Beacon Sunday Service: October 13th, 2024

Well, good morning, everybody. Just a little bit overwhelmed and in awe today because I was just thinking, I don't know how many pastors get to stand and preach in front of three previous pastors who have loved on that church. And it's a little bit surreal because usually when pastors take over, that other pastor is preaching somewhere else. But I get the great honor to preach in front of three men who've uh faithfully loved on this church for 15 years, and I just I feel like I'm getting this beautiful gift-wrapped uh baby baton handed to me to Stuart. And so it is a treat for me, uh cousin here and friends from uh previous church here as well. So it really is a little bit overwhelming, and it's pretty cool, uh, but it's a joy to be here just to share God's word with you.

I want to read the text for today. The passage is gonna be uh Titus. We're gonna be in Titus for probably the next six months or so. Um let me read this for us out of the Legacy Standard Bible. It reads, Paul, a slave of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ for the faith of God's elect and the full knowledge of the truth, which is according to godliness, in the hope of eternal life, which the God who cannot lie promised from all eternity. But at the proper time manifested his word in preaching with which I was entrusted according to the commandment of God, our Savior. Please join me in asking the Lord really to speak this morning. Father, we are here. You are our audience, we are your sheep, and Lord, we want to be fed, but our feeding is secondary.

First and foremost, we pray that you would receive the glory that you're due as truth is proclaimed from this pulpit. And you have said that your word does not return void in any way, shape, or form. So that as your word today is shared and proclaimed, Lord, that you would cause us as we abide in those words to bear fruit to your glory and to our delight. And so we pray that you would empower the preaching of your word, and that it would be your word that really magnifies a person in Christ. And we pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. Well, I shared last week that we'll be in the book of Titus for the next few months, and I felt that it was a very appropriate book for this season of ministry. The epistle to Titus, though it is short, it's just three chapters and 46 verses, it gives very clear and explicit instructions concerning the building up of a healthy church.

Um last week we looked at four attributes of God, his omnipotence, his sovereignty, his love and his holiness, and we looked at how the words slave of God are words of immense honor and privilege. So for this uh sermon, we're gonna be focusing on the person of Jesus Christ, what it means to be an apostle, a messenger, and a servant of Christ. And today's sermon will also serve as both a continuation of an introduction to the book of Titus and a further elaboration of my hopes for the Beacon Church. And I'm gonna give you my outline right here in the beginning so you can track my thought flow. Uh we're gonna begin with the marks of a healthy church according to the books of Titus. This is not gonna be an exhaustive list, but there are some things that Paul writes to Titus of his expectations for the Lord's church.

And these marks are all connected to the person of Jesus Christ, and that's why I've outlined the sermon in this manner. And I'm only gonna touch upon some of these highlighted verses or some of these highlighted marks in Titus, and over the course of the next several months, I'm looking forward to diving into each of these and unpacking them for you. And hopefully it wets your appetite for more as we unpack uh week to week. Now, a lot of times when we listen to sermons, we become passive listeners. So, for a few moments, anyway, I'd like to get you to actively think, okay? And so here are a couple questions that I'd like you to actively ponder. Do you want to be part of an unhealthy church?

You don't need to answer. You don't need to raise hands. Do you want to be part of an unhealthy church? Would you stay at an unhealthy church? And sometimes people do stay at unhealthy churches for differing reasons. Here's another question that I want you to actively ponder. Do you really want to be part of a healthy church? And if so, what are you willing to contribute and sacrifice to make it healthy? Do you really want to? Because a healthy marriage, you have to put in a lot of work, right? A healthy church requires a lot of sacrifice, a lot of love, a lot of patience, a lot of building. Do you want to be part of that? Here's another question. What is a healthy church? And when I say healthy church, what comes to mind?

What makes a church healthy? Size? Missional projects, good programs, an engaging children's ministry, fun youth and college group, a good community where people love each other. A church that's planting more churches every two to three years. Great music. People go to churches for all of these things. And oftentimes many of these things, they're all good things, are at the top of the list when people look for churches. But do those things mean healthy? Now, healthy is not supposed to be subjective, it's an objective word. A human body is objectively healthy or unhealthy. And there are measurable markers for this. In the same way a church is objectively healthy or unhealthy. So the first hallmark of every healthy church is worship that is God-centered and not man-centered.

A healthy church engages in Christ-centered worship. We gather together for Jesus. He is and he was, and he is going to be absolutely central for every gathering. Revelation 5, 11 to 12 reads, Then I looked and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne and the living creatures and the elders, and the number of them was myriads and myriads and thousands upon thousands, saying with a loud voice, worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and blessing. And this is what every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth will be singing for all eternity. And for those of us that have believed on Christ, eternal life has already started.

And this is why we gather this Sunday morning for Christ's exalting worship. He is worthy. Worthy is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of our world or of the world. He is worthy of all of our worship. And so we first and foremost come to bless him rather than to be blessed or to glean something or to get pumped up. Sunday is the Lord's day. It is not our day.

Amen? Secondly, every healthy church holds in the highest of a seems the grace and the saving power of Jesus Christ. We do not teach salvation by works. Man, no matter how great his effort could never be reconciled to God by his own merit. This then also means that no human being is more deserving of salvation than anyone else. I am no different from Adolf Hitler in my deserving of the wrath of God.

And that's why you're here as well. Third, on this partial list, every healthy church proclaims and preaches Christ exalting doctrine. Every healthy church properly and accurately teaches everything that is written in the scriptures through Christ and about Christ. So what's the difference between faith and superstition? Take like a second to think through the definition of faith versus superstition. Faith is based on truth. Faith is based on certainty. Faith is based on sound doctrine. Superstition, it's just wishful thinking. It's folly. It is satanic in origin. In his high priestly prayer in John 17, John, uh Jesus prays in verse 17 sanctify them by the truth, his disciples. Your word is truth.

So the Holy Spirit opens eyes and gives faith through the first the proclamation of doctrine. The Lord sanctifies his bride through the washing of the water with the word, with doctrine. Ephesians chapter 5. So doctrine is important. So as Paul writes in Titus chapter 2, verse 1, we are to speak the things that are in accord with sound doctrine in Christ exalting doctrine. And that's a purpose of that's a mark of a healthy church. The Great Commission involves teaching them to do all that I have commanded you, right? So you and I have been created by God and for God, by Christ and for Christ to love Christ and to serve Christ. And that's biblical truth. And there's a misconception in our day that a church that emphasizes the Bible deemphasizes love.

That thought is for the biblically illiterate. To love Christ and to serve Christ means that it's imperative that we love well, that we serve well. We are marked and identified, first fruit of the Spirit by love and service. We love and serve those in the church. We love and serve those outside the church, and true biblical literacy always produces this perfect trifecta. Terror, humility, love. It always produces that. Emphasis on doctrine must always lead to love. So fourthly, a healthy church loves humbly and selflessly. And that's also in Titus.

And we're going to cover all of them. Love, too, is objective. It's biblically defined. What our world defines as love is becoming more and more radically different from what the Bible defines as love. Love, by definition, hates whatever thing that is a threat to the well-being of the one who is loved. Would you guys agree with that? Love hates. Love cannot but hate. The thing that is going to be harmful for the object of that love. So mark of a healthy church. Love, humbly and selflessly. Fifth. We also see in Titus that every healthy church is primarily future focused, looking longingly to the return of Christ. I just officiated my last Berean wedding yesterday. And not one single person was sad that the engagement ended.

No one this morning is grieving that the couple is no longer engaged. Engagements are supposed to end. They are temporary. The diamond ring, the engagement, the wedding, even, were never the goal in the first place. The goal of every engagement is the marriage. So at present, for those of us who believe, for those of us who are engaged one day to be betrothed to our bridegroom for whom we exist, we are all in kind of an already but not yet engagement. Engagements are not unimportant. It's an important process. The invitations to the party need to be sent out, right? All future and potential guests need to be informed that there's a party that's happening, that they're invited. So a healthy church is future focused.

Amen. It is focused on the return of Christ. Let me put it another way. A healthy church is obsessed with the coming of the bridegroom. We do not know the specific date, but we prepare diligently for the coming of the bridegroom. It is to be an obsession for the church. We need to be watchful. We need to be sober. We need to be awake, alert. So every healthy church is obsessed about the return of Christ. Now here's what is not meant by obsessed. Okay, Matthew 24, 36. It reads, okay, just close your eyes and listen. But of that day and hour, no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone. So if you ever hear of churches that have figured out the day of the Lord's return and they sell their possessions because Jesus is going to return on a specific day, they're biblically illiterate.

They're not healthy. Their focus on the future has been divorced from sound doctrine. Their beliefs are based on superstition, deception, and they are demonic in nature. So these kinds of cults and churches are to be avoided, but every healthy church must be future focused in the same way every engaged couple is looking forward to the end of the engagement. If a fiancee were to ever say, I love engagement so much, I want to stay engaged forever. There's something wrong. She wants the rock. She don't want the man.

And last on this non-exhaustive list, a healthy church does not shy away from the topic of the lordship of Christ and of commitment to good works. So while the healthy church awaits her bridegroom, the healthy church is committed to good works. She hustles while she waits. She behaves and honors her future bridegroom as if she were already married, even though she is not yet married. If any engaged person were to say, since I'm not married yet, how far can I go in talking with that person? How far can I go and mess around where it's technically not adultery because I'm technically not married yet? I can do whatever I want until the wedding day, right? I'll start acting married once I am married.

There's something wrong there.

Nor would you other parents. Marriage is supposed to be exclusive. As is the engagement.

How far can I go in talking? I'm going to make him call me Pastor, Peter. Pastor Chung, how far can I go in talking with other women? How much can I flirt before it technically counts as cheating on your daughter? The question in and of itself is strange. I would seriously doubt his love and his commitment to my daughter. I would have every right to judge his heart. You would have every right on my behalf to judge his heart. The question in and of itself is wrong and offensive. But when it comes to salvation, many church people ask similar questions, of course, not out loud. How much can I flirt with the things of the world before technically it's considered sin? How much of the world can I enjoy before it's technically an offense to God?

How much of this compromise can I engage in before God kicks me out of his house? Which is theologically an impossible thing. But you guys understand that, right? We don't pursue a knowledge of God to become saved. We don't strive for holiness to become saved. We pursue knowledge of God and we seek to live holy lives because we have been saved. Our Lord deserves it. Our Lord is worthy of it. And in view of God's mercy, we are to offer our bodies as a living sacrifice holy and pleasing to God because that's our spiritual act of worship, and it's the only appropriate response to amazing grace. Right? A healthy church does not shy away from teaching lordship and good works. That's why I believe membership is so important to churches.

Not to keep track of people or the numbers. But you they need to be brought into a family, so there is a commitment and there is accountability in each and every member that is in the church for that person's good. So good works is important to the church, not for our salvation, but because of it. Okay? So for this last mark, I want to show you the verses that we will see in the book of Titus. Titus 1.16. Okay, these uh falsely religious people, they're still religious, but they profess to know God, but by their works they deny him, being detestable and disobedient and unfit for any good work. So good works, it's implied in Titus 1.16 is evidence of knowledge. Secondly, Titus 2 12 to 15, it reads, instructing us for us for the grace of God has appeared bringing salvation to all men.

That's verse 11. Verse 12, instructing us that denying ungodliness and worldly desires, we should live sensibly, righteously, and godly in the present age for the future, looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us. Why? That he might redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession, zealous for good works. And Titus is told, these things speak and exhort and reprove with all authority. Let no one disregard you. And that command to me is the same. If you're not living according to what we know a Christian life is supposed to look like, I have all authority to say, you need to repent, you need to remember the Lord.

And that's a loving thing to do. So here we see the reason Christ sacrificed himself. That you and I would be zealous for what? Good works. Not begrudgingly conceding to do good works, but to be zealous for them. And we're supposed to speak and exhort and reprove with all authority, because that's so if I were to be inappropriate in respond relating to another lady, you have every right to call me out on it. Same thing. If you are behaving in a way that does not honor the Lord, I have to call you out on it. Titus 3 1. Remind them to be subject to rulers, to authorities, to be obedient, and to be ready for every good work. So we're not only just supposed to be zealous for good works, but also we're supposed to be ready in season and out of season for good works.

Good works should be embedded into the very posture of our hearts. So we should be fixated, obsessed, intent, and exemplary for good works. Amen? That's in the scriptures. Titus 3:8. This is a trustworthy saying, and concerning these things, I want you to speak confidently, so that those who have believed God will be intent to lead in good works. These things are good and profitable for men. So those who have believed God and uh will be intent to lead in good works. So you and I have been created by God and for God to love God, to serve God, and I hope this is clear. You and I have been called to serve God with good works and to glorify God with good works. And that's been God's plan from the beginning of creation.

Ephesians or uh. That's light supposed to be there, right? And it says, for the faith of God's elect, and the full knowledge of the truth, which is according to godliness, in the hope of future, eternal life, which the God who cannot lie promised from all eternity. The Greek implies before all eternity, but it doesn't, it's not in there. Healthy churches, obsess over righteous deeds over righteous, holy living. Now, obviously, you guys are not thinking this, but if I preach this at another church, some people might feel, hey, isn't this sounding a little bit legalistic? Well, figures, Bible church guy. I knew he was going to be Pharisaic and all legalistic. We live in an age where there is almost a knee-jerk reaction to strong Bible teaching.

In our day, many immediately think that any emphasis on scripture is Pharisaic and worthy of Jesus' rebuke, not commendation. We live in an age where if I were to say the Bible says, Christians will say, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey. That's Pharisaic. So when people assume things like this, I like to walk them through, if they will engage me, a little bit of a logical exercise. Okay. And I want to walk you through it so that you can do the same. By their works, by their behavior, can you distinguish between an apostle of Jesus Christ and a Pharisee? By their works and by their behavior, can you distinguish between an apostle of Jesus Christ and a Pharisee? Who is rebuked by Jesus? Which one studies the law?

Which one prays? Which one fasts? Which one gives to the poor? Which one doesn't cuss, drink, smoke, do drugs, cheat on his wife?

Behaviorally, would you guys agree they are the same? Being saved by Christ and loving Christ doesn't mean that I'm free to sin whenever I want and however I want. Legalism is righteousness achieved by human effort. And that we don't ever teach. Righteousness is not achievable by human effort. All our righteous deeds are like filthy rags before a holy, holy, holy God, Isaiah 64, 6. Offering up our righteous deeds in our own strength with pride before God is akin to giving a person a used menstrual pad as a gift and hoping, demanding that they be happy. That's a gross image. Not a single one of us can boast that we have ever attained righteousness before God by our own efforts. But it's important to remember that righteous holy living is actually what we were created for from the beginning of time.

Righteous good works is a purpose for what we have been created and unto what we have been saved. And I want to turn our attention to one of the most familiar and beloved passages for all Christians. That always gets cut short. Ephesians 2, 8 to 10, for by grace you have been saved through faith. And this not of yourselves, it's the gift of God, not of works, so that no one may boast. Amen. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them. Many memorize and sing and proclaim Ephesians 2, 8 to 9, but they don't go to verse 10. But what does verse 10 say? The purpose of your salvation through faith is not your happiness or satisfaction or your insurance policy to escape hell.

You and I were not saved for you and me. The church that's been saved by Christ will be do will be committed to doing good works for Christ. Amen. So Titus 1 1. Last week we looked at the words Paulas, dulas, Theyu, which is translated Paul, slave of God. Today we're similarly looking at the words apostolas de Jesus Christu, apostle of Jesus Christ. So who is this Jesus Christ? So in the beginning of preparing the sermon, I was a little overwhelmed. I have a spreadsheet and I put in like the title, the passage, and then a little brief discussion of what I'm going to talk about. But I was a lot overwhelmed, actually, because with the topic of Jesus, I don't know what to focus on for my second sermon at the beginning, right?

I wasn't quite sure what the starting point should be. Where do I begin? At first, I was thinking about like, okay, since we were early on, I'm gonna start at Genesis chapter 3, verse 15, the proto-Euwangelion, where uh it's promised that the seed of the woman is gonna crush the seed of the serpent. I was thinking, okay, then maybe I should just go into Leviticus and talk about like the sacrificial system and how we need a perfect, spotless, unblemished sacrifice to atone for our sins. And then I was thinking, do I need to focus on the importance of the cross? But I realized that that's supposed to be for next week. Okay, and that's a joy of being preaching every week. I could just push it down the line, right?

I want to talk about that when we're talking about the faith of God's elect. Okay. So I was thinking, like, totally God, totally man, 100% God, 100% man, hypostatic union. Should I talk about that? Do I focus on the return of the king? Because we're talking about the future, right? Or do I do the C.S. Lewis thing where like Jesus is either Lord, liar, a lunatic? And so, where do I begin? So, quite frankly, I was actually very anxious and perplexed, and I prayed a lot, like Lord, I don't know which direction to take this sermon. But out about Wednesday, sitting inside of a Starbucks, the Lord brought me comfort by reminding me of the last verse of the Gospel of John. There are also many other things which Jesus did, which, if they were written one after the other, I suppose that even the whole world itself could not contain the books that would be written.

So the whole world could not contain all the books written concerning the person and the works of Jesus. So I don't need to feel the pressure to jam all of that into one sermon. Okay? So for the purpose of this sermon, I'm gonna focus on just one attribute, one aspect, which might be a little bit of a, huh? The exclusivity of Jesus. The exclusivity of Jesus. And what is meant by the exclusivity of Jesus, that's not technically an attribute. Okay, that's just uh, I don't even know what to call that. But what that means is Jesus is the only way to salvation. And that's pretty explicit in the scriptures. Acts chapter 4, verse 12. There is salvation in no one else. There is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.

John 14 6, Jesus said to him, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father but through me. Jesus is exclusive. He said he's exclusive. If a Christian says he's not the only way, he's contradicting what Jesus Himself said and cannot be a genuine believer. Right? If you love me, you will obey what I command, John 14, 15. So the exclusivity of Christ is taught all over the scriptures. And we learned last week that God is all powerful, that God is sovereign, God is holy, holy, holy. And because God is holy, he cannot tolerate any sin. We talked about that last week. He hates sin, this God of love, hates sin with a perfect hatred. But God is love. He is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger, abounding in loving kindness, and in the mystery of mysteries.

It's not even amazing grace, it's dumbfounding, foolish grace. He's purposed to restore rebellious, corrupt, and sinful man back to himself. Makes no sense. How does he do this? He does it by creating one way and one way only. The perfect life, the absolutely unfair and shocking sacrifice, and the resurrection of his son. So it says in John 1 14, the word became flesh. And he was executed on the behalf of our sins. And the result of this is what Martin Luther calls the glorious exchange. He made him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf so that we might become the righteousness of God in him.

So here's a theological term for you. Okay, if you're taking notes, the word is imputation. It means that God credits the righteousness and the suffering of Jesus to those who are in. And conversely imputes the sins of those who are redeemed to Christ. Glorious exchange, according to Martin Luther. So there's only one way. And one way only, Christianity is exclusive. There is no other way. There is absolutely no other name under heaven by which we must be saved. So what does this mean to be an apostle of Jesus Christ? Right? We talked about Paul, a slave of God, apostle of Jesus Christ. Now, there is a specific office for the apostles in the scriptures. To those who have physically seen Christ, or those who are called and set apart for the building up of the early church, who are marked by power, miracle signs and wonders.

Okay. So that's a specific office of an apostle, and that who is who Paul was. But the word apostolas also simply can mean messenger. Hebrews chapter 3, verse 1. Jesus is actually called the apostle and high priest of our confession. And that's not referring to the office or title of apostle, but the function of a messenger. So Paul is an apostle, but there is an application that is also present for us. We are not apostles of the church, but we are messengers into the world. Amen. Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven by which we must be saved outside of Jesus. There is one way only, it's exclusive. And we need to take that message of being reconciled to God into the world.

And even though this exclusive message will cause the world to hate us, to call us bigots, to call us arrogant, to call us narrow-minded, but that's the only way. That is the only way. Beacon. Ray of hope. That's the only sort. That's that's one light beam. That's it. The doctrine of election, which we're going to cover next week, however, it guarantees us, it guarantees us that there are still sheep out there, there are still elect out there who have yet to hear, who need to be brought into the fold, who will hear the voice of the shepherd, even through our fumbling.

Not the majority, but the elect of God will hear and will respond, just as much as at some point you guys heard the voice of God and you responded. There is a lot of confusion as to what Christians are and what Christians believe and about who Jesus is. And that frustrates me. And I'm assuming it frustrates you. Okay? A survey taken by the Barner group in 2015 called What Do Americans Believe About Jesus? Gives us a glimpse as to what we are facing here in America, and I think it's probably gonna get only worse. The vast majority of Americans believe that Jesus was a real person. Great. They're doing a good job. 92%. He was a real person. The other eight people are dumb. Okay. Abraham Lincoln never existed.

Okay. Right? Plato never existed. Though he's a real person. Secondly, in regard to Jesus' divinity, Jesus being God, most believe that he is not God. So 26% say that he's just a religious or spiritual leader like Buddha. 17%, not sure what he was. So basically, he's a good teacher, a moral example. So we're supposed to live like him. So phrases like W W J D does not help. As an aside, be wary of catchy slogans like W W J D. Let go and let God. One saved, always saved. It's not a religion, it's a relationship. They're not necessarily untrue, but these catchy slogans promote church entity and not genuine Christian witness. We have to preach the word in season and out of season.

So 52% believe that Jesus committed sins. America, the Christian country. 52% that Jesus committed sins. That's utter heresy. That's satanic doctrine. He was tempted in every way, just as we are. Hebrews 4 15 and yet was without sin. Six out of 10 white persons say that they made a commitment to Jesus. Eight out of ten black persons say that they made a commitment to Jesus. But to the Jesus of the scriptures, fully God, fully man. I don't know. Many Americans, including professing born-again Christians, according to Barna, believe that they will go to heaven because they're basically a good person. And lastly, only 2% of Americans believe that they will go to hell. There's gonna be a lot of people shocked forever.

In another survey taken more recently, almost half, if you look at the second part, almost half of all Americans believe that they can get to heaven by offering up enough used menstrual pads.

How many used menstrual pads would you ever want to receive to curry your favor? Zero.

Of this filthy wreck, right? So there is great need to make disciples. By going, and I said that this is gonna be our church's obsession, not some catchy innovative, novel, cutting-edge thing, but the great commission. It's been tried and true, and this is his way, right? So we need to make disciples by going, by baptizing, and by teaching accurately everything that the Lord has commanded, until we see the bridegroom appearing, signaling the glorious end to the engagement. We're supposed to be happy about engagements are supposed to end, right? Until we hear the voice of the great crowds, like the sound of many waters and the sound of mighty peals of thunder, saying, Let us rejoice and be glad and give glory to him.

For the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready. It's not rocket science. Preach the word in season and out of season, correct, rebuke, and teach and exhort with all carefulness and patience. The word does a work. Amen? Let's pray together. Father, we're very thankful this morning to be reminded of what you want for every church that bears your name. And I pray, Lord God, for Pastor Agam, for Pastor Justin and Pastor Dean, as that they too are in the call in the thick of the war to build up churches for your glory and for your honor. Lord, at every congregation that is represented here, Lord, would you have your way? Would you raise up an army of people who love your word, who love your church, and who love the lost, and that you would receive the glory that you're due.

And pray this in Jesus' name.