Titus 1: Faith, Truth and Godliness Go Together

Introduction

Martin Bräker opens a new series at the Église Protestante Évangélique de Liège. He is going back to his usual method: choose a book of the Bible and study it over several Sundays, following wherever the passage leads. This approach, he says, sometimes pushes our thinking in directions we would never go if we only followed our own interests.

The book chosen is Paul's letter to Titus. Titus was one of Paul's travel companions. He is never mentioned in the book of Acts, but he appears often in the epistles. Unlike most of the leaders of that time, he was not of Jewish origin: he was a converted Gentile. Paul entrusts him with a mission among the young churches on the island of Crete, one church in each town, so that they can function independently.

This first message covers the opening four verses, the greeting of the letter. The preacher approaches it through definitions: what did a Cretan, a Greek, have in mind when hearing these words?

Outline of the message

1. Why stop on the words

God's Word is infallible and without error. These qualities apply to the original text, in the original language. The manuscripts are so numerous that we can have a very clear idea of that text.
Translations, however, pose a difficulty: a language does not always have the words to convey certain nuances, and the meaning of words changes over time.
Example: in 1926, saying "Martin, tu es formidable" in French would have meant "Martin, you frighten me." Today, "formidable" means great, fantastic.
Words also change from one country to another: the French word "gosse" (kid) is perfectly fine on a church microphone in Belgium, but it is very vulgar in Quebec.

2. Servant of God: living for a Master's interests

Paul introduces himself as a "servant of God." We may think of Geoffrey in The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Bernardo in Zorro, or Nestor in Tintin, refined people who live in beautiful houses.
In the Bible, the word doulos has a broad meaning: from the almost dehumanized slave given the degrading tasks to the servant who manages all the affairs of the household, a kind of general manager.
In every case, it is someone who lives for a master's interests and not for his own will. We belong to the Lord.
This should make us think about our choices: Sunday morning (sleeping in, or opening the Word and receiving fellowship?), a more prestigious career that keeps us from serving in a church, a hobby that takes up all the room.
It should also make us think when we give only what we do not really need, only our surplus.

3. God chooses, and he uses his children

Paul is charged with bringing those whom God has chosen to faith and to the knowledge of the truth that accords with godliness. First step: God chooses. "If I am here, it is because God chose me."
The debate about election has existed for centuries in the academic circles of churches around the world, and it has never been settled. The preacher doubts he can resolve it in a single sermon, especially since that is not the point of the passage.
There is a tension, but it should not trouble us. The fact that God chose us should give us the certainty that he will save us and feed our worship.
Second step: people are charged with leading others to faith. God also chooses the instrument, and that instrument is his children, "it is you and me."
Hence a duty for each of us: to understand the gospel well, to learn to explain it and to defend the faith. Some will do it in an extraordinary way, others more quietly, but no one will manage without reading, without training, without talking about it with one another. Take the initiative to share your faith, even when it is uncomfortable.
Yet there is something comforting here: if God did not choose, the salvation of others would depend on my effectiveness and not on his sovereignty. "You cannot imagine the stress that takes off me."

4. Faith, truth and godliness: one batter

Faith goes hand in hand with the knowledge of the truth. The New Testament often speaks of truth: loving in the truth, walking in the truth. This truth is the gospel, the truth about how God saves souls, and it is also sound doctrine.
The Bible is very severe toward false gospels. Giving the wrong information is a serious matter. There are secondary truths that have their place, but they must not be given all the space.
When we think of godliness, we picture someone who reads their Bible a lot, who bets everything on purity, who prays long prayers. That is not wrong, but doing all this to shine or to outdo others would not be godliness.
The Strong's dictionary defines godliness in the New Testament as an inner posture that honors God and an outward conduct that reflects him. Honoring God on the inside, reflecting God on the outside.
The image of crêpe batter: without flour, you get a strange omelette; without eggs, a strange chapati; without milk, a strange crumble. You need all three.
Without faith, truth is only information and godliness is only kindness. Without truth, faith is misplaced. Without godliness, faith is not real and truth is only information.

5. Hope, a sure and steadfast anchor

Third step: the fruit of all this is the hope of eternal life. Paul insists: God promised it from the earliest times, and God cannot lie.
Hope is the expectation of something beautiful, but above all of something certain: the final restoration, our inheritance in Christ.
Among Christian symbols, we know the cross and the fish, linked to "I will make you fishers of men." There was also the anchor. Persecuted Christians of the first centuries engraved it even on their tombs to remind themselves that they had a hope.
This choice rested on Hebrews 6:19-20: we have this hope as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast; it enters within the veil, where Jesus has entered as a forerunner for us.

6. "My true child": Paul prepares the ground

A legitimate child is a child born to married parents. Here, it is a child in the faith: Paul loves and supports Titus as his own son.
In Hellenistic societies, the legitimate child received all the rights and the status of his father. The Christians of Crete might have said to themselves: "Paul, we know him, we respect him. But who is this youngster?"
Paul clarifies things from the start. He is an apostle, sent by God, and God gave him the right to appoint someone for this important work. Titus is sent by God: listen to him and do what I asked him to set up.

7. Wishing grace, a small prayer

The greeting ends with a wish: grace and peace to you from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior.
Saving grace is free. We did not deserve it; we deserved the opposite. Jesus died on the cross and, through faith in him, our sin is taken away.
But Titus already had that grace. In a greeting, other graces are in view: "grace with a small g," God's favor through a fruitful ministry, the desires of the heart granted, every need met.
Like a casual "how's it going?" tossed out in the street, which often just means hello, we can say "may the Lord give you his grace" without really thinking about it. Politeness is not a bad thing, but it would be a shame to stop there.
If we say it truly wishing that God would meet the other person's needs, grant the desires of their heart and make their ministry fruitful, it becomes "a little prayer sent express to our God." And there will never be too much prayer.
In summary: our interests and our will can stay in the car, but they must not drive. Having the right information is having the truth; believing the right information is having faith; and godliness confirms it in our lives. "When we are here, let us speak of it with our lips. When we leave here, let us reflect it through our conduct."

Key takeaways

Being a servant of God means living for his interests and his will, and letting this truth shape how you use your time, your money and your leisure.
God chooses, and he uses his children to proclaim the gospel. The salvation of others rests on his sovereignty, not on your effectiveness.
Godliness is an inner posture that honors God and an outward conduct that reflects him.
Faith, truth and godliness do not go without one another, like the flour, milk and eggs of a crêpe batter.
The hope of eternal life is certain, because God cannot lie: it is an anchor of the soul, sure and steadfast.

Personal application

In your choices this week (your Sunday, your career, your leisure, your giving), who is driving the car: your will or God's?
Do you give God from your surplus, or from what really costs you?
What are you doing to understand the gospel better, to learn to explain it and to defend your faith?
Is your godliness turned toward God, or do you sometimes try to shine in front of others?
To whom could you wish God's grace this week, truly meaning it, as a prayer?

Verses cited

Frequently asked questions

What does godliness mean in Titus 1:1?

Martin Bräker takes up the definition from Strong's dictionary: in the New Testament, godliness refers both to an inner posture that honors God and to an outward conduct that reflects him. Reading your Bible or living in purity in order to shine in front of others would not be godliness.

If God chooses those who believe, why proclaim the gospel?

God also chooses the instrument through which people come to faith, and that instrument is his children. God's choice takes nothing away from our duty to speak about him. It does, however, lift a great weight: the salvation of others does not depend on our effectiveness, but on his sovereignty.

Why did the first Christians use the anchor as a symbol?

Under persecution, Christians of the first centuries engraved an anchor, even on their tombs, to remind themselves that they had a hope. This choice rests on Hebrews 6:19-20: we have this hope as an anchor of the soul, sure and steadfast.