Titus Study #4

“It Always Comes Down to Character” 

Titus 2:2-10

Study #4 in Titus Series 

 

INTRODUCTION: 

D.L. Moody famously said, “Character is what you are in the dark.”

 

Our English word, “character” comes to us by way of Latin and Greek. In Latin the word described an engraving instrument. In Greek it described the engraving itself. Our word more closely follows the Greek meaning. Character sums up those qualities that have been so deeply etched into a person’s life that they come to be seen as essential qualities. Character is what a person really is, not just what he thinks he is, or pretends to be, or what other people perceive him to be.

 

For example, a person can pretend...

·       To be moral, while secretly being a disgusting pedophile,

·       To be honest, but cheat or steal if he sees a personal advantage,

·       To be a Christian, but have no heart for God, for prayer, for the Word of God, or desire to congregate with God’s people.

 

CHARACTER is what you are when no one is looking, what you are when you think your actions will never be discovered. It is what you are when you are alone with your thoughts.

 

Here is an analysis I wrote several years ago about the difference between Reputation and Character.

Reputation VS. Character

The circumstances in which you live might determine your Reputation; the truths by which you live show your real Character.

Reputation is the photograph; Character is the true image behind the photo.

Reputation comes to one from without; Character grows from within.

Reputation is what you have when you come to a new community; Character is what you’re known by when you leave.

Reputation is what people think you are; Character is who you truly are.

Your Reputation may be earned in an hour; your Character is built over a lifetime.

Reputation grows like a mushroom; Character grows like an oak tree.

A single newspaper story can give you a Reputation; a life of toil establishes your Character.

Reputation makes you rich or makes you poor; Character makes you contented or makes you miserable.

Reputation is what men write on your tombstone; Character is what angels speak about you before the throne of God.

Some examples:

1.    I recall a scandal with the Portland Police Bureau back in 1999 that brought the issue of character into sharp focus. It involved 30+ officers from Central Precinct, including a Sergeant and the Precinct Commander. They were accused of padding their time sheets with overtime hours they had not worked but still got paid for. When no one was looking, the people who were supposed to be a cut above the average person on the street, revealed their true character. 

2.    Even before his election to the presidency there were serious scandals attached to Bill Clinton’s name, and his character was repeatedly called into question because of patterns of behavior. Whenever the right situation came along his weak character once again became obvious. Even with all that he managed to get elected. When his opponents were saying, “Character counts in a president!” the people in his camp shouted back, “It’s not about character, stupid, but about the economy!” But it was his flawed character that got him disqualified in the end.

 

The Bible sheds some helpful light on the human predicament. We all come into this life with a fatal character flaw called SIN. We are all sinners both by nature and by choice (cf. Romans 3:23). We may look good on the outside but on the inside, we are all rotten to the core (cf. Romans 3:10-18). Oh, we can do many good things, humanly speaking, and even fool ourselves and one another, but the Bible makes it clear that we are all flawed by sin, and thus unclean in God’s sight. 

 

Jesus had some fascinating discussions with the Pharisees about this subject. From a human perspective they were good, honest, upright, religious people and they were very proud of it. But Jesus looked at them through God’s eyes. He criticized them, not based on what they did or did not do, but on their motivations, and He repeatedly confronted them with the condition of their hearts (cf. Matthew 23). He called them “white-washed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful but inside they are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness.” Then He said to them, “Even so you too outwardly appear righteous to men but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.” They did not like hearing that, to say the least! 

 

Illustration: 

CHARACTER is like the foundation of a high-rise building. Everything depends on it. The righteous moral decisions we make, the integrity, the honesty, and the kindness we demonstrate, are the steel structure of our life. The whole rest of the life is built on and around these things. You can readily see that if the character (i.e., the foundation) is flawed, then the steel structure will automatically be jeopardized and the whole building is in serious trouble. Oh, it may look fine on the outside but with the first crisis the building’s lack of structural integrity will be revealed for all to see. 

 

From God’s standpoint, for the Christian, character not only counts, but it counts for everything! If the world cannot see godly character in a professing Christian’s life, then it’s not there! Let’s stop kidding ourselves! Godly character will always show through, because it cannot be hidden.

 

TRANSITION:

In Paul’s letter to Titus, it is obvious that Paul was concerned with the Christians in Crete demonstrating godly character both in the church and in their community. There were 

some who professed to be Christians (1:16) but their “walk” did not match their “talk.” Paul was concerned that the Christians in Crete should grow in Christ and in the Word of God, so that they would be “…sound in the faith” (1:13). He repeats this same desire in 2:1. But this whole passage has an underlying presupposition; namely, that he was talking to genuine believers whose lives had already been transformed by the power of God (cf. 2 Corinthians 5:17). Because without that, a person remains unchanged at the core and consequently unable to respond to this challenge to godly living.

 

NOTES on the Text:

Verse 2: Older men are to be temperate, dignified, sensible, sound in faith, in love, in perseverance [patience].

·       “Older men” – Titus had some older men among the Christians in Crete. They had to be approached with love and wisdom and respect, or they might easily become offended when taught by a younger man like Titus.

·       Paul wanted Titus to teach the older men that they must live with the maturity and wisdom that their years should give them. This means temperate, dignified, and sensible lives. Paul’s command to teach these things means that they do not come automatically with age. I wish they did, but they don’t. They must be taught.

·       They must also have soundness (i.e., healthiness) in faith, in love, and in perseverance. As we get older, we tend to “harden” in our ways. Of course, this is a good thing if we “harden” in the ways of faith, love, and perseverance.

·       Perseverance here is the Greek word, hupomene. It literally means, “to abide under.” It implies steadfast and active endurance, not passive waiting. Older men are not to just patiently sit around and wait to die. They are to actively endure the challenges of life, even the challenges of old age.

 

Verse 3: Older women likewise are to be reverent in their behavior, not malicious gossips nor enslaved to much wine, teaching what is good,

·       “Older women likewise” – Just as Titus had to give special consideration to the older men in the church, he must also take care in how to approach the older women. They have their own set of temptations and opportunities.

·       “…reverent in their behavior” – This adjective, reverent, means “suitable to a sacred office.” The conduct of the older Christian women must reveal that they regard life as sacred in all aspects. This includes how she dresses and carries herself.

·        “…not malicious gossips” – The word for gossips is diaboloi, the same word used for “devils.” When the older women – or anyone else, for that matter – maliciously slander and gossip, they are doing the devils’ work.

·       “…nor enslaved to much wine” – This was a common failing of older women in Roman and Greek culture, due to their cloistered lives. Paul recognizes that this special challenge needs special instruction.

·       “…teaching what is good.” Here Paul uses an interesting compound Greek word here, kalodidáskaloi, which means, “teachers of good things.” If the older women have special challenges, they also have special opportunities. God can use their wisdom and experience as they teach, admonish, and encourage the young women. This gives the older women something positive to live towards, instead of the negative things of slander and alcohol abuse.

 

Verses 4-5: …so that they [i.e., the older women] may encourage the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, ⁵ to be sensible, pure, workers at home, kind, being subject to their own husbands, so that the word of God will not be dishonored.

·       Notice that according to Paul’s instruction, Titus was not to make it his ministry to teach the young women directly. Instead, he was to equip and encourage the older women to teach the young women. Of course, this doesn’t mean that the young women were barred from listening to Titus teach and preach. It simply means that it was wrong, and dangerous, for Titus to make the young women a focus of his ministry, which is true for pastors today as well. If there was a young women’s Bible Study group, Titus shouldn’t teach it. The older women should.

·       “The older women teaching the young women to love their husbands, to love their children” – Instruction for the young women begins with home matters. God has given them a strategic position from which to influence and assist their husbands and their children, and love should be the driving force behind that.

·       Paul says that love for husbands and children must be taught. Certainly, aspects of this love are inborn, to be sure. But other aspects – especially aspects that reflect the self-giving sacrifice of Jesus – must be taught.

·       “…to be sensible, pure, workers at home” – Young Christian women must be taught these attitudes and skills.

·       “…kind, being subject to their own husbands” – Goodness isn’t always easy in a world that blurs the line between good and evil, so the older women need to teach the younger to be good. “Subject to their own husbands” is another way of expressing the wife’s duty of obedience and submission in the marriage relationship (cf. Ephesians 5:22, Colossians 3:18).

·       “…so that the word of God will not be dishonored [blasphemed]” – This shows how important it is for the older women to teach these things, and for the younger women to learn them. There is much at stake here. When Christians do not live in a Biblical, godly manner it means that the Word of God may be blasphemed among the ungodly. We know that many young Christian women struggle with this teaching because it runs counter to the attitudes and beliefs of our modern Post-Christian world. Nevertheless, this is the Word of God and must take precedence even if the world doesn’t like it.

 

Verses 6-8: Likewise, urge the young men to be sensible; ⁷ in all things show yourself to be an example of good deeds, with purity in doctrine, dignified, ⁸ sound in speech which is beyond reproach, so that the opponent will be put to shame, having nothing bad to say about us.

·       “Likewise” – This is a linking word. It shows that what the young men need to learn isn’t all that different from what the younger women, the older women, and the older men need to learn. We may need a slightly different emphasis depending on our station in life, but the essential message of godly Christian living is the same.

·       “…to be sensible” [or sober-minded] – The Living Bible translates the thought well: “Urge the young men to behave carefully, taking life seriously.” This is the only command Titus is told to emphasize to young men, but sometimes it is a difficult one for younger men. The Greek word for sensible used here is sophron, and according to William Barclay, “It describes the man with the mind which has everything under control…. strength of mind which has learned to govern every instinct and passion until each has its proper place and no more.”

·       “…in all things show yourself to be an example of good deeds” – Here Paul turns his focus specifically onto Titus, who himself was a young man. Titus had to be more than a teacher; he also had to be an example. His guidance of others could not be taken seriously if he himself was not walking after the Lord, and living out loud the things he was teaching.

·       “…with purity in doctrine, dignified” – Titus had to be an example in doctrinal stability and integrity. If he wasn’t comfortably settled in his understanding of the Scriptures, he wasn’t ready to lead and teach.

·       “…sound in speech which is beyond reproach” – How many times in these letters to Timothy and Titus have we heard this phrase, “beyond or above reproach”? Paul is urging Titus to make sure that the words that come out of his mouth leave no room for criticism or attack.

·       “…so that the opponent will be put to shame, having nothing bad to say [i.e., report] about us.” – Notice that Paul ends this sentence with the word “us.” His Christian reputation was on the line right along with Titus’. So that your accusers will be embarrassed, having nothing bad to report about us. Jesus could say to an angry mob, “Which of you convicts Me of sin?” (John 8:46)

 

Verses 9-10: Urge bondslaves to be subject to their own masters in everything, to be well-pleasing, not argumentative, ¹⁰ not pilfering, but showing all good faith so that they will adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in every respect.

·       “Urge bondslaves to be subject to their own masters in everything, to be well-pleasing, not argumentative” – Titus was to teach bondservants about their specific duties as Christians. In the ancient world, Christians shocked the larger culture by mixing slaves and masters in the social setting of the church service. This meant that a slave might go to church and be an elder over his own master. That sort of thing was unthinkable in the broader culture.

·       Much to the frustration of many modern people, not even once did Jesus, or Paul, or any of the other biblical writers ever address, much less condemn, the practice of slavery as an evil social institution. For many of us that offends our modern sensibilities and ideas about justice and fairness. However, we should also not jump to the conclusion that Jesus and Paul and the others condoned slavery, because I’m sure they did not. C.H. Spurgeon explained the situation this way: “I do not think for a moment Paul believed that the practice of slavery ought to exist. He believed to the fullest extent that the great principles of Christianity would overthrow slavery anywhere, and the sooner they did so the better pleased would he be; but, for the time being, as it was the custom to have slaves, they must adorn the doctrine of God their Savior in the position in which they were.”   

·       “…subject to their own masters” – Paul does not say that bondslaves should be obedient to every free man, only to their own masters. Paul recognized that bondslaves had obligations, but only to their own masters. At the same time, as in every arena of human submission, our obedience and submission is limited by our higher responsibility to obey God first and foremost. As Peter explained in Acts 5:29, whenever there is a conflict between the two, we must obey God rather than men.

·       “…not pilfering but showing all good faith” – This type of offence was so common in the ancient world that sometimes the words servant and thief were used interchangeably. It was assumed that servants would steal from their masters in these small ways every time they got a chance. The word pilfering signifies not only stealing but embezzling another’s property; keeping back a part of the price of any commodity sold on the master’s account. In Acts 5:2, this was the crime of which Ananias and Saphira were guilty. They “kept back” i.e., pilfered, part of the price, then lied about it.

·       “…showing all good faith” – Simply, Titus must direct servants to be good workers in all ways. By their hard work and humble submission, they will adorn the doctrine of God our Savior.

·       “…so that they will adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in every respect.” – In one sense the Gospel does not need adornment. At the same time, we can show the beauty of the Gospel by the way we live. We often think we need better words to adorn the Gospel. Better words are fine, but what we really need are better lives.

 

CONCLUSION:

Ironically, in this context those who best have the ability to adorn the doctrine of God are bondslaves. This shows that even a Christian in a low or disadvantaged station in life has the potential to beautify God’s truth by the way they live. The Gospel is adorned when its effects on life and character are expressed in Christlike conduct.