Titus chapter 2. Let us hear God's Word. But speak thou the things which become sound doctrine, that the aged men be sober, grave, temperate, sound in faith, in charity, in patience. The aged women likewise, that they be in behavior as becometh holiness, not false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things, that they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children, to be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed. Young men, likewise, exhort to be sober-minded. In all things showing thyself a pattern of good works, in doctrine showing uncorruptness, gravity, sincerity, sound speech that cannot be condemned. That he that is of the contrary part may be ashamed, having no evil thing to save you. Exhort servants to be obedient unto their own masters and to please them well in all things, not answering again. Not purloining, but showing all good fidelity, that they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in all things. For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, 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." Thus ends the reading of God's holy and infallible Word. Let's return again to a series of messages on Paul's short letter to Titus in the Isle of Crete. Now let me speak just briefly of the occasion of this message. I've spoken of the particular occasion of this message quite frequently as we've been considering this letter that Paul writes to Titus on the Isle of Crete as Titus is about the business of involving himself in the nomination and election and examination and ultimately ordination of elders in the cities where the gospel has reached there in Crete. But Thomas Taylor, the Puritan, in his commentary on this epistle speaks of a general occasion which almost all of the epistles of the New Testament have in common. He says of the epistles of the New Testament, they have all one common and general occasion, which is this, so soon as the apostles had planted any church of God by sowing the good seed of the Word, fetched out of God's own garners in the field of the world, The malicious man sent his servants to sow tares in the same field, which sprouted up suddenly into the blade and ear to the choking of the good husbandman's good seed." So here he uses the parable. of the sower and the one that would sow tares." And he says, really the epistles talk to that situation, that general occasion. The gospel goes out, people hear it, churches are being established, and yet at the very midst of when churches are being established, error is being propagated and there's confusion about who's in the church, who's not, what is a credible profession of faith, what is not a credible profession of faith. So here, uniquely in this short letter of Apostle Paul to Titus, we learn something about church planting. We learn about the importance of knowing the culture in which the gospel comes. But we see that though it's important to know the culture in which the gospel comes, it doesn't mean that the gospel is altered. by the culture in which it's presented. But it means that there are certain emphases of God's Word that will be focused upon. And so we find Paul telling Titus that he must preach the Word. And he must preach it practically. But he must preach it based on the kind of people that he is preaching to and their peculiar sins and the peculiar temptations that they might have as Cretans in general. but as aged women and aged men and younger men and younger women and servants that we come to today. As I've said before, this letter in the introduction speaks of the theme of this letter. It is, as we've mentioned, that truth leads to godliness. Or orthodoxy, straight teaching, leads to orthopraxy, straight living. Right thinking and right living are intimately connected. That's Paul's assertion at the very beginning of this letter. Having spoken of that, he then in the body of this letter suggests that while we need elders, you need elders in these places, men who will exemplify and communicate the truth that leads to godliness. And he says that those elders will need to have a positive ministry. They will need to exhort or come alongside those that are submissive, those that are ruly, but they will need to convince or rebuke the unruly. So, having spoken of the elder's task of communicating the truth, he then deals with the unruly, how they should convict or rebuke the unruly in verses 10-16 of chapter 1 before he moves into the major section of the body of this epistle in chapter 2-1 through 3-8 where he calls Titus to communicate the truth that promotes godliness to the ruly. And by doing so, by telling Titus to do this, he's obviously telling these new elders. to this task as well. And that's the section we're in thus far. We've looked at some of these different people that would be in these congregations that Titus has been encouraged to speak to very practically. Aged women, aged men, young women, young men. Last Lord's Day we looked at verses 7 and 8 and considered Paul's speaking to Titus himself as an example to all the church as well as an example of the church to the world. He was a young man. He was to set an example as a young man, but he was also to walk in a way that reflected the morals of the church, the way the church itself should live. Having spoken to Titus directly in verses 7 and 8, Paul here in verses 9 and 10 tells Titus what he should teach slaves." So, he has an exhortation to servants or slaves in verses 9 and 10a, and then he gives the rationale for this exhortation in 10b. So, let's consider the particular application, the particular teaching applicatory teaching that Paul has for slaves in Crete at this time. Let us see the implications for ourselves in our generation. Paul begins, exhort. Notice that word exhort is in italics here. It's placed there because it's assuming an unstated verb that's hearkening back to verse 6. Young men likewise exhort. Paul's talking to Titus about him exhorting or coming alongside various kinds of people. So it's assumed he's telling Titus to come alongside servants here and speak to them in particular. Exhort. Servants. Here the original word is doulos. It literally means slave or bond slave. I think in our culture it would be better to translate it, slave, for us to understand what their situation was. But I also want us to recognize that Paul here in Titus does not deal with the reciprocal responsibilities of masters. In Ephesians and Colossians when he deals with slaves, he deals with masters as well. He deals with wives and husbands, children, parents, slaves, masters. Here there's no reciprocal responsibilities laid out for masters. Well, I think that tells us something. I believe it tells us that there weren't many masters in these young churches in Crete. Remember, Paul could say to the church at Corinth in 1 Corinthians 1.26, For see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble are called. He says, if you ever look at your demographics, church incarnate, if you ever recognize you don't exactly make up a consistent mix of the population, if you ever notice that God ordinarily is pleased to call people that aren't so mighty, that aren't so wise, that aren't so wealthy, It's not saying that he doesn't call this kind of people. We certainly see in the scriptures he did and still does. Men like Job, men like Abraham, just for a couple examples. But in Corinth apparently in the early days there weren't many masters. And I think here it's likely that in the initial preaching of the Gospel, apparently very few masters came to the Lord. Very few men of wealth and of estate. And so Paul doesn't address them at this time. In more established churches, in Colossae, in Ephesus, he does address them. But here he doesn't. But I think he is speaking to servants uniquely. Consider his teaching in 1 Corinthians 7.21 to servants. He says, aren't thou called being a servant? Care not for it. But if thou mayest be free, use it rather. In other words, he says, don't get all caught up in that God has called you into His kingdom and into His family, and yet in the world you remain a servant. He says, don't be all distraught. Don't fret at that. If you can be free, that's fine. Nothing's wrong. That's a great thing to be free. But if you can, it's not anything to worry about. For he goes on to say, he that is called in the Lord being a servant is the Lord's free man. Likewise also, he that is called being free is Christ's servant. In antiquity, the basic two classes were free men and slaves. He says if you're a slave, think of yourself as the Lord's free man. If you're a free man, think of yourself as the Lord's slave. In other words, the Lord's slaves are the Lord's free men. All Christians are the Lord's servants and the Lord's free men. What a blessing that is. In saying whatever state you find yourself in the world, think about the fact that you're the opposite. So, you're bound as a slave, but you're a free man You think you're free. You've got this great blessing. But don't think that freedom in the world means you don't have to submit to the Lord's authority in your life. He goes on to say, "...Ye are bought with a price. Be ye not the servants of men." I tell him to serve and then he says, don't serve men. What's he getting at? He's saying, I want you all to remember, free men and slaves, that ultimately you have a Supreme Master, the Lord Jesus Christ. And He's bought you with a price. He's paid dearly for you. So serve Him supremely. So here Paul speaks to servants. He gives them a general exhortation in verse 9a, and then some specific exhortations in verse 9b and 10a. First, a general exhortation. Exhort servants to be obedient unto their own masters. To be obedient is this general exhortation. This word here, obedient, is the Greek word hupotasso, which means literally under a range or arrange under. In other words, get in order. Stand and file. It's a military term. Be ready to stand and file and take your appropriate place. It literally means to subject oneself. It's used in 1 Peter 2.18 where Peter says, servants, be subject to your masters with all fear, not only to the good and gentle, but also to the froward or the hard, the stern. He says, have a disposition of subjection with all fear, with all reverence. Not only to those masters who are kind and gentle, but also to those harsh and cruel masters. Still have that disposition of submission to them with reverence to their position. So, this word to be obedient really means to be in subjection too. It differs from the word that's ordinarily translated obedient in the New Testament, which means to hear under. That's used in Ephesians 6.5. Servants be obedient to them that are your masters according to the flesh with fear and trembling in singleness of your heart as unto Christ. Or Colossians 3.22. Again, servants obey. Not this word we're using. arrange under, but to hear under. Servants, hear under in all things your masters, according to the flesh, not with eye service as men pleasers, but in singleness of heart, fearing God." So here in Titus 2.9 and in 1 Peter 2.18, Paul and Peter use a word that means to arrange under or to be subject to. In other words, have a disposition of being in line without necessarily being given a command yet. In other words, get in order and be ready for the command. Then Ephesians 6, 5 and Colossians 3, 20 were to hear under. That means we're to respond when the word's given. When the command's given, we march. We halt. We face right. We face left. But here, Paul's just using that general term. Get in line, be ready to hear the command. General submission. He tells slaves to be in submission unto their own masters. In other words, Paul is focusing on their relationship to a particular master, not to every master. They're not to listen to every master. They're to listen to their own master. You see, they're not inherently less dignified than masters in general, so they're not obligated to listen to everybody that's the master. In other words, if you're in an organization and you work for a certain general, a certain sergeant, a certain manager, you're not responsible to act on every manager's whim, nor is a slave to act upon the whim of every master. but they are to respond and be in subjection to their own master. So, seeing the general exhortation in verse 9a, Paul then gives four specific exhortations to slaves in verse 9b and 10a. What we have, I believe, is two couplets, two pairs of two. Two and two. But we also have these couplets chiastically presented. That's a big word. Never used it before. But what it means is that you have a positive and a negative, then a negative and a positive. He has two couplets and he goes, positively do this, don't do this, don't do this, positively do this. But they're couplets. Do, don't do. Don't do, do. They're connected to one another. Let's see what servants are to do and not do. First, we're to do what they want. Servants are to do what their masters want or ask and to please them well in all things. The things isn't there, but the word all means in little things as well as big things. Remember the principle that Jesus sets out, he that is faithful in little is faithful in much. Haven't some of us experienced the effects of someone that maybe does great work in much of what they do, but they just can never turn their timesheet in? They can just never come to staff meeting on time. They consistently forget something. It might be somewhat minor compared to most of their work. But that one thing eventually becomes an irritant. And it also hinders their productivity, even though they're so good in so many aspects. So, He's saying, please them in all things, even the little things. In the Geneva Notes, they say that all things which may be done without offense to God, That's obviously implied by the Apostle Paul. It's not explicitly stated here. John Calvin said we must limit this to those things which are proper. In other words, Paul is not telling slaves to go do what their master says if their master tells them to go steal the ox from their neighbor. The neighbor is on vacation. His ox is crossed over. The river is a little low. A few animals have crossed over. Let's go change those grand marks to mine." He's not saying that. In those we are, as the Apostle says in Acts 5, to obey God rather than man. To remember that supremely we serve the Lord Jesus Christ. So the first thing we're to do is do what they want within the bounds of God's Word. But secondly, we're told, do not talk back. Then thirdly, we're told, do not steal. Calvin, in commenting on these two, says, Paul censors two vices that are common among servants. Petulant replies. Petulant means saucy, short. Petulant replies and a propensity to steal. He says two sins that servants can be guilty of are talking back, being short with the master, and they can also tend to skim off the top just a little bit. The master's got plenty of proceeds. What's a little bit? Sift it off. Nobody will notice. And so Calvin says here he's censoring two things that are very common. sins of servants, of slaves. First, do not talk back. Not answering again. It's a compound word, the prefix being anti. You've heard that word before, children? It means opposite or against. Don't measure against. Don't measure opposite. It's translated in verse 9 of chapter 1, gainsay. Don't speak against. Don't contradict in other words. Don't contradict your Master. So, he says, do what they want. Don't contradict them in their speech. Thirdly, do not steal. Not purloining. Literally not setting apart or self-appropriating. Do you know what it means to appropriate? Have you children ever heard of an appropriations committee in Congress that puts the money aside, sets the money aside for spending in certain things? He says, don't take it upon yourself to set a little bit aside for yourself. Don't self-appropriate. Don't skim off for yourself. It's the same word that's used in Acts 5, 2 of Ananias and Sapphira that kept back part of the price. Ananias and Sapphira kept back. That's the word used here. Self-appropriate. Now you recognize Ananias and Sapphira had every right to keep back. Their sin wasn't that they kept back some for themselves. It's the fact that they, in pretense, denied that they did. They suggested that the wholesale was going to the church, not part of the proceeds. That was their sin. It was a sin of pretense. But we still see the use of this word, keeping back, the servant keeping back. So do what they want. Usually we can only do what they want by doing what they ask. Kind of hard to read minds, right? So you've got to do what they ask you to do. What they ask you to do is what they want you to do. If it's within God's bounds, do it, Paul says. But don't talk back. Don't contradict. Don't gainsay. Don't speak against. Don't steal. Don't self-appropriate. But be faithful. But showing all good fidelity. This word but could be translated instead You see the couplets, do what they want, don't speak against them. In other words, when they ask you to do something, don't contradict, just do it if you can do it. And you see the couplet, don't steal but actually be faithful, positively. The Christian life is do not and do. There's a negative aspect. There are certain things we're not to do and there are certain things we are to do. And the Apostle Paul uniquely is one that rarely wants to tell you something not to do without telling you what to replace it with. If you can't do this, Paul wants to tell you this is what you replace that behavior with. Replace your stealing with being faithful. Instead of stealing, Show. As I said, we've used this word before. Paul's used this word and it means hold near. But literally it means hold near. But what it's saying is display. Show. Demonstrate. Display literally good faith. This word faith in the New Testament sometimes is referring to the objective truths that we're to believe in the Scripture. Other times it refers to that subjective experience we have of appropriating those truths, believing, having faith in Christ. But there's a third use of the word faith, and that means demonstrating trustworthiness. And that's its use here. In other words, be trustworthy. or be faithful in all things. Demonstrate trustworthiness. Instead of siphoning off the top, be one of those slaves who the Master can trust you with anything. He's not worried about having to have extra measures put in place to make sure you're not stealing. Because you've demonstrated such faithfulness that He doesn't have to expend extra monies to prevent stealing when he knows it's not going on. How much as a percentage of every product do we buy today that has added money because of theft and the need to protect against theft and the theft of credit and it not being paid off? Just imagine how cheap things would be at Walmart on Black Friday if there were no theft and we didn't have to protect against it. And people were actually paying with hard, cold cash. Paul saying, instead of siphoning off the top, be one that can be trusted in all things. And then he gives the rationale for these exhortations. This general exhortation to stand in place, ready to obey what you're heard. These four specific exhortations, do what's asked, within biblical bounds, don't talk back, don't siphon off the top, but be faithful in everything. Paul then gives the rationale for this in verse 10b, that they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in all things. J. Adams in his paraphrase states it this way, so that in every way, they may make the teaching of God our Savior inviting." Or we could say attractive. Why are they doing this? Paul says, I want you to do this to make the gospel that you profess and the Lord that you profess attractive. This is a way to make the gospel attractive to your masters. There's not many masters in the congregations apparently. He's telling slaves, You want to have an evangelistic impact in your work? Be a good slave. That will make the teaching that you're hearing week to week attractive. That's what will attract it. Not a fancy yellow page ad, not a fancy web page, but an attractive lifestyle. That's what Paul is calling them to. That they may. It's a clause of purpose. So that they may adorn. This word adorn in the original is cosmeo. Sound familiar, women? Cosmeo. It's the word we get cosmetic from. It literally means to put in proper order. Paul's very concerned about this. He's already told older women to train younger women to love their husbands, love their children, be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the Word of God be not blasphemy. He says there's a certain lifestyle that women ought to display that will keep the Word from being spoken ill of. Same thing in verse 8. He tells Titus there's a certain way you need to live and minister so that the contrary part, those that are opposed to you, will be ashamed that they have no evil thing to say against you. They want to be able to blaspheme in the name of the Lord. Don't give them a reason. So he says negatively in verse 8 and 9, verses 5 and 8, be concerned. about how you live. Here he says, positively live so that you can adorn, so you can put in proper order. Because what he's telling us in these verses is the glory of God's name and character among men is involved in believers' lifestyles. Our lifestyles dictate the way heathen view the things we say we believe in. Westminster Annotations commenting on this passage say, "...as the evil lives of professors is a great oblique and blemish." Great oblique. Do you know what an oblique line is, children? It's not a parallel. It's not a perpendicular. It's one that comes in at an angle. In other words, it's not straight. The evil lives of professors is a great oblique. In other words, lives that aren't straight are a blemish. So, on the contrary, their godly conversation is a great honor and ornament to the doctrine of the gospel. Paul, speaking of the same thing in 1 Timothy 6, 1 and 2, as he speaks to servants or slaves again in Ephesus through Timothy, says, Let as many as are servants, as are under the yoke, Count their own masters worthy of all honor, that the name of God and His doctrine be not blasphemed." Honor your master so that God's name and His doctrine is not spoken ill of. How much evil speaking of God's name and God's doctrine is done. because of our poor lifestyles at work. That's what Paul is getting at here. That's the rationale he gives. Paul goes on to say in 1 Timothy 6, and they that have believing masters, let them not despise them because they are brethren, but rather do them service because they are faithful and beloved partakers of the benefit. Paul suggests to servants in Ephesus who, some of them may actually have believing masters. He says, you could even be tempted. There's a temptation for one that has an unbelieving master to think, he's not worthy of my respect and honor. But there's also the temptation when you have a Christian employer to think you can get away with something because you are a Christian. And they'll give you a little slack. Because you're a brother or sister in Christ. John Calvin commenting on this word of Doran says, God's design is to receive an ornament from slaves. Think about that. Paul saying, use slaves in your state as the lowest in the economy. You are ones that can put adornments, ornaments on the Gospel by your lives. Though you don't have anything of value to put on yourself, to adorn yourself, to deck yourself out, your life decks out the Gospel. It makes it attractive to an unbelieving world. adorned the doctrine, the objective teaching, this doctrine that Paul has been speaking of that leads to godliness. It's the doctrine, Paul says, of God. In other words, this doctrine or teaching is primarily about God. It is theology. It's a study of theos, of God. And it's not only primarily about God, it's also the teaching from God. It's God's teaching about Himself and His world and that which He has created. And because it's the doctrine of God, it's thus pervasively Trinitarian. And it's the doctrine of God, our Savior, Paul says. In Isaiah 33, verse 22, we read, The Lord is our Judge. The Lord is our Lawgiver. The Lord is our King. He will save us. And Christ's very name means Savior. He saves. So, our doctrine is Trinitarian, but it's Christocentric since the fall. Because we come to God through the Son. You notice that the Lord who is our Savior, is our judge, our lawgiver, and our king. Represents what we call the three spheres of government. Speaks first to the judicial. He's our judge. He's our lawgiver. And he's our king. Speaks to the legislative branch as well as the executive branch. Christ governs completely. He doesn't share His government in His Kingdom. He's our Savior because He is our Judge, our Lawgiver, and our King. And so servants are to adorn, to deck out the gospel, the doctrine of the gospel with their lives because it's the doctrine of God our Savior and they're to do so in all In other words, all of their life is under the Lordship of Christ, just as ours. Therefore, everything they do as a servant, a slave, is to be unto Christ. It's to be an adornment and to demonstrate their faith in Christ. Well, how do we apply that to us in our day? I think first we need to recognize that we are called as Christians to submit to authority in all legitimate spheres. of authority. In other words, this command, this general command to line up isn't just for slaves and it's not just for workers. We're told to line up to our civil magistrate in Romans 13. We're told to line up to our church officers in 1 Peter 3, 1-5. Women, you're told to line up to your husband in Titus 2.5. Hey husbands, have you forgotten? Ephesians 5.21 tells you to line up to your wife. Go look at that one. Go look at that one. Not in the same way your wife lines up to you, but that mutual submission. Like giving in on the little things that really don't matter. They matter maybe a lot to your wife, but maybe really don't matter much to you. Giving in. The general fifth commandment issue that applies in all spheres that God has established. I encourage the heads of homes to read question and answer 127 in the larger catechism this week in your family worship. What is the honor that inferiors owe to their superiors? The Westminster divines pour in the whole scripture into the answer to that question. So we're to submit to authority in all spheres. even to the ungodly in those spheres. Again, Calvin says, with good reason Paul does this, for nothing is more contrary to the natural disposition of man than subjection. Nothing is more contrary to the natural disposition of man than subjection. Subjection is a hard thing. and there was danger lest they should take the Gospel as a pretext for becoming more refractory as reckoning it unreasonable that they should be subject to the authority of unbelievers." In other words, they've been slaves and now they're set free by the Gospel. They could be tempted to think, why do I have to submit to an unbeliever? Paul's saying, all the more, now that you've made this profession, you need to submit. Again, that's what Peter's getting at in 1 Peter 2.18. Servants, here's the word, be subject to your masters with all fear, not only to the good and gentle, but also to the froward or the hard. In other words, he's saying you can't differentiate. It's much easier, isn't it, to be a worker under a supervisor who's good and gentle. But Peter says it doesn't matter. If you have a hard one, you've got to submit just as well. So, submit to authority in all spheres, even to the ungodly in those spheres. But lastly, it's not Paul calling us all to work hardly. unto the Lord." All of us here are workers. Almost all of us. Most of you men go out and work in your own businesses or in someone else's business. You women, you have work to do in the spheres that you find yourself in. Is anybody on a vacation tomorrow morning when you wake up? Probably not many of you. And even you wives, how much vacation did you have? Even yesterday or Friday, there was still work to do, wasn't there? While you're vacationing, there's still work to do. And most of you children will return to your school books tomorrow, won't you? God's called you to some tasks, some work. Most of us aren't on the top in our work spheres. There are some of us that are, but most of us have still someone to report to. And ultimately, even if we're the top of the company, we still report to Jesus Christ, though. The whole company's got to be under His authority. You see, we are and we significantly have lost the Puritan work ethic in our country. But what I think is even sadder is that those that would say they walk in the footsteps of their Puritan forefathers have generally lost the Puritan work ethic. That, to me, is even more sad. You want to take to yourself, to take to ourselves that we're walking in the old paths of our Puritan forefathers, but not willing to diligently labor as they did. It's a farce. It's a pretext. We ought to be setting the example for work that's pleasing to the Lord by pleasing our Masters, by not talking back, by not siphoning off a few minutes here, a few minutes there. some paper, some pencils, whatever it may be. Not self-appropriating, but being faithful in all things. That's how the Gospel can go forth in power in our days, by being ornamented, by being adorned by our lives in the workplace. As Paul says in Colossians 3.23, and I'll end with that, And whatsoever ye do, Whatever you're doing, do it heartily, as unto the Lord, and not unto me. If we would work unto the Lord, the gospel will, it will be adorned once again in our age. Let us labor for the glory of the Lord. Let us pray. Please rise for prayer.