Encounter the Truth

Jonathan Griffiths: We are all often wronged by those around us, aren't we? Paul says speak evil of no one, but sometimes people speak evil of us. Paul says show perfect courtesy to all people. But in a particular situation that you're navigating at the present time, you've been shown everything but courtesy by others. Why be distinctive?

Steve Hiller: You're listening to Encounter the Truth with Jonathan Griffiths. And Jonathan, that's a great question right there. Sometimes when we have been maligned and abused and lied about, the temptation can be to fight fire with fire. So why is it so important that we be distinctive?

Jonathan Griffiths: Well, it all starts with the gospel. So for the Christian believer, and I'm conscious that not everyone listening by any means will necessarily be a Christian believer, but for the Christian, we understand that God has shown us mercy and grace that we don't deserve.

And that's the starting place with Christian behavior. God has shown us kindness above anything we could ever deserve. And that kindness transforms us and in his grace, God calls us now to live differently. That's the starting place, that's the foundation.

Steve Hiller: And so then is the hope that in that living differently, we're asked why? We live in such a way that hopefully the door is open then to share the gospel with those around us?

Jonathan Griffiths: Well, I hope that's the case. And I think that can be the case. There's so much aggression in our world. When we see conflict breaking out in communities and among coworkers and between nations and all the rest, we see so much aggression, don't we all around us?

And the Christian is called to be different in responding to difficult situations and that should prompt folk to ask, "Hey, what's what's going on there? And how can you respond in this way?" And in God's kindness, opportunities for the gospel can come from that.

Steve Hiller: Well, we're going to look at this in the book of Titus. We're in chapter three and we're looking at verses one through seven today as we continue a message called Transformed by the Mercy of God. Here is Jonathan.

Jonathan Griffiths: Rather than being constantly poised for a fight for a protest, we are to be ready. Here's what we're to be ready for. End of verse one, for every good work. Looking for the opportunities to serve our communities and to contribute to the good of our society.

How are Christians to live in society? We're to be submissive to rulers and authorities. And next, we are to be courteous to everyone. Remind them, verse two, to speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all people. Just let those words sink in. Those are immensely challenging words. Just think through that instruction. Speak evil of no one, avoid quarreling, be gentle, show perfect courtesy to all people.

As I've reflected on verse two, I've been thinking about our social media age and the way of things on Twitter and Facebook and all the rest. I don't know what you think, but it strikes me that those platforms are mostly about the polar opposite of verse two. Aren't they often a showcase for our natural and fallen way of interacting? Aren't they so often about speaking evil of others, getting into quarrels and setting aside all courtesy? And actually for believers, those places are places of particular challenge for our godliness.

I have to say I'm deeply saddened to see so much unworthy behavior from believers on social media. Debates become fistfights. Discussion becomes frankly rude and unkind, aggressive and disrespectful. Professing Christians tear other Christians apart in public for all to see. It's just dreadful to behold. The world of social media is a place of particular challenge for us. Somehow we more easily say things online that we might not say face to face. But no mistake, verse two is a challenge for us everywhere we go.

I actually had what I might call a customer service issue this week where something went a little wrong with a local business and I needed to follow up on the issue. I needed to work it through. And I'm sure I didn't get it perfectly right, but I was thinking all the time as I wrote my email to the manager of this business as we tried to sort things out. I was thinking all the time, "Would this man read my email and be able to confirm at the end of it that my email showed him perfect courtesy?"

Now reflecting on all that, I was able to make a couple of edits to draft one before sending it. And I got a very gracious reply in the end. And it all ended very, very well. But what a challenge this is for us. There's so much sheer rudeness in our society. Just try cutting someone off on the roads or being too slow to move on a green light and just see what happens. You know what happens, don't you? It's extraordinary. But you and I, if we belong to Jesus Christ, we are to be different, distinctive. Paul says, perfectly courteous. And how hard that can be.

Paul is quite aware, I think, that this is a hard thing. We mustn't imagine that this was somehow a straightforward thing in Crete and it's only become more complicated just of late. It's worth remembering the kind of society that the Christians were inhabiting there. It was hardly a sweet and harmonious place. You may recall Paul's rather unflattering summary of the culture. Chapter one and verse 12, one of the Cretans, a prophet of their own, said, "Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons." This testimony is true. Paul is saying this to them, this admonition, because they need to hear it. Because it was hard for them.

It was hard for them then, even as it is hard for us now. This was countercultural then, even as it is countercultural now. And Paul knows it. He knows that this won't come naturally, but he's convinced that it's not only necessary, but actually possible for the believer. And so we move now from the question of how we should live to the question of why. Why should we live distinctively as Christians?

Question, it's not an academic one, is it? Sometimes it's a very pressing question. You see, we are often wronged by those around us, aren't we? Paul says speak evil of no one, but sometimes people speak evil of us. Maybe that's your particular experience today. You're being slandered in the community and your temptation it is to fight fire with fire.

Paul says to avoid quarreling, but maybe someone has picked a fight with you and you feel you need to get into the ring just to protect your own interests. Paul says to be gentle, but you're getting pushed around. Paul says show perfect courtesy to all people. But in a particular situation that you're navigating at the present time, you've been shown everything but courtesy by others. Why be distinctive? Well, first of all, we are to be distinctive because God has saved us from our former life.

Verse three: 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. When everyone else is treating the authorities with disdain, why should we be respectfully submissive? When everyone else is venting angrily on social media, engaging in character assassination online, shouting down the phone at the customer service rep, gossiping about their neighbor, why should we be any different?

Paul calls our mind back to our former way of life apart from Christ. And he reminds us that this is what we were like. We were no better than anyone else. But that way of life, it was dangerous and it was destructive. It had alienated us from our maker. It was inviting the judgment of God. He needed to intervene if we were to avoid destruction. And wonderfully, that's just what he did.

Verse four: But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but by his own mercy. Our former way of life, it was dragging us to hell itself. Those old patterns of behavior, those normal patterns of behavior in the world out there, they were leading us toward destruction. But God intervened.

His goodness and his loving kindness appeared in the world. And we remember from chapter two and verse 11 that the appearing of God's saving grace, it took place when Jesus appeared in the world. And notice what Jesus showed us in his earthly ministry. It's so unlike the behavior of the world, the behavior that marked us, that naturally marks us apart from Christ. What did he show us? He showed us goodness. In him, we saw true goodness, not a hint of cruelty or corruption.

In his relationships and his interactions, pure loving kindness. And his goodness and his loving kindness, which we saw in his teaching and we saw in his interactions with people, in his miracles, in his acts of mercy. We saw his goodness and his loving kindness most profoundly and most clearly where? At the cross, where he gave himself to pay the price of our foolishness, our disobedience, our wasted lives, our hatred for others. And because he died on that cross, because he bore the judgment we deserve, we are now offered salvation from our old way of life, from its slavery and its consequences.

And Paul says to us that is a very, very good reason not to behave like that anymore. Don't do it, says Paul, verse three, for, because you used to be like that. But God saved you from all that in mercy through Jesus. You couldn't have saved yourself. This has nothing to do, verse five, with any works done by you in righteousness. Don't think you're the earner of your salvation superior to anyone else. It was his own mercy. But remember now, turn away from that old way of life. You've been saved from it.

Scenario comes to mind of a police cruiser pulling you over. You're barreling down the highway far too fast, 20, 30 over the limit. The flashing lights they catch up with you. The officer comes to the window, you get the talk about safety, you're told that you were being foolish, you're told how easily you could have caused a serious accident at that speed. But then in mercy, the officer refrains from giving you the punishment you deserve, which would be a big fine, maybe you're having your car impounded. He refrains from doing that, but he sends you on with an admonition to change.

And as soon as the kind officer disappears from the rearview mirror, you step on it and you're back up to your old speed. And the mercy you've been shown, it's entirely forgotten. Well, the mercy we've been shown in Christ, it is of a totally different order, of course. It involved unspeakable cost. It wasn't a matter of turning a blind eye. Oh no, it was a matter of paying the price of our sin in full at the cross. And the gift of that salvation from our old way of life, it is reason enough to abandon that old way of life. But there is more. Not only did the Lord save us from our foolish former life, he also mercifully saved us for a new life. He gave us a new life.

Steve Hiller: You're listening to Encounter the Truth with Jonathan Griffiths and a message called Transformed by the Mercy of God. It's part of our series from the book of Titus called Transformed by Truth. Now we're going to pause the message right here, but we'll get back to it in just a moment. So I hope you'll stay with us.

A little bit later this month, we're going to begin a new series called Listener Favorites. We went back and we took a look at what have been the most downloaded, requested, and streamed broadcasts of the past year. And we've taken those messages and we're compiling them in a series called Listener Favorites.

Along with that, a study guide to help you dig a little bit deeper as we dive into some of the different topics like how we can have confidence in trial. We'll look at the cost of self-reliance, what enduring faith looks like, and what it means to take refuge in the Lord, just a few of the topics that we'll be focusing in on a little bit later this month. You can get your study guide for free when you come to our website, encounterthetruth.org. That's encounterthetruth.org. Well, let's get back to our message. Once again, here is Jonathan.

Jonathan Griffiths: The picture of our old life that Paul painted for us in verse three, it was a picture of bondage and slavery. It was a picture of a life stuck in a terrible rut of ugly patterns of behavior. He spoke of us being led astray and being slaves. And that's the reality of the fallen human life apart from Jesus. If you've ever encountered addiction on any level, you'll know that if someone is enslaved to a substance, they need help to get free. They won't be likely to break the bonds of the addiction on their own strength.

Paul reminds us that before we knew Jesus, we were enslaved to passions and pleasures. We were locked into ugly patterns of interaction, he tells us. And if the call of the Bible was simply to try harder to change, to be better, we would be doomed to fail. But that's not what Paul's doing here, is it? No, he is reminding us that God has done something fundamental in our heart if we belong to Jesus. He has washed us clean and he's given us a new life. He has renewed us. He has made us new by the Holy Spirit. And because he has done that, if we belong to him, we actually can live a different kind of life, a new kind of life. It's actually possible for us now because the Holy Spirit within can do what we can never do.

Now at this point, I'd like to speak directly for a moment to those who are with us who would love to change, but who feel trapped and who feel unable to do so. You see, in Paul's description of the old life in verse three, you may find a whole lot of your current life. Maybe it's all too familiar to you. You see the attraction of living differently, you would dearly love to adopt a new way of living, but you know that actually you are in a kind of slavery. It's all beyond you. You've tried to change before.

Well, if that's you, let me say the place to start is not with more effort. If your hopes for life transformation are simply grounded in personal effort, it will be like trying to push a bus up a hill or pull yourself up by your bootstraps. It won't work if you begin there. The right place to begin, the only place to begin is with Jesus himself. It is by coming to him, the pure expression of the goodness and the loving kindness of God. It is by asking him to apply his mercy to your life, to forgive you, to make you new by his spirit. And the promise of the gospel is simply this: He will do that if you ask him.

That's the offer of the gospel. That's where change begins and it is for you even today, if you will but receive it. But this new life in Christ, it doesn't just lead to behavior change. It leads to a wonderful future. Verse seven: So that being justified by his grace, we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. It's very interesting that here at this point, Paul casts our minds forward to the eternal inheritance, to the promise of heaven, to the hope of eternal life.

It's interesting that he does that right here in the midst of this discussion about how believers ought to behave within society. Just think about the logic of that for a moment. Why is Paul actually doing that? Well, think about the bad behavior he wants us to set aside and think about the good behavior he wants us to embrace through the power of the spirit.

As I reflect on it, it strikes me that the kinds of behaviors Paul speaks of in verse three, the old way of life, it's all built around maximizing for me my advantage and my pleasure in this life. It's about me saying, you know, "I've got my time here on earth and because my time is limited, I'm going to guard my territory. I'm going to protect my interests. I'm going to extract from life what I can. I'm going to take from this world what I can. I'm going to fight for what is mine. I'm going to resent you and what you have that I don't have. I will pursue every passion and pleasure of mine to the full, and anyone who gets in the way is going to be pushed aside."

Now that's the world's way. And on one level, if this life is all there is, it makes some kind of sense, doesn't it? I'm going to grab for myself all I can. I'm going to kick others out of my way because I have a few short years to enjoy what I can and then I die. But the believer behaves differently. We submit to rulers even if it costs us. We are gracious toward others, avoid quarrels even if it's not to our advantage. We do that out of obedience to Jesus and we're free to do it because we know that we have something far better to look forward to.

We are heirs of God above, heirs according to the promise even of eternal life. What an inheritance in heaven before us. At the end of the day, this earthly life, it doesn't have to go my way because by the grace of God, eternity will be to my favor. Eternity is going to go well for me because God has made me an heir within his kingdom.

You know, there's some passages of the scriptures you read through that so clearly would change our lives and would change our world if we took them seriously and if we lived them out. And I think we can agree this opening section of Titus chapter three, it is one such passage, isn't it? It flies in the face of so much that is so familiar to us in our culture, so much that comes so instinctively to us as fallen human beings who are naturally so concerned with our own self-interest.

How should we live in society? Submissive to authorities, courteous to everyone, utterly distinctive in our interactions. Why? Why should we live like this? Because God by his mercy and his loving kindness has saved us. He saved us from that old way of life and from its deadly consequences. And he's given us a new future, a future that liberates us now to hold lightly to our own interests, a future that empowers us by the spirit who's given to us now to live in this radically countercultural way and to do so for the Lord's own glory. May he strengthen us to live in this way in the days to come.

Steve Hiller: Jonathan Griffiths here on Encounter the Truth wrapping up our message, Transformed by the Mercy of God, part of our series from the book of Titus called Transformed by Truth. And if you've missed any of the broadcasts in our series, come and listen online. Our website is encounterthetruth.org. That's encounterthetruth.org. You can stream the program or you can download an MP3 for free. You could also listen if you have the Encounter the Truth app. That's free and you're going to find that at your app store.

Encounter the Truth is able to be on the station because of your financial generosity. Being listener-supported, we do depend on hearing from you to keep Jonathan's teaching on this station. And as you give a gift of any amount this month, we want to send you a book called The Final Lap, written by John Wyatt. And Jonathan, why do you think that this book is going to be useful or helpful?

Jonathan Griffiths: Well, John is really trying to encourage Christian people to think carefully about the final stages of life and the retirement years as well, and to be prepared for navigating that season of life as believers. Retirement and old age will come upon us eventually if the Lord gives us those years. And not many of us give a whole lot of thought to what it looks like to live well through those seasons of life and to trust the Lord through the ups and downs of those years and those decades. And John's book is designed to help us think through those things well.

And for some listeners, that will be, well, you are retired or you are living through old age and the Lord's given you the blessing of those years. And I think this book will be a real encouragement to think through what it looks like to be a faithful believer in that season of life. Then other listeners will be caring for perhaps elderly parents and seeking to encourage elderly parents or grandparents. And I think this book will be a resource and an encouragement to think Christianly about how to do that and how to be an encouragement. I think there's tremendous value here actually for all of us as believers to get hold of this book and to take in the lessons that John has for us from the word of God.

Steve Hiller: It is called The Final Lap: Navigating the Transitions of Later Life, written by John Wyatt, our thank-you gift to you as you financially support Encounter the Truth this month. You can call and give over the phone at 1-833-99-TRUTH or go online to encounterthetruth.org. Again, our phone number is 1-833-998-7884 or encounterthetruth.org.

You can also write us at Encounter the Truth, 2176 Prince of Wales Drive, Ottawa, Ontario, K2E 0A1 or in the US at Encounter the Truth, 215 North Arlington Heights Road, number 102, Arlington Heights, Illinois, 60004. For Jonathan Griffiths, I'm Steve Hiller. Thanks for listening and I hope you'll join us next time.