How Sound Doctrine Transforms God's Man
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
Father’s Day Video
Mother’s Day & Father’s Day plans...
Text: Titus 2:1-8
Text: Titus 2:1-8
Verse 1
In way for reminder:
Paul’s charge to Titus: teach sound doctrine
What does sound doctrine mean?
Sound = healthy
Doctrine = teachings about Jesus and the implications of those teachings to one’s life.
Thus, sound doctrine isn’t just what we believe. It’s what we believe and how what we believe drives our practices.
Why was teaching sound doctrine so important for Titus’ ministry in Crete?
Verses 1:10-16
To counter false teachers.
Sound Doctrine = By grace, God has saved us through the sacrificial atoning work of Christ Jesus and is now training and transforming us to live lives that glorify Him, giving us a blessed hope for the future and purpose for today.
How does sound doctrine transform a man?
How does sound doctrine transform a man?
Verse 2
In Older Men
Who are the older men he is speaking of?
Both advanced in age and spiritually maturity...
Sound doctrine helps and older man know how to honor God with his behavior.
Sober-minded = one who is careful and makes good judgments…not impaired.
Dignified = reverent…living as an example of what is appropriate and what isn’t...
Self-Controlled = Key idea…shows up in some form to all four groups…one’s passions are under control...
Sound in faith = healthy faith…Having a healthy faith is having a healthy trust in God.
Since they had been without food for a long time, Paul stood up among them and said, “Men, you should have listened to me and not have set sail from Crete and incurred this injury and loss. Yet now I urge you to take heart, for there will be no loss of life among you, but only of the ship. For this very night there stood before me an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I worship, and he said, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul; you must stand before Caesar. And behold, God has granted you all those who sail with you.’ So take heart, men, for I have faith in God that it will be exactly as I have been told.
Sound in love = Healthy love…putting others first...
A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.
Sound in steadfastness = patience and endurance…healthy endurance…one who can wait patiently upon the Lord because he knows Whom he has believed in...
Summation: Honorable living and a healthy faith.
Older men are to be this way so younger men will see how a Christian is supposed to live and want to follow their example.
Older men should live a life that shows they believe what really matters in life is pleasing God.
While taking care of family is important, or doing your job well, or being a good citizen, nothing is as important as pleasing God.
In fact, all of the other things we do flow from our desire to please God (love and support our family, doing a good job at your work, being a good citizen, etc.)
Christian men must understand what really matters.
It is very easy to lose sight of this!
As Thomas Lea points out in his commentary, the goal of the old men ought to be the same as Paul: “To have fought the good fight, to have finished the race, to have kept the faith (2 Tim. 4:7).”
Verse 6
Who are younger men?
Not the older men…
Why does Paul only say one this to younger men?
Because younger men are supposed to be striving to follow the example of both the older men, and Titus (see verses 7-8).
Because this one covers a number of issues younger men face.
What does he say?
Sound doctrine helps a younger man know how to control his passions.
One’s passions are under control…sometimes this is difficult because young men can often be full of energy and are driven by their hormones.
Younger men must work twice as hard to fight the battle that is in their mind. (2 Cor. 10:5). Young men’s thought life is where battles are often won or lost.
It’s a reason why both accountability and mentorship is so important.
In America today we are facing many challenges. One such challenge has been called the juvenilization of the American male.
What’s that?
Why is it so prevalent?
Lack of accountability, lack of mentoring, and lack of humbling ourselves to accountability and mentoring.
However, that doesn’t mean it is out of their control, otherwise it would have been useless for Paul to write this!
David Campbell: “The mind is like a garden. If a garden is not carefully looked after and cultivated, it quickly becomes a wilderness. So it is with a Christian mind. Leave it alone, and it will swiftly become worldly in its thinking.”
I agree. We must carefully look after and cultivate the garden of our minds.
Through God’s Word;
Through godly mentors & accountability;
Through sacrificial service;
Through God’s transforming grace (see vv. 11-14)
So What?
So What?
Men, both young and old, need to strive daily to honor God with our lifestyle, live with a healthy faith in Christ Jesus, and experience God’s transformative grace.
Are you living to be an example to younger men, who so desperately need examples of Christian character?
Does your behavior agree with your doctrine?
What about your life is pleasing to God? What isn’t?
Younger men, who do you look up to? What about their life are you trying to emulate?