"Doctrine That Dances" - Titus 2:1-2 (Larry Malament)

Sermon Quotes:

Dorothy Sayers: “Official Christianity, of late years, has been having what is known as bad press. We are constantly assured that churches are empty because preachers insist too much upon doctrine – 'dull dogma' as people call it. The fact is the precise opposite. It is the neglect of doctrine that makes for dullness. The Christian faith is the most exciting drama that staggered the imagination of man – and doctrine is the drama.”

J.I. Packer: “Modern muddle-headedness and confusion as to the meaning of faith in God are almost beyond description. People say they believe in God, but they have no idea who it is they believe in, or what difference believing in him may make”.

Bobby Jameson: “Sound doctrine is a summary of the bible’s teaching that is both faithful to the bible and useful for life.” 

Bobby Jameson: “As pastors preach and teach sound doctrine, our minds are gradually conformed to the mind of Christ (Romans 12).  Week by week, day by day, we uproot lies and plant truths. As those truths take root in our hearts, they transform our desires, affections, and actions. Just as a healthy diet leads to a sound body, so a diet of sound doctrine in preaching produces holiness in a church’s members.”

David Platt: “We live in a culture drowning in gender confusion. The lines for many years have become blurred for what it means to be a man or a woman, what it means to be a masculine man and a woman who is feminine. The church is being shaped by the secular culture more than sacred scripture. Never has the church needed more desperately to hear the words from Titus 2:2-8. This is a text that makes God’s plan, God’s assignment, God’s roles for men and women in the church plain and clear.”

Edmond Hiebert:“Old men play a very important part in the life of the church, but the extent of their influence will depend wholly upon the sweetness and mellowness of the Christian character.”

John MacArthur: “Older men are to be sound in perseverance. They are to exhibit the ability to endure hardship, to accept disappointment and failure, to be satisfied despite thwarted personal desires and plans. They have learned to graciously live with such difficulties as physical weakness, loneliness, and being misunderstood and unappreciated. The do not lose heart when things do not turn out the way they had hoped and expected, but have the perfect confidence that, 'God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to his purpose.'”

Philip Towner: “Brave patience with which the older Christian endures the trials and tribulations of life without losing heart or courage is very needful in old age with its increasing infirmities, disappointed aspirations, and growing loneliness. It is the blessed office of the religion of Christ at such a time to lift the soul above complaints, murmurings, and despair, and inspire it with patient resignation, heavenly fortitude, and ever brightening hope; and it is where this effect is produced in the actual life, the gospel shines forth in its highest glory before men.”