Lesson 3
Behavior the Key to Life
Titus 2:1-15
May 10, 2015
In recent months we have seen the breakdown of society in ways I never would have conceived happening. The most recent example has been in Baltimore, Maryland where predominately young people have used an incident of the death of a man possibly at the hands of the police as an excuse to injure policemen and destroy property while the world watched. Lawless gangs have roamed the streets and baited the police to do anything as they hurled rocks and bottles at those mandated to protect the city from them.
One scene that has caught the attention of the nation was a mother accosting her son in public because of his participation in the rioting and looting. She has been praised for her actions. The question to be asked is why was she and hundreds of other parents not teaching their children the foundations of what it takes to be a good citizen before that moment. It comes down to the fact that without the training a child needs at a very young age then they will become the type of individuals we see on the streets of, you name the city, that has experienced the same kind of lawlessness.
In another way those who were involved in the Wall Street sit-ins sometime ago are of the same vein. They may have not destroyed property but the certainly were disruptive and had no regards for the rights of others to carry on their businesses without being harassed.
These are not cases of whether there are both parents, a single parent in the home or if the family is poor. There have many instances in which the parent has worked above all odds to keep the family together and led them to rise above the circumstances of the kind of life into which they were born. Dr. Ben Carson is an example of a person who became the noted pediatrician because his mother would not allow him to succumb to being a person with a victim mentality.
Families are the backbone of any society. When that unit breaks down then a nation will not last but so long without disintegrating into a world without regard for anyone or anything. The Bible is full of admonishments of the kind of life that we are to live that is pleasing to God and help us to have love and respect for others.
To say that the church is dependent on the family is an understatement. In Timothy and Titus both Paul indicated that the elder, and of course his wife, was to train up the children in such a way that they reflect favorably on their parents. Proper training includes teaching them the ways of God, which will lead to salvation and being a good citizen. The old saying, “God does not have any grandchildren,” shows how critical that each generation prepare the children to become leaders and ministers in the church.
In Titus 2 Paul gives the key not only to the behavior of those in the church but also the relationships that each is to have within the body. He leaves no age group out. It is also plain that he has a major concern about the way those in the family are to relate to each other.
Titus 2:1
As always is true the foundation for every life no matter the age or station is the Word of God. Paul is emphatic that the truth be proclaimed and taught to the church in Crete. Before anything else happens people must understand God’s standards.
- How is a person to know how to conduct himself? (By having a standard a moral basis upon which they can build a life.)
- What did Paul emphasize the teaching of sound doctrine? (Anything else will cause confusion in a person’s life and point them in the wrong direction.)
- What did Paul consider sound doctrine? (The message of the gospel.)
- What did you view as sound teaching?
- Where is it found?
- How has the teaching you have received impacted the way you view life?
Titus 2:2
Once Paul had established the foundation upon which a person was to base his life he began to flesh out what it would look like in the diversity of people found in the body of Christ. He began with the older men in the church. Most likely they did hold the position of elder, but were those who were at least middle age and had possibly already raised a family. Of course one would hope that they would set the standard for the behavior of others. Paul noted that those men were to display certain character qualities. They included being
- They were to be sober which in this case might carry a twofold meaning. He may have been speaking of the opposite of being literally drunk. The word could also have been used in a figurative way. Paul was calling on the men to be clear minded therefore having the ability to make wise decisions.
- He was to be worthy of respect. Their actions were not to be frivolous or silly.
- Sensible or self controlled.
- Sound in faith. Paul had already spoken of holding to sound doctrine in the first verse of this chapter. The faith described here, like love and perseverance, was personal in nature, established on the firm footing of the gospel.
- Sound in love. His life should express God’s kind of love found in the word agape.
- Sound in perseverance. It was an endurance of hope that should be on display to the world.
- Why was it important for older men to have the qualities mentioned in this verse?
- Who were those considered to be in this category?
- What qualities do you want to see in the older men in our church?
- How well do these qualities mentioned by Paul fit our society today?
- What is the source of these qualities?
Titus 2:3
Paul then turns to the older women of the church. He wrote, the qualities found here are specifically identifiable with the role women were to play in the life of the church and society. The things mentioned here did not lessen the equal status that women held in the eyes of God but their unique roles. Older women were to be
- It was attitude appropriate to the service to God.
- Not to be malicious gossips. This has been address elsewhere.
- Not enslaved to too much wine. They like the men were to be sober-minded.
- Teachers of good especially to younger women.
- How are the roles for women in the body of Christ different than those of the men of the church?
- Why was it so important to be reverent? (A person’s lifestyle affects the way others approach God.)
- Why did Paul admonish the women not to be involved in gossip?
Titus 2:4-5
Proper mentoring by godly women would encourage the younger women to:
- Love their husbands and children.
- Be sensible.
- Be pure.
- Be Workers at home. (It was the responsibility of the women to provide the stability in the home on a daily basis.)
- Be kind
- Be subject or submission to her own husband. (It is to honor and respect the husband as the spiritual head of the family.)
All of this was to be done so that God’s name would be honored among all the people.
- What does the mentoring of younger women mean for the church?
- Why is the role of a younger woman so important? (It provides for the stability of the family and therefore the church.)
- What does being subject to husbands really mean?
- What does having these qualities ultimately mean? (God is honored when we are truly godly people.)
Titus 2:6-8
The next generation of church leaders were admonished by Paul to:
- Be sensible
- Be doers of good deeds
- Keep themselves pure in regard to the teachings of God’s word. See Psalm 119:9.
- Be dignified
- Be sound in speech. Possibly meant to have the ability to present the gospel in a clear and concise manner that no one could dispute or undermine. This took preparation of heart and mind as he spent time in God’s word. No one can present what he does not know.
If a young man lives in this manner those who oppose his godly lifestyle will be put to shame. They will have no grounds to criticize what he says or does.
- Why is it so important to train up a young man in the ways of the Lord? (They are the next generation of disciples and leaders in the church.)
- How is a young man to know the way he is to live?
- What is the best way to quiet your enemies? (By living out a godly life.)
- As a young person how are you fulfilling these words of encouragement from Paul?
- In what ways are these words still applicable for today?
Titus 2:9-10
In the early church there was a mixture of those who had slaves and the slaves themselves. Paul commanded the slaves not to take advantage of the relationship with Christ as they served their masters on a day-to-day basis. If anything they were to be more conscientious than those who were not believers. Some of the ways they were to conduct themselves included obedience and honesty. By their actions they would show they were people of faith holding to the teachings of the gospel.
- What was the makeup of the early church? (All classes of people.)
- What problems could this situation have presented in the body? (Slaves taking advantage of their new found equality with their masters.)
- What did Paul admonish the slaves to do to keep the church being full of dissension?
- How can we handle differences in the church today with so many different types of people in attendance?
- How would you handle the situation if you worked for a fellow believer who is also your boss?
Titus 2:11-14
Paul wanted to remind Titus once again the reason for his letter. Salvation had come to the earth by way of the grace of God. It had been made available to all men. Only those who were willing to leave godly lives of course could accept that fact. A follower of Christ therefore was to live a life that was lived:
- Sensibly
- Righteously
- Godly
In the time in which they were living.
They were to look for that time when hope was fulfilled by the appearing of Jesus Christ who provided the redemption for each one who was guilty of lawless deeds. This saving power purified those who believed in order that they would become his prized possession. They were to show that they were His by being zealous in the performance of good deeds.
- Of what did Paul want to remind Titus? (Grace had been provided to all mankind.)
- What was to occur in a person’s life to show that he understood what God was doing in the world? (He was to turn his back on ungodly and worldly desires.)
- How was he then to live having done what God required? (Live sensibly, righteously and godly in the time he has on the earth.)
- What is the future hope that all believers have? (That Jesus is going to return for them and make them his own.)
- What did Christ do to guarantee that was going to happen? (He gave Himself for us to redeem us.)
- From what do we need to be saved?
Titus 2:15
Paul wanted Titus to share these instructions with everyone who would listen. As was seen in 2 Timothy God’s word is good for:
- Encouragement
- Reproof: Criticism of one living in sin.
- How can we use this book in instructing people how to live?
- Who is to hear it? (Even those who may not want to hear its message.)
- How are they to be used? (To encourage and call attention to one’s sins.)
- Why do we not carry out church discipline any longer?
- Remember the next generation can be no better than what they learn from the adults in their lives.
- Do all you can do to train up the children in the way they should go.
- Look at each different group that is found in the life of the church as see the qualities that Paul identify for each of you.
- Notice that the one quality that Paul shard about each person was to be sensible. You are to be self-controlled in all of your speech and actions.
- Remember the church is diverse and it takes each of you make it the place from which God’s kingdom is carried out into the world.
Every one of us comes from different family backgrounds. We have to learn that it is not our origin that counts but what we make of the life God has given us. Some of you have had to overcome very difficult circumstances but have not let that fact hold you back. You have used that training ground as a means to help others who find themselves in similar situations. Jesus took twelve men and built eleven of them into a team that impacted the known world with the gospel. Barnabas sought out a man who had once been a persecutor of the church and took him to Antioch because he believed Saul had something to share. That same Saul who became Paul selected people from both the Jewish community and the Gentile world and molded them into those he could trust to lead churches founded in places like Ephesus and Crete. That line has not ended has people have risen from every place around the world to help God’s kingdom to grow. They have come from rich and poor families. The one thing in common they have had that has helped the church to grow is to look beyond themselves because of their love for Christ and His people. We are now part of the present and future based on what they have done. We must not allow the society around us that is falling apart to keep us from helping to continue to build God’s family and our own.