Have you ever taken a fun trip down to Galveston? I’m not going to lie to you. One of my favorite parts of Galveston is the bridge on I-45. The bridge is more than a mile long!
Without fail, as we are crossing the bridge, I always think, “How on earth did they build this? What makes this safe? Was this bridge well built? Is it good?”
Is it good? When building a bridge that is designed to withstand a lot of pressure and weight, the builder and designer work endlessly to create a sound bridge. After all that hard work, labor, sweat, and hours put in to build it, do you think the bridge should be used? Of course! The purpose of building and having a sound bridge is to be able to use the bridge, and get to the other side safe and sound.
The same is true for us. Paul instructed his young pastor pupils (Timothy and Titus) to not only teach sound doctrine, but to also live sound lives.
“You, however, must teach what is appropriate to sound doctrine. Teach the older men to be temperate, worthy of respect, self-controlled, and sound in faith, in love and in endurance.” – Titus 2:1-2
Two words I want to zoom in on and dissect with you are sound and doctrine. First let’s look at what doctrine is.
The concept of doctrine, with this Greek word, is teachings or instructions. In other words, doctrine simply means the teachings of or the instructions of. In the context of our scripture, Paul is commanding his pastor pupil to proclaim the instructions of how to live by also living according to the instructions.
What does sound mean? Sound is good. Sound is right. Sound is tested. Sound is healthy. The Greek word literally means “to be well”, “to be healthy”, “to be good”. In fact, the same Greek word that Paul used here is the same word the physician Luke used to describe a sick person becoming “well”, or “healthy”. (Luke 5:31)
Paul is telling Titus to teach appropriate ways to live out the good and healthy instructions of God. Live soundly. Have a sound faith. Be worthy of respect.
Worthy is weighty. It means you have substance. Live life doing good. If you are active in doing good and being good, you are worthy of respect.
Here at Frontier Camp, our heartbeat is to “make disciples of Jesus Christ”. The first step of discipleship is being saved by faith. The rest is the hard part, but we teach sound doctrine and we live soundly. We have a high standard for our full time staff and our summer staff, because we all represent Jesus Christ.
What are some good things you can do for others today? What are some good ways you can love your family? Are there any good acts that you can get better at?
I know I have plenty to learn and plenty to work on. Just like the bridge to Galveston, I want to be a firm, sound follower of Jesus, so that people can trust Him and rely on His people to be kind, loving, and good.