Titus 2:1-10 - Teach Them How to Live

[Music] as we begin our study in this second chapter of Paul's letter to Titus it's good just to remind ourselves that Paul wrote this letter to his younger associate because he left him behind on the island of Crete apparently Paul and Titus and several others no doubt collectively had some kind of evangelistic campaign going through the cities and villages on the island of Crete the island of Crete sort of in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea and they established several Christian congregations communities in the various cities and villages on the island of Crete and Paul left Titus behind so that he could do the work of and I'm reading out from verse five of Titus chapter 1 where it says for this reason I left you in Crete that you should set in order the things that are lacking so that's what Titus had to do he had to set in order the things that were lacking strengthen things order things bring some organization some vision some goals some leadership because the rest of Titus chapter 1 is all about having the right kind of character set in mind for the leaders that God would want to raise up among the Christian congregations the elders the overseers what we might call pastors today as well so having done that in chapter 1 now Paul in chapter 2 sort of speaks to Titus as to what these men should be encouraged to do regarding different people different groups of people in the Christian congregation so listen we all understand that any church is made up of somewhat different groups that there's it's very rare for it to be all completely one demographic it's very rare for it to be all married couples with children in their 30s now even if there is a strong representation of that particular group or let's say older people retired in their mid to late 60s you know what whatever it would be whatever a particular demographic something like that maybe have a straw representation local church but we understand it's never the entirety of it there's always different groups of people with somewhat different needs to speak to and that's what Paul's gonna do in this particular chapter he's gonna speak to those groups and teach Titus how to speak and to minister to those different groups within the congregation and this is such a remarkably practical chapter of the scriptures it just reminds me of the principle that Christianity has a lot to say about practical living now nobody believes it's stronger than me well maybe somebody does but I'll just say this I believe it very strongly that the basis for Christianity is that it's a faith it's the faith once for all given to the Saints Paul has already referred to that several times in the first chapter of Titus what we believe can be expressed by a Creed by a belief it's found in on having the right thinking about who God is what God has done in the world what God has done to rescue us in Jesus Christ what we believe is very important but we never want to neglect this idea of how we should live and the New Testament not just the Old Testament law but the New Testament teaches us how to live that matter of fact in my written commentary on Titus chapter 2 which is really just my teaching notes in a little bit more expanded way but I titled chapter 2 of the Paul's letter to Titus teach them how to live because there's so much practical living advisor hey I have this quote from Adam Clarke and I'm gonna read it and then you know I'll talk about it just for a moment but but I think it's a striking quote Adam Clarke says this he was a great Methodist commentator of the late 18th and early 19th century Adam Clarke wrote this quote few portions of the New Testament to excel this chapter it may well form the Creed system of ethics and textbook of every Christian preacher does any man inquire what is the duty of a gospel minister send him to the second chapter of the Epistle to Titus for a complete answer now I got to say I think Clark is a little bit over the top and that first of all I wouldn't say that this chapter comprises the creed of Christian the Creed is more of our system of belief the truth about God what he's done to rescue us in Jesus Christ the truth about us and our need and the rest of it but as far as the importance of a chapter like this in regard to our practical living out the Christian faith very important and I echo Adam Clark's insistence that this is a good chapter for us to keep in mind so let's take a look in this chapter Paul's gonna speak to older men what Titus should be teaching the older men he's gonna teach about what Titus should be teaching the older women the younger women the younger men and and all of these things collectively so let's take a look starting now at verse 1 he says this but as for you speak the things which are proper for sound doctrine ok now at the end of Titus chapter 1 he spoke about those who were not profitable for the body Christ people who were problem people among Christians he talked about though and I'm gonna read verse 16 of Titus chapter 1 they profess to know God but in works they deny him being abominable disobedient disqualified for every good work look those are difficult people and here in the first verse of Titus chapter 2 Paul is telling Titus to be different from those but as for you verse 1 speak the things which are proper for sound doctrine now when he uses that phrase sound doctrine we immediately think of a body of truth you know that as I said before the truth about God the truth about Jesus Christ the truth about the Holy Spirit the truth about what he's done to rescue us all the rest of it and this really in the original language more has the idea of right living rather than right thinking now don't get me wrong right thinking is very important and I would even say that right thinking forms the foundation for right living so we don't want to side right thinking but there's a place to address right living that the Living Bible translates this phrase speak up for the right living that goes along with true Christianity I like that the New Living Translation has this promote the kind of living that reflects the right teaching and so we just can't escape it the Bible is a book that tells us how to live and really it's hypocrisy for us to say that we believe it's truth if we ignore how it tells us to live our lives we may not always like what it says to us about how to live but we always need to hear how God expects us to live you could say that Paul right here is just carrying out the command of Jesus in Matthew chapter 28 verses 19 and 20 where one of the things he commanded his disciples and what we call the Great Commission was this teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you again going beyond just what we believe in our head and I don't want it this kind of Christianity has so much to do with right thinking and we can even argue that right thinking is the foundation for right acting but God also speaks to how we live and how we should act so here we go starting out verse two that the older men be sober reverent temperate sound in faith in love in patience now there were some older men among the Christians in Crete and when Titus spoke to them especially as a younger man he had to approach them with love and with wisdom I mean after all it would be pretty easy for an older man to maybe be offended by what a younger man gave him as guidance in the Christian life but Paul says so teach the older men to be sober reverent temperate sound and faith in love and in patience so the older men should live with the maturity and the wisdom that their years should give them that means to live sober minded reverent temperate lives not given to great excess I find this fascinating the fact that Titus was commanded to teach the older men to be sober reverent temperate means those things do not automatically come with age listen kind of traditionally it was even more so true in biblical culture the idea that older people were wiser older people were more sober minded older people were more temperate in their life they had learned the lessons that life should teach but let's face it not every older person in fact learns those lessons some older people don't learn those lessons and we shouldn't expect that always maturity comes with age but it should and if you are an older person listening to this and you kind of realize that there's some areas in your life where wisdom and maturity has not come with the years it's not too late it's not too late for that to really flower and be blessed in your life so these older men must also have stability and being stable in the right things I like how Paul phrase that being sound in faith love and in patience you know it's just inevitable as we get older we tend to harden in our ways now that's good if you harden in the ways of love patience and faith I mean that's wonderful if you harden in those things but if you hard and in rebellious ways if you harden in wicked ways man that's a bad thing and by the way let me just say one thing about this word for patience Paul says that the older men be sober Reverend temperance sound and faith and love and in patience the last word there that's that great ancient Greek word Hoopa mone it means steadfast and active endurance most the time when we heard hear the word patience we just think it means waiting around it's the ability to wait around without getting angry or overly annoyed it's the ability to wait at a red light for a long time without letting the ants get too great in your mind listen that's not the idea behind this great ancient word that's translated patience it has the idea of active endurance it's the quality that enables the marathon runner to complete the race and that's what God wants us to have and hence the older men to have it's okay so first verse to the older men that the older men be sober reverent temperate sound in faith in love in patience secondly now how to teach the older women and I'm gonna read from verse three to the middle of verse four ready for this the older women likewise that they be reverent in behavior not slanderers not given to much wine teachers of good things that they admonish the young women okay just as Titus was to give special consideration in ministry to the older men so he should give consideration to the older women now I need to pause right here before I discuss the specific instruction that Paul gave Titus regarding the older women there is in the church today the notion on the part of many people that it would be better in churches if there were no targeted ministries towards specific groups in other words you shouldn't have a men's group in a women's group and a high school group and a middle school group you should just have Church for everybody now let me understand let me say I should say I understand the thinking behind that it is possible and maybe it is a problem in our modern church that we are too fragmented and that there should be more things that a community group or a small group or a home group shouldn't just be calculated to a particular demographic but it would be good if it was mixed with a lot of different people with older and younger and single and married and professional and blue-collar and on and on okay I get all that but you can't I that Titus chapter two gives some allowance for targeting ministry to specific groups I mean after all he says address the older men this way the younger the older women that way later on we're gonna see the younger women this way the older men that way the bondservants another way I just want you to see that there is some biblical precedent for targeted ministry to specific groups can it be overdone can it be exaggerated it can be done - of course it can but I would challenge those who would sort of say that there is no place for targeted ministry within the church now let's get into what the text actually says to the older women starting out verse three the older women likewise that they be reverent in behavior not slanderers not given to much wine teachers of good things that they admonish the young women all right there's a lot for us there to sort of think about and to discuss the first thing it says in regard to the older women is that they be reverent in their behavior it's very interesting reverent we usually have an idea of what that means it kind of has the sense of being respectful and honoring to God and honoring to those in proper authority so reverent but the word therefore behavior includes a suggestion of how someone dresses and how they carry themselves so of course we know that how a person dresses and carries himself it isn't relevant only to women or to older women but Titus is told this as a special thing to emphasize with them that they be reverent in their behavior and then it says that they be reverent in their behavior how they dress how they carry themselves their conduct in general it doesn't only mean how they dress and carry themselves but it also has that suggestion not slanderers is the next thing mentioned I find it interesting that the ancient word that's translated for us they're slanders is the same word that's translated in other places in the New Testament Devils in other words when older women or anyone else for that matter when they do the work of slander and gossip among God's people you could say without too much hyperbole they're doing the devil's work I mean that's what the devil is all about is to slander to accuse to spread falsehood and when God's people are wrapped up in that whether they be older women younger women older men younger men they are helping the devil in his very work so we have reverent in behavior not slanderers not given to much wine now it's interesting to find that according to some commentators this was a common failing of older women in Greek and Roman cultures that it was just common for older women to drink a lot of wine and Paul really recognized that this was a special challenge that people needed to recognize and be careful of and listen I gotta say there is a fresh permission given to many people many Christians today to drink wine and many people are using that to overindulge I've heard the honest heartbreaking testimony of more than one Christian woman who just she gave herself over to wine and of course it all began very innocent very no problem and and the problem was it didn't stay at an innocent place it didn't stay at a place where it was no problem but it went into excess and into drunkenness and into dependency and this is something that Paul wanted especially Titus to highlight for the older women that they be as he says reverent their behavior not slanders not given to much wine instead teachers of good things I kind of like that Paul is kind of turning the page from the negative things over to the positive things it wasn't just one long list of don'ts don't be slanders don't be given in too much wine but also what they should do they should be teachers of good things if you could say that being older in life gives a person a few special challenges in what they should do it also gives them a few special opportunities and God can use the wisdom and the experience of older women to teach the younger women and this gives older women something positive to teach and to live towards instead of only negative things so that they should be and again we're reading now from verse 4 where it says that they admonished the young women and then what should they admonish the young women to do well let's pick it up now the middle of verse 4 that they had modest the young women to love their husbands to love their children to be discreet chaste homemakers good obedient to their own husband's that the Word of God may not be blasphemed that's verses 4 and 5 I think this is very interesting here Paul speaks to Titus about the older men hate this which used to say to the older men then he speaks to Titus about the older women starting at verse 6 he's gonna tell Titus ok this what you need to say to the younger men but it's interesting that Paul doesn't tell Titus to speak to the younger women directly but rather to equip and to make sure that the older women are properly equipped to speak to the younger women did you see that transition there in verse 4 verse 4 it speaks of the older women training teaching the younger women to do the following things now I don't think anybody should say that there should be some absolute prohibition on a pastor a man teaching younger women but there should be almost a virtual wisdom that would say this isn't wise it isn't wise for a pastor a man to be training up and spending time with young women in this way there are other people much better equipped in the body of Christ to do it namely the older women who are walking in the paths of godliness and so this is something that just should be wary of I mean there's an intentionality behind Paul's phrasing here he is speaking as if Titus would speak to the older men directly the older women directly the younger men directly but it's expected that Titus would speak to the younger women through the older women now I know that somebody could get all strange about this and act as if a younger woman comes up and greets a pastor such as myself at church oh I can't speak to her I should regard her is unclean or some terrible temptress or something like that no that's not what we have in mind at all what we're talking about is just instructing spending time discipleship if you would and I think we can say that it's not proper for a male pastor to have in-depth one on one or one in a small group discipleship with one or a group of young women there are just other people better suited to the task and with less danger so again the young women and then to love their husbands this is what the older women should be teaching their to love their husbands love their children again Titus begins here with or Paul in writing to Titus begins with home matters now we shouldn't think for a moment that the only value that a young woman has is in the home that the only value she has is if she's a good wife is if she's a good mother we're not trying to say that and I don't think Paul intended that at all remember this is the same Apostle Paul that later on argued not only for the validity of single life and single ministry but for the benefit the gift of it as he calls it so we're not talking about that that is if the only worth of a young woman has to do with home and family but we cannot deny that this is a special responsibility a special privilege that the nurturer in the care of a home and of young children which is something that more often falls on the shoulders of a young wife a young woman this is a strategic opportunity within the family of God and it should not be neglected nor made light of now I find it interesting that Paul says that love for husbands and children must be taught teaching the young women to love their husbands and to love their children and I think there certainly is an Inc t'v aspect to love there's an instinctive love that a wife should have for her husband and of course the other way around a husband for his wife there's an instinctive love that a parent should have for the child but there are aspects of that love that should and need to be taught we shouldn't think that it's a strange thing if it needs to be taught it's just sort of a natural thing this kind of teaching aspect of it so not only that to love their husbands to love their children going on here now to be discreet chaste homemakers um attitudes are discretion and chastity skills would be involved in being a homemaker and then good obedient to their own husband's now sometimes goodness needs to be taught in a world that loves to blur the line between good and evil sometimes it's not always easy to figure out what is good pause let's note we can teach and we can understand what is good and then I think it's interesting how he phrases it there it's right there in verse 5 where he says obedient to their own husbands now there is a teaching abroad among some Christian circles today that God has ordained a general submission of women unto men in society in the world I want you to know that I don't think that is biblical although I do believe and I may rub some of our listeners or viewers the wrong way with this but I'll just say it's it's my belief you could go through my teaching on 1st Timothy chapter 3 if you're interested in this first Timothy chapter 2 I should say but I do believe that God has ordained male headship in the church and in the home I see that scripturally but I want you to know I do not see that God has ordained male headship in any other sphere of society and so we shouldn't have any problem with women being political leaders economic leaders education leaders commune the leaders business leaders on and on we shouldn't have any problem with that according to my understanding a scripture and this is one of the passages where I think this is emphasized notice what he says there he says - love there oh it's me to be obedient to their own husband's in other words don't teach them to be obedient to men in general but to their own husbands because that is appropriate for the home setting why notice the end phrase there verse 5 that the Word of God may not be blasphemed this shows how important it is for the older women to teach the younger women these things and how important it is for the younger women to learn them when Christians don't live in a biblical godly manner and listen this doesn't really matter whether you're an older woman or a younger woman an older man or a younger man but in general when Christians do not live according to biblical and godly principles it may cause the Word of God and the gospel of Jesus Christ to be blaspheme rejected among the ungodly so very important how to teach the older man that's at the beginning the chapter the older women now the younger women though not directly through the older women by the way do we not have some warrant there some reason some foundation just for the idea of what I stated before a women's Bible study some kind of directed ministry within the church okay let's take a look now starting at verse 6 how to teach the younger men this is in verse 6 he says likewise exhort the younger men to be sober minded now likewise is a linking word it shows that what the young men need to learn isn't all that different from what Paul would also teach the older men the older women the younger women there's not much that you would find in those lists of other things that would be different that wouldn't apply in some way or another to a younger man but the one thing that Paul wanted to emphasize with the younger men is that they be sober-minded now of course there's a sense in which this just repeats of what he said to the older men in verse one that the older men be sober reverent temperate but this was a special emphasis to the younger men now I like the way that the Living Bible translates that phrase it translates it like this urge the young men to behave carefully taking life seriously this is the only command that Titus was given to emphasize among the young men that they take life seriously and how important that is listen it describes according to William Barclay the ancient Greek word that's translated there sober-minded quote describes the man with the mind that has everything under control the strength of mind which has learned to govern every instinct and passion until each has its proper place and no more this speaks of an organized ordered life someone who isn't given over to terrible excess in one thing you know that but a man whose life is in order he takes it seriously he understands that there is a proper wonderful legitimate place for the good pleasures that God has given us in this life however however there's a place to be serious a place to get on with the business of life of what God wants us to do the calling he's given us the life he wants us to live and that's what Titus was to pass on to the younger men so so far already from verse 1 through the first six verses we've had instruction to the older men older women younger women through the older women and then now the younger men but notice verses seven and eight in all things showing yourself to be a pattern of good works in doctrine showing integrity reverence incorruptibility sound speech that cannot be condemned that one who is an opponent may be ashamed having nothing evil to say of you now I find this interesting first of all the way Paul structured this under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit was that he speaks to Titus directly about his own life here at the very end following after what he said to the younger men and this one I gather from this Titus the most important thing for you to be is an example now your example is important to the older men your example is important to the older women your example is important to the younger women but most of all your example is important to the younger men don't you think this is one reason why there was so little specific instruction given to Titus about how to teach the younger men because they would learn most of all through the example of Titus himself that's why Paul says I'm gonna read it again here verse 7 in all things showing yourself to be a pattern of good works Titus you're gonna have to live it so that all your congregation or all the congregation's because really he's talking about training leaders from many different churches so all the congregation's see your godly life especially the young men in doctrine you have to show yourself as a man of integrity I love that showing yourself to be a pattern of good works in doctrine showing integrity brothers sisters we need a renewal of real integrity in the body of Christ today when it comes to doctrine men and I suppose women and whatever sphere God gives them to declare it but men who will stand up and hold to the truth and not how should I say it they won't give the false impression that they're more orthodox in their theology than they actually are look if you're abandoning some of these fundamentals of the faith then have the courage to step forward and say it be a person of integrity when it comes to doctrine hold to biblical truth why well again so that again he says in doctors showing integrity reverence incorruptibility sound speech that cannot be condemned that the one who is an opponent may be ashamed look we want to make our enemies our opponents our accusers ashamed what would we hope to make them ashamed of well what we want to make them ashamed of is that they can make no valid accusation against us please remember this when it came for the trial of Jesus and the religious leaders were seeking people to testify against him and to accuse him they had to get people to lie about Jesus to make an accusation at least an accusation that was true or well it wasn't true an accusation that sounded bad to get the point here if anyone was to make an accusation against us let us hope that they would have to lie in order to make it and that's a very interesting concept so we just see the importance of integrity I love this list here integrity reverence in corruptibility sound speech that cannot be condemned know how important that is that our speech be sound that our speech isn't filled with profanity or cursing that that our speech isn't filled with double entendre z' and sexual suggestiveness but that our speeches sound because that cannot be condemned and again if we do that then our opponents will be ashamed because they have nothing evil to say of us at least nothing evil that could be said of us in truth now in verse nine he moves on to another group you spoken to the older men the older women the younger women the younger men to Titus himself now in verses 9 and 10 this last section we're gonna take a look at now he speaks to the bondservants he says here verses 9 and 10 exhort bondservants to be obedient to their own masters to be well pleasing in all things not answering back not pilfering showing all good fidelity that they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in all things now we notice here that Titus was to teach bond servants about their specific duties as Christians you know there was something shocking about Christianity in the Roman world in Christian congregations and Christian communities you would have masters and slaves gathered together in the same congregation and they would sit side-by-side as equals in the congregation that was something of a scandal to the Roman mind they couldn't figure out why Christians would do that why they would allow it but you got to say that's part of the glory of Christianity that it would bring together master and slave as equals in the body of Christ and in some cases a slave might have a leadership position in a congregation a elder and overseer a pastor and the master might not there might be a sense when they would come into the congregation they would see that the slave had in some sense a higher position so he says recognize this that there's gonna be your bondservants in your midst you see a slave and a master would come together on the same social setting let me say a word about slavery in that biblical context and I'm gonna say it by quoting one of my favorites Charles Spurgeon he says in a sermon on this text quote I do not think for a moment Paul believed that the practice of slavery ought to exist he believed to the fullest extent that the great principles of Christianity would overthrow slavery anywhere and the sooner they did so the better pleased he would be but for the time being as it was the custom to have slaves they must adorn the doctrine of God their Savior in the position in which they were did you get that I don't think that we should say that just because Paul gives instructions to slaves and masters that he's putting his stamp approval nor should anybody think that this is in some way a commandment for the institution of slavery instead it was recognized that slaves you have your obligation here nevertheless nevertheless the groundwork was laid for that overthrow of slavery by seeing master and slave as brother in Christ in any regard say obedient to their own masters again the bond servants have obligations but only to their own masters and then he says not pilfering in other words stealing pilfering has the idea of stealing little things that kind of offense was so common in the ancient world that sometimes the word servant and thief were used interchangeably it was assumed that servants would steal from their masters especially in small ways so listen Christian bond servants don't you do that but rather seek to be well pleasing in all things direct those servants to be good workers in all their ways that's an important excitation there from verse 10 by their hard work and their humble submission they will adorn the doctrine of God our Savior now I love that phrase look at it there in verse 10 that they would adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in all things isn't that a fascinating idea that our godly conduct now I don't think for a moment Paul had only in mind the godly conduct of servants in this respect what why couldn't it be the godly conduct of the older men the older women the younger women the younger men he could have that all in mind but the idea here is that our godly conduct adorns it decorates the doctrine of God I think that's an amazing idea because in one sense the gospel doesn't need any adornment whatsoever it's beautiful all by itself brother and sisters the message that God sent Jesus Christ as a savior to a sinful and perishing world and that world needed rescue and so God sent Jesus to do that he died on a cross he was buried he rose from the dead in doing so he was the sacrifice for sin he bore our guilt our shame our dishonor our disgrace all of it he bore on the cross and carried it away for all those who put his trust in him that idea is so wonderful so glorious that it needs no adornment on the other hand we can show the beauty of the gospel by the way that we live now sometimes we think that we need better words to order to adorn the gospel only I could preach more eloquently if only I could get more persuasive arguments that would truly or day adorn the gospel and let me tell you something there's an often neglected way that we can adorn the gospel of God simply by living more godly lives it'll show people that God's law that God's Word that the gospel of Jesus Christ is beautiful and glorious by the way that we live listen better words are fine but so often what we really need our better lives in the way that we live and notice this the people most specifically directed to ordain to adorning the gospel now I believe he includes all of the above they're in chapter 2 he includes the older man he includes the older women he includes the younger women he includes the young men he includes him so but but the ones most directly connected to that are bond servants slaves under a master isn't this a fascinating idea that even people in a lowly position you don't have to be a preacher you don't have to be a missionary you don't have to be a full-time servant of God you you you can just be somebody living your life but by the way that you live your life as a faithful disciple of Jesus Christ the way that you take heed to what Paul said to the older men the older women the younger women the younger men to Titus himself to servants by the way that you take seriously the kind of living that Paul spoke about here in Titus chapter 2 you take that you adorn you decorate there is a sense and I know this is sort of a paradoxical statement it kind of boggles our mind but there is a sense in which you make the gospel of Jesus Christ even more beautiful by the beautiful Christian life that you live that's a great challenge for us isn't it well we'll close it off here at verse 10 and pick it up next time starting at verse 11 but once you take that as a personal challenge for yourself I know I will for me what can I do what can I do how can I live today in this week to better adorn the gospel of Jesus Christ [Music]

Channel: David Guzik

Views: 12,581

Rating: 4.8333335 out of 5

Keywords: Titus, Paul, New Testament, Christian Life, Older Men, Older Women, Young Women, Young Men, Pastors, Elders, Examples

Id: pol6_tp6lMw

Length: 40min 55sec (2455 seconds)

Published: Sat Dec 15 2018