“But as for you, proclaim the things which are fitting for sound doctrine. Older men are to be temperate, dignified, self-controlled, sound in faith, in love, in perseverance.”
Paul is writing the owner’s manual for Christians. And this passage deals with “Older men”. So, the rest of you take the morning off, and we old guys will just talk amongst ourselves.
Paul is writing the owner’s manual for Christians. And this passage deals with “Older men”. So, the rest of you take the morning off, and we old guys will just talk amongst ourselves.
Having just told us not to be, hypocritical posers…. Paul clarifies what we are supposed to be …”Accurate”. We are to speak truth and teach sound doctrine.
That sounds simple, however it is getting more and more challenging, as people who hate truth, start calling truth hate. It is no longer popular to speak truthfully…and you can expect to be attacked for doing so.
While speaking God’s truth can be dangerous… it is not complicated…. you do not need to speak Greek or Hebrew – There is no requirement of great orator skills – You just need to boldly proclaim the things which are clear in scripture.
And if you want people to listen, you must show them that truth works…put it into practice…be temperate, dignified, self-controlled, sound in faith, in love and in perseverance.
Take a hard look at that list of adjectives and decide how many of those words describe your life …determine today to improve on that because your effectiveness will depend on your consistency.
Men in our culture no longer strive to be temperate, or dignified, or self-controlled…In fact the opposite seems to be in style. There is an entire generation of young men who have never seen mature Christianity lived out for them … and that is on us. We need to show the world a different path, not just talk about it.
If you decide to do this it will not be met with applause - that is why Paul mentions perseverance… You cannot have perseverance without something to persevere through – and if you start speaking truth there will be opposition. So, our job as old codgers, is to walk through the trouble and be accurate, dignified, and loving.
This will take a resolute decision - followed by action…. Agreeing with the concept is meaningless unless you do something about it. You can make a difference starting today, but it will not happen by accident.
“Be dogmatically true, obstinately holy, immovably honest, desperately kind, fixed upright.” – Charles Spurgeon
Amen! Applies to old ladies too! It is hard when friends and even family bow up. The truth will prevail.
ReplyDeleteAmen it sure does - walk straight and the truth will prevail.
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