Month: October 2021

Teach slaves to be subject to their masters in everything, to try to please them, not to talk back to them, and not to steal from them, but to show that they can be fully trusted, so that in every way they will make the teaching about God our Savior attractive. Titus 2:9-10

On the surface, this scripture seems logical enough.  Perhaps that’s because we’re not slaves and not in touch with the issues that might plague them ~ inequity and injustice. 

But there’s a way to bring it home in 2021 so that we might enter into the text.  We may not be slaves, but we are subject to various kinds of authorities.  When those at the top are righteous, the struggles are minimal.  When the authority figures are abusive, the spiritual gymnastics required through Titus’ teaching come quickly into focus.

The inequity of the ‘haves and have nots’ is difficult if not grounded in the love of God.  The wealthy rule over those who have much less.  Many (though not all) of the rich inherited their money and don’t have to work as hard as the people who work for them.)  Think about a slave who caters to the whim of his master, making his life easy, while he does all the work.  He makes the owner prosperous while he continues to profit nothing except room and board.  In this environment, a carnal nature is set on fire.  Resentment grows, and in cases of abuse, vows of revenge are made in secret.  

The ideas presented by Paul to Titus turn the hearts and minds of a slave upside down.  While he may try to please his master out of fear, Jesus would have him please his master out of his love for God.  While he might not dare talk back to his master for fear of a violent reprisal, Jesus would have him defer out of respect for God’s ultimate authority.  While he may try to prove his trustworthiness to his master for self-gain, Jesus would have him earn his master’s trust because God is honored through his submission.  Ultimately, the message is that it’s no longer about the slave and the good/evil heart of the master.  It’s about whether the slave makes Jesus attractive.

Today, there are crooked people in authority as well as some righteous ones.  (Parents, community leaders, church leaders, local police forces, and government officials.)  This is where it hits home for us.  What do we do when faced with injustice, when asked to serve those who don’t deserve our respect?  Taking to Facebook, or to the pulpit, to express vitriol amongst our friends, is not the response that makes the Gospel attractive.  We are called to obey, treat them with respect, pray for them, and defer for the sake of our love for God.  What if we, under their authority, are asked to do something unbiblical?  We don’t take up arms in the form of civil unrest or purge our rage through digital editorials.  We obey God and follow His lead out of humble conviction – without rancor and a spirit of rebellion.

This is not easy for us, nor was it for slaves.  Bring this home, Holy Spirit, to our places of struggle today.  Amen

In your teaching show integrity, seriousness and soundness of speech that cannot be condemned, so that those who oppose you may be ashamed because they have nothing bad to say about us.  Titus 2:7-8

Titus has a hard calling.  He’s the senior teaching pastor and overseer to the collection of churches on Crete.  He’s preaching to his own hometown people.  He’s choosing a precious few to be elders while passing over most.  He’s confronting sinful behavior and exposing wrong doctrine.  Is he encouraged to be as Jesus was in the temple, using whips to drive out money changers?  Not according to the picture Paul paints here. He is told to present Himself with integrity, seriousness, and soundness of speech. 

It will work against him to try to be the life of the party. He can’t have a huge ego, striving to be the center of attention.  He cannot be a jokester, nor a storyteller who embellishes content for greater affect.  He cannot be more famous for witty one-liners than for sincere and profound revelation of the scriptures.   

He must be known for integrity, not one who works the crowd.  He must be sincere and trustworthy, not charismatic for the purpose of glorifying himself.  He must be persuasive and clearly Spirit-driven, not smooth and manipulative.  I’ve known bible teachers who possessed little charisma off the platform but were dynamic while they were teaching! They were awkward and tongue-tied one-on-one but had been eloquent with the scriptures earlier before the crowd.  They were clearly Spirit-anointed, empowered outside of themselves for their most holy calling.  

All of this points to a greater context where God’s people are told to speak with truth and grace.  We are to be gracious truth-tellers, like Jesus.  He is the one who said to an angry mob, “Which of you convicts me of sin?” John 8:46  His love and grace are His hallmarks, even while defending His Father’s glory.  I believe it was David Platt who, when speaking of living in a way where grace and truth are perfectly balanced, said that ‘we should expose sin – but always with tears in our eyes.’  Sound words, serious posture, pure motives. The heart of the Father is seen in the lives of such servants. 

When I consider what I must do to be loved and accepted by people, I’ve stepped outside Your will and people won’t trust me.  Show me where I need to course correct.  Amen