St. Titus, Pastor and Confessor
26 January 2014
Titus 1. 1-3
Faith And Truth Belong Together
Dear friends in Christ. Here in the midst of the Epiphany season, the Church remembers yesterday the Conversion of St. Paul; tomorrow, St. Timothy the young pastor who had been with St. Paul during much of the second and third mission journeys, whom Paul had sent as his representative to various congregations, finally being placed in charge of the congregation at Ephesus; and today we remember St. Titus.
Unlike Timothy, Titus is not mentioned in the book of Acts but he is mentioned several times in the epistles and the Holy Spirit has seen fit to preserve the letter that St. Paul wrote him—the first 3 verses of which is our text. Since, St. Paul in our text calls Titus, a true son in our common faith, it is likely that he was one of St. Paul’s converts. We also learn from another epistle of St. Paul that Titus was a non-Jew, a Greek. Later Paul found Titus to be a valuable and trusted associate whom he then sent to settle problems in the troublesome congregation at Corinth; Titus also later went to Corinth to encourage the people to continue in their mercy in gathering the collection for the poor in Jerusalem. Some time later Paul left Titus on the island of Crete to finish the job of organizing the Church there—as we read in today’s text: For this reason I left you in Crete, that you should set in order the things that are lacking, and appoint elders in every city as I commanded you. When Paul was in prison during his second imprisonment, which ended in his martyrdom, Titus must have been with him for part of it because Paul sent him from Rome to Dalmatia [2 Timothy 4:10]. After that we know nothing more about Titus. One tradition has Titus dying at age 93 on Crete.
It is quite fitting that here, in the midst of the Epiphany season, we remember these two co-workers of St. Paul—Sts. Timothy and Titus. They were pastors/ bishops. They held the pastoral office, the preaching office. What is the “Epiphany” season all about? It’s all about Christ being revealed; it’s all about it being revealed to us that that Baby born in Bethlehem is also the true God. It’s all about mission work—revealing to the world that its Savior has come.
Christ doesn’t just come and reveal Himself today/ He doesn’t just “zap” someone with His Holy Spirit and faith. Instead, Jesus comes and reveals Himself today through His holy word and sacrament; He sends His Holy Spirit to work through the Word and Baptism to create, strengthen, preserve faith. Jesus promises [John 15:26 NJKV]: But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of Truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me. In other words, the only way that there can be “Epiphany”, that people can come to faith in Christ, that there can be mission work is where Christ is at work by His holy Word and Sacrament.
Our Lutheran Confessions proclaim this truth in such a simple and yet profound way. First we say [AC Art. IV]: Our churches teach that people cannot be justified before God by their own strength, merits, or works. People are freely justified for Christ’s sake, through faith, when they believe that they are received into favor and that their sins are forgiven for Christ’s sake—in other words: we are saved by God’s grace through faith in Christ apart from works of the Law. Then comes the question: how do I get this faith? Our Lutheran Confessions answer: So that we may obtain this faith, the ministry of teaching the Gospel and administering the Sacraments was instituted. Through the Word and Sacraments, as through instruments, the Holy Spirit is given. He works faith, when and where it pleases God, in those who hear the good news that God justifies those who believe that they are received into grace for Christ’s sake. In other words, Jesus set up, established, the Pastoral Office, the Office of the Holy Ministry, precisely to distribute His good gifts through Word and Sacrament. What a glorious connection between Epiphany/ Mission Work and the Pastoral Office that comes with remembering St. Titus, Pastor and Confessor, in the midst of the Epiphany season.
1. Our text this morning fleshes out this thought. It does so as it reinforces the fact that God’s word is truth. A faithful pastor—like St. Titus—will not preach his own word but the word of God. And where God’s word is being taught, there God is; there He is revealing Himself; there He is creating faith. Here we see the connection: faith and truth belong together. Our text: Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ. I was sent to lead God's chosen people to faith and to the knowledge of the truth that leads to a godly life. 2 My message is based on the confidence of eternal life. God, who never lies, promised this eternal life before the world began. 3 God has revealed this in every era by the preaching of His word. I was entrusted with this word by the command of God our Savior.
The Christian faith is based on truth, the truth of God’s holy word. What we believe as Christians is not some “pie in the sky” sort of thing. It is not fantasy. It is not the result of our own sitting down and figuring things out. Instead, the very fact that we are Christians is because of “epiphany”; because of revelation—God revealing the truth to us. St. Paul in our text uses the word “epiphany”, which is here translated as “revealed”: God has revealed this in every era by the preaching of His word. What God reveals—the promise of the forgiveness of sin, peace and reconciliation with Him, eternal life all in and through Jesus—has to be revealed by the preaching of His word. We need “epiphany”/ we need mission work/ we need faithful pastors like St. Titus because left to ourselves and our own devices, we would never find the way back to God; we would never be reconciled to Him; we would never have the hope of eternal life. Left to ourselves we would come up with our own self devised works to try to work/ weasel our way into heaven; or we would try to minimize our sin/ explain it away/ say that it is not sin; or we would judge ourselves on a “sliding scale” so we come out looking good and deserving of heaven and condemning others who are greater sinners. But at the end of the day, if we are honest, we can only deceive ourselves so long and soon the guilt and the enormity of our sin would come down on us and crush us. By our own way, there is no peace with God, no peace of conscience.
It’s fascinating: what people left to their own devices come up with—if I do enough good things I can appease God and gain heaven—is really all a lie and all that we can come up with on our own is a lie because we are sinners already conceived and born in sin. But God’s word is truth—that word that tells us that Jesus, by His holy life kept God’s Law for us and reconciled us sinners to the holy God; that word that tells us that Jesus suffered the penalty/ price for all our sins; that word that tells us that in Jesus we are at peace with God; that word that proclaims and gives us forgiveness and eternal life; that word which in Christ promises us eternal life in heaven. How do we know it is true? Because it is the word of God, who, as St. Paul writes in our text, never lies.
Because we can never come to true saving faith as a result of our own reason or strength, because left to ourselves we can’t “decide” to follow Jesus, because we can’t make ourselves right with God, because we can’t make our own “epiphany” God alone has to do the work of bringing us to faith and He does so when He has His holy word come to us. Not only does He have His holy word come to us, but He has His Holy Spirit mightily at work in that word creating faith in our hearts to believe that word so that we say “yea and amen” to God’s promises and blessing He gives us in it. That’s faith! And what faith believes/ its object has to be correct or else the faith is worthless. Thanks be to God that He never lies. What He says, promises and gives us in His Word is certain and sure. Our faith is based on truth! Faith comes and continues only as it is kindled and sustained by truth.
2. Notice what St. Paul says of himself in our text: I was sent to lead God's chosen people to faith and to the knowledge of the truth that leads to a godly life. Not only is faith grounded on the truth of God’s word but knowledge flows from faith. Only the truth of God’s holy word rightly forms our minds. How do we know who Jesus is? Simple knowledge says He was born of Mary; lived in 1st century Palestine; preached and taught; did miracles; died on a cross. But by faith we know rightly Who Jesus is—true man but also true God; that He humbled Himself and placed Himself under God’s holy law and for us lived a life without sin; that in our place He took our sins, made them His own and suffered God’s wrath and punishment; that by this He reconciled all of sinful humanity to the holy God and this is proclaimed by His resurrection as victor over sin, death, devil and hell and ascended into heaven to open it to all believers. From faith flows right knowledge.
From faith comes the right knowledge of who I am in Christ! –That I am God’s dear child and hear of heaven; that God is working all things for my spiritual and eternal good leading me ultimately to eternity with Him in heaven. What a glorious comfort this is to us in our daily lives! We have that certain hope of eternal life with our Lord in heaven. Our text: My message is based on the confidence of eternal life. God, who never lies, promised this eternal life before the world began.
Left to ourselves, without faith forming our knowledge, what would we think when our conscience accuses us of sin; when we feel very much our hurts and pains; when it seems that God is our enemy and out to get us? But with knowledge formed by faith, we know in the certainty of faith that when sin and Satan rightly accuse us of sin and want to drag us down to hell [Romans 8:1 NJV] There is therefore no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus; when we are sick/ suffering/ in some great bodily trial we know that nothing [Romans 8:39 NKJV] shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord; and, we know [I John 3:2 NKJV] that what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! …Now we are children of God.
From faith flows right/ true/ correct knowledge. Again, this is “epiphany”; this must be revealed to us. And the God who does not lie, tells/ reveals all this to us in and by His holy word. Without knowledge formed by faith, life seems so random/ pointless, but in that knowledge formed by faith how glorious and full of purpose we know our lives to be.
The glorious truth God—the God who does not lie—reveals to us in His Word molds our lives and forms our piety. Our text: knowledge of the truth…leads to a godly life. Knowledge and action are a unity; pure doctrine and true righteousness of life go together. We don’t lightly dismiss/ not care about our sin, taking God’s grace to us in Christ for granted; instead, in love of the Lord, because by faith we know Him rightly—and from faith flows knowledge—we then strive, by the power of the Holy Spirit, to lead lives in accord with His holy will. Our Lord Christ didn’t die for our sins/ our Lord did not bring us to faith so that we might continue on in a life of sin but so that in a knowledge formed by faith we may know His will and in love and thanksgiving strive to carry it out. Will we succeed? Hardly! But then as we recognize and confess our sin, in that true knowledge coming from faith we run to our gracious Lord and receive His forgiveness and peace, certain of His grace and forgiveness He gives us in the absolution, the word and sacraments.
What glorious truths God reveals and gives to us in His word and sacraments. May we keep ourselves always in them and may our Lord grant us always faithful pastors, like St. Titus, to nourish us with them leading us to eternal life. INJ Amen