Growing
Scripture: Titus 1:1-4
Titus is another one of Paul’s letters written to a pastor. However, even if you are not a pastor, there are PLENTY of truths in this short letter that are applicable to your life as well.
Paul begins this letter in a fairly typical fashion: introducing himself, the intended recipient, and the purpose of his writing. At first glance, it may be tempting to rush through these introductions to Paul’s letters so you can get to the heart of the letter; but let me challenge you to spend some time digging into what is being said here.
The truth that God reminded me of through these verses this morning is that we are to be GROWING in Christ. We can see that truth revealed in Paul’s expressed purpose in writing this letter: : “…to build up the faith of God’s elect and their knowledge of the truth that leads to godliness…” There are 3 areas in which we are to be growing: FAITH, KNOWLEDGE, and GODLINESS.
FAITH: Hebrews 11:1 gives us the definition of faith: “Now faith is the reality of what is hoped for, the proof of what is not seen.” The author of Hebrews goes on to say that “…without faith it is impossible to please God…”; so it is EXTREMELY important that our relationship with Christ be growing in this area. Here are a couple of questions to help evaluate yourself in this area:
* Am I expressing complete trust in God in every area of my life or are there things that I am worried about?
* Do I demonstrate absolute dependence upon God or am I trusting in my own knowledge, experience, or abilities?
KNOWLEDGE: This is not information merely for the sake of information. And it’s not merely factual information such as 1+1=2 either. It is the “knowledge of the truth;” referring to God’s truth. Today, we have this fully given to us through His Word. The problem is that many people who claim to love Jesus with all of their heart make MINIMAL effort to grow in their knowledge of Him on a daily basis! They do not make a practice of reading the Bible and growing in their knowledge of God and of who He wants them to be. Here are a couple of questions to help evaluate yourself in this area:
* Do you make daily Bible reading a priority in your life?
* Do you know more about God and who He wants you to be today than you did last week/month/year? (And not simply because a pastor or a small group Bible study teacher told you either!)
GODLINESS: Knowledge is not enough! It is not enough to KNOW truths about God and who He wants you to be if you never ACT on those truths! God is not interested in how much knowledge you can store in your head. He is more interested in that knowledge impacting the way you LIVE! We are to grow in the “knowledge of the truth that leads to godliness.” If our knowledge of the truth simply remains information that we store in our head and doesn’t lead to godliness, we have missed the point! Here are a couple of questions to help evaluate yourself in this area:
* Do the truths that I have learned make a difference in how I live my life or are they merely information that is stored in my mind?
* Is there evidence of “growing in godliness” in my life? Can others see that I am becoming more like Christ?
Are you growing in faith, knowledge, and godliness?
Soli Deo gloria
