Titus 3:12-16

[Jim Watt]

“*TWO ARE BETTER THAN ONE” MINISTRIES*

*Jim & Marie Watt*

*Tel: 253-517-9195 - Email: jmbetter at gmail.com*

*Web: www.2rbetter.org*

*April 8, 2010 <http://www.2rbetter.org/>*



 *TITUS 3:12-15*


 *D. 3:12-14 NEWS AND FINAL EXHORTATION*

*a. 3:12 TITUS*

HOtan PEMps*o* [3992] Ar-teMAN PROS se, *e* Tu-chiKON,

*When I shall send Artemas unto you, or Tychicus,*

SPOUda-son [4704] elTHEIN PROS me eis NiKOpo-lin:

*give diligence to come unto me to Nicopolis:*

eKEI gar KEkri-ka [2919] pa-ra-cheiMAsai [3914].

*for I have determined to winter there.*


 *b. 3:13 ZENAS AND APOLLOS*

Z*e*NAN ton noMIkos [3944] kai A-polL*O*N spouDAI*o*s [4702] PROpem-pson
[4311],

*Set forward Zenas the lawyer and Apollos diligently,*

HIna m*e*DEN auTOIS LEIp*e* [3007].

*that nothing be wanting to them.*


 *c. 3:14 GOOD WORKS*

man-thaNEt*o*-san [3129] de kai hoi h*e*MEte-roi kaL*O*N ERg*o*n
proIstas-thai [4291]

*And let :our people also learn to maintain good works*

eis tas a-nagKAIas [316] CHREIas [5532], HIna m*e* *O*sin Akar-poi [175].

*for necessary uses, that they be not unfruitful.*



 *E. 3:15a-b SALUTATIONS*

*a. 3:15a RECEIVE GREETINGS*

AsPAzonTAI [782] se hoi met' eMOU PANtes.

*All those with me greet you.*


 *b. 3:15b GIVE GREETINGS*

Aspa-sai tous phiLOUNtas [5368] h*e*MAS en PIstei.

*Greet them that love us in faith.*



 *F. 3:15c GRACE BENEDICTION*

H*e* CHAris [5485] meTA PANt*o*n huM*O*N.

*The grace be with you all.*



 *NOTE**: *These last 4 verses represent the last 3 paragraphs of this
letter to Titus. The Holy Spirit through Paul does not address Titus in 3
chapters, but in 6 closely knit paragraphs, making a compact unity of these
thoughts. Paragraph A & B of our Titus Chapter one - could represent as it
were - the head of the pig or hog. Paragraph C, 2:1-3:11 - the body; and D
through F, the tail or squeal. Yet, that is not accurate either, for no
portion of Scripture is unimportant. What can you see here that from God's
point of view is a fitting conclusion to this letter? For one thing we see
the strong human interest for individuals on the part of the Apostle Paul,
and that his needs also be met. Then too, he is concerned that all saints
not be mere professors of the faith, but possessors that lead to action. And
lastly, he has a concern for good human protocol in both receiving and
giving greetings. The Christian faith, though in the world, is yet not of
the world. But it at the same time works out the highest of good human
relationships.


 If one did a “word study” on these last few verses, I would choose the
profession of Zenas as a “*lawyer*” - noMIkon - to look at. An interesting
email came this week on the contrast between Democrats and Republicans, as
they relate to the “lawyer” profession. See what you think of the following
few excerpts.


 “Today in the US we are drowning in laws; we are contorted by judicial
decisions; we are driven to distraction by omnipresent lawyers in all parts
of our once private lives. America has a place for laws and lawyers, but
that place is modest and reasonable, not vast and unchecked. When the most
important decision for our president is whom he will appoint to the Supreme
Court, the role of lawyers and the law in America is too big. When house
Democrats sue America in oder to hamstring our efforts to learn what our
enemies are planning to do to us, then the role of litigation in America has
become crushing.


 “We cannot expect the Lawyers' Party to provide real change, real reform or
real hope in America. Most Americans know that a republic in which every
major government action must be blessed by nine unelected judges, is not
what Washington intended in 1789. Most Americans grasp that we cannot fight
a war when ACLU lawsuits snap at the heels of our defenders. Most Americans
intuit that more lawyers and judges will not restore declining moral values
or spark the spirit of enterprise in our economy.


 “Perhaps Americans will understand that change cannot be brought to our
nation by those lawyers who already largely dictate American society and
business. Perhaps Americans will see that hope does not come from the mouths
of lawyers but from personal dreams nourished by hard work. Perhaps
Americans will embrace the truth the more lawyers with more power will only
make our problems worse.


 “The United States has 5% of the world's population *and 66% of the world's
lawyers!* Tort (Legal) reform legislation has been introduced in congress
several times in the last several years to limit punitive damages in
ridiculous lawsuits such as “spilling hot coffee on yourself and suing the
establishment that sold it to you,” and also to limit punitive damages in
huge medical malpractice lawsuits. The legislation has continually been
blocked from even being voted on by the Democrat Party. When you see that
97% of the political contributions from the American Trial Lawyers
Association goes to the Democrat Party, then you realize who is responsible
for our medical and product costs being so high!”


 We of course have many excellent lawyers who are “straight arrows”, and
live up to walking in the spirit of our Constitution as given to us by our
Founding Fathers. Our son-in-law is one of these. But it does behoove us to
look at our situation in America as it is, and to see that not all American
lawyers walk in this spirit. I dare say that Zenas the lawyer of Paul's day
was of this better caliber. - J.A.W.



   *A Troubling Situation*

*O*ver the past year I have been troubled by a number of occasions of
marriage and divorce by people in leadership. One was a renewal leader who
was reported to lead gatherings with great healings, signs and wonders. It
was discovered that this leader was having an affair with a female worker. A
group of leaders sought to intervene, but as reported, the renewal leader
was unwilling to break the illicit relationship, divorced and then married
the worker. Another prominent leader took him under his wing and restored
him to ministry. To my knowledge, there were no biblical grounds for divorce
and remarriage.

Today, such a situation is not at all unusual - even in the Messianic
Movement. Often the final arbitration in these situations is left to the
conscience of the minister. There is no final accountability to a group of
senior leaders who are charged with investigating the matter and determining
a judgment. Some years ago I wrote the book, *Due Process, A Plea for
Biblical Justice Among God's People* to address these kinds of issues. In
this article, I want to revisit some of the most important themes of this
book. The Body of Believers is in a crisis of moral failure due to a
misunderstanding of the Gospel and of the nature of the covenant community
that is to be formed from the preaching of the Gospel.

*Rightly Understanding the Gospel of the Kingdom*

Sadly, there is still some confusion regarding the Gospel in its full New
Testament meaning. *The Gospel is the Gospel of the Kingdom. It is the good
news that the Kingdom of God has broken into this world. It is the
invitation to enter the Kingdom and to live in and from the Kingdom.* The
way into the Kingdom is through Yeshua, primarily as expressed by baptism in
water, where we experience a co-death and resurrection in Him as taught in
Galatians 2:20 and Romans 6:11. It is the good news of transformation and
the gift of the Holy Spirit whereby we are enabled to be conformed to the
image of Yeshua. The parting command of Yeshua in Matthew 28 was that, on
the basis of entering the Kingdom, we are to disciple people to obey all of
His commandments. We find in the teachings of Yeshua that *the standards of
the New Covenant are more exacting than in the Mosaic order*. This is
especially the case with the preclusion or severe limitation of divorce and
remarriage in the New Covenant order. Because we are in Yeshua and have the
power of the Spirit, this is no longer an option. This is one example of
many where the standards of the New Covenant are more demanding.

Entering the Kingdom is expressed by becoming part of Covenant Community. It
is not only about a prayer response to Yeshua so we will go to heaven. In
the New Covenant Scriptures, *New Covenant communities are the primary
expression of the Kingdom of God*. It is the way we live our lives together
- in love, service and integrity, with high moral standards, with healing,
signs and wonders in sharing the Gospel - that shows that the Kingdom is
here. Wherever people are submitted to the rule of the King, there is the
Kingdom. Though the New Covenant community is central to the manifestation
of the Kingdom, the Kingdom is to be manifest in all the realms of human
life.

RESTORING THE JUDICIAL
FUNCTION TO THE BODY

*By Daniel C. Juster, Director*

   *Mutual Accountability Among Communities*

*New Covenant communities are linked in mutual support and accountability*.
We see this in the council that makes a universal decision in Acts 15. We
see it in the offerings taken for the needy in the Jerusalem Messianic
community. We see it in the apostolic letters that teach and rebuke multiple
congregations that are accountable to them. Apostolic leaders tie together
cities, believers numbering thousands are overseen by an eldership of the
city as reflected in Jerusalem Congregation in Acts and in the letters to
the seven churches in Revelation 2, 3.

*Part of covenant community, to which all are called, is to recognize
submission to a teaching eldership that is also a judiciary.* This is the
very meaning of eldership as an office rooted in Israel. The "elders who sat
at the gate" were required to adjudicate judicial matters. The eldership is
charged with maintaining biblical standards in their communities. This is
the sense of Matthew 16 and 18 where Yeshua teaches on the nature of
enforcing standards. The Keys of the Kingdom given to Peter and the Apostles
is the judicial authority to bind and loose, that is, to forbid and permit
behavior. It is the authority of judicial decisions backed by heaven. All
members are required to maintain basic standards according to Matthew 18:15
ff and Galatians 6:1,2. We are to correct a brother or sister if they fall
into sin. If they do not repent, they are to be removed from the fellowship.
This is all part of showing the reality of the Kingdom in our midst. If we
do not do this, the power of God will be withdrawn. The blessing of God will
be lost to us.

*Illegitimate divorce and remarriage is serious sin*. Malachi shows God's
great hatred of such divorce and the consequences in the removal of His
blessing from the corporate community. Because it is essentially covenant
breaking and has devastating effects on children, it is worse than many
other sins. The marriage covenant should reflect the relationship between
Yeshua and His Church. I believe that one who commits such an act can be
fully restored to fellowship if there is real repentance and a commitment to
give effort to dissuade others from the same sin (this is restitution).
However, eldership or significant leadership is forever precluded. One can
never fulfill the requirements of a good testimony and marriage to one wife
laid out in I Timothy 3 and Titus 1.

*How Moral Violation is to be Handled*

The only way such a standard can be enforced is if each local congregation
has an eldership that will handle such matters judicially and if all
believers understand that they are called to be submitted under such an
eldership. In addition, an eldership of the city and inter-congregational
accountability structures of eldership are crucial in maintaining standards
so that one does not simply gain affirmation by running to another group.
All believers should honor eldership judiciaries. This is the standard of
the historic churches and the Jewish community. Such a judiciary is not only
for divorce and remarriage, but also for all the issues of serious moral
violation that require intervention.

We must discover this as a key to the unity for which Yeshua prayed. It is
not the only key, but an important one. *In addition, it is crucial that we
begin to exhort and pray and move the Body to become a real Body manifesting
the Kingdom of God and not just collections of individuals that meet in
various places*. We want the blessing of God and the extension of the
Kingdom, not a "religious event" manufacturing corporation. As with the case
above, an eldership is needed to judge this matter and to call on others to
support the decision. Even an ad hoc eldership would be a great step
forward. *When we speak about recovering Jewish roots in understanding the
Bible, this is a key part of it for the whole Church*.
By Daniel Juster
*NOTE*:  I count Daniel Juster as a foremost theologian and Bible Teacher in
the area of Jewish Messianics. I have profited by a number of his books,
especially his "Jewish Roots". I concur with his lead article above from the
March issue of Tikkun Ministries International. His Website is *<
www.tikkunministries.org>*. Here and in his books you will find balance,
insights, and answers to many questions relating to Israel, the Church, and
Messianic Congregations.    J.A.W.


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