Adorning The Doctrine of God

I want to read just one verse, Titus 2:1, to get us started. Paul says, “But speak thou the things which become,” or are becoming of, “sound doctrine.” At the end of chapter one, verse 16, Paul had finished talking about false teachers. I want you to back up into Titus 1:16, “They profess that they know God,” that is, these false teachers, “but in works they deny him.” Now, catch that phrase, “in works they deny him,” because in Titus 2:1-10, it’s going to be all that, that we not deny Him by our works but that we adorn Him by our works, that people are not hindered by our lives, but they’re helped by the way that we live. He sets chapter 2 in contrast to the false teachers who have a profession that they know God but do not live it in their daily lives. It says they are, “…being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work,” they are, “reprobate.” There’s an intended contrast that I don’t want you to miss, “But speak thou.”

The word “thou” or you in the Greek is emphatic. Paul is actually saying to Titus, “I want you, Titus, unlike the false teachers who profess that they know God but in their works they deny Him; I want you, Titus, to speak things that are becoming of sound doctrine.” After many many years of teaching this passage (it’s one of my favorites, verse 1), I think I got kind of a new insight into it this week that kind of blessed my own heart. It’s amazing after years of Bible study that we still get new insight, we still get new light and understanding; that is, that Paul is not telling Titus to teach doctrine in verse 1. He’s not telling him to teach doctrine, he’s telling him to teach things the way they should live in a way that’s consistent and will beautify the doctrine.

Now, should not Titus teach doctrine? Yes. That’s one of the themes that runs through 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, and Titus, which are pastoral epistles. The word “doctrine” is the word teaching. The word “sound” is where we get our word hygiene from. It means healthy or life-giving. Sound doctrine leads to sound living, but what he’s doing in verse 1 is telling Titus to speak to the members of the congregation, that they should live in such a way that their lives are consistent with sound doctrine.

Now, you’ve heard me say a million times, and this passage clearly teaches it, that what you believe determines how you behave. The Bible says, “For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he,” so sound doctrine should lead to sound living. Paul is telling Titus that he should instruct the members of the congregation that they should be living their lives in such a way that it adorns the doctrine of God. You say, “Well, where do you get this adorning the doctrine of God?” We’ll get there, but I want you to peek at it in verse 10. He says to the slaves, “Not purloining, but shewing all good fidelity,” and here it is, “that they may adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things.” So, “…speak thou the things which become sound doctrine,” and he wants them to adorn the doctrine of God. He wants them to live in such a way that they beautify.

Have you ever invited someone to church and they say, “Well, I won’t go to that church because I know somebody that’s a hypocrite,” or “I have a friend that used to go to that church and they said they were a Christian, but they don’t live the Christian life.” Maybe you invited someone to come to a fellowship, “Oh, I don’t want to go to Christianity,” or “I don’t want to go to church because I knew someone that said he was a Christian but his life was contrary to that.” It’s really hard to get over that hurdle with people when they have someone who professes to be a Christian but don’t really live it in their lives. Paul writes to Titus and says, “Look, I want you to tell the members of the church that this is the way they should live. They should have lives that beautify the Bible.” Ask yourself tonight: Does my life beautify the doctrines of God? Do I have lip and life consistent? Are the things that I say consistent in the way that I live?

I want to give you a quick outline for Titus 2. We’re going to take two weeks in chapter two, tonight verses 1-10. In chapter two, Paul starts with setting forth the kind of life expected of each group in the congregation (verses 1-10). He talks to the older men, the older women, the younger women, the younger men (and Titus would be in that category of being a young man), and then the slaves in the church. Many of the early Christians were slaves. The second section (verses 11-15) is that he unfolds the sound doctrines which undergird these duties. The first section is how you behave, and the next section is what you believe. What we believe actually brings about our behavior—the way that we should live. He covers these different categories.

The first category is Paul speaks to the aged or older men. I won’t ask for a show of hands in these sections, but verse 2, “That the aged men,” he wants us to be, “sober, grave, temperate, sound in faith, in charity,” love, “in patience.” Now, a helpful way to kind of study a passage like this where you have these words that are so important is to consult a modern translation. I’m using the King James Bible, but you might read an NIV, New Living Translation, The New English Bible, The New American Standard Bible, or something like that which sheds light on some of these phrases or some of these words.

The words “aged men” in verse 2 is not talking about elders in the sense of an office or spiritual leader. We saw in the pastoral epistles that God laid out the qualifications for elder. By the way, the word elder, bishop, overseer, and pastor are all synonymous terms for the same individual of the church that’s spiritual leadership, but that’s not what he’s talking about here. He’s just flat out talking about older men. Now, I know the question that some of you are having right now: What is an older man? Right? And…I don’t know. When I was in my 20s, I thought 30 was older. Remember the old adage back in the 60s: Don’t trust anyone over 30? Then, when I got into my 30s…thirties is awesome! You know, you got kind of out of your juvenile stage and you’re kind of married and raising your kids. You’re kind of in the middle of life. I thought that’s pretty cool, but forty is classified kind of old man, and then I reached my 40s. I thought, Well, that’s not too bad. I still feel pretty good, you know, forty is not too bad. You go through your 40s and come to your 50s. I remember when I turned 50 a friend of mine called and said, “Welcome to buzzardom. John, you’re officially a buzzard.” Then, you get into your 60s, and that’s kind of where I’ll stop—I’m in my 60s—but age is relative, right? You’re as young as you feel. Amen? I know people that are old, but they act juvenile; I know people that are young, and they act like old people! It’s really a relative kind of issue.

Paul is speaking of those who are older and more mature in the church. Let me say something, lest I forget. I believe that a church should reflect not only all races and all social levels, but I believe that it should reflect all ages. I believe a church should reflect all ages. When I started the church in San Bernardino (that I pastored for 39 years), it started with high schoolers. I was just out of high school, and all the people that came were high schoolers. Then, they were college age. I remember the first time a 30-year-old guy came into my Bible study, I freaked out, “There’s an old guy here today.” You don’t want to just be a young group of people, you want to have that maturity that comes with years of walking with God and experience. I really encourage you to kind of cross over age kind of a thing, you know—don’t shy away from older people, if you’re young, and don’t stay away from the younger people, if you’re old. We should be encouraging one another, learning from each other—the old folks can learn from the young folks, the young folks can learn from the old folks; the married folks can learn from the unmarried folks, and the single folks can learn from the married folks. We ought to all be one family of God fellowshipping and reaching out to one another. Amen?

Paul does deal with people according to their age in this category, so he’s telling these older men, these individuals that are, again, on the island of Crete, which was a Greek island which morally was very corrupt and very licentious. These were believers that got saved out of a pagan, Gentile background. He tells these older individuals, this elderly man, that he needs to be sober. The word “sober” means temperate. We get our idea of temperance movement, the anti-alcohol kind of movement from it. It means more than just the use of alcohol or wine or fermented drink, it extends to mean being careful in all areas of life and conduct. I like this idea that when you grow older you ought to have kind of a balanced life. I think what helps you with age is that you get a perspective and that you can establish better priorities.

When you’re young and you’re just trying to get going, you’re kind of finding out what is important and what isn’t important, what are the priorities of my life, and what I should give my energy and time to. Even at my age, I’m still kind of evaluating, you know, what do I focus on? What do I give my resources to? What do I devote the time that I have to? I’m actually convinced that…only God knows that I have more ministry behind me than I do ahead of me based on my age, but I want to be focused. I want to prioritize. I want to make things count. I want to major in the majors and minor in the minors. Sometimes when you’re young you find yourself spinning your wheels and doing things that are frivolous and really have no eternal value. When you get older, you realize you don’t have a lot of time left and want to make your years count.

I love that in Ecclesiastes where the writer, Solomon, says, “Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth.” If you’re young, take some advice from me, and old guy, that you ought to prioritize your life and make serving the Lord the number one priority. It has the idea of being sober-minded. Don’t be intoxicated by pride or selfish ambition. Don’t be intoxicated by your own ego or what others think about you. Don’t be intoxicated by the desire to keep up with the Joneses or the philosophies of the world. You can be drunk on more than just alcohol, you can be drunk on the world’s philosophies. There’s a lot of Christians that have lost their edge because they’re intoxicated by the world. By the way, of all the characteristics for the older men, older women, younger men, younger women, the one dominating characteristic is this one here: they are to be sober. It’s found in verses 2, 4, 5, 6, and 12. Five times these different individuals are encouraged to be sober-minded, that they have a sober outlook on life.

The second quality there in verse 2 is they are to be, “grave.” A better rendering might be reverent. It means that they live a respectful, or another translation has dignified, life. Now, when it says “grave,” the tendency is that we think we can’t smile, we can’t laugh, we can’t be joyful or have a good time, and I don’t thing that’s true. I think even Jesus laughed, smiled, and even cracked jokes and used humor. He enjoyed life, but He had a dignity about Him, a reverence and a dignity. A good translation is that these older men (and this is becoming of an older individual in the church and becoming of the doctrine of God) live a dignified, respectful life. You want to be an older guy that’s respectful.

The third quality in verse 2, they are to be, “temperate.” That’s the idea of not there to be self-controlled, a little bit different slant than sober but to be temperate, to have a well-balanced, well-organized mind and life. You’re not to be living your life kind of chaotic and haphazard. Another translation has not living carelessly, which is unbecoming of an elderly person. Then, it says to be sound in three things: sound in faith, love, and patience. Now, this is the same Greek word used in verse 1, sound doctrine, where we get our word again, hygiene from; so you’re to be healthy in your faith, and that means you’re learning to trust and depend upon God. Again, one of the blessings of growing older in your walk with the Lord is you have proven God over the years—time and time and time again—that God is faithful. Amen? God has not and will not ever short-change, disappoint, or let you go. God is faithful. The longer you walk with God, the more you grow in your faith. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. The longer you are a Christian, you should be growing in faith. You should be sound in faith and sound in charity or love. That’s love for God and love for others. You don’t want to become a grumpy old man who is self-centered, cantankerous, and crabby but someone who trusts God and loves others. By the way, theses qualities can be found in anyone at any age.

Then—I like it—it says you will be sound, “…in patience.” You might think of these as faith, hope, and love, patience being hope. You’re to be living your life with an expectation that Jesus Christ is coming again. Some translations have steadfastness—living looking for the Lord’s return. The older folks, we need you. Older individuals, God’s not finished with you. Isn’t it interesting, I’ve always been encouraged that God called Moses into full-time ministry when he was 80 years old. I mean, when you would be looking for a rocking chair, He’s actually calling Moses to go to Pharaoh. I think of Caleb, when he was very old and they went into the Promised Land, he said, “Give me that mountain. I wanna take that mountain. I wanna conquer those mountain folks!” He was energetic, excited, and ready to go. I think of Anna, Simeon, and all of those senior saints of the Bible that God used. God wants to use you, even in your older age.

I believe that as long as we have breath, as long as we can speak, that we should be asking God to use us. I had a godly grandmother on my Miller side of the family. My grandmother Miller loved the Lord. When she became a shut-in and couldn’t get out of the home anymore, she asked her pastor, “Would you give me a list of names of members of the congregation that are sick and need prayer so that I can actually call them on the phone from my home and pray for them and encourage them?” You think, I can’t drive, or I can’t get out of the house, or I’m in a rest home, or I can’t go anywhere, but you can pick up the phone and you can call people, pray for them, and pray with them.

Years ago there was an organization of retired construction workers. They formed this organization where they would drive around the country in their RVs and would go to churches that needed construction done. They would park their RVs on the church parking lot and would actually, kind of like a barn raising, they would build the church, they would build the sanctuary, they remodeled the church, and all they asked for was a place to park, electricity to plug in, and that you feed them—I thought that was pretty cool—and that you would give us fellowship and we’ll come to church on Wednesdays and Sundays, but they would swing their hammers and run their saw—electricians, plumbers, drywallers. They traveled all over the country in their sunset years serving the Lord. What a glorious thing that is! I know many people that once they retire, rather than kicking back, they go into missionary work serving the Lord. What a blessing that is. God wants to use you even if you’re an older person.

Now, we move, and this is a little more challenging for me to deal with because now we have older and younger women. Notice it in verse 3 and the first part of verse 4. He says, “The aged women,” I definitely am not going to talk about how old these women are! I know my boundaries. These older women, “likewise,” the fact that he uses this word “likewise” takes you back to verse 2. It indicates the same qualities found in these older men should likewise also be in these older women, but then he breaks it down, “that they be in behaviour as becometh holiness, not false accusers, not given to much wine,” evidently these older women on the island of Crete liked to drink and needed to calm down a bit, “teachers of good things,” that word “good” we get our word virtue from—virtuous things, good things—and the first part of verse 4, “That they may teach the young women,” stop right there and we’ll look at younger women in just a moment, what they teach them.

First, if you’re taking notes, they are to be reverent in the way they live. The King James says, “…in behaviour as becometh holiness,” now remember verse 1, they are to, “speak thou the things which become sound doctrine,” verse 10, “that they may adorn the doctrine of God.” Now we have in verse 3 that they are to behave as “becometh,” or speaks of, “holiness.” These older women are to live in a holiness kind of a way. Now, holiness is not a hairdo. Holiness is not your clothes. Holiness is a matter of the heart, but I do believe that the outward will reflect what is on the inside. If a woman has a holy heart, then it’s going to be manifested in the way she dresses. I don’t believe in dress codes. I don’t believe you should put restrictions on people. There are no dress codes in the Bible, but you want your outward to reflect the inward. If God is working a holy heart in you, you want to have a holy adorning.

When Peter wrote to the women in 1 Peter 3, specifically wives that were Christians with unsaved husbands, he said, “Let your focus not be the outward adorning of the hair or putting on of gold or the wearing of clothes, but let it be the hidden person of the heart, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price.” I don’t believe that Christian women have to wear plain, drab clothes to look holy. There are those that are a part of a holiness movement, and they have a dress code where the women can’t cut their hair, can’t wear makeup, and they always wear dresses. That’s not holiness, that’s legalism. Holiness is a matter of the heart; but, again, it should be reflected in the way that a woman lives and dresses. It should also be holiness in the movies you watch, the tv you watch, in the books and magazines you read, the things that you do. Your life should be marked by holiness—set apart and like God.

Notice also they are not slanderers. The word means gossips. It is the Greek word diabolos, where we get our word demon from or satan. They are not to be slanderers. That’s what the word devil means, slanderous. You’re not to be gossiping. I don’t think the men should be gossiping either. Thirdly, they are not enslaved to wine. The phrase “not given to much wine” means that you’re not bound by that. You’re not enslaved to that. It’s not the focus of your life. Fourthly, they are also to be, “…teachers of good things.” I point out that word “good,” in the Greek we get our word virtuous from. I want you to note (and I’ll talk more about it in just a moment) that they are teachers, but they’re teaching by their example as well as by their instruction. We’re going to see that they’re teaching younger women.

The big raging debate today in the church is to whether women can preach to men or usurp authority over the man. We covered that in 1 Timothy where Paul said, “But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence. For Adam was first formed, then Eve,” and Eve was the one who was in deception, so God has given order in the church. The leadership is to be given to the men. They are to teach the Word. The women have teaching gifts and abilities. They can pray and prophecy. In Corinthians it says speaking forth the Word of God, but in an official instruction position, they are not to be teaching. We’re going to see that they are to be teachers of good, virtuous things. I want you to notice in verse 4 who they teach. They teach the younger women.

I want to encourage you older women to get engaged with the younger women. I think it’s neat when we have those older women that will mentor, disciple, and encourage younger women. Some of you women are just getting married, you’re just having children, you’re just learning to be a wife, you’re just learning to deal with these things. There are older women that have been down that road already. They have already raised their kids. They have grandkids. Tap into them. Maybe you have a godly mother or godly grandmother. Maybe you have a godly older woman in your life. Value that. Cherish that. Draw from that. I thank God for the seniors in my life that I can go to, pray with, and talk to that have counseled and encouraged me. These older women are instructed specifically to teach younger women.

Now, what are they to teach the younger women? This moves us into the third category. We go from older men, older women, and now to the younger women. As you look at what the older women are to teach the younger women, you learn about the instruction for the younger women. It’s at the end of verse 4, “…to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children, 5 To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands,” and he gives us the reason, “that the word of God be not blasphemed.” Again, the idea is that you adorn the doctrine of God. Speak the things which become sound doctrine, you want the Word of God to not be blasphemed, and you live in such a way as you beautify the doctrines and the Word of God.

Notice first, there’s our term, “…be sober.” Like the older men, they are to be sober. Like the older women, they are to be sober-minded. Don’t be intoxicated by the things and the philosophies of the world, but notice—this is so foundational—they are instructed to love their husbands. Every married woman should underline that verse. This is the only place in the New Testament, I think it’s interesting, where a wife is specifically instructed to love her husband. Some of you say, “Praise God there’s only at least one verse.” The roles are usually thought of based on Ephesians 5, and I think that’s right, that the husband is the head of the wife and the wife is to be submissive to the husband. It actually starts with, “Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands,” actually in the Greek the word “submit” is not there. It’s actually just carried over from the verse before that, “Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God,” and then it just says, “Wives unto your own husband,” so it’s inferred. In Peter it does say that you need to be subject to your husbands and tells us why, “For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church,” so it reflects the relationship of Christ and the church.

You know, when you mess with marriage and you mess with God’s divine order and role for husband and wife, you mess with some essential things that are seen in Christ and the church and even in the Godhead—the submission of the Son to the Father. These are not small issues. The basic duty or responsibility of the wife is that she is to be submitted to her husband, but she does it as unto the Lord. Some of you women might be saying, “Well, that was written before my husband was born. If he’d been born, it wouldn’t be in the Bible. If Paul would have written Ephesians after I got married, he would have said, ‘No we can’t put that in there.’” No, but you do it as unto the Lord. There’s a goal of obedience to the Lord and drawing near to the Lord in mind, and then the reason, “For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church.” I believe that what God commands us, God enables us. I believe that God will give you the strength, the ability, and the grace to be able to be submissive to your husband. We don’t want to do a whole study on just that teaching on submission, but here it tells you that you’re to love your husband. Ephesians 5 also says that you’re to respect your husband, so you submit to him, you love him, and you respect him.

I do want to make mention of the fact that the husband is to love his wife. That is very clear in Ephesians 5, and he uses the Greek word agapao. He is to have a sacrificial, self-denying, giving love. He says, “…even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish. So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church.” That word “cherish” means to warm with body heat, so you’re to cherish and value your wife. You’re to die to yourself to serve your wife. Headship is not dictatorship. Headship is leadership, and if the man is headed the right direction, it makes it an easy thing and a blessing for the wife to submit to her husband. I just thought it was important to note that here’s a clear statement that the wife is to agapao or love her husband. Write down 1 Peter 3:1-6, where again Peter gives instruction for wives and their husbands.

Now, a couple little practical tips (and I probably shouldn’t venture into this or I might get in big trouble) but a wife loves her husband by respecting his headship in the home by not making major decisions without his counsel. The husband comes home and there’s a new Ferrari in the driveway, you know, “Where’d that come from?” “Oh! I saw it! The color just struck me. I love it, so I bought a new car.” You know, you ought to be able to talk to your husband, and he ought to talk to you. I don’t think a guy should buy a new car without consulting his wife and getting her input and counsel on the matter either. You live within your means. You forgive him promptly, as he should also forgive you. The Bible says, “And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you,” not being critical, supporting and sacrificing for him.

The second thing that you’re supposed to do is love your children, so you love your husband and you love your children. How foundational is that? In our culture today, it’s kind of interesting, it’s almost like a novel idea, “Oh, she loves her husband and she loves her children,” but that’s the way God has designed it in His Word. You’re to be committed as a wife and as a mother. I’ve said it many times when I teach on the subject of marriage, that marriage comes before parenting. You become a married individual before you have children. By the way, children, to you married folk, are a gift from God. They’re not God’s punishment. It’s not, “What did I do wrong to deserve this?” They are wonderful blessings from God in heaven. Amen, parents? What a blessing they are! The Bible even says, “As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man…Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them.”

The pastor of the church I just spoke at, in Pennsylvania two weeks ago on a Wednesday night, used to be in my church in San Bernardino. He’s pastoring Calvary Chapel Chester Springs in Pennsylvania. I haven’t seen them in probably about 30 years. They knew I was coming back and asked me to come speak at their church, but they were a young couple in our church without kids. Thirty years later, I go back and they have eleven children! It was unbelievable. They wanted us to meet them all. It’s like meeting a football or basketball team or something. It was like a whole group of kids just coming in, but what a blessing children are. Never bemoan the idea that God would give you children. I think it’s important for us to have children—to raise them to love, serve, and follow the Lord. We’re missing a great blessing if we don’t have children. Wives, love your children. Pray for them, take time for them, read to them, discipline them. Primarily, the husband should lead in disciplinary issues, not be passive in that. He should also read, pray, and spend time with the kids, but certainly a mother can have such a powerful influence in setting children in the direction that they should go.

Notice that these younger women should be discreet, again in verse 5. It means that they should be having self control. They should be living discreet lives. They should be pure, the word is “chaste” (verse 5), faithful to the Lord, faithful to their husbands, good godly examples, and then, “…keepers at home.” This is the one that’s the hot potato, but it doesn’t need to be and it shouldn’t be. The idea means caring for the home. Some translations have working at the home or focused on the home. I like the idea of not neglecting the home. That doesn’t preclude a wife and a mother from working outside the home, read Proverbs 31 where this virtuous woman buys a field and sells and makes merchandise, she’s going to the market and things like that; but I do believe from the Scriptures, from my experience, from years of pastoral ministry, and just what I observe in our culture today, that a married woman should make the priority her husband, her children, and her home.

I know that we have so much pressure today because of the economic situation to create a double income. When I got married, (as a matter of fact, Pastor Greg Laurie officiated our wedding for Kristy and me) we sat down with Greg and he said, “I just want to encourage you; but, John, you’re a pastor, you’re called to ministry, to live on your income. If Kristy wants to work, that’s great, but live on your income. Never become dependent on your wife’s salary and income.” We took that to heart and lived that way our whole life through, and my wife was a dental assistant. She gave that up to come home to support me in the ministry. We had children, devoted ourselves to the children. I believe that we’re reaping the benefits of that today—making the home the priority for my wife. Now, I know that today it’s like, “Well, what do you do?” “Well, I’m a homemaker,” and you feel kind of second class or you don’t have a career. You don’t have a doctorate, and you’re not a scientist or something like that. You cannot underestimate the value and the importance of raising children for the Lord. Where would the church be today if we didn’t have children and raise them to love, serve, and follow Jesus Christ? Amen?

Paul is basically saying that the priority needs to be the home. Don’t get sidetracked. Some wives will have outside-the-home jobs because they want to get away from the home and escape the children. I think it’s pretty self obvious that that should not be the case. Now, do you need a break? Yeah, so your hubby ought to come home and say, “Go out and have a girl’s night out. Go out and do something fun. Have a break, and I’ll watch the kids tonight.” We had four kids, and whenever I was watching all four of them, man, I was so praising God, speaking in tongues, when my wife got home. “Thank you, Jesus!” I was stretched. It was a challenge. Or those weekends when she would go to a women’s retreat and I had to do all my preaching over the weekend—Whoa, it’s crazy! My wife went on a two-week Philippines trip a couple of years ago and that was crazy, but I do believe that it’s important for you to make the priority your home, not try to run from the kids or the family or your domestic duties, that your priority should be your relationship to God, your relationship to your husband, your relationship to your children, and taking care of them and the things of your household. The husband should do all that he can to support and to encourage.

I do know that there are sometimes that a husband will encourage his wife to work outside the home, not out of necessity but because he wants to have luxuries. Again, not a good idea. “I want to buy a new boat!” or “I want to buy a new car,” or “I want to live in a bigger house,” or “I want to take nicer vacations,” or “We need more money for retirement, so you have to go to work.” I don’t think that a husband should pressure his wife to work outside the home. I think he should take on an extra job if he needs to so that she can be there. No one is better suited for raising your children than their own mother and obviously their own father.

She is also to be good (verse 5). Some translations have kind. In Proverbs 31:26, it tells us that this virtuous woman, “…openeth her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue is the law of kindness.” She is also to be, “…obedient to their own husbands,” and we’ve already talked about that in headship and submission in the home. Obviously, you don’t have to do what is unbiblical or unscriptural or illegal. You have to obey the Lord rather than some husband putting ungodly or unbiblical demands upon a wife. The reason is the issue, notice it in verse 5, “that,” or in order that, “the word of God be not blasphemed.” You know what one of the most powerful testimonies is to the unbelieving, watching world? Godly homes. How can we win people to Christ if our marriages are a shamble? How do we win people to Christ if we can’t have godly marriages, if we can’t be devoted to our children, raise our children to love and serve the Lord? How are we gonna win others to Christ or be a testimony? It’s so very important that the Word of God be not blasphemed.

Just one quick illustration and we’ll move on. Remember when David committed adultery with Bathsheba and then lied to cover it up and murdered her husband Uriah? God sent Nathan the Prophet. Nathan the Prophet told David the story about the rich man with all of his flocks and herds. He had a wayfaring friend drop in on him, a guest, and instead of killing one of his own lambs, he went and took a neighbor’s one ewe lamb and killed it, dressed it, and fed it to his visiting friend. David was angered and incensed and said, “The man that has done this shall surely die.” Nathan pointed his finger right at David and said, “David, you’re that man, and what you’ve done has caused the enemies of God to blaspheme. Your behavior has caused the enemies of God to blaspheme.” You don’t ever want to be responsible for keeping someone from coming to Christ. “I won’t go to church because of the way they live or the way they conducted themselves.” Don’t live in a way that causes the enemies of God to blaspheme.

Young men and Titus, and we’ll see if we can wrap this up. If not, we’ll go back over them next week. Young men have only one verse. You say, “That’s not fair.” It does spill into verses 7-8, but kind of shifts the focus to Titus, who was no doubt a young man and in that category. He says, “Young men likewise exhort to be sober minded.” Again, there is that recurring term, sober and sober-minded. He is not to be intoxicated by the things of the world. He is to be temperate in the way he uses his tongue and in his sexual urges, even in this licentious culture there on the island of Crete. The Greco-Roman culture was very very licentious. Even as a young man, you’re to be sober and controlled—chastity before marriage and fidelity after marriage. Whether you’re a young man or a young woman, God’s design for you is to be pure when you get married. It’s not to engage in sexual behavior, “For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication,” so this kind of self mastery is possible, even for young men, and they should encourage young men to be self-controlled and to be good examples. The older men should meet with the younger men and say, “Look, you need to live a godly life. You need to live a holy life. You need to live a sanctified life.”

Then Paul moves to Titus in verses 7-8. He says, “Young men likewise exhort to be sober minded. In all things shewing thyself,” the fact that he said “thyself” there is turning the focus to Titus, both the young men and Pastor Titus, you’re to be several things, “a pattern of good works,” again the idea of adorning the doctrine of God, “in doctrine shewing incorruptness, gravity, sincerity,” and the way you speak, “Sound speech, that cannot be condemned; that he that is of the contrary part,” or the unbeliever, “may be ashamed, having no evil thing to say of you.” Notice these things about Titus. He’s to be a pattern. We get our word “type” from that. It’s the word typos. It means a type or a picture, a model. A young man, and a pastor especially, is to be a model or an example to the congregation in these areas: doctrine, or in his teaching, sound doctrine; integrity, the King James Bible has gravity or integrity; and seriousness, or in sincerity. Why? So they’ll be sound in speech as well. Again, all of these same qualities is to be found in the young men and in the young pastor. They are to be living a pattern, a good example, a model of the believer. Paul told Timothy, “…but be thou an example of the believers,” and by the way they live, their good works; by what they believe, their doctrine; so their lips and their lives are to be consistent. They are to be without corruptness. They’re to be sober, sincere, and sound in their speech.

Notice, lastly, the slaves in verses 9-10. He says, “Exhort servants to be obedient unto their own masters, and to please them well in all things; not answering again; 10 Not purloining, but shewing all good fidelity; that they may adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things.” We’ll go back over these closing verses next week. By the way, the end of chapter two of Titus is an amazing section where Paul tells us we’re, “Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ.”

Slaves permeated the Roman world, and many of the early Christians were saved as slaves. Yes it’s true, the Bible doesn’t say you shouldn’t be a slave, but the Bible says that you should change slavery by the way that you live. Instead of destroying the institution, they destroyed it by the Spirit of God changing slave owners and changing slaves. The application today would be the employee-employer relationship. In this context, it would actually have application to us as Christians, what we are to be on our jobs as employees. Notice what we are (verse 9), “…to be obedient.” If your boss tells you to do something, you should be obedient on the job. We’re not to talk back (verse 9), “…not answering again,” not arguing with our employer, and don’t steal. That’s what the term in verse 10 says, “Not purloining.” It’s interesting that Onesimus, in that little book of Philemon, when he ran away from his master, had stolen from him and then got saved. He went back and made things right. So, be obedient, don’t talk back, and don’t steal. Again, in Ephesians, Paul tells them that the word of God be not blasphemed.

Paul closes in verse 10 with that wrap-up statement and the whole purpose for everything he said, “…that they may adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things.” That word “adorn” is the same word used for a women’s outward adorning—plating of hair, wearing gold, putting on jewelry, wearing clothes. It means we are to adorn the doctrine, we’re to put on a godly life that reflects the glory and the beauty of the doctrines of God so that unbelievers say, “Man, I’ve been watching your marriage. I want to know what you have that gives you that kind of a home life. I’ve been watching your children. I’ve been watching your family, and I want what you have. What is it?” and you share the gospel of Jesus Christ. When you women put on jewelry or do your hair or wear makeup, you adorn yourself, you do it in such a way that it flatters you, makes you more attractive; so what we want to do is make Jesus more attractive. Amen? We want the glory to be drawn to Him. We want Him to be glorified and magnified, so basically he’s saying, “Live a beautiful life, and adorn the doctrines of God.” Let’s pray.