Joy to the World – Starved for Joy

Transcript

JRS 36
12/03/2023
Joy to the World – Starved for Joy
Titus 3:3
Jesse Randolph

Well, good morning again and thanks for being here. What a wonderful privilege we have to worship our Savior each and every Sunday. But in a special way, as we consider the incarnation this time of year. I’ll be traveling to Dallas early tomorrow morning. While I’m looking forward to getting down there for the conference, I’ll be attending the early part of the week. I have to say that the one part of the trip that I’m absolutely not looking forward to is being at the airport. Either on this side of the journey, in Omaha, or on that side of the journey, in Dallas. It’s not because I have a fear of flying and it’s not because of the long lines, and it’s not because of some fear of being assigned to a middle seat. No, the reason I’m not looking forward to being at the airport tomorrow, three weeks before Christmas. Is that I think airports at Christmastime have to be one of the saddest places on earth. I mean, you look around. There is just a sense of emptiness all around you. I mean, airports already feel desolate and sterile, all year long. But this time of year, in December, it’s like they just added an extra layer of sadness. An extra layer of melancholy by throwing a string of tinsel or lights on a Christmas tree that’s covering a carpet stain that hasn’t been addressed for two and a half years. Or there’s, you know, the workers there, the concession stand workers who are stuffed into Christmas sweaters that you’re not sure if they’re intentionally “ugly”, or just ugly. There are folks who are walking around with their eleven-dollar peppermint mochas, staring into their phones so as to disengage and not have any human connection with anybody. You have the sleep-deprived college students, listen up now, who are just showing up in their pajamas, like they just rolled out of bed and traveling the friendly skies. The airport, at Christmastime, at least for me, is not a fun place to be. In fact, I think it’s a sad place to be. As there’s this dreary fog of pine and peppermint, and body odor and jet fuel that hangs over the place.

But it gets only sadder, and it only gets drearier as you look beyond the surface level. You look beyond the twinkling lights, the fake snow, Frosty the Snowman playing, and as you start to look all around you at the airport. You see these individuals who bear the image of Almighty God and they’re breathing His air and they’re soaking in His goodness; they might otherwise be in what they would call “the Christmas spirit.” You start thinking to yourself. “Where are they all going?” By that I don’t mean, “where are they going on this leg of their journey.” Are they going to Houston to see that client. Or to Hawaii to get some sand between their toes. Or to go home for the holidays. No, I mean, what’s their final destination? Where are they going, in the ultimate sense? Sure, statistics would likely show that in a typical airport terminal, there might be a couple, who are of God’s elect. There might be a couple of individuals at gate 17 who have put their faith in Jesus Christ. But for the rest of them, this collection of cursed souls who are racing around so frantically. This hurry to pack themselves into this fast-moving jet-propelled metal tube. They have no thought or hope of . . . or hope for . . . the future which awaits them. Then it gets even sadder, and it gets even darker as the real deep questions start brewing. Like: “100 years from now . . .” “Or 1,000 years from now . . .” “Or 10,000 years from now . . .” “Or Ten million years from now . . .” Will any part of this trip that they’re on right now matter? Will the experiences they’re running after matter? Will the dollars they’re pursuing matter? Will the relationship that they’re going to chase on the other side of the country matter? Will the memories that they’re gathering for their scrapbook, or their Facebook wall, or their Instagram feed matter? Will any of it matter?

Bringing it back to the season we’re embarking on . . . will they have any memory of Christmas lights? Or Bing Crosby? Or Mariah Carey? Or Grandma’s cookies? Or hot cocoa? Or peppermint bark? Or fudge? Or Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer? Or heading home for the holidays? Will any of it matter? Will any of it comfort them? Multiple millennia from now, when the blazing and billowing flames, of a real hell, are licking all around them?

Now, some of you might be thinking to yourselves, in light of all this, and all this beauty we see all around us: “Goodness, Jesse.” “Will you lighten up?” “Merry Christmas.” “I mean, the title of the series, after all, is ‘Joy to the World’.” “And Jesse, you’re supposed to be talking about God sending.” “And Jesus arriving. And angels announcing. And wise men worshiping. And the world rejoicing.” Don’t worry. We’ll get there. We are going to go through, in this series in December, what the bible says about “joy”. Biblical joy. We are going to look at what it means, biblically, to seek joy and to strive for joy. We’re certainly get to the glorious reality that . . . through Christ’s birth, and through His incarnation . . . we have been supplied with joy. But today’s message. This introductory message. We’re going to consider the truth that . . . before any of us came to know Christ. The God-Man. The Savior and the Hope of the World. The One who we worship and celebrate at Christmas . . . we were “starved for joy.” Sure, we may have experienced pleasures of various types. Sure, we might have thought that we were “happy”. But we had no joy. Indeed, it was impossible for us to have joy. Because we didn’t have a relationship with the living God. Who is the very source of joy. Instead, we pursued lifestyles, and behavior and ways of living, that are completely antithetical to the One, the Person who has true joy.

Turn with me, if you would, in your bibles, to Titus 3. Titus 3:3, to be specific. Just like there will be those who will question whether Die Hard is a Christmas movie. There will be those who will question whether this is a Christmas verse. I think it is. Because it shows how hopeless. Ultimately, how joyless, our existence was before we came to know Christ. This verse shows us how desperate our plight was. How badly we were in need of a Savior. The very Savior God supplied. When He sent His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, into the world. On a rescue mission. To seek and to save that which was lost.

Look at Titus 3:3. God’s word reads:
“For we also once were foolish ourselves, disobedient, deceived, enslaved to various lusts and pleasures, spending our life in malice and envy, hateful, hating one another.”
We’re going to camp out in this single verse, here this morning. As we consider: The Seven Traits of the Joy-Starved Soul. I’ll say it again: “Seven Traits of the Joy-Starved Soul. “Fa la la la la, la la la la.” You can see why I don’t get many Christmases invites and Christmas party invites throughout the year.

Now, before we work through each of these seven traits. Since we find ourselves in this new book that we’re not really regularly studying right now, the book of Titus. It would be helpful to develop some of the context here, and some of the background here. What’s happening in the book of Titus? What’s the setting of the book? What’s the context of the book? Well, the setting of this book is the island of Crete. This naturally beautiful, sun-splashed island . . . sitting in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea. It’s a place where a man named Titus, Paul’s pastoral protege. Was called and sent to go minister. In fact, if you go over to Titus 1, we’ll see Titus mentioned by name there. Look at Titus 1:4. This is where Paul addresses him this way:
“To Titus, my true child in a common faith: Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior.”
Then, right after that, in verse 5, we see Titus’s connection to the island of Crete, where it says:
“For this reason, I left you in Crete, that you would set in order what remains and appoint elders in every city as I directed you.”
What we know elsewhere, from scripture, that Titus was a trustworthy man. He was a man who ministered regularly alongside the Apostle Paul. We know this from places like Galatians 2, where we see that Titus accompanied Paul to the Jerusalem Council. We see this in the book of II Corinthians, where Titus is mentioned nine times in that book alone, as being Paul’s trustworthy companion. So, while Titus was junior to Paul, in terms of rank. He was by no means inexperienced in the ministry and that was a good thing. Because there were very many problems that were surfacing already in these churches in Crete. In fact, if we keep reading on in Titus 1, we’ll see what some of these problems look like. Look at:
Titus 1:10. Titus 1:10 says, “For there are many rebellious men, empty talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision.”
Or down in verse 12, it says, “One of themselves, a prophet of their own, said ‘Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons’.”
Or verse 14 says, they were paying attention to “Jewish myths and commandments of men who [were turning them] away from the truth.”
Then, verse 16, look at this indictment, they “profess to know God, but by their deeds they deny Him.”

Who was it that Paul charged with bringing these churches there in Crete, back into line? It was Titus.
Look at the next verse in Titus 2:1, he says, “But as for you [that’s addressing Titus], speak the things which are fitting for sound doctrine.”
So, Paul there, is speaking to Titus, and as he does so, he’s saying: “Titus, there are problems in those churches.” “And you are instructed now, you’re in charge of, getting those things fixed.” “You need to get those churches back in line.” The way you do so, as it says here in Titus 2:1, is to “speak the things which are fitting for sound doctrine.”

Now, back in May of this year, on Mother’s Day . . . we went through Titus 2:3-5. Where we encountered Paul’s instructions to Titus. To give to the women there. About how they were to instruct other women about what it means to be a godly woman. Then on Father’s Day, in June . . . we went through Titus 2:6-8, and we saw something very similar. Where Paul addresses the godly older men as to how they are to instruct the godly younger men about what it means to be a godly man.

Now, all these months later, we’re reading on in Titus 2 and to Titus 3. Where we’re going to see Paul giving even more exhortations and commands. For instance, in Titus 2:9-10, we see instructions about bondservants, bondslaves, and how they are to be subject to their masters.
Titus 2:9 – “Urge bondslaves to be subject to their own masters in everything, to be well-pleasing, not argumentative, not pilfering, but showing all good faith so that they will adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in every respect.”
Then there are those commands following Titus 3. To Christians, to be subject to ruling authorities . . . and also to show a certain deference and respect to fellow mankind.
Look at Titus 3:1-2 – “Remind them to be subject to rulers, to authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good deed, to malign no one, to be peaceable, gentle, showing every consideration for all men.”
There are all these reminders. That Paul is giving Titus here. Up to this point, in this little letter. About the various ways that the Christians in the churches in Crete there, were to interact with each other. Women to women. Men to men. Citizens to government and believers, vis-1-vis their fellow man.

In our passage for today, Titus 3:3. Paul, who is, up to this point, been moving the commands in a forward direction . . . now throws it in reverse . . . and takes it back in time, to that time when we didn’t have that relationship with God. To that time when we weren’t living by the standards He’s laid out. When we weren’t experiencing the joy that true believers have and can have; by virtue of knowing Christ. We see that backward-looking perspective laid out here again in Titus 3:3, where he says:
“For we also once were foolish ourselves, disobedient, deceived, enslaved to various lusts and pleasures, spending our life in malice and envy, hateful, hating one another.”

Now, you’ll note right away. That Paul there doesn’t exempt himself from the charge of having once acted in these very ways. He doesn’t exempt himself from having once been one of these joyless, hell-bound rebels against God. That’s very characteristic of Paul to lump himself in with the group he’s addressing. He does that in other places in his writings.
In I Timothy 1:13, he says, “even though I was formerly a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent aggressor. Yet I was shown mercy because I acted ignorantly in unbelief.”
So, Paul, in other words, is not always pointing the finger. But he sometimes includes himself in the charge.
Or in Philippians 3:6, after he’s given that long biographical statement there in Philippians 3. About whom he once was. He mentions he was “a persecutor of the church.”

Here in Titus 3:3, he’s highlighting the fact that he had never forgotten that joyless, sinful condition from which he had once been rescued. He didn’t want the Christians there, under Titus’s care at Crete to forget the depths from which they had been rescued, also. That is also very characteristic of Paul. Who, in his writings and in his letters, his epistles. Over and over, he encourages those believers, of course, remember the great salvation that they’d been gifted and granted. But at the same time, not to be forgetful of the very depths of sin and the depravity from which they were rescued. In fact, we see that over in I Corinthians 6, an example of Paul reminding a church, who they once were and now who they are.
I Corinthians 6:9, Paul here says to the church at Corinth, “Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God.”
In then, verse 11, here’s that backward looking perspective again. “Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.”
He does something similar, Paul does, over in Ephesians 4. Where he just simply tells those believers at Ephesus, “. . . to lay aside the old self.” That’s acknowledging that there is an old self. But it’s been laid aside.

Now, as we turn back to Titus 3. Before we get into our study here, the meanings and the definitions of these individual terms that Paul lists out here. I don’t want our study of those individual trees, so to speak, to blur our vision of the larger picture here of the forest. Meaning, that that major broad point, that Paul is making here, in this text. Which is that, before any of us came to faith in Jesus Christ. Our lives were characterized by sins such as these. Maybe we weren’t enslaved to each and every one of these sins, equally. Maybe we didn’t struggle with the very certain sins that other might struggle with them more than we do. But the point he’s making here. Is that we, as human beings, in our original condition, in our natural, unregenerate state, were at enmity with God. Depraved in our nature, and at enmity with God.
Romans 5:10, he describes us as being “enemies” of God, in this former condition.
In Ephesians 2:3, Paul says, “We [too] all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath.”
We’ve seen, in our study of Colossians, in Colossians 1:21, Paul says, we “were formerly alienated and hostile in mind, engaged in evil deeds.”
This is true, that we were enemies of God. We were “hostile in mind”. That we were “engaged in evil deeds.” No matter how outwardly moral, or respectable, or religious we may have come across to others. Instead of the kind, gracious, Christlike people that Christians are called to be. We were just the opposite. Instead of being sensible and sober minded. We were foolish. Instead of being submissive. We were disobedient and rebellious. Instead of being led by and guided by and shaped by truth. We were deceived. Instead of being disciplined and committed to performing righteous deeds. We were enslaved by various kinds of passions and lusts and desires. Instead of being peaceable and considerate and humble. We were marked by malice and envy and instead of being marked by love for God and love for others. We were marked by hate. Here’s how one commentator, taking each of these seven traits of the joy-starved soul and mixing them all together. Summarizes them, he says: “Such is the brutish existence of people apart from God. While a veneer of civilization often obscures the bleak truth, the slightest crack in the surface of society reveals the reality behind the façade. The painful truth is that apart from God people degenerate into little more than animals wrangling over bones.” Did you catch that last line?
“. . . apart from God people degenerate into little more than animals wrangling over bones.” Putting that in the vernacular of the modern Christmas holiday. That sounds a lot like what we see happening around us this time of year. The Black Friday Rush. I’m not sure if we have that anymore, in the online age in which we live. But you’ve seen in the news accounts of people fighting over parking spots and fighting for big-screen TV’s. Fighting for Tickle-Ee-Elmo. You’ve seen the intra-family squabbles. Over whom owes who the phone call. Who gets the last leg of turkey. Whose gift cost the most. Sadly, a lot of behavior that we see around Christmas. Does resemble, like this commentator says, “animals wrangling over bones.”

Here, in Titus 3:3, Paul is speaking of man’s unregenerate condition. Putting it in the context of our Christmas series this year. Paul is highlighting man’s sad, desperate, hopeless, joyless condition . . . before the Light of the world came into the world. Before the Light of the gospel flooded the darkness of our wicked and depraved hearts. The picture we’re given here is far from flattering. As we’re about to see . . . professing to know all the answers . . . we were actually foolish. We were unable to comprehend spiritual truths. We were unwise in our choices and our conduct. We were disobedient to God and to parents and to authorities. We were deceived by the devil and our own perverted form of judgment. We were enslaved to various ungodly thoughts and practices and habits. We were miserable and we made others miserable. Truly, truly it was a sad commentary on mankind’s existence here, outside of Christ. A life full of disputes. Full of feuding. Full of consternation. Full of heartache. A life full of grief and mourning. A lack of joy. Let me just say, a walk through the airport won’t fix that. Certainly not in December.

With that. Let’s get into our seven traits. The seven traits of the joy-starved soul. We start here at the beginning of verse 3.
Trait number one. He says, for we also “once were foolish ourselves.”
“Foolish.” The word there is anoetos. I say that, not to show off with Greek lingo. Nous – just means “the mind.” When you put the letter, A, before any word in Greek, it’s the opposite of that thing. So, nous means mind or reason or intellect. If you’re anoet, you’re foolish. You’re not of the mind. You’re not reasoning properly. That’s the idea here. Paul is using that term to describe our former condition. A time in which we had a complete lack of understanding. A time in which we were once ignorant and uninformed. Ignorant and uninformed, the meaning here, is of a specific field of information. A specific vein of information. Paul here very clearly is not referring to just any type of knowledge that we lack. Or any type of information that we lack. He’s not concerned here with how much a person knows. About world affairs. Or regulatory policy. Or quantum physics. Or economic theory. No. Paul’s point here is that no matter how advanced a person’s education and intellectual accomplishments may be. Putting it in our day today, no matter how many diplomas or degrees he’s acquired. No matter how many letters follow his name. No matter how many books he’s read. Or how many books he’s written. It ultimately doesn’t matter. It’s ultimately of no importance. Without knowledge of the living God. Knowledge, which comes with having a relationship with that living God. That relationship with that living God only comes by having faith in the Son. The one who does not know God. The one who rejects God. Though his head is filled with all sorts of data and information and stuff; is foolish. He’s a fool. He’s blind to the ultimate truth. He’s blind to the ultimate source of truth. Who is God Himself. That’s what Paul is saying here in this passage. When he says, we are “foolish ourselves.” He says it elsewhere as well. In fact, go over with me, if you would, to I Corinthians chapter 1. Familiar passage, I’m sure to many. Where we see this contrast between the wisdom of the world. So called wisdom of the world and the wisdom of God.
Look at I Corinthians 1, picking up in verse 20, he says, “Where is the wise man? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?” Then jump down to verse 25, where he says, “Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.” There’s that contrast between so-called worldly wisdom and the wisdom of God. The two are not connected. There’s actually an inverse relationship between the two.
Look down at verse 14 of chapter 2. 1 Corinthians 2:14, something very similar is said here about the unbeliever and the limitation on his unbelieving intellect.
1 Corinthians 2:14 – “But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised.”
The idea here is that no matter how brilliant a person is. No matter how intelligent they may be. No matter how intelligent or insightful they may seem. If he doesn’t know Christ. If he doesn’t have the Spirit of God living in him. He is spiritually speaking, deaf, blind and dumb. He’s a fool; and the thing is, he has only himself to blame.
Ephesians 4:18, speaking of the unbelievers, says, they’re “darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their heart.”
In other words, God isn’t unfairly blindfolding the unbeliever. He’s not unfairly tying the unbeliever’s hands behind their backs, spiritually speaking. Rather, the unbeliever contributes to his own blindness through the hardness of his own heart and through his own willful ignorance. Which we see over in Romans chapter 1. You can turn there with me, if you’d like, to Romans 1. We’ll just look at a few verses here, to get this idea the unbeliever’s culpability in their unbelief. The unbeliever’s culpability, their guilt in suppressing the truth in unrighteousness.
Look at Romans 1:18, it says, “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened.”
Human responsibility is written all over that section. Do you know what that means, ultimately? It means, because they didn’t know Christ. Some of the most intelligent people this world has ever seen were fools. Albert Einstein. Steven Hawking. Neal DeGrasse Tyson. Bill Nye the Science Guy. Fools. Or Dr. So-And-So at UNL. Notwithstanding his bowtie and his tweed jacket and his wispy mustache and his lengthy resume. Notwithstanding his credentials and his tenure and his long academic track record. If he doesn’t know Christ, he’s actually a fool. Now, he might dress up his folly this time of year with all sorts of merriment and mirth. He might throw an amazing Christmas party. As he’s downing the eggnog with his students, he might ramble on about how great everything is, and how happy he is. But in reality, he’s a fool. A joyless fool. We all once were there. That’s exactly what Titus 3:3 says. We also “once were foolish ourselves.”

The second trait of the joy-starved soul is this. They’re “disobedient.”
“For we also once were foolish ourselves, disobedient . . .” Now, the basic meaning of the term there, it’s no mystery, it’s “rebellious.” We were rebellious against God. The human nature . . . “the human heart, “as we know from Jeremiah 17:9, “is wicked and rebellious.” The human heart, as Jesus taught, is the very source and the seat of all lawless deeds and actions that we perform.
Jesus said in Matthew 15:19 – “For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, slanders.”
God has ordained certain structures of authority. To help restrain and curb and punish evil behavior. For instance, by appointing kings and rulers and other officials to govern their citizens. To appoint parents to tend to and guide and lead their children. Any man-made law or rule or regulation, whether laid down by an elected official, or by the father in a home; has no power to change the human heart. From which every evil, and every sin, and every defilement flows. The human heart, in its unredeemed condition, is disobedient to the authority of God Himself. As well as all those authorities that are instituted by God. Whether governmental or parental. We see that in places like:
Titus 1:16, it says, “They profess to know God, but by their deeds they deny Him, being detestable and [here’s the word] disobedient and worthless for any good deed.”
Paul to Timothy in II Timothy 3:1-2 speaking of what will mark the end of days says, “But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, [and then, get this] disobedient to parents . . .”
So, the human heart, by nature, thinks more highly of itself than it ought to think. The human heart is not only foolish. The human heart, as we see here, is rebellious. It’s disobedient. As John Calvin once noted: “In the same way as we are all fools, so we are all rebels.” We all lived that way in our former state. In a state of living that was antithetical to what it looks like to live as a follower of Jesus Christ. I say that it’s antithetical to what it looks like to live as a follower of Jesus Christ, because the Christian life, ultimately, is one of submission. Church members, as you know, are called to submit to your elders. Wives are called to submit to their husbands. Children are called to submit to the authority of their parents. We, as believers, are called to live submissively to the rules, the edicts of our governing authorities. The submission that we are called to demonstrate in those earthly relationships, in those human relationships; we know, as modeled perfectly for us, to us, by our Lord. Who, in His incarnation. In His humanity, submitted to the will of the Father. We see that in John 6:38, the words of our Lord, where He says, “For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.”

What this means is that our first instinct, as believers, should not be: “How can I avoid submitting here?” Or “Do I really have to submit?” Or “Does God really want me to submit?” No. That constant chafing against authority is the mark of the unbeliever. It’s the unbeliever who is constantly in rebellion. It’s the unbeliever who is constantly challenging authority. It’s the joy-starved soul who is regularly “disobedient.” Constantly bucking authority. Recognizing no ultimate authority. Thinking he’s the captain of his own ship. When, in reality, that ship is about to sink.

That brings us to the third trait of the joy-starved soul, “deceived.”
“For we also once were foolish ourselves, disobedient, deceived . . .”
Those who currently stand outside the family of God. Those who have not put their faith in Jesus Christ. Which describes every single one of us, at some point in our lives. Are, by their very nature, deceived. That word for “deceived” there. Has this meaning of being purposely led astray. Like you were once on the right path, for some season at least. But now, you’ve been purposely led off that path, by somebody who is taking you off that path.
It pictures I Peter 2:25 where it says, “. . . you were continually straying like sheep . . .” Who is that one who has led us off the path? Who is that one who is a deceiver? Who is the one who deceives the entire unbelieving world today? And makes them think that they are “happy” in the time of happy holidays? And makes them think that they are “merry” in this time of saying Merry Christmas? Who is the one, the deceiver who’s gotten people to think that Christmas is all about a man, a fat man in a red suit? Who is the one who’s gotten the world to think that Christmas is all about gift receiving? Or if you’re more altruistic, gift-giving? Who’s the one who has deceived the world into thinking, just cutting it straight here, that Christmas is all about family? The answer, of course, is Satan. Satan, in John 8:44, Jesus calls him “. . . a liar and the father of lies.”
We know from I John 5:19, that “the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.”
We know from II Corinthians 4:4 that Satan is the “god of this world.” He “has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.”

For the unbeliever. Satan’s strategy is working. Because all year long. Not only at Christmas. They live under this heavy cloud of delusion. They think they’re wise. But, in fact, they’re foolish. They think they’re “good people,” and 99 out of 100 unbelievers will tell you that they’re a good person. But they’re called here, “disobedient.” They reject the truth. They’re ignorant of the truth. They suppress the truth. And we see here, in verse 3, they are “deceived.” Reflecting the nature of their master. Following the example of their spiritual father, the devil.

As we continue on in verse 3, we see this fourth trait of the joy-starved soul is that they are: “Enslaved to various lusts and pleasures.” In a sad and ironic twist. The joy-starved soul claims that they are “free.” You know, “Free from the oppressive shackles of religion and religiosity.” “Free from mom and dad’s version of Christianity.” “Free from rules and regulations.” “Free to think independently.” “Free to finally think with my mind for myself.” “Free to finally be myself.” “Free to finally be happy, they’ll say.”
I’m sure many of you have heard words like that from unbelieving loved ones and friends. Maybe even verbatim. But the bitter irony of it all is that the unbeliever is far from free. They’re the opposite of free. They’re slaves. When it says here, they are “Enslaved to various lusts and pleasures.” The joy-starved soul calls himself a freeman. But, in fact, he’s a slave. A slave to his “lusts.” A slave to his “pleasures.” A slave to his sin.
Romans 6:19 puts it this way, they are “salves to impurity and to lawlessness.”
His enslavement is not only on the exterior, though. In terms of the practices, they find themselves engaged in. They’re enslaved to the level of their heart. At the core of who that unregenerate person is, he has neither the desire nor the ability to do anything but sin. To be anything but sinful. Look at Romans 3, if you would. Just so you know that I’m not up here theorizing or just throwing around some thoughts and opinions. Look at Romans 3, and how this just graphically depicts the unbeliever’s sad state.
Romans 3, we’ll pick it up in the middle of verse 9, where it says, “. . . both Jews and Greeks are all under sin; as it is written, ‘There is none righteous, not even one; there is none who understands, there is none who seeks for God; all have turned aside, together they have become useless; there is none who does good, there is not even one.’
‘Their throat is an open grave, with their tongues they keep deceiving,’ ‘The poison of asps is under their lips’; ‘Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness’; ‘Their feet are swift to shed blood, destruction and misery are in their paths, and the path of peace they have not known.’ ‘There is no fear of God before their eyes’.”
That’s a very long way of saying what we see in Titus 3:3 . . . that they are “enslaved to [their] lusts and [their] pleasures.”

We saw that word for “lusts” come up in our most recent Sunday morning message in Colossians.
Where, in Colossians 3:5 it says, “. . . consider the members of your earthly body as dead [and it says] to immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, [that’s the word] and greed.”
That word for “desire” over in Colossians 3, is the same word that we see here, translated “lusts” in Titus 3:3.
Again, as we’ve seen in our study of Colossians, “desires” in and of themselves, are morally neutral. Some desires are good. Like a “desire” to go to church. A “desire” to be an elder of the church. A “desire” to grow in godliness. A “desire” to grow in your understanding of God’s word. “Desire” to be a more faithful father or friend, or you name it.
Other desires are wicked. Like a desire to disobey any of God’s standards, as laid out in His word. Or a desire to stir up dissension in a local church. Or a desire to bring harm upon a brother or sister in Christ.
In the context here, in Titus 3. When Paul is speaking of enslavement. Enslavement to lusts. He clearly has sinful “lusts”, sinful desires in mind. He continues on, by saying it’s not just “lusts” they are enslaved to, though. It’s “pleasures.” The word for “pleasures” there is hedone. Where we get our word, “hedonism.” That insatiable pursuit of self-satisfaction and “happiness” . . . which so aptly describes the self-focused generation in which we live. The sense of this term “pleasures” here is clearly sinful pleasures. Maybe “pleasures” that didn’t start as sinful. But became sinful. Or “pleasures” that were sinful all along. The idea here is that the joy-starved soul is actually a storm-tossed soul. He maintains all the outward appearances of having it all figured out. Having the right things. Believing the right things. Pursuing the right things. Doing the right things. He’s got a beautiful wife. He’s got 2 1/2 kids. He’s got the golden lab. He’s got a high-paying job. He’s got the new Tesla truck. He’s got all the new toys. But deep down. He knows and you know. That what he lacks is joy. He doesn’t have joy because the gray is starting to come in. Or the hair is starting to fall out. God has put eternity on his heart, and he’s coming to realize he’s not going to be here forever. He doesn’t have joy because he can’t quite shake the feeling that something is missing from his life. That there’s a certain weighty purposelessness to his pursuits. He doesn’t have joy because while he thinks he’s free, he’s actually enslaved. He doesn’t have joy because he doesn’t realize that his only path to freedom is to become a slave of Jesus Christ. You only become a slave of Jesus Christ by repenting and believing upon His name. He doesn’t have joy because he doesn’t understand, yet, as Jesus Himself said in John 8:36, that “. . . if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.”
He is not, at this point, a joyful slave of Jesus. Rather, he’s a joyless slave of his “various lusts and pleasures.”

Moving on, the fifth trait of the joy-starved soul is this one: “Malice.”
After he mentions being “enslaved in various lusts and pleasures”, next comes “spending our life in malice . . .” The word for “malice” comes from a Greek word that simply means “evil.” Or having a vicious character. It’s a word we see in Romans 1:29, also speaking of the unregenerate person, which says they’re “. . . filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil [same word there]; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit.”
To varying degrees, but inevitably, the unsaved person lives a life of malice and evil and wickedness.

Back in my law school days . . . They taught us in the old criminal law class. Is that the distinction between first-degree murder and second-degree murder. It’s a big distinction. Because depending on which you’re convicted of. You spend a lot more time in prison, if it’s one versus the other. But the distinction between what makes something first-degree murder or second-degree murder, all centers on whether there was something called “malice aforethought.” That’s what the old criminal law case books talked about . . . “malice aforethought.” Meaning, the perpetrator, the murderer, planned out that act ahead of time. Maybe it was by writing a manifesto. Maybe it was by hiring a hitman. Maybe it was simply lurking behind a tree or door or a bush. Or whatever. But the point is, they knew exactly what they were doing. The act they committed was not accidental. Rather, it was concocted. So, it is with the joy-starved soul. They aren’t accidental sinners. They are first degree sinners. Purposeful rebels against God’s will and God’s word.

The sixth mark of the joy-starved soul we see next, is “Envy.” “. . . spending our life in malice [it says] and envy . . .” I mean, talking about a sin which says so much about the unbeliever’s joyless state. Envy. Jealousy. The joy-starved soul lives an envious life. They spend their lives consumed with envy. They’re consumed by what others have, and what others are doing. Where others are going, and what others are spending. By definition, they can find no satisfaction. No contentment and no joy. In what’s been given to them. Their desire for more is insatiable. Their thirst for more is unquenchable. They go on continually living in a state of envy. Which, we know from Galatians 5:21, is a “deed of the flesh.” They continually view their lives as this competitive race. “He who dies with the most toys wins.” They continually view themselves as being behind in that race and always trying to catch up with everyone else. This is not just a mark of their being joy-starved. This is a mark of their being unsaved.
Romans 1:29, again speaks of those who are “full of envy.” As being the mark of the unregenerate.
Their sin of envy is a bottomless pit. It’s a mirage. There are these sinful cravings that will never, ultimately, be satisfied. And they are just cycling and cycling and not getting anywhere. John MacArthur says, rightly. He says: “Envy is a sin that carries its own reward: it guarantees its own frustration and disappointment.”

With that, we get to the final, the seventh mark of the joy-starved soul. Which is this: “Hate.” We see it there, “hateful, hating one another.” Now, that word “hateful” first, refers to that person having certain attributes or characteristics that brings the hatred of others upon them. Here, at least, it’s not referring to you hating someone else. It’s referring to them hating you. Because of something repulsive in you. Because of something detestable in you. The old translations talk about you becoming a byword and a stench to others. This is speaking to somebody whose become disgusting and an embarrassment to others. They’re a fool whose surrounded by other fools. A disobedient person who is surrounded by other disobedient people. But now those foolish, disobedient fellow rebels, now have directed their ire at this joy-starved soul. He’s “hateful.” Meaning, he breeds hate. He brings hate upon himself. And then, there’s the last one, at the end of verse 3: “. . . hating one another.” So, it’s “hateful”, they bring on hate. But then they hate one another. Meaning, they eventually start hating everyone. That’s a very strong word here. It means to detest or to abhor. The idea is that joy-starved souls are not only on the receiving end of the hatred from others. They start, eventually, hating others and hating everyone. Putting that practically and very modernly, they start withdrawing from their spouse in their marriages, if they have one. They start resenting their children in their families. They start pulling away from their friends. They start shutting themselves off from their neighbors. They start disdaining every form of rule and authority. The poison of hatred that has done its work for years in their hearts, eventually takes over their lives. They eventually just draw a mote around their lives. Pull the drawbridge up and call it a life. With their only companions being a cat, and a newspaper, maybe a cup of coffee. Eventually an in-home hospice provider who cares for them in the final days of their hopeless, sad, hateful, joyless life. This one commentator puts it: “Hatred is perhaps the loneliest of sins.”

Again, as I said at the outset, this verse doesn’t exactly “scream Christmas”, does it? I can tell by your reactions. I do so believe, though, and I stand by what I said at the outset. That I do think that this is an ideal place for us to begin. As we turn our minds and our hearts to the first coming of our Lord. As we remember, that there once was a time in our lives . . . before we came to faith in Jesus Christ, the incarnate Son of God. The Word becomes flesh. That we were once these joy-starved souls. Every single one of us, in our lives. At some point in our lives. Was committed to and driven by these very things. Folly, disobedience, being deceived, enslaved. “. . . spending our life in malice and envy, hateful, hating one another.” What that should do in every one of us is instill in us this overwhelming sense of gratitude, and thanksgiving. And yes, joy. For the great salvation we’ve been gifted. That’s a gift that sits, not under a tree. It’s a gift that’s far more precious and far more priceless. It’s a gift that will neither wither nor wilt. It’s a gift of eternal value. It was a gift that was purchased for us, by and through the death of our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.

In fact, we’ve seen here in Titus 3:3. This text has such hopelessness to it. But then, look at the next couple of verses.
Titus 3:4 – “But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared, He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according the His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by His grace, we might be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.”

Of course, at Christmastime, we are remembering the birth of Christ. As we should, we encounter these scriptures. But we also remember where this goes. We understand that the child that was born in the manger, ultimately, came to this earth on a mission to die. To go to the cross. To stand in the place of sinners like you and me. So that our sins might be forgiven. That we might be restored to a right relationship with the God of the universe. That’s what we talk about, ultimately, not just at Christmas, but at Easter, and really, all year long.

In just a moment and speaking of the death of Christ, we’re going begin the communion portion of our service and in that communion portion of our service; I really want to get our hearts oriented toward the birth of Christ, all season long. But we know that the birth of Christ culminates in the death of Christ; and the death of Christ is really the linchpin of the gospel message.

The gospel message begins with God and knowing who God is. In His character. In His attributes. In His person. What the scriptures reveal, is that God is a holy God. He’s not some goofy grandfather. You sit in his lap, and he pats you on the head, and just lets you go. He’s a holy God. He’s a righteous God. He is a God, who on account of His holiness and His righteousness, hates sin. This God, though, is so patient. And this God is also merciful. And this God is also a God of love. And He demonstrated His love toward mankind, most powerfully, by the sending of His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Into the world. The very event we’re remembering and celebrating all December long, leading up to Christmas. God sent His Son into this world, on a mission and that mission was to die. To stand in the place of sinners, like you and me. To go to Calvery’s cross and to pay the penalty for our sin. To shed His own innocent blood and to die on our behalf.

When we partake of the elements that we will be partaking of. We are simply reflecting on, remembering . . . and this time of year, especially, rejoicing. As we consider who we once were, in our sin. As we consider that unfathomable debt that we owe to this holy God. This debt that we wracked up on account of our sin. As we reflect on the fact that we face the sure and terrifying wrath of God, had He not intervened. We do reflect on the fact that He did intervene. He did send His Son to this world. He did have His Son go to the cross, and how through that death on the cross, He paid in full, the debt of our sin. So, that our sin could be forgiven. So, that relationship with God could be restored; and so that hope of eternal life and eternal fellowship with God, could be secured.

In I Corinthians 11:26, Paul says this: “as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.”
That’s what we’re going to be doing, in just a few minutes. We’re going to be remembering Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God. Word made flesh. The baby born in a manger in Bethlehem. How He eventually died for us. We’re proclaiming His death.

I do pray, that this is a time where we can not loose that connection between the birth of Christ and the death of Christ. I know I’ve said it already, but we tend to divorce those two. Right? We can tend to think of, you know, Jesus as only God, or Jesus as only human. But the scriptures teach both. Fully God. Fully man. We can over-emphasize, or only think about the birth of Christ, and the wonders of the incarnation; but fail to capture that it led to the death of Christ.

Let’s pray.
God, thank You again, for this time together. This time to remember the death of our Lord. The Lord Jesus Christ. Short of His death, we were hopeless. Short of His death, we had no purpose. Short of His death, as we saw this morning, in this little section of Titus, we were joyless. Had no real purpose, direction, joy or meaning in this life. But because of Your perfect plan. Set in motion before the foundation of the world. Because of Your perfect plan of redemption, mediated through the blood of Your Son, the Lord Jesus. We have salvation. We have mercy. We receive mercy. We have hope. Now we have joy. God, I do pray, that as those who have been forgiven. Those who have been washed by the blood of the Lamb. Those who find salvation in Emmanuel’s veins. That we would go out and live like it. That we would not just take this as a cheap salvation. Or as information that doesn’t transform. But rather, we would take the great salvation that You granted us, and gifted us, through the blood of Your Son. And go live as faithful ambassadors for Him. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen