Titus 2

Chapter Introduction

In Chapter one we got a feel for the setting and circumstances in which Paul wrote to Titus. He was a young man overseeing the church in Crete. The church there probably consisted of several home fellowships; small groups gathering together here and there across the island. Shortly after the time of Paul’s letter, there was evidence of over 40 churches scattered across the 150-mile island. Each of these groups became a fellowship or their own little church. And each one needed its own leadership in the way of a teacher and those who stood with him. Paul told Titus that he left him there to set in order the things that were lacking.

Setting things right started with leadership. With that you can imagine Titus had to go into some of these fellowships and either straighten out the false teachers or remove them. That could cause some pain and friction. Yet, setting those things straight was the loving thing to do so those people would be sitting under godly teaching. We can imagine the initial response. There are indications that the Cretans despised Titus for what he was trying to do and Titus was somewhat frustrated. As we continue, we’ll see Paul encourage him to continue on in spite of the response because it was the right thing to do.

It's very much like the picture we saw in First and Second Timothy. It's the picture of the older man Paul speaking into the life of the younger man Titus. Paul's life was lived in a way that was consistent with what he taught. This allowed him to speak with authority to this younger man. Paul had already traveled the road that Titus was on. He had already done the hard work of setting things right in other churches. Paul had seen many churches formed and he saw the demise of some. One of the biggest hurdles seemed to be getting past the false teachers. Titus was dealing with the Jewish legalists and what Paul called idle talkers and deceivers. Those same problems exist in churches all over America today. It's just not a whole lot different than what Titus had to deal with. The legalists we deal with in our culture aren't Jewish but there is plenty of legalism taught out there. The idle talkers and deceivers are everywhere.

Battling false teachers and false teaching is just part of the spiritual battle that goes on in churches. The false teachings come from the same place as they always have. It's Satan attempting to discredit and draw attention away from God's word. While the false teaching today isn't all that different, I do believe it is more subtle or maybe just so in line with the overwhelming message of the world, we no longer notice it. It may seem that way because overall, as a culture, we are less schooled in the bible than our ancestors. For many, spiritual decisions are made on emotions and feelings, not sound doctrine. Those speaking truth, teaching sound doctrine, and holding to the word of God are many times despised and detested because truth and doctrine is offensive to our human nature.

Just as the problem hasn't changed, the solution to the problem hasn't changed over the ages either. Solid biblical, Christ centered teaching starts with godly leadership that is committed to the truth of the bible and its doctrines. This is the second step to setting things right. Paul is a model of the kind of leadership required to set things right. He is now teaching the young man Titus, speaking truth into his life. Titus was called to have a heart of a servant, bring the gospel message that he was called to bring, offer the people the eternal Hope offered by God. He was to do this with passion and an urgency and an unwavering commitment. And he was to become the model of leadership for others, especially the next generation.

To fully understand the beginning of chapter 2, we need to start our study at the end of Titus 1. Paul was talking about the insubordinate, those that submitted to no one. Paul agreed with Epimenides that the Cretans were liars, evil beasts and gluttonous. They needed to be rebuked and their teaching stopped.

Titus 2:1-10

Paul created a contrast by first saying in 1:16 that the false teachers professed God, but by their works they deny Him. They were insubordinate. They were found abominable, disobedient and disqualified. Yet, you have to know, even with that description, these guys didn't appear evil. No one who listened to them speak would have thought they were abominable, disobedient and disqualified. Anyone who heard them might have said they appeared godly since they sounded very religious. They were good speakers. They knew lots of jokes. They were entertaining. Maybe they looked very professional, dressed well. But when they were tested, they failed. They were disqualified, reprobate, inadequate and unfit. With their mouth they proclaimed God. Yet, when their works were examined, it was revealed that they denied Him. What they said and what they did were entirely two different things.

In contrast, Titus was to speak things proper for sound doctrine. The effort of Titus was to speak into the lives of the believer of Crete. Titus was to set himself apart from insubordinate. This was a call for Titus to be the first, if necessary, to step out of that group, or remove those others. Their very lives didn’t profess Christ and he had no business mixing with them. The idea behind the phrase 'things which are proper for sound doctrine' is to teach right living to go hand in hand with right thinking. That's what the bible teaches us. We don't just talk it, we walk it. This truth we profess changes our lives. Our life is living out of what we believe. What’s in our heart forms our thinking and our thinking forms our actions, it’s unavoidable.

When we come to Christ and repent of our sins and trust in Him, we become a new creature in Christ. We are born again; the old man is crucified in Christ and we become a new person. As a new person, the Holy Spirit begins to clean us up and purify us. He begins that process of growing us in holiness, maybe in ways we don’t understand. The Holy Spirit may be preparing us for eternity.

The sound doctrine was to be spoken into the lives of the believers in Crete. Paul listed these groups separately to display the expected outcome.

Older men.
Older women.
Young women
Young men.
Bondservants.

Older men

This is important because the older men would always be leaders. The older men were the authority. They set the example. Whether an older man likes it or not, the younger folks are imitating you and following you, whether good or bad.

Now Titus was a young man himself. For him to teach the older guys was a touchy subject. They needed to be approached with love and gentleness and respect. They had to be reasoned with and won over. Titus was to teach them so their walk matched their witness. They were to be sober, reverent, temperate, sound in faith, in love, and in patience. These words invoke a sense of control and wisdom and maturity. They were to be serious about their faith.

The old guys weren’t to display some emotional roller coasters. They were to be steady, like a big ship, not easily turned. They were to be patient. But this patience isn't sitting on your hands waiting. This kind of patience is enduring everything, actively, dealing with life, dealing with age, dealing with the world. It's walking in love and enduring to the end. Paul wanted Titus to teach these older men to be rock solid in their faith, living it out, walking it and talking it out all the way to end; committed, unwavering and engaged in their adventure with the Lord.

This is quite a contrast to the insubordinate who were abominable, disobedient, and disqualified.

Older women

Just like the older men were being watched, so are the older women. Verse 3 says, the older women likewise. They had all the same qualifications as the old men. Then they would be reverent in behavior. The term reverent in behavior carries with it the thought that you are conscious of your dress and how you carry yourself. The older woman was aware she was being evaluated but also that her faith was being evaluated by her actions. And so, the older woman is to walk above reproach because the younger women are watching and learning. The older women has a specific ministry to the younger women. Verse 3 in the King James Bible says that a woman should behave in a way that becomes holiness. The amplified bible says, the older women should be reverent and devout in their deportment. You get a sense of the call to strength and maturity in the older woman.

Most of us know someone like this. A godly older woman filled with the Holy Spirit reflects the gospel, grace and love of Christ. Sometimes this older woman might appear frail and weak in physical appearance but glows with the love of the Lord and an authoritative confidence. We may not even realize these women are mighty prayer warriors before the throne of God. Strong, devout and reverent, yet, they aren't arrogant or aloof or unloving. These Godly older women didn’t come by this naturally. They were taught by older women when they were young.

Paul also told Titus that the older women were not to be a slanderous. The word Paul used for slanderer is diablos. This same word is translated to devil most times. The older woman must be seeking holiness and not devilish behavior. This was a problem in the culture of Crete. The older ladies had a reputation of getting out of hand. Paul went on to say she shouldn't be given too much wine. This is a strong phrase meaning, she isn't to be in bondage to the wine. The older women in Crete had a problem with their devilish behavior and they liked to drink to excess. They needed to stop this behavior because they were to be an example. And whether they liked it or not, they were teaching the next generation. Paul said, they were to be teachers of good things. What he doesn't say, but never the less should be understood, is they should do this instead of teaching bad things.

Young women

The young ladies were to learn good things from the older women. Isn't it interesting that the younger women are to be taught to love their husband and children? We might think that comes naturally. But the older ladies were to teach these things to the younger women. They were to teach them to be discrete. This is another word for temperate or sound minded, in control and even keeled. The older ladies were to teach the next generation how to be godly young women who could grow up to be godly older ladies. Paul said the older women were to teach them to be homemakers. The young woman is the primary force behind a godly household and she was to learn all she needed to know from the older ladies. Her ministry and influence was in the household with her children and husband. Paul wanted the older ladies to teach the young woman to be obedient and respectful to her husband. When she did this in godly fashion, then the word of God was not blasphemed. This is just saying that the young woman who professed salvation and discipleship of Christ would walk in godly fashion seeking holiness.

It's important to note here. It wasn't Titus's job to teach the young woman. Titus was to teach the older women, the older men and the young men. For Titus to teach the young woman could create problems or at least give the appearance of a possible problem. So that was to be avoided.

Young men

In a similar fashion, the young men were to be taught. Young men were to be careful and take seriously their behavior because there were consequences. I think it’s safe to say that most young men learn this the hard way. This seems like a good passage for youth directors and pastors. The scripture doesn't say anything about acting childish and doing stupid things to teach the kids. It says, be upright and be a pattern. You create high thinking by teaching and expecting high thinking.

Titus was to have integrity, reverence, incorruptibility and sound speech. This is like saying, “Titus, everything you say and do and teach and think is all to be a pattern.” The young men were to have an example of a godly man. The world offers so many other examples that young men are drawn to. Through TV and advertising and the things of the world we see examples of what the world wants a young man to be. If we don't train up our young people the world certainly will. And the outcome will be vastly different because the student will always resemble the teacher.

We want to sit at the feet of Jesus and as we train our kids, we want to reflect the one we serve. We need to teach our young to follow us, follow our example and ultimately sit at the feet of Jesus themselves.

Bondservants

Many households in that culture and time had a bondservant. There were millions of them. You couldn't just talk about people groups without mentioning the bondservants. Because they were in the home and in the church. A bondservant might be a person who voluntarily was bonded to the family. They worked for the family in exchange for food and shelter. They exchanged their freedom to serve another. Because they were in this situation, they needed to be a bondservant in a way that honored God. They were to serve seeking to please their master. They weren't to talk back or steal. They were to show they honored the relationship as a slave to the master. This is what it meant to show good fidelity. It was knowing who I am, knowing who my master is and respecting and honoring that. All these things, these good behaviors of the bondservant serve to adorn the doctrine of God. To adorn is to put the precious jewels on display. Good behavior allowed these slaves to put the gospel on display in their life.

Titus 2:11-14

Paul called for Titus to speak sound doctrine and appropriate works to everyone in the fellowship, everyone naming Christ. The grace of God was available to all men and remains so today. People are without excuse, we are all called to be set apart. Even so, many reject it. They are the insubordinate, those who refuse to submit to God. They are the abominable and disobedient. They are disqualified for every good work. These people without grace are contrasted to those who submit to the Lord. They yield to His will for their lives and they are taught his ways.

Grace teaches us to live soberly, righteously and godly. To do so, we must deny ungodliness and worldly lusts, without compromise. This makes the receiving of the gift of salvation evident to all. It displays the Lord’s authority and power over our life. When we allow the power of God to work in our life it will be reflected in our words and deeds and our conduct.

Now, as for the people of Crete, anyone looking at the insubordinate and abominable people would judge them to be without the Lord. The fruit of their life, their words and deeds revealed their dark heart. And if you would have asked them, they would have said they were fine. In their claim of the Lord apart from works, we would see our proclivity to justify our failings. We say, yes, I know what the Lord expects. Yes, I know what the bible says. And then, what's the next word we say? But.......

Paul said God's grace that brings salvation is teaching us. If we are saved by grace, it should be evident in that we are denying ungodliness and worldly lusts and we are being taught. We're not perfect but our lives are pointed to the perfect One. We should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age. We are living our lives looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ. We walk in this world but are citizens of heaven. That makes us foreigners or aliens to this world and in this world. We won't fit it in, we shouldn't fit in and if we do it might be an indication of a problem. Our longing should be for our redemption when Jesus comes for us. This our blessed hope. That's the promise we hold to. That's what each person longs for deep down inside. It's the inconsolable longing to be with our creator.

Titus 2:15

These things have to be spoken and preached. These are the ‘things’ of 2:1 that must be spoken of. They aren't inherently known. Part of the teaching process is exhortation but it's also rebuke. This is the picture of a coach with his arm around you explaining things, encouraging you. But that same coach will also give you a swift kick in the backside when you need it. The pastor, with all authority, was to provide the encouragement and teaching along with the spiritual kick in the butt if needed. The people would receive that and respect the authority if Titus's life was consistent with his ministry.

When Paul said to let no one despise you, it was probably an indication the Cretans were despising Titus. The people needed to submit to the authority and teaching of Titus and stop despising him because there was no reason for it other than their own selfish desires to hold onto their old ways, their bad conduct. You can imagine Titus trying to teach and being despised by these selfish people who didn't want to submit or change. That same thing happens today. We get awful good at examining everyone else, much better than we are at examining our self. We are very good and justifying our own bad conduct.

Paul's message for Titus was to teach the Cretans and us that there is no excuse for our poor behavior, it isn't going to fly. Our justification and excuses for bad conduct deny the Lord. No one understanding the saving grace given to us could deny the Lord. Here is the truth we need to take home. We are responsible for being teachable and being a pattern for those around us. Our actions reveal our heart, our heart reveals our god. There are no gray areas, no in between place. Your actions proclaim your god.

What does your conduct say about you?

Titus