Scripture Daily

Context No. 1490 of 4322 · Titus

Context · Reflection

Titus 2:1-5: in context

1But say the things which fit sound doctrine, 2that older men should be temperate, sensible, sober minded, sound in faith, in love, and in perseverance, 3and that older women likewise be reverent in behavior, not slanderers nor enslaved to much wine, teachers of that which is good, 4that they may train the young wives to love their husbands, to love their children, 5to be sober minded, chaste, workers at home, kind, being in subjection to their own husbands, that God’s word may not be blasphemed.

Paul instructs Titus in what fits sound teaching. Older men are to be temperate, dignified, self-controlled, sound in faith and love and steadfastness. Older women, likewise, are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or given to drink, but teachers of what is good, so that they may train the younger women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled and pure, kind, and diligent at home. And the reason he gives runs through it: that the word of God may not be maligned.

The structure of Paul's counsel is worth noticing: the older are to train the younger. It is not enough for the older men and women to be godly themselves; part of their calling is to pass on to the next generation what they have learned, the older women training the younger, teaching by instruction and by example how to live. This is how the faith and the wisdom of a godly life are meant to travel from one generation to the next, not only through formal teaching but through the mentoring of the younger by the older, the seasoned believer showing the way to the one coming up behind. There is a responsibility in that for those who have grown older in the faith, and an encouragement for those younger. The older are not to keep their hard-won wisdom to themselves or assume the young must figure it out alone; they are to train them, to invest in them, to hand on what they have learned. And the younger are meant to have such guides, older believers who will show them how to live. Notice too the reason Paul attaches: that the word of God may not be maligned. How we live commends or discredits the gospel to those watching; a godly life makes the word attractive, and an ungodly one gives occasion to speak against it. The passing on of a godly life from the older to the younger serves not only those two generations but the reputation of the word of God itself.

If I am older in the faith, am I training and mentoring the younger, passing on what I have learned by example and instruction, and if I am younger, do I seek out the guidance of older believers, remembering that how we live either commends or discredits the word of God to those watching?

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