Tag Archives: Spiritual Growth

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Book Review – Titus For You by Tim Chester

Titus For YouThe Pastoral Epistles, which include 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy and Titus, are by far some of the most practical letters in the New Testament when it come to ministry. In these short epistles, Paul writes to two young men who are leading churches: Timothy, in Ephesus, and Titus, in Crete.

These letters are full of incredible advice and spiritual insights for growth, both as a Christian and as a leader and minister. One of my personal goals over the past year and a half has been to study and memorize both of the letters to Timothy, and Titus is next on the list for this fall.

I think these are pretty important letters for us to examine in detail.

I’ve read several other books from The Good Book Company in this series, covering Galatians, Romans 1-7, and Judges. I’ve enjoyed each one of them immensely. So, when I saw an opportunity to read this one on Titus, I was pretty excited. At first, I wasn’t sure how it would compare with the others, since all of the ones I have read were written by Timothy Keller, and this one is by Tim Chester.

My fears were ungrounded. Chester hit a home run with this look at Titus. I feel like he did a great job dividing the letter up into sections to examine in detail. The chapters he writes here follow the natural breaks in the text itself, lending itself well to easy reading, or even to fit a preaching schedule.

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Understanding The Purpose Of Man

Philosophers have wrestled for centuries with the question, “What is man?” It’s not a new question. And it’s a topic that has been on my mind a lot recently, with a new role in life as a lead minister, the size of my family growing, and the fact that I’ve reached the mid-point of my life.

What Is Man?

A few weeks ago, I took my son to Oklahoma and we went fossil hunting. We stayed with a friend of the family, and went with him to teach an astronomy lesson to a group of people that Friday night. My son and I were able to view several planets, various stars and star formations, a binary system, and even the Ring Nebula!

It was pretty cool. But my son made a comment in passing, that he felt small and insignificant because of the vast grandeur of the universe.

I know how he feels. It’s slightly overwhelming. Several years ago, I met a man who severely struggled with his faith because of the same reasons. He had watched one of Louie Giglio’s videos that examined God’s creation of the stars. This man’s question was, if God could create such a colossal universe and fill it with so many incredible things, then who was he to think that he held any significance at all in God’s mind?

It’s a common question. And it’s been asked for centuries.

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Memorize Scripture: 2 Timothy 3:14-15

Paul draws a sharp contrast between Timothy and the false teachers that have been rampant in Ephesus. With the beginning of this week’s passage, he emphatically states that Timothy must be different.

Take a look at it for yourself in 2 Timothy 3:14-15:

2 Timothy 3:14-15

Paul sees an obvious distinction between Timothy and the evil men and impostors listed in the previous verse. While they may spiral down in their unrighteousness, Timothy is to maintain a steady faithfulness to his ministry and to the gospel message.

Paul encourages Timothy to hold steadfast, and to continue in what he has learned. This certainly refers back to verse 10, where Paul reminds Timothy that he knows a significant amount about Paul’s teaching and lifestyle. But we must also remember that Timothy was raised by a godly mother and grandmother, both of whom taught him the Scriptures from a very early age (2 Timothy 1:5). Timothy’s education in the Scriptures is what led to the faith of his family, and ultimately to his own. These examples are the first reason he must hold onto his convictions.

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Memorize Scripture: 2 Timothy 3:12-13

Paul is well known for presenting a dichotomy in his writings, comparing two things that are opposites to highlight the differences. He does exactly that in this week’s passage.

You can see it for yourself in 2 Timothy 3:12-13:

2 Timothy 3:12-13

In the previous verses, Paul gave Timothy some very positive encouragement, giving some personal examples of his own sufferings. The point of this was to strengthen Timothy to face the trials and persecutions that would come.

What Paul was encouraging obliquely in those verses, he now states unequivocally. Persecution was not limited to people like Paul, who traveled the world, presenting the gospel message to all who would hear it. Rather, if anyone desires to live a godly life, he will be persecuted.

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A Study In Contrasts

I’ve been using a pretty comprehensive plan for reading through the Bible for a few years now. This plan exposes me to every single word of God’s message to mankind at least once per year, and many passages much more than that. In fact, some parts get read once a month, or once every couple of months.

Flowing Stream

When I started using this strategy to read the Bible, I had the foresight to purchase a new Bible at the same time. I did this, because I wanted a good study Bible, with good notes and references, to go along with my reading. An unexpected benefit of this purchase has been seeing how many notes and thoughts I’ve added to the margins since starting this plan.

There is a large amount of my own notes, highlights, underlines, and references that have been added over the past few years. It’s kind of cool to look through this Bible and realize that all of this is from the past three years. It’s amazing to see just how much God’s word has impacted my life as a result.

Looking back through this Bible, one of the most impacting portions of Scripture on my life has been the book of Psalms. There are notes and highlights and scribbles and thoughts scattered all throughout these pages. Simply looking back through my own notes in this one book is somewhat overwhelming.

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Memorize Scripture: 2 Timothy 3:10-11

With this section of the letter, Paul shifts back to a focus on Timothy and his ministry, with some further encouragement. His instructions here are pretty simple. Timothy is to continue to imitate Paul, putting into practice the things he has learned from his mentor, what he has seen played out in Paul’s life, and keep the gospel as his prime priority. Take a look at this week’s passage in 2 Timothy 3:10-11:

2 Timothy 3:10-11

Paul begins this section of exhortation with an emphatic declaration, “You, however…” This sets Timothy’s ministry apart from the false teachers that Paul has spent much of this letter addressing. Their false doctrine and the consequences of it differ greatly from that of Timothy. Paul lists a series of descriptors here, about his own life, that Timothy is aware of and that he can learn from. Timothy knows about…

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Memorize Scripture: 2 Timothy 3:8-9

Paul’s description of the false teachers needs something to compare it to. He shares a reference to an Old Testament event that most people are familiar with, although these particular names are not mentioned in that account.

You can see this week’s passage, found in 2 Timothy 3:8-9:

2 Timothy 3:8-9

Paul gives Timothy a reference for comparison as he deals with the false teachers in Ephesus. He refers back to the Old Testament account of the Exodus, and Pharaoh’s unwillingness to allow the Israelites to leave Egypt. As Moses struggled to achieve freedom for his people, he was opposed by two of Pharaoh’s magicians or sorcerers, Jannes and Jambres. These two men are the magicians referred to in Exodus 7:11-12, 22, and 8:7. Although their names are not listed in the Exodus account, they are identified in ancient Jewish literature, beginning about the time between the Testaments.

Timothy was faced with false teachers who were opposed to the truth of God just as these two men were in the day of Moses and the Exodus. Simply put, seeking truth from alternative sources is always in opposition to God and his truth. There is no other means by which truth is delivered to us, outside of God, through is Son and his Word.