Titus 1 – Do Good

Posted on Oct 10, 2016 by Jonathon VanderWall in Daily Bible Journal, Titus | Tags: , , , 1751

Read Titus 1

Paul opens his letter to Titus explaining both why he left Titus in Crete and what he should now be doing while he is there.  The Cretan churches were in some manner of disarray, needing sound leadership and a strong hand to guide them.  To facilitate this, Paul encourages Titus to work on appointing elders in every town throughout Crete.  The Elders, leaders in those communities, should live as examples as to how those in the church should be.

Though Paul seems to emphasize “good works” here as a major theme, it is important to note that all of this comes from his application of the Gospel message onto the lives of believers.  In the instance of the Cretan churches, there is a stark contrast in the way that “all Cretans” live and the new life that they are called to as believers in Christ.

It is interesting here that Paul lumps laziness with “law following” as part of the things that need to be rebuked and corrected.  Indeed, it is much easier, and takes much less effort to just follow the rules with no real thought or internal change.  What is more interesting, I think, is that Paul tells Titus that they must “do good,” citing the example of those who are appointed elders, as the way of faith.

This would seem, to many, as Paul advocating for “works righteousness,” exchanging one set of laws for another.  However, what he is suggesting is to actually live into this transformed life.  “Doing good” by way of the law is simply following the rules… doing good in response to the Grace of God in Jesus Christ is a sign of a redeemed and transformed life.

Especially for those who are new to the faith, there are some boundaries that are necessary to help foster growth and encourage change and transformation.  In the same way that a young, newly freed Israelite nation needed the law to show them the boundaries of their new freedom, so too do we need some boundaries to foster our freedom in Christ.  What is important, though, is that those boundaries don’t become laws for us, simply following the rules for the sake of the rules, rather than living in response to God’s love for us.


2 Thessalonians 3 – Don't Be Idle

Posted on Sep 23, 2016 by Jonathon VanderWall in 1 & 2 Thessalonians, Daily Bible Journal | Tags: , , , 2612

Read 2 Thessalonians 3

We could probably rename this chapter to be “Understanding Dutch Work-Ethic.”  Phrases like, “The one who is unwilling to work shall not eat” remind me of some of the hard lessons I’ve learned about work and responsibility over the years.  Not that I’ve ever gone without food, but I have learned the necessity of working hard to have the things that I want.

That lesson, however, is not really what Paul is getting at here in his parting words to the church in Thessalonica.  There certainly is an element of that, but it goes much deeper in the community of faith than simply working hard.  Paul understands that a community that is not working together will ultimately fail.  Indeed, when churches are full of people that are only there to be fed, with a select (sometimes hired) few to do the feeding, they are bound for failure.

We need people to be active participants in the faith community, living out the call of unity and love toward each other.  For when times get tough, we lean on each other in this community for strength.

As the human body summons multiple muscle groups to assist when lifting a heavy object, so too does the body of Christ depend on all its members for the often heavy lifting of life and ministry.

Indeed, this is true in our personal walk with Christ as well.  Idleness in our relationship with Christ will lead to a plateau in our spiritual growth.  All of Scripture calls us to and active relationship with Christ in response to the grace and love that we have been shown by God through Him.

While there is nothing we can do to earn our salvation or increase our favor with God, there is a danger in removing “works” from our vocabulary completely.  There is a danger that the enemy exploits far too often, that because everything is taken care of through grace, we don’t need to do anything in our Christian walk.  This leads to idle Christians, lack of growth, and ultimately selfish tendencies that destroy disciples and churches.  We must be on our guard against that…