Titus 3:1-3 ESV
“Remind them to be submissive to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work, to speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all people. 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.”
Exceptions to Submission
With regard to being submissive to rulers and authorities,
there are exceptions to this, as well, which is important that we understand,
for many people are submitting to things they should not be submitting to. So,
if any authority over us leads us to sin against God and to disobey his word
and to deny Christ as Lord and to give our worship (loyalty, devotion) to any
other entity or person, then we are to refuse (example: Revelation 12-14).
Jesus did not obey or yield to or submit to the Pharisees,
et al, if they required of him to disobey God. They chided him often for
healing people on the Sabbath but he continued to do so. The disciples did not
obey the authorities over them when they commanded them to stop speaking in the
name of Jesus. Daniel refused to stop praying to his God but he kept on doing
what he did every day. And Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refused to bow to Nebuchadnezzar’s
golden statue.
And with regard to submitting to pastors of “churches,” much
of what is being called “church” today is not the church. It is not the body of
Christ operating under the authority of God in the power of the Holy Spirit
doing what God has called his church to do. Most of these “churches” are
businesses incorporated under the state and under the authority of church
denominations which are following marketing schemes and goals for how to grow
their businesses. And many pastors are more like cult leaders following
marketing schemes and men of the flesh and not God and his Word.
And wives, if your husbands are leading you into sin, you
can say, “No.” If they are leading you to disobey the Lord and the teachings of
his word, you can tell them “No.” For you are to obey your husbands as unto the
Lord, in the same way in which you would obey the Lord, and the Lord is not
going to tempt you or lead you into any sin. So, if your husbands are leading
you to compromise your biblical faith in any way, you can refuse kindly.
Otherwise you should submit to your husbands as you would to the Lord.
Ready for Every Good Work
We read in Ephesians 2:8-9 that we are saved by God’s grace,
through faith, and this is not of our own doing. Even the faith to believe in
Jesus comes from God. This salvation which comes from God is not the result of
our own works lest we should boast. BUT… verse 10 says, “For we are his
workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared
beforehand, that we should walk in them.” Most people leave out that verse.
We can do nothing in ourselves to earn or to deserve our own
salvation, but our salvation is not absent of works. It is just that they are
the works of God which he prepared in advance that we should walk in them. For Jesus
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 (Tit 2:11-14).
So, we are saved to do the works God prepared for us to walk in.
So, we are to be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in
the work of the Lord (1 Co 15:58; 2 Co 9:8). And just as we have always obeyed
(if we have), we are to work out our own salvation with fear and trembling, for
it is God who works in us both to will and to work for his good pleasure (Php
2:12-13). And we are to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to
him: bearing fruit in every good work (Col 1:9-14; 2 Thes 1:11-12; 2 Tim 2:21; Tit
3:8; Jas 2:17; Gal 5:6; Jn 15:1-11).
And then we read all throughout the New Testament how we are
to walk in obedience to our Lord’s commands, and how we are to no longer walk
in sin, according to the flesh, and how we are to love our neighbors as
ourselves, and how we are to deny self and daily die to sin and to self and to
follow the Lord in obedience in everything. And then we read that if we
continue living in deliberate and habitual sin and not in obedience to the
Lord, and if we practice hate and not love that we will not inherit the kingdom
of God.
Speak No Evil
Now, when this says we are to speak no evil of anyone this
is not teaching that we are to remain silent about lies being spread by wolves
in sheep’s clothing. We are to test the spirits to see if they are of God and we
are to expose false teachers and false teaching for what it is so that others
are not being led astray by these charlatans and these masqueraders of
righteousness who are spreading lies about God and about Jesus and about his
gospel message. And then we are to proclaim the truth of the gospel.
So, when this says to speak evil of no one it is talking
about being hateful and nasty and/or slandering and gossiping about people in
order to destroy their reputations and to make others not like them. This is
without cause. But if a brother or a sister is living in open adultery and in
defiance against the Lord and his commands, and if he/she is walking in
deliberate and habitual sin we are to confront the sin and call them to repentance
and then follow the biblical model for how to deal with unrepentant sin in the
church.
Yes, we should avoid arguing with people, but we are to
speak the truth in love, one to the other, so that none of us is led astray by
men in their deceitful scheming who are teaching false doctrines. And if we are
opposed, we should be ready to defend the truth of the gospel, to a point, but
then pray for wisdom to know what to say and when to say it and how much to say
and when to remain silent, too. For some people just won’t listen. But we
should always be kind and not turn this into a spiteful fight.
And we must remember from which we came so that we are not
too hard on those who are not living up to the faith that they profess. Now, this
is not saying to give them a pass or to placate their sin or to say nothing. We
should not be silent on the subject of deliberate and habitual sin in the lives
of those professing faith in Jesus Christ. Yet, we can certainly follow Jesus’
example there. He spoke differently to the ones who knew better and who were
living hypocritically than he did to those who were ill informed.
Full
Release
An
Original Work / April 15, 2012
Walking daily with my Savior
brings me joy.
Loving Father; precious Jesus;
He’s my Savior and my Lord.
Gently leads me; follow Him.
I’ve invited Him within.
Now abiding in His presence,
oh, what peace.
From my self-life
He has brought me,
By His mercy, full release.
Hope and comfort,
peace and safety Jesus brings
When I daily bow before Him;
Obey freely; do His will.
Follow Him where’er He leads.
Listen to Him; His words heed.
Now obeying his words fully,
oh, what love
That He gives me
through salvation,
By His Spirit, from above.
Loving Father; precious Jesus,
He’s my friend.
With my Savior, by His Spirit,
I will endure to the end.
Share the gospel, tell what’s true.
Witness daily; His will do.
Tell the world of how their Savior
bled and died.
On a cruel cross He suffered
So that we might be alive.
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