
about Series:
In this series, we are working through the book of Titus, which focuses on living a Christ-centered life in a Christ-less culture. Paul calls Titus to the godless land of Crete, a place infamous for horrific sin, violence, and deceit. However, Paul’s call to Titus is not merely to live a Christ-like lifestyle in such a culture but to actively transform it by planting churches and, most importantly, transforming people through the power of the gospel. As we go through this series through the book of Titus explores how Christians are called to live counterculturally in a world that often opposes biblical values. Paul’s letter to Titus, a young leader tasked with establishing churches in Crete, provides timeless wisdom for navigating cultural challenges, defending sound doctrine, and fostering transformative community leadership. At its core, the series challenges believers to stand firm in their faith and lead lives that reflect God’s truth in a hostile world.
This Christ-less culture is not unique to Crete. Today in America, we see many of the same issues that were prevalent in Crete still present in our society. Just like Titus, we are called to bring change to a broken culture, and this book will guide us in how to do that!
Sermons:
A Godless Culture: Titus 1:1-4
Sermon Audio Session 1
Titus 1:1-4: Pastor Isaac Seggerman
I. Introduction: The Countercultural Gospel
- Titus, written by Paul, addresses a godless culture in Crete—a society infamous for its immorality and deceit.
- Titus is tasked with establishing churches and reforming a broken society.
II. The Call of Titus
Historical context of Crete:
- Known for violence, corruption, and sexual immorality.
- Cultural proverb: Calling someone a "Cretan" equated them with being a liar.
Paul’s mission for Titus:
- Planting churches in a hostile, morally corrupt environment.
- Facing opposition from false teachers promoting a twisted version of the gospel.
Parallel to today:
- The sinful culture of Crete mirrors modern society's struggles: greed, violence, sexual immorality, and self-centeredness.
III. Key Themes in Titus 1:1-4
1. Paul’s Identity and Mission:
- "A servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ" (v. 1).
- Commitment to "furthering the faith of God’s elect and their knowledge of the truth."
- Connection to godliness through the truth of the gospel.
2. The Foundation of Eternal Hope:
- Hope rooted in God’s unchanging promises (v. 2).
- The gospel revealed at God’s appointed time through preaching (v. 3)
3. Titus’ Role:
- "My true son in our common faith" (v. 4).
- Titus as a leader chosen to transform a godless culture through grace and peace in Christ.
IV. Living in a Godless Culture
1. Recognize the Problem:
- Modern parallels to Crete: political division, moral decay, and self-interest dominate.
- The prevalence of cultural Christianity, where faith is superficial and distorted.
2. Know Your Identity in Christ:
- The transformative power of the gospel makes believers new creations (Romans 8:11).
- Avoid returning to the chains of sin.
- Stand firm in faith, rooted in God’s truth.
V. Transforming Culture from the Inside Out
1. Mission-Focused Living:
- Believers, like Titus, are sent to transform a sinful world.
- See high schools, workplaces, and communities as mission fields.
- The Great Commission applies locally as well as globally.
2. Action over Judgment:
- Share the gospel actively, rather than judging the lost.
- Extend God’s grace freely, using the "key to freedom" Christ has given.
3. Commit to Godly Community:
- Build Christ-centered relationships that encourage spiritual growth.
- Work collectively to create a countercultural witness for Christ.
VI. Practical Application
1. Know Your Freedom:
- Embrace the liberty found in Christ and let it empower bold action.
- "It is for freedom that Christ has set us free" (Galatians 5:1).
2. Change Culture, Don’t Conform:
- Resist blending into the sinful culture around you.
- Live distinctly as a follower of Christ.
3. Don’t Let Culture Shape Your Faith:
- Guard against cultural distortions of Christianity.
- Cultivate a personal relationship with Christ, rooted in scripture and prayer.
VII. Conclusion: A Call to Action
Challenge:
- Bring Christ to a godless culture, even if it means facing opposition.
- Live as a radical disciple, fully committed to God’s mission.
Closing encouragement:
- God empowers believers to fulfill their calling: "Be strong and courageous, for the Lord is with you wherever you go" (Joshua 1:9).
Transcript is Auto-Captioned There May be Mistakes:
We recently went through the parables of Jesus, and now we're going through a series called Counter Culture. And particularly, we're going through a book in the Bible called Titus. So Titus is a very small book of the Bible in the New Testament, and it's actually probably one of the most important books that we can read because it teaches a countercultural gospel. And what I mean by that is it lines out for us how we live as Christians in a world that is, run over by sin. And so we're gonna be going through the book of Titus throughout this entire series, and we're starting with a very small section of this chapter.
And this is, more of an introduction. So we're gonna go ahead and read this first section of Titus, and then we're gonna talk a lot about, how this book started and what it's about. Paul, a servant of God, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to further the faith of God's elect in their knowledge of truth that leads to godliness. In hope of eternal life, which God does not lie, promised before the beginning of time, and which now at his appointed season, he has brought to light through preaching entrusted to me by the command of God, our savior, to Titus, my true son in our common faith, grace and peace from God the savior, Father in Christ Jesus, our savior. So this is just a very introduction to this letter.
So even though the book is called Titus, Titus does not write this book. This book is written by Paul to Titus. It's a letter to him. Something you have to understand is what what's going on here and why he's even at this area in the first place. So they're in an aerial area called Crete.
It's right off the coast of Greece. It's this small little island, and this island is notoriously known for being a very sinful area. As a matter of fact, there's a word, which was a Greek word at the time. You would call somebody a liar by calling them a, but the literal translation was to be a a or to be somebody from crate. So they literally were known for the like, the word lying basically just saying just saying you're a crate.
It's in the same way, like, people make fun of Americans for being, like, overweight. Right? It's kind of the same thing. Like, it's what they're notoriously known for. And so this is a really, really bad area off the coast of Greece.
And remember, at the time, areas like Greece actually were blowing up with the gospel, and there was a lot of Christian areas there. But Paul sees this small little island of Crete, and he says, I'm gonna send my close friend Titus, who has been with him a lot throughout his previous, journeys, and he says, I'm gonna send him to this island. I want him to plant a bunch of little churches, and the whole idea is to flip the culture that's going on in this little area. And so throughout the entire book of Titus, he's gonna line out how Titus is supposed to flip this culture. And so with that kind of background and that kind of information in mind, I kinda want you to put yourself in the shoes of Titus and how frightening that can be.
This is a culture that is known for their violence, that is known for stealing, lying, cheating, that is known for sexual immorality. And then by that, I don't mean sex outside of marriage. I'm talking about, like, brutal rape. Like, these are really, really bad people. And Titus has been sent here, and Paul says, alright, you're gonna go in this area and you're gonna flip the culture on its head.
One single man on the entire island full of people who are sinful. And the area did have, quote, unquote, Christians. There were some leaders that came to the island much before Titus got there, but they were corrupt Christian leaders and they were teaching a cultural version of the Bible. What I mean by that is is they would say that the violence is okay and they would just twist scriptures in ways that they weren't supposed to be twisted. And so Titus has a task to completely revamp the culture of this area.
That's a pretty heavy call, especially in an area where people are known for their violence. Most of the men who are here are mercenaries or previously fought in wars. These aren't just, super weak or not scary people. These are some very frightening men who have been at the very top of the chain in the, Roman army. So this is not a safe area.
And yet, Paul says, Titus, I want you to go here. And, faithfully, Titus does go there. And as we go throughout the rest of the book, we'll talk about all the steps that he takes in creating a Christ centered culture, which is what this whole series is about, is how we create a Christ centered culture in a world that is void of God. And so when you hear this, when you hear a culture that's known for their violence, that's known for their greed, that's known for lying, that's known for their sexual immorality, You begin to think of a culture like this. Does this culture sound familiar to you?
Because this sounds like the culture that we live in. Like, America is running with violence, running with sexual immorality and lying and greed. I mean, I I know in these small areas you don't see it as much, but if you go into the inner cities, you will see these massive mansions, and then one block down, there are hundreds of homeless people. Like, there are these huge differences of of this major greed where people care much more about themselves than anybody else. We live in a culture where children being sex trafficked is probably the going to become the number one way to make money in America.
Right now, it's drugs and alcohol, and it's very quickly becoming child sex trafficking. So if you wanna tell me that America isn't as bad of a culture as great. So if you wanna tell me that America isn't as bad of a culture as Cray, then you have to completely ignore the statistics. That's not to say there aren't good things in America, but, unfortunately, there are a lot of bad things and a lot of evil. It's election day.
Right? Like, this is a big day for people, and you've probably, at this point, are tired about hearing about who are people are voting for, what policies they like, or what policies they don't like. I know I am. Around this time of year, I just absolutely hate talking to people because I just wanna talk to them about their day, then I gotta hear a ramble about how much they hate Trump or Kamala, and I I don't care. I don't care.
But we live in a country where we don't have 2 parties who disagree upon things, and then we argue about it in a calm manner. Instead, we literally attack each other. Like, there is real violence that happens over political opinion. It seems that young people are voting less and less and less, and I truly believe that has to do with the fact that politics have gotten so toxic. It's scary to even get involved in it anymore.
It's not a cordial conversation about who we think is best fit to run the country and what policies are best. I mean, I hear Christians, people who claim to be Christians, literally use the word, I hate or I want this person to die talking about a presidential candidate. I don't care how how much you don't like a presidential candidate. I don't care if you hate every policy that they put out. You have the right to your opinion, and there's nothing wrong with that opinion.
But we as Christians are not called to hate anybody, and yet people who claim to be Christians day after day after day are talking about how much they despise a presidential candidate. But if you're a Christian, you know one fundamental truth in that your ruler is God no matter who is put in charge. As a matter of fact, according to the book of Romans, the all authority that has been put in place has been put in place by God, which means that when you constantly scream and complain about who has become president, you are actually telling God that your choice was the wrong choice. And And you might say, well, why would he put someone there that does sinful things? Because all of us do sinful things.
He wouldn't be able to put anybody there. Our culture is run with hatred, and it's run with promiscuity and and sexual immorality. And in the same way that Titus was sent to a culture to bring Christ to that culture, we have been called to do the exact same thing. The great commission is, like, one of the most popular verses in the Bible, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the father, the son, and the holy spirit. We hear this all nations thing, and sometimes we kinda translate this to, oh, those are missionaries, and mission work isn't really for me, so I don't have to do anything.
You live in probably one of the most corrupt countries out there, when it comes to biblical principles. And it's not just America. Every country in the world has got its some serious problems, and it all comes back to the root of sin. And we read this verse. This is Galatians 51.
It says, it is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by the yoke of slavery. This is kind of I know this is taken out of a book, but here's the idea here. It's actually our freedom that has put us in chains. Because people know how free they can be in America, it's the reason that so many things happen because you know that you're not gonna get in trouble for it.
For example, what I mean by that is, like, in China, if you decide to speak out against the government, they'll literally just run you over on the street. That's not gonna happen in America. But let's talk about this in a Christian context now. Right? Our freedom and our our our want to sin is actually what's putting us in chains.
If God did not give us the the option of free will and the option to sin, then then we would essentially be in chains, but God gives us a choice. And here's what's interesting is that I feel like a lot of the times we leave our chains as Christians. We believe in God. He set us free. We feel this renewed, sense of life, and then we go right back to the very chains that we were being held in in the first place.
But according to this verse, it is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm then and do not let yourself be a be burdened again by the yoke of slavery. He's very clear here. Once we're set free in Jesus, it is very easy to go back to our old ways. Or oftentimes, you might say, why why would somebody, after they break free from chains, wanna put the chains back on?
And and it's simple because everyone else is in chains. You don't want to be the one that stands out. You do not wanna be the odd one out as much as we can say, oh, I like to stand out and to be different. At our human core, we like to fit in in one way or another, whether that's fitting into a group of popular kids or even just fitting into, a group of not popular kids. Like, we all wanna fit somewhere.
We all wanna fit in in one way or another, and so oftentimes, we actually are set free from the chains of sin, and we go right back to them just because it's what everybody else is doing. And Paul warns here, once you've been set free from your chains, do not be burdened again by the yoke of slavery. Stand firm in your faith. This is Romans 811, and it's one of my favorite verses in the whole Bible. And if the spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his spirit who lives in you.
Okay. So just stick with me here. This is an analogy I've used a few times and just just wait. Imagine that you're a caterpillar. Okay?
Just imagine it for a second. All you kinda do is just, like, wallow around in the dirt. That's all you do. You just you just kinda spin in the dirt. You walk around.
You eat. You sleep, and that's about it. There's not much to life. You're kinda stuck in the mud. There's nothing that you can do.
And then one day, you just take this super long nap, and then you wake up, and suddenly, you're this brand new creature. You have you have these wings, and you're no longer stuck in the mud. You're able to go and do whatever you want. Like, imagine how that would feel like to become an entirely new creature. And now imagine they become a butterfly.
They can go wherever they want, and yet the butterflies are just rolling in the dirt. Like, how ridiculous does that seem? Well, according to this verse, we're just like the butterflies in the dirt. If the spirit of Christ Jesus who died is now in you, if his spirit is now in you, you are a brand new creature in Christ, and yet we've become this new thing. We're no long we no longer have to wallow in our sin.
We don't have to sit in the way that culture tells us to live. We have the freedom to go and be who God has called us to be, and yet we continue to wallow in our sin. We say, oh, I'm never gonna be good enough. My my sin is too great. This addiction is too powerful to break.
Jesus was dead, like lifeless body laying in a in a tomb, and then suddenly imagine the amount of power it takes to to get a beaten dead body back to life. You're telling me that the same spirit that raised the son of God from the dead can't overtake your sin? The reality is is that we don't really believe it. We say, yeah, I believe in Jesus, but I'm gonna continue kinda doing life the way that I have always done it. And it's just like the butterflies in the dirt.
You're a new creature, you've been set free, and yet you put yourself back in the chains because everybody else is there. Why wouldn't I hang out with everybody else's? That's how you end up being cool. We live in a culture where Christianity is not really persecuted in the same way it is in other cultures, and, actually, I think it's much worse because we put on a fake version of what Christianity is. Christianity to most people, especially high schoolers, is this.
I believe in Jesus, and so I'm good. I posted a Bible verse on Instagram story. No hell. Right? And I know it sounds funny, but, genuinely, there are people that believe that they say they just believe in God, and that's it, then it's all over.
According to the scriptures, belief always has action that follows. If you truly believe in something, you are going to act upon it. If I see an injustice and I truly think that this injustice is, a terrible, terrible thing, I'm going to go and I'm gonna fight to have that injustice overcome. And so in the Bible, we are reminded again and again and again that there's a difference of knowing of God and knowing God. Knowing of God is knowing who he is and believing that what the Bible says is true, but not really living our lives in a particular way.
And then knowing God is actually having a personal relationship with him and seeing a culture that is full of sin, and that is full of sexual immorality, and and greed, and cheating, and stealing, and not just saying, I'm gonna live in the world, but not of the world. Right? That's what you hear a lot in the church. And while that's technically true, I think it's a terrible motto because the idea is not that we're here to continue to live with sinners, but we're here to bring the gospel and the truth to them. So, like, here's the idea.
Right? You're you're you're chained down. All of us are chained down. Jesus came. He gave us the key.
He freed us, and now we have the freedom to be new creatures and go wherever we want. And we continue to watch everybody else sit in their chains and do nothing about it but judge them. How could they sit like that? Look at them continuing to go to parties, and we look at them dropping out of high school because they wanna drink. You have the key to their chains, and yet you're keeping it for yourself.
It's not like there's this, like, limited supply. Right? The supply is not limited. We have an unlimited amount of God to give people, and yet we continue to sit around in the chains that we were set free from because it's just easier that way. And so like Titus, we have been sent to a godless culture to transform it and to preach Christ in that culture.
And so like I said, as you go through the book of Titus, it will give us a large outline of many different things that we can do, but there's a few core things that you have to understand. Firstly, Jesus the Bible warns about this all the time, about this culture that we're gonna that we're gonna eventually have. It says this. For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal god for images, to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles.
But and this is, 2nd Timothy 3 1 through 2, another warning about how culture's gonna become, But mark this. There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, and unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power, have nothing to do with such people. I hear that, and I and I think of these things. I'm like, okay.
We're here now. Okay. We're very clearly at this at this spot where people only care about themselves. They are very stuck in their own sin. They're still wallowing in their own sin.
And so I read this verse, and I realize we're here now. So now the question is, what are we gonna do about it? Well, I wanna contextualize this, and what I mean by that is it's important when we read the Bible to know what it meant in the original context, which is what I gave you about Titus going to the island of Crete and transforming the culture. Now I'm gonna contextualize it, which means I'm gonna bring it to you guys where you guys are now, and currently, you're in high school. And here's what I see in high school.
And you can correct me if I'm wrong, but I think it's been the same for years. When I look into high school, this is what I see. Reputation is king above all else. How people see you matters above all else, and the reason I know that is because I lived it. I'm 22 years old.
High school wasn't that long ago for me. The most important thing to most people in high school is how are my friends gonna see me. And how your friends are gonna see you depends on the actions that you take, the sports that you play, the people that you hang out with, the way that you talk, if you party, if you don't party, whatever it may be, reputation is king above all else. And, really, after high school, it's not much different. Like, people still care so much about what everybody thinks about them.
And the problem is is is that you'll realize you can never please everybody, so why try to please anybody at all? There is one purpose that you have been given in this life, and that is to enjoy God, glorify him forever, and share that power with other people. That does not mean the rest of your life, that you shouldn't be trying for other things in your life. If you play sports, I think sports are a great thing. They can be a phenomenal tool to spread the gospel.
You can play basketball to the glory of God. Absolutely. Sports are great. Friends are great. The problem is is sin ultimately is when you take anything that's that that that you like, that even if it's not inherently sinful like sports, and you put it above God and make that ultimate.
That's when you've fallen into sin is when things become more important than God. And you might say, well, how do I how do I really know? Like, of course, I love God more. Well, my question to you is is if it really came down to it, let's say that, you're going to a church or the only time that you're able to read your Bible is at a certain time of night. What if you had absolutely no time at all to read the Bible, which is rarely ever the case because I don't think you guys ever don't like to stop doing something for a second, but let's just say that it is.
So you never have time for anything. Would you give up that sport? Like, truly, would you give it up? What's your goal in life? If I were to watch you and I saw your daily habits, what would I think your goal is in life?
For many of us actually, I would say for most of us, it's probably not that you're pursuing Christ above all else. If I watch your daily habits for most of you, I might say, well, they're wanting to win a championship ring, or they're wanting to pursue this job, or they wanna make money above all else. If I were to look at your everyday habits, would I see Christ as your end goal? Or how about this question? Let's say you're sent to an island like Crait where no one's ever seen a Christian before.
Would you be a good example of what a Christian is? And I don't mean a perfect example, but a good one because none of us are gonna be perfect. But when people look at you and say, they're different, something about them is different, they live life in an entirely different way, and it's unexplainable where they get their joy from in times of sorrow. It's a question that I ask all the time and a question that I ask myself all the time. Would I be a good example if someone saw me for the first time and they asked all the actions I do?
Would I be a good example of what a real Christian is? And a Christian, by the way, we use that term loosely because Christianity is a lot of things to a lot of people, is a Christ follower. So we have two sides of the spectrum. Okay? We have sinners, and then we have cultural Christians.
And I actually think cultural Christians are much more harmful than sinners are. And, actually, the Bible says that too that it is better to not believe than to believe and distort the gospel. Not that both will end you up in the same place, but here's why. If I come to you and I say that the I might change microphones, Andrew. Do you have the handheld?
I don't know why it's booming so much. Where'd you put the handheld? It's right here. Oh, thanks. I took it with It's just really loud.
I think it's the amp. It might be. There's might be something wrong with it. We need to order a new one. Also for more things.
Yeah. That's true. We have two sides of the spectrum. We have cultural Christianity, and then we have non believers. And cultural Christianity, I think, is one of the most dangerous things that we've run into today.
You walk into most churches, and it's typically about how God makes you feel rather than unpacking the power and person of Christ within the scriptures. It's all about, like, I can't tell you how many sermons I've heard from all different places in the Bible and the point of the sermon is Jesus loves you. And like these pastors are reading verses about wrath. Jesus loves you. Yeah, sure, that's true.
That's not what this verse is talking about. Here's the real reality. Titus is talking to you, and and here's what it's saying. You live in a culture that is rampantly run with sin, and you continue to live with them and not give them the keys to freedom. You continue to pursue yourself.
You continue to pursue things other than Christ. All the while you judge them for being non believers even though you yourself care much more about where your life is going and what people think about you than you do actually bringing the kingdom here and preaching the gospel to people. I know that. Like, this is not me guessing. I know most of you care much more about your reputation than you do about God.
And according to the scriptures, those Christians are what we call lukewarm Christians, And people use that term in ways they probably shouldn't. But if you're gonna follow Christ, you have to follow him fully. There's this story in Matthew. A rich man comes to Jesus, and he says, lord, I'll follow you wherever you go. And and Jesus turns to him, and he says, okay.
But first, go and sell everything you have, and then come and follow me, which seems backwards. Right? Because, like, he was there. He was ready to follow Jesus. He was already with him.
He said, lord, I'll follow you wherever you go. He could have said, great. Follow me, and he could have become this great Christian. And so why would Jesus, the son of God, also God himself, talk somebody out of following him? Because Jesus wants believers who are going to follow him in a radical way and not have cultural Christianity where he says, lord, I'll follow you wherever I wherever you go, but I'm gonna continue living the old life that I used to live.
But according to Galatians, you've been set free from your chains. So why would you ever go back to those chains? You've been made a new creature in Christ, Romans 8 11 says. So why are you going like, if you've been set free, why would you go back to jail? That's essentially the question that he asks.
So we have this great issue of cultural Christianity where Christianity has been dumbed down to people being nice. It drives me insane. I hear all the time, love your neighbor as yourself. It's, like, the biggest thing that people preach right, and they have no idea what they're talking about. People think love your neighbor as yourself means be nice.
No. What that means is when you see that person on the side of the street, you imagine that that person is either you or that person is somebody that you love deeply. So instead of seeing as, oh, that homeless guy, he's not working, he's continuing to be lazy, and he's not contributing to society, you look at them as a a child of God created in the image of God. And I would look at them and look at them as my own sibling and say, would I help them in a moment like this? That's the call to love your neighbor as yourself.
So before you tell people that, you should know that that's a radical call. And I'm not there yet. I can be honest with you. I am not there yet. I have I'm gonna graduate this summer with a bachelor's, in New Testament scholarship.
Okay? Which means that I know a lot about the Bible, but I will never get to where I want to be. I wanna get to the point where I can look at somebody and I wanna help them immediately, but to be honest, sometimes I'm just sitting on my couch and someone says, hey. Can you help me move this table? And I just don't want to.
Right? Like, that's a that's a real reality for a lot of us. You just don't want to. But if I'm gonna say that I believe the Bible, then I have to say that when I'm not helping people, I'm choosing to be lazy, which according to the Bible is a sin. Doesn't Doesn't mean you shouldn't be wise with your time.
I wanna be clear on that, but I'm talking about when I really can't help and I have nothing else going on, and I choose to be lazy instead. Our our culture is marked by laziness and greed and sexual morality and every possible sin that you could imagine, And there's people that indulge in that and continue to say, I'm never gonna follow Christ. And then you have the opposite side where people say, I follow Christ, and yet they're doing everything else that this other group is doing, and there's nothing that makes them distinct. Nothing. I look out into high school, and I see a place where reputation is king, and Christ is at the bottom of the priority list.
You have one of the biggest mission fields in the world. Like, I don't think you understand how much work like, Andrew and I, every week, talk about how can we reach the people who are lost? How can we reach people who say that they're Christians in the high school but really aren't Christians, which I know all of you know a lot of? But we can't get into those schools because we can't teach religious stuff in schools. Because guess what?
Government's not a big fan of God at all. But you guys have the opportunity where you are right now in your schools to have one of the biggest mission fields in the world by far. I mean, my graduating class, in 2020 was, like, 215 or something like that, and that's just the senior class. And I went to La Grande High School. And so imagine how many people could be formed by the message of Christ, but the reason that you haven't brought it to them is because you're scared of judgment or it's just easier to fit in.
So here's the big question, and like I said, we will answer this question, more in-depth as we go throughout the book of Titus with more specifics that Paul lines out for us. But how do I live a countercultural life? How do I live a life that is different from the culture, or how do I live in a culture and be so different from it? The first step is to know your freedom. Know that you have been saved by Christ, if you have, if you've truly accepted him as your savior.
Know that you've been saved and transformed by Christ, and that you've been made a new creature, and you're no longer bound to sin and you're no longer, stuck wallowing in your sin, you've been made a brand new creature, when you know you have a freedom like that, that should give you all the confidence in the world to go out and do whatever God has called you to do. Because if the same power that raised Jesus from the dead is now at work in me, there is nothing that can stop me from doing exactly what god has asked me to do, except for fear. Fear will stop us, won't it? But according to the bible, he didn't give you a spirit of fear. Says be strong and courageous for the lord is with you wherever you go.
Do not let fear stop you from realizing the freedom that you have found in Christ. 2nd way we can live a countercultural life is don't live in the culture, but change it. I think we've grown very accustomed, as Christians to just looking at the world and saying, man, this world is falling apart. It's so sinful. It's so terrible, and we do literally nothing about it.
I know I did that in high school. I was like, man, all these people are so sinful, and it's just so sad to watch people throwing their lives away, getting drunk, having sex, doing whatever it is, and yet I wouldn't actually choose to bring the truth of the gospel to them. So throughout this series, we're not gonna talk about how we live, in a culture that is godless because you know how to do that, don't you? Because you've been doing it forever. What we're gonna talk about throughout this series is how we change a culture from the inside out, and it starts right here in this room.
What we do here is we create a Christ centered culture, that is about pursuing God and relationships together. This ministry is not built on me and never should be built on me. Before, this ministry was ran by Landon Redington, and it was never about him. It was never about me, and it'll never be about anybody that runs this group. This group is about you guys in creating a Christ centered community and helping you guys pursue Christ in whatever way, you need help, whether that be through me standing up and giving a message or having personal conversation after.
That's why which I know a lot of you are here, because friends invited you, or if you didn't see the video that I had posted on Instagram, the essential idea was, that we've done a good job of preaching the gospel to you guys, but a very bad job of teaching how to pursue one another and how to have good godly relationship with one another. And I repent. That's on me. Like, I'm gonna make mistakes too. And so I'm ecstatic to have you guys here tonight, to have a group like this and to look around and say, look, like, people from different high schools, not all of you from Le Grand High School, people from different high schools can come together as one and be part of a family and worship God together.
But I I couldn't imagine. I mean, this room is is is pretty close to full, with the chairs right now. I couldn't imagine what it would feel like to have a room full of high schoolers praising and worshiping God. I don't want this for my own personal gain so people think that I'm this I'm God. I don't want this for my own personal gains where people think that I'm this amazing leader.
That's not my goal here. My goal is to create a Christ centered culture, and it's difficult because I have to preach a Christ centered culture to people who live in a in a culture that is void of God. Don't just live in the culture, but change it. See your high school as a mission field. Be committed to a place like this, to creating a godly community, and you guys can work together to flip the culture of La Grande, from the inside out.
Be together in Christ Jesus. One thing I love about this group and I've always loved about this group is the diversity that we have, and I don't mean racial diversity. I mean that we have people from all different churches. We have we have people who have never gone to church, people who are de churched, who maybe went to church at some point. We have, people from, latter day saints.
I mean, we have all sorts of diversity within this group and always have. We always have had this kind of diversity, and I love it. Why? Because we all center on one thing, and that's our Lord Christ Jesus. And that's all that matters, and we may have different opinions because we come from different churches, and we may have different opinions because we come from different cultures.
But we all center on this one thing. So come together as 1, as a Christ centered culture, and my challenge to you is to flip the culture of La Grande for the better because we are living in a in in a place where it seems that Christianity, especially amongst the youth, is dying at a very rapid rate. And I know that because I've been working in youth ministry for years, and I watch it die out. I can't change that. I've been preaching since I was 16 years old.
I can't change that at all, but you can. The only way you're gonna do that is if you pursue Christ above all else, if you know your freedom and you choose to actually change the culture. Last thing is don't let culture shape Christ. And I know I'm not saying that Christ can be changed by the culture. I mean, don't let your perception of Christ be changed by the culture.
Like, you see people who you think are Christians doing things that you think they probably shouldn't be doing, or even don't let pastors don't let even people like me who who who I'm trying to be a trusted source of teaching to you Shape your identity of what Christ looks like because you might mishear something I say or I might be wrong about something, and you get an idea of Christ that isn't real. I love that you guys come here, and I am faithful as I can to preach the gospel and to preach the Bible as accurately as I can. I went to school to study this, and I'm still gonna make mistakes. You have to have a personal relationship with Christ, and I cannot give that to you and neither can any other leaders in this room. So as you go throughout this series, here's the whole point.
You live in a culture that is void of God, and your mission is to bring God to that culture, and they're gonna hate you for it. They're gonna hate you for it. Why? Because people don't like being told they can't do what they wanna do. Can't tell you how many people I've talked to who say, well, I just really don't believe in God anymore, and it's and they've chosen a lifestyle that's full of sin.
Well, yeah. It's because you love your sin. That's why. You say, oh, I hate this sin. I hear people say that all the time.
I hate the sin that I'm struggling with. No. You don't. If you hated it, you you you would stop doing it. If I if if I hate theme parks, I'm not gonna be on a roller coaster.
That's ridiculous. Stop loving your sin and look out in your high school and see how many souls are lost without Christ. Understand the depth of this problem and just what a powerful thing having a group like this can do in a high school. I don't need 500 people in this room. We we can do this with 5 people, but those 5 people have to be dedicated to changing the culture from the inside out, and we're gonna talk about how we can do that together.
Fight for it with everything that you have because I'm fighting for it, but I can't do it by myself. I need every single one of you to be dedicated to building a Christ centered culture wherever it is that you may be. He has set you free, and now it's your turn to share that freedom. Bring Christ to a Christless culture. Would you pray with me?
Counter Cultural Leadership: Titus 1:5-9
Sermon Audio Session 2
Titus 1:5-9: Pastor Isaac Seggerman
I. Introduction
- Paul instructs Titus to establish godly leadership on Crete, an island plagued with sin and false teachings.
- This message applies to all believers: every Christian is called to lead by example in a culture hostile to Christ.
II. Biblical Leadership: Qualifications and Challenges
Titus 1:5-9
- Paul commands Titus to appoint elders and provides qualifications:
- Blameless, faithful to their wives, not quick-tempered, self-controlled, holy, disciplined, hospitable, holding firmly to sound doctrine.
- Leadership reflects the gospel and combats false teachings.
- Challenge: Crete’s corrupt culture mirrors challenges today with cultural Christianity diluting the gospel.
III. Overcoming the Spirit of Fear
Revelation 21:8
- Fear paralyzes believers from living out and sharing their faith.
- Cowardice is listed alongside grievous sins, emphasizing its spiritual danger.
- “There will be no cowards in heaven” is a sobering call to boldness.
Romans 8:31-39
- Paul offers assurance:
- "If God is for us, who can be against us?" (v. 31)
- Nothing—trouble, persecution, famine, or danger—can separate believers from God’s love (v. 35-39).
- Fear is conquered by trusting in the power of the gospel and Christ’s victory.
IV. Servant Leadership in a Counter-Cultural World
Philippians 3:17-20
- Paul calls believers to imitate his example, which is rooted in humility and service.
- A servant leader reflects Christ, serving faithfully and standing for truth.
Examples from Scripture:
- David vs. Goliath: God uses unlikely leaders to accomplish his purposes.
- Jesus washing the disciples’ feet (John 13:14-15): Leadership means humbling oneself to serve others.
Practical Applications:
- Refute with Sound Doctrine: Use biblical truth to address challenges while remaining gentle.
- Stand Firm in Faith: Avoid compromising biblical principles to please others.
V. Striving for Holiness and Leadership by Example
Titus 1:7-9
- Believers are called to strive for the qualities of godly leaders, even when they fail.
- Holiness requires daily renewal through prayer, Scripture, and accountability in Christian community.
Philippians 3:18-19
- Paul contrasts godly leadership with those whose “god is their stomach” and who prioritize earthly desires.
- Cultural Christians often prioritize comfort, fame, or material wealth over obedience to Christ.
IV. Transforming Culture Through Leadership
Call to Action:
- Live Out the Gospel: Show Christ through actions and character.
- Be Courageous: Share your faith boldly, trusting in God’s power.
- Inspire Change: By leading well, you can inspire others to follow Christ.
Encouragement:
- Through Christ, we are more than conquerors (Romans 8:37).
- Even flawed leaders like Peter and David were used powerfully by God.
Conclusion
- Leadership is about service, courage, and faithfulness.
- Strive to reflect Christ in every aspect of your life, knowing the power of the gospel can transform even the most godless culture.
- Prayer: Ask for courage to overcome fear, a servant’s heart, and faith to lead well.
Let me know if you'd like additional refinements!
Transcript is Auto-Captioned There May be Mistakes:
This is a review we talked about last week. These are the basic steps we need to take if we want to understand how to change culture. And now as we move throughout the rest of Titus, it's gonna be specifics on how we can change the culture. So we're gonna read, this is Titus 1.5. The reason I left you in Crete was that you might put in order what was left unfinished and appoint elders in every town as I directed you. Remember, he's been told to plant house churches all around this island and there needs to be elders for each one of those churches.
And then he gives the qualifications of what an elder is supposed to look like. An elder must be blameless, faithful to his wife, a man whose children believe and are not open to the charge of being wild and disobedient. Since an overseer manages God's household, he must be blameless, not overbearing, not quick tempered, not given into drunkenness, not violent, and not pushing for dishonest gain. Rather, he must be hospitable, one who loves what is good, who is self-controlled, upright, holy, and disciplined. He must hold firmly to the trustworthy message.
as it has been taught so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it. So to give you some review of this text, remember he's there, Titus is reading these instructions and he says you need to go pick some elders. So he's looking at this long list of qualifications to know what elders he should appoint in the area. And this is going to be a challenge because remember what we talked about, this area is full of sin and the current leaders who are there are teaching a gospel that is not the true
gospel that we see lined out in the Bible. They're teaching a corrupt version of it, so him finding good, godly men in this area is going to be a challenge on its own. And then you look at these kind of qualifications and you're like, man, that's a steep call to be able to do all of those things in an area where it seems it's impossible to find good. And again, this is kind of where I look at our country, like it's so hard to find good biblical leaders within the church because there are so many people out there who just cannot.
fit the qualifications that have been set out for them because they're too busy pursuing their own wants and desires. I mean, it's something I've always said, the biggest reason why we have so many not true Christians in the church today is because of really bad pastors who choose not to preach the real gospel and instead preach a message that is soft and fluffy and that says Jesus loves you without actually presenting them the entirety of the story. And it's one of the greatest things that plague America. So we have two major issues. We have people who...
don't believe in God and so they're doing all sorts of terrible things. Then we have people who believe in God and are doing terrible things in His name. Like we see those Christians doing those things, whether it's being judgmental or it's just being rude. People look at them and say, that's what a Christian is like. Why would I ever want to be a Christian? And that comes down to cultural Christianity, which is what Crete was struggling with. They had a lot of people who believed in the Greek gods, but they had some Christians there, but they were dealing with a version of cultural Christianity that was not at all what the Bible taught.
And so we could be reading this and we might ask, what does this mean for me? I mean, I'm not an elder. First of all, elders have to be male. So if you're not male, then kind of cut out of that area. So what can I learn from this kind of thing? Well, just because elders are one position of leadership in the church, it does not mean that there is not more forms of leadership both in and outside of the church. There are lots of strong female leaders within the church that might not be elders, but there are many other places that...
they can serve and the truth is outside of the church, every single one of you, if you truly believe in Jesus Christ and you've been walking with him for any period of time, have a call to leadership in one way or another. You are called to lead by example, which means when people see you, they should see Christ first and foremost. And what I mean by that is if I'm gonna ask you, if someone looks at you and that's the only person they've ever seen that's a Christian, are you gonna be a good example of what a Christian is?
And I don't mean a perfect example, because none of us are perfect, but are you going to be a good enough example? As a matter of fact, if I watch you all day for an entire day, will I know you're a Christian at all? These are the questions that we need to be asking ourselves, because I think the reality is for most of us, the answer is probably no. I might not know that you're a Christian. But we have been called to lead by example. And actually, Paul says here in Philippians,
Join together in following my example, brothers and sisters. So Paul says, follow my example. And in another letter, I think in Ephesians, he says, follow my example as I follow Christ's example. Join together in following my example, brothers and sisters, just as you have us as a model, keep your eyes on those who live as we do. For as I have often told you before and now, and tell you again, even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their destiny is destruction and their God is their stomach.
and their glory is their shame. Their mind is set on earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven and we eagerly await the savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ. Okay, that's kind of a really intense verse and I wanna go back to this one for as I have often told you before and now tell you again, even with tears, Paul is somebody who cares so deeply for people and he's saying with tears I have to bring you the unfortunate news that many people are enemies of the cross.
And many people are going to hate God simply for the fact that He's God. And that He's telling them what to do and He's telling them how to live their lives. People are going to hate for that reason alone. So I tell you with tears, many lives enemies of the cross of Christ. Their destiny is destruction and their God is their stomach. And their glory is their shame. Their mind is sin and earthly things. This word, their God is their stomach, is a bit of a weird term and He's not calling them fat. This is not a culture that struggled.
particularly with gluttony, a better word is their hunger for sin. So their God is their hunger, their strive to fulfill their own bodies, whether that be through worshiping other gods, through sexual immorality, through sometimes physical rituals where people would maim themselves for other gods. Like there was some really intense stuff that was going on at this time. And so we live in a world now where people are still driven by their hunger for sin and their hunger
for pursuing anything other than God, and you can watch it because if you watch someone for any period of time, you know what they care about the most. I can tell if somebody's whole identity is in football, I can tell within five minutes that that's their whole identity. And I'm not anti-sports. I think sports are great. I've played sports my whole life, but there are some people where their identity becomes whatever sport that they are playing. Or maybe their identity becomes whoever they're hanging around, or it's in something else, their money, their career, their car, whatever it may be. They're...
Dummix are their God, they strive for things other than God. They have an appetite for self-pleasure, fame, money. Immediate gratification is a big one. We in this world have a very hard time without immediate gratification, and what that means is that feeling rewarded immediately. That's the whole reason Christianity is so hard, it's the long road. We have to continue believing in God and continue pushing on, even when people persecute us. It's a long wait, we're not being immediately gratified.
Their appetite is relentless because they worship sin. That's the reality. If their hunger is for sin, it means they worship it, whether they realize it or not. I've read a quote, that quote several times by David Foster Wallace that you can't worship nothing. Everybody worships something. And in the area that Titus was in, a lot of times that was other gods, and a lot of times it was themselves, or it was sex or glory.
A lot of these men were like military leaders and had won many victorious battles and that was their God. And then in verse 20 it says, but our citizenship is in heaven and we eagerly await a savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ. We don't have that immediate gratification. We eagerly wait for him. We wait patiently for Christ to come back. And while we do that.
You have to understand we can't just sit idly and say everybody's going to be an enemy of the cross. Why is there even a point of sharing the gospel? Because according to the Bible, while there are some who are the enemy, who are going to be always enemies of the cross means they will never turn to Christ. There are many who are waiting for someone to present the gospel to them. And yet we're too afraid to change a culture from the inside out because we have our own gods. Well, you know, why don't you share the gospel with everybody you see? Well, I have a fear of being judged. I have a fear of persecution.
Why don't you invite this person to youth group? Because I feel like it's gonna be embarrassing and what if they say no, right? There's all these questions that we ask and I'm not saying that all of you are terrible at that or anything like that. It's a struggle for me too. There's many opportunities as a pastor I have to share the gospel and I still choose to not do it because I have some other God that I was looking at and pursuing whether that be my own ego or simply just not being made fun of. So here's a big question that we have to ask about leadership.
how do we lead in a world that hates Christ? So it's clear that there are very particular things that elders need to do, and essentially they need to be really, really good, upright, standing men. And so after everything I talked about, Paul gives a very clear explanation that there are people who hate Christ and we're in a world that hates Christ. So how do we lead so gently in a world that hates Christ? Here are some statistics for you, which I find utterly bizarre.
Every day, 13 Christians are killed for their faith, which is 4,628 a year. Every day, 12 churches or other Christian buildings are attacked. Every day, 12 Christians are unjustly arrested for their faith. Every day, five Christians are abducted to be tortured for their faith. These are some seriously depressing statistics. And here's why this matters. We're going to ask the question, why do people persecute Christians?
And here's what I mean by that. People hate God for many reasons. But would you want to stop something that you're not afraid of? And what I mean by that is if I told you that there's aliens that are going to come next year and they're going to take us to heaven and all you have to do is follow these rules, if you don't believe in that, you're just going to say that guy is crazy and you're going to walk away. That's what you're going to do. But.
People again and again and again, instead of just letting us believe what we want to believe, they continue to hate Christ and hate the gospel that is preached. And so my point here is that they are afraid of the transformative power of the gospel. You do not try to stop something that you're not afraid of. They're trying to stop it because in their mind they know in one way or another that God exists and they are terribly, terribly afraid. You can be afraid of a lot of things. I think that...
Fear is probably one of the biggest reasons for disbelief. Fear of having to live your life the way that God says you should live your life. Fear of having to give up your sinful desires. Fear of having to give up control to feel like somebody else is in control. And not only is it the reason for unbelief, but it's the reason for Christian persecution. Every single day, Christians are killed and abducted and tortured for their faith because they're afraid of the transformative power of the gospel. And in the beginning, when we read right in Titus, it is said that
You are to preach the same message that has been preached from the beginning and that is the message of the gospel and we'll see as it goes along that this island actually is transformed by the gospel even though people continue to try to stop it. So how do we live in a world that hates Christ? The first step is to put to death the spirit of fear. Fear causes unbelief and fear causes Christian persecution. Don't let it be the reason that you don't want to follow God.
or that you don't want to live out all that God has called you to do. Don't let fear stop you from being who God wants you to be. Put to death the spirit of fear, because the Bible says the spirit of fear is not a spirit that He has put in you. And then we get to this verse in Revelation. I want you to pay attention to this. But as for the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexual and moral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters, and all the liars, they will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur, which is the second death.
That's a really intense verse and if you're looking at that and you're like, no, I'm all good, I don't fall on this verse. One of those is liars. So every single one of us fall into this category. And this verse says, but as for the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexual immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters, and all the liars, they will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death. I want you to look at the horrific things that are on this list, okay? I mean, there's murderers, sexual immorality, people who do witchcraft.
And what's at the very top of this? But as for the cowardly, there they will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur for this is the second death. As for the cowardly is the number one thing on that list. The first thing listed, being a coward. Here's a very real reality that we all have to understand. There will be no cowards in heaven. As for the cowardly, those who were afraid.
to follow me, those who are afraid to be known for being a Christian. Like, why are you afraid to follow me? As a matter of fact, Jesus says at some point when a man says that he feared another man, he said, why fear man? You should fear me and me alone, for man can only kill you, but I can kill you and send your soul to hell. There's been many times where I've been afraid, especially to get up to preach in front of really large groups. You can always stumble over your words. You can not get the message out in the way that you want to.
It can be really, really scary sometimes. Sometimes I get up and I have all sorts of fear and it never sits right with me because the spirit of fear is not a spirit that God has put within me. And then I read this verse, but the cowardly will have their place in the burning sulfur. There will be no cowards in heaven. And then of course, they actually give the counter to this right before. In verse seven, those who are victorious will inherit all this and I will be their God and they will be my children.
Those who were strong, those who were victorious, those who conquer fear, those who conquer their doubts, their will be in the kingdom of heaven. But as for the cowardly, they will go to hell. There will be no cowards in heaven. And that's a really scary thing because most of my life, to be honest, in my Christian walk and a lot of my life, you live it in fear. That's what you do, right?
You go to college, you live in fear of not being able to pass. You go to school, whether it's high school or not, you're afraid of not being popular, you're afraid of not getting the grades that you want or the classes or whatever it may be. We all have all these fears in our life and God says, yeah, that's not the spirit that I put in you. That is not a spirit that I put in you. But as for the cowardly, their portion will be in the lake of fire. You're afraid to share the gospel and you're afraid to bring friends here and you're afraid to share your faith and be known for following Jesus.
Whether that's true now or it's been true in the past, at some point for all of us, this has been true. It's been difficult to share the gospel. It's been difficult to invite friends to a church or to a youth group or whatever it may be. All of us have lived with the spirit of fear and yet when I read that those who are victorious are those who conquer, I think of this verse. This is Romans 8, 31 through 32, and this will hopefully give you the confidence to understand all of what I've been talking about. What then shall we say in response to these things?
Who can be against us? He who did not spare his own son gave him up for us all. How will he not also along with him graciously give all things? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. When then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died more than that, who was raised to life, is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ, shall trouble or hardship or persecution
or famine or nakedness or danger or sword. As it is written, for your sake we face death all day long. We are considered as sheep to be slaughtered. Know in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither life nor death nor angels nor demons nor the present nor the future nor any powers nor height or depth or anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of Christ Jesus our Lord.
That is a powerful verse. So if those who conquer are the ones who make it to heaven and not the cowardly, this verse is giving you the assurance that through Christ Jesus and his resurrection and his death on the cross, you are more than conquerors. You're above the qualifications if you believe in him. The spirit that raised Jesus from the dead is now at work in those who believe. He says like, what court could they possibly charge you in? Everything's mine. Who could possibly condemn you?
Only I can. And if He won't, then no one else will. If God is with you, then who can stand against you? And He says all of that, and He gives that powerful statement at the end that there is nothing on earth, no spirit, or any other physical thing or person could ever separate you from the love of Jesus Christ, which means that if you have become more than a conqueror
Jesus Christ and you believe that his spirit is in you and that the same power that raised Jesus from the dead is now At work in you. There is no reason for a spirit of fear at all And so when you hear there will be no cowards in heaven, I mean it It doesn't mean that you can't get scared sometimes But are you living a life truly believing what I just said out of Romans 8? That no one can condemn you but God and he won't condemn you because he sent his son Christ Jesus to die for you and gave you his spirit
That should give you all the confidence in the world to go about life and pursue exactly what God has called you to do. There will be no cowards in heaven, but the conquerors will be in heaven and you are more than conquerors in Christ Jesus. That is the promise of the gospel. And we did absolutely nothing to attain that status of a conqueror. We sat in our sin and we continue to disobey God and we continue to pursue anything other than God. And he sent his son, Christ Jesus, to die for us. And he says,
You are more than conquerors and I'm going to allow you to not be cowardly, not because of anything that you did, but because of everything that I did. That's the message of the gospel. There's no reason to be afraid because the God who created the universe and puts everything into motion is on your side. And not only is he on your side, but he loves you and deeply cares about you enough that he sent his son to die for you. That's the gospel message. And this is the message that Titus is told to bring into the area of Cray.
So let's go back here. I'm going to tie this all together. Let's go back and read a verse again, Titus 1.5. The reason I left you in Crete was that you might put in order what was left unfinished and appointed elders in every town as I directed you. An elder must be blameless, faithful to his wife, a man whose children believe and are not open to the charge of being wild and disobedient. Okay, these are the verses that really apply to you. Since an overseer manages God's household, he must be blameless, not overbearing, not quick-tempered, not given to drunkenness, not violent, not pushing for dishonest gain.
Rather, he must be hospitable, one who loves what is good, who is self-controlled, upright, holy, and disciplined. He must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught. That's the message of the gospel we've been talking about. He must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it. Here's a list that is from that verse.
So real quickly, it's not overbearing, not quick tempered, doesn't get drunk, is not violent, does not pursue dishonest gain, must be hospitable, must love what is good, must be holy, and must be disciplined. Yeah, that's a scary list of qualifications if I've ever seen a list. And if all of you are called to lead in one way or another, you're called to follow that list. And you're not gonna follow it perfectly all the time but you ought to strive for it, don't you?
Not overbearing, not quick tempered. That's hard to not be quick tempered. I've struggled with anger my entire life. I get angry very, very quickly. And yet I've been called to be a leader. And if I'm constantly yelling at you guys or constantly getting angry all the time, that's gonna just show you that being angry is okay. And I can never do that. I have to follow the parameters that have been set for me. Let's love what is good, which means you have to love what the Bible says, even when it's really hard.
Oftentimes, it's easier to pursue sin, but I find with sin that sin often over-promises and under-delivers. Like you think about doing some sort of sin, you're like, oh yeah, it's gonna be great, it's gonna be worth it, and then it lets you down every single time, and yet we come back to it again and again and again. We ought to love what is good, we ought to love what God loves and hate what God hates. And the only way that we can ever meet any of these qualifications is to have a relationship with God, get renewed day by day through prayer.
relationship with one another in a community like this. Build one another up. You're not going to be perfect, but if you're not striving to be a good example for those around you, you're being a coward. And like we've said, the cowardly will not be in heaven. Be strong and courageous for the Lord is with you wherever you go. It appears in the Bible so many times because over and over again people are told there to share the gospel message, to tell people to worship God, and people are so terribly afraid to do so. We think of Peter, right?
Peter's a really interesting character in the Bible, by the way. There's this part in the Sermon on the Mount, right after the Sermon on the Mount, where Jesus says, you know, Peter, you are this great follower and you are a faithful man and I'm going to give you all these great things. And then four verses later, he calls him the devil. And what I find so interesting about that is that he's so like us, right? We have times where I'm so strong for God and I believe in God and I'm so passionate. And then a few verses later, you know, we're doubting God again and again.
Because then Peter says, even if I must go to the cross with you, I will die for you. And Jesus just looks at him and he's like, Peter, you'll deny me three times before the rooster crows. We will continue to fail again and again and again. But like Peter, he was transformed through that experience. And then as we move into the book of Acts, Peter becomes a very powerful, powerful character in the Bible. And actually,
starts at, he's at Pentecost and starts, what's the beginning of the church? So what I'm trying to tell you with this whole Peter story is wherever you were at doesn't matter now, you've been forgiven and your debt has been wiped in full by the blood of Jesus, which means that now you can go on confidently living as a good Christian leader within your culture. Everybody in the Bible failed in one way or another. Don't let your failures hold you back because again, that's fear.
Fear of failure is one of the biggest reasons that we don't do a lot of things in life. Don't have that fear for the God who created you is on your side. So how do we lead counterculturally? Because like I said, we talked about how do we live counterculturally in the beginning and now we're talking about how we lead. Firstly, as I said, put the death, the spirit of fear. Secondly, is lead as a servant. Leadership in the church is very different than leadership is anywhere else. Typically leaders, especially military leaders.
were chosen for their strength and their power. Usually it was your biggest, tallest, strongest guy who's gonna lead your army. But in the Bible, the leaders don't look like that, do they? You have David and Goliath, you know, just a small shepherd boy fighting this giant. You have Jesus who was mentioned to be just a pretty average-sized man, the greatest leader of all time. There are lots of people in the Bible who were not your typical people that you'd think, yeah, they're gonna be a great leader.
But that reminds you that if God can use people like Peter, or he can use people like David, who literally killed someone's husband to sleep with the wife, like if those people became great leaders, you can too. There's nothing that can stop you from that, but you have to be able to let go of the past and look forward. And to lead as a servant does not mean to be weak or spineless as a leader. I think a lot of the times that I see a lot of leaders who just kind of back down when things come their way, if someone counters them, or if someone brings something to them.
They try to either change the church or change their message rather than refuting with sound doctrine as Titus says. It drives me. Spinalist leaders are the worst leaders possible. They really are. Who can't stand up for what is right and what is good. If someone comes to me after a message which has happened many times and says, you know, what you preach wasn't true. And this is what it means to be a leader in the way that Titus explains.
It does not mean I look at that person and say, you know what, you're right, I'm just gonna walk away and let them believe that they're right. Being a good leader is standing up for what you believe in with sound doctrine, and what that means is instead of screaming at them, I'm right, you're wrong, I sit down, I have a gentle conversation with them, and I explain to them what I was teaching, and then they can explain to me what they thought was wrong, and we can have a good conversation about that. That's what servanthood leadership looks like.
Not being overbearing and saying, I'm right, you're wrong. Because guess what? Sometimes I'm wrong. And that's just the reality. And if someone comes to me and I was genuinely wrong, I would say, you know what? I'm sorry, I'll make sure to clarify that next time I get up on stage, that that's not what I meant. Servanthood, leadership. And Jesus washed the feet of his disciples. The savior of the world washed the feet of his disciples. And he says, as I have served you, you need to serve one another. Leadership does not mean that you tell everybody what to do. It means you serve them.
faithfully and you stand up for what you believe in. Which can be really, really hard sometimes because confrontation for some of us is really, really difficult. But if someone comes to you and they are to attack your faith you're called in the Bible to stand up for it. Which means you gotta know your Bible to defend it, right? You can't defend something you don't know. Lead as a servant. And lastly is just strive to follow the qualifications that have been set. The ones that I put up on the board earlier, you're not gonna be perfect.
You're going to fail again and again and again. So here's my encouragement to you through all of this. Paul is writing to Titus saying, this is what leaders should look like. And Titus goes and he appoints these leaders and they begin to change the culture from the inside out. And so by you being a good leader and by leading by example, other people might be inspired to say, wow, look how they're changing these people's lives. I want that for myself. And as more and more people stand up and be good, godly leaders,
You will be able to turn a culture, but it takes a lot of strong people who do not have the spirit of fear in them and truly believe that the same power that raised Jesus from the dead is now at work in you. Strive to follow those qualifications. You will fail again and again and again. But please, throughout this entire series, I am begging you to change the culture of the high school that you're in, starting by leading by example in knowing who you are and being confident with who you are through Christ Jesus.
That is your first step. If you don't really believe the gospel message, you can't share it to other people. But if you believe it and you live by it, you can change people's lives with it. And that's what I encourage you to do as you move throughout this series. Would you pray with me?
The Counter Cultural Church: Titus 1:10-16
Sermon Audio Session 3
Titus 1:10-16: Pastor Isaac Seggerman
I. Review
Week 1: A Call to Change Culture
- Know your freedom in Christ and the power you possess.
Week 2: Counter Cultural Gospel
Qualifications for a Leader (Titus 1:6–9):
- Not overbearing, quick-tempered, drunk, violent, or dishonest.
- Hospitable, loving what is good, holy, and disciplined.
How to Lead in a World that Hates Christ:
- Put to Death the Spirit of Fear: Boldness is essential for cultural change.
- Lead as a Servant: Influence through service, not command.
- Self-Reflection: Use Titus’s list to evaluate yourself.
II. When Culture Meets the Church
Cultural Christianity in the Church
- Warning against corrupt preachers (Titus 1:10–11).
- A sinful culture (e.g., Crete) calls for strong rebuke (vv. 12–13).
- Identifying false believers: "They claim to know God, but by their actions, they deny Him" (v. 16).
The Plague of Cultural Christianity in the Church:
- In 1990, 90% claimed to be Christian; today, 67%.
- Yet, the majority lack the fruit of true discipleship.
The Hard Truth:
- Cultural Christianity reshapes God into a comfortable, false image.
- Deception leads to spiritual death.
III. The Hard Truth: Matthew 7:13-20
1. Few Will Enter the Kingdom (vv. 13–14):
- "Few" does not align with cultural statistics of belief.
- False gospels are a direct threat.
2.False Prophets as Wolves (vv. 15–20):
- Wolves twist scripture for selfish gain.
- Two prominent false gospels:
IV. Two False Gospels
1. The Prosperity Gospel/Other Gainful Gospels:
- Promises wealth, health, and success for faith or financial contributions.
- Exploits the poor, sick, and vulnerable.
- Rejects the biblical truth: Following Christ does not guarantee a life free of suffering.
- Real hope: Christ is enough, even in suffering.
2. The Gospel of Comfort:
- Reduces Christianity to simple acts: attend church, read the Bible, live morally.
- Ignores the sacrificial call of true discipleship.
True Christianity Requires:
- A life marked by sacrifice and obedience to God.
- Fear, reverence, and evidence of the Spirit’s work.
V. A Call to Action
1. Recognize Cultural Christianity in Your Life:
- Are you pursuing holiness daily?
- Are you seeking to know Christ or just living comfortably
2. Choose Christ Over Comfort:
- You cannot pursue both. Discomfort for Christ leads to spiritual growth and eternal reward.
3. Be Sound in Faith:
- Develop a relationship with Christ and boldly rebuke false gospels.
4. Believe in the True Gospel:
- Salvation is not earned by good works but by Christ’s sacrifice on the cross.
- Follow Him with all your heart, trusting in His sufficiency.
VI. Conclusion
- Titus warns about cultural Christianity, and the warning still applies today.
- Ask yourself:
- Are you pursuing holiness?
- Are you striving to know God deeply?
- Are you willing to embrace discomfort for Christ?
- Proclaim the True Gospel: Rebuke false teachings and boldly share the truth.
- Live as a faithful servant, longing to hear, "Well done, good and faithful servant."
Transcript is Auto-Captioned There May be Mistakes:
In week 2, we talked about the qualifications of a good leader: not being overbearing, not quick-tempered, not getting drunk, not being violent, not pursuing dishonest gain. A leader must be hospitable, must love what is good, must be holy, and must be disciplined. We answered the question of how to live in a world that hates Christ, and here are the answers: put to death the spirit of fear (we read a verse in Revelation that said there will be no cowards in heaven); embrace countercultural leadership, which means serving people in leadership; and strive to follow the qualifications set before you. To put it simply, pursue holiness and try to be more and more like Jesus.
With that being said, we get into our text today: Titus 1:10–11. For there are many rebellious people, full of meaningless talk and deception, especially those of the circumcision group. They must be silenced because they are disrupting whole households by teaching things they ought not to teach—and that for the sake of dishonest gain.
A couple of things to cover here: the circumcision group may seem like a strange term if you don't know the biblical context. They were Jewish people who had been circumcised and claimed to be Christ followers but were perverting the gospel. Paul says they must be silenced because they disrupt households by teaching falsehoods for dishonest gain. This isn’t a warning about unbelievers but about corrupt church leaders promoting a message for their gain. Paul says they need to be silenced.
One of Crete's own prophets said, "Cretans are always liars, evil brutes, lazy gluttons." This saying is true. Therefore, rebuke them sharply so they will be sound in the faith. Crete was known for its dishonesty—so much so that "cretize" became synonymous with lying. Paul says we must rebuke sharply those who twist the gospel, not as a suggestion but a call. If we are to change a culture, we must also confront those claiming to follow God but twisting scripture. This is a call to fight for Christ.
Paul continues: "They must pay no attention to Jewish myths or merely human commands of those who reject the truth. To the pure, all things are pure, but to those who are corrupted and do not believe, nothing is pure. In fact, both their minds and consciences are corrupted. They claim to know God, but by their actions, they deny him. They are detestable, disobedient, and unfit for doing anything good."
This part is key: they claim to know God, but their actions show otherwise. Previously, we talked about a godless culture and sharing the gospel in hopes of transforming it into a godly one. Now we are warned about a different problem: people who claim to know God but pervert the gospel for their gain. This is cultural Christianity—a version of faith defined by culture rather than scripture.
In 1990, 90% of adults in America claimed to be Christian. Today, that number is 67%. Yet, if 67% of people were truly Christians, we would see it in our everyday lives. Many who claim to follow Christ are following a god of their own design. This is dangerous and is exactly what Paul warns Titus about.
Across churches, millions believe they know Christ, but their faith is shallow. Following Jesus has become a simple choice rather than a lifestyle. Jesus warned about this in Matthew 7:13–14: "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it."
Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit, you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit, you will recognize them.
This problem persists today. Some pretend to be sheep but are ravenous wolves. They act nice outwardly but have ulterior motives. We see this in America with pastors buying private jets and claiming, "God has blessed me." They ask people to donate more money even though they are already wealthy. These are wolves only looking out for themselves.
Paul warns us about two false gospels: the gainful gospel and the gospel of comfort. The first is preaching to gain something for yourself, like the health, wealth, and prosperity gospel. This gospel says the more money you give, the more God will bless you. If you’re not healed, it’s because you don’t have enough faith. This gospel speaks nothing of hell, God’s wrath, or the true nature of following Christ. Instead, it promises blessings in exchange for offerings. It twists the gospel into something selfish and materialistic.
The health, wealth, and prosperity gospel originated in America—a culture of greed and individualism. It is now exported to other countries, preying on the poorest of the poor. It tells them that if they just have enough faith or give more money, their lives will improve. This is a lie, and it’s nowhere in scripture. When I read the Bible, I see people dedicated to Christ, often poor, persecuted, and suffering for their faith. Jesus himself lived as a homeless wanderer. How can we reconcile that with this false gospel?
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The health, wealth, and prosperity gospel is not what we see in scripture. When I look in the Bible, I see men and women whose lives are dedicated to Christ. They are almost whipped to death for their beliefs. They are homeless their entire lives. They die poor. They are persecuted day in and day out. Are we to believe the reason they struggled in life was that they didn't have enough faith? By that logic, neither did the disciples, and apparently, neither did Jesus, because he lived in poverty and wandered homeless for most of his life.
This is not a gospel I believe in or one anyone should believe in. What’s even more heartbreaking is that this false gospel is exported to places like Africa and Asia, where the poorest of the poor are deceived into thinking their poverty is due to a lack of faith. They are told to give everything they have to the church, believing it will bring them blessings. This is targeting the most vulnerable, and it’s one of the worst things coming out of America.
I firmly believe the prosperity gospel is a tool of Satan designed to destroy the church. It leads people astray, and they don’t even realize it. It was part of my own story. I started by listening to the health, wealth, and prosperity gospel. It sounded good—if I followed Jesus, I’d be wealthy, healthy, and have an amazing life. But as I started reading the Bible for myself, I noticed a disconnect between what I was being taught and what scripture said.
The disciples lived poor and persecuted lives. So, I began questioning what I had been taught. Eventually, I turned away from the prosperity gospel and found the true gospel. A sermon by Paul Washer opened my eyes. He presented the gospel in a way I had never heard before. That sermon changed my life. I dedicated myself to preaching and teaching the word in its truest and fullest form, no matter how hard or dark the message might be. That’s why I’m here today.
The second false gospel Paul warns about is the gospel of comfort. While the prosperity gospel may seem outlandish to some, the comfort gospel is far subtler and even more dangerous. It preaches that all you need to do is believe in Jesus, get baptized, go to church, and you’re set for heaven. But when I look at scripture, that’s not what I see.
I see people whose lives are completely dedicated to Christ. Following him means renouncing everything. Jesus told the rich young ruler to sell all he had, give to the poor, and follow him. The man walked away sad because he was unwilling to do so. Jesus wasn’t trying to talk him out of following him; he was showing him what true discipleship looks like.
You cannot follow Christ half-heartedly. He doesn’t want lukewarm followers. Christianity is not about saying you believe in Jesus and then living life on your terms. It’s about giving your entire life to him. Are you choosing a comfortable version of Christianity, or are you choosing the true Christianity that Christ calls us to?
Following Jesus is uncomfortable. He calls us to go places we don’t feel ready for and to do things we don’t feel equipped for. I was a quiet, shy kid who didn’t like socializing. Yet, God called me to preach. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, he gave me a voice and transformed me. Now, I love people and embrace the mission he’s given me.
Christianity is uncomfortable for all of us. But will you follow that call faithfully? Jesus says, “Come be with me. I am an inexhaustible fountain of joy.” Yet, many of us are content with merely going to church or avoiding sin. That’s not real Christianity.
There’s a great warning against the gospel of comfort. Jesus says in Matthew 7:21–23: “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers.’”
This is frightening. These people think they’re following Christ, but they’re not. They cry out, “Lord, Lord,” listing all the things they’ve done for him, but Jesus says, “I never knew you.” Why? Because salvation isn’t about what we do. It’s about what he has done.
Just because I’m a Bible teacher doesn’t mean I get a special place in heaven. I’m a sinner saved by grace. Jesus redeemed me, and now I live as a slave to righteousness instead of a slave to sin. Yes, I still stumble and fall, but Jesus is faithful to forgive me.
What’s frightening is that many Christians believe they’re following Christ when they’re not. They think their actions—prophesying, performing miracles, and driving out demons—are enough to save them. But salvation doesn’t come from our works. It comes from knowing Jesus and living a life dedicated to him.
On judgment day, I don’t want to stand before him listing my accomplishments. I want to say, “My life was yours,” and hear, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” That’s the life I want to live, and it’s the life Titus is calling us to.
To change a godless culture, we must first examine ourselves. Are we truly following Christ or a version of him that we’ve created? Following the real Christ means struggle, sacrifice, and persecution. If your life lacks these, you might not be following him.
I’m horrified by the lack of fear in most Christians’ lives. Churches are filled with people who raise their hands in worship and participate in activities but don’t truly know God. These people are on their way to hell because no one was brave enough to present the full gospel to them.
The gospel is this: Believe in Jesus Christ, repent of your sins, and follow him wholeheartedly. Sharing this message isn’t easy. Following Christ is hard. It means persecution and discomfort. But the rewards far outweigh the sacrifices.
Paul encourages us in 2 Corinthians: “Our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.” Jesus gives us hope that our struggles in this life are building something greater.
Knowing this, can we sit idly while millions believe a false gospel? Can we be content coming to church every week without sharing the true gospel? Imagine standing before God and saying, “Sharing the gospel wasn’t my calling.” That’s not the life I want to live.
Look out into the culture and be bold. When you see false Christians, lovingly confront them with the real gospel. Pursue holiness. Don’t settle for comfortable Christianity. Strive to be more like Jesus every day.
Cultural Christianity is one of the greatest threats to the church. Millions believe they are saved when they are not. These are the people Titus warns us about. To change a culture, we must not only reach unbelievers but also confront those within the church who don’t know the true gospel.
This is a radical call. I’m committed to preaching the gospel to high schoolers, but I can’t transform the culture alone. It takes all of us working together. We must take up this challenge, pick up our cross daily, and follow Christ.
Titus challenges us to follow Christ in a godless culture, rebuke false teachings, and pursue sound faith. This means reading your Bible, being part of a covenant community, and living out the gospel. We won’t change the culture unless we accept this challenge and live out the true gospel.
Would you pray with me?
Unshakeable Faith: 2 Timothy 4:6-16
2 Timothy 4:6-16: Pastor Isaac Seggerman
I .Introduction
Review of Last Week:
Cultural Christianity:
- A dangerous distortion of faith that avoids life transformation.
2 False Gospels:
Prosperity Gospel: Using faith for personal or material gain.
Gospel of Comfort: Believing in Christ without true obedience or transformation.
Reflection Questions:
- Am I pursuing holiness daily?
- Am I choosing comfort over Christ?
- Am I sound in faith?
II. 2 Timothy 4:2-5
- Context: Timothy, a young preacher, was sent to lead a church in a hostile cultural environment.
- Paul’s Charge:
- Preach the Word in all seasons.
- Correct, rebuke, and encourage with patience and careful instruction.
- Prepare for resistance to sound doctrine as people seek teachings that suit their desires.
III. Seven Marks of Sound Doctrine
1. The Gospel is Central
- Key Verse: 1 Timothy 4:6
- The gospel is the foundation of Christian faith.
- Jesus Christ died for sinners, took the wrath of God, rose again, and offers salvation to all who believe.
- Not a past event but a present, sanctifying power
- Moralistic Therapeutic Deism: Reducing scripture to moral lessons instead of emphasizing God’s power and presence.
2. Avoid Irreverent and Silly Myths
- Key Verse: 1 Timothy 4:7
- Myths (then and now): Teachings that distract from Christ’s truth (e.g., prosperity gospel, self-help doctrines).
Two Teaching Styles:
- One Leads to godliness and life transformation.
- One Leads to moralism or vague inspiration without substance.
- Challenge: Teach the hard truths of scripture, even if it risks unpopularity.
3. Command and Teach Boldly
- Key Verse: 1 Timothy 4:12
- Set an example in speech, conduct, love, faith, and purity.
- Encouragement to Youth:
- Timothy was criticized for his youth but called to lead boldly.
- Young believers should use their zeal and energy to serve God, embracing opportunities to impact their community.
- Balance: Bold teaching requires love and humility, not arrogance or harshness.
4. Devotion to Scripture
- Key Verse: 1 Timothy 4:13
- Definition of Devotion: A complete commitment to knowing and living by God’s Word.
- Practical Steps:
- Spend daily time in scripture and prayer.
- Study scripture exegetically—verse by verse and in context.
- Build sermons from scripture, not vice versa.
- Practical Steps:
- Warning: Without personal devotion, teaching risks being shallow or misdirected.
5. Cultivate Growth
- Key Verse: 1 Timothy 4:15
- Spiritual gifts are given to be developed and used for God’s glory.
- Key Point: Never be satisfied with your current spiritual state; always strive to be more Christlike.
- Application:
- Reflect on areas for growth.
- Seek opportunities to serve and learn from others.
6. Watch Life and Doctrine Closely
- Key Verse: 1 Timothy 4:16
- A sound teacher’s life must align with their doctrine.
- Key Principle: Authenticity in faith impacts both the preacher and the hearers.
- Application:
- Be vigilant about personal holiness and consistency in teaching.
- Use self-reflection and accountability to stay grounded in truth.
7. Serve as a Leader
- Key Verse: Titus 1:9
- Sound doctrine equips leaders to refute false gospels and build strong communities.
Servant Leadership: Lead by serving, mirroring Christ’s humility and care.
IV. Application
For Preachers and Teachers:
- Anchor every teaching in the gospel.
- Avoid moralistic or feel-good distortions of scripture.
- Lead boldly with humility and love.
For Every Believer:
- Reflect on your own doctrine and lifestyle.
- Use your gifts to glorify God and serve your community.
- Commit to personal growth and devotion to scripture.
Encouragement:
- Timothy and Titus flipped hostile cultures by adhering to sound doctrine. You, too, can impact your community through faithful obedience.
Transcript is Auto-Captioned There May be Mistakes:
Like I said, we're going to do last week's review and then we're going to move into today's message. And actually today I'm teaching at a Second Timothy and I know we're in Titus, but this ties very well into the text and is a really important aspect of what we've been talking about. So last week we spoke on cultural Christianity's and the dangers of that. And the first thing we learned is that we must not watch cultural Christianity thrive, but must instead step out and do something about it. When we see people preaching a false gospel, we must take the initiative.
to go and to proclaim the true gospel to them. We must avoid the false gospels, and I said that there are two main ones, again, for one. One that somebody is portraying that is to gain something for themselves or gain something for somebody else that is not the true gospel. The other one is the gospel of comfort, which is the idea of you just can kind of believe in Jesus and live your life wherever you want and that's going to make it to heaven, which again is not the true gospel. These are both the dangers of cultural Christianity.
And then we ask this question, since we know cultural Christianity is dangerous, how do I know if I'm a cultural Christian? That's an important question to ask. And the first question that you need to ask yourself is, am I pursuing holiness? Are you trying to become more and more like Christ every day? Are you pursuing a better path for yourself? Second, are you choosing comfort over Christ? Are you choosing to live a comfortable life rather than live out boldly in the way that Christ has commanded you to? And lastly, are you sound in faith? And this last question is really important.
because we're going to talk about that today, being sound and faith and how important that is throughout the entire narrative of Titus. So here's Titus, this is Titus 1.9, we read this last week. He must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as that has been taught so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it. Okay, so we're going to move into Timothy which talks all about doctrine and the importance of sound doctrine. But the reason we're talking about that is because Titus says,
Listen, sound doctrine is so important so you may refute these false gospels that were so common in the land of Crete where he was trying to flip the culture. And first of all we have to ask what is doctrine? Doctrine is a word that's thrown around in churches a lot and there are several definitions for it but I would say this is the best definition. Doctrine is a world view by which we govern our lives. If our doctrine is based soundly upon scripture we can know we are walking in a path that God has designed for us.
So it's a lens that we look at the world through. That's what solid doctrine is. It's how we think the world works through what the Bible says, or more specifically, how faith works and how the Gospel works. It's an entire worldview because to be a Christian means you're flipping your entire worldview. You're not just changing a small aspect of your life where you believe in God now and you didn't before. It changes everything around you. The lens you look at the world through is entirely different. And so Titus says we need to have sound.
doctrine so we may refute these false gospels. So lastly we talked about the importance of fighting false gospels, but today we're going to talk about how we actually do that. So here is 2 Timothy 4-2. And to give you some context, Timothy, just like Titus, Paul is writing a letter to Timothy who has gone in to change the culture of a church and to preach to a church with a very hostile environment. And so Timothy is a young guy, probably about 30 years old, who has been sent out to change a culture.
And this is Paul writing to him, preach the word, be prepared in season and out of season, correct, rebuke and encourage with great patience and careful instruction. For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine and said to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside and miss. But you.
You, Timothy, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry. Okay, so this is a serious call coming from Paul to Timothy. He's saying, you need to go and I'm going to warn you, this culture does not like sound doctrine. They do not like Christ. They don't like anything that you're going to bring to them. And yet he says, I'm sending you out to go and proclaim the gospel to these people who do not really want to hear the gospel. And so this is a heavy call.
that he has been given, just like Titus. Actually, Titus and Timothy, in a lot of ways, are very similar. The only main difference is that Timothy is a preacher. Where Titus is going and establishing church leadership, Timothy is actually a preacher. And so before we get into everything else today, you have to understand that yes, while not all of us are going to be preachers or are preachers, all of us are called to preach the gospel in one way or another. And to know how to identify a false teacher will also help you to realize who you're listening to and if you should be listening to them.
And so we're going to go through the seven different marks that Timothy lines out in a very short paragraph of what a good doctrinal teacher looks like. That way you know how to proclaim the gospel in the way that it is to be proclaimed and you know how to look out for false teachers and refute them. So pay attention and fulfill your ministry, he says to Timothy. Teach sound doctrine, refuse fault ones. And then if we go from second Timothy all the way back to first Timothy, this is where all those seven marks are lined out.
Command and teach these things. Do not let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for believers in speech and conduct and love and faith and purity. This verse should be incredibly encouraging to you guys. Even though Timothy was about in his 30s and that was considered young at the time for a preacher, this is not like just a 30 year old man. This is to all young people, don't let...
people get down on you because you're young or to think that you don't know what you're talking about because you're young. I mean I am a young preacher. The average age of a pastor or even the average age of somebody who just gets up and talks is 55 years old in a church. So I'm way, way below that, which means that people are not going to like me simply for the fact that I'm young. I could have preached the same sermon as a 55 year old man and they will take it entirely differently because of my age. Because they'll say, well, he doesn't know enough. He hasn't had enough life experience.
And the truth is, yeah, I probably don't have as much life experience as a lot of people who have preached around me. But that doesn't mean that young people should not preach the gospel because they don't have the same amount of experience as an older man. Be encouraged about your age because you can actually use it to share the gospel in many powerful ways. I've experienced in my personal life people not liking me because of my age, especially
of raising up in this church. I preached my first official sermon at 21 years old. And to a lot of people, 21 year olds, by the way, if you look out into college, most 21 year olds are out partying and doing all sorts of dumb things, trying to get themselves killed in all sorts of ways, right? Like college kids are not the smartest people alive. And if you walk around to college, you will start to realize that. And so people automatically reflect that on me, and I promise you, they are going to deflect that on you. Oh, high schoolers are so dumb. They...
They can't do anything, you can't trust them with anything, I wouldn't trust a high schooler to do whatever. Don't let people discourage you because of your age, and he says, but instead, continue to preach the gospel, continue to be strong and bold in your faith, even when people get down on you.
Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of scripture, to preaching and teaching. Do not neglect your gift which has been given to you through prophecy in the body of the elders laid hands on you.
Be diligent in these matters, give yourself holy to them so that everyone may see your progress. Watch your life and doctrine closely, preserve in them, because if you do, you will save both yourselves and the hearers. So we're gonna break this down and pick out those seven different marks, but this last verse is really important. You will save yourself and your hearers. So he has called timothy not only to change a culture.
but to understand that it's going to sanctify not only Him, but also the hearers of who He is preaching to. And that word sanctification means the pursuit of holiness, trying to be more and more like Jesus. So actually it's a growing point for both Timothy and the people that he's going to preach to. And so he says, pay attention, have sound doctrine. Here's why we're gonna outline what sound doctrine looks like.
This is 1 Timothy 4, 6. This is the this is where our first most important section that we can pay attention to. If you point these things out to the brothers and sisters, you will be a good minister of Jesus Christ, which all of us want to be. So pay attention. Nourished on the truths of the faith. Word for the gospel on the truth of the faith and the good teaching that you have followed. The gospel matters in every letter that Paul writes. He's always saying.
preach the gospel in Romans, he says, I've been eager to bring to you the gospel. In Ephesians, he says, it is of most importance that you preach the gospel in accordance with the scriptures. Every time Paul writes, he says, first and foremost, you must understand the gospel, because if you don't grasp the gospel, you won't get anything else. And that's why I have preached it so perpetually in this room, because it is so damaging when we teach the gospel to be not what it really is.
There's this analogy that a long time ago, I had never heard it, I had never heard it before. And then my sister was telling me that, and in women's groups, they had this analogy where they would take a rose and they would say, look at this rose, look how beautiful it is, and then they tossed it out into the crowd and they say, everybody touch it, feel the petals, see what it feels like, feel the stalk, really smell the flower, and then they pass it around the room.
And by the time the preacher's done preaching, they bring back up the flower and it's like all broken, the petals are falling off. Like it's a flower that is really gross and messed up now. And then they hold up the flower and they say, now who would want this? Who would want this rose? And when she told me that for the first time, I was like, that's what they taught you? What was the moral to the story? And she said, well, the moral of the story is the more people you sleep around with, eventually no one's going to want you. That's the gospel message that was preached to them.
over and over and over again and then I began talking to other women realizing that women who grew up in my generation and slightly before that have been taught that over and over and over and over again that their value is based on what they have done either in their past or what they are going to do in the future the mistakes that they're gonna make are going to define them so so when he holds up that rose and he says who would want this rose Jesus wants the rose that's the point of the gospel
point that you're broken and tattered and nobody would want it but Jesus died for you anyway and he looked at you and he said you are my child Jesus wants the rose so when I hear that these damaging doctrines are being taught I begin to realize why women's self-esteem begin to drop so low because they've been taught their whole lives that their values based on who they've slept with it's ridiculous
that people are teaching this over and over again, because I thought, oh, maybe she was talking to a crazy person. This was like a one-off thing, till I began to talk to more and more women around my sister's age range and even around my age range, and that has been taught over and over and over again in women's Bible circles. If you ever hear that analogy, walk out of that room. Because they do not believe in the gospel. They believe you're defined by your mistakes. And if you're defined by your mistakes, I promise you, you're going to hell, and that's not a God I believe in, and that's not the gospel that's given to us in the Bible. The gospel.
matters. You have to know what it truly is. You have to know what it means. If we're going to teach any of the rest of scripture, you must understand that you couldn't save yourself. So Jesus came, died for you. He saved you, took the full wrath of God, rose again on the third day, so there is now no condemnation for those who believe in Christ Jesus. That's the gospel. And now we get to live day by day, every day, pursuing holiness, knowing that the gospel is constantly sanctifying us.
His spirit is constantly strengthening us. The gospel is not this past event alone, but it continues to empower us through every aspect of life. If it were not for the gospel, we would not be here right now. Because none of us would be saved, we'd be doing all these efforts for nothing. You must understand the gospel. That is the first mark of sound doctrine, is get a grasp of what that really means. Understand you can't and never will be able to save yourself.
Know that you're not defined by your mistakes and your values. Because things like that change. Your values change. You get mature. You realize the things that you've done in the past you shouldn't have done. And you ask for forgiveness. You move on. And God is faithful to forgive you. The gospel matters. Here's an issue that we run into in the church all the time. This is something that we talk about in Bible college. It's a fancy word. And it's moralistic, therapeutic deism, which is a really simple word for
moralistic centered teaching. Okay? So moralistic therapeutic deism is trying to pull out morals from the scripture rather than unpacking the power and person of Christ. It's what I mean by that is as most preachers today are more concerned with how the Bible applies to your personal life than actually teaching the gospel and teaching about who God is and who Jesus is and what they want for your life.
and we cannot stand for it. Grasp the gospel, understand that it saved you, and now you are to teach sound doctrine because of what Jesus did for you on that cross. The gospel is of first importance. First mark of sound doctrinal teaching, the gospel is central to everything that you do. Every sermon you preach should be gospel centered in one way or another. We're taught that again and again and again in biblical preaching, every sermon leads to the gospel.
Even if it's not teaching of Jesus' death, it must point to it in one way or another. This is how you are to present the gospel to new believers. If you're to be a sound doctrinal teacher, if you're to change the culture that you are in, you must understand the gospel and preach it to people in the way that it truly needs to be presented.
What we can do as teachers is like, you can teach something and you guys can learn to conform to those teachings. And conform means just to follow. You can learn to conform to those teachings. But the gospel is transformative, not conformative. Which means that I can't transform your hearts. I can ask you to conform to the things that scripture says, but I cannot transform your hearts. That's what you need the gospel for. I am not the Holy Spirit. Only the Holy Spirit can transform your heart. It's transformational. And transformation.
matters. The first step of doctrinal teaching, the first mark of doctrinal teaching is that the gospel is central.
And this is 2nd Timothy 4, 8 through 9. I'll just move on to the second mark. For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both present life and the life to come. This is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance. That is why we labor in stride, because we have put our hope in the living God who is the savior of all people, especially to those who believe. So I wanna go back to this first, oh, no, this is actually the wrong text. Okay.
Luckily I know this text in my head. I don't know how, so here's the second part, it says, avoid irreverent and silly myths, and yet teach what is true. That's what it says in Timothy. Avoid irreverent, silly myths. And I know that sounds like a little weird, like okay, the myths of Greek gods or whatever it is, but in today's context, how can we avoid these myths? There's two ways that you can preach a message. One way is, leads to godliness, and the other way leads to moralism.
or sometimes leads to nothing at all. I remember one time I was sitting under a preacher and he was preaching on the text in Matthew 7. Matthew 7 is actually what I talked about last week. It's the gate is narrow that leads to life, but the gate to hell is wide. And then the second part of that verse, which is many will say to me, Lord, Lord, will not enter the kingdom of heaven. It's a warning scripture that many people who think they're Christians really aren't because they're not fully devoting their lives to Christ. Okay?
So this is what this text is all about. And I'm ready for like the big part where the preacher is going to warn them and let them know that they need to be fully dedicated to Christ and that their lives need to, they need to lay down their lives for Him. And so He's reading through the scripture and I'm ready for the point. And He pulls out the very first point and I still remember to this day and I'll never forget it. Jesus loves you. And I remember feeling anger, like genuine anger. And I'm thinking, are you kidding me? Jesus loves you? Sure that's true.
That's not what the scripture's talking about in the slightest. It's a scripture warning that people are gonna go to hell who think they're on their way to heaven. And you're damning people by not telling them the truth. Because you're far too afraid to preach the reality of scripture. Because you're afraid that people are not gonna like you for preaching the truth. And guess what? They're right. As a preacher, if everybody likes you, you're not a good preacher. There's balance, right? You don't want everyone to hate you because that just means you're a jerk.
but there are gonna be people who don't like you for preaching the truth. People don't wanna be told you're gonna go to hell. People don't wanna be told that God has wrath and that there are consequences for our sins. People don't wanna be told that.
There's a way to teach that is irreverent and silly, which teaches people nothing. Because preachers say, well, I just don't want to hurt people, right? My job is to be nice and kind and heal people. But I'm telling you right now that is far more harmful than preaching to them the truth. Because in the end, it will condemn them. If they believe that the message of that scripture is Jesus loves you, they will never understand God's wrath and the complexities of God's character and the importance of devotion to Christ in their lives.
One way is irreverent and silly. And to teach doctrinally sound means that no matter what the scripture says, you preach it, and you preach it to its fullest, and you preach it passionately. There are many things that I get up here and don't want to talk about because they're hard things to talk about, and oftentimes very convicting for me. Like, do you know how weird it is as a preacher, oftentimes having to tell you guys, do this, do this, do this, right? Like that's kind of...
how preachers have to be, we call you out for your sin all the while struggling with the very same sin.
One way leads to godliness and one way we'll condemn people. Avoid irreverent silly myths.
Teach in a way that is doctrinal. Be devoted to preaching scripture at its fullest, no matter how hard things may get.
People avoid the truth in order not to hurt people, but the truth will set you free. That's what the Bible says. Even though the truth may hurt horribly. Not preaching the full gospel actually ends up harming them far more than preaching the truth ever will.
And that's a move on to the third mark. Command and teach these things. Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young. So we already read this, but pay attention to the tail end here. Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity. Okay, so this next mark is to command and to teach boldly by setting an example.
you need to set an example. And it says you set an example in what way? In your speech, in your conduct, in love, in faith, in purity. And that part right before, that part right about your youth is really important in context with this. Young people have a particular passion that older people tend to lose in life. And I think it has to do with when your young life really hasn't had the chance to beat that passion out of you yet. And as you get older, you begin to lose the passion and that zeal that you had.
But young people have this youthful angst that actually needs to be used to further the kingdom, that needs to be used to share the gospel. And yet I look around in a place like our high school, and I'm not seeing that at all, where youthful angst is being used to cause a revival in whatever area you might be in, which is the call of the whole book of Titus, to start a revival in your area. Use your youthful angst and zeal and passion and ability to just simply have energy and put on...
different things that will help people come to Jesus to stay up later at night or whatever it may be. Being young has some serious benefits when it comes to furthering the kingdom. Don't think because I'm young I can't do these things, but instead think because I'm young I actually have the ability to do so much more than older people often can do because I still have that passion and that energy and that angst.
It says command and teach these things. We are to preach and command boldly, but we also have to lead by example, which means that you can't go with somebody and yell at them how they're going to hell, even though it may be true, that is not following by example in love and conduct and speech. Instead, we are to share the gospel for what it really is.
The truth is scary and many people are going to reject it. And the Bible is very clear that to some people, the gospel will always be something that they will never attain. They will never grasp it. That's what the Bible says. As a matter of fact, it says that if they spend a long enough time, uh, not pursuing the things of God, that they're just going to walk off and they will never come back to him. It's called a radical abandonment and it's taught in Romans over and over and over again.
To some people, the gospel will always be rejected.
So when you preach to people, do keep that in mind. That even though they may reject it, your job is to preach it boldly and proudly and with passion, and it's not your job how they receive it. It's your job to preach it. If they choose to receive it, that is amazing, and people are transformed in really powerful ways through people coming up and sharing the gospel. But if you preach to them again and again and again, and they have not been transformed, you can't carry that weight on your shoulders. Your job isn't to save, it's to preach the gospel boldly.
Command these things boldly. Use your youthful angst. Don't get down on yourself because you are young. Know that your youth has an incredible effect. There is massive potential in this room to share the gospel in our local community and all around the world. And what it takes is you to realize in your youth that you need to not waste this time. Step out in faith, start a revival, and cause a massive flip in your communities.
Command and teach boldly.
As we're moving through, we have the seven marks of sound doctrinal teaching. You must have the gospel central, avoid the irreverent miss teaching a way that leads to godliness command and teach boldly. And then we move to our fourth mark. Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for believers in all purity until I come, devotes yourselves to scripture, to preaching and to teaching.
Okay, so again, don't get down on yourself because you have this massive potential, but if you are going to share the gospel, you must be devoted to scripture. That's really important. Have devotion to scripture. Devotion is a very specific word that does not mean like a partial interest in. Devotion is you live your life for that thing. Have devotion to scripture. Spend time with God in His word. Spend time reading your Bible.
I mean, I can't tell you how many times people say, well, how am I to share the gospel with other people? How am I to share scripture with others? I'm like, well, are you reading the Bible yourself? Are you reading the gospel yourself? Are you reminding yourself of what Jesus has done for you every day? And they're like, no, then you're not ready. You can't teach scripture if you don't know scripture. That's like a math teacher getting up and teaching math, not knowing math, it's ridiculous. And yet Christians do it all the time. We don't read scripture ourselves, but we sure look at people and judge them when they're not reading.
they're acting in a different way than we do. We believe in God, but don't really read scripture. But we're called to be devoted to scripture.
I don't know if you've noticed, but in this room, we often teach in a way that is exegetical. And what exegetical means is that we break down scripture verse by verse, and then we use other verses to support it. It's really important that exegetical teaching is deeply rooted in every ministry. Because if you are to do teaching where you just pull some verses from here and there and other places, you don't have a core text you're teaching from, you'll end up teaching your own personal bias. No matter what, you just will. You should never.
Build scripture around your main points. Your main points should always be derived from scripture. It's another way to identify a false teacher. Are they using scripture to confirm their own biases, or are they pulling their points from the scriptures? Be devoted to scripture. Read your Bible. Spend time alone with God. And you'll notice the more time you spend with God, the more time you spend devoted to his word, he will slowly change your heart and radically transform you into
person that you never knew you could be. Just read the Bible consistently for a couple weeks and you will see a major difference in how you conduct yourself in your daily life. Be devoted to Scripture. So verse 12 and 13, two different points, we read verse 12 earlier. Be an example of Christ in speech and in conduct and in everything you do and then to be devoted to Scripture.
If we know we're called to share the gospel, we know we're called to teach scripture, we ought to read it and we ought to know it and be devoted to it. Do not preach scripture unless you live your life by it. And that doesn't mean you're not like you can't make mistakes or that you're going to sin. Trust me, every single one of us sin, but we try to live our lives in accordance with the scriptures. And then I remind myself and preach the gospel to myself every day, every single time I fail. And it makes me more and more thankful of what my
Savior did for me, because I fail every day and he continues to forgive me. To teach scripture, you must know scripture.
And then it continues, do not neglect your gift, which has been given to you through prophecy when the body of elders laid their hands on you. Be diligent in these matters. Give yourself holy to them so that everyone may see your progress. This is all about cultivating growth within yourself. So, like I said earlier, oftentimes when you're writing a sermon, you'll realize that everything that you're writing about, like applies to you in one way or another. Right? Because the scripture applies to all of us.
And oftentimes the most transformative times in my personal life actually hasn't even been from listening to preachers, but instead writing sermons myself. Not because I have this special power because my own words inspire me, but because as I study the Bible and as I begin to realize what the scripture actually says and I study the Bible really in depth, I begin to realize what a broken person I really am. So as teachers, we must not get this pride about ourselves that because we know more about the Bible, that we're somehow better than other people.
You must keep this humility, what I like to call a ferocious humility.
where you understand that you were in the same place as the people that you were preaching to at some point. And at times you might even be in a worse place than the people that you're preaching to. And again, doesn't mean you're up on a stage with a microphone preaching. All of us are called to preach the gospel in one way or another.
And so in our study, in our devotion to scripture, we need to make sure we're cultivating growth. We should not be satisfied with where we are at. I find that oftentimes as Christians, we get to a certain point where we're like, well, I'm reading my Bible, I'm in a small group, I'm going to church, I'm devoted, I'm teaching at whatever, at school, whatever it may be. And then we're just kind of satisfied with where we are.
But if we're called to be like Jesus, and I know none of you are there yet, and never will be until Jesus comes back, we can always be more and more like Christ. We can always work on ourselves, always improve ourselves, and we must strive to do that. You have been given particular gifts, like Timothy says. Timothy was given the gift of preaching that might not be your gift, it may be, but there are so many gifts that can be used to proclaim the gospel in many different ways.
like relational skills for example, is a huge gift of the spirit. Being able to walk up and talk to anybody. I have a friend named Tyler and he's like one of those guys that he can walk up to anybody and be their best friend within a few seconds and I'm like dude you've been talking for five minutes what do you mean you invited him over to your house right? Like he just has the gift of relationships and so he can preach the gospel in that way. So whatever your gift may be it can be used for the gospel. You've been given these particular gifts so keep growing in those gifts.
Keep cultivating growth, stay devoted to scripture, don't be satisfied with where you are at. And then in verse 16, we get a really important, this is the end part that I was talking about at the beginning. Watch your life and doctrine closely, preserve in them, because, persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourselves and your hearers. Now I wanna be clear, you are not responsible for your hearers' salvation, okay?
that does not mean that you can save anybody. This is talking about good sound doctrinal teaching that leads to godliness. If someone gets up and preaches every week and they never present the gospel, you're inhibiting them from the ability to live out all that they've been called to live out because they don't understand the gospel because you've refused to preach it to them.
Watch your life and doctrine closely, which means watch yourself and your hearers. And it's a little different in a church. It's my responsibility to watch over you guys. Like that's what my job is, is to cultivate relationship with you guys, teach the Bible to you guys. And so for some of you, you might not have a particular body that you take care of, but you do live in a community. You do go to a school. You have some sort of community somewhere.
whether it's sports or school or a job. And as a Christian, you have been called to have leadership over those people by preaching to them the gospel, to watching over them, to serving them in the way that leaders are called to serve those who they teach to. Last week we had our Thanksgiving feast and the whole idea with that was is that as leaders, we are called to serve and so we got to serve you guys in the most literal way possible.
Because that's really important as leaders that you lead from a servanthood style of leadership. That doesn't mean weakness. It means that you care about the people that you are preaching to, which sometimes means you must preach to them the truth. So here's these last two marks. Cultivate self-growth, which means don't be satisfied with where you're at, and watch your life in doctrine.
Number one, the gospel must be the center of all that you do. You must understand the gospel for what it truly is, and you must preach it faithfully. You must refute the false gospels that people will try to bring to you. Avoid irreverent silly myths. Preach in a way that leads to godliness that doesn't condemn people. Preach in a way that is preaching the true scripture no matter how hard it may be. Be an example of Christ in all that you do.
If you do not live out what you preach, no one will ever take you seriously. I promise you that. You must live out what you preach. So if you say, I feel like I'm being called right now to go and preach the gospel to whoever it may be, you must know you must live out what you're preaching.
devoted to scripture. One of the great ways to be devoted to scripture is being in a place like this where you're being taught scripture. But I can't build a personal relationship with you and God. You must spend time in His word alone. Spend time praying with Him. Be devoted to scripture and be devoted to sharing the gospel. Cultivate self growth. Don't be satisfied with where you are at. Know you can always get better. That doesn't mean you need to hate yourself or get down on yourself.
As a matter of fact, self-pity will destroy you. Doesn't mean don't be happy. It just means always persevere. Always try to pursue holiness. Always try to be more and more like Jesus. And lastly, watch your life and your doctrine. Watch how you live. Watch the way that you preach. And if you do that, it will save yourself and your hearers. So you've been given a responsibility in the book of Titus. It says that you need to have sound doctor.
and refute false gospels. And these seven marks are the seven marks of doctrinal teaching. So one, you know how to preach the gospel in a way that you're being called. You know how to live your life as a Christian leader in the way that you're being called. And you know when you're listening to a preacher or you're listening to a leader, you know how to identify a false leader through these marks that are pulled out for us in Timothy
Never stop trying to change the culture that you're living in. And the only way you will flip a culture is by living according to this. This is the call Timothy was given. If he follows all these things, he can change a culture. And he did. And so did Titus, which means that it's encouraging for us that even though it may take time, it's going to take your youthful passion and your ability to go out and share the gospel and teach the scriptures for what they truly are. And you can change and flip a culture.
Even if you don't believe it, I promise you, you can. Paul traveled around the world and transformed country after country after country. One man going around starting and planting churches. So if you think you can't change the culture of a small town like Le Grand, you're wrong. That's an encouragement to you. Follow these things. And next week we'll move into Titus 2, where it talks a little bit more about sound faith and doctrinal teachings. Remember when you hear have sound doctrine.
this is what it's talking about. Would you pray with me?
The Imitation Game: Titus 2:1-5
The Imitation Game: Titus 2:1-5
Pastor Andrew Claudson
I. Introduction:
- Recap of sound doctrine from the last session.
- Today’s focus: The influence of imitation in shaping identity and faith.
- Personal stories of imitating a father and friends, leading to both positive growth and personal challenges.
Key Scripture Passages:
Titus 2:1-5
- Call for sound doctrine and godly living.
- The importance of spiritually mature individuals modeling Christlike behavior.
Hebrews 13:7
- Remember and imitate spiritual leaders who live out the gospel.
- Philippians 3:17 and 1 Corinthians 11:1
- Paul’s exhortation to imitate him as he imitates Christ.
II. The Impact of Imitation
- Everyone imitates someone, consciously or subconsciously.
- Modern influencers, like Joanna Gaines, highlight the pervasive nature of imitation.
- Christians are called to imitate Christ and those who exemplify His life.
III. Characteristics of Someone Worth Imitating:
1. Speaking Truth and Grace:
- James 3:4-5: The power of the tongue to build or destroy.
- Ephesians 4:29: Words should build others up and reflect Christ’s love.
2. Serving Others Selflessly:
- Mark 10:45: Jesus exemplified serving others, even to the point of giving His life.
- Serving isn’t optional; it’s integral to following Christ.
3. Forgiving as Christ Forgave:
- Colossians 3:13: Forgive others as Christ forgave you.
- Reference to the parable of the unforgiving servant (Matthew 18:21-35).
4. Enduring Trials with Faith:
- James 1:2-4: Trials strengthen faith and build steadfastness.
- Trusting God’s plans through difficulties leads to spiritual growth.
IV. Practical Applications:
- Evaluate your influences: Who are you imitating, and are they Christlike?
- Be someone worth imitating: Reflect Christ’s character in actions, words, and attitudes.
- Commit to spiritual disciplines:
- Deuteronomy 6:6-7: Teach and live the gospel daily.
- Psalm 145:4: Pass God’s truth to the next generation.
V. Conclusion:
- Self-reflection: Are you imitating Christ?
- Call to action: Make changes where necessary to model Christ authentically.
- Emphasis on hope and forgiveness through the gospel.
Transcript is Auto-Captioned There May be Mistakes:
So last time we did talk about sound doctrine. And so as we dive deeper into the series of counterculture, we are going to be looking at the imitating game today. And so I wanna start with a few little stories. When I was a wee little lad, I followed my dad everywhere. I followed him around the house, I followed him at church where he was the pastor at. If he was on the roof, I was on the roof.
usually not wearing a safety harness because who needs those? And if he was in the crawl space that was spider infested, I would muster up the courage and go down there with him because I wanted to do what my dad did. I wanted to be him when I grew up. And so there's this one example that I can think of. When I was in elementary school, I don't remember the grade, but my dad was playing guitar on stage on a Sunday morning. I was like, I want to do that.
The next Sunday, I was on stage playing the electric guitar. They had me muted because I did not know how to play the electric guitar, and I just stood there awkwardly. And I still look back to that day and realize, why did I do that? But I wanted to do that because I wanted to be like my dad when I...
And that's a good story of imitating. I want to be my dad. My dad was my hero growing up. But being a PK, being a pastor's kid, it's the, well, your life was always kind of perfect. And so back in 2021-ish, I was hanging out with this amazing group of friends. And they...
They were godly friends and I was like, I wanna imitate these guys. We're having deep theological conversations. They just, they love the Lord, I want to have that. Well, they had a slight drinking problem. They got me hooked onto spiced rum and then I started drinking vodka, straight, and then it went to whiskey.
And I was a borderline alcoholic by the time I was trying to sober up. And so when these guys would drink, if they were on drink eight, and let's say I was on drink four, I had to catch up because they were the model to be. And so I would play the catch up game, which is never a fun game to play. And you should never play it to catch up because that's
where I thought a godly person, that's who I thought a godly person was. I have been sober now for almost, for a little over a year and a half. I've noticed change. I've had, I ruined relationships because of that, because I was imitating the wrong group. Friendships that I will probably never have ever again, because I ruined them that bad.
And so. Imitation grows you. It makes you you. You look up to people and you want to be them. And so it starts changing who you are to be more like them. And if you're thinking, well, there's nobody that I follow that I want to imitate, well, that is just a lie that you should stop telling yourself. Because in this age,
Everybody follows everybody. Look at Instagram. Okay, there's influencers, a whole lot of them out there, but if we were to say one influencer only had 10,000 followers, some of those followers, if not majority, will try to live their life how influencer shows that they're living their life, and they try and model that.
One big influencer that I can think of is Joanna Gaines. Do we all know who that is? Yes. Okay. She has roughly 13 million followers on Insta. So if she is influencing a lot of people and she's showing like, oh, these are all my fancy paint colors.
or this is how I design all of my fixer uppers, people are like, I want to paint like that. I want to design my house like that. And it's just this big magnitude of people. But if we were to take a step back, because that's the only one person, there's roughly 65 million of these influencers on Instagram alone. Okay, that's not TikTok, that's not what all the other platforms you guys use.
My Space, if you guys still use that. No? So there's a lot of influencers, and you all probably follow more than just one. You probably are like, ooh, I like this person, I like this person. And so all of these, this pool of influencers have an influence on your life. And you will begin to mold your life to what they show, and you are imitating those people.
And so my question to you is who are you actually imitating? Are you imitating Jesus just because that's the easy answer and we're at youth group or are you imitating somebody on the gram, on TikTok, at school or whatever, who are you actually imitating?
And so we'll dive in to Titus 2, 1 through 5. But as for you, teach what accords with sound doctrine. Older men are to be sober-minded, dignified, self-controlled, sound in faith, in love, and in steadfastness. Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanders or slaves to too much wine. They are to teach what is good. And so train the young women to love their husbands and children.
to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind and submissive to their husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled." This is God's design for... This is God's design. Older men and women are called to be an example of godliness, to teach and to model a behavior that is of Christ.
Now this isn't just talking about age, and yes, we should still look up to those older people with gray hair, like our fellow friend back there, Isaac.
Sorry, man. What Paul is saying is that we need to be looking up to those who are spiritually more mature, who are spiritually older than us, to use them as the example. Because if we imitate them, if they are sharing life with us, that will all lead towards God's kingdom..
So let's look at Hebrews 13,7. Remember your leaders who, those who spoke to you the word of God. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith. Remember the spiritual leaders that have impact in your life. Remember them who are teaching you the gospel, the true gospel, the sound doctrine of God's word.
Remember them and model their faith so that you can live like that. Model make your life look like how they are modeling their faith. Because if you're not, then what are you doing? Are you modeling after whatever Instagram follower you're after? We need to follow the biblical leaders. that will help us with our faith.
In Philippians, Paul says, brothers, join in imitating me and keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us. And then in 1 Corinthians, it says, be imitators of me as I am of Christ. Paul is saying, he's telling his audiences, hey, copy what I am doing. Whatever I'm doing, do that. Because I imitate Christ.
And if I'm imitating Christ, then you too are imitating Christ. Because that is what my example is. Is God's example.
When Christ is our model, people who imitate us will imitate Christ. Therefore, if you are imitating someone who is modeling Christ, then you will model Christ for whoever is going to imitate you. So we need to be someone worth imitating.
If we want to make an impact on culture. We need to imitate and be someone to imitate for those around us to follow what God is doing.
We need to become godly examples for those around us. Not just our friends, not just our family, but for the people who are walking down the hall and they look and they see you. We need to be imitating Christ to everyone.
But how do we do that? Great question. Deuteronomy 6, 6 through 7. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children and shall talk to them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise. Now this is targeting parents to talk to their children. And I understand that none of you are parents. And so that's a good job. Way to beat that.
Keep fighting that fight. But when you have children, when that time comes, when God grants you that, you are to teach them the gospel. That God sent his only son to earth to live a perfect and holy life.
to die on the cross for our sake. The cost of sin is death. That is where we are headed. But Jesus paid that price with a gruesome death on the cross, something that we absolutely deserve.
But God being rich in mercy and grace, gifted us His Son to die on that cross. and three days later rose from the grave, defeating death, defeating sin once and for all.
Because of the gospel, we don't have to be perfect. We don't have to imitate Christ perfectly, because we never will. You have started sinning from since you were born. You would never be able to be perfect.
The grace of the gospel ensures us that we are forgiven when we fail. Jesus has already paid the price.
When we fail, when that happens, we are still free in Christ. We are forgiven. And as we lead those who are younger than us, both physically and spiritually,
we must remind them of this gospel truth. so that they don't feel alone in their struggles. Because everybody has struggles. Everybody deals with it. and that they would always know that there is always hope in Jesus Christ.
No matter where you are in life, whether you're in the depths of whatever you're going through, there is always hope. Jesus is always reaching out His hand, asking you, come grab my hand, help. I will help you out of this. You just have to reach out and grab it.
There is always hope in Jesus. We must teach them the gospel. We must teach them how to love the Lord God Almighty. How we read our Bible, how we pray to Him. The more you read it, the more and more you fall in love with the one who created us.
And we must do this all the time. We can't do this, oh, I'm gonna do it on Mondays and Tuesdays, but then the rest of the week I'm not gonna do it. We have to do this all the time.
In Psalm 145, four, one generation shall command your works to another and shall declare your mighty acts. God will be carried throughout all generations and all generations will be praising His name.
It won't be just our generation or the generation before. It's gonna continue all the way into the future. It will continue when Jesus comes back for a second time and saves us from this pit that we are in called earth.
So we now understand that we need to be someone to impact, to, we need someone to be worth imitating.
If we truly want to impact culture, we need to be someone worth imitating. But we're all in high school. We can't wait to see general, uh, not general, generational change. Cause we can't wait that long. We want to see change now. And so how, how do we do it?
What are some practical examples of imitating Christ? I can do now. Someone worth imitating requires speaking in truth and in grace.
James 3, 4 through 5, look at the ships also, though they are so large and driven by strong winds, they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things. How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire. We need to control our tongues. We don't need to grab onto our tongue and hold it hostage.
because that's gross. But we need to control what we are saying. If we are the negative Nancy type, we just need to keep our mouth shut because if negative things are coming out, that does not reflect Christ. Ephesians 429, let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up as fits for the occasion.
that it may give grace to those who hear. We are to build people up with what we say, not tear people down.
so that it may benefit those around who hear it. And we're still not talking about our friends. They probably should hear us building them up, but the people who walk past us, who hear glimpses of conversation, so that they can also hear the good that is building people up. And so if you could think about everything that you said today, which is probably a lot.
If somebody saw all of that, would they say, wow, they are a good example of Christ? Or would they say, I never knew that he was a follower of Christ? He never told me about the gospel. Yeah, he talked about Jesus from time to time, but they never shared Christ with me. They never acted like Christ.
What would they say? Someone worth imitating requires serving others selflessly.
Mark 10, 45. For even the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many. Growing up in the church, I started at a young age serving Christ, and I knew that I needed to serve Christ not as my own being, but to put me aside and worship God. Serve Him.
through all of it. Serve others by serving Christ. And it's mind-boggling when some Christians say, it's not for me, serving's not for me. Like, there's a bunch of people already in the church serving, but they don't need me to serve. That is the dumbest thing I've ever heard. Because they are.
surrounding themselves. They're putting God into their schedule and saying, God, you can work on a Sunday and on a Tuesday, but any other day I'm done. They're the ones that are going to church regularly. They're going to a Bible study once a week or at least when they can. And that's it. They're thinking, God's got all of... He's gotten everything that I can give. Now I'm going to focus on myself. But that's not what we are to do. Even the son of man came to serve and not be served.
Why should you be the one being served if you're not going to go out and serve? The one who died on the cross to save you still served. He washed people's feet. And yet you're there thinking, hmm, I've gone to church. I've done my due diligence. I'm done. I don't need to do anything else.
they make it about themselves, how they can glorify themselves over the one that created them and the one that died for them. They want to glorify who they are.
Someone worth imitating requires forgiving as Christ forgave. I find this one difficult because I have to get over my own pride and say, look, I'm sorry for doing this. When I had that friend that I ruined, that friendship I ruined, that brought me to tears. I knew I had to forgive. I knew everything that happened leading up to that. And it was so hard, admitting that I was wrong.
Cautions three, bearing with one another, and if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other, as the Lord has forgiven you, so you must also forgive. You have to get past yourself. You have to get past yourself and humble yourself and just.
I'm sorry. I'm sorry for what I have done. Or the other way around where somebody hurts you and they keep hurting you and you still have to forgive them.
This makes me think of the parable of the unforgiving servant that Isaac spoke on at the beginning of the year in Matthew 18. It's where Jesus tells a parable of a master who has a, one of his servants has a huge, massive debt to this guy. And the master goes up and is like, hey, you gotta give me your money or else I'm going to fire you.
I'm gonna sell you, sell your wife, sell your children, sell everything that you have." And the guy's like, no wait, like have mercy on me. Like I can get that, I can pay you. And the master says, you're right, and forgives the debt. Well, that servant, that wonderful servant goes and his fellow servant has some, a little debt against servant, the first servant.
And he's demanding him to pay him his like $10. And he won't, he's begging for mercy, but he won't give it to him. Servant A throws servant B into jail so that he can slowly pay off his debt in jail.
And then the master gets word and says, what are you doing? Why? I gave you mercy and you did not do that to your fellow servant. And ends up throwing him into prison until he could pay off his debt, his massive debt.
And so if we are wanting to imitate Christ, we must learn to forgive. We must learn to forgive, not like that first servant where we demand what we think we need. We need to forgive like it's the first offense, like Jesus does every time to us. Over and over and over again.
Someone worth imitating requires enduring trials with faith. James 1, 2 through 4. Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness, and let steadfastness have its full effect that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. When you are in the weeds, when you are
struggling with whatever is going on with either anger issues or just anything, rely fully on God. He will get you through whatever it is that you are struggling with, no matter how big or how small. If you're thinking, oh it's not that bad, I can just jump over it and be fine, something will go wrong. It always does. Hold fast.
God and He will get you through whatever it is. He will always be by your side. Reach out your hand, grab on, and walk with Him out. Hold fast to your faith. And I asked this question at the beginning, who are you actually imitating? Hopefully a
And if you are actually imitating that person, if someone was imitating you, would they be a good example of Christ? If you're thinking, yes, then what can you do to make sure that that continues to happen? What needs, if something needs to change, change it so that you can continue producing Christ-centered models. People who can continue to imitate Christ from here on out for the rest of their lives. If you answered no.
What needs to change? What needs to get surgically removed from your body so that you can start imitating Christ so that others can be imitating Christ off of you?
How can you be that model to the younger crowd, the less mature in their faith crowd? Maybe you need to stop being that negative Nancy. Start speaking truth and grace. Keep your mouth shut for a little bit, hopefully. Think before you say.
If people see Christ through what you say, say that, but if they don't, don't say it at all. Maybe you have a, you just think it's all about me. I need to serve myself. Myself comes first. My schedule comes first.
Maybe that needs to get turned around and you need to let go of those life plans. Let go of what you want out of this life and just turn it over to God and say, God, I'm here for you. Let me be a worker for you. Let me serve you in all that I do. I don't want to be any part of it. I want myself taken away and I want you to come through me. and reach the people around me. I wanna be able to serve those around.
Maybe you just want... to have all this hate build up in you against all the people that have done wrong to you or the wrong that you have done to others. Maybe you need to sit down, take a knee, and just weep a little bit and just go through and start forgiving, asking for forgiveness from those around who see. you not imitating Christ. Maybe you need to start enduring trials with faith.
When hardship comes, it's really easy to say, all right, I'm gonna do this, this, and this, and this will hopefully get me out. Maybe we just need to take a step back. Let God do his work. Hold onto him, because his plan is ultimately better than you could ever imagine.
We need to be someone worth imitating. To our friends, to our family, to our coworkers, and to the people that pass us in the hallway, we need to be showing Christ to them as we walk. Will you pray with me?
A Ferocious Longing: Titus 2:11-15
Longing for Christ: Titus 2:11-15
I. God’s Grace is for Everyone
Titus 2:11
"For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people."
- God’s grace is all-encompassing: It is available to everyone—regardless of their past. No sin is too great for God’s forgiveness.
- We cannot earn this grace: As Ephesians 2:8-9 reminds us, salvation is a gift from God, not a result of works.
Reflection Question: Do I sometimes feel like I need to earn God’s grace? How can I rest in the truth that grace is a gift?
II. Grace Transforms Our Lives
Titus 2:12
"Training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age."
- The Gospel trains us: God’s grace doesn’t just save us; it teaches us how to live lives that reflect Him.
- Renounce ungodliness: Turn away from actions and attitudes that dishonor God.
- Live self-controlled lives: This includes having a focused and sound mind centered on Christ.
- Turn from worldly passions: Let go of fleeting pleasures and pursue eternal joy in God.
Reflection Question: What worldly passions or distractions do I need to renounce to focus more fully on Christ?
III. Our Blessed Hope: Christ’s Return
Titus 2:13
"Waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ."
- Jesus took our place: He redeemed us from all lawlessness, purifying us as His chosen people.
- Living with hope: As believers, we eagerly await Christ’s return, knowing that He will restore all things.
Reflection Question: Am I living with an active anticipation of Christ’s return?
IV. Developing a Heart That Longs for Christ
Key Question: Why don’t we always yearn for Christ like we should?
- We are too easily satisfied: Our souls often settle for temporary, worldly pleasures that leave no room for the greatness of God.
Examples of longing for God:
- David: Psalm 63:1 – "My soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you."
- Paul: Romans 8:18 – "The sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us."
- John Owen: He longed to be so consumed with Christ’s glory that nothing else mattered.
Key Point:
If men and women Biblically and historically long for Christ, as well as all creation, the big question stands "WHY DON'T WE?"
5. Practical Steps to Long for Christ
1. Reject the Satisfaction of the World
- Count everything as loss compared to knowing Christ (Philippians 3:8).
- Recognize that sin overpromises and under-delivers every time.
2. Live a Life Fueled by Grace
- Let the Gospel shape your actions and attitudes.
- Reflect God’s grace to others by living with humility and gratitude.
3. Dwell on God’s Infinite Nature
- Spend intentional time with God, reflecting on His infinite love and grace.
- Realize that there is always more of God to know and pursue.
4. Find What Stirs Your Affections for God
- Identify practices or environments that help you feel closer to God, such as being in nature, listening to sermons, or worshiping through music.
5. Remember the Futility of the World
- This world is temporary. Place your hope in Christ, knowing that He will one day restore all things.
Reflection Question: Which of these steps can I take this week to grow in my longing for Christ?
6. Final Challenge
Key Truth: "Count everything as loss compared to the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord." (Philippians 3:8)
- Don’t try to fix yourself before coming to Christ. He is the one who cleanses and transforms you.
- Live with the knowledge that without Christ, everything is meaningless. Don’t let anything—no matter how good it seems—take priority over Him.
Prayer
"Lord, help us to see the things of this world as temporary and unworthy of our ultimate affection. Give us a deep longing for You, one that shapes our thoughts, actions, and desires. May Your grace transform us and train us to live lives that reflect Your glory. Thank You for Your infinite love and for calling us Your own. Amen."
Transcript is Auto-Captioned There May be Mistakes:
Today, we're going to be studying Titus 2:11-15, the end of Titus 2, and then moving into chapter 3, the final chapter in this book. Last week, we talked about making Christianity attractive, a phrase Paul specifically used when writing to Titus. We learned that we need to live as walking, breathing examples of the Gospel.
What I mean by that is you reflect the King you worship. If someone is looking at you and sees your actions, the way you live your life, and all the things you do, are you reflecting your King well? That was the question we asked last time.
Some practical ways we can make Christianity attractive include refuting pragmatic teaching, killing Christian snobbery, and realizing we did nothing to save ourselves. People should look at us and say, "Those people are full of grace, not pride." Don't be self-righteous because a self-righteous Christian is an oxymoron. Thinking yourself righteous actually makes you not righteous at all.
We make Christianity attractive by living in accordance with how God tells us to live. But the problem is that we often see this as a list of dos and don’ts—this is how you live a good Christian life. This kind of mindset can lead to pragmatism, where we feel better than others because we think we’re living slightly better lives.
The text we’re going to look at today will talk about the “why” behind it all—why all of this matters. Paul ties it up beautifully at the end of Titus 2. Let’s dive into Titus 2:11-15.
"For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people."
This word "all" is significant. In the previous verses, Paul had outlined roles for men and women—older men training younger men, and older women training younger women. He emphasizes that God's grace is for everyone—not just for men or women, but for all people. And when we say "all," we mean everyone: the murderer, the thief, the rapist, the serial killer. God's grace is for all.
This grace is unearned. As Ephesians 2:8-9 says, "For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast."
We’ve talked about this over and over—you did nothing to save yourself. You could do all the good works Paul describes, but it still wouldn’t save you. We were all broken, hurting, and in need of Jesus’ resurrecting power. The Bible says we were dead in our transgressions and sins. We needed a supernatural, resurrecting power. That’s why pragmatic teaching will never work. None of us is better than anyone else because we were all born broken.
Let’s move on to verse 12:
"Training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age."
What trains us? God’s grace. The Gospel. It trains us to renounce ungodliness, worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives.
The Greek word for "self-controlled" here has a nuance—it doesn’t just mean discipline. It also refers to having a focused or sound mind. Paul talks about having a sound mind that is fully focused on Christ. That’s what the Gospel does—it trains us to act in Godly ways, turn away from worldly passions, and live with a focused mind on Him.
Let’s continue with verse 13:
"Waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works."
Jesus gave himself for us. The word “for” here means "instead of"—he gave himself instead of us. We couldn’t uphold the law, but Jesus took our place. Romans 3:23 says, "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." No one was able to uphold the law, but Jesus took our place, bore our punishment on the cross, and paid our debt.
This is why it’s not about what you do or don’t do. You could do it all, and in the end, you would still lose without Christ. The word "us" in this passage is a specific Greek term referring to God’s special or chosen people. Ephesians 1:4 says, "Even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him in love."
Being holy and blameless means being without fault. Yet none of us is blameless or righteous. That’s Paul’s point—Jesus took our place so that we could be in right standing before God, not because of what we’ve done, but because of what He did.
Verse 15 concludes:
"Declare these things; exhort and rebuke with all authority. Let no one disregard you."
Paul is urging Titus to boldly declare this Gospel, exhort people with sound doctrine, and rebuke false teaching. Live in such a way that no one can accuse you of wrongdoing.
Now, let’s reflect on an important question: How do we develop a heart that longs for Christ?
Have you ever been in a position where you’re going to church, attending youth group, reading your Bible, and raising your hands during worship, yet inside, you feel spiritually dead? Sometimes, even when you do everything right, you can feel distant from God.
This longing for Christ is something we see in men and women in the Bible and throughout history. Take King David, for example. In Psalm 63, he writes:
"O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water."
David’s yearning for God is so intense that he compares it to physical thirst and hunger. He cannot live without God’s presence.
Similarly, Psalm 42 captures this yearning:
"As the deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God?"
This isn’t a cute verse to be framed on a wall—it’s a cry of desperation. David is longing for God so deeply that it feels painful.
Throughout history, we see similar examples, like John Owen, who wrote in The Glory of Christ:
"Oh, to behold the glory of Christ! Herein would I live, herein would I die, herein would I dwell in my thoughts and affections, until all things here below become as dead and deformed things, in no longer any way calling out for my affections."
Owen’s desire was to be so consumed with the glory of Christ that everything else faded in comparison.
Paul echoes this yearning in Romans 8:18:
"For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us."
Paul had an unwavering focus on Christ. No matter what he faced—beatings, imprisonment, or even the threat of death—he didn’t waver. When threatened, he would say, "To live is Christ, and to die is gain."
All of creation shares in this longing for restoration. Romans 8:22 says:
"For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now."
Creation itself groans under the weight of decay and sin, eagerly waiting for the day Christ returns to make all things new.
So why don’t we, as believers, have the same yearning for God? Why is it so rare to see someone with a fierce passion for Christ?
The answer is simple: We are too easily satisfied. Our souls settle for worldly things—temporary pleasures that leave no room for the greatness of God.
This is why so many people struggle with issues like pornography or other addictions. Humans are wired for immediate gratification. Sin overpromises and underdelivers, leaving us feeling empty.
So, how do we develop a heart that truly longs for Christ? Here are some steps based on what we’ve learned:
Reject the Satisfaction of the World
Don’t let your soul be so easily satisfied with fleeting pleasures. Like Paul, count everything as loss compared to knowing Christ.Live a Life Fueled by Grace
Let God’s grace drive your actions. The Gospel shows us how to live in a way that reflects our King, not out of obligation, but in gratitude for what He has done.Dwell on God’s Infinite Nature
Spend time with God. Reflect on His infinite love and grace. The more you dwell on Him, the more you’ll realize how little you truly know Him—and how much more there is to gain.Find What Stirs Your Affections for God
This could look different for everyone. For me, it might be listening to sermons while playing video games or spending quiet time hunting in the woods, surrounded by God’s creation. Identify the moments and practices that draw you closer to Him.Remember the Futility of the World
This world is temporary. Creation was subjected to decay and sin, but one day King Jesus will return to restore everything. Don’t cling to what is passing away—cling to Christ.Here’s the truth: Trying to clean up your life on your own won’t work. Many people say, “I’m trying to be a better Christian,” but they feel stuck, making no progress. That’s because you can’t fix yourself before coming to God.
It’s like trying to wash yourself before getting in the shower—it doesn’t make sense. Christ is the ultimate cleanser. You don’t need to clean yourself up before coming to Him. Go to Him broken and sinful, and His blood will wipe away all sins.
When Jesus returns, He won’t ask how many times you went to church or how many Bible verses you memorized. He will ask if you had faith in His Son, who died for your sins and rose again. If your life reflects that faith, He will say, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”
But Matthew 7 warns us: Many will say, “Lord, Lord,” but they won’t enter the kingdom of heaven. They’ll claim they prophesied, cast out demons, and performed miracles in His name, but Jesus will reply, “I never knew you.”
If something is standing in the way of pursuing Christ—whether it’s a hobby, a habit, or even a good thing—get rid of it. Nothing should take precedence over Him.
Count everything as loss compared to knowing Christ. Realize that worldly satisfaction is temporary. Spend time with God, eagerly awaiting His return, knowing you are adopted as His child.
Let’s pray:
“Lord, as John Owen said, let us be so consumed with Your glory that all things below become as dead and deformed, no longer calling out for our affections. For those of us trying to clean up our act, help us see that we’ll never get there without You. Give us courage to share our experiences and longing for You with others. Thank You for this group and their dedication to learning Your Word. May we be a powerful force for Your kingdom, sharing the Gospel and building Your church. We pray this in Your name, Amen.”
Longing for the Kingdom: Titus 3
I. Living as Citizens of the Kingdom
Titus 3:1-2
"Remind them to be submissive to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work, to speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all people."
- Submission to authority: Christians are called to respect governing authorities because all authority is instituted by God (Romans 13:1 ).
- God’s sovereignty over leadership: Even when leaders are flawed, God uses them for His purposes (Genesis 50:20 ).
- Political identity vs. Kingdom identity: We must never place our identity in political parties but remember that Christ remains King no matter who governs.
- Speech and conduct: We must avoid slander and divisiveness, demonstrating humility and kindness to reflect the Kingdom of God.
Reflection Question: Am I more passionate about earthly politics than about advancing God’s Kingdom? How can I show Kingdom values in my speech and actions?
II. Remembering Our Past, Living in Grace
Titus 3:3-5
"For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures... But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, He saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to His own mercy."
- Our past without Christ: We were once lost, enslaved to sin, and filled with malice, but God intervened.
- God’s philanthropy: The Greek word philanthropia reflects His generous love that expects nothing in return.
- Salvation through mercy: We are justified by grace, not by our righteousness. This prevents pride and compels us to extend grace to others.
Reflection Question: Do I fully rest in God’s grace, or do I still try to earn His favor through works?
III. The Kingdom Mindset: Living as Heirs
Titus 3:6-7
"Whom He poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by His grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life."
- Co-heirs with Christ: We have an inheritance in the Kingdom, secured by Christ (Romans 8:17 ).
- Identity in the Kingdom: If we do everything “right” but fail to know Christ, we still lose. Like the older brother in the parable of the Prodigal Son, we must not focus on what we gain but on intimacy with the Father.
Reflection Question: Do I desire God Himself, or do I only seek the blessings He gives?
IV. The Kingdom in Action: Sharing the Invitation
Titus 3:8-11
"The saying is trustworthy, and I want you to insist on these things, so that those who have believed in God may be careful to devote themselves to good works... But avoid foolish controversies and quarrels about the law, for they are unprofitable and worthless."
- We have a seat at the table: Like the feast in the parable of the Prodigal Son, God has already set a place for us. We don’t earn it—it is given by grace.
- The mission of the Kingdom: Our job is to give others glimpses of the Kingdom through generosity, love, and the Gospel.
- Avoiding distractions: Arguments and controversies do not build the Kingdom. Our focus must be on proclaiming Christ.
Reflection Question: How can I be more intentional in showing others glimpses of the Kingdom this week?
V. Final Challenge: The Reality of the Kingdom
- Ultimate Reality: Revelation 5 gives a vision of Jesus reigning, receiving worship from all creation. This is the true reality beyond politics and earthly struggles.
- Cultural Transformation: We don’t wait for the Kingdom—we live in it now by embodying Kingdom values in our daily lives.
- Invitation to the Table: The Gospel is not about earning salvation but receiving it freely. Our task is to invite others to the feast.
Key Truth: "He saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to His own mercy." (Titus 3:5 )
Closing Prayer
Lord, thank You for preparing a place at Your table for us. Help us to live as citizens of Your Kingdom, reflecting Your grace and love in everything we do. Give us boldness to invite others into Your Kingdom and wisdom to avoid distractions that do not glorify You. May we long for You above all things. Amen.