Titus 2:15. 15 Declare these things; exhort and rebuke with all authority. Let no one disregard you. (ESV)
When I grew up in Toronto, I attended the Catholic Church, went to Catholic schools and participated in Catholic service originations. I sought to be faithful to what I thought God desired. I went to Church, was an alter boy, attended spiritual retreats and tried to be active in service projects. What I heard on Sunday morning was usually just a short parable and some general instruction. As I read the bible, I began to have more and more questions that were not being addressed. Questions like why the Church operates like it does, what is the role of the Bible in Christian life, issues of salvation and assurance. I went to my Priest and began to ask him a whole series of questions from the Bible. After a while, he said: “Matthew, you have to understand. (Pointing to the Bible) that is the little book. Life and Church teaching is the big book”. At that moment, it seemed like a light was coming on. I finally understood how church authority and general life, was seen as the arbiter of truth. I knew that I needed to have a fixed, permanent guide for my life against shifting cultural views. I realized that it is only Scripture and Scripture alone as the inerrant, infallible and ever relevant authority for all things of faith and practice.
In the Gospel of Mark, chapter 11, after Jesus’ first cleansing of the temple, “the chief priests, and scribes, and elders came to Him, and began saying to Him, ‘By what authority are You doing these things, or who gave You this authority to do these things?’ ” (Mark 11:27–28). “These things” referred not only to His driving out the moneychangers from the temple (vv. 15–16) but also to His authoritative teaching (vv. 17–18). Those leaders knew that Jesus had not been educated in a scribal school or personally tutored by a leading rabbi. Nor did He ever credit venerated scribes or rabbis as the source of His teaching. When the men declined to answer Jesus’ question about whether John the Baptist’s ministry was from heaven or from men, He refused to answer their question about the source of His authority (vv. 29–33). On one occasion in the temple, Jesus did choose to tell the Jewish leaders the source of His authority. “My teaching is not Mine,” He said, “but His who sent Me. If any man is willing to do His will, he shall know of the teaching, whether it is of God, or whether I speak from Myself” (John 7:16–17). In other words, if a Jew, or any other person, sincerely seeks and obeys God the Father, he will recognize the divine authority of the Son. “When you lift up the Son of Man,” He said a few days later, “then you will know that I am He, and I do nothing on My own initiative, but I speak these things as the Father taught Me” (John 8:28; cf. vv. 38, 40; 12:49).
Since Jesus, the sinless and perfect Son of God, limited Himself to speaking nothing during His incarnation except the truth He received from His Father, how much more should those who have been called into His ministry speak only on the authority of divine Scripture (cf. Titus 1:9, 2:1; 2 Tim. 4:2) Unfortunately, for over half a century, educational philosophies have accommodated natural resentment of authority by exalting personal rights, personal choice, personal independence, self-expression, and self-sufficiency. During this time, the secular media has waged an ever-increasing campaign against social authority—parental, religious, police, and political. Personal vengeance and civil disobedience are glorified as legitimate answers to injustice, real or perceived.
Titus 2:15 gives the answer to an age of rebellion, in one of the clearest and strongest statements in Scripture about the spiritual authority of men whom God calls to minister His Word and shepherd His people. In Titus 2:15 the Apostle Paul shows the Preacher’s Authority in three elements: 1) The Authority of the Word (Titus 2:15a), 2) The Authority to Exhort (Titus 2:15b) and 3) The Authority to Rebuke (Titus 2:15c). Using the word of God, it is the command to hear, believe and obey God.
In Titus 2:15 the Apostle Paul shows the Preacher’s Authority through:
1) The Authority of the Word (Titus 2:15a) The command to hear and understand.
Titus 2:15a 15 Declare these things; (exhort and rebuke) with all authority. (Let no one disregard you). (ESV) We will spend just about all our time this morning on this first point.
The command here to “declare/Speak” (lalei) points to the pastor’s responsibility to preach, announce, reveal, and disclose (the word of God), with the intent of making clear God’s truth so that those who hear may understand. Careful and faithful biblical preaching gives them knowledge of that truth. Having given a list of instructions for different people in the church (in the first ten verses chapter 2), Paul lays down the theological basis for godly living. He argues that God’s salvific workings (that we focused on in verses 11-14 last week) intend more than salvation. Integral to salvation is the recognition that the free gift of grace comes with a cost, that of obedience. To separate salvation from ensuing obedience was at the core of the opponents’ “knowledge ” (Titus 1:16) but is foreign to the Pastoral epistles and Paul as he makes abundantly clear in Rom 6. (Mounce, W. D. (2000). Pastoral Epistles (Vol. 46, p. 433). Dallas: Word, Incorporated)
The message that Titus was to proclaim with authority is summarized in the phrase with which the verse begins—these things, which refers back to what Paul has mentioned so far in this chapter regarding holy living and the precious gospel, summed up in the phrase “the things which are fitting for sound doctrine” (Titus 2:1). It was these divine truths that Titus was, in turn, to declare/speak as he ministered in the churches on Crete. The present imperatives imply that Titus is busy doing this very thing and ask him to keep on (Lenski, R. C. H. (1937). The interpretation of St. Paul’s Epistles to the Colossians, to the Thessalonians, to Timothy, to Titus and to Philemon (p. 924). Columbus, OH: Lutheran Book Concern.). Titus must never grow slack in his duty. He must continue to do what he has been doing all along. He must constantly talk about this glorious life of sanctification as a thank-offering presented to God for his wonderful grace in Christ. (Hendriksen, W., & Kistemaker, S. J. (1953–2001). Exposition of the Pastoral Epistles (Vol. 4, p. 377). Grand Rapids: Baker Book House.)
He is to do this with all authority (meta pases epitages). Authority translates epitage, which refers to something that is in its proper order or place. The term came to be used figuratively of an official command, directive, or injunction. The verb form (epitasso) is used of Jesus’ power over both the supernatural forces of demons (Mark 1:27; cf. 9:25; Luke 4:36) and the natural forces of “the winds and the water” (Luke 8:25). In his appeal on behalf of the slave Onesimus, Paul referred Philemon (the slave owner) to his apostolic authority, saying, “I have enough confidence in Christ to order you (epitasso) to do that which is proper, yet for love’s sake I rather appeal to you” (Philem. 8–9).The preacher is called to accurately interpret and proclaim Scripture with sympathy, compassion, and humility. But he also has the divine charge to present biblical truth with strong authority, commanding God’s people to hear, believe, and obey God’s Word. Most members of the Cretan churches were young in the faith, untried in the difficulties of obedience and piety. Titus needed to instill courage in these new converts, by words as well as example (Larson, K. (2000). I & II Thessalonians, I & II Timothy, Titus, Philemon (Vol. 9, p. 368). Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers.).
As long as he is faithful to God’s Word, a pastor has the awesome privilege of ministering with God-given authority. He is not called to share personal insights or opinions, to philosophize or even theologize, and certainly not to entertain with words that appeal to the whims and prejudices of those to whom he ministers (cf. 2 Tim. 4:3). The preacher must put himself out of the way and let God’s Word speak through him unhindered. No matter what his training, experience, or personal abilities, he has spiritual authority only to the extent that what he says conforms to God’s Word. But as with Jesus’ own teaching, when a minister of God does faithfully proclaim that Word, those who reject his teaching reject God’s truth and are as much accountable for their rejection as if the Lord had spoken the truth with His own lips. It is in that way, and only in that way, that a pastor is able to speak with spiritual authority. It is also in that way that he is commanded to speak with spiritual authority. The gospel must not be presented as an optional opinion to be accepted or rejected as its hearers may please. The minister’s authority rests in the nature of his message; he is not raised above the truth but the truth above him (Hiebert, D. E. (1981). Titus. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Ephesians through Philemon (Vol. 11, p. 442). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.).
Please turn to Proverbs 14
As in the past, the church today is plagued by many false kinds of authority. Some go beyond the bounds of scripture to dictate in discretionary matters. Others claim authority over sickness, disease and the demonic. Another kind of mistaken authority is intellectualism, the notion that if you have a degree, or office, you automatically should command people’s lives (cf. 1 Cor. 2:1-5). A fourth kind of mistaken authority, perhaps the dominant one in our day, is experiential. Such statements as “I know this is right (or true) because I feel it is” are tragically common, even among Christians. But intuition is not knowing. Feeling and emotion cannot discern truth and have no necessary relation to the truth. There is no reliability or authority in mere experience. Yet it is common for people to believe something is true simply because they feel it is true or because they experience something that leads them to conclude that it is true. With utter disregard for careful biblical study and interpretation, they whimsically mishandle the truth and thereby forfeit true spiritual authority.
Proverbs 14 describes this folly:
Proverbs 14:11–16 11 The house of the wicked will be destroyed, but the tent of the upright will flourish. 12 There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death. 13 Even in laughter the heart may ache, and the end of joy may be grief. 14 The backslider in heart will be filled with the fruit of his ways, and a good man will be filled with the fruit of his ways. 15 The simple believes everything, but the prudent gives thought to his steps. 16 One who is wise is cautious and turns away from evil, but a fool is reckless and careless. (ESV)
• This antithetical proverb demands that presumption is deadly. …The prideful assumption here is that one’s unexamined thinking is correct (Prov. 12:15)…One may choose a path, genuinely believing it to be the best one (even God’s path!), but notwithstanding the sincerity, such a path still ends in death. Sincerity has never been the final test of truth. ... Pride, presumption and autonomy begin with promise, but they cannot sustain that hope into the future. Jesus echoed the same warning: ‘Enter by the narrow gate; for the gate is wide, and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and many are those who enter by it. For the gate is small, and the way is narrow that leads to life, and few are those who find it’ (Matt. 7:13–14) (Kitchen, J. A. (2006). Proverbs: A Mentor Commentary (pp. 308–309). Fearn, Ross-shire, Great Britain: Mentor.).
• The preachers greatest temptation is to tell people what they want to hear. It is the same warning that we looked at last week from 2 Timothy 4:3-4 3 For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, 4 and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. (ESV). The deadliest belief is the presumption that if we tone down the message, tell people what they want to hear and share stories and nothing but affirmation, and entertain them, then we can attract a larger ministry and more people will participate. The clear result however is to lull people to moral sleep and the end thereof is death.
Quote: Much of the so-called preaching in our day is telling personal antidotes, human stories or syrupy affirmation. This is not God’s command in preaching. In a journal article titled “The Preacher and Preaching,” theologian J. I. Packer writes, “Preaching that does not display divine authority, both in its content and in its manner, is not the substance but only the shadow of the real thing ….[Yet] the Bible is the real preacher, and the role of the man in the pulpit or the counseling conversation is simply to let the passages say their piece through him …. For the preacher to reach the point where he no longer hinders or obstructs his text from speaking is harder work than is sometimes realized. However, there can be no disputing that this is the task. (J. I. Packer Presbyterian and Reformed Journal, Fall 1986, pp. 11, 18)
In Titus 2:15 the Apostle Paul shows the Preacher’s Authority through:
2) The Authority to Exhort (Titus 2:15b). The command to respond in belief.
Titus 2:15b 15 (Declare these things); exhort (and rebuke with all authority. Let no one disregard you).
The command here to “Exhort” (parakalei), carries the ideas of beseeching, entreating, and pleading. It involves more than simply stating and explaining truth. The preacher who exhorts seeks by every means at his disposal to persuade and encourage his hearers not simply to understand but to believe God’s truth. Exhort can also be translated as “encourage” or “urge”. In any case, it is a positive use of Christian doctrine for edification (Towner, P. (1994). 1–2 Timothy & Titus (Vol. 14, Tt 2:15). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.)
Please turn to Hebrews 10
It has been assumed by some that exhortation starts and stops with the preacher. Some will say that they like particular speakers because they are so practical and spend the bulk of their time in application. The danger of such an approach can be seen in the cults. They will be so practical as to dictate every element of your lives. Although the preacher can mention general applications, and the more he knows a congregation, get more specific, but this is just the beginning. The power in the application comes from Christ Himself through the Holy Spirit taking the words of God and applying it among a congregation. Notice this fruit:
Hebrews 10:19-25 19 Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, 20 by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, 21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. 23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, 25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near. (ESV)
• Satan has sown the lie of “personal spirituality”, that all I need is me and God and I am free to be spiritual however I see fit. This isolationist mentality tends to downplay personal sins and conform life to selfish whims. One of the reasons that God calls us together for corporate worship is for the collective work of the Holy Spirit among us. When a people are surrendered to Christ, their personal preferences are put aside, and He molds them together. God has designed corporate life that there be: (v.22) a true confession of sin and a true assurance of forgiveness. This liberates people (v.23) from selfish bondage to a collective hope. We know that we are in this struggle together and collectively assure one another of Christ’s assurances. With this true freedom (v24) we exhort one another to practically live out our calling. Finally, we see in (v.25) real encouragement knowing that our time on earth is limited and we will be held accountable for how we use our gifts and talents for Christ soon returns.
Illustration:
Some people think that it is solely the preachers job in exhortation to encourage them. The preacher’s job in exhortation is to show and explain, perhaps with examples, how the word of God is relevant and useful for a particular situation. It is the hearer’s job, through the work of the Holy Spirit to do the work and apply it to their lives. Martyn Lloyd-Jones illustrated this point. In regards to spiritual depression he said: “We must talk to ourselves instead of allowing “ourselves” to talk to us! Do your realize what that means? I suggest that the main trouble in this whole matter of spiritual depression in a sense is this, that we allow our self to talk to us instead of talking to our self.…Most of your unhappiness in life is due to the fact that you are listening to yourself instead of talking to yourself.…The main art in the matter of spiritual living is to know how to handle yourself. You have to take yourself in hand, you have to address yourself, preach to yourself, question yourself. You must say to your soul: “Why art thou cast down”—what business have you to be disquieted? You must turn on yourself, upbraid yourself, condemn yourself, exhort yourself, and say to yourself: “Hope thou in God”—instead of muttering in this depressed unhappy way. And then you must go on to remind yourself of God.…”(Martyn Lloyd-Jones as recorded in Morgan, R. J. (2000). Nelson’s complete book of stories, illustrations, and quotes (electronic ed., pp. 210–211). Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers.)
Finally, in Titus 2:15 the Apostle Paul shows the Preacher’s Authority through:
3) The Authority to Rebuke (Titus 2:15c). The command to submit and obey the word of God.
Titus 2:15c 15 (Declare these things; exhort and) rebuke (with all authority). Let no one disregard you. (ESV).
Whereas exhort is a positive command to do what is right, rebuke/reprove (elencho) is a corrective command meaning “to convince and correct one who does not yet recognize or admit that they must turn away from what is wrong.” The word is elencho, which means to bring to light or expose and in this context to “point out, convince, and rebuke/reprove” when it is necessary to convict (Richards, L. O. (1991). The Bible reader’s companion (electronic ed., p. 848). Wheaton: Victor Books.). As one author put it: “The eyes of the sinner must be opened to their sin. The mind of the misguided must be led to realize its mistake. The heart of the heedless must be stabbed broad awake. The Christian message is no opiate to send pepole to sleep; it is no comfortable assurance that everything will be all right. It is rather the blinding light which shows people themselves as they are and God as He is” (William Barclay: The Letters to Timothy, Titus and Philemon [Philadelphia: Westminster, 1960], p. 296).
The work to rebuke/reprove is designed to get wayward believers back on track (1:13; 2:1). Of course, uppermost in Paul’s mind here are the effects of the false teaching on the conduct of individual Christians in Crete. As one chosen by God to serve the churches, the Christian teacher or leader has authority to carry out such a command. Titus, as the apostle’s delegate, shared Paul’s authority. The gravity and need of the situation required that the people recognize that this doctrine was to be accepted and responded to as God’s instruction. These were not merely helpful suggestions, but divine commands. (Towner, P. (1994). 1–2 Timothy & Titus (Vol. 14, Tt 2:15). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.)
Please turn to Psalm 119
All the shallow substitutes to preaching the word of God are misguided. From “prosperity preaching” to the human interest stories, personal reflections and bland passive reassurances, they do not have the power of God behind them. They are an opioid to silence the conscience, and stop self examination. Preaching the whole counsel of God means dealing with the propensity of human self-deception to the holiness of God. When preaching the word of God, the Holy Spirit uses it to exhort, and rebuke.
Psalm 119 explains how this is:
Ps 119:67-75 67 Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I keep your word. 68 You are good and do good; teach me your statutes. 69 The insolent smear me with lies, but with my whole heart I keep your precepts; 70 their heart is unfeeling like fat, but I delight in your law. 71 It is good for me that I was afflicted, that I might learn your statutes. 72 The law of your mouth is better to me than thousands of gold and silver pieces. 73 Your hands have made and fashioned me; give me understanding that I may learn your commandments. 74 Those who fear you shall see me and rejoice, because I have hoped in your word. 75 I know, O LORD, that your rules are righteous, and that in faithfulness you have afflicted me. (ESV)
• We live in an age that has lost confidence in the word of God. A human message, by human means achieves human results. A divine message, through divine means, achieves divine results. Even those who have been regenerated by the word of God are fearful that it will offend others. They water down the standards in a misguided effort to expand the participants of ministry. They substitute the divine means of regeneration, sanctification and rebuke, for friendliness, entertainment, and unregenerate assurance. The proof of belief is in your actions. If you really believe that the word of God is what you say it is, then it will be evident in your speaking it, living it, calling for faith in it, and rebuking those who rebel against it.
Summing up, the preacher must strive to bring his hearers to understand, believe, and obey God’s truth. Obviously, neither Titus nor any Christian leader can control the feelings and actions of others. But this does not mean that a leader sits idly by, for Paul’s closing admonition in this chapter, Let no one disregard you, applies to those who think they are beyond Biblical application. It can refer to those who think they know better, their situation does not apply, or should be allowed a speak exemption due to their circumstances. But the phrase let no one clearly allows for no exception. It is a present active imperative. (Robertson, A. T. (1933). Word Pictures in the New Testament (Tt 2:15). Nashville, TN: Broadman Press.) Titus and all those who stand for Biblical truth are to be active and vigilant to uphold in word and deed, biblical standards of holiness. No believer should be allowed to reject or disregard God’s truth without consequence. In effect, Paul is giving a call to church discipline as outlined in Matthew 18:15–17, 1 Corinthians 5:1–2, and Titus 3:10–11. Just as God will not fail to discipline His errant saint and punish the rebellious, so to those who truly love others will not sit idly by with a misguided understanding of tolerance, when one recklessly disregards the standards of holiness. Titus was not to be ignored or dismissed. He was to stand his ground, speak the truth, model the message, and not permit others (dismiss out of hand, the clear teaching of the word of God) (.Larson, K. (2000). I & II Thessalonians, I & II Timothy, Titus, Philemon (Vol. 9, p. 368). Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers.)
Those who reject the biblical rebuke are said to disregard it. Disregard is from periphroneo, which has the literal meaning of “thinking around something, usually for the purpose of evasion.” Eventually, the word came to be used almost exclusively in the negative sense of strongly disagreeing with an idea and of treating it with disrespect or disregard. God’s truth is to be proclaimed with authority, and obedience to it demanded in the church. No disobedience can be tolerated or overlooked. The instruction recalls 1 Tim 4:12 in form and content, with, however, Timothy’s youth being mentioned as the cause of disregard. In Titus’s case, it is not clear that the cause of disrespect would have been his age. More likely Paul anticipates further acts of rebellious opposition to his authority for which the Cretan churches and the teachers troubling them had become known (1:6, 9, 10; 3:10). Titus is to insist on his authority and address the needs of the communities under his charge as the apostle’s representative (Towner, P. H. (2006). The Letters to Timothy and Titus (p. 768). Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.).
The ministry of teaching to shape lives is not simply repetition of words. Christian teaching calls for an intimate involvement of the teacher with the learner, and involves instruction, encouragement, advising, urging, exhorting, guiding, exposing, convincing, and perhaps most important, providing a living example. …Each ministry needs a focus. And the focus that Paul calls for here is one of nurturing believers, to help each become all they can be in Christ (Richards, L. O. (1991). The Bible reader’s companion (electronic ed., p. 848). Wheaton: Victor Books.).
(Format note: Some base commentary from MacArthur, J. F., Jr. (1996). Titus (pp. 123–133). Chicago: Moody Press.)
