Titus Chapter 2

Vs. 1-10…“But speak thou the things which become sound doctrine: [2] That the aged men be sober, grave, temperate, sound in faith, in charity, in patience. [3] The aged women likewise, that they be in behaviour as becometh holiness, not false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things;
[4] That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children,
[5] To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed. [6] Young men likewise exhort to be sober minded. [7] In all things shewing thyself a pattern of good works: in doctrine shewing uncorruptness, gravity, sincerity, [8] Sound speech, that cannot be condemned; that he that is of the contrary part may be ashamed, having no evil thing to say of you. [9] Exhort servants to be obedient unto their own masters, and to please them well in all things; not answering again; [10] Not purloining, but shewing all good fidelity; that they may adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things.”

“But speak thou the things which become sound doctrine”…

• The doctrine that the Lord taught was “the Father’s” (Old Testament) John 7:16
• The doctrine that Peter taught was “the Apostle’s doctrine (Acts 2:42)
• The doctrine Paul taught was “of the Lord” (Acts 13:12)

“That the aged men be sober, grave, temperate, sound in faith, in charity, in patience”…Given the spiritual fight we are in as a grace ambassador, maybe we need to have a little less fun, fewer parties and church fellowships.

“The aged women likewise, that they be in behaviour as becometh holiness, not false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things; [4] That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children, [5] To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed”… Titus was to teach the aged women to be what they should be as Christians, so that they in turn might teach the younger women to be what they should be. And who would be better qualified to teach the young women to love even unlovable husbands than the older women? But did the younger mothers need to be taught to love their children? Yes! The lifestyle in Crete was so deplorable that mothers had to be taught to love their own children. The older Christian women should teach the younger ones to be careful about their appearance, their conversation and their conduct. They are to practice this way of life "that the Word of God be not blasphemed".

“Young men likewise exhort to be sober minded. [7] In all things shewing thyself a pattern of good works: in doctrine shewing uncorruptness, gravity, sincerity, [8] Sound speech, that cannot be condemned; that he that is of the contrary part may be ashamed, having no evil thing to say of you.” As the teenager grows up to young manhood he should, more and more, put aside the irresponsibility of youth and seriously

pursue a life of disciplined service for Christ. Young men are to show themselves a pattern of good works. That would make the most powerful influence for good on those who know you. Your walk talks and your talk talks; but your walk talks louder than your talk talks.

“Exhort servants to be obedient unto their own masters, and to please them well in all things; not answering again; [10] Not purloining, (stealing) but shewing all good fidelity; that they may adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things.”  You will need the grace program of God in order to perform the “all things”. The all things is grace doctrine. When we do our work as grace believers we are living out the “all things” of God. “For all things are for your sakes, that the abundant grace might through the thanksgiving of many redound to the glory of God.”  (II Cor. 4:15)

Vs. 11… “For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men”

The greatest revelation of all time was committed to the Apostle Paul--- "the dispensation of the grace of God" (Eph. 3:2). He referred to it as a "mystery" (hidden wisdom). Paul regularly contrasted the “hidden wisdom” Jesus had revealed to him with the “human wisdom” that religionists constantly spew out. (I Cor. 2:7; Eph. 3:3-11; Gal. 2:2; Col. 1:26,27). Paul's ministry progressively replaced that of Peter and the Jewish Apostles because of Israel's continued rejection of Messiah and His kingdom. Paul became the apostle to the nations (Gentiles) (Rom. 11:13). Recognition of this fact was given to all by the leaders of the Jewish Apostles as they gave to Paul and Barnabas "the right hands of fellowship", acknowledging Paul's divine commission to go to the Gentiles with his special message for them, and agreeing to confine their own ministry to the circumcision (Gal. 2:2,7,9). In connection with this commission Paul was also the divinely appointed minister of the Church, the Body of Christ (Col. 1:24,25). No other Bible writer has one single word to say about "the Church which is [Christ's] Body. But Paul, who wrote more books of the Bible than any other writer, deals consistently with those truths which concern "the Body of Christ”, composed of Jews and Gentiles reconciled to God in one body by the Cross (Eph. 2:14-16; I Cor.12:13). The Jewish kingdom church was established during the earthly ministry of Christ and has nothing to do with the Church, the Body of Christ. (Matt. 16:15-18; 19:28; Acts 1:6; 3:19-21).

Under Paul's ministry the gospel of Christ shone forth to the entire known world. Before considering this evidence, let us remember that the Jewish Apostles lead by Peter had previously been sent to proclaim their God-given message to all mankind. In their "great commission" three different terms are used to emphasize this: "all nations," "all the world," and "every creature. "Go ye therefore, and teach ALL NATIONS”  (Matt. 28:19; Luke 24:47). "Go ye into ALL THE WORLD, and preach the gospel to EVERY CREATURE “(Mark 16:15). They began to carry out their worldwide mission, but never got beyond the own borders. We should always associate Acts 1:8 with Acts 8:1 because Jerusalem, rather than turning to their Messiah, so that the apostles could go on with their worldwide commission, initiated a "great persecution" against the Jewish Church there, with the result that "they (the Jewish believers) were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judaea and Samaria, except the apostles.”  They remained at Jerusalem for the same reason that the rest fled---because Jerusalem was not turning to their Messiah, Jesus Christ. The first part of their commission had not yet been fulfilled (Acts 1:8); therefore they were “working on Jerusalem”. (See Luke 24:45; Acts 1:3; 2:4). They knew that according to covenant and prophecy the Gentiles were to be saved and blessed through redeemed Israel (Gen.22:17,18; Isa. 60:1-3; Zech. 8:13).

As Israel persisted in rejecting their Messiah and His kingdom God began to set the nation aside, raising up Paul to go to the Gentiles with the good news of salvation "by grace," apart from covenant and prophecy, and "through faith," apart from works.    

The same three terms used in the so-called "great commission" to indicate its worldwide scope, are also used in Paul's epistles in connection with his ministry. The twelve never got to "all nations," "all the world," or "all creatures" with their message; Paul did with his, either directly or indirectly.

"Now to Him that is of power to establish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began. But now is made manifest, and by the Scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, MADE KNOWN TO ALL NATIONS for the obedience of faith” (Rom. 16:25,26).

And to the Colossians he writes concerning "the truth of the gospel": "WHICH IS COME UNTO YOU, AS IT IS IN ALL THE WORLD; and bringeth forth fruit, as it doth also in you. . .” (Col. 1:6).

". . . which ye have heard, and WHICH WAS PREACHED TO EVERY CREATURE WHICH IS UNDER HEAVEN whereof I Paul am made a minister"”  (Col. 1:23).

 "all they which dwelt in Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus” (Acts 19:10).

The Twelve Apostles did not accomplish their “commission”; but Paul says he did get his God-given message to "all nations," "all the world" and "all creatures"

To the Romans he writes: "From Jerusalem, and round about unto Illyricum, I have fully preached the gospel of Christ” (Rom. 15:19), and speaks of his plans to go to Spain (15:24), plans which may well have been accomplished between his two imprisonments. Even of his helpers it was said: "These that have turned the world upside down are come hither also” (Acts 17:6). And to the Romans again, he says: "Your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world”. (Rom. 1:8). "By whom we have received grace and apostleship, for obedience to the faith among ALL NATIONS, for His name” (Rom. 1:5). "Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ; "And TO MAKE ALL MEN SEE what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world bath been hid in God. . .” (Eph. 3:8,9).

In Antioch of Pisidia  "almost the whole city” came together to hear the Word of God, but the unbelieving Jews made it necessary for Paul and Barnabas to leave immediately. (Acts 13:49,50).

At Lystra the people first tried to offer sacrifices to Paul and Barnabas, thinking they were gods, (“And they called Barnabas, Jupiter; and Paul, Mercurius” vs. 12) but this changed quickly when "... there come thither certain Jews from Antioch and lconium, who persuaded the people, and having stoned Paul, drew him out of the city, supposing he had been dead”  (Acts 14:19). I guess it would be appropriate to ask grace believers which astrological sign they are born under? The correct answer would be Mercury and Jupiter. Or better yet, “Are you following Mercury?” 

Returning to Antioch in Syria, Paul and Barnabas found certain men from Judaea seeking to bring the Gentile believers under the Law of Moses. Result: "Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and

disputation with them” (Acts 15:2). The outcome of this conflict was that Paul and Barnabas went up to Jerusalem to settle the matter with the leaders of the Jewish Church there. On this occasion Paul took Titus, a Greek, and was later able to write to the Galatians…"Titus ... was not compelled to be circumcised" And concerning those who would have wanted him circumcised he said…"To whom we gave place by subjection, no, not for an hour; that the truth of the gospel might continue with you”. (Gal. 2:5).

Think of the energy required to do all this, not to speak of the courage and perseverance!

Next we find Paul taking Silas with him to minister the gospel of grace and again it is danger, persecution

and confusion wherever he goes. At Philippi he and Silas are beaten with many stripes and imprisoned, their feet locked in stocks. At Thessalonica "the Jews which believed not ... set all the city on an uproar" (Acts 17:5) and things became so dangerous that "the brethren immediately sent away Paul and Silas by night unto Berea" (vs 10). But the unbelieving Jews from Thessalonica followed him to Berea and "stirred up the people" there, so that this time “... the brethren sent Paul away to the sea (Acts 17:14). At Athens he got "the cold shoulder" and "departed from among them" to Corinth, where he was able to remain for a year and six months, but not without experiencing more opposition and persecution. At Ephesus he went to the synagogue "and spoke boldly for the space of three months, disputing and persuading the things concerning the kingdom of God." Then, when "divers were hardened, and believed not" he "separated the

disciples" from the unbelieving multitude and went with them to "the school of one Tyrannus," where he "disputed daily." "And this continued by the space of two years, so that all they that dwelt in Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus, both Jews and Greeks" (Acts 19:8-10).

Before Paul left Ephesus so much had been accomplished that a voluntary public bonfire was held, at which those who had been won to Christ burned their pagan, occult books, amounting in value to 50,000 pieces of silver. "So mightily grew the Word of God and prevailed" (Acts 19:20). But this was followed by the great uproar at which Demetrius and the craftsmen who made silver shrines for Diana, the goddess of the Ephesians, stirred up the unbelieving masses to such a degree that for two hours they kept crying, "Great is Diana of the Ephesians" (vs. 34).

Concerning his ministry in Asia the Apostle wrote to the Corinthians: "For we would not, brethren, have you ignorant of our trouble which came to us in Asia; that WE WERE PRESSED OUT OF MEASURE, ABOVE STRENGTH, INSOMUCH THAT WE DESPAIRED EVEN OF LIFE” (II Cor. 1:8).

There was no stop in Paul. At Troas, on the first day of the week, he preached in an upper room "until midnight" (Acts 20:7), then "talked a long while, even till the break of day" (vs. 11), and then departed again to continue his journey to Jerusalem.  And with regard to the "bonds and afflictions" that now awaited him, he said: "But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God”  (vs. 24).

In closing he reminded them: "by the space of three years I ceased not to warn every one night and day with tears” (regarding the coming apostasy from the truth of the gospel) and then commended them "to God and to the Word of His grace” (vs. 31,32).

Finally he was able to write from Rome to his beloved Philippian friends: ". . . my bonds in Christ are manifest in all the palace, and in all other places” (Phil. 1:23). He was known far and wide as having been imprisoned for the message of grace he proclaimed, and even in wicked Nero's palace a company of believers had sprung up, so that he could further write to the Philippians: "All the saints salute you, chiefly they that are of Caesar's household”  (4:22).

Therefore under Paul's ministry there did take place a worldwide proclamation of "the gospel of the grace of God," so that he could write to Titus about the …the shining forth of God's grace to all mankind.

"I MARVEL THAT YE ARE SO SOON REMOVED FROM HIM THAT CALLED YOU INTO THE GRACE OF CHRIST, UNTO ANOTHER GOSPEL” (Gal. 1:6).

Vs. 12-15…"Teaching us that denying  ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world.  Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ; Who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto Himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works. These things speak, and exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no man despise thee.” 

“Teaching us that denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world”… The ungodliness that Paul is talking about here is not the ungodliness of the unsaved; it is ungodliness among Christians. It sure seems odd to talk about Christian ungodliness doesn’t it? Paul makes it clear that Christian ungodliness would be a problem throughout this dispensation of grace. Christian ungodliness has a definite cause and visible symptoms.  

The word ungodliness is often thought of in terms of wickedness and gross sinful behavior. That is not what the word means. Wickedness and sinful habits can be the fruit of ungodliness; however ungodliness itself is actually something else. As Genesis 1:26 makes plain, God created man to be a godly creature. God did not make Adam and Eve as “God-like” creatures possessing His essence and attributes. Man was created with a make-up and capacity that would allow him to have things in common with God. That is, to be like God in some very specific ways: 1. To think like God does; 2. To do things God's way; and 3. To labor with God in what He is doing. Ungodliness therefore is the opposite of godliness. “And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.”  (I Tim. 3:16) 

When Adam and Eve sinned in Genesis 3, they by nature became ungodly creatures. It is fair to say that ungodliness is the chief trait of the natural man.  In this sense, it is possible for Christians to be ungodly. Israel was guilty of this in Isaiah 55:8-9… “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. 9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.”  This is a rebuke to Israel, especially the religious leadership, in view of their apostasy from the law and the prophets. The people of Israel were God's people. He gave them His law, spoke to them through His prophets, and taught them to walk in His ways. They were to be His godly nation in the midst of the Gentiles who had been consigned over to ungodliness. Their thoughts, therefore, should have been God's thoughts, thinking like He does. And their ways should have been God's ways, doing things like He does.

The potential for God's people to be ungodly has actually increased since God suspended His program with Israel and brought in this present dispensation of His grace. And the Adversary knows it. To think and act like Israel's program is all it takes to produce Christian ungodliness. God has revealed some things that He has been thinking about since before the world began but kept "hid in Himself". Today, Christian ungodliness abounds everywhere in the church even though Christians are sincere, zealous, and excited about serving the Lord.  

Paul makes it very clear that "godly edifying" is what God wants for every Christian. Godliness, therefore, is the goal of the edification process… “As I besought thee to abide still at Ephesus, when I went into Macedonia, that thou mightest charge some that they teach no other doctrine, 4 Neither give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which minister questions, rather than godly edifying which is in faith: so do.”  (I Timothy 1:3-4)

Now there are numerous forms of Christian ungodliness.  The first form that Paul deals with in I Timothy is the ungodliness belonging to those who desire to be "teachers of the law".  In view of the fact that God has not put us "under the law" but "under grace" in this dispensation, it is ungodly for any Christian to think otherwise and to put himself under the law. And so instead of thinking like God does with respect to sanctification, and doing things God's way when it comes to living unto Him in this dispensation, and laboring with God in what He is doing today, they were "understanding neither what they say, nor whereof they affirm.”  

Christian ungodliness exists when we fail to "rightly divide the word of truth" and/or fail to appreciate and operate according to the unique instructions of God's grace that belong to our “sonship” in this dispensation. 

“And not as Moses, which put a vail over his face, that the children of Israel could not stedfastly look to the end of that which is abolished”  (II Cor. 3:13)