Sunday, September 14th, 2025
Christ Covenant Church – Centralia, WA
Prayer
Father, we thank for your Son and our Savior the Lord Jesus, true God and true man, who in his humanity adorned his teaching with perfect living, and has taught us by word and deed how to please You. And so help us O Father by the same Holy Spirit in which Your Son walked. For we ask this in Jesus’ name, Amen.
Introduction
This morning, we begin a new section in Paul’s letter to Titus. And while chapter 1 was primarily about church government, and what a pastor must be and do to silence heretics, chapter 2 contains what a pastor must teach and exhort within the church.
1But speak thou the things which become sound doctrine: 2That the aged men be sober, grave, temperate, sound in faith, in charity, in patience.
Outline of the Sermon
Observe there are six qualities or virtues that God wants older men to possess and pursue. The first three are moral virtues, sobriety, gravity, and temperance. And the latter three are theological virtues, faith, charity, and the patience of hope. So let us consider these six virtues one by one.
#1 – An older man must be Sober (νηφάλιος)
In 1 Timothy 3:2 this same Greek word (νηφάλιος) is translated as vigilant. And the idea here is that an older man must be watchful, clear-headed, sober-minded, especially about his bodily appetites, whether food, drink, sex, or any other pleasure.This virtue of sober moderation is of course necessary for all ages, but as we get older and freer, new temptations start to afflict is.For example, if a man is undisciplined in his youth, his own vanity, his sense of shame, and good parents and friends, can help keep his sinful desires in check.There can be good social and peer pressure to help teenagers do what is right, or else. Fear of embarrassment is good when it comes to sin.However, when we are emancipated, when we become our own masters, or when we mature and stop caring so much about what other people think, we can also lose those good external restraints on our sinful desires. And therefore, it becomes even more necessary as we get older and freer, to have greater internal restraints. That is what sobriety is all about: not going to excess in our pursuit of bodily or worldly pleasures, not abusing the freedom, power, or wealth we have attained.Both King David and King Solomon are examples of failure on this point.As a young man David slew Goliath, but as an older man he was slain by his own lust for Bathsheba. David fell through a lack of sobriety.Likewise, Solomon (the son of Bathsheba), describes in Ecclesiastes how he tried to find satisfaction by acquiring for himself every good he could find under the sun.He had the best food, the best drink, the best vineyards and gardens, the best music, the best servants, the most power and prestige in all whole world. Solomon could indulge any desire he had and that without restraint. But what did he conclude after all that experimentation in gratifying his flesh? It is all vanity. And therefore, he says what is good for every person, young or old is simply: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil (Eccl 12:13-14).So to those who are older, sobriety becomes even more necessary when you have less natural shame, less care about other people’s opinions, and less pleasures in some ways than you might have had when you were young and healthy. And therefore, an older man must consciously pursue growth in the governing of his appetites. He must not let his guard down or ever think that God is not watching. He must fear God and keep His commands. This is true sobriety.#2 – An older man must be Grave (σεμνός)
Other translations have reverent, dignified, solemn, or noble. The idea here is that a man of gravitas is worthy of everyone’s respect because he knows what God values, he knows what God thinks is important, and he has ordered his life around God’s priorities, not games, hobbies, and childish pursuits.A good example of such gravity is the righteous man Job. And I really cannot give a better description of gravity than to just read you what God inspired in Job 29. And so let me read you a lengthier portion of this chapter.It says in Job 29:7-25, When I went out to the gate by the city, When I took my seat in the open square, The young men saw me and hid, And the aged arose and stood; The princes refrained from talking, And put their hand on their mouth; The voice of nobles was hushed, And their tongue stuck to the roof of their mouth. When the ear heard, then it blessed me, And when the eye saw, then it approved me; Because I delivered the poor who cried out, The fatherless and the one who had no helper. The blessing of a perishing man came upon me, And I caused the widow’s heart to sing for joy. I put on righteousness, and it clothed me; My justice was like a robe and a turban. I was eyes to the blind, And I was feet to the lame. I was a father to the poor, And I searched out the case that I did not know. I broke the fangs of the wicked, And plucked the victim from his teeth. “Then I said, ‘I shall die in my nest, And multiply my days as the sand. My root is spread out to the waters, And the dew lies all night on my branch. My glory is fresh within me, And my bow is renewed in my hand.’ “Men listened to me and waited, And kept silence for my counsel. After my words they did not speak again, And my speech settled on them as dew. They waited for me as for the rain, And they opened their mouth wide as for the spring rain. If I laughed they did not believe it, And the light of my countenance they did not cast down. I chose the way for them, and sat as chief; So I dwelt as a king in the army, As one who comforts mourners.Does that in any way describe you? While ancient customs may be very different from ours, there are still many universal qualities of justice, honor, and wisdom that we should seek to emulate here.It says in Leviticus 19:32, You shall rise before the gray headed and honor the presence of an old man, and fear your God: I am the Lord.And so to us who are younger, we must learn to show due reverence to our superiors in age for no other reason than God told us to. We live in a world and culture that disrespects authority, dishonors its elders, and that lack of respect for our fathers and mothers, grandfathers and grandmothers, is an abomination in the eyes of God. We shall not live long upon the land if we continue to dishonor the older generations.And so the young must grow in learning to show respect, and the old must aspire to be worthy of that respect, not merely by their superiority of age, but by their superiority in virtue. It says in Proverbs 16:31, The silver-haired head is a crown of glory, If it is found in the way of righteousness.So are you becoming a man of gravity? Do people seek you out because you have a reputation for wisdom, honor, and justice? Or do people think lightly of you and for good reason, because there is little substance to your words, life, and actions.One of the lines I especially love is Job 29:24, which is unfortunately translated as, “If I mocked at them, they did not believe it.” In Hebrew the word mocked there is laughed (שׂחק), and the idea is that Job was a such a serious and grave man that people could hardly believe it when he smiled, made a joke, laughed, or was merry.It’s kind of like if you only saw a judge when he was robed up with a gavel in his hand, you might forget that he also smiles from time to time. This is how people saw Job.And so man of gravity is not to be over serious (a boor), he should have a sense of humor, but a grave man is serious about the things of God. And when you are serious about the things of God, of heaven, hell, and eternal judgment, then you can be light about trivial things.And so while Job is a great positive example, Eli and his sons are a great negative example. God says to Eli in 1 Samuel 2:30, For them that honour me I will honour, and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed.And so are you reverencing God, or are you esteeming the things of God lightly? Because a time will come when God will treat you how you have treated Him. So are you pursuing gravitas?#3 – An older man must be Temperate (σώφρων)
This Greek word for temperate appears 2 other times in Titus, and it is a different kind of temperance than the virtue of sobriety/moderation which we just spoke of.Here the idea is that of moral discretion, or thoughtfulness (good judgment), or intellectual prudence. And it is very close to the gift of wisdom that God bestows on those who fear Him all their days.It says in Job 12:12, Wisdom is with aged men, And with length of days, understanding.And in Proverbs 20:29, The glory of young men is their strength: And the beauty of old men is the gray head.Moses was such a man who had this prudence in old age. It says in Deuteronomy 34:7, Moses was one hundred and twenty years old when he died. His eyes were not dim nor his natural vigor diminished.In Scripture the eyes are a metaphor for the mind’s understanding. At 120 years old, Moses still had this virtue of discretion, of wise judgment, of prudence about what should be done. And how did he get that? From decades of gazing with those same eyes upon the majesty of God. He spent a lot of time in prayer upon the mountain.Recall that Moses had to put a veil over his face because it shone with God’s glory. And it should be the ambition of every person in this room to have their eyes bright with the light of Jesus as they approach their latter years. This is true wisdom, to finish our course well with our eyes fixed on Jesus.Now the prudent person knows that what is most needful in life, even more than sobriety, and gravity, are what Scripture extols as the three theological/supernatural virtues which are: faith, hope, and love. And so Paul rounds off this list of six virtues by commending older men to be sound in faith, in charity, in patience.And so let us say a brief word about how each of these virtues shields us from distinct vices in old age.#4 – Of Faith
Faith is a shield against presumption on one side, and incredulity on the other.Because older men are to be wiser and more experienced than the young, they also are tempted to lean on that wisdom and experience more than upon God. Further, they can become incredulous or suspicious of what the younger generations do and think, and therefore unwilling to ever hear or learn from them.This is the sin of pride and presumption. It is also the sin that caused Satan to fall from so great a height.Wisdom is extremely dangerous when it becomes a substitute for faith. While faith is the mind’s assent to the testimony of God, presumption is the assent to the testimony of our own opinions.There is a world of difference between faith in God and self-presumption. When we are young and ignorant, we have good reason to take many things on faith. But as we grow in knowledge, the devil tempts us in different ways. And so we have to be on guard as we gain experience, to still heed the words of Proverbs 3:5-7, Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths. Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the Lord and depart from evil.Faith is what preserves us from such self-presumption and unjust suspicion of others. Faith should keep us humble.#5 – Of Charity
Charity, or supernatural love, is a shield against both selfishness and bitterness in old age.Whereas the selfish soul says, “I have done my time serving others, now it’s time for everyone to serve me,” the charitable soul says, “how can I still be a blessing to others with whatever strength and time remains?”While the selfish heart is grabby, stingy, and entitled, the loving soul is open handed, generous, and outward focused.The metaphor Paul uses to describe these latter years is that of a cup of wine being poured out.He says in 2 Timothy 4:6-8, which is final letter before martyrdom, For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing.It is love for God’s appearance in Christ, His sacrificial death and pouring out his own life on the cross for us, that keeps the fires of love roaring in our soul.And where there is charity, there you will also find this last virtue that Paul commends, which is the patience of hope.#6 – Patience
Jesus says in Luke 21:19, By your patience possess your souls.And in 2 Corinthians 12:12, Paul includes patience alongside the grace of performing miracles! Truly the signs of an apostle were wrought among you in all patience, in signs, and wonders, and mighty deeds.This is because as we grow older, our friends and loved ones die, we are always tired but cannot sleep, funerals begin to outnumber the weddings and baby showers, sorrows outweigh our joys, and therefore as we also prepare to go the way of all flesh, what we most need is the patient endurance of hope.Paul says in Hebrews 6:10-15, For God is not unjust to forget your work and labor of love which you have shown toward His name, in that you have ministered to the saints, and do minister. And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope until the end, that you do not become sluggish, but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises. For when God made a promise to Abraham, because He could swear by no one greater, He swore by Himself, saying, “Surely blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply you.” And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise.Conclusion
For those who wait patiently upon God, who do not become sluggish in spirit though the body wastes away, to them God promises blessing upon blessing, multiplication of every good, and on the last day He will justly reward us with glory, with resurrection, with a new body that cannot perish, and in that body we shall walk into a new heavens and new earth wherein righteousness dwells.
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