Proof In The Pudding

†CALL TO WORSHIP based on Psalm 115 Paul Mulner, Elder

Minister: The Lord has remembered us; he will bless us, he will bless those who fear the Lord, both the small and the great.

Congregation: Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name give glory. For the sake of your steadfast love and faithfulness! You are our help and our shield!

Minister: You who fear the Lord, trust in the Lord!

Congregation: We will bless the Lord from this time forth and forevermore. Praise the Lord!

†PRAYER OF ADORATION AND INVOCATION

†OPENING HYMN OF PRAISE #300

“Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus”

†CONFESSION OF SIN & ASSURANCE OF PARDON

based on 1 John 1:8; Isa. 1:18

Minister: If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. Let us confess our sins to the Lord our God.

Congregation: Almighty and most merciful Father; we have strayed from your ways like lost sheep. We have followed too much the devices and desires of our own hearts. We have offended against your holy laws. We have left undone those things which we ought to have done, and we have done those things which we ought not to have done. There is no health in us.

Have mercy upon us, miserable offenders. Spare those, O God, who confess their faults. Restore those who are penitent, according to your promises, which were declared unto us in Christ Jesus our Lord. And grant, O merciful Father, for his sake, that we may live a godly, righteous, and sober life; to the glory of your holy name. Amen.

Minister: Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord. Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.

Congregation: Thanks be to God! Amen.

CONTINUAL READING OF SCRIPTURE Psalm 45 Pastor Austin Prince

Psalm 45 ESV

To the choirmaster: according to Lilies. A Maskil of the Sons of Korah; a love song. 1 My heart overflows with a pleasing theme; I address my verses to the king; my tongue is like the pen of a ready scribe. 2 You are the most handsome of the sons of men; grace is poured upon your lips; therefore God has blessed you forever. 3 Gird your sword on your thigh, O mighty one, in your splendor and majesty! 4 In your majesty ride out victoriously for the cause of truth and meekness and righteousness; let your right hand teach you awesome deeds! 5 Your arrows are sharp in the heart of the king’s enemies; the peoples fall under you. 6 Your throne, O God, is forever and ever. The scepter of your kingdom is a scepter of uprightness; 7 you have loved righteousness and hated wickedness. Therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness beyond your companions; 8 your robes are all fragrant with myrrh and aloes and cassia. From ivory palaces stringed instruments make you glad; 9 daughters of kings are among your ladies of honor; at your right hand stands the queen in gold of Ophir. 10 Hear, O daughter, and consider, and incline your ear: forget your people and your father’s house, 11 and the king will desire your beauty. Since he is your lord, bow to him. 12 The people of Tyre will seek your favor with gifts, the richest of the people. 13 All glorious is the princess in her chamber, with robes interwoven with gold. 14 In many-colored robes she is led to the king, with her virgin companions following behind her. 15 With joy and gladness they are led along as they enter the palace of the king. 16 In place of your fathers shall be your sons; you will make them princes in all the earth. 17 I will cause your name to be remembered in all generations; therefore nations will praise you forever and ever.

THE OFFERING OF TITHES AND OUR GIFTS

“For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Matthew 6:21, ESV)

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 #306

“To Us a Child of Hope is Born”

SERMON Titus 2:5-10 // Proof in the Pudding

PRAYER OF ILLUMINATION

We pray, O God, that the words which you spoke through your prophet Isaiah would be realized in us today, For your word goes forth and shall not return to you empty, but will accomplish what you desire and will succeed in the matter for which it was sent. Amen.

TEXT Titus 2:4-10

Titus 2:4–10 ESV

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. 6 Likewise, urge the younger men to be self-controlled. 7 Show yourself in all respects to be a model of good works, and in your teaching show integrity, dignity, 8 and sound speech that cannot be condemned, so that an opponent may be put to shame, having nothing evil to say about us. 9 Bondservants are to be submissive to their own masters in everything; they are to be well-pleasing, not argumentative, 10 not pilfering, but showing all good faith, so that in everything they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior.

AFTER SCRIPTURE

As for God, His way is perfect, the word of the Lord is flawless. Amen.

INTRO

Jesus says to his followers that they are to be lights in the world and salt among the earth in such a way that when their good works are seen it gives glory to our Father who is in heaven (Matt. 5:13). The light isn’t to be hidden under a basket, and the salt is to keep its savor and sharpness, otherwise they are of no use. A light hidden keeps the room in darkness, salt without savor cannot be used to heal or to flavor.

The followers of Christ are to be evident and useful. Their lives are provocative. In the confusion of darkness, they are light. They declare and display the glories of Christ’s redemption. And their lives are as salt. Salt in a wound provokes a strong reaction, but the salt is there to heal. The world’s reaction to Christ was like salt in a wound. And since Jesus tells us that a servant isn’t greater than His master. Our lives, lived faithfully, will often provoke strong reactions in others. Our lives are not meant to be repulsive, but they are likely to aggravate those who are captured by sin. Contentment to the discontented looks like pride, and pride hates competition. Forgiveness looks like weakness. Submission looks like oppression. Of course, your life can aggravate people not because your life is holy and is salt in a wound but simply because you are a menace. Don’t think that the sign of doing it right is that people don’t like you — you may just be the problem.

Salt also brings flavor. Jesus says, salt that has lost its taste is of no use. When he says, “lost its taste”, the word is mōrainō, where we get our word moron from. Jesus isn’t saying that they are being morons, but he is saying that salt’s potency is in its wisdom. When the salt of the earth is acting foolishly, then it is of no use. But when the wisdom of Christ is applied to all of life, it comes alive with meaning and glory and flavor and richness. To change the metaphor, it’s as if the church is bringing a new lens with which to see and experience the world, to see it as it truly is. That all of life’s beauty and grandeur is made and upheld by a strong and sovereign God, that all of the suffering and sorrow and fatigue will be made right under the judgement of a condescending and just judge, that the darkest of shadows, even death itself, has had its teeth pulled and sting taken away. In Christ, all of life, in every way, is set right and to hope and joy and riches, even the trials are redeemed and never wasted.

So, when the world is sick, you don’t hide the medicine. We don’t want to keep a low profile. We are to position ourselves not under a basket, but on a stand for all to see. Not as flavorless and devoid of wisdom, but as with that sharp bite of salt, we want to bear the wisdom of Christ into all of life.

Our passage today from Titus is also puts a high emphasis on the Church’s visible presence among the lost. And like salt that can lose its flavor and is of no use, so Titus repeatedly compares lives that are unfit for good works with those whose lives and works are useful.

“But as for you” (v.1) [contrast to the Cretans & hypocrites]

“that the word of God may not be reviled.” (v.5)

Show yourself to be a model of good works, that an opponent may be put to shame” (v.8)

“showing all good faith” (v.10)

“that in everything they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior” (v.10)

We know that visibility and demonstration matters. We aren’t to hide it under a basket but to put it on display for all to see. But how do we do that? In what areas might the contrast of our lives stand out against the world?

Is it primarily in how educated we are? Is it primarily in how articulate our sermons or theological treatises are?

The call to be salt is a lot more earthy than that. When Jesus talks about good works that glorify the father, and when Paul articulates the same, they aim at where our theology comes alive and provides the proof in the pudding. They often talk about our homes and work and marriages — the places we spend our lives. The places where people observe us, know us, interact with us. The places where we demonstrate who we truly are.

That’s where our attention turns today: Paul’s instructions to younger women and younger men on how to adorn and demonstrate the gospel.

He gives seven characteristics that the younger women are to learn and one for the younger men. Maybe because women can learn more than one thing at a time. Truly, it’s not that the younger men get a pass. I’ll quickly go through these eight specifics and then talk about why they are so potent.

Train the young women to love their husbands and children…(v.4)

It’s worth noting that Paul clearly does allow for women to teach within the church. They are an integral part of the teaching in the church, but they are to exercise their authority over the younger women and not over the teaching of the whole congregation. Instead of leaning away from teaching in the church at all, you need to embrace and lean into teaching where God has equipped you and entrusted you. Don’t bury that talent in the dirt. Invest. Cultivate those fields.

Young women are to be taught about loving their husbands and their children. It’s not that they know how to do this without teaching; they need to be taught. A lot of what we think we know about love turns out to be misguided. Love as defined and displayed by God looks a lot more like sacrifice and forgiveness and patience and giving over receiving. It’s a lot different than we assume it to be, and we need our elders to help us to see that and show us the way.

It’s still counter cultural to love and embrace this.

It’s not wrong for a woman to work or have a career; I need not defend that here. But I think we all know that if a young women is telling someone about what they aspire to be in life, they will get nothing but praise if her ambitions are about work. But if she were to say, “I want to be a good wife and mother”, she’ll get nothing but raised eyebrows.

But love for husbands and children and cultivation of them stands in stark opposition to two of the most rotten fruit that grows on our secular tree, namely, divorce and abortion. Complaint about the burdens of marriage and raising children are all too common, which makes gratitude for them and ambition to cultivate them remarkable. Salty.

In other words, a distinct Christian flavor is its enthusiastic joy and love for those in their homes. It gladly acceptance of responsibility with wide-eyed, I know the costs, willingness to sacrifice and love.

Diapers and car seats are glorious. Anniversaries, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, year after year are glorious.

As we approach the rest of this list, I’m going to go over them quickly. A few deserve more (but still brief) comment, and then I want to focus on the question of why they matter and what it is accomplishing. For example, you don’t need me to teach you what kindness means, but you may be surprised on what it displays.

Well, maybe we do need to learn what kindness means. You may just be like that lady that C.S. Lewis describes somewhere as the person who lived for the sake of others, and you could tell who the others were by the hunted look on their faces.

to be self-controlled (v.5), pure, and kind are three that don’t need too much explanation.

Self-control demonstrates the power of the spirit over the flesh, pure here is a pattern and ambition for holiness, and kind is a an intention to display and give away grace.

The opposite such behavior, which can get you a record deal as the newest pop sensation, would be reckless, vile, and critical.

There are two here that do need a bit more comment, lest you think them flat, degrading or depressive.

Working at home (v.5)

As Doug Wilson puts well, this text isn’t demanding that a woman’s place it at home, but it is saying that her priority is at home.

The Proverbs 31 woman, that great woman to be praised, is buying, selling, trading, purchasing land, making deals, etc.

It’s not saying that homeschool and being a stay-at-home mom are the only faithful applications of a woman’s life.

It is saying that her work is primarily aimed at serving others that she is responsible for. This goes right back to the exhortation to love her husband and to love her kids. She loves them by being present. Her life isn’t her own. She isn’t seeking to pass off the responsibilities of her sphere to others, rather, she is doing all of her work for the benefit of those entrusted to her. Modern feminism says that I am free when I labor for money and a slave when I labor at my home. One will give you a watch for your years of service then forget that you exist and one will remember you and be shaped by you forever.

The second that i’ll comment on is to be…

Submissive to their own husbands (v.5)

Sometimes you will hear a caricature of this teaching that women are simply meant to submit to men in general. But pay careful attention here. They are to be submissive, yes, but not to just any and every man. They are to be submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled.

Not submissive to him if he is leading her into sin—she of course has a higher authority than her husband that she must obey. But her life isn’t lived in competition or rebellion or criticism of her husband. She is responsive and helpful. They are one flesh. To serve her husband is to serve herself, not seeing him as another to be defended from or in competition with.

Now, this gets to the heart of where I wanted to go. It strikes at why this particular and specific behavior is so potent and counter cultural. But let’s look at the younger men real quick.

Younger men, you are to be self-controlled.

The impulses and urges that you have need a set of reigns, channelling your strength and harnessing it for the benefit of others. You need to become familiar with telling yourself no. You need to become familiar with the pattern of life that God gives to growth and stewardship—a pattern of death and resurrection. Dying is hard, saying no is hard, others before self is hard, but what is sown in faith is reaped in glory.

Simple enough, but we are told in a number of other places that these categories of obedience for men and for women, namely submission and self-sacrifice, uniquely display the mystery of the gospel (Eph. 5:32).

And that is the answer to why these specific behaviors and characteristics matter so much. What they display to a watching world is the shocking beauty of the death of Christ, and the surprising response of joyful obedience from the bride of Christ.

Men and women display the gospel in this way.

Husbands are called to demonstrate the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus in their self-sacrifice.

Wives are called to demonstrate repentance and faith in their submission and responsiveness.

Ephesians 5 says that what we are supposed to see when a husband loves their wives is to see the way Christ loves the church and gave himself up for her. And when the world watches a wife display her love and submission and obedience, the world is to see how the church herself (the bride of Christ) responds to Christ.

Why might that be so provocative?

Let’s talk about self-sacrifice for a moment.

Self-Sacrifice:

Self-sacrifice is the masculine call to give your life for the benefit of another.

Men, and the text here is talking to young men specifically, we are to embody this and to learn this. Don’t think it strange when you are strained under the weight of self-sacrifice. Don’t give way to the temptation that thinks something is off or wrong under the heaviness of responsibility, that it should be easier. It’s not. Often times, that strain means that you are in the right place and doing the right thing.

But let’s dig in and make sure we know what doing it looks like.

We are to sacrifice as Christ loved the church and gave himself for her. Christ is the head of the church, and so you are called to be the head. But as Christ is the head, you can’t forget that his head has a crown of thorns pushed into it. Christ is the head, but he had his beard ripped out. And yet, he willingly and joyfully endured for the sake of His bride.

You are not the boss of your wife; you are the head. And your authority flourishes when you embrace the heaviness and gravity of your call. The gospel is love that bleeds. Love that gives its life for the sake of others. In a world of darkness that fiercely protects personal autonomy, the light of the world humbled himself to the point of death on a cross.

Jesus didn’t come and use his innocence to manipulate and berate his bride, he used it to serve her. In the same way, a husband, even when he is in the right and his bride is in the wrong at times, refuses to weaponize his innocence against her. Instead, he serves her with it.

And don’t get self-sacrifice confused with self-denial. Self-denial’s primary aim is to benefit the self. Self-sacrifice’s primary aim is to serve another. What you don’t want to do is learn to be a monk, you want to learn to be a Christian. Self-control is good and right, but aim it at something for the benefit of others. To a watching world, that is a confounding thing, and it points to the confounding love of Jesus for sinners.

Submission

Women, this call to submission and kind responsiveness also displays how the church herself is to respond to Christ. The loveliness is in its willingness and its joy.

Take the pessimistic view of this and lets think about it for a minute. The world thinks submission and obedience are oppressive, you blindly follow orders and commands by being compliant.

But that’s not what this is—that’s Islam, not Christianity. You are Christians, and Christ didn’t just give commands; he gave himself. You are giving to others out of a fountain of love that has been given to you. As you give this submission, by God’s grace it is to a man who is also leading and loving like Christ. There is a remarkable dance that the world gets to see in the church and in our homes where there is a bow and a curtsey, a joy of honoring and serving one another in love because this is how we have been loved. How different this is than a world that only uses one another for self-fulfillment.

Your obedience isn’t mere conformity. That won’t cut it. “Lord, Lord, some said to him, didn’t we obey your commands?” (Matthew 7:21-23) But Jesus says,“ ‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me;” (Matthew 15:8, ESV).

Watch the adverbs in your obedience. Do you serve joyfully, gladly, kindly, patiently? Is it obedience from the heart or mere compliance?

Men, you display the gospel in the dying. Wives, you display it in the living. Die willingly, live joyfully.

What if I think it’s not worth it or it won’t work out?

Suppose you want to lay your life down in self-sacrifice or you want to submit but you fear that nothing will happen. You fear that you will just be taken advantage of, that it won’t change your spouse? That it’s no use.

What has Christ called you to? Are you demanding some measure of proof before you obey? That’s not how faith works. That’s not how learning to trust God works. And being calculated in that way is not how changing your marriage or home or relationships work. Give yourself and let the results be up to God.

“And Jesus answered them, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.” (John 12:23–26, ESV)

We are followers of Christ, and that means letting the wheat fall and die. But He is the Lord of life and resurrection, and he will make it bear much fruit!

Model of Good Works

“Show yourself in all respects to be a model of good works, and in your teaching show integrity, dignity, and sound speech that cannot be condemned, so that an opponent may be put to shame, having nothing evil to say about us.” (Titus 2:7–8, ESV)

Our lives are meant to be salt and light to those in the world, and where that display takes place so potently just so happens to be where life is the most common and the most difficult, in the laying down of our pride or our lives in the service of people that we know. People that we know well — those who annoy us or sin against us. Those who God has given to us. To give ourselves for them, or to steward and nurture and submit to them, may make the world scoff and mock, but it will have nothing of substance to say against its value and beauty. The gospel is always an affront to the prideful. It may be salt in a wound, but their distaste or discomfort does not take away from its value and potency.

May our lives be provocative and fit for good works, that what our spouses, children, neighbors and co-workers see, is the out-workings of Christ’s love in us and now through us in a way that imitates the love and care and response that the gospel demands.

†HYMN OF RESPONSE #303

“All Praise to You, Eternal Lord”

THE MINISTRY OF THE LORD’S SUPPER

Leader: Lift up your hearts!

Congregation: We lift them up to the Lord.

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

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

CONFESSION OF FAITH

The Nicene Creed p. 852

INVITATION TO THE LORD’S TABLE

Minister: Here is the table of the Lord, we are gathered to his supper for a foretaste of things eternal. All who have faith in the risen lord and are united with his church in baptism are invited to come. Come, you who are fearful, to find peace in him. Come, you who are weak, to be made strong in faith. Come, you who are broken, and be made whole. It is not I who invite you, but the Lord. You who trust in him, come.

Congregation: What shall we render unto the Lord for all his benefits toward us? We will take the cup of salvation and call upon the name of the Lord. Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us, therefore let us keep the feast. O taste and see that the Lord is good. Blessed are they who trust in him.

PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING

Congregation may be seated

DISTRIBUTION OF THE ELEMENTS

SHARING OF THE LORD’S SUPPER

THE WORDS OF INSTITUTION 1 Corinthians 11:23-26

For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.

CLOSING PRAYER

†OUR RESPONSE #248

Let all things their Creator bless,

and worship him in humbleness,

O praise him, alleluia!

Praise, praise the Father, praise the Son,

and praise the Spirit, three in one,

O praise him, O praise him,

alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!

†BENEDICTION: GOD’S BLESSING FOR HIS PEOPLE

May the grace of Christ, which daily renews us, and the love of God, which enables us to love all, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, which unites us in one body, make us eager to obey the will of God until we meet again through Jesus Christ our Lord.