Meditating in Titus 2 this morning, I was reminded of one of the sayings of Dr. Bob Jones Sr., that early 20th century evangelist and educator, also founder of Bob Jones University. He said, "Do right, if the stars fall." A contemporary of mine at the university, Ron Hamilton, a gifted musical composer, expanded the adage into a song, part of which lyrics are below.
Do right till the stars fall, do right till the last call Do right when there’s no one else to stand by you! Do right when you’re all alone, do right though it’s never known. Do right since you love the Lord — do right, do right!
Paul begins Titus 2 with the strong admonition to teach biblical truth. Here's the thing about biblical truth...you can tell it's truth from the Bible if behaviors change, because the Word of God changes lives. Accordingly, Paul goes on to admonish subgroups of the Cretan church about their practical living, under the restrictions of their contemporary culture. Those groups were: older men, younger men, older women and slaves. In every case, though, and I think this is so interesting....Paul reminded each group that they were TEACHING ... not only those in their faith community, but also those unbelievers outside, about the glory and grace of the saving gospel!
Titus 2:11-14 (NIV) is the chapter's linchpin. So, let's start there. It is crucial we understand that Titus 2 is not merely a laundry list of "do goods" strapped to the backs of sinners attempting to earn salvation.
11For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. 12It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, 13while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, 14who 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.
Hallelujah! Salvation is FREELY available to ALL people, not just a chosen few! Isn't that awesome to remember this morning? And, get this, our FREE salvation (Ephesians 2:8-9), instigated through God's grace to us, not earned by our own false "goodness", TEACHES us, if we will allow it. The Holy Spirit is THE Master Teacher. When we accept Jesus as Savior, His Holy Spirit comes to reside in our souls forever. When we submit ourselves to His divine goodness, He shapes us by teaching us to say "no" to sin.
As we are taught by Him and as we learn to live godly lives, even while surrounded by ungodliness, we are to teach others through our resplendent walk. Christian: you can't be a "master teacher" if your walk is "off", if you are rebelliously practicing ungodliness in some area of your life.
Now, briefly, let's look at the admonishments to each subset of the Cretan church.
1. Paul specifies that all four groups should focus on "self-control" (which for the Christian is really letting the Holy Spirit be in control) and on leading by example, so that they garner respect and build/maintain integrity. A "good reputation" validates the truth of the gospel message.
2. Paul mentions temperance to both older men and women (2:2-3), and mentions that the older women should avoid excesses of wine (2:3). It is very possible that, in the Cretan culture, overindulgence of alcohol was a social phenomenon, hurting the testimony of that local church. It's hard to say. Still, overindulgence of food or drink can harm one's testimony. (I speak as one who struggles with this - - the food issue.)
3. Paul goes on to focus on the older women mentoring the younger women in how to love and respect their husbands, to raise their children and to run an orderly home (2:4-5). In those days, families lived close by, sometimes even in the same physical dwelling. Unfortunately, because families today can be literally continents apart, a great deal of that mentoring has either been lost, or young families are finding like-minded mentors in their expanded Christian circles. A lot of that mentoring (although of a lesser quality, in my opinion) is also going on online. It is just a reality of our age.
4. Slaves - - obviously, we do not have legal slavery in America today. However, the admonitions Paul gives to slaves are very applicable to the workplace (which, granted, can sometimes FEEL like slavery, lol).
Finally, verse 15... Paul emphasizes that living a Holy Spirit-controlled life, practicing righteous living, gives a Christian the authority to both encourage and to rebuke others. Most of us are fairly good at the "encouraging" part, but . . .
Who loves to be rebuked? Raise your hands. LOL, yeah, that's what I thought. We'll explore this spiritual discipline in more depth in the next post, because it is under-taught and yet vitally important.
Source:
http://www.inthineheart.com/2014/09/14/do-right-till-the-stars-fall/
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