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.”

It’s here that he calls Titus to:

1. Modeling Maturity – Verse 1, 7-8

In contrast to the culture Titus is called to teach God’s truths not just with his words but with his walk. As Elders the way that you lead the laity is to walk the talk. Paul is calling pastors to practice what they preach. Pastors let me remind you that your primary responsibility is not preparing the sermon each week it’s practicing your sermon throughout the week. Because the greatest leadership lessons are not taught in lectures but in life. It’s the difference between the classroom model and the coach model. We need to walk truth not just talk truth. Parents when it comes to our kids we need to be careful that we don’t just preach principles but that we provide practices. Mentoring involves modeling the message not just mouthing it. Our kids need to see scripture in action, they need to see the Gospel being lived out not just lectured about. Now when we talk about modeling maturity unfortunately today too many preachers have become preoccupied with being liked instead of with leading. Their focus is on having a fan club instead of producing followers of Christ. Mentoring involves motivating people to love Jesus not moving them toward liking me. What are you teaching through your walk and your talk, are you modeling truth or teaching trash? It’s here that Paul distinguishes between two groups of men, those who are mature and those who are moldable, putting the focus first on:

2. Mature Men – Vs 2

The phrase “older man” is used by Paul in Philemon 9: “I then, as Paul-an old man.” We know that when he wrote this letter he was around 60-years-old. We can safely say that Paul would have qualified for his AARP card. Interestingly demographers are now talking about the Graying of America. Here are a few stunning statistics: In 1995, 21% of people were 65 or over by 2030 that percent will be 35. The number of older people in the U.S. has increased ten-fold since 1900. People over 85 are the fastest growing segment of the American population. Most Americans have an adverse reaction to aging, in the past year, Americans spent over $2 billion on age-erasing procedures, which is an incredible 43% jump since 2002. We live in a culture that craves youthfulness, and tends to disregard the aged, but the Bible is clear that we are to elevate the elderly. Unlike the world that values youth the word values wisdom. Because the measure of a man is not found in his masculinity but in his maturity. Unfortunately many men have become preoccupied with looking good instead of living for God. Remember Paul is not talking about getting gray he is talking about growing up. Some of you have gotten gray you have just never grown. Now Paul not only prizes mature men but he puts them at the forefront of ministry by calling them to be mentors. You see the term old man does not just revolve around age but is a more relative term referring to those who are older than others. We are all called to be both mentored and be a mentor, because mentoring is not something that is reserved just for ministers.