As I read the text at the beginning of the sermon I asked the audience to pay special attention to the instructions Titus received in what he was to teach each specific group in this passage - Titus 2:1-10).
Have you ever seen a child with lots of freckles on their face? I read the story about one little boy whose face was just covered with bright freckles. He was spending the day at the zoo with his grandmother and they were standing in line with dozens of other children waiting to get their cheeks painted by a local artist who was decorating them with tiger paws.
A little girl in front of him turned around and smirked and said "You've got so many freckles, there's no place to paint!"
Embarrassed, the little boy dropped his head.
Then his grandmother knelt down next to him. "I love your freckles. When I was a little girl I always wanted freckles, “She traced his cheek with her finger and said. "You know, freckles are beautiful.
The boy looked up in amazement, "Really?"
"Of course," said the grandmother. "Just name me one thing that's prettier than freckles."
The little boy thought for a moment, peered intensely into his grandma's face, and softly whispered,
(pause)
"Wrinkles."
They say “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder”
And to that little boy, nothing was as beautiful as his grandmother’s wrinkles.
Today we want to look thru the eyes of God at beauty.
God doesn’t look at us the same way others do.
Last week we talked about the kind of men and that impress God and found that they are those who are good fathers/husbands, who have a good reputation, and who stand in the gap encouraging others in their faith, and rebuking those who try to teach false doctrine.
Those are the kinds of men who impress God.
Today we’re looking at the women who impress God.
Titus is told to “teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good. Then they can train the younger women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God.” Titus 2:3-5
Now there are people who look at this set of verses and think women are being picked on by Paul here. But… that’s not the case at all
Women are being elevated to a place of high honor.
You see - we live in a world where women are evaluated based on
• how “pretty they are”
• how sexy they are
• how thin they are
• how popular they are
• (pause) or by how much skin they can show
We live in a world that is much like ancient Crete (where Titus was serving)
Paul tells us that in Crete“… there are many rebellious people, mere talkers and deceivers”
These folks lived as pagans and they viewed everything from a paganistic point of view – including viewing women as objects to used, abused and owned.
What God is saying here in Titus: I have a higher view of women than that.
As God tells us in Proverbs 31:30
“Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.”
Here in the letter to Titus… God is praising older women.
Just think about it: a few verses before this, we’re told that men who are called to be Elders should
“… hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it. Titus 1:9
Now, we read that older women in the church are called by God do exactly the same things.
They are to train the younger women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands.
This is what God regards as being sound doctrine.
The training these older women are to do is greatly important to God, because IF they do their training right “… no one will (be able to) malign the word of God.” Titus 2:3-5
If you recall, I asked you to pay close attention to the instructions Titus was to give to each group in this section of Scripture we read. From Titus 2:1 thru 2:10 we find that Titus is teaching
• Older men to live Godly lives
• Younger men to live Godly lives
• And Slaves to live Godly lives
But when it comes to the older women – Titus is not only to challenge them to live Godly lives, but they are also to teach the younger women to do the same. In other words, these older women are given a special responsibility that lies at the heart of building a church into a strong force for God in a dark world. God is counting on these women to create an atmosphere in the church where no one will be able to make accusations against God’s Word.
It helps to realize that Crete was a major cesspool in that day.
Paul writes that “Even one of their own prophets has said, ‘Cretans are always liars, evil brutes, lazy gluttons.’” Titus 1:12
The church was surrounded by these CRETANS!
These were pagans.
They were people who didn’t care about God or His righteousness.
All that seemed to matter to these folks was their own agendas and priorities.
They were driven by the desire for success and power.
Their highest priorities were whatever would further their goals in life.
And their highest goal was their own selfishness.
And the Christians in Crete had to live around those kinds of folks!
• The men of Crete were apparently known for getting drunk, and lacking self-control.
• The women seem to have been involved in gossiping and neglecting their families.
• Slaves were guilty of lying and stealing.
• And everybody showed disrespect for their rulers and authorities.
When you live in a pagan culture like that, it becomes easy to begin to live like they do.
It becomes easy to fudge a little.
• When you’re surrounded by people who tell dirty jokes, it’s hard not to laugh. Some of their jokes really are funny. Yes, they’re crude and immoral, but if they are well told, it’s just hard not to laugh.
• When you spend time with people who curse, it’s hard not to pick up the practice.
• When you’re surrounded by friends who drink, it’s difficult to refuse a glass. When my sister Barbranne decided to come back to Jesus (she’d left the faith for a long time) she’d still go back to the parties, because that’s where her friends had been… except now she refused to drink their alcohol. Instead she’d walk around with a glass of Pepsi. At one of the parties, one of the men walked up to her and remarked “What’s the matter? Are you too good to drink with us?”
• When you’re spending time with people who belittle their spouses, it’s hard not to chime in and say “Well, you haven’t heard anything! This is what is wrong with my husband/wife.”
• And when you spend time in a school or an office where people cheat to get ahead, it’s hard not to do the same thing because if you don’t – you might lose out.
It’s called peer pressure, and better people than you or I have given in to it.
We live in a pagan world and we sometimes find ourselves being drawn into pagan way of life they live. Especially when we end up watching the same TV shows and movies, and reading the same books as they do. Many of those books and shows tell of lifestyles that are impure and immoral and unworthy of the God we serve. And when we find ourselves surrounded by that kind of thinking we can end up forgetting the importance of living godly lives that would please our Savior.
(PAUSE)
BUT - in the midst of a pagan world, one the most powerful force for God can be the words and examples of Godly women.
A godly woman can have the same influence on people t’s just how that little boy with his freckles. He was embarrassed and shamed by the words of this world but he found encouragement and strength in his grandmother’s words.
Godly women are able to pierce the darkness of this world.
And that is because in those words and in those actions of these Godly women the world sees the image of the one woman believed in them. The woman who bore them and cried for them. Who stayed by their bedside when they were sick, and nursed them till they were well.
Say what you will about men, it’s mothers who make the biggest impact on the world.
George Washington said: “My mother was the most beautiful woman I ever saw. All I am I owe to my mother. I attribute my success in life to the moral, intellectual and physical education I received from her.”
Abraham Lincoln “I remember my mother's prayers and they have always followed me. They have clung to me all my life.”
Ronald Reagan “From my mother I learned the value of prayer, how to have dreams and believe I could make them come true.”
Then there was the artist and sculptor by the name Bartholdi.
Have you ever heard of him?
He’s best known for one of the statues he made. (pause)
It stands in New York harbor… ring a bell?
That’s right. He was the man who constructed the Statue of Liberty. When he was commissioned, he was told that this statue had to represent the ideal of liberty, respect, love, and acceptance. They say he examined dozen of outstanding heroes, but in the end he chose as the model …
His own mother.
(Frank Damazio in his sermon: “Profile of Godly Wife and Mother”)
Mothers are the people who make the biggest impact – not only on their children -but on the world around them. That’s because a mother is the model of what the best of women should be.
And the highest qualities in any mother are these: Titus 2:4-5
“They… love their husbands and children. (They are) self-controlled and pure, busy at home, kind, and subject to their husbands”
By their behavior, they create a safe and stable home for the whole family.
And so God turned to the older women in the congregation because they’ve been there and they’ve done that. And He calls on them to guard the homes and the families of the younger women in the church - by training the younger women to do that which the pagan world rejects.
The Godly women in the congregation are the first line of defense against the influence of the world on God’s people.
Younger women MAY listen to the men… but they will definitely listen to Godly older women who come alongside and take them under their wing. Along with teaching them how to make fudge brownies, they can also encourage, build up and challenge these younger women to be the kinds of wives and mothers that glorify God.
As I said last week, godly women are the backbone of a strong church.
Now, I need to deal with a couple of issues here.
How many of you noticed that part about women being “subject to their husbands?”
Yeah, I did too.
There are those who make the mistake of thinking the Bible teaches that submission is a “WOMAN” thing.
It’s not.
It’s not a “woman” thing.
It’s a Godly thing.
According to Ephesians 5:21 ALL Christians are expected to be in submission to somebody.
It says “Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.”
From that verse on Paul spends a major portion of his letter to Ephesians telling them HOW they should submit to others.
• He starts out addressing how wives are to submit to their husbands. They are to show them respect and honor and work at making that man into a leader she can be proud of.
• But THEN Paul tells husbands how to submit to their wives. They are to love their wives and cherish them as if they were their own bodies. They must be willing to even lay down their lives for their wives – protecting them against any danger in this world.
• Then Paul speaks of children being submissive to their parents. SHOULD children be submissive to their parents? Of course they should! In fact, Paul goes on to say this was the only command in the 10 commandments that had a promise – that those children would be blessed if they did so.
• But Paul then turns his sights on the Fathers. He tells them to submit to their children by not provoking or abusing them. Instead they should bring their kids up in the admonition of the Lord.
• Then he speaks of how slaves should submit to their masters. Which is almost a “gimme” since they’re slaves, and the masters OWN them.
• But then Paul turns to the masters and commands them to submit to their slaves by treating “your slaves in the same way. Do not threaten them, since you know that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and there is no favoritism with him.”
It didn’t matter who you were.
Or what position you held.
You couldn’t get out of it.
Everybody was expected to submit to everyone else.
It’s a Christian thing.
And Godly women are at the forefront of teaching this Christ principle to others.
Submission is at the heart of what a Christian should be known for.
(Pause)
But now, what if the person you have to submit to isn’t a nice person?
What if they’re mean spirited and petty and make really lousy decisions?
Do you really have to “submit” to those folks?
Well, let’s take a Biblical example of this.
The Bible tells us of a man who “a man after God’s own heart.”
Who was that?
That’s right King David.
Was David ever in submission to someone else? (SAUL)
Was Saul a NICE man? (NO)
Saul was a petty man who had a really bad temper and eventually became so jealous of David’s popularity that he did everything in his power to undermine, hurt… and eventually kill David.
So did David submit to Saul?
Well, let’s see what it says in Scripture:
There were a couple of times that David had a chance to get back at Saul and take him out.
He could have solved all his problems and taken the kingship for himself.
There would have been people who would have rallied to his banner, and then he could have been in charge!
But he REFUSED… He said:
"The LORD forbid that I should do such a thing to my master, the LORD’s anointed, or lift my hand against him; for he is the anointed of the LORD." 1Samuel 24:6
David became ashamed that he even considered hurting Saul.
And he became angry with others when they suggested it.
And when – after Saul died – someone came up and claimed the credit for killing Saul – do you remember how David reacted? He executed that man.
Notice again what David said: He said he wouldn’t do such a thing to “the LORD’S anointed.”
To touch and hurt this man who was in authority over him would have been a violation of God’s will for his life. Instead of placing his trust in destroying Saul, David placed his trust in God.
And you know what happened? David became king of a UNITED Israel. The tribes of the north were still allied to Saul’s family and had David killed Saul those tribes would have been lost to him forever. But because David trusted God, God rewarded him.
Submission is our way of honoring God.
“Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.” James 4:10
Jesus taught that if you found yourself at a feast, you shouldn’t seek out the best seat at the table, because if you did, the master of the feast might embarrass you by making you take a lesser seat. But if you chose the seat at the low end of the table (down by the kids) the master would come along and honor you by giving you a more prominent seat at the table.
Humbleness is at the heart of submission.
And Godly women are the people God called on to teach that truth.
But notice when Saul sought to kill David, how did David respond?
He left town.
He took a powder.
He found a new address.
David found himself in an ABUSIVE situation… and he left.
(pause)
Being submissive does not mean you have to stay in an abusive situation.
That is not Biblical.
If a woman finds that her life … or the lives of her children are in danger, she has every right to remove herself from that situation.
And the church should protect her.
Do I hear an AMEN?
2ndly – submission does not mean that we must ALWAYS blindly obey those in authority.
For example, Peter and John find themselves before the Sanhedrin … the rulers of the Jews. Ordinarily they would have submitted to the laws laid down by that ruling body, but in this case they were told they could no longer preach about Jesus.
When they were faced with the decision of submitting in this matter, what did they do?
Well, this was their response: “Peter and the other apostles replied: ‘We must obey God rather than men!’” Acts 5:29
So, let’s review: Unless our lives are in danger or we’re being asked to disobey God we MUST submit to, and show respect to, those in authority.
But even then we need to be very careful - because Scripture warns me that the heart is deceitful above all things. If I don’t want to something (like submit) I can find a way to justify my disobedience. If I don’t want to submit to an authority I can twist things to the point where I convince myself that they have asked me do something that would violate my commitment to Christ (for example) when that is not really true. So when refusing to submit we must always deeply examine our motives.
But God has called upon the Godly women of the congregation to teach and set the example in how this Christian principle should be played out in the home. And if they do their job right they can stabilize marriages that otherwise would fall apart.
Women complain that men have too much power, but that sentiment fails to understand a basic truth. Men may have power, but women have influence. As the old saying goes: “Men may wear the pants in the family, but the woman tells him which pair.” Men are placed in positions of decision making in the home and in the church, but it is the women who wield the real influence in the lives of many of those Godly men. And this is one instance where women’s influence is most powerful and critical.
Bear in mind, Paul isn’t thinking about these women having a Bible study… although that’s not a bad thing. What Paul is calling on these women to do is come alongside the younger women and become personal mentors. He’s encouraging them to challenge the younger women to stand beside their men.
If you will, they are missionaries to these younger women. And not just those inside the church. When they hear a young bride insulting their husbands or considering walking out on their marriages they would be the ones to say – don’t go there.
Paul is wanting the older women to take the girls in church under their wing and show them how to live Godly lives. To speak privately and gently to these ladies girls who say things or do things they shouldn’t be doing.
But more than that they should be taking interest in those girls - encouraging them/ praising them/ challenging them.
These older women have the ability to create an atmosphere that is so powerful that the next generation will rise up to praise God. It is by their influence that the church becomes stronger and more vibrant. And if they do it right… they become the surrogate mothers for women whose mothers didn’t teach them those things.
To reach that goal, they should challenge younger women to WALK in their footsteps.
CLOSE: A woman from California shared how this ministry works. She said it had been a busy day at the house home. She had 10 children and one on the way so every day was a bit hectic, but on this particular day she was having trouble doing even routine chores because her 3 yr. old son Len was on her heels everywhere she went.
Whenever she stopped to do something and turned around, she’d trip over him. Several times she patiently suggested fun activities to keep him occupied.
“Wouldn’t you like to play on the swing set?” she asked.
But he simply smiled an innocent smile and said, “Oh, that’s all right, Mommy. I’d rather be in here with you.” Then he continued to bounce happily along behind me.
After stepping on his toes for the 5th time, she began to lose her patience and insisted that he go outside and play with the other children. When she asked him why he was acting this way, he looked up at her with sweet green eyes and said, “Well, Mommy, in Primary my teacher told me to walk in Jesus’ footsteps. But I can’t see him, so I’m walking in yours.”
INVITATION
