A.Christianity is often practiced as if it is a series of choices to be made every day, but in truth becoming a Christians is one choice that governs a person’s conduct, words, and deeds for the rest of his life."Choose for yourselves today whom you will serve…” (Josh. 24:15).
B.That single choice can be described in many different ways, but for this study, let us view it this way: we must choose either to deny ungodliness or to deny God.We will find this choice explained in Titus 1:15-2:15.
II.CONFESSION AND DENIAL
A.In Matthew 10:32-33, Jesus said, "Therefore everyone who confesses Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father who is in heaven.But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven.” (Matt. 10:32-33)
1.To confess (Greek homologeō, "same word”) is literally to say the same thing as another.If we confess Christ, then we agree with God that Jesus is the Son of God who is described in the Bible.
2.To deny is to reject, refuse, or disagree with something.If we deny Christ, then we reject Him as Christ, Lord, and Savior, and we disagree with the message of the Bible concerning Him.
3.The apostle Peter provided examples of both confession and denial.
a.In Matthew 16:16, Peter made the great confession to Jesus, saying, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
b.After Jesus predicted Peter’s denials of Him, Peter vehemently disagreed, saying, "Even if I have to die with You, I will not deny You” (Matt. 26:33-35).Nevertheless, Peter did deny Jesus three times on that same night (Matt. 26:69-75).
c.Thankfully for Peter, he repented of His error and boldly declared the truth about Jesus, saying to the Jews, "Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ—this Jesus whom you crucified” (Acts 2:36).
4.Christ’s words in Matthew 10:32-33 show that the matter of confession and denial of Jesus Christ is truly a matter of salvation or condemnation.
a.Our confession of Christ is reciprocated by His confession of us before the Father, which is His divine endorsement for our salvation and inclusion into the kingdom of heaven (see Rom. 10:8-10).
b.Our denial of Christ is reciprocated by His denial of us before the Father, which is His authoritative dismissal from His presence forever (see 2Pet. 2:1; 2Thess. 1:8-9).
B.Through God’s word, we easily recognize that verbally denying Christ will cause us to be lost forever.However, let us recognize that we may also deny the Lord by the deeds that we do.
1.It is good to confess Christ with the mouth, but verbal confession is meaningless without living in such a way that complies with this confession.
a.Jesus addressed such an approach to Christianity when He said, "Why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?” (Luke 6:46)
b.For those who only make a verbal commitment to Jesus but do not obey His will, He will say to them, "I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness” (Matt. 7:23).
c.Confessing Jesus must be a matter of accepting both Christ and His commandments (John 14:15).Notice Mark 8:38 – "For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.”
d.Also see the parable of the two sons in Matthew 21:28-32, which illustrates a denial by deeds rather than by words.
2.For the remainder of this lesson, let us focus on Titus 1:15-2:15 and the simple choice that we must make, which is to deny ungodliness or to deny God.
III.DENY UNGODLINESS OR DENY GOD
A.The contrasting choices of denying ungodliness or denying God are presented in Titus 1:15-2:15.
1.First, notice the choice of denying God in Titus 1:15-16 (emp. SED) – "To the pure, all things are pure; but to those who are defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure, but both their mind and their conscience are defiled.They profess to know God, but by their deeds they deny Him, being detestable and disobedient and worthless for any good deed.”
2.Now notice the choice of denying ungodliness in Titus 2:11-12 (emp. SED) – "For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age…”
3.Both of these choices are manifested by the deeds that we do.
a.If we choose to deny God, then it will be evident by our detestable, disobedient, and worthless conduct.
b.If we choose to deny ungodliness and worldly desires, then it will be evident when we live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age.
B.If we choose to deny ungodliness, then we must practice godliness by following the instructions given in Titus 2:1-10.
1.Living sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age is not a matter for our judgment, for the grace of God has given us instructions for godly conduct.
a.Notice that these instructions are given as a contrast to the detestable, disobedient, and worthless deeds of those who deny God."But as for you, speak the things which are fitting for sound doctrine” (Tit. 2:1).
b.If we want to confess God and deny ungodliness by our deeds, then we must abide by these words.
2.Let us consider these instructions and whether we are conforming to our verbal confession of Christ.
a.Are the older men temperate, dignified, sensible, and sound in faith, love, and perseverance?
b.Are the older women reverent in their behavior, not malicious gossips, and not enslaved to much wine?Do they teach what is good to encourage the young women?
c.Do the young women love their husbands and their children?Are they sensible, pure, workers at home, kind, and subject to their own husbands, so that the word of God will not be dishonored?
d.Are the young men sensible?Do they show themselves to be examples of good deeds, with purity in doctrine, dignity, soundness in speech which is beyond reproach?Do they put the opponents of God to shame so that they have nothing bad to say about us?
e.Are employees subject to their employers?Are they well-pleasing, not argumentative, not pilfering, but showing all good faith so that they will adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in every respect?
3.Undeniably, these are the faithful deeds by which we may confess our faith in Christ and deny ungodliness and worldly desires.These instructions are given by the grace of God and the authority of Christ, and they are not subject to compromise.
a.It seems that Paul knew Titus would meet resistance to these instructions.This is why Paul gave Titus this admonition is Titus 2:15 – "These things speak and exhort and reprove with all authority.Let no one disregard you.”
b.These instructions seem old-fashioned and outdated in our modern culture, but they are as binding upon Christians now as they were in the first century.
IV.CONCLUSION
A.Notice the words of Christ in Luke 6:43-46 – "For there is no good tree which produces bad fruit, nor, on the other hand, a bad tree which produces good fruit.For each tree is known by its own fruit. For men do not gather figs from thorns, nor do they pick grapes from a briar bush.The good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth what is good; and the evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth what is evil; for his mouth speaks from that which fills his heart.Why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?”
B.What does your life confess about you?By your own deeds and the fruit you have born, have you denied ungodliness, or have you denied God?
