gospel

Titus 3:12-15, Grace for All of It!

/ Melissa / Leave a comment

All by grace, and grace for all!

  1. Grace for sending and going (v. 12-13)
  2. Grace for staying and serving (v. 13-14)
  3. Grace for greeting and loving (v. 15)

Grace: “of the merciful kindness by which God, exerting His holy influence upon souls, strengthens, increases them in Christian faith, knowledge, affection, and kindles them to the exercise of Christian virtues” (Strongs).

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I’m old enough to remember a world without internet, without cell phones, or social media. I remember the first time I logged into Prodigy (pre-internet) and was allowed to have a pen pal from overseas. It was amazing to have a letter back in days instead of waiting weeks (or months) for snail mail to arrive and return. I remember when we upgraded to AOL and the “You’ve Got Mail” era. I can’t imagine what the mail system in Paul’s days might have been like, but they had to plan ahead a LOT better! God built the desire to be connected into us when He created us, and you do what you have to do to stay connected to the ones you love.

Do you remember those world wide web map images? You know the ones where major cities are lit up and connected by jumping arcs? This is the image of the gospel network that that I have in my head as I read these closing verses. We see sending and going, staying and serving, greeting and loving. It’s all by grace! And there’s grace for all of it! God’s grace is lived out as we devote ourselves to God and to good works. Devoting ourselves to good works is the theme of this text (or the whole chapter); in many ways, it’s the theme of the whole letter. Yet, another theme emerges that ties it all together: Grace. So we’re going to look at how grace is connected to each aspect of Paul’s closing remarks.

But first, we have to define grace. When I say, “There’s grace for all of it,” I want to be clear we are NOT using this word as an excuse for failure or a defense to neglect good works; we don’t get to ignore God’s commands and then say, “Well, there’s grace for that.” Grace certainly includes forgiveness for sin and failures, but it’s much more than that. I wrote out the Strong’s Concordance definition on the board because I think it encompasses the full riches of God’s grace really well: Grace: “of [or related to] the merciful kindness by which God, exerting His holy influence upon souls, strengthens, increases them in Christian faith, knowledge, affection, and kindles them to the exercise of Christian virtues.” Or a condensed version, “to be committed or commended to the protecting and helping favor of God.” Grace is not only God’s salvation and forgiveness (God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense), but also His empowering strength to do what He calls us to do.

I copied a map of Paul’s missionary journeys from the back of my Bible, then I drew lines for Paul’s letters (where he was and where the letters were sent to). [show map] Imagine if we were to add more lines for Titus’ travels, then Timothy’s, then each of the other travelers and apostles that went out, just like Paul did. Then you add each of the saints’ lives and ministries, through the years and centuries.

Transition: The gospel gives birth to this beautiful network of gospel servants. Let’s take a sneak peek into the lives of those mentioned here, and God’s…

I. Grace for Sending and Going

    Titus 3:12 “When I [Paul] send Artemas or Tychicus to you [Titus], do your best to come to me at Nicopolis, for I have decided to spend the winter there. 13 Do your best to speed Zenas the lawyer and Apollos on their way; see that they lack nothing.”

    We have to start with “Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the sake of the faith of God’s elect … By the command of God our Savior, who entrusted and commanded Paul to preach the gospel abroad to the Gentiles, bringing them … Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior”(Titus 1).

    Paul had vision and had to make a lot of decisions that involved a lot of peoples’ lives! God transformed his zeal from persecutor of the church to passionate proclaimer of Christ. In many of his letters, Paul writes of various men and women as co-laborers, partners, fellow ministers, beloved brothers, and so on. When Paul said, “Go there” or “Come here,” his partners listened. They had a common goal—to tell the world about Jesus. By grace and through the Spirit’s power and guidance, Paul became a logistics coordinator. He made plans, but he held those plans loosely in order to follow the Spirit’s direction.

    In this text, we see Paul having made the decision to spend the winter in Nicopolis, on the West Coast of Greece. He wants Titus to finish this task of organizing and setting up the elders in the churches on Crete and sail to Nicopolis before winter hits. Titus was given a deadline, and it came with significance. Paul knew from experience that sailing in this area in wintertime was dangerous that time of year. Acts 27-28 recounts Paul urging sailors not to leave Crete, being ignored, setting sail, and ending up shipwrecked in Malta.

    Nicopolis means “Victory City!” What a base! A city that was created to boast Augustus’ victory over Marc Antony in the first century was now being used as a gospel headquarters, likely to debrief and train Titus and others on how to share the victory of Christ over the curse. This was a chance for one-on-one discipleship, exhortation, and even refreshment in the Word.

    Application: We all make multiple decisions every day—I’m sure Paul understood “decision fatigue” well! There’s grace for that too! Strength from God to do whatever He calls us to do. As we walk in the Spirit, we can make decisions, being confident that God’s grace is sufficient for each one, from what color of curtains might reflect the beauty of the gospel in our homes to what city we should be living in to “spread the unsearchable riches of Christ broader in the world and deeper in the church.” Decisions about what activities to participate in; how busy will you allow your family calendar to be? Decisions about menus and bills, doctors and care plans, schooling and jobs. There is grace for big and small decisions, and we can rest in God for all of it!

    Maybe you’re in a season of traveling—either for work or for caring for family members. We’ve been there. The drive between Greenville and Ohio is familiar and not short! God’s grace is there for every mile. I wonder if Paul had Ezra and Nehemiah in mind during his travels; these books reference “the hand of our God upon” His people at least 8x. In Ezra 8, Ezra is getting ready to return to Jerusalem from exile with a group of Israelites; he begins his journey by proclaiming a fast and praying: “that we might humble ourselves before our God, to seek from him a safe journey for ourselves, our children, and all our goods.” Why? He had told the king, “The hand of our God is for good on all who seek him.” He didn’t want to ask the king for protection because he wanted the king to see God’s rescuing hand on the people, and God listened and delivered them from ambushes on the way! When Nehemiah recounted “the hand of my God that had been upon me for good,” the people responded by strengthening their hands for the good work of rebuilding! “Let us rise up and build!” (Neh.2:18). God’s good hand of grace is on ALL those who seek Him, and He uses testimonies of that grace to strengthen our hands for good works.

    Next, we look at Titus. Titus did the good work God thru Paul had called him to do. And now it was time for him to say goodbye. You know, I’m sure a lot of these believers truly loved Titus as a spiritual father and brother. Seeing him leave would have been very hard. Being told that someone else will be taking Titus’ place, and that they would need to submit to new eldership, was probably hard news. Thankfully, God gives Grace for Transitions!

    Paul said he would send Artemus and/or Tychicus, so one or both would be replacing Titus. Now, Artemus is not mentioned anywhere else in Scripture, though tradition lists him as one of the 72 disciples that Jesus sent out in Luke 10, which just heard preached these last two Sundays! Tychicus we know more about—He was Asian and worked with Trophimus and Onesimus; he waited for Paul in Troas with a group of coworkers (in fact, he was likely in the room when Eutychus fell out of the window and was brought back to life by God through Paul in Acts 20). Paul referred to Tychicus as a “dear brother and faithful servant in the Lord” And in both Ephesians and Philippians, Paul is clear that Tychicus was an encourager. So, he wasn’t leaving the church stranded. He was sending faithful men to continue the gospel work.

    God does this today too. Sometimes, you’re the one actively moving on. More often, you’re on the passive end of seeing others being moved on. But regardless of who is moving (or being moved, rather), there is grace for transitions. When your elder changes—whether they step down from being an elder or move to a different state or ministry, or when you change shepherding groups and the elder assigned to you or your family is new, how do you respond? Each shepherding group has its own dynamic, and every elder has his own personality. We can respond humbly and submit ourselves willingly to all of our elders. In fact, we must! Discipleship is part of sanctification, and even these changes are sovereignly ordained to grow us.

    Life is full of transitions, and they often involve sorrow, and even deep grief. But there is Grace for developing a Gospel Perspective about this, a heavenly perspective, about God’s sovereignty. Ultimately, God is the One actively moving His people where He will, and we get to see it and grow in grace because of it. I think some of the people in Crete probably felt about Titus like my son (and some of your kids) felt when the Farmers and Hansens left this last time. He came to the car after their last game of Gaga ball and said, “Well, I said goodbye,” and promptly burst into tears. Transitions are hard, but God’s grace gives us an eternal perspective. This life is short, and we must stay on mission for His Kingdom. We remind ourselves that one day, all of us in the faith will be together again, in Heaven, and we will never run out of time. There is grace for loving each other in separate corners of the world and longing to see each other again. And there’s grace to be faithful wherever God sends you or plants you.

    Next, we meet Zenas and Apollos.

    v13,”Do your best to speed Zenas the lawyer and Apollos on their way; see that they lack nothing.”

    This is the second time we’ve seen the phrase, “Do your best.” It has the idea of being diligent, or “make every effort.” We must recognize our best still demands God’s grace! It’s not a demand for perfection. Only Jesus, our Good Shepherd, can truly see that we lack nothing (Psalm 23). But the Lord graciously allows us to be used in this ministry to one another.

    Now, this pair is likely the ones carrying the letter, and they probably had other letters from Paul to deliver to other cities. So it’s important they have what they need to keep on mission. They don’t have time to be distracted. All we know of Zenas is what we see in this verse: he’s a lawyer—either he was an expert in Jewish law OR an expert in Roman law, since the Cretans were devoted not only to Jewish myths, but also human (Roman) laws (1:14).

    Apollos, on the other hand, is a fairly well-known teacher of God’s Word. It’s possible they would not have only carried the letters but also been the ones to read them aloud in the church gatherings. This makes sense to me, when you read Acts 18. Apollos has a vast knowledge of the OT, is a bold teacher, a humble disciple, and he has experience refuting Jewish opponents in Achaia, proving thru debate that Jesus is the Messiah; this makes him a good candidate for refuting Jewish myths in Crete as well. His ministry was evidently so fruitful that the church began to divide—“I am of Apollos; I am of Paul” (1 Cor. 1:12; 3:4-9, 21-23).

    The fact that these two men were paired up seems intentional to me. It’s almost as if Paul is modeling this older and younger mentorship that he’s commanding the church in Crete to practice even in his choice of letter carriers. Or maybe they were paired up to refute both Roman and Jewish false teachers. Whatever the reason, Titus was told to show these two men hospitality: you, Titus, make every effort to get them back on the road; give them whatever they need—clothes, a bed, food, encouragement. Titus had a chance to model hospitality in front of the church by how he treated these mission partners.

    Transition: Along those lines, we come to our next point. Now, it’s the church’s chance to practice hospitality and the Spirit’s fruit of good works too. While the leaders were transitioning, the people didn’t have that option. So, God gave

    II. Grace for Staying and Serving

      v14,“And let our people learn to devote themselves to good works, so as to help cases of urgent need, and not be unfruitful.”

      Our people are those with a common faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, and a common love for one another. The NIV says, “Our people must learn to be devoted to good works.” Learning implies being taught. This connects us back to the instruction and rebuke of the elders (1:9-10), of the older men and women (2:1-6), and ultimately, the training of our good God and Savior Jesus Christ (2:12). It means we’re not going to get it right initially, or independently, or even intuitively. We have to grow in this. We’re not born knowing how to be good. One, it’s a work of the Spirit to regenerate us—giving us faith and new life. And then it’s a work of the Spirit to train us to renounce ungodliness and grow in being zealous for good works. This takes time! And consistent reminders.  

      We need each other and we need the Word—which is “breathed out by God Himself and profitable for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness, that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” (2 Tim. 3:16-17). We need the Church, working together as God intended it. It means we’re going to mess up—a lot! And we’re going to have to learn repentance and forgiveness. It’s not an overnight process, but a lifelong one. Thankfully, there is grace for all of it! Grace to give and receive correction; grace to repent and to forgive; grace for learning and devoting.

      Next, we see grace for good works. Especially, good works that meet urgent needs. Who is in urgent need around you? Keep your eyes and ears open. Who is caring for sick kids or aging parents? Who are the widows or foster parents? Our shepherding groups and elder communities are set up in a way to be the first line of support on these immediate needs. And if you have an immediate need (or concern), the first people you should call is your elder and shepherding group leader. We have to be aware of needs in order to try to meet them. And God’s grace is sufficient to meet all of our needs.

      God’s grace is also there for when others are better suited to meet those needs. We are not going to be able to meet every need we hear about. While some of us need to be encouraged to be more aware and active, others of us need to learn to set up boundaries. None of us are the Savior; there is only one of those—and His name is Jesus. And by His grace, He saved us and trains us to do these good works. If you’re not sure how to set those boundaries, this would be a great conversation to have with your elder or elder’s wife, your shepherding group, or some women who you know are serving the church well but also don’t seem completely overwhelmed. This is part of that learning to devote ourselves. We want to be profitable and productive in the good works God has created for us to do (Eph. 2:10).

      In order to be devoted to good works, we must first be devoted to the One who created them. Even though the emphasis of the chapter is on good works, our works do not save us; God saved us by His good kindness and mercy, and He is the One causing us to obey and live godly lives, filled with the fruit of good works for God’s glory and mankind’s good.

      Devotion to God produces devotion to God’s people. We must first be devoted to God, and then He works in us to learn to be devoted to God’s people. And we do the good works He designed for us to do. My good works are not for you to do; and your good works are not for me to do. But we do have to actually do them. This word “good,” describing our works, means “beautiful,” and that’s what the body working together is–it’s beautiful!

      What are these good works? A lot of them are not grand or great, but the routine and regular sacrifice and service of daily life. Good works like the ones we’ve discussed all thru this letter. Let’s review…

      Chapter 1:

      • Paul’s teaching for the furtherance of the faith of the elect was a good work, which led to others’ good works, including ours! (3)
      • Titus’ good works include putting the church in order, appointing elders (5).
      • The elders’ good works include loving their families, being hospitable, living self-controlled, disciplined lives, by holding firm to the Word, and instructing and rebuking those in the church, and refuting false teachers (8-16).

      Chapter 2:

      • We see the good work of teaching older ones in the church, modeling good works and self-control (1-10).
      • The older men’s good works include acting their age and exhibiting self-control by having healthy faith, love, and steadfastness (2).
      • Likewise, the older women’s good works are exercising reverent behavior, controlling their tongues, managing their homes well, loving their families, submitting to their husbands, and training the younger women to do the same (3-5).
      • The younger men’s good works involve self-control in all circumstances (6).
      • The bondservants’ good works are to serve their masters well, adorning the gem of the gospel to shine brightly to their masters and everyone watching their acts of service (9-10).
      • Renouncing ungodliness and worldly passions is a good work; training for self-controlled godliness is a good work (12).
      • Actively waiting for Jesus to come back is a good work (13).

      Chapter 3:

      • Reminding one another to be obedient and gentle and ready for good works is in itself a good work (1-2).
      • Giving the gospel is a good work, going and coming, sending and staying, all of it is part of God’s network of good works that brings Him glory and meets the needs of God’s people (12-14). This is profitable, helpful, useful, and worthy good works.
      • And learning to be devoted is a good work (14).

      Every one of these good works is done by grace. And the product is fruitfulness. We saw this last week in verse 8; after talking about the grace of God’s salvation, Paul writes, “The saying is trustworthy, and I want you to insist on these things (stress these points)….” Why? “…so that those who have believed in God may be careful to devote themselves to good works. These things are excellent and profitable for people.” So, having a fruitful life of good works requires practice, patience, humility, discernment, teachability; it requires reaching out to ask if there is a need, and reaching out when you’re the one in need.

      TRANSITION: Speaking of reaching out, let’s read our final verse, as we see…

      III. Grace for Greetings and Loving

        v.15, “All who are with me send greetings to you. Greet those who love us in the faith. Grace be with you all.“

        Greetings were a significant part of Greco-Roman culture. They often included a physical embrace or kiss on the cheek, and it signaled to anyone watching an expression of peace, concern, and respect. It wasn’t just a polite formality, but a joyful reception, a happy hospitality and mutual affection. The word “Greet” occurs 60x in the NT, in nearly every book! We see the greetings going both ways, first from Paul and “all who are with him” to “Titus”; this “you” is singular! It was likely meant to be a personal encouragement to Titus in this very challenging assignment he had been given on Crete.

        Application: Our elders need this same encouragement. I thought it might be a fitting way to end this study by having us each write a letter to our elder, so I brought some cards in the back that you can pick from (or maybe you have a card at home). Tell him how you are praying for him, how he can pray for you, and how God has been at work in you thru His Word, either from Titus or Luke, or elsewhere. Bring that card back next week for our final session, and I think it would be amazing to leave a basket of notes to our elders on the table at their next elders’ meeting.  😉 Let’s greet our elders with encouragement as Paul did Titus.

        Next, the greetings broaden to “all those who love us in the faith.” Even in this greeting, Paul was instructing Titus to only greet those who were actually joined in the faith and loving Paul and the body of Christ by being devoted to God and good works.

        Faith is always a gift of God! It is God’s divine persuasion in His people that Who He has revealed Himself to be is true and trustworthy. We cannot muster up even one ounce of faith; it is 100% a work of grace by the Spirit of God. Furthering this faith was the whole reason God called Paul to be an apostle! I praise God that my faith has been furthered by this letter to Titus. I have been challenged and convicted, encouraged, refreshed; and I have to believe that the Church at Crete experienced all these same things as a result of this letter.

        In fact, as their faith grew, so did their love for one another; this love is once again phileo—the same love that we are to have for our husbands and children (2:4) and that God had for mankind (3:4) when He appeared to save us. And it is precisely because of God’s love for us that we can love one another. “Love” is present tense, so it’s an ongoing love. God’s grace grows mutual affection for one another, despite differences of backgrounds and personalities, preferences, ages, genders, nationalities. By God’s grace, He unites us as one body with Himself! “Our people” are “God’s own people” (3:14; 2:14).

        CONCLUSION: We opened the letter with “Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior” (1:4). In chapter two, “the grace of God… appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us” to adorn the gospel by clinging to sound doctrine and living in a way that fits with that sound doctrine. And in chapter three, it is “by His grace” that we are “justified,” becoming “heirs according to the hope of eternal life.” Now, we close this letter with “Grace be with you all.”  

        How big is this grace and love in faith? There’s grace enough that the very saints Saul persecuted and killed welcomed the apostle Paul as their beloved brother as he entered Heaven’s gates. That’s the grace of the gospel!

        By grace, He allows each of our gospel interactions to be added to this gospel network map that we talked about at the beginning (our letters and phone calls, texts and person-to-person gatherings). Each of our lives are woven together with one another, interconnected by grace and for the gospel’s furtherance. Paul’s purpose is our purpose too. God is positioning to share the grace of Jesus with the world, as we continue to learn to devote ourselves to good works by His Grace. All by Grace, and Grace for All. There is grace for all of it!

        Let’s Sing of that Amazing Grace now…

        “Amazing grace, how sweet the sound
        That saved a wretch like me
        I once was lost, but now I’m found
        Was blind, but now I see.

        “T’was grace that taught my heart to fear
        And grace my fears relieved
        How precious did that grace appear
        The hour I first believed.

        “Through many dangers, toils, and snares
        I have already come
        T’was grace that brought me safe thus far
        And grace will lead me home.

        “When we’ve been there ten thousand years
        Bright shining as the sun
        We’ve no less days to sing God’s praise
        Than when we first begun.”

        Let’s pray. God of Grace, We cannot even begin to comprehend this marvelous, merciful, matchless grace. And yet, You richly and freely pour it out upon us—in salvation, and every day after! Grace for travelers, coming and going; grace for staying and serving; grace for seasons and decisions; grace for hospitality; grace for seeing and meeting needs (especially urgent ones); and grace for the needs we’re not able to meet; grace for learning and devoting our lives to doing good; grace for greetings. We praise You, God, that there is grace for all of it, all along the way! As we wait for Your glorious appearing, may we be zealous of Your good works, walking by faith in the precious redeeming blood of Your Son, In Whose Name we pray, Amen.

        Titus 2:1-10, Adoring God and Adorning the Gospel

        / Melissa / Leave a comment

        The title of our Titus study is Living the Truth: Belief and Behavior that Adorn the Gospel. That word “adorn” comes from this week’s text in Titus 2:1-10. Verse 10 says, “that in everything they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior.” It’s one of several purpose statements in this section, but it captures the essence of all of them. The word “adorn” in Greek is “kosmeo”—the same word we get “cosmetics” from. It’s the idea of putting in order or arranging in a way that makes it more beautiful or attractive. And that is God’s intent even as He calls Titus to put the church in order—that the doctrine of God might be beautiful and attractive to those who see it lived out.

        The female body is considered the most beautiful and by far the most painted, sculpted, and sketched subject in all of human history. And yet, we spend countless hours, great effort and expense adorning our bodies, trying to make them more attractive. We do this on a regular basis, but I want us to think of the image of a bride getting ready for her wedding day. She wants every detail to be perfect. Think of the care it takes to fashion a wedding gown or veil. Many of these are still sewn by hand, adding to their intricacy, value, and beauty. And that’s just the dress—there’s makeup and hair and nails, flowers and rings. All kinds of ways that the bride is adorned. This is what Jesus is doing for us, by His grace. He’s preparing His bride by arranging the Church in an order that makes it so beautiful—to God and to man. And at the same time, we adorn the doctrine of God our Savior—the gospel—the good news that Jesus came to rescue us from our sins and transform us by His grace. It’s the good news that Jesus is coming again to share His glory with His purified people.

        But as we wait for the glorious hope, we cling to this gospel—doctrine—the teachings of Jesus and His prophets and apostles, the elders of His Church—on Who He is, and how to follow Him. The gospel is beautiful. In fact, it cannot BE more beautiful; YET it can be displayed as either dull or dazzling. So, we adorn this gospel. How? We adorn the gospel by how we speak and how we live.

        Main Idea: Our words and walk must reflect the worth of the Word of God.

        I want us to see this passage, not as a list, but as one big idea: God’s word is valuable. And if that big idea is true, then how we speak and how we live matters because it reveals what we value.

        I want you to feel the sweet mentoring tone in this section. Paul speaks as a loving father to his son, who is becoming a father. And it’s like we get a little glimpse into the spiritual delivery room, as Titus looks down at these little infant churches, newly in his care, and then quickly looks up at Paul, as if to ask, “What do I do now? How in the world am I supposed to teach them how to be mature, responsible human beings?!” And Paul smiles at him, and puts his arm around him, and says, “Ok, son, this is what you’re gonna say.”

        Our words and walk must reflect the worth of the Word of God. We’ll come back and look at our words and our walk. But first, we have to get a grasp of

        I. The Worth of the Word of God. Adoring God and His Word.

          V1: “But as for you [Titus, in stark contrast to the false teachers from last week], teach what accords with sound doctrine.” This word “teach” is literally “keep speaking.” And what is Titus supposed to keep on the tip of his tongue? Everything that fits with sound doctrine—this is healthy teaching and practices for healthy souls. If it’s consistent with Scripture, keep saying it; if not, don’t. It’s that simple.

          V5: “that the word of God many not be reviled.” We value the word of God too much to live in a way that would allow someone to speak spitefully or disrespectfully of God.

          V8: we have “sound speech” (logos, literally “healthy words). And we have another “so that”—“so that an opponent may be put to shame, having nothing evil to say (lit., no evil word) about us.”

          Finally, in v. 10, we see “so that in everything they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior.”

          As Titus speaks to the people in the churches, he’s not just preparing the elders, but in reality, the whole household of God, to live out the gospel appropriately and attractively. As they did this—as WE do this—instead of households being led astray, our faith will be furthered, our knowledge of the truth will grow, and we will live in a way that is fully pleasing to the Lord. We’ll be accomplishing those good works that God created for us to do before He even created us (Eph. 2:10).

          II. The Words and Walk of God’s People. Adorning the Gospel.

            I love the familial language in this passage—God intentionally designed the Church to work like a well-managed household. Within a household, there are roles and duties. And you don’t get to choose which role you serve in; it’s assigned; these are God-ordained roles. There’s a male father, a female mother, children (young men, young women), and possibly some household help. Each person has a purpose and specific ways in which he or she contributes to that household. And remember, I said our one big idea for today is that God’s word is valuable. So, we want to look specifically at how each of these roles reflects the value they place on God’s word. How we live (our “orthopraxy” or our practices) directly results from what we believe (our “orthodoxy” or doctrine).

            A. Older Men, v2 “Older men are to be sober-minded, dignified, self-controlled, sound in faith, in love, and in steadfastness.”

            1. They’re serious, respectable, and mature. They act their age. We want to be around men who have proven themselves in how they think, how they speak, and how they act; men who have lived long enough to stand in awe of God and know He’s worthy of respect.
            2. Sound in faith, in love, and in steadfastness. Older men have learned true, healthy doctrine—their faith clings to truth, and they pass that on to the younger generation, just like Paul did to Titus. They have a healthy love for the people of God. They’ve learned to use their spiritual gifts in the body by having an agape love that is patient and kind, not envious or boastful, self-sacrificing and rejoicing in the truth. And they’re sound in steadfastness—they have a hopeful endurance about them. They’re neither grumpy old men nor simply sentimental. They’ve weathered the storms of life and their spiritual skins have grown thick, still holding to the anchor of Jesus as their hope.

            B. Younger Men

            While we’re talking about men, let’s jump down to vv. 6-8. “Likewise, urge the younger men to be self-controlled. Show yourself in all respects to be a model of good works, and in your teaching show integrity, dignity, and sound speech that cannot be condemned, so that an opponent may be put to shame, having nothing evil to say about us.”

            This section is short and sweet. As a boy mom, with 3 boys, I completely get why the one thing Paul tells Titus to teach the young ones is self-control in all things. But what I love here is how? “urge” or “encourage” ; ‘parakaleo’ means coming alongside; it’s a word used of the Holy Spirit, our “Comforter,” the one who “calls us close.” It’s this arm around the shoulder, side by side, encouraging mentorship going on. It’s John Gardner, taking my son aside at a funeral and asking him, “Do you see your mom’s sad? How can you help her? Are you being respectful?” It’s my dad, looking around and inviting men he knows to gather around his kitchen table and talk about a book of the Bible. When an older man calls a younger man to come alongside and learn self-control from him, and the younger man listens, and learns, that’s reflecting he values the Word of God.

            And Titus does this by modeling it. It’s not just words, it’s that life on life discipleship. Titus is told to mirror Christ in his good works and in his teaching… he’s to show integrity, dignity [seriousness], and sound speech that cannot be condemned.  “Follow me as I follow Christ” (1 Cor. 11:1). Who else uses selfie mode on your phone’s camera as a mirror? As we adorn the gospel, reflecting its beauty, what kind of mirror are we using? A compact mirror or a full-length version? What if we used the word of God like that? Would our teaching and tongue and tone reflect a beautiful gospel? Or does it look like a distorted mirror in a funhouse?

            C. Older (and Younger) Women

            Okay, so I want us to look at this text as one chunk to the older women. This is how Calvin saw this passage, based on the “to be” phrase throughout. It’s a grammar thing, and I think it makes sense because in order to train the younger women, the older women would have had to learn and practice the whole list first. And younger women, that means this whole list is for you too, as you train to become older women in the body of Christ.

            v. 3-5, “Older women likewise are:

            • to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine.
            • to be teachers of what is good, and so train the young women
            • to be lovers of their husbands
            • to be lovers of their children, 
            • to be self-controlled,
            • to be pure,
            • to be working at home,
            • to be kind, and
            • to be submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled. 

            Let’s look at a few key ideas here and how the way these women live adorns the gospel.

            • To be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine.

            Reverent has the idea of “befitting a holy person or thing,” like a priestess in the temple—I have the image of Anna in the temple when she sees baby Jesus for the first time; she’s waited her whole life for her Savior, and she recognizes Him when He comes. Reverent has the idea of someone in the presence of God. She lives in the Word of God, letting it sink down deep, and then she submits herself to it and is changed by it! And she glows with the glory of God, living like she was on that mountain with Moses, her face shines. I want to be that kind of woman. Don’t you? Let’s practice the presence of God. This isn’t just studying God’s Word. You can go to all the Bible studies in the world, but if you’re not willing to submit yourself to what God says to do, your life shows that you don’t actually value God.

            Older men and older women are both told to be “sober-minded” or “not given to much wine.” These ideas are parallel. The reality is, the greater the age, the greater the aches and pains. Wine would have been what they had to ease their pain—physically and even life’s heartaches. [Psalm 104:15 tells us the LORD gave “wine to gladden the heart of man.”] Even a good gift can be abused though. The culture around them (and let’s be honest, around us too) gives into one more glass and one more glass, and as their bodies loosen up, so do their tongues. And they begin to speak maliciously—gossiping, putting others down. This word “slanderers” is “diabolous” (accuser, the same word used of the devil himself). As Christ followers, our words and conduct reveal who we are serving and what wisdom we are following—we are to be servants of God not wine—and our speech is to reflect heavenly wisdom, not devilish.

            • To be teachers of good and this teaching has a focus—SO THAT they can train the younger women.

            This is not calling every older woman to lead women’s Bible study! (Some of you are relieved by that.) In fact, there wasn’t a formal lecture or classroom setting available to them. This isn’t necessarily deep theological training. This is the practical life stuff, and a lot of this is domestic. How in the world do I get that stain out? How do you get your bread to rise so beautifully? How do I figure out what my priorities need to be? It’s personal, one-on-one discipleship. If you don’t have a spiritual mom or grandma in this church, look around this room, your small group, your shepherding group, and think, “Who do I want to be like when I grow up?” Invite her over for coffee. Older ladies, you do the same, “She reminds me of me when I was her age. What would I tell my younger self?” Invite her over for tea. Dig in the garden, bake bread, play with the kids. Just do it together. And talk about Jesus while you do it.

            This training word literally means, “to make of sound mind” or “restore to one’s senses.” This is helping someone hold to their duties, admonishing, earnestly exhorting, curbing our affections. This is discipleship! We need one another to help us think rightly! Don’t get me wrong, we need the weekly teaching and preaching of our elders, but God designed us to need discipleship too. This is a special role reserved for the older women of the faith. [Several commentaries actually said that one reason this kind of instruction was to be given thru the older women instead of thru the elders was actually to protect both parties from forming attachments that could lead to sinful relationships and harm the gospel. Every church needs mature women in the faith to do this.] As we age, we never retire from usefulness in the church. If anything, it’s the exact opposite. As we mature in the faith, our role is not just useful but essential, critical to the life of the body. This is what you’ve trained for—to train the younger women!

            • V.5-6, We’re called to be lovers: husband-lovers, children-lovers, home-lovers

            Notice, it doesn’t say the women have to be married; it’s that same mentality we saw with the elders—their values about marriage reflect biblical teaching: one man, one woman,  faithful till death. If you’re married, notice the order here…our husbands come first, before our kids, before our homes. This love is the “phileo” love, the familial, friendship love. You surprised? It’s not just attraction or even the self-sacrificing kind (that falls more under the submission, we’ll get to in a minute). It’s showing affection with a tender touch, welcoming him as a friend, working hard to be interested in him & his interests, and that includes making it possible for men to develop male friendships—send them out for coffee or pizza, and pray for them while they’re out. We need older women to help us love these very different-from-us creatures. God designed it to be possible.

            Next, it’s the same affectionate love for children—biological, adopted, or spiritual children, like Paul loved Titus as his “true child in the faith.” Loving our kids well can be hard, messy maddening, heartbreaking, and sometimes completely overwhelming. When we hit that wall, we don’t need another book or YouTube. We need older women in our church to be right up in our business, praying with us, holding us, reminding us that they’ve been there, and that God’s grace is too glorious for us to give up on our families. He will get us through!

            Let’s skip ahead to that “home-lovers” as JB Phillips paraphrased this “working at home” bit. This doesn’t mean you can’t have a career or work outside the home, but it carries the idea of being a good household manager. We’re busy at home; not busy-bodies around town. We need to learn to love the homes God has given us, to manage them well, to maintain them, and to make them a priority for the glory of God. And if we can’t work outside the home and be this, we need to reevaluate our priorities. One of the best exercises I ever did was to write down my top 10 priorities and then put that list in the order that I was realistically living it out. My priorities were completely out of whack and I had to quit a job I loved because my husband, my family, my home, had to be more important than I was making it.

            • To be self-controlled, pure, … and kind

            When we fix our minds on the word of God and value it as our supreme authority, we beg God to grow this fruit of self-control and kindness in our hearts, and in our homes. We remember that Jesus was kind and tenderhearted to us, forgiving us, and we can be kind and forgive too. We need to be pure in what we put in front of our eyes. When you’re watching TV or scrolling Instagram, and you find yourself comparing your husband in a critical way, or you find yourself cheering for a relationship that isn’t biblical. Don’t get your marriage advice from the world. Turn off the TV, stop scrolling, and call a grandma. Fix your mind on things that are good and pure and true, and commit again to being faithful to God’s word and your marriage vows and not let your heart wander.

            • To be submissive to their own husbands

            In a believing household, placing ourselves under the authority of our husbands should be joyful, because it also means placing ourselves under his provision and care and affection. If your husband isn’t saved, 1 Peter 3 tells us “this is how the holy women who hoped in God used to adorn themselves, by submitting to their own husbands” and your submission may be what wins your husband over to Christ. It’s hard, but it’s holy work.

            In my experience, when I submit to my husband, it actually makes him a stronger leader. When I try to lead, I’m stripping him of the respect I vowed on our wedding day; I’m acting like Eve instead of Mary. This isn’t being a doormat; it’s honoring the God-ordained roles He created you to serve in. If this is weighing on you, I’ll say it again, “Call a grandma!” You don’t get to be one of those cute old couples sitting in Cracker Barrell without a lot of years of sacrifice and love before that point. When I let the word of God change my heart towards my husband through prayer and active obedience, it’s always worth it.

            So, what’s your place in God’s household? Older or Younger—probably a little of both for most of us. Are you humbly submitting to it? And reflecting that you value the gospel by your speech and behavior?

            D. Our final group is Bondservants, v. 9-10

            “Bondservants are to be submissive to their own masters in everything; they are to be well-pleasing, not argumentative, not pilfering, but showing all good faith, so that in everything they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior.”

            In Ancient Greek comedies, the term slave and thief would have been interchangeable. It was so common it became a societal joke. And yet, the gospel is for everyone, regardless of status or occupation. These bondservants heard the good news and received Jesus. He changed them from the inside out! They were free from sin, but they were still slaves on earth. Now they needed to reflect that change to their masters. They had to be taught to do this in very countercultural ways! Serve humbly, no matter what because Jesus humbled himself, submitting to the will of the Father in EVERYTHING for us. Be pleasant to be around. Being under God’s authority doesn’t give you the right to act like you’re superior to your master; don’t argue; don’t talk back; don’t mock. That doesn’t reflect the beauty of the gospel that you treasure. Show you can be trusted in everything. You don’t need to steal anything; the King of the Universe is your Father now! Stop this petty theft—a few extra pieces of food here, a couple of coins there, a few extra minutes on the time clock this day, etc. Your reward is in heaven. But serve Jesus now by serving your earthly master well.

            CONCLUSION: I want to go back to the bridal picture we started with and think about the ring. John Stott writes, “The verb kosmeo [adorn] was used of arranging jewels in order to display their beauty. And the gospel is a jewel, while a consistent Christian life is like the setting in which the gospel-jewel is displayed; I can ‘add lustre’ to it (REB).” (185) God chose to set the jewel of His gospel in the setting of His Church so that we might radiate His glory. Have you seen the splendor of the gospel and accepted the treasure of Jesus as your Savior? If not, come, repent of your sin and believe in Jesus—trust this beautiful doctrine of God our Savior that is free for all. And then, sisters, take care of the setting of the gospel—take care of how you live in the church, in your home, in your community, and may your words and walk reflect the immeasurable worth of God’s Word among your sisters today.

            Sing “I Love to Tell the Story” OR “May the Mind of Christ, My Savior”; and Pray