West Greeley Baptist Church
April 29th 2001
“Good looking Christianity”
Titus 2: 7-10
By Pastor Mark Hensley
“7In everything set them an example by doing what is good. In your teaching show integrity, seriousness 8and soundness of speech that cannot be condemned, so that those who oppose you may be ashamed because they have nothing bad to say about us. 9Teach slaves to be subject to their masters in everything, to try to please them, not to talk back to them, 10and not to steal from them, but to show that they can be fully trusted, so that in every way they will make the teaching about God our Savior attractive” Titus 2: 7-10
Introduction: Christian ministers are inundated with mail! I often feel sorry for our mail carrier! In fact a few years ago the mail carrier pleaded with me for the Church to get a bigger mailbox. This we did!
Recently a mission magazine made its way into the box, and an article griped my attention. Titled “Why I sleep in on Sunday”. A series on why people have no interest in Christ or His church. The writer Carolyn Curtis, included 13 different responses from people all over the United States who were asked why didn’t they attend church? Carolyn writes: “By listening to them I can discover what barriers I and my church can try to dismantle.”
Transition: The next 13 weeks we will be given the opportunity to do the same! Each week I will give you the actual responses that the 13 people gave around the country in answer to the question why don’t you attend church? Today we begin with Jennifer 29 year old marketing rep divorced, from Alabama.
“I went to the front of my church during a revival when I was about 10, but when I was a teenager I decided I didn’t want to be associated with born-agains anymore. They embarrassed me by coming across as fanatics-pushy, narrow, insulting. Now that I am older I can’t say I feel much different. Most of the ones I know are judgmental rather than loving, cliquish rather than inclusive, stern rather than fun-loving. I still feel I have Jesus in my heart, but I don’t want to be around people like that. They bring me down. I need to be positive, forward –thinking, upbeat for my career-and also for my mental well-being.”
Can some Churches be hazardous for ones mental well being?
Yes! God’s response to Jennifer and challenge to this church is found in the New Testament book of Titus 2: 7-10 under the title “Good Looking Christianity”
7In everything set them an example by doing what is good. In your teaching show integrity, seriousness 8and soundness of speech that cannot be condemned, so that those who oppose you may be ashamed because they have nothing bad to say about us.
9Teach slaves to be subject to their masters in everything, to try to please them, not to talk back to them, 10and not to steal from them, but to show that they can be fully trusted, so that in every way they will make the teaching about God our Savior attractive.
For every Jennifer who sees Christian people as narrow pushy fanatics more judgmental than loving, more cliquish than inclusive stern rather than fun-loving we must:
Set an example
Show integrity in our speech and conduct
So that in every way, we will make the teaching about God our Savior attractive.
I. Set an example 7In everything set them an example by doing what is good
Paul wrote this letter to Titus near the end of his 30 -year ministry as a missionary for Christ. He was born in the first decade A.D. in Tarsus a small but prosperous city on the trade route from Syria to Asia Minor.
Titus- was a young gentile follower of Christ whom Paul had been training to carry out his ministry. Navpress “Titus” Pg 9.
Paul determined to instruct his young friend in Christian basics. 7In everything set them an example by doing what is good”. It’s been said that most people “Would rather see a sermon than hear one any day.” Paul with the reality of his ministry coming to a close teaches this young minister to let “everything” be an example of surrender to the teachings of Christ!
Chapter two of Titus is written for a young minister and its seasoned counsel for what matters most in a believers walk with Christ. As the chapter unfolds Paul speaks of the right conduct for older men and women and for younger followers as well. Our passage while directed to young men is of course applicable for everyone who has come to serve Christ. Titus is a book that is practical and the application can be profound! For every Jennifer that we might meet, we must example Jesus!
Wednesday of this week I met with representatives from our partnership Churches in Missouri. The immediate camaraderie I felt was a result of Christ in their lives! One such new friend is Clarence a mission minded 40-something who was part of a team that carried a cross from coast to coast a few years ago. I asked Clarence about his past before he received Christ. He told me how he had been a town troublemaker. God used Clarence’s son to draw him to faith! His son was burdened that his dad was going to hell! A faithful Christian invited him to church and in September of 1995 he met the Lord!
I asked him what his perception was of Christians before he was saved. He didn’t hesitate he said they were for the most part hypocrites who he would see at the same bars he went to, or he would see them out with other people who they were not married too! Thankfully his son was faithful to “example” Jesus, as were others.
I shudder to think of the many people who cross our life’s door who find our example lacking! It’s been estimated that by the time a person reaches the end of a long life provided it’s been a long one that they will have influenced 10,000 people!
President Calvin Coolidge once invited some friends from Vermont to dine at the White House. They were worried about their table manners, so they decided to do everything their host did. All went well until coffee was served. Coolidge poured his into the saucer. The guests did the same. The President added sugar and cream. So did the visitors. Then Coolidge leaned over and placed his saucer on the floor for the cat. Source Unknown.
We set examples whether we like it or not! “I would not give much for your religion unless it can be seen. Lamps do not talk, but they do shine.” Source Unknown.
When Paul writes of 7In everything set them an example by doing what is good.” Good can also be understood as kind. Kindness is after all one of the fruits of the Holy Spirit. Is it active in our lives? Are we in such a rush to keep our appointments that we somehow miss the evident? What would happen if we decided that who ever is in front of us at that moment is our divine appointment? Such a position would play havoc on our schedules our day timers might (for those who are chained to such contrivances) be neglected.
You see Paul wanted a young minister to get down deep in his heart that kindness exampled is what people really need. It’s what you need and what I need and it is what Jennifer Our marketing rep from Alabama needs to see!
Mamie Adams always went to a branch post office in her town because the postal employees there were friendly. She went there to buy stamps just before Christmas one year and the lines were particularly long. Someone pointed out that there was no need to wait in line because there was a stamp machine in the lobby. "I know," said Mamie, ’but the machine won’t ask me about my arthritis." Bits and Pieces, December, 1989, p. 2.
7”In everything set them an example by doing what is good”
We must: Set an example, and we must:
II. Show integrity in our speech and conduct 7In everything set them an example by doing what is good. In your teaching show integrity, seriousness 8and soundness of speech that cannot be condemned, so that those who oppose you may be ashamed because they have nothing bad to say about us”
According to Pastor David Holwick “The word "integrity" is curious. You will hear dozens of different applications of the word, but they all boil down to one succinct thought: A person of integrity is one who has established a system of values against which all of life is judged. For the Christian, this system of values is determined by a careful study of God’s Holy Word. New insights may modify our system from time to time, but the entire system remains unchallenged and unyielding.
Integrity is not what we do as much as what we are. And what we are, in turn, determines what we do. Our system of values is so much a part of us that we cannot separate it from who we are. Integrity becomes the navigating system that guides us. It establishes priorities in our lives, and it judges what we will accept and reject.” Pastor David Holwick
“ In your teaching show integrity, seriousness 8and soundness of speech that cannot be condemned, so that those who oppose you may be ashamed because they have nothing bad to say about us”
How many prodigals are kept out of the kingdom of heaven by those who claim to be in it?
Seriousness and soundness of speech is referring to sound doctrine! We need to know God’s word! It also refers to the way we communicate.
Can it be that the average person spends one-fifth of his or her life talking? That’s what the statistics say. If all of our words were put into print, the result would be this: a single day’s words would fill a 50-page book, while in a year’s time the average person’s words would fill 132 books of 200 pages each! Among all those words there are bound to be some spoken in anger, carelessness, or haste. Today in the Word, June 15, 1992.
“ In your teaching show integrity, seriousness 8and soundness of speech that cannot be condemned, so that those who oppose you may be ashamed because they have nothing bad to say about us”
T.H. Huxley, a well-known agnostic, was with a group of men at a weekend house party. On Sunday morning, while most of them were preparing to go to church, he approached a man known for his Christian character and said, "Suppose you stay at home and tell my why you are a Christian." The man, knowing he couldn’t match wits with Huxley, hesitated. But the agnostic said gently, "I don’t want to argue with you. I just want you to tell me simply what this Christ means to you." The man did, and when he finished, there were tears in Huxley’s eyes as he said, "I would give my right hand if only I could believe that!" Our Daily Bread, January 24, 1993.
Set an example
Show integrity in our speech and conduct
III. So that in every way, we will make the teaching about God our Savior attractive. 9Teach slaves to be subject to their masters in everything, to try to please them, not to talk back to them, 10and not to steal from them, but to show that they can be fully trusted, so that in every way they will make the teaching about God our Savior attractive”
Paul is writing about slaves, a modern synonym would be employee / employer. God’s people are to be ethical people! They’re to be trusted. They don’t clock in late or leave early. They give a full days work for a fully days job!
If you’re into bumper-sticker philosophy, you’ve probably seen the axiom, "I owe, I owe, so off to work I go.” For a vast portion of the workforce, that’s the best reason they can muster for going to the job each day.
According to one poll, only 43 percent of American office workers are satisfied with their jobs. In Japan, the figure dips to 17 percent.
In the first century, Christian slaves had even less reason to be enthusiastic about their work. But Paul gave them a way to grasp a glimpse of glory amid the grind. He wanted them to 9Teach slaves to be subject to their masters in everything, to try to please them, not to talk back to them, 10and not to steal from them, but to show that they can be fully trusted, so that in every way they will make the teaching about God our Savior attractive” that is, to show the beauty of their faith in Christ by how they work (Ti. 2:10).
A significant and often overlooked way that we serve God is in our everyday tasks. Martin Luther understood this when he wrote,
"The maid who sweeps her kitchen is doing the will of God just as much as the monk who prays -- not because she may sing a Christian hymn as she sweeps but because God loves clean floors. The Christian shoemaker does his Christian duty not by putting little crosses on the shoes, but by making good shoes, because God is interested in good craftsmanship." Our Daily Bread, September 5, 1994.
Remember many sleep in on Sundays just like Jennifer, believing that church is not for them, For every Jennifer who sees Christian people as narrow pushy fanatics more judgmental than loving, more cliquish than inclusive stern rather than fun-loving we must:
Set an example
Show integrity in our speech and conduct
So that in every way, we will make the teaching about God our Savior attractive.
