Titus 2:2 “That the aged men be sober, grave, temperate, sound in faith, in charity, in patience.”
As Paul wrote the epistle to Titus, he instructs his to teach others the principles of this verse (as well as the rest of the chapter). The section which jumped out at me was the latter half of the verse “sound in faith, in charity, in patience.” The Apostle Paul makes it clear that mature saints ought to have a sound faith, sound charity and sound patience. But what marks a person’s faith, charity and patience as being sound? What are the hallmarks of these characteristics being unsound?
When Paul uses the word sound he means complete, not lacking, steadfast, unerring, set upon the right foundation. But what do these qualities look like in practice? I hope to address that question for each of the three characteristics presented by Paul.
SOUND FAITH, CHARITY & PATIENCE
1). Sound Faith – Faith will never be sound unless it is rooted in Christ. Without faith it is impossible to please God, but unsound faith is just as worthless. Sound Faith is not riddled with holes, meaning no matter the subject or magnitude of an issue we fully rely upon God. Sound Faith does not alter from day to day, you submit your life to God the same on Thursday as you do when sitting in Church on Sunday/Wednesday. In all honesty, our church has heard enough preaching on faith that each one of us should have Sound Faith without excuse.
2). Sound Charity – Charity should be embodied towards all those that we come in contact with. Charity is simply another word for Love. Sound Love is seeking out and applying the Love of Christ to our life. Christ gave himself as an offering for sinners because he loved them with such a fervent love. When sound, charity manifests itself as an undying love for God and His people, courtesy and civility towards others, and ultimately a burden for all those who are lost. Our Charity is Sound when we love others as Christ loved them, meaning that we see past the outer man and love their soul regardless of the person or circumstances.
3). Sound Patience – Our Patience is Sound when we understand the omniscience and foresight of God. In His infinite knowledge, God both knew of our situation afar off and yet allowed it to occur for one of three reasons: 1) My situation is meant to strengthen my spirituality; 2) My situation is meant to shine a light to those around me; or, 3) I am meant to be in this situation to accomplish His Will. All 3 situations require that I wait upon the Lord to perform the work through me. Giving up, rushing to a conclusion or ignoring those around me does not serve the Lord’s purpose. Sound patience understands that God chose me to do something for Him. I cannot reach others in a haze of hurried living, I cannot hear the still small voice amidst the clamor of this hectic world and I cannot shine my light to the ones that need it if I am unwilling to wait where God stationed me.
Without being sound in these areas we mirror this sin cursed world. Those around us are constantly shifting and changing their beliefs; the norm has veered sharply towards treating others with animosity and apathy; and everyone runs at a mile a minute oblivious to their surroundings and trying to reach the next big things.
I’m forever in awe of, and constant praise, Christ and how soundly He carried out the will of the Father. I should be so smitten with thanks and reverence towards Him that I also make my faith, charity and patience sound so that I too may make a difference in someone else’s life.
Your fellowservant in Christ,
Bro. Jordan Foster
Comments