The Gospel Produces Godliness

INTRODUCTION

Gardening/farming

If you plant corn, you don’t expect to get wheat.

If you plant beans, you don’t expect to get corn.

The Christian life is similar — if you plant a knowledge of the Gospel, and God’s Word, the outcome is godly living.

The Gospel produces Godliness.

CONTEXT

Paul has recently completed a journey to the island of Crete, resulting in the establishment of new churches.

In order to see that these churches were properly established, he leaves behind Titus.

It appears from the text that after Paul leaves, some false teachers rise up. They’re creating division and leading people astray, and so Paul writes to Titus with specific instructions for establishing godly leadership, and more broadly for godly living.

READ: Titus 1

PRAY

Themes of Titus

In the very beginning of the book, Paul gives us a thesis statement for his letter to Titus.

Thesis: Details the purpose and scope of the letter. It boils down all the information you need to know into a sentence or two.

Paul’s Thesis: v1 — knowledge of the truth that leads to godliness.

In other words, Paul is telling us that a knowledge of the truth, or the Gospel, should lead to godliness.

The gospel should produce godliness in the life of a disciple.

A KNOWLEDGE OF THE TRUTH, that leads to godliness.

KNOWLEDGE SHOULD NOT ONLY BE INFORMATIONAL, BUT TRANSFORMATIONAL.

KNOWLEDGE THAT STOPS AT THE HEAD DOES US NO GOOD. It has to permeate our heart.

In other words:

As we read Scripture, we don’t just read it and put it away. Instead, we come under the authority of the truth of God’s Word and allow it to shape and mold every aspect of our lives into the character of Christ.

This means we have to submit to the headship and authority of Jesus Christ.

We don’t necessarily like that. Often, we want Jesus as savior, but not as Lord.

We like the things he does for us, but not so much what he calls us to do for him.

The problem with that is that Paul tells us plainly, an authentic knowledge of the Gospel — a life changed by Christ — produces godliness. If godliness is not the output, we have to wonder about the input.

He goes on to tell us in Titus 2:14 “He gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to cleanse for himself a people for his own possession, eager to do good works.”

In other words, if you’re a believer in Christ, by the very nature of your salvation, you have a hunger/desire to live for him.

THE GOSPEL PRODUCES GODLINESS.

3 Areas: Our lives, our homes, and our church.

Addressing Men

Paul addresses men first in Titus.

Why? Because we’re called to lead the charge in each of these 3 areas.

We’ll talk more about that as we go.

LADIES

I want to specifically talk to men this morning, but that’s not your free ticket to take a nap.

What we’re diving into this morning — this is what you should expect from your husband, and hold him to!

If you’re not married, this is what you’re looking for in a spouse.

Moms/Grandmas, this is what you’re holding your sons/grandsons to. It’s what you’re teaching your daughters/granddaughters to look for as they date and marry.

Here’s the thing. You have tremendous power and influence with your husband — that you may not even realize. There’s two things in particular you need to know.

He values your opinion of him more than anyone else in the world combined.

What you think about your husband — your image of him, how you see him — matters more to him than you could ever imagine.

He’s going to become whatever you say to him and about him.

Want him to be a godly husband/father? Encourage him in that and speak that over him.

Want him to be apathetic and uninvolved? Criticize him over everything he does.

I can promise you he’ll stop trying.

Proverbs 18:21 “Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit.”

Your words have power. Especially in your marriage!

Here’s what’s not helpful. Elbowing him constantly, making him pay attention, saying, “Did you hear that?”, guilting him into godliness, etc.

Not saying don’t have a hard conversation with him, but do it with grace, encouragement, and support.

Guys, if you’re like me, and I would say probably most men, you’d say, “I know I’m supposed to be a godly man, but I have no idea how. I don’t know what I’m doing when it comes to leading my family.”

Paul lays out for us exactly what it looks like to be a godly man.

Measure of a Man

Right after his purpose statement, Paul launches into a measuring stick for men.

Often we read this and apply it to elders/pastors/deacons, and I think that’s fair. But just like the rest of the book, Paul’s addressing something deeper.

The description that he gives isn’t just the standard for elders, I would argue it’s the standard for all men.

There’s some textual evidence to support that, but here’s the biggest reason why I think this is for all men, not just those who aspire to church leadership:

There’s nothing on the list that I don’t want for my son, or expect of my future son in law.

There’s not a single item that I look at as a parent and say, “we can skip that one.”

This is the biblical standard for men.

Understand something as we look at this text, the world also has a standard for men, and it is totally opposite of what the Bible calls us to.

Men and boys are constantly being bombarded by our culture with a measure of manhood that looks nothing like a biblical man.

Voddie Baucham says it like this: The world’s measure of manhood is three things: Billfold, ballfield, bedroom.

Billfold

If you put a group of women together, within a few seconds of conversation, they’ll be talking about their families. Kids, relationships, etc.

Men on the other hand, when we meet each other, typically one of the first questions we ask is, what do you do? What’s your job?

Ladies, I’ll let you in on a secret, that’s code for “how much money do you make?”

We may not even do it consciously – but guys, we’ve all that moment where you meet another man, he tells you what he does for work, and you immediately do one of these numbers (eyebrows up)

We want to know how much the other person makes so we know if we should feel intimidated by him.

Ballfield

Usually it’s not long after what do you do, that sports comes up in a conversation. 

What did you play? Who’d you play for? How far did you go?

Well I played this for this school, and got this scholarship to play college, etc.

Men, we joke, but we’ve all experienced that one guy who would’ve “gone pro” in every sport except he blew his knee out, or tore a rotator cuff, or both – some excuse as to why he didn’t.

Often, men feel the need to validate themselves athletically because it’s what the world tells them defines their masculinity.

Here’s how prevalent this is…

Went to camp a couple of weeks ago. Drove the van with most of our boys on it. We weren’t 10 minutes down the road, and they’re arguing over who the best athlete on the van is.

Bedroom

Conquests with women.

We’ve all heard the cringe intro that a guest speaker makes — “I’m here with my smokin’ hot wife”.

Why is that how he introduces her? I think my wife’s beautiful, but that’s not the only feature she has.

Because society says your masculinity is directly tied to the attractiveness of your spouse.

This is how the world defines manhood. Our sons, and honestly all of our men, are out there in that culture, and being fed that lie over, and over, and over again, that this is how you’re a man – this is how you measure yourself against other men.

That’s why it’s so critical that we point men back to a biblical picture of manhood.

If we don’t have anything else to offer, all they’re ever going to get is the billfold, the ballfield, and the bedroom, with the Bible on top of it.

Instead, Paul says, “No no no! God has something so much better for you!”

If you’re a believer, that Gospel’s not producing the billfold, ballfield, and bedroom. It’s producing godliness.

1. The Gospel produces godliness in our lives.

This starts at an individual level. Look at how Paul describes a godly man…

v. 6 — Blameless. “Above reproach.”

Repeated throughout the book.

Doesn’t mean perfect! It means exemplary.

A model for others to follow.

Men — Paul is calling us to lead the charge for those around us. Our character is to be the example that others look to and say, I want to be like him!

I remember men that I looked up to in high school and young adulthood. In every single case, the reason I admired them wasn’t their wealth, wasn’t their athletic accomplishments, it wasn’t the job they had, it was their character.

Paul’s saying be the kind of man other people want to emulate!

Look at how he describes a godly man…

Husband of one wife

Some people will use this verse to argue that church leaders — pastors, elders, deacons — can’t be divorced, or shouldn’t have multiple wives.

I see where they get it, but again, I think Paul is getting to something deeper.

Literal: “One woman man.”

Doesn’t just mean divorce. It means to be utterly faithful to your wife.

You can be married and not be a one-woman-man.

Commit adultery

Look at other women with lust in your heart.

Addicted to pornography.

Paul’s not addressing a marriage/commitment issue, he’s addressing a heart issue.

Are you the kind of man who is faithful to one person — even if you’re unmarried?

Faithful Children

Speaks to how are kids are raised

Not arrogant

Not Quick-Tempered

Not a Drunkard

Not Violent

Not just our actions — our words can be just as damaging as a fist.

Not Greedy

He’s to be content with what he has — not constantly wanting more.

Then Paul gives us a postive list — the things we should be.

Hospitable

Kind

Lover of Good

Craves the things of God

Self-controlled

Upright

Holy

Disciplined

These are the things we’re to be exemplary in — a model.

Here’s the thing — exemplary doesn’t mean perfect. Only Christ is perfect.

There’s going to be days where you lose your temper.

There will be days where you and your wife have a “discussion” — moments of intense fellowship.

There will be days where you fail to meet this standard.

Paul’s not expecting perfection. Instead, he’s simply saying that a godly man is pursuing this character. It’s what he’s working toward and growing into.

This is the target to measure yourself against.

These character traits are all outward evidence of an inward transformation.

They’re the visual proof — the fruit of the Holy Spirit’s work in your life.

If you’re a believer, then godly character should be what flows out — not just in your personal life, but also in your home.

2. The Gospel produces godliness in our homes.

Notice what Paul addresses very first thing as he lays out this picture of manhood — he points to the man’s family. Not only does he start there, he emphasizes the order of the home throughout the book.

In talking about godly character, why would the family and home be so important?

Because you can’t hide who you are at home.

Some of y’all probably had a morning something like this:

Somebody overslept, and it was a mad dash to get out the door.

Breakfast got burned, because you were rushing around getting kids ready.

Everybody was tired and grumpy from a busy weekend, so you finally get in the car, and the kids start in fighting with each other.

Whoever was driving didn’t stop all the way at a stop sign, and you didn’t like it. So now you and your spouse are into it.

You get to the parking lot, and you turn around and threaten the kids within an inch of their life to be on their best behavior.

Everybody’s mad at everybody, you’re all in a sour mood, but as soon as those car doors open, all anybody else sees is smiles.

You shake hands as the doors open, you talk and laugh and catch up with friends, get the kids checked in and dropped off, and nobody has any idea what just went on between your house and the church.

You can fool alot of people at church, at work, at the ball field, you name it.

You can put on a fake smile, hide behind a mask and look the part, and you can fake it til you make it.

Home is the one place where your guard comes down, the mask comes off, and you are who you really are.

That’s why Paul emphasizes it so much.

Who are we at home, when it’s just the family?

What kind of relationship are you and your wife modeling for your kids?

If I went to your kids today, and asked them “If Jesus loved us like daddy loves mommy, what would that look like?”

How would they respond?

Men, the most important thing you can do for your kids besides teach them the gospel, is model a love for their mother.

But Paul goes even deeper — he tells us we’re to be making disciples at home.

Part of being a disciple of Jesus means making more disciples. The first place that happens is in our house.

Look at Titus 1:9–11

Titus 1:9–11 ESV

He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it. For there are many who are insubordinate, empty talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision party. They must be silenced, since they are upsetting whole families by teaching for shameful gain what they ought not to teach.

This is probably the one thing that someone could argue that not all men are called to be teachers. And in one sense, that’s true.

However, all of us are teaching something. The questions is, what are we teaching?

Are you teaching your kids how to control your tongue?

Are you teaching them what a godly marriage looks like?

Or are you teaching them that using foul language is ok?

That a tense marriage that’s void of affection and caring is normal?

Are you teaching them that some things are more important than money? Or that work always comes first?

We all teach just by the way we live. The question becomes, what are we teaching?

Catchy phrase that I’ve adopted over the last few years. It’s not original to me, but it’s a good reminder to check yourself.

A boy will be what a boy can see.

A girl will wed where her daddy has led.

What are you teaching your kids?

Our teaching has to be more than just modeled actions.

Look again at v. 9

Titus 1:9 ESV

He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it.

Our job as parents is to instruct our kids not just right and wrong, but the truth of God’s Word.

We tell our kids not to lie — not just because it’s not nice, but because the Bible calls it a sin.

One of the most important things we can do as parents in today’s world is teach our kids that there is an absolute truth, and it’s called the Bible.

Not only are we to teach, we’re to correct false teaching.

Our culture is full of false teachers. Unfortunately, it’s not just in the secular world anymore.

Our kids are going to be hounded more and more by the lies of the enemy. Our job is to refute those lies and teach them truth.

Men — Paul is calling us to be sound in doctrine. That’s a fancy word that just means we’re to know what we believe, and we’re to have a biblical worldview.

We’re to view society, our family, our church, our work, every aspect our life through the lens of Scripture.

That’s how we’re able to instruct our families in truth.

There’s something else I want us notice — watch what happens when truth isn’t taught, and false teaching isn’t corrected…

Titus 1:10–11 ESV

For there are many who are insubordinate, empty talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision party. They must be silenced, since they are upsetting whole families by teaching for shameful gain what they ought not to teach.

When false teachers aren’t silenced, entire families are thrown off course.

Men, I want you to understand something. Paul says in v. 7 that you are the overseer, or shepherd for your house.

He goes on to say you’re God’s steward of your family.

One commentator defines steward like this: “The steward was the manager of a household or estate, appointed by and accountable to the owner.”

Men: You are appointed by, and accountable to the owner of your family. He’s given you a task — be the shepherd of your home.

I can promise you, they’re learning from somewhere. Are you the one teaching them?

Don’t just mean bring them to church. That’s just a starting point. At best we get your kids 2 hours a week. That’s if they’re here Sunday morning AND Wednesday night.

TWO HOURS.

Compare that to the amount of time they spend each week being bombard with sugar-coated lies being peddled as truth. Do you really think two hours a week is going to offset that?

We have got to stop putting the burden of discipleship on the shoulders of the church, and take that responsibility ourselves like God has appointed and ordained us to do.

3. The Gospel produces godliness in our church.

It’s funny, in a book that’s so often referred to for church structure, this is actually the least-emphasized place of evidenced transformation.

Why? Because our corporate character flows out of our individual character.

Who we are as a church— NV1 — is a direct result of who we are in our private lives, and who we are at home.

If we’re a people who are personally — individually —passionate for God, it’ll be evident in our church.

CONCLUSION

Here’s the thing — we’ve talked alot about godly character, especially in men, and men, how we’re to lead and disciple our families.

Here’s where the rubber meets the road for us. We have to move from information, to application, in order to see transformation.

I hear so often — I want to lead my family, I want to be a godly man/woman, I want to be all these things, but I don’t know how!

JUST START. It doesn’t matter where, it doesn’t matter how small, just start.

Get in the Word — even if you start with a verse or two.

Spend time in prayer.

Lead your family in prayer — read the Bible together.

Start putting your wife’s needs/well-being above your own.

It’s going to be messy. It’s going to be a learning curve. There’s going to be moments where you drop the ball.

You have to put yourself in a place to be fully dependent on the Holy Spirit and trust him for growth — that he’s going to mold you more and more into the image of Christ.

Invitation

Here’s the thing — it doesn’t matter how far you’ve run from God, how stagnant your faith feels, how cold your relationship with him has grown.

We tell people who don’t know Jesus all the time they’re never too far gone.

The same is true for Christians! It doesn’t matter how far you think you’ve wandered, Jesus is always one step away.

I’m going to say something that may step on your toes a bit, but hang with me. You have as much of Jesus as you want.

Right now, in your relationship with Christ, you have as much of him as you want.

If you want him at arms length, that’s where he’ll be. If you want to be in close fellowship with him, you can have that starting today.

All it takes is the decision to repent, and follow him again.

We’ve talked about a lot of hard things this morning.

Men, I want to challenge you in particular — man up and get honest with yourself. If you lay your life over Titus 1, where does it line up?

Does it look like the image of a godly man that Paul paints for us? Or has your standard been the billfold, ballfield, and bedroom?

Are you leading and discipling your family to follow Jesus?

If not, you can make a decision to change today. You’ve got as much Jesus as you want. Repent and change your direction, starting now.

Ladies, you see the man your husband can be, but you recognize this morning you’ve not exactly encouraged him to be the leader God’s called him to be.

Make the choice today that from now on, this is the direction you’re going to push him.

You can start by coming to the altar and praying for him and over him. Better yet, grab him and both of you come and pray together, that God would radically transform your family, starting today.

There’s another group this morning. Maybe you do some self examination, and realize my life is a wreck. It seems like everything is falling apart. There’s no evidence of godliness in my life. In fact, my life doesn’t look anything like what Paul describes.

There’s only one person who can pick up the pieces for you, and his name is Jesus.

He wants to offer you life, and peace, and hope beyond your wildest dreams.

He will completely transform your life if you let him.