You, however, must teach what is appropriate to sound doctrine.
Titus 2:1
You’ve probably heard of a certain famous leaning tower located in Pisa, Italy. What you may not know is that it’s actually a freestanding bell tower built for a church, the Pisa Cathedral. But when they started building it over 850 years ago they chose a poor foundation. The soft ground underneath the structure consisted of “ a dense mixture of clay, sand and shells” and couldn’t support the structure’s immense weight. (https://www.history.com/news/why-does-the-leaning-tower-of-pisa-lean) Over time the ground began to settle; and the tower began to lean. Today it leans nearly four degrees toward the south. It’s low side reaches a height of 183 feet 3 inches, while its high side is over 2.5 feet taller at 185 feet 11 inches. People come from all over the world to see the famous leaning tower.
It seems to me that many Christians today are like that tower. They have not built their lives on the bedrock of sound doctrine, but on a mixture of concrete truth and the sand of error. So, they lean... in whatever direction the world pushes them.
This is why Titus is instructed to be sure that he is teaching sound doctrine. It is so very important for our ministers to pour a solid theological footing for our people to build their lives on. It is so very important for individual believers to take time to review the basics of gospel truth and shore up their spiritual foundations, lest they should become a leaning spectacle for the watching world to see.
It can be tempting for preachers to try to come up with some new teaching instead of preaching the old truths. It can be tempting to go the way of the world and try to ensure that everyone leaves church feeling better about themselves as though the purpose of a sermon were to give everyone a self-esteem boost. But that isn’t what Titus is supposed to do. He is supposed to lay down the firm, unshakeable foundation of God’s old truth. And, he is to rebuke and encourage people as needed to keep them in that truth. And he is not to let himself be despised or silenced or ignored.
This is good advice for all of us as we share the gospel with the world around us. Don’t even think about adjusting the gospel to try to reach your friends and family for Jesus! You can't lay any more firm foundation for them than the old truths contained in God’s Word. They may ignore you. Tell them the truth anyway. Give them sound doctrine. They will choose whether they build on it or not. Your job is simply to lay it down before them.
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