Full Transcript

Welcome to Share the Word. After editing almost 200 podcasts here at Share the Word, I say this with all of my heart. The podcast you’re about to hear is one of the most fundamental, powerful, and necessary lessons that I’ve ever heard. Listen closely. Titus chapter 3, Religion versus Christianity. Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.

Remember that? Paul quoted that line from the didactic poem Cretica by the ancient Greek philosopher Epimenides. He was thought to be a prophet in his time, that is, during the 6th century B.C. He was from the Isle of Crete, where Titus was now living and working to organize Christian churches. And that insult line Paul quoted in Titus chapter 1 stuck in my mind, so I did some more research on it. From what I could find out, and this is a little bit sketchy since only parts of the poem survive, Epimenides was calling out his own people, his fellow Cretans, because they claimed that the tomb of Zeus, king of the gods, was located on the Isle of Crete.

It was well known that according to Greek mythology, Zeus was born on Crete in a cave on Mount Jutkas. But according to that pagan religion, Zeus was an immortal. So why were some Cretans claiming he was dead and buried in a cave there? Well, I’ll give you one guess. Because some enterprising businessmen built Crete into a tourist destination around that myth. Liars, evil beasts, lazy money-grubbing gluttons, Epimenides charged in his poem.

That line, borrowed by the apostle Paul, has itself become immortal since it ended up in the New Testament letter to Titus. By the way, another line from that same poem was quoted by Paul when he was called to the Areopagus in Athens to explain his new teaching, as they put it. He was there to talk to the city elders and philosophers. This is found in Acts chapter 17. So back in Titus chapter 1, Paul used this Cretans are liars, evil beasts, gluttons line and applied it to some on the island then, in Titus’ time, false teachers that Titus would have to contend with. They were apparently making a living promoting other false beliefs, some kind of religion that twisted together Jewish law-keeping with ancient mythology.

Paul called them empty talkers, deceivers who must be silenced because they’re upsetting whole families, teaching things that they should not teach for the sake of dishonest gain. And in chapter 3, he instructs Titus to avoid such controversies and genealogies and disputes about the law, talking about the law of Moses, for they are useless and worthless, he says. Religion, religion, religion. It seems like, more than seems like, but from as far back as we can peer into history, there’s evidence of the fact that people have been practicing different forms of religion. Always, in any society or any culture you study, there is always some kind of attempt, practices developed, rituals, stories about how men can connect with their god or the gods. Countless systems of belief that involved supernatural spirits or immortal beings that have influence in our world.

Have you ever wondered how or why humans who, we’re told, have evolved from lower life forms would have ever felt the need, the sense, to develop some connection with the spiritual? Whether you look back in Paul’s day to the very developed Roman and Greek societies and their pantheons of gods, or way back before them to the Egyptians and the Babylonians, and right up to the present time, even among the most primitive tribes made up of only a hundred people or so that live in the middle of a jungle, there is always religion of some sort. Why is that? I asked that question to Google’s AI, and I got this answer. It’s possible that religious or spiritual tendencies first arose as byproducts of our cognitive architecture and were later co-opted and shaped by cultural evolution to serve adaptive functions that enhanced the survival and flourishing of certain individuals and groups. What?

Yeah, that’s possible. I guess it’s possible to the same people who suppose that the theory that extremely complex organisms like the human body, made up of trillions of cells, with each individual cell experiencing millions of functions and reactions per second, somehow also developed from accidents, from simple one-celled organisms, which itself magically appeared in the primordial soup eons and eons ago. Maybe, but I doubt it. Maybe I’m just not smart enough to see how these things could have happened. But it seems much more likely to me that the reason some kind of religion and spirituality is found in every society on Earth as far back as we’re able to discover. It’s because the spiritual world is, in fact, real.

God is real, and we human beings came from Him, a God who made the world and everything that is in it, who made from one man every nation and mankind that lives on earth, a God from whom we are all offspring. That’s the way Paul began explaining Christianity to those philosophers at Athens I mentioned earlier. I’m just saying, isn’t it much more likely that the reason there is a belief in the supernatural, and there have always been religions trying to connect to the spiritual, to their idea of God, is because from the very beginning there was an awareness in men of God’s reality, because we were made in His image, and He put eternity in our hearts, the Bible says.

Men over the centuries have turned in all kinds of directions away from God and away from truth and developed countless religions and spiritual beliefs and practices, but they all derive from the original truth that God is real, that we are His offspring, and this brief life here is not all there is. I’m not sure who said this or wrote this first. I wish I could claim it because I think it’s a pretty good, succinct way of stating an important truth. Here it is. Religion is man’s attempt to reach God. Christianity is what God has done to reach man.

Religion is man’s attempt to reach God. Christianity is what God has done to reach man. In our time remaining, I’m going to do my best to explain a fundamental fallacy about God and us and about religion and Christianity. To set that up, listen carefully to these verses from Titus chapter 2, 11 and 12 actually, and then Titus chapter 3, verses 4 and following. The grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all mankind. It teaches us to say no to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in this present age.

Then Paul continues the thought in chapter 3, and when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and the renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs of eternal life. Then he told Timothy, This is a trustworthy saying, and I want you to stress these things so that those who have trusted in God may be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good, things that are excellent and profitable for everyone. Most of us don’t think of the epistle to Titus as being very doctrinal, although these verses summarize essential Christian doctrine and practice very well. Paul is stressing that God took the initiative in making salvation possible.

By the grace of God has appeared to mankind, he’s referencing the coming of Jesus into our world. God could have left the rebellious human race mired in sin, heading for judgment, but in his kindness and love and because of his mercy, he provided a way of salvation for us, a way out, a way to escape judgment from our sins and be spiritually restored and reconciled to our Creator. He saved us, Paul says. That’s the big word, saved us, referring to Titus and himself, first of all, but by extension all true believers. And he says, not because of our righteous things that we have done, but as an act of his grace through the power of the Holy Spirit, who washes us from sin, justifies us, makes us spiritually new in God’s eyes, only something possible through Jesus Christ, our Savior.

If Jesus had not appeared in real time, had not become a man like us, had not lived a perfectly righteous life before God, and had not voluntarily yielded to death on a cross to become the atonement for sin, salvation would not be possible. But he did, hallelujah, and for those of us who have received Christ as our Savior, we have become heirs of eternal life, Paul says. This is a trustworthy saying, Titus. No matter who says otherwise, this is why and how salvation happens. If you were listening carefully, you heard Paul clearly say, salvation is not because of righteous things we have done. It is because of God’s mercy and grace demonstrated in what Jesus has done to become our Savior.

I never cease to be amazed at how many competing ideas there are vying for people’s attention online in social media forums like Facebook, where I spend some time. I notice especially all these different religious groups now are using that popular online forum to interest potential converts or to hold on to existing members. I probably spend too much time watching and listening to this group and that group pitching their particular religion, and then thinking, man, how confusing this must be to anybody unfortunate enough to be here looking for spiritual truth. People with a spiritual itch hoping to find what will scratch it. One group is trying to convince seekers that they are the original church and their ancient rites and rituals are the only true Christianity.

Another group is quoting Old Testament Bible verses insisting that all of us need to go back to living under the law of Moses, keeping the Sabbath, living under dietary restrictions, and so on. Another group is posting select verses from the New Testament, trying to make the case that water baptism is the key to washing away our sins, and on and on and on. So many confusing, debating voices. Man, I wish I could make one 60-second video to cut through all the confusing religious noise for people who are really there looking for truth. If I could, I think I would build it around that saying I quoted a moment ago: Religion is man’s attempt to reach God. Christianity is what God has done to reach us.

It might seem like there are hundreds of competing teachings about how we can be reconnected rightly to God, but really there’s only two. There are two approaches to that ultimate question. Either our efforts at being religious can impress God enough that He saves us because of them, whatever practices, rituals, moral codes we have decided to put our trust in, or else salvation is only possible outside of ourselves through the Savior God provided us. Now here’s where I think it gets confusing for many people. Listen to the order of Paul’s thoughts in verses four and following. When the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, He saved us not on the basis of righteous things we have done, but because of His mercy.

He saved us through the washing of rebirth and the renewal by the Holy Spirit, who He poured out generously through Jesus Christ our Savior. So that, having been justified by His grace, we might become heirs of eternal life. Notice Paul is talking to Timothy about their common salvation, and he’s doing so in the past tense. In those verses because those guys had both already experienced it. They were saved, we would say. Paul says, He saved us.

That’s past tense. He saved us by the washing of rebirth, whom He poured out on us by the Holy Spirit. Through our Savior Jesus Christ, we have been justified. These are past tense, and now God has promised us eternal life. This has all been done for us, Paul is saying to Titus, because of God’s kindness, love, mercy, and grace. But then he goes on, And I want you to stress these things so that those who have trusted in God may be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good, things that are excellent and profitable for everyone.

So here’s the question. According to these verses of Scripture, is what comes first that we devote ourselves to doing good, try to keep our behavior excellent, and so on, in order for God to save us? Or is it God graciously saves us because of our faith in what Christ has done, and in response to that, we should devote ourselves to doing things that God says are good? I hope you can see the difference. If salvation is by grace, then it cannot be based on works, otherwise grace is no longer grace. That’s how Paul put it in Romans chapter 11.

So don’t misunderstand. In this very section, Paul is urging Titus to keep reminding the early Christians he was overseeing on Crete to devote themselves to doing good things, to being good citizens, to treating everyone with respect, and so on. In chapter 2, he described to Titus what a godly life should look like for different types of people in different settings. In fact, all throughout the New Testament, we’re reminded that doing good, loving others, serving God, obeying Jesus’ commands, and so on, are exactly what Christians should be doing. But doing our best at those things is not the cause of anyone’s salvation. If it could be, then Christ died needlessly.

Remember Paul telling the Galatians that some of whom were buying into the false notion that practicing Jewish religious laws and ceremonies would be necessary to be right with God? That teaching was wrong then, and all the religions that teach similar things since then are wrong, and all those who are teaching it today are wrong. The only thing that can save us is turning from sin and self to the Savior God sent. Only Jesus can save us. Only his sacrifice on the cross for us can save us. The benefits of that are what we appropriate by faith, and that’s what saves us.

I get frustrated about this, just like the Apostle Paul got frustrated about religious false teachers getting something so critical so wrong, so backwards, teaching people they can reach God, achieve salvation by joining their religion and doing whatever they call good works, by joining this church or that and participating in their rituals and ceremonies, by joining this church and faithfully practicing their form of religion. According to their false gospels, you can never know for sure if you’ve done enough, though, or done it well enough to satisfy God. But it’s on you to try to make it happen. I interacted with someone online this week who’s been posting reels on Facebook to try and convince people that faith in Jesus as Savior is not enough, that our good works must save us or we will not be saved.

He had one Bible verse scrolling over and over and over behind his talking head, a verse from the Epistle of James repeating, Faith without works is dead. Faith without works is dead. I commented on his post, probing a little bit to see if he knew the context of that partial verse he was using. He didn’t. I asked, If your implication that faith in Christ’s work was not enough to save us is true, then why does the Apostle Paul say in Titus, It’s not by works of righteousness that we have done, but according to God’s mercy He saved us, that it’s through Jesus Christ the Savior that we are washed of sin and justified before God? And why did the Apostle John write in his Gospel, To as many as received Jesus, they are given the right to become God’s children, even those who believe into His name?

And why did the Apostle Peter write in his first epistle, And through your faith, God is protecting you by His power until you receive ultimate salvation, and that the reward of your faith will be the salvation of your souls? I quoted some verses to him like that, and I didn’t get an answer. So I asked him if he realized that the apostle James, who he was quoting, was at a meeting once in Jerusalem with the other key leaders of early Christianity. This is described in Acts chapter 15, where those apostles, James, Peter, John, Paul, others, discussed this very question of whether faith in Christ and his work for us is enough to save those who put their faith in him, or whether our works, like keeping the Old Testament law, were also a requirement for salvation. Again, I didn’t get an answer.

But I hope he looked that passage up, because the apostles agreed there that day that the true gospel was the gospel of grace through faith in Jesus. Peter summarized it like this, Acts chapter 15: God made a choice that the Gentiles might hear from my lips the message of the gospel and believe. God, who knows the heart, showed that he accepted Gentiles by giving them the Holy Spirit, just as he has us. He purified their hearts by faith. So we believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ that we are saved, and so are they. These passages and many more like them, taken together, form the basis for the doctrine of salvation by grace through faith in the finished work of Christ.

So much of false religion is built upon a wrong interpretation of one or two pieces of Scripture plucked from here or there, quoted over and over, to the exclusion of so many others that speak more clearly on the subject. And there is no more important subject to be clear on than how people can be saved, to understand the difference between the false teaching that we must try to save ourselves and the gospel of grace at the core of Christianity, which teaches that God through Christ has done everything necessary to save us. And what is left for us sinners to do? Sincerely and entirely put our faith in Jesus. That we can save ourselves through religion, that there are good works and religious practices God is impressed by, which can do it for us. That’s such a pervasive and hard-to-kill false teaching.

Titus was up against it in the first century. Paul was up against it many times in his letters. Why is it, you think? Why is it so hard to overcome that, to put to death that false teaching? Maybe it’s because it subtly appeals to our pride. We’re thinking, surely if there is such a thing as eternal life, it must be a reward for what I do throughout my lifetime.

So I’ll try harder than others. I’ll be holier than others. I’ll be better than others. And then God will surely accept that. We might not put it in those terms, but that’s in the back of our heads. If this is something you struggle with inside, remember what the New Testament teaches in multiple places about God being opposed to the proud but giving grace to the humble.

To imagine that we can earn salvation and eternal life ourselves is rooted in pride. Then what we need really is the grace of God that he gives to the humble. It’s humbling to say, I’m not good enough. I cannot do it. I need help. I need grace, Lord, and my only hope is in the Savior you sent for me.

I quoted each of the leading apostles on this question a moment ago. But finally, let’s listen to Jesus. This is John chapter 6, verses 28 and 29, after the feeding of the 5,000 miracle. After his sermon where he declared, I am the bread of life come down out of heaven for the life of the world, some listening that day then asked him, What must we do to do the works of God? Jesus answered, The work of God is this: to believe into the one that he has sent. Believe into the one that he has sent.

If you’ve never put your faith entirely in Christ before and believed into him for your personal salvation, make that decision today. I hope you will carry this big idea away from Titus chapter 3. Religion is man’s attempt to reach God. Christianity is what God has done to reach us. This is Paul for Share the Word. Jesus declared, I am the way, the truth, and the life, and no one comes to the Father except through me.

When we recognize that all humans have sinned and fallen short of God’s standards, we believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, that he lived a perfect life, died on the cross for your sins, and rose again. When we repent and confess our sins, we are saved, not by anything we do on this earth, but by what Jesus did for us on the cross. And when you’ve accepted Christ as your Lord and Savior, turn away from your old life of sin and make a conscious decision to follow Jesus. Be baptized in a symbolic act of dying to your old life and being raised to a new life in Christ. Read the Bible to learn more about God’s word and will for your life. Strive to live according to Christian principles, showing love, compassion, and forgiveness to others.

I pray that today’s podcast has opened your eyes and your heart to the truth. From all of us at Share the Word, we pray that you’ve accepted the grace of God.