Amen, turn with me in your Bibles, if you will, to the book of Titus. This evening we're in Titus chapter two. We'll be looking especially at the overall picture of verses one to 10, but let me read this whole section now. But as for you, speak the things which are proper for sound doctrine, that the older men be sober, reverent, temperate, sound in faith and love and patience. The older women likewise, that they may be reverent in behavior, not slanderers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things, that they admonish the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, to be discreet, chaste, homemakers, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be blasphemed. Likewise, exhort the young men to be sober-minded. In all things, showing yourself to be a pattern of good works and doctrine showing integrity, reverence, incorruptibility, sound speech that cannot be condemned, that one who is an opponent may be ashamed, having nothing evil to say of you. Exhort bond servants to be obedient to their own masters, to be well-pleasing in all things, not answering back, not pilfering, but showing all good fidelity that they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in all things. This is the word of the living God and we say thanks be to God. Amen. Please be seated. Let's pray together. Our Father in heaven, we're grateful for the opportunity to gather once again this Lord's Day. We ask for your blessing upon the preached word. I pray for the hearts of your people, for the minds of your people to be alert, that we may live lives that accord with sound doctrine. I pray that you use me to spite myself by the Holy Spirit speaking through me. I pray in Jesus' name, amen. Well, we're in the middle of Titus now, and I'll draw your attention immediately to the first clause here. If you look at chapter two, the very first verse with me, this is our, one of the focal points. It says, but as for you, so this connects it to what previously had come before. So Paul, speaking to Titus, says, Titus, As for you, you are going to speak the things which are proper for sound doctrine. Before we get there, our minds have to go back a few weeks. The false teachers are spoken of in verses 11, verse 14, verse 16. These false teachers, they had corrupted whole households, teaching things which they ought not. And along with these Jewish myths that they were teaching, there was still the Cretan culture that they were up against. Cretans were liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons. And so you have a mix in Crete at the time and the establishment of this church. Titus is to go in, establishing healthy churches, establishing elders. And there's a note in verse 16 about these false teachers. They profess to know God. They go around telling everyone that they are in authority, that they know God, that they know the ways of God. Then Paul very simply dismisses their case. How does he do that? Verse 16, they deny him. They don't deny him in speech, they would not do such a thing. They would not dare do such a thing. They deny him. Paul lays it on. They're abominable, disobedient, disqualified for every good work. Paul says they cannot do good works. They don't know sound doctrine. Therefore, they cannot do good works. And we'll see this theme continue on later in the book of Titus. And now here comes the contrast, chapter two. You, Titus, you must do something different. Firstly, teach sound doctrine. We've covered that. That's discussed in chapter one. Titus, establish elders. Titus, establish healthy churches. Here's some things you can do. Doctrine is important, Titus. Make sure you have your ducks in a row, that the churches may be healthy. If there's no good doctrine, there will not be good, healthy churches. Full stop. And now there's a transition. But don't stop there, Titus. Speak the things which are proper for sound doctrine. The gospel must not stay alone, if you will. Let works accompany the faith of the Cretan believers. So this evening, what I want to get into is I want to discuss the action words of verses one to 10. So three headings this evening. And I wanna focus on Titus's role, and then in the coming weeks, Lord willing, we'll get into these various groups that are addressed. The first action word is Titus is to speak. We see that in verse one. Second heading, Titus is to exhort the believers. See that in verse 6. And then in verses 7 and 8, third heading, Titus is to show the believers how to live lives that accord with sound doctrine. Before we get into that, just looking at the the section as a whole. Notice that older men, older women, younger women, younger men, and bond servants are addressed. If you take someone from our culture and bring them in, and they're sitting here tonight, if that's you, it's an interesting night for you to come in because this text assumes that there are differences. between men and women, and that they have different needs. They need different encouragements. It also assumes that people of different ages have different needs, and they are addressed based on age. And then thirdly, Paul makes a distinction really between class, if you will. So there's masters, they're not really spoken about, but bond servants are. So here, the culture would say, this is a sexist, ageist, classist text. Paul is making a distinction based on sex, based on age, and based on class. And what do we do with that? Is Paul showing partiality? He's not. God says, in his word, that he does not show partiality. He gives his gospel to all. In fact, if that's you this evening, if you have not heard the gospel, it is good news that Jesus Christ came and died, that he rose from the dead, that he took the punishment that you deserve for your sins. And the good news is that he lived a perfect life and that by faith in him, his perfect righteousness can be credited to you. And he offers this good news to all without distinction, to Jew, to Gentile, men, to women, to the rich, to the poor. He offers it without distinction. So what are we to do? with this text. We'll get into that more as the weeks come. But it's worth addressing right away. If there is no distinction yet, we have to be ready to be pricked a little bit. Some of these texts may hurt. These things will tell us what our simple tendencies might be based on our age. based on our sex, based on our position in society. But tonight, the focus is on Titus, and what is Titus to do to make these churches healthy by the grace of God. So first, Titus, speak those things that align with proper doctrine. Titus is not to be like those false teachers, those teachers who deny the faith by their works. Titus, is to speak about what accords with proper doctrine. If you read in the New King James, which I'm reading from, the verb there says speak, verse one, speak the things. Now some translations, including the ESV, if you have that, it says teach the things that accord with proper doctrine. I don't think that's quite right. This is a more generic verb. Speak does not mean teaching per se, and that's important. This particular word can mean speaking in all sorts of circumstances. When the demon-oppressed man, who was mute, was brought to Jesus, Jesus cast the demon out, and the mute man spoke. He used words. He could not speak, now he could speak. He was silent, now he is audible. So Titus, we could say, don't be silent, speak. Say something. Don't let these matters go unaddressed. James also uses this word, let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak. When the Lord spoke to Paul one night in a vision, he said, do not be afraid, Paul, but go on speaking. This is in Corinth, do not be silent for I am with you and no one will attack you to harm you. So perhaps the sense of this word is speak, do not be silent, which is a bit different than teach. I think this matters primarily because Titus is not simply to formally teach the people. He's also to informally teach the people. Whether you're in church or you're outside of church, Titus, be teaching what accords with proper doctrine. Do you see the distinction there? Perhaps this helps us gather the pastoral duty that Titus is charged with. And how much do we pick up, even outside of the formal church setting, when we're out here in the lobby, when we're by the playground when we're sharing meals with one another. Paul is telling Titus, do not stop speaking those behaviors, those dispositions, those attitudes that line up with the gospel. Wherever you are, Titus, continue to exhort the people. You're not off. You're never off duty as a pastor, if you will. Do not be silent, Titus. But this is not the only thing Titus is required to do to build up the Cretan churches. Our second heading is that he must exhort the believers to live in line with proper doctrine. So if you look further down, verse 6, verse 6 says, Titus, you are to exhort the young men that they may be sober minded. If you look down in verse 9, exhort the bondservants. And again, my focus tonight is not on the behaviors that these various classes of people should take on. My focus right now is on Titus. What is Titus to do? Titus, speak these things. Now, Titus, exhort the people. And this is not the same thing. I'm not trying to be redundant here. But Paul is using a different word. Speak these things. Exhort the people. There's a distinction. Exhort is typically a stronger sort of speech. But more than that, exhort can mean encourage, invite, call, plead with. So if Titus exhorts someone, he is laying it on extra thick. Perhaps that's why it's actually addressed to young men that they need to be exhorted, perhaps. They need a stronger talking to than the other groups. Maybe younger men are a little more thick-headed than the others. But this does not mean that young men are the only ones that need to be exhorted. To exhort is to urge someone, and which one of us do not need from time to time to be exhorted in the faith? You may not like to admit it, perhaps. I may not like to admit it either. But each one of us could have a brother or sister or pastor urge us along every once in a while. We want our pastor to be urgent. And he is, thank God. One example of this word kind of draws our attention to this. There was a man named Jairus who was a ruler of the synagogue. You'll recall this story, I think. And he came and he fell at Jesus' feet and he implored him to come to his house. For he had an only daughter about 12 years of age and she was dying. Well, that word exhort is in this text. When he falls down at Jesus' feet, he implores Jesus. It's for his daughter. And it says it's his only daughter. So what kind of asking is that? What kind of calling is that? There's nothing like that. You can't get any stronger than that. The English says implore. That's what this man does. He falls down at his feet and he begs Jesus, come, heal my daughter. We recognize as good Calvinists are prone to do, that God alone changes men's hearts. But consider these examples, consider that example, at least. There are times, brother or sister, even though we're Calvinists, that we need to put it into the next gear. There are times where we really need to plead with someone or encourage someone, lay it on thick with someone. Say, brother, I don't think you're getting it. That's exhortation. That's different than speaking, isn't it? The wayward child is no longer going to church. What kind of language? Are you going to speak to them? Come back to church? Or will you implore them? It can also mean ask. When Paul went to Rome, remember how badly Paul went to, he wanted to get to Rome? And then finally, he gets to Rome, and when he gets there, he's in prison, and he calls for, he asks for, same word, he exhorts that the Jewish leaders come to him, that he might give them the gospel. I have news for you. And this is something that's been building throughout the book of Acts, and we finally get to it. Acts 28, verse 20. It's the very end of the book. In a way, it's a type of climax, the end of the book. And there, when we get to the climax of the book, Paul exhorts them, come to me. I have news you don't know about. I want to tell you about Christ. He's come. He lived, he died, he rose from the dead. Come to me. That's exhortation. And that's what Paul is telling Titus to do. It can often even be softer than that. When a believer invited me to get back into church, I was about 17 or so. There was a youth pastor. He just kind of knew me on the periphery. I didn't go to their church, but he just approached me one day and he goes, hey, Why don't you come and learn about Jesus? There was something real serious about it, too. That's exhortation. And by the grace of God, I did go, because that was an interesting question. Learn more about Jesus? That sounds like a good idea. And I did. And the Lord used that man to proclaim the gospel, and thereby change my life. So sometimes, I think, we need to be exhorted by our leaders and we should expect it. There are times wherein proper doctrine will cut you. It hurts a little bit. There are times where you're a little bit hard-hearted and you need something a little bit stronger. Another application would be Perhaps for some of you, especially parents, or you could say husbands and wives, perhaps there are times where we don't just need to speak with our children, but we really need to show them how serious the matter is that we are addressing. I think many of us do that naturally. But perhaps some of you are very good at being a good example to your children or speaking the gospel to your children. Maybe, What the Holy Spirit wants you to learn through this text is that there are times where you should really gather them by the neck and exhort them. Say, this is serious. Eternity is on the line. Our third heading is Titus is to show believers how to live in line with proper doctrine. So he's to speak those things which accord with proper doctrine, exhort the believers to live in line with proper doctrine, and now show them what it looks like to live in line with proper doctrine. This especially verse 7, verse 8. In all things, Titus, show yourself to be a pattern of good works. in doctrine, showing integrity, reverence, incorruptibility, sound speech that cannot be condemned, that one who is an opponent may be ashamed, having nothing evil to say about you. Be such a good Christian that even the opponents of the gospel don't know what to do with you. They just throw up their hands and say, oof, he is cut from a different cloth. Because believer, you are cut from a different cloth. So Titus, show them how to live. And we have this example elsewhere in the New Testament, especially Jesus. John 13, he washes the disciples' feet. They don't know what to do. Say, no, Lord, don't wash my feet. And Jesus says, I must. And when he gets done, he stands up and then he tells them the purpose. It's not simply that you had dirty feet. It is that I am showing you that you must be willing to wash one another's feet. Follow me, Jesus says, John 13. Wash each other's feet. I wash their feet, you wash each other's feet. Jesus doesn't just teach, he shows. We also do this, parents do this. Even younger children do this for one another. How often are younger kids good examples for one another, boys and girls? I can tell you that good boys and girls, when I was younger, did a wonderful service to me when they obeyed their moms and dads. There are some kids who would not go to their parents when their parents called for them. I said, huh, you can do that? And then maybe you think, oh, maybe I can disobey my parents. But then you see the other children obeying their parents. And you say, man, I should do that. Look at how good that family is doing. So children, you can be an example for one another. Fathers, you can be an example. Mothers, you can be an example to your children. One reason we should do family worship is because it affords us the opportunity to show our children what we love. Yes, family worship gives us the opportunity to teach, to speak, to exhort, but it also gives us the opportunity to show them how we respond to the gospel. Joel Beeky actually speaks of an example of his children, adult children, remembering examples of him in family worship with tears streaming down his eyes. And his children say, I remember the tears on your face when you told us the gospel. So it's not just that they heard it, they saw the fruit. Another example is how we learn how to pray by listening to others, by watching. others, how many of us, after hearing Chad Boudreaux, for instance, pray right here behind this pulpit, and learn something about prayer from him, or from Pastor Ryan. Perhaps you could point to other pastors from previous churches, or mothers, or whomever it may be. Many more examples we could point to. For now, I want to just ask you to turn with me in your Bibles to Acts chapter 20. And I want to show you an example of where all three of these lessons are included in one narrative. This is the Apostle Paul on his way to Rome, and he speaks to the Ephesian elders, and he This is his last meeting with them. I've pointed to this before, but here I could not pass it up. All three of these things. Paul speaks the gospel to them. He speaks what accords with proper doctrine with them. He encourages them, exhorts them, pleads with them. But then he also shows them. And it's all here in this narrative. beginning verse 18, when these elders, when they came to him, Paul said to them, you know from the first day that I came to Asia in what manner I always lived among you. So he's already pointing to his example. You know in what manner I lived. Serving the Lord with all humility, with many tears and trials, which happened to me by the plotting of the Jews, how I kept back nothing that was helpful, but proclaimed it. So there he speaks the gospel, speaks it. I taught you publicly and from house to house. So Paul is speaking proper doctrine and what accords with it in the church and outside the church. Testifying to Jews also to Greeks repentance towards God and faith towards our Lord Jesus Christ and see now I go bound in the spirit to Jerusalem not knowing what will happen to me there Except that the Holy Spirit testifies in every city Saying chains and tribulations await me, but none of these things move me So that's a good thing to tell your kids too, isn't it? I'm going through trials right now, but ultimately they don't move me. I I'm fixed, I'm steady because I have the gospel, I have Christ with me. And then he says this, I do not count my life dear to myself. That's a good thing to say too. I'm not selfish. But that I may finish my race with joy in the ministry which I receive from the Lord Jesus to testify to the gospel of the grace of God. Later on, down the letter, Paul actually tells them, verse 31, watch and remember for three years, I did not cease to warn everyone every night and day with tears. That's exhortation. There were times in Paul's ministry where he pleaded with them with tears. He's not just speaking it, he's not just exhorting the believers, but he's showing them as well. Though I am in chains, I am not moved. I will go to Rome, and by the grace of God there too, I will preach the gospel. Lord willing, in the coming weeks, we'll spend some time considering these various qualities, attitudes, actions, that various people should take on. Consider even now how you might better serve this body, serve your family, serve your loved ones by adorning the gospel. May we all look to Christ, our supreme example of behavior and ethics until that last day when he appears again. Let's pray together. Our Father, we thank you for your word And I pray for the believers in here, that each one of us, when it's appropriate, that we will speak the gospel, that we will exhort others, and that we will showcase by our lives what it looks like to live as good Christians. And it's only by your grace that any of us can please you, so we ask for it. In Christ's name we pray, amen.