Saints or Ain’ts?
September 27, 2024
-Dr. J. Vernon McGee, from our Titus Bible Companion
No matter how high the steeple rises in the sky or how beautiful the worship inside, the message delivered from the pulpit will tell you whether a church is really a church. A church must teach sound doctrine or it’s not a church.
In this second chapter of Titus, we discover more of what this “sound doctrine” is (2:2) and what type of leader God can use to lead His church. The apostle Paul also divides up the congregation into specific demographics and paints a picture of what all saints should look like.
Let’s begin with the senior citizens. He said older men should be worthy of respect and self-controlled. They practice a practical faith in God and embrace their role as an example in the church body. They show concern for others and a patient endurance, with full confidence in God. These are all marks of maturity.
Older women should do all that, too, with a feminine flair. Their behavior should reflect their love for the Lord. Their words are edifying and kind, rather than malicious gossip, and the time they have on their hands should be spent doing good works as well as teaching younger women what is good.
It’s a serious responsibility to be a wife and to care for children in the home. The biggest and most important business in the world is the making of a home. A wife’s primary responsibility is her home, and a wise husband allows his wife to manage the household as her primary ministry. An older woman can help a young wife navigate the complexities of that job and respond to the love and leadership of her husband.
The next group Paul addresses are the young men, and for that he turns to Titus, his young protégé and pastor, and says, “You be a pattern, an example, for the other young men.”
A young man should maintain purity as he models his complete confidence in God’s Word. He knows and appreciates how his behavior impacts the effectiveness of the gospel. He also realizes his life is being watched by the world, so he should live so he can’t be accused of anything ungodly. Even his conversations should reveal that he is a child of God.
The next group Paul addresses are servants. In the early church, many followers of Jesus were slaves. In fact, 90 percent of the names engraved on the walls of the catacombs are of slaves. The gospel met a tremendous need for this group of people.
Paul challenges servants with sound counsel in two areas that easily cross over to our relationship with our employers. The first counsel stresses the importance of a godly attitude—to do our jobs humbly and wholeheartedly. And secondly, to be trustworthy in our speech, in our moral integrity (don’t steal), and faithfulness.
What do these actions accomplish? When you act this way, you adorn the message of the gospel, Paul said. The original word for “adorn” is the same root for “cosmetic.” Our faithful service to our employers makes a beautiful backdrop for people to hear the good news about Jesus Christ.
In case these folks think Paul is just getting into their business, the apostle answers the bigger question of why they should stand out in their culture. It’s because of God’s grace, he said. The most wonderful thing in the world is that God’s grace is available to us in three time zones:
For the grace of God that brings salvation [past] … teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age [present], looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ [future]. -Titus 2:11-13
The grace of God is the way God saves us. It is God’s power at work in us. God doesn’t save us by His love; He doesn’t save us by His mercy. Ephesians 2:8 tells us: “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God.”
God only asks people to believe Him, to trust Him, and to accept the gift offered by Jesus Christ. God’s way is the best way, and it is the only way.
God is not trying to make this world a better place; He is redeeming the people who believe in the name of Jesus Christ. The gospel doesn’t want people to act nicer. God isn’t interested in reforming you; He wants to redeem you. God wants you to live for Him and wants you to do good works, but He has to redeem you first.
How will He do that?
Through Jesus Christ “who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works” (2:14). He paid a price for us so He could redeem us from a dark, rebellious life. He wants a pure people for Himself.
My Turn
- Where did the early church find sound doctrine? Has this changed for us at all? Where are you finding truth to build your life on?
- God’s grace is beautiful—and relatable. God says sound doctrine should lead to our maturity, and then shows us how it looks different for different groups of people. How is that grace?
- Paul told Titus to be a pattern. What are some areas of your life where you need to find a good pattern to follow?