Doctrine Works: Pursuing Effective Unity Titus 3:9-11 I

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Doctrine Works: Pursuing Effective Unity Titus 3:9-11 I want to read you a couple of titles of books that have come out recently by people wrestling with where we are at as a country. The Fractured Republic. One coming out in October by a sitting US Senator is titled. Them: Why We Hate Each Other and How to Heal. And one more The Righteous Mind: Why Good People are Divided by Politics and Religion. People are picking up on a significant problem in American life and trying to address it. The problem is that we are increasingly divided in our entire approach to life. The social fabric that holds us together as the United States of America splinters faster and faster. I'm not here to offer any solutions or even really to talk about the divisions in America, but just to make some observations on the concept of unity. For any group to accomplish a purpose or goal it is vital for every individual to be pulling in the same direction. This is true for our nation, but unity is even more important for the church. Listen to what Jesus prays in John 17 for His followers. John 17:2021. After reading this prayer of Jesus for the disciples that would believe, remember the situation on the island of Crete, where Titus is ministering. There are false teachers coming into the fledgling churches like a fox getting into the chicken coup. One of the main sources of chaos is the division caused by false doctrine and encouraged by these teachers. Listen to Titus 1:10-11. As we begin to think about the evil of division in our churches and the unity that we should strive toward, I want to show you something you may have missed as we have been studying through the book of Titus. The vast majority of Paul’s exhortations to Titus are directed toward God building a people, not just individuals. In other words, the Spirit’s work in these young churches is to build a community in which Doctrine Works. This is expressed by Paul’s use of the plural pronouns we, us, and them. You are saved as an individual, but you are saved into a body, a community, a group. Let’s start in 2:11 and read down to verse 14. Notice the plural pronouns. Now go down to 3:1 and let’s start reading down through verse 8. American Individualism

is like a set of blinders that hinders us from seeing others and thinking in terms of the church as community. Listen to these wise words from Eugene Peterson: "The Bible knows nothing of a religion defined by what a person does inwardly in the privacy of thought or feeling, or apart from others on lonely retreat." - Eugene Peterson In other words, we are pursuing a thorough grasp of the gospel that shapes life together. And this unity is one that impacts the world, which has been a major goal in this little letter of Titus. So, this morning we want to learn 2 Paths to a Christian Unity that Impacts the World. 1. Stick to the Message (v. 9) We studied verses 1-8 last week and we read them again a few minutes ago. That’s important because verses 9-11 bring that section to a close. Look how verse 9 begins with the word “but”. Obviously that ties verse 9 to what has come before it. Let’s read verse 9. Paul tells them to avoid all these different topics of discussion and instruction. When he says “avoid” Paul is telling them to do what we do here in Michigan when you are driving along and you notice a fish jump out of the water in the pothole in front of you. You assume the pothole has its own minor ecosystem and that your vehicle very may well get lost in it. So, you avoid hitting that pothole to the best of your ability. What is Paul telling them and by extension us, to avoid in verse 9? He’s telling them to avoid, to go around two types of teaching and instruction. First, both foolish controversies and genealogies mean the people were engaged in speculation over minor issues. They were arguing about things that really don’t matter and letting their disagreements over minor issues destroy their unity in Christ. Second, the next two descriptions focus more on the disunity brought by bad doctrine. They were fighting about the details of the Mosaic law and letting relatively tangential disagreements turn into full blown fights. This is exactly what the false teachers were trying to foster. Now, verse 9 is Paul telling them to avoid center topics because they are unprofitable and worthless. Verse 9 goes with verse 8 because verse 8 is what

they need to focus on to maintain Christian unity. Look back at verse 8 and notice how it ends. When Paul tells them that he wants them to insist on “these things” what is he talking about? He’s talking about the truths of the gospel given to us in 3:4-7, which we talked about last week. These truths, with Christ at the center, have to remain the bullseye at which we are aimed. If your basketball team is trying to win the game and you spend all your time arguing about whose shoes look the best, you will not accomplish your purpose. Many of you are familiar with Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the German pastor who was killed in Nazi Germany for opposing Hitler. He wrote what is perhaps the definitive book on Christian community called Life Together. In it he summarizes the basis for Christian unity this way: "Christian community means community through and in Jesus Christ. On this presupposition rests everything that the Scriptures provide in the way of directions and precepts for the communal life of Christians." - Dietrich Bonhoeffer We are not gathered this morning because we have the same income level, the same political interests, the same hobbies, school choices, or personal standards. We ought to be gathered this morning because the thing we have in common is Jesus Christ and the reality that his grace has rescued us. But we easily forget this, don’t we? We tend to cluster together with people who are like us in less important ways. We tend to organize our team around the style of shoes rather than the goal of winning the basketball game. Of course, unity does not mean that we all take delight in the same things, dress the same way, enjoy the same websites, and have the same political opinions. There is a glorious diversity in God's kingdom, but the central uniting factor is the gospel of Jesus Christ and how that gospel has changed us. So, let’s talk about how we ensure that what unites us is the gospel. How do we avoid slipping off the side of the boat into the chaos of speculation and superficial issues? First, when we gather as the body of Christ we must keep the Scriptures as the focal point. What should you expect when we come together on Sundays? We sing the word, pray the word, preach the word, and share the word with one

another. If this is what unites us then we have to make this the main ingredient for our Sunday gathering. Second, you and I as individuals must know the gospel well and keep it central in our daily lives. Perhaps we aren’t really unified around the gospel because we keep our knowledge of doctrine surface level. It’s like trying to get a fence post to stabilize a fence and only digging the hole for it 4 inches down. To be stable it must go deeper. Our lives get blown over by the winds of bad teaching because we haven’t gone deep in good theology. Go deep. Third, rejoice in the variety of saints God has brought to us. Listen. We are all weird in our own way. Everyone in here has different hobbies, convictions, opinions, and experiences. One of the things that ought to make the church compelling to the world is the unity of diverse people around Jesus Christ. He is the hub that holds the whole thing together. So, let’s stick to the message and then, let’s guard that message with tenacity. 2. Shut Down the Divisive (vv. 10-11) When someone threatens the unity we have in Jesus Christ and our central focus on His gospel, we must respond quickly. Look at verse 10. In Greek this sentence is quite simple. The person who stirs up division is called a factious man. It’s the same root as the word partisan or sectarian. We describe someone as partisan when, regardless of the facts, they stick to their side. A person who stirs up division thrives when encouraging people to act in a partisan fashion. His actions drive people into their separate camps and he delights in fostering antagonism between those camps. In Crete these people were bringing false doctrine as described earlier in the letter, but Paul doesn’t focus on the doctrine here. He focuses on the result, the divisiveness that they foster. Once again in the book of Titus, you can see the connection between doctrine and action. Except this time, it’s a very negative connection. Bad doctrine and false teaching results in morally bankrupt actions. Division flows from both bad theology and wrongly weighted theology like undrinkable water flows from a dirty pitcher. But the real issue here is not their theology, it's the behavior. Paul will not tolerate contentious people in the church.

He wants to help Titus protect God’s flock from division and fighting. So, what does he tell Titus to do with the partisan man? It’s really quite simple. Warn him once. Then warn him twice and if he won’t listen, you must drive him away and have nothing to do with him. This phrase at the end “have nothing more to do with him” is one word in Greek and it means dismiss or reject. Why does Paul have such harsh words for the divisive? This seems to be very little patience with those who cause disunity. Why? He believes the unity of Christ's body is of utmost importance. And to protect the health of Christ's body we cannot allow cancer to fester. Paul deals with those who bring disunity in more straightforward confrontation than almost anything else. We have to assume these people were in the church and were prone to pet issues, topics of discussion, preferences, and bad doctrine. They want to try to persuade people to join their side relating to any number of topics of lesser importance. They thrive on fostering an us vs. them mentality. Let me just remind you of some words of Jesus that help to put this strong reaction from Paul in perspective. Listen to John 13:34-35. There’s much to learn from these words of Jesus given in the upper room, but I want to key in on two insights that will help us foster the unity we have in Christ. First, notice that Jesus says we are to love each other the way he has loved us. Once again, this is keeping the gospel central. The gospel drives our actions of love toward one another. But we have to ask, how has Jesus loved us? Maybe we should just stop here and spend the rest of the afternoon in meditation on this, but let me offer a couple of ways Jesus has loved us. He has loved us despite our sin. Romans 5:6-8. Therefore, to love as Christ loves we ought to love another even when we are difficult because of sin. Even when we mess up. And when we love other sinners in genuine tangible ways as Christ has loved us, look what else these verses say. Verse 35. This is one reason why Christian unity is so important in the church. When we love other sinners it puts the gospel in lights for the unbelieving world to see. What other action could make the gospel as crystal clear as a group of people who have learned to love sinners because they were loved when they were sinners?

Paul reactions so strongly to division in the church because it’s a false gospel. When strife and quarreling and petty annoyances dominate life in the church we are preaching a false gospel to the world. We are saying that our Lord really only loved people who were like him and had it together because we only love people like us who have it together. Paul makes this clear when he explains the reality behind the divisiveness back in Titus 3:11. Look there. We reject someone who fosters divisiveness in God’s church because they are warped, sinning, and self-condemned. We want to love sinners and we do by warning them of their sin, but when they fail to respond and continue to cause division we know they are self-condemned. There is a deep-rooted problem in the person who causes strife and division in God’s church. Paul describes him or her in three ways. First, they are warped or bent. This is what happens when your wood floors get wet. They are warped out of shape. It’s not as it should be. Second, a person who fosters division is sinning. We know what this means. Division is not a small hiccup in the life of the church. One who is disrupting the unity of God's people is sinning. It's the same word used in Romans 3:23. When you sin you are transgressing the authority of God expressed in His Law. Division is sin because God's aim is for us to dwell together in unity with one another. We miss the mark badly when we foster schism. Third, they are self-condemned. His own actions demonstrate that he is wrong or guilty. His actions demonstrate that he is guilty because he refuses to heed the admonition brought by Titus and others. They even come back to him to warn him of the dangerous path he is taking and he still refuses to listen. I am a parent, as many of you are. I want to help my kids to foster love and affection for one another and God’s good world. I want them to be engaged in what verse 8 describes as things that are excellent and profitable. But on the flip side of that positive encouragement, I will protect my kids from dangerous people. I may not have martial arts training, but if threatened I will use whatever is at my disposal to ensure the safety of my family. I’m sure you would do the same.

I think that’s what Paul is saying here. He wants to foster unity among God’s people by helping them stay on message. And he wants to defend them from anyone causing division. I want to encourage you along both of these lines. Stay on message and shut down divisiveness. Jesus Christ is too valuable and our mission is too important to allow division to slither in the door and remain unchecked in our house.