Disciplemaking 102

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Introduction

Last week we talked about what it looks like to be a disciple. We saw how Paul paints a clear picture in Titus 2:2-3 of what older men and older women, or more mature men and more mature women should look like!
Paul specifically instructs men and women on characteristics that they need to have.
All of those characteristics pointed to something simple- to make disciples- which is part of the Great Commission, we have to first BE disciples!
Those characteristics gave us insight into what it looks like to be disciples!
For men they needed to be self-controlled, worthy of respect, sensible- which like we said is another form of the Greek Word for Self-controlled, and sound in faith, love and endurance.
For women, they needed to be reverent in behavior- or pursuing holiness, they needed to avoid being gossips, or drunks! They needed to LIVE HOLY LIVES AND AVOID SIN!
To summarize all of this, to be a disciple you must first KNOW GOD and you must WALK WITH GOD!
After all, being a disciple is simply being someone who ACTIVELY FOLLOWS JESUS!
Now today, we get to turn our attention forward to Titus 2:4-8, where we get to see what it looks like to MAKE DISCIPLES!
Because being a disciple is signing up for a lifetime of MAKING DISCIPLES! Being a disciple, being a FOLLOWER OF JESUS AND OBEYING HIS COMMANDS will direct you to MAKING DISCIPLES!
So let’s check out what Paul has to say about this.
We’ll start in verse 3 today, but first, let’s talk about our main point for today.

Main Point: To Be a Disciplemaker you must walk WITH people

Body

Titus 2:3-5

Titus 2:3–5 CSB
3 In the same way, older women are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers, not slaves to excessive drinking. They are to teach what is good, 4 so that they may encourage the young women to love their husbands and to love their children, 5 to be self-controlled, pure, workers at home, kind, and in submission to their husbands, so that God’s word will not be slandered.
Paul gives qualifications of older, or more mature women and then he gives them two tasks.
The first is in verse 3- older women need to TEACH WHAT IS GOOD!
They need to model what it looks like to follow God! We talked about this last week in depth, but let me just remind us- older, or more mature women- live holy lives and model that for younger women!
TEACH WHAT IS GOOD TO THEM!
But don’t stop at instruction- instead, build a relationship with them that includes encouragement.
You can’t just instruct, you need to BUILD A RELATIONSHIP!
If you don’t then it’s not going to work. It’s easy for us as men and women to just want to correct; but first we need to BUILD A RELATIONSHIP!
And I think this is actually mirroring what Jesus did! In Mark 1 we see what Jesus came and taught:
Mark 1:15 CSB
15 “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!”
But throughout the Gospels we see his encouragement, his healing, his GENUINE CARE!
So as we teach, we encourage and as we do that, we MIRROR WHAT JESUS DID!
So what are you to encourage the younger women in? What are you to TEACH THEM?
Paul gives a few specifics.
First, you are to encourage them to love their husbands and their children.
Remember, last week we saw Paul instruct the men to be sound in AGAPE love, or sacrificial love!
This instruction is different. Paul wants the younger women to PHILEO their husbands and PHILEO their children.
Phileo love is different. It’s brotherly love. It’s seen as FRIENDSHIP love, it’s seen as KINDNESS!
That’s PHILEO LOVE! It’s not that wives shouldn’t sacrificially love their husbands, it’s that Paul thinks they need to be reminded to show this FRIENDSHIP LOVE, this KINDNESS love to their husbands and their children!
And let me be clear- this is counter-cultural love for the Cretans, and I’d argue that it’s counter-cultural love today!
Thinking about Cretan culture, the prevailing belief was that husbands WOULD have affairs. It wasn’t a question of “if” a husband would have affairs, it was a question of “how many” and “who.”
But we know that Christian men are to be ONE WOMAN MEN, as we saw in Titus 1:5-9.
So when their wives responded to them in kindness and love, instead of the levels of disdain that husbands were often met with, it was TOTALLY DIFFERENT!
Think of how that would have spoken to Jesus! Instead of wives complaining about their husbands, they are FRIENDS, they are KIND to their husbands! And their husbands are to SACRIFICIALLY LOVE THEM BACK!
All of a sudden, the women of the town would want to know what was going on!
So let me be clear- phileo love from a wife to a husband is not just NECESSARY in marriage- and it is- it is also a powerful evangelistic tool.
But it isn’t just about reaching non-believing women! Christian women could reach their non-believing husbands by LOVING THEM!
And it wasn’t just important for the Cretans; it matters for us!
One of the most powerful evangelistic tools that we have is our family!
Our families, our relationships; those speak either well or poorly of God! So look at this- older women are to encourage younger women to PHILEO their husbands and their wives. They are to ENCOURAGE THESE YOUNGER WOMEN WHEN IT’S HARD! They are to ENCOURAGE these younger women when their husbands fail! They are to BE WITH THESE YOUNGER WOMEN!
And what does that require? It requires two things- first, a relationship and secondly, vulnerability!
It requires a willingness to say, “I’m not perfect, but let me encourage you to LOVE YOUR HUSBAND, or your CHILD, because it WILL GET BETTER! And even when it’s hard- be friendly, be kind to your family!”
Crazy Cycle? (It may originally be about love and respect, but it’s also about love and KINDNESS!)
So first, older women are to encourage younger women to be kind towards their husbands and children.
Then, older women are to encourage younger women:
Titus 2:5 CSB
5 to be self-controlled, pure, workers at home, kind, and in submission to their husbands, so that God’s word will not be slandered.
Paul gives 5 more things that older women are to encourage younger women in.
First, they are to be SELF-CONTROLLED!
Are you noticing a trend? Elders, older men, older women, and younger women are all told in different ways to BE SELF-CONTROLLED!
Friends, maybe we don’t talk about this enough- WE NEED TO BE SELF-CONTROLLED!
This is SOPHRON, which is the same word used to talk about being sensible.
Put simply, younger women need to be taught to be wise and to make good decisions!
Rather than chasing after fleshly desires, they need to be encouraged to FOLLOW GOD’S DESIGN FOR LIFE!
Next, they are to pass on PURITY!
This is simple- older women need to encourage younger women to live HOLY LIVES!
That’s what purity is referring to! It’s referring to LIVING SANCTIFIED LIVES AS CHRIST CALLS US TO LIVE!
Third, they are to pass on being workers at home.
Let me be clear- this is not saying that a woman can’t work. This verse has been twisted to mean that sometimes, but that is honestly really bad exegesis!
Culturally Cretan and Roman women would often sit around at home and let domestic servants and slaves handle all the work.
They were lazy, they then would gossip and they even let other people raise their kids!
Paul’s point is clear- he’s saying, “Young women shouldn’t be sitting around all day doing nothing! They should be active!”
Whether that’s at a job or at home, younger women are to AVOID LAZINESS!
Laziness was a problem in Cretan culture and notice how Paul wants it addressed- he wants it addressed in DISCIPLESHIP!
See, our discipleship should start with what is in this passage, but it does NOT end there!
As we disciple someone, we aim to BRING JESUS into ANY SITUATION!
Because all of these characteristics are aimed at POINTING PEOPLE TO JESUS!
Next they are called to be ἀγαθάς. I know, that’s not what the CSB says, but let me explain.
Agathas has about 5 meanings. It can mean anything from kind, to morally good, to generous!
The meaning here is simple- not only is a woman to PHILEO her family, she needs to be known as kind, or GOOD to the people around her! People around her should think of her as GENEROUS WITH HER GOODNESS AND KINDNESS!
There’s a picture being painted here.
Paul is clearly emphasizing the importance of younger women walking in purity and walking in HOLINESS and letting their lives speak LOUDLY TO THE GOSPEL!
The final thing he wants passed on is that women are to live “in submission to their husbands.”
Let me be clear and also brief in this- as we know from Ephesians 5 and Colossians 3, this is not the only marriage command. Husbands are to AGAPE their wives and give their lives up for them!
Husbands are to LEAD Their wives closer to God and away from sin.
In fact, wives- you are to submit, but never to let yourself be lead into SIN!
That isn’t the purpose of submitting! Instead, this idea of submission mirrors how the CHURCH submits to JESUS! It isn’t identical, but it is similar!
We are to listen to Jesus and obey Jesus, but we are RIGHTEOUSLY LED BY JESUS!
So hear me on this- women, you are not called to be run over or to be abused, but you are called to follow your husband.
Husbands- this does not give you the right to start having an ego trip and trying to put your wife in bad spots.
It is instead our job to love her as CHRIST LOVES THE CHURCH!
So make sure that as you lead your wife that you are SACRIFICIALLY LOVING YOUR WIFE as Jesus loved us!
Mark 10:45 CSB
45 For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Now, Paul gives a reason for all of this- he says that this is all, “So that God’s word will not be slandered.”
So what is the point of discipleship?
It’s right there! The point of discipleship is to HELP EACH OTHER FOLLOW CHRIST AND BRING HONOR TO THE WORD OF GOD!
The point of discipleship is to ensure that EVERYONE- MALE AND FEMALE are living out our faith appropriately and BRINGING GLORY TO GOD!
And Paul intentionally puts this statement where he does- it’s wrapping up what should be taught to younger women in discipleship and it is RIGHT before he turns his eye to younger men!
This idea of GLORIFYING GOD and pointing people to GOD’S WORD is literally the central idea of EVERYTHING WE DO IN DISCIPLESHIP! Discipleship is by nature sacrificial and by nature it IS ALL ABOUT JESUS!
Let’s look at what Paul has to say to young men.

Titus 2:6

Titus 2:6 CSB
6 In the same way, encourage the young men to be self-controlled
At first this seems so short! Like what just happened! He spends all this time talking to women and none on the young men?
Well, there’s two things. First, it was counter-cultural to EVEN ADDRESS WOMEN! So that’s pretty awesome. Secondly, younger men were encouraged to aspire to the office of eldership. Third, we know what older men need to be like- older men need to pass those qualities on to young men!
1 Timothy 3:1 CSB
1 This saying is trustworthy: “If anyone aspires to be an overseer, he desires a noble work.”
If a younger man aspires to that office, there are already qualifications given out!
So Paul wants to focus in on one that men need to learn.
They need to be self-controlled- this is SOPHRON again! This is a verb here- literally, the young men need to be sane and make SANE DECISIONS!
The decisions that they make need to be logical! How important is self-control?
It’s so important that Older men, older women, younger women AND younger men are all given this instruction!
We have to be self-controlled.
Now, depending on your translation, something can happen with the end of verse 6 and verse 7.
It just has to do with punctuation.
Either we can read this as “young men need to be self-controlled in everything,” or as “In everything Titus needs to make himself an example…”
The difference here is minimal. Let me explain- self-control isn’t something we can just do on certain days.
And what we’re about to see Titus told to do isn’t something he can do on certain days and only certain days!
So let’s talk about what Titus needs to do.
Titus 2:7–8 CSB
7 in everything. Make yourself an example of good works with integrity and dignity in your teaching. 8 Your message is to be sound beyond reproach, so that any opponent will be ashamed, because he doesn’t have anything bad to say about us.
Titus needs to be an EXAMPLE OF GOOD WORKS!
His teaching needs to have INTEGRITY AND DIGNITY!
His message needs to be SOUND BEYOND REPROACH!
Why? So that those who disagree- like the false teachers on Crete- will be ASHAMED!
And why will they be ashamed?
BECAUSE THEY LITERALLY WON’T HAVE ANYTHING BAD TO SAY!
They won’t have any reason to disagree.
Let me make something clear- Discipleship doesn’t just end. Paul has discipled Titus as they have worked together. And even now as Paul and Titus are apart, Paul still gives instructions.
They may not sit down every week, but that doesn’t end discipleship! Paul continues to encourage and instruct Titus!
His instruction is simple.
He wants Titus to be AN EXAMPLE!
Titus needs to model what it looks like to do good works!
We’ve talked about this before, but good works aren’t just nice gestures to people. Good works is also about the GREATEST WORK- SHARING THE GOSPEL WITH THE WORLD AROUND US!
So Paul is challenging Titus to be an example!
We talked about this last week, but if he isn’t a good example, how will they learn!
Like I’m not a good artist, so I’m not going to teach you how to paint in a Neo-classicist way!
In the same way, Titus needs to FIRST LIVE OUT THESE GOOD WORKS!
Titus needs to model this! Friends, that’s why I made that offer- if you want to make disciples and you don’t know where to start, come with me! I’m not perfect- TRUST ME- but come WITH ME and let’s make disciples together!
Second, Titus is to be have integrity and dignity in his teaching!
This is the central part of Titus’s ministry on Crete!
His ministry hinges off of his teaching! His teaching needs to be an example of integrity or HEALTH and it is to be dignified or literally serious- THE GOSPEL IS SERIOUS!
This isn’t saying that Titus can’t have fun in life, or that he can’t contextualize his preaching. But if you ever hear preaching that sounds more like a comedy sketch then you need to run!
Occasionally I’ll see clips online from sermons where people are so caught up trying to contextualize that they lose the DIGNITY AND THE SERIOUSNESS OF THE GOSPEL!
And we must avoid that! Preaching the WORD OF GOD IS SERIOUS! It’s ok to have emotion and different style and there’s nothing wrong with their being some humor in a sermon, but WE MUST PREACH THE WORD OF GOD SERIOUSLY!
Lastly, Titus is to make sure that his teaching is BEYOND REPROACH!
His life and his teaching need to be consistent.
If you’re here today and you are going to be a disciplemaker, which I pray is everyone in this room, then YOUR TEACHING NEEDS TO BE BEYOND REPROACH!
Let me say this another way- Titus was to guard his life and his teaching so that NO ONE could use his life or his teaching to MOCK THE GOSPEL!
The top priority in everything that we do, just as it was for Titus, needs to be the GROWTH OF THE GOSPEL AND THE GROWTH OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD!
It has never been about us, it WILL NEVER be about us. It will always and it SHOULD ALWAYS be about the GOSPEL!
I’ll summarize it like this- the most important thing for the Cretan church to learn, and for US to learn is that following God isn’t about us! Following God isn’t about LOOKING AT OURSELVES AND HOW GOOD WE ARE!
It’s about serving others and seeing others coming to SAVING FAITH AND GROWING IN THEIR FAITH!

Application

Be a Disciplemaker

Let me start off with the most clear application from Titus 2:4-8. If last week we established that we NEED to BE disciples, then this week we have established that we NEED to disciple someone because that’s what DISCIPLES DO TO OBEY JESUS!
We need to be disciplemakers! See, Titus isn’t just told what old and young people need to be like; he is tasked with making sure this happens!
And the model for it?
It’s 2 Timothy 2:2
2 Timothy 2:2 CSB
2 What you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, commit to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.
The model for makinig disciples is BEING discipled, then MAKING A DISCIPLE, then continuing it on!
Discipleship is MULTIPLICATIVE! IT’S the method that Jesus gives us for fulfilling the Great Commission!
I want to be simple and speak from the heart- Cornerstone Family, we EACH need to be disciplemakers! We EACH need to be making disciples!
We need to COMMIT TO MAKING DISCIPLES, where we WALK WITH THE PEOPLE AROUND US AND HELP THEM ACTIVELY FOLLOW JESUS!
And hear me on this- you aren’t a disciplemaker because you are “so good” or you’ve reached a certain “level.”
Instead, you are a disciplemaker BECAUSE you are a disciple and you walk in obedience to Jesus! And part of that is being a disciplemaker.
So let’s talk for a second about who Jesus is.
GOSPEL!

How can You Walk with Someone?

WALK WITH SOMEONE
TAKE TIME
BUILD THAT RELATIONSHIP!
ENCOURAGE!
TEACH!
Ensure that your message is sound beyond reproach!
Live out your message!
Like I’m here preaching on discipleship! But I also live it out! I’m not perfect, but the goal is to MAKE DISCIPLES EVERY DAY! Come live it out with me!
BE IN SCRIPTURE!
IT TAKES ONE BIG STEP OF FAITH! THAT’S REALLY ALL IT IS! ONE BIG STEP OF FAITH THAT THEY WILL SAY YES!
It might be helpful to think of it like this- there are three levels of discipleship.
There’s corporate, or large group discipleship- that’s what we are doing right now; there’s small group discipleship- that’s our Community Groups, and there’s INDIVIDUAL one-to-one discipleship!
We need to engage with each one.
So often Christian culture wants to engage in one or two of these. Like it’s trendy to have a small group, but to not go to church or not have individual discipleship.
But Cornerstone Family, we need to engage in each of these!
Individual discipleship in particular can be seen as having a “low return” because it is a lot of time spent with one person. But consider the example of Timothy! (Expand- individual discipleship needs to be our BREAD AND BUTTER! It needs to be our default thought of discipleship- that’s how the older men and women need to teach in Titus 2!)

Who can you walk with?

We’ve talked about the importance of BEING a disciplemaker. We’ve talked about HOW you can walk with someone. But all that leaves us with something else- WHO CAN YOU WALK WITH?
WHO CAN YOU DISCIPLE?
WHO CAN YOU POUR INTO! REMEMBER, DISCIPLESHIP is ALL ABOUT JESUS! You don’t have to be perfect, you just have to be willing!
What person around you can you INTENTIONALLY DISCIPLE?
Let me challenge you- this isn’t an optional thing for us as Christians- we need to be on the lookout for the people around us that WE CAN DISCIPLE!
SO WHO’S YOUR PERSON? Don’t hear me just ask this and blow it off. I genuinely mean that. WHO CAN YOU DISCIPLE?
Let me promise you this- if you pray for someone to disciple, GOD WILL BRInG YOU SOMEONE! AND I CAN PROMISE THAT BECAUSE I’VE SEEN IT FIRST HAND!
STORY OF JACOB!
Let me pray for us.
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