Sermon: A Complete Salvation (Titus 3:1-8)

A Complete Salvation Sunday, November 23rd, 2025 Christ Covenant Church – Centralia, WA Titus 3:1–8

Prayer

Remember, O LORD, Your tender mercies and lovingkindesses, for they have been ever of old. Lead us now in thy truth, and teach us, for You are the God of our strength, and for You we have waited all the day. We ask now for Your Holy Spirit, through Christ Jesus our Lord, One God forever, Amen.

Introduction

In Matthew 5:5, the Lord Jesus proclaims to the world, Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth. And in Psalm 25:9-10 it says, The meek will he guide in judgment: And the meek will he teach his way. All the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth unto such as keep his covenant and his testimonies.

• Last week we said that here in Titus 3, the Apostle is teaching us how to become meek and gentle even as Jesus was meek and gentle.
  • What is gentleness? Gentleness is that virtue of moderation that seasons us, tempers us, makes us courteous and kind. Gentleness transforms the inner spirit and attitude from which all our words and actions come forth.
    • And thus, it says in Proverbs 15:4, A gentle tongue is a tree of life.
    • And in Proverbs 15:1, A soft answer turneth away wrath.
    • So gentleness is like a filter that purifies the streams of our heart. Without it, we end up polluting ourselves and defiling the people around us.
  • And then connected with gentleness is this special virtue of meekness, which has as its goal and object the moderation of anger. Meekness curbs our natural desire for vengeance and keeps it within the bounds of God’s law. Meekness causes us to slow down and listen before making a snap judgment.
    • As we just heard from Psalm 25:9, Who is it that God guides in judgment and teaches his way? The meek.
    • Likewise in Proverbs 19:11 it says, The discretion of a man makes him slow to anger, And his glory is to overlook a transgression.
    • Without meekness we can easily become tyrants, bullies, passive aggressive or just active-aggressive. Without meekness we punish people from unjust anger rather than sincere love.
    • And if you are uncertain about which spirit you are of, James 3:14-17 gives us a picture of this difference between a meek person and a self-willed person. He says,But if you have bitter envy and self-seeking in your hearts, do not boast and lie against the truth. This wisdom does not descend from above, but is earthly, sensual, demonic. For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there. But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy. Do you see the difference that meekness makes?
• And so against the pettiness of our own flesh and the world outside, Paul says here in Titus 3:2 that Christians are, To speak evil of no man, to be no brawlers, but gentle, shewing all meekness unto all men. And so the question before us is this morning is: How do you acquire these virtues of gentleness and meekness, when you live in Crete (or America), with liars, evil beasts, and lazy gluttons as your neighbors and rulers? How can you not be angry all the time when people are promoting such evils in the public square, promoting abortion and the murder of the innocent, lauding sexual perversion and the corruption of children, and blaspheming our thrice Holy God who holds their life in His hands? Is this really the time for meekness and gentleness? Are such virtues even worth having in our day?
• Well Paul has already anticipated our objections (our whattabouts and what ifs). Paul knows firsthand the evil and obstinance of the unbelieving world, of corrupt government officials, of false friends and deceivers inside the church and outside it. He has fought with beasts at Ephesus. He’s been stoned and imprisoned multiple times. He has been unjustly arrested and falsely accused as a “disturber of the peace.”And yet Paul has somehow not become jaded. He has not become insensitive or unfeeling; he has not lost his love or compassion for others.
  • Instead, he is able to say in 2