To Be or Not to Be A Titus

“But as for you, speak the things which are fitting for sound doctrine. Older men are to be temperate, dignified, sensible, sound in faith, in love, in perseverance.” Titus 2:1-2 (NASB)

So how old do you think you have to be before you are called an “Older Man”? Well older man translates the single Greek word “presbutes” and was used by Paul to describe himself and he was in his sixties when he used the term but in Greek literature the term was sometimes for men as young as 50. However the Romans said you were an older man after 40. I’m 47 and my body has its aches and pains as it should for a guy at my age but I have my times when I think a lot younger than I am.

Paul left Titus on Crete telling him help is on the way but until then you got a lot to do on your own. In the first chapter (vv 5-9) of Titus he gets told to go into the towns and appoint elders and then he is given the ground rules for these “Elders”. These qualifications are so hardcore that they are used to qualify Pastor’s. But in reality aren’t they really are good guidelines for all of God’s men? And if we say we are men of God and doers of the Gospel, part of our job is to speak out on the things that make for sound doctrine anytime, anyplace, anywhere.

As men of God we need to know what things have the greatest importance. To discern the value of things that needs to be in the right order. To be able to say such things in a way that is neither undignified nor ungodly. Not to be trivial, superficial, or as I like to say being “plastic”, like wearing a mask at a costume party. And to “walk” with a sense of sound judgment that exhibits you are in step with the Lord. And I don’t mean the one foot in front of the other kind of walking but the walking on the illuminated path kind of walking.

The second part of verse two tells us that the “Elder” needs to be sound in a few areas. The use of the word “sound” refers to that which is as it ought to be. When our faith is sound we don’t question His wisdom, power or love. We don’t lose trust in His grace or divine plan. When our love in Him is sound we don’t mind carrying the burdens of one another. We forgive and serve one another with a healthy sense of love. How about to be sound in perseverance? Do we have the ability to exhibit the graciousness others need to see when we have had to accept those times of disappointment and failure? Are we able to stand and say we believe “that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called to His purpose”?

So can I safely sit here and tell you I fall right in line with everything I just put down? Nope!! I would be a liar. What I can tell you is that there are times when God sets the bar a little higher for me. I really didn’t think I would get the maintenance free kind of salvation when I came to the foot of the Cross anyway so it is better to be challenged every step of the way rather than being left alone with my fire insurance plan. History doesn’t know what happened to Titus and the Bible doesn’t tell us either but I can tell that this… I thought Titus was only three chapters long. I was wrong.

To be or not to be a Titus that is the question. Which is nobler in your mind this morning? — Chris Hughes is a graduate of the Colony of Mercy and a frequent contributor to Freedom Fighter

Digging Deeper: Proverbs 25; Joshua 19-21; Luke 2:25-52

Dig This Quote: (On older believers) “They have learned the value of time and opportunity. They better accept and comprehend their own morality, the imperfections of this present world, and the inability of material things to give lasting, deep satisfaction. They have seen Utopian ideas fail and have learned how short-lived and disappointing euphoric emotional experiences can be, even those—or perhaps especially those—that purport to be of a higher spiritual order.” The MacArthur NT Commentary: Titus John MacArthur

Determined Digging: Level 1 — Psalm 73:28; Level 2 — Psalm 46:8-11