Pastor Scott Andrews | October 17, 2021
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Titus 2:7-10
COVID-19. The 19, of course, stands for the year this particular coronavirus pandemic began. Who would have thought, closing in on the end of 2021 – almost two years later – we would still be battling the virus and its variants.
But here we are, with all the associated pandemic challenges – the gift that keeps on giving. Lockdowns, the 3-W’s, wash, wait and wear. Social distancing, Zoom, work from home, masks, mask mandates, vaccines, vaccine mandates, moral choices, mRNA, spike cells, loving your neighbor, conspiracy theories. Close the church, livestream, open the church, but livestream, to gather with the church, or stay safely at home. Church health experts telling us, plan on losing 20-30 percent of your people. Not here, we thought. And while not losing nearly that many, lost we have. While all of that is perhaps annoying, there’s also the resulting real sickness, hospitalizations, overworked medical personnel on one hand, loss of jobs on the other, and loss of life.
Then comes the latest, somewhat unforeseen, economic challenges. With both state and federal governments seeking to alleviate economic challenges, increasing unemployment benefits, many choose to stay home. Why get a job paying less than I can make sitting at home? And so, businesses scaling back or closing, because they can’t get workers. It’s not that there are no jobs – rather few ready workers. Which, of course, has affected supply chains – and now being told you may want to scale back holiday plans – might not be as many gifts under the tree – there aren’t enough to go around. As if gifts under the tree are the meaning of Christmas.
Economic challenges. Inflation. Cost of everyday products up significantly over the past year. The estimate is the average household is spending two thousand dollars more this year than last – for the same stuff. And again, no or few workers – or willing to work. It’s these work-related challenges I’d like to address today. What is the Christian response in such a workplace environment? In such an economy?
I suppose the first thing we should remember is that work – productivity – was assigned by God before the Fall. The difficulty of work – thorns and thistles – pandemics, inflation, unemployment, supply chain challenges – that’s the result of the curse after humanity’s fall into sin and rebellion. But work itself commanded to Adam and Eve, tending the Garden, ruling over the work of God’s hand, was pre-Fall. Work was actually assigned, given as a gift, for our good. For purpose and productivity – dare I say for joyful fulfillment. For a job well done and enjoying its benefits.
So work is not something we have to do because of sin – it’s something we get to do, even enjoy – bringing glory to God along the way. Whether you eat or drink – do what you do for the glory of God. Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might. Whatever you do, in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.
By the way, the dignity of work was recovered during the Reformation. The church had successfully divided vocation into the secular and the sacred – and only the sacred was meaningful, purposeful, beneficial, God-glorifying. So be a priest or a monk or a nun if you wanted to do something of eternal spiritual value. Well, I suppose we all have to eat – grow some vegetables or raise some cattle – helpful, but not eternally so. It was Martin Luther, the great reformer, who pointed out – all work done in God’s creation/kingdom, done for Him, brings Him glory. He insisted that the farmer shoveling manure and the maid milking her cow pleased God as much as the minister preaching or praying.
Further, he said, as we work in our God-given station in life, we become agents of His providential care. Luther said, for example, “God is milking the cows through the vocation of the milkmaid.” Through our hands God answers the prayers of His children. We pray for daily bread at night, and the baker rises in the morning to bake it. The same holds for clothing: God “gives the wool, but not without our labor. If it is on the sheep, it makes no garment.” Humans must sheer and spin.
Don’t miss what I’m saying. Work – all work – is for our good. For our joy and fulfillment. So how do we as believers respond in the workplace – be it good, or bad, fulfilling or seeming drudgery? Wages worthy of our work, or not? Titus 2. I think this text is especially meaningful today, given the little value we place on work.
The Apostle Paul is writing to Titus, his son in the faith – a fellow missionary to the island of Crete. The people there had less than a stellar reputation – they were known for being liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons – one of their own prophets said so. Yet the message of the gospel seems to have found fertile soil. Paul had left Titus to set in order what remained in the churches. That included appointing elders in every city. It included dealing with false teachers, which always seems to dog the church. It included instructing certain groups within the church to behave in appropriate ways – instructions specific to their gender and age.
For example, we saw last week he addressed old men 2:2, “Older men are to be temperate, dignified, sensible, sound in faith, love and perseverance.” I won’t review all that, but he expected older men to act their age, with a degree of dignified, respectful spiritual maturity – demonstrated in appropriate behavior.
He addressed older women in verse 3, “Older women…are to be reverent in their behavior, not gossips nor enslaved to wine, teaching what is good.” Again, I won’t review all that – but it was significant Paul expected older women to teach younger women – to disciple them – to teach them how to grow as followers of Christ in their homes, in their character, and in their work.
You see, verses 4-5 told older women what to teach younger women, namely, “to love their husbands, to love their children, to be sensible [that was one of Paul’s favorite words for all these groups – to be sensible, filled with spiritual common sense, to be self-controlled], to be workers at home, kind, pure, subject to their own husbands.”
Well, then he got to the last group – young men – and he said one thing to them – urge young men to be sensible. There’s the word again – grow to be spiritually mature, balanced, self-controlled in all things.
But he wasn’t finished with the groups – there were two more to go. Having mentioned young men, of which Titus was one, he turned his attention back to Titus for a moment, before addressing the work environment – well, actually slaves. How do Christians work under authority? Read the text with me, starting in verse 6 (through verse 10).
Wait – I thought only spiritual vocations adorned the doctrine of God – now you’re telling me secular vocations – a good work ethic – adorns the doctrine of God? Yes.
It’s always amazing to me how the verses in which we find ourselves often speak to our need. I once heard a famous pastor suggest that expository preaching was lazy preaching – that it didn’t require the pastor to select texts that addressed the needs of the day. I couldn’t disagree more – I believe God’s word – all of it – addresses the needs of the day – for all people of all time.
Now here, Paul does address Titus specifically, but he does so because of the potential influence Titus can have on young men. See, Paul said four things to old men, four things to old women, seven things to young women, and only one thing to young men. That hardly seems fair – and in my experience, appropriate. But Paul then took the opportunity to address Titus as a young man in his ministry to young men – thus being an example to them. So, there is a sense we are continuing our discussion of young men. Here’s the outline:
- Instructions to Titus (and young men) – (7-8)
- Instructions to Slaves (employees) – (9-10)
As we’ve noted, Titus was a colleague of Paul’s – I’ve called him an apostolic protégée. Now, I and II Timothy along with Titus are called the Pastoral Epistles. And there is a sense in which that’s right. Titus was Paul’s colleague left on the island of Crete to help establish the churches – just as Timothy had been in left in Ephesus for the same reasons. Certainly, their duties were pastoral – establishing new believers in the faith – organizing the church, appointing elders, teaching. But as such, they had the opportunity by their teaching and conduct to train and be an example to the believers. In this case, young men.
So having mentioned young men, Paul says to young Titus, show yourself to be an example – someone to emulate – to follow. We remember Paul said, follow me as I follow Christ. That’s what he was challenging Titus to do, be an example worthy of being followed. I would say, then, these verses have direct application to young elders, young pastors, young leaders in the church. But, whatever your context – look for opportunity to apply the principles in your own life. You have the opportunity to be an example in the faith in your words and in your conduct to someone. In fact, as has often been rightly said, everyone is an example to someone, good or bad. If they follow you, where are you taking them?
First, be an example of good deeds. That’s interesting – he says to young pastor/protégée, don’t just talk the talk, walk the walk. Meaning, your profession of faith ought to produce good deeds. Your life should back up your confession. This is in direct contrast to the false teachers. Remember, they professed to know God, but by their deeds they denied Him. I’m talking to leaders – elders, pastors, leaders in any ministry – do you understand the potential your deeds have to either affirm the message or deny it. We hear often, don’t we – many young people walk away from the church because of hypocrites in the church. People who profess to know God, but don’t back it up with their behavior.
I’m reminded of James 2 – you say you have faith – that’s great, but even the devils believe. Meaning, believing, knowing there is God – but not allowing that knowledge to transform your life is of no value. To be clear, it’s not the changed life that saves – but the changed life proves you’re saved. The devils believe, but they have no good deeds. James says further, don’t you understand – faith without corresponding good deeds is dead. It’s not that good deeds produce faith – but faith produces good deeds – they are in fact, inseparable. James went on, show me your faith without deeds. I’ll show you my faith, I’ll prove it exists by my deeds. The existence of a transformed life is proof of saving faith – evidence that God exists. How much damage has been done in the church by those professing faith, but not living the faith? This living the life to prove the reality of faith is a thread that runs through this whole chapter.
Along with good deeds, Titus is to have pure doctrine – the word pure speaks of integrity. He should have integrity in his teaching, without corruption, it’s internally and externally consistent. Further, he should teach with dignity – same word he used of old men in verse 2. There we saw dignity speaks of being revered, worthy of respect. There is to be a certain sobriety, seriousness, respect, dignity to his teaching.
What an important truth. Many young teachers, pastors, communicators – want to be known more for their communication skills than content, that is, the truth of what they communicate. And so, in our humor-absorbed society, humor is the measuring stick of a good communicator –teacher, pastor. Does he make me laugh? Is he funny? Do I leave having had my stresses and pressures relieved, if but for a moment, as jovial laughter has made me forget the pressures of life? There’s nothing wrong with a little humor – but if it takes center stage, if it replaces the truth of the gospel – the truth of God’s eternal Word, what value is it? If you leave here remembering a joke and forgetting Jesus, then I have failed. There should be a certain dignity, sobriety, seriousness to the message. Let me say it this way – if you are the life of the party, but never communicate eternal life to the party, you are wasting your life.
Paul says, Titus, be sound in speech – there should be a healthiness in the truthfulness of the message delivered, so the messenger and the message remains beyond reproach. Strive to be biblically faithful. Yes, there are hypocrites in the church. This may come as a surprise to you, but the church is filled with sinners – forgiven sinners who are pursuing Christ. Please remember, Christianity is not built on imperfect Christians, but on a perfect Christ.
So that the opponent – that is, the false teachers will be put to shame – and have nothing bad to say about you. I reminded of the story of Daniel and the Lion’s Den. The Medo-Persian Empire had taken over the Babylonian Empire – to include the capital city of Babylon. Daniel was a high ranking official in the city – and as was the practice of the day, King Darius made him one of his highest ruling officials in the new Medo-Persian empire.
Of course, the others were jealous of Daniel. He was an old man by now – they were tired of him being around, and tired of his rank. You see, he was doing such a good job, Darius was going to appoint him over the entire kingdom – second only to himself. Well, that didn’t set well with the rest, so they sought to discredit him. They watched for a long time – looking for some failure in his life and duties. But in Daniel 6 we read:
4 Then the commissioners and satraps began trying to find a ground of accusation against Daniel in regard to government affairs; but they could find no ground of accusation or evidence of corruption, inasmuch as he was faithful, and no negligence or corruption was to be found in him.
Incredible – everyone was watching him perform his duties, and they could find no grounds for accusation – negligence or corruption. That is, he always did what he was supposed to do, and never did what he wasn’t supposed to do. The next verse reads:
5 Then these men said, “We will not find any ground of accusation against this Daniel unless we find it against him with regard to the law of his God.”
I can think of no better thing to be said of someone – he lives faithfully and serves his God. They had watched him enough to know – if we want to find something, we’ll have to find it there. You know the story: they came up with the God-for-a-month program. They went to Darius and said, King, we think your just divine – literally. So sign a law that says no one can pray to anyone except you for a month. Anyone caught breaking the law – praying to someone besides you – it’s the lion’s den for them. You see, they had been watching Daniel pray three times a day – and they knew he would pray.
The law was signed – everything went without a hitch. Daniel prayed, he was turned in, and thrown into the lion’s den. Well, I guess there was one hitch: the lions didn’t eat him. God preserved him through the night. We’ll come back to that story. Here’s the point: Titus was to conduct himself so his opponents could have nothing bad to say about him – or his message.
Bringing us to the Instructions to Slaves in verses 9-10. Urge bondslaves to be subject to their masters. Now, we’ve talked about this a lot through the years, so I won’t belabor the point. Because of our understandable abhorrence for the institution of slavery, modern translations often translate the word as servant or bondservant. But it is actually slaves.
But, we have to understand slavery was woven into the fabric of society at this time. It was the economy of the day. It’s estimated about one-third of the Roman Empire was made up of slaves – up to 60 million people. It was the way the economy functioned, and while there was ownership, it was not the brutal, forced slavery of a specific race of people, as was true in our Antebellum South.
Now, please understand the widespread practice of slavery does not give moral justification for its existence. Slavery always involves the ownership of one person by another that results in the deprivation of freedom. Slaves possessed few legal rights, they lacked honor, they were subject to whatever punishments their masters deemed appropriate, they were goaded into compliance through intimidation and threats – there were all kinds of problems, abuses, mistreatments and exploitations. So, I’m not condoning slavery – I’m suggesting it was different than our recent history. Nor do I believe the Bible condones or promotes slavery. Regulating humane treatment in a broken world does not condone the institution.
You see, when Paul and Peter address slavery, they never give a theological justification for it – they simply assume its presence in society and helped believers understand what it means to live as Christians in this environment. Remember, Paul is instructing Titus on how people should live above reproach – to make the gospel attractive. And seeking to overthrow the economic system of the day would not do that. He simply casts a vision for how slaves should live out their Christian lives within the constraints of this prevailing social system.
And frankly, the instructions to bondslaves have contemporary significance and application to employees – to anyone who works and is subject to another in authority over them. So what does Paul say?
First, quite simply, the slave is to be subject to their own masters in everything. They are to do what they’re told. We always want to talk about the exceptions – and there are those, but let’s obey the command first – be subject in everything – do what you’re told, inasmuch as you can. Yes, there are limits. If the boss tells you to do something the Scripture prohibits, or to not do something the Scripture commands, you are to respectfully disobey. That’s true of government as well – we are to obey governing authorities – but there is a place for civil disobedience if the same conditions apply – because, we ought to obey God rather than men.
He says further, they are to be well-pleasing and not argumentative. Again, in the employee context – we should seek to obey our supervisors with joy – seeking to please them, not being argumentative. Notice, by the way, nothing is said about the character of the boss. I don’t like him, I don’t like they way she talks to me. That’s fine – but in the end, we serve at our jobs to be well-pleasing. Interestingly, not just good bosses, but difficult ones. Peter said it this way:
18 Servants, be submissive to your masters with all respect, not only to those who are good and gentle, but also to those who are unreasonable.
19 For this finds favor, if for the sake of conscience toward God a person bears up under sorrows when suffering unjustly.
20 For what credit is there if, when you sin and are harshly treated, you endure it with patience? But if when you do what is right and suffer for it you patiently endure it, this finds favor with God.
I know – that’s challenging to hear. But Peter goes on to cite the example we are to follow – that is Jesus Himself, who was most undeservedly mistreated, for the glory of God. That doesn’t mean we don’t have redress – that we cannot follow proper channels to address mistreatment. But when Paul and Peter wrote to slaves, there was not much open to them. And they still told slaves to obey. Why? We’ll get to that.
So, we obey in everything to be well-pleasing – not griping or complaining. Not argumentative. Not pilfering, but showing all good faith. Not stealing – not taking that which is not ours, and giving what we are paid to give – that is, an honest day’s work. You see, there is more than one way to pilfer. One is to take goods that are not yours; help yourself to the money drawer or the supply closet. But another way to steal is to not give our best to those for whom we work. If we hold back, if we do the minimum just to get by – we are pilfering.
You see, in conclusion, notice the last statement – so that they (believing slaves/employees) will adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in every respect. We work hard, as people of integrity, seeking to do our best – because ultimately it is Christ we are serving. Remember, in whatever we do, we do with all our might for the glory of God. That has been a constant refrain through these verses. Verse 5, teach young women to be subject to their husbands so the word of God will not be dishonored. Verse 8, be an example of good deeds with sound speech so that opponents will not have anything bad to say about you. Verse 10, by your good work ethic, you adorn the doctrine of God our Savior. You make the gospel attractive.
Here’s the point – by our transformed lives – living as fully devoted followers of Jesus, while people may oppose us, the opportunity remains to make the gospel winsome. Attractive. We can adorn the doctrine of God our Savior, proving the reality of our faith, and perhaps be used by God to draw others to Him.
Remember the story in Daniel 6? I said we’d come back to it. I close with this. After Darius came to the den to see how Daniel had faired, he was surprised to find Daniel still alive. We read Daniel’s words:
21 Then Daniel spoke to the king, “O king, live forever!
22 “My God sent His angel and shut the lions’ mouths and they have not harmed me, inasmuch as I was found innocent before Him; and also toward you, O king, I have committed no crime.”
I did what was right, before you and before my God – you know that, Darius. You’ve heard my words, and seen my actions. As a result, Darius issued this decree:
26 “I make a decree that in all the dominion of my kingdom men are to fear and tremble before the God of Daniel;
For He is the living God and enduring forever,
And His kingdom is one which will not be destroyed,
And His dominion will be forever.
27 “He delivers and rescues and performs signs and wonders
In heaven and on earth,
Who has also delivered Daniel from the power of the lions.”
What’s my point? Just as I believe we will see Nebuchadnezzar in heaven, so also I believe we will see Darius in heaven – all because of the witness of a captive slave named Daniel. Who knows why God has you where you are? Could it be so that someone hears the gospel, sees the gospel in your life, and believes the gospel?
Alliance Bible Fellowship
Titus
October 17, 2021
Titus 2:7-10
COVID-19. The 19, of course, stands for the year this particular coronavirus pandemic began. Who would have thought, closing in on the end of 2021 – almost two years later – we would still be battling the virus and its variants.
But here we are, with all the associated pandemic challenges – the gift that keeps on giving. Lockdowns, the 3-W’s, wash, wait and wear. Social distancing, Zoom, work from home, masks, mask mandates, vaccines, vaccine mandates, moral choices, mRNA, spike cells, loving your neighbor, conspiracy theories. Close the church, livestream, open the church, but livestream, to gather with the church, or stay safely at home. Church health experts telling us, plan on losing 20-30 percent of your people. Not here, we thought. And while not losing nearly that many, lost we have. While all of that is perhaps annoying, there’s also the resulting real sickness, hospitalizations, overworked medical personnel on one hand, loss of jobs on the other, and loss of life.
Then comes the latest, somewhat unforeseen, economic challenges. With both state and federal governments seeking to alleviate economic challenges, increasing unemployment benefits, many choose to stay home. Why get a job paying less than I can make sitting at home? And so, businesses scaling back or closing, because they can’t get workers. It’s not that there are no jobs – rather few ready workers. Which, of course, has affected supply chains – and now being told you may want to scale back holiday plans – might not be as many gifts under the tree – there aren’t enough to go around. As if gifts under the tree are the meaning of Christmas.
Economic challenges. Inflation. Cost of everyday products up significantly over the past year. The estimate is the average household is spending two thousand dollars more this year than last – for the same stuff. And again, no or few workers – or willing to work. It’s these work-related challenges I’d like to address today. What is the Christian response in such a workplace environment? In such an economy?
I suppose the first thing we should remember is that work – productivity – was assigned by God before the Fall. The difficulty of work – thorns and thistles – pandemics, inflation, unemployment, supply chain challenges – that’s the result of the curse after humanity’s fall into sin and rebellion. But work itself commanded to Adam and Eve, tending the Garden, ruling over the work of God’s hand, was pre-Fall. Work was actually assigned, given as a gift, for our good. For purpose and productivity – dare I say for joyful fulfillment. For a job well done and enjoying its benefits.
So work is not something we have to do because of sin – it’s something we get to do, even enjoy – bringing glory to God along the way. Whether you eat or drink – do what you do for the glory of God. Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might. Whatever you do, in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.
By the way, the dignity of work was recovered during the Reformation. The church had successfully divided vocation into the secular and the sacred – and only the sacred was meaningful, purposeful, beneficial, God-glorifying. So be a priest or a monk or a nun if you wanted to do something of eternal spiritual value. Well, I suppose we all have to eat – grow some vegetables or raise some cattle – helpful, but not eternally so. It was Martin Luther, the great reformer, who pointed out – all work done in God’s creation/kingdom, done for Him, brings Him glory. He insisted that the farmer shoveling manure and the maid milking her cow pleased God as much as the minister preaching or praying.
Further, he said, as we work in our God-given station in life, we become agents of His providential care. Luther said, for example, “God is milking the cows through the vocation of the milkmaid.” Through our hands God answers the prayers of His children. We pray for daily bread at night, and the baker rises in the morning to bake it. The same holds for clothing: God “gives the wool, but not without our labor. If it is on the sheep, it makes no garment.” Humans must sheer and spin.
Don’t miss what I’m saying. Work – all work – is for our good. For our joy and fulfillment. So how do we as believers respond in the workplace – be it good, or bad, fulfilling or seeming drudgery? Wages worthy of our work, or not? Titus 2. I think this text is especially meaningful today, given the little value we place on work.
The Apostle Paul is writing to Titus, his son in the faith – a fellow missionary to the island of Crete. The people there had less than a stellar reputation – they were known for being liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons – one of their own prophets said so. Yet the message of the gospel seems to have found fertile soil. Paul had left Titus to set in order what remained in the churches. That included appointing elders in every city. It included dealing with false teachers, which always seems to dog the church. It included instructing certain groups within the church to behave in appropriate ways – instructions specific to their gender and age.
For example, we saw last week he addressed old men 2:2, “Older men are to be temperate, dignified, sensible, sound in faith, love and perseverance.” I won’t review all that, but he expected older men to act their age, with a degree of dignified, respectful spiritual maturity – demonstrated in appropriate behavior.
He addressed older women in verse 3, “Older women…are to be reverent in their behavior, not gossips nor enslaved to wine, teaching what is good.” Again, I won’t review all that – but it was significant Paul expected older women to teach younger women – to disciple them – to teach them how to grow as followers of Christ in their homes, in their character, and in their work.
You see, verses 4-5 told older women what to teach younger women, namely, “to love their husbands, to love their children, to be sensible [that was one of Paul’s favorite words for all these groups – to be sensible, filled with spiritual common sense, to be self-controlled], to be workers at home, kind, pure, subject to their own husbands.”
Well, then he got to the last group – young men – and he said one thing to them – urge young men to be sensible. There’s the word again – grow to be spiritually mature, balanced, self-controlled in all things.
But he wasn’t finished with the groups – there were two more to go. Having mentioned young men, of which Titus was one, he turned his attention back to Titus for a moment, before addressing the work environment – well, actually slaves. How do Christians work under authority? Read the text with me, starting in verse 6 (through verse 10).
Wait – I thought only spiritual vocations adorned the doctrine of God – now you’re telling me secular vocations – a good work ethic – adorns the doctrine of God? Yes.
It’s always amazing to me how the verses in which we find ourselves often speak to our need. I once heard a famous pastor suggest that expository preaching was lazy preaching – that it didn’t require the pastor to select texts that addressed the needs of the day. I couldn’t disagree more – I believe God’s word – all of it – addresses the needs of the day – for all people of all time.
Now here, Paul does address Titus specifically, but he does so because of the potential influence Titus can have on young men. See, Paul said four things to old men, four things to old women, seven things to young women, and only one thing to young men. That hardly seems fair – and in my experience, appropriate. But Paul then took the opportunity to address Titus as a young man in his ministry to young men – thus being an example to them. So, there is a sense we are continuing our discussion of young men. Here’s the outline:
- Instructions to Titus (and young men) – (7-8)
- Instructions to Slaves (employees) – (9-10)
As we’ve noted, Titus was a colleague of Paul’s – I’ve called him an apostolic protégée. Now, I and II Timothy along with Titus are called the Pastoral Epistles. And there is a sense in which that’s right. Titus was Paul’s colleague left on the island of Crete to help establish the churches – just as Timothy had been in left in Ephesus for the same reasons. Certainly, their duties were pastoral – establishing new believers in the faith – organizing the church, appointing elders, teaching. But as such, they had the opportunity by their teaching and conduct to train and be an example to the believers. In this case, young men.
So having mentioned young men, Paul says to young Titus, show yourself to be an example – someone to emulate – to follow. We remember Paul said, follow me as I follow Christ. That’s what he was challenging Titus to do, be an example worthy of being followed. I would say, then, these verses have direct application to young elders, young pastors, young leaders in the church. But, whatever your context – look for opportunity to apply the principles in your own life. You have the opportunity to be an example in the faith in your words and in your conduct to someone. In fact, as has often been rightly said, everyone is an example to someone, good or bad. If they follow you, where are you taking them?
First, be an example of good deeds. That’s interesting – he says to young pastor/protégée, don’t just talk the talk, walk the walk. Meaning, your profession of faith ought to produce good deeds. Your life should back up your confession. This is in direct contrast to the false teachers. Remember, they professed to know God, but by their deeds they denied Him. I’m talking to leaders – elders, pastors, leaders in any ministry – do you understand the potential your deeds have to either affirm the message or deny it. We hear often, don’t we – many young people walk away from the church because of hypocrites in the church. People who profess to know God, but don’t back it up with their behavior.
I’m reminded of James 2 – you say you have faith – that’s great, but even the devils believe. Meaning, believing, knowing there is God – but not allowing that knowledge to transform your life is of no value. To be clear, it’s not the changed life that saves – but the changed life proves you’re saved. The devils believe, but they have no good deeds. James says further, don’t you understand – faith without corresponding good deeds is dead. It’s not that good deeds produce faith – but faith produces good deeds – they are in fact, inseparable. James went on, show me your faith without deeds. I’ll show you my faith, I’ll prove it exists by my deeds. The existence of a transformed life is proof of saving faith – evidence that God exists. How much damage has been done in the church by those professing faith, but not living the faith? This living the life to prove the reality of faith is a thread that runs through this whole chapter.
Along with good deeds, Titus is to have pure doctrine – the word pure speaks of integrity. He should have integrity in his teaching, without corruption, it’s internally and externally consistent. Further, he should teach with dignity – same word he used of old men in verse 2. There we saw dignity speaks of being revered, worthy of respect. There is to be a certain sobriety, seriousness, respect, dignity to his teaching.
What an important truth. Many young teachers, pastors, communicators – want to be known more for their communication skills than content, that is, the truth of what they communicate. And so, in our humor-absorbed society, humor is the measuring stick of a good communicator –teacher, pastor. Does he make me laugh? Is he funny? Do I leave having had my stresses and pressures relieved, if but for a moment, as jovial laughter has made me forget the pressures of life? There’s nothing wrong with a little humor – but if it takes center stage, if it replaces the truth of the gospel – the truth of God’s eternal Word, what value is it? If you leave here remembering a joke and forgetting Jesus, then I have failed. There should be a certain dignity, sobriety, seriousness to the message. Let me say it this way – if you are the life of the party, but never communicate eternal life to the party, you are wasting your life.
Paul says, Titus, be sound in speech – there should be a healthiness in the truthfulness of the message delivered, so the messenger and the message remains beyond reproach. Strive to be biblically faithful. Yes, there are hypocrites in the church. This may come as a surprise to you, but the church is filled with sinners – forgiven sinners who are pursuing Christ. Please remember, Christianity is not built on imperfect Christians, but on a perfect Christ.
So that the opponent – that is, the false teachers will be put to shame – and have nothing bad to say about you. I reminded of the story of Daniel and the Lion’s Den. The Medo-Persian Empire had taken over the Babylonian Empire – to include the capital city of Babylon. Daniel was a high ranking official in the city – and as was the practice of the day, King Darius made him one of his highest ruling officials in the new Medo-Persian empire.
Of course, the others were jealous of Daniel. He was an old man by now – they were tired of him being around, and tired of his rank. You see, he was doing such a good job, Darius was going to appoint him over the entire kingdom – second only to himself. Well, that didn’t set well with the rest, so they sought to discredit him. They watched for a long time – looking for some failure in his life and duties. But in Daniel 6 we read:
4 Then the commissioners and satraps began trying to find a ground of accusation against Daniel in regard to government affairs; but they could find no ground of accusation or evidence of corruption, inasmuch as he was faithful, and no negligence or corruption was to be found in him.
Incredible – everyone was watching him perform his duties, and they could find no grounds for accusation – negligence or corruption. That is, he always did what he was supposed to do, and never did what he wasn’t supposed to do. The next verse reads:
5 Then these men said, “We will not find any ground of accusation against this Daniel unless we find it against him with regard to the law of his God.”
I can think of no better thing to be said of someone – he lives faithfully and serves his God. They had watched him enough to know – if we want to find something, we’ll have to find it there. You know the story: they came up with the God-for-a-month program. They went to Darius and said, King, we think your just divine – literally. So sign a law that says no one can pray to anyone except you for a month. Anyone caught breaking the law – praying to someone besides you – it’s the lion’s den for them. You see, they had been watching Daniel pray three times a day – and they knew he would pray.
The law was signed – everything went without a hitch. Daniel prayed, he was turned in, and thrown into the lion’s den. Well, I guess there was one hitch: the lions didn’t eat him. God preserved him through the night. We’ll come back to that story. Here’s the point: Titus was to conduct himself so his opponents could have nothing bad to say about him – or his message.
Bringing us to the Instructions to Slaves in verses 9-10. Urge bondslaves to be subject to their masters. Now, we’ve talked about this a lot through the years, so I won’t belabor the point. Because of our understandable abhorrence for the institution of slavery, modern translations often translate the word as servant or bondservant. But it is actually slaves.
But, we have to understand slavery was woven into the fabric of society at this time. It was the economy of the day. It’s estimated about one-third of the Roman Empire was made up of slaves – up to 60 million people. It was the way the economy functioned, and while there was ownership, it was not the brutal, forced slavery of a specific race of people, as was true in our Antebellum South.
Now, please understand the widespread practice of slavery does not give moral justification for its existence. Slavery always involves the ownership of one person by another that results in the deprivation of freedom. Slaves possessed few legal rights, they lacked honor, they were subject to whatever punishments their masters deemed appropriate, they were goaded into compliance through intimidation and threats – there were all kinds of problems, abuses, mistreatments and exploitations. So, I’m not condoning slavery – I’m suggesting it was different than our recent history. Nor do I believe the Bible condones or promotes slavery. Regulating humane treatment in a broken world does not condone the institution.
You see, when Paul and Peter address slavery, they never give a theological justification for it – they simply assume its presence in society and helped believers understand what it means to live as Christians in this environment. Remember, Paul is instructing Titus on how people should live above reproach – to make the gospel attractive. And seeking to overthrow the economic system of the day would not do that. He simply casts a vision for how slaves should live out their Christian lives within the constraints of this prevailing social system.
And frankly, the instructions to bondslaves have contemporary significance and application to employees – to anyone who works and is subject to another in authority over them. So what does Paul say?
First, quite simply, the slave is to be subject to their own masters in everything. They are to do what they’re told. We always want to talk about the exceptions – and there are those, but let’s obey the command first – be subject in everything – do what you’re told, inasmuch as you can. Yes, there are limits. If the boss tells you to do something the Scripture prohibits, or to not do something the Scripture commands, you are to respectfully disobey. That’s true of government as well – we are to obey governing authorities – but there is a place for civil disobedience if the same conditions apply – because, we ought to obey God rather than men.
He says further, they are to be well-pleasing and not argumentative. Again, in the employee context – we should seek to obey our supervisors with joy – seeking to please them, not being argumentative. Notice, by the way, nothing is said about the character of the boss. I don’t like him, I don’t like they way she talks to me. That’s fine – but in the end, we serve at our jobs to be well-pleasing. Interestingly, not just good bosses, but difficult ones. Peter said it this way:
18 Servants, be submissive to your masters with all respect, not only to those who are good and gentle, but also to those who are unreasonable.
19 For this finds favor, if for the sake of conscience toward God a person bears up under sorrows when suffering unjustly.
20 For what credit is there if, when you sin and are harshly treated, you endure it with patience? But if when you do what is right and suffer for it you patiently endure it, this finds favor with God.
I know – that’s challenging to hear. But Peter goes on to cite the example we are to follow – that is Jesus Himself, who was most undeservedly mistreated, for the glory of God. That doesn’t mean we don’t have redress – that we cannot follow proper channels to address mistreatment. But when Paul and Peter wrote to slaves, there was not much open to them. And they still told slaves to obey. Why? We’ll get to that.
So, we obey in everything to be well-pleasing – not griping or complaining. Not argumentative. Not pilfering, but showing all good faith. Not stealing – not taking that which is not ours, and giving what we are paid to give – that is, an honest day’s work. You see, there is more than one way to pilfer. One is to take goods that are not yours; help yourself to the money drawer or the supply closet. But another way to steal is to not give our best to those for whom we work. If we hold back, if we do the minimum just to get by – we are pilfering.
You see, in conclusion, notice the last statement – so that they (believing slaves/employees) will adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in every respect. We work hard, as people of integrity, seeking to do our best – because ultimately it is Christ we are serving. Remember, in whatever we do, we do with all our might for the glory of God. That has been a constant refrain through these verses. Verse 5, teach young women to be subject to their husbands so the word of God will not be dishonored. Verse 8, be an example of good deeds with sound speech so that opponents will not have anything bad to say about you. Verse 10, by your good work ethic, you adorn the doctrine of God our Savior. You make the gospel attractive.
Here’s the point – by our transformed lives – living as fully devoted followers of Jesus, while people may oppose us, the opportunity remains to make the gospel winsome. Attractive. We can adorn the doctrine of God our Savior, proving the reality of our faith, and perhaps be used by God to draw others to Him.
Remember the story in Daniel 6? I said we’d come back to it. I close with this. After Darius came to the den to see how Daniel had faired, he was surprised to find Daniel still alive. We read Daniel’s words:
21 Then Daniel spoke to the king, “O king, live forever!
22 “My God sent His angel and shut the lions’ mouths and they have not harmed me, inasmuch as I was found innocent before Him; and also toward you, O king, I have committed no crime.”
I did what was right, before you and before my God – you know that, Darius. You’ve heard my words, and seen my actions. As a result, Darius issued this decree:
26 “I make a decree that in all the dominion of my kingdom men are to fear and tremble before the God of Daniel;
For He is the living God and enduring forever,
And His kingdom is one which will not be destroyed,
And His dominion will be forever.
27 “He delivers and rescues and performs signs and wonders
In heaven and on earth,
Who has also delivered Daniel from the power of the lions.”
What’s my point? Just as I believe we will see Nebuchadnezzar in heaven, so also I believe we will see Darius in heaven – all because of the witness of a captive slave named Daniel. Who knows why God has you where you are? Could it be so that someone hears the gospel, sees the gospel in your life, and believes the gospel?