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The Corrosion of Humanity
To put it bluntly people around us, and among us, are rusting from the inside out; their souls are corroded, and slowly wasting away from the corrosive power of the sea of moral pollution they navigate each day.
Paul, guided by the Spirit of God, warns the young men of Christ’s Church to be sure they are resisting, combating, protecting against, and dealing with the ever-present power of sin: seeking the corrosion and corruption of their souls.
Paul charges Titus to beg the young men (remember that gentle word that starts this final section? It is parakaleo). Paul said to Titus to be sure he gently, earnestly, tenderly reminds ALL the younger men about not allowing the corrosive effects of sin to go unchecked in their hearts and minds.
Today there are many corrosive elements that surround all of us.
Each day we walk through life we are sprayed with the salt-like corrosive fog of the world that seeks to eat up the strength of our souls, corrode the framework of our spiritual lives, and decay us secretly on the inside—unseen by all but God.
The cry from God’s Word to every young man here this morning is:
21st Century Men of Grace
Need to Stay Un-Corroded
v. 6 Likewise exhort the young men:
1. TO BE SOBER-MINDED,: Living A Restrained Life In Lust-filled World (SOPHRON WORD) to be sober-minded (4993-sophroneo sober-minded NKJV/KJV); self-controlled (NIV); sensible (NAS):
2. v. 7 IN ALL THINGS SHOWING YOURSELF TO BE A PATTERN [(5179 KJV/NKJV); example NIV/NAS] of good works: Following Christ In A Christ-less World;
3. “IN DOCTRINE SHOWING INTEGRITY”: This is the call to the personal integrity of Believing Right So I Behave Right;
4. REVERENCE: Staying Focused on God in a World of Distractions reverence (4587-semnotes NKJV); gravity (KJV); seriousness (NIV); dignified (NAS):
5. INCORRUPTIBILITY: Keeping an Un-Corroded Life in a Decaying World incorruptibility (861-NKJV); sincerity (KJV); not in NU:
6. v. 8 SOUND SPEECH, THAT CANNOT BE CONDEMNED, THAT ONE WHO IS AN OPPONENT MAY BE ASHAMED, HAVING NOTHING EVIL TO SAY OF YOU. (NKJV): Speaking God’s Words In A Godless World