GOD’S INSTRUCTION CONCERNING AUTHORITY - II

Titus 3:1-2
Bob Bonner
April 26, 2009

As Christians, we are called to live simultaneously in two realms. These two worlds stand in stark contrast to one another, posing a very difficult challenge for every Christian. On the one hand, Christians are citizens of a heavenly kingdom with Christ as our Master. On the other hand, we are called of Christ to represent Him in the midst of this world in an age that is passing away and in a world system that is opposed to the plan and purposes of God. We are told by Jesus Christ three times in the gospel of John, on the same night on which He was betrayed, that we are to live in the world, but not be of it. (John 15:19; 17:14, 19) We are to live as aliens and sojourners and ambassadors for the Savior without being contaminated by this world’s system, whose god is the devil himself. (Romans 12:1-2; 1 Peter 1:17; 2:11-12; 2 Corinthians 5:20)

Throughout his letter to Titus, the Apostle Paul has been addressing the subject of how the church can best fulfill the purposes of God on earth, or more specifically, how the Christians of the first century who were living on Crete could impact their island with the good news of Jesus Christ--the very same charge given to all Christians throughout history.

Having given Titus directions about doctrine and duty for the church in chapter 1 and the home in chapter 2, Paul now develops the same theme in regard to the world in chapter 3. He thus moves purposefully from the inner circles of church and home to the outer circle of secular society. The pattern of chapter 3 follows that of chapter 2. The apostle begins with ethical instructions, in this case the need for submission to the unbelieving authorities in verses 1-2.  He then immediately explains the theological rationale behind these instructions in verses 3-8. In verses 1-2, Paul states how we as Christians are to live in submission to unbelieving governing authorities; and then in verses 3-8, he states why we are to live in this fashion.

Last week, we finished the study of the previous major segment of Paul’s letter to Titus, which covers all of chapter 2. We spent half our time focusing on verse 15, which contained Paul’s instructions to one who was in a position of authority in the church, Titus, and how he was to handle his authority. The rest of our time, we looked at God’s instructions to those of us who are under authority. One of my reasons for doing that, even though 2:15 does not give instructions to those who are under authority, is that I wanted to give you a broader picture of what Paul clearly instructs us here at the beginning of chapter 3 concerning our response to rulers or governmental authorities.

In 3:1-8, Paul returns to the major concern of the letter, and that is the “good deeds” performed by Christians in the midst of this world system. He mentions this subject twice in these verses, 3:1 and 3:8, as bookends to the passage. His concern is that our specific good deeds would be motivated not just by the desire to be good or helpful or profitable or productive to society, but by our response to Christ’s desire to help the lost see what a difference He can make in their lives. These “good deeds” are performed with the motivation that they would either produce the opportunity to share the gospel, or for sure they would not detract from the gospel, as rebellion against authority would. 

Biblical good deeds always have as their ultimate focus the eternal perspective of either enhancing the possibility of reaching the lost for Christ or building up and encouraging other believers. God’s Word does not challenge us to do good deeds simply because it is a good thing to do. But rather, as His agents of the “Good News,” we are to do good for the purpose of pointing others to the “Good News.”

With that, let’s begin our study of this new section by reading it in its entirety, starting with 3:1. 

“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. 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. 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. This is a trustworthy

statement; and concerning these things I want you 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

men.”

This morning we will confine our study to verses 1-2, which deal with Paul’s instructions to the believer concerning submission to this world’s governing authorities. 

The Greek terms “rulers and authorities” refer in this context to the secular, governmental authorities at all levels. Today these “rulers and authorities” include those with whom we deal when we try to build or repair buildings according to city codes, conduct business according to the laws of commerce, drive, run schools according to state standards, properly pay workers according to government regulations, and pay taxes. But to be specific to the context of Titus, Paul’s words are aimed at the Cretans and their being more submissive to the Roman authorities on the island of Crete.

According to the Roman historian, Polybius, the Cretans were notorious for their turbulent character. He tells us they were constantly involved in insurrections, murders, and wars in which both sides had heavy casualties. The Cretans didn’t care how many of them died in the process, they just didn’t want to submit to anyone’s authority. Even though Crete had finally been subjugated by Rome in 67 BC, 100 years later when Paul wrote this letter they still stubbornly resisted Roman authority.

Now through Titus, Paul is telling the Christians in Crete to be submissive to their Roman civil authorities at all levels. Paul is not saying that Christian citizens are to give the state unconditional allegiance. That would be to worship the state. Christian duty in principle is to submit to the state, because, as Paul has explained in Romans 13, the state’s authority has been delegated to it by God, and thus all governments are God’s servants. 

Obviously, there have been incidents in Biblical history when it was right to disobey the governmental authorities. In Exodus 1, the Hebrew midwives did not kill babies. In Daniel 3, three men were thrown into the fiery furnace rather than worship the golden image. In Daniel 6, Daniel defied the king’s decree that for thirty days no one should pray to anyone other than him. In Acts 5:29, the apostles refused to quit preaching Jesus. Hence, the Biblical precedence has been established that our first loyalty belongs to God. If our duty to God collides with our duty to the state, our duty to God takes precedence. In all other matters, where there is no clash between the clearly stated will of God as found in the Bible and the will of government, we are to obey the government. That includes things like paying taxes, obeying speed limits, implementing health and safety regulations, fastening our seatbelts, wearing helmets on bikes and motorcycles, and so on.

Notice a couple of things right up front in verse 1. First, Paul’s command to “remind them,” or more accurately “keep reminding them,” suggests that Paul may have already taught the Cretans concerning their obligations and standards of behavior within a pagan culture, and Titus was just keeping the Apostle’s instructions before them. It also suggests that this change in the way they viewed the government and behaved accordingly was not going to be a quick and easy transformation with these people. For hundreds of years, the inhabitants of the island of Crete lived as individuals who were a law unto themselves.

A second thing I bring to your attention is the relationship between Paul’s first two commands, “to be subject to” and “to be obedient.” In the original language, these two commands are right next to each other with no words in between, implying that one way to demonstrate submission to another is to obey them.

It is not enough, however, for Christians to simply be law-abiding citizens. We are to be public-spirited as well. We are “to be ready” (eager, not reluctant) to do whatever is good, whenever we have the opportunity to do so. To be “ready for every good deed” points to a life that is sincere, loving, and demonstrates an eagerness to serve others. This eagerness to do whatever is productive for our earthly society is the second evidence of being in submission to the governmental authorities.

This being “ready for every good deed” pictures working together in concert with the governing authorities to do that which is worthwhile, profitable, or positive for your town or state.  For instance, today as a Christian you may want to be apart of a service club, like Kiwanis or Rotary. Or, you may want to volunteer your time and serve on the city council or the school board. But as a Christian, there is a difference in motivation between your doing these things and non-Christians doing these same good deeds. In fact, this very motive is what separates what I call “worldly good deeds” from Biblical “good deeds”. The “good deeds” referred to in the Scripture are those acts of service done by you to be a positive testimony and representative of Jesus Christ. In the end, it is doing good deeds so that you can build trust and quality relationships with non-Christians in order to speak to them about the Good News of Jesus Christ.

In Crete, many of these untaught Christians did not build trust or respectability before others. Hence, because of their self centeredness, rebellion, and harshness, people didn’t like them, trust them, or want to hear anything from them about Jesus Christ.

As we move into verse 2, there is a noticeable addition to those who deserve our submission and our service. Did you catch it? Look at verse 2 with me again. Paul says that we are “to malign no one” but are “to be peaceable, gentle, showing every consideration for all men.” Because these two verses are founded upon Paul’s first two commands of submission and obedience to rulers and authorities, we know that in verse 2 he still has in his mind the governmental authorities. However, in this verse he now expands his thoughts concerning those in authority from governmental authorities to include all people who are in any kind of authority over us: bus drivers, coaches, managers of a club to which you belong, teachers, employers, parents, and so on. So each of Paul’s comments in verse 2 speak not only to governmental authorities but to all authority figures in our lives.

Having made that observation, we see that the next evidence of submission to authority is that we as Christians choose not to malign anyone in authority. The word translated here “malign” is translated elsewhere as “slander.” Slander has as its intent to bring harm to someone, to bring them down, to cause them to lose face in the eyes of another. Hence, to slander someone could be to lie about that person, to deliberately “slant the truth,” or simply to tell the truth about them because you want to harm them and because you find pleasure in doing so.  That’s what it means to “malign.” Remember, always telling the truth isn’t godly. Sometimes it is godly simply to keep quiet about what you know and see concerning someone else’s past or shortcomings.

There are times when you must tell the truth about someone, even if it causes others to not think well of them. But those situations are more rare than common. Instances when this could be necessary are in a court of law, during mediation in a counseling appointment, and on job or college applications. However, even in these times, we should never declare what another person’s motives were, good or bad, for we can’t know that.

Albert Barnes, a theologian who died in the late 1800s, had some excellent words of wisdom concerning those times when one needs to speak the truth about someone, even when it is not flattering. He writes:

“We should not make the bad traits of his character prominent and pass

over all that is good. In a word, we should show that we would rather

find him to be a good man than a bad man--even if the result should be

that we had been mistaken in our opinions. It is better that we should

have been mistaken, than that he should be a bad man.”

Bringing this back to our context of not slandering authority, it is easy to get frustrated with a government official, say someone in a local government building department, and to react by misrepresenting what he said or did. But that is to malign the person. In discussing governmental issues and officials, whether at church, at work, or around the dinner table, it’s easy to use language that is maligning of these authority figures, but that is wrong. Remember, we have been placed here to reach out to the lost in the love and name of Jesus Christ. So I ask you to think about this: How can we win that authority figure to Christ if we alienate him or her by maligning that person?

A fourth evidence of being submissive to authority is by living peaceably with those in charge. What does that mean or even look like? Fortunately, we have a Greek word translated here as “peaceable” but in the earlier edition of the NASB it is translated as “uncontentious” which is more accurate. The Greek word is “amacho.” It is one word made up of a combination of two words, “a” plus “macho.” Ever heard of the expression “macho man”? Well, I believe that is a Latin expression, but it comes from the Greek. The word “macho” literally means “fighter” or “brawler” or “fighting.” Most of the time it refers to physical brawling, but it includes verbal brawling as well. 

The word “a” means “not.” These two words put together describe one who is “amacho” or a non-fighter. He is peaceable. It doesn’t mean he is a “peacenik,” because there are times to fight. But a “macho man” is a person who tries to prove that no one can shove him around. It’s a person who takes offense easily and is ready to fight for his honor at the drop of a hat. He is pugnacious.

As Christians, we don’t need to act in a macho fashion. We shouldn’t take offense easily. If we’re wronged, we should try to conciliate for the sake of the gospel. We are to be courteous, not abrasive, domineering, or proud. In the end, it is more important to maintain good relations with your school board than malign them while trying to stand up for your beliefs or rights.

Our example in this, as always, is Jesus. In 1 Peter 2, the Apostle Peter tells us that when we find ourselves in difficult positions of submission to authority, when we have been wronged by people in authority, we will want to fight back. But then, after telling us not to, Peter points us to Jesus, and in 1 Peter 2:23 he reminds us of Jesus that “when he was reviled, he did not revile in return.” He then proceeds to teach about proper instances of submission. And along with Peter, the Apostle Paul exhorts us in Romans 12:14 to,

“Bless those who persecute you, bless and do not curse. . . . Never

pay back evil for evil to anyone. Respect what is right in the sight

of all men. If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with

all men.”

And just in case you think this is going to give the evil persons in the world a free ticket to run roughshod over you, a few verses later Paul warns us not to take revenge against such persons, because God promises to do so in His time.

A fifth evidence of submission listed by Paul in verse 2 is a very unique and hard Greek word to define in a single English term. We saw this term back in our recent study of Philippians 4:5. This word “gentle” is not the same word for “gentleness” or forbearance or meekness that we find elsewhere in Scripture, as in Ephesians 4:2 or Galatians 6:1. That word for gentleness refers to one’s approach to another beginning with humility. This Greek word has more than just humility in mind. In my research, I have found that the following is a list of what have been Greek scholars’ best attempts to explain all the connotations that this Greek word conveys. As we look at these, keep in mind that this is how we are to respond to authority figures: gentleness, generosity, goodwill, friendliness, yielding, kindness, patience, magnanimity, charity toward the faults of others, mercy toward the failures of others, indulgence of the failures of others, leniency toward the faults of others, patient enduring of injustice without retaliation, bigheartedness, lack of heavy handedness, sweet reasonableness. 

A “gentle-spirited person” describes one whose focus is not on himself, his rights, or the justice due him, but on God’s ultimate purposes. Hence he is not easily knocked off balance by inequity, injustice, or unfair treatment. He still feels the hurt, but he just doesn’t react negatively to it. He doesn’t respond in a way that makes matters worse.

This expression, “gentle,” recalls the humble actions of Jesus Christ that Paul mentioned back in Philippians 2:5-11. Those are the very actions described in Titus 3:4 when Paul writes about the “kindness of God our Savior.” If Jesus had insisted on his own rights or demanded justice, we all would have been doomed to hell. There would have been no reconciliation between the human race and God. Likewise, if we insist on our rights and refuse to submit to authorities over us, our actions will never result in the promotion of the gospel of Jesus Christ in our culture.  So maybe the best way to describe this fifth evidence of submission to authority would be to put it this way: Submission to authority is evidenced by treating them with goodwill.

Finally, Paul writes that we show submission to authority when we show those in authority “every consideration.” This word, “consideration” is the word that is often translated “meekness.” It is a fruit of the Spirit, according to Galatians 5:23. It does not mean weakness as some would have you believe; but rather, it describes strength or power under control. It was used of a horse that is broken so that it is completely submissive to its master, yet still powerful and strong. The idea here is that in all our dealings with authority figures, we are to be under the control of the Holy Spirit, responding graciously and kindly, even when wronged.

I enjoy professional sports, but it stuns me when I see an athlete who professes to be a Christian trash talk referees and umpires, throw hissy-fits, and show no respect for authority. Recently, I have enjoyed watching one professional basketball player, Pau Gasol of the Los Angeles Lakers.  I do not know whether he is a Christian. He plays the game quite differently than most Americans. Pau is from Spain, and he knows how to question or disagree with the call of a referee without being disagreeable. Believe me, over the past two seasons, I have watched numerous calls in slow motion in which he has been unduly charged with a foul but exhibits no emotional outburst, no verbal eruption, but only a slight expression of disappointment. Not once has he “shown up the ref.” He may turn to the referee and ask a question, but his countenance never is one of disrespect or wrath. Pau knows that refs are not always right and sometimes make calls that go his way. He plays as one who believes that the referees are good-willed, good-intentioned people, and that they are not out to get anyone. Furthermore, he knows that without them, there would be no game at the professional level.

Likewise, we should recognize that what God’s Word says about government is true, whether a good or bad government. Without a government you have anarchy, and that is no way to live. Authorities are servants of God and given to us for our own good.

A summary: In relation to all authority, as Christians we are to be conscientious citizens, submissive, obedient, and cooperative. In doing so, we are given an opportunity to represent Christ to our world.

A closing thought: If you are a parent, husband, boss, or elder you cannot ask people to submit to your authority and expect them to do so easily if they don’t see you submitting to the authorities above you, whether they be government officials, employers, church elders, or sport figures. When kids hear you bad mouthing or knocking other authority figures, what do you expect they will do to you? If kids or wives don’t see their parents, other adults, or husbands submitting to those over them, they will find it difficult to submit to parents, grandparents, and husbands. What goes around comes around!

What are the reasons for submitting to authority figures?

Think back over the past week. Have you had any “run-ins” with a person in authority? If asked, would they say that you responded to them according to the six evidences of submission listed in Titus 3:1-2?

When we don’t respond submissively to authority over us, what do you think Jesus would have us do about it? If you have not responded correctly to authority recently, will you obey Jesus and do what is appropriate? 

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