TITUS CONNECTION Volume 17, Number 6 June, 2023

Greetings.  Isaiah 6 has always been a very thought-provoking passage for me as I wonder how I would react if I had been in Isaiah’s shoes.  Being holy is what all believers in Jesus must put as our goal and Isaiah’s passage adds a new dimension of holiness.  Thanks,  Mike

When the word holiness is mentioned, what images does that word evoke in you?   Perhaps a pious person, bending their knee in reverence, or a picture of what God looks like with fire all around His face, or you cringing in embarrassment because of your lifestyle?
Isaiah 6 (versus 1-8), Isaiah is provided a vision from God that in a very small way, describes God’s holiness.  Uniquely looking seraphim were calling out Holy, Holy, Holy, which emphasizes supreme, majestic or complete holiness.  Voices shook the doorposts and the temple was filled with smoke just as the cloud of glory was seen in the wilderness – Shekinah glory, the dwelling of God.  Visions Ezekiel experienced give very similar pictures of what he encountered and saw (Ezekiel 1, 10-11).
God is morally perfect, pure, set apart from all sin, pure in motive, manners, deeds, decisions, actions, attitude and pure in His Word, His will, His ways, His thoughts, His emotions, His judgements.  God has no hidden agendas, no ulterior motives.  When Moses was allowed to see the back of God but not God’s face, Moses glowed when he came down from his encounter with God (Exodus 33:15-35).
As “strong, Bible-believing” followers of Jesus, we speak freely and confidently that God is holy and righteous, that because of His nature, He will judge everyone someday.  “Repent” is a definite part of our vocabulary because that is a part of the holiness process, but what is our own personal handle on God’s holiness?
I can give the impression to you that I am following Jesus and pursuing holiness but in my private world, I can be violating that outward standard.  Thinking about how close you can get to the flame of holiness before getting burned by sinning versus having that flame keep you from getting close to sin are two different attitudes.
My attitude toward God’s holiness will either draw me to Him or to sin.  That is why the command to continually renew our minds through the intake of God’s Word and interacting with Him (and other believers who hold us accountable) is utterly critical.  I can talk all I want about being holy and act publicly as a “holy” person, but if I am privately playing with sin, eventually that mask of holiness I am showing everyone will shatter.
When Isaiah was confronted with God’s holiness, he fell to pieces.  “Woe is me, I am of unclean lips”, was his response.  That is a response of a person who is desiring to be obedient to God.  God’s grace purified Isaiah.  His only complete response was then for God to use him however God was fit.
As biblical leaders, we must have the attitude that when wrestling with temptation, we yield to the Father and to stay away from sin as much as we possibly can.  We are thermostats (controls the temperature in a room or building) when it comes to our attitude toward sin.  If we work to stay away from sin, that will greatly encourage others to do the same, and vice versa.  People very closely watch our movements when we indicate that we are spiritual leaders.
If you are dealing with a mask of holiness, putting on a good front to people that you are living holy but truly are not, go to a biblically sound Christian (male with male, female with female) and confess your hypocrisy.  Diligently work to develop a complete lifestyle that honors God.  Why lifestyle?  Because 1 Peter 1:16, we are told to, “Be holy because God is holy”.  Holiness is not doing things; it is being holy.  Holiness is to be our identity because as believers in Jesus Christ, our identity, who we are, is Jesus.

In the short book 3 John, we meet three people who John, one of the 12 apostles writes about many years after his time with Jesus on earth.  John wrote to Gaius who is a dear Christian friend to him.  We know little about Gaius and the other two men, Diotrephes and Demetrius, other than what we read in this New Testament book.
Gaius is a common name found in New Testament times and so other Gaius mentioned in the Bible cannot be connected to this one.  Gaius’ reputation did precede him.  Do realize that how you live and treat people goes before you so much so that when your name is mentioned, people get an initial “computer printout” of you, even though they may hardly know you.  Your reputation precedes you!
If you want people to respect and have a favorable viewpoint of you, you better be living that way now already.  The reality is that first impressions tend to last the longest.  When someone’s first impression of you is not positive, it is going to take a lot of time and effort on your part to change that impression because you are working to change your reputation.
Here is what John knew of his dear friend Gaius (in 3 John).  Gaius was a person who was loved by others.  He must have been a person that treated people with respect, kindness, and empathy (the ability to understand and share the feelings of another).  Gaius was real with people, I image pursuing being a person of integrity, someone who was the same person whether privately or publicly.
Gaius was a strong Christian, who lived what he believed and what he told others.  He was not swayed by people teaching false things about the Bible and people could rely on him to give advice that came from the Bible.  He worked hard to be led by the Holy Spirit’s leading, meaning he studied the Bible consistently, spent time praying (talking and listening to God’s leading) and consistently hung around other godly Christians.
He might have been ill for a period of time but now was better and being used faithfully by God.  John was thrilled to hear about Gaius’ health and testimony.  In fact, Gaius brought John a lot of joy because of Gaius’ faithfulness to the Lord.  That is a huge compliment when who we are brings great joy to others.
Also mentioned is his hospitality.  Gaius treated people, even strangers, with concern and gentleness.  He was considerate of the people who entered his world.   His hospitality opened doors to humbly serve and be given the opportunity to talk about Jesus.  People will not listen to you until they know how much you care for them is so true.  Being hospitable means more than just letting people into your house if they need a place to stay, though that is a small part of it.
Hospitality includes how you simply treat people, are you looking at what their needs are and if you are able to help fulfill their needs.  Offering a listening ear to providing some money for, or purchasing food, letting someone borrow a tool you own or simply going out of your way to come along someone who is hurting and needs another human being to sit quietly next to him or her.
Though few words are written about Gaius, we can get a good glimpse into his character and his reputation.  As you read over the verses (3 John 1:8) on Gaius, what does that say about you?  Are you kind, respectful, considerate, and hospitable?  When someone mentions your name, what or how do people think of you right away?
A good test is how do people talk about you when you are not in their presence.  Are you spoken of highly or do your friends not have good things to say about you?  If you want be a good representative of Jesus, work at being the best person that you can become.  Begin to work on one area that does not honor Jesus and be diligent about changing your mindset.  Gaius was greatly respected because he consistently worked to obey what he read in the Bible.