Preach What You Practice

Introduction

10

English Standard Version Chapter 2

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. 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.

i

The book of Titus is Paul’s letter to a young man who had only recently been promoted to a great leadership position. Up to this time, Titus had been an assistant to Paul. But in chapter 1 of this book we read that, after establishing churches in Crete, Paul left Titus behind to care for the churches there. Later on, Titus moved on to lead the church in Dalmatia, which just happens to be what we today call Croatia!

A major part of Titus’ job in Crete was to find church leaders. These leaders were the local pastors. But Titus had another job, just as important as appointing leaders. He was to serve as teacher, making sure all the churches were growing in the Lord. And what was Titus supposed to teach? Godly living.

A major part of Titus’ job in Crete was to find church leaders. These leaders were the local pastors. But Titus had another job, just as important as appointing leaders. He was to serve as teacher, making sure all the churches were growing in the Lord. And what was Titus supposed to teach? Godly living.

This concept is not new to us. If you have been in church any length of time, you have heard teaching about being a witness through how you live your life. We even grew up singing “This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine....”

But even though we get good teaching about this subject, too many of us often continue to miss the point. And what is that point? Let’s find out.

How are we supposed to live?

What was Titus told to teach the believers in Crete? The older men are supposed to demonstrate self-control and be wise. They are to have healthy faith and be loving and patient. I believe that the reference to sound faith means that they not only have faith in God, but that they are also the kind of person you can put your faith in. They are to be men of integrity. The older women are also supposed to demonstrate good character and teach the younger women. The young women are supposed to be faithful and hardworking, and the young men are supposed to be wise. Servants were supposed to work hard and honestly, and they were to show respect for their masters without complaining about their work. Basically, Paul wants them to demonstrate the fruit of the spirit in their lives. lists the fruit of the spirit as love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. By writing this, Paul teaches that the way we are to live needs to be in both our personal lives as well as in our workplace. Of course, it is obvious that these characteristics are important for each of us to have in our lives. But beyond making us better people, Paul makes it clear that developing these characteristics is important for another reason.

Actions Without Words

In , Paul says that the older women, in their pursuit of Godly living, should train the younger women to do the same. In verses 6-7, Paul instructs Titus to teach the young men to live in a godly way by being a good example. In other words, we are supposed to help each other grow closer to God. We need to support each other, teach each other, and learn from each other. As it says in , we are the body of Christ. If we do not work together, we will fail. Our lifestyle is meant to prove what we say about our life with Christ.

Butin order for our lifestyle to prove what we are saying, we need to be SAYING something. There is a popular quote used by a lot of Christians. Perhaps it has even been used here. “Preach the Gospel at all times. Use words if necessary.” The thing is, when I hear someone use this quote, what they often really mean is, “I don’t feel comfortable talking about my faith.” Speaking is an important part of being a witness for Jesus. When God spoke the universe into existence, He spoke. If people see our actions, but don’t know the reason for those actions, what is being communicated?

It is not enough to be a good or moral person. There are many good, moral people who do not know God. We are not just good for the sake of being good. We are followers of Jesus. We are children of the Most High God. We are also God’s messengers to a fallen world. We have within us the Gospel of Jesus Christ! So we live our lives a certain way to reflect what we believe about God. We believe that God is good and holy. We believe that Jesus is faithful and forgiving. And we believe that Jesus lives in his followers. When others look at us, we want it to be evident that Jesus is alive in us. But do people know WHY we live this way? If they just see the actions, but don’t hear the words, they just see people who live by a certain moral code. Do they know that we have God’s love and joy in us, or are we just bubbly personalities? Do they know that we are people who have been set free from sin, or do we look like people trapped by a list of good and bad behavior?

It is not enough to simply verbally communicate; it has to be reinforced through our example. The way we live our lives is a demonstration to others of what we believe. But when our lifestyle does NOT match up to what we claim we believe, we look foolish. We’re hypocrites. Today, many young people believe it’s impossible to live a life of righteousness. These youth—including many of those raised in church—think it’s impossible, and even unnecessary, to live in sexual purity. Why? Because, even though we teach on these things, we don’t live like they’re true. They see people in the church getting pregnant out of wedlock. They see marriages fall apart because of infidelity. When I tell people that I was a virgin for almost 50 years, they usually don’t believe me. When I say that my wife is the only person I have ever been intimate with, they are amazed. They want to know how both Zenetta and I managed to stay pure our whole lives, and we can tell them about the power of the Holy Spirit that transforms us, makes us holy, and strengthens us to live righteously. They words we say mean nothing if they are not backed up by the way we are living.

But in teaching, it is not enough to simply verbally communicate; it has to be reinforced through our example. When my brother Jim was 15, he got caught smoking. My parents were furious! My dad really got onto Jim about how he shouldn’t be smoking, and he asked my brother, “What makes you think it’s OK to be smoking in this house?” Jim simply said, “But dad, YOU smoke.”

But when our lifestyle does NOT match up to what we claim we believe, we look foolish. We’re hypocrites. Today, many young people believe it’s impossible to live a life of righteousness. These youth—including many of those raised in church—think it’s impossible, and even unnecessary, to live in sexual purity. Why? Because, even though we teach on these things, we don’t live like they’re true. They see people in the church getting pregnant out of wedlock. They see marriages fall apart because of infidelity. When I tell people that I was a virgin for almost 50 years, they usually don’t believe me. When I say that my wife is the only person I have ever been intimate with, they are amazed. They want to know how both Zenetta and I managed to stay pure our whole lives, and we can tell them about the power of the Holy Spirit that transforms us, makes us holy, and strengthens us to live righteously. They words we say mean nothing if they are not backed up by the way we are living.

The way we live our lives is a demonstration to others of what we believe. Our lifestyle is meant to prove what we say about our life with Christ.

As it says in , we are the body of Christ. If we do not work together, we will fail. In addition to helping each other grow, the way we live our lives is a demonstration to others of what we believe. It is not enough to be a good or moral person. There are many good, moral people who do not know God. We teach that God is good and holy. We teach that Jesus is faithful and forgiving. And we tell people that Jesus lives in his followers. When others look at us, is it evident that Jesus is alive in us? Do they see His love and joy in us? Do we live like people who have been set free from sin, or do we look like people trapped by a list of good and bad behavior?

The way we live our lives is a demonstration to others of what we believe. Our lifestyle is meant to prove what we say about our life with Christ.

Actions Without Words?

When Jesus spoke to the disciples, he did not tell them to simply go and make converts, or people who believed in Jesus. He told them to go and make disciples. A disciple is a student. It is not enough to lead someone to faith in Christ--we must also teach them how to live in a way that honors Christ. And the best way to teach that is to demonstrate it in our own lives. If our lives do not demonstrate what we teach, then we are liars. When my brother Jim was 15, he got caught smoking. My parents were furious! My dad really got onto Jim about how he shouldn’t be smoking, and he asked my brother, “What makes you think it’s OK to be smoking in this house?” Jim simply said, “But dad, YOU smoke.”

It is not enough to simply verbally communicate; it has to be reinforced through our example. The way we live our lives is a demonstration to others of what we believe. But when our lifestyle does NOT match up to what we claim we believe, we look foolish. We’re hypocrites. Today, many young people believe it’s impossible to live a life of righteousness. These youth—including many of those raised in church—think it’s impossible, and even unnecessary, to live in sexual purity. Why? Because, even though we teach on these things, we don’t live like they’re true. They see people in the church getting pregnant out of wedlock. They see marriages fall apart because of infidelity. They words we say mean nothing if they are not backed up by the way we are living.

It is not enough to be a good or moral person. There are many good, moral people who do not know God. We are not just good for the sake of being good. We are followers of Jesus. We are children of the Most High God. We are also God’s messengers to a fallen world. We have within us the Gospel of Jesus Christ! So we live our lives a certain way to reflect what we believe about God. We believe that God is good and holy. We believe that Jesus is faithful and forgiving. And we believe that Jesus lives in his followers. When others look at us, we want it to be evident that Jesus is alive in us. But do people know WHY we live this way? If they just see the actions, but don’t hear the words, they just see people who live by a certain moral code. Do they know that we have God’s love and joy in us, or are we just bubbly personalities? Do they know that we are people who have been set free from sin, or do we look like people trapped by a list of good and bad behavior?

The problem is that it is impossible for us to live the way Paul describes. We have bad tempers. We are selfish and foolish. On our own, we will fail to live godly lives. But by God’s grace, we have been made righteous and holy through Christ Jesus. When I tell people that I was a virgin for almost 50 years, they usually don’t believe me. When I say that my wife is the only person I have ever been intimate with, they are amazed. They want to know how both Zenetta and I managed to stay pure our whole lives, and we can tell them about the power of the Holy Spirit that transforms us, makes us holy, and strengthens us to live righteously. Our lives are the proof of power of the Gospel! Every person who has surrendered his or her life to Christ is now a minister of the Gospel. We have been given the authority to share Christ’s message of salvation to everyone who will listen. And we have been given the Holy Spirit to live in us and empower us to live godly lives. This is why the list from is called the Fruit of the Spirit--it is what grows in us when we let the Holy Spirit have control in our lives.

The problem is that it is impossible for us to live the way Paul describes. We have bad tempers. We are selfish and foolish. On our own, we will fail to live godly lives. But by God’s grace, we have been made righteous and holy through Christ Jesus. Every person who has surrendered his or her life to Christ is now a minister of the Gospel. We have been given the authority to share Christ’s message of salvation to everyone who will listen. And we have been given the Holy Spirit to live in us and empower us to live godly lives. This is why the list from is called the Fruit of the Spirit--it is what grows in us when we let the Holy Spirit have control in our lives.

So today I want to challenge us all to be bold in our testimonies, both through our words AND our deeds. Take action to teach others to live godly lives with integrity, humility, and wisdom. In order to do this, call upon the Holy Spirit to transform us, so that others will see Christ alive in us and be drawn to Him. It’s time to practice what we preach, and preach what we practice.