Titus, Chapter 2
© Copyright 1998 Darroll Evans-all rights
reserved
Titus 2:1-6
1 But speak thou the things which become sound doctrine:
2 That the aged men be sober, grave, temperate, sound in faith, in charity,
in patience.
3 The aged women likewise, that they be in behaviour
as becometh holiness, not false accusers, not given
to much wine, teachers of good things;
4 That they may teach the young women 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, that the word of God be not blasphemed.
6 Young men likewise exhort to be sober minded.
Christianity is about relationships. We begin
a good relationship by building on a solid foundation.
Those men (and women) that are mature in
Christ are to be temperate, restrained in our day to day activities, and
discerning. We are to be sound in faith, in love, in godly determination.
Mature Christian women (and men) are to
conduct themselves in with a devout attitude in their behavior. They are not to
engage in malicious gossip.
Christians are not to be subject to
drunkenness. That does not mean that an alcoholic cannot come to
Christ. There is a major difference between an alcoholic and a drunk.
That holds true for any drug abuse. In the
NT, the word translated "witchcraft" means pharmacy.
The mature are also to teach good conduct to
younger, less mature women. They are to mentor the younger women in their
family relationships.
It may seem strange to us. However, when this
letter was written many marriages were arranged and personal attraction never
entered into the marriage agreement.
Christian women are to be socially discreet
and sexually pure. They are to be joyfully pleasant, and if married, should be
subject to their husbands.
In no way does that mean that husbands are to
run the household without the wife's input. Many marriages are ones in which
the wife is better at finances than the husband and the family is run
accordingly.
I always tell people that most men cannot get
to their checkbooks without opening their wife's purse. The individual family
economics of this day may demand that a wife work to help support her family.
The virtuous woman of the Proverbs works
inside and outside the home. She inspects, buys and
sells land for her family.
Women have been called upon to carry on many
duties in the family setting. These rules by Paul are set up as a standard, but
not the only method.
Paul's admonishment to young men is short. He
tells them to be reasonable. Perhaps Paul was ahead of his time in
understanding that, for some unknown reason, young men mature mentally at a
slower rate than young women, and any further instruction would be fruitless.
Titus 2:7-8
7 In all things shewing thyself a pattern of good
works: in doctrine shewing uncorruptness,
gravity, sincerity,
8 Sound speech, that cannot be condemned; that he that is of the contrary
part may be ashamed, having no evil thing to say of you.
Christians are to be living examples of good
deeds. We are to set the examples in our daily lives concerning the teachings
and precepts of Christ.
We are to live in a manner that brings
respect to Christ. Like it or not, we are what others see.
We are to speak in a manner that is above
reproach so that any opponent of Christ may not have any undue advantage over
us. Vulgarity is not tasteful in any situation especially coming from a
Christian.
Titus 2:9-10
9 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.
In this day, we are to urge those working
under another to commit to a high degree of excellence. We should not be
combative in our dealings.
Christians should not be found diverting
those things that belong to others to our personal use. The Greek text says,
"don't embezzle."
That all seems to be negative and it is
presented that way for a reason. Paul was a Jew. It is normal for Jewish
writers of old to present things in a seemingly negative manner.
However, looking at the positive side, we are
to display attributes and attitudes that are good, pleasant, useful, agreeable,
joyful and happy. We do that so the teachings of Christ may be honored.
Titus 2:11-13
11 For the grace of God that bringeth salvation
hath appeared to all men,
12 Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live
soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;
13 Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great
God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;
These verses are about as powerful as it
gets. Few use these verses in presenting the gospel of grace because they are
so extreme. First, let's contrast the various translations.
Titus 2:11 For the
grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to
all men, (KJV)
Titus 2:11 For the
grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, (NKJV)
Titus 2:11 For the
grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, (NASB)
Titus 2:11 For the
saving grace of God made its advent to all humanity. (CLV)
Titus 2:11 For the grace of God that
brings salvation has appeared to all men. (NIV)
Apparently the word that is translated
"that bringeth" in the KJV and variously in
the NKJV, NASB, and NIV does not exist. So, the wording that brings logic to
this verse is left to the translator. The CLV comes closest to being literal.
The NASB and CLV present a most interesting
view of these verses. They present grace as having brought salvation to all
men, and yet we can look around as say without fear of contradiction that all
men are not seemingly "saved" at this time.
It also appears that the verse is saying that
grace brings salvation. That is true. However, this seems to be the most
radical statement concerning Grace and God’s power that appears in the Bible!
Grace is the gift of God that results in
salvation. John 1:14 says that the Word became flesh and lived among us.
It says that those of that day saw His glory, and that it was the glory of the
only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.
The Law was given through Moses. Grace was
given through Christ Jesus.
Grace is interconnected with peace and mercy.
It is also teamed with truth. Grace, peace, mercy, and truth are essentials
(individually and collectively) in our "walk" with Christ.
There also is another thing to consider, and
that is the phrase "all men." The Greek text is pasin
anthroopois-pasin anqrwpoiV, or
all humanity. That is an all-inclusive phrase.
The grace we receive does more than just keep
us company on cold days. It teaches us to deny ungodliness and temporal
longings.
Grace teaches us to live intelligent,
honorable, and godly lives in the midst of a spiritually bankrupt and perverted
society. We need grace.
With the perversion of truth surrounding us,
we look for the Blessed Hope in the person of Jesus Christ. He shall appear and
bring our true and ultimate deliverance with Him.
We are assured that at the name of Jesus
every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things
under the earth. And that every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:10-11)
At this point, I must ask, “If salvation has
appeared to all, why aren’t all now saved?
There are two ingredients missing in the
lives of the vast majority of people. One is confession, and the other is the
call. Both are necessary ingredients in salvation.
The fact is that God through the sacrifice of
Christ Jesus has made salvation available to all people! However, salvation is
only activated by confession!
Salvation in Christ is activated only by the
heart-felt confession, “Jesus Christ is Lord!”
The call involves the individual calling. We
do not determine the time of the call given by the Holy Spirit. All people do
not receive the call during this age. That is apparent in verse 14.
Titus 2:14-15
14 Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and
purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.
15 These things speak, and exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no man
despise thee.
Our Lord and savior Jesus Christ gave His
life on the cross so that we may inherit everlasting life. He has paid the full
and complete price for our freedom from sin. He has redeemed us from sin and
purified us so that we may become His inheritance.
The Father spoke to the Son saying, "Ask
of Me, and I will give You the nations (Heb. goyim)
for Your inheritance, and the ends of the earth for Your possession."
(Psalm 2:8/NKJV)
Dear friends in Christ, take heart if you are
in difficult circumstances. Christ Jesus has authority over your circumstances.
Whatever you are going through, you are…going through.