Sound Doctrine-5

Sound Doctrine – 5

Titus 2:1–3 (NIV84)

1You must teach what is in accord with sound doctrine.

2Teach the older men to be temperate, worthy of respect, self-controlled, and sound in faith, in love and in endurance.

3Likewise, 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.

The older women = πρεσβῦτις presbytis 1x = Those who no longer had child-rearing responsibilities, typically around age sixty.

Reverent = ἱεροπρεπής hieroprepēs 1x = is not limited to reverence for God, which is assumed, but also refers to being honorable and dignified. They are to be sensible and spiritually healthy.

Conduct befitting a holy person or thing or more particularly like a priest(ess).

Older women are to carry into daily life the demeanor of priestesses in a temple. They are to practice the presence of God and to allow their sense of his presence to permeate their whole lives.

Slanderers = διάβολος diabolos = slanderous: characterized by attacking the reputation of another by slander or libel.

Speech that damages the reputation of another, usually through false accusations.

Addicted = δουλόω douloō = to enslave: to make a slave of; bring into servitude.

Older women should not be slaves to alcoholic beverages; don’t be a drunkard.

Wine = οἶνος oinos = a beverage made from fermented juice of the grape.

Teach what is good = καλοδιδάσκαλος kalodidaskalos = informal teaching, which includes teaching about proper living by both word and example.

The “curriculum” that parents are to teach their children is not found on the pages of a textbook and is not to be taught at 7:00 a.m.

The curriculum is a way of life based on Biblical truth.

You are to “teach them diligently to your children, and . . . talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise” (Deut. 6:7).

Titus 2:4–5 (NIV84)

4Then (so that) they can train the younger women to love their husbands and children,

5to 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.

It’s hard to train someone else, if you’re a poor example. Before an older woman can train others, they must fulfill the characteristics described in verse 3.

Train = σωφρονίζω sōphronizō 1x = to instruct in wisdom: to instruct someone to think and live wisely in self-control over their passions and desires.

Younger Women

Younger women = νέος neos = a young woman, possibly of marriageable age, whether married or not.

Love their husbands = φίλανδρος philandros 1x = pertaining to having affection for a husband; ‘having love for one’s husband, having affection for one’s husband.’ To be a one-man woman, totally devoted to one’s husband.

This love is not agape love but one based on phileo, or love of family and friends.

Phileo refers to brotherly love and is most often exhibited in a close friendship. Best friends will display this generous and affectionate love for each other as each seeks to make the other happy.

Prior to her wedding a young woman may imagine that nothing could be easier than to love her husband.

There may be things about a husband that make loving him difficult.

Or it may be that the difficulty in loving him lies with the young wife herself.

Here is where the older, more experienced Christian woman can help with appropriate counsel.

Loving your husband doesn’t mean you’ll always feel the rush of emotion that characterized your love at the beginning of your relationship.

Marriage is a contented commitment that goes beyond feelings to a devotedness—to a level of friendship that is deep and satisfying.

If you don’t love your husband, you need to train yourself to love him.

Matthew 6:21 (NIV84)

21For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Put your treasure towards your husband and your children; you heart will follow.

Love their children = φιλότεκνος philoteknos 1x = from phílos, a friend, and téknon, a child. Loving one’s children.

Train = σωφρονίζω sōphronizō 1x = to instruct in wisdom: to instruct someone to think and live wisely in self-control over their passions and desires.

Note the word train. Loving one’s husband and children doesn’t come and stay automatically just because you get married and have children. A young woman must be trained to love their husband and children.

A wise woman will help a young woman…

To see the good qualities in her husband and to appreciate him.

To understand the differences between men and women and not to expect her husband to meet all of her needs.

To recognize selfish attitudes in herself that are barriers to right relationships in her home.

To learn how to nurture her children toward righteousness.

Women have the freedom in our culture to choose just about any career they want to choose. But many godly young women are recognizing an old truth: “The hand that rocks the cradle rules the world.”

The home is where our best discipleship occurs and where the future of our church resides.

Proverbs 22:6 (NIV84)

6Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.

Train = חָנַךְ chanak = to develop a person’s behavior by instruction and practice.

Youth is used here to apply to children from pre-birth through the first 20 years of life.

Who is being admonished to train the children in this verse?

It is the parents, not the daycare, not the Sunday School, not the public school, not the private Christian school.

Once a couple have children, their new occupation is to train their children.

It is the parents’ responsibility to develop their children’s behavior by instruction and practice.

Children need an authority figure. If parents, especially fathers, do not provide the needed leadership, their children will seek it elsewhere.

Children desperately need someone whom they can follow and to whom they can give their allegiance.

God has made their souls to respond to authority; therefore, they will find a replacement if the parents abdicate their position.

Without firm leadership in the home, children will find someone outside of the family who will tell them what to do.

It should be no surprise that leaderless children respond to cults, such as the Moonies and the Jones groups, street gangs, or revolutionary movements.

These counterculture groups all have one thing in common; they demand followership.

They each provide strong leadership, teach and enforce rules, and set a purpose for the life of the follower. Dare we as parents offer less?

The example you live out before your children is what most affects them.

Many parents make the mistake of being overly concerned about how they are perceived in the church and in the community, while completely disregarding the way they live before their children.

Nothing makes the truth more distasteful to a child than to have a hypocritical or spiritually shallow parent who affirms the truth publicly but denies it in the home.

Proverbs 29:15 (NIV84)

15The rod of correction imparts wisdom, but a child left to himself disgraces his mother.

A child is “left to himself” whenever he is allowed to do as he likes; whenever his character is not watched over; whenever his evil inclinations are not checked.

Titus 2:5 (NIV84)

5to 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.

Self-controlled = σώφρων sophron = being in control of oneself, prudent, thoughtful, self-controlled; the avoidance of extremes and careful consideration for responsible action.

This Greek word differs from the word self-control in Galatians 5:23, the fruit of the Spirit.

Self-control = ἐγκράτεια enkrateia = restraint of one’s emotions, impulses, or desires.

The key differences between the two Greek words are:

Sophron in Titus describes the basic character expected of all believers: sober-minded, moderate, balanced.

Sophron = a Spirit-endowed disposition that flows out of regeneration and a renewed mind.

Enkrateia in Gal. 5:23 is explicitly a fruit of the Spirit, which believers must actively “walk in.”

It is about actual restraint and mastery of desires, something that requires empowerment moment by moment.

Philippians 2:13 (AMP) captures this perfectly: “For it is [not your strength, but it is] God who is all the while effectually at work in you [energizing and creating in you the power and desire], both to will and to work…”

Enkrateia is Spirit-enabled in practice; the Spirit gives both the power and the desire to resist impulses and live in godly discipline.

Enkrateia = a Spirit-enabled action, energized by God’s continual working within us.

“Enkráteia is the strength to say No; Sōphrōn is the wisdom to live so you don’t have to.”

Bottom of Form

Younger women are to display sound judgment, avoiding extremes.

Pure = ἁγνός hagnos = pure, chaste, modest, innocent, blameless.

1 Timothy 2:9–10 (NIV84)

9I also want women to dress modestly, with decency and propriety, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or expensive clothes,

10but with good deeds, appropriate for women who profess to worship God.

1 Peter 3:3–4 (NIV84)

3Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes.

4Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight.

What does the life of a modest Christian woman look like?

These women love their husbands.

Love: respect and loyalty versus romance.

In a culture where arranged marriages were standard, this is a striking and important teaching.

They also love their children; in the Graeco-Roman world, children had little value and were often viewed as little more than a drain on a family’s already-stretched resources.

Good wives were expected to love (rather than resent or neglect) their children.

Immodest dress is more than simply wearing a short skirt or low-cut blouse.

Immodesty is an expression of pride and self-importance, the opposite of humility.

Revealing, seductive clothes are the costume of a woman seeking to draw attention to herself rather than bring glory to God.

Modesty is humility expressed in dress. It is the attire of the godly woman.

John MacArthur: How does a woman discern the fine line between proper dress and dressing to be the center of attention?

The answer starts in the intent of the heart.

A woman should examine her motives and goals for the way she dresses.

Is her intent to show the grace and beauty of womanhood?

Is it to reveal a humble heart devoted to worshiping God?

Or is it to call attention to herself, and flaunt her beauty?

Or worse, to attempt to allure men sexually?

A woman who focuses on worshiping God will consider carefully how she is dressed because her heart will dictate her wardrobe and appearance.

Titus 2:5 (NIV84)

5to 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.

Busy at home = οἰκουργός oikourgos 1x = homemaking: characterized by applying oneself diligently to caring for one’s house and household; especially understood as if a trade or vocation.

NRSV: oikourgos: “good managers of the household.”

The passage does not require a woman to work only at home; but does state that she does have duties at home.

A woman’s domestic and familial duties are to be her main priority.

Being a homemaker is the priority; jobs and career are secondary to the responsibility of being a godly wife and mother.

If a woman accepts the vocation of marriage, and has a husband and children, she will love and not neglect them.

J. B. Phillips: ‘home lovers’

The purpose of having all these qualities (and not simply being submissive to husbands) is so that the word of God may not be discredited, in other words, to enable non-Christians to appreciate the Christian message, or at least to give them no reason to despise it.

Titus 2:5 (NIV84)

5to 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.

Kind = ἀγαθός agathos = good: having desirable or positive qualities; especially those suitable for a thing specified.

good, profitable, generous, upright, virtuous.

It is legitimate for us to be angry with our children over genuine disobedience. At the same time, we must not express that anger in sinful ways (yelling, screaming, nastiness, irritation, etc.), but in loving ways for the good of our children.

Proverbs 21:9, 19 (HCSB)

9Better to live on the corner of a roof than to share a house with a nagging wife.

19Better to live in a wilderness than with a nagging and hot-tempered wife.

Some parents’ form of discipline is yelling, saying the same words over and over again while getting louder each time.

The children soon learn to ignore the words and respond to the volume when it reaches a certain level.

I’ve heard parents use profanity to correct their children. Not so for the Christian!

God disciplines us through His Word. He doesn’t raise His voice to get our attention. He expects us to respond to His Word as it is written without an added emphasis of anger or volume to get our attention.

We are to do the same for our children. Teach them to respond to what you say when you say it the first time, making sure they heard you.

Each repeated order significantly reduces the seriousness and impact of your request.

How many times have you heard, “One, Two, Three…”?

Ecclesiastes 8:11 (HCSB)

11Because the sentence against a criminal act is not carried out quickly, the heart of people is filled with the desire to commit crime.

Although this is referring to a criminal act, the principal is the same. When the consequence for disobedience is not carried out swiftly, it will result in the development of a heart that will not be quick to obey and will have no fear of doing wrong.

Delayed justice/discipline emboldens wrongdoing.

Titus 2:5 (NIV84)

5to 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.

Subject to = ὑποτάσσω hypotassō = subject oneself, be subjected or subordinated, obey. Of submission involving recognition of an ordered structure.

Submission Inferior

There is an ordered structure that God ordained for the family.

Ephesians 5:22–24 (NIV84)

22Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord.

23For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior.

24Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.

Some have distorted Paul’s admonition for wives to submit to their husbands. He was not suggesting that husbands have unlimited authority over their wives, much less that every man has authority over every woman. But within the marriage covenant, both wives and husbands are asked to make great sacrifices.

While the wife is asked to submit,

the husband is asked to sacrifice whatever is necessary, including his life, to love and care for his wife.

When both husbands and wives are willing to make sacrifices for one another, each makes it easier on their spouse, and unity increases.

Your own husbands. Women are not subject to men in general; they are only to be submissive to their own husbands.

Genesis 3:16 (NIV84)

16To the woman he said, “I will greatly increase your pains in childbearing; with pain you will give birth to children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.”

What does this mean?

We’ll learn this along with what is expected of young men, next week, the Lord willing.