God Speaks
But as for you, speak up for the right living that goes along with true Christianity. 2 Teach the older men to be serious and unruffled; they must be sensible, knowing and believing the truth and doing everything with love and patience.
3 Teach the older women to be quiet and respectful in everything they do. They must not go around speaking evil of others and must not be heavy drinkers, but they should be teachers of goodness. 4 These older women must train the younger women to live quietly, to love their husbands and their children, 5 and to be sensible and clean minded, spending their time in their own homes, being kind and obedient to their husbands so that the Christian faith can’t be spoken against by those who know them.
6 In the same way, urge the young men to behave carefully, taking life seriously. 7 And here you yourself must be an example to them of good deeds of every kind. Let everything you do reflect your love of the truth and the fact that you are in dead earnest about it. 8 Your conversation should be so sensible and logical that anyone who wants to argue will be ashamed of himself because there won’t be anything to criticize in anything you say!
9 Urge slaves to obey their masters and to try their best to satisfy them. They must not talk back, 10 nor steal, but must show themselves to be entirely trustworthy. In this way they will make people want to believe in our Savior and God.
11 For the free gift of eternal salvation is now being offered to everyone; 12 and along with this gift comes the realization that God wants us to turn from godless living and sinful pleasures and to live good, God-fearing lives day after day, 13 looking forward to that wonderful time we’ve been expecting, when his glory shall be seen—the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ. 14 He died under God’s judgment against our sins so that he could rescue us from constant falling into sin and make us his very own people, with cleansed hearts and real enthusiasm for doing kind things for others. 15 You must teach these things and encourage your people to do them, correcting them when necessary as one who has every right to do so. Don’t let anyone think that what you say is not important.
Source: The Living Bible: BibleGateway.com
We Respond
Reflection: In the previous chapter Paul advised Titus on how Christian leaders should conduct themselves. Here he addresses how Christians in various stages and/or positions in life should act. Although Paul mentions that Titus should preach sound doctrine, he presents guidance for godly daily living. Perhaps, the reason is that what we believe should guide how we live. Knowing and believing the truth about God’s love and patience with us should motivate older men to be dignified, steady and reliable, self-controlled, and worthy of respect. Knowing that God is good to them and cares for them should help older women to reach out to younger women instead of gossiping about or slandering them or turning to drugs or alcohol for comfort or support. Learning from older women what the Bible says about relating to their husbands and raising their children should help younger women to live more God-honoring lives. Young men learning about the Holy Spirit’s enabling should help them to conquer their fleshly desires. Christian leaders who are examples of Christ-centered living by exhibiting integrity, dignity and sound speech will prevent opponents from shaming or speaking evil of the faith. If slaves (workers) know that Christ is Lord of all, even their masters, they will be able to work diligently and with inner joy and be less likely to rebel, pilfer, or be insubordinate. Verses 11-14 summarize the gospel and exactly what Titus is to teach his people.
Prayer: Dear Great and Awesome God who has provided all we need for life and godliness, thank You for giving us the Bible and the Holy Spirit to inform and equip believers to live the way You intended. That is because You love us and want us to be truly happy. Holy Spirit, You are the ultimate Teacher. Please teach me to recognize and believe the truth (especially about Jesus Christ), putting it into practice with love and patience. Help me to be quiet and respectful in everything I do, being a good role model for others. Help me to please You as I interact with my family members, neighbors, and friends but especially with my enemies (those who abuse or accuse me). Please help me to take Your directives and life (but not myself) seriously, not wasting precious time on temporary or unimportant manners. May my lifestyle and worldview set a good example for believers to follow and for those who oppose the gospel to be silenced. May I be a good and honest worker at whatever I do. May my life illustrate the good news: Because of Jesus Christ, the free gift of salvation from sin is available to everyone now. Upon receiving this gift by faith, I began to realize that You want me to continually turn from my old useless and sinful ways and the pleasures of this world to continually live a good God-fearing life. I now expectantly look for Jesus to return in great glory. As the only God-man, He died under Your judgment of my sin, thereby rescuing me from constantly falling into sin. You were free then to make me Your very own child with all the rights and privileges of the Son. You cleansed my heart and gave me the ability to pass Your forgiveness, mercy, grace, and lovingkindness on to others. I am truly, eternally grateful. AMEN
Action: (Ask the Holy Spirit, which one of these He wants you to work on or something else more personal that He points out.)
- I will demonstrate my gratitude to Jesus for saving me by telling others what He has done for them as well.
- I will participate in a Bible study group to learn more about what God expects of His children.
- I will do whatever I can, in whatever way, to help spread this wonderful news.
- I will spend time daily communicating with God to get to know Him better.
Share: I plan to share what I’ve learned with __________.