Dial In with Jonny Ardavanis - Living for Christ in a Hostile World

Episode Date: August 4, 2022

With growing opposition, if not hostility towards the claims of Christ and the truth of Scripture, the follower of Jesus is left asking the following: How do we live in such a culture? How do we love those who stand against everything we stand for and oppose the One we love the most?Thankfully, the Bible speaks with unfailing relativity in our own day as it teaches us how to live in a culture of chaos and hostility. In this episode Jonny Ardavanis teaches through Titus 3:1-8 and surveys 4 truths to remember in order that we might be effective agents for Christ in a dark and decaying world. Watch VideosVisit the Website Follow on InstagramFollow on Twitter

Hey guys, my name is Johnny Artavanis and this is Dial In. In this short series, I'm going to begin what is, I believe, a three-part series on living for Christ in a hostile culture. It was initially going to be one episode, but as I've studied it, I think there's so much to be said here that it's hard to condense. And so over the next few weeks, we're going to be looking at that very topic. How do we live for Christ and stand for truth in a world that hates Christ and hates the idea of truth? Let's dial in. Not long ago, America was a land of Christian values. The typical family found themselves within a church pew on a Sunday morning.

There were those, of course, that didn't go to church, but they weren't hostile towards Christianity. They were just indifferent. You could say that the winds were at the backs of Christians. Being a Christian was good for business. It was good for job applications, and it was good for university applications. But those winds that were once at our backs are now blowing steadily in our faces as those who were once indifferent to the claims of the Bible have become indignant over the thought that an invisible God gets to govern their body, shape their choices, or define their morality.

Your dollar bill might say, in God we trust. But if you trust in the scripture as God's word and as the final authority in your life, then you will be detested, despised, and undesired in the workplace, at universities, and in your neighborhoods. To give you a flavor for this, I want to point you to the hearings of a man named Russ Vought. He was applying for the deputy director position of management and budget, a position within our own government. And during the hearing of his appointment, he was cross-examined by a senator. And I want you to listen to this dialogue.

The senator says, Russ, I understand you are a Christian, but the United States is not composed of people that are just that. I understand it's a majority religion, but there are others of different religions here and around the world. Do you think that those who are not Christians are to be condemned? First of all, this is a theological question and not sure what it has to do with a government position. Russ Vought responds and says, thank you for probing on that question, Senator.

As a Christian, I believe all individuals are made in the image of God and are worthy of dignity and respect, regardless of their religious beliefs. I believe that as a Christian, that's how I should treat all individuals. The Senator says, you think your statement that you put into that publication, pause right here. He's referring to something Russ had written for a Christian school. He says, do you think your statement that you put into that publication, they do not know God because they rejected Jesus Christ, his son, and stand condemned. Do you think that's respectful of other religions? Russ responds and says, I wrote a post based on being a Christian and for a Christian school

on the centrality of Jesus Christ on salvation. The senator responds by first looking left and then looking right. You can watch it on YouTube. And then he says this, I would simply like to say that this nominee is not someone this country is supposed to be about. That Senator's name is Bernie Sanders. And he was votes away from becoming the most powerful man in the world. And he believes that if you believe that Jesus Christ is the only way to God, you're not what the USA is all about. This is all too common. Just ask the Marine who was court-martialed for posting a single verse in her cubicle

and refusing to take it down. Or ask Professor Walter Tutka, a substitute teacher who walked up to a student who was last in line and said, don't worry, kid, the last will be first and the first will be last. And the student says, what's that from? And Professor Tutka gives him a copy of the Bible and says, it's from here. What happened to Professor Tutka? Well, he was suspended for an entire year. Don't believe me? Ask Kelvin Cochran, who lost his position as the fire chief in Atlanta because he expressed his convictions about biblical sexuality. He was initially suspended and then told to go to sensitivity training before ultimately being dismissed. Or I could tell you recently in my own life, I'm preaching at a youth conference on the

truth of Jesus Christ. And afterwards, I have students that don't want to be there. And I asked them why. And they said, because we don't want to be a part of your capitalistic, bigoted, narrow-minded, intolerant environment. I said, how old are you? And they said, 14 and a half. These are all reminders that we are exiles. The culture wants to press us into its mold, but we live as citizens of heaven while we are pilgrims on the earth. So the question is, how do we live in such an environment? How do we live for Christ in a hostile culture? How do we not grow bitter and callous towards those who do not know Christ? How can we effectively live as an ambassador for Christ in a world that is so dark and depraved. Well, thankfully, into a world like

this, the Bible speaks. And Paul is going to tell us in Titus 3 how we are to live in such a context. In order for you to get a little bit of background about what's happening in the book of Titus, Paul is writing to a Greek guy on the Greek island of Crete named Titus. This is a real island at a real point in history. And at the beginning of the book, it says that Cretans are lazy, they're violent. And one more thing, the scripture says that these Cretans are liars. They are deceivers. In fact, one of the words for being a liar was Cretizo, which means to be a Cretan. Paul then is going to intentionally introduce himself in chapter one by saying that he anchors his hope in the God who cannot what? Lie. This is no coincidence. Into a world of lies, darkness, and deception, the God of truth, the God of hope, the God who cannot lie,

has commissioned Titus to do an important work. What was that work? Well, to set up elders in churches throughout the island. Providentially, in a pagan culture, God had established churches. Now, much of the book of Titus has to do with Christians proving the power of the gospel through their lives. Now, in chapter two, that is manifested by how believers are going to live and operate amongst each other.

Chapter two is internally focused. Older men are to teach the younger men, older women teach the younger woman, and they're to do so all in an environment of love, humility, grace, and kindness. The way that believers, you and I, relate to each other as a church is its own testimony to the outside world. We've been changed. But after Paul has approached how they are to conduct themselves internally within the church, he is going to move on to chapter three, where he is going to instruct them on how they are to live and operate externally to those in a dying world. Now,

remember with me, Titus is in an environment of gross sexual sin, liars, beasts, murderers. And we think of our own day and Titus, like us, was in an environment where sin was not only allowed, but applauded. And what Paul is going to tell Titus here is important because he knows that the temptation within an environment of pollution is to wholly huddle together, to shake our fingers and to shake our heads at the wickedness of the world. Is this temptation not real? To look at the world, to heads at the wickedness of the world. Is this temptation not real to look at the world, to look at the news and say, what is this? Everybody's gone insane. Well, God knows the propensities of a heart. And when you turn on the news and you see rioting and

picketing for the preservation of abortion, the question is, how do you respond? How do you respond when sin is broadcasted on every show, in every movie, and in every store? Well, Paul is going to instruct Titus and the living and active word of God is going to instruct you today because his word is relevant for us to remember for truth so that we can live for Christ in a world of hostility and darkness. For truth so that you can live for Christ in a world of hostility and darkness for truth so that you can live for Christ in a world of hostility and darkness. I cannot think of anything more relevant for us than Titus chapter

three. The first truth is number one, to remember our civil duty in Titus chapter three, Paul says, remind them to be subject to rulers, to authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good deed, to malign no one, to be peaceable, gentle, showing every consideration for all men. One word on this first word, and then we'll talk more about our duty in the public sphere. Paul says, remind them. The Christian life is not full of calls for us to be innovative, but rather calls for us to remember. We live in a context with an unhealthy lust for originality.

But when we look to the scripture, we're not looking to necessarily find anything new. We are looking to discover what is old and to make it fresh and to impress those truths upon our hearts. When Calvin lay on his deathbed, surrounded by the men that he had shared his life with, one of his final words he spoke to them was, avoid innovation. This is why Peter says in 2 Peter 1., I consider it right. As long as I am in this earthly dwelling to stir you up by way of reminder. So Paul here says, remind them. So the question for you is, are you ready to be reminded through God's word of what you may already know? Well, Paul's first reminder is to instruct the people that Christians aren't rioters or ranters or

picketeers when it comes to how we operate civilly, but rather Christians, verse one says, are those who submit to governmental authority. Why? Well, we submit to governmental authority, not just because this isn't our home, this world that is, but because submission is one of the Christians' weapons. To understand this, you have to remember that at this time, these Cretan believers were living under the regime of Rome. This was a brutal army and empire. Roman soldiers could go up to any citizen, tap them on the shoulder with their sword or spear,

and make them carry their armor or gear for up to a mile. Now, the Cretans would have done this begrudgingly, but only the Christian would do it gladly. And then as they got to the second mile, they would say, let's keep talking. This creates opportunities for gospel advancement, and it shows the world who Jesus is. Now the question that maybe is ringing in your own minds is, well, what if the government tells us to do something that contradicts the Bible? Well, the answer is then we don't if the government tells us to do something that contradicts the Bible? Well, the answer is then we don't obey the government because the law of God always supersedes the law

of man. But our duty before the watching world as it relates to the civic or public sphere is outlined for us here at the beginning. We are to be obedient, ready. This means anticipating every good deed to slander no one. Think about that. How many people can the Christian slander? Answer, no one. It says we are to not be contentious, but to be peaceable, gentle, showing consideration for everyone. This is total humility, being others-minded, even in the public sphere. Okay, so we remember our duty, but the question persists. How do we keep from growing resentful, bitter, and angry in a hostile culture? How can we live winsomely and kindly towards those who stand against everything we stand for and oppose the one we love the most?

Paul continues, and the second truth that we're to remember is we are to remember who we were in verse three. Remember who we were. He says, for we also once were foolish ourselves, disobedient, deceived, enslaved to various lusts and pleasures, spending our life in malice and envy, hateful, hating one another. The only way that the children of light won't become hostile towards the children of darkness is to remember that they also once lived in the dark. In contrast to the seven qualities that mark the life of a

believer in verses one and two, Paul then is going to list seven manners of sin that describe our former condition. This is a crushing and comprehensive analysis of you outside of the intervening grace of God. Paul says that you once were foolish, meaning that the lights weren't on in your own mind. You were ignorant. He then says that you were disobedient. This marks the unbelieving life. You knew what you ought to do, but did what you wanted to do instead because we as sinners were rebellious. But not only that, we were deceived. We were easy prey for false teaching. The same word for deceived in Titus three is used for wondering stars in Plato's writings because it describes those that have no fixed anchor. So we had no fixed anchor to truth,

but we had a fixed leash to unrighteousness because fourth here, it says that we were once enslaved, meaning that we were in bondage to passion, to pleasures and desires. This word for enslaved to sin is a helpful reminder for us that our relationship with sin before Jesus Christ was not a side relationship. Sin was our master. It ruled us. We served sin, but not only were we enslaved, we were malicious, meaning that we had a selfish disposition towards other people. We used hurtful and harmful words. We were envious. It says we hated when other people had what we wanted and hated when other people have what we had had because we wanted to be the only people that had what we had. We were selfish. And then it says that we hated other people because we

were self-centered and because self-centered people, there's this vicious cycle of hate. It says others hated us. And Paul says, the Bible says, the word of God says, you at one time were this way. And the question is, have you forgotten or have you ever seen yourself in this category? Have you ever seen yourself as foolish and deceived, enslaved, malicious, envious, hateful, and hated? You may sing amazing grace, but have you ever meant it when you sang that saved a what?

Wretch like me. Hell is full of people that theologically affirmed Romans 3.23, that for all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, but have never truly recognized the plight of their condition. There are many people who would say, I'm only human. No one's perfect. But Paul says, believers see themselves in this light. They look at their former condition apart from Christ and they go, I was once lost, disobedient, deceived, rebellious, malicious, envious. Paul says in first Timothy one, that he used to be a persecutor and a violent aggressor, but he did so ignorantly in unbelief, meaning that he did it because he didn't know any

better. Paul is saying that all of the sin, all of the abortion or the homosexuality, it's all ignorance. Sinners are doing what sinners do. Ephesians 4.18 says the same thing, that the Gentiles are darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their hearts. The Bible says unbelievers don't think clearly. And you know what? You didn't either before God saved you. And Paul says you need to remember this. You might look at the world and observe the insanity of it all and say, people just need to understand that a baby is a baby within a womb or that it's only natural for

a man to be with a woman. then they'll see the evil of it. And while yes, God's law is written upon all man's hearts, what we see throughout scripture and in our own cultural climate today is that the most educated sinners do the most damage. Education isn't the solution for ignorance. Ask yourself this question, who pushes the gay agenda? Who pushes abortion rights? Answer,

the brightest minds at Ivy League schools. The scholars of the world are those that are most oblivious to what is obvious to the Christian. Increased education apart from Christ often fuels increased ignorance. Maybe as I've described the former condition of believers when they were still in their unbelief, you're thinking, not me. I've never done this. I've never done that. But I must remind you that wickedness, lust, sin are often restrained by their environment or by pride. Not every rejection of sin has the mind of Joseph when Joseph says, how can I sin against God? Meaning that sin is avoided, not always out of a love Joseph says, how can I sin against God? Meaning that sin is avoided, not always out of a love for Christ, but because it would be difficult in the family you

lived in to pursue the path of pleasure. Or perhaps there were times in your life that sin seems so appetizing and yet it was avoided, not because of affection for the Lord Jesus, but because of affection and allegiance to your own reputation. Spurgeon says this, we have not been so bad as others because we could not be. A certain boy has run away from home. Another boy remained at home. Is he therefore a better child? Listen, he had broken his leg and he could not get out of bed. That takes away all the credit of his staying at home. Potentially between attending a solid church, dropping your kids off at a WANA or whatever it might be, memorizing the truth and familial pedigree,

you've never seen yourself in the light that scripture defines you. So scripture always clarifies for us. The foolishness listed here is not just the bad works that obviously oppose God. The foolishness listed in scripture also refers to the religious works we do thinking that we can earn God's favor. The foolishness described in the Bible might look like the religious leader in Luke 18 that says, God, I thank you.

I'm not like those people. I do this and I do this. I do this. People look up to me. For others, it looks like the prodigal in Luke 15. But either way, the Bible says in the eyes of God, the eyes of a holy God, this is what describes your former condition. And the question is, have you ever seen your former condition in light of the truth of scripture? Maybe these sins were not yours in actuality, but in potentiality, apart from the intervening grace of God, they

were. You did God no favors by coming to him. You didn't seek God. He sought you. Lost sheep don't seek shepherds. Lost sinners don't seek a savior. So true believers recognize themselves amongst those who were once lost. And because they do so, listen here, they don't view the world with contempt and bitterness,

but rather with compassion and love and a burden to see them come to Christ. And as people remember who they were, number three here, they are compelled to remember what Christ has done in the gospel. In verses four through seven. In Titus chapter three, he continues and says,

but when the kindness of God our Savior and his love for mankind appeared, he saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to his mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his grace, we would be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life. Look back with me at verse four. After Paul describes the crushing analysis of our former condition, he says, but. The Bible is full of beautiful contrasts. In the book, What is the Gospel by Greg Gilbert, I love the following line. He says, the word but is small, but it has the power to sweep away everything that came before it. And after verse three and describing our condition, Paul

says, but when the kindness of God or savior and his love for mankind appeared, he saved us. This is the same thing we read in Ephesians two. After describing our sinful condition, it says, but God being rich in mercy. This is the intervening and initiating love of God. The word initiating is important because this means that God didn't meet you or I halfway. There's this idea that because God bids us to come to him, that he is the one who is waiting for us as if he's going balls in your court, pal. See if I care. No, God is an initiating savior.

He's not an apathetic God. He's an appearing God. It says in verse four, I think no matter how much we know and affirm the truth, we can often journey into this way of thinking that we met God at the 50 yard line, that we were in opposite end zones, if you will. And we saw our need for each other and we ran to meet each other at midfield. But this idea couldn't be any further from the truth. God came to save those who were defined by the list in verse three, when they were living as they were in verse three, meaning that they were still deceived, still disobedient, still foolish, still malicious, still envious, still hateful, and still hated. Jesus came, Luke 19 10, to seek and to save the lost. This is the good news that Titus is to proclaim. And this is the

good news that prevents you and I from growing callous in a chaotic culture. Paul says in verse five that he saved us not on the basis of deeds, which we have done in righteousness, but according to his mercy. Did you catch that? You did nothing for God in order that God would bring you to himself. Then why did he do it? Well, because of his mercy. And the question is, do you believe this? There's a popular Christian song that we sing now at church and in chapel, we sing praise the Lord. His mercy is more, but God's mercy will always be average

to you. If you think you did something to deserve it. And it says, but according to his mercy, then watch this. He says in verse five B by the washing of regeneration and the renewing by the Holy Spirit. What does this mean? Well, this is talking about spiritual rebirth. This is when God gives us a new heart, a new will, and new affections. This affers here to the reality that salvation is a miracle. God doesn't do spring cleaning in the hearts of his children. He gives them new hearts. God must remake us. He must cause us to be born again. Now think with me about the question that we asked at the beginning of this episode. If we're asking ourselves, how do we not grow just mad or upset or bitter in a culture of chaos and

hostility? Paul says, you have to remember that salvation in your life is a miracle of God. You would be exactly like them unless God made you absolutely new. You need to be remade, renewed, born again. I travel frequently and teach elsewhere and I'm on the road most weeks with my wife and baby. And often when we're in the car or an Uber, I ask the driver what their experience is with the things of the Lord. I ask them who they believe Jesus was, or if they go to church anywhere, this is often the easiest way for me to begin to have a conversation about spiritual things. And I remember asking a guy a couple years ago if he ever went to church and he turned around, his name was Michael. And he said, in my 55 years of life, I've only missed church five times.

And I remember thinking, okay, like big shot. And then I asked him what church he went to. And he continued to explain to me that he was a Mormon. And I know some of the difference between what Mormons believe and what Protestants believe. And I've studied it and I've witnessed to Mormons in the past. But I asked him, what do you think, Michael, is the main difference between what you believe as a Mormon and what I believe as a Protestant?

And he responded by saying, well, let me explain by telling you a story. He was ready for my question with an answer that included this story. He said, pretend my daughter wants to buy an iPad. do is I have her work and work and work and work and save and save and save and save by doing lemonade stands or by babysitting or by washing cars. And she saves everything she can save. And then at the end of the year, she goes and puts it all up on the counter at the Apple store. She has saved $34. And then what I go and do as a loving father is I pay the difference. He says, you believe that Jesus paid it all. And what I believe is that he pays the rest after I've done everything I can to earn my way to him. But this couldn't be any further from the truth of what we see in

scripture. We aren't just spiritually impoverished. We aren't just spiritually bankrupt. We are spiritually indebted with a debt that we could never pay. And so the idea here in Titus chapter three is that what spiritually indebted people who are dead in their sin need is not just to earn our way to God as much as we can

so that he can pay the rest. No, we sing Jesus paid it all because what is a prerequisite for salvation is the regenerating miracle of God. And he does this watch in verse seven, that we are justified by a gift of his grace so that we would be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life. God's grace functions in our life to make us alive to spiritual realities. And he does so as a gift, not just to those who are undeserving,

but to those who are ill deserving. He justifies us. And now we are called heirs. Now the question is, what do heirs receive? Well, they receive an inheritance. But when does someone receive an inheritance? And the answer is when someone dies. And that is what our Lord has done.

And our inheritance, 1 Peter says, is imperishable, unfading, and undefiled because of the power of the resurrection. So in the gospel, Paul is saying, you need to remember this. You're going to grow bitter. You're going to grow callous. You're going to grow resentful. If you don't root your life in these realities in the gospel, you have not only a new heart, you have a new future home, a new father, and the presence of the spirit of God that Ephesians tells us is the seal of our inheritance, that Christ is yours, that you are his, and that heaven is your home. Last thing to note here in verse seven is that

being justified by his grace means that you have been reckoned righteous before God, not because you've had a good week, but because you have a good savior who offers us forgiveness and renewal through his spirit. God saved you if you're a Christian, not because of your potential, but because of his kindness and because of his mercy. Now, after remembering our civil duty and remembering who we were in our former condition and remembering what Christ has done in the gospel, Paul tells us in verse eight, fourth and finally, we are to remember our calling. He says, this is a trustworthy statement and concerning

these things, I want to speak confidently so that those who have believed God will be careful to engage in good deeds. These things are good and profitable for man. Paul is going to tell us here that part of the purpose of the gospel in our lives is so that the world can see the difference that Jesus makes. And so he says fourth and finally here, remember your calling. And he starts by saying, this is a trustworthy statement in verse eight, which essentially means guys, there's nothing new here. You know this. And he's going to tell us that regeneration, which is a one-time event results in an ongoing

renewal in our life. Paul reminds us here that our motivation for living a holy life in a pagan culture and the power in which we do so are one and the same. Our motivation and our power are the same, and it's the gospel. The grace of God not only saves us, but enables us to commit ourselves to living for Christ. And the calling of good works here is not just because we are seeking to earn the favor of God, but because of gratitude

that he has already extended favor to us through his son, Jesus Christ. Paul says that we are to be careful to engage in good deeds. And the question is worth asking, what are the good deeds that Paul is referring to? Well, any deed that glorifies our Father in heaven. But I need to ask you the question, do you know what glorifies your Father in heaven more than anything else?

Well, Jonathan Edwards used to say that the star that shines the brightest in the galaxy of God's glory is the star of redemption. It is his glory in saving sinners. Paul lays it out for us. He says, remember your calling. And your calling, if you're here on planet earth, is to be an advancer of the gospel. God saved you so you would be with him.

But the question you have to ask yourself, if God saved me in order that I might be with him in my eternal home, why did he leave me here? Why are you still on planet earth? Do you know the answer? It's so that you would be a promoter and proclaimer of the love of Jesus Christ to those who are still lost in their sin. That you go and plead with people and say, I was once just like you. I was deceived and disobedient, enslaved to various lusts. I was malicious and I was hateful and hated by one another. But God's kindness appeared in my own heart

and he saved me, not on the basis of deeds which I have done, but because of his mercy. And that merciful and loving God can extend that same sonship and adoption to you. Paul says, remember your calling. This is why you're here. Don't look at the world and be confused why it's dark and decaying. Just remind yourself, this is why God placed you here for such a time as this, to go to

your neighbors, to go into the city, to go into the workplace and be a light that shines in the darkness. Paul says, can you possibly, can you possibly consider the kindness of God in your life and yet fail to share it with those around you? If you're a Christian, you not only have a new heart, you have a new father, a new home, you have a new inheritance and people around you are dying. And so if you ask the question, how should I live in a hostile world? The Bible says, well, you remember your civil duty, that you're to submit to governmental

authority. You remember your former condition. You were once sinful. You remember what Christ has done. He saved you because of his mercy. And then you remember your calling. You're here to promote and proclaim the love of Jesus Christ as revealed in his word. Stay dialed in.