Behavior Befitting the Gospel: Senior Saints – Titus 2:1–3

PRAY & INTRO: The book of Titus asks us to consider: What difference does the gospel make for daily living? What is the appropriate way to live in light of God’s grace to us through Jesus Christ which grants us a restored relationship to God? What behavior befits the gospel?

From Titus 1 we know it is the expectation of godly servant leaders that they lead lives consistent with the gospel so as to be above reproach—blameless in home life, in character, and in treatment of others. But what is expected of the rest of us? Paul doesn’t leave us to wonder. He now tells Titus how to specifically address behavior befitting the gospel for various ages and life situations (Titus 2). 

Paul’s continued instruction to Titus teaches that…

All Christians are to lead lives befitting of the gospel, for the health of our homes and churches and for projecting the life-changing truth of God’s grace to the world.

But as for you is a deliberate contrast with the false teachers and what undermines the gospel.

Teach what accords with sound doctrine (more literally - speak what is fitting of healthy instruction) - Everything that follows is the kind of living that reinforces the truth of the gospel and therefore promotes health in the church and projects a respectable image to outsiders. (The way we live impacts church health and Christian mission.)

The gospel truth is offensive to the world, but our behavior must not be. What I mean by this is that Christ’s authority and holiness did offend people, but he could not legitimately be accused of any lawless or obscene behavior that would displease God the Father. We must not be marked by character and behavior that betrays the life-changing claims of the gospel. Instead, we should live in a way that “adorns the doctrine of God our Savior.” We should lead lives that express the life-changing truth of God’s grace to us in the gospel.

Paul tells Titus to speak - Just to state the obvious, we (people) require instruction. It really isn’t an option to simply leave us to our own devices, because without instruction we will make decisions based upon ignorance and the foolishness of our wayward hearts.

In this case, speak about what? Teach everything that is fitting for a life of faith, based upon God’s accomplished work through Jesus Christ and accompanying promises for those who believe in him (eg., submit to him as Lord).

So then…

The instructions for different groups by age, gender, and station in life helps us to grow in wisdom for gospel living based on our own God-given situations.

Singling groups out by gender and station in life might seem like an odd approach, until you realize the wisdom in it because of just how unique our daily lives are due to our age, sex, and even place in society. - I will add too that it is healthy for us to carefully consider life stages and situations other than our own, and the general corresponding instruction, to keep us from being so self-focused, and to make us more aware and appreciative of others around us and how God is working in them.

Secondly, the behavior befitting the gospel is 1. countercultural, and it is 2. resistant to the undermining effects of false teachers upon households. - This gospel living is in contrast to the Cretan value system for what is acceptable/normal: boasting of what is crass and self-indulgent (reminds us of Paul’s rebuke of Corinth as well). And gospel living is in contrast to the false teachers, who want to observe rituals but don’t care to focus on purity that comes from within.

We must also be alert to pervasive cultural influences in our own day and society, and be on guard against false teaching that lulls us into feeling good about checking boxes instead of living for Jesus from the inside out.

Furthermore, even while we must understand that these are fairly general instructions for the most common scenarios, we can’t ignore the obvious fact that the overall point is that this behavior befitting the gospel is to be applied by all true believers. This ‘applicable to all’ means at least two things: You should not be looking for an out, a loophole; and we can’t afford to be lazy instead of working hard to figure out how to apply the principles to our situation. - Laziness doesn’t lead to growth; it always leads to more sin. Do the hard work of making application to your life, and seek help from others to do so. [For example, next week I want to address a little more fully those who are single and in a different season than what is most overtly prescribed here for married women and men. Plus the Bible almost certainly has principles that apply better to your station in life elsewhere in Scripture. For example, instructions to children under their parents’ authority.] - And if you find yourself trying to skirt around things in the Bible (and you read more from people who aim to do that than reading from the Bible itself), pray for God to convict and change the rebelliousness in your heart. 

Finally, no one should deny that there are indeed historical and cultural factors involved in the way the text is understood, but God’s word straightforwardly establishes wisdom for order that allows us to thrive in God’s design. - If you try hard enough, you can form arguments to undermine what the plain meaning of a text seems to be. - Historical and cultural context should help us understand the meaning more fully, not undermine or reverse the meaning entirely. If we do that, we will find ourselves to be like the false teachers in Crete who need to be rebuked for their false teaching, because they are overturning entire households by teaching for shameful gain what they ought not to teach.

So, the strongest individuals… and strongest households… and strongest churches… and strongest communities… will be those that live most consistently with God’s own design and Christ’s example.

Let’s launch into the first two categories in Paul’s address to Titus, which I’m grouping together for today as Senior Saints.

Senior saints, there is a lot riding on your example and instruction for the health of the church and the advance of the gospel!

The word for older men includes a similar root as the word used earlier for the office of elders, but it is a more generic and common word just meaning older men (which is also quite plain in the context when there is a “likewise” concerning older women, and both are parallel to younger women and men in a different phase of life). - This really is speaking then of those who are in somewhat later years of life and have a great deal more faith and life experience.

Paul is probably intentionally not super specific about these categories, as there are undoubtedly some not directly addressed who are in a kind of middle ground between “young” and “old.” In our culture we tend to categorize older men and women as people who are retired or of ‘retirement age,’ but I would imagine Paul has in mind some who are still younger than 65 or 70 being included in this group. (So “older men” here are at least upwards of 40 years old, or even more likely in their 50s & 60s and beyond.) If you have more than one little voice that refers to you as Papa or Mimi (or are about that same age), you’ve probably reached this superior category.

What the Apostle seems to be driving at, though, is that there is a critical role for the senior saints to play in the life of Christian households and in the household of faith, the local church. - In fact, I personally think that Titus is kinda in a middle ground, like some of us who have one foot in each camp (younger and older). That means people like Titus and like me are looking to those of you ahead of us to set an example for us as well, even as we are to set as example too (vv. 7-8). 

Again, senior saints, you come first in the list, so there is a lot riding on your example and instruction for the health of the church and the advance of the gospel.

Older men are to be:

Sober-minded - This word for temperate is probably meant to include being sober (not given to much drink), as well as to a broader view of sober-mindedness in all aspects of life. Older men were to be cautious in the use of alcoholic drink because it so frequently leads to the excesses of inappropriate behavior. Furthermore, this idea of being “clear-headed” in all things pairs well with the next two qualities, that of being dignified and self-controlled.

For a man to be dignified or honorable would mean that his actions and demeanor are respectable, serious, and worthy. He is not prone to disgraceful behavior, or even a demeanor that is arrogant or bombastic and loud.

To be self-controlled is once again (as it is each time in Titus) the kind of prudence of mind that leads to self-control in all things. This would mean then that he is not prone to be ruled by his emotions or his physical lusts or an urge for power and control or status, but that his wisdom and prudence keeps these in check; he has restraint in all things. He knows there is a right context and a wrong context for acting on certain desires.

These three virtues form a picture of an older gentleman who is worthy of respect, free from overindulgence and foolishness. To go along with this respectable demeanor and behavior, he has a vibrant faith that cares for others and perseveres in these later years.

In the text this is like a fourth virtue with three parts. Older Christian men are to be sound/healthy (again, everything in this letter that is sound is set against that which is unhealthy in bad teaching and bad behavior set forth by false teachers and Cretan culture) … Older men should set an example of being healthy in faith, in love, and in endurance.

Sound faith is that invisible aspect of the Christian life that is foundational to everything else, because it is trust and dependence upon God to be true to his word, especially in the gospel of Jesus Christ, which becomes the defining factor of one’s very identity. Faith in God through Christ Jesus becomes the central relationship that defines who we are—how we understand ourselves, how we express ourselves, and how we live and relate to others.

So love is the outworking of faith, which models itself after the love of Jesus—a caring concern for others that shows itself in sacrificial service for their highest good. Remember that love is indeed affection, but it isn’t a feeling alone; it is an action of sacrificial service because of true compassion and affection. Men (here especially older men), we need to be examples of love, of caring concern that sacrifices for the good of others.

And then finally our older men in the Christian household need to model healthy endurance, or perseverance/steadfastness. The term carries two ideas: the inward fortitude to withstand hardship or stress, and to patiently persist in a course of action. It is steadfast endurance.

This is to not just ‘pack it in’ and wait for death. This is to not just view retirement phase of life as ‘I’ve done my time.’ These older men haven’t just permanently parked their camper by the lake to rest and enjoy every sunset in the sunset of life. I’m not saying we don’t enjoy more sunsets, and more freedom to travel, and take more frequent rests than you needed when you were younger. I’m saying Paul emphasizes that you are needed for the health of the church and the health of homes, by your continued example of dignity and respectability, and your deliberate effort to show us what faith and love and steadfastness look like.

Summary: Older men are to be… a model of Christian dignity and dynamic faith. (Philip H. Towner, The Letters to Timothy and Titus, The New International Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2006), 722.)

I can say personally that the older men who have the most influence on my spiritual life demonstrate a consistency and dignity that I respect and want to emulate, AND it is clear that they care about others and are modeling an ongoing closeness to God and keep growing in their walk with him.

Older women likewise are to be…

Older women are to be:

… reverent in behavior. This phrase comes to be a kind of overarching statement of what their demeanor and lives should be like. The word we translate as reverent comes from the idea of priests or priestesses performing their duties in the temple, and so then comes to more generally mean behavior that is holy or godly in all of life, viewing oneself as set apart to God’s service. That certainly qualifies to put pressure on us to lead lives of spiritual poise and reverent behavior.

Next are two negative examples that were unfortunately common stereotypes of older women more broadly in Roman society even than just in Crete. More time on their hands could mean more ability to sit about and talk… and drink. Such could lead to slander, which is the verb form of the word for devil—an adversary who accuses. Slander carries the idea of talking about things that we ought not to talk about (gossip) with the added sharp edge of an intent to cut others down, to cause harm.

And too much time and freedom to drink wine led to being “slaves to much wine.” Interesting how the phrase connotes both the addictiveness of such things as well as what holds the controlling power. Drunkenness and loose lips are tied together other places as well (1 Tim 3:8, 11), proving that too much drink leads to a lack of self-control and right inhibitions that are necessary to keep certain inclinations in check. Drunkenness might lead to bad behavior of all sorts, including marital unfaithfulness, so the older women were to set an example for younger women of being cautious with alcohol, as well as to avoid being busybodies who slander others instead of staying focused on their own responsibilities.

So then these older ladies in the faith are to teach what is good, a compound word that could be rendered being virtuous teachers, or teaching virtue. This idea of being virtue teachers helpfully shifts their attention from being idle with drinking and slandering to being busy with something that is good and profitable to younger women… and therefore leads to the strength and stability of families, churches, and all of society.

The overall picture ties together reverent behavior with using their time and their speech to teach what is good and thereby be a positive godly influence, particularly on women of subsequent generations.

For those of us keeping track of Scripture’s consistency with itself and interpretation of itself, notice that this description and admonition for older women to be virtue teachers does not contradict Paul’s other instruction that women should not be the formal leaders or teachers in the church as a whole (which requires leadership over men, 1 Tim 2:11-12) but instead reinforces that there are healthy ways in God’s good design for women to lead by example and be teachers in appropriate contexts.

In Paul’s letters to the churches and to these pastoral leaders, he instructs that men must embrace God’s design for loving servant leadership, and some of them must be chosen to be elders (as in ch. 1 here in Titus), who will be the shepherd-teachers, especially in the gatherings of the whole church together and in giving direction to the group. And then texts like this help fill in our understanding of contexts where women can and should use their virtuous character and excellent teaching to be a great blessing to the lives of other individuals and households, and thereby to the testimony of the Christ’s church overall.

This instruction to older women seamlessly develops into instruction for younger women via older women, which will be a part of our focus for next time.

Again…

Senior saints, keep instructing us and setting an example, for the health of the church and the advance of the gospel.

The church needs you, the church is counting on you. Your children and grandchildren need your godly influence.

And it’s just plain silly for the rest of us to not recognize the value of the wisdom and insight to be gained from our older saints, who have studied God’s word more, lived more, walked with Christ longer, proved God’s faithfulness longer, and have proclaimed him more to others. - I know that I personally have experienced times where an older Christian has prevented me from doing something that was less wise, or helped me to do something that was wise. By contrast, I’ve said and done things that could have been prevented if I had consulted these same older Christians before I did it!

So senior saints, be intentional to set an example for us and to speak into our lives. And we must listen well to said wise instruction and pay attention to the dignified and reverent behavior that we should copy.

To circle back to where we started, then, Paul envisions a tight connection between right belief and right behavior, for every believer in any phase of life and situation.

Conclusion: We are not meant to separate sound doctrine from gospel living, and the Church’s health and testimony is at stake.

… beginning with the eldest among us. - Older saints, be present. Set an example. Teach us wisdom. Patiently persevere.

Be present in our lives. Be a model of sober-mindedness: clear thinking and living. Be an example of dignified, respectful, and honest behavior that represents Jesus well, living as holy, set apart to him. Be a model of self-control with our bodies (to enjoy physical intimacy in your prescribed way and in your time, and to guard against physical desires that want to rule over us), and of self-control in our appetites (not over-eating, being cautious about drink, and about too much entertainment), of self-control over our emotions and self-control in our speech (which, out of control—emotions and speech—will hurt us and others and destroy our relationships and testimony). 

- Senior saints, teach us what is good. Teach us what is wise. Give us a clear vision for God’s good order that not only glorifies him but blesses us and our relationships and our homes and communities. Don’t let us be sucked in by worldliness and false teaching, but warn us of the subtlety and danger of our own false motivations and wayward desires. Steadfastly persevere in clinging to Christ, showing us the faithfulness of God. Point us to the gospel and the goodness of God.

PRAY

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