Titus 2 – Laity Lessons – Lessons Of Grace – Part 4
(Grace Teaches Us About Leadership And Its Particulars)

(Titus 2:15)

Introduction:	

While Timothy was laboring in metropolitan Ephesus, Titus had his hands full on the island of Crete.  Titus was a Greek believer (Gal. 2:3) who had served Paul well on special assignments to the church in Corinth (2 Corinthians 7:13-14; 8:6, 16, 23; 12:18).  Apparently Titus had been won to Christ through Paul’s personal ministry (Titus 1:4) as Timothy had been (1 Tim. 1:2).  “As for Titus,” Paul wrote, “he is my partner and fellow worker among you” (2 Corinthians 8:23, NIV).  But the people on the island of Crete were not the easiest to work with, and Titus became somewhat discouraged.  Like Timothy, he was probably a young man.  But unlike Timothy, he was not given to timidity and physical ailments.  Paul had been with Titus on Crete and had left him there to correct the things that were wrong.  Since Jews from Crete were present at Pentecost (Acts 2:11), it is possible that they had carried the Gospel to their native land.  Titus had his share of problems!  The churches needed qualified leaders, and the various groups in the churches needed shepherding.  One group of false teachers was trying to mix Jewish law with the Gospel of grace (Titus 1:10, 14), while some of the Gentile believers were abusing the message of grace and turning it into license (Titus 2:11-15).  By nature, the people of Crete were not easy to work with (Titus 1:12-13), and Titus needed extraordinary patience and love.  It would have been easy for Titus to have “heard God’s call to go elsewhere,” but he stuck it out and finished his work.
(Warren Wiersbe)

Ch. 1	Leadership Lessons
	Intro.  “Acquainted With Titus”
	1. Paul Talks About Acknowledging Some Principles		                vs. 1-4
		a. The Truth Or Principle Of God’s Promise			vs. 2
		b. The Truth Or Principle Of Paul’s Preaching		vs. 3
		c. The Truth Or Principle Of Titus’ Part			vs. 4-5
	2. Paul Talks About Appointing Some Pastors		                vs. 5-9
		a. Notice The Pastors’ Domestic Qualifications		vs. 6
		b. Notice The Pastors’ Dispositional Qualifications		vs. 7-8
		c. Notice The Pastors’ Doctrinal Qualifications		vs. 9
	3. Paul Talks About Ascertaining Some Problems		                vs. 10-16
		a. The Problem Of Deception				vs. 10-11
		b. The Problem Of Defilement				vs. 12-15

Ch. 2	Laity Lessons
1. Lessons For Groups					                vs. 1-10
		c. The Problem Of Disobedience				vs. 16

a. The Demanded Characteristics Of Aged Men		vs. 1-2
b. The Desired Conduct Of Aged Women			vs. 3
c. Educating The Young Mother				vs. 4-5
d. Exhorting The Young Men				vs. 6-10
	2. Lessons Of Grace					                vs. 11-15
		a. Grace Teaches Us About Living In The Present		vs. 11-12
		b. Grace Teaches Us About Looking For The Prospects	vs. 13
		c. Grace Teaches Us About Liberty And Its Process		vs. 14
		d. Grace Teaches Us About Leadership And Its Particulars	vs. 15

Ch. 3	Life Lessons
	1. Paul Highlights Some Shared Lessons			                vs. 1-3
a. We Should Be Mindful Of Our Common Harmony		vs. 1
		b. We Should Be Mindful Of Our Common Humility		vs. 2
		c. We Should Be Mindful Of Our Common History		vs. 3
	2. Paul Highlights Some Salvation Lessons			                vs. 4-7
	3. Paul Highlights Some Social Lessons			                vs. 8-15

Thus far in chapter two, we have considered Lessons For Groups – these age specific and gender specific lessons for the various groups in the church.  Then in verse 11, Paul reminds Titus of a glorious reality that applies to both genders, to every age and every stage of humankind.

(Titus 2:11-12)  For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, {12} Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;

Paul says that grace has appeared, and it is “teaching us,” which means that it is training us like children and causing us to learn.  (From Thayer’s Greek Lexicon)  So now we have not only Lessons For Groups, but also Lessons Of Grace.

What is grace teaching us?

In verse 12, we saw that grace is teaching us about Living In The Present.
(Titus 2:12)  Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;
We dealt with verse 12 where…
1. Paul Says That Grace Is Teaching Us To Live The Negative Life		denying ungodliness &worldly lusts
2. Paul Says That Grace Is Teaching Us To Live The Needful Life		we should live
3. Paul Says That Grace Is Teaching Us To Live The New Life		soberly, righteously, and godly
Also … To Live The “Now” Life		in this present world

In verse 13, we saw that grace is teaching us about Looking For The Prospects.
(Titus 2:13)  Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;
looking - [Greek prosdechomai] to await (with confidence or patience); to accept; “as with necks stretched out, or with heads put forth” (John Trapp)  The word has the idea of directing your focus towards the receiving of something.  We asked and answered the questions from the text…
	1. Why Are We Looking?		Because of the Blessed Character and Blissful Certainty Of This Hope
	2. What Are We Looking For?	We are looking for A Magnificence and A Manifestation
	3. Who Are We Looking For?	We are looking for The Supreme One and The Saving One

In verse 14, we saw that grace is teaching us about Liberty And Its Process.
Speaking of “our Saviour Jesus Christ” in verse 13, the Bible says…
(Titus 2:14)  Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.
redeem – Greek NT:3084. lutroo; to redeem, liberate by payment of ransom; to liberate; to cause to be released to oneself by payment of the ransom, i. e., to redeem; to deliver:
(From Thayer’s Greek Lexicon)
	1. We Noticed The Price Of Liberty	Who gave himself for us
	2. We Noticed The Purpose Of Liberty	that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify …
	3. We Noticed The Practice Of Liberty	zealous of good works

Tonight, in verse 15, we will see that grace is teaching us about Leadership And Its Particulars.

I. Let’s Notice The Aspects Of Biblical Leadership
(Titus 2:15)  These things speak, and exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no man despise thee.

A. This Type Of Pastoral Leadership Involves The Spoken Word
	1. Consider The Word “Speak” And Its Meaning
speak – Greek 2980. laleo; to talk, i.e. utter words – Also translated as preach (6), say (15), speak (244), talk (11), tell (12), utter (4).
This word means to utter a voice or emit a sound; to use the tongue or the faculty of speech; to utter articulate sounds; to talk; to utter, tell; to use words in order to declare one’s mind and disclose one’s thoughts.
	2. Consider The Word “Speak” And Its Ministry
Speak (from laleo) points to the pastor’s responsibility to preach, announce, reveal, and disclose, with the intent of making clear God’s truth so that those who hear may understand.  Careful and faithful biblical preaching gives them knowledge of that truth.  (John F. MacArthur, Jr.)

B. This Type Of Pastoral Leadership Involves The Specific Word
	1. There Is A Specific Word That Convinces Someone To Do Right 
exhort – Greek 3870. parakaleo; from G3844 (para – near) and G2564 (kaleo – to call); to call near, i.e. invite, invoke (by imploration, exhortation or consolation) – beseech, call for, (be of good) comfort, desire, (give) exhort (-ation), intreat, pray.
Exhort is from parakaleo, which carries the ideas of beseeching, entreating, and pleading.  It involves more than simply stating and explaining truth.  The preacher who exhorts seeks by every means at his disposal to persuade and encourage his hearers not simply to understand but to believe God’s truth.  Exhort is a positive command to do what is right.  (John F. MacArthur, Jr.)
	2. There Is A Specific Word That Corrects Someone Who Does Wrong
rebuke – Greek 1651. elegcho; to show to be false, admonish (caution, warn about) – convict, convince, tell a fault, reprove.
Reprove (elencho) is a negative command meaning “to convince and correct one who does not yet recognize or admit that he must turn away from what is wrong.”  (John F. MacArthur, Jr.)

II. Let’s Notice The Authority Of Biblical Leadership
(Titus 2:15)  These things speak, and exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no man despise thee.

A. We Must Consider The Substance Of This Authority
	1. This Has The Idea Of An Authoritative Statement
authority – Greek 2003. epitage; an injunction or decree; by implication it means authoritativeness – commandment.
	2. This Has The Idea Of An Authoritative Spirit
authority – Greek 2003. epitage; an injunction or decree; by implication it means authoritativeness – commandment.

B. We Must Consider The Source Of This Authority
	1. This Authority Is Derived From The Scripture
(2 Timothy 4:2)  Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.
The preacher must put himself out of the way and let God’s Word speak through him unhindered.  No matter what his training, experience, or personal abilities, he has spiritual authority only to the extent that what he says conforms to God’s Word.  But as with Jesus’ own teaching, when a minister of God does faithfully proclaim that Word, those who reject his teaching reject God’s truth and are as much accountable for their rejection as if the Lord had spoken the truth with His own lips.  It is in that way, and only in that way, that a pastor is able to speak with spiritual authority.  It is also in that way that he is commanded to speak with spiritual authority.
(John F. MacArthur, Jr.)
MacArthur said that some of the counterfeits in this area of authority include those who claim
		a. Personal Authority
Some pastors assume authority over people’s lives in matters of temporal choices and issues, wielding dictatorial control.  That is false authority.  Others contend that God is obliged to give a positive response to every demand they make on Him “in Jesus’ name.”  But a request that is not made in a spirit of meekness and obedience and that is in any way contrary to Scripture and to the purposes of God cannot rightly be made in Jesus’ name.  Anything that is truly asked or done in His name (cf. John 14:13-14) is asked and done in accordance with God’s revealed Word and in the spirit of humility and total submission to the will of the Father.  Pastors have no personal spiritual authority at all.  They speak authoritatively only when they speak the Word of God accurately.  (John F. MacArthur, Jr.)
		b. Ecclesiastical Authority
		c. Intellectual Authority
		d. Experiential Authority
Such statements as “I know this is right (or true) because I feel it is” are tragically common, even among Christians.  But intuition is not knowing.  Feeling and emotion cannot discern truth and have no necessary relation to the truth.  There is no reliability or authority in mere experience.  Yet it is common for people to believe something is true simply because they feel it is true or because they experience something that leads them to conclude that it is true.  With utter disregard for careful biblical study and interpretation, they whimsically mishandle the truth and thereby forfeit true spiritual authority.  (John F. MacArthur, Jr.)
	2. This Authority Is Derived From The Sovereign
(Luke 9:1)  Then he called his twelve disciples together, and gave them power and authority over all devils, and to cure diseases.
John 5:19-27
(John 8:28-29)  Then said Jesus unto them, When ye have lifted up the Son of man, then shall ye know that I am he, and that I do nothing of myself; but as my Father hath taught me, I speak these things. {29} And he that sent me is with me: the Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please him.
(2 Corinthians 10:8)  For though I should boast somewhat more of our authority, which the Lord hath given us for edification, and not for your destruction, I should not be ashamed:

III. Let’s Notice The Aversion Of Biblical Leadership
(Titus 2:15)  These things speak, and exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no man despise thee.

no man – Greek 3367. medeis; including the irregular feminine medemia, and the neuter meden; means not even one (man, woman, thing).
despise – Greek 4065. periphroneo; to think beyond, i.e. depreciate (view with contempt); to set one’s self in thought beyond (exalt one’s self in thought above) a person or a thing

A. Leadership In Biblical Truth Cannot Be Reasonably Argued
Let no man despise thee (medeis sou periphroneito).  Present active imperative in prohibition of periphroneo, old verb, only here in N.T., to think around (on all sides).  Literally, “let no man think around thee” (and so despise thee).  In 1 Timothy 4:12 it is kataphroneito (think down on), a stronger word of scorn, but this one implies the possibility of one making mental circles around one and so “out-thinking” him.  The best way for the modern minister to command respect for his “authority” is to do thinking that will deserve it.
(Archibald Thomas Robertson – Word Pictures in the New Testament)

B. Leadership In Biblical Truth Cannot Be Rebelliously Avoided
Paul’s closing admonition in this chapter, “Let no one disregard you,” adds muscle to the command to speak with authority.  The phrase “let no one” clearly allows for no exception.  No believer should be allowed to reject or disregard God’s truth.  In effect, Paul is giving a call to church discipline as outlined in Matthew 18:15-17, 1 Corinthians 5:1-2, and Titus 3:10-11.  Disregard (despise) is from periphroneo, which has the literal meaning of “thinking around something, usually for the purpose of evasion.”  Eventually, the word came to be used almost exclusively in the negative sense of strongly disagreeing with an idea and of treating it with disrespect or disregard.  God’s truth is to be proclaimed with authority, and obedience to it demanded in the church.  No disobedience can be tolerated or overlooked.  (John F. MacArthur, Jr.)

Conclusion:	

I knew that it was pointless to try further to reconcile with those who opposed me in my last pastorate when one man said that he didn’t want me to try and show him where he was wrong from the scripture.  He wanted authority and power, but he didn’t want the scripture.  But apart from the scripture, there is no authority in church experience.