Godly character in the world is the greatest evangelistic strategy. And frankly, unless there is that kind of credibility and integrity in the life of believers, the world is not going to buy our mass-marketed message. Welcome to Grace To You with John MacArthur.
I'm Phil Johnson, your host. When you get to the office, how can you do your work with joy even if you have an unkind boss? How might God want to use you to influence some of your co-workers for Christ? And how much spiritual value is there in your job, whether it's packing boxes or waiting tables or driving a truck or typing on a keyboard? Well, if you've struggled with those questions, if you're not sure what meaning there is in your work, stay here as John MacArthur shows you God's plan for your job.
He's continuing his study called Revolutionary Living in a Dark Culture. So follow along as John begins his message in the book of Titus. Take your Bible, if you will, and open it to Titus 2. And we're looking at chapter 2 which deals with the character of a healthy church. There is almost an infinite number of strategies, methodologies, techniques of varying kinds of sorts that have been developed to try to win people to Jesus Christ. The goal is noble.
The desire is right. The task is in fact the primary task of the church. But I am frankly constantly amazed at how much time, how much money, how much effort and manpower is spent on these evangelistic strategies, on the programs, events, crusades, media campaigns, millions and millions of dollars and literally whole lifetimes of people. But as I search the pages of the New Testament, I cannot find a strategy for mass evangelism.
I cannot find a strategy for literature distribution. I certainly can't find a strategy for media campaigns. I can't find a strategy for anything really other than a very simple New Testament plan for evangelism. There is no scheme given here for how to capture the attention of the masses.
There is only a plan given for how to capture the attention of individuals. And by the way, statistics bear out the importance of personal witness. Approximately 90 percent of all people surveyed as to how it was that they came to know Jesus Christ pointed to a personal witness, a friend, a relative, somebody whose life impacted their life. Less than 10 percent of the people who come to Christ come because of something other than a personal witness. All the mass media, television, radio, all the mass evangelistic methods, all the crusades, all the musical concerts intended with evangelistic emphasis that move across this country, all of the meetings and civic centers and city auditoriums and convention centers, all of that kind of thing that's going on across America that tends to just spread the gospel widely across masses of people cannot overcome the equally massive display of ineffective negative testimony demonstrated by people who name the name of Christ and sin publicly and scandalously. I mean, you would have to believe that the average unbeliever sitting across this country and taking note as an observer of Christianity is going to conclude that it sounds good, but I'm not sure it's real because there's no way that the blitz of information can overpower the scandal of people who say they're Christians and live as if they were not, of people who proclaim a saving God and demonstrate a life that hasn't been delivered from sin. If we say God is a Savior, then we better demonstrate a saved life.
As the German philosopher Heinz said, you show me your redeemed life, I may be inclined to believe in your Redeemer. Paul and Titus were facing something of the same. Look at chapter 1, verse 16. There were some people circulating throughout Crete and verse 16 says, they professed to know God.
That's their claim. But by their deeds, they deny Him. And he says they are detestable and disobedient and worthless for any good deed. I want you to know that unbelievers have been exposed to the hypocrisy of Christianity for a long, long time.
Not just today. Way back in Paul's day, there were people going around saying they knew God and denying Him by their lives. You cannot preach God is a saving God, Jesus has come to save His people from their sins if your life is filled with sin.
It does not compute. From the sad situation indicated in verse 16, Paul moves into chapter 2. He begins chapter 2 by saying, but as for you, that's an adversative. On the other hand, he says, I'm very concerned that you not be like those people, so Titus, you must speak the things which are fitting for sound doctrine. You must teach the older men to be temperate, dignified, sensible, sound in faith, in love, in perseverance. You must teach the older women likewise to be reverent in their behavior, not malicious gossips, not enslaved to much wine, teaching what is good in order that they may encourage the young women to love their husbands, love their children, be sensible, pure workers at home, kind, being subject to their own husbands that the Word of God may not be dishonored.
Likewise, urge the young men to be sensible. And you, as the example of the young men, in all things show yourself an example of good deeds with purity and doctrine, dignified, sound in speech which is beyond reproach in order that the opponent may be put to shame, having nothing bad to say about us. Then you urge the bond slaves to be subject to their own masters in everything, to be well pleasing, not argumentative, not pilfering, but showing all good faith that they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in every respect. You see, the issue here is evangelistic. The whole point here is summed up in three statements, one at the end of verse 5, that the Word of God may not be dishonored, the second at the end of verse 8, that the opponent may be put to shame, having nothing bad to say about us, and the last at the end of verse 10, that they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in every respect.
All three of them are using the Greek particle hina which indicates a purpose clause. The purpose of your living this way is that the Word of God may not be dishonored, that the opponents may be shamed and silenced, and that those who are watching us may indeed see that we have a saving God, a God who delivers people from sin. In fact, Paul climaxes this tremendous instruction in verses 11 to 14 by saying, the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, and that salvation instructs us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires, to live sensibly, righteously, and godly in the present age.
Why? For evangelistic purposes. God, verse 14 says, has redeemed us from every lawless deed and purified for Himself a people of His own possession, zealous for good deeds. Peter echoed the same thought when he said in 1 Peter 2, 12, keep your behavior excellent among the pagans so that in the thing in which they slander you, they may on account of your good deeds as they observe them glorify God in the day of visitation, that's the time of Christ's return. Now listen, godly character in the world is the greatest evangelistic strategy. We are, Paul says in Philippians 2, 14 and 15, to shine as lights in the world in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation.
And frankly, unless there is that kind of credibility and integrity in the life of believers, the world is not going to buy our mass-marketed message. Now in the strategy, as it develops in chapter 2, Paul works his way through the family, the older members of the family and the younger members of the family have responsibility to live in ways that are going to have evangelistic impact. And now we come to the last category in the households of ancient times, slaves, verses 9 and 10. And he says, regarding them, urge bond slaves to be subject to their own masters in everything, to be well pleasing, not argumentative, not pilfering but showing all good faith and here's the reason, in order that they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in every respect. Families in ancient times were usually comprised of the older and the younger and that would include very frequently grandparents and sometimes even aunts and uncles. And the younger would be parents, children, cousins, whoever else might have been in a very large and extended household. But also as a part of the ancient household were the slaves or the servants.
The word is doulois, literally refers to one who is under submission, under bondage. We're all very aware of the fact that the Roman Empire basically depended upon slaves for all of its labor. They were a very essential part of life in ancient times. They made up the labor force of the Roman world. It is true that many slaves were mistreated. Many of them were cheated out of what was rightfully theirs. They were abused. They were beaten. Some of them were killed. They were brutalized. But on the other hand, others were loved. Others were cared for.
Others served even after they were given the opportunity for freedom voluntarily because they so loved their families that they had come to be a part of. A slave was allowed, of course, to marry and to have his own family and very often a landowner would give him his own little house and his own piece of land and that way those who had much could take care of those who had less. Now the issue in this passage is not addressing the condition of slavery. It is not discussing what kind of situation the slaves might have been in. It simply says that if you are one, you have an obligation to so live your life as to draw attention to the saving power of God demonstrated through you. Slavery was a part of life in the Old Testament.
It's a part of life in the New Testament. Scripture regulates it very carefully and if you remember the commentary I wrote on Ephesians, you can go back and read the section on Ephesians 6 and there I have done a rather full treatment of slavery as it's outlined in the Scripture as to how it is to function. It is really nothing more when properly designed than an employer-employee relationship which is part of the whole structure of society. Serving someone could be very beneficial. If you served well and your master treated you well, just as being employed by certain companies can be a tremendous benefit because of how they care for those who work for them. Slavery in the ancient times could be a very beneficial element of society because it allowed for folks who had resources to give those resources to those who worked for them and thus allowed them to have the dignity of work to make a living, to prosper. In fact, some Old Testament slaves loved their masters so much that at the Jubilee year, the 50th year, every 50 years they could all be free and go back to their original families. They wouldn't do that.
They refused to go back because they loved the families of which they were apart. They had a custom. The slave would get up against a door or a post and his ear would be held against the post and his master would drive an awl through his ear and pierce his ear and that was the way a slave said, I serve freely and willingly. There's nothing wrong with that kind of willingness. There's nothing wrong with service. In fact, Jesus Himself said, I came not to be served, but to what?
To serve and to give my life a ransom for many. And Jesus said, it's not the one who lords it over you who's the greatest, it's the one who serves. There's a marvelous dignity before God in work and service. And then the Lord and the apostles used slavery as a motif for spiritual instruction by likening the Christian who belongs to Christ and serves Him as a slave, and therefore dignified and elevated and exalted one who serves. And so there's no concern here in this text about revolution or rebellion or equal rights or equal freedoms, but rather the responsibility that if you are an employee and you have someone over you, you are to conduct yourself in such a way that makes very evident that your life has seen the transforming power of God. There's much instruction in the New Testament about how employers, masters, bosses, and leaders are to act, but the instruction before us has to do with the servants. Because in general, you remember now, when the church came together, Paul said to the Corinthians, there are not many noble and there are not many mighty. And it seems to me that the greatest influx of Christians came from the lower echelons of society.
And it was very important for them to conduct themselves in an appropriate way. There are three other marvelous texts that must be considered very briefly, and I want to read and comment on them ever so briefly. Go back to Colossians chapter 3 for a moment. This is simply setting the scene for what we will say in Titus. In Colossians chapter 3, I want to fix these things in your mind because they will come back again as we go through the text before us. The Apostle Paul is instructing the Christians at Colossae with regard to spiritual conduct. If the Word of Christ dwells in them richly, if they are really controlled by Scripture, then verse 22 says, slaves will act like this. Spirit-controlled, biblically controlled, mature, godly slaves, in all things obey those who are your masters on earth, not with external service, that is, just doing something on the outside when they're watching, as those who merely please men, but with sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord. Whatever you do, do your work heartily as for the Lord, rather than for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve, for he who does wrong will receive the consequences of the wrong which he has done and that without impartiality.
Now there is a very important text. If you're an employee today, that becomes the most important evangelistic field you will ever be on. That is your place of evangelism. That's your ground.
That's your mission field. And in all things you are to obey, Paul says, those who are your masters. And you're not to do it with some kind of external service, that is, doing duty with a reluctant attitude and keeping an eye on the boss so you can work when he's watching. And you don't do it just to please men, but with a sincere heart you fear the Lord.
What does that mean? You have a healthy fear that God may bring chastening if you don't render the service that he's asked you to render. You say, why in the world is God so concerned about what I do on my job? And the answer is because it has evangelistic implications. Because if you are a Christian, then you are demonstrating Him.
And some kind of ineptitude in that demonstration will depreciate someone's perception of what He is like. So you do what you do, verse 23 says, heartily with all your might as for the Lord, rather than for men. You work for the Lord. You say, but I'm on that job, that man is my boss. But that job is nothing more than a means by which you can live out the power of God in front of unbelievers who in seeing your life can be drawn to conclude that God is a saving God and therefore attractive to them.
That's why you're there. And it is, verse 24, from the Lord you'll receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve and you will receive a reward for your service from Him.
Your concern shouldn't be whether you get promoted or a pay raise. Your concern should be what is the Lord going to say in regard to evaluating my service and what will be its reward? On the other hand, verse 25 says, if you do wrong, you're going to receive the consequences of the wrong which you've done from the Lord and the Lord is not a respecter of persons and no matter what level of job you may be at in your company with God, if you don't do what He wants, He will without partiality deliver some consequences. Look at Ephesians now, chapter 6, another parallel and equally provocative text. In Ephesians 6 and verse 5 we find similar words, slaves be obedient to those who are your masters according to the flesh, that is your human bosses according to the flesh, and your obedience should be rendered with fear and trembling.
Why? Because you're doing it out of the sincerity of your heart as to Christ. Now most people will go to work, I would say the great mass of people will go to work and do what they have to do if the boss is watching. Do what they have to do if they know somebody's checking. A few people can get above that and they will work hard going beyond the call of duty whether the boss is looking or not looking because they want to achieve more money or more prestige. All of those, of course, fall short of the standard for the Christian. We work with fear and trembling, looking right through our employer into the face of Christ who is evaluating our effort. He says in verse 6, you ought to work by way of eye service, that is just doing things when people watch as men pleasures, but as slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart. Christ is your employer, Christ is your boss, Christ is your master. So verse 7, with good will render service as to the Lord and not to men, knowing that whatever good thing each one does, this he will receive back from the Lord, whether slave or free.
God will reward you. Boy, what tremendous truth in that. Look at 1 Timothy 6...1 Timothy 6, and here again we only note for you briefly that there were so many slaves in the ancient world that this kind of instruction was oft repeated. But in 1 Timothy 6 we read this, verse 1 and 2, Let all who are under the yoke as slaves regard their own masters as worthy of all honor. Now we're going beyond the duty to the respect and you do this so that the name of God and our teaching may not be spoken against.
If you go to work, my friend, you can pass out tracks until you're blue in the face. You can talk about the Lord until somebody has to tell you not to do it on company time and feel like a martyr. But if you aren't working the way God wants you to work in the job you're doing, you're giving those around you reason to speak against Christianity and God. Verse 2 says, Let those who have believers as their masters, let those who have believers as their masters not be disrespectful to them. There were some Christians no doubt who would think that because in Christ, Galatians 3, 28 says there's neither bond nor free, since we're both Christians, we're equal in Christ and push that equality into the job place.
He says not so. Those who have believers as their masters dare not to be disrespectful to them because they are brethren, but let them serve them all the more because those who partake of the benefit are believers and beloved. And then He says to Timothy, Teach and preach these principles.
You've got to repeat this and repeat this because it's so important. So when we're talking about evangelistic strategy, beloved, we're talking about how you live your life in the workplace. So, repeating what John MacArthur said a moment ago here on Grace to You, Christ is your employer. Christ is your boss.
Christ is your master. With that perspective, your work takes on a whole new significance—revolutionary living in a dark culture. That's the title of today's study. Now, John, this issue of work and career, I imagine that's something you've thought about quite a bit in your decades as president and then chancellor of the Master's University and Seminary. So let me ask, when a young person has sought career advice from you, what has been your normal response?
You know, I don't have information typically from individuals as to their skills and aptitudes and all of that kind of thing, so I can't give them direct advice as to what field they might go into. But here's what I've said to young people, and I talk about this a lot with the students at the Master's University in particular. If you want to be successful in life, there are some basics. You have to deal in the world of reality. Let me tell you something critical to leadership, okay? Effective leaders understand what's going on. They understand—let me say that again—they understand what's going on. They see the reality in front of them.
If you can't see the reality in front of you, you really can't be part of a solution. So in the meta sense, in the big sense, you have to then view the world the way God views the world. So one of the things that we talk about in university education at the Master's University is the fact that you will see the world the way it really is, because you'll see the world the way God sees it. When you see the world through God's eyes, you understand how it started, how it ends. You understand what sin is. You understand why people act the way they act. You understand the consequences of their acts. You understand all the aspects of life in the world that have been revealed clearly in Scripture.
So you get a biblical grid in which to understand life the way it really is. Second thing I tell young people is, if you're willing to work hard, there's no limit to what you will be able to do. Those young people who will work hard, move forward, be aggressive, be sacrificial, do their very best, they're going to find a path and they're going to find themselves in it successfully. So work hard, and it comes down to show up on time, do exactly what they tell you, don't complain, do more than they ask, solve problems, help other people succeed.
You can do that in a lot of places. So it's more about your character. It's more about your work ethic. It's more about your diligence. And it's about you being able to bring to every situation a true understanding of the realities that are there.
And I would question whether a person who's not educated in God's view of the world can give ultimate answers. So no matter what career you choose, be sure that it's undergirded with a Christian worldview and that you work hard at it. And that you do what you do to make other people successful.
And when you give yourself away like that and you're looking for paths that help other people succeed, there's no limit to what you can do. Thanks, Jon. And, friend, to help you get the biblical worldview that is critical in whatever you do, let me suggest you pick up a copy of the MacArthur Study Bible when you contact us today. Call 800-55-GRACE. You can also order the MacArthur Study Bible at our website, GTY.org. The Study Bible comes in multiple English translations, the New American Standard, the New King James, the English Standard Version, the Legacy Standard Bible. That's a great new translation, by the way, that's produced by scholars from the Masters University and Seminary, the Legacy Standard Bible.
Shipping is free on all these Bibles. Again, to order yours, call 800-55-GRACE or to view all the choices and place your order, you can do that at our website, GTY.org. And when you visit the website, remember to tap into the wide range of Bible study tools there, including daily devotionals, our blog with articles by Jon and other staff members, there are sermon transcripts and video streaming of Grace To You television.
You'll find all of that and more free to download at our website, GTY.org. Now for John MacArthur and our staff, I'm Phil Johnson. Thanks for starting your week with us. Be back tomorrow to learn five characteristics that should mark you as a Christian employee and see why these things are so important to cultivate and how you can apply them on your job when John continues his current series, Revolutionary Living in a Dark Culture. It's another 30 minutes of unleashing God's truth, one verse at a time, on Grace To You.
