Living as Christians on the Home Front

Part 1

Titus 2:2-10

January 29, 2006

 

During our New Members' Weekend, we talked about the common practice in Christian circles to compartmentalize the Christian life. On one extreme we have the gospel, then we move to discipleship, then to deeper study, and then to the so-called "deeper life." All of these, with exception of the gospel, appear to be optional when it comes to Christianity. Each can operate without the other, or so it seems. But all of this misses the point of the gospel. The gospel is not something you do or a one-time event in your life. Embracing the gospel of Jesus Christ refocuses every detail of life so that the Christian begins a Christ-centered or gospel-focused life. Every relationship for the Christian finds its focal point in the purpose and power of the gospel. Rather than compartmentalizing our Christian lives, we're to see how every aspect of our lives is to magnify the gospel of Christ.

 

I've met many people through the years that have grown frustrated with their Christian lives. Many of them have given evidence of being genuine believers, and yet found frustration at trying to achieve certain criteria or levels or lifestyles as Christians that have been set before them. They have admired a particular teacher of Scripture, and somehow, someway, they have sought to conform to that teacher's peculiar personality and idiosyncrasies and leanings in the Christian life. So if that teacher happened to be legalistic, they too have sought to follow the same legalism. If that teacher happened to have a very lively personality that expressed itself in vivid ways, then they too have sought to emulate the same vivid ways even though foreign to their own personality. If the teacher happened to be rigid and harsh, then they too develop rigidity and harshness in their approach to the Christian life.

 

We are to find good examples of Christians that help us to flesh out the details of daily Christian living. Paul told Timothy to be an example of a believer. He commended the Thessalonian believers for following the example of Christ and that of Paul, and then commended them for being an example of Christians in their conduct in the midst of an ungodly society. The writer of Hebrews urged these struggling believers to be mindful of the example of those that had faithfully followed Christ and imitate their faith. And in our text, Paul tells Titus to "be an example of good deeds." So, we do need examples-good examples of how the Christian life is to be lived. The key is that these examples need to conform to the gospel of Christ. The practice of their lives is to be a clear reflection of the grace and power of the gospel. Their behavior should have the fragrance of Christ about it, and should beautify the gospel of grace rather than merely pointing to morality or rigid behavior or a set of rules and regulations. The gospel is to be lived out in our most important relationships. Christian homes are not such because there happen to be some Christians living in them; rather, they are Christian homes as they savor the gospel of Christ in the way they live and relate to one another. What does it mean to live as Christians on the home front?

 

To help us to think through on this subject, let us consider first some general principles that are apparent in our text, and then look next week at the particular descriptions given of Christians at every stage of life.

 

I. General principles on Christian homes

 

As we read through this passage, we notice that it is not unrelated to what Paul has already spoken to Titus. He told him to continue the work of reforming the churches in Crete by appointing elders in each of the cities where the churches existed. Then he described the kind of character and practice that should characterize elders. He contrasted this with a description of "rebellious men" who had been disrupting the families in the church by their unsound teaching. He called them "empty talkers and deceivers," and agreed with an ancient Cretan teacher, "Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons." He warned of empty professions of Christ that leave a person "detestable and disobedient and worthless for any good deed." Then he adds yet another contrast. "But as for you, speak the things which are fitting for sound doctrine." He is emphatic, "But you, you speak the things suitable or fitting together with sound doctrine." Paul is not just telling Titus to teach good doctrine but to demonstrate how doctrine and practice go together. Doctrine must never be held as only profiting us intellectually, something to discuss in theological roundtables but of no value in the daily grind of life. Rather, doctrine is foundational for behavior. You will behave according to what and how you believe. So Paul urges Titus to show that the doctrine of the gospel serves as the foundation for Christian behavior and practice.

 

Not only is this passage related to the previous chapter but it also contains common themes. That's what I want to try to piece together for us in this first section. I'm calling them general principles on Christian homes simply because they serve as a framework for understanding the specific directions for each generation and gender of Christians.

 

1. Relationship between belief and behavior, theology and ethics

 

If the challenge facing Titus was that of speaking "the things which are fitting for sound doctrine," then one would immediately think that Paul had in mind some intensely deep aspects of theology. Titus was to plunge into discussions on the Trinity, God's Providence, and Election. Yet that is not at all what the Apostle commands. Instead, Titus must consider the relationship of one's theology and ethics, his beliefs and behavior. That's what is meant by the word "fitting"; it describes what appropriately relates to belief in the gospel. The statements that follow show us that the gospel - which is the sound doctrine in particular that Paul has in mind - affects the way that a believer conducts himself and relates to others. If the gospel has not affected our behavior then it is apparent that it has not affected our beliefs!

 

Sound doctrine is never meant to solo in our thinking. We're not to compartmentalize doctrine so that we have our beliefs on one end of our lives and our behavior on the other. Doctrine, when rightly understood, never walks alone. It is fitted together with right practice. How are we to respond to the fact that God is Creator, that we are sinners, that God sent His Son as Mediator, that the Mediator justified us through His substitutionary death on the cross, and that we have life through the Mediator's resurrection life? These are all doctrinal statements and thoughts. Yet each of them affects the way that we behave. If I realize that God is Creator, then I pause to recognize His glory all about me and to confess that I am not God or the focal point of creation. If I realize that I'm a sinner, then I consider my constant neediness, and I ponder that this God who created me will also judge me for my rebellion against Him. If I ponder Christ the Mediator, the eternal Son of God becoming forever part of the human race in the Incarnation, and then bearing God's judgment for me at the cross, then I respond in gratitude and humility and trust in Him. Each of these theological considerations affects the way that I behave.

 

Notice how Paul puts this together in this passage. Titus was to "speak the things which are fitting for sound doctrine." Doctrine does not solo in our thoughts and behavior. The young women are to love their husbands and children, behave sensibly and purely, and be subject to their husbands "so that the word of God will not be dishonored." These young women confessed Jesus Christ to be Lord of their lives. Now all eyes were upon them. Would they honor or dishonor the gospel of Christ by the way they lived? The kind of lives that Paul calls for would stand out in the Roman world. Women often tolerated their husbands who often treated them indifferently, if not worse. Purity and diligence in providing a gracious home would have been out of the ordinary. Gladly submitting to one's husband to properly order the home would have been foreign to their thinking. But the gospel changed all of this! Their lives revolved around Christ and the gospel. Their desires and abilities were impacted by what Christ had done. So to live like the rest of the world would have dishonored the gospel, as though it had no power over the entrenched thinking and practice of the world.

 

Even slaves were to gauge their practice toward their masters in relationship to the gospel. They were not to act like other slaves who sought opportunity to bad-mouth their masters or to talk back to those in authority over them or to pilfer whatever they could for personal use. Their behavior was to be such, even in the evil institution of slavery that would eventually be brought down by the power of the gospel, that they would "adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in every respect." How would a slave be able to behave in a distinctively Christian way? The gospel that had transformed him applied grace to his attitudes and desires that in turn, changed the way he thought, and enabled him to put into practice the life of a gospel-centered person. To have a disconnect in his behavior, even though he faced some measure of difficulty due to slavery, would have diminished the influence of the gospel of Christ in the community.

 

The gospel calls us to a new standard of holy living. That's why the gospel is never viewed in the New Testament as being merely decisional. So many have erred at this point, thinking that if they make some kind of decision related to the gospel, they have their assurance of eternal life, and so they can put that in their box and lay it aside. But as we saw last week, Christianity is life, not simply a decision unrelated to the day to day happenings of life. Christianity is life lived in relationship to Jesus Christ and His body. The Christian relates to the Godhead with a new humility, awe, and dependence. The Christian looks to the Father with love and trust. The Christian looks to Christ and His sufficiency for forgiveness, righteousness, and grace. The Christian looks to the Holy Spirit for power, strength, and character borne out of the fruit of the Spirit. The Christian relates to the body of Christ as his brothers and sisters, the redeemed family, and fellow heirs of God through Christ. He is in union with Christ and His church. He has a new sense of kinship with people of different races, cultures, and languages. He feels compelled to love these brethren, to exhort them in the Christian walk, to encourage them in difficulties, and to help supply their needs.

 

When the gospel is not applied to the most intimate relationships in life-those of the home and church-then God's Word is dishonored. Our homes, through Christ, can model the soundness of thought, conscientiousness in relationships, and purity of personal lives rooted in the gospel.

 

2. Attentiveness to standards of godliness inherent in the gospel

 

Paul works toward a grand crescendo at the end of this chapter that highlights the grace of God in salvation. Verse 11 is connected with the exhortations on relationships by the opening use of "for" as a conjunction. This salvation, Paul says, instructs "us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age." Inherent in the gospel is a new life conforming to godliness. The effects of the gospel change our disposition and inclination toward godliness. Before knowing Christ, we are not consumed with living holy lives! Our desire is for doing what we want and satisfying ourselves and pampering our feelings. But then comes Christ and the gospel, and everything changes! We see this so clearly in the way that Paul has taught the various generations in Crete to live. One characteristic that ties together older men, older women, younger women, and younger men is being "sensible." "Older men are to be... sensible." "Older women" are to teach what is good so that they might encourage sensibility with the younger women (the word "encourage" in verse 4 is built on the same root as "sensible" in vvs. 2, 5, 6, and 12). The "younger women" are "to be sensible." "Likewise urge the young men to be sensible." "For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us... to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age." The word calls for soundness in the way that we think. Christians look at life differently, through biblical lenses that affect every decision, relationship, and deed. Paul is declaring that the gospel does this naturally. Godly living is part-and-parcel with the gospel.

 

This does not mean that there are arbitrary rules and regulations attached to the gospel. That is legalism, an artificial standard of behavior that is pushed with a view to gaining merit from God. Instead, the gospel instructs us in "sensible"-carefully thought out-living. In this sense, the gospel is both the means and the end of Christian behavior. It is the means in that the effects of the gospel change our disposition and apply grace to the whole life. It is the end of Christian behavior in that the Christian's behavior and deeds aims toward adorning "the gospel of God our Savior in every respect." The word, "adorn" in verse 10, was used in the ancient world of arranging jewels in such a way that their natural beauty and radiance would be shown. That's what the Christian does in the way that he lives in relationship to his family, his church, his work life, his community, and the world at large. He seeks to behave in such a way that the beauty and radiance of Christ the Redeemer and the gospel of grace shine forth to all about him.

 

When a Christian's life radiates the gospel, it points attention to Jesus Christ. As I mentioned a couple of weeks ago, I did not grow up hearing the gospel on a regular basis from our church's pulpit or classes. I had assumed that I was a Christian when I walked the church's aisle during a service and was baptized the following Sunday. My behavior did not change nor did my desires. I considered myself a Christian because of what I had done during that service rather than because of what Christ had accomplished on the cross and in the resurrection 2000 years before. But the Lord graciously helped me to see the gospel through Marshall Crawley, a man called to our church staff. Marshall had a radiant smile-I can still see it clearly though he has been in heaven for over 15 years. He didn't have much of this world's goods. He had a birth defect that left him limping with every step. I remember how amazed I was in seeing him play softball with us, and galloping with a limp toward first base! He never complained about it even though it often caused him great pain. Because he stood for the gospel and sought to orient his life and ministry around the gospel, he began to face opposition in our church. The pastor did not like him, and so did not communicate with him or do anything to help his ministry. Marshall never complained about this but kept on serving Christ joyfully. His wife had some health issues but though concerned about it, he never let that sink his joy in Christ. I saw the way that he related lovingly to his wife and daughter. The way that he spoke to them and showed them kindness at every turn and gave them wise leadership, just amazed me! I could not get over this man that demonstrated the gospel in the relationships of his life. That's why I consider him my father in Christ. His life and witness pointed constantly to Christ. He adorned "the doctrine of God our Savior in every respect!" It was no passing fancy with Marshall. He served Christ in some difficult situations, facing many trials along the way, but still the gospel shown forth in his life. He called to tell me that his beloved wife was dying of cancer; and even in this the hope that was his in Christ radiated the glory of the gospel. I spent several days with him preaching in his church in south Florida, staying in his home, and enjoying fellowship with him. Even in that setting where he would have 'let down his hair,' I continued to see the adorning of the gospel of Christ. Not long after this, he called me to tell me that he had cancer, and the doctors gave him little time to live. All he could speak about was the kindness of the Lord and the hope that filled his heart that he would soon see His Savior.

 

I think this was the kind of life that Paul had in mind when he demonstrated that inherent in the gospel are standards of godliness. It is not the bare keeping of the law as practiced by the Pharisees but it is that which Christ proclaimed in the Sermon on the Mount as He explained the meaning of the law, so that Christians concern themselves with the whole spirit of the law rather than just the letter of the law. The believer doesn't try to see how much he can get away with without stepping across the line between sinning and not sinning. That's Pharisaism and legalism. Rather he desires to see how much of Christ can be shown in his life as the law of God written on stone is now written on the heart, pulsating toward godliness.

 

3. Interdependence in Christ's body

 

Why did the Apostle identify the different generations and genders when giving his instructions? If you notice, there are actually six different categories of instruction: (1) older men in v. 2; (2) older women in vv. 3-4; (3) young women in vv. 4-5; (4) young men in v. 6; (5) instructions to Titus, noted by "yourself" in vv. 7-8; and (6) instructions to slaves in verses 9-10. Each generation and each gender and each station in life faces its own challenges. The particular issues that Paul addresses concerned things that he saw in Crete. He had pinpointed problems in the communities involving a number of issues, as Bryan Chapell summarizes them for us.

The list of issues that Titus must address in his teaching includes anger, immorality, immaturity in life and doctrine, lack of reverence, slander, meanness, substance abuse, idleness, family breakdown, crudity, dishonesty, frivolity, disobedience, back talk, and theft (vv. 2-9). If such matters had to be addressed in an apostolic church, we should not doubt that they would be present in the churches we now or will serve. Though such issues often lie beneath the surface, they are present wherever fallen people meet, and they vary only in degree [PTW: 1 & 2 Timothy, Titus: To Guard the Deposit, 325].


It was not a pretty sight! Yet would he see much different in the various communities where Christian congregations assemble? Fallen people bring lots of baggage to the table. Patterns of ingrained sin, evil habits, and sinful dispositions are found in every believer. So, we have to be instructed so that we recognize that action must be taken against such habits and dispositions. We are called upon to exercise personal discipline as well as to exhort one another corporately.

 

Some of the older men would grow impatient with others or tend to grow slack in practicing the spiritual disciplines. The older women would get caught up in letting their tongues slip and no longer guarding their desires. Younger women would grow tired of husband and children, being ready to find a new spark in life. Young men would lose their heads and give way to following the customs of the world. Each generation faces its own demands, so each must constantly maintain teachability throughout their days, seeking ever to conform their lives to the image of Christ. Each generation must learn that we never totally conquer temptation; with each stage of life come new temptations that aim to destroy the soul. So we must guard our hearts at every stage of life. There's nothing more disgusting than seeing older Christian men and women not finishing well in their devotion and service to Christ! Growing cold and crotchety with time, instead of being tempered by the gospel, they discredit the gospel of grace instead of adorning it.

 

With this in mind, older generations have particular responsibilities with the younger. Thus, Paul calls for Titus to "speak the things which are fitting for sound doctrine." He tells the older women to "encourage the young women to love their husbands, to love their children." This involves two necessities. First, that the older generation recognizes that they have much to contribute to the younger generations. They need your wisdom, experience, and application of the Scripture to the demands of life. Second, that the younger generation be teachable and value the counsel and example of older generations of Christians. Seek to have relationships with the older men and women. Learn from them, ask them questions, listen to their wisdom, and glean from their practice of the Christian life. Every generation of Christians bear common responsibility to adorn the gospel of Christ, so we must avail ourselves of the inter-generational makeup of the church.

 

Each generation must relate to each other. This calls for patience with one another and the challenges of the differing generation. We cannot just live in our own little world. We must see that God has designed the body of Christ so that older believers might be sharpened by the younger, and younger believers might be taught by the older. This is why there is a huge mistake in churches that seek to intentionally reach only a particular generation. That's not the biblical make-up of the church! We need each other, each generation with all of its distinctive needs and abilities. The older generation of Christians must be conscientious that the younger generation is watching, looking for how we handle the difficulties and demands of life. The younger generation of Christians must be conscientious that the older generation depends on you to spur them forward by your questions and enthusiasm for Christ. Together, we must hold each other accountable to live like Christians, to learn from each other, and to value the generational diversity in the body of Christ.

 

To be continued next week...

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