TEACH WHAT IS IN ACCORD WITH SOUND DOCTRINE

Titus 2:1-15

Key Verse 2:1

You must teach what is in accord with sound doctrine.

In Chapter 1 the Apostle Paul directed Titus to appoint elders in every town of the Island Crete. There he also laid down the qualifications for elders. This is a challenging goal. The challenge we have in Chapter 1 amounts to the challenge we have in our own generation, that is, the challenge to appoint spiritual leaders in every college campus of the nations. And not all are qualified to fill the position of a shepherd or shepherdess called to serve the college campuses. The 16 qualifications look unattainable challenge to meet. 

In Chapter 2, however, the Apostle Paul describes the way to meet the goal. 

First, the mandate

The first thing we need to consider is to recognize the importance of teaching what is in accord with sound doctrine. In fact it is only through teaching what is in accord with sound doctrine that we can establish a man or a woman to be a spiritual leader fit for the challenge. 

What then does “sound doctrine” mean? We find the answer to this question in the very words: “sound doctrine”. Doctrine means simply teaching. It means what you teach. The key then is the word “sound”. What does “sound” mean? In view of the generality of the Bible, we can say that it means the ideal condition (or state if you will) of a man as God originally intended him to be. 

When Jesus comes again and restores the world fully, among other people, I would like to go and talk to two persons for sure: Adam and Eve. And I have a number of questions to ask of them. For example, I would like to ask Adam whether or not he had a belly button. But this is not an important question. It is the question I would ask him only as an icebreaker. And I would like to ask him how he was like before and after he ate the fruit he was not supposed to eat. I would like to ask the same question to Eve. Maybe I may not even need to ask these questions, for if God finds me worthy to participate in that perfect age, the effect of full redemption is so glorious that these questions might look only foolish. 

Yet, my point remains the same, for as we look at ourselves, and people around us, we do not see all people remaining as sound as they are supposed to be. As we already saw in Chapter 1, we see the world filled with people who are “unsound”, and Paul describes them as: the rebellious, mere talkers, the deceivers, professional liars, evil brutes, lazy gluttons, the detestable, the disobedient, those who are unfit for doing any good.

But God had mercy on them. In his mercy God sent servants of God such as the Apostle Paul or Titus. With the vision to transform these “ugly” people into “beautiful” children of God, the Apostle Paul charged Titus saying, “Appoint elders in every town.” Then he says, “You must teach what is in accord with sound doctrine.” 

Second, the people

In verses 2-10, the Apostle Paul categorizes people into five categories: “the older men; the older women; the younger women; the young men; and slaves.” Then Paul talks about what to teach to people belonging to each group. 

(1) The older men

Most of you may think, “Oh, I am still young. I am not an old man.” But don’t worry. Sooner or later people will come around you and say, “Look at all the wrinkles on your forehead: you look old. What happened to you?” In the past I never imagined myself to be categorized as a “senior” citizen. But it all changed when one day I visited the All American Home Center. As I was checking out a few items I bought, in order to pay for the merchandise I presented a credit card. Then the lady working as a cashier asked me for a driver license. She looked at the driver license, and then took a look at me up and down. Then she said, “Oh, you are a senior citizen. Today is a senior citizen’s discount day. You qualify for 10% discount.” I said, “Wow! I am only 55, not 65, but still I am considered a senior citizen?” She said, “Lucky you! You just crossed over the threshold. If you are 55 you are a senior.” 

Look at verse 2. “Teach the older men to be temperate, worthy of respect, self-controlled, and sound in faith, in love and in endurance.” Notice here the word “older”; Paul does not say “old” but “older”. If you are 21, you are older than a man who is 20. So you also better listen. 

“Teach the older men to be temperate, worthy of respect, self-controlled, and sound in faith, in love and in endurance.” A lot of teenagers are dying to become 16 or 18 so they would secure a driver license, or get into a place where only “adults” are allowed to get in. 

Yes. You can get a driver license and go wherever you want to go. Yes, you can secure an adult status, and get into a bar or a store where only adults are frequenting. But, remember: you need to be “temperate, worthy of respect, [THIS IS IMPORTANT] self-controlled…” 

“Teach the older men to be temperate, worthy of respect, self-controlled, and sound in faith, in love and in endurance.” Getting old is not a bad thing. In fact it is a morally neutral phenomenon. But as one picks up human age, one thing is sure to occur: one will be confronted with more temptations, more duties and responsibilities, more troubles, ordeals, conflicts, and hardships, which all will be translated into one thing: you’ve got greater possibilities (risks, and dangers) to fall into temptations, fall apart, disintegrate, and crash, with lesser possibilities (and hope) to recover from your failures and bounce back to a normal condition than a young man. And nowadays even a lot of teenagers suffer from strokes. 

And by falling apart, disintegrating, crashing, or suffering from stokes, I do not mean just physically but morally and spiritually as well. 

How then can one be temperate (which means “of high quality in mind or spirit”), worthy of respect, and self-controlled? We find an answer in the expression, “sound in faith, in love, and in endurance.” We do not have the time to fully discuss the full meaning of the little expression “sound in faith, sound in love, and sound in endurance.” For our own purposes however I would like to point out just one thing: God never asks his children to do (or go through) anything without first providing them with the means by which to do what they are asked to do. Referring to the [right] means provided by God, Paul says, “sound in faith, in love, and in endurance.” God provides us with the capability to meet all the challenges coming our ways, so that as we meet the challenges of life with right kind of response we can turn the difficulties of our lives into reasons to praise God. 

From this we learn one repentance topic and prayer topic, that is, the older we get, the more we need to struggle to grow in faith, in love, and in endurance. I say this because as we get into a so-called “senior” status, it is so easy for us to take our life easy and neglect our duties to study the Bible, do the daily bread, read more spiritual books, or offer prayers first for ourselves and for the people the Lord put under our care. As we grow old, it is so easy to say to ourselves, “Oh, I already heard the message. Oh, I already know what he is talking about.” Then we stop learning. When we stop learning we stop growing. As we stop growing, we start getting really old. Yesterday I attended the wedding in Chicago. Then they asked me to come out to the front stage, be seated there as one of the prayer servants. Then as I was seated there, as Pastor Ron was serving a wedding sermon, I was struck with this kind of thought for about a few minutes. The wedding sermon was on Matthew 11:29. Instead of listening carefully what he was saying and trying to learn something, I started entertaining human ideas like, “Oh, why does the man in the front row smile?” Or “Whose daughter is that little girl seated up front?” Then the time for me to pray for the couple came. Then, and only then I began to seriously think about the meaning of “the yoke” of Jesus  ^“Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” And only then I learned that I must struggle to learn from Jesus every day, and I must do so until I would breathe the last breath.

(2) The older women

In Genesis 5:1-2, we see the Lord God calling both male and female as simply “man”. To see what I mean, I would encourage every one to read Genesis 5:1-2. “This is the written account of Adam's line. When God created man, he made him in the likeness of God. He created them male and female and blessed them. And when they were created, he called them "man.”” This tells us that what the Apostle Paul asked Titus to teach to the older “men? is also applicable to the older “women”.

But there is something more which the older women must be taught. Look at verse 3. “Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good.” So every woman in this ministry, who is 18 or above, is encouraged to consider what Paul says in regard to the older men. In addition, they must heed what Paul says here in verse 3. Of course not all of us are addicted to wine. But it is possible that one can be subjected to the habit of substance abuse such as food. 

So let us think about what Paul says: “teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers, or addicted to wine, but to teach what is good.” The word “reverent” means “showing due respect or fear to the authorities above.” To many independently minded women, the word “reverent” may then sound even offensive, for they may think, “Why is it that it is only woman who should show proper respect to authority figures?” By the authority figure, of course they mainly mean the “male” population. When one reads the Bible, one will find teachings which sound offensive. For example, 1 Corinthians 11:3 says, “Now I want you to realize that the head of every man is Christ, and the head of the woman is man, and the head of Christ is God…” What? The head of woman is man? What are you talking about? But all Paul says here is to remind women of the way the Lord God created them to be, that is, a suitable helper for Adam. 

Men and women are created equal. But their positions are different. It is just like in a base ball game, both the catcher and the picture are equal in standing and value, but different in positions or functions. And woman is a suitable helper. This position as a helper tells us that woman must remember two things: first is negative, the second positive. Negatively she must never let the desire for “husband” rule or dominate her, for succumbing to the desire for men is to only degrade her. It is to demean her as the finer version of the crown of creation. Then, positively she must daily struggle to develop her personal relationship with God the Father, so that she would secure directly from her own Creator (not from men) all the resources she need for life, first for herself then for all, especially for male population the Lord God would put in her life. 

Otherwise, she will only be frustrated, frustrated, and frustrated. Like the Samaritan woman in John 4, she will go from bad to worse. She will remain condemned to resign herself to wrong sources of comfort such as substance abuse or complaining, complaining, and complaining, becoming experts in spreading all the bad rumors or news about everyone in the church all behind their back. 

“Teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers, or addicted to wine, but to teach what is good.” This exhortation then is the call for an older woman to become a prominent worshiper, worshiping God the Father in spirit and in truth. Then, as a woman gets older, she will look only beautiful all the time. She will never become like an old cow. Rather no matter what the challenges, and no matter where she goes, she will exude the fragrance of life coming from the intimate fellowship with Jesus Christ.  

(3) The younger women

Unlike the older women, Paul then uses the word “train” saying in verses 4-5, “Then they can train the younger women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God.” When Paul used the word “train”, he did it not because he was being harsh to young women but because he recognizes that women, especially young ones are created to be more sophisticate than men. They need more tender and delicate care than men. In the first place they grow to be mothers. As they become of age, they will have to marry. Then they need to know how to love their husbands. The Bible never commands a wife to love her husband, for a wife naturally loves her husband. But they do not necessarily know how to love their husbands, loving them with the right kind of love God has in mind. After all God created wife to be a suitable helper for her husband. For this reason Paul uses the word “train.” 

The remainder of the instructions to be taught to young women is all reducible to one point: a good mother figure. It has been said that God cannot take care of all of his children that he created mothers. Young women are to be mothers. So let us remain prayerful in carrying out Paul’s exhortations in regard to young women of this nation and world.

(4) The young men

Men are created to be a lot simpler than women. After all, man is dust refined, but woman is man refined. So, Paul’s instruction in regard to young men is very simple. Look at verses 6-8. “Similarly, encourage the young men to be self-controlled. In everything set them an example by doing what is good. In your teaching show integrity, seriousness and soundness of speech that cannot be condemned, so that those who oppose you may be ashamed because they have nothing bad to say about us.” Two points stand out: self-control and example setting. We can secure these points through personal one to one bible studies and close shepherding. 

(5) Slaves

In Paul’s day, which was the Roman rule, more than 50% of people belonged to a slave class. But in our society there is no slavery. Still however Paul’s teachings on slaves can be applicable to employment relationships, for just in the day of Paul slaves were work forces affecting economy for example, so also it is in the context of employment relationships that the society sees goods being produced or economies growing strong or weak. 

So let us read verses 9-10 with a learning mind. “Teach slaves to be subject to their masters in everything, to try to please them, not to talk back to them, and not to steal from them, but to show that they can be fully trusted, so that in every way they will make the teaching about God our Savior attractive.” Some of the teachings here sound too harsh, especially the teaching that says, “Do not talk back to your bosses.” [Of course this does not mean to refrain from sharing your good ideas. All it means is not to be disrespectful to your bosses.] But when we think about what Paul says at the end of this passage, that is, making our teachings about God our Savior “attractive”, we can understand where Paul is coming from, that is, to recognize that God is our ultimate master, and we need to struggle to exercise good influence at our own work places, so that God’s name would be glorified in our work places as well; and we can do so by being honest, not stealing company assets, not goofing around such as using lunch break more than we are supposed to.

Third, the principle

Having said all he had to say in regard to each group of people coming to the church fellowships, Paul then expounds on the principle, which is the substance of sound doctrine. Let us all read verses 11-15. 

“For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say "No" to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope--the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good. These, then, are the things you should teach. Encourage and rebuke with all authority. Do not let anyone despise you.” 

Here Paul sums up all the teachings of the Bible especially the gospel in a nutshell. But briefly we would like to think about three points:

First, sound doctrine must be based on the grace of God, not human efforts which so easily promote legalism. The grace of God that brings salvation means man is saved not through human efforts, but through God’s love and mercy. This leaves no room for legalism to step in. We must always look to God, not men. We must always remain humble and thankful to God for all of his grace. There is no room for us to boast about ourselves. 

Second, sound doctrine focuses not on what is physical but what is spiritual. The expression “No to ungodliness and worldly passions” especially “ungodliness” refers to the life that excludes God from man’s life. The Bible says that God is Spirit. And we came from God. This indicates that man is not only a physical being but also a spiritual being. This means that when we remove God from our life, and put man in a God’s position, man is condemned to remain on the level of mere animals, and then as man remains so man will even fall from the level of animals. This is what Paul means by “No to worldly passions.” 

Third, sound doctrine centers on the work of Jesus who gave himself to redeem men from wickedness, to purify men from the filthiness of sin, and to equip men to do what is good. 

For those who put trust in Jesus, then God provides them with His Spirit who not only justifies man from his sinful status, but also cleanses man of sins, then empowers him to do what is good. 

One word: teach what is in accord with sound doctrine

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