Titus 2:1-15: Things That Fit Sound Doctrine

We'll be starting in verse 1 and reading the entire chapter.

It's a small book, I want to read the whole thing. We'll get there one day.

He'll let me read from the whole thing and preach from the whole thing. But today we're just going to try chapter 2.

Alrighty. Here now the inspired word of God. 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 too 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 bond slaves 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.

Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we come before you, Lord, and Father, again, we thank you.

Thank you that we can call you Father. Thank you that we can come into your presence. Thank you that we can hear your word.

And so, Father, we would just pray that you'd be pleased to bless the preaching of your word. Father, that we would understand these are your words.

Lord, let them not be added to, but let them, your truth, ring to your people.

And may we grow and mature. And, Father, for those who are not yours yet, may they recognize their desperate need of you today.

May today be the day of salvation. Father, we pray again that you'd bless this time. We pray this in the name of our

Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen. You may be seated. Things that fit sound doctrine.

My subtitle is, What you do reflects what you believe, and vice versa.

In my previous church, we knew a couple that was a godly couple.

The husband was a deacon, but both husband and wife served together and in various ways in the church.

They had two children, a boy and a girl, and they raised them in the faith. And if you could tell by your conversation with this family, by interaction with this family, that the

Lord was at the center of their family. They had a great love for God. And I remember hearing one particular story about the son, who through God's kind providence, was actually able to go to an

Ivy League school. And that's a little story in and of itself. Obviously, it was a secular school, and he lived on campus.

And in the midst of the worldliness one would find at a secular university, he faithfully followed

Christ. Years later, a student would call him up and tell him that he became a believer, and he wanted him to know.

He goes, because of you. He goes, all that time I was watching you and how you acted, how you conducted yourself, how you did things differently than everyone else.

And the Lord used that to bring him to Christ. So a few weeks ago,

I preached from the book of James about wisdom. How to obtain it, pitfalls to avoid that would sabotage our efforts.

And now this morning we're looking at Titus 2. Paul has left one of his protégés, Titus, in a very difficult place, with a very difficult task.

The reason I picked this passage is that it ties in nicely with what I preached on last time.

Our goal is spiritual maturity, conformity to Christ. And it requires wisdom.

And the Lord tells us to ask him for it. He's generous, he gives without reproach, he's eager to give us the wisdom we need.

But we were reminded to ask in faith, without doubting, without being double -minded.

And we discussed how the Lord had provided us with what we needed, necessary for wisdom. And how we ought to avail ourselves of those means, of those resources, even while we're asking him.

And the resources that he provides are his word, the Bible, and the local church, the body of Christ, you.

So here in Titus 2 we have an example of both. We have biblical instruction on the one hand, and we have the body called to serve one another by way of example and teaching.

Not only for our good, our benefit, but also the benefit of the watching world.

That they would know the grace of God. Our behavior, it either adorns the gospel, or it brings reproach on the name of Christ.

Here we're presuppositionalists and we say, there's no neutrality. Well, there's no neutrality for the

Christian either. Your behavior, for good or bad, is representing your Savior.

Each one has an obligation, older men and young men, older women and young women. The slave and the free.

As we take a look at this chapter, I want us to be aware of a couple things, and one is the context. The way

I've outlined the sermon is, my three points are context, deeds, and then doctrine.

The context is, look at the material Titus has given to work with. Cretans. They were so bad that they remain a byword to this day.

If you ever heard the word cretan used to describe someone, your first thought probably isn't, oh, they must be an inhabitant of the island of Crete.

No, you're probably thinking they're not a good person. There's some moral deficiency within them.

In the first chapter, Paul says, a prophet of their own, and this is a reference to Epimenides, a famous Greek philosopher who was from Crete.

He says, a prophet of their own. He says, cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.

This is their own people saying it. And then Paul says, this testimony is true. I had a hard time growing up with them.

I'm like, what? Am I missing something? He's like, no, they really are that bad. Now go instruct them to lead godly lives.

Talk about having your work cut out for you. On Wednesday, Pastor Anthony did do a helpful study, an overview of the book, and he points out some of the things about the context.

Crete is not only the birthplace of this philosopher, he's also regarded as the birthplace of Zeus, who is a god well -known for his lies.

And the Apostle Paul, he always knows his audience. He knows what their history is and what their context is, and he's always quick to point out the contrast, the reality found in the one true god.

So when you look at the opening to chapter one, what does he say? A sponsor of God, an apostle of Jesus Christ for the faith of the chosen of God and the knowledge of the truth, which is according to godliness in the hope of eternal life, which

God, who cannot lie, promised long ago. Right out of the gate,

Paul's saying, this is not the God of your forefathers. This is the one true God, and he provides truth.

He cannot lie, because Zeus wasn't just... Zeus was lying to his supposed mythological wife and taking all sorts of advantage of the mere mortals.

He wasn't a good guy. But for these people, this false, scheming, sexually immoral deceiver was the one who ruled the cosmos, in their understanding.

And so what sort of conduct do you expect from people who worship a god like that? But to follow in his footsteps.

Paul also says that there are many rebellious men there, empty talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision, who must be silenced because they're upsetting whole families.

Titus is called to reprove men severely so that they may be sound in faith. What about meek and mild?

There's two sides to that coin. Meekness, as they say, is not weakness. That they may be sound in faith, not paying attention to Jewish myths and commandments of men who turn away from the truth.

He goes on, they profess to know God, but they deny him with their deeds. Now, if you've read this, and you're reading it, and you're thinking, well,

Crete is in Greece, right? Crete is part of Greece. How do rebellious Israelites garner so much attention in a land full of Greeks?

Well, if you remember, in the dispersion, Jews were found throughout the empire. You know, it was the

Greek empire, it's the Roman empire, and they're all over the place. And Jews were known for their proselytizing.

Not always for good, though. In Matthew 23, Jesus is condemning the Pharisees. He says, you travel land and sea.

What dedication, what commitment, but to make a proselytite, and then you make him twice as much a son of hell, a child of hell, as yourselves.

So here they were, evangelizing, as it were, but because they had rejected

God and his true ways, they're actually making things worse. They're being awful, and they're making people like them worse.

And on the day of Pentecost, we see that Jews and proselytites had come to Jerusalem. They're there, right there in Acts 2.

And among the varied places represented, we hear them in our own language, Cretans were there.

And so Titus has been left here by Paul to bring order to a church that is made up of former

Zeus worshippers, and is still being heavily influenced by Pharisaical Judaizers who teach the commandments of men.

The church in Crete is being impacted by both a societal exaltation of gross sin, and by those who profess a godliness that's in actuality one of their own imagination.

If you think about it, it's not far off from where we are. Our own context, it's very similar.

On the one hand, we have a culture that celebrates all manner of ungodliness, all across the spectrum.

But when we try to evangelize, when we try to disciple, we're dealing with, contending with, a brand of Christianity that in many ways actually denies

Christ, while claiming to be the faithful ones. Faced with such a mess, many would be tempted to throw up their hands and just give up, keep their heads down and wait for whatever needs to happen to happen.

The rapture, the collapse of society, nuclear war, whatever, just tell us when it's over.

But that's not Paul's instruction. That's not Titus' calling. He's told to engage, rebuke, reprove, teach the things which are fitting for sound doctrine.

Which brings me to point two, conduct, deeds. When he says to speak the things which are fitting for sound doctrine, most people would immediately start thinking about theology, talk about the confession, talk about the creeds.

Paul immediately starts talking about conduct and attitudes. Afterwards, he gives the theological foundation that is the ever -present reality, enabling and obligating the practical instruction.

His pattern usually is that. First to share the doctrine, share the application. But here he reverses it.

But putting it this way is a good reminder for us that theology is eminently practical. When we talk about doctrine, what does it look like in practice?

What we believe is inseparable from how we act. And so like I said, the subtitle of the sermon is

What You Do Reflects What You Believe. If we believe in the truth of the gospel, if we believe in the lordship of Christ, then we must live in a way that is consistent with that belief.

And so first I want us to consider the standards of God that he provides, God's standards, regarding our attitudes, our behavior.

And then afterwards, we will talk about the glorious reality that makes it possible for us to obey this calling, this standard.

So we'll read through the text again, and I'll define some of these terms so that we're on the same page.

He says, Older men are to be temperate. ESV says sober -minded.

So some people say, well it's just talking about the mentality. I think there's also the idea of being sober.

As we look at the obligations of older women, as we look at the obligations of the elders in chapter 1, it's both.

To be serious -minded and to be sober. So to be temperate is to be not given to drink.

It doesn't mean a teetotaler. It doesn't mean you can't enjoy alcohol. We know here that alcohol is a gift, but we're told time and again not to be drunk, not to be a slave to it.

And we need to be careful about our intake of it because if you're not temperate, that failure will lead to other failures as well.

Keep in mind, they live in a society where there's feasts and there's orgies. You know, so drink to excess and then enjoy.

And so if you're allowing yourself to be given to alcohol, what other things are going to happen after?

So we must be sober -minded. Dignified. Older men are called to be dignified, worthy of respect, noble, serious.

It's a way of carrying yourself. It's a gravitas, right? Doesn't mean you don't know how to laugh or enjoy yourself or have a good time, but that's not all you are.

Always finding a laugh, never serious, never able to live up to the moment where things are serious and need to be addressed.

You have a seriousness about you. People are able to respect you. Sensible, self -controlled.

Being in control of oneself, prudent, thoughtful, responsible. There's many applications here. Older men are to be an example to others as thoughtful, as intentional, not reactionary.

The young people are like, React! Fight! Older men say, wait, let's think about it, let's do it smart, let's do it wise.

They recognize that they can't be driven by just merely feelings and desires without regard for truth, without regard for biblical principles.

They're called to be sound. Sound, free from error, healthy. In faith, love, and perseverance.

These are words that are used throughout the world, but they have biblical definitions and they have worldly corruptions.

The question is, are you correct in your faith? How you trust and worship

God. In your love, how you serve God and serve others. And in your patience, waiting on Christ.

Or are you just saying that you have faith and love and patience, but they look nothing like what

Christ would exemplify. So the question for older men is, does your conduct match your profession, your profession of faith?

Are you worthy of respect? Are young men able to come to you, observe you, learn from you how to be a godly man?

And it says older women, likewise, are to be reverent in their behavior. Reverent is reverent, right?

Expression of religious belief, it's a proper expression, right? Devout, pious. This is a parallel to the expectation of older men being dignified.

It's similar, but there's a sense of it where it's more subdued. And that's a biblical pattern.

Men are called to lead out front and yet to be dignified in their conduct, not brash, not pugnacious.

Women lead in their own way, they influence in their own way, but not in the same way as men. And Titus is called to understand human nature and to recognize the areas that we tend to struggle with the most.

So older men be dignified and self -controlled, not chasing after youthful lust, not acting like a young fool.

They're called to lead their families and society and not by their own vain imagination, not by their own worldly wisdom, things that they've picked up from their father and their father before them, but grounded in truth, the truth of God's word.

And older women are warned against being malicious gossips or slanderers. Those who would use their words to hurt or harm others, to put themselves ahead as people in the know or people of influence.

Whether it be done out of motivation of anger or arrogance or just boredom.

They're warned against being enslaved to much wine. Too much wine leads to loose lips and it's the gossip and other vices as well.

You know, there's an understanding here that's being addressed where Paul always has the ability to put his finger on the pulse and recognize what our issues are, where our weaknesses are.

And there's an understanding sometimes that older folks have put in their time feel a certain freedom to just kick back and relax.

To let loose, enjoy their drink and speak whatever's on their mind with no filter as it were.

They've kept quiet long enough. So it's been a source of jokes forever because there's something of a truth behind it as far as the nature of people.

But it's not actually godly to just let loose or whatever's on your mind and to not care about consequences.

The older generation is intended by the Lord God Almighty to lead the younger generation by word, by deed, to be an example to them.

And that means godly conduct. Not clocking out and acting out. So older women are going to teach what is good.

And we'll discuss that in a moment. It doesn't mention older men teaching here because it goes without saying.

Elders are meant to teach and they're meant to be an example to other young men who will be able to teach. But all men and women are called to teach in their relative context.

Particularly as parents, teaching your children. But it's the father who is the priest of the home.

In Proverbs, the primary instruction begins as a father tells his child my son, my child, listen to me.

Which means he's the one who's about to talk. He's the one who's about to instruct. And he says, and listen to your mother.

So it's an effort combined between the two. But the father is called to lead and instruct.

In Ephesians, it's fathers who are told to raise your children in the discipline and instruction of the

Lord. Men, if we're not leading our family by instruction, we are guilty of dereliction of duty.

We're failing what God has called us to do. But I digress. That's a freebie for you.

Older women have a role in teaching and that's what we're talking about here. But their role is shown by scripture to be more limited than men.

Limited, but essential. Limited, but vital. You can't do without it.

Here the focus is on their obligation to the younger women. To be an example. Not a gossip, not a slave to wine.

But to teach what is good. To encourage the young women to love their husbands, to love their children.

Encourage them to love. Again, a word misused all around the world. But there is a biblical understanding of that word.

And Matthew Henry happens to put it well, so I want to quote him for a second here. He says, in reference to husbands, wives must be instructed in their duties of love and subjection to them.

And to love their children. Not with a natural affection only, but a spiritual. A love springing from a holy, sanctified heart.

And regulated by the word. Not a fond, foolish love indulging them in evil.

Neglecting due reproof and correction where necessary. But a regular Christian love showing itself in their pious education.

Forming their life and manners are right. Taking care of their souls as well as of their bodies, of their spiritual welfare as well as their temporal of the former chiefly and in the first place.

If your moms love you, they will not spoil you. They will speak the truth to you.

They'll be praying for you and telling you what you need to hear to be right with God. Don't disregard it.

Love is not merely an emotion. A natural affection, as Matthew Henry says. But an active decision to do what is right according to God's standard and not our own.

This means women need theology as much as men. Because it is practical. Because it has application.

Teach what is good. Healthy societies require healthy families. Solid families.

Solid families need men and women who know God's word and how to apply it.

We need instruction on how to love. And godly women by God's word and experience should be able to instruct young women how to love.

As I mentioned last time, the key word there is should. For older men and younger older men and older women.

If you're younger and seeking godly counsel, observe the conduct. If you see failure in terms of faithful living.

If you see chaos, bitterness, disrespect, go elsewhere for advice. And pray that that person would continue to grow in the knowledge of the

Lord and maturity and wisdom. We're all forced to get old. We're not forced to gain wisdom, unfortunately.

But we should be able to encourage the younger. So be able to encourage the younger women to be sensible, pure, working at home.

Again, men and women who have experience that has translated into wisdom, recognize the areas of struggle to our particular genders.

The pitfalls that we experience as a man or as a woman. And older women who are godly recognize the temptation to be driven by emotions and can help to warn against it.

To encourage young women to be sensible. To focus on truth when feelings want to run rampant.

When their husbands aren't doing the right thing or driving them crazy or the kids just seem out of they can help.

Don't don't lose it. Don't allow your feelings to run amok. Focus on truth.

Settle down. Be sensible. God tells older women to help the younger women to hold on to the truth.

In terms of purity, to teach them the impurity excuse me, I'm meshing my words together the importance of purity in the midst of a culture that mocks virtue.

To recognize the areas where they need to guard their hearts. As a father of daughters and watching

Joelle raise them and working on it together but there's things that Joelle knows that she's able to impart to them that I don't have the same experience as a man and a woman.

We both serve to talk to them about guarding their hearts. Where sometimes young women might not recognize potential danger.

Older women know more about men than young women do. They can warn them about dress and conduct that's a potential problem that a younger woman might not see the issue.

Fathers have that obligation as well, but again older women can know and speak truth to those situations.

When we consider these obligations, when we consider what God is saying this is what they need to do. Recognize you have to do it.

There's a call here to act. There's a call here to speak. There's something in us that sometimes we just say, we tell ourselves,

I got through it, they'll figure it out. They're a good kid. They'll manage. They seem to know more than me about scripture.

God says teach them. Encourage them. Don't be silent thinking,

I don't have to do that. This goes for all of us, but particularly here.

Encourage them to be workers at home. Kind. Subject to their husbands. The priority of a young woman is to be the home.

That doesn't mean she can't work outside the home, but the home is to be the focus.

Think of the Proverbs 31 woman. She's industrious. She's out and about, but her home is her focus.

Her home is her priority. She's doing all those things there. There's different seasons of life.

There's different circumstances, but we need to remember while specific applications may vary at times, the principles remain.

If a woman finds herself losing sight of this, she's losing sight of her first ministry and will need to make adjustments accordingly.

Now this is instruction for women, but men need to water their homes in such a way to make it possible.

The question is not only will women embrace their calling, but will men recognize and provide what they need to enable them to.

You know, it's said a man buys a house, but a woman makes it a home. Is the man ordering his life and the life of his family in such a way as to help her keep home the priority?

Our society has steered us away from understanding and living by very basic concepts, things that we see throughout

Scripture that we think is almost alien now. Like, well, no, things have changed.

Time has changed. Maybe God didn't see it. What was once natural and normal seems alien and almost impossible to the point that we try to convince ourselves it's not necessary.

It's not required. The study Wednesday, we were reminded of a couple things. One was that we aren't saved by works.

And so sometimes we hold on to that. I'm not saved by works, so I don't have to do that. That's not the same thing.

Do you understand? It's important to remember that the fact that we aren't saved by works does not mean that good works aren't required.

And God spells out for us what those works are. We're called to hospitality. Go back to chapter 1, and the elder, who is to be an example to the congregation, is supposed to be hospitable.

What, just for himself and his family? To be an example to all of us. We are called to hospitality.

We read about it in Hebrews when the pastor was going through Hebrews. Hospitality is part and parcel of the Christian life. And it happens primarily in the home.

And it's something of a lost art in our day. We have businesses that handle that now. Hotels and restaurants in every corner.

They'll put you up. They'll give you a meal. But where's the glory of God in that as people relate to one another?

There's something special and glorious about table fellowship. About inviting someone over for a cup of coffee, a meal, to give them a place to stay when their house is flooded, or things are going rough.

There's a personal touch of love and connection and grace found in table fellowship. And meeting the needs of the saints that needs to be recaptured.

There's much to say about the caring for the needs of others, especially the saints as the apostle tells us. Particularly the elderly, the fatherless, the widow, the poor, the sojourner.

It's a big problem in our society that the government is trying to handle and take all the glory away from God and leave them a mess and broken.

But yeah, there's a roof over their head. When we can give them so much more and glorify God through it, it's a big problem that we can address in small and manageable ways, starting with what we have right in front of us.

And it's a powerful way to show the love of God and to disciple others. But it will never happen if we don't recognize that that's what

God is calling us to. How can we bring people into our home if we're hardly ever there? How can we raise our children well in our home if we're hardly ever there?

Titus is told these things must be taught that the word of God will not be dishonored. Will not be reviled.

Even unbelievers in this pagan culture recognize something of what a household should look like.

Nowadays, the corruption seems to be... Can you imagine that we actually seem worse than Zeus worshippers?

They understood at least the roles of men and women. We can't define men and women in our society.

We are going astray, but you have the truth. You know what's true.

You know what's right. Even if our unbelieving family and friends would not recognize our failure to uphold the standards that God has given us here in Titus 2 and elsewhere throughout the scriptures.

Even if they don't recognize and dishonor God's word for it and revile God's word for it. The consequences of us not living up to God's standard cause

God dishonor. Because we are left with broken families.

We are left with superficial relationships. It's empty. It's weight.

It's light. It's lightweight. There's nothing there. It's gone. God will be dishonored.

We can't ignore the fact that ideas and actions have consequences. We can't set aside

God's standard and imagine he's going to bless us anyway. This is something for all of us.

Men and women. We talk about Titus 2 women. Because it talks a lot about women and what they're called to do.

And so it's a glorious thing to, we want godly Titus 2 women. But men and women have roles and obligations here.

We need to work together. We can't do any of this just on our own. We need Christ and we need each other.

Moving on, he says, young men are urged to be sensible. Again, self -controlled. Not driven by youthful lusts themselves.

And that's all he says. Young men, just be self -controlled. You're good. How do they get off so easy?

That's not true. Don't worry. The very next thing is him instructing

Titus. Self -control is just the prerequisite for young men. Right? He says, urge the young men to be sensible.

And then he says, in all things, show yourself to be an example of good deeds with purity and doctrine, dignified sound and speech which is beyond reproach that the opponent will be put to shame having nothing bad to say about us.

Self -control is just a prerequisite to do everything else. Titus is called to be in all things a model to the world.

To the congregation. To these young men. To everyone else. What Titus is called to is a compilation of everything else that's just been talked about in this chapter.

A young man who's called to be an example to other young men, an entire body, and to the watching world.

He says that the opponents would have nothing bad to say about us. Us. Us. What we do, if we're thinking we're just having a bad day or we don't feel like acting like a

Christian today or God will understand today, but if someone sees you doing it and they know you're a Christian, they say, that's the church for you.

That's not just you. That's all those people who go there with you on Sunday.

You jerk. It reflects on the entire body. This is a tall order for a young man on an island full of Zeus worshippers and fake

Christians, fake Jews, whatever they were. Titus has a pastor to be an example.

The young men who should be seeking to imitate his character to be following it in all things. Most people think of all good deeds, good works, as giving to the poor.

I gave to the poor. I served at a soup kitchen. I stood outside Planned Parenthood. I went and handed out a track in Port Jeff.

That's the good work. And they are. Those are good works. But good works are actually ordinary things every day.

They are a manifestation of your godliness, of your conformity to Christ. Good works are seen in how you treat your family every day.

They're seen in how you treat your neighbors every day. They're seen in how you treat your enemies, strangers.

Good works are seen in how you conduct yourself at work or at school, how you manage your time, like your resources, like time or money.

We're called to lead and to do so first by example, then by instruction. And I don't say that in the sense of what we think of as friendship evangelism.

Like, oh, you have to show them you care before you can tell them about Jesus. There's nothing wrong with that.

We should engage in friendship evangelism, but that's not the only kind of evangelism we're called to engage in. Otherwise, we're never at the abortion mill.

We're never at the Port Jeff. But what I'm trying to say is we're not always sharing the gospel.

We're not always speaking something. We're not always instructing something. But we are always doing something.

You realize that? Pastor Anthony mentioned about being a commercial, your life being a commercial.

And the Super Bowl had just passed, and I actually watched none of it this year. It just didn't happen. I'm not anti -Super Bowl, but it just didn't happen.

But think about all the time and effort and money that goes into those commercials for the watching world to see. And guess what?

Every day the world is watching you. Every day the world is looking at you. And if they know you're a

Christian, they're wondering, is that what the church is really all about? Not, is that what John, Pastor Anthony, is that what

John, John, John, John, is that what they're about? No, they want to know, is that what the church is about?

Is that what Christ is about? So everything we do is being watched, and even more so when they know we're

Christians. And so Titus and the young men trying to imitate him must be an example in all that they do. Pure or sound in doctrine.

And he's not just talking about do they have all their creeds and confessions right? Do they know the Ten Commandments? Do they know the entire law?

Do they have Romans 9 memorized? He's talking about how does it apply? Are they an example?

Are they sound in the application of their doctrine? Are they dignified? Is he an example in all that he says?

Sound in speech beyond reproach. Not just sound in what you say that you're theologically correct.

Are you saying it right? Are you saying it with love? Are you saying it with truth? Are you slamming people just because you can?

Or are you imploring them, be reconciled to Christ? Sound in speech.

There's a right way and a wrong way to communicate. And if we are, the enemies of Christ are made speechless.

They have nothing bad to say about us. That's the high calling for each and every one of us. And he talks about bond slaves.

And we don't have slaves today that we know about in America. Although as we pray for the human trafficking going on in Greece, we recognize that's happening here in the states as well.

Speaking of the Super Bowl, they talk about how they traffic women and children to those places for men who are flocking to it.

Slavery is all around us. But these bond slaves are people of the more domestic type.

They're managing the house. They're managing the property. They have to do what they're told to do. Not the same as what we're thinking of today.

And he says, listen, this is not to promote slavery. Paul tells him in other places, if you can get free, obtain your freedom.

But it's important for us because there are situations that are beyond our control. Life is not fair.

And sometimes, while we have the freedom to escape situations and lawfully do so and honor

God in that, sometimes we can't. And we are stuck in circumstances that we just can't get out of.

And God is calling us to not compromise, to maintain our righteousness, to maintain our faith, and recognize that in time, he'll make all things right.

But in the meantime, when we respond rightly, even in our mistreatment, especially in our mistreatment, we are adorning the gospel of Christ.

We are showing them that we have a greater hope than our current circumstances. Think of Joseph, a guy who could not control his circumstances.

He was sold into slavery and then wrongly accused and thrown into prison.

And yet, because he was so godly and trusted God and acted that way in every circumstance, he rose to the top of wherever he was.

He would not be the second in command of Pharaoh if he hated everyone's guts and told them, dreams, that's nice,

I had a dream once, you can take a hike. If he hated people and he was mad and bitter about his circumstances and never sought to follow

God, even in the difficulty, he would not have been used by God. And God would have brought redemption to the people of Israel another way.

It's a reminder for us, we may not be slaves, but we are in times, in situations, we can't control.

And we still have a calling to live righteously. It's hard for us Americans sometimes to fathom.

Oh, second commandment, I'll take care of this. But no, we're called to recognize, to love

God and to love the people he puts in our lives. To honor him. So how?

How is this possible? Now we're at the third point. The last point. How is this possible?

For us to live up to these high standards. Sometimes it feels like we're just trying to make it through the day.

Keep the little people alive. Don't strangle anyone because they're driving us crazy. People laugh a little too quickly at that.

We'll have counseling afterwards for people. I understand.

Speak from truth and experience. We're told that the world is watching.

To be an example to them. The grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men.

The grace of God. This is the glorious reality that serves us. Serves as the foundation and enablement for us to obey all the instructions we just read.

That high calling. Those things that we weren't even thinking about. How can

I get there? How can I start doing that? How can I be that example? How can I change my life to order it in a way that God seems to be calling me to?

Because we have the grace of God. God has always been gracious. Genesis 1 on.

But his grace was personified in the appearance. The Greek word there is where we get epiphany from.

The appearance of his son Jesus Christ. Grace personified.

Bringing salvation to all. He's our example. Christ offers salvation from sin.

The punishment of sin. The bondage of sin. And that salvation is for all.

Jew and Gentile. Men and women. Slave and free. Liberals and conservatives. The example of Christ instructs us.

Trains us. The grace of Christ enables us in a way we could not do ourselves.

To deny ungodliness and worldly passions. To live sensibly.

Righteously. Godly. In the present age. And in an age where good is called evil and evil is called good.

Causing chaos and confusion everywhere. We must be grounded in God's word. To identify which is which.

We are to live with our eyes fixed on him. Waiting, it says, for our blessed hope.

And the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Christ Jesus. We live with the true hope.

People try to put their hope in all sorts of things. Empty things. Things that are here one minute and gone the next. Wealth.

Relationships. Friends. Success. We have the true hope and understanding that lives lived for Christ are not lives lived in vain.

Jim Elliot said, he's no fool who gives up what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose. I almost used

Jim Elliot and that whole story as my illustration. But I wanted to keep it a little bit closer to home so you didn't feel like you had to go to Ecuador to live faithfully for God.

But if you knew the Auca people, in the 50s they were referred to by the Times as the worst people on Earth.

Talk about cretins. They're the worst people on Earth. Their murder murder rate was like 74%. 74 % of men died through tribal warfare.

If you got sick or you got old, they buried you alive. They killed their girl babies. When the missionaries were giving them gifts, they tried to offer a young girl back.

They had no sense of morality. They killed the missionaries who first came to them. And yet, because the wives of these men and their families came and lived among these people, loved them enough to still want to share the gospel, asked the government not to go in with the army and just annihilate them, but they went and lived among them and showed them how to live according to God's standard and shared with them the gospel time and time again.

The gospel of Christ is so transformative that one of the men who killed the missionaries later became a pastor and baptized that man's son.

That's the power of the gospel. That's the power of the Holy Spirit. However tough you think things are, however difficult your life is in trying to live like Christ, He gives you the power.

And the one who came in grace, bringing salvation to all men and women, is coming again in glory to bring the consummation of all things, to reward the faithful, to punish the wicked, to set all things right forever.

But in the meantime, we must not squander our time.

We make the most of every opportunity. We live our lives to honor Christ, who gave

Himself for us, to redeem us from every lawless deed. Our guilt was so great before Him, we all deserve the death penalty.

They talk about the Orchids. Their name was Savage because other people gave them that name. They couldn't get close enough to find out their real name.

That's how bad they were. We are just as guilty before God. We have anger without cause.

Jesus says, you're a murderer. And He came that murderers could be forgiven and set free.

He died. He, the Holy One, died to redeem us, to purify us for Himself.

Rebels, lawbreakers, He makes a people for His own possession.

And He calls us to be zealous for good deeds, not living lives of grudging obligation, showing up most

Sundays, saying a quick grace before dinner for the sake of the kids, but enthusiastically living before the face of our

God, spending time communing with Him, reading His word, praying, and then applying all we know and all

He's teaching us to every area of our lives, in the home, at work, fellowshipping with the saints, living in the world.

This is what is fitting for sound doctrine. These things are to be spoken and require exhortation and reproof with all authority.

Let no one disregard it. Brethren, do we believe what we profess about the

Gospel? About the Lordship of Christ? Do we recognize the holiness that God is calling us to?

Do we recognize the urgency and zeal of our calling? Are we enthusiastic about living for our

God and Savior, Christ Jesus? Does what we do reflect what we say we believe?

The people of Crete had such a reputation that the name remains a byword today. The pagans followed a

God whose example is one of deception and rampant sexual immorality. The ones who professed to know the true

God actually denied Him with their deeds, making up their own standards, following their own myths. They had all of them a worldview contrary to the truth, and their conduct, their attitudes were a manifestation, an extension of that worldview.

And yet the grace of Christ is transformative. He makes all things new. He makes us new.

He makes you new. As we follow Christ, He will mature us. He will grow us.

He will impact our family, our church, our community, the world. That young man who grew up in a home where Christ was at the center, who was exposed to the word and immersed himself in it, who was part of the local church and learned from those around him, he was able to go into a secular environment and continue to live out what had been poured into him.

His life adorned the gospel, and he was able to share the good news that the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men and students.

By the grace of God, this is what happens when our conduct matches our profession. The grace of God.

Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we come before you, Lord, amazed.

Lord, if we were to look at this list and just said elbow grease and pull yourself up by your bootstraps and do it, we could not do this.

We could not do it according to your perfect standard. We could do it well enough to pass by perhaps our neighbor, but Lord, to be holy as you are holy, we cannot do on our own.

But you have provided us with the grace of your son, Jesus Christ. You have taken away our sin.

You have given us your spirit. You have made us your own. Our Savior has purified for himself a people for his own possession, zealous for good deeds.

Father, may we be zealous for good deeds. May we enthusiastically live before you with a joy and a desire to be pleasing to you in all that we do.

That we would be a witness to the world of the grace that you have shown us and are willing to show them.

Father, help us to faithfully serve you. Lord, make us like your son and then continue to add people to your church and be glorified in it.

Father, we thank you and we praise you in the name of our wonderful matchless Savior, Jesus Christ and all his people said,