Titus 3 on Church Life: What to Stress, What to Avoid

What are we to do with the gospel? In Titus 3:8 Paul says: “Stress these things”. We are to stress the gospel that he’s just outlined. We can never talk about the gospel too much. We need never move on from it or move away from it. Stressing these gospel things to our own hearts and to our church family is what we and they most need.

On the other hand, we’re to avoid what is unprofitable and useless: “Foolish controversies and genealogies and arguments and quarrels about the law” (v 9). Stress and avoid—these are the two guidelines of verses 8-9. Stress the gospel and avoid controversies. We stress the gospel because it is excellent and profitable, and we avoid controversies because they are unprofitable and useless.

You would not think that was a difficult or contentious thing to say. But the reality is that all too often in church life, we stress controversy and avoid talking about the gospel. It may be true that our preaching stresses the gospel. But our conversations so often stress controversy. The letters and emails that people write stress controversy. The points that people raise stress controversy. We agree on the kindness of the Father, the renewal of the Spirit, the grace of the Son and the hope of eternal life. And these things are excellent and profitable. But we put our energy into controversies, arguments and quarrels. We do this even though Paul says such things are unprofitable and useless. In other words, they are a waste of time and energy.

What do you discuss at your church business meetings? Do you plan how you will tell the world about the kindness of God, or do you get bogged down in quarrels about things that are unprofitable? When you eat together, hang out together or meet up during the week, what do you talk about? If you go to a Christian conference, what do you talk about in the breaks? Do you talk about the kindness of God, or the latest controversy in the Christian world? Do you prefer reading a blog about some contentious issue, or one that stresses the gospel?

What would Paul say to us? That in every place and every time and with everyone, we should “stress these things”—gospel things. We should talk about the love of the Father, the grace of the Son and the renewal of the Spirit more than we talk about anything else, and we should avoid talking about things that divide, simply because they divide.

Next, Paul raises the stakes. He moves from a call to “stress” in Titus 3:8, to a call to “avoid” in verse 9, and then in verses 10-11 a call to “warn”. Titus is to warn divisive people; repeat the warning; and then have “nothing to do with them”—not to treat them as church members.

Paul is passionate about unity in the church because this is God’s eternal plan—this is why Christ died, and through our unity we display God’s wisdom. When viewed in this way, suddenly we can see why there is a need to deal decisively with a divisive person who promotes disunity. This is what is at stake: the purposes of God, the work of the cross and the success of mission.

Titus 3 gives us a simple way to know if and when to challenge our elders, and when to submit to them. If our elders deny the gospel in any way, then we should challenge them. If they get “these things” wrong, then confront them. But on all other matters trust them. They are the leaders God has given you. Of course, leaders are fallible. They will not always get it right. But do not assume you would do a better job.

I see many people whose default position is to be suspicious of their church leaders. Some people seem to assume it is their role to question everything the elders do. Sometimes they decide that their leaders have made a good decision, and sometimes they complain that their leaders have made a bad decision. But here’s what they are doing: they are assuming that they know best. They are the all-knowing ones who should judge whether leaders are making good decisions or not. They’re sitting in authority, in their own hearts, over their elders—as though there is a category above the God-given leaders in their church, and the one person in that category of authority is… them. If that is true, then they should be leading instead of the leaders God has placed over their church!

When it comes to grumbling or gossip, we should be a buffer, not a channel. When you hear grumbling or gossip, you should act like one of those huge buffers at the end of train tracks that stop trains careering on, out of control, with a crash inevitable further ahead. Stop gossip and complaining in its tracks. Bounce it back to the source. If someone comes with a complaint about the leaders—or anyone else—tell them to sort it out with the person concerned.

There is simply no need for constant questioning. Instead, let’s spend our time and energy, and allow others to spend their time and energy, stressing the kindness and love of God. I sometimes see letters or emails people have written and think: How long did this take you? You could have spent that time doing something “profitable”. You could have been stressing the kindness and love of God to some weary saint or lost soul instead of pursuing controversies and arguments that are “useless”.

This is an edited extract from Titus For You by Tim Chester. Available now.