-September 9, 2020-
Good morning, happy Wednesday,
-Qualities Of A Sound Church-
“That the older men be sober, reverent, temperate, sound in faith, in love, in patience.”
(Titus 2:2).
Sound doctrine leads to sound lives which lead to sound churches. Living godly Christian lives doesn’t just happen. It takes strong leadership, sound biblical preaching and teaching, and the unity among the members who live out the Word of God in their lives. Paul wrote to Titus to teach the saints in Crete how to practice their faith. Paul advises Titus to instruct the members of the church in Titus 2:1-9 how to live as older men, older women, young women, and young men.
Paul begins with the older men. These men include the elders and others with responsibilities to serve in the church. Older men are likely to have been saved longer and have more experience. Most were married but some were single. The qualities Paul speaks of apply to everyone and we should all practice them.
Paul tells Titus to teach these older men to be sober, reverent, temperate, sound in faith, in love, and in patience. Older men must be good role models to their families and to the members of the church family. These principles must be practiced at church, at home, at work, and wherever we go. We can’t live double lives. We must be the same everywhere we are.
• Be sober – Being sober goes beyond not getting drunk, and it involves seriousness in our walk with Christ. We should still laugh and enjoy life but do so in the light of eternity and the Lord’s soon coming.
• Be reverent – Reverence has to do with godliness. It is honoring God in in obedience to His Word. It has to do with our attitude toward God and respect for Him. We must guard against “a holier than thou” attitude thinking we are better than others.
• Be temperate – Temperance is another word for self-control. Whether in eating or drinking, or with our temper, it is being disciplined in all things.
• Be sound in faith – Sound faith leads to sound decisions and sound lives. It is putting our faith into action in practical ways. When we hear of a man falling into sin, it didn’t just happen. There were signs in their lives, whether others saw them or not.
• Be sound in love – Love is the greatest and most essential quality of all. If we don’t love God and others, our lives won’t be successful. Nothing else we do can compensate for a lack of love.
• Be sound in patience – Patience is another quality we all need. Just as God is patient with us, we must be patient with others, especially with those who wrong us. Impatience leads to many different problems.
These six qualities will not only keep us out of trouble but keep us right with God and others. Our vertical relationship with God and our horizontal relationship with others go hand in hand. May God help us to be good examples and role models, whether we are older or younger. People tend to watch us and listen to our words to see if we are genuine or not. May our lives be characterized by soberness, reverence, temperance, faith, love, and patience. This way our lives will be sound.
Have a blessed day practicing what we preach and being good examples. Stay safe and healthy.
Dean
Dean Allen's Daily Devotional 