Adorning The Gospel

Congregation: We will give thanks to you, O LORD, with our whole heart; we will tell of all your wonderful deeds. We will be glad and exult in you; we will sing praise to your name, O Most High.

†PRAYER OF ADORATION AND INVOCATION

O Lord our God, Creator of all that is visible and invisible–the earth and all that dwells in it is for your honor. The earth declares it and we your people declare that you are the Lord. Receive our worship this morning as a testament to your glory. Perfect our worship by the blood and intercession of Christ, and send us the Helper, the divine Spirit that our words and actions could be pleasing to you. Receive our prayer offered in the name of Jesus.

†OPENING HYMN OF PRAISE #319

“O Come, All Ye Faithful”

†CONFESSION OF SIN & ASSURANCE OF PARDON based on Daniel 4:4-19

“let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the Lord, that he may have compassion on him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.” (Isaiah 55:7, ESV)

Minister: We confess our sins to our holy God. We know that when we confess he is faithful and just to forgive.

Congregation: Most gracious father: you are holy, yet filled with mercy and steadfast love.

And so we confess to you: we have preferred the ways of this world to your ways, and we have rebelled against your wisdom. Incline your ear to our troubles. Hear us when we pour out our sorrows before you. Forgive us, not on the ground of our own righteousness, but on the ground of your great mercy in the gift of your Son, Jesus Christ.

It is in his name that we pray, for He is our Savior and the mediator of the covenant of grace. Amen.

ASSURANCE OF PARDON

“Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.” (Romans 5:1–2, ESV)

CONTINUAL READING OF SCRIPTURE Psalm 41

Steven Hoffer, Elder

THE OFFERING OF TITHES AND OUR GIFTS

CONGREGATIONAL PRAYERS

THE LORD’S PRAYER

Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

†HYMN OF PREPARATION #313

“Angels, From the Realms of Glory”

SERMON Titus 2:1-5 // Adorning The Gospel

PRAYER OF ILLUMINATION

Blessed Lord, who caused all Holy scripture to be written for our learning; grant that we may in such a way hear them, read, mark, learn and inwardly digest them, that by patience and comfort of your holy word, we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of everlasting life, which you have given us in our savior Jesus Christ.

Text Titus 2:1-5

Titus 2:1–5 ESV

1 But as for you, teach what accords with sound doctrine. 2 Older men are to be sober-minded, dignified, self-controlled, sound in faith, in love, and in steadfastness. 3 Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good, 4 and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, 5 to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled.

AFTER SCRIPTURE

The grass withers and the flower fades, but the word of the Lord endures forever. Amen.

INTRO

Titus chapter two begins with the phrase, “but as for you”. Paul is moving on from the negative influence within the church of those “who profess to know God, but they deny him by their works…(who are) detestable, disobedient, and unfit for any good work” (Titus 1:16). And now he is moving toward what should be the positive influence, “but as for you”.

The Elders that Titus was supposed to establish were to stand on guard, rebuking and even silencing rogue influences that corrupted the gospel—influences that added additional burdens and confusion, bred quarrels, and disrupted whole households. Defense is often a necessary part of the work, but it shouldn't dominate a church's tenor tone and ethos. We aren't primarily to be occupied by what we are against, but what we are for. "But as for you," he goes on, "teach what accords with sound doctrine" (Titus 2:1). That is, teach what is right and good and beautiful and true. False teaching is empty, dead, and has no power. Teach what works to rid us of our sin and self — preach the gospel!

Let what dominates the false teaching be the right teaching. Let what dominates hypocrisy within the church be faithfulness and beauty that puts in stark contrast the real thing. Let, as Titus 2:10 says, produce a people whose lives adorn the doctrine of God our Savior.

Lives that adorn the gospel. Now, it's not that the gospel needs improvement; it's not that. It's that our lives testify (they go public with) the gospel's beauty and power. We frame art not because it improves it but because it adorns it; it draws our attention to the right things. We dress a bride to adorn her glory; we plate a dish neatly to communicate its goodness. Our lives within the church should begin to sing, our hearts full of gratitude, our hands at faithful work, the hospital bed is still hopeful, and the graveside sorrowful yet full of rejoicing. Our anxieties brought to peace knowing that all has been made well in Christ. Our work is done excellently as unto the Lord. Our music, poetry, and art are truthful and filled with marvels. Our broken relationships restored. Scars of bitterness within relationships healed well. Our words are kind, and our works acts of sacrifice and love.

We adorn the gospel with rich lives. One of the worst things is to see children leave the church and care so little for the gospel because of the brutality and ugliness that they see among the Christians in their homes or their churches. Of course there is the occasional hypocrisy, as we saw last week. It destroys homes! But what we desire is that sincerity and authenticity drown out the occasional hypocrisy and false teaching in the grandeur and beauty of the truth.

In our text for today, Paul is still primarily addressing this to the leadership of the Church in Crete, but he is telling them how the ministry is to grow among the congregation. What is to happen in Crete is like what is said in Ephesians “And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ,” (Ephesians 4:11–12, ESV)

When the Elders are leading well in shepherding and teaching, the saints are equipped for the work of the ministry which builds up the body of Christ. We saw two weeks ago how this faithfulness was to start with the leader (elders) of the congregation, now we begin to see how the whole congregation is to serve one another.

As we look at how that is done, Paul’s first focus is the task and influence of older men and older women.

Unfortunately, we don’t give a high place of honor to the aged in our popular culture. They are almost seen as irrelevant. If you want to look at who sets the trends and who sets the pace and who shapes the culture, we are a people that look to the young, to our great detriment. We often neglect the wisdom of the wise and the crown of the gray headed (Prov. 16:31). We don’t value experience and seek it out. Our Fathers and Mothers are to be a blessing to us. And while we are not inclined to seek out the wisdom of the aged, even deriding it with the pejoratives like “boomer”, we must also note that many of our elders have neglected to give and invest that wisdom into others. They have neglected to engage. We have become a retirement culture in more ways than one. A culture that sees when its work is done spends the remaining time and energy and accumulated resources catering to themselves. We’ve lost more than just access to skills and knowledge, we’ve largely become cut off from wisdom and experience and example.

For Paul, there is a great ministry to be had in sharing your life with others.

As he says in 1 Thessalonians 2, “being affectionately desirous of you, we were ready to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you had become very dear to us.” (1 Thessalonians 2:8, ESV)

That is what he is getting at, the sharing of their very lives which served to adorn the gospel. In other words, the gospel wasn’t just an idea or a statement to be believed but demonstrated by power and good fruit. The gospel builds with love. Jesus spent himself with his disciples in meals and walking and teaching and fishing and life. We, too, are to be eager to share with one another in the grace and wisdom that God gives.

He starts with the older men and women and then moves on to the younger. We’ll focus on his instructions to the older saints today:

Older Men

“Older men are to be sober-minded, dignified, self-controlled, sound in faith, in love, and in steadfastness. ” (Titus 2:2 ESV)

It’s good to note that Paul assumes that older men and younger men are dealing with different responsibilities and temptations. To the older men, they are to be,

*[Lists can be tedious to listen to. I’ll briefly explain each and then try to summarize]

Sober-minded

Older men should have temperate minds and dispositions. They don’t need to grow into an argumentative, cynical, or grumpy man, as some older men do. They need not be panicked or flustered. Their minds are not drunk with impulse, but sober with patience and sound judgment.

Dignified

They need to remain dignified. Sometimes when older men aren’t respected, they lean in to not being respectable. They stay out of conversations and discipleship when they should engage. They abdicate leading and contributing. They can become undignified, spend their time just watching t.v. or scrolling facebook or with other levities. Generally, a man without work and ambition, even at an old age, is unbecoming and undignified. Invest in people. Finish the race. Show us how it’s done.

Self-controlled

It’s a great shame to see an older man mastered by appetite or vice. They are to demonstrate hope and victory over impulse to the younger men who struggle so severely with it. Show battle scars, but share victory stories. Grow in self-mastery, not impulse. It’s a fruit of the Spirit. Adorn the gospel by showing its power.

Sound in faith, love, and steadfastness

They need to be healthy in their faith, demonstration of love, and in their patient endurance. They need to bear with the follies and foolishness and the interests of younger men and not give up. Don’t be pessimistic about the church and the culture and the younger generation. Be patient with them and show them the way.

A marvelous adornment of the gospel, especially to young men, is to see faithful men still walking in the joy of the Lord and victory over the flesh. To see an older tree stout and sturdy, still bearing good fruit. To see these men willingly give themselves as father figures to those who are looking for help.

In an age that is largely fatherless, that looks to athletes, celebrities, and youtube for help or leadership, the men of the church should be there. Be the fountain of wisdom, the gravity of a good example, and a willing and patient elder.

Older Women

“Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good,” (Titus 2:3, ESV)

Reverent in behavior

If you remember the context of Crete, you’ll remember that a philosopher of their own (Epimenides) called them “liars, evil beasts, and lazy gluttons” (Titus 1:12). The women here are to be the exact opposite of this generalization. They are not to be liars and slanderers, not slaves to wine and gluttonous, and not evil beasts, but reverent.

In essence, they are to be counter cultural. And being reverent was certainly that. It still is.

He then gives two examples of what that would look like, two examples that would still suit the same purpose today.

Not slanderers

The older women aren’t busy with gossip and slander. They aren’t criticizing and complaining about others, especially about the younger women in the church.

In another pastoral letter Paul writes, “…they learn to be idlers, going about from house to house, and not only idlers, but also gossips and busybodies, saying what they should not.” (1 Timothy 5:12–13, ESV)

They go house to house seeking what’s new but not really doing any real work of benefit to others.

They can go house to house because they are idle, busybodies, but not really busy with good and productive things.

We can travel house to house pretty quickly on our phones, staying “in the know” while neglecting more important things. Being too busy for more important things than to find our pleasure in the details or mockery of other’s lives.

Not Slaves to much wine

They are to display a life that is full and satisfying, not one that needs the edge taken off. Go into any Home Goods store and look at the hand towels and you will find them written with jokes about being a “wine mom”. Now, there is obviously a danger in truly being a slave to wine, but this would also apply to a woman who needed any array of vice to take the edge off. Maybe it’s not a financial necessity or logistical necessity but she still seeks ways to work outside of her home simply to get some space from it. An escape from the responsibilities that God has given her.

That’s not to be celebrated. It doesn’t adorn the gospel. It looks just like Crete. Just like the rest of our world, too.

Teaching To Younger Women

“…They are to teach what is good, and so train the young women to love their husbands and children,” (Titus 2:3–4, ESV)

Teach

Don’t assume they know. Don’t leave them alone to their own devices and their own culture. Teach.

Especially about the things that are mentioned in this text: kids and husbands. Those areas are incredibly complex and difficult at times, teach them how to navigate it.

Nowhere does Paul teach that women are not to teach. He does insist that women should not teach or have authority over men, but he expects that women who have the wisdom and the gifts should teach other women.

Sometimes older women can notice things, but instead of teaching it comes off as mere patronizing. Comments like, “you just wait…” Instead of seeing a potential weakness in a younger woman and merely commenting about it, help. Engage and build trust and teach.

What is good

Teach the beauty and glory of a home, a marriage, being a mother, contentment in singleness, patience in endurance.

We give our girls such limited options on what makes for a meaningful life. We default to college and career as the benchmark of success and stability. They have their place and are not bad things, but have we reduced life down so much? Teach what is good. There is so much of it. We can’t see it. So few put it on display with deep gratitude and a full life. So few endeavor to teach about the good and the glory in a life of obedience to God.

This is to adorn the gospel.

V.5 says “that the word of God might not be reviled”. The world, but especially those under our own roof can smell hypocrisy a mile away. It becomes putrid, a thing to be reviled. The gospel comes with freedom. The gospel comes with joy. The gospel comes with hope. The gospel comes with an ambition for holiness. But if our homes are bitter, grumpy, selfish, impulsive, idle, cold, and irreverent, then instead of adorning the gospel we obscure it, even repulsing others to it.

I want to be careful not to set up additional burdens or a false sense of security. Remember last week when we said that some in the church were buttressing their salvation with additional works and regulations? The text is not trying to make applications out to be works to gain righteousness, they are fruits that prove righteousness. This list of things shouldn’t feel like adding 10 more bricks to your backpack to carry around, look at how Titus 2:11-14 frames what is happening:

“For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works. Declare these things; exhort and rebuke with all authority. Let no one disregard you.” (Titus 2:11–15, ESV)

Salvation has come. Jesus Christ gave Himself for us, redeeming us and purifying us. We are now zealous for good works. It is our ambition to give and serve.

There are times when the word alone sounds like the most wonderful thing. And there are other times when the word alone describes the most heartbreaking and horrible experience. In this context, being alone is disastrous. Being alone in your struggles, feeling alone in your faith, feeling alone, fears or doubts as your life moves on into the future. Christ has not left us alone, and the church should model to those in the family of God that they are also not alone, but we are stirring one of the route to love and good works in building one another up in the body of Christ in Love

Application

So in Titus 2, Paul is seeking to paint a picture of a community in which:

older men and older women are teaching younger men and younger women

younger people are seeking out the advice of older people

older people are setting an example to younger people

younger people are submitting to the direction of older people.

This is a community in which age and experience matter.

So key applications of this passage are:

if you are young, find someone to disciple you

if you are old, find someone to disciple

If you consider yourself somewhere in between, then do both

[1 Tim Chester, Titus for You, ed. Carl Laferton, God’s Word for You (The Good Book Company, 2014), 67.]

†HYMN OF RESPONSE #308

“Good Christian Men, Rejoice”

THE MINISTRY OF THE LORD’S SUPPER

Minister: Lift up your hearts!

Congregation: We lift them up to the Lord.

Minister: Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.

Congregation: It is right for us to give thanks and praise!

CONFESSION OF FAITH Heidelberg Catechism, Q&A’s 32, 34

COF in the bulletin

Minister: Christians, confess your faith in Christ!

Congregation: I am called Christian because by faith I am a member of Christ and so share in His anointing. I am anointed to confess His name, to present myself to Him as a living sacrifice of thanks, to strive with a good conscience against sin and the devil in this life, and afterward to reign with Christ over all creation for all eternity.

We call Him ‘our Lord’ because - not with gold or silver, but with His precious blood He has set us free from sin and from the tyranny of the devil, and has bought us, body and soul, to be His very own.

INVITATION TO THE LORD’S TABLE

// ad hoc invitation or use below if needed //

As we were reminded from Scripture this morning, God is faithful. And though it does cause us to remember, this table is no mere memorial to that faithfulness. The bread and wine offered here is tangible evidence of that faithfulness as the grace of God, through union with Christ, is given to those who receive these elements by faith. This meal boldly proclaims and exhibits the faithfulness of God, who so loved his own people, sinners as they were, the he became man for their salvation.

No one should come to this table without recognizing that it is his faithfulness, and not ours, that makes us worthy recipients. Those who may come to receive the Lord’s body and blood are those who rely entirely on God’s faithfulness for their hope and assurance.

// ad hoc invitation or use above if needed – typically always use what’s below //

This meal is for those who are sorry for their sin and those who hate their sin. This table welcomes all who belong to Christ through repentance, faith, baptism, and continuing union with his Church. If you do not repent of your sin, you must not come. If you do not believe you have sinned, you must not come. But if you know your sin, and confess it, he is faithful and just to forgive and to cleanse you from all unrighteousness and this table is for you. Come, touch, taste and see the faithfulness of God.

PRAYER

DISTRIBUTION OF THE ELEMENTS

After elements are distributed read the WOI while congregation is partaking.

WORDS OF INSTITUTION AND SHARING OF THE LORD’S SUPPER

Minister: The Lord Jesus, the same night he was betrayed, took bread; and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “Take, eat; this is my body which is given for you: do this in remembrance of me.” After the same manner also, he took the cup when they had supped, saying, “This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.”

†OUR RESPONSE

“Come, Thou Almighty King”

To the great one in three eternal praises be,

hence evermore. His sovereign majesty

may we in glory see, and to eternity love and adore.

†BENEDICTION: GOD’S BLESSING FOR HIS PEOPLE

The blessing of God, the giver of every good and perfect gift; and of christ, who summons us to service, and of the Holy Spirit, who inspires generosity and love, goes and abides with you all. Now and forevermore, Amen.

Related Media

Related Sermons

Earn an accredited degree from Redemption Seminary with Logos.