You must teach what is
in accord with sound doctrine (Titus 2:1).
What comes to your mind when you hear the word doctrine?
Yup, I thought so.
For most, doctrine conjures up negative images of
ivory tower seminarians droning aimlessly about that which is impractical,
irrelevant and boring.
But doctrine is truth. In the ancient world, doctrine was the core instruction of a
teaching master, or doctor.
When I attended Mount Carmel Bible School in Edmonton in the
mid-1970s, Stan King was an excellent Bible teacher with a razor-sharp
intellect and quirky sense of humour.
He announced an additional – but optional – class for those interested in a deeper study of systematic biblical doctrine.
Bodies slouched. Eyes rolled. Minds zoned out. (“He did say optional, didn’t he?”)
Visions of socially awkward theology geeks with bad
haircuts, pens bulging from their pocket protectors, gathering excitedly on a
Friday night for dull, tedious lectures in the library immediately came to the
minds of most of my classmates.
But with Mr. King, for that tiny handful of student keeners,
doctrine came to life!
And its systematic energy consistently drove us to a
broadened capacity for right thinking. For me, the inevitable consequence was
an inevitable and practical pursuit of wise living.
Living that desired to be holistic, spiritually healthy, Christ-affirming.
The kind that pushed me in the direction of wanting above
all to please God. To seek to live in the centre of His blessing.
That’s what Paul wanted for the Cretan Christians to whom Titus had been sent as the Great Apostle’s emissary.
Crete was not the kind of place where you would expect to
find evidence of Christianity in the 1st century.
Think of the Mediterranean version of the wild, wild west.
Everyone took the law into their own hands. Violence was common. Piracy was the
norm.*
We don’t know when Paul visited Crete. He sailed along the shore of the island in Acts 27 during the voyage that ended in shipwreck. He may have revisited later; if he did, it’s not recorded in the New Testament.
But Paul’s evangelism lead bandits to belief, felons to faith, and crooks to Christ.
Churches were planted. Lives and communities were restored.
The transformative power of the Gospel was again in evidence in this
particularly rough Mediterranean neighborhood.
And Titus was sent by Paul to advance the process.
When Paul instructed Titus on his mission, it’s interesting to me what he didn’t say.
Paul didn’t tell his young designate to bring about social change; or advance the cause of justice; or encourage
openness and vulnerability; or to build self-esteem; or to assist the oppressed and disenfranchised.
Paul coached Titus to teach what is in accord with sound doctrine.
In the original language, the
word Paul chose for sound was the
word from which our
English term hygiene is derived. Paul only used the
term in his correspondence with
Timothy and Titus – nowhere else in his writings. And he used it 4 times in the 46 verses of this little epistle.
The word meant to be sound,
well, complete, of good health. Those characteristics are what Paul knew doctrine would
produce in the life of the Cretan believers.
To do this Paul wanted Titus to preach – and to model – biblical truths.
Why?
Because proper biblical
teaching when embraced, leads to healthy thinking, vigorously righteous attitudes – living that is holistically healthful.
Takeaway: Paul wanted these former pirates to be complete,
spiritually mature Christ-followers to the glory of God. And that starts with right – biblically healthy – thinking, right doctrine, right theology,
right attitudes, evidenced in holy living.
But in the 21st
century, most Christians veer away from doctrine. People say things like, “doctrine divides” or “doctrine’s too tough to chew”. Both are lies from the evil one to keep the Lord’s people from a spiritually healthy diet.
We must have – and it’s essential that we plead with the Holy Spirit to enhance – an appetite for doctrinal truth and theological soundness – founded solely on the Word of God.
The spiritual health of our
lives, marriages, families, and churches depends on it.
*in his book Restoring Health: Body, Mind and Spirit, The Reverend Doctor Ed Hird says that Crete at the time of Titus “had been swarming with pirates for the previous 800 years. My thinking for this post was influenced by this commentary on Titus.
~ this post last appeared in
May 2016.
