Titus 2:1-10

[0:00] Good evening, everyone. It's good to be here. It's been really a while since last time I spoke here, but it's great to be back.

[0:14] Quite a lot of my sermons last were in Spanish, so I hope my broken English is going to be a challenge tonight. I will see how it goes. Hopefully by the end of the night you'll be able to figure out what I'm saying. That's the challenge. Thanks, Fiona, for reading that passage so wonderfully.

[0:30] I always struggle with reading the Bible straight in English, so that's a great help. But that's the song we just sung. What a amazing words that you have, doesn't it?

[0:45] It's like, how great theologists to say that all I have is Christ, and we can all say hallelujah. That wasn't my script, but I think it's a good thing to think as Christians, that all we have, apart from all the things we can have at home, but all we have is Christ.

[1:05] It's probably one of those good things. Actually, I could finish the sermon just now and say, that's it. That's what you take home, but we're not going to do that. So we're going to start doing the chapter two. We're not going to read the chapter because it's being already read wonderfully.

[1:21] When I was driving from home today, yes, I was driving, but I don't know if many of you know, but I just passed my driving test last month. And tonight has been the first night I decided to drive to town on my own.

[1:34] We don't have an Arlene nagging me all the time. I can breathe better now, but I just discovered that driving under 20 miles an hour is a lot harder than driving a motorway, I can tell. But now we are here. But while I was driving here, I just realized that I didn't really have anything in regards to illustration or story what to tell in order to present this.

[1:59] And I was thinking, what can I tell you? What can actually be said? And one of the things I was thinking is basically about my wife. Generally, illustrations about my wife are good, aren't they? Because she's not here as well, so it's even better.

[2:11] One of the things I really love about my wife, I really like about my wife, is that she really embraces her Britishness. I don't know whether that's a word or not, but she loves being British.

[2:23] That's one of the things that everywhere we go, she is proud to say, I'm British. And she behaves like a British person. She acts like a British person. If we go out to eat, the first thing she has is a cup of tea.

[2:35] And every time we go to the Amazon, you see a lot of things being packed, but also a lot of teabags being packed in her. In her suitcase. Doesn't matter that the Amazon is like 40 degrees.

[2:46] She's always eager to take teabags and have a cup of tea in a very hot, tropical weather. That's she. And that's the way what she likes to do.

[2:56] She likes to embrace her Britishness. And I think, in that regard, what am I telling you this? Just because she's not here? No, no. I'm telling you this because of, I think what Paul is trying to tell to Titus, Titus, it is that Titus, you need to teach these people in your community to behave and act in a way that accords to the gospel.

[3:19] That accords to you are, or to who you are. If Paul was writing to British people, he perhaps had to say, like, you Brits have to behave and act like Brits. But Paul was writing to these priests who were in a Christian culture to basically tell them, you must act, you must behave in a way that accords to who you are.

[3:43] And what accords to who you are, perhaps we're going to see it today. So, before we go into chapter 2, I would like to do a bit of a recap. We've been in chapter 1 already.

[3:56] And chapter 1, in so many ways, was all about teaching. Teaching how to deal with bad teaching. And now we see in chapter 2, we wonder, what is it about? In so many ways, what a surprise.

[4:08] Chapter 2, as well, is all about teaching. So we keep going on and teaching, more teaching. Titus is to teach what accords with sound doctrine. This sort of teaching that produces sanctification.

[4:22] This sort of teaching that would make people living godly lives. And that is what Titus has been challenged by Paul to say. And we see it in the very beginning. And it says, you must, whoever, look what it says in verse 1.

[4:37] You, whoever, must teach what's appropriate to sound doctrine. At the end of chapter 1, you can see in chapter 1, verse 16 and on. You can see that Paul was talking about people who claim to know God.

[4:49] This is what he says, verse 16. These people claim to know God, but their actions, da, da, da, deny Him. They are detestable, disobedient, and unfit for doing anything good.

[5:00] And see how he moves from chapter 1 to chapter 2. And he starts by saying, you, whoever, basically describing what Titus must do, in contrast to these people, sell will and sell righteous as they are.

[5:17] His job in chapter 1, 11, is to silence the false doctrine. And here in chapter 2, at the beginning, his job is to teach a course to sound doctrine.

[5:28] The word sound means health. And in so many ways, he tight does this to lead to his people to a very healthy life, which is characterized in so many ways, but good works.

[5:41] So, as I said before, this chapter 2, in a nutshell, it's all about teaching. And I would like to see in more detail what his teaching is about.

[5:52] So, there are three things I will go under today. The first thing would be like, what is he going to teach? Why is he going to teach? And at the end, we'll see how is he going to teach.

[6:06] So, this chapter 2 is about teaching. Teaching what a course was to a good life. Teaching what a course was to the gospel. Then we need to know, what is he going to teach? Why is he going to teach? And how is he going to teach?

[6:20] Let's see first, what is he going to teach? Paul urges Titus to teach the sort of living that the gospel produces. He says to live out in a way that produces self-control and submission.

[6:35] These two virtues are very much throughout the whole section we are doing today. To be self-controlled and to be submitting. For Paul was something very important for a Christian to do.

[6:47] Somebody who lives under the gospel. Somebody who believes the gospel and acts and believes what the gospel says. Paul says, must show self-control and must be submitted.

[6:58] Older men, younger women, and younger men are to be self-controlled. Look what it says, verse 2. Teach the older men to be dot, dot, dot, self-control.

[7:12] Look what it says, verses 4 and 5. Urge the younger women dot, dot, dot, to be self-control. Look what it says, verse 2. Similarly, encourage the young men dot, dot, dot, to be what?

[7:28] To be self-controlled. For Paul, he urges Titus that that is one of the first things we need to display in a church background.

[7:39] That people who believe the gospel are to be what? Self-control. And Paul thinks that's very, very important for him.

[7:52] And perhaps one way, my one-way wonder. So, how is that that self-control works? How can we have self-control? He gave us a clue in chapter 2, verse 11 and 12.

[8:03] We're not doing this bit this week. Hopefully, we'll get to it next week. But he says that the power, how can someone be able to be self-controlled? He says, it is the grace of God, verse 11, that teaches us to live in a self-controlled way.

[8:21] Upright and godly lives in the present age. Everyone who is a believer, according to verse 11 and 12. Everyone who is a believer. Everyone who professes Christ.

[8:33] Everyone who sings the gospel is his life. It is cool to be self-control. That is something you cannot betray.

[8:46] That is something you cannot be like, just, you cannot wing it about and say, well, I've been self-control all day and I won't be self-control all the days. Paul says to Titus, everyone who believes the gospel by the grace of God ought to be self-control.

[9:04] And that is something that I want us to keep thinking throughout this passage. To be self-controlled is so important. So in so many ways, what he's saying, in order to be self-controlled, it means that we shouldn't be ruled out in our lives by our emotions.

[9:21] Our emotions are important, but they are not the bits we depend on. What can I say about this? So, someone can be disappointed in a Christian falls, but that doesn't make him to make him give up.

[9:35] If somebody comes and does something wrong to you, you can be mad about it. But you still are able to forgive and offer forgiveness to this person.

[9:46] So in so many ways, you are in the way that God tells you to, even if you don't feel like it. Paul is saying to Titus, teach these people to live self-control.

[9:59] Do not let your emotions guide you. Have emotions is great. Having emotions is fantastic. It's good to be sad. It's good to be younger. It's good to show all these things. But even when those things appear, still Paul wants Titus to teach those disciples to be self-controlled.

[10:22] So this is self-control. No denying our emotions, but no being controlled by those emotions. The second common thing, as I said, it was not only they have to be self-controlled. They also need to display submission or be submitted.

[10:36] Look what it says, Titus, chapter 2, verses 5. This is what he says to young whites. They are to be subject to the husbands.

[10:48] Look at what it says in verse 9, what Titus is to teach. Teach slaves to be subject to their husbands and everything they do and to try to please them and not talk back to them.

[11:01] Self-control and submission are profoundly in so many ways counter-cultural. It's something that's not very popular. We live in a society where self-control and submission is totally something people don't practice.

[11:18] Can you tell me about that? I'm sure you can think of so many examples where you see people not wanting to display self-control or be submitted to it. Actually, we don't like to be submitted to anything.

[11:29] That's why when we see a 20-mile-hour sign, we just want to be 30 or 40. Because we don't like to be submitted. We don't like to submit to things. And that's so counter-cultural in so many ways.

[11:41] It was counter-cultural in Crete. We have already seen in chapter 1, verse 12, what it says, Cretans are always liars, evil brutes, lazy gluttons.

[11:54] They don't like to be submitted. They don't like self-control. These people who didn't control their speech, they are always liars. These people didn't control their emotions. They were brutes.

[12:05] And these people didn't control their appetite. They were gluttons. So these people in Crete, as we know, in the culture, they wouldn't practice self-control. That is what Paul is trying to tell Titus to work on it.

[12:21] It is counter-cultural nowadays as well. It's not only that the Cretans are like that, but as I said, nowadays we can see that, especially here in Western culture. Western culture values self-expression instead of self-control.

[12:35] We, as a culture, value self-fulfillment instead of self-denial. We do value independence instead of submission.

[12:47] And I'm sure you know many examples of that. So to be self-controlled and live in a right submission will mean swimming against the culture, will mean doing something that is totally different from what people are.

[13:01] But let me ask you, what is the gospel then? Is the gospel something that people really like to do? No. It's counter-cultural. It's swimming against the culture.

[13:12] We need a talent of Luca as a great swimmer to swim against the culture. I didn't hear it this morning, but Arlene told me about it. And I laugh a lot. But that is what Paul is actually saying.

[13:23] When you display self-control, and when you display mission, you are proving that you are somebody who believes the gospel. And you are somebody who has been changed and shaped by the gospel.

[13:35] And because of that, you are able to go and swim against this culture. But let me tell you for experience, we don't like swimming against the culture.

[13:48] You are in the Amazon, you want to follow the current. I tell you for experience, you don't want to go against the current. That's something we normally do. We like to do it. We like to do it in that way. And that's something we need to do.

[13:59] But Paul says, these people, these kittens, he says to Titus, they must learn to live in this way. But Paul not only knows the importance of living in reflecting self-control and submission, he also knows that different ages and different roles face different challenges and different temptations as well.

[14:24] So Paul gives different instructions to different group of peoples, and he puts it in different categories. So he speaks to older men, to older women, to younger women, to younger men, and to slaves.

[14:38] This was the bit that was a little bit harder for me. Because some of the things that he's actually telling them to do are like, okay, here we go. I'm just going to make a few comments on some of the things, and we'll see how it goes.

[14:51] But look what he says in verse 2 to the older men. Paul begins with the older men. And this is what he says to the older men. If you're considered to be old, just think of this. This is what Paul is telling Titus to teach you.

[15:02] And I'm going to tell you this. Teach the older men to be temperate, worthy or respect, self-control, sound and faith, in love and endurance.

[15:14] But reading this, we can think that the temptations of these people may have been they were too grumpy, or perhaps they like picking arguments, or they perhaps struggle with being wearying or giving themselves into service.

[15:28] They are not very sure about that. And Paul says that the antidote to this behavior, it is to be taught faith, to be taught love, it should be taught endurance.

[15:42] And I wonder, doesn't matter what the age you are, imagine you would like to be taught these three things.

[15:56] You've been a Christian for many years, you learn almost everything that the Bible has to offer, and this young preacher is told by his boss that he has to teach you, or teach these curtains, to be sound in faith, love, and endurance.

[16:17] That was a hard message to get. You probably know by experience, but generally, older people, they don't like to be taught things. They like the other way. They like to teach things, because they learn so many things, so many skills.

[16:31] But Paul is interested in that, and the first thing he tells to the older generation, he says, these people need to know, and need to learn these things. Younger men in the church need to learn to follow the example of older people in so many ways.

[16:49] But that is a two-way street. Paul says that these people, the older people, need to be worthy of respect.

[17:01] So in order for you, to ask for respect, Paul says, if these people want respect, they need to live in a way that is worthy of respect.

[17:17] Older men need to live in such a way that younger guys look at them, and think, I want to be like him. But I wonder, my dear brother and sister, dear brother, do you consider yourself older?

[17:35] Do you think people around you look at you and say, I want to be like you? Or perhaps you let yourself go into picking up arguments, or thinking, I'm maybe not as young as before, so I cannot commit to things.

[17:53] Paul says, these older people must be worthy of respect. And being worthy of respect means displaying all those good things, so that younger guys can see a thing and say, I want to be like me.

[18:08] And he also said words for older women. Older women face similar temptations. Look what he says, verse 3, likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderous or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good.

[18:24] Paul says to these women, instead of complaining about what is wrong, instead of being spending your life, thinking what is wrong, what is this, what is what about, he says, worry yourself about teaching what is good.

[18:38] He says, instead of being controlled by the wine, these people utterly were controlled by the wine, or some of them were, he says, practice self-control and start teaching what is good.

[18:50] What is good, verse 1 says, what is good to live a course in a way that produces sound doctrine, or to live a course to sound doctrine. That's what he says. And once they're able to teach what is good, then we go to verses 4 and 5.

[19:05] Then, this is what he says, they can urge the younger women to love their husband and children, to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to the husband, so that no one will malign the word of God.

[19:22] This is the bit where I was very not sure about. I was thinking a lot. I only work in the sermon for a week, and most of the week I was thinking in these two passages, because they're very tough.

[19:33] I think the context in here, in the context that Paul had in mind, it is what was happening in Ephesus, where he spoke to 1 Timothy 5, verses 11-13, where many young women, mainly widows, they were behaving in a very bad way, being controlled by their passions, wanting to remarry just out of lust, neglecting the care, neglecting providing care for the children, and also getting themselves involved in to gossip, and to the point that many of these women were abandoning the fate of Christ.

[20:15] And I think when Paul writes this specific passage to them, he is thinking what was happening in Ephesus, and he thinks Ephesus is not, it could easily influence the Christians, so he's saying, think about this.

[20:28] So I think in so many ways, what he has in mind is this, what was happening there. So I think Paul wants Titus to urge older women to invest their lives to influence the lives of younger women, so that they can live in a way that occurs with the gospel, self-control, pure, loving their husbands and children, keeping themselves busy with the different tasks they find at home, so that no one can say anything against the Christian life.

[20:57] And by no means, it's not like younger women cannot have a career. We live in a church where most of the women have a career, they have jobs and they have responsibilities.

[21:08] I don't think what Paul is trying to tell you, younger women, that you shouldn't have a career. But I think he has that proven Ephesus in mind when he's saying this. And he thinks that if their wives and mothers, home is the primary place where they are to serve, in addition to all the different things they do.

[21:29] And I think what Paul has to clean in that way, but then, we live in different times, right? You could say this is so old-fashioned.

[21:42] So Paul is saying that all women, all younger women have to have a husband, all younger women have to have children. What about I don't want to have children? What about I don't want to be a wife?

[21:53] I think Paul is specifically speaking to a different context. I don't think he's saying to all younger women that you must have a husband, you must have children. But, I think he is still saying even without you having a husband, even without you having a wife, having a children, you must still show self-control.

[22:19] You must still be submitted. You must still live in faith. You must still live according to what the gospel says. So, in so many ways, he's not telling all the young women to live, to get married and have children.

[22:32] But he is saying everyone, younger women, everyone has to live in the way that occurs with the gospel. And that is a good thing to say.

[22:44] Then he also have a word for younger men. And younger men receive only one word of exhortation. What he says, verse 6, encourage the young men to be self-controlled.

[22:56] Self-control, as I said, is all throughout this passage. But that does cover all tentations men actually face, younger men.

[23:08] Could be lust, could be ambitions, impatience. But in all of this, Paul says, they must practice self-control. And as I said before, self-control is something that we don't like to show.

[23:22] Self-control is something we don't like to have. And let me tell you, self-control on our own, it's nearly impossible to have. But the Bible says that those who believe Christ have received the Holy Spirit.

[23:37] And what a surprise, what is one of the fruits of the Holy Spirit? Self-control. We can have self-control if we trust Christ.

[23:48] Because in the moment that we trusted Christ, we received the Holy Spirit. And the Holy Spirit is able to produce self-control in our lives. So what I'm telling you is not impossible to do.

[24:01] It's challenging to do, but it's not impossible. And that's what Paul is trying to say. But then Paul also has a word for Titus himself. Verses 7 and 8, this is what he says, in everything, set them an example by doing what is right, what is good.

[24:16] In your teaching, show integrity, seriousness, and soundness of speech that cannot be condemned. So that those who oppose you may be ashamed because they have nothing bad to say about us.

[24:28] The words in verse 7, by them, is in reference to the younger men that he was speaking in verse 6. As the young man himself, Titus is called to set an example to another young man.

[24:42] He has to live in that way. And I think that's the challenge for all of us. It doesn't matter the age that we are. As Paul is saying to Titus, set an example for younger men, I think he is in so many ways telling us we must live in a way that we set example for younger generations.

[25:02] The example has to be integrity, seriousness, and soundness. Young men in so many ways need to grow up and take life seriously. Take their faith seriously and to be responsible.

[25:14] There is no ruin in our church for living for yourself for two more decades. We tend to think, oh, they are young still. Oh, they are teenagers. They can do whatever they want. Oh, it's in his mid-20s.

[25:25] One day he'll grow up. One day he'll mature. But Paul is saying, no, no, no. It doesn't matter the age you are. He said, young people, you must live in a way that you set example for everybody.

[25:36] You must show integrity, seriousness, and soundness. Anyway, finally, for this part, there is also war for slaves. In contextualizing, slaves nowadays would be employees, people who work.

[25:53] And, by the way, when the Bible describes, or when Paul talks about slavery, or talks about being a slave, it's not like the Bible, and Paul himself is agreeing with slavery, saying that slavery is good in so many ways.

[26:06] I think what Paul is doing, he is dealing with something that was common practice at that time. By itself, we all know that actually God is there against slavery. He is actually the one who came and rescued us from the slavery or the evilness from ourselves.

[26:22] He came with all power and destroyed that chains of slavery that have us captive, is what the Bible says. So, God is there against slavery. Even when Paul talks about slavery, he is not saying slavery is good, it's God's plan.

[26:37] No, no, no, no. God came and destroyed all slavery. And he set us free to the power of his gospel and the sacrifice of his son. So, it's almost good to keep that on mind.

[26:48] But he speaks here about slavery, being slaves. And this is what he says, verses 9 and 10. Teach slaves to be subject to their masters in every sin, to try to please them, not to talk back to them and not to steal for them, but to show that they can be fully trusted, so that in every way they will make the teaching about God, our Savior, attractive.

[27:13] Slaves can be subject to their masters in a minimal and passive way, doing what is just required to them and no more. But what Paul says here is he expands this by saying that these slaves, in our context, these employees, must do things in a way to try to please their masters.

[27:37] I wonder, this is a question for all of us, when was the last time at your workplace that you were working to please your boss, to please your company?

[27:49] How many of you ask God to that temptation of thinking, oh, it's 5 p.m., it's going to be finished soon, oh, it's 4.30 now, oh, it's 4.45 now, oh, it's going to be fire soon. But Paul says here that these slaves need to work in a way that they can please their masters.

[28:08] Deep brothers and sisters, that's not easy. I don't know what your job is, and my job itself is very difficult. But Paul says, if you're a believer, you need to work in that way.

[28:21] You need to think in a context where you're working, because the gospel that you're displaying in your life has to replicate everywhere. This requires so much more than thinking different checklist duties.

[28:35] It requires a change of heart, a radical and different attitude. It requires us to be and to seek to bless our masters and to seek to be responsible in our jobs.

[28:47] Can you imagine Scotland where all the Christians who work in different workplaces would be working in order to please their bosses and to be responsible in doing the best for their jobs?

[29:01] Can you imagine Scotland like that? That is what Paul is telling to the Cretans. He wants to see this as the greatest place for these Cretans so the gospel could be made and shown attractive.

[29:16] One of the implications that words the post words to these different groups is obvious but sometimes it's very much mixed. Basically what he's saying is that you must add the age you are.

[29:27] If you are in your 20s you live like you're a child playing video games all the time. It is time to take responsibilities in your home work, church and neighborhood. But he also says if you are in your 40s or 50s do not spend your time wishing you were still young.

[29:43] Or fit or beautiful. I know everyone here is beautiful so that doesn't apply to us at all. But Paul is saying do not be your life thinking of the things you used to do or you could still do.

[29:55] But he says be in a way or live in a way that you can set good examples for everyone. Enjoy being the age you are and enjoy contributing in ways that are appropriate for your age.

[30:09] That's what Paul is going to teach. What is Paul going to teach? We just said that. But why is Paul is Titus going to teach this? Because it produces an impact in our relationships both internally and externally.

[30:26] What do I mean by this? We'll see this. Internally the impact it produces if people behave like this if people learn that is that it produces good discipleship making.

[30:40] Titus 1 to 10 outlines the sort of living that the gospel creates. But where is to be lived? It is to be lived in community. Paul is saying that these believers need to act in a way that they can display all those things in a community.

[30:55] It's to be lived in a community which people are discipling one another. Discipleship is not simply going on discipleship courses or reading discipleship books but it's everyday life skills everyday life living with Christian family.

[31:12] We perhaps can have organized times when we read the Bible and we learn more about that but it also involves a lot of sharing time involves a lot of sharing our lives with younger Christians sharing our lives with older Christians investing time together is what he meant.

[31:28] And Paul says in 1 Thessalonians chapter 2 verse 8 that because we love you so much we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well.

[31:48] Paul shared the gospel of God in the context of sharing his life with people. As you share your life with another believer and you share others' life people will see Christian living model and you will also see Christian living model to you.

[32:04] Imagine as a community imagine as a church the younger men hanging out with the older men the younger women hanging out with the older women. Imagine a community where we don't only gather together to read the Bible or to listen to a sermon but imagine that sort of life in a Christian community where we gather to do steps like I don't know baking a cake the different things that we can actually do.

[32:30] That's what Paul is interested in. Paul is interested in these people not only hang around to learn about the gospel but they also hang around to learn about life skills to be living in a way that they are close to one another and they can nurture one another in so many ways.

[32:51] In discipleship discipleship takes place in a community Christians are not meant to live like alumnus ships. We are meant to live in flocks and it's an important future of the community based discipleship that it happens across generations.

[33:05] At the end this whole letter of Titus is about older men nurturing the faith and ministry of the younger ones and vice versa. Paul is seeking to paint a picture in a community in which older men and older women are teaching younger men and younger women.

[33:25] That younger people are seeking out the advice of older people. Younger people are submitting to the direction of older people. So quick application would be like if you are young you can find somebody to disciple.

[33:43] If you are old you can find someone to disciple. If you consider to be somewhere in the middle you can do both. So you can invest your life to help somebody younger if you are old and you can invest the life to be learned from somebody older if you are young if you are in the middle you can do both.

[34:05] That is what Christian community is about. That is the sort of living that Paul is interested in the Crete community and also it's the sort of living that Paul is interested in the Bronsted Evangelical Church.

[34:16] The other thing we can say as well is not only produces changes internally but it also impacts externally. Externally the gospel becomes attractive it says and no one has anything against the gospel.

[34:32] Living the sort of living that the gospel produces is not only good for all disciples you make in the church but it also helps our relationships in the community outside the church.

[34:42] Paul knew that being self-controlled and living in the right mission will mean swimming against the culture as we said but yet Paul says to young women to be subject to the husband so that no one will malign the word of God and he also said to slaves you should be subject to the husband in everything so that in every way they will make the teaching about God our Savior attractive.

[35:09] Notice that this implication saw that they have to do this so that people will see this so this is about cause and effect and the cause is submission with effect of mission.

[35:19] People may not like it when we talk about self-control and submission but they find it so attractive when they see this play. People perhaps don't like what Christians talk about marriage but let me tell you they love seeing a marriage that works.

[35:37] They love to see a marriage where men and women they do respect each other they do submit each other to God's will. They don't like to be taught about it but they love seeing the results of it.

[35:48] And I think that's what Paul is saying. Paul is saying to teach this because this is good because the gospel is this place and people can see it. Making the gospel attractive doesn't mean that we need to add something to the gospel to make it nicer.

[36:04] Rather making the gospel attractive means that we are distracting ourselves from living in a selfish way to live in a way in which the gospel is magnified in which the gospel is desired in which the gospel is seeing as something that really changes people's lives.

[36:24] And that is what Paul is saying when he says making the gospel attractive. I wonder are we making the gospel attractive in our lives? perhaps that's a good question we need to ask tonight.

[36:37] That is a question that Paul was asking to Titus to make to the church in Crete. And I think it's a question he's making to us as well. Are we acting in a way in our different relationships that produces that the gospel becomes attractive to people?

[36:54] Or people are so terrified of what the gospel is they don't want to know anything about it. We need to act in a way which made the gospel attractive and the gospel is magnified as the power of God saved men and restored him from his broken condition.

[37:11] So we've seen what he's going to teach we've seen why he's going to teach and finally not alone we'll see how he's going to teach. Titus is to be told in verse 7 and 8 Titus is to be told how he's going to do it.

[37:26] He says in everything set an example by doing what is good. In your teaching show integrity seriousness and soundness of speech. So two things here.

[37:36] First he's going to set an example as he said before. He says open your life let the people see have people at your home take them invite somebody to come and see you let them expose yourself out so people see how you are people see the way you live people see how you treat your wife people see how you treat your husband people see how you treat your parents people see how you treat your children and they say wow this is what I want set an example I think this is a time for Christians not to be going and fighting what is right what is wrong but actually this is a time for Christians to show out all the world and display what the gospel is about.

[38:17] Paul is interested in the titles to teach this and press on on this. Let them see your marriages let them see your parenting this is not only teaching a Bible but it's also teaching someone to as I said make a cake perhaps manage a budget I don't know shake the car oil so many of us don't know how to do that invest time to be around people so that they can see what life is about not only to read the Bible all together which is great but actually to see who you are because who you are is not only reflecting what you know about the Bible but who you are is reflected is how you treat people how you are around people and who you are in the presence of God but nobody see and that is what Paul is interested in Titus to do and it's a difficult it's a very difficult thing to do one of the lovely things about church is that it is a place where we can learn life skills both for eternity and for today we got so many young people here we got so many older people here how many things can we learn from one another apart from the Bible that is the challenge that Paul is telling Titus to be aware of and that is the challenge

[39:32] I think that the Lord is bringing to us tonight and pass our time impact somebody else's you don't need to know the whole Bible to impact somebody else's life but you have to be desired to do it and finally the last thing he has to teach the gospel sometimes it must be more planned as you Bible study or you go to a book of the Bible and you spend time together but Paul describes that characteristics of a healthy gospel teaching he says in verse 7 that we teach people with integrity in other words he says we live what we teach in verse 7 as well he says we teach people with seriousness in other words we love what we teach and show that it matters to us and we teach people with soundness or health in other words we teach what lead to spiritual and emotional health the gospel in one sense summarizing has to be totalitarian in our lives what do I mean by totalitarian in our lives that its effects must be seen everywhere we are good displaying the effects of the gospel around the church we are good displaying the gospel around believers but sometimes we struggle to display the effects of the gospel around non-believers and that is what

[40:48] Paul is interested in Titus to do show to the world who you are that you are somebody who believes and lives by the gospel and you prove that the gospel matters to them and the gospel has to be totalitarian in a way has to be affected in everything and anything you do we see it here younger people older people people at work people at home wives children husbands everybody has to display all those things so this chapter and I'm finishing with this it starts with you whoever must teach what is appropriate to some doctrine and I think in best what we hear tonight I would say and I would add you whoever must live in the way that is appropriate to some doctrine so it doesn't matter the age you are

[41:50] I think Paul had a word for you through Titus and the word for you was leave who you are and spend time with somebody else to show who you are live in the way that accords to the gospel so what is the challenge for us today perhaps this is the challenge for us to spend some more time together when was the last time you had somebody young to talk about things when was the last time you invited somebody out for coffee when was the last time young people you went to speak at the somebody off in our church we have a great generation of elderly in our church and hopefully in God's promise we have a great generation of youngers coming up wouldn't it be amazing if we both match up and we spend some time together that we learn from the elderly and we are challenging from them and we also we take these ingross of the youngsters Paul is speaking to Titus and he's saying this church must live in a way that accords to sound doctrine how do you do it be who you are in Christ be self-controlled be submitted respect and be worthy of respect spend your time with people you don't need to be the best preacher of the world to spend time with people one of the things

[43:15] I used to love in my old church I used to hang out with the old bodies all the time time difference language barrier doesn't happen here much often but I wish you could but I always say I can try now I can almost come to your home you can almost have somebody around you but let me tell you Titus is a good challenge for us because he teaches us different generations and he challenges us to a different generation and different relationships I hope we take this challenge seriously and we'll see what happens in the next part of chapter 2 let's pray Father we live in a way and in a culture that actually doesn't like self-control it actually opposes it we live in a culture that they don't like submission actually opposes and it's a big part of the church has actually been affected by it and because of that

[44:19] Lord the gospel that is already by itself attracted has perhaps become diminished and people don't really want to know more about the gospel but as we sing tonight Lord help us to see this challenge and help us to live in a way that occurs to some doctrine help us to live in a way that is worth of the gospel help us to live in a way that we set examples it doesn't matter what our ages are doesn't matter what our situations are doesn't matter who do we know what do we know but we live in a way we trust you and we live in a way we believe what you have to tell us and we live in a way we display the qualities of the gospel so that the gospel by itself it's magnifying our lives father help us to see this challenge from Titus and help us to see this challenge from Paul and help us to see this challenge from you Lord to work in our relationships not only the times when we read the Bible and we'll talk about your war but actually the times when we spend time together let

[45:33] Bronzeville Evangelical Church come out to the world and be seen and displaying what the gospel is about father I thank you for my brothers and sisters I pray for their week I pray for the things that are going to come their way may they all be an example and live self-control and submit it so the gospel becomes attractive in their lives for the people to see when it's displayed in the name of your son Amen