Conduct Befitting The Gospel (Part 1)

The second chapter here of Paul's letter to Titus is bookended by two distinct commands.

In the very first verse, he tells Titus, teach what accords with sound doctrine.

And if you move your eye all the way down to the last verse, in verse 15,

he closes with another command, declare these things with all authority, he says.

And if that's not enough, right in the middle of the passage, right in the middle of this particular chapter,

he gives him another helpful command in verse 7,

show yourself in all respects to be a model of good work.

So, Titus is to teach, he is to declare, he is to model.

And the synopsis of what it is to teach and model and declare involves counter-cultural living,

counter-cultural conduct that emerges from faith in the gospel of Jesus,

as well as an anticipation that Jesus will soon return.

I know that was a mouthful.

What is it that in chapter 2, Paul is telling Titus to teach and to model and to declare?

Godliness, that comes as a result of knowing Christ and looking, anticipating his return.

And it's all rooted in verses 11 through 14.

Just draw your eye there for just a moment.

He says, I want you to live in this way because the grace of God has appeared,

bringing salvation, training us to renounce ungodliness, verse 13,

and that we are waiting for our blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ.

In other words, Titus, teach these things, teach them how to live in godliness,

because godliness will be the natural fruit that comes from faith in the gospel of Jesus.

And as long as they're keeping their eyes in anticipation on the soon coming return of Jesus Christ,

this also will motivate them this way.

Teach these things, Titus.

Model these things for them.

And that's the essence of what this chapter is really about.

In other words, our behavior should match our profession as followers of Jesus.

If we say we know Christ, that should be displayed in the way that we live.

Our lives should conform to the teaching of the Bible rather than to the whims of our ever-changing culture.

Our conduct should befit the gospel.

And it should befit the gospel so that we may bring honor to God as well as display His glory, His salvation to the world.

Now, why would God be so concerned for us to do this?

Well, one, because it is the very sinfulness that we are prone to that Jesus came to redeem us from.

So it would follow that those of us who have been redeemed will pursue righteousness in our lives.

But there's a second layer to that.

Why is He concerned for us to live this way, to live in godliness?

Because in living in godliness, we demonstrate to the world the transformative power of Christ in the gospel.

That Christ can offer the world around us what no other religion, no other philosophy, no other manner of life can actually provide.

True freedom.

Freedom from the bondage of sin.

Freedom from the bondage of death.

Freedom from the bondage of death.

elders, pastors who would care for the churches by teaching God's truth and refuting anything that contradicted the gospel.

But then as we come to chapter 2, we find a second structure beginning to take shape.

A second structure that Titus is not only to model as an apostolic delegate from Paul,

but something he is to emphasize to these elders to do.

And the second structure is intentional gospel-based discipling.

Intentional gospel-based discipling.

Of course, you know, to be a disciple simply means to be a follower of Jesus.

Discipling, the verb form, is the commitment to help other people follow Jesus.

And the way that we help other people follow Jesus is by personally teaching truth and modeling Christian behavior.

And Paul's point to Titus in this little letter, this little practical helpful letter,

is you need faithful elders who will care for the church,

and you need a culture of discipling where the church will care for itself

and emphasize these things that are true to the gospel, true to sound doctrine.

And both of these things are essential for maintaining spiritual fitness in the church.

And of course, the first thing we learn here as we get into verse 1

is that fruitful discipleship begins with faithful eldership.

Begins with faithful eldership.

Look again at verse 1.

The springboard here for this discussion of godly living and discipling,

intergenerational discipling that's unfolding here,

the springboard for it is faithful elders who will begin the work

and who will continue the work

and who will guide the work of discipling in the church.

The opening but connects this instruction to what Paul had just written

regarding the false teachers at the end of chapter 1.

Whereas the false teachers were denying God by their works,

teaching doctrines that made them unfit for any good work,

Titus and the Cretan elders, in contrast to that,

were to model and teach what accords with sound doctrine.

And what models and teaches sound doctrine will produce spiritual fitness.

We've talked about several times already this sound doctrine,

we can translate this as healthy doctrine.

It is a medical term.

It's meant to emphasize health, fitness.

So Titus and the elders are to teach and to model things

that produce spiritual fitness in the lives of the people

that they've been called to care for.

Now accords here means something that is in harmony with the truth of the gospel.

And what accords with sound doctrine is not merely the doctrine itself,

but it is the behaviors that should accompany the trustworthy word.

Do you see this taking shape now?

If you kind of step back and the best that you can,

think of the big picture of the book now.

What is it that Paul's emphasizing?

Faithfulness to the word, faithfulness to the gospel,

so that that will produce godliness in our lives.

Because we cannot separate doctrine from conduct.

We cannot ultimately separate belief from behavior.

So Paul tells Titus and the elders,

teach what is right and teach what is good and right

in the way that we behave and conduct our lives.

The point is that true faith in Christ brings practical change.

It brings practical change in our lives.

Indeed, one of the glories of the gospel

is the transformative power of God at work

in the life of a sinner who comes to Jesus for salvation.

And we talked about this last week.

Jesus doesn't demand that we clean ourselves up

so that we can then be accepted by him.

No, he says, come.

And as we trust in him, he cleans us up.

He gives us a new heart.

He transforms our lives.

And then we need to be encouraged by faithful elders

and by other Christians in our lives

to continue to pursue the righteousness

that Christ begins to work in our hearts through salvation.

That's one of the glories of the gospel.

That when we come to Christ,

he does this amazing work in us.

And this work of the gospel,

this genuine faith in Christ

produces practical change that cannot be denied.

It cannot be denied by the Christian community

and it cannot be denied by the secular community either.

And yet there seems to be so many churches,

so many Christians who make a profession

that does not match the life that they live.

They say the right things.

They confess the right doctrines.

But then they don't actually live a life

that practically matches the things

that they say that they believe.

Paul is concerned that Titus

teach the people differently than that.

And that there is a pattern

and a structure set up in the church

so that that continues on.

Faithful pastors will continually

teach Christians to pursue behaviors

that accord with God's word.

And it creates a ripple effect

through the congregation

so that as these faithful elders are appointed

and they're leading the church,

there's a ripple effect

to where as they are discipling people,

the people that they are discipling

begin to disciple others.

Do you see the effect here?

It's the plan of God.

It's the plan of God in the local church.

It's the plan of God for building up His people.

And it's one that we need not neglect.

Paul knew that the Cretans

needed a culture of discipling.

Something emphasized throughout his writings

in the New Testament.

He told Timothy in 2 Timothy 2,

What you have heard from me

in the presence of many witnesses

entrust to faithful men

who will be able to teach others also.

It's a simple pattern.

Timothy, teach faithful men

so that the faithful men

can teach other men

to produce more faithful men

that will teach other men.

And so on and so forth

as the church is built.

We quote Ephesians 4 often

in regard to this topic.

Christ gave the apostles

and the prophets and the evangelists,

the shepherds and teachers,

that's the pastors and elders,

so that they might equip the saints,

the Christians,

for the work of ministry.

And what is the work of ministry?

The building up of the body of Christ.

And we see it coming to the surface again

very clearly here in Titus chapter 2.

Titus 2 · chapter mention

Now as Paul gets into this discussion,

we find here

that he distinguished people

in the church by age or life stage.

He doesn't always do that.

He does it here for some reason.

He doesn't cover every life stage

that probably was present in Crete,

but he at least limits himself

to the four most common demographics.

He has a word to older men

in the congregation,

a word to older women

in the congregation,

a word to younger women,

and then a word to younger men.

Eventually, in a couple of weeks,

we'll get to where he covers everyone

in the nature of their work.

And I think this division here,

the distinguishing of these age groups,

alerts us to three things

that we need to consider

as we work through this text.

The first one is this,

that the scope of influence for elders

is extended to every demographic

of the church.

The scope of influence for pastors

is not limited to one demographic

or just to the people

to whom they best relate.

The actual responsibility of pastors

that we would call to serve our church

is a responsibility that includes

the entire congregation,

the entire flock of God.

No matter their age or their experience,

elders are to faithfully disciple

the entire church,

especially and primarily

as it relates to the regular preaching

and teaching of the Bible.

Now, Paul tells Timothy

how these pastors are to relate

to the people in the church.

In fact, just flip over a couple of pages

to 1 Timothy chapter 5.

1 Timothy 5 · chapter mention

1 Timothy chapter 5.

1 Timothy 5 · chapter mention

And in the first two verses here,

Paul makes it clear

how Timothy is to relate to the people.

He says in verse 1,

Do not rebuke an older man,

but encourage him as you would a father,

younger men as brothers,

older women as mothers,

younger women as sisters,

in all purity.

I think that's a pattern

Paul intends to see perpetuated

in every church

and among all the elders.

that they have a responsibility

for the whole congregation,

but there's also a helpful way

that they need to see themselves

relating to the whole congregation.

That with the ones that are older than them,

mature in years,

they need to treat them

as fathers and mothers.

You talk and rebuke

and encourage your father

in a very different way

than you do your brother.

Right?

And these pastors

were to remember that.

Timothy wasn't supposed

to come into Ephesus

guns ablaze

and firing at anybody

and everybody that he could.

No, he used to be wise

and discerning

in the way that he related,

but he still had a responsibility

for everyone

to care for their souls

and so do the elders.

Second thing

is that each life stage

has unique temptations

and responsibilities

that we really need to acknowledge.

Again, we're talking about

why Paul has distinguished

these age groups.

It's because at each season

of your life,

the weaknesses

that you may sense

and the temptations

that you may feel

are going to shift

and they're going to change

as you mature

and as you age.

That's exactly what happens.

And of course,

the items included here,

this is a very short passage,

the items included here,

they don't cover everything,

but they are representative,

I think,

of what is generally true

of these life stages.

We need to keep that in mind.

The third thing is this,

intergenerational,

gender-specific discipling

should be the normative

in local churches.

It should be normal

that churches

are multi-generational.

It should be normal

that the discipling

that takes place

in a local church

happens between generations.

We don't just group up

all the young adults here

and all of the senior adults here

and all the teenagers here

and all the children here

and we let them kind of

figure it out on their own.

It doesn't make sense.

No.

Intergenerational,

gender-specific,

matters.

It matters in this text

and it matters practically

as we just think about

how we're going to help one another.

I can't help you focus

and think through

postpartum depression

if you have a baby.

I have never had a baby

and I've never had

postpartum depression

from a baby.

I can't help you with that.

You know what you need

if you're going through

something like that?

You need another woman.

You see what I mean?

Intergenerational,

gender-specific,

Paul gets into

all of those things here.

So, eventually,

we're going to look

at all four groups.

Today, we're just going to look

at two of them.

And our goal is to understand

what it means to obey

the Lord

out of the fruitfulness

of the gospel

and then what it means

to disciple others

in what accords

with sound doctrine.

Okay?

Older men,

you're up first.

Look at verse two.

Older men are to be

sober-minded,

dignified,

self-controlled,

sound in faith,

in love,

and in steadfastness.

Now, I'm going to let

everybody decide for themselves

which group you belong to.

I'm not going to choose

that for you.

But he begins with

older men in the congregation

here,

and it's no coincidence

that he does.

Because the older men

in the congregation,

those mature in years,

are the natural leaders

of any community.

Whether they want to be

or not,

the ones who have gone

before us

in terms of life

and experience

will always be the ones

that the most people

instinctively look to

for personal counsel

and a helpful pattern

of life.

And it makes sense

that Paul begins here

and he addresses

those who will most naturally

in the community

of these congregations

assume some type

of leadership,

whether it's formalized

in the church

or whether it's just

by the fact

that they've been around

a few times

and they've experienced

a few things

and they can be helpful

to others

who are trying to figure out

how to go about life.

Makes sense that he would

start there, doesn't it?

It's because of this instinct

that it is crucial

that the older men

of a church

set the standard

for godliness,

that they passionately

pursue the things of God.

Why?

Because generally speaking,

as goes the men,

so goes the church.

If a church is filled

with men

who clearly love the Lord,

who are passionate

about pursuing

the things of the Lord,

who are not perfect,

but desire to be righteous

and upright

in the things that they do,

it will inevitably

produce the fruitfulness

of a church congregation

that does the same things.

But if a church

is filled with men

who are casual

in their faith,

lazy in their study,

lack control

in the way

that they live their life,

it will produce a church

that mimics it.

It's just the way it works.

Paul knows that,

so he starts here.

It's this dynamic

of natural leadership.

It's not to be rebuffed.

We're not to resent that.

It's the way God

created life to work.

And we need to recognize it,

and older men

need to own it.

Own it for the good

of God's people.

When it comes to the issues

Paul addressed,

I think it's helpful

to look here at

actions and attitudes.

actions and attitudes.

Let's look first

at the actions here

for older men.

Three necessary characteristics

are given.

Sober-minded,

dignified,

and self-controlled.

Sober-minded,

dignified,

self-controlled.

Sober-minded

means temperate

in thought.

It's clear-headed.

It's the ability

to keep your head

rather than

lose your mind.

relates to our

anger,

our control

over our spirit

and our attitudes.

It's to think clearly

rather than

to be controlled

by our emotions.

And older men

are to set the tone

for this.

It's the discipline

of drawing on

your years of experience

to act with wisdom

in any given situation.

And we need

older men

who will display

sober-mindedness

because typically

younger men

are not going

to display

sober-mindedness.

He says dignified,

which is a word

I tried to spend

a lot of time

on this week.

I wanted to really

try to grasp

what this means.

Dignified

means to carry yourself

in a way

that elicits

respect

and honor

from others.

It's not to be

confused with

humorless.

It's not to be

confused with

pretension.

It simply means

that you carry

yourself in such

a way that

is respectable

and it's easily

respectable.

It's not that

you take yourself

too seriously.

It's that you

take your worship

and your godliness

with such

earnestness

that others

consider you

worthy of

respect.

You know what

it's like.

We have men

like this

in our lives,

right?

Where maybe

it's a

patriarch of

your family,

if I'm allowed

to use that

word,

that when your

family gets

together and

they come in,

what you and

your brother

and your sister

may be cutting

up doing,

you kind of

stop that

because there

is a certain

dignity that

comes along

when dad

walks in the

room.

You know what

that's like.

It's almost

intangible in

some ways.

Paul says,

these older men,

you need to

carry yourselves

with dignity.

Carry yourself

in a way that

elicits respect

because you're

going to need

the respect

of the people

in the congregation

to lead them

and to counsel

them and to

help them.

Self-control is

the third thing.

It stands in

stark contrast

to both

Cretan and

American cultures

where satisfying

self seems to

be a cardinal

virtue.

Self-control

instead is the

ability to curb

your impulses.

It's to

surrender them

to the

lordship of

Jesus Christ.

And all

three of these

actions are

displayed in

spiritual disciplines.

It's in the

discipline of

prayer and the

discipline of

study.

It's in the

discipline of

discipleship and

the discipline of

worship and the

discipline of

song.

Of all the

things that we

would say mark

someone who

loves the Lord

and has been

gripped by the

love of Christ.

It needs to be

evident in the

older men.

Well that's the

actions.

Let's look now at

the attitudes.

Paul said the

spiritual attitudes

of older men

should be marked

by soundness in

faith, love,

steadfastness.

Faith, love,

steadfastness.

Attributes that

are not routinely

associated with

masculinity in our

world.

These things

actually seem,

except for

perhaps maybe

steadfastness,

seem to be

weakness from a

cultural standard.

But in God's

economy this is

not weakness at

all.

This is the

pinnacle of

strength.

Sound in faith

means that

these men need

to be students

of the word.

Setting a

pattern of

faith and

faithfulness

for the rest

of the church.

Sound in love

reflects not

only a love for

the Lord but

for other people.

people.

This is the

opposite of the

guy standing on

his porch yelling

to get off my

lawn.

It's the

opposite of that.

It's a love.

It's a concern.

It's a generosity

and a charity

toward others,

even others who

really get on your

nerves, which I'm

learning from my

dad as you get

older.

More people get on

your nerves than

what did when you

were younger.

So maybe it's

right on target

that Paul would

say, remember

guys, you need

to be sound in

love.

Remember to be

charitable toward

these other guys

coming behind you.

Sound in

steadfastness

reflects perseverance

and hardship.

Because the

younger ones in

the church that

have yet to face

severe hardship

are going to be

looking to see the

way that you

handle it.

And when you go

through hardship

in your life,

trials and

suffering in your

life, do you do

so full of faith?

Not that you

ignore the reality

of the difficulty,

but you trust

the Lord.

Does the

hardships that

you face cause

you to be less

faithful to the

Lord and His

church?

Or can other

people look at

your life and

see, okay,

I know what's

going on in that

guy's life.

I know things

are hard for

him right now,

but he's still

there, and I

know it's got to

be hard for him,

but he's there,

and he's faithful,

and he's praying,

and he's doing

the things.

All of these

attitudes flow

from one who

has been

transformed by

the gospel.

This is the

result of a

life that is

faithfully walking

in fellowship

with God.

Listen, the

world around us

cannot live this

way.

They can't.

It's not

possible.

people.

These are

fruits of the

Spirit.

Love, joy,

temperance, all

of these things

are produced by

the Spirit of

God as we

walk faithfully

with God.

And if you fit

this distinguished

category, I

really think that

you'll probably be

tempted in one of

two ways as you

mature.

more.

You'll be tempted

to either retire

from passionate

engagement with

the church.

See this happen

all the time.

There's people,

they finally hit

the retirement

from their career

and they retire

from everything

else as well.

That will be one

temptation to kind

of say, I've paid

my dues and take

a step back.

That's the time

of life that we

need you probably

the most.

The other

temptation will be

to become the

proverbial curmudgeon

that bemoans

what you don't

like rather than

investing in the

next generation

that's coming

behind you.

Men, the rest of

us are looking

to you.

Whether you

realize it or

not, our eyes

are on you.

We need you to

set a pattern

for us.

We can't afford

for you to

punch out.

We can't afford

for you to spend

the rest of your

life on a

spiritual vacation

or an ecclesiastical

vacation.

The church won't

survive that way.

Neither can we

bear you

becoming like

Waldorf and

Statler from

the Muppets

sitting in the

balcony

chirping at

everything Kermit

and Fozzie Bear

does.

We need you to

display the

gospel and teach

us how to do

it.

That's older

men.

Next is

older women.

We find that

in verses 3

and the beginning

of verse 4.

Older women

likewise are to

be reverent in

behavior, not

slanderers or

slaves to much

wine, or to

teach what is

good and so

train the young

women.

Likewise here

shows a

closeness of

comparison to

what has just

been said about

the older men.

older women are

to be reverent in

behavior in the

same way and

in the same

sense that

older men are

to be dignified,

living their

lives worthy of

respect, of

honor.

It simply

means to take

seriously the

fact that you

belong to God

and you want

your profession

of faith to be

revealed in the

way that you

live.

two things

Titus was to

teach the older

women not to

do.

They were not

to be enslaved

to the impulses

common to their

culture, typified

here with

drunkenness.

It's not

limited to

drunkenness

here, it's just

typified by it.

Instead, they're

to display a

spirit-filled

life that rises

above temptation.

He was also to

teach them to

avoid malicious

gossip.

That's what's

meant by

slander.

Speech that

destroys rather

than edifies.

And given the

context here as

we look at the

nature and the

godliness of an

older woman's

life with her

responsibility to

train the younger

women, Paul seems

to rebuke the

kind of woman who

kind of stands

back at the

wine bar and is

just criticizing the

young wives and

mothers rather than

coming alongside of

them to teach and

to train them in

what is natural to

their station of

life.

But that's a

temptation for all

of us, isn't it?

It's the temptation

to judge the

failures and

weaknesses of

another instead of

making a personal

investment to help

them grow and

mature in

godliness.

That's not limited

to just older

women.

That's a temptation

temptation for

every single one

of us.

Maybe you've seen

the Geico

commercial that

keeps airing here

recently.

It's got the young

couple sitting in

their living room

and they've just

recently bought their

house and they're

talking about how

much they love their

house but then they

say the only problem

is we have ants.

Have you seen that

commercial?

They don't mean ants

A-N-T-S.

They mean ants A-U-N-T-S.

And then it shows

several clips of

older women in

their home and what

they're doing is

these different

scenarios just pointing

out every possible

thing that is wrong

with this home that

this young couple.

Have you ever been

around somebody like

that?

Like you just can't

do anything right?

Like they just point

everything out that

you're doing wrong and

they're relentless in

it.

Constantly criticizing but

never actually helping.

So if the older men

have a tendency to be

like Waldorf and

Statler it may be

that the older women

might contend to be

like the ants from

Geico.

It's not always that

their criticisms are

false.

It's just that they're

relentless and

unhelpful.

Paul shows a better

way here.

The biblical alternative

here in these verses

is that older women

teach what is good.

That's the end of

verse 3.

And so train the

young women.

That's the beginning

of verse 4.

So not only are they

to live in a way that

matches their Christian

profession but they are

to help other women do

the same thing.

So what is good here

refers to righteousness

that is based on God's

worth.

The truth of the

gospel.

Older women are to take

responsibility for

teaching young women the

gospel.

people to constantly

bring their eyes

back to the love

of Christ.

To the forgiveness

of Christ.

And the grace of

Christ.

Training refers to

practical discipling

that's rooted in

personal experience.

So option number one

here as far as what

Paul is writing.

Option number one

is to say something

to the effect of

your kids are a

holy terror and you

need to do something

about it.

Option number two

is you're going to

make it.

I've been there.

Let me tell you some

things that helped me.

Or maybe here's some

things you could try.

Do you see the

difference?

See the difference?

This is the picture

Paul's painting.

This is what should be

the dynamic of the

church.

Rather than judging

younger ones for all

they're doing wrong,

the older women should

lovingly teach them

how to honor and

glorify God as a

wife and mother.

That's the specific

emphasis here.

Donald Guthrie said

Christian matrons are

to assist the younger

women in the discipline

of family love.

love.

Not of course as

interfering busy

bodies,

but as humble

advisors on problems

of married life.

Who's going to be the

most beneficial to a

young mother that

comes in on a Sunday

morning looking like

she's one tantrum away

from throwing in the

towel altogether?

mother.

Sure, I can offer

biblical counsel that

is intellectually

credible and

theologically sound,

and it's my

responsibility to do

that.

Still, it's the

mature mother who's

walked that road who

will be able to give

counsel that is

existentially satisfying.

I can't relate to

motherhood, but you

can.

Come alongside and

help.

Who will be there to

help that young

wife whose head's in

the clouds right now,

but you know that

it's not going to be

very long before

things come crashing

back down to earth

when she realizes that

her husband isn't as

dreamy as she thought

he was.

It's going to happen

soon.

Who's going to be

there to help?

Well, I can sit down

with them and I can

talk about all the

things that the Bible

says about marriage,

and I must do that.

That's my responsibility

to do that.

But God can use a

caring, mature wife

to offer biblical

truth from a

perspective of

personal experience.

For the glory of

God, older women

must care to help.

And for the glory of

God, younger

women must be

humble enough to

receive the help

that God has

provided.

You see, sometimes

we're looking for

help, but we want

to tell God who

we're willing to

help us.

And we say, I

want somebody to

mentor me, I want

somebody to disciple

me, and I want

somebody to help

me, but Lord, I

don't want any of

the people that

you've actually put

in my life to do

it.

So if you'll

actually just bring

somebody else, that

would be fantastic.

Well, no, it

doesn't work like

that, does it?

No.

Covenantal

discipleship is

neither merely

academic, says

Susan Hunt, nor is

it merely relational.

It's a beautiful

blend of sharing

the gospel and

our lives with

one another, and

that takes humility

on the part of the

younger men and

younger women, and

concern on the part

of older men and

older women.

In the case of

older men and

women, they must

set a pattern of

godliness out of

their love for the

Lord and train

others out of

their love for

His church.

That's the point

here.

Live like a

Christian and then

help other people

do the same thing.

Let me close it

this way.

This kind of

discipling, which

indeed applies to

every demographic in

the church, this is

not just about those

who are mature in

their years.

All of us are

responsible for this.

It requires

intentionality.

It will never

happen by accident.

Nobody accidentally

disciples someone

else.

We must deliberately

set this pattern of

godliness.

We must deliberately

go out of our way to

sacrifice our time and

energy for the good

of others.

We must deliberately

necessarily break

through the potential

awkwardness that

typically comes at the

beginning of those

kinds of relationships.

And we must do it for

the glory of God and

the good of His church.

A couple of times a

year, Terry is brave

enough to invite me to

his home club in

Denver to play golf.

Terry has played the

course many, many times

and I've only played it

a couple of times.

And the benefit of that

is that when we're

playing together,

Terry can pick up on

what my tendencies are

which is to swing

really hard.

I can't hit the ball

straight, but every now

and then I can hit it

hard and it makes me

feel better.

He can be in the middle

of the fairway, but if

I'm a little further,

even if it's in the

weeds, I feel better

about myself.

Well, Terry can pick out

that that's a tendency

that I have to do that

and he recognizes that

he knows the course

well.

He's been all over the

course and his times

playing there and I

don't know the danger

spots like he does.

We can start a hole

and Terry can say,

Jared, I know you're

going to want to try

to hit it hard, but if

you hit it too hard

here, you're going to

go over the green and

you don't want to be

there.

You're going to be in a

mess.

You're going to be in a

real mess if you do

that.

Don't do it, Jared.

And then inevitably,

Jared's going to get

out his club and he's

going to swing it too

hard because he just

has to hit it further

than everybody else

and he's going to go

over the green.

Now, Terry can do two

things in that situation.

Terry can come alongside

of me and he can say,

Jared, I told you not

to do that, you idiot.

If you'd just listen,

you'd save yourself a lot

of trouble.

Terry could also come

alongside of me and he

could say, Jared, I've

been there.

You're in a tough spot.

This is why you're in

that tough spot.

Now, let me help you

try to figure out how to

get through it.

Do you see the

difference?

I need somebody like

Terry to help me get

around the course well.

If I don't have Terry to

get me around the course,

I'm not going to know

what's dangerous and

what's not and what's

good.

I'm not going to easily

spot my own tendencies

in my golf game.

It's going to be harder

for me to evaluate the

things because I can't

see myself the way that

everybody outside of me

can see me.

I need somebody like

Terry helping me through

that course.

I need somebody like

Terry being patient with

me when I blow it and I

need to just try to figure

out how to get through

this hole.

Now, let's put it in the

context of our lives.

There are danger spots

everywhere and we're all

going to find them from

time to time.

And what we need is

someone who's been there

before to come alongside

of us and say, that's a

tough place to be.

I've been there myself.

This is probably what got

you here.

Now, let's go to God's

word and see what it says

to help you get through it.

That's what the church

needs Christians doing.

Christians that aren't

concerned to sit in the

balcony and just point out

all of our flaws.

We all have enough.

We can say we're failures

in a lot of ways.

We need people who are

going to get dirty with

us.

Come alongside of us and

say, let me help you.

And of course, we'll talk

about it next week.

There is a pride that

exists in younger men and

women that will resist that

at first.

But we need the older men

and women in our lives to

keep trying and keep

loving and keep

encouraging and keep

modeling.

And we need to remember

that the goal of this

text is to live a life

that is fitting for one

who knows Jesus.

And what is it that Jesus

did?

Well, he modeled

righteousness and then

he taught other people how

to do it.

And he was patient with

them.

And he was kind and loving

towards them.

We need to remember that

Christ has redeemed us

from lawlessness in order

that we might be pure and

zealous for good works.

And we need constant

reminders of what it means

to live in accordance with

sound doctrine so that our

lives will display the

glories of the gospel to the

watching world.

We need to have conduct that

befits the gospel.

And we need to have people

who will help us do that.