Well, we have finally arrived at the heart of where church ministry resides. You might think that it resides with the officers, but it does not. Certainly officers are engaged in much, much ministry. But Ephesians tells us that God gave officers to equip the saints for the work of the ministry. Every Christian is called to minister or to serve the Lord. And so there are ministries that officers must back off from and allow the saints to do.

And next week I want to describe the work of the mature men in verse 2, the work of the mature women in verse 3, the ministry of all wives and mothers in verses 4-5. And we will be seeing that yes, indeed, their work in the home is ministry to the Lord. We will be seeing in verses 6-8 that Titus needs to be a model of what ministry looks like to the young men. Why? Because the young men are involved in ministry and Titus needs to model how to be more effective in that. I think you are beginning to get the idea that ministry does not just consist of serving on church programs. Ministry is as broad as life, and all of life must be done as unto the Lord and be conformable to God's blueprints. You know, when Paul addresses the bondservants and the masters in verses 6-10, he is not changing the subject. Let me read Ephesians 6:5-9 where Paul describes the menial things that they do as service to the Lord. It is ministry to Christ.

Bondservants, be obedient to those who are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in sincerity of heart, as to Christ; not with eyeservice, as menpleasers, but as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, with goodwill doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men, knowing that whatever good anyone does, he will receive the same from the Lord, whether he is a slave or free. And you, masters, do the same things to them, giving up threatening, knowing that your own Master also is in heaven, and there is no partiality with Him. (Eph. 6:5-9)

So when I speak of the home itself being involved in discipleship in these verses, I am referring to everything that a person does. You either show forth the aroma of Christ or you show forth the aroma of the flesh. But discipleship is unavoidable. You will either be discipled into ungodly patterns (and we saw examples of that in chapter 1) or you get discipled into godly patterns.

But before we can go phrase by phrase through this chapter (and that will be next week, Lord willing), I think it is helpful to look at two bookends that are holding this material together. If you want, you can think of these things as safeguards to keep our discipleship from going astray. In the first half of this chapter Paul gives the safeguard of Biblical doctrine. At the end of this chapter he gives the safeguard or bookend of grace. You keep those two bookends in place, and it will keep the discipleship from falling apart, and the books of living from falling off the bookshelf.

Safeguards for discipleship

Godliness cannot be achieved apart from Biblical doctrine (vv. 1,2,3,5,7,8,10)

The first safeguard (or the first bookend) that needs to be in place is a Biblical standard for our teaching. Another way of saying it is that godliness cannot be achieved apart from Biblical doctrine. Last week we saw that doctrine must be practical or it is not being taught the way verse 1 says it should be taught. Today we need to see that practice must be Biblical. What is the content that the mature men and women are supposed to be teaching? What is it that Titus is supposed to be training the whole church to do? If you don't answer this question properly, the informal ministries of this chapter will inevitably lead to the problems we looked at in chapter 1. It could end up with the legalistic additions of the Pharisees in chapter 1:14 or it could end up in the immorality of chapter 1:16.

As a pastor I have no authority except the authority of God's Word. I can't bind your conscience. Only God's Word can. But the same is true of people who engage in informal discipleship. Remember that we saw last week that everything in verses 2-10 flows out of the "sound doctrine" of verse 1. If faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God, then the sound faith of verse 2 can only be achieved by a sound understanding of Scripture. Verse 3 says that the women must be teachers of good things, and then it lists those things in the next verses. But who defines "good"? We've already seen that God's Word alone can define ethics. So the Bible must give a lot of information about what it means to be discreet, chaste, homemakers, good, obedient to their own husbands... And of course, the last phrase of verse 5 shows that our logical deduction is correct: that the Word of God may not be blasphemed. God's Word has an enormous amount to say about those subjects.

But what frequently happens in many conservative circles is that people fail to distinguish between Biblical mandates and areas of liberty. This was the problem with the Shepherding movement in the eighties. They were taking discipleship seriously, but they didn't know where their boundaries were. They didn't have this bookend in place. And things fell apart. And it's no wonder. They were telling their disciplees could start courting, when they went to bed, and when they got up, whether they could take vitamins or not. They had no Biblical authority or warrant to do that, and it was rightly viewed as being cult-like. Now many of these people were godly men and women, but they didn't have this bookend in place.

Now let me clarify that I don't have a problem with your sharing your opinions with others on vitamins, sleep schedule and other things like that, but it should be distinguished as being something that was helpful for you, and not necessarily a Biblical mandate. Sometimes there are two or more legitimate ways of applying a principle. This is one of the problems that I have with Growing Kids God's Way movement. They have some very helpful materials and advice, but they don't always clearly distinguish between what is their advice and what is God's way — what is a Biblical mandate. And on occasion their advice actually conflicts with explicitly given Biblical liberties — like how long a mother can breastfeed, whether it's OK to bring a child into bed with you, etc. And consequently that movement has been accused very rightly of legalism. Now I still think that you can benefit from a lot of their materials, but true discipleship keeps carefully in mind that the only authority for change that we have is the Bible. When parents start meddling in their married children's lives and insisting that the children do things the way that they did them, and that they cook the way they cooked, they are overstepping their authority as older men and women. If you teach children, slaves, men or women from a psychology book, from a collection of testimonies about how others did it, or from your own experience alone, you are undercutting what Titus 2 is all about. It is the word of God alone that carries the necessary authority to transform lives. And I think that a lot of conflict between inlaws could be kept at bay if this were maintained. I think my parents were a wonderful model in this to us — distinguishing between preference and Bible. Christians are much less likely to argue with God than they are with you. They are much more likely to receive your advice if they can see the chapter and verse to back up what you are talking about.

So that's the first bookend. The Bible gives definition to every aspect of the discipleship we engage in. And if you need help on this bookend, I can give you recommendations of books that cover every area of life. If you don't mind reading older English and tiny print that makes me go blind, Richard Baxter's book, A Christian Directory, is one of the finest collections of Biblical answers to the issues of life that you will ever find. He was a Puritan writer who was so practical. And Curt could easily order that for you from Solo Deo Gloria. If I can ever get the reading certificate program off the ground, that too can help.

Godliness cannot be achieved apart from grace (vv. 11-15)

The second safeguard (or bookend) that Paul puts in place is that godliness cannot be achieved apart from grace. This is the second form that legalism takes. The first form of legalism is to make man the standard. The second form is to think that we can keep God's standards in our own strength. Jesus told His disciples, without Me you can do nothing. He didn't say, "without me you can't do the tough things," or "without Me you can do everything." No. He said, without Me you can do nothing. The "grin and bear it" or "toughing it out" kind of Christianity that many people experience is a sub-Christianity. It lacks the joy of the Lord which is our strength. When Paul discusses discipleship, he is talking about the transformation of a person's life by the reality of God's Spirit within us. God's Spirit alone can give us a heartfelt love for God's law: a transformation of heart that transforms the family. Notice the word "for" at the beginning of verse 11. Here he gives the reason why God's standards can be met in every Christian's life. It's not because it is easy and we can pull ourselves up by our bootstraps. No. He says, "For [or "because"] the grace of God that brings salvation" etc. The doctrine provides a standard for living, but only grace can provide the power for living.

Accomplished in the Past

Verse 11 speaks of God's grace being accompished in the past. For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. There is something that is finished that we can rest in. That grace and that salvation appeared in the person of Jesus Christ. It is He alone who could save us from our sins against God's laws. It is He alone who could give us a perfect righteousness. And it is He alone who can empower us to live lives that are holy and pleasing in His sight. If you need help to conquer sins, that help must be claimed from your bank account in Christ Jesus that was set up in 30 AD. Ephesians 1 tells us that God has already blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ. Isn't that cool? These verses indicate that whether you are one of the children, young people, older people, slaves, males and females mentioned earlier, God had you in His plan and His salvation appeared for you. He has already provided everything necessary for life and godliness in the past.

Applied in the Present

But that grace is also at work in the present. Though it appeared in the past, God presently brings salvation (verse 11). He teaches us presently that denying ungdoliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age. We don't have to wait till heaven. God the Holy Spirit applies this grace so effectively in the present that he is purifying for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works (verse 14). This is called sanctification. And it gives us confidence that even in the toughest cases of discipleship, victory can happen. Paul says, This is the will of God for you, even your sanctification. In Matthew 1:21 the angel told Joseph, And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus [which means "Jehovah saves"], for He will save His people from their sins. Christ did not come to make us comfortable in sin, but to save us from sin. He died so that we might become holy.God intends to transform you from the inside out and to make you hate the things that God hates and love the things that God loves.

Promised for the Future

But the passage also mentions future grace. Santification doesn't occur overnight. That's why chapter 2 speaks of the need of gentle training in the body of Christ. One of the qualifications of mature men and women was that they have love and patience. Why do you need to have love and patience? Because you are going to have to deal with a lot of ungodly people. A mature person needs to remember that he didn't become mature overnight, and he should not expect others to become mature overnight. There is a growth in grace. We all have a long way to go, and the church will not be perfect until the second coming of Christ. Verse 13 gives the last stage of grace. looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ. It is a blessed hope because we will be forever freed from every vestage of our sins. But the fact that it is a blessed hope implies that no one has yet received that final freeing from sin until our bodies are raised again. So that is just reinforcing the need for the church to be patient and to bear with each other.

So if discipleship is going to be effective it needs the power of God's Word and the power of God's grace. This is His sanctification, not ours. Those are absolutely essential bookends for discipling your own children or discipling new Christians.

The Method of Discipleship

But let's go on to methodology. There are various methods that can be subsumed under two categories: the category of speaking, and the category modeling. And both kinds are essential. When Jesus gave the Great Commission he said that the nations are only discipled when they "observe all things that I have commanded." Knowing what's commanded and observing what's commanded were both part of the teaching. Luke 6:40 tells us, A disciple who is fully trained will be like his teacher. Like His teacher. Discipleship involves a transfer of character and lifestyle and attitudes as well as a transfer of information.

Speaking (1:9; 2:1,4,6,9,15; 3:1,8)

And there is a lot that goes into the speaking side that we won't have time to get into this morning. But it especially emphasizes the information side of things. If you have bad information, then you will eventually have bad behavior. We already saw that in chapter 1. The bad information was causing whole households to be subverted. It was powerful in changing people for the wrong. Never underestimate the power of words. This is why 1:11 says, whose mouths must be stopped. If you tolerate false doctrine in the church long enough, it will have an impact on character.

But godly words can have a powerful impact in shaping lives as well.

διδάσκω (didasko) which means to disciple or teach (1:9,11; 2:1,7,10)

And I give seven words that are used by Paul, that show the various dimensions of this speaking aspect of discipleship. Some of them could esily describe something from the pulpit, while others describe something that has to be done one on one. The first word (didasko) carries connotations of lifestyle change as well as thought change. And that's why some people translate it as "disciple" instead of "teach." And I've already mentioned two examples of this word: the Great Commission and Luke 6:40. The disciple fully taught will be like his teacher.

σωφρονίζω (sofronizo) which means to train, teach or advise (2:4). One who has been trained in this way has the characteristics of being sound minded (2:6 — σωφρονεῖν) and exercising self-control or good sense (2:12 — σωφρόνως).

The second one (sophronizo) especially deals with the mind, and so in 2:6 it is translated as "sober-minded" or "sound-minded." This could be done from the pulpit, over the radio or one on one.

λαλέω (laleo) which means to speak, proclaim, tell, or converse with (2:1,15)

Then comes laleo, which means simply to speak or to converse. This focuses on communicating information.

παρακαλέω (parakaleo) which means to encourage, urge, appeal to, comfort, cheer up (1:9; 2:6,15)

But the next word, parakaleo, could only be done on a mentorship level. It means to help, encourage, urge, appeal to, comfort or to cheer up. Most of you are familiar with the Holy Spirit being called a Paraklete. Well, that's the noun form of parakaleo. And Paraclete is often translated as counselor or advocate or even helper. Literally, it means someone who stands along side of you rather than just preaching at you. One of the problems of giving advice is that many times we can fall into the vice of being a know-it-all who tells-it-all and wants everybody to listen-to-it-all. We tend to preach at a person rather than going along side of them. So the kind of notion in this word parakalevw is not someone who is just interested in giving you all the answers, but is willing to get his hands dirty, and get right down beside you and empathetically and sympathetically help you through the problem. So a Paraklete is not a busy body, he is a helper who has answers and is willing to invest the time to help you implement those answers, to counsel you and to encourage you along the way.

ἐλέγχειν (elenkein) which means to prove, convict, reprove, convince, tell a fault, to discipline (1:9,13; 2:15)

The next one (elenkein) means to convict, to show fault, convince of error, reprove. And it's usually a one-on-one relationship as well. I looked through all the usages of this word in the New Testament and it seems to only be associated with authority, and that is probably why it only occurs in connection with the elders. But logically it could apply to parents with children too.

νουθετέω (noutheteo) which means to counsel, warn, admonish, exhort or teach (Col. 1:28; 3:16; 1 Tim. 4:11; 6:2)

And then finally, there is noutheteo. This refers to counseling, admonishing, exhorting. And this word is used of all believers. For instance, (I didn't put this in your outline, but in Romans 15:14 Paul says, Now I myself am confident concerning you, my brethren, that you also are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, able also to admonish (noutheteo) one another. One version has, "able to counsel one another."

But every one of those terms is showing various ways of applying the Scripture. When Deuteronomy tells parents how to disciple their children, Moses tells them to speak God's word when they sit, when they eat, when they walk, when they play, when they sleep. He's not saying that we should be always quoting Scripture to them all night long while they are sleeping, but we should be showing them how to sleep in a Biblical way: in other words, how to deal with fear of the dark and bad dreams, and insomnia; how to eat, how to play, how to work according to the blueprints of God's Word. That's discipleship. And it's the same for every one of us. As Colossians 4:6 words it, "Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each other." It takes maturity to know how we ought to answer each other.

Modeling (1:6-8; 2:2-3,7-8; 3:9-11)

Spending Quality Time With A Few

The second side of discipleship is modeling. There are a number of verses that show this, but look at chapter 2:7 — in all things [notice how comprehensive this mandate is: "in all things] showing yourself to be a pattern of good works. What a pattern? It's something that you copy, right? And when one person copies what another person does, we say that the one being copied is modeling. And modeling can't be done by TV, or over the radio, or from the pulpit. Otherwise Titus could have done all of the discipleship. If communication of information was all that was needed, discipleship would have been a cinch to accomplish. It would have been easy.

But notice that in chapter 1:1-4 Paul passed on discipleship to Titus in a father-son type of relationship. To Titus, a true son in our common faith. You can disciple your children, can't you? You can apprentice them because there are only a few. But it would be impossible to apprentice 200 children. So Paul invested in a few good men, and Titus himself invests his life in some leaders, and those leaders in chapter 1 are going to invest their lives in ten families a piece — especially working in the lives of the men.

And then the mature men and women are going to be a pattern of good works to a few who are younger and less mature. And then they are going to grow up to be disciplers. Let me quickly anticipate next week. Verse 2 doesn't say that the old men do anything, does it? Paul gives them qualifications, but qualifications for what? In the next verse he gives qualifications for the older women so that they can do something. But why not the men? Well it is hinted at in two ways: First, the word "likewise" in verse 3 indicates that there will be a parallel work that old men will do to what old women do. Likewise. And then secondly, Hendriksen points out that the text is set up as a chiasm: that's the ABCBA pattern.¹ That's very common in the Scripture to allow a parallel thought later on to fill out what was said earlier. And it gives it a certain beauty and order in the original languages. So you have the A section in verse 1 (Titus giving general oversight) and it corresponds to A in verse 15 where Titus is again giving general oversight. The B sections relate to the character qualifications of maturity in verses 2-3 and then verses 11-14. The C sections deal with the work of mature women with new Christian women (verse 4-5) and the work of mature men with new Christian men (vv. 6-10). And so its an ABC going back again to CBA pattern

And so, as soon as you understand the chiasm, you realize that just as the older women are to be models of discipleship to the younger, the older men are to be models as well, Titus being the chief model among them. It's beautifully laid out. And we'll look at what all that means next week.

But what Paul is doing is simply reiterating the methodology of Jesus. Let me read you a selection from Jay Adam's excellent book on Christian education. On pages 95-96 he says:

The teacher who disciples is, himself, a model of what he teaches... Like Jesus Christ, who gathered 12 men around Him as disciples... In Mark's summary statement, he says that Jesus appointed them to 'be with Him." That is a significant statement: He does not say to "study with Him," but to "be with Him." He does not say to "learn from Him," but to "be with Him." This simple phrase is broad in scope and encompasses all the rest, but much more as well. The disciples received formal and ad hoc lectures; they learned from casual teaching questions and comments; they saw and heard Jesus in action in real life situations, living and ministering to others according to the principles that He taught; and they were able to ask Him questions.

This ability to see and hear teaching integrated into action, in real life situations, by one's teacher, is the missing ingredient in almost all Christian education. Yet, a physician, a carpenter, and even a plumber are trained this way.

True discipleship takes quality time that can only be invested in a few. Christ invested it in the twelve. When Christ sent His disciples out in Luke 9, He explicitly told them in verse 4, Whatever house you enter, stay there. The parallel account in Matthew 10 Christ adds these words, "Now whatever city or town you enter, inquire who in it is worthy, and stay there till you go out. They were to show the full covenant context of the Gospel over a period of time. It takes time. They were to produce disciples. Well, one chapter later in Luke we see the multiplication of disciples from 12 to 70. And He sends that group of 70 out as well. In Luke 10:7 He says, "And remain in the same house, eating and drinking such things as they give, for the laborer is worthy of his wages. Do not go from house to house."

Let me just hit you with the application now, instead of later. If you are a parent, and you are not spending quality time with your child, your discipleship is going to be greatly marred. Your words are not going to be enough. They need to see you live. They need to see how you work, how you play, how you cry and how you laugh. They need to see how you ask forgiveness of your wife and of them. They need to see how you handle discouragements. They need to be able to have you coach them through a difficult time. You need to be present. Make that a top priority. You may think of discipling others as an option. But if you are a parent, you are already a discipler whether you like it or not. The only question is: are you a good one that will produce good fruit?

Demonstration

So modeling implies, first, our presence. Second, it implies demonstration. 2:7 says, in all things showing yourself to be a pattern of good works. Just as a plumber will demonstrate to his apprentice how to do the plumbing, the Christian who disciples will make himself a pattern for Christianity. If he is all talk and no action, his teaching will reproduce all talk and no action. Paul in several places commands church members to imitate those who are sound in the faith. He says, "imitate me even as I imitate Christ." You see, Christianity needs to be fleshed out. When the disciples ask Jesus to teach them how to pray, he not only gave them information by way of instructions, He actually prays in front of them. He told them, Follow Me and I will make you fishers of men. I'll show you how to do it.

Now let's relate this to our day by day life: "What is the best way to teach your child to forgive his brother when his brother asks for forgiveness?" Well, there is the teaching from Scripture that we looked at last week. But there must also be a modeling. The children will think that you are hypocritical if you have your fights in front of the children, but only make up in private. You never let them see that. And yet you expect them to make up with each other. They need to see you willing to humble yourself by asking forgiveness of your spouse; by asking forgiveness of them. And they need to see how you forgive. If you say that you forgive them, but every time they goof up again, you bring all of times that they have ever hurt you from the time they were three years old, you will be modeling to them an unbiblical concept of forgiveness. Your actions will speak far louder than your words, and you will be discipling them into something wrong that will be very hard for them to break out of.

Delegating Responsibility

The next area is delegating responsibility, or making sure that the person begins to implement what is being taught. You give him an assignment. You give him homework. A disciple of Christ should not have 1:16 said of him: They profess to know God, but in works they deny Him, being abominable, disobedient, and disqualified for every good work. These people profess — they have the "talk" down, but not the "walk." The homework needs to include the walk. The goal of all discipleship is the transference of the character of Christ, not just the doctrine of Christ. Karl Marx wrote, "Philosophers have only interpreted the world differently; the point however is to change it." Why were the communists so effective in transferring their ungodliness? Because they didn't keep it at merely doctrine. And the whole goal of discipleship in Titus is the promotion of godliness. Without godliness men and women are not truly disciples. So you give them assignments.

Accountability, Feedback, Support

The fourth part of modeling that is assumed throughout this chapter is accountability, feedback and support. In otherwords, just as a tennis instructor is giving careful supervision to see how the tennis player is progressing, so too discipleship in Christianity needs feedback, encouragment and supervision. In fact, that is one of the names for an elder, is an overseer. The word for "admonish" in verse 4 is better translated "train" in the NASB. And if you think of what goes into training a surgeon, training a plumber, training and artist, training a tennis player, you will get the feel for the word. Just as a tennis instructor is going to be constantly giving helpful feedback on how your backhand can be improved, and what you are doing wrong with your serves, a discipler can be very helpful to the Christian who is struggling to grow by giving objective imput; praising him for those things that are done right and reinforcing those areas, and giving correction in those areas that need improvement, but never in a critical spirit: always with the desire to see them grow.

Reproduction

And then the final aspect of modeling that we see in Titus is reproduction. Titus 2 indicates that discipleship is the first thing a new believer should experience. At this stage he is spoken of as a young man or woman. Paul sometimes speaks of them as babes. Over a period of time these babes mature to the place where they are responsible to disciple others. And Titus 2 and 2 Timothy 2 make clear that all mature Christians have the responsibility of reproducing and discipling. Christ said, "I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain In fact, ideally it will be these new Christian mothers who will train their own children and won't need a person from another family to do that job in the next generation. When things are functioniong properly, everything gets back to the family doing this work.

The Goals of Discipleship

Sound thinking (1:1,3,8-14; 2:1-3,6-8,10-15; 3:1ff)

I'm just going to be very brief on the goals of discipleship. They are two-fold: sound thinking and sound living. The church has had a tendancy down through the centuries to swing to pendulum extremes. And one extreme that some people have had is just memorizing doctrine with no application. We looked at the importance of the so-what of doctrine. But I have been shocked at how many Chirstians today err in the other direction. They say that they are allergic to anything with "ology" on the end of it. They don't like doctrine. Well, everyone has doctrine. The question is, how Biblical is it?

I'm not going to look at everything, but let me give you a few hints of how important academically challenging yourself on your Christianity really is. Chapter 1:1. Notice the prhase in the middle which says, the acknowledgement of the truth which accords with godliness. Filling your head with true facts accords with godliness. Having an empty head does not.

The outline skips verse 2, but how will you ever have assurance, faith and comfort if you don't know the promises of God. That takes study.

Verse 3 mentions the importance of preaching, verse 4 of a common faith, . Verse 9 says, holding fast the faithful word as he has been taught, that he may be able, by sound doctrine, both to exhort and convict those who contradict. You can't do any of that if you haven't committed those things to memory.

Verse 10 warns against deceivers. But how do you recognizae a deceiver if you don't know the truth? You can't. That's the nature of deception. God wants disciples to have sound thinking, and Paul is grieved when he sees professing believers who don't. Every paragraph in these three chapters indicates that one of the goals of Christian living is to think rightly, and to fail to love God with your mind is to have a substandard Christianity.

Sound living (1:6-8,15-16; 2:2-5,7-10,14; 3:1-15)

The second goal is sound living. We looked at the qualifications for elders and saw that they were to be models for the whole congregation. And this sound living covers homelife, business life, how we budget our money, food, wine, tempers, communication, having a clean conscience and having a good testimony. How women relate to their families is not an unimportant thing. 2:5 says that unsound living in the home blasphemes the word of God. How you handle yourself in court reflects on your Christianity according to 2:8. The same is true of how employees and employers works on Monday to Saturday. Discipleship has a comprehensive goal that covers "all things" (1:15), "every good work" (1:16), "all things" (2:7), "all things" (2:8), "all things" (2:9(,"all things" (2:10). Sound living is not Sunday-go-to-meet'n" Christianity. Can you see why I started this sermon by saying that discipleship is not teaching people how to be involved in church programs. It is teaching people how to live all they do before the face of God, by the power of the Spirit and according to the blueprints of Scripture.

And it is my hope that over the next couple Sundays your hearts will be stirred up to be involved in first of all being discipled, and second of all, discipling others to the glory of God. Amen.