Unfinished Teachings That Must Be Taught! ¡V Titus part 2
Thesis: The church leadership needs to complete the unfinished business of teaching the church what they are to be doing. Many of us have been given a task that is unfinished by the Lord and He wants us to complete it for Him. The result - if we accept these missions is that many will come to understand the truth, many will embrace the truth and many will live by the truth.
Text: Titus 2:
1You must teach what is in accord with sound doctrine. 2Teach the older men to be temperate, worthy of respect, self-controlled, and sound in faith, in love and in endurance.
3Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good. 4Then they can train the younger women to love their husbands and children, 5to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God.
6Similarly, encourage the young men to be self-controlled. 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.
11For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. 12It teaches us to say ¡§No¡¨ to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, 13while we wait for the blessed hope¡Xthe glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, 14who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.
15These, then, are the things you should teach. Encourage and rebuke with all authority. Do not let anyone despise you.
Introduction:
Titus is instructed by the apostle Paul to make sure he teaches the people of the Lord sound doctrine. Sound doctrine in the Greek means ¡§healthy doctrine.¡¨ In other words they needed to teach things to the people that would make them healthy.
They were to correct the unhealthy teachings that were circulating around which was destroying people¡¦s lives and ruining their families. Healthy doctrine would bring the blessing of God and the abundant life promised by the Word. Paul addresses a few groups that we find in the church and paves the way for Titus on what to teach and what is sound and healthy for the Body of Christ.
His mission was to make sure that these teachings were communicated and modeled to to the Crete people.
It¡¦s all about making sure that people are taught the truth- that they hear sound doctrine.
Sound doctrine:
a. Brings health to the individual and it does not ruin their lives
b. Brings health to families and strengthens them not weakens them
c. Brings involvement of the old with the young not separation
d. Brings unity not disunity
e. Brings life not death
f. Brings a servant attitude not a self-centered attitude
g. Brings freedom from bondage
h. Brings actions of love not hate
i. Brings hope not hopelessness
j. Brings peace not chaos
k. Brings security not insecurity
l. Brings forgiveness not un-forgiveness
m. Brings faith in God not in oneself
n. Brings wisdom from above not below
o. Brings a tamed tongue not a vile tongue
p. Brings thanksgiving to the heart not bitterness to the heart
q. Brings changed lives not unchanged lives bent on evil ways
r. Brings about people who want to please God not others
T.S.- Sound ¡V healthy teachings need to be occurring in the church so as to instruct the various individuals as to how they should live and act so God gets the glory.
1. What the older men need to know for healthy living and the importance of their role-modeling.
a. Paul tells Titus that the older men needed to be taught how to live their lives also that they could impact the younger men¡¦s lives.
i. They were to be temperate
1. Definition of temperate- Characterized by moderation or the absence of extremes; not excessive.
a. In other words balanced
b. The idea of being calm and restrained
ii. They were to be worthy of respect
1. Definition of respect ¡V To have a high regard for and appreciation of.
a. The idea of honor
b. Colin Powell’s father, Luther, often made friends of total strangers. It did not matter who you were, you were always welcome at Luther’s home. Colin Powell was much like his father. The Powell family was holding a small birthday party for Colin at the official residence of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff when a family member answered a knock at the front door. Two young men identified themselves as Special Forces troops from Fort Bragg, NC. They were passing through Washington and wanted to meet their hero, General Powell. The relative said, "We’re having a family party right now. Maybe you could come back a later." After the men left, General Powell asked who was at the door. When he found out, he dashed outside and caught the men before they had gotten away. Within minutes, the two young sergeants were inside the house, enjoying the party with the Powell family.
iii. They were to be self-controlled
1. In other words they were in control of their impulses and in control of their emotions.
2. A little three-year-old boy had been learning the game of golf by watching his grandfather play. "The boy was so enthused, I bought him his own set of clubs." Said Grandpa. The following week the entire family had a cookout and the little boy who had learned to golf by watching Grandpa announced, "Watch me play golf!" and then he said a bad word and threw his golf club into the pear tree! (Stories for Preachers)
3. "Young man, where did you learn to talk that way?" said the boy’s mother. The boy looked at his father and said, "Well, Dad, should I tell her?" (Stories for Preachers)
iv. They were to be sound in the faith
1. The idea of functioning in faith without impairment. The concept of having healthy faith in opposition to unhealthy faith.
2. The idea of adhering to the Bible as the teaching to follow!
v. They were to be living a life of love
1. I Cor. 13:4-7 defines loves as the most excellent way.
4Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
vi. They were to be men with endurance
1. The capacity to bear pain, distress, or prolonged hardship and the determination to carry on.
2. To last and to continue to the end.
3. "Like most things, parents teach persistence by example," says Emmy Werner, a University of California psychologist. One day, for example, Sam’s father told him to stick with his math problem until he found the solution. As Sam worked, he could hear his father fiddling with an antique radio he was restoring. He had been at it for a week, taking the radio apart, assembling it, taking it apart again. Sam learned from that lesson--and he stuck with his math problem and other challenges he faced right on into adulthood. (Stories for Preachers)
b. The truth is if the older men do their job it will impact the younger men in the church. They also will be seen as faultless to the world when they seek to discredit them.
T.S.- Older men are not to retire in God but to teach the younger men how to live Godly lives.
2. The younger men were to be taught sound doctrine by the older men and the church leadership both through words and role-modeling.
a. The primary way these teachings of sound doctrine would be carried out would be by the lives of the older men and the leadership in the church.
i. They were to be taught to be self controlled
1. 20/20 once showed an experiment on self-control with children. They were told that they could have a single treat, such as a cookie, right now. However, if they would wait while the reporter ran an errand, they could have two cookies. Some preschoolers grabbed the cookie immediately; others were able to wait for what must have seemed to them like an endless twenty minutes. To sustain themselves in their struggle, they covered their eyes so they wouldn’t see the temptation, rested their heads on their arms, talked to themselves, sang, even tried to sleep. Those who endured to the end received the two-cookie reward. The follow-up of this study found that the children who were able to forgo the instant gratification kept that same temperament throughout their adolescence. The more impulsive kids who grabbed the cookie were more likely to be stubborn, indecisive, and stressed.
ii. They were to be taught how to live the life of integrity
1. A man’s judgment is best when he can forget himself and any reputation he may have acquired and can concentrate wholly on making the right decisions. --Adm. Raymond A. Spruance
2. In business, a person’s character is determined by his or her credit history. If you have a good credit rating, you are considered a person of good character. Previously your credit rating would impact only financial aspects of your life, such as the ability to get credit cards, buy a home, finance a car, and so on. However, insurance companies are beginning to run credit checks on people before they will approve them for insurance. How well you pay your bills says a lot about how well you drive, how well you take care of your home, and how well you take care of yourself.
iii. They were to be taught the seriousness of their speech.
1. Your tongue carries either blessings or cursings.
iv. They were to be taught the importance of having sound speech
1. Several years ago Fred Rogers thought he was about to achieve his big break when a major network asked to meet with him and discuss the possibility of syndicating his local children’s show. One of the network execs asked, "What kind of costume will you be wearing for the show?" Mr. Rogers told the man that he didn’t need a funny costume to communicate with children. The network people disagreed, insisting that anyone hosting a children’s show must have a costume. So, the meeting ended, and the network decided to pass on the opportunity. Obviously, it was a huge mistake. PBS picked up the show and children’s television has never been the same. (The perfect P.S. to this story, if it were only true, would be to say that the network opted instead to purchase the Pee Wee Herman show. But then, stories like that only happen in Hollywood.
b. The reason why the older and the younger needed to do this and live this way was so when they were judged by the standards in the world their would be nothing they could say because of their exemplified life-style.
i. It was and is important for the younger men to learn from the older because one day the older will be gone and the younger needed to take over to help the next generation learn about God and how to live for God.
T.S.- Not only were the men to be taught sound doctrine but so were the women.
3. The older women are to be taught these important healthy traits as well.
a. They are to be taught to be reverent in the way they live.
i. Define reverent: to regard with profound respect and awe and affection.
1. They were to be taught to have this for God and their husbands.
b. They are to not slander others and run them down. In other words they are not to be gossips
i. Will Rogers said, "Live in such a way that you would not be ashamed to sell your parrot to the town gossip."
c. They are not to be addicted to wine.
i. David Wilkerson¡¦s founder of Teen Challenge states from his book Sipping Saints:
1. Drinking is the world¡¦s most staggering problem. We face the horrible statistics of more than a million young Americans becoming alcoholics. Sic million of their parents are already there. We have become a sodden society, unable to cope with life without another drink or two. Drunkenness is spreading in our schools like a wildfire out of control. Kids tell me as 80 percent of their classmates drink; many of them get stone drunk. I¡¦ve been helping drug addicts and alcoholics for many years, but this drinking rage sweeping our nation frightens me. Young people drink because they think alcohol won¡¦t waste them as drugs do! Booze is now preferred ¡§Liquid pot.¡¨ Everywhere teenagers are getting stoned. They say, ¡§No cops, no parents, no politicians can hassle us now because they are all doing it, too. We finally found a kick that won¡¦t put us behind bars!¡¨ (page 13).
2. The common theme here in Titus is making sure that the older teach the younger how to live in accordance with sound doctrine- Healthy teachings.
a. Wilkerson notes, ¡§Why do kids drink? Recently one of my students, a converted alcoholic, told me how she became a drunkard. Her Christian parents taught her how to drink moderately. At parties, birthdays, and when company came, everybody took a social drink. It was served at meals. She admired and loved her parents¡Kled to drinking in clubs¡KFinally, when problems began to pile up, she began to lean heavily on alcohol. She ended up in a mental institution-a-hard-core alcoholic¡¨ (15)
b. And it all started with that first drink in her parents home. Truth is no one sets out to be an alcoholic but it starts with the first drink.
3. Historical background on wine in the Bible days:
a. It was used as the common drink because the water supply was no the best. Fermented drink was considered safer to drink.
b. But the natural fermentation process was 14%
i. Kinney notes, ¡§Nature alone cannot produce stronger stuff than 14% alcohol. Fermentation is a combustive action of yeasts on plants: potatoes, fruit, grain, etc. The sugar is exposed to wild yeasts in the air or commercial yeasts, which produce an enzyme, which in turn converts sugar to alcohol. Fermentative yeast cannot survive in solutions stronger than 14% alcohol. When that level is reached, the yeast, which is a living thing , ceases to produce and dies¡¨ (4).
ii. In the tenth century Arabian physician, Phazes discovered distilled spirits. He was looking for ¡§The Spirit of the wine¡¨ so as to release it¡¦s power into those who drank it. When his process worked it was called ¡§The True Water of Life!¡¨ The name alcohol is derived from alghul which means ¡§The Evil Spirit- Ghost.¡¨
iii. The distilling process has continued since this time to were today alcohol content in some drinks is at 93%.
iv. Health note on alcohol: It is a liquid drug which causes side affects some have called it ¡§delightful poison¡¨ which is accurate it is a poison.
1. Alcohol:
a. Is a stomach irritant that can impede or stop digestion.
b. It over time affects the Kidneys to where it can shut down the pituitary gland below the neck which regulates your urine. Alcohol can cause this to misfire and it can produce large amounts of dilute urine which can damage the Kidneys.
c. The liver is the most sensitive to alcohol an 1- 2 ounces over time can damage it to where it does not function properly.
d. It affects the central nervous system especially the brain and causes damage to cells and inhibits neurotransmitters.
i. These transmitters help us ward off depression, anxiety, aggressiveness, impulse control and suicidal behavior.
v. Since 1960 the United States has recognized that alcoholism is a major health problem in America.
1. 10% of all deaths are alcohol related
2. Alcoholic¡¦s life span is 15 years less then one sober.
3. 50% of all accidents involve alcohol
4. 38% of all drowning deaths involve alcohol.
5. 40% of suicides have alcohol involved.
6. 50% of rapes occur with alcohol involved
7. Crime- 72% of the perpetrators and 79% of the victims alcohol was seen as playing a role.
4. Here is a healthy teaching that does align with the word of God.
a. David Wilkerson sites 75 passages in Scripture which encourage us to stay away from alcohol in his book Sipping Saints.
i. If you would like a copy of them see me.
d. They are to model what is good and teach what is good to the younger
i. Remember we are the role model to the younger generation and they will learn what to do from us and what not to do from us.
1. Therefore we should role-model the good.
ii. Children will invariably talk, eat, walk, think, respond, and act like their parents. Give them a target to shoot at. Give them a goal to work toward. Give them a pattern which they can see clearly, and you give them something that gold and silver cannot buy.
--Billy Graham, The Hour of Decision, 1958
e. They are to do this so as not to malign the word of God.
i. Malign here means that they are not to put themselves in opposition to the word of God.
T.S.- It was important for the older women to learn the truth of the Gospel and to live is so that they also could teach the younger generation.
4. The younger women are to be taught these healthy teachings by the older women¡¦s words and actions.
a. The younger women are to be taught the sound doctrine of the importance of loving their husbands and their children.
i. This is becoming less common in our society today.
b. They are to be taught to be self-controlled
i. Have their emotions and impulses under control. The best way to do this is to die to self and surrender to God.
c. To be pure
i. The definition of pure is: Free from the contact of that which weakens, impairs or pollutes one¡¦s life. It means faultless and righteous in God¡¦s sight and others.
1. Purity in dress- modesty
2. Purity in action- how you speak and act
3. Purity in their personal life
4. Purity- sexually means no immorality.
d. To be busy at home
i. Involved in the life of your family
1. Elaine Benes was the spacey Seinfeld character played by actress Julia Louis Dreyfus. Her character evolved into something of a poster child for befuddled and disenfranchised females. Unlike her character, however, the actress is satisfied with her career, happily married and the mother of two young boys. Centered and content, Louis Dreyfus tries to keep things in perspective when faced with the inevitable clashes posed by being both a star and a hands-on mother. "If one of my sons is sick and I have to work, it’s a problem--I simply can’t go. But what am I supposed to do?" she says. "Movie people are shocked when they hear I will rarely travel to locations. They say it’s a tragedy for my career. But people in show business don’t realize there’s a life outside their universe. They don’t know what they’re missing."
ii. Help take care of your family
1. Have a home atmosphere that is focused on the Lord
2. Includes:
a. Preparing meals
b. Taking care of the children
c. Involved in your child¡¦s life
d. Teaching your children about the Lord.
i. Like Deut.6 instructs: 1These are the commands, decrees and laws the LORD your God directed me to teach you to observe in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess, 2so that you, your children and their children after them may fear the LORD your God as long as you live by keeping all his decrees and commands that I give you, and so that you may enjoy long life. 3Hear, O Israel, and be careful to obey so that it may go well with you and that you may increase greatly in a land flowing with milk and honey, just as the LORD, the God of your fathers, promised you.
e. Keeping the house clean and neat
f. Keeping your family looking clean and presentable
i. John Wesley said, ¡§Cleanliness is next to godliness.¡¨
ii. He presented this to the English Christian family because people were not caring for themselves and their homes.
e. To be kind
i. Dr. Joyce Brothers gives these pointers on "What kids really need from mom." 1. Train their hearts. Moms need to demonstrate that treating people well--with kindness and courtesy--is just as important as succeeding in school and sports. 2. Boo less, cheer more. We all know that praise can do wonders for people. Excessive criticism can result in an overly self-critical child who fears to take the risks that lead to achievement. 3. Talk "taboo." We live in a dangerous world where kids are exposed to drugs, alcohol and sex at ever-younger ages. Some mothers fear that talking about such taboo activities sanctions them. The opposite is true. A 1994 study of fifth- and seventh-graders in Southern California, for instance, found that children who have honest discussions with their parents are less likely to use drugs and alcohol. 4. Let limits grow as children do. Children need to be loved without qualification so the seed of self-esteem can grow. Such unconditional love does not mean you set no limits: setting boundaries demonstrates to a child how important he or she is to you. When a child oversteps, show disappointment with the behavior, not with the child. 5. Show the way. Kids need a moral compass. That means instilling a sense of right and wrong not only about big issues, but also day-to-day matters. 6. Enjoy them. With time short, moms often focus on "what’s important"--catching up on kids’ news, helping with homework. Yet in our tense society, children crave something more--a good time with Mom. Motherhood is a big job, but it’s not meant to be a burden. Sometimes you may need to be a little less responsible--to let go of your demands on yourself and have fun with your children.
f. To be subject to their husbands
i. Defined with Ephesians
1. Ephesians 5:15-32: 15Be very careful, then, how you live¡Xnot as unwise but as wise, 16making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. 17Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord¡¦s will is. 18Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit. 19Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, 20always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. 21Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. 22Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord. 23For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. 24Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything. 25Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her 26to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, 27and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. 28In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. 29After all, no one ever hated his own body, but he feeds and cares for it, just as Christ does the church¡X30for we are members of his body. 31¡§For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.¡¨ƒn32This is a profound mystery¡Xbut I am talking about Christ and the church. 33However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.
g. Why? So that they will not malign the Word of God.
T.S. ¡V Not only are the young and the old expected to act a certain way but the slaves also must be taught to be Christ like in their positions in life.
5. The slaves were even addressed in this passage of scripture.
a. Many today would say we don¡¦t have slaves today. But really a slave was one who worked for another. Like employee and employer.
b. So we can apply this sound doctrine to the work place relationships and how they are to occur so that God gets the glory.
i. The slave or the employee needs to be subject to the master, the employer.
1. In other words we as Christians should be willing to serve our employers faithfully. And do what they require us to do in our job descriptions.
ii. The slave was to please the master ¡V the employee should seek to please the employer.
1. In our society today we think it is the other way around.
a. "The question ’Who ought to be boss?’ is like asking, ’Who ought to be the tenor in the quartet?’ Obviously, the man who can sing tenor."--Henry Ford
2. Bu the truth is we are to please our employers by being their best workers. Seek to do our job and do it with our whole heart.
a. I Cor. 10:31:11:1: 31So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. 32Do not cause anyone to stumble, whether Jews, Greeks or the church of God¡X33even as I try to please everybody in every way. For I am not seeking my own good but the good of many, so that they may be saved. 11:1Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.
b. Truth is each of us are placed in our positions by the Lord to impact peoples lives and that could mean your bosses life.
c. Story of Marlo, Tom, and Bill
i. I did it right two times.
ii. But I once did it wrong!
iii. The slave was not to talk back to the master. The Christian employee must not talk back to the employer.
1. James warns us about the tongue James 3:9-11
2. Proverbs12:18 ¡§the tongue of the wise brings healing.¡¨
3. Proverbs 39:1 ¡§I keep my tongue from sin.¡¨
iv. The slave or employee was not to steal from the master or the employer.
1. Clinical psychologist J. Kirk Felsman of the Dartmouth Medical School analyzed a study of 456 Boston boys. In the study, a boy named Bill was asked why, unlike many other boys in his neighborhood, he did not steal. Bill said, "I don’t have to steal. I can earn what I need." At age nine, he works after school delivering newspapers and shining shoes. Some of the money he earns is his spending money; the rest goes to his mother. Bill’s jobs give him something money can’t buy: a sense of his own power to deal with his life-and a feeling of responsibility. In a dark and crowded walk-up, with the children sleeping four in a bed, Bill and his family shared "a sense of being a family unit, a strong "we" feeling." (Stories for Preachers)
v. The slave or employee was to model trust worthiness
1. The Christine should be the most trusted employee at the company.
a. For well over 2,000 years the world’s great religions have taught the virtues of a trusting heart. Now there is another reason to heed the wisdom of the ages: scientific evidence indicates that those with trusting hearts will live longer, healthier lives. Nearly every American is aware that Type A people are impatient, driven and easily moved to hostility and anger. The driving force behind hostility is a cynical mistrust of others. If we expect others to mistreat us, we are seldom disappointed. This generates anger and leads us to respond with aggression.
2. The management should be able to trust the Christian with responsibility and the Christian should be responsible enough to complete the task.
a. For nearly ten years, the mother-daughter team of Naomi and Wynonna Judd was one of the most popular acts in country music. But the duo’s relationship was not always harmonious. Naomi explains: "Before a 1984 show in Denver, Wy and I were fighting because she had forgotten her outfit. We were mere minutes from show time, and I opened fire with both guns. ’You stupid kid!’ I screamed. ’Aren’t you ever going to grow up and get your act together?’ ’I’m not singing with you tonight,’ she shrieked back at me. Flailing our arms in the air, we were close to blows when our manager, Ken Stilts, stepped in. ’Ladies,’ he intoned, ’there are several thousand people out there who’ve paid money to hear you tonight. You must decide whether you’re going to rise to professionalism or be a disappointment to everyone, including me.’ Ken’s calm manner struck a nerve. Suddenly Wy and I recognized that if we were to survive, we would have to feel a responsibility to our fans."
c. Why do this at work? So as to make God our Savior attractive to the unsaved.
i. It¡¦s all about glorifying the Lord in our life at work so people want what we have ¡V Jesus!
Conclusion: What we all need to know!
Titus 2: 11-15:
11For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. 12It teaches us to say ¡§No¡¨ to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, 13while we wait for the blessed hope¡Xthe glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, 14who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good. 15These, then, are the things you should teach. Encourage and rebuke with all authority. Do not let anyone despise you.
We need to remember that we are all here by Grace and Jesus has given us new life and in him and therefore we are expected to act like we have meet the Savior.
Everyone needs to say ¡§no¡¨ to ungodliness and worldly passions.
Johnny Cash is known internationally as the greatest country singer of all time. In fact, more than 40 years after his debut on Sun Records (with Elvis Presley and Jerry Lee Lewis) Johnny Cash is still used by a number of companies as a "spokesman" for their product. (You’ve seen the television commercials, haven’t you?) In the early days, however, Cash found that his rise to stardom brought more than fame and fortune. It brought problems. While he was rising in the charts, gold records being added to his collection, his personal life was falling apart. Show business pressures soon drove him to take pep pills, and soon he was addicted. His first arrest came in 1965, when he was caught holding more than one thousand pills. He went from a healthy 200 pounds to 140 pounds. Side effects of the drugs he took caused him to have a severe car accident-he sustained several broken bones and a concussion. Then on May 9, 1971, Johnny Cash sat in the pew of a small church in his hometown. The pastor finished his sermon and appealed to the congregation to come to the Lord and make things right with God. Johnny Cash stood up and walked to the wooden altar. That is when God put his loving hand on Johnny Cash.
Everyone is to live self-controlled ¡V Upright - Godly lives in this present age.
Ty Cobb, all-time baseball great, played 3,033 straight games, and for twelve years led the American League in batting averages. For four years, he batted over 400. He was, arguably, the meanest and most unlikable man ever to play the sport. On his deathbed, July 17, 1961, he accepted Jesus Christ as his Savior. He said, "You tell the boys I’m sorry it was the last part of the ninth that I came to know Christ. I wish it had taken place in the first half of the first."
We are to wait for the blessed hope and the glorious appearing of Jesus
Titus is then instructed by Paul to and so is church leadership to do the following.
Do what is good
Encourage one another in the Word
Rebuke those who oppose the Word
And do not to let any one despise his mission or him.
