Titus 2:1-8

“As for you, Titus, promote the kind of living that reflects wholesome teaching. 2 Teach the older men to exercise self-control, to be worthy of respect, and to live wisely. They must have sound faith and be filled with love and patience. 3 Similarly, teach the older women to live in a way that honors God. They must not slander others or be heavy drinkers.[a] Instead, they should teach others what is good. 4 These older women must train the younger women to love their husbands and their children, 5 to live wisely and be pure, to work in their homes, to do good, and to be submissive to their husbands. Then they will not bring shame on the word of God. 6 In the same way, encourage the young men to live wisely. 7 And you yourself must be an example to them by doing good works of every kind. Let everything you do reflect the integrity and seriousness of your teaching.8 Teach the truth so that your teaching can’t be criticized. Then those who oppose us will be ashamed and have nothing bad to say about us.”

Last time we saw Paul calling Elders to deal with the disobedient, those who claimed to be Christians but are actually living carnal lives. We were confronted with a challenging question are we really Christians or are we counterfeits? Now as we turn to Titus chapter 2, we see the focus change from the elders to everybody, as we see Paul’s passion for people to live out the transforming power of the gospel of Jesus Christ. It’s here that Paul draws a sharp contrast between the life of a Christian and that of the culture. The culture in which Titus was called to live out Christ was much like ours. Crete was a major cesspool filled with people who were focused on following the flesh not God the Father. They were not driven by a desire for righteousness, instead life revolved around self and the pursuit of personal success. This was the culture in which Titus was called to live out his Christian faith. We need to remember that the church has always been called to live out Christ in a corrupt culture. Morality is like the tides of the sea it ebbs and flows, sometimes it swallows up much of the sand while at other times it leaves it mostly exposed. We can kid ourselves into thinking that we are living in a Christian nation but the truth is most people are practicing a pagan life not a pure one. The people of Crete were known for getting drunk, and having a lack of self-control. The challenge of living in this culture is that it’s easy to fall away from your faith and start to participate in pagan practices. When you’re surrounded by people who are tell dirty jokes, it’s easy to fudge your faith, to laugh and join in. When you’re struggling in your marriage and you are around people who bash and belittle their spouse, it could be tempting to join in and trash the very person God has called you to treasure. It’s called peer pressure, and its attacks at every age. We live in a pagan world and we need to be careful that we are not drawn into its carnal culture. Because in the midst of this pagan world, one the most powerful forces for God are the words and walk of Godly people. We are not called to be chameleon Christians trying to blend our beliefs with the world so we can fit in. Real faith is a lot like oil it’s never going to mix well with water. As Paul challenges Christians to live out their faith he starts first with men by calling those who are mature men to mentor those who are moldable. Paul is not picking on men here rather he is reminding us that we are called to be the spiritual leaders of our homes. Paul challenges us first because as men we set the spiritual temperature and tone of our homes. You set the thermostat of truth in your home, how hot or cold the climate is for Christ greatly revolves around the pace that you set.