Doctrinal LEADERS

The Book of Titus | Making Leaders | Titus 2:1 | Josh Feil

This an exegetical sermon of Titus 2:1 which addresses the nature and importance of sound doctrine. Particular attention is given to the biblical, historical and missional nature of doctrine, as well as the connection between confession and practice. This sermon was originally preached on June 26th, 2011 at The Resolved Church in San Diego, CA.

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The Resolved Church
Josh Feil
June 26th, 2011

The Book of Titus: Making Leaders
Doctrinal LEADERS | Titus 2:1

1) Sound in the Faith: Healthy Doctrine
a) is Biblical
b) is Historical
c) is Missional

2) Teaching and Training: Words Fit for the Faith

Introduction

Thanks Duane. I am certainly humbled to stand before you all with the duty of preaching the Word.

When Duane and I sat down about a month ago to talk about the text I would be preaching out of in Titus, he said “how do you feel about Chapter 2 verse 1?” I looked down at my Bible, read it, and my first thought was, “this is going to be a very quick and efficient morning.” There are about 10 words in that verse. My second thought after how short my sermon would be was that we would finally beat the lunch rush at Chipotle. I don’t know how well I will meet either of those expectations. All I have to say is, hopefully you ate a good breakfast.

READ 2:1

The title of my sermon is “Doctrinal LEADERS.”

Faith=belief=theology=doctrine=confession ALL THE SAME IN THIS SERMON.

By way of introduction, I want to ask you a question. What is your confession? Not the catholic get-in-a-booth-and-tell-me-your-sins type of confession, but a statement of what you believe, a summary of faith. If you were pressed for an answer, what would you confess and profess with your mouth? Does it hold up? Is it sound?

Maybe you’ve grown up in church, or you’ve been around here at the Resolved and you know we’re all about Jesus. “Oh I believe in Jesus.” Well what about Jesus? “You know, he’s just, like, Jesus.” That’s like me saying, “I love bacon.” Well, Josh, what do you love about bacon? “You know, it’s just, like, bacon.” One girl in our church has referred to it as meat candy. But if you’ve never cooked bacon, never heard it crackle, never eaten it with eggs, then it would be hard for you to agree with me. If you don’t know anything about bacon, it’s just a strip of raw meat that will get you sick.

And in the same way with Jesus, if we can’t say anything about Jesus, who he is, what he has said, what he has done, then what do we actually believe in? Eating that imaginary Jesus will make us sick. One author has said that to put our trust in anything other than the message of Jesus’ death is “pitifully vain.”

The cornerstone of our faith is the gospel, the good news, the proclamation of what Jesus has done for sinners like you and me. It would be wise for us to drink deep from the well of doctrine concerning our Lord.

So here’s my goal this morning, full disclosure, just going to put it out there.

I want to convince you that just knowing Jesus isn’t enough.

That we have to know something about Jesus and what he did. I want to convince you that sound doctrine, the Christian faith is dependent on a record of action by God in history with and for people. It depends on a story. And good stories tell us many things about the characters and why their actions are so significant. So again I ask: what is your confession? What do you believe about God, about Jesus, about the great story of redemption told in the Bible? Does your confession, your doctrine, does it begin with you, or does it begin with God?

Let’s get into the text.

We’re gonna work through this text backwards this morning. I think it might be helpful to talk about sound doctrine before we talk about what it looks like to teach it. So that is where we begin here in Titus 2 verse 1.

Read: Titus 2:1

Sound in the Faith: Healthy Doctrine

I imagine there are a number of reactions to the word doctrine. Some of you are giddy with the hope that this will turn into seminary lecture on the doctrine of justification, some of you cringe at the thought of dogma; cold, dead religion. What’s your knee jerk reaction to the back end of this verse? I’ll share one of mine with you. When I sat down to read this passage, and then read verse 1, I thought to myself, “where’s the doctrine?” “where’s the doctrine?”

You look to the left and Paul is tearing apart these empty-talkers who are deceiving entire households with their moralism and then you look to the right and he’s giving exhortations and instructions to men and women in the church. But that’s not doctrine. Instruction, rebuke, encouragement, exhortation, but it’s not doctrine. It leaves us with the question, “what is doctrine?”

Not just doctrine, but sound doctrine. Some of you might have a footnote at the bottom of the page for that word that gives an alternate translation “healthy.” What is healthy doctrine?

Let’s use a common experience as an analogy. We’re humans, we get sick. Can you remember the last time you were sick if you aren’t right now? What it felt like? Can’t breathe, your throat hurts, you’re running a fever, your body aches and has chills. It’s debilitating.

I think we realize most clearly what it is to be healthy when we are not healthy, when we are sick. Some of you are probably sick right now. And some of you are, you have been, or you know people that are really sick. Sick even to the point of death. You see the sickness take over as the body deteriorates, the mind right along with it. Our bodies are broken as a result of sin. Our sin has wreaked havoc on our bodies and our minds and our relationships with each other. Our sin has profoundly affected our doctrine, making it about us and our desires rather than God and his desires. So what is sick doctrine? Doctrine that masquerades as helpful with promises of prosperity, success and fame. But it all really delivers is dead men’s bones. It’s interesting that bodily sickness and doctrinal sickness end up in the same place: death.

So if that’s sick doctrine, what is healthy doctrine? John Calvin says this about good doctrine: “Sound doctrine consists of two parts. The first is that which magnifies the grace of God in Christ, from which we may learn where we ought to seek our salvation; and the second is that by which the life is trained to the fear of God, and inoffensive conduct.” The two ingredients for healthy doctrine? The grace of God and the fear of God.

1 Timothy 4:16 tells us to “keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching.” Keep close watch over your life and doctrine.

So let me ask you: is your doctrine healthy? Whether you’ve been in the church for a month or 40 years, the question is the same: is your doctrine healthy? Does your life reflect healthy belief about God? This is a matter of grave importance.

But how do you know that it’s really that important? Believe me, I know where I stand here this morning. To say that it matters what you believe? And not just that it matters that you believe something, but the actual content of what you believe matters? And the content is that God is real, Jesus is real, I’m a sinner deserving eternal judgment, but Jesus took on my judgment and putting faith in him alone is the only way to salvation? To say that, it’s like a fish swimming upstream with a grizzly bear at the top waiting to bite you in half.

But that is what we confess. Now this is where I could go off on an apologetic trail, and give arguments for the validity of God, of the Bible and the reality of Jesus. But I’m not going to do that this morning. I’m bound by this text and the thrust of this text is not an apologetic one. Paul is not primarily concerned with giving a logical defense of the faith. His concern is the purity of the church, the beliefs of its members, and the lifestyle they exhibit.

And as the basis of their lifestyle he is primarily concerned about their doctrine. How do I know this? Read it with me. “But as for you, teach what accords with sound doctrine.” Skimming down through chapter 2… older men… older women… self control… model of good works… slaves… submissive… not pilfering… so that in everything they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior…

FOR THE GRACE OF GOD HAS APPEARED, BRING SALVATION FOR ALL PEOPLE. WHAT DOES IT DO? Training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in the present age.”

Sound doctrine is nothing if not based in the grace of God in Jesus. The grace of God has appeared and his grace enables us to do all of the things Paul asks of the church in Crete.

So we look to God’s grace in Jesus as the basis of healthy, sound doctrine.

I think there are three main areas that the deserve emphasis in a discussion of sound doctrine. They are the screen, I want to unpack them for you.

Sound doctrine is Biblical, Historical and Missional.

Sound Doctrine is Biblical

“But as for you, teach what accords with sound doctrine.”

This one might seem like a no-brainer, but I think there is more than meets the surface. Paul tells Titus in chapter 1 verse 9 that elders must “hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught.” Leaders are to rely on the Bible, to hold fast to the word. We are all to cling to the word as the basis for our understanding of who God is and what he has done. God chose the Bible to be the primary way he reveals his character and nature to the world.

Here’s my question for you: where do you get your ideas about God? Are they from the Bible, which is trustworthy, reliable, inspired, without error? Or do you get them from your experience and emotions? Is your conception of God different at 5pm after a rough day than it was at 8am after a kiss and a hug from your wife and kids? Have years of disappointment and regret shaped the way you think about Jesus? Has a recent negative or positive experience made God vindictive or gracious in your eyes?

This is a tough one in San Diego. Our culture is one that certainly values belief, but values the relativity of belief above all else. In other words, the doctrine of our day is that what works for you works for you and what works for me works for me but don’t you dare tell me what to think or feel. Don’t tread on me. That’s the doctrine of our day. Complete and total human independence. But as is easy to see, when everything is true, nothing is true.

Our theology, or doctrine of God our understanding of who God is must be shaped by the unchanging and steady Word, which tells us that God is creator, sustainer, author of life. That he is good, just, fair and gracious. That he wants his glory. That even in our painful experiences, his grace is evident because he withholds the judgment we deserve, and instead crushes his Son Jesus in our place.

The Bible tells the story of God’s redemption, of his rescue of those he loves. And from the story we get the great doctrines that we hold so dear. His mercy, his grace, our assurance. The Bible is a great drama. And to put it as one theologian has said, the drama gives us the doctrine.

Do you confess the Bible as truth? Do you confess the story as real and relevant? Is your doctrine based on the inspired word of God, or your own attempt at explaining life?

2 Timothy 2:15 tells us to “study to show thyself approved, a workman who needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” Is that you today? Do you rightly handle what God has given?

Would God gives us the grace to submit to his word and the great story it tells.

Sound Doctrine is Historical

“But as for you, teach what accords with sound doctrine.”

I don’t have a ton to say in this section other than to emphasize a few key points that Paul makes in his letter. I want to draw your attention to a number of statements by Paul in Titus. Follow with me.

1:4 – my true child in a common faith
1:9 – give instruction in sound doctrine
1:13 – sound in the faith

It seems that Paul understands the faith to be something that was handed down to him, and that he is handing down to Titus. An existing collection of beliefs. I think that’s why Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15:

“For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures” (1Co 15:3 ESV)

And Jude says in the very beginning of his letter toward the end of the New Testament that:
“Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints.” (Jude 1:3 ESV)

And see if there is a word that stands out in these passages from Hebrews:
“Therefore, holy brothers, you who share in a heavenly calling, consider Jesus, the apostle and high priest of our confession” (Heb 3:1 ESV)

“Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.” (Heb 4:14 ESV)

“Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful.” (Heb 10:23 ESV)

WHAT IS YOUR CONFESSION?

We’re not just making stuff up here. The writers of the New Testament and theologians all throughout the history of the church have attested to the reality and necessity of a body of belief centered on the cross of Jesus. That even by the time of Paul’s letter to Titus, he understood that there was one faith. And he was handing it down to Titus, his true child in the faith.

So here’s my question for you: what are you handing down? Do you see yourself as part of the historic Christian faith? Are you orthodox? Are you handing down a good confession? Are people receiving from you the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints? Do you lead with the gospel? Do you see the results of the gospel in the people you lead? Are they gracious, generous and forgiving?

I was talking with a guy in the military the other day about leadership. We were talking about developing leaders and how certain people stand out and whether it’s good or bad to put your focus on those who have the most potential. I asked him what the military would say about that. He said that in the military’s eyes, if you aren’t developing everyone to lead, then you are failing as a leader.

I don’t know how I feel about that statement, but I do agree with the sentiment that we are to hand down the faith.

Parents: what are your children receiving from you?
Husbands and Wives: what is your spouse receiving from you?
Those that are single: what are the people that you lead receiving from you?
Children: what are your parents receiving from you?

If anything I would hope that aligning yourself with the historic Christian faith helps you see how gracious God has been throughout the entire history of his people, allowing them to know Him and making a way for them to be right in his eyes through Jesus’ life and death.

Sound Doctrine is Missional

“But as for you, teach what accords with sound doctrine.”

My last point in this section is that sound doctrine is missional. In other words, correct belief about Jesus is the only thing that moves unbelievers to belief. The reason we preach the gospel, the reason we take such a firm stance on the moving and beautiful doctrines of Christianity is because we find hope in nothing else.

The most loving thing we can do for each other is to be immersed in the ocean of Christian doctrine. Otherwise we have nothing of value. We are empty talkers. Our mouths are moving, but there is nothing coming out.

We are going to have a whole sermon about an upcoming section in Titus in chapter 3, but turn there with me just quickly. Won’t you read it with me?

Read 3:3-7.

Sound doctrine is missional because it tells us about God’s mission to save sinners! It moves us to mission because we have such a great story to tell and because God has been so gracious toward us.

Let me press this issue. There’s this parasite in the bloodstream of the long history of the church that has to be addressed.

Here’s the statement I want to attack: deeds not creeds. Or the statement sometimes attributed to St. Francis of Assisi (he didn’t actually say it): preach the gospel always, when necessary, use words.” In other words, it’s not about what you believe or say, it’s about what you do. Your action makes you who you are. It’s action, not belief. Doing, not doctrine. Here’s the problem with that idea: it is based on a flawed understanding of what the gospel is. The word gospel means good news. Good report. Announcement, proclamation. The gospel is the good news of Jesus dying on the cross for my horrendous sin. The problem with deeds not creeds is that is puts the focus squarely on us. What we do and don’t do. And since we are narcicisstic, self-obsessed people, Jesus tends to fade into the background when we are painting the picture of our man-made religion.

You’ve convinced yourself that you don’t need to know anything about Jesus, you just need Jesus. You don’t need to know anything that the Bible says about God, you just want to know God. Really? That’s how it works? I should try that on my wife. “Baby I don’t want to know anything about you, your dreams, concerns, gifts and desires, I just want you!” It sounds so… noble. But it’s not. It’s selfish and perverted. What you’re really saying is, “I don’t want to take the time to find out what makes you you, I just want the benefits. And it’s time to pay up.” You are what Paul calls in verse 10, an “empty talker.”

Your words are hollow.
If we don’t have what the Bible tells us about Jesus , we don’t have Jesus.

For others it’s the opposite. You are so concerned with your system and you get so tweaked on doctrine that you don’t know how to love anyone. You are prideful and arrogant when it comes to matters of the faith. You look down on those that haven’t read as many books as you or listened to as many sermon podcasts as you or attended as many conferences as you. You have journals filled with sermon notes from the past year but you’re still basically the same person you were a year ago when you started the journal. For you, Christianity is mainly an academic endeavor rather than a radical message of grace and mercy. You’ve convinced yourself that our ferocious and glorious God can actually be fit into your box.

We’re all jacked up and probably land on one of these sides. How do we avoid these errors? You have to get into the story of redemption. The story of an infinite, all-powerful, all-knowing God creating everything that we can touch, smell, hear, see and taste. The story of his creation rebelling against him, thinking they knew better than their father. The story of God telling them that he would make a way for them to be right before him. The story of Israel and their repeated disobedience, and God’s unending mercy toward Israel, relenting from the punishment they deserved on so many occasions. And then the story’s climax in Jesus God’s son, God in the flesh, coming to live a perfect life and then die on a cross in the place of sinners like you and me. And the coming kingdom of the king, when Jesus will rule and reign over all of his creation. When every knee will bow and every tongue confess that he is Jesus Christ, the Lord.

See, the story gives us the doctrine. “Jesus died.” That’s the story. “Jesus died for my sins.” That’s the doctrine. Putting yourself in the story helps you to see one thing: you’re not the central character. That’s why we don’t preach good advice or helpful guidelines for better parenting, job success or what have you. We tell the story of Jesus and what it means for our lives. So if you have a distaste for doctrine, get into the story. That helps you see that God is worth your time. Studying the Word to see what it has to say about God is a worthwhile effort. If you are a theology nut, get yourself into the story. Realize it’s not about your facts and knowledge, it’s about what Jesus did and why it matters.

The fact of the matter is that at some point, you will have to open your mouth and proclaim the message of the gospel. And that is how people will get saved. Not by your good deeds, your humanitarian efforts or your social justice, but the proclamation of the gospel alone.

The only thing that will ever get us on mission is to confess the grace that God had on us by giving us life through the death of his son.

Teaching and Training: Words Fit for the Faith

Now that we’ve spent some time talking about what sound doctrine is, I want to conclude by talking about the importance of words. Remember how I said I was confused when Paul told Titus to teach sound doctrine, but it didn’t look like there was any doctrine to teach? Well I also thought it was weird that he said “teach” not “live.”

In all honesty, the majority of this letter consists of qualifications for good leaders, disqualifications for bad leaders, and then positive instruction about how the church should live. So why does Paul say, “teach?”

I think it’s fair to say that Paul is concerned for the purity of church and the life choices of her members. But if that’s the case, which I believe it is, then why does Paul tell Titus to “teach what accords with sound doctrine?” Why doesn’t he say “live in a way that reflects the life of Jesus” or “as for you, make sure you are the most hospitable, self-controlled, upright, holy and disciplined?” The letter is addressed to Titus, why wouldn’t Paul tell him to behave the best out of all the people in the church? Isn’t that what leaders are meant to do? Be the best at being good?

Look at me. If all that you ever get from the Bible is a list of things to do and things not to do, you will be crushed by the weight of that burden.

Paul commands Titus to teach (the word can also mean “speak”) what accords with sound doctrine because words and words alone can bring about salvation. Christianity is the religion of proclamation. Our God is a speaking God. He gives us his word so that we don’t have to guess at what makes him happy or what he wants us to know.

He spoke the world into creation, he spoke with Adam and Eve in the garden, he spoke judgment over them when they sinned, he spoke in his covenant with Abraham, he spoke to Israel, he spoke to his prophets, and he sent his son to speak and die for rebellious people like us. That’s why Jesus is called THE word in John 1. He is the true teacher, the true speaker, bringing words of redemption and hope for sinners. And today God works through the preaching of the word, the teaching of sound doctrine to bring people to saving faith.

So does your life match your teaching? When you open your mouth, do your words actually carry any weight? You are all teaching something.

Are you hearing his words this morning? What is he speaking to you today through his word? I pray that our relationship with Jesus would be like Peter’s when he asked, “Lord to whom shall we go? You have the words of life.”

Conclusion

In a couple minutes we are going to receive the Lord’s Supper, but before we do I wanted to share a part of my sermon prep with you.

As I was nearing the end of my preparation for this sermon, I was thinking again about what Paul’s point is in this passage. I thought to myself, “You know how I could really pull the rug out from underneath everyone? Tell them it’s not about doctrine!” That’ll get ‘em. But that’s wrong. Don’t you see? Paul’s whole point is that doctrine, confession, theology, belief it all goes back to God and it all says something about our belief concerning God. So I ask you again: what is your confession? The question isn’t whether you are a theologian or not. We are all theologians. We all believe things about God, even if that’s he doesn’t exist. The question is: are you a good one?

But here’s the problem if you leave today feeling bad about yourself and your theology: that’s a terrible sermon because all you’re thinking about is yourself. You and how you need to try harder to fix the problem. That’s not the gospel.
The gospel tells me I don’t have sound doctrine. That I’m an idolatrous theologian and that we all teach what accords with false, treacherous doctrine. The good news is that Jesus doesn’t love me because my theology is healthy, he loves me even though my doctrine is sick.

Jesus enables us to believe not on the basis of what we can say about him, but on the basis of what he has said and done for us. We are not justified because of our confession, but because of Jesus’ confession of who He is and what he came to do, which was to seek and save the lost and give his life as a ransom for many.

So yes, confess his name, but remember that he has already confessed yours on the cross, and that because of his good confession, we are given life when we deserve death. So do not despair when your life doesn’t match your confession. Look to Jesus and his perfect obedience, and remember that we are secure in him, no matter how much we might waver. He will always hold fast to the good confession, and he holds us with him.

So as you come to the table, come to eat a meal with Jesus, come and be fed by him, come and receive grace. His body and blood for our sins give us all we need.

Pray with me.