Lessons To Be Learned From Older Saints - part 3

INTRODUCTION

Returning to Titus 2, I would like to remind you that we are being instructed on the character of a healthy church.

Character possessed by Older Men and Women and passed down to Younger Men and Women

Character is a believer's conformity to the image of Christ, and is ultimately a reflection of the fruit of the Spirit in the life of an individual believer.

As we approach the text today, we encounter a word that requires some explanation.

δοῦλος —> bondservant; slave

Lit. “one who is under submission/bondage.”

Background

Slavery existed in most cultures in the ancient world and in all the cultures surrounding the land of Israel during biblical times.

A slave could be owned by the state—such as the publicly owned slaves in Athens who served as a police force—or by individuals.

The majority of slaves were prisoners of war who were sold into slavery.

Slavery could take the form of debt slavery, in which people sold themselves or their children to clear their debts, punishment for crime, the birth of children to slaves, and the enslavement of victims of piracy or war.

In the Graeco-Roman world, owning slaves was not limited to the rich; many households included at least one slave.

The Greeks and Romans both employed a system in which slaves could own property, earn money, and buy their freedom.

Slavery provided labor for large portions of agriculture and handicraft.

Those who wanted skilled workers often used slaves rather than free men.

Thus, many slaves were more economically secure than many free wage-laborers.

The Old Testament seems to assume that slavery is part of the human experience and provides the Israelites with regulations for slavery

While the Old Testament does not condemn slavery outright, the Bible shows a consistent theme of liberation from slavery

In the New Testament, slavery is accepted as an institution—not endorsed, but accepted.

Just as in the Old Testament, slavery is taken for granted and is not explicitly condemned in the New Testament.

Both Jesus and Paul use slave imagery as metaphors with positive connotations.

Examples Jesus portrays a true follower as a slave Mark 10:42–44 And Jesus called them to him and said to them, “You know that those who are considered rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. But it shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all.” Jesus likens slavery to discipleship Matthew 10:24–25 A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. It is enough for the disciple to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign those of his household. Paul equates the condition of a believer to slavery Romans 6:16–18 Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness.

Transition

Now as we pick up in Titus 2, we come to the fifth (and surprising) group of believers to be addressed by the Apostle Paul: bondservants/slaves.

The first four groups were addressed based on their age (Older Men, Older Women, Younger Women, Younger Men)

This group is addressed based on their social standing

Read Titus 2:9-10.

Matthew Henry Servants must not think that their mean and low state puts them beneath God’s notice or the obligations of his laws-that, because they are servants of men, they are thereby discharged from serving God. No; servants must know and do their duty to their earthly masters, but with an eye to their heavenly one: and Titus must not only instruct and warn earthly masters of their duties, but servants also of theirs, both in his public preaching and private admonitions.

The reality is that in Christ, there is no social superiority. There is no social distinction.

Galatians 3:28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

Paul does not address the condition of slavery.

He offers no judgment about its basic fairness or morality.

He simply recognizes that it exists and deals with the attitude that Christian bondslaves should have toward their own masters, whether those masters were believers or unbelievers.

Be Submissive

The Greek word ὑποτάσσω is often used in the military sense, of a soldier’s relationship to his superior officer.

Lit. “to get into rank; to fall in line”

Submission is the key to the order in all of social structure.

In marriage you have the wife who is to submit herself to her husband as to the Lord. 

In the family you have the children submitting to the authority of their parents. 

In the government you have citizens who are to honor the king and all those who are in authority over them

And so it is as well in the economic environment that wherever there is work going on those who are the employees are to be submissive to those who are over them.

The word masters translates δεσπότης, from which we get the English word “despot.”

A person with absolute authority and power

If bondslaves are obligated to submit to their absolute and often cruel and arbitrary masters, how much more are “free” believers obligated to submit to an employer, even one who is mean, unreasonable, and overbearing?

1 Peter 2:18–19 Servants, be subject to your masters with all respect, not only to the good and gentle but also to the unjust. For this is a gracious thing, when, mindful of God, one endures sorrows while suffering unjustly.

Well-Pleasing

To be well pleasing is to be committed to excellence in one’s work.

Not doing just enough to get by

It is putting forth the very best effort in all you do, remembering for whom you are doing it

Colossians 3:23–24 Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.

Our well-pleasing efforts ought to be an overflow of our spiritual worship to the Lord.

Romans 12:1–2 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

The believer recognizes that our purpose is to bring glory to the Lord in all we do (1 Corinthians 10:31) and that whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him. (2 Corinthians 5:9).

A believer cannot be well-pleasing if they are argumentative (i.e. mouth off). In our day of self-centeredness and self-elevation, being argumentative is almost a way of life for some people, including, unfortunately, some Christians.

Being argumentative is the opposite of being submissive and well-pleasing.

If you disagree with your boss on a matter, then you privately bring it up to them.

Go through the proper channels to let your disagreement be known.

Philippians 2:14–15 Do all things without grumbling or disputing, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world.

Showing Good Faith

The believer shows good faith (or faithfulness) by proving themselves to be trustworthy.

This takes time establish through consistently God-honoring behavior.

A Christian worker is to show honesty by not pilfering.

Pilfering = to put aside for oneself or misappropriate

Negative Example: Ananias and Sapphira

After selling a piece of property, they gave only part of the proceeds to the Church after claiming they gave the full amount

They were not obligated to sell the property, or give any of the proceeds to the Lord’s work.

By giving less than they claimed, they lied to men and God. This amounted to pilfering and was so serious in the Lord’s eyes that it cost the couple their lives.

The Christian employee is not to leave his loyalty in doubt but is to give ample evidence of it.

Adorn the Doctrine of God

Adorn = κοσμέω, which is where we get “cosmetics.”

Paul of course, was not speaking about physical and superficial adornment.

What makes the church attractive and influential in the world for the Lord is not its strategy or its programs but the virtue and holiness of its people

His people therefore are to adorn the doctrine of God our Savior:

by their submissiveness

by the excellence of their work

by their respectful attitude

by their honesty

by their loyal service to their employer

Our supreme message to the unsaved about God is that He is our Savior and desires to be their Savior as well, because He is “not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance” (2 Pet. 3:9).

We are to let them know—by what we say, by what we do, and by the way we work at our job—that God “is a rewarder of those who seek Him” (Heb. 11:6).