Titus 2:6-8

v The spiritual wardrobe for younger men, 1:6.  Younger men were to be:

·        Sober-minded.  This instruction is common to all (cf. 1:8; 2:2,5,12).  Again, it is to be in one’s right mind, having self-control or the curbing of one’s desires and impulses.  This is critical in Crete but let’s be honest: every society encourages us to push our limits.  We are told not to settle for yesterday’s experience today but to seek new ways to satisfy our urges.  The stereotype of young men is that they are wild and crazy.  They are expected to sow their wild oats.  Thus the emphasis on this trait makes a lot of sense for young men.

This might seem strange, having only one word for young men.  But Paul goes on to instruct Titus who is also a young man.  Perhaps Paul meant for Titus to set a pattern for the young men that were drawn to him in the fellowship.

v The spiritual wardrobe for Titus, 1:7-8.  Titus was to be:

·        A type (pattern) of good works.  This is a general statement about example but the emphasis on good works certainly was important for the young men.  In our youth we often consider it a time when we need not be making important contributions in life.  We wait our time.  But that should not be the case in the Body of Christ.

·        Showing integrity, reverence and incorruptibility in his teaching.  We put these together because there are manuscript differences.  However each term is vital so we will consider each.  Notice how important is his teaching.  Titus is a prophet (saying what God has said), a watchman who warns the people, a steward passing on to the family of God what Christ has given him, and a shepherd who leads and protects the flock.  He does all this with his teaching ministry.  It is critical that he maintain …

·        Integrity.  His arguments and reasonings, his explanations, his conclusions must be true, not corrupted.  The word of God is life to those who trust and obey; the one who declares that word will lead people away from that life if his teaching is not sound.  He must keep back nothing that is helpful (Acts 20:20); he must teach the whole council of God (Acts 20:26-27).

·        Reverence.  For the third time in Titus 2 the NKJV uses this word but each is different.  The idea here is that in teaching Titus must be serious.  The word of God is life and death for those who hear; it is not entertainment.  I remember as a child attending a service at a campground in the Sierra Mountains of California.  The visiting preacher was a crackup, telling one funny story after another.  As our family left I mentioned how funny he was to my father who responded that the man had nothing to say.  Even as a teenager I knew dad was right.  He entertained us; he did not teach us.  Stories can have their place as they did in Jesus’ ministry; but we cannot waste our time on that which does not build up the Body of Christ.

Titus 2:4-5

Paul’s teaching for younger women is lengthy and very home-centered.  While this is written against the backdrop of Cretan society, it is also a presentation of a Biblical patter of life for the daughters of Eve.

v The spiritual wardrobe for younger women, 1:4-5.  Younger women were to:

·        Love their husbands: Love here is a phileo term, the Greek word for love that emphases affection, friendliness and a family-relationship.  It speaks of a woman whose husband enjoys being with at home; home is an easy place for him to be because she pursues friendship with her husband.

·        Love their children.  Again this is a phileo term, an older Greek word (perhaps Paul had to reach back in his Greek for the way it used to be).  Children are not to be considered a difficulty but should experience affection; again, they like being home.  And perhaps that means they like to have their friends there too.  A. T. Robertson in his Word Studies thought this exhortation was still needed where some married women preferred poodle dogs to children.  He wrote in the first half of the 1900’s.

·        Be temperate.  She needs to be under control in terms of her temper, her daily schedule and so forth.  She should be disciplined in terms of how she cares for herself, not always neglecting herself because of her duties.

·        Be chaste.  She is pure, not mixed with evil.  This is not needed for the unmarried woman; the wife as well needs purity of life and thus the term is also used of them in 2 Cor. 11:2 (the bride of Christ) and 1 Peter 3:2 (the wife of the unbeliever).

·        Be keepers at home.  Strong’s definition is caring for the house, working at home.  For husband and children this is of inestimable value, having a clean house, decorated to honor Christ and done with a good attitude.  

·        Be good.  She brings what is pleasant and honorable into the lives of her family.

·        Be obedient to their husbands.  This is translated obedient here and in 2:9; but it is the word commonly translated submissive in the New Testament.  It speaks of an attitude of a woman who desires to do all she can to make her husband successful in what God has given him to do.  There is an interesting thought here.  Men are called on to rule or manage their own houses well (1 Tim. 3:4,12).  But this passage makes it clear that they are dependent on a special person to make this happen, the person given to them by God.  

You can see why younger women need the encouragement of older women in this.  They don’t get much help from the world around them.  Rather they are encouraged to be just the opposite.  And let us remember, this is necessary that the word of God may not be blasphemed!

Titus 2:3-4

What kind of life would enable older women to adorn sound doctrine?

v The spiritual wardrobe for older women, 1:3.  Older women were to be:

·        Reverent: This is not the same word as in 1:2.  It means she exudes holiness.  The emphasis of the term comes from the use of this word to speak of the holy things in the temple of God.  In 1 Tim. 2:9-10 Paul spoke of women adorning themselves with propriety and moderation … with that which is proper for women professing godliness, with good works. 

·        Not slanderers: Literally, they are not to be devils or diabolical (this is the Greek word for devil who slanders God’s people).  Thus their speech is to be godly. 

·        Not given to much wine: This is similar but with a tell-tale difference with the use statements in 1 Tim. 3:8,11 given to bishops and deacons.  The leaders are not to be given, to lean towards too much wine.  But in our passage the term given is from the doulos family of words, the term for bond slave.  Certainly this and the previous admonition for older women are set against the society in which they lived.

·        Teachers of good things: They are to teach things that are wholesome, with 1 Tim. 5:9-10 (in the context of identifying godly widows) possibly giving us an idea of what those things are: good works such as bringing up children, lodging strangers, washed the saints feet, relieved the afflicted and having done it all with diligence.  

The point is being made: if we have a doctrine about a Savior who lived a life of love, of serving and who came to give Himself for our sins, then we too are called to a good and purposeful life.  That is what adorns the doctrine!

Furthermore, this is the life that lends integrity to the calling of older women to teach these good things to the younger women.  We often say that parenting, perhaps the greatest profession of all, has no guide-book, no instruction manual.  But in the local churches that was not to be the case.  In fact younger women were to be admonished (literally to store to one’s senses) in the skills and joys of family life.  It was a perfect fulfillment of the command of Christ to go and make disciples (Matt. 28:19-20).  

This emphasis on character is needed in our own society.  Without question, so is the emphasis on what we sometimes call mentoring but which Jesus called making disciples.  If you happen to fit the targets of today’s devotional, being an older woman who no longer has (or perhaps never had) children at home, make this a prayer request.  Ask God to bless you with the opportunity to encourage other younger women.  The advertisements and role models of this age make it hard to be a godly young woman.  Be a teacher of good things!