What are you teaching in your daily life? You may be a teacher that instructs in a classroom, or you may be like most people, you teach by your example. Have you ever thought about what you are teaching those around you? We can all teach good things when we are conscious of those watching us, but what about the times you are just “living?” Those days happen most often. We have our pattern of what we will do that day and we follow through almost in robotic form. However, the teachable moments that make the biggest impact are the ones that just happen as a reaction to an adverse moment. The best teachers of good things are those who have spent time with God asking for help and following His directions on how to live. These people have determined to be intentional in living for God, therefore their teaching is profitable to those around them.
In Titus 2:15, Paul instructs Titus to teach certain things that are crucial to living a successful Christian life. These “things” refers to all the truths of the gospel. The truth of the gospel is the good news about salvation. The salvation that comes through Jesus’s sacrifice, by God’s grace, and putting our faith in Him. Because of the good news of the gospel, we should teach by our example to avoid sin. We are not to practice sin and act as if it doesn’t matter. I’ve heard many say, “nobody is perfect, we all sin, but we’re still saved,” as if it is ok. It’s not! When we truly get a picture of the grace of God and what it cost Him to forgive us of our sins, we will abhor sin. We all will sin by either omission or commission until we die, but when we sin against the one who saved us we will be repentant, and we will do everything in our power to avoid sin. In I John 3:8-9, we are taught that if we have been born again, if we belong to God, we will not make a habit of sinning. We are to live a righteous life with Jesus as our example. He is the standard by which we measure ourselves. Not by someone else, but by Him. We will not achieve that perfection here in this life, but we are to seek it.
I John 3:8-9 “He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sins from the beginning. For this purpose, the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil. Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remains in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.”
We are to live soberly, or seriously when it comes to our faith. Our lives are to be lived without compromise and without holding back anything from God. We are bought with a price, and we are not our own.
As we have lived out our lives, we teach. We teach by verbal instruction, but real teaching is believable and most often followed when it is by example. None of us is an island unto ourselves. If we are teaching how to live according to the Bible, our lives are to be an exhibition of the gospel. The way we deal with situations should cause others to ask us how we do it. When this happens you have the opportunity to point them to the one that dwells within you to help you do what is right.
In Titus 2:15, Paul is telling Titus to speak, teach, or proclaim the truths mentioned in the first 14 verses. He is to not back down from the truth because they are truths from God. There are many who do not like the truths of God’s word, but their opinions and dislikes do not change the truth. Paul told Titus to exhort, to strongly encourage or urge them to live godly. He was also to rebuke with a command of authority, those who were wrong. His determination to stand and live by the word of God would be an example they could follow with confidence.
His last instruction in this chapter is to let “no man despise thee.” He is to conduct his life consistent with the word of God. It is to be consistent with what He has taught them. There should never be an occasion for his life to appear hypocritical. We too must always live in a manner that would cause others to respect us. When we don’t, we are doing more harm to the name of Christ than we are good. There is always someone watching and they judge your God by your actions. In I Timothy 4:12, Paul speaks to another young man. He gives Timothy instructions to be an example. He reminds him that his young age is not an excuse to act in a way that is not becoming a Christian. He tells him that a believer should be an example in the way he talks, in the way he acts, in the love he shows, and in purity.
Titus 2:15 “These things speak, and exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no man despise thee.”
I Timothy 4:12 “Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity.”
Now let’s get practical. What are you teaching by the way you talk, the places you go, the media you are watching, the things you listen to, the company you keep, or the love that you show? Examine yourself. It is important that we not only do right and think right but that we live and speak in a manner that cannot be misunderstood. We represent the one true God, and what we teach by our lives tells them a lot about what we believe about our God.
