Titus 3:15

The book of Titus, chapter 3, verse 15 for our tonight, all that are with me, salute thee. Greet them that love us in the faith. Grace be with you all. Amen. Thank God bless to us His sacred and holy word this evening. Daniel Webster left his country home, traveled to Boston where he went to law school. He entered without invitation the office of Christopher Gore, who was then the head of the Massachusetts Bar. He was looked upon as an intruder, and nobody paid any attention to him. Webster said he found himself very discouraged. However, one day Rufus King, saw a lonely, solitary student, and he warmly shook his hand. He says, I know your father well. Be studious, and you were win. And then he added, if you need any assistance or advice, come to me. Years later, after he had achieved greatness, Daniel Webster always looked back on that moment. He said, I can still feel the warm pressure of his hand. hear those challenging words of encouragement that he gave me. We all need encouragement in this life. How much more so, when it comes to the spiritual realm, when we have to battle the world, the flesh, the devil. Paul, having completed his instructions to Titus and the people of God on the island of fitingly ends this letter with a word of encouragement. The Christian life is not an easy life. Spiritual warfare requires a constant exercise of courage, strength, and faith. Satan’s fiery darts haven’t lost any of their heat or sharpness down through the years. It’s easy to become weary and well-doing. it’s easy for your hands to droop, your knees to become weak, and therefore, you must be encouraged in your Christian walk. I want to talk about Christian encouragement from this passage of Scripture tonight. Let me begin by saying, you should relate your love and affection to brothers and sisters in Christ. He says here, all that are with me, salute thee. Your brothers and sisters in Christ should know that you are holding them in loving remembrance. These words, I think, correspond to the ancient and commonly accepted custom of wishing one well. And it signifies a loving remembrance of the person or person’s saluted custom. you might find this in a lot of secular letters as far as the wording or phrasing here where there’s a desire for the good and the welfare and the individual to whom you write. Paul, however, as he always does, elevates something that may be looked upon as common and ordinary to a higher level. He puts it on a spiritual level here and includes as we will see here in this salutation. While something like this may be commonly used in the ancient world, it didn’t even have to be sincere. it was like, you know, it was just like the common thing you just sort of plaster on her, he would say. But that’s not how Paul addresses these people. He’s very sincere when he wishes them to God’s blessing and grace to them and so forth. Paul wants Titus to know that all who are working with him want to send him greetings. We’re thinking about you, we’re remembering you, and we know you’re down there, you’re doing the work. You haven’t been forgotten by us. In the book of Genesis, you recall that Joseph is sold by his brothers as a slave and he ends up in an Egyptian prison because of the false accusations of Potiphar’s wife. And you’ll recall that while he’s there, he meets Pharaoh’s butler and his cup bearer. They both have dreams, and he interprets the dreams for them. And the butler would be restored to the position, but the baker sadly was going to be hanged. Then Joseph says to the butler, after he explains the dream, he says this, but think on me, when it shall be well with thee and show kindness, I pray thee, unto me, and make mention of me to Pharaoh and bring me out of this house. For indeed I was stolen away out of the land of the Hebrews, and here also I have done nothing that they should put me into the dungeon. I shouldn’t be here. Remember me. Now, you can imagine perhaps the assurances of the grateful butler who has heard now that he’s going to be restored and so forth, but he failed to keep them. Three days later, he is lifted out of prison. He is given back his position as the cup bearer of Pharaoh. And then you read those sad words, yet did the chief butler, did not the chief butler remember Joseph, but forgot him. Forgot about it. A terrible thing to be forgotten. And then the scriptures, we find the command were not to look merely on our own things, but look on the things of others. Christian love should cause you to think about the needs and the problems and the temptations and struggles of other Christians and the faith, to remember them in their trials, to lift them up at the throne of grace and so forth. So you must concern yourself with the physical and spiritual well-being of your brothers and sisters in Christ. you can’t be isolated in your thinking. You can’t be on an island by yourself somewhere and not be thinking about what are their needs? What are these people have need of as my brothers and sisters? So they should know that you hold them in loving remembrance. So Paul sends this greeting down the tightest, letting him know. You’re not on your own down there. We’re thinking about you. We’re praying for you and so forth. Now, you relate your love. to encourage them. Paul sends this greeting, I think, to Titus, to encourage him to continue on in his work. It’s a wonderful thing to know you enjoy the love and the prayers and the good wishes of the people of God. There are times in your Christian life when you really need consolation, when you need to be lifted up, when things are dark, when difficulties come. It is great to know that the people of God are behind you and praying for you and lifting up your needs before the throne of grace. There’s times I don’t know if I can say it this way, but I feel like the prayers of God’s people are behind me. Have you ever had that kind of response? You just know that they’re there, and somehow or other God is answering those prayers and giving you strength to do what you have to do. We need. spiritual support because we have to deal with ungodly men. We have to deal with the wiles of the devil. We have to deal the difficulty of living the Christian life. Or if you’re in the ministry, the work of Christ, in the preaching and teaching and so forth of the church. The world may often ridicule you and mock you. You’re going to face reproaches. You’re going to face ungodly men. But if you know you have the blessing of the people of God. then you can endure these things much more easily. There’s weariness at times in the work of the Lord that can overwhelm you. But the scriptures are not to be weary and well-doing. But we’re spurred on by the thought. The prayers of the people of God, the people of God are remembering me before the Lord. They’re thinking about me. Paul once confessed this about the ministry. He said, who is sufficient for these things? In 2 Corinthians 216. Discouragement can be great in the ministry. There are times when things break your heart. People break your heart. Spiritual warfare is a daunting task, unlike anything else in this life, and we have to endure hardness as good soldiers of Jesus Christ. And sometimes we feel as if we’re the special target of safe. Imagine for a moment of a soldier on the first of faith. front lines there in Afghanistan and they’re fighting the terrorists, the insurgents, and so forth. They’re facing enemy attack and roadside bombs and sniper bullets and car bombs and who knows what else. A lot of hostile forces. Here you are trying to bring regional peace to the area, become frustrated. You’ve lost some of your friends, perhaps to enemy. fire. You make a single error in judgment with the use of your gun. The media may come down on you and you be court-martial and who knows what’s going to happen. You’re not sure sometimes who your friends or enemies are among the Afghan people. I can imagine how difficult the task would be. And yet, a mail call is a joy to hear from those back home that they love you, that they’re concerned about you. To know the family and friends are thinking about. you. Or if you get FaceTime on the computer, the same thing. It lifts your spirits. Isn’t it true spiritually as well? Should not our missionaries know that we love and care about them? Should not godly ministers know that you’re behind them, that you’re encouraging them and their labors? When you come to church and you meet fellow believers in Christ, don’t you want to know that they’re praying for you? you relate your difficulties to them, the problems you’re facing this week, and they’re thinking about you, they’re praying for you, they’re concerned about your needs and so forth. All of us need to know these kinds of things. So don’t think encouragement is unnecessary. I think it is indeed important for the Christian life. It’s interesting that Paul says in 2nd Corinthians, I believe it, yeah, 2nd Corinthians chapter 1, that he had to endure a lot of things in order that he might give consolation. to others who may come across some suffering and difficult. In other words, I have suffered so now I can give comfort to those who suffer. Sometimes God brings us through difficult times that we may help others. We should use that to benefit others. So you should relate your love and affection to brothers and sisters in Christ. notice here secondly, you should realize the faith is what provides unity among brothers and sisters. in Christ. Greet them that love us in the faith. This is certainly much different than any common greeting, isn’t it? Obviously, you greet unbelievers every day. You might see people work. You might say hi or hello to them in the morning when you go to work. There’s such a thing as common courtesy. Jesus talked about if you salute your brother and only, what do ye more than others? Don’t the publicans even do that? you know, everybody seems to do that. It’s considered a sign of, you know, hatred or despising someone if you didn’t extend at least a common greeting. It was Absalon who didn’t say good or evil to his brother Amnon because he hated him. But as a believer, we attempt to avoid offending others. We demonstrate love. We try to win over estranged defactions. And so we usually go around and there’s a general politeness in dealing with people. people, and we say, hi, how are you, or a good day to someone. But there’s nothing wrong with that. However, Paul here is dealing with an entirely different type of greeting. This is a greeting among those in the faith. It is a Christian greeting. From one family member to another family member, all in the household of faith. It’s not there for a greeting which we can be given to all men. It’s special. and unique. Now, doctrinal oneness is what creates unity among you and other believers. Notice is that love us in the faith. The word faith means belief. But whenever the article is in front of it, the faith, we’re talking about what is believed. In other words, we’re talking about the doctrinal unity, the oneness of what we believe concerning what God has revealed in his faith. His Word, those unchanging doctrinal truths of Scripture. This is the same as the faith of God’s elect that he mentioned earlier in Chapter 1 of Titus and verse 1. What Paul proclaimed as the Gospel of Christ was to be believed as the truth by all those who claimed to be believers. The Holy Spirit forges a bond between believers. Paul speaks of the unity of the spirit and the bond of peace in the book of Ephesians 4 and verse 3. And then what does he say immediately after? He talks about this unity. He writes, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all who is above all and through all, and in you all in Ephesians 4, verses 5 and 6. It is this doctrinal unity. that provides this bond among all believers. We believe the truths that are revealed by God. Those same truths that we said are faithful sayings in Chapter 3 here, the book of Titus, having to do with the grace of God, the regeneration of the Spirit, how that we’re saved not by works of righteousness, which we have done, but by the works of God through Christ Jesus, and His saving mercy. and so forth. And in the washing of regeneration, the renewing of the Holy Ghosts, and so forth, we’re born into the family of God. We are brothers and sisters in Christ. And the truth is what the Spirit reveals to us. We rejoice in that truth. There is love for all who are brothers and sisters in Christ, who are renewed in the image of God, who hold the truth. True friend, Jonathan was to David. Why did Jonathan love David so fervently? One of the characteristics of David, which brought David into the service of Saul in the kingdom, was the fact that the Lord was with him, as we read in 1 Samuel 16, 18. All David was commanded for be a good harp player and prudent and brave, but nothing could compare with the fact. that the Lord was with him. When David fought the Philistine giant, Goliath, he did so in the name of the Lord. So it’s no wonder that the soul of Jonathan was knit with the soul of David, and he loved him as his own soul. It wasn’t merely because David was courageous. There were many brave men in Saul’s army. There were others who killed Philistine giants over the course. of time. And even though the kingship of Israel would be lost to him, Jonathan loved David as his own soul. He protected David time and time again. He visited the persecuted David in the woods when he was hiding out. Jonathan’s Saul’s son rose and went to David into the wood and strengthened his hand in God. He encouraged him in God, in the things of God. 1st Samuel 2316. Their faith in the true and living God was really what created this bond of fellowship between Jonathan and David. Jonathan believed God’s word even when it said and was revealed that David would be the next king and not him. It didn’t matter to him. This is the love of which Paul speaks here. It’s love in the truth. Love for the truth’s sake. Natural love can grow cold. Love in the faith is enduring because it’s sustained by the power of the Holy Spirit. While on an inspection tour, the Marquis Wenhow, the ruler of why during the warring states period in China, met a woodcutter as he was traveling about the country. This woodcutter was carrying a bundle of straw. But he was wearing a sheep skin inside out. So that the skin was on the outside and the hair was on the inside. So the Marquis thought you’d ask, the woodcutter, you know, why are you wearing it this way? And the woodcutter said he wanted to preserve the hair. He didn’t want the sheep hair to be worn down. But the Marquis said, well, don’t you realize if the skin wears out, all the hair will fall out. It’s what holds the hair together. on the coat here that you’re wearing. Friends, doctrinal oneness is the hide which holds all the hairs of the people of God together. We lose the hide, lose the doctrinal oneness, and you don’t have the unity that you need in the Christian church. So you should realize the faith is what provides for unity among the brothers and sisters in Christ. The third thing tonight is this. You should rejoice that God’s grace is reserved for brothers and sisters in Christ. Grace be with you all. Amen. This was Paul’s ordinary farewell. You normally penned something like this, similar to this, to all his letters. He would usually have a scribe, I would call a secretary, a scribe secretary, somebody would write the letter. but at the end he would write this phrase on himself as to confirm the genuineness of the letter. Because we read in the book of 2 Corinthians chapter 2 and verse 2 that there were false teachers who were circulating letters as from him to try to pull people away from the faith, to trick them. So Paul wants the church to cleave to those writings that are in. inspired by the Holy Spirit. Thus, he protects the people of God by using his own handwriting to finish off his letters. But this phrase is more than just, you know, Paul’s seal of approval for the letter. It carries more weight than that. For the apostle wishes to convey here the free love and favor of God upon these believers. He wants them to enjoy all the spiritual blessings of grace which are wrapped up in Jesus Christ. And therefore, it is an apostolic prayer, if you would. It even ends in an amen. Paul seeks by means of this prayer for his brothers and sisters of Christ to convey this rich grace of God to them through this means. Not that he personally can convey it, but He prays that God would convey it to them. And he prays for an increase in progress in this grace that they already enjoy. When he writes here, be with you all, he means the elect here that are in Christ. For only God’s people are partakers of saving grace. We looked at that in chapter 2 and verses 11 and 12. The ungodly may be given very many good gifts by God. They may be given wealth. They may be given possessions. They may even be given earthly wisdom. They may be given lands and houses and who knows what else. God may give all that to them. And yet they have not tasted of the grace of God that is found in Jesus Christ. They have not been justified by His grace. They have not been made heirs to the hope of eternal life by His grace. By this grace, you as a believer, have been reconciled to God, adopted into his family, and brought to an acknowledgment of the truth. The amen here is, let it be so. It finalizes the prayer. It’s an agreement with God’s revealed will that the people of God will enjoy this grace and favor of God forever and ever. Friends, the term common grace is really a misnomer. Grace is uncommon. It’s special. What a wonderful thing that God’s grace is personal. It’s with you. It doesn’t come and go. Doesn’t come at one point, and while it’s summary it disappears, and you don’t have it anymore. It’s sustained by God. It changes your life. It apprehends you, as Paul talks about in the book of Philippians. and it sustains your faith as a believer. It strengthens you when you wrestle with Satan. It supplies every Christian virtue you need, the faith, the love, the knowledge, the peace, the patience, and so forth. Grace holds you back and keeps you from falling into various sins. Grace picks you back up when you have faltered. and been disobedient. Grace motivates you to pray. Grace stimulates spiritual desires. Grace warms your affections toward God. Grace grants you boldness to witness and courage to overcome the world. You know, Star Wars made popular the phrase, the force be with you, which is the saying of a false religious mindset. The biblical mindset is grace be with you. grace be with you. What is God’s grace alone. This sustains you and strengthened you in this life. Daniel Webster attempted to study law in Boston, but he felt very depressed and discouraged until Rufus King cheered him up with some encouraging words. We all need encouragement in the spiritual realm. The example of Paul should make us willing to encourage. courage others that they might indeed be benefited by God’s grace as brothers and sisters in Christ. Let them know that we care about them. Let others know that you care about them in your prayers. You’re concerned for them and their spiritual well-being in life. Now, sometimes the most difficult thing is you go to church and sometimes you may have a rough week and you get to church and it can lift your spirits. Just to be with the people of God. Just to hear the songs of Zion. Just to hear the word of God. Just to know there are people concerned about you and your needs. And so let’s be like Paul in this regard and lift others up. Let’s close with the word of God.