Titus: Setting Things Straight: From Chaos to Christ
Building a Strong Foundation in the Gospel (Titus 2:1-15)
July 22, 2007
Commentary notes compiled by Pastors Scott Thomas (editor) and Steve Tompkins
Showing all good faith, so that in everything, they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior. –Titus 2:10
Main Thought: We are to experience the fruit of nurturing healthy doctrine in the life of a
church body so that our words and our lives beautify the doctrine of Jesus Christ in order to
have a positive impact on an unbelieving world.
Sound Doctrine is engrained in the life of the church and is to be passed from generation to
generation. Here our doctrine is both heard through our preaching and seen through our
good works. Good teaching is rare in many churches today because it is perceived as a
deterrent to attendance growth.
First, notice the chapter 2 “sandwich” formed by the first and last verses of chapter two.
Titus 2:1 But as for you, teach what accords with sound doctrine.
Titus 2:15 Declare these things; exhort and rebuke with all authority. Let no
one disregard you.
The sound/healthy doctrine taught by Paul, that is, the gospel, should lead to “healthy” and
practical patterns in our relationships, family life, and day-to-day routines and
responsibilities in general.
Paul preaches a prescriptive manner of living, not merely descriptive. These are commands
carrying the authority of our Sovereign God. We are to obey them by applying them and
living them out in our own lives. We cannot ignore them. They require submission—the
attitude of a servant/slave (Titus 1:1).
However, here is the rub. It is one thing to confess with our mouths, “Yes, I love Jesus and
I’m fully submitted to Him and His Word.” It is quite another to walk this out when Paul in
effect says, “What this means then is that in your daily life you need to submit to (fill in the
blank) – my boss, my husband, my community group leader, my pastor, the laws of the
land, Scripture, Jesus, etc.”
So, how do we understand this? How do we keep from turning this into a set of legalistic
law?
First, we must understand the nature of God’s grace in our lives through the gospel.
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For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, 12training us
to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright,
and godly lives in the present age (Titus 2:11-12).
God’s grace has appeared – the gospel is the best news possible. It is the only possible
remedy for sin and a guilty conscience and eternal condemnation. The purpose of Grace was
NEVER simply to remove something, but to build something. Its purpose is not only
negative, but positive. Specifically the purpose of God’s grace is to restore the Image of
God in us.
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(1)
But as for you, teach what accords with sound [Or healthy; also verses 2, 8]
doctrine.
The entire second chapter is about the fruit of nurturing healthy doctrine in the life of a
church body so that our words and our lives beautify the doctrine of Jesus Christ in order to
have a positive impact on an unbelieving world (cf. 2:5, 8, 10). God has called Christians to
live in the world and Christians must reach its inhabitants with the gospel. Engagement of
this kind requires Christian credibility and participation in the life of the world.
This is “sound doctrine” and Titus 2 is encouraging us to teach sound doctrine to all kinds of
people: Older men, younger men, older women, younger women, wives, husbands,
slaves/employees, etc. It is not something that we are simply to know, but rather,
something that is to change and affect how we live daily life in relationship to others. We
are to be a church filled with discipleship (life to life teaching) at all levels through both
words and modeled behavior.
Our lives are to bear fruit before a watching world.
1. So that the Word of God may not be reviled = despised (Titus 2:5)
2. So that opponents may not have ammunition to use against us – nothing evil to say
(2:8).
3. So that the doctrine of God our Savior may be “adorned”, meaning Jesus is attractive
(2:10).
The aim of sound doctrine is not with the content of doctrine; rather, it is with behavior.
Healthy teaching leads to proper Christian behavior, love and good works; the diseased
teaching of the heretics leads to controversies, arrogance, abusiveness, and strife.
We are to continually speak sound doctrine (present imperative), using appropriate words to
practically relate the doctrine into a person’s life. This is in contrast to what the Cretans
were doing by empty talking and deceiving. Paul emphasized this association between truth
and behavior in the opening verse where he wrote that it is "the knowledge of the truth
which accords with godliness" (Titus 1:1).
This sound doctrine brings health to a body. The Greek root word for sound is where we get
the English word for hygiene. It also implies continuous action. In other words, continual
speaking doctrine produces continual health. "Sound doctrine" is teaching that promotes
spiritual health, and requires conduct consistent with the teaching professed. A morally
disordered life is diseased and stands in need of treatment by "sound doctrine". A life based
on the teaching of "sound doctrine" is wholesome, clean and healthy. Correct doctrine
should produce correct behavior. This verse is translated literally: "The things which belong
to healthy doctrine". Sound doctrine has no additives, like the pure milk of the word that
produces growth in respect to salvation (c.f. 1 Peter 2:2).
What you believe does influence how you behave! Be sure you are "eating" healthy spiritual
food, the pure milk of God's Word if you desire to be spiritually healthy and vigorous. In
view of the fact that the false teachers were overturning whole families (1:11), it would
appear the false teachers were teaching things that were undermining God’s roles for
husbands and wives, particularly for the women.
Old Dudes 2:2
(2)
Older men are to be sober-minded, dignified, self-controlled, sound in
faith, in love, and in steadfastness.
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An older man is a term for those of chronological maturity. Greek literature refers to this
designation as one that is as young as 50 years old. To become this kind of man in your
50’s requires young men to practice these characteristics earlier rather than later.
1.
Sober-minded - temperate in the use of alcohol. It has a broader meaning:
“sober, clear-headed, and self-controlled.” In this context, it refers to being
free from all forms of excess or life-dominating patterns through the control
of the Spirit (Eph. 5:18). This is in contrast to the “lazy gluttons,” a term used
to describe the false teachers (1:12). Old men should have learned to
distinguish godly and ungodly pleasures and that the passing pleasures of sin
and of self-indulgence cost far more than they are worth.
2.
Dignified - “worthy of respect, honorable, noble, dignified.” It describes one
who is “revealing a personal dignity and seriousness of purpose that invite
honor and respect.”
3.
Self-controlled – It is a self-disciplined man who is self-restrained in all of his
passions and desires.
4.
Sound in Faith – One well grounded in faith. It and is something you display
by the way you live. He is "healthy in the faith”, meaning he is continuously
trusting God, always willing to obey.
5.
Sound in Love - should have overcome, at his time of life, all the fiery,
impetuous, envious, wrathful passions of his early years, and his mind should
be subdued into sweet benevolence to all mankind (Matthew Henry)
6.
Sound in Steadfastness - is the ability to endure when circumstances are
difficult - not a passive sitting down and bearing things but a triumphant
facing of them so that even out of evil there can come good, a bearing up in a
way that honors and glorifies our heavenly Father.
Older Women 2:3-5
(3)
Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or
slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good, (4)and so train the
young women to love their husbands and children, (5)to be self-controlled,
pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that
the word of God may not be reviled.
Paul (wisely) does not specify the age a woman would have to be to qualify as older (it does
not say “old”). However, childbearing typically ends at about 40 years of age and,
correspondingly, childrearing ends at about 60. It therefore seems reasonable to take older
women as referring to women that are at least 60 years old.
1.
Reverent in Behavior – It means that she is worthy of respect and honor in
her actions, attitude, words and the way she carries herself.
2.
Not Slanderous (KJV = malicious gossip) – The word is the plural for a word
referring to the devil (diabolos). It has a reference to causing division
between two people—just as Satan did with Eve.
3.
Not enslaved to alcohol (or other addictive elements)
4.
Teaching what is good to the younger women – It requires the intentional
shaping of character and thoughts by an example and by interaction.
Paul does not address the responsibilities of the younger women in this
job description manner. He speaks of them as the objective of the older
women. The expectation is that the older women train the younger
women in some specific areas of life. The word for train is one that means
to urge them to come to their senses. In other words, it is a retraining of
false teaching, whether by the Cretans or by a lack of biblical principles
being applied.
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a. To Love Husband and Children - The Christian wife who sets an
example of love sends a powerful message that is understandable and
undeniable even to those outside the church
b. To Practice Self-Control and Purity – She is to be sober-minded, selfcontrolled and composed in all her relationships. She is to be morally
pure and modest in her outward appearance.
1 Tim. 2:9-10, Likewise also that women should adorn
themselves in respectable apparel, with modesty and
self-control, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or
costly attire, but with what is proper for women who
profess godliness—with good works.
c. To Work at Home and to be kind – This does not confine the woman to
the house as a prisoner, but rather that her priority is to be her home
where her children and her husband reside. Her ministry is her
home. I believe this is why Paul does not speak directly to the
younger women. He was structuring the chaos of the church and the
responsibility is for younger women to take care of the ministry in their
own home primarily. They can serve in ministries as an overflow of
their time and energy. We should note that the picture given in
Proverbs 31 is of a woman whose ministry extends beyond her own
household, though the home is the center and focus of her life and
takes precedence over all else. She is to work to exhibit kindness and
a gentle spirit to others. She is heartily doing what is good and
beneficial to others, especially those of her household.
d. To be Submissive to Husband - “being submissive” (hupatasso) carries
the idea of “submit yourself.” This indicates that submission is to be a
voluntary response of the wife’s heart that flows out of her greater
submission to God’s ordained plan for the home. Nowhere are
husbands told to demand this submission. Rather he is to love his wife
as Christ loved the church. Indeed, he is to love and care for her as if
she were his own body, nourishing and cherishing her as such (Eph.
5:25-31). In the New Testament, headship is not a dictatorship or
being the boss. Rather, if done biblically, it is a loving leadership that
takes on the disposition of being a servant and one that assumes
responsibility for the relationship (c.f. Luke 22:24-30).
e. If the goal of our subordination is to adorn the doctrine of God our
Savior, we must ask how subordination glorifies God our Savior. How
does submission glorify Jesus? The ultimate reason submission
glorifies God and insubordination dishonors God is because we were
created to reflect the reality of who God is, and what He is like. God
submits to God. Jesus the Son from eternity past submitted to God the
Father and Jesus demonstrated the perfect Father Son relationship.
The Father loves the Son and the Son respects and honors the Father.
We must keep in mind, as we look at the different levels of submission
found in Titus 2, that submission does not mean inequality. The Son is
equally God, as is the Father, yet the Son submits to the Father (Phil.
2:5-11). Therefore, submission in our relationships here on earth is a
reflection of the Trinitarian submission between the Father, Son and
Holy Spirit.
f. Jesus submitted in:
a. His Words (John 7:16, 12:49, 14:24,
b. His Will (John 4:34, 6:38; Luke 22:42
c. His Power (John 5:30, 8:42)
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d. Knowledge (Matt. 24:36; Mark 13:32; John 7:16)
e. His Status (Matt. 7:21; Mark 8:50, 10:18)
Outcome: That the Word of God is honored – That the home life is an
advertisement for the gospel (2:5).
Young Dudes
(6)
Likewise, urge the younger men to be self-controlled. (7)Show yourself in
all respects to be a model of good works, and in your teaching show
integrity, dignity, (8)and sound speech that cannot be condemned, so that an
opponent may be put to shame, having nothing evil to say about us.
Young men are frequently impulsive, passionate, ambitious, volatile, and
sometimes arrogant, but are to exercise self-control and show good sense and
judgment in all things.
1.
He is to be self-Controlled (as opposed to addictions, financial ruin).
Spurgeon writes that young men are full of spirits, they are very sanguine,
they are apt to be carried away with novelties; exhort them to have that
which is thought to be a virtue of age, namely, sobriety. Let them be old
when they are young that they may be young when they are old. Young men
must demonstrate self-control sexually, financially (impulsive and frivolous),
emotionally (anger), relationally (right friends), educationally (endure
training), occupationally (choosing the right jobs and not sacrificing principles
or priorities), martially (lovingly serving in a patient manner), parentally
(patience, kindness, discipline), recreationally (video games, sports, hobbies)
and spiritually (diligent to walk with Jesus at all times). He is to show selfcontrol with his diet and with his drink.
2.
Exemplary in Righteousness (not evil, violent, fighter, abandoner)
3.
Purity in Doctrine (intellectually honorable)
4.
Dignity (not unfaithful, licentious, perverse)
5.
Sound Speech (not lying, deceiving, hurtful)
Outcome: No shame by others; nothing evil to be accused (2:8)
Slaves/Employees
(9)
Slaves [or servants; Greek bondservants] are to be submissive to their
own masters in everything; they are to be well-pleasing, not argumentative,
(10)
not pilfering, but showing all good faith, so that in everything they may
adorn the doctrine of God our Savior.
In that culture upwards of 1/3 of Roman citizens were slaves. Many were that way
because of debt they defaulted on and it was essentially indentured servitude. It is
sinful stealing of a human being and denying their rights as image bearers. Slavery
practiced in the US was sinful and not something we believe was justified. Paul
condemns slavery in 1 Timothy 1:9-11.
1 Timothy 1:9-11, “We also know that law is made not for the righteous but
for lawbreakers and rebels, the ungodly and sinful, the unholy and irreligious;
for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers, for adulterers and
perverts, for slave traders and liars and perjurers—and for whatever else is
contrary to the sound doctrine that conforms to the glorious gospel of the
blessed God, which he entrusted to me” (emphasis added).
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Employment is an imperfect parallel to a slave but can be applied to our
excellence in our work.
1.
Submissive to superiors as unto the Lord (Eph. 6:5-9)
2.
Committed to Excellence (well-pleasing)
3.
Not Mouthing Off; obstinate; (not argumentative)
4.
Not Stealing time or resources; not abusing expense account
5.
Loyal
Outcome: Putting on the doctrine of God in all areas of their life (2:10)
Theology of Good Works 2:11-14
(11)
For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, (12)
training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live selfcontrolled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, (13) waiting for our blessed
hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, (14) who
gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a
people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.
While we wait for the return of our Lord, we are to be busily doing good works like Jesus
who gave Himself to us. His redemption of our sin and evil deeds is the calling and example
we need to be zealous to redeem the world and city and people around us.
Sound Doctrine is the Supreme Authority in Our Lives (2:15)
(15)
Declare these things; exhort and rebuke with all authority. Let no one disregard
you.
Sound Doctrine Presides:
Over official positions in the church
Over the church
Over the Pastors
Over Experience
Over Intellectualism
Over Naturalism
Over Mysticism
Over Post-Modernism genres that deny authority (Emergent Conversation)
Outcome: Speak, exhort, reprove, and refuse to be despised (2:15)
Next Week: Titus 3:1-15
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