Titus, Part 3: What is Your Life Proclaiming?

Titus 2:1-15 (CSB)

Last week, we finished looking at chapter one of Titus. Paul ended by saying that to those who are defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure; in fact, both their mind and conscience are defiled. He wrote, “They claim to know God, but they deny him by their works. They are detestable, disobedient, and unfit for any good work” (Titus 1:16).

Now, as we move on to chapter two, Paul is continuing that thought. Some people are saying and doing things that are contrary to God’s Word, he tells Titus, “But you are to proclaim things consistent with sound teaching.”

In other words, Paul is saying: You are not to be like those people, you must speak things that line up with sound doctrine. But when Paul says, “proclaim” he means more than just speaking. Throughout the letter, Paul ties proclamation to behavior. Our message is not only declared with our mouths but displayed with our lives. What we say and what we do must match because our lives preach even louder than our words.

Then Paul gives Titus a list of specific things to proclaim. Let’s read the first half of this chapter, and then we’ll go back and look at each of these directives one at a time.

Titus 2:1-10 says:

1 But you are to proclaim things consistent with sound teaching.

2 Older men are to be self-controlled, worthy of respect, sensible, and sound in faith, love, and endurance. 

3 In the same way, older women are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers, not slaves to excessive drinking. They are to teach what is good, 

4 so that they may encourage the young women to love their husbands and to love their children, 

5 to be self-controlled, pure, workers at home, kind, and in submission to their husbands, so that God’s word will not be slandered.

6 In the same way, encourage the young men to be self-controlled 

7 in everything. Make yourself an example of good works with integrity and dignity in your teaching. 

8 Your message is to be sound beyond reproach, so that any opponent will be ashamed, because he doesn’t have anything bad to say about us.

9 Slaves are to submit to their masters in everything, and to be well-pleasing, not talking back 

10 or stealing, but demonstrating utter faithfulness, so that they may adorn the teaching of God our Savior in everything.

The first people Paul addresses are the older men. He tells Titus in verse 2, “Older men are to be self-controlled, worthy of respect, sensible, and sound in faith, love, and endurance.”

In this verse, Paul is addressing not only the older men who are eligible to be elders or pastors but all Christian men who are older.

Let’s look at these traits. The first is self-controlled. This word is also translated as sober. It doesn’t only mean being unintoxicated. It means being clear-minded or prudent. Barnes’ Notes says this is more accurately translated as vigilant, which means watchful and attentive.

That’s the basis for everything else, isn’t it? We all need to be level-headed so we can respond to all of life’s joys and problems in a wise, God-honoring way.

Second, older men are to be worthy of respect. Again, in order to be respected, a man must be self-controlled, for how quickly is respect lost for a man who has a temper tantrum or is overly emotional.

“Worthy of respect” is also translated as noble or dignified, referring to honorable conduct and good manners. This used to be a more common trait among older men. I personally encounter this less and less as the years go by. Older generations seemed to strive for this, at least in public spaces. It desperately needs to be modeled again.

Third, Paul says older men should be sensible. This is sometimes translated as self-controlled as well. In Ellicott's Commentary, he translates this word as temperate, and defines it by saying, “Discreet, or self-restrained, would be a better rendering for the Greek word.” Again, this speaks to one’s ability to keep one’s words and emotions under control.

Finally, Paul says they should be “sound in faith, love, and endurance.” If you are familiar with Paul’s writings, you might recognize those three words as being very similar to 1 Corinthians 13:13, which says, “Now these three remain: faith, hope, and love—but the greatest of these is love.” Granted, here he doesn’t mention hope, but certainly hope and endurance go together, for when we hope we are waiting or enduring with patience.

Then Paul gives instructions for the older women. He says in verses 3-5, “In the same way, older women are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers, not slaves to excessive drinking. They are to teach what is good so that they may encourage the young women to love their husbands and to love their children, to be self-controlled, pure, workers at home, kind, and in submission to their husbands, so that God’s word will not be slandered.”

First, he says, “Older women are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers, not slaves to excessive drinking.”

To be reverent in behavior, according to Ellicott, means that they should exhibit “behaviour as becometh holiness.” Meaning, they should live holy lives, and they shouldn’t tell lies or gossip about people or be addicted to alcohol.

In addition to that, they must also “teach what is good, so that they may encourage the young women to:

·       love their husbands and children

·       be self-controlled and pure

·       be workers at home

·       be kind

·       be in submission to their husbands

“so that God’s word will not be slandered.”

Ellicott notes that “workers at home” means that “their first duty was to make home life beautiful by the love of husband and child—that great love which ever teaches forgetfulness of self.”

Ellicott also adds that in Paul’s words we see, “There was, of course, the fear that wives, carried away by religious fervour, might neglect the plainer every-day duties for the seemingly loftier and more self-denying occupations included under the head of religious works.”

If you recall, at the beginning of the letter when Paul told Titus the qualifications for an elder, one of them was that their children are believers. This is the primary way that children will become believers. Not only must fathers intentionally work at leading their children to Christ, but so must mothers. If either parent is more focused on work—whether that work is religious or not—than on the well-being of their children, their children will suffer for it.

Proverbs 22:6 (ESV) says, “Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.” If parents do not instruct their children in the ways of faith in God but outsource that task to other people, it will be very difficult to train a child in the “way he should go.” This does not mean that women shouldn’t have jobs; it means the family must be the priority. As Ellicott says, this should be the “first duty.”

But today, some Christians interpret “workers at home” as forbidding women from employment. Ironically, in doing that they end up doing the very thing that Paul warned against: it invites slander on God’s Word. Paul is not creating a universal rule for all times and cultures. Rather, he is calling Cretan believers to be different from the stereotypes and practices of their island. Remember, Cretans were known to be “liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.” He wants them to rise above their peers and reflect the transforming power of Christ, who has made them new people. His additional warning against drunkenness is further proof of that.

Then Paul addresses young men and says in verse 6, “In the same way, encourage the young men to be self-controlled in everything.”

That’s the only instruction Paul gives to them, but maybe he feels that’s sufficient because Titus himself seems to have been a young man. As Ellicott notes, Paul doesn’t go into detail because Titus’ task of leading them will be “most effectually done by the sight of the example of his own manly, self-restrained religious life.”

I think it is apparent that Paul believes Titus is up to the task. But Paul adds in verses 7-8, to: “Make yourself an example of good works with integrity and dignity in your teaching. Your message is to be sound beyond reproach, so that any opponent will be ashamed, because he doesn’t have anything bad to say about us.” Paul is reminding Titus why he must be careful with his instructions and why all the believers need to be living with self-control and upright behavior: the world is trying to find fault in the Gospel message.

This is why an elder must be skilled in apologetics, ready to defend the faith. This is why fellow believers must match their actions to their spoken confession. This is why we all must live in accordance with God’s Word. The weight of our witness depends on it. When we contradict God’s Word, we slander it, because if we claim to follow Jesus, but our lives don’t look anything like His, why would unbelievers think the Bible is true? Our actions speak louder than our words. In that sense, our actions are a proclamation of what we really believe.

Lastly, Paul gives instructions to slaves in verses 9-10. He says, “Slaves are to submit to their masters in everything, and to be well-pleasing, not talking back or stealing, but demonstrating utter faithfulness, so that they may adorn the teaching of God our Savior in everything.”

This is not an endorsement of slavery. Crete, as well as most cities of the world at that time, allowed slavery. If anything, this verse proves how countercultural Christianity was to the Roman Empire. It was the Christians who were acknowledging and treating slaves as equals. That was revolutionary. This letter proves that slaves, like everyone else, were equal in the eyes of God, and they too had the same opportunity to “adorn the teaching of God our Savior in everything.”

If any of us—older men, older women, young men, young women, or slaves—do the above things and live according to Biblical teaching, then we, too, “adorn the teaching of God our Savior in everything.”

What are the teachings of God our Savior? Paul summarizes it for us in verses 11-15:

11 For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, 

12 instructing us to deny godlessness and worldly lusts and to live in a sensible, righteous, and godly way in the present age, 

13 while we wait for the blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. 

14 He gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to cleanse for himself a people for his own possession, eager to do good works.

15 Proclaim these things; encourage and rebuke with all authority. Let no one disregard you.

Paul tells Titus to proclaim these things with authority. He is to be assertive, so no one brushes him off and ignores him.

These are the things we must proclaim, too. We, too, must proclaim the Gospel message that Jesus has brought salvation, and that He has instructed us to live holy lives while we wait for His return. We are to proclaim that He died on the cross to set us free from sin and that He has cleansed us so we can do good works for Him. This is the message we are to proclaim to the world.

Throughout this letter, Paul repeatedly says that believers must live in a way that is “sound,” “self-controlled,” “sensible,” and “worthy of respect”—so that the Gospel message is not slandered, unbelievers will have nothing bad to say about us, and so that we “adorn the teaching of God our Savior.”

As Christians, we must live in a way that aligns with God’s Word, because the world is watching how we follow Christ.

Paul keeps repeating this, so I will too. Our conduct must honor the Word, be so full of integrity that it silences critics, and be so upright that we make the Gospel attractive to the world. Why? Our lives preach, and people are listening.

And this is why some of the things being said today—even by well-known teachers—are so dangerous. I recently saw a pastor online quote John MacArthur as saying that a Christian can just do whatever they want and know they are in God’s will. But that isn’t biblical. In fact, that’s the kind of teaching Paul tells Titus to correct because if people follow that directive, they will quickly become poor witnesses to the world. That’s how Christians end up being led astray by their own desires instead of being led by the Spirit.

That teaching reflects a broader trend in the church that takes “freedom in Christ” to mean freedom to do what you want.But that is not biblical freedom. That is Judges 21:25 freedom, which says, “In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did whatever seemed right to him.” And it wasn’t good.

Paul’s message to Titus is the opposite: proclaim sound teaching so God’s people aren’t pulled around by their desires but by the truth.

The Bible is clear that our heart is not a trustworthy guide:

·       Jesus says that evil comes from the heart (Mark 7:20–23)

·       Paul says our desires are deceitful (Eph. 4:22)

·       James says that desire leads to sin (James 1:14–15).

So the idea that a Christian can simply “follow their heart” or “do whatever they want” and automatically be in God’s will is not found in Scripture—it is the exact opposite of what Scripture teaches. Truth is not relative. We cannot simply do what we want and call it God’s will.

God’s will is not discovered by looking inward but by looking into His Word. We must follow what Jesus taught.

As Paul said in this letter, we are to deny godlessness and worldly lusts and live in sensible, righteous, and godly ways. When we do, we “adorn the teaching of God.” We make the truth attractive and believable to the watching world.

Every one of us is proclaiming something. The question is: What am I proclaiming?

How we live will either adorn the Gospel or slander it.

So, ask yourself today:

What am I proclaiming through the way I live?

Am I adorning the Gospel or am I slandering it?

Prayer: Heavenly Father, we confess that our words and actions don’t always line up. Please forgive us. Please help us by Your Holy Spirit to live according to what Your Word teaches. Help us to be self-controlled so that we deny godlessness and worldly lusts. Teach us to live in sensible, righteous, and godly ways each day as we wait for Jesus to return. May we be people who adorn the Gospel message in all that we do. In the name of Jesus our Savior we pray. Amen.