The School Of Grace Is Now In Session

if you would open up your Bibles to Titus chapter 2,

Titus 2 · chapter mention

I'm going to read right now the whole chapter.

Hear the word of God.

Titus chapter 2.

Titus 2 · chapter mention

But as for you, Titus,

teach what accords with sound doctrine.

Older men are to be sober-minded, dignified,

self-controlled, sound in faith,

in 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 in a 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.

For the grace of God has appeared,

bringing salvation for all people,

training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions,

and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age,

waiting for our blessed hope,

the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ,

who gave himself for us to redeem us from all unlawless,

all lawlessness,

and to purify for himself a people for his own possession,

who are zealous for good works.

Declare these things.

Exhort and rebuke with all authority.

Let no one disregard you.

I've been singing a song all week long.

School's out for summer.

Summer.

If you're a student in the room,

or a teacher in the room,

on the count of three,

give me a school out.

Hooray.

One, two, three.

I knew it.

Now, if you're a parent in the room,

on the count of three,

give me a one, two, three.

Help me.

One, two, three.

Help me.

It's a game changer, isn't it?

School may be out,

but there's another school that is in session.

It's the school of God's grace,

and it's never out of session.

There are no grace graduates of this school.

And in fact,

as long as we as Christians are alive,

and Christ is yet to return,

we are being trained in the school of God's grace.

We're in grace school,

and it's in session.

Now, maybe school doesn't do anything for you.

Think of gospel school as a grace apprenticeship.

Jesus is going to bring about hands-on training for you in godliness.

How to live out the reality of the gospel

in the everyday grind of life.

So, older men,

if you're 40 and up,

you need training in the school of grace.

Jesus has personally enrolled you.

You're not done yet.

Older women, 40 and up.

I'm not going to ask you to raise hands.

You're enrolled in the school of grace.

Jesus is looking to get something very specific done in you.

Young women, under 40,

God has work to do in you.

It's not over yet.

Jesus has given himself for you to do a work in you.

And young men, under 40,

God has a unique work for you.

He's going to train you to say no to something

in order to say yes to something else.

The school of grace is now in session.

Jesus is looking to show us,

train us,

how to live out lives in our households

in a way that's shaped by the gospel.

We've been making our way through the book of Titus.

Titus, as I mentioned a few weeks ago,

is this well-seasoned minister of the gospel.

He is an apostolic representative of Paul.

And Paul left him in the island of Crete

midway through the first century.

And Titus' marching orders were to

establish the churches in Crete

on the foundation of sound doctrine,

healthy doctrine,

the doctrine of the gospel of God's grace.

Now, doctrine simply means teaching,

what the Bible teaches about something.

And it's actually more than that.

It's a truth claim,

what the Bible claims to be the true

and real nature of things.

And so when the Bible teaches something,

it's making a claim on the truth of who God is,

who He really is.

And when the Bible speaks about men and women

in our sinfulness,

it's talking about our true nature

as men and women in our sinfulness.

And when the Bible talks about salvation,

being in Jesus alone,

there's no other name under heaven

by which men and women can be saved.

It's talking about the true nature

and reality of salvation.

And then when the world to come,

it's talking about the true nature of it.

So in this book,

what this says is God speaking definitively

and authoritatively on varieties of issues.

And it's vital for us.

Doctrine is to a church

as food is to your body.

Now, if you are eating junk food

and taking in empty calories,

your body will eventually suffer for it.

You might get a little plumpy.

Or you may come down with diabetes,

cholesterol,

off the charts,

heart disease.

If we as a church

take in the equivalent

of doctrinal junk food,

empty calorie teaching,

our body will eventually suffer for it.

You see, doctrine matters.

What the Bible says about things,

it matters.

Because what you believe

inevitably shows up

in the way that you live your life.

It's a cause and effect relationship.

What I believe is causal

to how I live.

Effect.

God's designed us that way.

He's designed us to live

out of what we believe is true.

This is design.

And so,

back in the first century in Crete,

here's what was going on.

There were some false teachers

that were exerting influence

on those early Christians

in those early churches.

And we see that they're hypocrites.

Look at Titus 1, verse 16.

Titus 1:16

The Apostle Paul says

of these false teachers,

they profess to know God,

but they deny Him by their works.

Classic hypocrisy.

But their hypocrisy

was also having an effect.

Look at verse,

chapter 1, verses 10, 11.

For there are many

who are insubordinate,

empty talkers, and deceivers,

especially those

of the circumcision party.

Those are the false teachers.

They must be silenced

since they are upsetting

whole families,

whole households

by teaching for shameful game

what they ought not to teach.

They were teaching things

that were unhealthy

for the churches in Crete.

doctrine does the body good.

Doctrine does the body good.

False doctrine,

junky doctrine,

does the body bad.

And so Titus

is to,

in chapter 2,

instruct households

of what it looks like

to live out the gospel.

It's corrective.

These false teachers

have upset the faith

of whole households.

Now, Paul is saying,

Titus,

set the record straight.

Show how the different people,

age and gender,

within a household

are to live out

what God is calling them to

by the power of the gospel.

And so what we see

in chapter 2

is this.

Verses 1 and 15,

it's called an inclusio.

They're bookends

to the content.

If you look at verse 1,

Paul says,

but as for you, Titus,

teach what accords

with sound doctrine.

Show them

how to live their lives

that's been shaped

by the gospel

of Jesus Christ.

And then look down

at verse 15.

Declare these things,

exhort and rebuking

with all authority.

Let no one disregard you.

That word declare

in verse 15

and the word teach

in chapter 2,

verse 1,

it's the same word.

It forms bookends

to the content.

There's urgency here.

Paul is saying,

you've got to teach them

this, Titus.

And what the content is

is this.

Verse 2 through 10,

it's exhortation

after exhortation

to different people

within a first century household

of how to live their life.

And then what Paul does

is he takes these exhortations

to gospel living

and then he grounds them

in theological doctrine

in verses 11 through 14.

And so we have a cause and effect.

It's just the effect comes first.

The effect of living out the gospel

is verses 10 through 10,

2 through 10,

gospel lifestyle.

And then the cause of it all

is found in 11 through 14,

the theological reality.

We have,

as Brian so well put it last week,

we've got the fruit

of the gospel

in verses 2 through 10,

and then we've got the root,

the gospel,

in verses 11 through 14.

And so my task this morning

is to exhort you,

to call you

to lifestyles

that are in keeping

with the gospel,

and then to ground you

in the gospel itself

so that you are enabled

to live it.

So let's begin

with verses 2 through 10,

the effect of the gospel,

the fruit of the gospel,

exhortations of what

gospel living looks like

as applied to older men,

as applied to older women,

as applied to younger women,

and applied to younger men.

I'm not going to address

bond slaves this morning,

and here's why.

In August,

I'm going to preach

a two-part series

on the gospel at work,

and I'm going to preach

out of Colossians 4

for one of those sermons,

and we're going to get

into understanding

how first century slavery

is a little bit different

than what we experienced

in our country,

but the application

is going to be

on how we work.

We're not going to address

that today, though.

We're going to address it

later in the summer.

So I'm going to focus

on applying

what gospel living

looks like

for older men,

older women,

younger women,

and younger men,

and then ground it

in the gospel.

So let me walk you

through this.

Okay?

We're going to make haste

because I know it's hot.

And the fireworks,

the finale,

is 11 through 14.

Older men,

40 and up,

this is what God

is calling you to.

This is the life

you're to live.

You're to be sober-minded,

which means clear-headed.

You're to be dignified,

which means that

you are a man of integrity,

that your life

matches your profession,

that there's minimal gap

in between,

that you're self-controlled,

which means prudence.

What you believe

governs the way you live.

And that particular trait

shows up in every one

of not just older men,

older women,

younger women,

and younger men.

And then there to be sound.

This is the word

that we looked at

a couple weeks ago,

which means healthy.

So where do we get

hygiene from?

Older men are to be

healthy, vigorous,

vibrant in their faith in God.

Healthy, vigorous,

vibrant in their love

for others.

Healthy, vigorous,

vibrant in their steadfastness.

Their ability to endure hardship.

This is what God

is calling to you,

older men.

To live like that.

And do you know why

he starts with older men first?

Older men were the heads

of the homes.

They were setting

the thermostat

of a household

by the way that they were

living their lives.

They were setting

the tone in their homes.

And so Paul starts

with these men

because these men

are going to exert

the greatest influence

in a household.

Now if you're

an older man

in the room

and you're having

this experience

right now,

I'm kind of okay

on the dignified part

but everything else

I'm a mess.

There's good news

for you.

That's why you're

in the gospel school.

That's why you are

in the school

of God's grace.

This is what God

is calling you to.

And you need

God's grace

to experience

and live this out.

Older women.

Verse 3.

They're to be reverent

in behavior,

not slanderers,

not slaves

to much wine.

They're to teach

what is good.

That word reverent

in behavior

was used

of Old Testament

priests

about how they

conducted themselves

before God.

And so you can

talk about

an older woman

as a priestess

of her home.

And the question

of an older woman

whose reverent

in behavior

to God

is she's asking

the question

will this,

whatever it is,

will that honor

God right now?

Will this be

pleasing to Him?

They're not slanderers.

The Greek word

underneath that

is the word

we get diabolical

from.

It means slanderer.

To throw people

under the bus

with your words.

To talk bad

about people.

And what God

is saying,

an older woman,

she's to be reverent

in her behavior,

live to God,

and she's not

to speak that way

about other people.

And she's not

to be enslaved

to much wine.

She's not

to be enslaved

to anything

because she's

enslaved to Jesus.

We'll see that

in a little bit.

But in verse 3,

we see that

she's to teach

what is good.

In fact,

she's to say no

to being a slanderer

and to say yes

to teaching

what is good

to the next generation

of women

coming up in a church.

And what is good,

you've got to understand,

she's to teach

what is good

not in the world's eyes.

She is to teach

what is good

to the next generation

of women

what is good

in God's eyes.

Older women,

this is what God

has called you to.

It's called

to live your life

like this.

And it's in light

of what God

in His grace

has done for you.

This is your calling.

In verses 4 and 5,

we see the younger women.

And it's connected

to the older women

because the older women

are to teach

what is good

and therefore

train the younger women.

That word train

is a really interesting word

in the original language.

It literally means

to self-controlify.

That would be the literal

translation of it.

To train them up.

Older women

are to disciple

younger women

in a church

to show them

how to live for God.

It's right there.

By the word,

that word teach

in verse 3,

it's the only place

in the New Testament

that word shows up.

And it's a word

that describes

kind of an informal teaching,

an informal influencing

of other people.

So imagine

an older woman

saddling up

next to a younger woman

over coffee

and sharing life

and that younger woman

has all sorts of questions

about,

hey, how am I supposed

to live out my marriage?

How am I supposed

to parent my kids?

How am I supposed

to keep my house

when I'm also working

on the side?

What does this look like?

And that older woman

teaches what is good

to her.

And then what you see

is seven virtues

for younger women.

They are to love

their husbands.

They are to love

their children.

They too are to be

self-controlled.

They are to be pure,

sexually pure.

If they're married,

faithful to their own husband.

If they're not married,

they are to be celibate

unto the Lord.

They are to be working

at home.

Do you see that

in verse 5?

Now you may hear that

and you may ask

in the question,

does that mean I can't

work outside the home?

That's not what Paul's saying.

Here's what Paul's saying.

To be industrious at home.

To prioritize the home.

If you look at

1 Timothy 3,

1 Timothy,

Paul is telling Timothy

to address a problem

in the Ephesian church.

It was women

who were neglecting

who were neglecting

their homes

and being busy bodies

doing everything

but caring for their homes.

And so it's a corrective.

It's saying,

hey,

prioritize

the management

of your home.

It's not saying

you can't work

outside of the home.

In fact,

Proverbs 31

would argue

against that as well.

they're to be

being industrious

at home,

they're to be kind,

to be blessing

to others,

and they're to be

a submissive

to their own husbands.

And so this section

to young women

begins and ends

with talking about

the relationship

to their husbands.

At least four

of these virtues

has to deal

with their home life.

And so what we see

God's will is

is that

older women

are to be

teaching younger women

to prioritize

their homes.

And we know

this is good

because Paul has said

older women

teach what is good

to these younger women.

It turns out

that loving

your husband,

loving your children,

being industrious

in the home,

being submissive

to your husbands,

that's good

in God's sight.

Now to be submissive

doesn't mean that

you're a doormat.

We talk about

the relationship

between men

and women

around here

as men and women

are of equal value

in God's sight,

but God

has purposefully

designed and given

them different roles

in the family

and in the church.

And so we talk

about marriage

around here

as a dance

where the husband

is leading

the wife

in the dance

and the wife

is letting her husband

lead

and sometimes

helping him

because sometimes

when Jenny and I

are at a wedding

reception

and I'm dancing

with her

what I end up doing

is I end up doing

my left hand

circle move

where I just

end up

kind of just

going in the same

direction

and she starts

getting kind of

nauseous

and so what my

wife does

is she helps me

to correct

and go the other

way for her sake.

so younger women

older women

when we talk

about submission

to our husbands

your husbands

it's a good thing

it's a dance

Paul goes on

and talks

to now

about younger men

more effects

of the gospel

more fruit

of the gospel

what we see

in older men

and older women

and younger women

fruit of the gospel

doctrine having effect

and now young men

we go from talking

about seven virtues

in a younger woman

because women

are multitaskers

and they can handle it

but now we get

to men

young men

and it's one thing

because that's all

they can handle

and what is it?

self-control

self-control

thoughtful restraint

of your desires

prudence

your head

is governing

your life

and what's going on

in your head

is gospel doctrine

and that

is exerting

influence

so that you

you manage

your life

in a way

that's aimed

at God

you see

young men

in particular

have a tendency

to want to

immediately

gratify

their desires

I see it

I want it

I gotta have it

and then you get it

and often times

you regret it

and what the gospel

does in a young man

is that he sees

something

he wants something

he remembers

the gospel

and then he says

I'm gonna wait

on it

God uses

self-control

and growing young men

in his self-control

to form character

and to get them ready

to lead

in the home

and in the church

young men

Proverbs 25

28

says

a man without

self-control

is like a city

broken into

and left without walls

it's a picture

of being plundered

and devastated

and I've seen this

time and time again

where men

have been plundered

and devastated

by their own

unchecked desires

so young men

learn self-control

it is

gospel 101

for you

in the school of grace

Paul doesn't leave

these young men

alone

in first

in fact

in verses

7 and 8

he says

Titus

show yourself

in all respects

to be a model

of good works

specifically

to the young men

show them

how to live

Titus

pastors

elders

life group

leaders

of Christ the King

Church

show

the young men

of our church

how to live

out the gospel

now if you're

a young man

looking for a

godly example

we got them here

young man

we got them here

brothers

there are men

in this church

that would be happy

to saddle up

next to you

and show you

how to follow

Jesus

and grow

in self-control

in 9 and 10

Paul turns his

attention to

another member

of the household

in the first century

bond servants

so we're not going

to spend time here

but what he does do

is he shows them

he tells them

how to live out

the gospel

as they are

serving their masters

it's got great

application

for our lives

at work

what we see

going on here

are life

after life

age and gender

in a first century

household

of how to live

out the gospel

and if we ended

the sermon right here

I wouldn't serve you well

because chances are

you'd be tempted

to do something

like this

okay I'm a younger man

I need to go

get self-control

and I'm going to

self-out

my self-control

I'm going to

trust myself

to live this out

it's kind of like this

could you imagine this

we all

get out of here

and we all go down

to the end of the marina

and we're all

on that lookout point

standing over the water

and we look down

and we see scuba divers

in the water

crystal clear

and we're like

oh man

it was so hot in church

it was like

98 degrees

I want to jump in

but one of those

scuba divers

they come up

and it's a complete

surprise

you're like

what is going on

the scuba diver

comes up

and he's got his

oxygen tank on

and he's got his

breathing apparatus

in front of him

but yet

he's not using it

he dives down

and he's holding

his breath

swim down

swim down

swim down

I can't take it anymore

and he comes back up

and he comes out of the water

yeah

I gotta go down again

and do it

and all the while

he's got his

oxygen tanks

on his back

man he could stay

under

he can be experiencing

the goodness

of the

underwater world

only if he knew

how to breathe

in that oxygen

we as Christians

can approach

the Christian life

and living out

our roles

like we're trying

to hold our breath

like this depends

on me

so I hold my breath

and try to be

the best older man

I can be

and I can't do it

God saves us

from ourselves

that's why

the word for

is in verse 11

for the grace

of God

has appeared

you've got grace

on your back

Christian

you don't need

to hold your breath

and try to

get through yourself

God has grace

for you

he's got

this

grace tank

on your back

that he is

glad to open up

and show you

how to

breathe

in

grace

and live

out

your life

and so

we move

from

these

effects

of the gospel

this lifestyle

all these

virtues

and we turn

the corner

with verse 11

to now

establishing

this lifestyle

on the basis

of the gospel

it's a pivot

and what we see

in verses 11

through 14

are two

particular

gospel truths

that are designed

to enable you

to live out

your calling

first

gospel truth

verses 11

through 13

we are now

on

Jesus time

we're on

Jesus time

in verse 11

Paul points

back to the past

and he says

for the grace

of God

has appeared

bringing salvation

to all men

grace

has already

showed up

and of course

he's talking about

the first coming

of Jesus

the incarnation

his living

a perfect life

dying on a cross

and being raised

from the dead

the first coming

of Jesus

and then

in verse 12

he goes from

saving grace

to training

grace

for the grace

of God

has appeared

bringing salvation

for all people

training us

to renounce

ungodliness

and worldly passions

and to live

self-controlled

upright

in godly lives

now

in this present

age

and then

if that's not

enough

verse 13

God's

aiming grace

God's

waiting grace

waiting for

our blessed

hope

the appearing

of the glory

of our great

God and Savior

Jesus Christ

do you see

what Paul

does here

we are so

inclined

to get

on our own

time

we're so

you know

you know what

I just got out

of school

and I gotta

go back

to school

so I'm

living

in between

getting out

of school

and going

back to school

well that's

true

but what Paul

is saying

here is

you're also

living between

the appearings

the first

appearing of

Jesus

literally an

epiphany

and the

second

appearing

of Jesus

when he

comes in

glory

another

epiphany

maybe you're

an older man

and you're

like I'm

at the end

of my life

and my

body's

failing

might be

true

but you

live between

the

appearings

you're

on Jesus

time

now

if you're

an older

woman

you're

kind of

like oh

my life

isn't what

I thought

and you

can get

bitter

and you

can slander

and you

can turn

to wine

Jesus

remember

you're

on Jesus

time

now

you live

for him

his grace

has showed

up

we're

on Jesus

time

now

think

about it

there's

coming a

time

when Jesus

comes back

and when

he comes

back

he's coming

back

in glory

everyone

will see

it at the

same time

every knee

shall bow

every tongue

confess

that Jesus

Christ

is

Lord

he's coming

back

back

in glory

and what

verse 13

says about

him

is

phenomenal

waiting for

our blessed

hope

he is our

happy hope

waiting for

our blessed

hope

the epiphany

of the glory

of our

great God

and Savior

Jesus

Christ

Christ

Jesus

is God

in the

flesh

and he's

coming

back

see what

happens

here

Paul

gives us

a little

paradigm

shift

you live

your life

now

in light

of what

Jesus

has done

of what

he's doing

and what

he's gonna

do

and it's

all about

Jesus

it's all

about

his grace

saving

grace

training

grace

and his

waiting

grace

for the

glory

of

Jesus

to be

revealed

when you

start

understanding

the timeline

you're on

as a

Christian

it affects

the way

that you

live

it informs

the way

you live

your life

now

as an

older man

as an

older woman

as a

younger

woman

and as

a

younger

man

changes

the way

that you

are an

employee

do you

know what

happens

when people

realize

that they

are on

Jesus

time

it's

verse 12

we're in

the school

of grace

in between

this first

coming

and his

second

coming

we've been

enrolled

in the

school

of grace

and he

is actively

teaching

us

to say

no

to

ungodliness

to say

no

to worldly

desires

so that

we can

live for

him

self-controlled

upright

godly

lives

that's

what he's

doing

in our

lives

now

he wants

us to

live for

him

and live

out

our roles

for him

regardless

of your

age or

gender

and do you

know what

happens

when we

do

verse 5

oh

I'm

in

2nd

Timothy

verse 5

when

older

women

teach

younger

women

to

prioritize

their

home

the

word

of

God

may

not

be

reviled

you

know

what

happens

look

at

verse

8

that

an

opponent

may

be

put

to

shame

having

nothing

evil

to

say

about

us

you

know

what

happens

look at

verse

10

so

that

in

everything

they

may

adorn

the

doctrine

of

God

our

Savior

when

we're

in

the

school

of

grace

and

God

is

doing

work

in

us

by

his

grace

it

ends

up

having

an

effect

not

only

in

us

but

those

who

are

watching

us

we're

all

on

Jesus

time

now

did

you

know

that

in

the

heyday

of

Britain's

naval

dominance

the

main

clocks

on

every

British

vessel

was

set

to

London

time

so

that

no

matter

where

in

the

world

you

were

if

you

were

on

a

British

naval

ship

you

were

all

on

the

same

time

brothers

and

sisters

in

Christ

whether

you

are

a

man

or

a

woman

whether

you're

older

or

younger

whether

you're

employed

or

unemployed

all of

our

internal

clocks

are

set

on

Jesus

time

he's

come

he's

training

us

he's

coming

back

we're

all

living

in

between

the

already

and not

yet

and

we're

all

pupils

in the

school

of

God's

grace

the

school

of

God's

grace

is

now

in

session

God

but

that's

the

first

gospel

truth

we're

on

Jesus

time

let me

give you

the

second

gospel

truth

we

see

this

in

verse

14

who

gave

himself

for

us

to

redeem

us

from

all

lawlessness

and

to

purify

for

himself

a

people

for

his

own

possession

who

are

zealous

for

good

works

in

verse

14

Paul

circles

back

to

the

first

coming

of

Jesus

in

verse

13

he

was

talking

about

the

second

coming

of

Jesus

the

glorious

appearing

of

our

God

and

Savior

Jesus

Christ

every

knee

bow

down

every

tongue

confess

but

in

verse

14

Jesus

where

Paul

circles

all

the

way

back

to

the

first

coming

where

Jesus

didn't

come

in

glory

but

he

came

as

a

servant

to

give

his

life

as

a

ransom

for

many

and

that

is

exactly

the

language

he

uses

in

verse

14

who

gave

himself

for

us

Jesus

gave

himself

for

us

the

second

gospel

truth

is

we

are

now

Jesus

people

we

live

this

way

2

through

10

because

we

are

now

Jesus

people

we're

his

possession

he

gave

himself

for

us

to

redeem

us

from

sin

from

all

lawlessness

when

you

hear

the

word

redeem

you

may

be

thinking

coal's

cash

and

redeeming

them

at

your

local

coal

store

in

the

first

century

that

word

redeem

means

to

purchase

someone

back

from

slavery

and

to

redeem

you

used

a

purchase

price

it's

called

a

ransom

and

so

what

Paul

is

saying

here

to

us

is

that

those

who

put

their

faith

in

Jesus

have

been

redeemed

by

the

purchase

price

of

Jesus

his

life

and

his

death

it

set

us

free

you've

been

redeemed

by

his

death

redeemed

from

the

power

of

sin

all

lawlessness

think

about

this

Jesus

died

on the

cross

over

2,000

years

ago

and

that

payment

for

sin

is

as

powerful

and

effectual

today

over

two

millennia

later

than

it

was

the

day

after

Jesus

was

raised

it's

just

as

powerful

and

so

when

Jesus

redeems