If you have been with us over the last few weeks you will know that St. Paul, in this letter of his to Titus – you can catch up on previous talks on our website; the web address is on your notice sheet - has been keen to stress the vital importance of correct belief and correct behaviour in the followers of Jesus. We arrive now at the end of the letter with Paul emphasising the importance of Christians not only believing and behaving as we ought - as those redeemed through faith by the mercy and grace of God demonstrated in the cross - but also being pro-active in good works. Such good works are the fruit of genuine conversion: we demonstrate our faith in God and our love for him best in what we do for others. If we call ourselves Christians and are not engaged in some form of charitable work or other, in something that we do for others without thought of personal gain, then this does raise a question mark over the authenticity, the genuineness, of our faith.
Just to bring you up to speed briefly: at Cafe Church a fortnight ago we discovered two very important reasons why Christians are to set an example in the way that we live and how we treat other people: it not only shows the genuineness of our faith and so honours God and what he has done for us in Jesus, it also acts as an invitation or challenge to those people who do not yet know Jesus; a challenge to question themselves about their own life and lifestyle and, we hope, to ask questions about what it is – or rather who it is – motivates you and me to make a discernible difference in our lives and lifestyle. Last week, in his talk on the verses immediately before this morning’s, verses 5,6, and 7, the truth of which Paul says here in verse 8 is ‘sure’ (or ‘trustworthy’ is another translation), Joe reminded us that ‘READ VERSES.’ This then is the motive, the reason, the joy - I hope we want to say! - that inspires us to obey the two great commandments.
But it is something that will not make us popular with everyone when we do.
Christianity, when faithfully practised, has always been to some degree or other ‘counter-cultural’; that is to say there have always been aspects of any culture that is based not upon what God has revealed to us to be right and proper, good and healthy, for human beings and for society, that have needed to be challenged if we are to be faithful to him and to our calling as Christians. This is not always easy to do and never has been.
Why? Well because antagonism and opposition from personal pride and social custom - not to mention commercial or financial interests! - have always been forces to be reckoned with.
Christians in the first three hundred years after the death of Jesus were actually referred to by pagan Roman writers as ‘atheists’ and often persecuted terribly because they refused to kow-tow to the authority of the pagan gods and in particular the cult of the emperor-god, with all the cultural baggage that went with that.
They did so because of Jesus; because they knew, and were living their lives with, the one true God who had died for them, who had been raised from death, and who was now a present reality in their lives, and not just a convenient or profitable cultural superstition. And this antagonism and opposition to Christians was not so much on account of what they believed but on account of what they did, on account of how they lived, which was not only for themselves but for others. The coming of Christianity revolutionised the way people thought about what it meant to be human, what true community is like, how the world is – spiritually, philosophically and scientifically. Above all in the living of their lives was the obligation of charity; and this was not popular with all. Here’s Julian the Apostate, the third emperor after Constantine, who tried to stem the tide of Christianity and return his empire to paganism, writing to one of his high priests. ‘The ‘Galilaeans’ – to our disgrace – support not only their poor but ours also; yet we give not even to our own’. And very interestingly, he adds, ‘We must teach our fellow Hellenes (pagans) how to serve others willingly and unstintingly.’
You see, in an empire where the majority of people were slaves, where life was cheap and short for most, where indulgence for the rich was the norm, and where fear of the gods and death combined to produce some very unhealthy social practices, Christian charity and love for your enemies were viewed not only as bizarre religious novelties but also as a threat to the status quo. But can you really ‘teach’ charity, this new religious obligation, without the motivation of genuine love for your neighbour, whoever that may be? And how can we genuinely love our neighbour – put ourselves out, that is, even for our enemies or to the cost of our own lives, if we do not love God? And how can we genuinely love God unless we are sure in our hearts that through faith in Christ we have been saved? I am not trying to be deliberately rude to anyone here; I include myself. I know what I was like before I acknowledged Jesus as my Saviour and Lord, and I am quite sure that I was in much worse a spiritual and moral condition when Jesus found me than any of you lovely people here ever were! But if you think Paul is overstating the case, just take a look at what Jesus says about human nature in the Sermon on the Mount, that much quoted but much misunderstood central piece of teaching of his!
Being completely honest about our spiritual and moral condition is the first step to progress in the Christian life; and it is only pride that prevents our progress. I remember a man who once said to me when studying this letter, ’Campbell, I was all those things St. Paul says: to my mind and in the minds of others I was a pillar of moral rectitude; but people were confusing the veneer of social respectability with spiritual integrity; and, ashamed as I am to admit it, I was quite happy colluding in the deception.’
Personally, I know there is a lot of room for improvement in me; but at least I now know Jesus and, more importantly, want to become more like Him. I trip myself up constantly; I let him down; but I know that without his help and presence I would have been lost to God forever - not because God did not love me but because I did not know and love God. And this ‘knowing’ has to be an ongoing enterprise lest the ‘world, the flesh, and the Devil’- always a real threat! – gain a foothold. We need to pray – as we do every Sunday morning at the 8a.m. service, that ‘the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, may keep our hearts and minds in the knowledge and love of God, and of his Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord.’
Do you see the connection made there in verse 8? Paul tells Titus to ‘insist’ in his teaching of the saving grace of God (just spelt out in verses 5,6, and 7) so that ‘those who have come to believe in God may be careful to devote themselves to good works’: these were not optional extras for Jesus; nor were they for Paul: rather, they are ‘excellent and profitable’, that is, they show that we are taking the two great commandments seriously. And then, having urged Titus to avoid the causes of ‘unprofitable and worthless’ divisions, verses 9 and 10, he again tells Titus, verse 14, to encourage the people to ‘devote themselves’ specifically in this instance, to ‘meet urgent needs’. So what Paul is saying here is that you and I are to be ‘productive’ in good works, demonstrating our love for God, the fruit of our belief, in what we do, selflessly, for others. And ‘devotion’ is the word he uses. It was this selfless and willing acceptance of the obligation – we could say the ‘rule’, of charity, this new creed, that won the first Christians the renown which, slowly but surely, revolutionised and transformed an empire. I hope that we can all see the difference between the doing of good works out of love for God, and the doing of good works in order to win his favour or the favour of our peers: the motivation is completely different. I would like to end by saying just two more things about the place or role of good works or ‘charity’ in our lives, at least one of which is somewhat contentious – but then that won’t surprise you, I know!
First, it is so much easier doing our good works with Jesus rather than without him. By this I mean that not just any old good works are appropriate for the Christian. We Christians may of course do our charity in many spheres – our place is in the world as salt and light for it; but we should always endeavour to check with Jesus, through prayer, that we are in the place and doing the good works he wants us to be and to be doing.
This is why it is important to pray about these things before we rush into them. And I would add that if there is Christian work that still needs to be done, then we ought to be praying about and prioritising this rather than just following our feelings or the fancies of others. And secondly, but related to my first point: it is true that a person does not need a religion or an ethical theory to be an upright person: but, in my experience, when it comes to caring for those who inhabit that socially and physically unpleasant world of the dregs of society, or for the disabled, or for the forsaken or those who consider almost everyone their enemy, the ranks of the godless tend to thin out markedly. Yes, there are some glowing exceptions; but the sheer numbers speak volumes. Fashionable charitable work is one thing: being where our Lord wants us may be another thing entirely.
If the Churches did not give the level of aid they do today, literally millions would go unfed, unsheltered, uneducated. And as one Jewish surgeon said to me, ’If the Christian doctors, nurses, and care-workers in the NHS were to strike because they were no longer allowed to pray for people or wear their crosses, the whole organisation would collapse overnight.’
So let me leave you with this question. Given present needs but also the present antagonism to much Christian work and witness in society today, what does it mean to be ‘productive in good works’? What is required of us today?
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