Titus 3:14 Commentary - Dr Peter Masters

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Titus 3:14

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‘And let ours also learn.’ That is a beautiful way of putting it. Let our people, our spiritual family in Crete, our brothers and sisters, our loved ones; let them learn. We are all of the same mind and destination. ‘Let ours also learn’ – there is a great principle coming up which every believer must learn. It must sink in; it must be part of them. Here is the principal – ‘to maintain good works for necessary uses.’ This wonderful phrase clearly refers to employment. It is not the same as the good works that have been twice mentioned earlier. This is in the context of providing for the travelling evangelists. So support them, says Paul to Titus, ‘and let ours [all our people]’ share in this ideal and principle: that we are to support the work of God. The Greek word ‘maintain’ indicates to supervise. In other words, every working Christian, every Christian who can be in employment, supervises himself. He line-manages himself in this respect. It is said in different ways in other epistles of Paul. What are these necessary uses? Pressing matters? To maintain good works, to earn a living. The margin may say ‘to follow honest trades.’ That is good, but that phrase takes the mind off what Paul intends. The apostle is more concerned about us understanding our responsibility to be stewards, and producing in order to give, than about being in an honest trade (even though that also is a big thing). It's the bigger principle he has in mind. Maintain, keep going, in employment, to be able to help with pressing needs. Then there is this added: ‘That they be not unfruitful.’ View yourself as a fruit bearing tree, a vine – that is a common illustration in the Scripture – or any other fruit tree, or a field of corn. What are the pressing needs? The context tells us. ‘Bring Zenas and Apollos on their journey speedily that nothing be wanting unto them. The church is confronted by pressing needs. Elsewhere, it may be famine relief which the apostle Paul organised for. It may be a tsunami; it may be a flood or an earthquake, and believers too are affected. A pressing need arises and the church will help, but it may also be a spiritual need.

Application

Do I have a job? Am I productive? Am I supporting my family, and clothing and housing them? Am I working also for the Lord to supply and provide for the work of God? Then I supervise myself; I monitor myself. I am to superintend my witness, my holiness, and even my capacity to provide. That is all in this word ‘maintain’. Let him be the overseer of his working life. Make sure he is productive.

We are not thinking about those wealthy churches who are very good at drubbing up enormous funds, and then they spend the money wastefully. We hear of some amazing things, unnecessary and ridiculously expensive things that churches can do, some of these mega churches. They spend money on things which they have no business spending money on. We are thinking about ordinary people of God, providing for the pressing needs of the gospel and the support of the work.

The late Vernon Higham who ministered for so long in Wales told of how he went to a certain Eastern European country which the church where he ministered had been supporting for years. This Eastern European church had just put up a new building after years of persecution. When he visited them and saw this new building, it was such a palace, and there was gold everywhere and extravagant things, and he thought, ‘Well, is this what we have been toiling and providing for?’ It was a church going way over the top in its splendour and expenditure. We are not thinking of that. We are thinking about necessary uses, pressing needs, whether it's for the gospel, or whether it's compassionate.

Are you bearing fruit? I remember reading in the life of the Hudson Taylor how, when he was a medical student in London, and he was surviving on very small allowance, that it became known that half that allowance would be given to the work of God. He that is faithful in little is faithful also in much. A lad who at 18 or 19 trained himself to give, even though he had little to give from, was to become the great giver in the context of missionary work, the great toiler. This phrase resonates for us: ‘that they be not unfruitful.’ Will you end life's journey suddenly realising you are going to face the Lord? ‘How fruitful have I been: in witness, in service, even in stewardship?’ You are a fruit bearing tree for the Lord.

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Titus 3:14 Commentary and Bible Study