Healthy Doctrine for Younger Men

We call Robert Goddard (1882-1945) the Father of Modern Rocketry because he made big contributions to the science of combustion, explosives, and rocketry. He was a sickly child with an insatiable curiosity for science.

One day he climbed a cherry tree to cut off dead branches. He looked up at the sky and daydreamed about what it would be like for human beings to travel to the stars. From then on he set his mind on making that dream a reality.

Though his interests varied, Goddard eventually focused on how to harness the power of explosives by containing that power in tubes and controlling the power in a way that would thrust the tube forward quickly and far.

He performed early experiments with gun powder in his college basement, resulting in lots of smoke. Risky, right? In time he discovered more efficient powders and liquid fuels and developed the cone-shaped rocket design we use today. Thanks to Goddard’s diligent work, we now send rockets deep into outer space.

Young men in the church are like Goddard and science. They can mess up in ways that hurt themselves and others. Yet they have potential to make a serious spiritual impact when they focus and harness their abilities and desires for Christ.

Grace is God’s free, unlimited ability to be what we should be and do what we should do. We receive this grace when we turn to Christ alone as God and Savior. Then we experience this grace in personal ways as we trust in him day by day, moment by moment.

Having given guidance to older men, older women, and younger women in the church for how to experience this grace in their personal lives, Paul now turns his attention to the younger men in the church who are followers of Christ (Titus 2:6-8).

Paul’s advice to younger men is surprisingly simple.

Unlike his advice to women and older men, Paul gives only one word of guidance. No lists or series of instructions and no lengthy lectures. Just one word – self-control.

Titus 2:6–8 NKJV

Likewise, exhort the young men to be sober-minded, in all things showing yourself to be a pattern of good works; in doctrine showing integrity, reverence, incorruptibility, sound speech that cannot be condemned, that one who is an opponent may be ashamed, having nothing evil to say of you.

What makes this guidance even more fascinating is that it’s neither exclusive nor unique. Paul has already given this guidance to pastors, older men, older women, and younger women. Yet it’s so important that Paul gives it again for younger men and in this case lets it stand alone, so this guidance is especially crucial for younger men all on its own.

Younger men should practice self-control.

The word sober-minded here means to maintain control of one’s self. It means to keep a clear mind and make well-informed, sensible decisions. It describes a man who is not guided by desires, emotions, feelings, impulses, passions, or other pressures. He is guided instead by knowing and doing what is best and right.

Self-control is an special challenge for younger men because they are especially prone experience the strong pull of unhealthy desires, which often seem irresistible.

2 Timothy 2:22 NKJV

Flee also youthful lusts; but pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.

They are facing head-on the daunting need to “put away childish things” (1 Cor 13:11). Despite these challenging factors, we don’t have to concede that younger men must “sew wild oats.” It is in our younger years that we should devote ourselves to serving God.

Ecclesiastes 12:1 NKJV

Remember now your Creator in the days of your youth, Before the difficult days come, And the years draw near when you say, “I have no pleasure in them”:

Unfortunately, younger men naturally spend their most energetic, vibrant years (30ish and younger) in either pursuing selfish desires and passions or wandering aimlessly and floating along. They of any we may more easily excuse for working, spending, eating, sleeping, drinking, traveling, pursuing habits and hobbies, losing their temper, saying foolish and hurtful things, wasting money, and giving way to sexual desires.

In the first-century Roman world, young men experienced strong pulls to participate in all sorts of sexual immorality. They were also inundated with serious enticement to follow the gladiatorial games, whether locally or at the coliseum in Rome. These were degrading, grotesque, and even deadly competitions. These temptations appealed to baser, sinful desires, not godly ones. Young men face the same kinds of temptations today, especially through technology, not only through immoral exploration and habits but through over-commitment to athletics either as athletes or fan(actics).

We should raise the bar by challenging, cheering, and encouraging young men in the church to rely on God’s grace to be what they should be and do what they should do. There’s no good reason or reasonable excuse for living below what God’s grace makes possible.

Do younger men face real challenges? They do, but nothing that God’s grace is unable to overcome. That’s why we need to change our paradigm. We need to encourage younger men to step up to the plate as examples of grace in two ways: as models of godly behavior and sources of biblical teaching.

Younger men should provide examples of good behavior.

This is the positive aspect of self-control. Controlling yourself by subduing unhealthy pursuits so you can focus on healthy pursuits instead.

Have you noticed how the early, first-century church as recorded in the NT moved forward with a blend of leadership from older and younger men together? It did not rely on older men alone.

From the way Paul connects personal instructions to Titus with general instructions for younger men, it appears that Titus himself was a younger man.

Timothy was a younger man as well and a key leader in the church (1 Tim 4:12).

Even the twelve disciples were likely younger men, at least younger than 30 yrs. old and in some if not most cases under 20 years old – teenagers.

Younger men should take following Christ seriously in their younger years and not wait until they become older men. Rather than leave the church or switch churches, younger men should take increasingly active roles in the church where God has placed them, and the church where Christ has placed them should encourage this kind of involvement from its younger men by enabling and equipping them to do so.

“Showing” means to present yourself or to cause something to happen. This indicates that younger men should volunteer to serve and arrange your priorities and schedule to make it happen. For whatever reason, young men tend to volunteer their abilities and energies for so many other pursuits, pushing their church involvement to the margins.

“Yourself” emphasizes Titus’s need to take responsibility for himself and not require others to pamper him or prop him up. This is a personal choice that young men must make. They must take the initiative and show interest, not wait to be asked.

“Pattern” means a model or mold that others can duplicate. It’s time for younger men to rediscover their role not just as learners and followers in the church but as models and mentors. Parents should be able to encourage their children to follow the example of teen men in the church and teen men should be able to follow the example of college-aged, young married men. They shouldn’t have to leapfrog multiple generations of younger, worldly-minded, self-centered men to find examples and role models of godly living.

“Good works” refers to good and godly behavior – hard work, honoring parents, helping those in need, serving in church ministries, treating peers with respect, treating women with purity, treating their own wife and children (if married) with grace. Young men should not be known for addiction to video games, obsession with sports, or fleshly living. They should be known for making decisions that put Christ first and serve others.

Younger men should teach others to follow Christ.

Younger men should not only be role models of godly living but should be sources of godly teaching as well. “Doctrine” refers specifically to verbal instruction, teaching God’s ways from God’s Word to God’s people. This role is so important that Paul gives some specific guidance for what kind of teaching younger men in the church should provide.

Since they are ‘younger’ men, they don’t have the wisdom of experience and long-held knowledge that older men enjoy. This apparent disadvantage, though, should not prevent them from taking an active role as teachers in the church. Instead, it should intensify their efforts to rely on God’s grace in three particular ways.

They should teach with the right content.

Younger men should be serious students of God’s Word so that they can teach Scripture accurately and confidently. They should not be content to pass along half-truths, vague religious cliches, or unorthodox ideas. They should not engage in useless theological arguments. They should have a firm grasp of Scripture and be able to teach biblical theology and truth to others. They should be able to bring people to faith in Christ, to baptism, and to following the rest of what Christ has taught. To do this, they should be as serious about studying God’s Word as they are about studying chemistry, mathematics, Spanish, or car and professional athlete stats.

They should teach with the right attitude.

They should exhibit a serious approach to life and speak in a way that reveal the fear of God. This is not being “scared” of God as we might be scared of a ghost or zombie but is being aware of and respecting the great awesomeness, holiness, and majesty of God.

Let’s be clear. There is a place for humor, laughter, and a genuinely fun time. Paul is not discouraging that. Young men should not represent a stoic, holier-than-thou demeanor. Instead, they should take a serious approach and mindset towards life in general.

Younger men should go through life with a sense of God-given purpose and seriousness that recognizes that life is not a game but a one-time opportunity to make an impact for Christ for eternity. They should manifest the heart of a man who grasps at the core of his being what it means to call Christ Lord and God.

Luke 6:46 NKJV

“But why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do the things which I say?

This attitude should mark whatever teaching a young man does in the church, whether to young children, his peers, the larger congregation, or unbelievers in the community at large. His teaching should be reverent and serious, not casual, flippant, or profane and should be speak as though Christ himself is in the audience.

I have noticed a desire among younger pastors to – in order to be relevant – speak in an appealing, winsome, and engaging style to such a degree that they lose that sense of reverence for God. They speak more like a junior-high boy who’s trying to be hip and cool. They stuff their lessons, sermons, and talks with the latest trending words:

Church is dope, man.

Our next youth activity is going to be so savage and sick.

Following Christ is Gucci.

The lesson we’re going to talk about today is totally lit.

When we speak about God’s Word, his truth and person, we should not do so with a legalistic, religious piousness, neither should we do so with a flippant, trendy casualness. When people spoke to God in the Old Testament, they showed great respect for him.

They should teach with the right reputation.

This point simply reemphasizes what Paul has already said, only here he emphasizes not the instructions to be self-controlled but the reason why a young man should be self-controlled. He should be self-controlled so that his life does not contradict or undermine what he says about Christ and the Scriptures. His life should match his message. What he says about God’s grace should match what he does by God’s grace.

Paul goes on to make that clear in his closing statement why a life of integrity is so crucial. “Healthy words which cannot be prosecuted.” In other words, Paul was counting on the younger men of the church to teach and live in a way that no one could accuse them of errors or inconsistencies in what they said or how they lived. Critics should not be able to dig up “dirt” on you, not because your past is perfect but because your new life as a follower of Christ has genuinely changed.

“If Jesus Christ be God and died for me, then no sacrifice can be too great for me to make for Him.” (C.T. Studd)

C.T. (Charles Thomas) Studd was born in 1960 and became an elite and famous professional cricket player. One evening in his eighteenth year, he was headed out for a cricket match when a preacher who was a guest in his parent’s home asked him whether he was sure of his relationship with Christ and eternal destiny. That night, C.T. trusted in Christ alone as his God and Savior.

For six years after that night, C.T. took a casual approach to following Christ. He attended church and read his Bible, but he didn’t share his faith with anyone and continued to pursue secular goals. When one of his brothers became gravely ill, C.T. questioned the direction of his life. What was he doing of eternal value?

One day he read a pamphlet written by an atheist, which claimed that if a person truly believed Christ, he would do anything in his power to reach as many as possible. This challenged C.T. to reach out to others with the gospel. He joined a group of athletes at Cambridge who met together for Bible study and prayer and attempted to reach other athletes and students on campus with the gospel.

Not long after this, C.T. heard missionary Hudson Taylor speak, after which he walked away from his athletic pursuits to team up with Hudson Taylor doing missions in China. Even his Christian parents tried to talk him out of this. He eventually did missionary work in India and Africa, too.

What about you? We need younger men in the church to take responsibility for their behavior and choices, who will stop making excuses for a spiritually unhealthy life and choose to make good use of their energy, talents, and time for God, putting others first.

We need younger men who will commit themselves be what they should be and do what they should do – who will commit themselves to be role models and teachers in the church. Don’t let the busyness and pressures of life get out of control. Follow Paul’s guidance and take control of your life, committing yourself to becoming a role model and teacher for Christ by God’s grace.