Titus 2:1  But speak thou the things which become sound doctrine:
2  That the aged men be sober, grave, temperate, sound in faith, in charity, in patience.

It is interesting to listen to people. We have been brainwashed by a secularism that cannot accept the truth. There are lost people who can speak quite forcefully. They also are accepted for their frowardness.
Hitler was a man who came on the scene with great subtlety. He appealed to the working class and after he gained enough support he proved who he truly was. He was a ruthless, evil man who did not hesitate to silence any dissent against him. He knew the nature of man. He knew his own nature. He was power hungry and he gathered that type of people around him. Power hungry people will do strange things to hold on to power. Power that is built upon humanistic terms is very ruthless.
We can look at the Word of God and we read of ruthless leaders from the past. We know that King Herod was a ruthless leader. He ordered the death of all boys two years old and younger to try to kill Jesus Christ, who he assumed was a rival for his throne. Further back in history we read of Pharaoh demanding that all Hebrew boys be killed by the midwives.
Pilate was a ruthless man. He witnessed the brutal beating of Jesus Christ, and did nothing to stop it. He was cheered on by wicked unbelieving Jews and due to his unquenchable thirst for power, he carried through to sign the death warrant on Jesus Christ. We know Jesus Christ came to lay down His life for the sheep. He needed to die on the cross. He needed to shed His blood on that cross. However, Pilate would not be innocent in his dealings.
The Bible tells us that the Antichrist will be a very ruthless man. He will come on the scene as a peacemaker. He will deceive the world of his day, with his lies. He will bring about a peace deal between Israel and her enemies. The Jews will worship him as though he were the Messiah. He will shock them by showing who he really is at the midpoint of his short reign. Many will die at his hands.
The world does not seem to have a problem embracing individuals who are ruthless. However, the world does not have a stomach for truth.
The area of Crete was in a bad way in the time that Paul was writing this letter. There was a huge problem in the area. There was a spiritual vacuum in that area. There was no voice of truth there. Titus was given an important task. He was not invited there by the people. He was sent there by God. His ministry was essential. He needed to set things in order. Without God there will never be order.
We can see this in our world at this time. Our country of Canada is in a dire situation. We have had an extremely corrupt government for the past 9+ years. Presently, the Liberal government is seeking to change leaders and also govern the land without input from others. They claim to be champions of democracy, but they are functioning like a dictatorship. South of the border, Mr. Trump has not been able to broker a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine. The previous administration badly damaged the military machine in that country. The president is aware of that. He is talking big, but he knows he really has little to back up his talk. Thus talks are currently stalled.
Worse than the secular problems facing us in the West as well as the Middle East, is the spiritual vacuum that is growing. There are not many men who are willing to set things in order that are lacking. It is easier to go with the flow, than expose the heresy and teach the truth.
In our text, Titus needed to speak the things that become sound doctrine. Sound doctrine is Bible doctrine. It begins with the fact that the true God is the Creator of all things. He is in charge. Evolution is a lie and must be exposed as such. The sodomite agenda is a lie and also needs to be exposed. Men are born as males and women are born as females. The only time there is confusion in a person’s life about their gender is when adults who hate God instil wicked ideas in the minds of young people.
Sodomy is the direct result of a rejection of the true God. Child abuse is taking young children and trying to indoctrinate them into believing that they are confused about their identity and that they need to explore different ideas.
The murder of unborn children is also a wicked thing. Life begins at conception. That thing in the womb is a human being from the moment of conception. It does not go through different types of animal stages until a certain time and then becomes a human being. It is not a fetus. That is a “scientific” term that tries to destroy the uniqueness of God’s design. The Bible refers to that thing in the human womb as a child.
The angel referred to Jesus Christ while He was in the womb of Mary as “that holy thing”. Mary was told that holy thing was to be known as the Son of God. Mary understood she was given a privileged place, not because she was without sin, but because she was a God-fearing young woman who understood her need of a Saviour. She came to understand that this “holy thing” in her womb was as much her Saviour as He was for all others who would turn to God in repentance and trust in His provision for a Saviour.
God directed Paul to remind Titus of the need to teach the people God’s order in life. The aged men needed to be respectable men who walked in the fear of the Lord. Experiencing that first sip of alcohol or that first cigarette does not make a boy a man. Watching Grandpa drinking and cursing does not help young men.
The aged men need to be sober. They need to be free from alcohol and they need to know how to think soberly. They need to walk in the fear of the Lord so that they can help point their children to the true God. A sober man understands that all people will stand before the Holy God one day soon. It is foolish to tease young men and young women about some person they should have a crush on. Leave that alone and let God develop that young person into a responsible person who can hear the voice of God and be directed by Him into the future He has for them.
To be “grave” is to be honourable. An honourable older man is one who is known to walk in the fear of the Lord. It is a man who knows his Bible and can help younger people to see the importance of learning to walk in the fear of the Lord. There is no blessing in accepting the rebellion that can be expressed in younger people. A gravely minded older man does not shrug his shoulders at a broken relationship that ends in divorce and then the broken person pursues further sin by marrying someone else. That does not help anyone. The flesh can feel good in the midst of sin. Feeling good does not make it right.
A “temperate” older man is one who is of sound mind and demonstrates that his life is under God’s control. He is temperate because he is sound in faith. He has learned how to walk with the Lord and He has a testimony of godliness. The older men need to have learned the blessing of walking by faith. They need to have that stability that comes from trusting God and walking with Him through good times and challenging times. It is that faithfulness that we know that God is never late and He always keeps His Word.
Charity is a loving attitude that is there to help others to see the blessing of trusting in the Lord. As we see, patience is needed as well. The older men have walked with God for a time. They have sought to help the younger men to see the blessing of walking with God. Sometimes the younger men will stumble. The older men have been there. They do not tolerate that stumbling, but they are there to help the younger men to see the necessity of following God to avoid those stumbles.
We do not see this attitude much in our churches today. We see older men who shrug their shoulders. They do not like all they see happening, but they are resigned to the fact that changes must take place with every generation. That is a lie from the devil. Changes in doctrine never need to take place. We might change the windows or the carpet, but we do not change the doctrine. We do not change the music style. We still hold to music that honours God. The CCM that has taken over in most churches, does not honour God.
The devil is very subtle and he knows how to break down the careless person. We need to know the Lord and we need to consistently teach the truth. We need to draw nigh to God. As we do that, the world will be pushed to the side. It will still be there, but it will not take hold on our hearts and lives.
Pastor Bartel