Titus chapter 1 and verse 1. Paul a servant of God and an
apostle of Jesus Christ according to the faith of God's elect and
the acknowledging of the truth which is after godliness in hope
of eternal life which God that cannot lie promised before the
world began. but hath in due times manifested
his word through preaching which is committed unto me according
to the commandment of God our Saviour. To Titus, mine own son
after the common faith, grace, mercy and peace from God the
Father and the Lord Jesus Christ our Saviour. Amen. May the Lord bless this short
reading to us. We've been a few weeks now in
the Book of Titus and really been here without mentioning
much about this man to whom the Apostle Paul is writing. And we'll remedy that today,
God willing. We give thanks to God, the Holy
Spirit, for inspiring and preserving this little letter, this little
epistle from the Apostle Paul, and for giving us this witness
of Titus and the testimony of Titus in the record of God's
holy word. Titus was a younger man than
Paul. And in a sense, like perhaps
Timothy and John Mark, Titus may be thought of as kind of
like the next generation of gospel preachers and teachers. men that God was calling into
his service following the age of the apostles, and that's not
to say that the apostles were not still around, they certainly
were and Titus was familiar with them, but the psalmist tells
us to mark well the blessings of God and the accomplishments
of the gospel. And he tells us in Psalm 48,
13, that ye may tell it to the generation following. And I think
that Titus is a lovely example of where we see these younger
men growing up in the faith coming into positions of leadership
and responsibility after the apostles and this of course is
the generation following and we've seen many generations coming
and going in the church and we're aware that we're also blessed
to be a generation unto whom there have been faithful men
have delivered the gospel of God and we have the privilege
of handing that on to the generation that is coming up behind us.
So may we take even in this simple thought some comfort and encouragement
that the Apostle Paul was purposefully engaged in the direction and
the support and the encouragement of Titus and Timothy and others. Titus was a man that the Apostle
Paul trusted and he instructed him in the gospel of truth, he
instructed him in practical matters of church establishment and we'll
see that in the coming weeks if the Lord permits. Titus seems
to have been a Gentile. The Apostle Paul calls him a
Greek. And it's likely that neither
his father or his mother were Jewish. And he seems to have
conducted most of his ministry among the Gentiles. That he wasn't
circumcised, nor had need to be, was a principle of Christian
liberty with the Apostle Paul. And we're told that the Apostle
Paul stood out against the improper imposition of legal duty on Gentile
people by the Jewish legalists in the early church in Galatians
chapter two and verse one. The Apostle Paul actually mentions
Titus. in that context with respect
to the ministry of the gospel amongst the Gentiles. And he
recounts from his own experience, his own conversion and testimony,
how it was that 14 years, this is what he says in Galatians
chapter two, verse one, 14 years after I went up again to Jerusalem
with Barnabas and took Titus with me also. and I went up by
revelation and communicated unto them that gospel which I preach
among the Gentiles, but privately to them which were of reputation,
lest by any means I should run or had run in vain. but neither
Titus who was with me, being a Greek, was compelled to be
circumcised." So here's a little bit of information being given
to us about this man Titus and the close relationship that the
Apostle had with him from those earliest days of his own ministry. Titus travelled with Paul a lot
and he was sent on errands by the Apostle Paul as well. For example, we read a few weeks
ago how that he had been sent to Corinth to collect a gift
for the church at Jerusalem. And sometimes he was left behind
by the Apostle Paul. If Paul had to go forward more
quickly and yet realise that not all the work that he had
wanted to do had been accomplished, had been completed, he would
leave Titus behind As here, we learn this in the next few verses,
he had been left in Crete, where Titus now was to fulfil the task
of appointing elders in the local churches, and that's talked about
in verse 5 following. For this cause left I thee in
Crete, that thou should set in order the things that are wanting,
and ordain elders in every city, as I had appointed thee. So Titus
was a man who was useful to the apostle to get things done. And yet it's interesting that
he isn't actually mentioned very much in the scriptures. For example, he's not mentioned
at all in the book of the Acts of the Apostles. although he
was with the Apostle on very many of the occasions that he
was travelling around. And in some senses, and I'm not
going to make too much of this, but in some senses I think that's
really quite admirable, that Titus was not so very prominent, he was obviously
useful and important and helpful and well beloved of the Apostle
Paul, and yet he didn't push himself forward, he was a worker,
he was a labourer, he was someone who proved faithful and honest,
a man of integrity. and I think a man to be admired
in the service of Christ, even although he may not have been
given too much prominence. And one thinks that perhaps if
this little letter hadn't been written to him back on Crete,
that he would maybe just have been one name amongst many that
graced the pages of scripture without there being too much
more information available about him. Titus may have been converted
through Paul's personal ministry. There is a sense in which that's
probably likely. And if that's the meaning of
the phrase, my own son after the common faith, then that would
be an explanation of that reference, my own son. He certainly wasn't
the natural born son of the Apostle Paul. which we learn through
him being a Gentile of course. So there is a reference there
to my own son and when I was reflecting on this and thinking
about it It was mentioned, and I think it's probably a useful
comment just to share with you, that perhaps this may simply
have been a term of endearment from the older man to the younger
man. But at the very least, it's probably
not a great idea for anyone to think of himself or herself as
having been spiritually begotten by another person. Sometimes
you talk about a father in the faith. Well, we need to be careful
with that kind of language. Although the apostle here calls
him mine own son after the common faith. The father of a believer
is God. And the one who brings us to
faith is the Holy Spirit. So trying to build these relationships
within the terminology of scripture is perhaps not always useful. I just leave that with you. The
more important part of the phrase, I think, is the common faith. And this is a delightful little
expression. I hope you agree with me. Calling
faith common does not detract anything from the wonder of faith
or its exclusiveness in this world or the immense value of
true saving faith which in individual believers is always wonderful
in particular and glorious. Glorious because it leads us
to glory. And it is of greater value for
all that is common than all the worldly riches or attainments
that this earth can offer. But that little phrase, the common
faith, reminds us that all true faith is the same faith. All saving faith has the same
source. And all spiritual faith, whether
it is great faith or little faith, has as its object the person
and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. So I just want to mention a couple
of ways that we can think about this common faith. And the first
one is this. When we talk of the faith, we
usually are thinking about the body of truth that has been the
common wealth and the common possession of every true believer
in God from the beginning of time, the truth of the gospel
of salvation by grace, and the message of justification with
God by the imputation of righteousness, not of works and the revelation
of the Lord Jesus Christ, And I emphasise these things because
these were, or are, the common inheritance of the Lord's people
in every age. Abraham knew about this, as did
Isaac and Jacob, and Moses and Job and David, and down to the
age of the apostles and the church. There is a common faith, and
it may not have been fully revealed, in the earlier days. It may have
been shrouded in shadow and in type and in picture, but it was
always there. And the faith of God's elect
has always been the common possession of every true believer in God. So that this faith, the faith,
is common to every saint. And another way of thinking about
this common faith is to think about it from our personal perspective
and our personal saving faith. The saving faith, the faith that
God gives, is the gift of God. By grace are ye saved through
faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God. It's a gift of God's goodness,
and it's a gift of God's grace to us. And it's the enabling
gift by which the saving work of the Lord Jesus Christ is properly,
is rightly apprehended. in the gospel and believed upon
when we hear the gospel. It's the grace by which elect
sinners discover their true condition in God's sight because of Christ's
work on their behalf. And it brings this common faith
and the experience, the personal experience of it, it brings an
awareness of a righteousness before God and the experience
of justification in an enjoyment of peace with God. through forgiveness
of sins and the easing of our consciences. And so there is
a personal faith which brings these blessings to us, but it
is God's gift to his people. And that is also another sense
of this common faith that we have. And then here's a third
one, and we're moving on. Here's the third one. Our faith
is called by Paul when he writes to the Galatians, the faith of
Jesus Christ. And that's another one of these
potent, pregnant little phrases in the scriptures which there's
so much depth and profundity in. Galatians chapter 2 verse
16 says this, Knowing that a man is not justified by the works
of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have
believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the
faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law. For by the
works of the law shall no flesh be justified. And then the apostle
goes on to say in verse 20 and 21, I'm crucified with Christ,
nevertheless I live, yet not I. but Christ liveth in me. And the life which I now live
in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved
me and gave himself for me. I do not frustrate the grace
of God, for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ
is dead in vain. So here in this verse we see
that the faith of Christ, like the life of Christ, like the
righteousness of Christ, like the love of Christ, and joy and
peace and wisdom and even the glory of Christ, and all the
communicable blessings of grace that are imparted to sinners
are granted to us with faith for the nourishing and edifying
of our souls, so that we obtain all these gifts from, through
and in the Lord Jesus Christ, including this common faith of
Christ. So whether we think of common
faith as the body of truth, that is the revelation of the gospel
for the salvation of sinners, or the grace of faith given to
believers by which we trust in the person and work of Jesus
Christ, it's the same faith, it's the common faith. It's the
shared and collective possession of every elect child of God. and it's common to us all. And Paul ends this little greeting,
this verse four here of this letter. It's the sort of end
of the introduction. He ends it in the same manner
in which he opens all his epistles, wishing the readers God's grace
and peace. And here, and also with the letter
to Timothy, he adds mercy. And these are all delightful
privileges of God's goodness and love, the love of Jesus Christ
towards his people. Objectively, every believer is
a possessor of all three. We all, as believers, have the
grace and peace and mercy of God. So when the apostle Paul,
as it were, suggests that we should have them or prays that
we might obtain them. He's not asking that we may have
them objectively because all believers already have God's
grace and peace and mercy. They are part of that common
faith that we possess. They're all delightful privileges
of God's goodness and love towards us. We have God's grace because
we have had our sins forgiven and our inequities cleansed in
the blood of the Saviour. We have mercy because despite
deserving judgement, the Saviour has interposed himself for us
and despite being guilty, we are free. and we have peace because
we know God sees no sin in his people and we are fully reconciled
to the Father in the person of his well-beloved Son. But here's
just the point that I want to make in conclusion. In wishing
these graces to Titus and in wishing these graces to the churches
and to all the readers of his letters, all to whom the Apostle
Paul wrote, he's reminding us that a large part of our blessedness
in our experience of salvation is enjoyment of these gifts in
our lives, in our own hearts, souls, minds, and thoughts. Okay, do you see the point I'm
making here? Objectively, we have the grace and mercy and
peace of God, but the Apostle Paul wants us also to enjoy the
grace and mercy and peace of God, to, as it were, enjoy the
experience of being possessors of these things. It's as though
the apostle says, think on these things, think on them regularly,
think on them daily. Let the truth of them wash over
you afresh. Dwell on God's grace that overcomes
and super abounds or jumps over all sin when Satan comes accusing
you. Remember God's mercy that softens
our trials and sweetens our pathway when the world seems to be hard
and unforgiving. And rest in God's peace that
comforts our soul and sharpens our hope for all the blessings
that are already laid up for us in heaven and are waiting
for us there. So that all these graces and
mercies and grounds for peace are our inheritance as God's
people and Christ's bride. They flow freely from God our
Father and Jesus Christ our Lord, says the Apostle, as our common
heritage and precious possession. So let us, brothers and sisters,
not merely know what it is to have faith, but open ourselves
to the experience and enjoyment of the blessings of faith in
our hearts, in our souls, and in our minds. May the Lord bless
these thoughts to us. Amen.