United in Jesus

  • Doug Ponder
  • Jan 29, 2012
  • Series: Following Jesus

Jesus’ followers are called to “perform” the message they proclaim because performance is a vital part of its proclamation. So just as musicians follow the lead of the conductor, the church follows the lead of Jesus, embodying the gospel in how it thinks and acts and lives. But the gospel is not a message about blind obedience to random rules; it’s about who Jesus is and what he’s done. It ties up loose ends, puts what remains into order, and renews the lives of all who follow Jesus.

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This week’s sermon (1/29/2012) is titled United in Jesus.
The Scripture passage for this sermon is Titus 1:9-16.


Main Idea: In a “whatever-works-for-you-is-right” kind of culture, many people recoil at the thought of correcting someone—or worse, being corrected by someone else! So when Paul tells his friend Titus to “rebuke” (which means to correct with words) those who are out of step, it might sound harsh to us. Perhaps we think, Why can’t we just let people do what they want? Or maybe we just think that life would be better for everyone if we just stopped correcting each other altogether. And yet, what would have happened if no one had corrected Adolf Hitler? What if no one wanted to correct you before you drank that glass of hydrochloric acid that you thought was water? Not all correction is bad! And when you take a look at who Titus was correcting, you’ll notice these people were being divisive and exclusive. They were going around telling others that in order to be in the “inner circle” of God’s favor you had to obey certain rules, eat certain foods, and so on. But Paul knew that their actions were out of step with the gospel, for the gospel says that all people were created by God and that Jesus died and rose on our behalf so that we might live for him. That means there is no “inner circle” made up of people who are more valuable than others, and anyone who lives as if there were is actually opposing what God is doing in the world whether they realize it or not. The gospel corrects this faulty way of thinking, reinforcing the real equality we have as people who share the same Creator, the same Rescuer, and the same King.


What does this mean for me?  The gospel frees us from having to carve out value for ourselves in things like what we do, how we dress, what we like, etc. But it’s important to realize that the temptation to place value in those kinds of things does not go away automatically. So the next time you’re tempted to think that someone is more valuable than you because they have something you don’t (or, if you think they’re less valuable for lacking something you have), preach the gospel to yourself: Remind yourself that you and the other person have the same value in God’s eyes—both of you were created by him and for him, and Jesus died to redeem you both. The more deeply you believe that truth, the more able you will be to serve others without envy and fear, on the one hand, or pride and exclusiveness on the other.


Questions for Reflection:

1. How might finding your value/identity in what you do (or what you have) affect you if you consider yourself to be among the inner circle of “haves”? How might it affect if you’re the one being excluded?

2. It seems that those who feel elite or valuable and those who feel excluded or valueless both have the same problem. What is their misunderstanding, and how does the gospel correct them both?

3. Why do you think people (including followers of Jesus) are tempted to find their value in what they do?

4. Make a list of specific examples of areas in which you’re often tempted to trying to find your value or your identity. How would you apply the truth of the gospel to your struggles?

5. Since all human beings are equally valuable on the basis of their identity as people created for God and people for whom Christ died and rose, what are some practical things that we can do to put the unifying effects of the gospel on display in our families, our church, and our communities?


Related Quote: “The webbing together of God, humans, and all creation in justice, fulfillment, and de-light is what the Hebrew prophets call shalom. We call it ‘peace’ but it means far more than mere peace of mind or a cease-fire between enemies. In the Bible, shalom means universal flourishing, wholeness and delight—a rich state of affairs in which natural needs are satisfied and natural gifts fruitfully em-ployed, a state of affairs that inspires joyful wonder as its Creator and Savior opens doors and welcomes the creatures in whom he delights. Shalom, in other words, is the way things ought to be.” (Cornelius Plantinga, Not the Way It’s Supposed to Be: A Breviary of Sin, 10)