Proper Christian Citizenship – Titus 3:1-7
Proper Christian Citizenship – Titus 3:1-7
By Pastor Lee Hemen
November 16, 2008 AM
Mark Twain wrote in an article published in Collier’s Magazine in 1905, “Is there such a thing as Christian citizenship? No, but it could be created. The process would be quite simple, and not productive of hardship to anyone. It will be conceded that every man’s first duty is to God; it will also be conceded, and with strong emphasis, that a Christian’s first duty is to God. It then follows, as a matter of course, that it is his duty to carry his Christian code of morals to the polls and vote them. Whenever he shall do that, he will not find himself voting for an unclean man, a dishonest man. Whenever a Christian votes, he votes against God or for Him, and he knows this quite well. God is an issue in every election; He is a candidate in the person of every clean nominee on every ticket; His purity and His approval are there, to be voted for or voted against, and no fealty to party can absolve His servant from his higher and more exacting fealty to Him; He takes precedence of party, duty to Him is above every claim of party.” [i]
While I disagree with Twain’s statement that Christian Citizenship does not exist, it does, I do agree with him on his emphasis that “every man’s first duty is to God; it will also be conceded, and with strong emphasis, that a Christian’s first duty is to God.” But not every man nor certainly every Christian lives this way. The question this should bring to mind is simple: Why not? When Paul his letters he had much to say about Christians being proper Christian citizens, and when he wrote Titus he addressed this issue as well. Let’s discover what Paul wrote about proper Christian citizenship…
READ: Titus 3:1-7
Christians do not live in a societal vacuum. We live in the world. We interact with our school, jobs, neighbors, and communities and country. In so doing we are to live as Jesus would live and be the example he would desire us to be. We discover that for Paul, proper Christian citizenship means…
I. Reminding one another to live admirably! (vv. 1-2)
1. “Happy are those who reject the advice of evil people, who do not follow the example of sinners or join those who have no use for God.” (Psalms 1:1, GNB) Happiness for the Christian carries with it the mandate to be a witness for the Lord all the time. This is why Paul tells Titus, “Remind the people to be.” Titus was to remind his flock that their commitment to Christ comes first. They were “to be subject (hupotasso) to rulers and authorities” that held political power. All Christians are subject to Christ and are also subject to those God places in authority over them. Paul wrote the Roman church that “Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves.” (Romans 13:1-2) In our culture it is difficult for us to sometimes understand this concept because we value our individual freedom so much. While Cretans were not known for their good citizenship, Christians were to be. Paul lists seven qualities expected of Christians: They were to 1) be subject to rulers and authorities; 2) be obedient; 3) be ready to do whatever is good; 4) to slander no one; 5) to be peaceable and 6) considerate; and finally, 7) to show true humility toward all men. Paul wanted believers to respect the government they lived under. Paul wanted Titus to remind his church that proper Christian citizenship begins with living admirably.
EXAMPLE: Lord Robert Baden-Powell founded the Boy Scouts in England in 1907. The organization had its beginning in America in 1910 as the result of Chicago publisher William D. Boyce who, while lost in the fog on a trip to England, was aided by a Boy Scout to find his way. Boyce was so impressed he met with Baden-Powell to discuss bringing the organization to America. Since then, millions of boys have had their ethical and moral character shaped by the Scout Oath and Scout Law that insist on preparedness and moral straightness. The Scout Oath, which every Scout memorizes, says, “On my honor I will do my best to do my duty to God and my country and to obey the Scout Law; to help other people at all times; To keep myself physically strong, mentally awake, and morally straight.” The Scout Law says, “A Scout is: Trustworthy, Obedient, Loyal, Cheerful, Helpful, Thrifty, Friendly, Brave, Courteous, Clean, Kind, Reverent.” [ii]Isn’t this what Paul was telling Titus? Paul writes Titus that proper Christian citizenship is a reminder for Christians to live admirably.
Living worthy of Jesus is a wonderful witness to the world around us as believers. But in so doing we must never forget our roots. What we once were before Christ entered our lives. Paul also wanted Titus to understand that proper Christian citizenship means…
II. Remembering what we once were! (v. 3)
1. “You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived.” (Colossians 3:7) Paul never forgot the sinful condition from which he and his converts were saved from. This is why he tells Titus, “At one time we too were” the way we were. And how were we all? Paul says we were “foolish,” (anoetos) uncomprehending and stupid to the spiritual things of God; we were “disobedient,” (apeithes) apathetic and unconvinced of Jesus; we were “deceived,” (planao) meaning we were seduced by the desires of the world around us; and in fact Paul says we were “enslaved,” (douleuo) in bondage to our own “passions,” (epithumia) that well up inside of us and our “pleasures,” (hedone) hedonistic and self-indulgent lives! Not only were we captives to this kind of ungodly living, “We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another!” That was our lives before Jesus’ grace entered into our being! Wow! We may remark: “I wasn’t that bad! I may have not known God, but I was a pretty good person.” And when we think this perhaps we have not come to grips with who we truly were before Christ. We forget that even the best of the best, among those who do not know the Lord, are counted with the worst of the worst. Our natural lives were totally hostile to the things of God. We lived to please ourselves. God was not in the picture at all. Paul writes that proper Christian citizenship begins by remembering what we once were!
EXAMPLE: While the Boy Scouts have remained true to their beginnings, the Girl Scouts have dramatically veered left. They have deliberately forgotten who they are and their history. Rather than maintaining its early roots, it has “only grown more brazen lately in its embrace of radical agendas—with some of its councils openly promoting homosexuality and encouraging young girls to interact with abortion-minded groups like Planned Parenthood. At its 50th annual convention they featured Kavita Ramdas—president of the Global Fund for Women, which lobbies for ‘safe and legal’ abortion—as a keynote speaker and role model.” Recently, the Girl Scouts adopted a new direction that is founded on New Age principles promoting social activism, emphasizing the power of self, and jumping on the bandwagon of politically correct causes like global warming. Girls are encouraged to find their “inner guidance” and develop their own inner compass.[iii] The Girl Scout’s unrelenting liberalism is spurring a counterrevolution. In 1995 the American Heritage Girls (AHG) began with just 100 girls and 10 troops. But thanks to the Girl Scouts’ leftward drift, in 2006 the AHG exploded into a nationwide movement. It now has at least 6,500 members, forming more than 153 troops across 34 states. Their target is to be in all 50 States by the end of this year with over 7,000 members.[iv] Small, compared to the Girls Scouts with 2.7 million members, the AHG have remembered their Christian roots. Paul wrote Titus that proper Christian citizenship means remembering what we once were.
Knowing where the Christian comes from and encouraging them to live lives worthy of Christ is important. But how is it possible for us to live as proper Christian citizens? Paul finishes by telling Titus that proper Christian citizenship means…
III. Grasping the generosity of Jesus! (vv. 4-7)
1. “But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect.” (1 Corinthians 15:10) Just as Paul’s past had changed so did the lives of those who trusted in the grace of God through Jesus. Paul related “But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared” things changed! God in His grace “saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy.” Paul uses three wonderful words to describe for us the aspects of God’s grace: Kindness, love, and mercy. Paul reminds Titus that it was God who “saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior!” God’s purpose in pouring out the Holy Spirit was “so that, having been justified by His grace, we (believers) might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.” In fact, the Holy Spirit is the Christian’s “mark” and “seal,” a guarantee of “our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession.” (Ephesians 1:13-14) Because of this all Christians are God’s children and “heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ!” (Romans 8:15-17) This is why Paul would tell the Roman church, “Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God. You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you.… He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?” (Romans 8:8 & 32) Paul wanted Titus to understand that proper Christian citizenship means grasping the generosity of Jesus!
EXAMPLE: Americans are extremely generous. In 2004 the US Federal Government gave out 20 billion in foreign aid, however, according to the Hudson Institute, individual Americans, through private charities, gave over $242 billion in 2004 to world aid organizations and charities! The fact is, when you combine government and private giving, America is the most generous country on Earth. According to a professor, an expert on charitable giving interviewed by ABC’s John Stossel, Americans give three and one-half times more per capita than the French, seven times more than the Germans and 14 times more than the Italians. Several years ago John Stossel set up an experiment to see who gives more to charities, liberals or conservatives. He placed two Salvation Army buckets in two places. One in liberal San Francisco, CA and the other in church-going Sioux Falls, SD. They were placed in similar spots with similar foot traffic. Sioux Falls won hands down. In fact, the church goers gave over four times as much! Studies have shown that the folks who give the most usually go to church and earn far less per capita in income. [v] The richer you are, the less likely you are to give and you give less percentagewise. Why? Folks forget what they own their success to. Christians can as well. Paul told Titus that proper Christian citizenship means grasping the generosity of Jesus!
Conclusion:
Proper Christian citizenship Paul told Titus was found in: 1) Reminding one another to live admirably, 2) remembering what we once were, and 3) grasping the generosity of Jesus.
[i] Christian Citizenship – General, by Jerry Price, The Ethics and Religious Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention. Online at: http://erlc.com/article/christian-citizenship-general.
[ii] Scouts anniversary week & ACLU attacks, by Rees Lloyd, WorldNetDaily, February09, 2006. Online at: http://worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=48756.
[iii] . The Girl Scouts' new radicalism, by Marcia Segelstein, OneNewsNow.com, July 1, 2008. Online at: http://www.onenewsnow.com/Perspectives/Default.aspx?id=160368.
[iv] Girl Scouts' journey to the New Age, by Jane Chastain, July 17, 2008, WorldNetDaily. Online at: http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=69778.
[v] American Generosity, by Tom Purcell, December 3, 2006, Pittsburg Tribune Review. Online at: http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/opinion/columnists/purcell/s_482341.html.
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This article is copyrighted © 2008 by Lee Hemen and if you reprint it, reproduce it, or want to use it in any way, you must do so in its entirety or get the written permission of its author.
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