God's Gifts to His Chosen Bride, Part 2

God has given many blessings to His chosen bride, the church. He has given Himself as well as His Word to those who bleive. He also gives godly people to encourage and spur others on to love and good deeds (Heb. 10:23-25).

3. Godly People (Titus 2:2-8). Changed lives result in Gospel-changed relationships. Titus 2:1-10 contains God’s instructions for Godly living and is followed by the theological reason for that living (2:11-15). [Titus 3 follows the same pattern – instructions for godly living (3:1-3) and then the Biblical basis for it (3:4-8)]. God gifts His church with people He is conforming to Christlikeness (Rom. 8:28-30). Paul gives examples of the kind of teaching that leads to changed lives and relationships.

Titus 2:1-2 speaks of older men (in those days men over age 60). They must show their lives agree with their beliefs. They are to be spiritually Sober which means to be temperate, calm, exercising good judgment. They are to be dignified or appropriately mature, reverent for God and kind to others. They are to be sound-minded which is a quality of mind that shows itself in knowing the appropriate time and place for everything; showing proper restraint. They are to be healthy or sound in the faith, love, and patience required of believers. Healthy doctrine leads to healthy life. Areas where health is needed are faith (holding to the truth), love (John 13:34) and patience (James 5:7-8). All Christians should grow in these things, especially older men whom others look to as leaders.

Healthy doctrine will show itself in certain ways among older women as Titus 2:3 says. Older women were those who no longer had child-rearing responsibilities, typically around age 60. They are to display a reverent demeanor which reflects a dignified attitude of heart that treats all of life as sacred. They are not to be slanderous, not false accusers; this word is used over 30x in the NT to describe Satan, the one who slanders us before God. This highlights the danger of unguarded speech that is not retrained by self-control. It is painful to be falsely accused, or misjudged. We all know how that feels. Remember we are not God, we do not see into people’s hearts. Older women are also not to be enslaved to much wine. Wine was not completely forbidden; it was the common beverage, but the focus on slander and wine reflects the situation in Crete at that time, the problem being more prevalent among women. Positively they were to be teachers of good things that please God, their major task being to instruct the young women. This assumes there will be ongoing contact; time together between older adn younger. Train means to restore someone to their senses, making them sound-minded. Their ministry with younger women, which we will loook at more closely tomorrow, was to be marked by close relationships where they would equip the women in their primary resposibilities to the glory of God.