Titus 2:1-10

As Nicholas mentioned, we are in Titus chapter

Titus 2 · chapter mention

2 today, getting back to our study of Paul's

epistle or letter to Titus. And though our exposition

today is focused on verses 1 through 10 of Titus

Titus 2 · chapter mention

chapter 2, I will begin our reading at chapter

1 and verse 16. This is God's holy, inspired,

and inerrant word. They profess to know God.

But by their deeds they deny him, being detestable

and disobedient and worthless for any good deed.

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

and perseverance. Older women likewise are to

be reverent in their behavior, not malicious

gossips nor enslaved to 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 and 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. Let's pray. Gracious Heavenly Father,

we come before you as your people today. thankful

for your word. As we open the scriptures, we

ask you to use them to bring clarity where there

is confusion, conviction where there is sin,

and strength where there is weakness. Shape us

not only to confess the truth, but to live it.

Lord Jesus, our head and our savior, be honored

among us. Conform us to your image and guard

us from hypocrisy. Make us a people whose lives

adorn the doctrine of God and bear witness to

the power of your gospel. Holy Spirit, do the

work of illuminating our minds and softening

our hearts. Produce in us the fruit of sound

doctrine. Train us in godliness. Guide and correct

us when we are confused and out of order. Cause

us to reflect the beauty of the truth we profess.

These things we ask in the mighty name of Jesus.

Amen. You may be seated. I suppose I'll begin

by stating the obvious. We live in a time when

voices are everywhere. There is no shortage of

opinions, and there is no shortage of folks who

love to air their opinions. YouTube, Facebook,

X, formerly Twitter, podcasts, cable news, radio.

People are constantly speaking. You may have

noticed that. People are constantly, to use a

very popular term, influencing. And the reality

is that many of those voices belong to false

teachers. Some of them are quite obvious. They

preach a different gospel and deny essential

truths. Thus, they are exposed by what they say.

But others are far more subtle, and in some ways,

because of their subtlety, they are more dangerous.

Because now there is a growing number of voices

who say many of the right things. They talk about

truth. They talk about order. They love to talk

about family values. You'll even hear them discuss

the ways in which we can save Western culture.

All of those things sound good, do they not?

They talk about morality. They even talk about

God. Some of them claim the name of Jesus Christ.

They claim his name for themselves and mention

their Christianity on a regular basis. However,

their lives tell a different story. Oftentimes,

these same folks have speech that is coarse and

vulgar. Their tone is harsh and combative. Their

relationships are marked by constant conflict.

Some of them seemingly desire to have public

conflict. Some of them almost seem to enjoy constant.

There is little evidence among them of humility

or holiness in their lives. They want to influence

people, but the fruit they produce is poisonous.

It's not the fruit of the Spirit. It's not love,

joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,

gentleness, self -control. Instead, their lives

are marked by the deeds of the flesh. And just

because I think it's so helpful, turn with me

to Galatians 5. We all know Galatians 5, 22 and

23, where Paul gives us the fruit of the Spirit,

which I just mentioned. But oftentimes we forget

about those deeds of the flesh, which Paul mentions,

which precede the fruit of the Spirit. In verse

19, now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which

are. And notice how... Some of these sins, in

our own way of looking at them, seem rather minor,

and others seem quite large. Now, the deeds of

the flesh are evident, which are immorality,

impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities,

strife, jealousy. Those aren't as big a deal,

right? Outbursts of anger. Uh -oh. Disputes,

dissensions, factions, envying. drunkenness,

carousing, and things like these, of which I

forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you,

that those who practice such things will not

inherit the kingdom of God. And then, of course,

Paul, like I said, gives us the fruit of the

Spirit. And, of course, this is all right in

the middle of a whole section on the law. And

he then says, against such things there is no

law, when referring to the fruit of the Spirit.

But for those who practice the deeds of the flesh,

they will not inherit the kingdom of God. We

might be tempted to think that a public scandal

or that people who decide to strive with one

another in public are not committing some form

of sin. But the scripture seems rather evident

here that that is... on par with idolatry and

sorcery and carousing and drunkenness? At some

point, you have to stop asking, what are these

people saying? What you have to start asking

is, what does their life reveal? As we move from

Titus 1 to chapter 2, the Apostle Paul employs

a juxtaposition, a contrast. that serves as a

bridge between these two passages. In verse 16,

he wrote what we just read. They profess to know

God, but by their deeds they deny him. By their

deeds they deny him. They profess to know God,

but by their deeds they deny him. And listen

to the description that he gives of these folks.

being detestable and disobedient and worthless

for any good deed. There's come a point in this

sermon where I'll quote James, and a lot of people

down throughout church history have tried to

create a false argument between Paul, Mr. Justification

by faith, and James, faith without works is dead.

But when you read through the book of Titus,

you can see that there's clear agreement. between

these two apostles here paul is referring to

the false teachers he called out in those previous

verses we're not going to read them again but

if you look back at the very end of verse 9 in

chapter 1 and read all the way through verse

15 and of course even 16 which we just quoted

you'll see that paul has really laid into the

false teachers who were apparently creeping into

the churches in crete who were seeking to make

Issues out of the law that were not beneficial

for these young congregations teaching what was

false. While the false teachers Paul called out

in Titus 1 may have said some of the right things,

on their face, much of what they said about the

law probably seemed right. It probably sounded

good. It probably sounded like they were pious

and holy. And I think that's partly why. Their

teaching was so deceptive. But their lives, their

lives proved something different. Their lives

were inconsistent with their claims. Scripture

reinforces this principle many times over. And

I know that it will cost us a little bit of time.

And Ashley saw how many pages of notes I had

and gave me one of those looks. But I can't resist

the opportunity to do this. Turn to Matthew chapter

Matthew 7 · chapter mention

7. Of course, you know Matthew 5 through 7. That's

where we see the Sermon on the Mount, right?

Famous passage of Scripture, those three chapters.

And if you go to Matthew chapter 7, most of you

Matthew 7 · chapter mention

probably are already guessing where I'm headed

here. But in Matthew chapter 7, beginning in

Matthew 7 · chapter mention

verse 15, Jesus says this. Beware of the false

prophets who come to you in sheep's clothing

that inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will know

them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered

from thorn bushes, nor figs from thistles, are

they? So every good tree bears good fruit, but

the bad tree bears bad fruit. fruit. A good tree

cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree

produce good fruit. Every tree that does not

bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the

fire. So then you will know them by their fruits.

Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, will

enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does

the will of my Father who is in heaven will enter.

Many will say to me on that day, Lord, Lord,

did we not prophesy in your name and in your

name cast out demons and in your name perform

many miracles? And then I will declare to them,

I never knew you. Depart from me, you who practice

lawlessness. Oh man, can you imagine the heartache,

the terror. Of hearing those words from the Lord

on that final day. In James chapter 2. The brother

James 2 · chapter mention

of our Lord argues that works must accompany

genuine saving faith. That works must accompany

genuine saving faith. In verse 17 of that chapter

he writes. Even so faith if it has no works is

dead being by itself. Even John. Whom we refer

to as the apostle of love. Talked about this.

He wrote about this. In 1st John. Chapter 2.

John 2 · chapter mention

Let's turn there. 1st 2nd Peter. 1st 2nd 3rd

John. You guys know where they're at. 1st John

John 2 · chapter mention

chapter 2. Verses 3 through 6. By this we know

that we have come to know him. If. We keep his

commandments. The one who says, I have come to

know him, and does not keep his commandments

is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoever

keeps his word, in him the love of God has truly

been perfected. By this we know that we are in

him. The one who says he abides in him ought

himself to walk in the same manner as he walked.

This is not merely about inconsistency. This

is a matter of denial. Think back to verse 16

there. They profess to know God, but by their

deeds they deny Him. Having the right words with

the wrong life is not sound practice. It is a

denial, a repudiation of sound doctrine. Let

me say that one more time. Having the right words

with the wrong life is not sound doctrine. It

is a denial of sound doctrine. Because what you're

doing is claiming to know God. but denying his

power in your life. In Titus chapter 2 and verse

Titus 2 · chapter mention

1, the juxtaposition, the contrast, comes into

view, as Paul says, but as for you, speak the

things which are fitting for sound doctrine.

In other words, don't just produce people, because

of course, obviously, Paul is speaking to Titus

in this pastoral epistle as Titus is ministering

to the churches on the island of Crete, a place

where the gospel certainly shined brightly because

it was such a hellscape, right? So he's giving

him this admonition as a minister of the gospel,

but as for you, speak the things which are fitting

for sound doctrine. Don't just produce people

who say the right things. Let me tell you, let

me tell you. This is an easy trap into which

we can fall. And we can do it very subtly and

not even notice that we've done it. Don't just

produce people who say the right things. Build

a church where the doctrine is visible in people's

lives. That phrase, but as for you, heightens

our awareness of the contrast Paul is making

at the outset of chapter 2. In chapter 1, you

remember it's just been a few weeks ago, so it's

not been terribly long. Hopefully it wasn't that

forgettable. In chapter 1, we saw chaos, false

teachers, and disorder. In chapter 2, we're going

to see order, clarity, and healthy gospel -centered

living. A church whose people are marked by godliness.

This is the core concept of our study, not only

today, and I've mentioned this before, but throughout

the entire letter. Sound doctrine is not merely

correct thinking or proper understanding. These

words carry the idea of health and sincerity

of faith. Sound doctrine produces spiritual health,

moral clarity, godly living. just as Paul wrote

to Timothy in 1 Timothy 1 .5, another of the

pastoral epistles. But the goal of our instruction

is love from a pure heart and a good conscience

and a sincere faith. So here's the primary principle

of our study. Sound doctrine is not proven by

how loudly or passionately it is declared. Rather,

it is proven by how clearly it is displayed in

our lives. Borrowing Paul's words from verse

10, which we'll handle near the end of the message

today, and really using them to entitle the sermon,

borrowing Paul's words there in verse 10, adorn

the doctrine of God. Adorn the doctrine of God,

beautify the doctrine of God, which we claim

to believe. Our good deeds must adorn, they must

beautify the doctrine of God and his gospel of

grace in Christ Jesus. Now to demonstrate this,

Paul structures the church in a very practical

way. It's extremely helpful because we can identify

to it. even these 2 ,000 years later. He moves

through age and gender to show us that godliness

is not an abstract concept. It is not ethereal.

I love that word because it just makes me think

of something that's just floating around. Godliness

is not abstract. It is practical. It is lived

out in every age and every stage of life. And

Paul begins with older men in verse 2. Look there

with me again. Older men are to be temperate,

dignified, sensible, sound in faith, in love,

in perseverance. The pattern of godliness and

good deeds in older men. Older men, this is for

you. I'm not going to count myself in that category

just yet. The pattern of godliness and good deeds

in older men should be marked by character and

stability. I'm just kidding. I probably do fall

into this category. They should be sober -minded,

dignified, self -controlled, doctrinally and

spiritually stable. They should exercise and

exemplify these virtues for the benefit and edification

of the whole church. Older men, do not forget

this. It seems so weird to say this to a group

of men who are all about the same age as me.

You are here for the benefit of the body. You

are meant to bring stability to this body. You

have a purpose to serve. We should exercise and

exemplify these values, these virtues. Paul writes

in 1 Corinthians 16, 13, be on the alert, stand

firm in the faith. Does anybody know the next

line? Act like men. Be strong. There you go.

For everybody who's worried about biblical masculinity,

there you have it. If you're a man, you should

be strong. Right? In 1 Thessalonians 5, 6 we

read, So then let us not sleep as others do,

but let us be alert and sober. Be strong, be

alert, be sober. Older men bear the responsibility

of guiding the church and remaining vigilant

on her behalf. Sound doctrine with which the

older men of the church have become so well acquainted.

produces stability, not volatility. You get on

a hobby horse with a particular doctrine, that's

all well and good. There's certainly nothing

wrong with getting excited about what Scripture

teaches, both in principle and in precept. That

is a wonderful thing. But even if you are right

about your doctrine and you bring it into the

church and you start... destabilizing the church,

you better start questioning your motives. And

it happens. It does happen. This is especially

true in speech and temperament. I say this as

someone who struggles in this particular area.

He who is slow to anger is better than the mighty.

Proverbs 16. The anger of man does not achieve

the righteousness of God, James 1 .20. A lot

of people love to say, but it's righteous indignation

that I have. Zeal for your house, O Lord, right?

Well, when David felt zeal for the house of God,

when Jesus turned over tables and whipped people

and drove them out of the temple, that is righteous

indignation. But being upset about something

that is akin to doctrine or being angry with

someone because they have offended you personally

is not righteous anger. And again, I confess

to you that is an area that I struggle with myself.

To rightly adorn the doctrine of God, older men

should serve as anchors. They should serve as

pillars, as stabilizing forces in the church.

This is a direct contrast to the false teachers

in Titus 1 .11 who must be silenced because they're

doing what? Do you remember that? Because they

are upsetting whole families. The type of man

who runs around upsetting whole families is not

a man who is adorning the doctrine of God. You

are not beautifying the gospel when you upset

families. with your teaching. Similarly, Paul

has directions for older women. That's in verse

3. Older women likewise are to be reverent in

their behavior, not malicious gossips, nor enslaved

to much wine, teaching what is good. Now there's

definitely a direct connection between it and

the following verses. But we're going to stop

with verse 3 for just a moment and deal with

older women. The pattern of godliness and good

deeds in older women should be marked by mentorship

and reverence. They should be reverent, self

-controlled, guarded in speech, and actively

discipling the younger women of the church. Looking

at Ephesians 4 .29, let no unwholesome word proceed

from your mouth, but only such a word as is good

for edification according to the need of the

moment so that it will give grace to those who

hear. Some of these verses were pretty easy to

think up because my mom used to really drive

them into me as a young child and a young man.

When there are many words, transgression is unavoidable.

Where words abound, sin abounds. When there are

many words, transgression is unavoidable. But

he who restrains his lips is wise. Proverbs 10,

19. Godly living requires holy speech. and self

-control. It requires holy speech and self -control.

And don't think I did not feel conviction as

I was writing these words down on this piece

of paper, or typing onto my computer, and then

onto a piece of paper. Godly living requires

holy speech and self -control. Just as the Lord

himself said, the good man out of the good treasure

of his heart brings forth what is good, and the

evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth

what is evil. For his mouth speaks from that

which fills his heart. Luke chapter 6. Older

Luke 6 · chapter mention

women, you are not passive participants here.

Your lives should be marked by godliness, not

sitting around telling tales and sipping on wine.

You are essential in the life of the church.

You are essential in the life of the church as

mentors, teachers, and encouragers. Next, Paul

turns his attention to young women, verses 4

and 5, so that they may encourage the young women,

of course referring back to the older women there,

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. Here,

with young women, we see the application of godliness

in their lives. Notice older women and younger

women, or young women, are linked at the beginning

of verse 4. The older women, as I just mentioned,

should be mentoring, teaching, and encouraging

the young women. This implies that young women,

deities, hear me for a moment. This implies that

young women should be humble and gracious. Enough

to be mentored, to be taught, and to be encouraged.

Too often, young women tend to bristle when someone

offers advice or counsel. Let this never be the

case in young women who seek to adorn the doctrine

of God with their lives. Ladies, humility will

take you much further. than your pride. These

older women have much to say and much experience

upon which they can draw and they can be of a

huge benefit and blessing to you. As you love

your husbands and you love your children, hear

them. Be humble enough to hear them. The pattern

of godliness in young women is demonstrated by

their behavior in the home. Their love is rightly

ordered. Their primary concern is for their husband

and for their children. They are self -controlled,

they are pure, and they are faithful to their

husbands and their children. There's no mention

of their appearance. There's no mention, ladies,

of a beauty regimen. Because they are not merely

concerned with outward beauty, rather they desire

to beautify the gospel with their godliness.

Just as Peter writes, your adornment must not

be merely external, braiding the hair and wearing

gold jewelry or putting on dresses, but let it

be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable

quality of a gentle and quiet spirit which is

precious in the sight of God. For in this way,

in former times, the holy women also, who hoped

in God, used to adorn themselves, being submissive

to their own husbands. Just as Sarah obeyed Abraham,

calling him Lord, and you have become her children

if you do what is right without being frightened

by any fear. 1 Peter 3. Paul writes in Colossians

3 .12, So as those who have been chosen of God,

holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion,

kindness, Humility, gentleness, and patience.

The home is the primary school of godliness.

And young women, you have the immense privilege

and responsibility of being the teacher. Best

of all, when the home is ordered rightly by a

young woman who loves God. her husband and her

children, when she adorns sound doctrine with

godly living in these relationships, the word

of God is esteemed. It is not dishonored, as

it is in the homes and relationships of young

women who refuse to lead godly lives. There is

no shortage. If you'd like to test this out,

I guess you can. I don't know that it would really

be helpful. But there is no shortage of women

online who love to tell you that they don't need

a man, they don't want kids, and they're 38 years

old, never been married, never had a child, playing

with their cats on the side, and just enjoying

their lives. Strong, independent women. And yet,

so often, when you listen to them talk, they

don't sound humble. They don't sound like they're

at peace. They seem embittered. They seem angry.

Next, Paul briefly focuses on young men. And

this is really brief if you separate it from

verses 7 and 8. But look again where Paul focuses

on young men at verse 6 with me. Likewise, urge

the young men to be sensible. It's brief, but

honestly, I think it's the way it is for a reason,

fellas. Young men who seek to adorn the doctrine

of God are sensible. It's not the first time

Paul's used that word here. But it is the only

word he uses when he speaks directly about young

men. Young men who seek to adorn. Are you seeking,

young men? I'm speaking to you guys. Do you seek

to adorn the doctrine of God with your lives?

Because if you do, then you will be sensible.

I was a young man once. Some people know. Thank

God not all of you grew up with me. Sensible

is probably not the word that most people would

use to describe me from the ages of about 15

to 18, maybe 19. Could be 20 or 21. until about

the time Ashley came along. Then there was a

rough couple of years of training, and I became

more sensible by 2032. That word sensible carries

the idea of self -control, sound judgment, and

disciplined thinking. The word sensible carries

the idea of self -control, Sound judgment and

disciplined thinking. Young men, if you hope

to adorn the doctrine of God, your lives must

be marked by increasing discipline and growing

maturity. A right understanding of the gospel

and sound doctrine does not produce arrogance.

It produces steadiness. So many young men in

the world today are the opposite. They are brash.

They are overconfident and they are reactionary.

They lack wisdom to lead their own lives, yet

speak as if they have authority. They're driven

more by impulse, emotion, and cultural noise

than they are by the truth. Scripture gives you

a better pattern to follow. You are not required

to figure this out in isolation on your own,

young men. Don't attempt to do that. You're called

to learn from the older men in the church, to

observe their lives, study their conduct, follow

their example. In doing so, you will grow to

be temperate, dignified. Sensible, sound in faith,

in love, and in perseverance. Young men, many

of you desire good things in life. I guess I'm

going to get a little pastoral here. Young men,

many of you desire good things in life. A wife,

a family, a home. I know some of you long. for

leadership in the church and in your community.

And those are good and right desires. Praise

God that you desire those things. But before

you can lead others, you must learn to govern

yourself. To be sensible, you have to to exercise

self -governance. Don't wait as late in life

as what some of us older men did. Take advantage

of the examples that are in front of you now.

You need to be practical. You need to be reasonable.

You should be guided by truth. Not emotion, not

trends, not the noise of the culture. And I will

grant you, you have a harder time ahead of you

than I did at your age. You have a tougher row

to hoe. Because the noise is everywhere now.

In a very real sense, what I said at the beginning

of the message, in the introduction, applies

directly to you, men. Don't be shaped by the

loudest voices online. Don't do it. Don't fall

into that trap. Just because someone has a following,

it doesn't mean they're worthy of being followed.

You're not lemmings, right? Don't follow the

pattern of men who speak much but live. Follow

the example of godly, faithful men like the ones

you see here, week in and week out. Speaking

of examples, now Paul turns directly to Titus.

The example of excellence, which is found in

Titus himself as a minister of the gospel. Verses

7 and 8. In all things, show yourself to be an

example of good deeds with purity and 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. Titus, the man of

God, is the pattern for the church to follow.

He must have good deeds, pure doctrine, and be

dignified in all things. His speech should be

sound, above reproach, and unassailable. This

is true of all ministers of the gospel who long

to adorn the doctrine of God. In 1 Timothy 4

.12, Paul writes to his true child in the faith,

Let no one look down on your youthfulness, but

rather in speech, conduct, love, faith, and purity,

show yourself an example of those who believe.

In Colossians 4 .6 we read, Let your speech always

be with grace, as though seasoned with salt,

so that you will know how you should respond

to each person. The goal is not being right.

but being beyond legitimate criticism so that

the opponent will be put to shame having nothing

bad to say about us, verse 8. This is how the

minister, as an example of excellence in the

church, adorns or beautifies the doctrine of

God. This is why when a minister fails morally,

it is such a big deal. He wants to preserve the

preeminence and beauty of the gospel and sound

doctrine. So he must live his life in a way that

no one can malign due to his failures. To be

clear, this portion is not intended for Titus

only. Paul has in view other ministers of the

gospel who will follow in Titus' footsteps. If

someone claims truth but cannot control their

tongue, or if they speak harshly, coarsely, destructively,

or if they live in constant conflict, God does

not excuse that as personality. That one cuts

deep. It cuts real deep. Because there are a

lot of things, even about myself, that I could

say, it's just my personality. It's just how

I am. God made me this way. I mean, if it weren't

for the way I am, I wouldn't be who I am. You

hear people say things like that all the time,

right? But this is not... An excuse. Quite frankly,

that pattern does not accord with sound doctrine.

There must be no filthiness and silly talk or

coarse jesting named among you. Ephesians 5,

4. My brethren, these things ought not to be

this way, James declares. Finally, Paul brings

this even closer to home. By showing how ordinary

daily conduct serves to adorn the doctrine of

God, by treating everyday life as worship, verses

9 and 10. 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. Even in ordinary,

lowly roles, like work, authority structures,

daily responsibilities. We should adorn the doctrine

of God with holiness and godly living. Ephesians

6, 5 -8, Slaves, be obedient to those who are

your masters according to the flesh, with fear

and trembling in the sincerity of your heart

as to Christ, not by way of eye service as men

-pleasers, but as slaves of Christ. doing the

will of God from the heart with goodwill, render

service as to the Lord and not to men, knowing

that whatever good thing each one does, this

he will receive back from the Lord, whether slave

or free. Colossians 3, 22 through 25, slaves

in all things obey those who are your masters

on earth, not with external services, those who

merely please men, but with sincerity of heart,

fearing the Lord. Whatever you do, do your work

heartily as for the Lord rather than for men,

knowing that from the Lord you will receive the

reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ

whom you serve. For he who does wrong will receive

the consequences of the wrong which he has done,

and that without partiality. Adorning the doctrine

of God, adorning the gospel, beautifying the

gospel. means that we make it attractive in every

way possible, even in the mundanity of life.

We're not seeking to add to sound doctrine, and

we know we can't contribute anything to our salvation.

Amen? However, our desire is to accompany what

we've received with godliness in our lives that

magnifies and glorifies the doctrine of God.

Otherwise, we nullify the gospel's effectiveness

to us by leading lives that betray the gospel

and prove us to be liars. Imagine a company,

let's say they chose some virtue as the name

of their company. Let's take something like,

how about Integrity? It's on everything, right?

It's on their website, it's on their vehicles,

it's in all their branding. They're built on

integrity. However, in practice, their communication

is harsh, their employees cut corners, their

contracts are a mess, there's conflict everywhere

in the organization, and they don't stand behind

their products or services which they sell. Eventually,

you stop listening to what they say and start

judging them by what they do. That is exactly

what Paul is addressing here. Holy living is

the result. Chapter 1, we saw sound doctrine

defined and defended. In chapter 2, we're seeing

sound doctrine displayed. Sound doctrine produces

proper order and brings about godliness in the

church. Again, we're not doing this to be saved.

We're not earning our salvation by doing these

things. Christ did that work for us apart from

anything we have done. in and of ourselves, quite

frankly, in spite of ourselves. However, we should

live to adorn the doctrine of God because the

grace of God has appeared. Verse 11, verse 12,

instructing us to deny ungodliness. We'll get

into that a little more next week. For now, however,

I do want to leave you with this. And I really

think everybody should contemplate this. We can

love doctrinal precision and still neglect holiness.

I'll never forget hearing of a homeschool mother

who once said her children had gotten into sin

as they grew up and left the home. And she said,

we thought we did everything right. We had reformed

theology. We did family worship. We thought we

did it all right. Well, you can say all of the

right things and still be neglecting holiness

in your life. Amen? This is common among Reformed

people. We can win arguments and still fail to

adorn the doctrine of God. You can be right and

still be wrong. It's not about being right. It's

not about winning debates. So I'll ask two questions.

Does your life make the gospel beautiful? Or,

do you profess to know God, but by your deeds

are you denying Him? Because sound doctrine is

not authenticated by volume or visibility, but

by the godliness it produces in your life.