A Church Where Everyone Contributes
A CHURCH WHERE EVERYONE CONTRIBUTES
Titus 2:1-1-8
The island of Crete had to be a dreadful place to try to build a church. The people who lived there were liars, evil brutes, and lazy gluttons. At least that was one of their own poet’s descriptions of his homeland. Crete was a pagan, spiritually hardened island. But Paul and Titus had established a church there and it was growing. Now, Paul had departed the island altogether and he wrote instructions to Titus on how to set the church in order. In the first chapter Paul instructed Titus to stand firm for the truth, choose the leaders of the church carefully, and be on guard against legalism. Now in chapter 2, Paul emphasizes the importance of setting an example for younger Christians who have just been introduced to Christianity. It’s not enough that we just proclaim the truth. We are to model the truth in our lives. People learn much better by example than they do by instruction.
One of General Patton’s soldiers recounted a time when they were marching across Europe and they came to a swollen river. The soldiers began to complain that there was no way they could cross the raging current carrying their backpacks. Patton said nothing, but waded into the river himself and swam to the other side with his backpack on. Then he swam back to where his men were. Then he waded into the river and turned to his men and said, “Follow me.” And without protest every one of the men in the battalion followed him across to the other side. We’re inspired more by example than we are by instruction.
One of the greatest needs in the church today is for positive role models. So many of the popular heroes of our day are seriously deficient:
¨ The athletes are into drugs and immoral lifestyles
¨ Politicians and entertainers are egotistical and greedy
¨ Religious leaders have been disclosed as being hypocrites or self-centered
And if the church is going to be strong in our pagan culture, there must be some mature Christians who inspire us by their walk with God.
And here in Titus 2, I want you to notice Paul’s instructions to three separate groups of people within the church.
I. THOSE WHO TEACH
In verse 1, he speaks to anyone who teaches. Particularly he was speaking to Titus, but he said, “You must teach what is in accord with sound doctrine.” Now that’s good biblical advice, not only for Titus, but for anyone here today who is a Sunday School teacher, a youth sponsor, for those of you who teach in public schools, and for anyone who is attempting to instruct others on how to live.
In James 3:1 there is this sobering verse, “Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my bothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly.” That may not be the verse in the Bible you want to turn to when you are trying to recruit new teachers for a Sunday School class or Junior Church, but that’s what it says. Not many of you should be teachers, because you are going to be judged more strictly.
When you first accept a teaching position, there is some glamour involved. It’s exciting to think that in some way you are going to impact the life of other people. And you know that’s happening as people compliment you on your message or your lesson that has helped them in their walk with the Lord. But it’s not long before the glitter wears off. You find out that it’s hard work to study every lesson. And people don’t compliment you much after awhile. If you are an adult teacher, they may even criticize you. If you are a children’s worker, they may take you for granted. But one day it hits you; this is a serious responsibility! There are some people who are actually listening to what I say. And there are some people in whom this message is making a difference. That’s because the Word of God is powerful! And anyone who teaches it or preaches it has a serious responsibility. God is going to hold us accountable for what we say. We’re going to be judged more strictly.
Now why would anyone bother to teach if it has that kind of responsibility attached to it? It’s because God has called us to teach. The bible says that within each church God has equipped some to be pastors and some to be teachers. I really think more people are called to teach than do. I doubt that God would bless this church with all the young people that we have if he has not also equipped some of you to teach and to lead those young people. And I am convinced that there are a number of you whom God has equipped to teach, but you have not yet responded to that call on your life. I Corinthians 9:16 says, “I am compelled to preach. Woe to me if I do not preach the Gospel.” And we teach because we care about people. Maybe it’s not the most glamorous position, but it is the most rewarding. If the Gospel really saves people, if Christ really changes people for the better, then we can’t help but share what we know even if it is risky. Paul said in 2 Corinthians 5:14, “Christ love compels us because we are convinced that one died for all.” So we preach and teach the Gospel because we want to be found faithful to the duty God has given to us.
Now Paul points out to Titus that a teacher has a dual responsibility. The first is to teach accurately. He says in verse 1, “Teach what is in accord with sound doctrine.” If you are a teacher and you begin to alter the truth, you are usurping the authority of God and you are endangering the eternal destiny of your students. Back in the mid 80’s in the days of the Air Traffic controllers strike there was a shortage of traffic controllers. And one pilot says that on one flight he radioed the tower and asked permission to land. The controller said, “Delta 288 you are cleared to land on runway 9.”
But just moments later he heard the same controller say, “American 248, you are cleared to land on runway 27.”
And the pilot immediately radioed the tower and said, “Tower you just cleared me to land on runway 9, and you cleared American to land on runway 27. That’s the same runway, opposite direction, East And West. We’re coming right at each other!”
There was a pause and the controller said, “Y’all be really careful out there now!”
We’re dealing with life and death matters. We’re dealing with heaven and hell. And we can’t just be causal with it like it doesn’t matter. The Bible instructs us to be diligent and be faithful in our study of the Word. Galatians 1:8 says, “But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a Gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned.” So we have to teach it accurately.
And the second responsibility of a faithful teacher is to live the truth faithfully. Look at verse 7, “In everything, set an example by doing what is good. In your teaching show integrity, seriousness an soundness of speech that cannot be condemned so that those who oppose us may be ashamed because they have nothing bad to say about us.” If you teach the truth, there will naturally be some who are opposed to that.
¨ They do not want to hear that they are accountable to God.
¨ They do not want to hear that there are things that are absolutely right and wrong.
¨ They don’t want to hear that they need to be faithful in their marriage.
Paul told Titus to expect such opposition to your teaching and silence those critics by the example of your life. Live what you teach so that those who oppose you may not be able to find anything bad to say about you.
II. THE OLDER MEN
Then Paul tells Titus to give special instruction to the older men in the church. He says, “Teach the older men to be temperate.” Now by older men, Paul is not necessarily referring to those who are older chronologically. Chronology does not necessarily equate with spirituality. I’ve known some men who are in their 60’s and 70’s and have been Christians for the better part of their life who still exhibit many signs of spiritual immaturity. They are spiritual infants living in Senior citizen’s bodies. On the other hand, I have know some men who are in their late 30’s and early 40’s who have demonstrated remarkable spiritual maturity, far beyond their years. So, Paul is not just talking to those with gray hair when he speaks of older men. You may be 40 or 50 or you may be a senior citizen, but you are of influence on those who are younger. And Paul tells Titus to teach such men to be temperate. Now the King James translates that word as “sober”. The Living bible says, “serious”. It doesn’t mean you don’t laugh, but it means you take life seriously. You realize there’s something more than the next ball game. There’s something more than the next fishing trip or golf outing in your life. And the young men in the church need to see an example of mature Christian men who can laugh and have a good time, but at the same time they can pray and talk about their faith.
Be worthy of respect. In oriental cultures, people are automatically respected because of their age. Grandparents are revered and taken into the home and looked to for counsel. In our culture, we idolize youth and vitality. You see these ads on TV with two women who are both slim and attractive. And the narrator asks, “Can you tell which is the mother and which is the daughter?” Everyone wants to be the daughter. Paul Harvey talks about the old man who put braces on his false teeth so that he’d look younger. We worship youth. We don’t put much value on wisdom and experience. And we have a tendency to show disrespect to the aging and laugh at them. Let me say a word to the young people here today: Don’t ridicule older people. And don’t mock the way they walk, or make fun of the way they drive. Remember one verse whenever you are tempted to do that. The bible says, “You reap what you sow.” And unless you die young, you’re going to be there someday. And the tables will be turned on you. You see, in the church, regardless of the culture, we’re to show respect to the older. And if you are an older Christian, you be worthy of respect. You make it easier for people to respect you.
And one way you can do that is by being self-controlled. It’s translated elsewhere as “sensible”. Such men are not overwhelmed by sudden wild alarms. They remain level-headed. They can have a stabilizing influence on others. The Living bible says, “be unruffled.”
And, “Be sound in the faith.” There are some young Christians who are so vulnerable to every new fad that comes along, that they need to have others in the church that they can respect and turn to when they have questions about the faith.
And practice love. There’s a tendency for some older Christian people to get crotchety, or extremely legalistic as they get older. But Christians should become more unselfish and more compassionate, more flexible with age.
And look at the last part of verse 2. Be worthy of respect, self-controlled, sound in faith, in love and in endurance. We’ve got a dangerous practice in America called retirement. It’s a blessing in some ways, but it’s also dangerous because it leads to the impression that productivity stops when you get to be 62 or 65. It’s dangerous in the church because people look forward to retiring so they can get out of all responsibility, and relax. While you may want to refocus your interest and redirect your involvement in the church, DON’T QUIT ON US! Don’t drop out of all responsibility. Don’t turn it all over to the younger generation. We need the vitality of youth. But we also need the example and the wisdom of those who are older.
There are all kinds of examples in the bible of people who kept enduring right to the end.
¨ Abraham was 90 when Sarah his wife gave birth to their promised Son
¨ Moses was 80 when he led the nation of Israel out of Egypt
¨ Caleb was 85 when he conquered the hill country in Palestine
¨ Simeon was an old man in the Temple when he held the baby Jesus in his arms
God’s Word is filled with examples like those that underscore the fact that you don’t lose your purpose in life simply because you celebrate your 62nd birthday. If God permits you a long life, continue to serve and be an inspiration to those who are younger. Matthew 10:22 says, “He that endures to the end will be saved.”
III. THE OLDER WOMEN
Then, Paul teaches Titus how to instruct the older women. He says, “Teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live.” A number of years ago one of the networks came out with a situation comedy about the lives 3 divorced or widowed older women. The show, which can still be seen in syndication, is based on the premise that it’s funny when older women are irreverent. To be honest with you, I didn’t like the Golden Girls when it first came out, and I don’t watch it now. You know why? Because I think the premise is all wrong. Once you get over the shock factor of seeing older women do or say certain things, there’s not that much funny about raunchy old women. But there is much that is attractive about poised, classy, respectful and spiritual older women who are faithful to the Lord.
Paul said, “Teach the older women not to be slanderers.” Now, gossip is a temptation for everybody, but it is a particular temptation for older women who have more time and opportunity for it when their children are grown and gone. But when we spread tales that hurt reputations or are malicious, it sets a terrible tone for younger Christians. Older women, listen to me, you talk in such a way in church that it edifies people. When somebody comes to you with a juicy bit of gossip and asks, “May I share something with you, and don’t tell anybody?”
You just say to them, “Sure! It will be just as safe with me as it was with you.”
You be an example to the younger of talk that edifies and encourages. Ephesians the 4th chapter says, “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouth, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs that it may benefit those who listen.”
And Paul says, “Teach the older women not to be addicted to much wine.” As a young boy growing up in a home with 3 sisters and a mother who loved the afternoon soap operas, I can remember coming home after school watching portions of two or three of their favorite soaps. We only had one TV, so it was the soap or nothing. And as a 10 year old boy I could name all the characters and the plots of General Hospital, All My Children, and Days of Our Lives. I promise you that I haven’t been faithful to keep up with them since those days at home. But a couple of weeks ago on my day off, I was surfing through the TV channels in the afternoon. I landed on a Soap opera for a few minutes and one thing caught my attention. A disproportionate number of the older women are portrayed as being heavy drinkers. Lori commented, “It’s really sad to think that there are people out there who actually depend that much on alcohol to get them through the day.”
Now, maybe some of you here today are struggling in this area. You are not alone. It was a problem in the early church. That’s why Paul instructed Titus to teach the men who would serve as elders to not be addicted to much wine and for the older women to do the same. And if alcohol was a problem in the church then, there is no reason to think it’s not a problem in the church today. Somebody said that alcoholism is the one disease that has to be self-diagnosed to be cured. Maybe today you need to acknowledge, “I am developing a dependency that I cannot control and I’d better get help now or it’s going to conquer me.”
Listen to 2 Corinthians 1:4, “God comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.” If you’ve gone through trouble you can be a help to other people; the person who is most helpful to you in a time of need is someone who has gone through exactly what you’re going through. And if God helps you overcome a problem in your life, you are in a unique situation to help others who go through the same difficulty. Older women, listen to me, there are younger Christian women who are going to need your example and inspiration in the future. Don’t let them down. Then you’ll be a position to teach what is good.
J. Wallace Hamilton wrote a book in which he included a chapter entitled, “How Long Is Your Shadow?” The shadow that he was talking about is our influence with other people. Hamilton said, “When we walk outside on a sunny day, we can’t control our shadow any more than we can stop having the shadow. Likewise, we can’t stop having an influence for good or bad on the lives of others. We all exert an influence. We all have a shadow.” And there are two points that Hamilton makes about our influence that I want to use in closing.
Number one, your influence, for the most part is unconscious. You’re not conscious of your shadow when you walk down the street, and you hardly even think about the influence that goes out from your life, but it is there. You see, we think we’re going to influence people by performance or by intention, but in reality we exert influence when our guard is down. We say, “Well my kids are growing up. I need to influence them. They are getting old fast.” So we sit them down and talk to them about clean living, and about how they ought to honor God with the way they live their life. And we think to ourselves, “There. I’ve done it. I’ve influenced my kids.” And maybe we have because everyone needs a heart to heart talk. But that’s not really where the influence is. What really speaks to our children are not the lectures we give, but our casual conversation when we aren’t even thinking about it. Your influence is unconscious.
And secondly, your influence is almost immortal. Watching the Learning Channel the other night I learned that back in the 1950’s a major earthquake struck the South American country of Chile, and the tremor shook the ocean floor and generated waves that began to ripple across the Pacific Ocean. 15 hours later a 40’ tidal wave came crashing down on Hilo, Hawaii thousands of miles away. In the same way, your influence goes far beyond your ability to see or control and can have a powerful effect on others. You touch one life, they touch another and another. Even your death does not destroy the shadow of your influence. J. Wallace Hamilton died in 1968 and we’re still feeling the impact today of what he wrote. A man might write a book, or leave a will, or just a memory. But though his voice is silent, he goes on speaking through his lengthened shadow. And who knows how your life is going to influence someone’s life far down the road?
That’s why it is so important that we live the truth all the time. Because you have no idea who’s touching your shadow. Hamilton suggests that's why we’re not going to be judged immediately after we die. We’ll have to wait till Judgement Day when all the returns are in. Our life may be finished here, but the record isn’t. Influence has to be computed. And not until the end can a man know how his influence has registered in the total of the human race.
What make a shadow? The sun, and light. What make as a consistent, positive shadow in our lives? The Son of God. He is the Light of the World. And if you want your life to be a positive influence on others, you need to come to the Light of Jesus Christ. In just a moment we’re going to sing our hymn of invitation. And as we sing, if you’ll come forward and say, “I want to accept Christ as my Savior.”, you can make that public confession and you can be baptized into Him. Or, if you want to move your membership to this church, we want you to do that. Whatever your decision, you come to the Light and let him cast a positive shadow as you seek to model the truth. Why don’t you come as we stand and sing together . . .