I want you to turn with me to
Titus chapter 2. Titus chapter 2. We'll read verses 11 and 12,
but I want to bring you an exposition of these 15 verses. I have preached
to you from this passage numerous times, I realize. And yet, I'm
certain that it is a passage that needs to be clearly expounded
frequently. The apostle is urging us to adorn
the doctrine of God our Savior in all things. That is, to adorn
the gospel. You go to pick out a piece of
jewelry for your wife. You go to the jewelry store,
they'll take that little diamond or that pearl or whatever it
is you're looking at, and a smart salesman will lay that thing
on a piece of black or burgundy or deep green or deep blue velvet. And that, laying on that background,
that jewel just sparkles, just looks so pretty. And that's what
he's saying. He's saying, you take the gem
of God's grace, and you give it the best background you possibly
can in your life and thus set forth the beauty of grace adorning
the gospel and this is the reason he says in verse 11 for the grace
of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared unto all men teaching
us teaching us Now, the word teach here doesn't mean just
giving out the lesson. That's what I do. I just give
out the lesson. I can't make you get it. But
when God gives out the lesson, you'll get it. The grace of God
that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us effectually,
educating us that denying ungodliness and worldly lust, we should live
soberly, righteously and godly in this present world. I finished this morning the message
with verse 16 of chapter 1 where the Apostle speaks of those who
like us who profess to know God but in their works deny him.
And this is Paul's conclusion. He says it doesn't matter what
you profess. Doesn't matter if you've seen a thousand angels
dancing on your bed post this morning. Doesn't matter what
you profess, doesn't matter what you experience. Doesn't matter
what your granny or grandpa taught and professed and experienced.
Those who profess to know God, but in their works deny Him,
being abominable and disobedient are unto every good work reprobate. Now this is my subject this evening,
the teaching of grace. I want you to understand that
when the grace of God comes into a sinner's heart, When God opens
the windows of heaven and drops into a man's soul his free saving
grace, that grace teaches the man how to live in this world
for the honor of God. That grace which brings salvation
teaches sinners how in this world to honor God day by day. As we look at these 15 verses,
I want to call your attention to five things. I'll give them
to you as we go along. First, in verses 1 through 10,
the apostle deals with the adornment of grace. In these verses, Paul
tells both the men who are preaching the gospel and the people who
hear the gospel and believe the gospel how to adorn the gospel
that we believe. He is telling us how to behave
ourselves so that we may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior
in all things. Now, this is both our personal
responsibility and our privilege. I hope it's our desire as well.
We are to adorn the doctrine of God, not in a few things,
but in everything, in all things. That is to say, we are responsible
to set forth in our lives as well as in our doctrine. to set
forth by how we behave as well as by what we believe and preach.
We are responsible to set forth the beauty and the glory and
the attractiveness of the gospel of Christ. If we hope to persuade
men and women To believe the gospel we preach, we must show
them by our lives the beauty of the gospel. If we would honor
Christ and his gospel in the eyes of men while we live in
this world, we must have our lives regulated and governed
by the gospel. You men, in your households are
responsible to God to be prophet, priest, and king in your house.
That's your responsibility. O.J. and Becky came and talked
to me about marrying them, and I told O.J., that's your responsibility,
like it or not. Whether you fulfill it or not,
that's your responsibility. It is the responsibility of every
man under God to serve God in his house as prophet, priest,
and king in his house, leading his house in the worship of God,
adorning the doctrine of God in his home. Now that's our responsibility. It is my responsibility as a
pastor, as your pastor, as a gospel preacher, to adorn the doctrine
by faithfully proclaiming it. Look what he says in verse 1.
But speak thou the things which become sound doctrine. That is, Titus, you have a mandate
from God. Every preacher has a mandate
from God. And every preacher's mandate
is exactly the same. All who are sent of God as his
messengers are sent to proclaim to eternally bound men and women
the gospel of his free grace. To proclaim the gospel constantly. To unceasingly declare those
things which become sound doctrine. Turn back a page or two to chapter
4 of 2 Timothy. Paul gives the same admonition
to Timothy. He says in verse 1, I charge
thee therefore before God. That is Timothy, I'm writing
this epistle to you and God is my witness. God is my witness. I charge you before God and the
Lord Jesus Christ who shall judge the quick and the dead appearing
in his kingdom. Preach the word. Preach the word. I wish somehow I could stand
before preachers and would-be preachers around this world in
this generation when preaching has taken a backseat to everything
in the religious world. He doesn't say, discuss the Word. He doesn't say, debate the Word.
He doesn't say, have a dialogue about the Word. He doesn't say,
have plays about the Word. He says, preach it! Preach the
Word! Stand up as a man sent from God
with something to say and tell it! And tell it plainly. Preach
the Word. Be instant in season and out
of season. Reprove, rebuke, exhort with
all on suffering and doctrine. For the time will come when they
will not endure a sound doctrine, but after their own lusts shall
they heap to themselves teachers having itching ears, and they
shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned
into fables. The doctrine we are sent to preach
is the doctrine of the grace of God. which is the doctrine
of Jesus Christ our Lord. That which becomes sound doctrine
are those things which are consistent with and honoring to the gospel
of the Lord Jesus Christ. That which becomes sound doctrine
is the constant unceasing proclamation of God's sovereignty, Christ's
substitution, and the satisfaction of divine justice by his death. The preaching of the gospel,
those things that become sound doctrine, is to constantly hold
before men, ruined by the fall, redemption by the blood, regeneration
by the Holy Spirit. It is to constantly declare the
truth of the gospel to men and women from the Word of God in
the context in which it is found. We are sent to declare to men
those things that become or are in agreement with sound doctrine. Specifically, gospel preachers
are responsible to pointedly apply, now listen carefully,
to pointedly apply the gospel to the daily affairs and responsibilities
of men and women right here in this world. That means this Bob,
if I'm your pastor and I'm faithful to your soul, I am responsible
under God to tell you the truth, to instruct you in the gospel,
and to apply that gospel to every aspect of your life. If I'm faithful
to your soul, then faithful to God. It is the pastor's responsibility
to faithfully teach people how to live. as husbands and wives,
as businessmen, as workers, as citizens, as people in the community,
to teach men and women how to live in this world day by day
for the glory of Christ. Applying the word of God to every
area of life. And it is the responsibility
of God's saints to personally obey the gospel. Applying it
with deliberate care to every area of life. That means that
When Lindsey Campbell goes to work tomorrow morning over in
Lexington and he sits down in his office and he's in the process
of making a, let's make it big, a multi-million dollar insurance
deal. He's right in the process of it. Everything's falling into
place. It's just as much his responsibility
to adorn the doctrine as it is when he's standing here teaching
the gospel to you. Just as much. in his behavior, in his actions,
in his business, in his dealings. Understand that? So that it is
your responsibility and mine to apply the gospel to every
aspect of our lives. I was talking to a fellow a while
back. It's been a few years ago. I just thought of it the other
day. And I was talking specifically about disciplining children.
wasn't little lax, he was real lax. And I made the statement
concerning what men call corporeal punishment, you know. That means
you swat them on the fanny once in a while. That means you bend
them over your knee and you pat on their bottoms. And he's going
to say that in the Bible. As if to say, now that's just
going a little too far. And my response was, it says
it in Proverbs 13, 24, and you better learn to obey it. You
better learn to obey it. Applying the word in every aspect
of life. Folks these days, well, we give
them time out. We'll do things our way. We got smarter than God. Oh,
not quite. You'll find out. Just give it
a little while. You'll find out. I talked to a couple several
years ago. She wanted to leave him, he wanted
to leave her, but both of them wanted the money they had more
than anything else, so they stayed together a few more years. They
came and sat down and talked with me. He's the gospel of God's
grace. And I told them plainly what
their responsibilities were. And both of them got mad at me.
Still left each other, but both of them got mad at me. But the
fact is, it is your responsibility and mine, as husband, as wife,
in every relationship in this world, in every affair of life,
to honor God in the gospel, applying it to our lives. Now I realize
most people prefer to ignore this fact. But it is a fact nonetheless. God Almighty, does interfere
with a man's life. If the Lord Jesus Christ comes
into your heart, if He sets up this kingdom in your soul, He's
going to take over. I mean, He insists on being Lord
of all. He won't have anything to do
with you. He's going to take over. The Lord God Almighty tells
us here by the Apostle Paul exactly how this word of grace is to
be applied to everybody here. I dare say Paul has a word here
for everybody sitting here listening to me this evening. First, he
speaks to aged men in verse 2. He says that the aged men be
sober, grave, temperate. Those three words really are
synonyms as they're used in this context. He's saying, let men
as they grow and mature in years, grow and mature in behavior,
so that as men grow older, they don't behave like boys. They're
not rash, they're not irresponsible, but rather they're sober, brave,
and temperate. You can count on them. You can
just count on them. Let the aged men be like pillars
in the temple of God that support the whole structure. Let aged
men be sober, grave, and temperate. Sound in faith. Sound in faith. If you're going to be sound in
faith, you've got to have somebody to teach you. That's what a pastor has
to do. In charity. Oh, men as you get older, Show
us the way. Show your children, show your
sons and daughters, show your younger brothers and sisters
the way of charity. Charity both with what God has
given you, what God's put in your hand financially, materially,
and charity in your attitude and disposition. And be sound
and patient. Just back off and wait a little
bit. Just be patient. Be patient. God teach me to be patient with
your people, patient with one another. The aged women, verse
3. The aged women likewise that
they be in behavior as becometh holiness. That means you ladies who are
getting on in years now, you see to it that your life characterizes
that which becomes holiness. Not false accusers. That's not
holiness. Gossip and slander is unbecoming
to holiness. Not given to much wine. Now that
doesn't say, and I'm not encouraging, and I'm not saying that you ought
to have your tati before you go to bed at night, but that's
not forbidden. What it means is that you're not to be drunk. You're not to become people who
depend upon intoxication and depend upon barbiturates to get
along. You don't linger by the bottle.
But rather, rather that you are teachers of good. Teach, not in the church, not
in the pulpit, you're not given that opportunity. Any woman who
assumes the responsibility and the character of a preacher doesn't
know anything at all about the things of God. A woman is forbidden
those things. But in your home, in your household
with your children, in your sphere of friends, in your circles,
see that you teach good things. You're going to teach something. You're going to teach something. Goes over there with those girls
she works with at the bank and every day, tomorrow you're going
to teach them something. You're going to teach them something
about God, something about Christ, something about the gospel, like
it or not. Either good or bad. One of the two. See to it that
she teaches good. Teachers of good things. And
this is the good thing you're to teach. Specifically, teach
the young women. Oh, what a difference this would
make in our society, if just in the church of God, Older women
would teach younger women to be sober, to love their husbands,
and to love their children. Teach them how to love their
husbands, and how to love their children. So nobody needs to
be taught to love their husband, love their children. Nobody needs
to be taught how. A woman needs to be taught how
to devote herself to a man, especially in this society when she's taught
everything to the contrary. A woman needs to be taught how
to devote herself to her children, especially in this society when
she's taught that the children are a nuisance and a burden and
we need to get away from the kids for a while, we need to
push them aside somewhere. how to love their husbands and
how to love their children. The woman's responsibility in
this world and you ladies will find yourselves most content,
happy and satisfied as you obey this. A woman's responsibility
is to devote herself to her husband and to her children. That's your
responsibility. Well, this is not fun. I want
to go have a good time. If you want to go have a good
time, stay with the good time girls and forget marriage and
forget having a family. If you want to be a woman, if
you want to be a woman of character, devote yourself to your husband.
Devote yourself to your children. Young women, to be discreet. Verse 5. Discreet. You young ladies, in your behavior, in your conversation,
behave discreetly, modestly. I know this is so contrary to
the teaching of our society and the generation in which we live,
but my soul, behave yourselves with discretion as a lady. worthy of and commanding respect. Do that. If you expect to get
in there, if you expect to be respected, behave in a manner
that commands respect with discretion. Chaste. You young ladies, and the same
thing is true of men, but the passage is talking to young women,
Keep yourselves in chastity. Keep yourselves in chastity. It is amazing to me in our society,
it's just, it is utterly amazing. Today a man or a woman is considered
moral if they're just sleeping with one person a night. Doesn't
matter who they are. I have more respect for the harlot
who charges a fee than for a woman who just sleeps around with somebody.
That is utterly abominable. Utterly abominable. Ladies, if
you want to give yourselves something that you can cherish the rest
of your life, keep yourselves in chastity. Keep yourselves. So that you give yourselves to
your husband when God gives you a man worthy of giving yourself
to. Keep yourselves chaste, be keepers
at home. Now that does not mean that a
woman is not to engage in outside employment from the home. Matter
of fact, if you want to look at it in Habakkuk chapter 2 verse
5, God charges men with having forsaken this responsibility
of being keepers at home. So that it is just as much Rex's
responsibility as it is Debbie's to devote himself to his family. And what he's saying here, young
ladies, See to it that you devote yourselves to your families. I think it would be a good thing
just real regular once a week or so to see to it that they
hear something out of Proverbs 31 about what it is to be a virtuous
woman. Just constantly instruct them
in this matter of virtue as women in this day, in this perverse,
crooked society. Obedient are good and obedient
to their own husbands. That is, teach the young women
to behave in a manner reflecting goodness, diligence, care, loving kindness, and to
be obedient to their husbands. Obedient to their husbands. That
means that it is just as much in 1996, Shirley Dardy's responsibility
to obey Buddy Dardy as her husband, as it was Sarah's responsibility
to obey Abraham. But what does that mean? That
means exactly what you think it means. Exactly what you think
it means. A man is responsible to be the
head of his house and a woman is responsible to obey her husband
as he seeks to guide that family for the glory of God, doing the
will of God in the worship of God. Well, I'm not going to do
that. I'm going to tell you something.
If you ever meet God, you will. If you ever meet God, you will.
Pastor, are you saying all these women who are rebels to their
husbands, these women who live in constant bickering and quarreling
with their husbands don't know God? No, I'm not saying it. God
does. God does. Women who know God are taught
submission to their husbands just as men who know God are
taught submission to Christ the Lord. We submit to authority
wherever God gets it. Why? that the word of God be
not blasphemed. Young men, verse 6, likewise
exhort to be sober-minded. Teach the young men to behave
as young men. I know that in our society a
young man these days is expected to grow up and be a man by the
time he's somewhere around 45, 50 years old. But we will do Ian Bartley a
tremendous favor as God's servants in this place, as friends of
your family, we would do him a tremendous favor to teach him
to behave right now as a man, superbly. Giving him the responsibilities
of a man and expecting things from him that you'd expect from
a man. And as that young man learns to behave as a man, he
learns to make his way in this world and earns respect as a
man. I dare say that one of the primary
concerns, you're 16 are you? 17? One of the primary concerns
he has is he wants to be treated like a man. I know, I did when
I was 16 years old, didn't you? Treat me like a man, give me
respect as a man. You've got to earn it. Got to
earn it. And the way you learn to earn
it is, Rex, for you and I, teach him to be sober. Say, well, it's
just a phase. He'll outgrow that. Outgrow it
in a hurry. Grow up, be a man. Grow up, be
a man. And then he speaks to pastors.
He says in verse 7, in all things, Titus, showing thyself a pattern
of good works. Now, Don, talk to yourself. It's my responsibility to show
my wife and my daughter and my son-in-law. It's my responsibility
to show them and to show you by example what this is all about. And Danny, if I don't devote
myself to this, I am not fit to be your pastor no matter how
sound my doctrine is. Showing yourself a pattern of
good works. Failing, yes, miserably. Failing, yes, often, constantly. I am as a pastor, much like any
of you men as a father. By the time Mark, your boys get
to be the age of my daughter, You'll look back and you'll say,
my soul, I sure wish I'd have done this different. I promise
you, you will. I promise you, you will. And
yet at the same time, as you endeavor to raise them and train
them and teach them, see to it that you devote yourself, not
only to teaching them, but to showing them by example what
this thing of godliness is. You say, well I fail at that
all the time. Me too. But this is what we devote
ourselves to. Giving ourselves to the business
of setting before others the way of life by example. A pattern
not only of good works, but also of doctrine, showing uncorruptness. That is, don't trim the hedges,
don't water it down, don't hedge, don't back up, don't compromise. In gravity and in sincerity,
be an example to others. In sound speech, that cannot
be condemned. So that he that is of a contrary
part, that is, a fellow who sets himself in opposition to you,
will just have to be ashamed because he can't look at you
and find any reason for his opposition. He got nothing to say? Got nothing
to say? Why are you opposed to that man?
Why are you opposed to his doctrine? What's he done? Well, I just
am, I know. Ashamed because he got nothing
to say. And then he says to servants, now we don't have any slaves
sitting here, and that's what the word refers to. But what
he's talking about in application to us is men who work for other
men. Most folks do. Exhort servants
to be obedient to their own masters, to please them well in all things.
Not answering again. I hear fellows say, well, I don't
need this, I don't have to take that. When you're working for a man,
you work for him honestly, and you work for him like you were
working for God himself. Not pleasing yourself, but honoring
God. Not purloining, not laundering,
but showing all good fidelity that they may adorn the doctrine
of God our Savior. in all things. You see that? This is the reason. Pastor, you're
calling for us to behave in all aspects of our lives in a manner
that's totally contrary to the flesh. Give us a motive. Give us a reason. I'm calling for it, Bob Salipacer. so that you may in everything
adorn the doctrine of God our Savior. That's enough. That's enough. Adorn the doctrine
of God our Savior in all things, in all things. Show forth that
which glorifies our God. Alright, look at verse 11. Here
Paul talks about the work of grace. I'm going to just move
through these next things hurriedly, but I want you to see it. For
the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all
men. Now Paul uses the term, the grace
of God here, synonymously with the doctrine of God our Savior.
When he talks about the grace of God appearing to all men,
he's talking about the gospel of the grace of God. The gospel
we preach is the doctrine of God our Savior. It is the gospel
of the grace of God. The doctrine of the gospel is
a message of grace. Not free will, but free grace.
Not works, but grace. Not grace and works, but grace
alone. Grace is the origin of the gospel.
It is the message of the gospel. Grace is conveyed by the gospel,
and grace is the rule of the gospel. This gospel of the grace
of God brings salvation. Now, this is what Paul is telling
us. The same thing that is taught throughout the New Testament
is here taught. Salvation comes to sinners by
the instrumentality of gospel preaching. The gospel of God's
grace brings salvation. The gospel carries with it God's
salvation. Does that mean somehow that preaching
has something to do with the accomplishment of salvation and
that somehow God's work waits on the preacher? Oh no, a thousand
times no. privilege of those who preach
the gospel to carry the message of salvation, waiting for God
to work. And as he does, through the word
of God, he gives life to dead sinners. He gives faith to men
who have no faith. He creates in those who are chosen
and redeemed by Christ, he creates in them the grace of life and
faith in Christ. So that there is no life without
the gospel, no faith without the gospel, and no salvation
without the gospel. This is the thing that distinguishes
us primarily from those who are hard-shell or primitive Baptists.
We recognize the New Testament teaches the utility of the word
in the matter of salvation. The reason we send missionaries
around the world, the reason we give to the preaching of the
gospel, the reason we put out the literature we do, is because
God has been pleased by the foolishness of preaching to save them that
believe. This gospel of the grace of God
has appeared to all men. Now obviously Paul is not saying
that every man in the world has heard the gospel. There are a
good many right here in Danville, Kentucky who've never heard it.
Well what does he say? The gospel of the grace of God
has appeared to all men? He's telling us that the gospel
is freely proclaimed to men and women of every rank, race, and
region without exception. Because God has his elect among
all people. It is our responsibility, therefore,
to preach the gospel to all men of every nation, of every kindred,
of every tone. The gospel we preach brings salvation
to everyone that believes. It is the power of God unto salvation
to him that believeth. And then in verse 12, the apostle
speaks of the teaching of grace. As I said earlier, wherever the
grace of God comes, an effectual saving power, it teaches us. It teaches us to whom we must
look for eternal life, the Lord Jesus Christ. Look unto me, he
says. It teaches us what to believe,
that is to believe the gospel of God's free grace in Christ,
and teaches us how to live in this world. The grace of God
that brings salvation teaches people how to live right. It effectively teaches saved
sinners to deny ungodliness and worldly lust. You see that in
verse 12? Teaching us that denying ungodliness
and worldly lust. You know what that means? Got to be a popular cliche a
while back. losing popularity now, but this is what it means.
This is what it means. Just say no. Just say no. Well, we've got to give fellas
more than that. Not when they're taught of God. Just say no. That means, James, when your
heart is full of lust and you're tempted to that which is evil,
you say no. Grace teaches you to. It teaches
you ought to and it teaches you to do it. worldly lust, they
cropped up and boy, no. No, that's contrary to God, His
honor, His gospel, everything holy, everything good. God forgive
me for even thinking it. Just say no. Just say no. The
grace of God teaches us how to live right. Not only to say no
to ungodliness and worldly lust, but to live with respect to ourselves,
sobele. Sobele. Now clearly that implies
not living as a drunk, but it means much, much more than that.
It means to live with thought and judgment and wisdom in this
world as one governed by God the Holy Spirit. Live soberly. It doesn't mean to live as some
long-faced sourpuss who has no pleasure, but it means to live
as a man facing eternity in the prospect of eternity. Live soberly. We who are but a breath from
eternity ought to be sober. Sometimes I hear fellows say
to me, you take yourself too serious. And that's possible. But I have the responsibility. I have the responsibility of standing here right now, talking
to eternally bound men and women. And you may, before the night
ends, meet God in judgment. And any man who is not sobered
by that thought is a fool. Sober later. You have the responsibility
of living right now as one who may meet God before the next
breath is drawn. And any man who lives in that
prospect Without sobriety is a fool. With respect to others,
we are to live righteously. Now, I'll tell you what that
means. That means, Rex, when you make
out your employer's paycheck, you do right. That's what it
means. That means when you bill a fellow
for work, you do right. That means when you When you
go down the road and you have a conversation with a man, you
do right. That means you just do right. And with respect to God, oh,
live godly. Godly. That doesn't mean walk around
in a pretense of a show of holiness. That means live Before God, for
God, seeking His will and His glory. What it means? Godly. You're not your own. You're bought
with a price. Therefore glorify God in your
body and in your spirits, which are God's. And here's the expectation of
grace. Verse 13. looking, looking for that blessed
hope and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior
Jesus Christ. Now read the text carefully.
The Apostle Paul does not tell us to set dates or even to speculate
about when the time of the Lord's coming may be. He does not tell
us to look for signs of the end time or even to think about when
the end of time may be. No, sir. That's not our responsibility. I don't know whether any of you
read it last week or not. We're getting close to the year
2000, you know. We're right on the brink of turning
the century. If God is pleased to leave the
world stand for another three and a half years, we will turn
another century. and enter into a third millennium
since the incarnation of our Lord Jesus. And you can bank
on it. The newspaper was right one time.
The market is going to be flooded with books and pamphlets and
articles by men who are predicting the end of the world. I mean
it's going to be flooded. It's going to be flooded. You can
just bank on it. There have been fellows throughout
history who found different times when they said, the Lord's coming
now. The Lord's coming now. Listen to me carefully and don't
be shaken. God does not ever, in the New
Testament, tell us to look for signs. Never. He tells us to
look for Christ. There's a big difference. There's
a big, big difference. We're not to live looking at
the newspaper and saying, boy, all this bad stuff's happening,
it's sure to be the end of the world. He doesn't tell us to
look to Israel and see how Israel's gathered and the nations are
fighting against Israel. It must be the end of the world.
He doesn't tell us to look to the crumbling of the Soviet Union
and, oh, it must be the end of the world. Oh, no. Looking for. You see the difference? Looking
for that blessed hope and the glorious appearance of the great
God and our Savior. We're to live on the tiptoe of
faith. Grace teaches us to expect Christ
right now. To live in the expectation of
the Son of God. Live in the expectation of that
blessed hope that is common to all believers. The hope of God's
saints is one hope. We don't have one hope for super
saints and one hope for lesser saints. But our hope is based
upon the obedience and blood and righteousness of Jesus Christ.
And the thing hoped for is glory, glory given to us by the grace
of God. And it is the design of the gospel
to set our hearts upon this hope that is laid up for us in heaven.
Let your treasure, and I'll seek ye first the kingdom of God,
and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto
you. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be
also. If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which
are above. Where Christ sits on the right
hand of God, set your affection on things above. Oh, God set
our hearts on Christ. God set my heart on Christ. Fade,
fade each earthly joy. Jesus is mine. Break every tender
tie. Jesus is mine. Dark is this wilderness. Earth has no resting place. Jesus alone can bless. Jesus is mine. Set your heart
on Him and things above. And our hope of eternal glory
with Christ, if we trust Him, is a well-grounded hope. All
this blessed hope was promised by the Father, purchased by the
Son, is possessed now by our substitute. We have the earnest
of it by God the Holy Spirit, and in Christ we're already made
worthy of it. Our blessedness will be attained
when Christ, who is our hope, shall appear. Notice how Paul
describes him. He seems to look for words with
which to speak of the Savior. Jesus Christ is the great God. This great God is our Savior
and He shall appear. We also then shall appear with
Him in glory. We shall be like Him for we shall
see Him as He is. Now then look in verse 14. I
want you to see the motivation of grace. Give me your attention
just a minute longer. This is so important. Paul is calling for us and I
am calling for us in every aspect of our lives to adorn the doctrine
of God our Savior. I look back there at my friend,
Merle Hart, his wife and family sitting back there. And I'm saying to you, adorn
the doctrine of God in everything. In everything. No matter what
it costs. In fact, so set your heart to
adorning the doctrine of God, our Savior, that cost doesn't
even come into consideration. Well, what's the motive? Well,
you've got to have some, you'd better have a powerful motive.
And yet Paul doesn't threaten. He presents no legal argument.
He doesn't give any promise of reward. If you'll do this, then
God will bless you. But only gives the declaration
of grace. Why should I devote myself to
adorning the doctrine of God devote myself to Jesus Christ
and His glory. Here it is. He gave Himself for me, for us, that He might redeem us, deliver
us from all iniquity. the curse of it, the power of
it, and the very being of it, and all the consequences of it.
And purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works. We are a peculiar people. And I don't mean by that that
we dress funny or look funny or walk funny or live funny. I mean by the estus we're loved
with a peculiar love. We're the objects of God's peculiar
delight. We are blessed with God's peculiar
blessings of grace. We're supplied with the peculiar
provisions of providence. And we're separated from the
world by peculiar distinguishing grace, He chose us, He redeemed
us, He called us, He preserves us. How can we do any less than adorn
His doctrine in all things? Now read verse 15, this is Paul's
admonition to Titus And this is the word of God the
Holy Spirit to me as your pastor. These things speak and exhort
and rebuke. That means explain them, encourage
folks to do them, and rebuke them when they don't. With all authority. Let no man
despise them. Speak both the doctrine and the
duties of grace. Exhort, press with earnestness,
those who profess faith in Christ, press with earnestness that they
do this, that they adorn the doctrine of God and rebuke. Reprove those who neglect, oppose,
contradict, or deny these things, these doctrines and these duties
of grace. I got to looking at that when
I was getting ready to preach, looking over my notes, and I
thought, man, I don't like that word duty. And then I thought,
well, shoot, what's wrong with that? What's wrong with that?
There's some things just duty bound to do. Just duty bound
to do. And honor compares a man to do
what he's duty bound to do. Therefore, we press upon men
the doctrines and the duties of grace. with all authority
in God's name, with God's authority, and with God's approval. And when a man can do so, he won't pay too much attention
to anyone who despises him. Let no man despise thee. Now
what Paul means by that is one of two things. Either don't give
anyone a reason to despise you, or knowing that they do, don't
pay any attention to them. Just go on. Just go on. And I
think it's the latter. He gives us an example himself.
He said, it's a very small thing with me that I should be judged
of you, or a man's judgment. And while I, I've come here as
your pastor to teach you the teachings of grace tonight. And
I want you to I want you to profit by the word and I want you to
receive the word. And if you should walk out those
doors, James Lincoln would walk out those doors mad as a hornet
and say I'll never speak to that man again, it would break my
heart. But I'll just go right on doing
what I've been doing. I'll go right on doing what I've
been doing. It's not going to affect the message. It's not
going to change anything as far as what this man preaches or
why or how the way he preaches it. No sir. The apostle in consideration
of these things says, remember them which have the rule over
you, who have spoken to you the word
of God. Now let me ask you, have I spoken
to you the word of God? Anything I've said tonight? that's
not clear in the scriptures. Oh, you better pay attention,
man. Whose faith follow, considering the end of their conversation.
Obey them. Obey them that have the rule
over you, and submit yourselves, for they watch for your souls. I watch for your souls. And I know that soon I'm going
to meet you before the bar of God and I'm going to give account. You're going to give account
of what you've heard and I'm going to give account of how
you've responded to it. That they may do it with joy
and not with grief. But that is unprofitable for
you. These things I say to you, this
is the teaching of grace. Adorn the doctrine of God our
Savior in all things. Amen.