Believing Means Behaving

The when the apostle Paul structure for how his protégé Titus was to lead his church community. Paul specified an important and essential role that older men and women should play today on Truth for Life Alistair Begg looks closely at this set of guidelines that explains how these roles can be vital in our churches today were in Titus chapter 2 were looking today of verses, Paul gives instruction for these various categories of people that are in the congregations that tied to seraphs. These various categories of people whether they are slaves or whether they are young women, young man or women are older men. Their all to be taught. He tells Titus so that they might understand the indissoluble link between what they profess to believe and how they then in turn behave so that if you like their creed will be revealed in their conduct that their faith is a faith that functions that their belief is then established in their behavior and you will notice that he begins with older men with older men. I find it quite striking that he begins with older men. I hope you do too. I think if somebody was writing in our present culture. They might be tempted.

If they were influenced by the culture to begin with children or with teenagers because that's what you always here that's what you read in the literature. They always tell you is the children is a teenagers that are the future of the church nonsense that is true, then the key to the development of the church they could never be the backbone of the church they could never be the group that is giving the wisdom necessary for the church to function as God intends who would you go to for that for maturity physical maturity. Spiritual maturity, biblical understanding and grasp of the gospel, who should be these people older man so he starts the right spot make sure he says that the older men are sober minded, dignified, and self-controlled as a challenge to begin with, isn't sober minded keeping their heads dignified and under control every stage of life has its own peculiar challenges in its own peculiar responsibilities.

Older men don't need the same instruction that the teenagers are going to get, but older men need to be taught to live in such a way as you would expect to be becoming all senior members of the community. Hippocrates in his day had the stages of a man's life in seven similar to what we find in Shakespeare and the sixth stage of life. According to Hippocrates calculations was the age between 50 and 56 so the ones you got me on 56 you were in stage VII the final state. No stages. After that now I know that apparently 40 is the new 20 and all that this but nevertheless we understand that eyes in society.

So, in that your the people of God ought to be able to expect that those mature man will display a maturity that is marked in the way that Paul intends so that they will be notice, sound in faith, sound in faith healthy in their faith, not just coasting but growing in faith towards God and love towards others and in steadfastness in relationship to the circumstances of life which bring their own peculiar challenges at every stage.

Now let me just mention what I see as the biggest danger in responding to this and in seeking to appliance and this is just my own personal observation, I have observed that when a man is in his 30s in his 40s unless corrected by grace and held to account by his wife and his children what he is in his 30s and 40s. He will be to a greater or lesser extent in his 60s and his seventh and when you take that in church life. I've lived in church life for all of my life, I've noticed that older men at the end gravitate to one of two extremes. On the one hand is kind of sentimentality.

The center seem to lost it. In other just serve yes yes is not an grace is done anything to them.

They just kind of punched out but on the other hand, is censorious, nice, and the antidote to.

It is the grace of God, but the pastor's role given to Titus here is to see to it that the older man. In stage VII, which is over age of 56 are sober minded, dignified self-control and healthy in their faith and their love towards one another and in their ability to remain steadfast in face of trials and I think all of us who lived in Christian circles for any length of time would be able immediately to write down on the flyleaf of our Bible. The names of those who have helped us in this regard, he is on from there to the older women. The older women are not going to be left on from the equation, of course, they shouldn't be because they are absolutely vital in the same way older men have such a significant role to play in a developing congregation. So to older women at the older women notice the word.

Likewise, in the same way. In the same from the same perspective.

These women are to be reverent in behavior, reverent in behavior.

In other words that are disposition is a disposition which is developed before the searching gaze of God. They are to be if you like like Anna who served in the temple the time of the birth of Jesus and John the Baptist, and she was borrowed before the greatness of God and all and by the wonder of his provision. When older women are filled with those kind of things, then you will find that they won't be filled with many of the other kinds of things. If they do not find themselves filled with the Holy Spirit, then they may decide that they should try to fill themselves up with much wine at the fill themselves with much wine they may find that when their tongues this raffle. They become slanderous rather than those who are supporting the ministry and undergirding the gospel and so on. There's a direct correlation there is in their is not uncommon for wine to loosen a person strong and once there, Tom is loose in the field loosen that they feel a little bit of freedom and what may come out may not exactly be that which is commending the gospel is practical. This is not theoretical starve. This tells us something about the context in Crete. If he says now when you think about the older women in the church is insane on the older women in the church should all make sure their members of the choir, you know, make sure they do this to make sure they do that he says no the older women in the church are to be reverent towards God there to live under the searching gaze of God. I need to make sure that they're not slanderous and not filled with wanting words that are not out of control that our tongues are under control, both in terms of the and also in terms of the input in first Timothy of course he addresses it, even in relationship to the matter of apparel to the way a woman dresses into the necessity of deportment and the necessity of that which is enhancing to a reverent perspective on God in the same way that you see someone old guys trying to dress like their teenagers danger is that an older woman may decide that she needs to take on the challenge of her daughter, not by allowing her to be her daughter and remember why she was herself 35 years ago, but in seeking to her daughter. This to me none of that in the church on the imperishable jewel of a gentle and quiet spirit is supposed to be the jewelry of the lady of deportment and externally not to be looking for that know the reason this is so important is because the role of these older women in the church. They must be reverent in their behavior. You will notice not slander is not given to much wine, because they are to teach what is good. Now the teaching here is the lifestyle teaching before it is any other kind of teaching and there to teach what is good teaching by example in the home and in the community does not rule out the possibility of formalized teaching know it doesn't but is formalized teaching what Paul has in mind here I doubt it very much indeed. I don't think for a moment that when Paul wrote these words he was anticipating a classroom setting with a three ring binder and someone on the front telling everybody else how this is supposed to happen. Not saying that there is no place for women teaching women in that way. There clearly is, but I'm just suggesting to you that the calendar vascular's which is here, which is a unique word in Greek is not in body and that kind of instruction where it sold and he would have used the appropriate wording use a very interesting word. So in other words, how then does this instruction take place will it take place in the everyday events of life. It takes place in the casual conversations that take place in the arranged meetings. It takes place in the way in which women within a congregation rub shoulders with one another and learn from one another and give to one another and the training that is taking place of these young women is training cleaning.

So in other words, the picture is not uncommon 21st century picture that of a personal trainer a personal trainer somebody who is coming alongside. Not now. To help us lose 2 inches over our waste or whatever it might be someone is coming alongside is in teaching us what is good.

Let me tell you what is good here while I I love this yard, but it's not good.

I thought I should do that yet, but is not good. And so train the younger women, the place of older women in the congregation is a vital place as it is with older men not to go in classrooms and wait for people to walk and bike to live in such a way in the community that you will be attractive to people who are younger than you, who will seek you out and will be encouraged by because these younger women are to be under the tutelage of the older women.

Isn't it interesting that Titus is not told to teach the younger women is not told to teach the younger woman is told to make sure that the older men are fine that the older women are fine by then, is not a holder who is not his job to teach what is good to train the young women but it's the job of the older women to teach what is good and to train the young women bears testimony to what what Paul says to Timothy in first Timothy racist treat the younger women as sisters entry.

The older women as mothers and their wisdom and that is in the both in terms of moral purity in terms of not allowing your affections to wander in terms of the peculiar risks that are wrapped up in the intimacy that a younger woman may feel when a pastor with a confidant with somebody who means a great deal to know what these older women to teach these younger women to do, what are they supposed to be doing. There are a number of couplets here and when I'm going to go to get very far into them and I'll start before he gets really dumped off will have to come back to when it's tough, but first of all there to teach them train them how to love their husbands and their children that we know that so well that we might all be caught offguard by training training on how to love your husband but is in this area. Annie get your gun. I mean, isn't this doing what comes naturally immediately Islamized on you ladies, I mean be honest. You just you need a training program to know how to love me yeah because I'm going to some of these older men to find out how to love you know you see when we think in terms of lovely things.

Almost inevitably, on love being the victim of our emotions when I shall fight what Paul is reference here is love love which is the servant of our wills, but Sarah is our wills because when we got married we were and asked anything in our wedding vows about emotion unless you have somebody let you write your own vows.

We should never happen if you had any sensible vows or tall and you know that no one ever asked you. So how do you feel about your husband. Today all of that feeling is insistent is assumed and anticipated and expected those on the questions and there's a reason those on the questions because emotion will come and go, will add and flow challenges and difficulties.

Inevitably, so the questions are do you take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband to live together according to God's ordinance in the special relationship of marriage.

We love him, comfort in obey him in sickness and in health, and keep yourself only unto him, so long as you both shall live. Answer I do I will okay you're going to need an older lady because you're not going to go very far along the road before you go hey wait a minute, and bargain for this when you said you were going to work hard and we were going to live in the suburbs. I didn't realize that that man you were going to leave before breakfast. You were going to come home after supper you want to fall asleep with a jolly remote control in your hand every single night. I'm sick of this okay will have on don't go crazy look around the wheel lady here is been through this Gmail detail and its allies sorted them out. I can I can help you.

I live through it.

I can help you. How do you love your teenager when they've gone into it. I want to talk to you ever again in my entire life mode when they've gone into high driver get parents that are such idiots when it gone into earphone mode when therein. Hey talk to the hand and you just about going totally out of your your box with what you going to do all you can come and see if Pastor Lee and tell you we pray with you and everybody you need an elderly you need somebody to send you know what X and I almost despaired of Z when he she was me tell you how we live through it. Me tell you what we've done me tell you how we prayed, me tell you about the grace of God. Let me encourage you and what about the tiniest ones you bring your baby home from the hospital. You don't even like doesn't happen routinely, but it does happen right skull postpartum depression is going to help you with that. We need a three ring binder. No, you need an arm around your shoulder. You need tenderize and the lady that understands you need compassion you need encouragement you need.

Everything that you can get from the embrace of a woman who is not theoretical but is able to be there for me easy. Paul is not instituting a program here he is describing a life. He's describing the way in which ministry insert related ministry in the church is supposed to take place. It's not programmatic. It is relational it is. As a result of knowing people is a result of being able to open up to people is a result of being able to say or for they all wanted to take the initiative as she sees the person they've got three under the ages of four and the mother looks as though she's just about to make a run for Finley Ohio or somewhere just and I just leave them all behind you don't have to come up and go.

You know, all I see you're having great doing over here. Is it just come up and say Mayor and Kumar's get coffee.

Let's help you with this training program for loving husbands and your children live through this. When renewing your overwhelmed and 3 1/2 thousand miles from home and your husband's a pastor is not paying any attention to is so very tender, so very real, so very biblical one. Paul is actually on everything you see is the nature of life itself within the community here all these people from Crete. The creasing context is so anti-Christian and he seemed to listen you better make sure that you find in Christ and in one another. The relationship that will not only sustain you as you seek to follow Christ, but also as you live your life's with one another. Our time is gone and so will stall when it gets against more even more daunting into this, we will return not only to train the young women to love their husbands and children, but also to be self-controlled and fewer and to be working at home and kind note.

That phrase is liable to start a fire in an age of feminist activism are we going to really take this seriously and always at the beginning the church is at its greatest know when it is embrace the culture and is able to show you.

We just believe the same thing about you, about the nature of family life.

We believe everything you believe about raising children. This is what we do as well, yet where the daycare generation now, when actually say that the culture we actually don't believe these why that's a bit of a change is now the gospel takes on a different look for people in the going to want to know why would you ever do that, you can say was because of this old lady in our church. She's the problem she's responsible. She started me on this. It never crossed my mind until I began to meet with her for coffee. God has a purpose for us at every age and every stage of life listing to Truth for Life. That's Alastair big with a message titled, believing means behaving. I hope you are benefiting from these practical lessons from the book of Titus. If you've missed any of the study. You can catch up online. All of Alistair's teaching can be heard or viewed for free on our website or through our mobile app you can find the series by using the search feature and keying in, get it right. The studies also available on a USB drive at our cost of five dollars that Truth for Life.org/store the book we want to tell you about today is a perfect supplement to the teaching that were hearing from Titus.

The book is titled know the truth and it's written as a guide to lay out what Christians believe and why we believe it.

Every chapter dives deep into a specific topic explained in Scripture. For example, the opening chapter in the book explores what the Bible says about who God is about his authority. His revelation is attributes the chapter about Jesus explains his deity is humanity's saving work on the cross this book and know the truth has been a trusted go to source for Christian doctrine for more than 40 years. It's a great book and your personal library or to contribute to your church's library requester copy of the book, know the truth when you give a donation to Truth for Life again. Click the book image you see in the mobile app or visit us online at truthforlife.org/donate can also call us if you'd like. Her number is 888-588-7884 Bob Lapine thanks for listing tomorrow will learn why the apostle Paul's practical instruction for Howard to live as Christians is not ultimately about our happiness. The Bible teaching of Alastair Bragg is furnished by Truth for Life where the Learning is for Living