Share This Episode
Wisdom for the Heart Dr. Stephen Davey Logo

All or Nothing Part 1

Wisdom for the Heart / Dr. Stephen Davey
The Truth Network Radio
January 9, 2025 12:00 am

All or Nothing Part 1

Wisdom for the Heart / Dr. Stephen Davey

On-Demand Podcasts NEW!

This broadcaster has 1495 podcast archives available on-demand.

Broadcaster's Links

Keep up-to-date with this broadcaster on social media and their website.


January 9, 2025 12:00 am

Imagine being in a classroom where the professor says your grade will be based on your height—not your work. Suddenly, the students who believed "truth is relative" protest about fairness. The lesson? Deep down, we all know there are unchangeable truths that transcend our preferences.

In today’s episode, Stephen Davey explores the first few verses of Titus chapter 1, where the Apostle Paul makes it clear that God’s truth is absolute and unchanging. Paul describes himself as a slave of God, totally committed to advancing the gospel. He was passionate about God’s truth, God’s glory, and God’s people—and he believed in living out the truth without compromise.

As we dive into this passage, Stephen challenges us to consider our own lives: are we living for God with everything we’ve got, or are we compromising when the culture says it's okay? Paul’s words to Titus remind us that faith isn’t about doing "just enough." It’s all or nothing. We’re invited to live boldly for God, proclaiming His truth in a world that prefers shades of gray.

Listen in today to discover why living for Christ is a journey that requires our full devotion—and why God’s promises make it all worthwhile.

COVERED TOPICS / TAGS (Click to Search)
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE
Delight in Grace
Grace Bible Church / Rich Powell

In other words, if God is love, godlikeness is acting in love to others. If God is mercy, godliness consists of being merciful. If God is patient and kind, godliness is patience and kindness. If God hates pride or laziness or gluttony, then growing in godliness means I'm gonna grow in my dislike of my own pride or laziness or gluttony.

I'll stop excusing it and begin confessing it. It's really easy to think of our pursuit of godliness like a checklist. There's a list of things that we do and a list of things that we don't do. And if we're successful, we become godly. Today on Wisdom for the Heart, Stephen's gonna challenge that kind of thinking. Godliness is something we pursue, but we don't pursue it in the way we often think. Before we get started today, let me remind you that if you'd like to follow along as Stephen teaches, we have the manuscript available on our website, which is wisdomonline.org.

Now, here's Stephen Davie. Just a few verses from Peter's letter. His second letter, the third chapter, where he writes, Do not let this one fact escape your notice, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years and a thousand years like one day. The Lord is not slow about his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish, but all to come to repentance.

You, therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, be on your guard so that you are not carried away by the error of unprincipled men and fall from your own steadfastness. But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen. Would you pray with me? What a privilege it is, Father, to gather on this, the Lord's day, and uniquely worship you in rehearsing these great truths. We have, I trust, in all of our lives spent time worshiping you.

We can't any day. But the uniqueness of this, the assembly, causes our hearts to be warmed and challenged and encouraged and even convicted. Thank you for the reminder of what life will be, where a thousand years will pass away so quickly we'll not even think it was more than a day. In the meantime, you're warning us not to be carried away with error, but to be steadfast in the pursuit of your truth, your nature and character, to grow up in the grace and knowledge of Christ. And so thank you that that is our privilege in the assembly, even as we sing and pray and fellowship and study, so that ultimately we're longing for the day, that day of eternity, as Peter writes, and trusting you and serving you along the way for the sake of Christ our Lord.

I pray, amen. In his booklet entitled Absolute Truth, the author, a professor at the University of Illinois, talked about how he typically introduced his philosophy class. The professor's name was Roger Wanger. He often begins his ethics course by asking how many of the students believe that truth is relative to raise their hands. And of course, most of the students raise their hands.

In other words, how many believe there's no absolute truth, right or wrong, moral standard. Without pausing, Wanger has his students turn to their class notes and he begins discussing with them their term paper dates, assignments, exam schedule. He then informs the class that they will actually be graded according to their physical height. Some tall kid, usually every semester, says, yeah. Then he adds, short students get the best grades. Inevitably, students raise their hands in protest and say, you can't do that. Your grading system isn't fair.

He responds, I'm the professor. I can grade however I wish. The students insist, but what you ought to be doing is grading us according to how well we learn the material.

You should look at our papers and exams. You should be grading us on that basis. He then replies, now by telling me I should do something and that I can't do something, that I ought to do something, you contradict your belief that truth is relative. If you were true relativists, you would realize there's no external standard to which my grading should conform. If my truth and my ethical standard lead me to an alternative grading system that you consider inappropriate, well, then that's life. And he would be right, wouldn't it? In fact, the typical relativist is only a relativist insofar as it doesn't affect him adversely. And then if it does, there are laws and rules.

That's why we put fences up around the edges of our property, not an inch short of anything. But these students really aren't original, are they? And our culture isn't.

In fact, if you go back to the first century, you'll discover the cultural norm on the island of Crete, a population of about a million people, has made relativism their way of living. In fact, in the opening words of the Apostle Paul, you find them then hammering away at unchangeable absolutes and there are so many of them. The first four verses are a sentence from Paul. And Paul begins his letter to Titus, a young pastor on this island, and you discover in that opening statement several passions that characterize the life of Paul.

We'll call them slave traits, characteristics of somebody for whom it's all or nothing for the glory of Christ. And so at the very outset, we learn from Paul's own hand that he considers himself to be a slave and God his master and he is simply the messenger boy of Christ. For Paul, Christianity is wide open. Now so far, we have identified a couple of passions that have captivated the heart and life of Paul.

He's been passionate. We've studied in our last session about God's elect. That is, he's passionate about the genuine nature of the faith of God's people.

He will literally give his life away for them, to establish them. Secondly, we learn that Paul is passionate about God's truth. He is to develop and exhorts Titus to do the same, the substance of the believer's understanding of the truth, the objective truths of God's Word. And now thirdly, I want to move ahead and have you notice that Paul is passionate about God's glory. Go back to verse 1, Paul, a slave of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the faith of those chosen of God and the knowledge of truth, now notice, which is according to godliness. One of the things Paul does in clarifying this statement about the truth is to send a warning to Titus and to those who make up the churches on the island.

They're going to hear a lot of messages. They're going to hear a lot of descriptions, and it'll be associated with what those delivering them say, this is the truth. This is spiritual truth. Paul is saying if it doesn't promote godly living, it isn't a valid message. If it promotes materialism and self-centeredness, it isn't the truth. If it endorses sinful behavior, it isn't the truth.

If it encourages greed and self-satisfaction and self-promotion, it isn't the truth. Paul is saying that the gospel will lead you toward godliness. And by the way, in that word, he is clarifying for us the greater and, in fact, the highest incentive for godliness. See, it's easy for us to want to grow up and live godly lives and miss the primary motive. We can be passionate about growing in godliness in the knowledge of the truth so that we can become smarter. We will amaze people by what we know about the Bible.

Why, you just know your way around that thing. It's so impressive. But the noun translated godliness refers to both living out your faith in front of others, but it has the added nuance bound up in this Greek word of reverencing God. In other words, he's saying you want to be godly, but built into the word, you want to be godly because you want to reverence God. We want to be godly because we want to build up the reputation of God, the credibility of God, not our reputation or credibility.

We're not trying to grow up in our knowledge so we can win a blue ribbon or get our name in the bulletin or whatever. We're passionately attempting to live out our faith so that God's name receives even greater credibility and honor and glory. One author wrote in challenging me as I read him, he said, you know, isn't it amazing what God chooses to do through the lives of people when they really don't care to take the credit? Hudson Taylor, whom I enjoy illustrating, I've read several of his biographies, a wonderful pioneer missionary to China, was writing in a carriage on one occasion with one of his friends as he was older in life and the man said to him, and I quote, you must often be conscious of the amazing way, the wonderful way, God has prospered you, built the China inland mission under your leadership. I doubt, he said to Hudson, I doubt if any man living has had a greater honor.

To which Hudson Taylor turned to his friend and said, no, you need to know how I think. I believe God was looking for someone small enough and weak enough for him to use that all the glory might rightfully be his and he found me. That's the passion of a true slave of Christ. It isn't about us, it's about his glory, his greatness, his reputation, his honor. In fact, the apostle Paul would write, God forbid that I should ever glory in anything except the cross of Jesus Christ, Galatians 6, 14. In other words, God forbid that anyone should ever take personal glory away from the glorious Lord Jesus Christ and somehow claim it for themselves.

This was the passion of Paul living out the gospel so that God would be glorified. And would you notice again in the text, the connection before we move beyond this between truth and godliness, the knowledge of the truth, which is according to godliness. In other words, spiritual truth that does not produce goodness is deception. Outward behavior will validate inward belief. In fact, how we behave outwardly betrays what we believe inwardly.

You can tell a lot about a person by how they behave in what they believe. In our last session I talked a little bit about the law of gravity. What you believe about the law of gravity determines how you behave when you're standing on the edge of the Grand Canyon. Now I haven't been there in a long time, went there in college, but I understand now they have built this see-through little arm that goes over the edge and you can walk out there and I think that's insanity. I would be back over here going, you know, you guys go ahead.

I'll pray over here for your safety. What we believe determines how we behave. That's what he's saying here. Knowing determines living. By the way, let me add though that knowing doesn't necessarily eliminate you in the battle of living. See, we tend to think that a godly person just doesn't fight as much with the devil and the flesh and the world. Some old saint, we think, boy, I can't wait to get to their age because life will get easier. The battles will diminish. So grateful for a professor of mine who in his mid to late 60s, I sat in his office as a seminary student and I said to him, I'm sorry I said it, but I said to him, I can't imagine how nice it is at your age to not have the battles.

And he smiled and kindly said, Stephen, you need to understand the older I get, the more difficult the battle becomes. That's why godliness is something we call a pursuit. Even Paul said, I haven't attained it. It's not perfected in me.

Don't look at me. Now what is the godliness that Paul is talking about? It's the other side of that nuance, the living out. This is where we get into trouble. Is godliness a list of dos and don'ts?

Is it a standard of living? Can we tuck in good manners at the table? Let's do that, shall we?

That'd be wonderful. I would recommend you use a fork when you go out to lunch today and put your napkin in your lap. When it comes to defining godliness, you can travel around the world and you can find different definitions of even what's appropriate to do with your hands at dinner, what to wear, how to act. And one can be viewed as godly and the other ungodly. In fact, if I were preaching in a certain Eastern European country remaining today, I would have taken off my wedding ring before I stepped into the pulpit.

Because to them, it's not godly. It symbolizes materialism and an unnecessary expenditure. So I take my ring off. Listen, I haven't taken my ring off in years.

You know why? Anybody got a stick of butter? Actually, I want to keep it on because in our culture, it doesn't signify materialism. It signifies marriage. It signifies that I belong to somebody. I got a bride out there.

I'll be preaching next month, Lord willing, in Santiago. And I've already called ahead and asked what would be appropriate to wear because I don't want to step into the pulpit and have people presume I am not walking with alert by what I've shown up in. You know, a matching suit like this, and I checked it twice because I've used this illustration. I think it's matching. At 5.30 in the morning, it might not, but I think it is. Blue pants, blue jacket that matches might be considered flamboyant.

A long-sleeve white shirt and a necktie might be a symbol of ostentatious wealth. See, the problem with defining godliness externally, and I think we ought to be sensitive, by the way, to that, is that it changes from country to country. It changes from the north to the south. One of the eye-opening things to me was to go to seminary in the north. You won't believe the ungodly things they do.

I know that's why you all move down south because this is where it's at, right? I mean, it changes from church to church. Let me simplify the word for you that Paul uses in this text.

It will stand up in any culture. Godliness is simply godlikeness. One author defined the word in this text simply enough by writing that godliness is everyday expressions that demonstrate the character of God. In other words, if God is love, godlikeness is acting in love to others. If God is mercy, godliness consists of being merciful. If God is patient and kind, godliness is patience and kindness. If God hates pride or laziness or gluttony, then growing in godliness means I'm going to grow in my dislike of my own pride or laziness or gluttony.

I'll stop excusing it and begin confessing it. If God is holy and pure, desiring purity, both physically and mentally, then godliness is pursuing purity in every aspect of life and on and on. Godliness is godlikeness. That's why we prefer our little lists.

They're a lot easier. I can keep up with my dirty dozen or my sanctified seven or whatever. Godliness is an attempt to demonstrate the nature of God.

Oh my. See, godliness is not a list. It is a life. In fact, it is the life of Christ in us demonstrating through us the character of God. And anything else is just too easy. That's the genuine item Paul is referring to.

Truth will lead toward godlikeness. I read recently about an episode on the History Channel show about where people bring in their stuff and they get it appraised, and one man found a violin. He'd bought a home and a barn, came with it. Shortly after his purchase, the article said while inspecting the barn, he found and opened an old chest covered in dust and discovered this violin safely tucked inside. As he dusted off what ended up being a nearly perfectly preserved instrument, he found the name Stradivarius inscribed inside. His discovery might be worth millions.

I did a little research on my own after reading this article. There's only 450-some Stradivarius violins out there. After the violin was examined, they told the man the violin wasn't a genuine Stradivarius. The name had been forged.

The violin was an imitation produced in the early 1900s worth around $500. The appraiser concluded by saying this, and this is what caught my attention. He said to the man, remember, just because something has a label on it doesn't mean it's for real, which is exactly what Paul is warning here. Something labeled truth, something labeled spirituality may not be the genuine item. In fact, just because God's name is attached to it doesn't mean it has something to do with God's nature. Listen, God's signature has been forged throughout the centuries. It's being forged today.

I often hear the name of God and even Christ associated with something that has nothing to do with the truth of God's Word. His name is being forged. Be careful, Paul warns. Make sure that you're pursuing the genuine item, Titus. You're gonna need to help the flock there on the island of Crete to grow in the knowledge of genuine truth and the way you know it's the genuine item is that it will lead you to reflect the glory of God and pursue the character of God. That's living with passion for God's glory. There's another passion in Paul's opening statement to Titus. He's also passionate about God's presence. Look at verse 2, in the hope of eternal life which God who cannot lie promised long ages ago. You'll notice the progression in Paul's opening statement, learning, living, all the while looking for the appearing of Christ. He is the hope, the blessed hope. This is now the hope of eternal life. Paul will describe it even further in chapter 2 and I'll reserve some comments for then but for now we need to understand that the word hope, we use it differently than the Greeks.

Paul had something entirely different in mind. We use the word hope, you know, for something we hope will happen in the future or something we hope won't happen in the future. We hope it won't rain on our wedding day because it's outdoors. Maybe you've had that hope. You might say I hope I get that promotion next week or I hope I'm able to sell my house or condominium this month. I hope our dog doesn't have any more puppies.

You ever been there? Now when Paul uses the word hope it has a different quality about it. It's a future reality that might be better translated so we catch it anticipating. We know it's going to happen. We're anticipating it.

We can't wait. It's settled expectation in this case of eternal life which raises a question in my mind. I thought we already had eternal life and by the way we do we already possess eternal life. These things I've written unto you that you might know that you have present-time eternal life. 1 John 5 13.

The believer already possesses eternal life in Christ. Paul is referring then to something else here, something future. He's referring here to Titus about that final consummation of eternal life when Christ gathers us to himself. This is the glorious moment believers eagerly anticipate. In fact Paul said in Romans chapter 8 verse 23 we are groaning for the day of redemption.

In fact you understand the context of what he's saying because of who we are. We're groaning to be redeemed because of our flesh. We're groaning to be immortalized and glorified.

We're groaning for that to happen. But how can we be so certain that our hopes won't be dashed in the future? Do we really have this thing? And how can Paul be so sure?

You and I must admit to each other that we believe it but really I can't imagine it. Paul is so settled. How are you so sure Paul? He answers further in verse 2. In the hope of eternal life which God who cannot lie promised. God promised and God Paul reminds us is the God who cannot lie. In fact Woodley translated the cannot lie God. There are some things that are impossible for God to do. Did you know that? He cannot lie.

Which was of course a startling claim in this particular generation. The gods of the Greeks and the Romans and the Cretans. I mean they're just as good at lying and deceiving as human beings. But not this God. The glory of Israel will not lie. 1 Samuel 15 29. It is impossible the writer of Hebrews said in chapter 6 verse 18. It is impossible for God to lie.

It's against his nature. So you need to understand this promise is not from Paul. Human beings and human institutions can make promises and break them. It's our nature to break a promise. It is not the nature of God to break a promise.

What God promises God delivers. We're going to learn more from this section of God's Word. But because of time we'll stop here and resume next time.

Today's lesson was too long to fit into one broadcast. So be sure and join us next time to hear the second half of this message. We'd love to hear from you. Has our teaching ministry helped your spiritual journey? Do you have a story or testimony to share about how these daily lessons are helping you walk wisely?

Your experience has encouraged us and we'd love to hear how God is using this ministry in your life. We're also here to assist you if you have a comment a question or need more information. Whatever you need there are several ways you can reach out to us. Our email address is info at wisdom online dot org. That's info at wisdom online dot org.

You can also call us at eight six six forty eight Bible or eight six six four eight two four two five three. We're available in the office weekdays from eight thirty a.m. to four o'clock p.m. Eastern Time and we're happy to take your call and assist you with anything you need. If you'd prefer to write to us our mailing address is Wisdom International P.O. Box three seven two nine seven Raleigh North Carolina two seven six two seven. We'd love to hear from you whichever way is most convenient whether it's a story of how this ministry has blessed you a question you need answered or just a comment. We're here to listen. Reach out to us today by email phone or mail and let's connect then join us next time.
Whisper: medium.en / 2025-01-09 01:13:12 / 2025-01-09 01:22:40 / 9

Get The Truth Mobile App and Listen to your Favorite Station Anytime