Titus 2

CHAPTER 2THEME: The church is to teach and preach the Word of God

Titus 2:1

THE CHURCH MUST TEACH SOUND DOCTRINEThe church must teach sound doctrine or it is not a church. I have written a little book entitled The Spiritual Fingerprints of the Visible Church in which I go back to the Day of Pentecost where we are told that those who were added to the church on that day “…continued stedfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers” (Act_2:42). These were the identification marks of the early church: the apostles’ doctrine, fellowship, breaking of bread, and prayer. It really doesn’t matter how high the steeple may be or how beautifully the chimes may play, it is the message that is going out from the pulpit which will tell you whether the church is really a church, organized as Paul understood it and as the Word of God declares it. In the first chapter we found that the elders whom Titus was to ordain were to be able to do two things: to exhort and to refute or confute the heretics. It is important not to spend your entire ministry refuting everybody. There are some men who have what I would call a negative ministryall they do is attack the enemies of the gospel. That is important, but I believe we all need a balanced ministry. An elder should be able to exhort from the Word of God as well as be able to answer a heretic. In this second chapter Paul’s emphasis will be upon the teaching of the Word of God. “Sound doctrine” means the apostles’ doctrine. The number one thing of importance to the early church was the apostles’ doctrine. What we read in these epistles is also a part of the apostles’ doctrine, by the way. First of all, Paul has a message for the senior citizenfor the senior citizen who is male and for the senior citizen who is female.

Titus 2:2

They are to be sound in their love and in patience. They are to be “sober,” that is, very vigilant, very serious. They should be men who are respected and self-controlled.

Titus 2:3

“In behavior as becometh holiness"the aged women are to be reverent in their behavior. “Not false accusers,” that is, not gossips, and “not given to much wine,” or not drunkards. “Teachers of good things.” The older women are to teach the younger women:

Titus 2:4

“Keepers at home” means they are to be workers at home. I may get in trouble here, but I must say this: A wife’s first responsibility is in her home. The home is not a playpen; it is a serious responsibility to be a wife and to care for children in the home. It is not something to be taken lightly. I am confident that Paul would never have approved of the women’s lib movement. I will stick my neck out even further and say that I am opposed to itI think it’s wrong. I believe that a woman wants to be treated like a woman and not like a man. I was in a large business establishment recently where there were fifty stenographers, and from what I heard they were really promoting women’s lib in that office. I agree that women should be promoted according to their ability and paid according to their ability, but I noticed when we came to get on the elevator the ladies felt like they should get on first. I let them do that because I was taught to do so.

If these women really want equality in every way, they should not be working just in offices, but they should also take work as ditchdiggers. However, I am convinced that that is not really what they want. My friend, the biggest and most important business in the world is the making of a home. “Good” means kindly. “Obedient to their own husbands.” The idea of obedience here is that the women should respond to their husbands. Paul uses the same Greek word in Rom_8:7 where it is translated “subject.” He says there, “Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be” (italics mine). Paul’s thought is that the natural man cannot respond to God; he cannot obey God; he has no way to respond to God. Now the wife is to respond to her husband; he is the aggressor, and she is to respond to him. A great, big, brawny fellow once came to see me in my office, and he said, “I want you to talk to my wife and tell her to obey me!” I told him I would do nothing of the kind, and he asked me why. I said, “When’s the last time you told your wife that you loved her?” He couldn’t remember and said, “What has that got to do with it?” I told him, “That has everything in the world to do with it! Until you tell her that you love her, I don’t see why she should respond to you. Didn’t you tell her you loved her when you were courting? Well, just keep that up. The thing to do is to just keep up the courtship. You keep telling her that you love her, and she will respond to you a great deal better than she has been.” The wife is to respond to the love of her husband.

Titus 2:6

Now Paul turns his attention to the young men, and he probably means that Titus is the one who is to teach the young men.

Titus 2:7

Paul says to this young preacher Titus, “You be a pattern, an example, for the other young men.” “In doctrine shewing uncorruptness.” “Uncorruptness” has the idea of incorruptnessthat is, in his teaching he is to show his complete faith in the Word of God and appreciate the seriousness of the matters with which he is dealing.

Titus 2:8

In other words, your conversation should reveal the fact that you are a child of God.

Titus 2:9

“Exhort servants"now Paul turns his attention to another group. In the early church there were many slaves. In fact, 90 percent of the names on the walls of the catacombs are those of slaves or ex-slaves. The gospel met a great need for this class of people in that day. “To be obedient unto their own masters, and to please them well in all things.” Again, the idea behind obedience is that they should respond to their masters, be interested in them and in their work. Anyone, especially those in Christian work, should put their heart into their job or else get out of it. If you work for a Christian organization, you do it because you want to work for it. I hope you get a good living out of it, but that is not the point. Christian work is to be done with the heart as well as with the head and hands. “Not answering again,” that is, not talking back to your employer.

Titus 2:10

“Not purloining” means not stealing. Businesses lose many millions of dollars each year because employees steal from them. “Not purloining” means you should not be a thief. “But shewing all good fidelity"showing faithfulness. “That they may adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things.” The Greek word for “adorn” is the same word from which we got our English word cosmetics. I am often asked whether I feel Christian women should wear makeup. I would say yes, the kind Paul is speaking of here, and plenty of it. “Adorn the doctrine of God"in other words, if you are sound in the faith, you should be wearing the appropriate cosmetics. I would like to see more of the lipstick of a kind tongue. Speaking kindly is a mighty fine lipstick. And then the face powder of sincerity and reality. My, there are all kinds of cosmetics that you should use today as a Christian.

Titus 2:11

THE CHURCH MUST PREACH THE GRACE OF GODNow Paul interrupts these admonitions to put a doctrinal foundation under the lives of these people. He states the gospel, and he states it in three time zonesthe past, the present, and the future. I grew up in the horse-and-buggy days, and I never cease to wonder at the speed of jet travel. Beside the actual speed of the planes, the crossing of time zones makes it possible to arrive at the end of a three- or four-hour flight and see that it is only an hour later than it was when you started. I understand they are working now on a plane that will travel three times the speed of sound. That means you could leave Dallas, Texas, and arrive in Los Angeles two hours before you left Dallas! That would be a wonderful thing. However, I think the most wonderful thing in the world is that the grace of God is in three time zones. We see that in the next three verses: “For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared” (v. Tit_2:11)that’s the past time zone; “teaching us” (v. Tit_2:12)that’s the present time zone of grace; and “looking for that blessed hope” (v. Tit_2:13)that is the future time zone. These, then, are the three time zones of grace. Let us look at them a little more closely: Paul says to the Cretans, “I want to put under you the doctrine of the grace of God because you need a solid foundation.” The grace of God is the way God saves us. Years ago I heard a great preacher, Dr. Dodd, in Shreveport, Louisiana, say, “My pulpit is a place for good news; my study is the place for good advice.” The gospel is not good adviceit is good news. It is even more than that; it is the power of God unto salvation. Paul is enjoining Titus to demand of the Cretans that they live lives that adorn the gospel, for it is the power of God. There is absolutely no excuse for any Christian to live a life of defeat and failure"for the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men.” “Hath appeared” means it shines forthit is the epiphany. What the Lord Jesus did for us when He came more than nineteen hundred years ago is the gospel, the good news. He died for us, and He rose again. God doesn’t save us by His love, and He doesn’t save us by His mercy. Ephesians tells us: “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God” (Eph_2:8, italics mine). Mercy is the compassion of God that prompted Him to send a Savior to mankind.

If one man could be saved by the mercy of God, all mankind would be saved. It wouldn’t have been necessary for Christ to die; the Cross would have been circumvented. God loves men, but He didn’t save us by His love. Love is the divine motive, but God is not only love, He is righteous and holy and just. The holy demands of God, His just claims, and His righteous standard had to be met. The love of God may long to save us, but the immutable law of justice makes love powerless to do so.

Therefore, Christ, by dying for our sins, met the holy demands of God’s justice, and He can now save us by grace. How wonderful it is to be saved by the grace of God! When we were guilty, Christ paid the penalty. Grace is not complicated or implicated with human effort. God doesn’t ask your cooperation; He doesn’t ask for your conduct or your character in order to save you. God only asks men to believe Him, to trust Him, and to accept Christ.

God’s way is the best way, and it is the only way.

Titus 2:12

God is not trying to reform this world; He is redeeming men who accept Christ. The gospel does not appeal to Christ-rejecting men to do better. When a person says, “I am going to try to do better,” I think he is a liar. If you have rejected Jesus Christ, you might as well try to get all you can out of this life, because this life is all that you are going to get. Today our government is trying to get people to stop smoking; they’re trying to educate people to the dangers of cigarettes. However, God is not asking you to do such things. You might as well eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow you’ll die. God doesn’t want to reform you; He wants to redeem you. “Teaching us"teaching means child-training. God is calling those who are His own, who are redeemed, to live for Him and to avoid “worldly lusts.”

Titus 2:13

“Looking for that blessed hope"this is the next happening in the program of God: Christ is coming to take His church out of this world. “The glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ.” This reveals that Paul taught the deity of Christ; he speaks of the great God who is our Savior, and who is He? He is Jesus Christ. And what did He do?

Titus 2:14

He gave Himself for us that He might redeem us. He paid a price for us that He might redeem us “from all iniquity.” “And purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.” “A peculiar people” would be better translated “a people for His possession.” It is true that God wants you to live for Him and wants you to do good works, but He will have to redeem you first, my friend.

Titus 2:15

Paul says to Titus, “You are a young man. Don’t let them despise you because of the life you live.” Titus should be able to teach all these things with authority. This has been a wonderful epistle. Every young preacher ought to study carefully the Book of Titus.