Titus 1:1

Titus, chapter 1, verses 1 to 3, our focus on 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 have in due times manifested his word through preaching, which is committed unto me according to the commandment of God, our Savior. May the Lord blessed to us his sacred and holy word this evening. In the book of 2 Samuel, there is a startling verse that has to do with David as the king of Israel. He has just been made king of Israel, and he has been given. the Davidic covenant where God is promised of his seed, he will establish an eternal kingdom, and that king will rule forever. Of course, speaking of the true son of David Jesus Christ, but immediately after he becomes king, he’s engaged in warfare with the Philistines and the Moabites. Perhaps his enemies, thinking that he would be weak. At this point in his reign, they would try to overthrow him. And you read that David smote Moab, and he defeated their army. And then there’s this unusual episode. He smote Moab and measured them with a line, casting them down to the ground. Even with two lines measured he to put to death, and with one full line to keep alive. And so the Moabites became David’s servants and brought gifts, 2 Samuel 8. and verse 2. Now, can you imagine if you were among those Moabites, and you’re lined up there on the ground, and you see the measuring line being measured out, and there’s two lines that are measured, and those people are put to death. Then there’s a line measured, and that group is kept alive. Then there’s two more lines measured, and those are put to death. The next line is measured, and those are kept alive, and so forth, down the line. Here you are watching all this. taking place. You had no say in the matter. The only hope of life was to be marked out as those who were going to be kept alive by the sovereign king, David. In a way, these measuring lines are an illustration of the doctrine of election. Some are chosen to eternal life. Others rejected. and suffer eternal death. The power of life and death is in the sovereign king, the Lord God himself. He measures according to his will and his purpose. There are those who are chosen by God to be his servants like Paul, but there are others who are vessels of wrath fitted for destruction. election, like David’s actions regarding those marked for life, is gracious. Because all who are rebellious enemies certainly deserve to perish. And yet God, by his grace, saves some. I want to speak on this little phrase here in our text tonight, God’s elect. And let me begin by saying this, you must recognize God, some people and he rejects others. The scripture teaches the doctrine of election and reprobation. When we use the word election, we’re talking about to pick out or to choose. And since the scripture clearly says it’s God’s elect, he is the one doing the picking and the choosing, as the text indicates to us. Someone has defined election as God’s eternal choice. of certain individuals to salvation by Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of his will. That’s a pretty good definition of the doctrine. Out of all the masses of humanity that came up before the mind of God, we find that he ordained some, known as the elect, unto salvation, and to receive his grace. There are many references in Scripture. to God’s choice or selection. It’s quite openly spoken throughout the Bible. It’s plain and clear. Now, I want you to notice here that Paul does not hide, neither does God, because he’s the one who inspired the writing, the doctrine of election at the end of the book and a small footnote at the bottom of the page. But right out front, right at the beginning, in the very first verse, election comes to the forefront here in Paul’s writing. You’ll find this frequently in the letters of the Apostle Paul. He speaks boldly, plainly, openly, openly about it in his very first words. I think this speaks volumes. Strangely enough, people are often ignorant of this vital doctrine. I once was talking to my mother-in-law, I had come to the doctrines of grace, and I was enthusiastic, and I had given her pink sovereignty of God, and I began to talk to her about election. And it was a foreign concept to her, even though she had gone to a fundamental Baptist church most of her life. And she said to me, I’m talking about God’s election, and she said to me, I never liked the way Pastor Bercher ran those. church elections. It just went right over her hat. She never got what I was talking about at all. It was like, it was like a foreign language. She had never heard anybody talk about election. When I went to the seminary and I had come to the doctrines of grace, I was going to a church that was an Armenian Baptist church. And one of the professors at the seminary, Dr. Barclan. was the teacher there, the pastor there. And he was the one who did the life of Christ and the major and the major and the minor province. Well, I came to the doctrine of church while I was attending his church, while I was going to an Armenian seminary. It’s God sovereign. I can’t explain it. That’s just the way it happens. And here I was at the time teaching a group of young boys Sunday school. And at that particular time, we had Jeremiah 1. The pastor would do some, I think he was doing like famous people of the Bible or saying your famous men or something. And we had something on Jeremiah and he did just like an outline on chapter 1. I find myself teaching from chapter 1 God’s election. Because there it was in verse 5. We read, before I formed the in verse 5. the belly, I knew thee. I love thee. And before thou came us forth out of the womb, I sanctified thee. I set you apart. I believe by divine election. And I ordained thee a prophet under the nations. Chapter 1, verse 5. So, I felt uncomfortable because I thought the pastor’s teaching one thing. I’m teaching another, and that’s not a good thing. So I thought I better sit down and talk with the pastor and tell him I really think I need to find a church that a with what I believe. And so I go in and I’m sitting there in his office explaining to him the reason I’m leaving because I had come to the doctrines of grace. And I said, you know, it was, I taught it in the in the Jeremiah chapter one lesson last week. And he looks at me, he said, where did you find that in Jeremiah chapter one? It was like, it was like, it was like it just, it went over his head. Here he is. He never even saw that. And yet to me, it just popped right off the page when I was reading it. So I tell you that, because it doesn’t matter whether they were talking to people who just haven’t been taught or some people who ought to know still may not believe the truth. I don’t say that I was brilliant either. When I came to the doctrines of grace, before I reached that point, one of my room, had gotten John Gill’s body of divinity. And he had it sitting out, and I asked him if I could look at it, and I flipped it. I have to open it up, and by God’s Providence, it opened to the chapter or a section on God’s reprobation. And the first words that came to my mind were nobody believes that. Nobody believes that. You’ve got to be kidding me. And so I thought, I didn’t even read it. I thought, I’m just going to see what kind of scriptures he uses here. And I start, looking at the screen because they were in a tile size, you know, and I can see them. I thought, wow. And I thought, I even looked one up. It was one of Jeremiah. I looked up because I thought, I don’t recall ever reading that, sure enough. It was right out of the King James. Just to show you that you can read the Bible. People, it goes over their head. So you’ll forgive me if I spend a little time on this because I think it’s important that we understand the doctrine of election. And you see the the prominent place that it’s given. here. And God has to open people’s eyes to this truth, but it is important. Sometimes the concept of divine election is denoted by other terms like predestinate, ordain, or for or day, or for prepare, or something of this nature, a point. When there is a choosing and a picking out, there also has to be some who are left behind, some who are rejected. And those are known as the reprobate. Jeremiah 630, and this is the verse that I read from John Gill’s body of divinity and I had to check. Reprobate silver shall men call them because the Lord have rejected them. Shocking. It was shocking to me to find that in the Word of God. Never even thought about this at all. But the scripture says in 1st Thessonians 5.9, for God hath appointed us to wrath, has not appointed us to wrath. excuse me, as some have been appointed, but to obtain the salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ. Scripture reveals that God is the divine potter. He makes some vessels under mercy. He made some vessels under wrath. He fits them as he sees fit for either situation. And God, of course, is the one who does it, and he saves people for his eternal purpose and glory. that is the circumstance here of the doctrine of election and reprobation. It is found in scripture. It is prominently found in scripture. And therefore, we ought to know the doctrine. Now, what are the characteristics of election? Well, election is personal. We often sang, in fact, I believe that we sang it last week in Psalm 65, verse 4. Blessed is the man, the individual whom thou choosest and causest to approach unto thee. The words God’s elect here must be understood of God choosing definite individuals, such as Paul, such as Titus, such as the creation believers, and so forth. In other words, election is not some vague decree of God where he just said, I’m going to save a mass of people, and it’s all in generalities. It’s very specific with regard to the people that he’s going to save. Did not Jesus say to his disciples in Luke chapter 10, rejoice because your names are written in heaven. We read in scripture about people’s names being written in the book of the Lamb’s Book of Life. That indicates to us individuality, particular people who have their names written in the Lamb’s Book of Life. The Book of Revelation speaks of those whose names. are not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world. Therefore, they are the reprobate. In Romans chapter 9, Paul teaches that Jacob, an individual is chosen to salvation, and he saw an individual is rejected. We could talk about Abraham. I could talk about Jeremiah. I could talk about Paul or Rufus. All specifically said to be chosen by God. But it’s personal. We must. emphasize that. Secondly, election is eternal. Now, you will notice that Paul speaks of God’s elect being promised eternal life before the world began. Isn’t that what the text tells us here if we put verses one and two together? According if he has chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, Ephesians 1 and 4. Before anything came into existence, before there were ever a sun, sun, before the earth and all the planets were made. Before one individual man walked on this earth, before one angel came into existence, God had already made his determination who would be saved and who would not. Who he would elect and who he would reject. Thus God’s choice here is fixed. It’s immutable. It’s immutable. It’s, you can’t change it. Nothing can happen in history that’s going to change or shake what God has done in eternity. When God promises the individual whom he have chosen, I will not blot his name out of the book of life, Revelation 3-5. When he tells his people he will not blot our names out, then it’s an assurance that we will have that eternal life that’s promised to us. There’s no revision. There’s no addition, and there is no subtraction. I was growing up, we used to sing a hymn. I think it’s called There’s a new name written down in glory, but there’s a new name written in glory down in its mind. That was the name, at least the beginning line of the song. Of course, that was Armenian in nature. It was the denial of God’s election. God is not sitting in heaven with his quill pen, and he and, you know, hovering over the book of life, waiting for someone. believe so he can write their name down in the book. Your name is written in the book before the world came into existence. That’s what the Bible tells us. That’s the God’s election. That’s what the Bible speaks about. So the election is eternal. Election is unto salvation. We are bound to give thanks all the way to God for you, brother and beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you unto salvation. Second Thessalonians 2. 13. You’ll notice that Paul here speaks of the faith of God’s elect, and then he relates the promise of eternal life. The purpose of election is the salvation of those whom God has eternally chosen. Ultimately, it’s for God’s glory. But he is purposing to save these individuals. That’s why they are chosen in Christ, the Savior. There’s nothing here about. some earthly temporal privileges or being simply chosen to some particular calling, let’s say, a particular service or ministry or anything of that nature. We’re not talking about being a pastor or a missionary. That’s not what God’s election is about here. It’s nothing less than salvation in Christ that is in view. In Romans chapter 8 verses 29 and 30, those who were predestinated, chosen by God, said to be called and justified and eventually glorify. We have our sins forgiven. We have Christ’s righteousness applied to us. So let’s not play games with the Word of God here in its teaching about election. This is about salvation. Not some type of ministry somewhere. God’s election is also unconditional. Romans 11 verses 5 and 6. Even so then at this present time, So there is a remnant according to the election of grace. And if by grace, then it is no more of works. Otherwise, grace is no more grace. Now, a conditional election would be based on something in the individual or something about the individual, maybe the character of the individual or something of this nature, a certain characteristic about the person that leads you to choose them. All political elections are conditional elections. You know, the voter’s choice is conditioned by something maybe the candidate has promised. Maybe you’re looking at the two candidates and you think, this one I think is going to be the best candidate. So you’re evaluating and you’re looking at them and saying, well, this person seems better. So you’re conditioning your vote on what you think about this particular individual. Some people vote for a candidate simply because he or she is good-looking. Maybe they’re handsome. And you have to be foolish, but it’d be scary. conditional, that’s why you’re voting for this person. Maybe the individual running for Senate is a beautiful blonde, and her opponent is an elderly 60-year-old man. He’d say, I’m voting for the blonde, you know, something like that. But you’re making your choice as foolish as that would be on a characteristic of the person. Perhaps one candidate has made all kinds of promises, not only tax cuts, but free health care and better skulls and better roads, and who knows what else he may have promised you. Maybe the other guy hasn’t made as many promises, and you say, I’m going with a guy that’s promised me to moon. Perhaps you’re influenced by the race or nationality. Maybe the person’s Hispanic or black or Italian or Jewish or Anglo-Saxon, and you vote for someone of your own race or your own nationality or something like that. Maybe you vote for the four-term incumbent, because he has more experienced than the young pup that’s trying to take his place. And say, I want the more experienced guy. So all of these things are conditional. election. I’m looking at the people. I’m saying I like this one better than that one because of some characteristic. Unconditional election is what we’re talking about. When God chooses here, he’s not looking at the individual, not foreseeing what they’re going to be or what they’re going to do and making his choice based upon a characteristic about them. If an election is gracious, it has to be unconditional because then you’re not worthy to be chosen. It’s not of works, as we read from Romans 11. In other words, based upon your forcing decision to believe in Christ, someone would say, well, that’s why God elected you. Is that what the scripture teaches? That would be a conditional election. God’s saying, I see this person is going to believe. Therefore, I choose. based on his decision. We read about Esau and Jacob. For the children, Esau and Jacob, being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God, according to election, might stand not of works, but of him that calleth, one was chosen and one was rejected. Before they they had done good or evil, that wasn’t brought into consideration. When the Bible says that election is not based upon people having done any good or evil, works cannot be considered. God’s decision is always according to the good pleasure of his will because he desired to do so for no other reason. So this is what pleased him. So you must recognize that God elects some people and rejects others. It’s a prominent doctrine, and these are some of the principles related to that doctrine. Now let me consider some common objections you might find of the doctrine of election. It makes God a respecter of persons. In Romans 211, the Bible teaches there is no respect to persons with God. And therefore, people would argue, well, that he can’t choose one person over another because he doesn’t show this type of respect between people. There’s no respect between people. And they want to argue, therefore, the election is based on foreseen faith and not God’s mere good pleasure. It not only is such an unconditional election unbilled. biblical because you have not chosen me but I have chosen you but I’ve chosen you but Romans 211 can’t be used to support it the word person in Romans 211 doesn’t refer to the individual himself or herself it refers to the outward circumstances of the individual in other words wealth parentage education position nationality actions whether you were a Jew or an Gentile, whether they have the law or whether they didn’t have the law. When it says that God is no respect to persons, it means he didn’t take any of those characteristics in mind when he made his decision. He made a decision regardless of those things. That’s what the text is teaching. So the Lord doesn’t accept or reject a person for any outward quality which may commend him or her above someone else. You remember what Paul wrote in the book of 1 Corinthians chapter 1. calling brethren how not many wise men after the flesh not many mighty not many noble are called but God had chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things that are mighty and the base things of the world and the things that are despised have God chosen yea and the things which are not to bring to not things that are that no flesh should glory in his presence there was a in a neighborhood there was a young boy that wasn’t very good at baseball I actually wasn’t very good at any sports but when they were playing baseball he was the last person picked. You know, usually you have the older guys and they would be the captains and then you’d pick. See you throw the bat and you work your hand up the bat and somebody gets, you know, the pick, the first pick and then you back and forth you pick the team from the players that are there that day to play. Well, this poor kid was always picked last. Always because he was at least skilled when it came to playing baseball. But one day there were two new people. people that came, two older boys that came, they were the captains, and they got to choose. And the one older boy picked this young boy that wasn’t very good as his first pick. Why did he do that? Because they were brothers and he loved him. Not because he had any ability. He just picked it because he was always the last guy picked. And so he said, I’ll take my, I want my brother on my side. Now that’s not a perfect illustration. but God does not choose us because of our abilities or our skills. He chooses us simply because he loves us. He reaches out in love to us. God would be a respecter of persons if his choice were based upon an individual’s wisdom or strength or a position in life or foreseen faith, but God’s choice is purely sovereign. The poor, the despised, the most worthless individuals you could imagine, may be indeed chosen to be. salvation in Jesus Christ. When we think about God’s elect, sometimes it’s a pretty motley crew. There are prostitutes, drunkards, homosexuality, homosexuals. We have Mary Magdalene who had seven devils. We had Paul, who was a persecutor of the church. We have Zakias, who was a crooked tax collector. You got Onesimus, who was a runaway slave and perhaps stole something from his master when he ran off. I’m reminded of my father. My father in his young years and his teenage years was pretty wild. And he got, you know, he was into all kinds of stuff. But he had to go into the, he joined the Navy during World War II. And he got shipped off to the West Coast because he’s going to end up in the Pacific fighting the Japanese. And he ends up somehow in Chicago. and a mission in Chicago where someone sits down, opens the Bible, and explains to him the gospel of Jesus Christ, and he’s saved by God’s grace. And he’s given a New Testament. And he takes that New Testament with him throughout the war years. It’s kind of battered and torn, you know, battered and worn out. But he had come to know the Lord. So he comes back home. And he goes to visit the pastor of the church. where he grew up. And he was raised in some type of presbyterian church, and I’m not sure exactly the actual flavor. But he goes to him and he talks to the pastor and he sits down and explains to him excitedly, God saved me. And the pastor looks at him and says, you. Like, of all the people God could save, how could you save you? I didn’t think you had a chance, you know. But that’s the way. God, that’s the way God operate because of God’s election. You see. You never know who’s going to be saved. And it is not. So it makes God a respecter of persons, some say, but it does it. It’s not that he is a respecter of persons in the sense of looking at the characteristics and making the choice. No. He’s taking everybody to put them all on the same level and make the choice whatever way he chooses to make it. That’s what we believe the scripture says. The second thing that people say is it would be unfair. Yeah, they see this word God’s elect here, and they come to this passage, and they see the promise of eternal life before the world began, but it just doesn’t seem right. Of course, we’re always guilty if we come to this conclusion of putting our minds and our thinking above what God has said in his word. Always a dangerous thing. So people say it’s not right for God. God to discriminate between individuals, electing some and saving others, while rejecting and condemning others. Electing and saving some while rejecting and condemning others. Now, it’s interesting, and I always point this out, the people who give me this response. This is the same response that Paul got in the book of Romans chapter 9. Remember when he talked about the election of of Jacob and the rejection of Esau. What was the thing that, what was the question that came up? What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? It doesn’t seem fair. That’s exactly what came up. That’s the very question that Paul is arguing and addressing about, that he’s addressing his arguments too, I should say. Now I tell you this because that indicates that what we’re saying about election tonight must be true because it matches with what Paul says if we’re getting the same response that Paul got. Well, that’s not fair. So what is the answer to this? Paul says, God forbid. Let us never think of charging God with being unjust or unfair. It’s unthinkable. The objection might be valid if we all deserve salvation and God only gave it to some people and didn’t give it to others. But just the opposite is true. We all deserve to be damned. We all deserve to go to hell, that God would save some is gracious. Paul continues in Roman 9 by quoting a verse from the book of Exodus, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion. I want you to look with me to Matthew chapter 20 tonight. I remember when I was younger I never could understand this particular passage of scripture because I didn’t understand the doctrine of election. and so for a long time I just didn’t get the teaching here. But the teaching is pretty clear. Let me read this. Verse is 1 to 16. The kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is a householder which went out early in the morning to hire laborers in his vineyard. And when he had agreed with the laborers for a penny a day, he sent them unto his vineyard. into his vineyard. And he went out about the third hour and saw others standing idle in the marketplace. And he said unto them, go ye also into the vineyard and whatsoever is right I will give you. And they went their way. And he went out about the sixth hour and ninth hour and did likewise. And about the 11th hour he went out and found other standing idle and seth unto them, why stand ye here all the day idle? And they say unto him because no man hath hired us. He saith unto them go ye also into the vineyard and whatsoever is right that shall you receive. And when even was come, the lord of the vineyard saith unto his steward, called the laborers and give them their hire, beginning from the first, or excuse me, beginning from the last unto the first. And when they came that were hired about the 11th hour, they received every man a penny. And when the first came, they were, they were hired about the 11th hour. They received every man a penny. And when the first came, they supposed that they would have received more that they likewise received every man of penny. And when they had received that, they murmured against the good man of the house, saying, these laughs have wrought but one hour, and now has made them equal unto us, which have borne the burden in the heat of the day. But he answered one of them and said, friend, I do thee no wrong. Didst thou not agree with me for a penny? Take that as thine. Take that thine. Take that thine is. and go thy way. I will give unto this last, even as unto thee. Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own? Is thine eye evil, because I am good? So the last shall be first, and the first last, for many be called, but few chosen. Now the majority of manuscripts have verse 16 here. There are those who, in the critical text, who would, try to eliminate this, but I think it’s critical to have this particular verse of scripture, verse 16. It is in the majority because this parable is teaching something about election. And that’s what Jesus is emphasizing here. It has something to do with the kingdom of heaven, because verse 1 tells us so, but specifically it has to do with election. We see the laborers hired to work in verses 1 to 7. Now, here’s a vineyard owner, he needs somebody go out and pick the grapes. on his vines. And so he goes out early in the morning, evidently 6 o’clock, and he hires people at first light and sends them out into the vineyard to work. And three hours later, he comes back at 9 o’clock, and he sees some people still there. And he says, you need work? Yeah, we need work. Well, he had agreed to pay one penny, which was a fairs day wage for the people who started at 6 o’clock. So he says to them, whatever is right, I’ll get to, give you, I’ll pay you a decent wage, a fair wage on this. And so they go out. And so he continues to do this. At noon, six hours from the beginning, he goes back to the marketplace, and there’s still people that need to be hired, and he hires them and sends them out, promises to pay them what’s fair and right. At 3 o’clock, 9 hours since the beginning of the day, he hires even more workers promising the same thing. And then at 5 o’clock, 11 hours, since the beginning of the day, he hires some more people and tells them the same thing. I’ll pay you what’s fair and right. And so all these laborers were picking grapes for various lengths of time, some for a very short period of one hour, according to verse 12. One hour. Now, some laborers charge the vineyard owner with being unfair in verses 8 to 16. At the end of the day, everybody gets paid. However, since the vineyard owner was a gracious, man, he decided he was going to pay the people that worked only one hour, the same penny, that he paid the people who worked all day long. Well, the people that worked all day long, when they were getting paid, they expected to get more. Since they were out in the heat of the day and working all day long, they expected more money. He gave them exactly what he promised to give them. And that’s what we find here. However, they complained. He says, in verses 13 and 14, don’t I have a right to be generous? Can I do what I want? You got exactly what you deserved. Others got what they didn’t deserve. But nobody got cheated. Nobody got wronged in this. Jesus told this parable to teach you something about salvation, particularly election, we’re told. In verse 16. God is the owner of all things. He’s the vineyard owner. And we find that he has complete control over man’s eternal destiny. Jesus is teaching here the salvation is entirely of grace. God can do exactly what he pleases when it comes to bestowing grace. Versus 15 and 16. Grace is unmerited favor. God saves you from sin and hell through the person and work of Jesus Christ. God doesn’t have to save anyone. He’s not under any obligation. He simply does so because he desires to to do so. is God unfair. And this is the question that’s raised. When the evening comes, and this represents, I believe, the end of time, the day of judgment. Jesus is the steward who’s going to give out the pay, so to speak, at this particular point. As verse 8 indicates, the steward isn’t doing this. Some individuals receive exactly what was due them. The wages as soon as death. You get exactly what you deserve. others we find get much more than they deserve because the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Now those who receive exactly what they deserve to go to hell may be very dissatisfied but they can’t complain that God is unfair. You got what you deserved. The soul that sinneth it shall die. You got exactly what I said. God does not have an evil heart and we shouldn’t charge God who is good and gracious with being unfair. The Bible says God will have mercy on whom we have mercy and therefore he does and this is what this parable is all about. God sometimes chooses to give you more than you deserve. That’s grace. Aren’t we glad that God is a gracious God? We ought to be thankful that there is such a thing as God’s elect. My friend, salvation. is God being gracious on the basis of Christ and saving our souls. Now you’ll notice that it’s through the gospel that God dispenses his grace. Many are called, but few are chosen. The outward call of the gospel through the minister telling people about salvation in Christ goes forth, but only those called by God’s grace. Only the elect are. the ones who receive salvation. Friends, hell is full of justice. Anyone that goes to hell got exactly what they deserve. Heaven is full of grace because there’s nobody that deserves to go to heaven. So I leave this with you tonight because this is an important, I think, in prominent doctrine. Just as David had that measuring line and he measured out the Moabites for life and death, God has measured out who shall live and who shall die spiritually. and eternally. And while this is a despised and hated doctrine by many, it’s given prominence in Scripture, and let me tell you this, you ought to love it. You ought to love this doctrine. This is the doctrine by which we have hope for salvation. And therefore, I say, be thankful unto God that he does elect.