“Sensible Younger Men” (Titus 2:6–8)

Series: “Titus: Godly People, Godly Church,” #10Text: Titus 2:6–8

By: Shaun Marksbury Date: July 7, 2024

Venue: Living Water Baptist ChurchOccasion: PM Service

Introduction

Over the past couple of weeks, we’ve been seeing the biblical model for discipleship in our church. In the present day American or Western mindset, we often age segregate our congregations, believing that children best learn only with children, teenagers in the youth group, and adults with adults. It’s common to hear about children going from the nursery, through children’s church, and completing youth ministry at the age of seventeen or eighteen and having never seen the inside of “big church” during the worship service. Many times, these kids grow up and leave the church, because they’ve never been connected to the church.

Biblical discipleship is intergenerational, and it’s always beneficial for children and adults to worship and learn together. It’s not that there can’t be some segregated ministries. Children can do programs that encourage memorization of Scripture. Women can gather where the older can teach the younger. Men can gather for the same kind of instruction. Still, churches in our culture overvalue these kinds of programs, which are easier to manage in ways, and devalue intergenerational ministry, which can be more difficult and awkward at times.

It's worth the work. This is the model we see in Scripture. For instance, all the people of Israel — “the men and the women and children” — were commanded to gather for the reading of God’s Law (Deut. 31:11–13). In the New Testament, we see that the apostles expected these letters to be read “to all the brethren” (1 Thess. 5:27; Col. 4:16). When Paul gives commands to be read for Christians, he addressed wives, husbands, children, fathers, and slaves (Eph. 5:22–6:9). It’s clear that there was to be gatherings of God’s people which included everyone.

And in Titus 2, we see the same. In these verses, we see specifically a call for the younger men to live in a righteous way. The first word of v. 6 is “likewise,” just as we saw with the older women in v. 3. This means that everything which has been said about older men, women, and younger women is applicable to younger men, where appropriate. This is intergenerational and intersex ministry coming together, for the younger men had to be paying attention to everything Paul had said to the others!

Young men, just like young women, are to live in a way that honors God’s Word (v. 5). Yet, note that this reminder also includes the younger ministers like Titus himself in this passage. The whole congregation should seek to live in this way, but we see younger men admonished to exalt God’s Word in sensibility, good deeds, and in conversations. Let’s consider the first of those.

Exalt God’s Word in your sensibility (v. 6).

Likewise urge the young men to be sensible;

First, let’s consider who we are talking about here. If we consider old world definitions, this would include anyone who has received his bar mitzvah at the age of twelve. Of course, boys at that age have usually begun puberty, they’re starting to get physically larger and more muscular, are now getting used to testosterone which makes them more prone to anger and lust — all of which they must learn to deal with in a sensible way. Throughout most of history, it wasn’t uncommon to hear about people at that age also beginning apprenticeships, joining guilds or miliary services, and sometimes gaining wealth, land, and even wives in their teenage years and beyond.

Today, our society has an extended adolescence. It’s not unheard of for high school students to have never had a job, and many people delay marriage well into their thirties, limiting their available child-bearing years. We should instead encourage our teenagers to mature and conquer challenges, getting them ready for independence, adulthood, marriage, and even parenting. And those younger men who are entering those stages need help, whether at say, nineteen (when my wife and I were married), or later.

So, Titus is told to “urge,” “exhort” (NKJV, KJV), or “encourage” (NIV, NET) the younger men. There may be some ideas about that. Titus may be tempted to come in like the heavy, as might older men who see younger men in need of correction. Sometimes, those who are older or who are in authority will talk down to those who are perhaps in their late teens or twenties, thinking them to be still incapable of reasonable thought. That is not the Christian way of doing things.

It’s true that younger men have much to learn, but true believers recognize that about themselves are hungry for positive correction and instruction. The world puts down the younger generations as no-nothings. The flesh, especially in men, desires to prove itself superior, as though constant competition exists. Yet, Scripture says, when it comes to urging or exhorting younger men, do so addressing them as “brothers” (1 Tim. 5:1). There should be a respectfulness with the goal of edification that comes from elders and the older men toward the younger generation.

Again, there is much for the younger men to learn. This verse tells us to urge them “to be sensible.” This could mean temperate or “self-controlled” (NIV, ESV), and we can remember why we needed to be told as younger men to be self-controlled. This means more than that, though — “to have understanding about practical matters and thus be able to act sensibly.” Of course, a younger man won’t have all the understanding yet needed for practical matters. Hopefully, the elders and the olders in the church have been gathering this knowledge, because related terms are used of all them in this chapter. They are to obtain this sensibility, and pass it on to the younger generation.

In other words, everybody needs to be sensible! Consider first that this is another nuance of godly churches and godly people. Having a sensible mind is essential to being sound or healthy spiritually. One of the goals of a sound church, then, is to foster good sense in people. This is an extension of discipleship.

This isn’t something that is only taught, for it must also be caught. Again, the grace of God teaches us to live sensibly, according to v. 12. Being sober-minded or self-controlled with prudent thinking comes only to those with a personal connection to God through the Holy Spirit.

Of course, if a younger man learns sensibility, it will be seen in his actions. That brings us to the next point:

Exalt God’s Word in your good deeds (v. 7).

in all things show yourself to be an example of good deeds, with purity in doctrine, dignified,

Now, there is a shift here in the text. Paul now instructs Titus to teach in two ways in these verses, through encouragement and modeling. Titus, while speaking of sound doctrine, is not to be high-minded, demanding things of his people, nor is he to teach what he himself doesn’t live.

He is to do so “in all things.” As an aside, there’s a question as to whether this phrase connects with the previous verse, as the NASB FN there notes. The HCSB seems to take that route, making this phrase the end of the previous sentence; that young men are to be sensible in all things. However, it’s possible that this is an emphatic phrase for this verse (as it is translated here), that Paul is underlining that Titus is to show himself an example “in all things.” The data indicates that this could be read either way, so we will just follow what the NASB translation has for us.

In all things, Paul says Titus is to be “a good example of works” or, as LSB has, “a model of good works.” This is similar to what Paul told Timothy: “Let no one look down on your youthfulness, but rather in speech, conduct, love, faith and purity, show yourself an example of those who believe” (1 Tim. 4:12). This applies to the apostolic representatives, but it’s applicable first to pastors and then to the whole body of Christ.

With that in mind, the elders and the olders in the congregation should all strive to demonstrate good works. It’s strange when pastors act just like the world, some of them cussing and openly bragging about their favorite micro-brews and cigars. There are grey-haired men act as though they have not walked with Christ long, still given to anger, jealousy, and foul speech. It’s hardly fitting for these men to tell younger men what is sensible when they can’t live it out in front of them.

There are two ways in which Paul tells Titus to be an example of good deeds: “with purity in doctrine, dignified.” Some manuscripts add a third term here, incorruptibility, which is also a great word but was probably not original from Paul’s pen. So, let’s consider these two terms in this translation.

The first way they are to be an example of good works is purity in doctrine. Now, we might think of a life of purity as a good deed, one which (as one lexicon describes) must “demonstrate that expression of moral soundness — ‘integrity, sincerity.’” While that is true, this is talking about teaching with integrity. There are teachings that excuse sin, false doctrine which elders might propagate or younger men might believe. I remember once talking to a family member who was a deacon and a Sunday school teacher in his church, because he later decided to leave his wife after he prayed about it and had peace. That’s obviously insincere doctrine, and elders must proclaim doctrine with integrity in their actions if they wish young men to follow.

Second, elders (and young men, by extension) are examples of good works if they are “dignified.” Just as older men are to be dignified (v. 2), so is Titus. A dignified life begins in the younger years and should be modeled.

What is this again? There’s a sense of gravity to this term, of seriousness. While it’s true that we can take ourselves too seriously at times, a sound believer also mustn’t become flippant with the truth. I remember reading once about a pastor who read a passage about the wrath of God, then pulling a box of Krispy Cream doughnuts out of his pulpit, he opened it, took a bite, looked at the congregation with a smile, and said something like, “Wow, now that was a serious passage!” That pastor was training people to be unserious about the truth of God. There was no fear of God, no gravity, no transcendent sense of truth.

Elders should model both dignity and integrity in their doctrine. This is a good work, because younger men need to learn to live by this truth. Like everyone else in the congregation, they must know how to hold the Word of God with esteem so the world will not have cause to revile. That brings us to the final point:

Exalt God’s Word in your conversations (v. 8).

sound in speech which is beyond reproach, so that the opponent will be put to shame, having nothing bad to say about us.

What does this mean? If we are considering Titus only as a preacher, we might think the term “sound in speech” refers mainly to his sermon and teaching material. Yet, considering the grammar, and the fact that Paul has said plenty about this already, it’s more likely that this also refers to the health of his daily conversations. Both his preaching and what we talks about with others should be sound.

We don’t always think about the words we use (or, sometimes, we think about them too late). Sometimes we selfishly complain to anyone who would listen, not realizing that we are bringing other people’s spirits low. Perhaps we have a funny comment come to mind, and we mindlessly speak it, not realizing that it was actually inappropriate or coarse, negatively affecting how the people around us think. As Ephesians 4:29 says, “Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear.” We aren’t always thinking about what we can say which would be the most edifying for the moment, but we should be.

God’s people must strive to be “sound in speech which is beyond reproach.” This is not to say that pagans might sometimes be angry with what is being said. If a pastor rightly says, “Abortion is murder,” unbelievers wrongly consider that to be an attack on women’s health and may claim that the pastor hates women. There are opponents to the gospel, and ad hominem is their longtime favorite. Sometimes, truth brings a kind of reproach, but that’s obviously not what the apostle condemns here.

The goal here is that no one can bring any wrong criticisms concerning Christian speech. This would include sinful words. Ephesians 4:29 says, “Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear.” People should not be able to believe an evil report.

In fact, Paul says so that the goal is to put “an opponent may be put to shame.” Shaming is a Christian goal at times, carefully and not sinfully or haphazardly achieved. For instance, 2 Thess. 3:14 says, “If anyone does not obey our instruction in this letter, take special note of that person and do not associate with him, so that he will be put to shame.” That’s the goal of church discipline, and for those outside, Peter says something similar: “For such is the will of God that by doing right you may silence the ignorance of foolish men” (1 Pet. 2:15).

Because we all continue to sin, we can unknowingly give fodder for anti-gospel propaganda. Hopefully everyone in the church, especially younger men who might be more impulsive, control their daily conversations. This is not only so no one can bring an accusation against you, but so sound that person will be ridiculed by others if they try.

Conclusion

Remember the vital role that younger men play in the life of the church. Paul’s exhortation to Titus is not merely an ancient directive but a living, breathing call for us today. We live in a culture that often prolongs adolescence and underestimates the potential of our younger men. Yet, Scripture calls them — and indeed all of us — to a higher standard: to be sensible, to lead in good deeds, and to have speech that is beyond reproach.

Again, these are not just commands for younger men, but a call for all who want to exalt in God’s Word. May our church be a place where the wisdom of the older guides the younger. Let us strive together to be godly people in a godly church, reflecting the glory of our Savior in all we do.