Titus 2:1–8

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.

³ The aged women likewise, that they be in behaviour as becometh holiness, not false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things;

⁴ That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children,

⁵ To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed.

⁶ Young men likewise exhort to be sober minded.

⁷ In all things shewing thyself a pattern of good works: in doctrine shewing uncorruptness, gravity, sincerity,

⁸ Sound speech, that cannot be condemned; that he that is of the contrary part may be ashamed, having no evil thing to say of you.

Sound doctrine is not always what a person wants to hear.

When a church or person is growing in the faith they need sound doctrine.

They will have new people, new problems, new pains, and diversity of ages.

There will be people from everywhere trying to educate you in the faith and sound doctrine can make a difference if you will be able to hold out or give out!

Be careful with your advice to young believers!

Remember they don’t have a faith background.

They come from the street with a totally different understanding of what is right.

Having people of all ages in a church can strengthen it, but it also can bring problems.

Paul gave Titus counsel on how to help various groups of people.

The older people should teach the younger by words and by example.

This is how values are passed on from generation to generation.

Titus was to teach all the new converts to become “sound in the faith” (1:13).

Titus 2:1 (12TT): But as for you, teach what is consistent with sound doctrine. 

Whereas the false teachers were deceivers (1:10), Titus was to teach sound doctrine, the “trustworthy message” of the gospel (1:9).

Believers must be grounded in the truths of the Bible, then they won’t be swayed by the powerful rhetoric of false teachers and heresy, the possible devastation of tragic circumstances, or the pull of emotions.

Knowledge and acceptance of “sound doctrine” should lead to righteous living.

Behavior should match belief; thus, in the following verses, Paul gave Titus examples of the right behavior expected of several types of people in the churches.

SOUND DOCTRINE

Sound doctrine rings true. It combines correct knowledge and understanding with consistent practice.

How do we know if our Christian doctrine is sound?

1. It is found in the Bible.
2. It keeps Jesus Christ central.
3. It results in consistently good behavior and actions.
4. It promotes spiritual health in ourselves and others.

Those responsible for preaching and teaching must challenge people to understand sound doctrine.

We may become so caught up in relating to felt needs that we ignore their connection to sound biblical knowledge.

Reaching out to people where they are should not result in scriptural ignorance. Most important is what does the bible say about this situation.

1.    Living by faith and not lead by emotions. 

2.    Don’t believe everything you feel.

3.    Feelings are not facts.

Just because I feel useless, hopeless, unlovable, and worthless, doesn’t mean you am. This might seem obvious to some but emotions can be convincing and the evidence seems to abound to confirm said subjective experience.

Recognize feelings for what they are: feelings; not facts, not the Truth, not edicts.

What Does the Bible say about emotions? 

Living by faith and not allowing our emotions to lead us can be complicated to tackle. 

Our feelings can change at the drop of a hat, the tune of a song, or the embrace of a friend.

Can we trust our own feelings, allowing them to guide our decisions if they are so quickly changing?

Are they something to rule our lives? Are they something that should guide our decisions?

Scripture On Managing Our Emotions

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7 

Whoever is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he who rules his spirit than he who takes a city. -Proverbs 16:32

Why did God give us our emotions?

In Proverbs 28:26 it tells us if we trust in our hearts, we are fools. 

Proverbs 12:15 says the way of the fool is right in his own eyes.

God gave us our feelings and emotions for a reason.

Living by faith doesn’t mean we ignore them.

They are not evil by themselves, but what we allow our thoughts to dwell on may be negative and causing an unhealthy overload of negative emotions. 

Our Emotions are a Gauge, Not a Guide

It will be in our best interest if we learn how to handle our feelings by responding well. Let’s try to remember 

2 Corinthians 10:5 when dealing with my feelings and thought process. 

“Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.”

2 Corinthians 10:5 KJV 

Sometimes I can’t help the way I feel, but I can help how I react to those feelings.

I can submit them to God and His will for my life.

Choosing to respond in a way that is based on God’s truth for my life and the situation.

By doing that I’m honoring God. Intentionally putting faith over my feelings.

Ephesians 4:26 (AV)

²⁶ Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath:

Just like handling our business we often have to handle our faith with Sound Doctrine!!!

Living By Faith Not Feelings

Our thoughts are what trigger our feelings.

Our feelings are very real but can be based or triggered by a negative, overthinking, thought process instead of the truth.  

When we find ourselves going through a hard time and the walls are closing in with no light at the end of the tunnel. Anxiety. Fear. Grief. Anger.

All those emotions can be overwhelming.

Crashing in on us.

Those are the moments when God reminds us to not be afraid, focus on His truth, and rest in Him. Sound Doctrine!

Living By Faith

Jesus, God in the flesh, experienced a wide range of emotions during his 33 years on this earth. 

Scripture tells us what He felt and experienced, specifically, during his three-year public ministry.

And while we might tend to think that being unemotional means being more spiritual or Spirit-controlled, Scripture clearly shows that Jesus exercised a healthy amount of emotion and self-control. –Crosswalk

We know that He is “near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit” (Ps. 34:18). We can cast all our anxieties on Him because we are assured that He cares for us (1 Peter 5:7).

Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. 

Isaiah 41:10

Standing in the Truth of God as broken and emotional people, remembering that God made our emotions and gives us a time to mourn and laugh. Recognizing them and submitting them one by one to Christ is the moving forward in a way that honors God.

Living by Faith and truly believing what the Bible says is what will transform our thought process and therefore help to keep our feelings in check and standing firm in our faith.