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In Paul’s epistle to Titus, he gives some instructions for “aged men” that contain good advice for believers of all ages, saying,
“That the aged men be… sound in faith, in charity…” (Titus 2:2).
The word “sound” means strong, healthy and wholesome (cf. Isa. 1:5,6), and all of God’s people should aspire to be sound in the virtues Paul mentions here. But that can be difficult when things in life arise that test our faith and challenge our charity.
The word “faith” here means faithfulness, as it does when Paul talked about “the faith of God” (Rom. 3:3). If you want to know the strength of your faithfulness to the Lord, all you have to do is wait for something in life to strike you while faithfully serving Him to see if you will continue to serve Him, or fold like a house of cards. When life strikes some Christians they respond with something that sounds more like a clunk than a ping. Some even make sounds such as you might hear at the Wailing Wall! But when life strikes others, their faith rings true. Does yours?
Now the reason Paul told “aged men” to be sound in faith and charity is that these are “the things which become sound doctrine” (Titus 2:1). It’s not very becoming for a believer to profess sound doctrine and not be sound in these virtues. Others are watching to see if the doctrine that we say is sound doctrine actually works in our lives, and we dare not let them down.
Do you always live in ways that are becoming to the sound doctrine found in Paul’s epistles that we hold dear? Can it be said of you that you never do anything to embarrass the name of the Lord? If not, don’t wait until you are aged to start faithfully honoring His name. Start now. source
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