Thus far in this series on discipleship we looked at “The Root of Discipleship” – Jesus commanded His followers to make disciples of all nations. Discipleship happens when Christians obey the Word of God and pass on their godly heritage to the next generation of Christians.
We’ve discussed “The Resources of Discipleship” – Our resource for discipleship is the Word of God. The Scriptures are given by inspiration of God, and are profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.
The “Routine of Discipleship” is how discipleship gets done. Discipleship includes the responsibility that Christians have for taking other Christians “under their wing” and mentoring them in the things of God.
From here we went to examine the Distractions to Discipleship. We found that many of the same activities and responsibilities that are ordained by God such as marriage, family and employment serve as distractions to the ministry of getting the Gospel out in order to make disciples.
We found the key to balancing the demands of both home and church is through integration. God never meant for us to segment the responsibilities into different area for different purposes. God ordained marriage, family and your job for the advancement of His kingdom.
Marriage - When you get married you now have a partner, a team player to assist you with doing the will of God. Your spouse (according to the Word) is supposed to “complete you.”
I believe the principle of synergy works here where the two are now accomplishing more together for the kingdom of God than they could ever do as individuals.
Children - Though your children require your time and attention, the Bible teaches that they are given to you by God as “arrows” to be shot into the world to accomplish God’s kingdom work.
Sadly, parents are launching their arrows with careers as the target and not ministry. They want their children to be rich and famous with no regard whatsoever to what God wants to do with that child to fulfill the Great Commission and build His kingdom.
Job - Your job is not just the place where you go to earn a paycheck to pay your bills. Your job is the place where God has given you the ability to financially support the work of the kingdom. It is also by the money you earn and give toward the kingdom work that returns many thanksgivings to God.
In fact, the Scripture goes as far as to say that God will prosper you on your job if He sees that there will be a return on His investment as you use your job as a means to bring Him glory.
Personal Pursuits and Leisure – Even the things you do in your spare time can be used for kingdom work. Many people use Facebook as a tool to reach people for Christ. But know that you don’t want to appear “preachy” or people will quickly “unfriend” you.
If you work out at the health club, you can be a witness for Christ. I’ve had a couple of opportunities to say a word for the Lord while sweating in the sauna!
Unbalanced Lives
God has given us marriage, children, jobs and leisure time to use for His kingdom agenda. Problems develop when we give more priority to the means in which God has given to advance His kingdom than God Himself and His kingdom. When we do this, our priorities are out of order and we are worshipping the creation rather than the Creator (Romans 1:25).
Examples of this found in the Scripture are:
* Marriage - King Ahab abdicated God’s order and design for the home to his wife Jezebel who both ran the home and the kingdom 1 Kings 16:30-31; 19:1-2).
* Children - Eli exalted his children over above the holiness of God and did not discipline them so God had to (1 Sam 2:12-17; 34).
* Job - Judas was more concerned about making money than doing ministry (Mat. 26:14-16; John 12:4-6)
As promised last time, I would like for us to look some more at the topic of the Routine of Discipleship.
The “Routine of Discipleship” is how discipleship gets done. Discipleship occurs when Christians take other Christians “under their wing” and mentor them in the things of God.
Titus 2:1 But as for you, speak the things which are proper for sound doctrine:
The word “sound” in verse 1 means “healthy”—Paul uses this word 9 times in the pastoral epistles (5 times in Titus), always in the sense that the truth produces spiritual well-being.
The “things” Paul mentions in vv. 2–10 pertain to truths, attitudes, and actions that correspond to and are based on biblical truth. Paul is letting Titus know that it is only truth that leads to spiritual health. It is the truth of Scripture, or “sound doctrine.” that men and women are taught in order to be made disciples. It is only “sound doctrine” that produces a godly lifestyle.
The Older Man
In Titus 2:2 Paul begins to teach older men how to live out “sound doctrine.”
Titus 2:2 that the older men be sober, reverent, temperate, sound in faith, in love, in patience;
In this verse Paul lists six character qualities that older men ought to possess:
Sober (nephaleos, nay-fal'-eh-os; cf. 1 Tim. 3:2) - The older men were to be sober. This is the word that means “to be temperate in the use of wine.”
Why would command older men to be sober? Older men would have more time on their hands as their families are probably grown and moved out of the house. Because he no longer needs to work long and hard, he has plenty of idle time and much of this "free" time would be devoted to drinking.
Having too much time on your hands is a big problem for anyone. An idle mind is the devil’s workshop—just ask King David (2 Samuel 11).
In verse 1 of 2nd Samuel 11 the Bible says, “It happened in the spring of the year, at the time when kings go out to battle King David remained at Jerusalem.” David should have been “out to battle” but he “remained at Jerusalem.” We all know the rest of the story.
God is calling Christian men, even the older men, to “go out to battle.” He is calling us to “go make disciples.” But how many of us spend far too much time in front of the TV or browsing the Internet when there are people who need to hear the Gospel?
The Apostle Paul did not allow himself to have idle time. Towards the end of his life he could say, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” (2 Tim 4:7) The older men were to be sober and temperate so they might do what God has called them to do.
worthy of respect/reverent/grave (semnos, sem-nos) - This word means, “serious-minded,” i.e., this person is not a constant clown. He is not a man that acts like a boy.
The word also means “dignified,” but it is not referring to a solemn person who never laughs or expresses humor. It means “honorable” or “reverent.”
There is a dignity to old age that produces respect, and this respect gives an older believer authority.
As a young Christian, I had the distinct honor of working with a man named Willie Greene who was a deacon at the New Shiloh church on Monroe Street. Willie joined the Army during World War II and was assigned to an all-black infantry group, the 92nd Division, known as the Buffalo Soldiers. He was sent to Italy and was wounded and was awarded a Purple Heart and left military service in 1946 as a sergeant.
Willie was an electronics technician like myself working at Westinghouse Electric Corporation. By the time I met him he was in his sixties. He was dignified. He smiled often, sang often but he was not a jokester. He was worthy of respect.
I remember attending a meeting where some union matters were being discussed and there was an obvious difference of opinion between management and the union shop. Things were going nowhere fast and tempers were beginning to flare.
Deacon Willie stood up in the midst of the confrontation and started to speak. He spoke with his usual quiet voice and when he stood to speak, everyone listened. He not only spoke but asked if we all might pray and he led us all (management and union) in a short prayer.
We need some men in our churches who are dignified—worthy of respect. Where are they? Don’t try to find them on the TV sitcoms. Many of the TV men—even the older men--are made out to be nothing more than little kids with adult bodies. Everything they say has to be funny.
They are constantly being scolded or corrected by their wives, girlfriends or kids. Paul tells Titus to teach sound doctrine—the older men are to be sober and worthy of respect.
3. self-controlled/temperate (sophron, so'-frone), cf. 1 Tim. 3:2; Titus 1:8; 2:4) - The one who is "self-controlled" has an attitude of mind that leads to a cautiousness and self-control in life.
It is translated “sober” in Titus 1:8 and 2:4, 6, and 12, and “discreet” in 2:5.
“Worthy of respect” speaks of a seriousness of life.
“Self-controlled” speaks of a seriousness of purpose.
The self-controlled man disciplines himself so that he can accomplish the goals and objectives of his life that he hopes will bring glory to God. He is not careless and happy-go-lucky but thoughtful and watchful and thorough and careful.
If he is married, he is serious about providing for his own (1 Tim. 5:8); He doesn’t let his wants get in the way of providing for their needs.
He doesn’t spend the money God provides for his family and the kingdom on other things. In other words, he doesn’t take a trip to the Bahamas while he is behind on his bills. He doesn’t buy that luxury car or that home theater equipment when he can barely pay his mortgage or rent.
If he is single, he doesn’t waste time and money trying to live the “bachelor’s dream.” He uses his time, money and energy to the glory of God.
He knows how to and is successful in curbing his appetites and impulses—he is self-controlled.
4. Sound in faith, in love, in patience all go together.
The older man is “sound in faith.” The word “faith” has a definite article before it in the Greek which makes it mean, “The Faith.” Here Paul is referring to the body of Christian teachings…the commands of Christ, the Apostle’s doctrine (Acts 2:41).
The mature Christian should know what he believes and his doctrinal convictions should agree with the Word of God. He doesn’t merely possess a wealth of worldly wisdom that proceeds from his life experiences, he gets his wisdom from the Word of God, the Bible.
I must tell you that while we must honor our older folk, we must be careful of where their wisdom is derived. We used to live in a day when the culture as a whole embraced the truths of Scripture or at least respected biblical morals, like those communicated in the Ten Commandments, but not anymore. Today, our country is a melting pot of people with differing religious backgrounds, morals and values.
I've learned that just because someone is old doesn’t mean they automatically become a bearer of wisdom. I must admit that older folk have lived long enough to have tried a few things a few times. They know what works and what doesn’t—but if they do not know Christ, much of what they consider “wisdom” may still be nothing more than what The Bible calls “foolishness.”
“Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you seems to be wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, "He catches the wise in their own craftiness"; and again, "The LORD knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are futile."” (1 Cor 3:18-20)
The older man is to be “sound in the faith.” The “faith” is the body of Christian teachings.
But a knowledge of the Bible must be accompanied with other necessary virtues, such as “love for the brethren.” Paul’s command for older men to be “sound in faith, in love, in patience” all go together.
For examples, there are men (and women) in the body who have a lot of Bible knowledge but sadly they are lacking in love for the brethren.
The word “love” (like faith) also comes with the definite article and refers to the love that is produced in the heart of the yielded believer by the Holy Spirit (Romans 5:5). The older man must have convictions that agree with the Scriptures and love, which is the fruit of the Spirit.
But Paul lists another characteristic, patience (hupomeno). The older man must not only have convictions that agree with the Word of God and love from the Holy Spirit, he must also be able to “patiently endure” under the trials of life in a way that honors God.
I have come across men who have had boatloads of Bible knowledge; others have had gifts, talents and abilities, but they all never amount to much of anything for God because they had no love for the brethren or were not patient.
We are to love the brethren. 1 John 2 says, "He that saith he is in the light and hates his brother, is in the darkness even until now. He that loves his brother abides in the light, and there is no occasion of stumbling in him."
We are to be patient under trials. The mature Christian came to be mature by learning to wait on the Lord. When things don’t go their way, for the immature Christian, they react in a way that is not loving nor patient. For example:
* A spouse may withhold his or her love and respect
* A child might rebel
* An employee slows down his work
* A Christian slacks up on reading his or her Bible and praying
* A church member stops serving or giving or stays home from church altogether.
A man honors God when he patiently endures a trial with a sense of meekness. Someone has defined this kind of patience as “that temper of spirit in which we accept God’s dealings with us as good, and therefore without disputing or resisting” (Trench).
It is kind of like having the attitude about life that says when trials come, “all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28) or “But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good…” (Genesis 50:20) or “Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him.” (Job 13:15)
“Sound in faith, in love, in patience” all go together.
So Paul writes to Titus, “But as for you, speak the things which are proper for sound doctrine: that the older men be sober, reverent, temperate, sound in faith, in love, in patience…”
The Older Woman
In verse 3 of Titus chapter two, Paul moves from encouraging older men to older women. The word likewise possibly means that the older women were to have the same qualities as the older men, plus the additional ones listed.
Titus 2:3 the older women likewise, that they be reverent in behavior, not slanderers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things;
Many translations use the word “behavior” in verse three. Expositors Commentary says that the word “demeanor” would be a better word here.
Wuest tells us that the word “demeanor” has a wider reference to the woman’s conduct in all respects and on all occasions and so Paul begins by focusing on several characteristics of a woman's conduct.
Reverent - The word holiness/reverent - hieroprepes, hee-er-op-rep-ace comes from a Greek word that “a sacred place, a temple,” and prepo, “to be fitting.” In other words, the Bible is saying that the woman’s body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who lives in her.
The demeanor of these older women must always reflect holiness, i.e., “reverent in behavior.” She is to live in a way that demonstrates she is sacred to God.
* Toward men, she is to be sacred to God.
* Wherever she goes, she is to be sacred to God.
* In the way she acts, she is to be sacred to God.
She is not to live or act in a way that is unbecoming for a temple of the Holy Spirit.
She is not to do things to her body that are unfitting for a temple of the Holy Spirit.
But again, this is not restricted to the treatment of her body as the temple of God’s Spirit, but her entire demeanor or lifestyle. And so Paul goes on to elaborate on what it means for a woman to have a “holy demeanor.”
Not slanderers - “false accusers”—the Greek word is diabolos meaning “devils,” or “slanderers”. In Titus 2:3 and 1 Timothy 3:11 the word literally means, “she-devil.”
The older woman does not pick up gossip and spread it.
She does not slander—that is, she does not tell the truth with the intent to bring harm to another.
Now, this is not to say that men do not gossip and poke their noses into other people’s business. I believe the Holy Spirit is highlighting this problem with our sisters because God created women to be more relational or conversationalists. It is a documented fact that women talk more than men.
A Manchester University study has found women talk more than men because their vocal chords are more flexible and they have a different motor speech factory ('Broca's convolution') in the brain.
Communication experts say that the average woman speaks over 25,000 words a day while the average man speaks only a little over 10,000. There is however a difference of opinion as to whether this is because he just doesn’t talk much or he can’t get a word in.
The older woman is not to be a slanderer; she does not gossip, pick up gossip or spread it.
Not given to much wine – Like the older men (Titus 2:2), Paul is teaching that the older women must not be addicted to wine. But it is interesting that Paul gets specific here and actually uses the word “wine.”
He uses the perfect participle and along with the tense Paul lets us know that he is referring to a “confirmed drunkard.”
There is something sad and depressing about a woman who is drunk. Hollywood makes fun of men like Otis of Mayberry or Frank Sinatra’s lingering long with the booze. But for a woman to be drunk—that is a downright heartbreaking and depressing picture.
Expositors Commentary says, “It is proved by experience that the reclamation (or recovery) of a woman drunkard is almost impossible.” This is not to be misconstrued as a chauvinistic remark. Research proves that:
* Women are less likely than men to seek help initially with alcoholism –preferring mental health clinics etc where their drinking problem is less likely to be detected.
* The death rate among women alcoholics is higher than among males because women have increased risk for suicide, cirrhosis, hepatitis and alcohol-related accidents
So Paul exhorts the older women to be holy in behavior, not slanderers and not to be enslaved to much wine.
Teachers of good things –
Titus 2:3 the older women likewise, that they be reverent in behavior, not slanderers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things;
In verse four Paul elaborates on the “good things” older women are to be teaching young women:
Titus 2:4 that they teach the young women to love their husbands, to love their children,
Titus 2:5 to be discreet, chaste, homemakers, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be blasphemed.
The word “teach” in Titus 2:4 is related to the word translated “temperate/self-controlled” in Titus 2:2, and probably should be translated, “train by making sober-minded.” This word also means, “to recall a person to his senses.”
Why should a young woman have to be recalled to her senses? Why should she have to be trained to be made sober-minded? Because our women have been drawn away from their biblical roles and responsibility as women.
We are living in a time when gender roles are being confused—men are being encouraged to be soft and tune in to their “feminine side.” They are encouraged to cry and get in touch with their feelings.
Our sisters are encouraged to be hard, aggressive, assertive and “it's not ok to cry.” There is an agenda to remove gender differences altogether. But we cannot ignore how God has created us differently. Physically and emotionally.
Now the Bible teaches that there is no spiritual difference between men and women; husbands and wives are joint heirs (1 Peter 3; Galatians 3:28).
However we cannot ignore that men and women are different physically and emotionally.
When you put a boy and girl in a room with toys the average boy will go for the trucks and action figures and the girls will go for the doll babies.
The boys will animate the trucks with their “vroom, vroom” and the girls will talk to their doll as if they were a mommy.
Men and women are different. The world would have us to blur the distinctions that God has designed and built into the sexes but we need to embrace the roles and responsibilities that flow out of these distinctions.
In Paul’s day women were coaxed away from God’s high and holy calling for women. So Paul is teaching us in Titus 2 that our young women need to be recalled to their senses.
In Paul’s day the young women needed to be trained to be made sober-minded—the older women were tasked with doing this training.
How are the older women to teach or train our younger women to be sober-minded? How are they to recall our younger women to their senses?
Titus 2:4 that they may encourage the young women to love their husbands, to love their children,
Titus 2:5 to be sensible, pure, workers at home, kind, being subject to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be dishonored.
The older women were to develop a ministry of teaching younger women what is good. It appears from reading the text that the younger women were to look to the home as their primary focus. Why the home?
Have you ever heard the saying, “The hand that rocks the cradle rules the world?” The full quote is "For the hand that rocks the cradle, is the hand that rules the world." It is from a poem by William Ross Wallace that celebrates Motherhood and the concept that what a person becomes in their starts with what they learn from their mother and that ultimately, it is mothers that have the greatest influence on what we are or become.
The word “rule” in this classic quote means “to guide and influence and win.” People who rule the world are the people with strong character. They are more energetic, efficient, intelligent, dynamic to the core. They are like engines in society and oftentimes the torch bearers.
It is the mother who has the greatest opportunity to instill these qualities of leadership in these leaders. The most powerful influence on a child is that of his mother. The mother nurses the child and moulds his character. It is in this sense that mother rules the world.
Great men of the world have acknowledged the contribution of their success to their mothers. Abraham Lincoln said, “All that I am or hope to be, I owe it to my Mother.”
How are young women to learn to make the home their primary focus? Titus 2:4-5 says she is to be encouraged to “love their husbands, to love their children, to be sensible, pure, workers at home, kind, being subject to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be dishonored.”
Two ways she can be encouraged:
By example. A young woman growing up will learn these things if they are positively modeled in the home. When she grows up, she will want to be like mom. She will want to “make her nest” the way she was taught to make it. She will seek to raise her kids the way she was raised.
In 2 Tim 1:5 Paul tells Timothy, “…when I call to remembrance the genuine faith that is in you, which dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and I am persuaded is in you also.”
By word. Sunday school, children’s church and other children’s ministry is no substitute for the teaching of the Word of God that comes from the lips of a mother.
Prov 1:8-9 My son, hear the instruction of your father, And do not forsake the law of your mother; For they will be a graceful ornament on your head, And chains about your neck.
Prov 31:1 The words of King Lemuel, the utterance which his mother taught him:
If you continue to read Proverbs 31, you will find the words of a wise king. King Lemuel paid tribute to this mother right at the start of this proverb. But there are many moms who are blowing an opportunity of a lifetime to exert a godly influence on their offspring.
As a mother, you have the opportunity to produce and nurture a potential “mover and shaker”—someone who can make a Christ-honoring difference in society.
Perhaps what the older women in the church are to teach the younger women can be summed up in the statement, “Discipleship begins in the home.”
