Titus 2:7-8 - Paul instructing his ministry partner, Titus
”Above all, set yourself apart as a model of a life nobly lived. With dignity, demonstrate integrity in all that you teach. Bring a clear, wholesome message that cannot be condemned, and then your critics will be embarrassed, with nothing bad to say about us.“
This is a message for all of us today. Whether you are a vocal advocate or you have quiet conversations to try and turn the hearts of students or family members or neighbors toward the truth, we are all teaching something and someone with what we say and how we live. The Word of God instructs us to be holy as the Lord is holy. I believe we are in a time that personal holiness - which means to be set apart in service to God - is becoming a greater and greater call for us. The distinction between holy and wicked is becoming more obvious as the culture around us gets darker and more apparently evil. Our response to seeing this evil should naturally be to draw closer to the Lord and to hold ourselves to an ever increasing higher standard -- not out of religious obligation but because of our relationship with the Lord. We will continue to move toward a higher standard because of our love for Him, because we are spending time with Him and continuing to change and become more like Him. At the same time, our tolerance for hypocrisy in ourselves will get lower and lower. As we live this way, empowered by the Holy Spirit living within us, our message will become more pure, more clear and even our worst critics will not be able to open their mouths against us
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