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Sunday 29 September 2002 - "The Gospel and culture"

(Summary of sermon by Erlo Stegen)

Titus 1:5 - 13

5 ¶ For this cause left I thee in Crete, that thou shouldest set in order the things that are wanting, and ordain elders in every city, as I had appointed thee:

6 ¶ If any be blameless, the husband of one wife, having faithful children not accused of riot or unruly.

7 For a bishop must be blameless, as the steward of God; not selfwilled, not soon angry, not given to wine, no striker, not given to filthy lucre;

8 But a lover of hospitality, a lover of good men, sober, just, holy, temperate;

9 Holding fast the faithful word as he hath been taught, that he may be able by sound doctrine both to exhort and to convince the gainsayers.

10 For there are many unruly and vain talkers and deceivers, specially they of the circumcision:

11 Whose mouths must be stopped, who subvert whole houses, teaching things which they ought not, for filthy lucre’s sake.

12 One of themselves, even a prophet of their own, said, The Cretians are alway liars, evil beasts, slow bellies.

13 This witness is true. Wherefore rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith;

Titus was a Greek, converted as a young man. The Gospel has done away with discrimination. There was no longer any difference between Jew or Greek. Paul, a leading Jew, even refers to Titus as his son.

On the day of Pentecost there were Cretians present too. Those that got converted brought the Gospel to Crete. There is a good possibility that more Christians came to Crete, when the Christians were persecuted in Jerusalem and had to flee for their lives.

The Cretians were brutish people. We read that even one of their own prophets said that they were lying continually, evil beasts and lazy gluttons. Up to today one does not find the Cretians to have achieved or developed anything useful. Nations that are dishonest and lazy will not prosper.

Some people complain about unemployment while they have a patch of ground at home, all overgrown with nettles and weeds. They cannot complain, until they have tilled that ground.

Paul did not want to leave these people in their old culture of lies and laziness. Therefore he left Titus there to help them, teach them and organize the church, that everything might be done properly and orderly.

An elder must be above reproach in speech and conduct.

• He must not be lazy
• Not a drunkard
• The husband of one wife
• Self-controlled
• Have no devious, deceitful ways
• He must rule his house well, having believing, obedient and respectful children; for how can he teach others if he cannot rule his own house.
• In short, he must be healthy in the faith, as all believers ought to be.

Paul told Titus to reprove the Cretians sharply that nothing of their old ways be dragged into their new life. One often find in whites that they still have a trace of apartheid from their old life in their new Christian life. This ought not to be so. Everything of the old life must be left behind and done away with. They still notice the difference between white and black.

The apostle Peter had to learn this lesson, even after he had been filled with the Holy Spirit. When Cornelius sent his servants to call Peter to show them the way of salvation, God gave Peter a vision of all manner of unclean animals and told him to slaughter and eat them. Peter replied that he cannot eat unclean animals, but God said to Peter, "What God has sanctified, you dare not call defiled". This happened trice. Then at Cornelius' home, when the Holy Spirit came down, Peter's eyes opened, and he saw that God is not a respector of persons, but anyone, of whatever nation, that does that which is right in His sight, is accepted of Him. God does not just look at the outside, of what nationality people are, but at the heart. And if they do righteousness in His sight, He blesses them. After some years, Paul had to rebuke Peter concerning the exact same problem. Even though God had showed him clearly that he must not discriminate on nationalty, it was difficult for him to accept it.

Let each one search himself before God to see if there is anything of the old life found in the new life and let God deal with it in your life.