Titus 2:1-15; A New Household

Introduction

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The 2000s were such a fun time for television. One of the great tv shows was Wife Swap. The premise of the tv show is for two families to swap mothers for two weeks. The first week, the family functions like normal. The second week, the family has to follow the rules set by the new mother. After the two weeks, the mother got to decide how the family would spend the $50,000 they recieved.

One of the most memorable episodes is the episode that had a family with a son named Curtis. But you might remember him as king Curtis. During that episode, he made memorable statements. Many of these statements were made in response to Joy, the new mother’s rules. Joy was a personal trainer. Curtis’ family were not exactly fitness enthusiasts. As Joy was throwing away junk food and planning exercise for the family, Curtis has some amazing sayings like, “Chicken nuggets are like family to me.” He also said, “Well, bacon is good for me.” His most famous moment was when he packed his suitcase and began to leave his house.

This tv show was very funny! But, ultimately, it didn’t cause any change. One person cannot implement lasting change into a family that is set in its ways. If there is really any hope for change, we need an entirely new household!

Need

We need a new family and a new household with new expectations.

In this passage, Paul is giving the churches in Crete a new household code. He addressedHe is instructing these believers as if they are part of the same household. It’s like Paul is calling the church a new family. Paul gave us this same teaching in 1 Timothy 5:1-2

1 Timothy 5:1–2 ESV

1 Do not rebuke an older man but encourage him as you would a father, younger men as brothers, 2 older women as mothers, younger women as sisters, in all purity.

Referent

Titus 2:1-15

Organization

I Have A New Household (vs. 11-4)

I Have New Expectations (vs. 1-10 and 15)

Sermon in a sentence:

I will live in this new household with new expectations.

I Have A New Household (vs. 11-14)

A plant needs roots before it can produce fruit.

We are going to look at the reason for our new behaviour before we examine the new behaviour.

Let us assume we are trying to figure out our next fellowship meal. After a few months, someone realizes that one of our members, John Doe, hasn’t been eating a lot at our meals. So we try to pick something new this time. We get the pastor of State Street Baptist Church in New Albany to bring his 14 foot smoker to church on Saturday. He smokes 30 pounds of the best pulled pork with all of the sides. We have loaded baked potatoes with butter, sour cream, cheese, and a mountain of bacon. We have green beans with bacon. We have sweet corn in a bath of butter. The food is delicious and eaten in no time. But, after the meal, the same thing happened. John Doe had just a roll and water.

We talk about it and someone says John may not eat pork. So, we try something different. We are going to do Spaghetti. We do Spaghetti and four different sauces. One with meatballs, one with Italian sausage, one with turkey, and one with four cheeses. We serve cheesy garlic bread. The salads, cheese, bacon bits, and the good restaurant quality ranch made with real buttermilk or a really creamy Italian dressing. Everyone loves the food, but same problem. John only ate some plain noodles and water.

We keep doing this until we run out of ideas. We are thinking about catering something just to get John something he will eat. We try making anything and everything, but John has still not had anything to eat.

Eventually, we ask John what he would eat. He tells us he’s a real big foodie. He loves to eat all kinds of cultures and foods. But, he is vegan. If we don’t know the why we will often run into problems with the how. How can we get something John will like? We need to know why John isn’t eating what we are making.

God’s Grace is the reason for our new actions. (vs. 11 and 14)

Everything in the Christian life is because of God’s grace!

Should nothing of our efforts stand No legacy survive Unless the Lord does raise the house In vain its builders strive To you who boast tomorrow's gain Tell me what is your life A mist that vanishes at dawn All glory be to Christ

The gospel is God oriented first then human oriented!

v. 14 - Jesus gave up himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and purify us to be his own possession!

The Cretens were a lawless people. (v. 12) They were liars, evil beasts, and lazy gluttons. Human nature has not changed since the first century.

Our salvation is first and foremost for the glory of God!

Our salvation is then a means by which God is bringing his kingdom to bear, one person at a time.

Paul uses OT language of Israel to believers in Jesus Christ - the church.

We confess that there are not two different people of God. Israel in the Old Testament and the church in the New Testament are both the people of God by our unification with Jesus!

If you have not been adopted into this new family of God, you have no reason to believe that you can have the rights and privileges of that family. I had a friend in elementary and middle school named Tim. We were really good friends. I spent a lot of weekends at his house. We did a lot of things together. Every year his family would go on vacation and invite one of his friends. One year, I went to Myrtle beach with his family. That was the first time I had been on a real vacation. The only vacation my family went on was a day trip to Dollywood.

Colgate, some of you may be like me. You may have been around a church family for years. You may love this family deeply. You may have been able to benefit deeply from being around this family. You may have been able to have experiences that you would not have had otherwise. But at the end of the day, your are not a member of this family. You have not been adopted into the family of God. You may even think you are. But, you have never truly understood what the gospel is.

I believe in Jesus Christ, his only son, our Lord. Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried; he descended to the hades. On the third day he rose again; he ascended into heaven, he is seated at the right hand God, the Father almighty, from there he will come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.

I Have New Expectations (vs. 1-10 & 15)

As a new family - the family of God/the body of Christ- the church has a new set of house rules.

These requirements sound a lot like the requirements for elders in the chapter 1 and 1 Timothy 3.

Saints, you elder shouldn’t be weird. It should be weird if the elder is the only spiritual one in the room.

Voddie Baucham used to speak about the issue of young men going to seminary. He said if you have a 15,16, rr 17 year old young man that is interested in church history, theology, and the Bible then most churches see that as a problem. The problem is that this guy is weird. Those things are only for pastors. So what do we do with a guy that won’t stop reading his Bible, systematic theologies, and dead guys from church history? Well we have to send him to seminary of course. That is the only answer for guys like that. They have to leave our church and go to the seminaries where he can be trained for ministry. That kind of thinking is not how Paul talks about elders.

John Chrysostom, 5th century, talked about each home should be a little church. And we could reverse that statement too! Every church should be a home. These churches should be full of aunties, uncles, grandpas, grandmas, granddaughters, and grandsons in the faith. Loving on one another and showing hospitality to each other.

These are not exhaustive lists, but they are hefty and weighty!

Older Men

Sober-minded: clear headed. Men that can think clearly about a situation and not be controlled by emotions or preferences.

dignified: worthy of respect. The way they carry themselves demands respect.

self-controlled: by God’s grace, older men should be controlling sin, not controlled by sin.

sound in faith: the longer you have been walking with the Lord Jesus, the more you should know him. I can say this with love and care. There is absolutely no reason for a believer in the United States to not know about doctrine, theology, church history, and the Bible. Not only that, but there is no reason that a member of Colgate Baptist Church should not know these things. You have the opportunity to go to Sunday School with a guy who is literally getting his degree in the Bible and Theology.

sound in love: I want to be very gracious here! Hollywood loves to portray the stereotypical retired man as a grouchy, mean, old man. Now, we all now that movies and tv are not real life! But, these things must have some truth to make them believable. Wouldn’t it be amazing for the church to be an example of love. Can we show the world that the longer we walk with Jesus and his bride, the more loving and caring we become. Not the opposite.

steadfast: endurance. The Christian life is one that has taught men how to endure this life.

Older Women (Positive,Negative,Negative, Positive)

reverent in behavior - or you could translate it : holy/religious behavior.

not slanderers - μὴ διαβόλους (not devils or not devilish) - not to assassinate character.

slaves to much wine - I was thinking about this text this week and I had a thought pop in my heard the first time I was reading through the text for the week. I read it out loud to Holly and she thought the same thing. The “wine culture” for mothers is so common. Even the way that Christian mothers joke about wanting some wine after being with their kids all day says something. It shows the world what we think of children.

teach what is good : the question of the role of women in the church is often talked about in the context of women preaching, pastoring, or being a deacon. While these questions are important, they often skip the regular responsibility of teaching for women. Older women need to teach younger women what is good! This is not optional. There is not option for sideline Christians in the kingdom of God.

Younger Women

love their husbands and children

I have seen it time and time again. There is something that make men angry when they see a young woman that loves her husband. If she is cooks his meals and packs his lunch then she is babying him. It’s weird if he asks his wife what tie he should wear.

There is something that makes women angry when they see another woman that really loves their children. I have personally seen women try to discourage my wife from homeschooling. I have witnessed people talk to Holly about how daycare children are so much better behaved then those kids that don’t go to daycare.

This text does not demand women to only work from home! See Proverbs 31! The point I am trying to make is that we have allowed the American dream to cloud our vision more than we have allowed passages like Titus 2

I think I was talking to someone when Holly and I were dating. I remember telling them that I would never marry a woman that wanted to be a stay-at-home mom. I thought that was a ridiculous idea. I was acting more American than Christian.

self-controlled: again we see this command. It is the most common command in this section.

pure: upright. not depraved or wicked

working at home: again, her main ministry is the home!

kind: this is a spiritual command. kind is not weakness.

submissive to their own husbands (that the word of God may not be reviled) -

can Paul even be serious? He’s already told women they need to love their husbands, love their children, work at home, and submit to their husbands. I don’t have to make the special caveats that submission does not mean submitting to abuse. Saints, I hope you hear the apostle. I know that this culture would not accept a preacher telling women they need to do all these things. Can we handle it in the church?

Why do all these things? For the sake of the gospel! You love a guy that is sometimes unloveable because the gospel! Because God loved a sinner who did not deserve his mercy, grace, and love!

You submit to your husband because the gospel! Submitting to him is a picture of Christ’s submission to the will of the Father.

Younger Men

self-controlled: so critical. We need young men who are self-controlled, willing to use their God given talents and energies to use.

Day after day, I see it. Men who are mid twenties getting their driver’s license for the first time. Working a retail job with no aspirations or goals. Guys ok with no wife or kids until in their 30s. No urgency for anything in life.

“There is nothing more dangerous than a man with nothing to loose.” As we look around at our nation, we see this is true. How many times do we see shootings of schools by young men with nothing to life for. They have no real responsibilities. No wife. No kids. No career. No real community except a video game or online persona.

follow the example of Titus - young men need proven examples. Young men and women will become the people around them. As leaders, this is even more dangerous for young men. Will they follow in the footsteps of failures or in the footsteps of faithful father-figures.

Slaves -

submissive/well-pleasing/not argumentative: Even in the darkest conditions, Christians are supposed to shine the brightest. The slaves are told to show the light of the gospel even when they are under such harsh conditions. Why? Because the gospel demands it! God himself took on flesh and humbled himself to the lowest form of servanthood, even to the point of death on a cross.

Holy Night translated by John Sullivan Dwight

Truly He taught us to love one another; His law is love and His gospel is peace. Chains shall He break, for the slave is our brother, and in His name all oppression shall cease. Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we, let all within us praise His holy name. Christ is the Lord! O praise His name forever! His pow'r and glory evermore proclaim!

How could Paul write to slaves like they humans? Because they are part of the family of God too!

Conclusion

I grew up in Southwest Virginia. First Baptist Church of Gate City was my church for the first 16 years of my life. We were not a very “country church” like the church Holly grew up in. But one thing that I always thought was such a country thing was how everyone referred to each other as brother. We didn’t say sister at all. We only said brother. I grew up with that and I didn’t like it! It was annoying. And I only saw the older members of the church doing it. Growing up in the kids program and youth program, younger people never said this to each other.

Now, I love calling you my brothers and sisters. Even in my text messages, I try to begin by saying brother or sister. Even in the small things, I want to train myself to think of the body of Christ as this new family that we have all been adopted into by the work of our elder brother, the Lord Jesus Christ!

Application

Come into the family of God by putting your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ!

Go to the nearest mirror or pull out your drivers license and ask yourself which group you fall into. Now, ask yourself what you need the most help in? Ask yourself what area you could be the most help in? Ask one person in the opposite group how you can help each other. Make a friendship with someone in the opposite age group that you can learn from.