Muchmore, Donald: Titus A Fellow Worker ~ 2 Cor.2;

Paul was an independent thinker. That's Paul the Apostle. And I, when I say that, I don't mean he was independent of God. He was dependent on God, but he insisted that he had his message directly from the Lord Jesus Christ by revelation. He was independent of man in that respect. But, you know, though Paul was an independent thinker, he was not a loner. He didn't try to go it all by himself, to do the whole job by himself. He was always looking for others to work with him in the gospel ministry. And he had an eye out for the young people. Do you remember when he and Barnabas went to Jerusalem to deliver the relief gift for the famine-stricken folk in Judea? On the way back, they took John Mark with them. He grew up in Jerusalem, a young man, and Paul and Barnabas took him back to Antioch with them. And then when they went on their first missionary journey, John Mark went along as their aid to help them out in what might be necessary, the odds and ends of the technical part of a journey. Of course, we remember that John Mark left them. He abandoned ship and went back home when they entered into Asia. But we remember too that although Par- uh, Paul thought very poorly of that and didn't want to take him again, Barnabas understood something of the worth of John Mark and took John Mark under his wing and went with him, helped him. And before Paul was finished with his ministry, he could say, bring John Mark because he, he's useful to me. So there was one man. And then in the second missionary journey, when they passed by Derby and Lystra, they called another young man. This fellow's name was Timothy. He was half Jew, half Greek, so Paul had him circumcised to make sure he wouldn't be a front to the Grecian fo- uh, to the, excuse me, those who were saved from the Jewish faith, and he was taken with Paul on that journey. And we know him especially because he has two letters that were written to him. He was Paul's lieutenant for many days and for many special situations. In fact, it's become a byword in Christian circles. Every Paul should have his Timothy, and you'll find that the missionaries frequently have thought about that and realizing that every missionary should have his Timothy. I think some of you know that Eleanor and I spent some time in Africa teaching in the Bunia Seminary, and one of the earliest pictures of the Bunia Seminary featured two students side by side, and the caption underneath read, two Timothys studying. So it's proverbial, Paul should have his Timothy. You see, Paul was interested in the youth. He wanted them come along with him and help in the ministry. They were needed. And there was another young man also that was involved in, in Paul's ministry, and he's the one we want to think about this morning. And it could be that he was involved in serving along with Paul even before John Mark. That depends on where in, uh, Paul's history you place his interview with the Jerusalem elders that's given to us in Galatians chapter two. When Paul, but the, that interview, Paul and Barnabas were going to Jerusalem to defend the gospel. And that's the place where there was another young man who was involved. The gospel of salvation by grace through faith. Once for all, free from the law. The account goes something like this. Paul and Barnabas were working in Antioch. Antioch in Syria, of course, was a home for many Jews, and so there were a goodly number of Jews that were saved and formed a part of that assembly. But it was also in Syria, so there were other non-Jews there, and they also heard the gospel and accepted it and became part of the assembly. Now, the Jewish believers became a little concerned because there was a difference between the Jewish behavior controlled by the law and the behavior of the pagans, those who were non-Jews and out in the world, and they behaved naturally. And they were afraid that these pagans, in coming into the church, would bring their behavior with them. So they said, well, got a solution. They're saved by grace through faith, that's fine. But why not have them sign on to the law? Get them circumcised. Get them to agree with these requirements that God has placed on our lives. Then they'll clean up their lives, and we can be sure of it. Say, that's a good idea. That, that's a real commitment there we're getting from them. But Paul said, hey, wait a minute. Saved by grace, live by grace. Let's be consistent about this. In fact, that's what he wrote about in Galatians. We're saved by grace, and we should live by grace, not under the law. And he saw a great danger in following along the line of these Christian brethren who had come from Jewish background. You remember, of course, that the whole case was cut in... We say that in English, don't we? Case was cut. I have to keep reflecting back because that's the expression we use in Africa all the time, the case being cut. Anyway, the, the decision was made at the Council of Jerusalem. When the Paul and was there, and Peter was there, the discussion was made, decision was came, yes, we agree that the grace of God is the instrument of salvation, and we don't need the law. They asked the believers who had come from Gentile background, non-Jewish background, to be careful about certain cultural things, like, like the eating of blood, and of course, morality that might be an affront to the Jewish Christians, that is the Christians from Jewish background. But the decision was made at that point. But before that decision was made, Paul and Barnabas made another trip to Jerusalem, and some of may that have felt that that coincides with the relief trip. But when they went there, they were trying to get their, the attention of the Jerusalem leaders to realize the danger of this thinking of these other Jews, Jewish background Christians, excuse me, we have to be straight there, they weren't Jews. They were Christians, but they came from the Jewish background. They had the, the this thinking that the law was necessary, that doesn't belong, doesn't belong with the gospel. And Paul wanted to make sure the leaders recognized what he was preaching, what God was doing among the Gentiles, and that we had to get away from this thinking that had come in. So he went with Barnabas, and they said, look, it's not enough just for us to go. We've got to take someone along with us to show to these rulers just what the grace of God does when he saves a life out of paganism. Whom we going to take? They looked around a bit. Ah, there's a young man. He's a, a likely young man, a positive man, and energetic, and he's got a good testimony for the Lord. Let's take him with us. So they picked up Titus and took Titus with them. And that's the background for Galatians chapter two and verse one. In fact, we might take a look at that particular spot now, but the, the verse I'm talking about is Galatians two verse one, and also took Titus with me. Paul doesn't explain it here, but I believe that's the background of taking Titus along. They wanted somebody who would be a trophy of God's grace, a demonstration of what God could do in the life of a, a pagan that turned his life over to Christ. Then after fourteen years, I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas and also took Titus with me. And I went up by revelation and communicated to them that gospel which I preach among the Gentiles, but privately to those who were of reputation, lest by any means I might run or had run in vain. Yet not even Plitus, who was with me, being a Greek, was compelled to be circumcised. And this occurred because of the false brethren secretly brought in, who came in by stealth to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, that they might bring us into bondage, to whom we did not yield submission even for an hour, that the truth of the gospel might continue with you. And so, as we read through the account, they were successful as they took Titus with them. Titus undoubtedly gave his testimony before the, the group of the leaders there. Those who were of reputation, and without doubt they were impressed by the fact that he was saved and that he was anxious to serve the Lord, that his testimony was positive, and that helped. It was successful. Titus' presence helped in the presentation, in seeing the hand of God in the life of a believer from paganism. So, we can say that Titus was a big help to Paul at that point. A young man, he hadn't, uh, had chance to preach yet at that point, but he was a young man and working with Paul. It was kind of a subordinate role that he had, wasn't it? It didn't, didn't, uh, amount to too much, but that's all right. That was a beginning. He would have more later on. Titus was, and Paul, what Paul had found in this whole experience was a coworker, somebody who would work alongside him in the ministry for the gospel. He found God's choice for him. And so, as we think about Titus, this man, young man, who is willing to go with Paul to the fire in front of the leaders of the church and stand strong for the gospel, this young man is someone from whom we can learn something. So this morning, we'd like to kind of take a look at Titus, who, of whom Paul would say later on, my partner and my fellow worker concerning you. This man who was useful to Paul and important for the Lord Jesus Christ. And that reminds me at the beginning, of course, that this was a young man who had had the transformation of accepting Christ as Savior. It had nothing to do with keeping the Jewish law, he was a pagan, but it had everything to do with it confessing that he was a sinner and turning to Christ to accept Christ's salvation. God offers it in grace, and it is accepted through faith, and that faith is just recognition of need, of sin in the life, and sin is an affront to God, and that's why there was this whole discussion because for the elders, because they were trying to remove the sin from the Christians that hadn't been removed. But the sin is not removed that way. Sin is forgiven by applying the blood of Christ, the sacrifice of Christ, and that was the, the point that they wanted to make before the elders, and to say anything else would be to dilute the truth of the gospel. So, most of us here have made that step, and we can praise the Lord for the change that came and the joy we have in having Jesus Christ not only as Savior, but shepherd, as we had in our, our music. But I don't, I don't know whether everyone here has already made that step or not. But we'd like to make it clear every time we're here on a Sunday morning that salvation is by trusting Christ as Savior on the basis of the work he did of forgiveness for sins. Titus had that. Titus was sure of his salvation, and he also knew that because Christ had died for him, that he belonged to Christ, and he wanted to serve Christ. So he was willing to cooperate with Paul, to stand on the truth of the gospel. By grace, through faith, salvation comes. Now, Titus had other opportunities to serve the Lord and to help out in Paul's ministry. And Paul pressed him into service in connection with the Corinthian church. Now, you remember that church in Corinth, you realize that it was an important position. Though it, the city was an important position because it was between two bodies of water, and it was on a land route as well as a sea route. It was very important. There were sailors, sailors in the port all the time, and that brought immorality, so it was also known for immorality. It was a capital of Achaia with importance in that position, and it was the seat of a Roman proconsul, so it was important from that point of view. And Paul noticed that it was cosmopolitan. There were Romans, there were Greeks, there were Asiatics, and there were Jews all mixed in together. And as one person has said, what, what better place could you have for a gospel evangelization ministry? And Paul accepted the challenge. And when he passed into Corinth, he was there for a year and a half, preaching the gospel in the synagogue first, and then when he got kicked out, he went next door. He, he wasn't, he wasn't, uh, put out at all. He was able to keep on going, presenting the gospel and seeing the Lord work in the lives of individuals. And what were they preaching? Salvation by grace through faith. Then Paul left. The church was planted, Paul left. And when he was in his three-year ministry in at Ephesus, he had some echoes coming from that church. We were talking about the problem with paganism and the people living according to the pagan customs, behavior, getting into the church. It was there. And so Paul, because he was concerned about it, he wrote a letter, and setting down some definite rules of things they should separate themselves from the brother that's sinning, they should keep away from that and stick to the straight purity that's required for the child of God. This letter is not in our possession. We just have echoes of it in First Corinthians, but that letter was sent, and the Corinthians received it, but they didn't pay any attention to it. So Paul said, okay, in that case, I'm going to make a visit. Now, again, this is what we have glimpses of from scripture. It's not explained as such there, but this is what it seemed to be. So Paul went. He went from Ephesus over to Corinth. He stood before the Corinthians, and he said, clean up your lives. And there was somebody in that group, apparently, who was not willing to accept the authority for Paul, and he said, not on your life. And amazingly enough, there are seem to be a majority of those Corinthians that went along with this fellow that objected to p- to Paul's authority. What do you do in a case like that? Paul had no choice. They wouldn't listen to him. He turned around, went back to Ephesus. But it was still in his mind. He was still praying about it and working on it. And it seems that after that point, he sent another letter. We have a previous letter, and I missed saying we have First Corinthians got in there in the middle, in between the previous letter and the visit, the painful visit that Paul made. There's First Corinthians in there. Can you put it in? I'm sorry, I left it out. But we have, first of all, this previous visit, and then we have First Corinthians sent to keep on, because there were some other things that were involved in that too. First Corinthians had other ideas other than just this, this sin that we notice in, in chapter five of First Corinthians. There also was a problem that Chloe's household had brought, the problem of dissension, and there were a whole series of questions that needed to be answered. They came with a delegation from the church at Corinth. And so when Paul had all of that material, then he wrote First Corinthians. But when First Corinthians went to them, and they didn't listen about this matter of morality, that was when Paul made a visit to try to straighten things out, and he was rebuffed, turned around and came back, and at that point he wrote another letter. Now remember, at this time there wasn't any email. You couldn't get it back and forth. There wasn't any, any recording. There wasn't any telephone. It was all slow by boat and by land, and it, we didn't have a postal service at that point either. So when Paul wrote this letter, it was a severe letter to take them to task because they refused God's standard of moral living, and they'd rebuffed his authority, and it wasn't a personal rebuff for him, it was rebuffing the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ. That was what bothered him. And so he took them to task for it and said, now you who understand these things, you discipline that man. Well, Paul wrote that letter, and as I say, there was no airmail, there was no boat mail, and no email, so he had to send an individual with it. He looked around to see who might go, and yes, you're right. He saw Titus. Titus, the man who was willing to stand on the truth of the gospel, and he sent Titus with that letter. And Titus took it. This letter that Paul had written, it was a severe letter, and some have termed it the sorrowful letter, because the echoes of that letter that we have in second Corinthians talk about its making the Corinthians sorry, sorry for what they'd done, and turning around and disciplining that man and desiring to work in line with the truth that God had given to them and that Paul had preached. And Titus was the one to go along with it. Now, we don't have that in so many words, but we do have in second Corinthians, chapter seven and verses five to seven, two Corinthians chapter seven verses five to seven, we have something that indicates that Titus was the bearer of that letter. Paul's talking about what he had done since he had left Ephesus. He left after the three years at Ephesus, he left to go on to further ministry. He'd gone on to, to, uh, Troas, but he wasn't satis- he wasn't content there. And he went on, kept on going because he was looking for Titus to come back. Titus to bring news of, well, have they accepted what he had asked them to do in that letter? Now, in verse five, for indeed, when we came to Macedonia, our bodies had no rest. So he moved on from Troas to Macedonia on the way to, to try to contact Titus. It was winter, and he knew that Titus couldn't come by sea to Ephesus. He'd have to go by land. For indeed, when we came to Macedonia, our bodies had no rest, but we were troubled on every side. Outside were conflicts, inside were fears, and those fears concerned, of course, how the Corinthians might have reacted to the letter. Nevertheless, God, who comforts the downcast, comforted us by the coming of Titus, and not only by his coming, but also by the consolation with which he was comforted in you when he told us of your earnest desire, your mourning, your zeal for me, so that I rejoiced even more. For even if I made you sorry with my letter, I do not regret it, though I did regret it, for I perceived that the same epistle made you sorry, though only for a while. Now I rejoice, not that you were made sorry, but that your sorrow led to repentance. For you were made sorry in a, in a godly manner, that you might suffer loss from us in nothing. For godly sorrow produces repentance, leading to salvation, not to be regretted, but the sorrow of the world produces death. So it's clear from this passage that Titus was the one that took that sorrowful letter, and that the Lord gave Titus success. And immediately we see that Titus must have been an unusual man. That situation was explosive. It was a revolt against Paul. But as Titus went in and discussed the issue with him, took the letter, was able to interpret the letter to the folk, and many times that's helpful to have a letter interpreted. I don't know if you've had that experience or not, but when we were working with the church in Kisangani, there'd be a letter come from the homeland to the leadership of the church. They'd take it and read it and get entirely the wrong idea of it, and we'd have to work with them to explain it so they would understand the real idea behind it. And so Titus was on the spot then. He was able to give that interpretation and to help them to know what Paul was thinking. And as they understood, the Holy Spirit worked in their hearts, and they turned around and disciplined that man. In fact, they took such violent action that Paul had to say in this letter in chapter two, now what he's gone through, that was enough. Now you know you need to comfort him, because if you, if you don't comfort him, you might drive him to despair and throw him into the hands of Satan. So now's the time to comfort him. So the Lord gave Titus success in that ministry. As I say, we don't have a complete description of just how it worked out, but he must have been an unusual man with unusual tact, with perseverance, dedication to the task, and dedication to these people. He was concerned about their spiritual welfare, and he wanted them to be helped by obedience to Paul's instructions concerning their living. And as Titus guy came back and made this report, Paul was happy, Titus was happy, and Paul wanted to send a letter quick back to the Corinthians and to let them know that he was pleased with what they had done. And that's our Second Corinthians. We have that, we can read it. We can understand what Paul had to say in that case. And, of course, who is the man to take that letter back? Well, who else but, but Titus? And so back Titus goes with a letter to explain Paul's satisfaction. But there was one other matter that hadn't been dealt with completely yet, and that that was the matter of the collection for the saints in Jerusalem. There was a famine in Jerusalem. They were in difficulty. There needed to be a relief effort, and this was it. Paul had challenged the churches to share of what they had over and above what they absolutely needed to help the saints in Jerusalem. And the Corinthian church had accepted doing it, and apparently Titus had worked with them some also in that. But the job wasn't finished yet. And of course, with all this back and forth over the, the discipline issue, that got sidetracked. But Paul had told him just what to do. He said, now every first day of every week you set some money aside, and when it's all collected together and I come, then you can, you can present it, and we can take it on to Jerusalem. So Paul had to deal with that, and that's second Corinthians eight and nine, as Paul wrote to them to pave the way for Timothy's com- for Titus, excuse me. We're talking about Titus. Titus' completion of that offering, the collection to be taken to go on to Jerusalem. And that's where Paul talks about Titus in his earnestness for the task, in second Corinthians chapter eight and verse sixteen. But thanks be to God, who puts the same earnest care for you into the heart of Titus, for he not only accepted the exhortation, that was the exhortation to, to go and collect this, complete this collection. Incidentally, the sidelight there. Uh, Paul was not an authoritarian. He asked Titus to go, but he was waiting to see if Titus was willing to accept the exhortation, and he did. For he not only accepted the exhortation, but being more diligent, he went to you of his own accord. And so, when Titus went to complete that job, he went with certain Corinthians in his hand, and to complete the job of the collection, he went recommended by Paul for that work. And of course, he was the logical one, wasn't he? Hadn't he bonded with the, the Corinthians the first time he'd gone? And he'd felt along with them in what they were going through, as they changed around and accepted Paul's, uh, exhortation, disciplined the fellow who was out of order, and got going in following, uh, pure lives that would be honoring to the Lord Jesus Christ. So now Paul has another job, and that's to work with the collection. And again, we don't have it in so many words, in such and such a time, Titus completed the collection, Paul arrived, and they presented the collection to him. We don't have that, but we do have the evidence to show that this work was a success also, because Paul did go back to Corinth. He spent a couple of months there, and after he left Corinth, he went with a whole delegation of men from Asia and from, from, uh, Greece, delegation to Jerusalem to take the gift. We don't, again, we don't read the name of Titus, and you look in vain through the whole book of Acts and don't find Titus mentioned there. And you say, well, how can that be? A man this important in his work for Paul, and he's not mentioned by Luke in the book of Acts. How can this be? Well, a man by the name of Ramsey has come up with an explanation. Luke was a Greek. Titus was a Greek. Maybe Titus was Luke's brother. Maybe that's why it wasn't. So that's one theory that's given, but in any case, he doesn't appear in Acts. But it's quite apparent that he completed that offering, and he went on to Ro- to, uh, Jerusalem with Paul and with this other delegation that came to present the relief offering to the folk in Jerusalem. So Titus, again, has success, a man of tact, of understanding, of persistence, of concern for the people with whom he was working. And there's one other passage that has to do with his attitude toward the Corinthians, and that I think would be of interest at this particular point. Again, in second Corinthians, because second Corinthians gives us sort of a glimpse into the life of Titus. Second Corinthians chapter twelve this time, and verse fourteen. And Paul is writing to the Corinthians saying, now for the third time, I am ready to come to you, and I will not be burdensome to you, for I do not seek yours, but you. For the children ought not to lay up for the parents, but the parents for the children. And I will very gladly spend and be spent for your souls, though the more abundantly I love you, the less I am loved. Be that as it may, I did not burden you. Now, that of course means he didn't take his support from them as he went. He didn't say, now you've got to feed me and clothe me, you've got to take care of my expenses here. He, he didn't do that. When he was in Corinth, he worked at his own trade of tent making. He paid his own expenses because he didn't want to be a burden on the others, not because it wasn't a thing to do for them to support those who, who ministered in the word, but he didn't want to be a burden. He didn't want anybody to say, you're just doing this for the money. Did I... I did not burden you. Nevertheless, being crafty, I caught you by cunning. Did I take advantage of you by any of those whom I sent to you? I urged Titus and sent our brother with him. Did Titus take advantage of you? Did we not walk in the same spirit? Did we not walk in the same steps? So it's quite clear that Titus had the same vision as Paul, not only for the objectives of the ministry, but for the manner in which the ministry should be carried out. And Paul, uh, Titus, as Paul, was free from the desire for personal gain. And that's another point we can see that is strong in Titus. Titus had other opportunities. Tonight we're going to take a little look at some, what was written to him in, in the book of Titus. And there we read that he was sent to Nicopolis by Paul, undoubtedly for some other ministry objective in Nicopolis, the city of victory. And then in certain second Timothy chapter four and verse ten, we read that Titus had been sent to Dalmatia, which is modern day Yugoslavia. And undoubtedly he had some mission for Paul there, so he had other jobs for Paul. But we want to think about Titus and his character, and perhaps we could see that his concern for the spiritual welfare of others. We see his concern for the accuracy of the gospel message, his faithfulness in money matters, they wouldn't have sent him along to get that collection unless they knew he was trustworthy, and this freedom from desire for personal gain, his earnestness for the work, and then perhaps finally the matter of authority, because Titus had to go as Paul's personal representative. He wasn't going on his own, and he had to know how to, to exercise delegated authority, and Titus did that. And that's the challenge for us. Number one, in looking for young men, younger folk to carry on with God's work. Number two, when we are involved in a team ministry of some sort, and there are teams all over that are working for the leader. For example, the team that goes to the, uh, Brookwood Nursing Home on Duluth de Matum. There need to be others who are fellow workers to go along, and here's a whole list of qualities to look out for as we go and assist in these things. There's a, there's a team right now in the dining room getting ready to serve, and that's another point. There's a team in the manor working with the folk there. There's a team working on the grounds, and Jim Gilbert is an encourager for those. There are all sorts of opportunities that are working, that are of to put into practice this idea of a good partner and fellow worker in the task as a testimony to the Lord Jesus Christ. So we, we can thank the Lord, can't we? For Paul, because he was looking for the youth to help, and for Titus, because he was willing to go and help. Father, we thank thee for the wonder of thy word that gives us a glimpse into the lives of these individuals, and we thank thee for Titus, that he was willing to be an example before the elders in order that the truth of the gospel might be underlined. And we thank thee for his tact and his maturity in working with individuals and helping, and always faithful to Paul's leadership. We pray that thou would help us as we seek to serve thee and under the leaders whom thou has given to us, that we might glorify thy name. For we ask it in Jesus' name, amen.