Adorning The Doctrine

Please open your Bibles this morning to the book of Titus.

The book of Titus.

If you're a visitor, a guest with us this morning,

we have been walking together through the book of Titus.

We've made our way this morning to chapter 2,

and we're going to be in verses 1 through 10.

If you're using the pew Bibles there in front of you or behind you,

you can find that on page 938.

You might remember that we've titled this sermon series

A Church of Sound Doctrine.

A Church of Sound Doctrine.

That's what we, by God's grace, hope and pray and aim to be.

And in chapter 2, verses 1 through 10,

we get a look at exactly what that might look like practically for us.

So Bibles open, Titus chapter 2, verses 1 through 10.

Titus 2:1–10

Follow along with me as I read the Word of God.

Paul says,

But as for you, teach what accords with sound doctrine.

Older men are to be sober-minded, dignified, self-controlled,

sound in faith and love and in steadfastness.

Older women, likewise, are to be reverent in behavior,

not slanderers or slaves to much wine.

They are to teach what is good,

and so train the young women to love their husbands and children,

to be self-controlled, pure, working at home,

kind and submissive to their own husbands,

that the Word of God may not be reviled.

Likewise, urge the younger men to be self-controlled.

Show yourself in all respects to be a model of good works,

and in your teaching show integrity, dignity,

and sound speech that cannot be condemned,

so that an opponent may be put to shame,

having nothing evil to say about us.

Bond servants are to be submissive to their own masters in everything.

They are to be well-pleasing,

not argumentative,

not pilfering,

but showing all good faith,

so that in everything they may adorn the doctrine of God,

our Savior.

Let's pray.

Lord, again, we pray that we would look like this.

This is a work of your grace, of your doing,

and this is impossible for us in the flesh,

and so we pray that the things that we just read,

that the things that we hear described in Titus,

would move from knowing to being in our lives together,

that we would look like this.

And we pray and we ask this in Jesus' name.

Amen.

Well, if you are a fan of energy drinks,

or have watched television, commercials,

or even walked into a gas station over the past several years,

you are probably familiar with Red Bull.

And you are probably familiar with its slogan,

Red Bull.

Help me.

It gives you wings.

At least that is what they say.

The popular energy drink has built a reputation around that slogan,

and the commercials typically,

they feature somebody who is down in the dumps,

having a hard moment, a hard day,

sad, depressed.

Then they get a sip of Red Bull energy drink,

out of their back sprouts wings,

and up they go, flying away to a better life.

Well, this slogan that has drawn so much attention,

you may not know this,

it was also the basis of a class action lawsuit in 2014.

Consumers filed a lawsuit stating that

the company had falsely advertised.

Despite what they may have claimed,

Red Bull does not, in fact, actually give you wings.

One consumer, Mr. Corathers,

he was quoted saying he drank Red Bull for 10 years,

but that he had not once developed wings,

or shown any improvement either intellectually or physically,

and we can't argue with that, can we?

As ridiculous as that sounds,

Red Bull ultimately agreed to pay off up to $13 million

to settle the lawsuit and to move on.

The lesson?

False advertising is costly.

If you're going to claim something,

promote something about yourself,

say something about who you are,

you had better make sure that the product

matches the advertisement.

That's exactly what Paul is saying here to Titus.

Not about Red Bull, of course,

but about the church.

See, false teachers have crept in

to these newly forming churches in Crete,

and they're leading men and women

to claim to be Christian,

yet live like a Cretan.

And so Paul says,

no, this type of false advertising,

false professing, false teaching,

that is costly.

It discredits our profession.

It damages our witness to the outside world,

and at worst,

it distracts from the glory of God.

So Paul tells Titus,

Titus,

you teach what accords with sound doctrine.

You teach that faith accords with godliness.

You establish elders who will hold firm

to the trustworthy word as taught.

Titus,

you teach them there in Crete

that to say you are a Christian

advertises something about yourself.

It says,

I have been redeemed.

I once was lost,

dead in my sin,

hellbound because of my own rebellion against God,

but God,

by his grace,

has rescued me,

and he has saved me,

but not only that,

he has changed me.

He has transformed me from the inside out.

So now my heart is transformed.

I'm not the same as what I once was.

I am a product of the redeeming grace of God.

If anyone is in Christ,

he is a new creation.

The old has gone,

the new has come.

To say you are a Christian

is to say that type of new heart transformation

has happened right here.

Well,

here in the year 2022,

not much has changed,

has it?

There are many who,

like the Cretans,

profess to know God,

but deny him

by their works.

These verses here in chapter 2,

verses 1 through 10,

they are a reminder for us

that gospel believing

leads to gospel living.

Gospel believing

ought to lead to godly living.

So this morning,

what we're going to see

is four facts about godly living.

Four facts about godly living

in these verses.

This is going to be our outline this morning.

If you're a note taker,

like to take notes to follow along,

I encourage you to do that.

You're going to find four facts

for godly living this morning.

First,

godly living

accords with gospel believing.

Godly living

accords

with gospel

believing.

Some of you are musical,

and so this will make sense to you,

but even if you're not,

most of you have

decent enough ears

to where you may not be able to say

exactly what's wrong,

but when you hear something off,

you can tell,

hey,

that doesn't sound quite right.

A wrong note was hit,

a wrong chord was struck,

something's off here,

musically.

A chord,

musically speaking,

is when three or more notes

work together.

They play nice together.

They harmonize together.

They sound good together.

And interestingly,

the French word for

accord

that you play musically

is accord.

You may not know that.

That's the idea here.

One thing

aligns with something else.

It accords with something else.

They're in harmony.

They go together.

They make music.

They play nice.

And on the other side of that

is discord.

Discord

is a lack of harmony.

And you may not

recognize that term,

but you know,

again,

you know what it sounds like.

It sounds bad.

You can hear

something

is off.

That sounds terrible.

One person's playing

one thing.

One person's singing

another thing.

And it just makes you want

to close up your ears

because it sounds awful.

And what we saw last week,

Paul said,

the behavior of these

false teachers

was not in accord

with what they professed.

You remember what he said.

Cretans are always liars,

evil beasts,

lazy gluttons.

They profess to know God

with their mouths,

but they deny him

with their work.

Something's off.

They say they believe,

but they don't live

like they believe.

So Paul says here

in chapter 2,

verse 1,

he says,

but as for you,

Titus,

see there's a difference here.

Yes,

there are false teachers

saying the opposite,

but as for you,

Titus,

you are to be distinct.

You are to teach

the church to be distinct.

Teach what accords

with sound doctrine.

You see that,

right?

He does not just say,

teach sound doctrine.

As valuable as that is,

he's told us that earlier.

Sound doctrine,

incredibly valuable.

That's the beginning.

That's where it starts.

He does not say,

teach sound doctrine.

What does he say?

Teach what accords

with sound doctrine.

Don't just teach

the information.

He says,

teach the life transformation

that goes in harmony

with the right information.

The sound living

that works in harmony

with sound doctrine.

Teach that godly living

accords with gospel believing.

Now,

this is a warning for us,

church.

This is a warning for us

that it is not enough

to know the right information.

It is not enough.

You see,

the problem here in Crete,

it was not the pagans.

It was not the outside world.

It was not those

who would never step foot

into a church.

The problem here in Crete,

it was church people.

It was people

who know the right answers.

They sat through the sermons.

They read their Bibles.

They would say,

I know God.

I believe in Jesus.

I profess to be a Christian.

But they denied him

with their works.

Their lives

were in tension

with their profession.

Do not buy the lie,

church.

Do not buy the lie

that you can have God

and live however you want.

It's not true.

Do not buy the lie

that your actions,

your life,

your behavior

doesn't matter.

So long as you come to church,

pray your prayers,

say that you believe,

so long as you're not

as far off as this person

or that person.

These are all lies

of the enemy.

If you have been given

the gift of salvation,

then you have been given

the gift of sanctification.

They are a package deal.

You can't separate them.

You cannot have one

without the other.

You can go to church

your whole life.

You can know the whole Bible

inside out.

You can know all the right facts

and still not know God.

Now all of us in Christ

are growing.

We are progressing.

None of us are perfect.

We are striving by His grace

to put sin to death

and to pursue holiness.

But friend,

if there is no godliness,

no transformation,

if there is no growth

in your life,

no distinction between you

and the world around you,

it is right for you to ask

whether you know God

or just know about Him.

See, this is a warning for us.

Church, knowing about God

saves no one.

Knowing God truly,

personally,

through faith in Jesus Christ,

knowing God is the only hope

for sinners like me

and like you.

And you cannot know Him

and remain unchanged.

That's what Paul is telling us here.

Amanda and I,

we celebrated 10 years of marriage

the other day.

10 years.

It's hard to believe

that it's already been 10 years.

We've known each other

for about 14 years.

And we started dating

about two years before that.

So all in all,

about 12 years

of actually being together.

together.

And that's a lot of time

with one person.

A lot of time.

It's a good time.

Okay?

And we were talking

the other day

at dinner.

You have to ask her

her opinion on that.

But for me,

for me,

it's been a good time.

We were talking

the other day

about the fact

that we are different people

than when we first met.

We are different people

than when we started dating.

And we're different people

than when we first got married.

And I hope she would

praise God for that.

But how could you

not be different?

Spending so much time

with one person,

engaging with one person,

how could you get

to know someone personally

at that level

for 14 years

and not be different?

Well, Paul says,

if you know God,

you will be different.

If you spend time with Him,

Paul says,

you will be changed.

Maybe not instantly,

some dramatic,

life-changing change

suddenly,

all of a sudden,

but gradually,

over time,

with prayer

and patience

and pursuit,

you will be changed.

You will become

like Him.

You will become godly,

godly living accords

with gospel believing.

Well, what does that look like?

What does that look like?

Paul shows us

throughout the rest

of this passage,

what godliness looks like

for every believer.

And this is our second point

this morning.

Godliness is for every believer.

Godly living

is for every believer.

These descriptions

in this passage,

they're not exhaustive.

This is not all

that we need to know.

But Paul gives us

an overview here

of what godliness

should look like

for every member

of the church

in verses 2 through 10.

Every member.

There's something here

for all of us.

And Paul speaks,

I think,

to three distinct categories here.

Three distinct categories.

He speaks to men,

women,

and workers.

Follow along with me here.

He speaks to men,

women,

and workers.

Well, first,

he speaks to the men.

He speaks to the old men

and to the young men.

Look here with me

to verse 2.

Titus 2, verse 2.

Titus 2:2

He says,

Older men,

you are to be

sober-minded,

dignified,

self-controlled,

sound in faith,

in love,

and in steadfastness.

And the order here,

I think,

is important.

Older men,

older Christian men

are to lead the way

as examples of godliness

in the church.

He says,

they should be

sober-minded.

He says,

they're under control.

Their thoughts

aren't clouded by anger,

or by sensuality,

or by greed.

They are not easily

deceived or led astray.

These older Christian men

are rocks in the home,

and in the church,

and in society.

He says,

they are respectable,

dignified,

able to control themselves.

But not only that,

look here.

Look at this.

Paul says,

they are to be

sound in faith,

in love,

and in steadfastness.

Think about that.

Sound in faith,

and love,

and steadfastness.

You know,

that word sound

has come up before,

hasn't it?

And we keep hearing that.

An elder must be able

to give instruction

in sound doctrine.

Paul says,

as for you,

teach what accords

with sound doctrine.

We've titled this series

in Titus,

A Church of Sound Doctrine.

What that word means

is healthy.

Healthy.

These men,

these older men,

are to be spiritually,

morally healthy,

in faith,

in love,

and in steadfastness.

Do you see the picture

of godliness

that he's laying out

for us here,

men?

These men

know the word.

They know the faith.

They know what they believe

and why.

They could pick out a lie

because they know,

well,

God's word doesn't say that.

These men are healthy

in love.

They love God

and they love their neighbor.

But not only that,

it says these are

faithful men.

Reliable.

Steadfast.

They're enduring men.

Do you want to be

a man of God?

Know your Bible.

Know your Bible.

Love God with all your heart.

Love God with all your mind.

Love God with all your soul.

And love your neighbor

as yourself.

And stick around a while,

men.

You want to be a godly man?

Be faithful.

Don't be a wishy-washy man.

Be stable.

Be reliable.

Be someone that others

can depend on

and know that

what they get from you

is rooted,

not just in duty,

but in delight in the Lord.

That is godly manhood.

I pray for a church

full of men like this.

Are you pursuing

that, men?

He not only speaks

to the older men,

he also speaks directly

to young men here

in verse 6.

Verse 6.

He says,

the young men

just have one job

here in verse 6.

And probably because

mastering this

will take all

of your attention.

So young men,

listen with me.

Young men,

you are to be

self-controlled.

Self-controlled.

We've got to get this right

before we can move on

to anything else.

The fruit of the Spirit

is what?

It's love,

joy,

peace,

patience,

kindness,

goodness,

faithfulness,

gentleness,

and what?

Self-control.

One of the first verses

that I memorized

as a young Christian,

it was Proverbs 25, 28.

It says this.

It says,

a man without self-control

is like a city

broken into

and left without walls.

I'll say that again.

A man without self-control

is like a city

broken into

and left without walls.

What happens to a city

without walls?

It is open to attack.

It has no defense.

Anyone can come and go

as they please,

take what they want,

do what they want.

And Paul says,

without self-control,

men,

we are open to

all sorts of attack.

A lack of self-control,

young men,

is at the root

of a thousand sins.

But a young man

with self-control,

he has his defenses up.

He's prepared for attack

when it comes,

and it will come.

Does your speech

demonstrate self-control?

Do you show self-control

by the way you use your time?

And the way you engage

with your family at home?

When you go to work,

when you're with your friends,

do you act in self-control?

With your temptations,

men,

do we demonstrate

self-control?

You know,

the greater the access

to temptation,

the greater our need

for self-control is.

I'll tell you something,

we have greater access

to temptation now

than any time ever before.

We better get some

self-control, men.

Are your defenses up?

Second,

he speaks here

to the women,

and just like

with the men,

he speaks to both

older women

and to younger women.

And listen,

I will not tell you

which category

you belong in.

I'm not going to do that.

I'm just going to say

he speaks to both here.

Some of you ladies

prefer to identify

as a younger woman.

Fair enough.

Look to verse 3.

He says,

older women likewise,

just like the men,

are to be reverent

in behavior,

not slanderers,

not slaves to much wine.

And they are to teach

what is good

and so train

the younger women.

And I think you can see

the influence

of the Cretans

here in Paul's instructions.

It was normal in Crete

to slander.

Remember,

Cretans are liars.

It was normal

to be a slave

to food and drink.

Remember,

they're evil beasts,

lazy glutton.

But Paul says,

Christian woman,

you be distinct.

Christian woman,

you let your speech

be seasoned with salt.

Only speaking what is good

for building up.

Only speaking the truth

in love.

Christian woman,

exercise self-control

with food

and with drink.

Don't be a slave.

Don't get drunk

with wine,

but be filled

with the Holy Spirit.

Be reverent

in your behavior.

Does this describe you?

See,

we don't age

out of pursuing

godliness.

I served

at a church

in North Myrtle Beach.

We have a few

visitors this morning

that came from

North Myrtle Beach

to come and join us

this morning.

They're gluttons

for punishment here.

But the mentality

in that community

is I'm retired.

It's a retirement area.

I'm retired.

I've earned the right

to check out

and do what I want.

Live as I please.

I came to the beach

to check out

and to live

the rest of my days

in beach

and sunshine

and sand.

Paul says,

older women,

you don't ever age

out of godliness.

You don't ever retire

from godliness.

You still have

big responsibility

even in your old age.

Great responsibility.

You still have work

to do.

If you're looking

for a way

to serve the church,

if you,

older women

are looking

for a way

to make meaningful

contributions

to the life

of this church,

Paul gives you

two ways right here.

Do you see it?

Live a life

worth imitating

and pass it on.

If you want

to serve this church,

live a life

worth imitating

and pass it on.

Look again

what he says

in verse 3.

He says,

these older women

are to teach

what is good

and so train

the younger women.

So younger women,

this is for you now.

He says,

train the younger women

to love their husbands

and children

and to be self-controlled.

There's that word again.

Pure,

working at home,

kind,

and submissive

to their own husbands.

Most of the focus

here for the young woman

seems to be

on their sphere

of influence

and service

in the home.

I don't believe

that that means

they can't work

outside of the home,

but it does mean

that this is primary.

And again,

it seems like

the influence

in Crete,

the influence

of the Cretans

was toward

a kind of laziness

or indifference

in the home.

And so Paul says,

young women,

young Christian women,

be distinct,

be diligent.

Pursue love

for your husbands.

That is hard sometimes,

I know.

Pursue it.

Pursue love

for your children.

It is easy

to be a half-hearted spouse.

It is easy

to be a half-hearted,

lazy parent.

I'm speaking as a father.

It is easy

to be a half-hearted parent.

It's much easier

to let the television

disciple your kids

than it is for you

to take the time

and the energy

to train up your children.

It's much easier

to avoid discipline

for your children

than it is

to enforce discipline

and godliness

in the homes.

Paul says,

work hard

in the home,

young women,

for the glory of God.

But not only that,

third category here.

He also speaks

to workers.

I want us to see

that Paul is crossing

every box here.

Checking off every box.

Young,

old,

men,

women,

and now he addresses

Titus,

who is a pastor,

an organizer

of the church.

He's a teacher.

He's a servant

of God

and slaves

Titus.

You see that?

The distinction

here.

Godly living

is for everyone

in the church.

Paul says,

verse 7,

you,

Titus,

he's speaking to Titus,

verse 7,

you show yourself

in all respects

to be a model

of good work.

Show integrity

in your teaching.

Show dignity.

Show sound speech

that cannot be condemned.

Don't give anyone

an opportunity

to mock God

by what you say

or by how you live.

Your life matters,

Titus.

Your godliness matters.

Your speech matters.

And we say,

of course it does.

He's a pastor.

Everybody's looking at him.

He's a public representative

of God Almighty.

Everybody's looking

at the way he lives.

But then he goes

to the lowest rung

of the social totem pole

and says the same thing

to the slaves.

Just consider the dignity

that he's giving them

right now.

He says to some

of the lowest members

of society here,

your actions,

your behavior,

your attitude matters.

You think nobody's

looking at how you live?

Think again.

You think that your actions,

because you're not

an older man,

you're not a leader

in the church,

you're not wealthy,

you're not well respected,

that godliness

doesn't matter for you?

Think again.

He says,

your godliness matters.

Your speech matters.

Your actions,

even as a slave,

adorn the doctrine

of God our Savior.

Church,

no one is exempt.

No one is exempt.

Godliness is for all of us.

There's no distinction here.

Male, female,

young, old, black,

white, rich, poor,

white collar, blue collar,

whatever your job,

whatever your role,

no one is excluded.

We share in one

sanctifying spirit of God.

So godliness is for you.

But how will we get there?

How will we become a church

that looks like this?

Third,

godly living requires training.

Our third point this morning,

godly living requires training.

You cannot do this on your own.

Church,

you cannot do this on your own.

Anyone who's ever done

any exercise training,

understands this?

Breeze and Linda did not pay me

to say this, okay?

Just a disclaimer.

There is a limit to how much

you can accomplish by yourself.

You can only push yourself so far.

There's a benefit to having training

from someone who knows

what they're talking about,

who has done the move before,

who can show you

where you're making mistakes,

give you feedback along the way,

push you to where you need to go.

You can lift more,

do more,

and avoid getting hurt along the way

if you have good training

to help you get to your goal.

It's the same with our pursuit

of godliness, church.

You cannot do this by yourself.

We're just,

we're so independent.

We don't want anybody else

in our business.

We think we can do it ourselves.

We think we got this under control.

We don't want anybody to,

nobody needs to judge me.

Nobody needs to tell me

how to live my life.

I don't need help.

You want to know another lie

of the enemy that we tend to believe?

It's that we got this.

We got this.

I don't need anybody's help.

I got this.

Church, that is a lie,

and we've bought it.

The way we will grow up

in godliness

is to love each other enough

to say,

let's do this together.

The way that you will grow up

in godliness

is by linking arms

with everybody else around you

in this place,

your brothers and sisters

in this church,

to say we are pursuing this

together as a family.

That's what Paul says.

Older women,

verse 4,

look there,

again,

verse 4,

are to what?

Train the younger women.

They won't get there

on their own.

They need your wisdom,

older woman.

Have you learned anything

about what it means

to be a godly spouse,

to honor God as a wife,

as a mother,

as a woman?

Share it.

Train them up.

They need your help.

Younger men,

likewise,

verse 6,

they need to be,

what?

Urged to be self-controlled.

He doesn't just say,

be self-controlled.

He says,

urge the younger men

to be self-controlled.

Who's doing the urging?

It's us, church.

Older men,

where are you?

Where are you?

Urge the younger men

to be self-controlled.

Show them with your lives

and urge them

with your words

to live in godliness.

Get in one another's business.

We can't do it

by ourselves.

And young men,

young women,

humble yourself to listen,

to receive words of wisdom,

godly input

from those who have developed

godly character.

You know,

the devil loves our privacy.

privacy.

The devil loves

our love affair

with privacy.

We need one another.

Personal holiness

is a group project,

church.

Who here

is committed

to pray for you?

Who here knows

your sins,

specifically?

Who here

has committed

to follow up with you?

Who here is walking

with you in the word?

Who here is helping you

root your life

in the word?

Helping you to live

what you profess

to believe?

That's what discipleship is.

And we've been talking

a lot about discipleship.

It's very simple.

It's helping one another

pursue God.

Are we doing that,

church?

And if you're struggling

in any way

to pursue godliness,

and we all do,

if you're struggling

in any way

with pursuing godliness,

ask yourself,

have I ever been trained?

Or am I trying

to do this on my own?

Am I being trained now?

And if not,

what will I do about it?

You know,

Treg and I

would love nothing more

than to connect you

with someone.

Maybe that's us.

That's great.

But to connect you

with someone

or a group of someone

who would be committed

to making this happen

in your life.

Ephesians 4,

11 through 16.

We're going to wear out

this passage

in this place.

It says this,

He gave the apostles,

the prophets,

the evangelists,

the shepherds and teachers,

that's the pastors,

to equip the saints

for the work of ministry.

That's our role.

The role of pastors

is to equip you,

the saints,

for the work of ministry.

Well, what's that?

For building up

the body of Christ

until we all attain

to the unity of the faith

and of the knowledge

of the Son of God.

to mature manhood,

to the measure

of the stature

of the fullness

of Christ.

So that we may

no longer be children

tossed to and fro

by the waves

and carried around

by every wind

of doctrine,

by human cunning,

by craftiness

and deceitful schemes,

by lies and false teachers

like here in Crete.

Rather,

how are we going

to get there?

What's the key

to this ministry?

Rather,

speaking the truth

in love.

Older men

speaking the truth

in love.

Older women

speaking the truth

in love.

Young men,

young women,

workers of every kind

speaking the truth

in love.

We are to grow up

in every way

into Him

who is the head,

into Christ,

from whom the whole body

joined and held together

by every joint

with which it is equipped.

When each part

is working properly,

it makes itself grow.

So that it builds itself up

in love.

Church,

there's no other way.

Godliness requires training.

But why?

Why does it matter?

What's behind all of this

pursuit of godliness?

Why does it matter ultimately

how I choose

to live my life?

This is our final point

this morning.

Number four.

It's because godly living

adorns the doctrine

of God.

Fourth and finally,

godly living

adorns

the doctrine

of God.

All of this talk

of godliness,

of pursuing godliness,

of godly living,

of the expectation

that Christians

should live godly lives.

Please don't get

the wrong idea.

Please don't mix up

the order here.

This can be incredibly dangerous

if the order

is mixed up here.

We are not saved

by our works.

We are not saved

by our works.

we are saved

by the grace

of God.

Undeserved,

unmerited,

it is a free gift

without any view

towards our goodness.

What did we just,

what did I just read

about justification earlier?

It's not our works.

It's the work

of Christ.

We have no goodness

in ourself.

Any goodness

that comes from us,

any ability

to do any good work

comes from the grace

of God.

It is,

if anyone is saved,

it's through faith

in Christ Jesus alone.

His perfection,

His goodness,

His perfect obedience,

credited to our

bankrupt account

through faith.

For our sake,

He made Him

who knew no sin

to be sin for us,

so that in Him

we might become

the righteousness

of God.

But don't stop there.

That's not the end

for us,

Christian.

We were saved

for good works.

Unto good works,

which He prepared

beforehand for us,

that we should walk

in them.

And that fruit

of godliness

in our life

bears witness

to the fact

that we have been

redeemed

from our sinful ways,

delivered from the

domain of darkness

and transferred

into the kingdom

of His beloved Son

in whom we have

redemption,

the forgiveness

of sins.

Our godliness

bears witness

to the goodness

of God

and the beauty

of the gospel.

That's what it means

to adorn the doctrine

of God.

Church.

Our godly living,

it lifts up

His beauty.

It's meant to

function like

beautiful decorations

or like a piece

of jewelry

that catches your eye

and it draws

your attention.

Your life,

Christian,

your godliness

is meant to

draw attention

to the worth

and beauty

of the gospel.

It's meant to

draw attention

to the worth

and the beauty

of God.

And we see that

throughout the passage,

don't we?

This is the purpose

of our godliness

is that God

might receive

glory in us.

Why does He

give commands

here for young women?

Verse 5.

Look there.

Verse 5.

That the word

of God

may not be reviled.

That it wouldn't

be mocked

or disdained

that our behavior

would give no reason

for anyone

to mock

the goodness

of God.

Why does He

give commands

for Titus

for his speech

and for his actions

to be above reproach?

Verse 8.

So that an opportunity,

so that an opponent

may not be put

to shame,

having nothing evil

to say about us.

And why are even

slaves called

to live in a way

that is honoring

to God?

Verse 10.

That in everything

they might adorn

the doctrine

of God

our Savior.

I remember

when I

bought Amanda's

engagement ring.

I had never

bought something

so valuable

in my life.

And I went

several times

to the jewelry store

back and forth

to get the right ring

and to check it out,

to inspect it.

And then I bought

the ring

and now I had

something incredibly

valuable in my possession.

And I had to protect it

at all costs.

So immediately

I put it

in its case.

Shut it.

There was a couple

weeks there

in between

when I bought

the ring

and when it found

its way onto

Amanda's finger.

And the ring

just sat in the box

in my room.

And every now

and then

I would come

back to my apartment

from class

or from whatever

I was doing

and I would just

go to the box

and I would

open it.

Just take a peek.

Get a look at it,

make sure it's still there.

Then back in the box

and tucked away

in its place.

See, that box

served two purposes.

One, it protected

the ring.

It's valuable.

It guarded it.

It secured it.

It protected it.

It kept it from harm.

Nobody was going to

smush it or step on it.

It was safe

in the box.

And two,

when opened up,

it showcased

the beauty

of the ring.

The point's not

the box.

The point is

what it is

drawing attention

to.

The beauty

of the ring.

Church,

there is nothing

more beautiful

or valuable

or precious

or worth

guarding

or worth

drawing attention

to

than the gospel

of Jesus Christ.

The good news

that the perfect

son of God

has come.

He has lived

perfectly

where we couldn't.

He has died

in our place

on our behalf.

He has risen

from the grave

and he offers

his perfect

righteousness

to any

who would come

to him in faith.

That's beautiful.

Our lives,

our godliness

defends that gospel

from attack,

from mockery,

from disdain,

from hatred.

And when we live

lives that are

worthy of the gospel

of God,

it draws attention

to his beauty.

It brings God

the praise

that he intends

to get from us.

shines a spotlight

on the beauty

of the doctrine

of God our Savior

to say,

look what God

has done.

My life

is proof

of the goodness

of God

and his power

to save.

May God

be pleased

to do that

in you

and to do that

here with us.

Let's pray.

not to us,

O Lord,

not to us,

but to your name

be glory

for the sake

of your steadfast

love

and your faithfulness.

Lord,

we have no good

apart from you.

We have no goodness

in ourselves.

None is good

but God alone.

But God,

you are pleased

to take

wrecked sinners

not because

we're good

but because

you are merciful.

You are pleased

to take ruined

sinners

and to purify

and sanctify

us

through the blood

of Christ

and then to make

us shine

like lights

in the midst

of darkness

in this present

evil age.

Lord,

so we pray,

Father,

that we would

be distinct

not for us

but for the glory

of your name.

We pray

in Christ's name.

Amen.