“ADORNING” DOCTRINE
“But speak thou the things which become sound doctrine…that they may adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things. —Titus 2:1,10b
The apostle Paul rendered an indictment of Israel’s hypocrisy in his epistle to the Romans, charging, “The name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles through you,” and in the process declared, “He is not a Jew, which is one outwardly…but he is a Jew, which is one inwardly…whose praise is not of men, but of God [See Rom. 2:17-29].” He was berating them for a lack of correspondence between profession and performance.
Writing to Titus he made a similar accusation of certain in the church, as we noted last week, saying, “They profess that they know God, but in works they deny Him.” This consideration sets the stage for today’s emphasis, which follows what seems at first reading a curious thought. It seems as though he is urging Titus to teach sound doctrine, (v.1) but immediately he addresses behavioral issues in various categories of believers: old men, aged women, young women and young men—even slaves (servants.)
The message is clear: without sound conduct, sound doctrine becomes irrelevant. When our behavior fails to “adorn” what we profess, when our conduct contradicts our theology, our deeds discredit our doctrine and the unregenerate world around us has little reason to take what we say seriously. And, such inconsistent behavior threatens to undermine the cause of Christ. When this happens Christianity falls to the level of religion rather than a relationship with Christ.
Christianity as a religion is as bankrupt as paganism. It is only insofar as Christ has become our life and our lives radiate His character that Christian faith becomes more than another competitor in the religious marketplace. True doctrine, in other words, is not static and academic, but dynamic and life changing.
The Savior said “He that hath seen Me hath seen the Father [John 14:9].” Later, addressing the Father in prayer He remarked, “Now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world [John 17:11],” and a bit later, “As thou hast sent Me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world [Jn. 17:18].” The latter emphasis was reiterated directly to the disciples by the Savior after His resurrection: “Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath set Me, even so send I you [Jn. 20:21].” The inference is that the character of God will be as evident in the lives of believers as it was in the life of the Son of God.
Sadly, that has not been the case over time. The two major emphases in the Savior’s teaching are love and unity. As we have noted more than once, He said, “By this shall all men know that ye are My disciples, if ye have love one for another [Jn. 13:35]. And He prayed, “That they all may be one; as thou, Father art in Me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou has sent Me [Jn. 17:21, my italics].”
Sadly, these doctrines are not demonstrated in the professing church as a whole; sadder still, they are not even significantly evident in many a local congregation of “believers.” To say nothing of sin in the ordinary sense, the doctrine that should lay the foundation for love and unity is often the catalyst for strife and division. This, of course, is the adversary’s genius. The divine objective (part of our “sound doctrine”) is to “gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in Him… [Eph. 1:10].” Hence it has become the devil’s strategy to divide what God would unite, making it appear that he has successfully frustrated the divine goal, and thus discrediting the testimony of Christ.
Ultimately, of course, God will accomplish His objective by His own means. But for now the church’s position is greatly weakened by the disparity between our doctrine and our demonstration. Scripture still pleads for these to be brought into correspondence with one another. There is no immediate large scale solution available. (Ecumenism is an attempt to achieve unity at the expense of doctrine, which is another evil.) Scripture still urges believers to “adorn the doctrine of God.” For now it can only be realized in individual lives committed to Christ and infused with the Holy Spirit, then embraced and displayed among those groups of believers, few in number perhaps, who share the same commitment to Christ.
“Examine yourselves.” And let it be remembered that anything less fails to adorn the doctrine of God and discredit the Truth.
For the glory of God,
"Pastor" Frasier
The apostle Paul rendered an indictment of Israel’s hypocrisy in his epistle to the Romans, charging, “The name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles through you,” and in the process declared, “He is not a Jew, which is one outwardly…but he is a Jew, which is one inwardly…whose praise is not of men, but of God [See Rom. 2:17-29].” He was berating them for a lack of correspondence between profession and performance.
Writing to Titus he made a similar accusation of certain in the church, as we noted last week, saying, “They profess that they know God, but in works they deny Him.” This consideration sets the stage for today’s emphasis, which follows what seems at first reading a curious thought. It seems as though he is urging Titus to teach sound doctrine, (v.1) but immediately he addresses behavioral issues in various categories of believers: old men, aged women, young women and young men—even slaves (servants.)
The message is clear: without sound conduct, sound doctrine becomes irrelevant. When our behavior fails to “adorn” what we profess, when our conduct contradicts our theology, our deeds discredit our doctrine and the unregenerate world around us has little reason to take what we say seriously. And, such inconsistent behavior threatens to undermine the cause of Christ. When this happens Christianity falls to the level of religion rather than a relationship with Christ.
Christianity as a religion is as bankrupt as paganism. It is only insofar as Christ has become our life and our lives radiate His character that Christian faith becomes more than another competitor in the religious marketplace. True doctrine, in other words, is not static and academic, but dynamic and life changing.
The Savior said “He that hath seen Me hath seen the Father [John 14:9].” Later, addressing the Father in prayer He remarked, “Now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world [John 17:11],” and a bit later, “As thou hast sent Me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world [Jn. 17:18].” The latter emphasis was reiterated directly to the disciples by the Savior after His resurrection: “Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath set Me, even so send I you [Jn. 20:21].” The inference is that the character of God will be as evident in the lives of believers as it was in the life of the Son of God.
Sadly, that has not been the case over time. The two major emphases in the Savior’s teaching are love and unity. As we have noted more than once, He said, “By this shall all men know that ye are My disciples, if ye have love one for another [Jn. 13:35]. And He prayed, “That they all may be one; as thou, Father art in Me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou has sent Me [Jn. 17:21, my italics].”
Sadly, these doctrines are not demonstrated in the professing church as a whole; sadder still, they are not even significantly evident in many a local congregation of “believers.” To say nothing of sin in the ordinary sense, the doctrine that should lay the foundation for love and unity is often the catalyst for strife and division. This, of course, is the adversary’s genius. The divine objective (part of our “sound doctrine”) is to “gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in Him… [Eph. 1:10].” Hence it has become the devil’s strategy to divide what God would unite, making it appear that he has successfully frustrated the divine goal, and thus discrediting the testimony of Christ.
Ultimately, of course, God will accomplish His objective by His own means. But for now the church’s position is greatly weakened by the disparity between our doctrine and our demonstration. Scripture still pleads for these to be brought into correspondence with one another. There is no immediate large scale solution available. (Ecumenism is an attempt to achieve unity at the expense of doctrine, which is another evil.) Scripture still urges believers to “adorn the doctrine of God.” For now it can only be realized in individual lives committed to Christ and infused with the Holy Spirit, then embraced and displayed among those groups of believers, few in number perhaps, who share the same commitment to Christ.
“Examine yourselves.” And let it be remembered that anything less fails to adorn the doctrine of God and discredit the Truth.
For the glory of God,
"Pastor" Frasier
No comments:
Post a Comment