A Healthy Church

Order of Service

• Prelude
• Announcements
• Call to Worship — Psalm 100
• Hymn
• Prayer of Invocation
• Confession of Sin — Isaiah 53
• Assurance of Pardon — Psalm 130:3-4
• Scripture Reading — 2 Samuel 7:1-17
• Sacrament of Baptism — Zoe and Elliot Tulip
• Pastoral Prayer
• Hymn
• Sermon
• Hymn
• Benediction — 2 Corinthians 13:14

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Sermon Title: A Healthy Church

Scripture: Titus 3:8-15

I. A Healthy Church Protects Unity Within the Body

A. The foundation of true church unity is the trustworthy saying of Titus 3:4-7 — the grace, mercy, and love of the triune God who saves sinners

1. Some conjecture that Titus 3:4-7 may be an early creed confessed by the churches, given Paul's phrase "the saying is trustworthy"
2. Paul closes the letter "grace be with you all" (plural), indicating the whole congregation is addressed; grace is the foundation of unity

B. False teachers in Crete were destroying unity through foolish controversies, genealogies, dissensions, and quarrels about the law (Titus 3:9)

1. This same problem appeared in Ephesus — see 1 Timothy 1 — indicating it was a widespread concern in the early church
2. Divisive people love to fight; their character is defined by quarreling rather than being forced reluctantly into necessary division

C. Paul commands firm discipline for divisive persons (Titus 3:10-11)

1. Warn once, then twice; after that, have nothing more to do with them
2. Such a person is warped, sinful, and self-condemned — they have heard God's warning through proper authority and rejected it
3. Excommunication is a legitimate and necessary tool for safeguarding the unity of the church

II. A Healthy Church Produces Good Works Among Its Members

A. Those who believe the trustworthy saying are to devote themselves to good works (Titus 3:8)

1. The triune God's salvation is the incentive for good works — humility before God as sinners saved by grace prepares believers for every good work
2. Pride and a know-it-all spirit (like the Pharisees) render a person useless to the body of Christ; it is the humble, like the tax collector and the thief on the cross, who are ready for good works

B. The immediate context of verse 14 involves supporting Zenas the lawyer and Apollos, likely the letter-carriers who would continue proclaiming the gospel (Titus 3:13-14)

1. Good works extend beyond the local congregation to the global cause of the gospel
2. See 1 Corinthians 8-9 — Paul commends the Macedonian church for giving beyond their means to support suffering Christians in Jerusalem
3. This is why the church supports both local and global missionaries

C. The church is not a volunteer organization governed by an 80/20 rule

1. Paul writes in the imperative — it is a command of the gospel, not a suggestion
2. The New Testament standard is a "zero/100 rule" — 100% of those who confess Christ are to be zealous for good works (Acts 2:44-45)
3. God calls dead sinners out of darkness into his assembly; that calling obligates every member to bear fruit

III. A Healthy Church Pursues Fellowship with the Saints

A. Paul's longing for Titus (Titus 3:12) reflects a pattern throughout his letters of deeply desiring the fellowship of believers

1. 2 Timothy 4:21 — Paul urges Timothy to come before winter, even from prison
2. Philippians 4:1 — "my brothers and sisters whom I love and long for"
3. In Romans, 1–2 Corinthians, and 1 Thessalonians, Paul commands the churches to greet one another with a holy kiss — a sign of familial acceptance and fellowship in the Lord, not cultural custom

B. True Christian fellowship is centered on God and corporate worship, not merely social interaction or shared hobbies

1. Acts 2:42 — the early church devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching, fellowship, breaking of bread, and prayers
2. Colossians 3:16 and Ephesians 5:19 — the church addresses and teaches one another through psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs; corporate worship is fellowship with both God and one another
3. Fellowship flows outward from the Lord's Day gathering; Sunday worship is the core and crux from which all other fellowship proceeds

C. Practical implication: to ask "how do I fellowship?" one must first ask "how do I worship?"

1. Fellowship is not the gift of conversation — it is a shared interest in Christ
2. The sweetest fellowship among the saints is found in gathered corporate worship of the triune God