Teachings Of Titus #3

Why? Because he said the words they were preaching were damnable words that were “Subverting whole households” to go astray.

One of the sad things about those who fall into false religions is that they aggressively do everything they can to convert their complete families. This is typical of the Mormons and Jehovah Witnesses.

After Paul exposed these false teachers, and told Titus that their mouths must be stopped, he wasted no time in telling Titus in chapter two what he must do.

Look at Titus, 2:1. “But speak thou the things which become SOUND DOCTRINE.”

This is in contrast to what these false teachers had been teaching.

WHY WAS PAUL INSTRUCTING THIS YOUNG PREACHER, TITUS, TO PREACH SOUND DOCTRINE?

Because is it is important that everyone in the church knows what God expects of them. And the only way they will know is when the Word of God is preached to them.

Paul does this by dealing with each age level, and also with some of the church officers.

Notice, first he deals with-

I. THE AGED MEN

Look at verse 2. We read, “That the aged men be sober, grave, temperate, sound in faith, in charity, in patience.”

Now you would assume that an aged man would, after all these years, know how to conduct himself, but that assumption is not always correct.

Paul mentions six things for the aged man to consider.

(1) He must be sober

The word “sober”, is the word “nephalios”, which means moderate.

Young people live their life in extremes. There is nothing wrong with sports or eating, but many of them do these things to the extreme.

But the aged man has lived long enough that he knows he must do things with moderation.

(2) He must be grave

The word “grave” here is “semnos” which means serious. It is the opposite of being flippant, shallow, and uncommitted.

We sometimes refer to the elderly as going through their second childhood. The second childhood is a nice way many times of saying some elderly men are as mean as the devil. They are like spoiled brats, they have to have things their way.

(3) He must be temperate

The word “temperate” here is “sophron” which means self-controlled, disciplined, able to curb desires and emotions.

Some think their age is a license to sin. With all due respect, sometimes you can find that senior citizens are “Senior Jerks”.

Illus: A man was at a busy restaurant and the new cashier forgot to give this man his senior citizen discount. He got upset, and said some unkind words to her. But what this “Jerk” did not seem to realize is this; there is no law in the land that says all senior citizens must be given a discount. It is a privilege that some business establishments extend to the seniors, but it is not something that a senior should demand.

There is nothing anymore disgusting than for an old man that should be able to “curb” his emotions, to be popping off like some rebellious teenager.

(4) He must be sound in faith

The word “sound” means healthy in the faith. A young man has an excuse for being weak in the faith because he has not been around long enough to learn some of the valuable lessons of life.

• In the physical realm, the older we grow the weaker we become.

• In the spiritual realm, the older we grow the stronger we should become in the faith.

(5) He must be loving

That is, as a Christian, the aged man should not grow into an “old gripe”. The last thing the world and the church needs is one more GRIPE!

(6) He must be patient

The word “patient” here is the word “hupomeno”. It means cheerful endurance.

Patience is a virtue that we learn over a period of time. But it is sad indeed when a man has lived a long life, and has never learned patience.

Paul next turns his attention to-

II. THE AGED WOMEN

Look at verse 3, we read, “The aged women likewise, that they be in behaviour as becometh holiness, not false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things.”

Paul tells us how the elderly woman should conduct her life.

(1) She should be holy

The word “holy” is the word “hieroprepes” which means reverent, devout, different and set apart in purity and behavior.

As they go through life, they are focused in on a spirit of holiness. Everything about her should reflect that she is a holy woman.

• The way she dresses

• The way she talks

• The way she looks

• The way she thinks

She should be HOLY, but also-

(2) She should not make false accusations

Look at verse 3. We read, “…Not false accusers…”