[1] William Hendriksen and Simon J. Kistemaker, Exposition of the Pastoral Epistles, vol. 4, New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1953–2001), 394.

^[2] Ibid., 394–395.