Welcome!
Today we continue our series in the book of Titus. Two weeks ago I opened the
series by saying that God desires to build us up into a mature body of
believers, one in which its people are continually growing in faith and wisdom,
multiplying their lives into those around them. I used the analogy of a
skyscraper being built and talked about how in many places in the world you see
half-finished projects, abandoned due to running out of money or due to other
problems, and I pointed out the unfortunate fact that if you look around you,
it is easy to find Christians who also seem to stagnate, to stay half-finished,
incomplete. The instructions Paul gives to Titus are meant to ensure that this
would not happen to the local bodies of believers in Crete, and its principles
can and should be applied by every church everywhere so that they too would
grow up to maturity.
Now
I don’t know if you remember much of what I said two weeks ago, but today I am
actually describing things subtly differently than I did then. What is the
difference? Well, two weeks ago, I presented this analogy from the point of
view of us as individuals, saying that, for example, I don’t want my faith to
stagnate, and so I should look to see in the book of Titus how I can continually grow in wisdom, in
purity, in faith, in love, and in multiplying my life to others around me. Now,
I don’t think there is anything particularly wrong with this personal view – we
should each desire personally to grow in Christ and in Christlikeness. But
that’s only part of the picture, and before we dig into the details of the
first part of the second chapter of Titus, I want to dwell on this for a bit.
When
writing to local churches, again and again the New Testament writers see each
local body as a unit. The analogy of
a local body as a body, a physical
body, appears multiple times in Scripture. The idea of Christ as the head of
the body, the church, appears in Colossians chapters 1 and 2 as well as
Ephesians chapters 1, 4, and 5. The need for both unity and diversity in the
body is spelled out in I Corinthians 12. Speaking about how God has placed
people in the church with various gifts, and how each should be encouraged to
work together and use their particular gifts to serve one another, verse 27 of
I Corinthians 12 makes the powerful but simple statement, “Now you are the body
of Christ, and each one of you is a part
of it.” In the context of Titus, what I find so powerful about it is the
implications of what it means when someone in a local body of believers does in
fact stagnate, when someone’s faith and heart grows cold. We, in our
Americanized individualized way of thinking, presume that such a situation only
affects us. But it doesn’t! If you have a family, it affects your family. Even
a child affects their siblings and their parents. And whether you have a family
around you or not, things going wrong in your faith affect your entire church.
That’s true whether you are in the leadership of the church or not. You are the
body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.
You
may not like it, but God has stuck us together as a body in Christ. In this
context think about other verses in I Corinthians 12 where, for example, the
foot or the ear tries to say it is not part of the body. What does the
Scripture say? It says that even if the foot or the ear might try to say that,
it doesn’t cease continuing to be a part of the body. Now I don’t mean to say
people cannot move, and I don’t mean to say that there cannot be legitimate
reasons for someone switching to another local church without moving. What I am
saying is that the stagnation or falling of a single believer affects the
entire body.
In
this context it is sobering to think about Paul’s warnings to Titus in the
second half of Titus 1, which John taught us about last week. Paul warned Titus
that there were people hanging around the local churches who were leading
people astray – specifically, with regards to the churches in Crete ,
they were doing so with regards to Judaizing, implying that everyone needed to
follow the entire Old Testament Law. Some of these people were probably not
even believers at all, but looked to take advantage of people of faith for
prestige, power, and even money, the latter mentioned specifically in Titus
1:11. Paul’s instruction to Titus was to rebuke such people sharply and to
silence them, because they could cause so much damage to a local body.
In
this context, Paul went on to say, in Titus 2:1,
You, however, must teach
what is appropriate to sound doctrine. – Titus 2:1
Now
you guys know I love to look at the Greek, and so please put up with me as I do
so here. First let me just mention that the word for “teach” here is more
literally “speak” or “talk about.” It’s not describing formal teachings or
sermons. It’s describing day-to-day conversations with people. There is
tremendous value in just getting with other believers and talking about life,
about the Bible, about struggles, about just about anything if it is held up to
the light of Christ and examined spiritually. Over the years I am pretty sure I
have grown more because of meetings like this than I have from anything I ever
heard in a sermon on Sunday morning. That’s not to minimize the value of times
like right now – it’s just that I want to maximize the value of these other,
more informal times. I have always believed that the conversations before and
after church, if spiritually directed, are every bit as important as the
“service.” If you are not having spiritual one-on-one conversations with
people, I would strongly encourage you to do so.
Now
the word the NIV translates as “sound” is hygiaino,
from which we have the words “hygiene” and “hygienic.” The Greek word means to
be in good health, to be healthy, not sick or ill or diseased. The phrase
translated “sound doctrine” could be read as “healthy teaching, healthy
instruction, healthy precepts.” But we can go a bit further in understanding hygiaino by realizing that it is
actually a participle. Greek participles are a lot like English participles.
English participles are typically made by adding “-ed” or “-ing” onto verbs and
can be used as verbs, nouns, or even as adjectives. How do we then literally
understand this phrase which in the NIV is given as “sound doctrine”? Well, I
can’t really think of a word that does it all, so I am going to make one up.
Here it is: “Healthying.” Literally,
speak what is befitting of healthying
instruction. I suppose you could also use “health-giving” or
“health-imparting,” but those aren’t as much fun as making up your own word.
But
do you understand now what Paul is saying to Titus, and because the Holy Spirit
planned it so, to every church, to every local body of believers? Speak
health-giving instruction. Well, what kind of health? Not physical health
(although that doesn’t mean we should neglect
physical health), but spiritual health.
Instructions that help the entire body be healthy. He then goes on to be
more specific.
Teach the older men to
be temperate, worthy of respect, self-controlled, and sound in faith, in love
and in endurance. Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way
they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is
good. – Titus 2:2-3
And
so Paul tells Titus to teach the older men and the older women – this is one of
Titus’s responsibilities. I think we can gain insight from I Timothy 5:1-2 with
regards to this; as I mentioned two weeks ago, Paul’s letters to Timothy served
a similar purpose to this letter to Titus, to raise up elders and help the
person “on the ground” there do all he can to help the local churches. Anyway,
in I Timothy 5:1, it says, “Do not rebuke an older man harshly, but exhort him
as if he were your father.” And in part of verse 2, it says to likewise “treat
older women as mothers.” And so the way I am sure Paul intended Titus to do
this teaching was with all respect and gentleness. Although most cultures
instinctively respect their elders, in our American culture we seem to have all
but lost this. But this is how it should be done – with grace, with love, with
respect, with honor.
As
for the specifics, temperate,
literally, not drunk, but it goes beyond that, to someone who lives in
moderation, who doesn’t live in extravagance or for material things. I think of
Solomon who seemingly failed personally but yet wrote at one point in his life
that all such pursuits were “meaningless, a chasing after the wind.” An older
man should know this and live this. Next is worthy
of respect, literally, serious, with dignity. This doesn’t mean they are
boring, or killjoys, or never have fun and laugh, but that they live
purposefully, that they know what one moment of foolishness can cost. They are
looked up to because they are living wisely. Third is self-controlled, they do what they want to do and do not give in to
whims or inappropriate passions. Then they are to be sound (that is, healthy – there’s that word again) in faith, love, and endurance. People
should look at them and see their strong faith, faith that doesn’t fall apart
when circumstances are difficult or heartbreaking. They should know that this
person deeply loves God and God’s people – not at all bitter or selfish. And
they should see that they aren’t fading as they approach the finish line, but
running strong, steady, for as many more years as God gives them. Men, as I
seek to obey what I read in Paul’s letter to Titus, I ask each of you to aspire
to these things! I ask you to look at your lives and if you see something in
sharp contrast to these character qualities, to address it. Address it by being
honest to yourself. Address it by bringing it to God. Address it by seeking
counsel or even accountability from other men. But address it.
Similarly,
Titus is to gently teach the women. The first specific is reverent in the way they live. The Greek word for reverent only appears in the Bible in
this verse – it means holy, pure, and with a love of God that is not hidden,
but on full display. I think of Anna in the Temple
Rather
than to hear me talk about it, I have asked Christine Custer if she would talk
about how she has personally gone about this kind of teaching. We have many
wonderful godly women in our church, but when I think about this particular
task, of teaching the younger women, Christine comes first and foremost to my
mind. Here is verse 3 again, along with verses 4 and 5, which give more
specifics:
Likewise, teach the
older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or
addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good. Then they can urge the
younger women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled and
pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so
that no one will malign the word of God. – Titus 2:3-5
[Christine
then commented on how she has been mentored and has mentored others.]
Let
me make a few comments on this list to the younger women. To love their
husbands and children – for those who are married – you have probably heard it
many times here, but to love is a choice.
Loving children sometimes is hard work, and as Mimi could tell you,
loving husbands can be hard work too! Our culture seems to imply that loving
your husbands and children is natural and easy, but if this is true, why do
half of all marriages end in divorce? And why do so many children grow up with
scars and baggage from a difficult upbringing? But in Christ it does not have
to be this way. The passage goes on to
say they should be self-controlled (just like the older men) and pure, that is,
faithful, virtuous.
And
then it says to be busy at home. Does that mean you cannot work outside the
home? No, the world didn’t have the choices that there are today. In their
cultural context, we should probably put the emphasis on the word busy, as opposed to idle. They were to
be busy at home – not watching soap
operas while eating chocolate bonbons, but actively managing the household,
taking care of children, if there were children, and so on.
As
to the question of working at home or outside the home, I do think every
married couple should at least very prayerfully explore whether the mother can
be home, especially if there are children. Families often overestimate the
financial benefits of two-income families – when one accounts for child care
and other expenses, unless the mother has a very well-paying position, it can
turn out that very little at all is gained by outside employment. And I
personally also think every married couple should prayerfully explore the
possibility of schooling their children at home. I’m certainly not saying it is
for everyone, or that it is morally superior, but I am saying that, because of
its unique potential benefits – and yes, those come at the price of what can be
tremendous challenges – I am saying it should at least be considered.
Then
it says to be kind. If there is one
character quality you will see lacking on sitcoms on TV, I would say it has to
be kindness. As one who has a very kind wife, let me tell you that kindness is
precious. Kindness transforms the lives of everyone around them, makes them
better (and kinder) than they would be otherwise. There should be awards for
kindness! (Well, there will be, in heaven.) And finally to be subject to their
husbands – not to be slaves, or to be trampled upon, but to accept her position
just as a man at work accepts his position under his employer.
Continuing
with the passage:
Similarly, encourage the
young men to be self-controlled. In everything set them an example by doing
what is good. In your teaching show integrity, seriousness and soundness of
speech that cannot be condemned, so that those who oppose you may be ashamed
because they have nothing bad to say about us. – Titus 2:6-8
Paul
says “similarly,” that is, to say that all these kinds of things that have been
discussed, such as those for the older men, should also be instilled on the
younger. He particularly mentions that the young men should be encouraged to be
self-controlled. Our culture encourages the exact opposite of this. Especially
for college students – what do we as a culture do? We isolate young men from
older men except for learning about academic subjects. Well, we isolate them
from older men, but we throw them in with young women. We give them tremendous
freedom and set them loose. We are so immersed in our culture that we don’t
even think of college as culture – we
see it as a good way for people to be trained and educated for the rest of
their lives. But it is a cultural phenomenon. It didn’t exist, not in the form
it is today, for most of human history. And it is a rare privilege for only a
select few in most of the world even today.
Now,
I’m not anti-college. But I just want to point out that encouraging young men
to be self-controlled is about 180 degrees opposite to our culture. And our
culture never talks about the many young men who basically destroy their lives
(apart from Christ) through ignoring self-control, those who end up addicted to drugs or alcohol or
pornography or who basically destroy their souls, their innocence, their
tenderness through their reckless living. Although college may be relatively
new to the world, men destroying their lives through feeding their passions,
pursing the opposite of self-control, has gone on since God created man. Paul
tells Titus, don’t ignore this! Speak to it directly! And then live a life that
shows them what it means to be a godly man; specifically, in your teaching show integrity, seriousness and soundness of speech.
That is, do what is right, don’t make light of serious matters, and speak with
soundness – there’s that word again, healthy speech. “Healthying” speech.
Through what you say, build others up, encouraging them, strengthening their
faith, helping them turn to Christ.
Teach slaves to be
subject to their masters in everything, to try to please them, not to talk back
to them, and not to steal from them, but to show that they can be fully
trusted, so that in every way they will make the teaching about God our Savior
attractive. – Titus 2:9-10
Now, few
of us are slaves, but many of us are employees, and some of us would say,
“what’s the difference?” Maybe not much! Now, I don’t know about you, but in my
earlier days I would tune out verses like this and even wonder whether God was
supporting slavery. Let me just say that it is quite a stretch to say that,
because Paul doesn’t tell Titus to tell the slaves to all rise up and start a
revolution, that God supported slavery.
And
although certainly many slaves were mistreated, some of them horribly beyond
words, it is also true that some were loved like family, they were cared for,
they were allowed to marry and have their own families, they were even given
land for providing for themselves and a home to live in. And some, if offered
freedom, would say no, that they would rather serve under their kind masters
for the rest of their days.
As I have
said, few of us are slaves, but many of us are employees, and what Paul says to
slaves certainly applies to us as employees. Does this go against the grain of
our culture? You bet! Employees are to be subject to the employers, to submit
to them, to try to please them, not just to do what they say, but to make them
happy in how you do what they say. Then it says “not to talk back to them.”
Really? Not even a little? No. I don’t know what it is about our culture, but
from a very early age we are taught to grumble. From kindergarten on we grumble
about our teachers, our classes, and grumbling well makes us in the “in” crowd.
This continues all the way up into college, where grumbling has become an art
form. And speaking of college, it’s unheard of to hear a student who thinks of
their teacher as their “master.” It would be truly a rare student who wanted to
do well so as to please his teacher! Whoever even heard of such a thing?
Not only
are we not to grumble or talk back from our employer, but we are also not to
steal from them. There are many ways we can steal from our employer. I’m not
just talking about taking post-it notes! What about stealing our time? Whether
we are paid by hour or have a fixed salary, our employer has expectations about
the time we give him or her. To do something other than what we are paid to do
in that time is to steal from them. Instead we are to be hardworking and
reliable and show that we can be trusted.
Finally, I
want to point out that Paul repeatedly mentions a purpose for all of this – I
would put it this way, so that the world will not be impeded from coming to
Christ. In verse 5, it says “so that no
one will malign the word of God.” In verse 8, it says “so that those who oppose you may be ashamed because they have nothing
bad to say about us.” And in verse 10, it says “so that in every way they will make the teaching about God our Savior
attractive.”
Just as
when we see an abandoned half-finished building, a neighborhood eyesore, it
causes us to think negative things about those who were behind it, so does our
being the equivalent of half-finished buildings turn people off of
Christianity. May we take Paul’s instructions to Titus to heart and apply what
we have heard today so that Christ may continue His building program in us so
that those around us give their lives to Christ as well.
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