“You must teach what is in accord with sound doctrine.” (Titus 2:1)
I have attended Christian churches all of my life, and throughout the 40 years of sermons I have listened to, I have been well “indoctrinated” as to what is “sound doctrine”! These are the areas that churches often debate, each denomination claiming that they have “all spiritual light” on the matter. You know. Things like the state of the dead, which day to worship God, beliefs on the Trinity, beliefs on the Holy Spirit. Stuff like that! Of course, this always puzzled me a bit. If each church claimed to have all spiritual light on their doctrines, then how come there were so many differing doctrines? But I generally just put this aside, convincing myself that my church had to be the one who really taught sound doctrine! When I read Titus 2:1, I was pleased at first. My church was following the advice of the Bible! They were teaching “sound doctrine”! Then I read verse 2: “Teach the older men to be temperate, worthy of respect, self-controlled, and sound in faith, in love and in endurance.” (Titus 2:2). Wait a minute! Where is the direction to teach “State of the Dead” and “End Time Prophecy”? Maybe it’s in the next verse, I thought: “Likewise, 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.” (Titus 2:3) I quickly read through the rest of the chapter, and, well, you guessed it . . . There wasn’t a single thing about “The Trinity” or which day of the week is the “Sabbath”. What I found instead was the following definitions of “sound doctrine”: Temperance, love, self-control, reverence, non-judgmentalism, kindness, purity, keeping in your place (wives subjecting to their husbands, slaves to their masters, etc.), seriousness, integrity, and the list went on. Quite different from the things I would have thought of as doctrine! Yet, this is Paul’s definition of “sound doctrine”! But just how can you teach “sound doctrine”, as we are instructed to do? This is answered in verses 11 & 12: “For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age . . .” (Titus 2:11-12). The Gospel message teaches us to live according to Paul’s definition of “Sound Doctrine”! Should we continue reinforcing their own interpretations of what day is holy, the state of the dead, the trinity, tithing, the gifts of the Holy Spirit, etc? Not according to Paul! Instead, we should be preaching the Gospel in order to promote “sound doctrine”! Not only is the Gospel message powerful in saving the lost, but it is also powerful in teaching us the only sound doctrine that matters! What do you say, my friends? Is there any changes you need to make in how you approach people about religion? Do you teach specific doctrines of your denomination? Do you feel that your church has all the “doctrinal” answers? Do you believe that your church is the “one true church”, and does this color how you approach people? Or do you promote the Gospel and the Gospel alone, and thus, Paul’s list of “sound doctrine”? Give it some thought, my friends! “You must teach what is in accord with sound doctrine.” (Titus 2:1)
Love in Christ,
Lyn
Lyn Chaffart, Moderator, The Nugget, Scriptural Nuggets ( www.scripturalnuggets.org ), Answers2Prayer Ministries, www.Answers2Prayer.org