Sound Living

Order of Service

• Call to Worship — Psalm 117
• Hymn
• Prayer of Invocation
• Confession of Sin — Psalm 51
• Assurance of Pardon — Psalm 51:17
• Scripture Reading — 2 Samuel 4
• Reception of New Members
• Pastoral Prayer
• Hymn
• Sermon
• Hymn
• Benediction

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Sermon Title: Sound Living

Scripture: Titus 2:1-10

I. Sound Living for Men

A. Paul addresses older men first (Titus 2:2)

1. They are to be sober-minded — temperate, clear-headed, making wise decisions
2. They are to be dignified — worthy of respect, engaged in the community, not isolated
3. They are to be self-controlled — curbing base desires in a manner that serves Christ

B. The foundation of these qualities is being sound in faith, love, and steadfastness

1. Faith — speaks of one's relationship with God
2. Love — speaks of one's relationship with neighbor
3. Steadfastness — endurance in faith and love; perseverance in loving God and neighbor
4. These inner qualities produce the outward character of dignity and self-control

C. Older men are to be examples to younger men (Titus 2:6-8)

1. Younger men are likewise urged to be self-controlled
2. Titus himself is to model good works, integrity, dignity, and sound speech
3. The goal: opponents have nothing evil to say about the church
4. Paul's concern throughout is how Christians appear to those outside the church
5. Speech is to be filled with grace, mercy, and truth — not like the devouring fire James describes in James 3
6. In a time of increasing opposition, men must win souls through humble integrity, not brash social-media-style arguments

II. Sound Living for Women

A. Older women are to be reverent and holy (Titus 2:3)

1. They are not to be slanderers — gossip is ungodly and harms those who cannot defend themselves
2. They are not to be addicted to much wine
3. Slander is condemned because it attacks another's character in their absence; conflicts are to be resolved directly

B. Older women are to train younger women (Titus 2:4-5)

1. Training younger women in godliness is a front-and-center Christian responsibility for older women
2. This training is oriented primarily toward love of husband and children
3. The word order in the Greek places love of husband before love of children — the wife is first a "husband-lover"
4. Our culture has reversed this order; Paul calls wives to cherish, respect, and speak well of their husbands

C. Wives are called to be submissive to their husbands' headship (Titus 2:5)

1. "Submit" means to arrange oneself under — not groveling or indicating any deficiency in women
2. Brian Chapell: suppression of gifts is not the point; proper expression of them is — a wife expresses her gifts in support of her husband's spiritual leadership
3. When a wife takes spiritual charge while the husband is passive, the Word of God is reviled
4. A wife's role is to be her husband's helper, encouraging him to lead in family worship and the ways of Christ
5. This is a high calling, not a low one

III. Sound Living for Slaves

A. Slaves are to be submissive to their masters in everything (Titus 2:9-10)

1. Slavery in first-century Rome often resembled indentured servitude or an employee-employer relationship
2. Applied today: employees are to respect and submit to those in authority over them
3. They are to be well-pleasing, not argumentative
4. They are not to steal but to be trustworthy — masters should be able to entrust possessions to them

B. The purpose: to adorn the doctrine of God our Savior

1. This phrase is a refrain throughout the passage — every group is called to honor the gospel through their conduct
2. A Christian who argues with, steals from, or proves untrustworthy to a superior soils the name of Christ

C. Christ himself is the supreme example of submission under fallen authority

1. As the second person of the Trinity, he submitted to his earthly parents, to Roman rulers, and to the Mosaic law
2. He submitted to paying taxes (Matthew 22) and directed the cleansed leper to present himself to the priest (Mark 5)
3. He received the unjust sentence of death without appealing to his rights — silent before his accusers
4. He endured this, as Hebrews indicates, by looking ahead to the heavenly glory set before him
5. Before our time of glorification, we likewise are called to submit with dignity and respect — until the day Christ rides on the clouds and consummates his kingdom