“For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, 12 teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, 13 looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, 14 who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works.“

Titus 2:11-14

Now, there are several sermons in this short text, but I want to highlight just one command — to live soberly.  This word is not too common in our modern lexicon but it expected of Christians.  We recognize its opposite in drunkenness, but what does “to live soberly” mean or look like?  Some translations use terms like discretely, temperate/moderate, or sound mind.  A close cousin is self-controlled, which we know from Galatians 5:23 is a fruit of the Spirit.  

In his recent book on Leadership, Joe Rigney describes sober-mindedness as a combination of three elements:  clarity of mind, stability of soul and a readiness to act based on the first two.  Applying this directly to men, consider it this way.  When we are confronted with challenging circumstances or relationships, we must be in control of our passions.  We can’t let other people’s sin or hardships cause our passions and emotions to get out of control.  We can’t respond with anger, envy, bitterness, self-pity or indulgence.  

As the start of this section states, “the grace of God has appeared to us.”  And that same Grace empowered us with His Spirit of self control.  In the midst of the storm or facing a snarky comment from our wife, a criticism from a co-worker, that ‘look’ from our kids, that unexpected bill, that news of an illness or whatever, we are called to remain sober-minded.  And, in that soberness, we need to see with clear eyes what is really going on.  

If we don’t know, we need to investigate, ask questions, ponder, self evaluate ask for help, and ask for wisdom (James1).  Then, when we understand what is at hand, we will be able to measure this against God’s Word and act.  Sometimes it will be to comfort the weak.  Other times, a strong exhortation may be in order.  Or, you may have identified a wolf in your midst and have to take more extreme measures to confront and remove the danger.

In each of these situations, you likely will face real blow back from your decision and taken actions.  But, God made you men, revealed His Grace and gave you His Spirit.  So, act like men.

Matt Meyer – April 14, 2024

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Hypocrisy is one of the most hated sins. There are Pride parades, Pro-Choice rallies, Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, and anxiety support groups. But you’ll have a hard time recruiting folks to show support for “Hypocrites Rights.”

Hypocrisy is, of course, claiming to hold up some virtue or set of virtues while secretly violating those virtues. Some examples come to mind. The pro-life politician who is exposed for making his mistress get an abortion.The Pastor using tithe dollars for secret trips to Vegas. The Instagram trad-wife whose perfectly curated online image doesn’t match her real life image of laziness in homemaking and bitter snappiness in mothering. All such hypocrites will soon find their secrets out in the open, and their hidden sins made public, and God will judge it.

But amongst Christians there is a silly but dangerous temptation when it comes to hypocrisy. We know how we ought to live and the standards we ought to uphold. And if we have sinned in some arena we are tempted to think we must protect God’s reputation by not confessing our sin, bringing it into the light, and making things right. We reason that we wouldn’t want to embarrass God with a confession of our sin. As if He would need to rush a PR statement to the press when one of His people confess their sin.

God has already informed us what His position is in regards to confessed sin: He delights in mercy. That’s why there’s a bloody cross after all. He gives that mercy to those who humble themselves and confess their sin. So don’t hide your sin out of fear of what it might do to God’s reputation. His mercy is wide enough to swallow up your worst sin, and for His holiness to remain unsullied.

Our pride convinces us that God needs us to hide our sins, so as to not to bring shame upon Him. But He calls us to bring it out into the light, denounce it, be ashamed of it so that by His mercy our shame might be turned into the uplifted face of those who have received forgiveness. So then, we ought to be swift to confess our sins, so that by God’s grace we might be kept from presumptuous sins in order that we might not give way to great transgressions. If our desire is to bring honor to name of the Lord we must remember that the Word teaches us that it honors Him when we confess our sin and sinfulness. So then put your certain hope in Him, trusting in His character and nature which is a deep ocean of tender-mercies to those who put their trust in Him. This is your only hope in life and in death, that God has made a way for your sins to be confessed and for Him to forgive them all without compromising His righteousness.

Ben Zornes – April 14, 2024

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By 700 BC, King Sennacherib had achieved unparalleled military success, subjugating 46 fortified cities and asserting dominance over the known world. However, this unbroken chain of victories was fostering a dangerous sense of pride within him. The following is recorded for us in 2 Kings 18 when the Rabshakeh mocks the Israelites, “Has any of the gods of the nations ever delivered his land out of the hand of the king of Assyria? Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivvah? Have they delivered Samaria out of my hand? Who among all the gods of the lands have delivered their lands out of my hand, that Yahweh should deliver Jerusalem out of my hand?” The interesting thing about this tirade is that it was true. The false gods of the nations did not deliver them from Assyria. But the cupbearer’s mistake was believing that Yahweh was simply the next name to be added to the roster of conquered gods. And so he uses impious speech to disrespect and profane God. In contrast, the Israelite King Hezekiah does the opposite and uses terms of veneration and reverence to plead for help. He says, “O LORD, the God of Israel, enthroned above the cherubim, you are the God, you alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth; you have made heaven and earth. Incline your ear, O LORD, and hear; open your eyes, O LORD, and see; and hear the words of Sennacherib, which he has sent to mock the living God. Truly, O LORD, the kings of Assyria have laid waste the nations and their lands and have cast their gods into the fire, for they were not gods, but the work of men’s hands, wood and stone. Therefore they were destroyed. So now, O LORD our God, save us please, from his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you, O LORD, are God alone.” There is no middle ground; blaspheme him or revere him. If you’re an atheist you insult His name. If you worship another god, He holds you in derision. If you try to be agnostic you deny general revelation. And one thing is for sure, God will not be mocked. Listen to Yahweh’s response to King Sennacherib, “Have you not heard that I determined it long ago? I planned from days of old what now I bring to pass, that you should turn fortified cities into heaps of ruins. But I know your sitting down and your going out and coming in, and your raging against me. Because you have raged against me and your complacency has come into my ears, I will put my hook in your nose and my bit in your mouth, and I will turn you back on the way by which you came.”

The pagan is quick to attribute success to himself and then blame God for failure. He says, “I know what I’m doing and I know where I’m going.” But let the Christian echo what James says, “If the Lord wills, we will do this or that.” He is in control and He is our God, not our therapist, our bestie, or our bosom buddy. We are to fear him as the righteous sovereign judge of the universe who turns the hearts of blasphemous kings wherever he wills. Let us be very mindful then, of how we reference God, how we talk to Him, the things we attribute to His hand, and what we say about Him.

Daniel Namahoe – April 14, 2024

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“Blessed are the merciful, For they shall obtain mercy.”

Thomas Watson calls mercifulness “a melting disposition whereby we lay to heart the miseries of others and are ready on all occasions to be instrumental for their good.” This disposition is modeled by Christ frequently when he sees the sick and lame and blind. In such encounters, the gospels regularly say, “he had compassion on them.” But his compassion didn’t stop at merely feeling certain things about them. Christ was willing to be moved to action by the suffering of others. Like the Good Samaritan, he was willing to be interrupted and inconvenienced in order to attend to the needs of those around him. 

This fact can be difficult for us to deal with sometimes. Are we so quick to drop whatever it is we preoccupy ourselves with in order to attend to the needs of others? Or, perhaps the better question is how often do we plan ahead and get that thing done in advance so that we are ready and prepared to help in a moment of need? In other words, do you find yourself constantly frustrated by the needs of others because you didn’t plan well enough? What about with your kids or your spouse? Do you often view their needs or requests as inconveniences to your daily schedule? 

We think this way, and yet there is a terrifying implication to Christ’s words here. What happens if we are not characterized as people who are merciful? What happens if we become like the Scribes and Pharisees who perform all kinds of religious duties but neglect the weightier matters of the law; such as, justice, and faith, and mercy? If being merciful brings with it the great blessing and reward of receiving mercy ourselves, then to not be merciful is to incur the curses and judgment of God. 

It is true that we cannot earn God’s mercy; otherwise, it would not be mercy. But as Galatians 6:7 says, “God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.” By sowing mercy, you reap mercy. And by failing to sow mercy, you will not receive mercy. 

And so the question comes: Do you need the mercy of God today? What about in your marriage? Could you use a bit of God’s mercy because of how you spoke harshly with your wife, or how you berated your husband? What about your strained relationship with your kids or your parents? Do you need God’s mercy there? If so, don’t wait for things to magically change. Confess your own failures. Confess where and how you have been unmerciful, where you’ve been critical, or harsh, or nagging. Confess it now and pray that the Lord would fashion you into a worthy instrument to be ready at all times to seek the good of others.

Zach Wilke – April 14, 2024

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Proverbs tells us, “As the door turneth upon his hinges, so doth the slothful upon his bed” (Proverbs 26:14). You can envision the man there, rotating like a stuffed pig roasting on a spit. He’s being fattened up for the slaughter. This lazy man is not happy. He is not at leisure. He is not recreating. There is no re-creation here, but de-creation. The sloth is unpleasantly immobile, digging himself deeper and deeper into an abyss, down there where satan is bound. Very often he spins downward while mindlessly scrolling on a smartphone. There is nothing particularly tantlizing about sloth. You may be tempted to it, of course. But you are not tempted to it like the sins of pride, greed, and sexual immorality. So you must know what this particular sin is up to.

R. J. Snell has wisely said that “Boredom is a heresy, declaring God was wrong when he saw the goodness of the world.” The slothful man retreats into himself, refusing to see, taste, hear, smell, and touch God’s created world with gratitude. And it is not as if the world, from which the slothful man flees, is stagnant or passive. This good creation speaks to him in a thousand ways. It reaches out to him. The birds sing to him. The sawdust assaults his sense of smell with its pleasing aroma. The apples beckon him to taste and see that they are good. They hang from the tree as if to politely request to be put into a pie.

But the slothful man trusts his own words more than these words from God. He opts to trust his lying words of despair, hopelessness, and meaninglessness; rather than the true word of God, brought to us by slimy slugs, laughing children, and rhubarb springing up from the ground. 

To all of this, the bed-bound sloth says, “But, there is a lion in the streets.” To which we must reply, “Perhaps so, and if there is, I really would like to go and see him shake his golden mane. We might even get to hear him roar.

Jared Longshore – April 14, 2024

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