Titus 2:3-10

Can you hear me now?

Amen.

So it's interesting because Paul's giving instruction, and we're already kind of going about our life, doing life.

So you're like, man, what do I need instruction?

I'm already doing life.

I don't need instruction.

I'm I'm doing it.

But then if we're honest with ourselves, all of us have this tendency to go through life being torn in different directions.

Our emotions, our thoughts, our desires, they fluctuate, and we kind of can drift through the day.

We're carried through the day by the circumstances or our emotions or how much coffee we've had to drink or haven't had yet, rather than being obedient to the Lord.

So the odd part really, the odd part really is why are we not submitting to what Christ has called us to and submitting to the way that the Lord has laid out for us to go about our day?

Why do we keep resisting what the Lord has for us?

I want you to keep this question in mind as we go through our text this morning.

Why am I reluctant to follow the Bible's instruction?

There's a lot of instruction in this passage, some very specific things.

A lot of this is contextual to the people of Crete, but it all applies to us today.

But why am I reluctant to follow the Bible's instruction?

See, last week we covered the first two verses where Paul is charged, or Paul charges Titus.

He says, Listen, preach and teach sound doctrine.

This is to be against those false teachers and to give light to those who want to follow the truth, teach sound doctrine.

And then he gives advice for the older men.

They're to be sober-minded, dignified, self-controlled, sound in faith, sound in love, sound in steadfastness.

These men are to live in a way that they're surrendered to Christ.

Their life shows that they have surrendered, they're humble, and they're to worship the Lord with how they walk and how they live.

This is the charge he gives to the men.

These are men who are who have weathered hardship, they've been faithful to the Lord, they've been humbled by the things of the world.

They know a thing or two about how to live with intentionality.

So be, to be dignified, to be men of self-control.

Then we see in verse 2, we see that that verse 3 that Paul begins to encourage the older women.

Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine.

They are to teach what is good and so train the young women.

These are women who have lived a while.

Paul does not state the specific age bracket for what who falls under older women, but there's younger women and there's older women.

And he encourages the older women likewise, similarly to the men, be reverent in behavior.

Reverent in behavior.

Now they are to be steadfast in their pursuit of godliness.

This isn't reverent when the occasion calls for it.

This isn't, you know, they kind of know how to act given the situation in the crowd.

This doesn't mean they don't know how to laugh or have a good time.

That's not what this means.

But they are reverent.

They're respectful in their behavior and what they say and the way they do, what they act.

They bring honor to the Lord.

They're reverent with these things.

They're to not be slanderers.

The definition of a slanderer says to utter false charges or misrepresent or misrepresentations which defame and damage another person's reputation.

Not to be a slanderer.

Now he says slanderer and to not be a slave to much wine.

And these things tend to go together.

Usually, if you're someone who is struggling with consuming too much alcohol or a substance that kind of makes you lose control, you begin to talk too much.

But I think we all can look at our own lives, even if we don't struggle with drinking too much, and say, man, I think I probably at times slander.

I think there are times when I'm in a conversation, when I'm speaking to someone and I'm kind of frustrated about someone else, and I just say something that kind of shades that person's character.

And it's not really that their character is a problem, the problem is my emotion toward them, but I'm sharing it in a way that's now to the person I'm sharing with, it's damaging their understanding of this person.

We're not to be slanderous, we're not to put others down, we're not to be, we should be quick to examine our own hearts and say, man, do I see that?

Is that a pattern, a pattern in my life?

Probably is more so a pattern if you're uh struggling with um alcoholism or drinking too much wine.

But at the same time, we can give ourselves over to many things.

We can give ourselves over to all kinds, we can indulge in all kinds of things that are not good for us, especially for older women who are to model for younger women how to be faithfully followers of Christ.

So we're not to slander, we're not to be slaves of much wine.

And then finally, Paul says they're to do something.

So he gives this hey, be reverent in behavior.

And then he says, don't be slanders, don't be a slave to much wine, and then do, do teach what is good and train the young women.

It is the duty, the Bible says, for older women to instruct younger women.

They're to teach what is good.

Now, this this doesn't look like a class on Wednesday night, per se, or a program we do on Thursday mornings, per se, although those things can be good, but this is a natural outflowing of a mature believer to find and to seek out younger, immature believers, not that they're children, but they're not as far along in their walk as you are, mature, faithful older men and older women, to seek them out, to begin to build relationship with them, and to pour into them, to teach them and train them.

This is a natural, again, outflow of being a mature follower of Christ.

This is the command to make disciples.

For older women are to teach the younger women.

There's a few implications here.

They're to teach what is good.

So that's implied that the older women know what is good.

Now we'll get to that in a few verses that Paul kind of begins to lay out some specific pieces of instruction.

But these are women who they know the difference between their own opinion and the word of God.

They know the difference between, I mean, something they're they're kind of excited about, and an interest of theirs, and the teaching of the word.

They're to instruct in what is good.

And also because there's the command to instruct, and this is addressed to older women, it's implied, I think, that these are women who either their kids are already out of the house, right?

Or their kids are pretty independent.

Because if you're if you have little kids, even though you may be older, there's not a whole lot of time to go and seek out these discipleship relationships and to instruct.

Not that it cannot be done, but older women tend to have more time to do these things.

And so they should be giving their time.

This is one of the things they should be giving their time to.

Raising up, training the younger women.

Again, the second part that Paul kind of the implication is that the women know what is good.

A wise and godly woman has insight.

They know what it means to follow the Lord faithfully, to serve and to honor.

Now, Paul then gets into these seven, the list of seven things that he instructs young women.

And this is in verse, the second part of verse uh four and into verse five.

Right?

The young train the young women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled.

Now there's more instruction for young women in this passage than for old men or old women or young men, or for Titus.

He lays out these seven pieces of instruction.

This is not because young women are weak or they they they're so kind of frail they can't figure these things out.

They are to grow in wisdom.

Instruction is given so they may grow to be wise.

We know that culturally in this time that Paul's addressing, the women, that the Christian women were struggling with kind of throwing off their responsibilities at home and going, kind of doing what they wanted to do.

And whether that was kind of just neglect their own family and do what they want to do to pursue promiscuous relationships.

And so Paul's addressing specifically some things here that relate to the to the young woman in Crete.

But we would read this list and we'd say this definitely still applies to us today.

So here the first one love your husbands.

Young women, train them to love their husbands.

This is not just a romantic or an erotic kind of way, this is a giving of themselves to serve.

They are encouraged to give to their husbands, to love them well, encourage them.

They are to meet the needs of their husbands emotionally and physically.

They are to pray for their husbands, to love their husbands.

Our culture, people just get married, and then they they kind of like maybe you'll go through premarital counseling if you're fortunate, it's good, but that's kind of it.

And then they're just expected, man, you gotta figure that out.

Love your husband.

Well, if you've been married for any amount of time, good luck with that.

You don't just naturally figure it out.

It's not easy.

It doesn't come naturally to die to yourself and give of yourself to another person, especially a person who's broken and sinful, and they don't do the dishes right, they don't pick up after themselves.

These are difficult things.

So older women are to train the young women.

This is what it means to love your husband.

This is what it means to serve them.

This is what it means to love your children.

Now, we have young kids.

Loving kids is really difficult.

There's a lot going on there, it's a mess.

And so you know, I don't want anyone to feel like there's condemnation from Paul or from me.

He's giving the encouragement to love your children.

To give yourself to your children.

Now, I've never been a mother, but I have a mother, and I'm married to a mother.

And one thing I know is that kids, kids don't come around kind of asking.

Man, kids will take from you.

Right?

So this command, love your children, like give yourself to them.

Oh, they will take you, right?

They are like locusts.

They come and they pillage and they they take everything and they leave nothing left, they devour every bit of life.

This is what kids tend to do.

So it sounds funny when Paul's like, hey, you need to you need to love your kids, you know.

But what he's getting at is you need to see your children and your role as a as a as their mother, as a divine calling, and give yourself to them to love them well.

What is your heart toward your children?

Are you bitter toward them?

Are you frustrated with them?

All very understandable emotions.

But we are to love them well.

A mother who loves her children will not strive to squander the short fleeting years she has with them.

Rather, she will seek to raise her children.

Her aim is for adults who know the love and grace of Jesus because their mother showed it to them.

This doesn't mean that if your children do not follow the Lord, that you're a failure.

But what it does mean is that they have seen and they've heard you give testimony and witness you follow the Lord faithfully, humbly, day after day.

This is only done through the grace and the strength of Jesus Christ.

We are to be genuine in how we live out our faith, consistent, and again with great, great humility.

This is the aim of the Christian parent.

So then the next kind of set of instructions that Paul gives to young women is to be self-controlled and pure.

Again, Paul had in mind some of the issues, the cultural issues going on in the area of Crete.

But he's encouraging the women to keep a young woman from entertaining inappropriate relationships.

They're to love their husband and their children.

They're to do that, they're to be self-controlled and pure.

They're to keeping not only their hands and their eyes away from dangerous things, but also guarding their heart as well.

So often we can say, well, I'm not in an extramarital affair, I'm not doing these things, therefore I'm meeting the standard.

But we know from Jesus' teaching in the Sermon on the Mound that he doesn't care about just outside obedient, just our actions on the outside, but obedience from the heart.

So we must guard, young women must guard against the fanning of flames of desire and fantasy that are not right, or daydreaming about a different life, or how someone else has it.

They're to be self-controlled and pure.

Then he gives the instruction to be working at home and to be kind.

They are to be occupied with matters of the home, and they're to do so with a heart of gladness and kindness, not bitter or frustrated.

Now you may hear people quote this verse and say, see, man, women, they can't work outside the home.

They gotta be home.

They gotta be homemakers, they gotta be there full-time, no jobs outside of their home.

This is not what this verse is teaching.

Just read Proverbs 31.

Women are welcome to enter the marketplace and do business if they like.

They can have a career outside the home.

It's not wrong.

For some people, they they choose that path, for others they don't.

Both those things are okay as long as you are not neglecting your responsibilities at home.

You can be a you can be a stay-at-home mom and not have a job outside the home and fully neglect your responsibilities at home.

You can completely do it.

You can be a mom who works outside the home and does not neglect her responsibilities.

You must be wise and decide as a as a family how you're to submit to this command from the Lord.

But nonetheless, women are to tend to the things at home.

One commentator says they're to be home lovers, lovers of the home.

Doesn't mean that they just don't want to go anywhere, they don't want to do anything else.

But there is there is a calling for them to steward well the years they have with their children in the home that the Lord has provided for them.

They're to be kind.

This very well could imply hospitality.

They're to be hospitable with the home they have, what the Lord has provided for them.

Now, if there's anything more offensive in the year 2022 than other than saying, hey, women need to stay home, it's probably saying, women, you need to submit to your husbands.

Right?

Scripture, if you just read a verse, sounds very offensive.

But again, we know that the Lord has designed us for his purposes.

And so in the next section, it says, submit to their own husbands.

In this specific context, again, I keep saying that.

It's important to remember that Paul's addressing an issue with young women, but across the scriptures, we see the command to submit.

Submit to their own husbands.

This is not a submit because you have to, because I'm a man and I'm over you.

So submit to my authority.

Rather, this is to submit to God's design, God's plans.

God so wonderfully and intentionally designed the males and females.

He did not then leave it up to us to figure out how we're to go about life.

We should surrender to God's design.

He has given men an equal, equal, men and women equal, yet different roles.

We come out of a culture, meaning Christians, everywhere around the world almost, that want to demean one gender or the other.

Women are men are trying to demean or subdue women, women are kind of shaming or seeking to dishonor men.

There is no liberation kind of theology for women that says if you can just be free and throw off the shackles of a man, then you can really experience true life because it's not to be found there.

Likewise, there is no freedom or life when you find a woman who just submits to you because you're bigger and stronger and you have stronger opinions.

That's not the role, the way that God has designed us.

He has designed a husband to lead his family, to serve them, to provide for them.

He has designed a wife to submit to her husband as we are to submit to Christ.

This is God's design for the family.

Again, it goes against culture, it goes against every what everyone's saying out there, and it goes against our own flesh.

None of us like to submit.

That is not a natural thing.

It is only by the work of Christ that we can submit to Him and submit to the local church.

We must remember as men, especially to the husbands, we are to lead our families, to provide for them, not just physically, but emotionally and spiritually.

God has given us this role for men and women, these roles.

We are to honor the Lord and submit to these things.

And in that, experience the life that Christ has for us.

So Paul lays out these kind of qualifications or these pieces of instructions, instruction for women.

Young women are in a unique time in their life.

Having young kids, trying to navigate the world.

There's so much going on, there's so much noise.

They need older women to come along and to encourage them and to train them to follow after the Lord.

Paul then moves to young men.

Verse 6, he says, likewise, urge the young men to be self-controlled.

Now it's interesting, that's all he says.

You have all this whole list of things for women and gives them men to be self-controlled.

Well, if you know any young men, that's quite a feat right there.

Right?

To be self-controlled is of a work of the Lord.

Now, this what this verse does, one thing it does is it tells us that young men can be self-controlled.

God would not give us a command we could not obey.

So we can't make the excuse.

Well, they're young, you know how they are.

They just gotta sow their wild oats, or you know how they are, they just gotta kind of do their thing, get it out of their system.

Man, that's terrible teaching.

But that's the that's the world.

But rather, young men are to be self-controlled.

And they're to be modeling or following the example that older men are setting for them.

And they're to follow the model that Titus, who would qualify as a young man, should set for them.

And this is what verse 7 says to Titus, show yourself in all respect to be a model of good works, and in your teaching show integrity, dignity, and sound speech that cannot be condemned, so that an opponent may be put to shame having nothing evil to say about us.

So this is the example.

Titus is to live out to the to the followers of Christ, and especially to the young men.

To live out good works.

Sometimes the standard we set for people is so low.

You ever think about that?

Think about the standard we set for ourselves, the standard we set for young men and young women.

It's like, it's kind of down here, like, hey man, try to try to not be too promiscuous in high school.

Try to graduate.

Maybe go to college, figure out what you want to do, and uh we'll go from there.

And so we set out these kind of these kind of milestones of achievement.

Graduate.

Who's decent or continue on in your education?

Find a spouse who's decent, have some kids, take care of them.

I mean, that's like that's that's all you have to do to survive.

But Christ has called us to so much more than that.

He doesn't just say, hey, graduate and kind of move on with your life.

He calls us to holiness.

And so the standard we should be setting for for ourselves, for young people, and for old people is to be obedient to the scriptures, to be maturing in Christ.

Christ, to set out each day to honor him with our life.

Now these are not easy things, they don't come naturally, and you don't just wake up at 25 and kind of figure it out.

You have to die to yourself, surrender yourself to the will of the Lord, to his word, to obey him.

When he says, hey, don't do that, it's sinful.

Strive to be obedient to that.

Don't do it, it's sinful.

It brings death.

When he says, honor one another, honor one another.

When he says, serve one another, serve one another.

When he says, be in the word, study the scriptures, meditate on the things of the Lord, then do that.

When he says, set your mind on things above.

Don't think and meditate on evil, wicked things.

Don't do that.

These are the standards that scripture gives us.

So we should be setting out for one another, for one another.

And we see again that the teaching to teach with integrity, dignity, and sound speech.

No one has the position that Titus held.

Right?

None of us do.

But we all likewise are to help and encourage and give wisdom and to teach.

We mean what we say.

We strive to fulfill and to live out what we teach.

We don't talk about being surrendered to the Lord and then go live a life that's not surrendered to the Lord.

We strive, not perfect, but that is our aim.

We teach with dignity.

We don't approach these things kind of like, well, you know, if you want to believe it, it's good.

If you believe something else, that's cool.

But when there's dignity, there's there's weight to this, there's seriousness to the teaching of the Lord.

Whether it's preaching or whether it's a you're instructing someone across the table at a restaurant or your own home to teach with integrity, with dignity, and with sound speech.

This takes work.

It means we're studying the word to teach with sound speech.

We're not kind of waffling on the doctrines or the things of the Lord.

We're holding fast to them.

We're not saying one thing around a friend who kind of believes what we believe, and then we're going around another friend who kind of believes some very different things.

We're kind of like, yeah, you know, I believe that too.

Sound in our speech.

Why?

So that no one can say anything evil about the church.

They can't accuse of laziness the people of God of God.

They can't say, hey man, they're lazy, or they're they're gluttonous, or they're they're apathetic, or they're devil-minded, or they're wishy-washy.

People want to rail against the church all the time.

And sometimes for good reason.

They'll say, well, the church needs to be this, the church needs to be that.

That's all 100% probably accurate.

We all need to be more holy.

But we don't need to be more holy just so other people can see us being more holy.

The call to Christ to honor Him so that we can fulfill the call, the command he's given to us.

Because in that lays life, joy.

So we're to follow the things of the Lord, to be sound in what we teach, what we believe, what we practice for the glory of the Lord, for the praise of the Lord.

And then a byproduct of that, and people look at the church like Christians, and they say, man, there's something different about them.

They're humble, they're kind, they give of themselves.

Something there that's attractive when the church is following the commands of the Lord.

So we are to fulfill these things, and young men are to be self-controlled.

Then in verse 9 and 10, it talks about bondservants, are to be submissive to their own master, pilfering, but well pleasing, not argumentative, not pilfering, but showing all good faith, so that in everything they may adorn the doctrine of God, our Savior.

Paul finishes his instruction to bondservants, and chapter some translations say slaves.

Now, Paul, we know in 1 Timothy 1, chapter 10, or chapter 1, verse 10, that Paul condemns slavery.

The Bible makes clear again and again and again that we are created in God's image.

We're image bearers of the omagodei.

But one another.

Slavery is clearly wrong.

But Paul also knows that most of the good chunk of the early church is made up of slaves.

In Rome alone, a third of the population were slaves.

In the Roman Empire, over 50 million slaves at this time.

So he knows, man, I'm writing to Christians, there will be slaves in their congregations, and there may even be those who are over-slaves.

But he instructs them on how to live.

Submissive, showing honor, not arguing or being disrespectful, not to steal, but to show good faith.

And by so doing this, they will adorn the doctrine of God, showing the ways of Jesus to be more attractive and beautiful.

And you think about this, whether it's it's the role of older men or younger men or older women, what we're the role of slaves, how how does this happen?

How do we lay down what we want for the good of what the Lord has called us to, the good of others?

It's because we know that our hope is not in this world.

If your hope is in this world, you will not submit to the ways of the Lord.

If your hope is in this world, you will not seek to honor those who are over you.

If your hope is in this world, you will not lay down your life for others.

But this is what Christ has called us to do.

To obey Him.

So why is it that we resist?

Why is it in our flesh do we resist the things of the Lord, the commands of the Lord?

We as Christians are to examine our own life and our own heart.

Examine yourself.

Do your desires and preferences point to the way of Jesus?

Older men, older women, younger women, younger men, do you desire to obey the instructions that God has given you?

And if not, then be honest about that.

Say what is it?

Why are you resistant to the things of the Lord?

I'd love to talk with you about that.

Listen to the words of Jesus out of Luke chapter Lord.

Why do you call me Lord Lord and do not do what I tell you?

Let me read that again.

Why do you call me Lord Lord and do not want to do what I tell you?

Everyone who comes building a house who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock, and when the flood arose and the stream broke against the house, it stood because it had been well built.

But the one who hears and does not do without a foundation is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation.

When the stream broke against it, immediately it fell.

And the ruin of that house was great.

When we turn from God's ways and follow our own ways, we are building our life on the sand.

And it will be destroyed.

It will be destroyed.

But when we confess that we are sinners, we turn from our sin and put our hope in Christ alone, obeying his instructions, that are building our lives on the rock.

Jesus Christ.

That is our hope.

Let's pray.