All right, we are going to come to our time in the Word together now.
If you have your Bible with you, you can open it up to the book of Titus.
We are in chapter 2.
Titus is a letter that was written by Paul to a guy named Titus,
and he was on the island of Crete, a little island southeast of Greece.
And Paul gave him some works, an assignment to do there,
to strengthen the churches that were there,
to put things in order for the churches there.
And we've been working our way through this letter.
As we come to chapter 2, actually we started chapter 2 last Sunday,
and we looked at the verses 11 to 14,
and we heard again the gospel, the good news of what Jesus has done to save us.
We heard that this gospel, this good news about Jesus,
it leads us to a certain kind of living,
away from a certain kind of living,
living in sin,
living to please the flesh,
and two,
living a good, holy life.
And we saw just how God desires for us to be freed
from that sinful life,
and moved into a life of good deeds,
where we're eager to do them.
Not begrudgingly, but eager.
Well, this morning we're going to look at how Paul sees this
translating into the practical everyday lives of Christ's followers
there on the island of Crete.
So we're actually going to go back up and look at verses 1 to 10,
which came before all this.
Let me read the passage for us this morning.
Paul writes to Titus,
You, however, must teach what is appropriate to sound doctrine.
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.
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.
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,
honesty,
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.
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.
So Paul organizes Christ's instructions for how we should live,
based on age,
gender,
and a little bit on social status,
as we see at the end there with the slaves.
Why does he organize it like this?
Well, it doesn't really say,
but Paul knows that being a follower of Jesus
is going to look a little different depending on those things,
your age,
your gender,
and your social standing.
There are also different things that we may struggle with,
or be tempted by,
because of our age,
or gender,
or social standing.
At the same time, though,
we notice that some of the same things
are to be there for each one of them.
He encourages Titus to teach them all
to be self-controlled,
for example.
But let's start with the men at the top,
in verse 2.
Paul says,
teach the older men to be temperate.
What does it mean to be temperate?
It may help to think of the opposite.
The opposite of temperate is rash,
impulsive,
a person who is given to extremes.
So to be temperate means to be self-controlled.
It means to be moderate.
If you're thinking about food and drink,
it means not given to binge eating,
or gluttony,
or to drunkenness.
If you're thinking about decisions and finances,
this is the person who carefully weighs
and considers the cost of things.
A person who looks before he leaps.
A temperate person is not obsessed with things,
but shows balanced and prudent judgment.
Paul says,
teach the older men to be temperate.
Teach the older men to be worthy of respect.
This means to live in a way
that is dignified or respectable.
And this one really warrants
a fair bit of reflection.
You know, as I was thinking,
what does it mean to be worthy of respect?
What makes for a respectable life?
Think about it.
What kind of character
is respectable
in a person?
What kind of behavior?
I hope some things are coming to mind.
Things like honesty.
People who tell the truth.
Kindness.
Even to those
who are rude.
A person who's a good listener.
And really listens
because they care
about the person
that they're talking with.
And the list could really go on here.
We could talk about things like courage.
We could talk about perseverance.
We could talk about generosity.
There are many character things
that we respect in others.
Be a person who is worthy of respect,
says Jesus,
to the older men.
And this really does cover
a lot of things in life
when you step back
and think about it.
Who do you respect?
Are there some people
that come to mind?
What is it that you respect
about them?
It really filters
into every area of life.
We could think about
conflict
in relationships.
Who do you respect?
Do you respect the person
who owns their mistakes
and apologizes
and seeks forgiveness
when they wrong others?
Or
the person
who minimizes
their wrongs
and doesn't want
to take responsibility
for anything
they've said or done?
It affects our speech.
Do you respect the person
who is always
joking coarsely
and insulting others
to get a rise
out of their buddies?
Or do you respect
the man who always
speaks well of others
and says things
to build people up
and keeps a rein
on his tongue?
Teach the older men
to be worthy
of respect.
Let's talk about
older men
for a second
just coming back
to this.
What are older men
sometimes known for?
I know I might
step on some feelings here
but
it's here.
Sometimes
older men
are known
for being
cantankerous,
belligerent,
rude,
critical,
sometimes
bad-mouthing others.
You get the idea.
But for the follower
of Jesus
age
is not an excuse
to become
a crotchety,
cranky,
rude gossip
who goes around
offending people.
Teach the older men
to be worthy
of respect,
to live lives
that are worthy
of respect.
Let's go on
to the next one,
self-controlled.
Don't worry,
older men.
Everybody else
was covered
in the other ages
and genders as well
so we're coming to you.
Teach the older men
to be self-controlled.
We talked about this
back in chapter one
with the qualifications
for elders
and even
last week
we talked about it.
It's mentioned again
as a general thing
that all believers
should strive
to have,
self-control
down in verse 12.
But I want to go
over this again.
It's repeated
so many times
in this letter.
Christ wants us
to hear this.
Notice who this
is first spoken to.
It's to the older men.
Teach them
to be self-controlled.
self-controlled.
So just because
men are older
does not mean
that they have learned
to be self-controlled.
A lifetime of living
doesn't automatically
make you a person
of self-restraint.
Experience
doesn't always
teach a person
to control
their tongue
or their emotions
or their appetites.
So what is
self-control all about?
Let's just
say it again.
To be self-controlled
means to be a person
who governs
themselves well.
A person who rules
over their appetites
and their desires
instead of a person
who is ruled by
their appetites
and desires.
The self-controlled
person fulfills
their obligations
and their responsibilities.
They keep their promises
and they're able
to do that
because they're
in control
of their lives.
Unlike the person
who lacks self-control,
they're kind of
spiraling out of control.
the person
who lacks
self-control
is ruled
by their emotions.
They're as dependable
as they are feeling
that day.
The person
who lacks
self-control
is often derailed
by bodily
appetites
for food
and drink
and sexual pleasure
and entertainment.
They just kind of
go with their
feelings
wherever
they take them.
They feel powerless
to say no
to themselves
when they should.
Now let's take
a step back here
and notice
that this
self-controlled
is not just
how the older men
are to be.
It's how all of them
are to be.
Look down in verse 3.
The women
of the older women,
they're not to be
addicted to much wine.
That's a self-control
thing there.
And they're to teach
the younger women
in verse 5
to be self-controlled.
And he says
to Titus,
teach the young men
to be self-controlled.
And even to the slaves
with regards
to their master's possession,
exercise self-restraint.
Don't just
help yourself
to their things
and steal from them.
If you're a follower
of Jesus,
God wants you
to be self-controlled,
to say no
to worldly passions
and lusts
as we talked about
last Sunday.
God has given us
many good things
in this world
and in this life
for our enjoyment.
But he wants us
to receive those things
with self-restraint
as good gifts
from him.
And not just
to engross ourselves
in them
and become obsessed
with them
or addicted to them
where we live lives
just to maximize
our pleasure.
He wants us
not to live
just to scratch
the itch
of our bodies,
our flesh,
but to live
to please the spirit.
He wants us
to be wise
and prudent
to think about
how our actions
affect others
and how the things
that we do today
or don't do today
affect tomorrow.
Self-control.
He says,
teach the older men
to be sound
in faith,
in love,
and in endurance.
To be sound
means to be,
it means to be good,
to be healthy,
to be as you should be.
And Jesus highlights
three things
for the older men
to be sound in
and the first one
here is faith.
Now this one
almost seems like
it should be a given,
doesn't it?
Tell the older men
to be sound
in their faith,
but could it be
that as we get older,
we men have a tendency
to drift
or to get bored
or to want to
hear something new,
to take some new
ideas or things
that are interesting
and maybe add that
to our faith.
Consider King Solomon.
He started so well.
He asked the Lord
for wisdom
to govern the people
of Israel
and God gave it to him.
And what wisdom
he had.
Look at the Proverbs
that he wrote.
Look at the list
of accomplishments.
But what happened
to Solomon?
Solomon,
his heart drifted away
from the faith.
By the end of his life,
he became a bitter,
cynical old man
as we see
in the book
of Ecclesiastes.
And his downfall
was, ironically,
his lack of self-control.
He lived
to please himself.
He piled up the wives.
He lived
for sexual pleasure.
His lust burned
so hot
that he considered
women as a thing
to be collected.
He had 700 wives
and 300 concubines.
And it says
in 1 Kings 11
that they led
his heart astray.
By the end of his life,
he was flat out
worshiping
at the shrines
and altars
of the pagan false gods
of his wives.
So yes,
it is possible
to lose soundness
in the faith
and to drift away
from the good
and true words
of God.
There's no autopilot
in the Christian life.
So teach the older men
to be sound
in the faith.
To stay true
to that trustworthy message.
If you feel
like you're getting bored,
let me encourage you.
It's not the Bible's fault.
It's not God's fault.
It's something going on
in your own heart.
Come to the Lord again.
Humble yourself
before him.
Call out to him.
Plead with him
to remedy that apathy
and to bring back
that joy,
that spiritual fervor
that you once felt.
It says in James 4,
verse 8,
draw near to God
and he will draw near
to you.
That's a promise
that we can count on.
Teach the older men
to be sound in love,
Paul says to Titus.
Again,
doesn't this seem
like it should be a given?
And yet he says it.
Does Paul actually expect Titus
to look the older men
in the eyes
and encourage them
to be loving?
Yes.
Love is what God
is all about.
God is love.
And love is to be
the number one fruit
of a believer's life.
The Apostle John
has lots to say
about this
in his letters.
Here's the problem.
Love can grow cold.
Christians who once
lived to bless
and serve others
in the past
can be tempted
to turn inward
and just live
to please themselves.
And so Paul
urges Titus
to teach the men,
even the older men,
the more experienced men,
to be sound
in love.
Here's a question
to ponder.
Would the people
who know you best
say
that you are
a loving person?
And if you're not sure,
you could ask them.
This isn't about feelings.
Love is more
than just feelings.
This is about action.
This is about a life
lived in service
of others
and for the benefit
of others.
It's about loyalty
and commitment
in relationships,
in your family,
in your church,
to your fellow man.
Lastly,
Titus
urges the men,
the older men,
to be sound
and endurance.
The Christian life
isn't easy.
It requires patience.
It requires
perseverance.
Let's move on
to talk about
what he says
now
to the older women.
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.
Teach the older women
to be reverent
in the way
they live.
There's two things
emphasized here.
First,
in the way
they live,
in their conduct.
And second,
in their conduct,
in the way
they live,
they are to be
reverent,
which really means
to show respect
in their conduct,
in their behavior.
It's just really
another way
of saying
what he said
to the older men.
So,
just as I said
to the older men,
same for the older women.
There's no excuse
to be rude,
cantankerous,
or overbearing.
Women,
think of other women
who you respect deeply.
Why do you respect them?
What is it about them
that makes them
so worthy of honor?
Aim to live
like they do.
Imitate them.
Let's go on.
He says,
teach the older women
not to be slanderers.
Gossip is something
that should not be part
of the Christian's life.
And this can be an issue
for older women.
First of all,
older women
can be less busy
with work
and family
and children
in their later years.
As we heard
from Paul's letter
to Timothy
in the fall,
there's a tendency
for women
who are not busy
with home
and family
to be idle
or at least
a temptation
to be idle
and to go
from house to house.
And it's not
that this is
no problem for men.
Let me just say that.
Gossip can be
a problem for men
as well.
But maybe I'll say
it this way.
Women tend to be
generally better
at relationships
than men.
More social.
And that strength
can be used
for sin
in the promoting
of gossip
and rumors
and more specifically
in this instance
slander.
Slander is more
than just gossip.
It's the spreading
of something
untrue
about someone.
And it ruins
and it hurts
the reputation
of others.
Remember the saying
of the people
of Crete
that we heard
from chapter 1.
They're known
for always being
liars.
So Paul says
teach the older women
not to be slanderers.
Not like all the other
people around
to put it positively
speak the truth
about others.
He goes on
teach the older women
not to be addicted
to much wine.
Drunkenness
really seems
to have been
a problem
on the island
of Crete.
It's again
essentially a call
to self-control
or to temperance
just like Paul said
for the older men.
Teach the older women
to teach
what is good.
Now this doesn't
imply that every
older woman
must become
a Sunday school teacher
but it does imply
that older women
be teachers
in some sense.
And in this case
teachers
who show
others
how to live
good lives.
And Paul has
something specific
in mind here.
Let me just put
the next verse
up there.
He says
teach the older women
to teach
what is good
so that
they may encourage
the young women
to love their husbands
and to love
their children
and the list
goes on.
We'll get to that
in a moment.
Some of you
maybe heard
of the word
discipleship.
It's kind of a word
we use in the church
to refer to
how we teach people
to live as
to be followers
of Jesus.
And there's all kinds
of small group methods
and materials
and books
and methods
that you can
get into
and there's value
to many of those things.
But let's not miss
the fact that Jesus
right here
is giving us
a pattern
for how we teach
others
to follow Jesus
in the church.
And it's that
the older women
are to teach
the younger women
in the church
how to live,
how to follow Jesus.
And it's not just
the older to younger women.
Later on we see
it's older men
to younger men
as well.
And part of why
I think we see this here
is that purity
is a big factor here.
Notice that Paul
doesn't instruct
Timothy
or sorry,
Titus
to teach
the younger women.
Not at all.
He's to teach
the older men
and the older women
and the younger men
but it's the older women
who are to teach
the younger women.
So purity
is one of the
big concerns here.
But just practically
I mean who knows
what it means
to be
a woman
who follows Christ
better
than an older woman
who has been
following Christ.
so the older women
are to teach
the younger women
how to do that.
In all this
we see a pattern
that we're to live out
in the church.
The older
are to teach
the younger.
So I want to just
ask you the question
are you older
or younger?
Yeah, good answer.
Always both
said Dan.
That's right.
Look around the room.
It's kind of relative
isn't it?
There's always somebody
hopefully
that's a little
further ahead
in their life
in their age
than you.
both of these
come with some
kind of relational
responsibility.
If you're the older
person
look around the church
at those who are
younger than you
that are of the
same age.
It's your responsibility
to teach them
how to live
for Christ.
And if you're
one of those
younger people
look around the room
at all those
who are older than you
of the same gender.
It's your responsibility
to learn from
those older
brothers and sisters
and to listen
to those who are
older than you.
This is something
that maybe we've lost
in our very
individualistic society.
We sometimes see
the other people
in the church
as unrelated to us.
You know
I'm following Jesus
for myself
and you guys
you kind of
got to figure that out
how to do that
for yourself.
But as we heard
last fall
the church is
a family
and we're to
conduct ourselves
like a family
in many respects.
Sometimes we get
this idea that
well the church
should just have
programs
and you know
you just kind of
go to the program.
Well we do our best
to offer some
programs that
especially for
the larger groups
in the church
that make sense
for the kids
for the youth
for the adults
but there's going
to be
we can't possibly
have a program
for everyone
in everything
every age
dynamic
every demographic
there are going
to be some
of you
who would just
do well
to seek out
a bit of
a one-on-one
mentoring
relationship
with a brother
if you're a man
or a sister
if you're a woman
in the church.
If you're older
is there someone
younger in the church
who you'd be willing
to build a closer
relationship with
where this kind
of teaching
can happen.
If you're younger
is there someone
in this church
that yeah
I'd like to
build a relationship
so I can learn
better how to be
a follower of Jesus.
Is there someone
like that
that you could
consider asking
to be a mentor
and this doesn't
have to be complicated
because I know
when we hear
the word mentor
we think
oh what is that
I can't do that.
It could be as
simple for you women
as inviting a younger
woman to come over
for tea.
Or to bake cookies.
Or to just get together
every so often.
It could be as simple
as saying yes
to that invitation.
And asking that
older believer
a question about
how they handled
things different.
How they handled
different things
as a mother
or as a wife
or whatever
you're facing right now.
Or men
you got something
in your house
that needs fixing?
Why not invite
another younger believer
or even older believer
in the church
another man
to come give you
a hand with it?
Build that relationship.
This is where
this kind of teaching
often happens.
It's not so much
always here
on Sunday mornings.
Now let's look for a moment
at what the older women
are to teach
the younger women
verses 4 and 5.
He says
they are to 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.
Now there's a lot
in here
we're just going to
skim through this
quite quickly.
The first one
teach the younger women
to love their husbands.
Again
it kind of seems
like it should be
a no-brainer
but sometimes
we men
can be hard to love
and on behalf
of the men
I apologize
but you older women
have a lot of encouragement
to offer
the younger women here.
Many of you
have stuck
through some
pretty tough times
and you've learned
how to love your husband
through thick and thin.
Have those kinds
of conversations
with each other.
teach the younger women
to love their children
he says.
Children also
can be hard
to love at times.
Sometimes
there's crankiness
there's messes
there's things
that try our patience
but as followers
of Jesus
we are to love
our children
through it all
just like God
has loved us
through it all
through our worst moments.
purity is one
of the things
that's emphasized
here for the younger women.
Yes
us who are older
are called to teach
about marriage
and sexuality
to those who are younger
in the church.
Where else
are they going
to learn it from?
So for those of you
who are younger
look to the older women
and the older men
for relationship wisdom.
Ask them those questions.
Older women
are to teach
the younger women
to be subject
to their husbands.
Now
I know that might
sound crazy
to some of you
we're not going
to go deeply
into this.
He's not talking
about like a slave
and master
relationship here.
He's talking
about submitting
to husbands
as the God
appointed head
of the household.
God has made it
that men
are to be the head
the leader
in the family
and that
the rest of the family
is to submit to
and follow
that leadership.
But men
are to be
loving
servant leaders
not domineering
leaders
to their wives
just like Jesus
was a
humble
serving
leader.
And we're not
going to go
into more
of that today.
We'll leave it
for another time.
It's talked about
in other passages
a lot more
in the New Testament.
The older women
are to teach
the younger women
to be busy
at home.
This too
is a very much
debated thing
and I think
we need to be
careful
when it comes
to this
not to take
it to either
extreme.
On the one hand
some see this
as a mandate
that the woman's
place is at home.
That's her special
area of responsibility
that's been given
to her from God
at creation
and it's
even a sin
for her to
work outside
the home.
The other
extreme would be
to look at this
and just say
well that was
just for back
then.
That doesn't
apply at all
to today.
Back then
men went to
work outside
the home
and women
stayed at home
and so
it doesn't
have any
bearing on
today.
I think we
need to
avoid
both of
those
extremes.
Let's remember
the issue
here on
Crete.
The people
of Crete
are known
for laziness.
In Paul's
letter to
Timothy
he touched
on the
problem
of the
young
widows.
They would
get in
the habit
of being
idle
and going
house to
house
and gossiping
up a storm.
The picture
we get here
is of young
women who
were perhaps
well off
and instead
of using
their time
to bring
blessing
and benefit
at home
on something
they're given
to laziness
they're being
idle they're
frittering their
time away
while their
husbands or
fathers or
possibly their
servants do
all the work
but work is
good.
Work brings
benefit
blessing to
other people
whether it's
at home or
in the church
or in the
community
and so he
says the
older women
are to teach
the younger
women to be
busy at
home
to help
look after
their own
households.
Finally we
come to the
young men
and after all
that it might
be rather
surprising to
see that Paul
just tells
them one
thing.
Teach the
young men
encourage them
to be
self-controlled
and that's
it.
It might seem
unfair.
Why do they
get it so
easy?
I don't think
it's that they
don't need to
work on many
of these other
things.
Of course
they do.
But self-controlled
is a big one
for young men.
We've got lots
of energy.
We're in the
prime of our
lives and
without self-control
we can end up
doing a lot of
damage.
We can end up
wasting a lot
of time, a lot
of money, a lot
of resources.
I think perhaps
Paul gives this
one thing because
this one thing
would make all
the difference in
the world in a
young man's life.
when he learns
to be self-controlled
in his
appetites, his
emotions, his
desires, his
plans, his
finances, his
habits, with
his words, in
his relationships,
you get the
idea.
So these are
Paul's instructions
for various groups
of people in the
churches.
We're going to
skip over the
part about slaves
and the
instructions for
Titus in verses
8 to 10.
10.
But I want to
end just by
highlighting the
why.
Of course the
big why comes
down to us in
verse 11 to 14.
We looked at that
last Sunday.
This is the only
kind of living that
fits with Jesus
Christ being our
Savior and King.
This is gospel
living.
This is the kind
of living that
Christ died to
bring us into.
And he wants us
to be eager to
live this way.
But in addition
to that we see
three statements
sprinkled throughout
all of these
instructions.
The first one
comes to us in
verse 5.
The older women
are to teach the
younger women to
live this kind of
life.
Why?
So that no one
will malign the
word of God.
Then there's a
second one which
comes to us in
verse 8.
Titus is to
teach and to
show integrity in
his life and
soundness of speech.
Why?
So that those who
oppose you may be
ashamed because they
have nothing bad to
say about us.
And then the final
one comes in
reference to the
slaves and how
they ought to
earn the trust
of their masters
not steal from
them.
Why?
So that in every
way they will
make the teaching
about God our
Savior attractive.
Notice the theme
here.
In how we live as
followers of Jesus
we are to make the
teaching about God
our Savior attractive.
God's sake.
It's already good
news but we can
put the goodness
of this news on
display in our
lives or we
can give
opportunity for
people to malign
the word of God
to speak ill of
the word of God.
Like oh those
Christians.
They don't even
practice what they
preach.
church.
I've said it
before but I'll
say it again.
You are the
Bible that most
people read.
What does your
life say about
our Lord Jesus?
Or in the words
of Jesus you are
the salt of the
earth.
But if the salt
loses its
saltiness how
can it be made
salty again?
It's no longer
good for anything
except to be
thrown out and
trampled underfoot.
He said you are
the light of the
world.
So let your
light shine before
others that they
may see your good
deeds and glorify
your Father in
heaven.
There is a kind
of living that
goes with our
faith in Jesus.
It flows out of
our faith in
Jesus.
Every one of us
needs to take a
look at this list
and I want to
encourage you to
take some time
this week and
just reflect over
it.
Pray and ask the
Lord which of
these things on
here do I need
to grow in the
most?
Would you help
me Lord to be
more self-controlled
or to be more
loving or whatever
it is for you in
this list?
Which of these is
most convicting to
you?
Maybe it's that
you've been sitting
on the sidelines and
you haven't been
involved with teaching
youngers or maybe
it's that you've been
trying to do the
Christian life as a
lone ranger and
you've been ignoring
those who are older
than you and you
don't think you need
their wisdom and
guidance in your
life.
Whatever it is for
you may we not just
hear these
encouragements and
forget these words.
May the Lord give us
grace to respond to
them.
let's pray.
Father in heaven we
thank you that you've
just spelled it out so
clearly for us how we
should live.
And we thank you
also that for every
moment in which we
fail to live like this
there is the blood of
your son.
which has brought us
into a right standing
with you by faith.
And we thank you that
nothing can take that
away from us.
But now we want to
live to please you
because we love you.
You are our God.
So I pray that you
would work these things
out in us.
That we would be this
kind of church described
here.
Speak to us this week
as we reflect on these
words we ask for your
glory.
Amen.