But avoid foolish disputes, genealogies, contentions, and strivings about the law; for they are unprofitable and useless. Reject a divisive man after the first and second admonition, knowing that such a person is warped and sinning, being self-condemned. Titus 3:9-11

If there is a theme for social media, its right here, as the Apostle Paul said “Avoid stupid arguments” Ok I’m paraphrasing that , but we get the point. Stop wasting our time on dumb arguments that are not fruitful for anything. As the Apostle Paul says here “they are unprofitable and useless”

Next time you get into one of these arguments or debates, ask yourself “What is the point of this conversation”? Are you glorifying God or are you just trying to win an argument? Some people just want to argue for the sake of arguing, they have no real desire for truth. Discern , is this person really interested in hearing the truth? 

Another good question , “Is this topic relevant to their salvation”? Alot of Christians like to waste alot of time on non salvational issues, such as the timing of the Rapture or is the Earth old or new? While these can be interesting topics, and we can really dive into these, getting these “wrong” is not going to condemn you to Hell. We need to stay Kingdom focused. 

Now what about the person who just continually argues with you about the same thing over and over again? Well the Apostle Paul addressing this also “reject a divisive man after the first and second admonition or warning” If someone is preaching heresy and you correct them, if they won’t listen, you are to move on. One thing we need to learn is we are not the Holy Spirit. We are not going to be able to change peoples hearts and minds, we are not going to be able to make people repent of their sins, we are not going to regenerate them, these are all jobs of the Holy Spirit. All we can do is preach the truth faithfully

Many Christians spend too much time trying to convert a particular individual, thats not your job. If you shared the gospel with them and the love of Christ, there is nothing more you can do. Let God do his work and we do our work, the Church wastes too much time in pointless arguments and trying to be the Holy Spirit. 

As the Apostle Paul states “these people are self condemned” if you already shared the gospel with them, and they rejected the gospel, they have condemned themselves. You are not the Holy Spirit that is going to change their mind and heart, move on to more lost souls that are willing to receive the gospel, preach the gospel to all the nations baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, Amen!

Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour; That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life. Titus 3:6-7

What gives you hope in life? There is only one thing that can give you real hope in this world and that is Jesus Christ! As the Apostle Paul teaches us today by inspiration of the Holy Spirit “Made heirs according to the hope of eternal life” Through Christ we are made Heirs of Hope, this is a living hope, not like the world that is fading away

As we talked about previously, we must be Born Again (John 3:3) we must be regenerated by the Holy Spirit, the Apostle Paul continues today “Which He (Father) shed on us (Holy Spirit) abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, notice the Trinity in clear display here for your salvation. The Holy Spirit is poured down upon the children of God, this is the baptism of the Holy Spirit (John 3:5) this is the regeneration.

And not only are we Born Again, then as the Apostle Paul says “being justified by His grace” We then become justified before God the Father for our sins, how? This is why Jesus Christ went to the cross, to pay the penalty for your sins, so we can be justified before God the Father. As the Apostle Paul says “He made him, who knew no sin, to be sin for us, so that we can become the righteousness of God in Him (Christ)” (2 Corinthians 5:21)

So God cleans us and then redeems us, through the Father, Son , and Holy Spirit. This is our living hope, this is the true gospel, everyone who repents and puts their faith and trust as Jesus Christ as Lord, shall be saved (Mark 1:15, Acts 2:38) 

So again I ask you the question, what gives you hope? Is your hope in yourself? Is your hope in your wealth? In your health? In your own righteousness? Our only living hope is through The Lord Jesus Christ, who died on the cross for our sins, and rising on the 3rd day , giving us eternal hope and victory!

As the Apostle Paul says here “Made Heirs according to the hope of eternal life” We are Heirs of Hope because Christ Is Risen, Christ Is Risen Indeed! Amen!

For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another. But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared, Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; Titus 3:3-5

One of the doctrines that doesn’t get talked about very much today is regeneration of the Holy Spirit. There are many who claim to be Christians, yet see no change in their life. There are others who claim to be Christians, and then one day decide they no longer believe. How does this happen? Well the simple question is, were they ever Born Again (John 3:3)? 

Christianity is not just another religion, its not just a title or status someone claims or is born with. To be a Christian, meaning your identity is in Christ, you have to be regenerated or reborn by the Holy Spirit. This is a total supernatural transformation of your entire soul. As the Apostle Paul said “You are either Alive in Christ or dead in sin” (Ephesians 2:5) 

As the Apostle Paul says here “for we ourselves also were” notice the past tense, before we became saved we were depraved, we were dead in our sins. When we become saved in Christ, we don’t remain the same as we were. It’s impossible to become Born Again, baptized by the Holy Spirit (John 3:5) and not be transformed in Christ. If you are still the same creature you were when you became saved, then I would have to say , something is wrong! You can’t have the Holy Spirit living inside of you and not transforming you!

Now the next point I want to make, is we are saved by the grace of God and not of ourselves. (Ephesians 2:8-9) As the Apostle Paul says here “ But after the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared” Why are any of us saved? Because God loves you, that’s simply it. God has chosen you and saved you because He loves you (Ephesians 1:4) 

The fact you are saved is all glory to God and no credit to yourself, as the Apostle Paul says “not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us” Its by the works of Christ we are saved not by ourselves. If we did anything to save ourselves then it wouldn’t be grace. The only reason your saved is because Christ has chosen you and showed his love and mercy towards you

So what happens when we become saved? As Jesus said “You must be Born Again” (John 3:3) As the Apostle Paul says here “washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit” You are made alive in Christ by the Holy Spirit, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are all working together in unison for your salvation. The question I want to leave with you is Are you Born Again? Have you been regenerated by the Holy Spirit? Are you a new creation in Christ? Amen!

Put them in mind to be subject to principalities and powers, to obey magistrates, to be ready to every good work, To speak evil of no man, to be no brawlers, but gentle, shewing all meekness unto all men. Titus 3:1-2

As we look around the world, we see chaos and the breakdown of civil law and order. So how does God maintain Law and Order in a fallen world? This is why God has ordained the governments and law authorities and put them in place, to try and restrain evil and maintain some sense of order. 

As the Apostle Paul said this under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit , “Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God.” (Romans 13:1) We learn a few things here, first God ordained all the governments of the world for order and structure, and we are to respect the authorities that are above us, to the best of our abilities.

This is the same the Apostle Paul is saying here to Titus “Put them in mind to be subject to principalities and powers, to obey magistrates” We as Christians are to strive to live in peace with everyone (Romans 12:18) To be a good example for the rest of the fallen world, that includes paying our taxes and obeying the laws of the land. As the Lord Jesus said “Render to Caesar what is Caesers and Render to God what is Gods” (Mark 12:17) Give to the governments what belongs to the governments, and give to God what belongs to God. 

Now of course because we live in a fallen world, the governments are all corrupted, and some are very wicked and evil. Some governments abuse their authority and use it to oppress the people. So what do we do when the laws of the governments conflict with the laws of God? Well as the Apostle Peter and the other Apostles  said “We obey God rather than man” (Acts 5:29) When the laws of the government conflict with the laws of God, we always obey God first before men. This obviously sometimes will have repercussions, but we must stay obedient to our one and only Lord Jesus Christ

A good example is when King Nebuchadnezzar was forcing everyone to bow down to his golden statue. The Hebrew men refused because it violated the law of God, which overrides the law of man. The consequences meant death, as they were thrown into the fiery furnace, however there was a 4th man in there, the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who spared their lives. We must remain faithful to God even if it means persecution or even death. (Daniel 3)

We worship a God of Law and Order, not a God of chaos or confusion (1 Cor. 14:33) Obey The Lord and strive to live in peace with everyone, the world is not our home, our Kingdom is eternal with The Lord, Amen!