Gospel In Action

Titus 2 NASB95

But as for you, speak the things which are fitting for sound doctrine. Older men are to be temperate, dignified, sensible, sound in faith, in love, in perseverance. Older women likewise are to be reverent in their behavior, not malicious gossips nor enslaved to much wine, teaching what is good, so that they may encourage the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, to be sensible, pure, workers at home, kind, being subject to their own husbands, so that the word of God will not be dishonored. Likewise urge the young men to be sensible; in all things show yourself to be an example of good deeds, with purity in doctrine, dignified, sound in speech which is beyond reproach, so that the opponent will be put to shame, having nothing bad to say about us. Urge bondslaves to be subject to their own masters in everything, to be well-pleasing, not argumentative, not pilfering, but showing all good faith so that they will adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in every respect. For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus, who gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds. These things speak and exhort and reprove with all authority. Let no one disregard you.

How many of you would agree with this statement?

Your Beliefs Determine Your Actions

If you believe that you have a civic duty as an American, you will vote, serve on jury, etc.

If you believe that you have hot water, you will (hopefully) take a shower

If you believe that the lottery is your best chance at retirement, you’ll buy a ticket.

And if you believe in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, you will live a transformed life.

This is the truth that Paul sets forward for us as we begin this section of the letter. In Titus 2:1, Paul tells Titus to speak of that which is “fitting for sound doctrine.” In other words, teach, speak on the things which align with solid theology.

We’ll say it this way:

Good Belief Leads to Good Behavior or Proper Theology Leads to Proper Action

This is a balancing of what James teaches: that faith without works is dead and that which comes from the writer of Hebrews: without faith it is impossible to please God.

So, we’re to have faith (sound doctrine) which then leads to good works.

We will call this Gospel in Action.

This is in contrast to the popular belief in the first century (esp. among Jews) that our actions are what make us righteous or worthy. There was all kinds of emphasis on behavior, with morality as the ultimate goal… this is much like the American church over the past several decades.

But morality is not the supreme goal… it’s not a bad thing, don’t get me wrong. Yet, if our objective is to create a society or church full of good people, we quickly miss the truth of the Gospel. Scripture says that there is none good. So, we end up defining what we think is good, and before we know it, we are all just a bunch of self-righteous sinners on our way to hell, complaining about how evil everyone else is…

So, while last week we looked at essential elements of the effective church (Divine Authority, Effective Order, and Biblical Authenticity)

Today, we plough a bit deeper as we explore the Gospel in Action. In other words, we are going to look at how the Gospel impacts our lives beyond the moment of conversion. While many believe that the Gospel is just a message of salvation from eternal judgment, I’ll argue that this is merely the beginning.

My prayer is that, as we study together, you will open your ears and your hearts to hear from God. That we will be moved to ACTION by the Living Word today.

The Gospel in Action is revealed in 3 distinct areas of the Christian Life beyond conversion.

Personal Devotion (2-3)

If I truly believe the Gospel of Jesus, my life will be a reflection of Christ in me.

Let’s review the traits that Paul points to here in v. 2-3 (read)

Now, we should note that this section is addressing “older” men and women. Who are the older men and women? (You don’t have to point..) Well, age certainly can be a big piece of this, but I think the idea is more focused on maturity.

The Christian life is a process of sorts—> we don’t just become godly overnight. It takes daily surrender to God and to godly teaching. It’s in the mundane faithfulness that our foundation of faith is built and strengthened.

ILL- It’s like our physical health. We can’t just go from flab to fab in a week- it takes a daily diet and exercise routine.

But the real question is “Do you believe the Gospel?”

Do you believe that there is 1 God, Holy, powerful, all-knowing creator, who made man in His image, that sin entered the world through Adam, and because of that sin that we all are worthy of judgment? Do you believe that God, rich in mercy and love, took on flesh in the person of Jesus Christ and lived a perfect life untainted by sin? That he went to the cross and took our penalty for sin with Him, died and 3 days later rose again? Do you believe that He ascended into heaven and will one day return to gather the saints and judge the world?

Friend, if you believe the Gospel, then your life must be a reflection of it, for God calls us to REPENT and believe.

Our belief and repentance leads us to personal devotion to Christ so that God’s Word is not dishonored (5b)

Discuss: Does your life reflect Christ? Describe what repentance looks like in your life.

Secondly, Our belief leads to

Intentional Discipleship (4-9)

How many of you are actively discipling someone?

In these few verses, Paul uses the word urge twice. “Urge” means to beg or plead. It is an ongoing action, not simply a one-time conversation. It’s the idea of walking alongside and encouraging, modeling, and teaching.

You might be thinking, “This seems time-consuming or hard”

Well, listen, do you believe the Gospel or not? Do you believe that God calls us to repentance? Do you believe that God calls us to be holy? Do you believe that we will all one day stand before His throne to give an account for our lives?

How big a deal is that to you? Are you not moved to plead with your friends and family- co-workers, and neighbors for their soul?

Look here, if your kid was playing in the road and you saw a car barreling toward them, would you not be moved to do something? Would you see the urgency? How much more urgent then is eternity?

This urging/ teaching requires intentionality. We don’t just happen to plead with someone. We don’t just passively make disciples. Paul says “Show yourself to be an example!” (7)

It’s displaying the personal devotion in the life of another. This is the design of the church and is a testimony to the watching world.

It saddens me to see professing Christians so easily led astray by some false teaching. When this happens, it is evident that we have not placed great importance on teaching sound doctrine. For if it was through personal devotion and intentional discipleship, they would not walk away, but would stand boldly for the sake of the Gospel.

Let me illustrate it this way- If you decided to get in shape, would you be more successful if you learn from someone who was living a healthy lifestyle - eating right and exercising or learning from someone who was a bit more relaxed- no diet restrictions and lots of Netflix?

The reality of discipleship is that it usually means that both parties involved are growing together- one ahead of the other.

Because the Gospel is true and because we have completely surrendered to God, we are moved into action in both personal devotion and intentional discipleship.

Discuss: Are you currently discipling someone and being discipled? Who can you reach out to to begin a discipleship relationship?

Finally, the Gospel in Action is displayed in our

Meaningful Worship (10-14)

Paul paints a picture of this in v. 10b

Talking about the lowest on the social spectrum- this personal devotion and intentional discipleship will lead even these into the action of worship.

Titus 2:10 NASB95

not pilfering, but showing all good faith so that they will adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in every respect.

What does it mean to adorn the doctrine of God?

Adorn means to decorate oneself- to show off something proudly.

Ladies might adorn a beautiful dress or engagement ring

Men might adorn a slick suit… some of y’all might adorn a cool side arm.

The idea is that we want it to shine- we want people’s attention to be drawn to that which we are wearing.

For the Christian, we want to point the watching world to God’s Glorious Gospel!

Because we believe the Gospel, we ought not be able to squelch our praise! We ought to sing loudly, raise our hands freely, shout, AMEN every now and again. Listen to v. 14

Titus 2:12–14 NASB95

instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus, who gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds.

We are living right now in the truth of the Gospel. We have been redeemed! Purified! Whiter than snow! We are His. And because we are His, we must have a zeal to serve Him…

Zeal means enthusiasm/ excitement.

Because we believe the Gospel, Because we are trusting in WHO God is and WHAT He has done, our response must be nothing less than enthusiastic, meaningful worship.

Paul wrote this to Titus so that the church might be transformed through the Gospel. My hope is the same- that we would be transformed by the Gospel.

So, Does the Gospel have meaning beyond the moment of conversion? Yes.

As we wrap up our time together, I want to challenge you this morning to

Discuss: What is meaningful worship look like? Does your life reflect it?

Personal Devotion - Maybe you need to repent- maybe the Gospel has just been a story with no real impact on you. Jesus said in Matt 7 that not all say to me Lord Lord will enter my Kingdom. Will you?

Intentional Discipleship - Be a disciple and a disciple-maker. There are men and women here who need to step up to the plate and pour into some younger men and women. Likewise, there are young men and women who need to have someone pouring into them so they can do the same for another.

Meaningful Worship - Adorn the Gospel through your actions.

1 Corinthians 10:31 NASB95

Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.