Behavior Befitting the Gospel: Work to Project an Accurately Attractive Picture of God – Titus 2:9–10

PRAY & INTRO: God is appealing. God is attractive. (Think about it.) The God of perfection in all his attributes is most beautiful, most appealing.

- You’ve probably heard the phrase, “You get more flies with honey.” Well, you get even more flies with rotten meat. The good that we are attracting people to matters. We are not appealing to people’s sin natures, but displaying the true goodness of God, who is the supreme good for their souls.

As his people, we must work to project an accurate picture of the truly attractive God.

Titus 2:9–10 ESV

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.

This conclusion at the end of v. 10,—“so that in everything they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior”—summarizes the positive posture for all the previous exhortations as well. Whatever phase of life, whatever our gender and roles within God’s good design for families, and whatever our situation in terms of work and God’s means of provision for our needs…

We must work to project an accurately attractive picture of our saving God.  

As the people whom God has redeemed for himself and whom he has set apart as his own possession, who are therefore zealous for good works (v. 14) … and we who are waiting for our blessed hope at the Lord’s appearing (v. 13), who know the saving grace of our God (v. 11) and its ongoing training power in our lives (v. 12)… we must project an accurately attractive picture of God our Savior.

The word for “adorn” in this text comes from the Gk word kosmeo (to arrange, put in order [from kosmos - arrangement, order], and thus kosmeo (to put in order) also came to mean to make neat, to adorn, beautify, decorate). - It is indeed the root of our English word cosmetics. In this way though you should not think of cosmetic in the sense of make up for the purpose of cover up, but in the sense of adorning to draw attention to (to accentuate) the beauty that is already there.

And evidently when we work and serve under the leadership authority of others, in that context there is a particular opportunity to draw attention to the beauty and goodness of God. We must work in such a way as to project an accurately attractive picture of our life-saving, all-satisfying God.

In order to get to that purpose that I believe this text is communicating, for us there are necessarily a couple of contextual questions to address.

First,

Why does Paul address slaves in this context?

Why does Paul include bondservants in these instructions for households and churches in Crete behaving in a way that is most healthy for them and most helpful for projecting the truth of the gospel?

Slaves were a real part of many households and therefore also made up a distinct element of the Christian Church. According to the Holman Bible Dictionary, “The economy of Egypt, Greece, and Rome was based on slave labor. In the first Christian century, one out of three persons in Italy and one out of five elsewhere was a slave.” -James A. Brooks, “Slave, Servant,” ed. Chad Brand et al., Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary(Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2003), 1511.

So we have a context in which members of society who are slaves might come to Christ, and there is a right understanding of the gospel, in terms of our value and standing before God, where in Christ any favoritism between genders, races, and social strata are erased (Gal 3:28, Col 3:11). But Paul is quick to show that such doesn’t negate a right behavior for societal order, even with implications for showing the goodness of the gospel right where God presently has us.

Therefore, Paul is addressing new believers in the very real scenarios in which they find themselves, and gives them instruction not to simply appease societal norms, but to specifically Christianize the way we live so that the impact of Christ can do it’s work from the inside out (not only in us, but in the society in which we participate). As Philip Towner explains about this final section in the context of the whole of Titus 2, “The implication is that the gospel creates a people capable of living within human society, observing its institutions, speaking its language, embracing its good values, while reshaping and retooling others, in order to bring redemption to it.” -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), 740.

(And the elephant seated beside me…)

How are we to understand the Bible’s handling of slavery?

In dealing with slavery itself, we cannot deny that this is a difficult subject, so we shouldn’t treat it flippantly, and we must tread carefully to try not to say more or less than what the Bible indicates on the subject. (If you go deeper on this, you’ll find that the Bible is not as silent as you might think.) - I do not claim to be an expert on this biblical topic, nor do I want to spend our whole time for this text on this issue. Let me offer what I consider to be a helpful high-altitude perspective on this.

1. Do not presume that God’s providential permission of things is his endorsement of them. One societal structure can be an institution and order God has specifically implemented (marriage, governing authority), and another human institution something God has providentially permitted in the world (slavery, as we understand it). Giving instruction for how we should live within a structure, even making rules for protection of slaves (as God did with regards to Israel), certainly does not mean God endorses all forms of it.
2. Within such a context, we can (& should) admit that if God wanted to make a simple statement about the evils of slavery wholesale, he could have done so. As with our incomplete, imperfect understanding of how evil came to be and why God allows it to exist, we must trust him that he knows best and is directing all things according to his ultimate and perfect purposes.

Add to this then that the slavery referenced in the Bible takes several different forms, complicating the issue for carte blanche condemnation of it.

And we must realize that when we hear the word slave or slavery we immediately bring our pre-understanding and cultural experience to bear on the subject. We define slavery in the sense of one man owning another merely as property and for free labor, buying someone who was stolen from their home, treating him as less than human, to be used and abused at will, without regard for the true well-being of that person. Now some of those same abuses and evils surely existed before more recent history and correlate in one respect or another to some of the examples of slavery referenced in the Bible.

Slaves were indeed “totally responsible to and dependent upon another person,” and most slaves had significantly less legal rights in society (a more broad definition of slavery that encompasses more ancient forms of it), but by such an arrangement, their needs and the needs of their family might be completely provided for, through it they might in fact be preserved. (It wouldn’t have been so simple as to just run out and get another job.) Although there were slaves in large groups that toiled in fields and mines, there were also many who were civil servants and domestic (or household servants), with a great deal of responsibility and freedom. Some were trained for temple work or trained in a trade to be craftsmen, which they might in fact be able to use if they were emancipated (such as by a Master putting it in his will for him/them to be set free) or if they purchased their freedom (for which there was a provision in many cases). This possibility was common in Roman times, and there was a term for this category of people: freedmen.

And people were enslaved for many reasons: captured in war, inability to pay a debt, selling oneself as a last ditch effort for self-preservation, being born into a slave household, being convicted of a crime, being illegally kidnapped and sold, even really poor parents selling children into slavery. (Surely we can readily see God condemning some of these things, while permitting others even as a mercy or means of preservation within the context of a sinful world.)

[-James A. Brooks, “Slave, Servant,” ed. Chad Brand et al., Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2003), 1511.]

Even so, slavery is slavery in the sense of the person not really having freedom of self-determination or all the rights afforded to other free citizens, plus the harsh forms of slavery and the undoubtedly MANY ways in which slaves could be mistreated.

3. Finally, we should not make it sound like the Bible is completely silent about issues associated slavery. - I believe the following is a truly fair way to state what the Bible does do with regard to slavery: Without attacking the institution directly, the Bible, and NT Christianity especially, undermines the abuses of slavery. Along these lines, we shouldn’t ignore the weight of biblical instruction that goes against what is wrong with slavery: everything from the specific injunction about evils of kidnapping someone to make them slaves (1 Tim 1:10), to treating any human as less than an image-bearer of the God who created them as uniquely human, to God giving the Hebrews specific protections for slaves, including a timeline for setting them free in the seventh year.

In the NT, we have the most obvious reflections on slavery from Paul, as he applies not only the rule of true love as the law of Christ, but also our Lord’s teaching on treating others as you would want to be treated, and so on. (But that might not mean the only or best solution is immediate emancipation for everyone.)

From Paul we have the balancing instructions to not fret if you are a slave when coming to Christ—you can remain in it and be a godly slave of Christ (just as those who are free have become slaves of Christ), but also for slaves to go ahead and purchase freedom if they have opportunity, and for those who are free to not become slaves (1 Cor 7:20-24).

Paul will not only encourage bondservants to submit to their masters in attitude, speech, and behavior (as here in Titus 2) because they do it to serve the Lord, but he will also command masters that they treat those serving them with an intention for their good because of recognizing that we all will answer to God (Eph 6:7-9). 

Again, I would argue that NT Christianity is what eroded slavery in Europe and America. - A non-Christian agnostic historian, Tom Holland, who is an expert in pre-Christian Greek and Roman history, has written a book, Dominion, in which he argues from the time of Christ until now that essentially without Christianity there would be no driving force to end slavery, or to care for the deformed and poor in our societies, and so on.

And since we believe that God’s word does in fact condemn the abuses of slavery, then we should be alert to the slavery which still exists across the world to this day. There may be as many as 28 million to 49 million slaves in the world right now, who are in forced labor and forced marriages, and up to one quarter of these slaves are children. If there are any steps that we can take to actively engage in seeing people freed from slavery, we should take them.

———

Ok, let’s take a breath. I wouldn’t want us to ignore the problems with slavery, and that’s actually a pretty brief overview. We could go much deeper.

For now, before we move on, we might make an application already: We know that God is good in all ways and at all times, and if any misunderstanding threatens someone’s right admiration of God, we sometimes have to be willing to do some hard work in God’s word to project an accurately attractive picture of God.

But my fear with this type of discussion is that we might become so distracted as to miss the truly beneficial and critical instruction for all of us that the context and character of a bondservant provides.

What must we be sure not to miss in this bondservant discussion?

- The situation of slaves highlights godly living in difficult, constraining circumstances.

Paul is not saying something he thinks is easy: to be submissive in everything. Joyful submission is difficult in suffering. It’s even difficult simply when you don’t feel like submitting. Right attitude and behavior in submission is challenging when the one in authority over us holds all the cards… or even more-so if they are unkind, or selfish, or arrogant, or a poor leader, or disorganized, and so on. Or maybe they are a believer who has a lot of maturing to do. - I don’t think we can say with any certainty whether the master here in Titus 2 is a believer or not. If I had to guess, I would say many of them might not be. But even if they are believers, the instructions still apply (see also 1 Tim 6:2).

Or perhaps the situation in your case is just that you need the work (you need this job) and you don’t really love it and you don’t presently have a way out of it. Like bondservants in the Roman world, it highlights for us the right posture of submitting to God by submitting to present authorities over us with a right spirit and right integrity of behavior wherever and whenever that authority is not asking us to sin, or using us to promote sin, or sinning against us in ways that must not be allowed to continue. In such cases, we must pursue obedience to God rather than man, knowing full well that there may be consequences.

Whatever the situation, are we ready and willing to project an accurately attractive picture of our saving God by submitting in difficult, constraining circumstances?

According to verses 9 and 10a, what does this submission look like?

What does it look like to be a submissive, godly worker who projects an accurately attractive picture of the teaching about God?

Paul summarizes the submissive posture in these constraining circumstances with a list of four things: 2 positive and 2 negative, arranged in chiastic structure. Chiasmus is just a rhetorical device that deliberately runs like ABBA, or ABCCBA, depending on how complex. I’m only telling you here because I think it shows Paul is giving a couple of overarching ways to be submissive, with a negative example to the contrary for each. (Overarching positive posture, negative example to the contrary. Then negative example again of another overarching positive posture.)

Chiastic Structure: A1 B1 B2 A2 - Be well-pleasing; for example, don’t talk back. And don’t be stealing on the sly, but show all good faith (be loyal and trustworthy).

Aim to not just begrudgingly do what you are asked (or told), but aim to do that which is acceptable or pleasing to the one in authority over you. - Don’t do things to undermine the attractiveness of the saving God; instead work in such a way as to draw attention to his true worth and saving grace in your life. Because of your trust in God and that your ultimate goal is to please him, aim to do that which is acceptable or pleasing to the one in authority over you.

By contrast, we clearly don’t desire to please if we are “speaking against”—contradicting, complaining, arguing, mumbling, and gossiping about them or slandering them in their absence.  -How tempted are we to talk back, or to complain and talk badly about them when they’re not around?

And we must not pilfer (skimming in secret for ourselves), but show integrity and faithfulness with all that is entrusted to us. Go the extra mile to do “good.” -If you were a household slave with a lot of responsibility and quite a degree of freedom in it, would it not be tempting to sneak a little extra for yourself? …especially if you are storing away in hopes of purchasing your freedom?

You can imagine how it became a stereotype, fairly or unfairly, that many people in servitude were back-talkers and pilferers. Instead, as redeemed child of God, set apart to him, demonstrate a trustworthiness and loyalty in everything that shows the difference Jesus makes. - First of all, God notices (that’s number 1). And 2, don’t you think that such behavior will be noticed by the boss and by the other servants?

See, what this does, Paul says, is that…

- Such behavior gives an accurately attractive representation of what the Bible teaches about God.

(of what God’s word says about him) “so that in everything they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior.” I won’t belabor this because it is how we began and how we have framed the entire discussion of these verses.

But notice that the teaching about God is not limited to what we might call ‘the simple plan of salvation,’ but is all the truth about God revealed in his word… all of it leads us to know and understand that he is a good and saving God. - To have an accurate picture of God, we must view all of his word as consistent in its revelation of God.

- So too it is “in everything” that our lives are to be a reflection of what the Bible teaches about God, knowing that there is nothing in our lives outside the scope of the authority of this word that is all about our saving God. I encourage you to spend time thinking and praying about how you can make application to all areas of you life, asking how you can portray an accurate picture of God our Savior.

What do people think about God because of me, because of us, his people? One example is for Christians in MO to vote against Amendment 3 on November 5. What God says his healthy and good for the lives of individuals and families is actually what is good for everyone, even if they don’t claim to know God and follow Christ. You can and should say that it is not good for minors to be allowed to have abortions without parental consent, or allowing for kids and teens to be making decisions on their own about their gender dysphoria and desire for a sex change. You can and should say that abortion is not good: first because of the personhood of the child in the womb, but especially knowing this would allow late-term abortions when the unborn babies experience pain when they are put do death without the opportunity to continue living. And it’s right for you to say no, it isn’t good that we should pay for such things with our taxes, which are supposed to be for the GOOD of the governed. But since none of this is good, then we are fact being loving and kind to those who are wrong in their thinking, protecting them from themselves and voting no.

If we remain silent and do not go vote against this amendment, it will pass. Pray fervently over the next three weeks that Christians in particular will be motivated by God’s goodness and his truth to vote in MO to vote “no” on amendment three. 

In closing, consider that…

Conclusion: We must have an accurate understanding of the saving God to project his attractiveness with our lives.

The level of my love and trust in God corresponds to the degree to which I see him accurately (believing, savoring in his goodness).

The level of my faithful obedience corresponds to my knowledge of his commands and closeness in relationship to him. (And in our study of his word and obedience to his command, we will gain a yet greater appreciation for the goodness of God.)

May God help us to live in such a way that is faithful to God our Savior, that others may come to see and know through faith in Christ that God is all-sufficient and all-satisfying.

PRAY