We’re going to look at Titus chapter 2. We’re talking about Order in a World of Chaos. I think it’s important for us especially to think about the authority of God’s Word that we’re going to speak about. We’re going to stand in recognition of God’s Word and listen together to what He is saying and then spend some time to understand what it is that Jesus is calling us to do as we follow Him together.

1 But as for you, teach what accords with sound doctrine. 2 Older men are to be sober-minded, dignified, self-controlled, sound in faith, in love, and in steadfastness. 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. 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. 9 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.

Our world is in desperate need of transformation. Can I get an Amen? (Amen!) But how do we bring it about? Throughout history, leaders, groups, governments, movements have tried to bring about the change they thought necessary. There have been military conquests, religious crusades, revolutions, political reformations. The human way to bring about transformation is often through some form of compulsion. Time after time humans resort to compelling people to change by force. But these forced conversions, these imposed transformations lack sincerity because they’re not genuine. They’re not real. They bring about the appearance of change, but not the substance. This is man’s way of compelling, using forced conversions that end up being false.

It’s a sort of mission, a sort of movement that we see through a number of false teachers in the early church in the New Testament. It’s the sort of mission that we see even one of those earliest of churches, in the church of Colossae. The young believers that Paul writes to, he is concerned that they would be

Colossians 2:4 I say this in order that no one may delude you with plausible arguments.

People are going to come and they’re going to start to say things. He says

Colossians 2:8 See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ.

You’re a group of people who want to follow Jesus together, but there are going to be others who come and they’re going to bring things that make sense. Don’t fall for it!

Colossians 2:23 These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-made religion and asceticism and severity to the body, but they are of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh.

There are going to be people who are bringing a message of good news, so called, but it’s a good news that you’re supposed to accomplish and actually you’re compelled to accomplish by their rules and according to your own effort. It sounds good. It sounds effective. It sounds powerful. In fact, this was the kind of mission Paul was on originally when he was named Saul and was part of the Pharisees. He was on a mission to see that people would not fall for this message of Jesus, but to compel them by force to follow what he believed was the truth. So Paul was after this “convert or die or be judged” kind of mentality. You see him describe it in Galatians chapter 1, when he’s trying to help people understand the preciousness of what real gospel is. He says

Galatians 1:11 For I would have you know, brothers, that the gospel that was preached by me is not man’s gospel.

It’s not human’s way of compelling.

Galatians 1:12 For I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ.

This good news of Jesus came from God. He says

Galatians 1:13-14 For you have heard of my former life in Judaism, how I persecuted the church of God violently and tried to destroy it. And I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my own age among my people, so extremely zealous was I for the traditions of my fathers.

So here I was, advancing, moving, compelling, driving. I thought I was doing the right thing. I was against this whole gospel message of Jesus. But then he recognized

Galatians 1:15-16 But when he who had set me apart before I was born, and who called me by his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son to me, in order that I might preach him among the Gentiles,

He preached to those who he had originally said, “You don’t belong. You’re not a part of this. I’m trying to create separation.” But Jesus says, “No, my good news is for all. In fact, you’re going to be a messenger of this grace.” Paul says to another fellow worker, Timothy, another pastor that he wrote a letter to,

1 Timothy 1:12–13 I thank him who has given me strength, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he judged me faithful, appointing me to his service, though formerly I was a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent.

I was fighting against Him. Jesus came and He said, “Why are you persecuting me?” I was against Jesus and Jesus plucked me out and chose me.

1 Timothy 1:13-14 …But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.

So God gave grace. He chose Paul out of grace. It means he didn’t deserve it, but God said, “I’m going to take you though you’re going that way and I’m going to pluck you up by my grace and flip you around and I’m going to use you for my mission, which is to compel people my way, which is by grace.” Paul says

1 Timothy 1:15 The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost.

I am the worst!

1 Timothy 1:16 But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display by his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life.

Paul says, “I am the example guy of someone who doesn’t deserve to be here.” In all of the letters and all that you’re reading, Paul is not like, “Let me show you how it’s done.” He says, “I can show you how exactly it’s not to be done. I was going the wrong way and Jesus offered grace, rescued me, and then sent me to preach this good news of grace.” Because of that, he was very deeply concerned about people who were on the old mission that he was on. He was concerned about people who were undermining this grace of Jesus and who were trying to lure people back and saying, “Jesus is great, but you also have to do such and such. You also have to do this stuff. You also have to add some of these Old Testament restrictions, especially circumcision. These are the kinds of things that you need to do in order to please God. The gospel is great, but it’s not enough.” Paul recognized, no, you are moving towards man’s way of compelling. That’s not God’s way. That’s not the good news. That’s not the gospel. That’s not grace. He stood his ground strongly. He was appealing to them, don’t fall for that. In Galatians chapter 2 he references Titus and he says

Galatians 2:1 Then after fourteen years I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, taking Titus along with me.

So Titus was with Paul at that time. There was a fight or an argument about what needed to be done and there was an addition to the gospel that they needed to be circumcised. Paul is like, Titus stood with me and we said, no. The Gospel, Jesus is enough.

Galatians 2:3-4 But even Titus, who was with me, was not forced to be circumcised, though he was a Greek. Yet because of false brothers secretly brought in—who slipped in to spy out our freedom that we have in Christ Jesus, so that they might bring us into slavery—

They wanted to bring them into this human way of pursuing life and growth. You see this human way of compelling and Paul is like

Galatians 2:5 to them we did not yield in submission even for a moment, so that the truth of the gospel might be preserved for you.

So he is very concerned about false teachers coming and disrupting people by giving human standards, human traditions. They were using all of these things to say, “This is what pleases God.” He says, no. The gospel, the message that God has given through Jesus Christ is the way that God is pleased. Don’t do it the human way. He was willing to go toe-to-toe even if the Apostle Peter was one who was falling for it. The gospel has implications in all of life and Paul recognizes and he speaks to Titus that this has to be worked out and lived out in community.

We realize that Crete was an island in desperate need of transformation. Crete, we remember, if you showed up on that island on vacation, you would see that sign. Welcome to Crete, the island of lazy gluttons and liars! That was where he was. Paul says you need to bring the message of the gospel which is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, and they need to work that out and bring order into this realm of chaos. There is no shortage of human strategies for implementing that change. There were lots of people who were coming who offered all kinds of human commands and myths that had no power from God to change people truly on the inside. They couldn’t bring about the kind of transformation of a truly beautiful lifestyle, even though they promised it. It had no power. You see that at the end of Titus 1, as we come to our passage. These people

Titus 1:16 They profess to know God, but they deny him by their works. They are detestable, disobedient, unfit for any good work.

They were saying, “We know God. Here’s the way.” But ultimately, it was not true power of God’s grace at work in their lives, living it out in a beautiful way. It wasn’t true transformation. Paul is about true, real, gospel transformation because he knows it’s needed. It was needed then in Crete and it’s needed now. How many movements are there out there seeking to bring about a transformation? How active are so many human strategies towards change? There are culture wars, political advances. There are countless strivings towards uniting people around some kind of compelling cause, but when it fails to convert people, they end up leaning on human pressures and manipulative tactics to try to compel people man’s way. That isn’t the way to bring true change.

What’s the most compelling cause for change? What is it that causes true transformation? Paul’s point here as it is throughout his letters is that there is no cause, there is no unifying point, there is no power more compelling than the gospel. There is none! It is the most compelling, the most powerful offer of salvation by God to everyone who believes. This is what is unleashed. This is what is given. It’s what he knows we have in the good news of Jesus Christ.

The good news is that God is holy and created all things and we rebelled against Him. Now, as sinners that are in rebellion to Him, we stand guilty before Him under the law. We’re destined to die. That good God graciously gave His Son to perfectly fulfill the law and then in our place on the cross, bear our sins and the wrath of God in our place. Then He was buried and raised the third day, conquering death and offering life to all who believe in Him as king. He is the risen king, a real Savior who really died, really rose, and really lives. Is that why you’re here this morning? I hope so. That’s why I was just singing. I know I hear it from you, the conviction that that is good news. That’s why we’re here. It’s because there is no power more compelling.

The world is going to offer all kinds of human strategies and ways of compelling people to do this or that. Nothing is as powerful as the gospel. It’s the most compelling. But Paul’s contention here is defending that good news. He tells Titus to defend that good news. He says a gospel that compelling is worthy of a lifestyle that is just as compelling. The kind of people who have been transformed by that good news and grace, the kind of people who can carry forth that message and say this is who Jesus is. The gospel and this message of Jesus is worthy of a people who have been transformed on the inside out and who are continuing to be transformed and become more like Him every day. This message isn’t just something that we say and then move on. This message is transforming and showing the grace of God at work in such a compelling way that it actually continues to change us moment by moment.

So we think about this compelling Gospel and the way that God truly compels people by the beauty of His grace. We’re going to talk more about that grace next week. But the beauty of this grace is so compelling. How do we walk in that? How do we see that at work in our midst here? We’re just going to try to cover a few commitments that I think can help us honor the compelling nature of the Gospel as we look at this chapter. Pastor Ritch touched on some of these roles. I’m just going to kind of try to do an overview to review and talk about the commitments that we can make to honor the compelling nature of this gospel. It begins with

Who we trust: The authority we recognize

By authority we mean the source of truth that we believe gets the final say. This source is decisively, officially, and ultimately in charge. It is our authority.

There is a story that has suffered a bit of controversy. You may or may not be aware of it. It’s about the science fiction film franchise Star Wars. The original creator of the content had these original movies. A lot of people loved them, but then there were more movies created and then more material. Then the ownership changed hands and all of a sudden, some of the scenes in those movies were changed and there were additional things. There was a big discussion, struggle, and fight over what was real and really happened and what was just sort of on the side. They couldn’t really come to agreement on what they considered to be called the canon. The canon is a term that we have used to talk about the standard of Scripture, that this is the collected works of the sacred writings that we believe. Here, they were trying to understand what is the collection of sacred works that we acknowledge are real? They struggled with it.

In fact, it was such a big question that it ended up being discussed in the Journal of the American Academy of Religion because there was at least one government who at that time was recognizing people who followed that and people who claimed to be Jedi’s, which was a character of this, that they had a religion and they had a Jedi church. There was even a doctrinal statement that if you look at what they believed it would say “The Jedi church has no official doctrine or scripture. But the original trilogy is the best visualization of what we believe.” (Laughter!) There were discussions and people were upset about how there was sort of an original canon, but then there were new people and new ownership. Then it was said that they had a far more cavalier attitude toward continuity and they lacked the same respect. So they used a tiered system for what is real.

Why am I talking about this? In anything that comes from a human authority, we may struggle over who is in charge and what’s reliable and what’s real and there is a constant struggle. We come together and recognize one authority (holding up his Bible). We don’t designate that authority. We don’t give it authority. We recognize this is authoritative. It comes from God. The authority we recognize is the God-breathed Scriptures. There is no tiered system over some of it matters more than others. There is no sort of fluid changing of how authoritative it is and some things kind of go out of style. No, it is our authority and we come under God. The God-breathed Scriptures is the authority we recognize. It’s funny when it comes to art, but it is eternally serious when it comes to life. Who do we trust? Who will we listen to? What authority will we recognize? We recognize the God-breathed Scriptures.

This is the source of all sound doctrine. The message of Scripture points to Christ at the very center. This good news is why we’re here. The grace of God has transformed us and now we follow Him together. So Paul, unlike the other teachers who are bringing other sources of experience or authority in chapter 1, Paul tells Titus to protect the sound doctrine. He says in Titus 2:1, this is what you’re to do.

1 But as for you, teach what accords with sound doctrine.

Then look at the last verse. He says

Titus 2:15 Declare these things; exhort and rebuke with all authority. Let no one disregard you.

Paul knows the reason why this is authoritative is because this comes from God. The doctrine that Paul is passing on is the doctrine of Jesus Christ, which is the same doctrine that God has offered, the God-breathed Scriptures. He says you come under this authority and you need to be faithful to recognize and submit to it. So when we come to the God-breathed authority, we need to recognize that we trust an authority that stands out. As we look at verse 1 he says

1 But as for you,

In contrast to these others, you’re going to be doing something different. You’re going to be going to the God-breathed Scriptures. It’s going to stand out. If you are going to trust the Bible, you will inevitably stand out. It’s not going to be going with the flow. If you’re saying, “I want to do what God wants. I’m going to believe His Word.” If you’re going to trust the Bible, you need to get ready for opposition. There is a world and a system that is going to be against that. It’s going to be against God and His Word. There is a devil at work, a deceiver and an accuser who is going to try to lure you away from this Word and these Scriptures. He did it from the very beginning. He’s going to challenge and doubt and question. There is also our own flesh. In our sinful fallen nature, we tend to resist the truth of God as it’s given. So if we’re going to say, “I want to recognize this authority of God’s Word,” we need to understand that we’re going to face some opposition and that it is going to stand out. Just like Paul says, “But as for you,” this is going to be a different direction for you. You’re not going with the flow of these other teachers and other authorities.

So if it’s going to be that hard, why trust it? Well, because we can count on it. Look back at verse 1. He says this is sound doctrine. This is real. It is healthy. It is trustworthy. It is dependable. This is teaching that you can actually go to and find to be stable and trust. It’s not going to shift like cultural fads do. It’s not even going to shift like some things that the world says is reliable and is truth. Those things will shift. God’s Word will never shift! It’s dependable. We can count on it.

Sometimes things that are stable are kind of boring. The ground is stable. You walk around and nothing is happening. Do you feel that? There’s nothing moving, really. It’s hard to appreciate unless you’ve been in an earthquake. Has anybody been in an earthquake? Stable ground is actually really nice. Having lived in California some, when there is an earthquake, it’s like being on a skateboard and everything is moving and the ground is betraying you. It’s coming at you and moving around. You’re like, “What’s happening?” All of a sudden, when you get on stable ground, you’re thinking, “This is so great!”

Sometimes, whether we’re in church a lot or we grow up in church and we’re hearing the Bible, it’s like, “Okay, I get it.” But when you go and you start to see what Paul talks about in Ephesians chapter 4, about the winds of doctrine that toss to and fro and you go into a college class or even watch the news or you’re in these spaces, you start to feel seasick. You’re like, “What’s true? What’s going on?” You feel the instability, and then you realize when we come and we submit to Scripture together, there is stability. You can count on this. This is an authority that we can count on.

Not only that, we trust in an authority that deals with real life. Do you see what he says there in verse 1? But as for you, it’s going to be different. It’s sound. You can count on it. But he says

1 But as for you, teach what accords with sound doctrine.

It’s not just a cold document of theory that lies dormant on some shelf. “That happens on Sunday. We kind of open it up and religion sort of stays in its box. God stays in His box and then I go and do my life over here.” No, Paul says to teach what accords with sound doctrine. The gospel is going to invade your life. It’s going to have implications on how you live. It’s not going to respect human boundaries where you’re like, “I don’t want God to talk to this area of my life.” The Gospel will invade. It will permeate and deal with real life. If you’re going to trust the Bible, prepare for your way of life to be challenged.

In Galatians chapter 2, when Paul talks about Peter, Peter had started to feel pressure from these Judaizers and saying these extra things, being circumcised, you have to please God in these extra ways. Peter was like, “I was eating with these guys over here, but I don’t want these others to think bad of me.” So he started eating lunch over here. Paul shows up and he says, “No, your conduct is not in step with the gospel.” You see, for Paul, it’s not enough that Peter just says the Gospel. Paul says, “Your conduct isn’t in step with the gospel.” The implications of what it means impacts where you eat lunch. This Word of God is going to invade your life and affect real life in powerful ways. Teach what accords with sound doctrine. It demands to be upheld. It won’t leave you alone. You see what he says there at the end of chapter 2. He says to teach it and then he says

Titus 2:15 Declare these things; exhort and rebuke with all authority. Let no one
disregard you.

The authority ultimately comes from God. It’s trying to make clear what God is saying. This is the authority that we recognize, the God-breathed Scriptures. It’s the only authority worthy of and that can bring clarity towards the kind of lifestyle that is compelling that goes along with the Gospel. This is the authority that shows us what it looks like to have a compelling life to go along with the Gospel. It’s the Word of God and it’s where we start.

We understand that Jesus respected the Word of God. As a young man, He grew to understand the Word of God. Then we understand later on, His followers, the Apostle John in a beautiful way in John chapter 1 conveyed that Jesus Himself was the word of God, the incarnate Word. Here we have the written Word and Jesus, the Word incarnate. We understand that we have received God’s very breathed-out words and Jesus Himself, the relationship that is offered through Him. It comes to us and we’re awakened through the Word of God by the Holy Spirit to this God and this grace and this message. So it’s a beautiful gift that we’re given.

There is a danger of having that sort of tiered approach to the Bible. It’s where we take some parts that we really like and reject other parts that we don’t. You maybe read of early founders even of America. There is one who said, “I’m going to take scissors and just cut out the things I don’t like of the Bible.” It ended up just in tatters. You can’t just cut out the things that you don’t like.

When we first started coming to church, my mom was convinced that Jesus is God, but there are lots of things in the Scriptures that she wasn’t quite sure about. There were these convenient Bibles that have red letters. She was like, “This is great! I’m going to trust the things that are red letters and the other things, not so much.” Then Pastor Ritch was like, “Do you know the red letters are talking about some of those other black letters?” She was like, “Oh, I have to go read those then now.” You start to read and then you realize that God affirms His authority throughout Scripture.

I heard a conversation that was between a few people speaking about theology. One reverend said this. “I love Jesus, I tolerate Paul. I approach Paul with a hermeneutic of suspicion!” This is a real danger and a concern, that we would not come under and recognize the authority of Scripture as the God-breathed Word. To believe that the most compelling life and the most impactful life where the power of the Gospel is unleashed is going to come through the direction God gives by the Holy Spirit, through His Word. That commitment is critical when there are all kinds of alternative authorities and experts and scholars and influencers and friends and even ourselves.

We’re inclined to trust certain authorities. We’re going to come to passages like today and we’re going to be inclined to say, “Are you saying this? I think he was saying this. Can you believe he said that?” At the end of the day, the most fruitful discussions are going to constantly be, what does God say? We don’t want to leave saying, “What was that guy saying? What was that person saying? What was she saying?” No, we just want to ask, “What does God say? Is that what God is saying?” There are going to be times where we’re going to talk and we’re going to realize, I don’t think I was quite on target, there. But we want to consistently say (holding up his Bible) this is the authority we recognize.

When we come to hard things like roles, we have to ask, what is God saying? That’s what matters to us. So that’s the commitment that we start with, the authority we recognize. We let Him lead us wherever He will. So then we’re going to shift here and ask how does this authority speak into our lives? How does it talk to us about how to live? How do we live? So we move from who we trust to

How we live: The unique responsibilities we respect

This is sort of the way that we live. The roles have different responsibilities that he is going to outline. They all work together in a beautiful way, but these are different responsibilities and different roles that we’re to respect as coming from God.

My youngest daughter was in a play. It was a little pre-kindergartner play. I think it was David and Goliath. We got a text from the teacher because they said you might need to have to coach your daughter a little bit because she is having trouble with helping other people with their lines. We find out that she was a little disappointed that she didn’t get to be David in the play. So while she was in her role, she was happy to start speaking for others and help them out with theirs. She didn’t really want to be in her role. She wanted to be in this other role.

That’s kind of how we are as humans, isn’t it? We tend to get dissatisfied with our own place, our own role. Or we see other people and we think, “I could do it better.” Or we even think, “Let me help that person. Here’s what you should be doing.” There is just a simple principle about how we honor God within the role that we have contentedly and joyfully. We’re able to bring God glory in that role in a way that no one else can because we’re the ones in that role. Satan is tempting people in this world and is at work tempting us to abandon the role that we have and to seek joy elsewhere. He tempts us to think the responsibility is to set those aside and look for others. We tend to fall for this and we can see it happening in the world, but God’s glory is at stake. There is a responsibility for the role that God has given us that we need to respect. So there are specific roles that He has given. The roles that Paul touches on here in verses 2-10 are basic in one sense, but that doesn’t mean they’re not controversial. He touches on age and sex and class. Have you ever heard any controversy over those kinds of topics? But he is not afraid to speak into it.

The Gospel is an amazing message! By the grace of God, we come to understand the Gospel as this powerful unifier that shows us we are sinners and sufferers in need of a Savior and Christ is the Savior to all who would trust in Him. The Gospel is this powerful force that Paul talks about that through Jesus, the dividing wall of hostility has been broken down. So he can say

Galatians 3:28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

It’s a powerful verse of togetherness, isn’t it? We’ve all been divided and the Gospel brings us together in Jesus. It is a beautiful picture of unity. But that unity doesn’t mean that all the distinctions are eliminated. There are beautiful distinctions God has built into His design. Just like we’re one body and Jesus is the Head, but we’re many members. As members, we have different gifts and different roles to play. That’s part of the beauty even in the unity. So if we’re not careful, we’ll fail to understand the differences between the unity that we have in the kingdom, but also the diversity that we have in the family. Those are both important. We’re one family, but there are different members with different roles. This is part of the order that Titus is to establish in Crete to show the beauty of God’s design in our God-ordained roles. So we have the God-breathed Scriptures that speak now to God-ordained roles.

This is a society in chaos. There is all kinds of social order that needs to be brought. Paul is teaching Titus to focus on the church and focus on individuals being sanctified in their particular role to honor the Word of God in the way that they can in their individual lives. That’s what we do together as a family. So here are a few roles. Pastor Ritch touched on two. We’re just going to move our way through because there is so much.

Questions will come up and we have to be careful because some of the qualities that relate to each of these roles do overlap. So we don’t want to be overly wooden about how we try to break out some of those roles. But some of them are mentioned as distinct, so we don’t want to miss the distinctions that Paul makes. So there is an importance of wrestling with this text. It can’t all be done here. It has to be done afterwards. So I hope more discussion and reading and talk happens later. But we don’t want to be flippant about what God is doing here. So we don’t want to downplay what God is saying and what Paul is teaching into a realm of culture when it’s actually in the realm of principle. But we also don’t want to take something that is in the realm of culture and elevate it into the realm of principle. So we have to be careful with what God is saying and continue to ask, what is God saying? There are going to be questions that need to be worked out over time. But what I’m going to do is just touch on these roles and just give one word as a hook to try to wrap some of the ideas that God is giving us for that role. So the first I’ll touch on quickly is about older men.

Older men have a responsibility to be honorable. Older men are to be honorable in thought. They are sober-minded. They are to be honorable in character. They’re dignified and disciplined. They are self-controlled. They are to be honorable in doctrine and what they believe. They are sound in faith. They are honorable in affection. They are sound in love. They are honorable in resolve. They’re sound in steadfastness. Older men are to be honorable in how they live. Pastor Ritch touched on that last week.

Older women, I’ll just use one word to say that they have a responsibility to be noble. I’m just using that word as a hook to try to capture that they are noble in behavior. You see that older women are to be reverent in their behavior. They are to be worshipful in life, is how Pastor Ritch said it. They are noble in speech. He says they are not slanderers. So they are noble in how they live and what they say. They are noble with influences, with what they take in. Paul says they are not slaves to much wine. So they are noble in behavior, speech and influence. But then they are noble in influencing, in who they impact. They are to teach what is good. Pastor Ritch said it like this. Older women are invested in discipleship.

For that to work, there has to be a humility in our body. It has to be a humility of grace where as a younger woman or younger man, that we humbly say God has designed me in such a way that I do need wise counsel from others. Sometimes I’m going to have to go to someone and I think I know better than them in one or two areas or I’m not quite sure, but I’m still going to humbly put myself in a position where I can receive some counsel. It’s the same thing where we recognize as people who have been walking with Christ and then those who are older men and women, especially to older women here because Titus is told to entrust the teaching of the younger women to them and to encourage them in that, there are some ways in which we need to offer people, but it’s not from our own experience. There is a humility in knowing I don’t need to offer my way of doing things, especially things that are either traditional or cultural on their own. No, I need to help these ladies walk in conduct that is in step with the Gospel. I need to help them work out what this looks like in their lives. There is humility that is needed.

Praise God that there are beautiful relationships like this happening all throughout the church. I had the privilege of walking around the church even during the week and there were several studies and ladies having conversations and talking about things and investing in each other. Life gets pretty messy, doesn’t it? We need relationship where we’re in community and together we work these things out. We need relationships where what accords to sound doctrine is something that we work out. In Sunday School, there are a bunch of kids and people that are teaching. One of the teachers over there was teaching about the Ten Commandments and asking the kids, “How do we honor our father and mother?” One kid is like, “Never ever, ever cut your own hair and don’t break the tv.” (Laughter!) There is some story behind that. People are living lives and that’s real life. Somebody had scissors somewhere. (Laugher!) Those are opportunities where we think, how do we work out the Gospel in this kind of a situation? So it’s needed that we have older men that are honorable and older women that are noble.

Younger women have a responsibility to be respectful. He speaks to the younger woman here, and he specifically addresses those who have husbands and children. So he is speaking specifically to those who are married, even though there are principles to draw out. Singleness is not being downgraded here. It’s spoken of elsewhere and Paul has a high view of singleness and the beauty of it. But he recognizes that in this context, probably the majority of the young women were married and that there were households being disrupted. These false teachers had disrupted the households. So he has a specific concern that he is trying to address, here. So this is not to diminish the beauty and preciousness of singleness and how God’s family does transcend even this life and the marriage role that we have here. But he does focus here on this. He talks to younger women about being respectful in a few areas. There is a responsibility to be respectful first of wise counsel. He says older women

3…They are to teach what is good, 4 and so train the young women to love their husbands and children,

So there is a respect for wise counsel from the older women to love their husbands and children. There are some ways in which we think naturally, why do you have to be trained to love? Doesn’t that just happen? I feel like I’m in love and I’m ready to go. Yet there is an experience and a wisdom that comes that older women understand that there is not just the emotional sort of response of reactive kind of love. That active choice to love them in a godly way is going to need to be learned and be worked out over time in life. It doesn’t just come naturally. That kind of love, true love for husbands and children is supernatural.

Does anybody think that parenting is challenging and there are some things to learn over time about how to do it in a way that glorifies God? Are there any ‘Amen’s’ out there? (Amen!) You think about newborns, toddlers, teenagers, prodigals, special needs, adult children. Parenting never ends. You think, actually, there are a few things that I could learn about this. The same thing goes for marriage. Do you think there are some seasons of life that you realize walking in a way that honors God and conduct in step with the Gospel here in marriage in a way that loves my husband, I need some help to know how to do that? There is great wisdom and gifts that women filled with the Holy Spirit that are gifted to teach and say this is how the Gospel looks in my life and for others.

We live in a world that is going to even show ways of pursuing love that is at the expense of children and at the expense of a marriage. The world has ways of saying this is where love is to be found. We need godly women in a noble way to come in and say this is wise counsel. This is how we bring glory to God in a way that is compelling and in a way that is commensurate with the Gospel. One encouragement as you seek that kind of a relationship is also for husbands to say what can you do to make room in your wife’s life for that kind of relationship? What can you do to make that kind of a relationship a blessing? Even if you are single, seek out wise counsel and be respectful of that kind of counsel that comes from God.

Also, be respectful of the Spirit’s direction. He says to teach the young women to be self-controlled and pure. That is under the control and the direction of God’s words and standards. So have your heart and desires under His control. The Holy Spirit is at work. Self-control is a fruit of the Spirit. So be respectful of wise counsel and the Spirit’s direction.

Then also teach the young women to be respectful of their family’s well-being. Here, it says teach them to be working at home and kind. Now, there is not time to get into all the practical questions that come out of this particular phrase. There are a lot of ways that we as humans are able to twist Scriptures to serve our own ends. I tried to just summarize this to say respectful of their family’s well-being. There is a beauty in the role that is given for the mother both where he says working at home, but then also kind. This is the kind of kindness that comes from God even to those who don’t deserve it. As you’re invested in the family’s well-being, sometimes they make it pretty tough. So he couples it with kindness. They’re not going to deserve that kind of kindness all of the time. I think that these things have to be worked out with practical discussion.

There are some ways that we can be overly simplistic and then make some rules. I think some of those rules are not necessarily biblical and they are unhelpful. But again, our question should always be, what is God saying, here? It’s not, what is so-and-so saying? What is so-and-so’s rule or expectation? Understand that both the husband and the wife are working together as a team, but there is an emphasis here on the primary responsibility of the wife to seek the well-being of the family. So that term “workers at home” is not incongruous with what Paul talks about to Timothy about how the husband is to manage his home well. They are working as a team, but there is something important about the role of the wife here that I think I will leave for more discussion with other older women that you would trust in that wise counsel to be respectful of the family’s well-being.

Then there is being respectful of their husband’s headship. He says to teach them to be submissive to their own husbands. Headship is the divine calling of a husband to take primary responsibility for Christlike servant leadership, protection, and provision in the home. That’s the definition given by one pastor. It’s the divine calling of a husband to take primary responsibility for Christlike servant leadership, protection and provision in the home. Submission is the divine calling of a wife to honor and affirm her husband’s leadership and help carry it through according to her gifts. So there is headship and submission and there is a beautiful way that it’s described in Ephesians chapter 5. It’s like a beautiful dance with different roles that are given to show the picture of Christ and His sacrificial love for the church and her respect for Christ as the groom. The beauty of that relationship is supposed to be conveyed in this relationship of husband and wife.

There is not time to unpack it this morning, but I’m hoping it will prompt the curiosity to say what does this look like for me? On the one side, there are ways that it’s very easy in this particular role, for a wife to say, “I’m in perfect submission to Christ,” but then to say, “I have no idea what submission means to my husband. I don’t want to do it, anyway.” Paul says no, that’s not quite in step. There is something going on there.

It’s also possible for a husband to twist this verse and then to try to impose in man’s way and compel a wife and say, “Here’s what you need to do,” that is not at all in step with the Gospel either. These things have been twisted. Satan loves to twist. So we need to work it out with humility and say what is God saying, here? How do we live out the beauty of Christ? Recognize that submission, in the end, is not something that can be imposed. You can’t force someone to do it. It’s actually a gift that is only given. All the manipulation and coercion doesn’t actually cause submission. Submission is a gift that is given graciously to sinners who don’t deserve it. But there are issues and ways in which it is being wrongly used and where Scripture has been twisted and weaponized. If you have questions about this, these are important discussions. Please do not wait!

Let’s look at younger men. Younger men have a responsibility to be sensible. He uses just one word here to say

6 Likewise, urge the younger men to be self-controlled.

Urge them. Call them with great appeal. Urge them to be self-controlled. He uses this to be sensible through two different angles; sensible through discipline and through compassion. You’re self-controlled, or you control yourself to be able to care for others. This is how living in a self-controlled way that is beneficial, works its way out. You control yourself to care for others. Where does that come from? Well, it comes from an important book and lesson on what it is to be a young man, the book of Proverbs. The book of Proverbs is written to young men and young women. In fact, if you want to say, “How do these things work their way out?” go back to the apex of Proverbs, Proverbs 31. We’re used to seeing it in the context of the young woman, the Proverbs 31 woman. But it actually begins with the Proverbs 31 man. If you go back and look at the first nine verses of Proverbs 31, you can see it’s actually a king speaking. He says, “Let me give you some advice on what it is to be a man. I’m going to tell you what my mom taught me.”

It’s very interesting that Scripture gives us this picture of what it is to be a man and it’s a mom who speaks. What is it that the mom says? If you open up chapter 31, you can take a peek there. What does she say? Three times, she asks a question. “What are you doing? What are you doing? What are you doing?” Do you think moms know what young men need to hear? This is how she speaks to him and she calls him to control himself. She says don’t give your strength to women who destroy kings. As a king, you would assemble all these women and you assemble all this way for yourself. She says don’t give yourself over to drink and to substances. She’s saying godly leaders are going to control themselves. When it comes to relationships and influences, control yourself. Discipline. What are you doing, my son?

But it’s not just discipline for the sake of discipline. She says discipline for the sake of compassion. She says you need to speak, open your mouth not to put alcohol in. Don’t open your mouth and try to serve yourself. No, she says open your mouth for the mute, for the rights of those who are destitute. Defend the rights of the poor and needy. Discipline for compassion. This is what young men need to hear. Control yourself to care for others. The world is pitching this other idea. They say control others to care for yourself. Here’s what young men need to do. You need to get very strong. You need to be very successful. You need to be very charming and have charisma. Look at any model man that is out there in the world and you need to do all these things. You can control other people to care for yourself. Who is God’s man? It is Christ.

Mark 10:45 For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Jesus perfectly controlled Himself by the power of the Spirit, to care for others. This is what young men need to hear today.

We recognize in each of these roles, we’re going to see there are some responsibilities maybe I’m not doing well at and I’ve failed at. That’s where we understand that what we’ve been given is the grace of God not only to rescue us, but also to continue to transform us. We’re going to talk more about that grace next week.

But just to touch on these roles, church leaders have a responsibility to be an example. You can see the example that is written out there in deed and in word in the model of good works and then in the teaching. So they are to be an example or a type, just like you mold someone. That word is like a mold, like you cast a die into it and then you are able to reproduce. So this is what church leaders are called to be, an example in these things.
Then he touches on this idea of common workers or bondservants. He is not endorsing slavery as the ideal of how things should be or even speaking to the institution of it. He is speaking to those who are living in that world and that reality and trying to encourage them with here’s how you can glorify God in that position while you’re there. There are some principles we can draw out in terms of how we live as we’re working for others.

Common workers have a responsibility to be reliable. Common workers are to be reliable in service. They’re to be well-pleasing. They’re to be reliable in speech, not argumentative. They’re to be reliable in stewardship. He says not pilfering or stealing. They’re to be reliable in stance, showing all good faith. They are reliable where they’re working. It’s not to say that they’re in an ideal spot or even in a spot that doesn’t involve wrong. Think about Joseph in Genesis 39. He was wrongly taken and enslaved. Now he is working for Potiphar and yet, even in that situation, what was his focus? When Potiphar’s wife comes and is trying to appeal to him, he says

Genesis 39:8 “I cannot sin and do this great wickedness against God.

He recognized ultimately that he is seeking to please God and seeking to be reliable as a faithful worker in that context, but knowing ultimately his life is supposed to give a compelling vision of the God he serves.

Even Jesus Himself filled certain roles. As a child, He submitted to sinful parents and His parents lost Him. He was out there in the city and they lost Him for a bit. They came and it seems like they were exasperated with Him. Jesus went and He submitted to them. It didn’t compromise His worth or His glory or His holiness, but He honored God in that role. I’ll just mention here

Why We Care: The Opportunity We Treasure

It’s the opportunity to have God-glorifying lives. Throughout each of these roles, there is at least three times where we see a reason given. He says we don’t want our lives to obscure the credibility of God’s message. In verse 5 he says we do this

5…that the word of God may not be reviled.

We don’t want to obscure the credibility of God’s message or undermine the credibility of God’s messengers. He says in verse 8 to live this way

8… so that an opponent may be put to shame, having nothing evil to say about us.

So don’t undermine the credibility of the messengers and the credibility of the mission. Showcase the credibility of the mission. He says in verse 10 you do this

10…so that in everything they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior.

Touching on those in a society that might be the least likely to adorn or beautify, I’m showing you the beauty of this. Paul is like, in every part of life, in all of your roles, you can show the beauty of the Gospel and how compelling is the grace of God. This is the kind of compelling life that Jesus lived that put His opponents to shame. Even as He bled there on the cross and He had thieves hurling insults at him, one of them saw something that was compelling. Jesus even said “Forgive them, for they know not what they do.” The grace was offered and that thief thought, “There just might be love in the heart of God for me.” That’s something that is compelling. That’s good news. That’s the kind of compelling message that we want to live lives that are in step with.

Think about influence and impact and change in the world that needs to be transformed. There are all kinds of social influencers these days. One of the greatest was one of Britain’s leading voices in opposition of the slave trade. Back in 1789, he gave his first speech before parliament after the abolition of the slave trade. William Wilberforce labored for years and years and decades in faithful service. There is an article that a pastor recently was able to emphasize looking at his journals. In his journals, his primary focus was his own personal spiritual growth. He was desperate to be more faithful and more transformed by God Himself. Even as he tried to exert influence on the world, he wanted to live a life that was compelling and live a life worthy of this Gospel that he had been called into, the hope of Christ.

Our world is in desperate need of transformation. How do we bring it about? This Gospel is the power of God to salvation. May we live lives that are in step with the beauty of what we’ve been given by the grace of God. That’s the grace that we’re going to look to next week and talk about.