Thread by @joe_rigney

We're currently preaching through Titus at @citieschurch. It's a remarkable and timely little book. A few notes, based on preaching one section and listening to my fellow pastors preach others.

1) Titus is a book about the church & its leadership. Paul exhorts Titus to establish & strengthen churches in Crete by appointing elders. And Titus is supposed to find these elders among Cretans who are "always liars, evil beasts, & lazy gluttons." That's what the gospel does.

2) Titus 2 contains clear & relevant ethical instruction for all types of people: older men, older women, younger men, younger women. Lots of wise & profound & particular exhortations to these groups of people.

3) This ethical instruction accords with & adorns sound doctrine. How we live must be in line with what God has said (2:1). And how we live must flow from what God has done (2:11). citieschurch.com/sermons/as-wit…

4) Sound doctrine centers on salvation. As Paul simply says in 3:4: "He saved us." Over & over, Paul refers to Christ as our great God *and Savior.* Grace has appeared, *bringing salvation for all people* (2:11). The doctrine we confess is fundamentally that JESUS SAVES SINNERS.

5) Here's a cool part. When it comes to the doctrine of salvation, we can distinguish the global dimension of salvation in redemptive history (the major events we celebrate: incarnation, cross, resurrection) and the personal dimension of salvation in our lives.

Macro and Micro. The external & objective works in history vs. the personal & individual works in your life. Salvation accomplished. Salvation applied. Paul focuses on *both* in the letter to Titus. 2:11-14 dwells on the Macro. 3:3-7 dwells on the Micro.

6) Even cooler: these days everyone loves to talk about realized eschatology, the "already/not yet" structure of salvation. We're already *truly* saved. We're not yet *finally* saved. Thus there are past, present, and future dimensions to salvation.

Or again, in saving us:
1) God does something *decisive* in the past.
2) God is doing something *progressive* in the present.
3) God will do something *final* in the future.
AND: Titus is the clearest place in the Bible where this structure is applied to both Macro & Micro.

Macro: Titus 2:11-14.
Already: Grace appeared (in the past) when Christ gave himself for us.
Not Yet: Glory will appear (in the future), which is our blessed hope.
Now: In the present age, Christ is gathering his people & purifying them as his treasured possession.

Micro: Titus 3:3-8
Already: Christ saved us (in the past) when he justified us by his grace & not by works.
Not Yet: We now live as heirs according to the hope of eternal life (in the future)
Now: And so, in the present, we who have believed devote ourselves to good works.

7) From these passages, we can also fill out our doctrine of salvation by asking (at the Macro): Saved
1) From what? Lawlessness (2:14), ungodliness & worldly passions (2:12)
2) By what? He gave himself for us (2:14)
3) For what? To create a people zealous for good works (2:14)

Or again (at the Micro):
1) From what? Foolish, disobedient, slaves to passions, etc (3:3)
2) By what? Regeneration, renewal, & justification by grace, not works (3:5)
3) For what? Good works (3:1, 3:8)

8) And this is why the ethical conduct of 2:1-10 accords with & adorns the doctrine of our God & Savior. Because God has saved us in this way, we rest with confidence on Christ's past work, lean with expectation into Christ's future work, & so live godly lives in the present.

So then, if you want to explore the basics of salvation, both at the redemptive-historical level & the personal-individual level, within the framework of the already/not yet, for the sake of Christian ethics in the context of growing churches, might I recommend the book of Titus?