TITUS 3
CAC I think that verse 1 comes in here as connected with verse 14 of the previous chapter, redeemed from all lawlessness.
[p. 329] Ques Do you mean that the result of that redemption would be that christians would bow to secular power?
CAC Yes, to be insubject to the rule and authority that exists would be one feature of lawlessness. It is very natural to us to be lawless; we like to take our own course and we do not like restraint. It is so wonderful that the Lord should have for His own portion a people redeemed from all lawlessness, not from some lawlessness but from all. This is an important aspect of redemption, and it would help us to think of things from that side. If we considered the Lord’s portion in us, that would engage the affections and elevate the soul, even as to the most commonplace things in life, such as subjection to the powers that be. The point is the Lord is to have His portion in us — He “gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all lawlessness, and purify to himself a peculiar people”. That is His portion; it is good to think of it. We are taken up a good deal with our portion and our blessings, but we should consider His portion. If I allow a bit of lawlessness I deny the Lord to that extent the pleasure of His love, and that is a serious thing.
Ques Would you say the abundance of grace would keep us from this lawless spirit?
CAC Yes, the motive power is grace. How wonderful that the Lord should act towards us in grace as He has done!
Ques The powers that be might impose on us unjustly and yet are we to be subject?
CAC The principle of all government is that it is in favour of what is right. It is “for vengeance on evildoers, and praise to them who do well” — so if you do well you will get praise. It is a serious matter if you come under the rebuke of the authorities; it brings you under reproach in the presence of the world. Even if a christian suffers unjustly, it should be an exercise as to why it is permitted.
[p. 330] Ques Is there a difference between suffering as an evildoer and suffering for evildoing?
CAC Yes. Peter says, ‘Mind, if you suffer, that it is for well-doing’. Christ has once suffered for sins, and that is enough of that kind of suffering.
The peculiar treasure of the Lord is a people zealous for good works. If we are under the influence of the Lord we shall always be impelled on that line; every influence from the Lord would be in the direction of good works — that is the thought here. The Lord has come in to set us free from all movements of the heart and will which had their spring in self. All evil has its spring in self, and the Lord came to deliver us from all that and to be the spring of entirely new movements of heart and purpose. The question for us to face is, How far is the Lord the source of all in us? This is an every day epistle. “Let ours also learn to apply themselves to good works for necessary wants”. It is a good work to supply daily wants and for a man to work for his living. It is wonderful for a man to go to his daily work and feel that the Lord is the spring of it — that is christianity. If we are near the Lord, He will always be suggesting good works to us because He always did them Himself. We fall into mischief because we are not occupied with good. If we are not near the Lord we get aimless and lusts and pleasures come in; that is the opposite of good works. We begin to follow our own desires and seek our own pleasures. Every impulse of good must come from the Lord Himself. If we are not near the Lord we have not the power or desire for what is good.
It would seem that verses 1 and 2 have to do with our relations to men generally: “be ready to do every good work” has a general bearing.
Ques What is the difference between rulers, and authorities, and rule in verse 1?
CAC The king is a ruler, but a policeman is an [p. 331] authority. Any servant of the king may be put in the position of authority without being a ruler. People are not always subject to rule; they ought to be. For instance, if a notice is put up that passengers must cross by the bridge at a railway station, I like to do it and not to go over the level crossing though it is much easier to do so! We are not to be legal, but the principle of subjection should get hold of us so that we respect rule. Then there are people who are entitled to rule in their own sphere who are not kings or authorities. In every good house there is rule, and if you go into it you are subject to rule. To do as I like is what the world calls liberty, but it is not really so. The christian is anxious to be true to his position. The One who has redeemed me has purified me to Himself. To be subject is to be pleasing to Him, it is what is becoming to that name. We are carrying the most precious name through this world, and we have to consider what is suitable to it, not what suits us. We are “not to be contentious, to be mild, shewing all meekness towards all men”. It is much better to be in subjection. I have found that as a rule authorities support what is good. I have experienced this in preaching. A policeman may come along and say, ‘You are obstructing the road’. If you answer, ‘All right, we will close the meeting at once’, he will probably turn round and say, ‘Well, I do not mean that exactly, but do not go on too long!’ It is a great thing to be meek and not to insist on one’s rights. It is the character of Jesus. Probably the earliest impression we got of Him was ‘Gentle Jesus, meek and mild’ — that is what He is, and if He has a people, they must have His character. It is true greatness. Who is so great as Jesus? It is because we are small that we are uppish and act in so contrary a way to meekness.
We are apt to expect from others a good deal more than there is in ourselves, so the apostle says (verse 3) — remember you were once just as misguided, “serving various lusts and pleasures”; so you are not to speak evil of any one. Supposing you know some one is a bad man, you are not to speak evil of him; you are to be meek towards him, for he is just what you were once yourself.
All good is attributed to God; if there is any good in saints, God is its blessed source. The Lord did not find any good here, He brought everything with Him, and the saints are to be here on that principle, not looking for good in men but bringing it to them. Saints reflecting the goodness of God — what a blessed conception!
Rem The Lord went about doing good; He could not do anything else, for God was with Him.
CAC Yes, the Lord was always ready, and we have here, “ready to do every good work”.
God has come out to clear us from all the reproach that attached to us in our former state. “He saved us through the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit”. The washing of regeneration brings us into an entirely new state of things morally; baptism is the figure of it. Then He not only did that but He puts a purified spring in us, that is the renewing of the Holy Spirit. Luther said a christian was a new man in a new world. That is right — the new man is the result of the renewing of the Holy Spirit and the new world is the result of regeneration. We belong to a new system of things, and the renewing of the Holy Spirit is the power to live in that system where we do not serve lusts and pleasures but are on the line of doing God’s will. What a beautiful expression — “poured out on us richly”! God does not give His Spirit by measure, He does not limit the gift in any way, He has poured it out richly. And it is “through Jesus Christ our Saviour”. He has become our Saviour in order that we might have the Holy Spirit poured out on us. That was the end in view in His salvation.
[p. 333] Ques Is there a difference between being justified by grace and by faith?
CAC Yes, one is God’s side and the other our side. Romans 3 is God’s side; He is so favourable to us that He justifies; He will take away every stain and reproach connected with our former state. Then we are justified by faith; that brings in exercise on our part. You can proclaim God as a gracious Justifier, who justifies freely by His grace. You proclaim the grace of a justifying God worldwide, but faith comes in to give personal appropriation of it. Those who have been justified by His grace are going to inherit; here it is the thought of being “heirs according to the hope of eternal life”. God is going to bring His people into possession of everlasting good. All that God will bring in of good, His kindness and love toward man, will appear publicly by and by; the world to come will be filled with it. What a scene the world will be when filled with the beneficence of God, God pouring out all His wealth of good on man, and He is going to bring His saints into it. A man’s heir inherits his property and wealth. God wants heirs, and He is going to bring His heirs into possession of all His wealth. Is it not wonderful that God is not satisfied to be alone in all His blessedness? You would think such a blessed Being would be satisfied with His own blessedness, but God will enjoy His blessedness in seeing His people enjoy it. God’s pleasure has been in man. It is His peculiar joy and the delight of His grace to bring man into all the good that is in Himself. God will have the pleasure of His love in seeing man enjoy His goodness, and the display of it will come out in so far as we walk on the line of good works; that would be shewing out the character of God. If people are practically free from lusts and self-seeking, and are dispensing good to others, there is a sort of outward witness to justification. Grace has come in so that God’s people may be without reproach, and so it [p. 334] becomes very important to maintain good works. The apostle says, “I desire that thou insist strenuously on these things” — it is not just ‘say’ it but ‘insist on it’, and then he adds, “Take care to pay diligent attention to good works”. It is emphasized again. We need stirring up about these things. The Lord likes to see diligent zealousness, not slothfulness, as we get in Romans 12. When we get a sense of grace we gladly own the obligation; it comes in the way of privilege and freedom, not bondage. We are really under an obligation to do good to all men; that is normal christianity, nothing extraordinary. It is love to our neighbour, fulfilling the righteous requirements of the law.
What a wonderful thing for a man of the world to have a christian living next door, ready to do him good! He should be able to say of the Christian — ‘He has never done me the slightest injury, and is always ready to give a helping hand; I have such a good neighbour’! That is the sort of impression we ought to make on people; we can all ask ourselves how far we have been on that tack. To be on this practical line and not disputing about words, is testimony to God’s goodness.
The devil has wrecked christianity by causing disputes about words that are unprofitable and vain. Then an “heretical man” comes in to make a party for himself and to take the saints off this line. You must tell him twice, and if he does not alter, you have done with him; he is a worthless character.