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Tuesday, April 23rd, 2024
the Fourth Week after Easter

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Bible Commentaries
Titus 2

TitusTit 1 TitusTit TitusTit 3

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Verses 1-10

Intro:
1. So last week we looked at the things that were lacking (1:5). This week the things which are proper in 2:1.
  1. Now the shift from the protection of sound doctrine to the practice of sound doctrine.
  2. Note, the interweaving of lives in the community life of the church.
    1. God did not design the Christian life to be lived independently.
2. Title: Making God’s Word Attractive.
3. Paul is helping Titus understand what holiness looks like for older men, older women, younger men, younger women.
  1. Note: Paul doesn’t have a category for middle-aged men. 40 and under was considered young, everyone else was considered old.
4. Whether young or old, married or single, we are all needed in the local church.
  1. God has a job for us to do. Regardless of age, gender, occupation, or any other classification. He calls us to live differently.
  2. There obviously should be a personal investment in regular fellowship, disciplined worship, & this church community life as he describes here to the church of Crete.
5. Read text.
MEN - He created them male…
1. Masculine Spirituality
2. In the Chinese view of the universe, it is the yang, or active masculine principle, that is always the necessary complement to yin, the passive feminine principle. [Taoism; dark/light]
  1. For the Judaeo-Christian it is half of the image of God: God created humanity as a self-image, male and female God created them (Gen.1:27) [not really 1/2]
3. Complementarianism is a theological view held by Judaism, Christianity, & Islam, that men & women have different but complementary roles and responsibilities in marriage, family, life, religious leadership, and elsewhere.
4. Contrasting viewpoints maintain:
  1. Egalitarianism (fr. Egal=equal) - women and men should share identical authority and responsibilities in marriage, religion and elsewhere.
  2. Chauvinism - that men and women are of intrinsically different worth.
    1. Here we read, God created them male and female.
    2. They were made equal in dignity; equally valuable; equally important; of equal worth; equal dignity before God & before each other.
    3. Yet, different, not only in our plumbing/anatomy but in the roles Gods given to us & our different functions.
    4. So, men & women have different designs, diff functions but the same purpose...God’s Glory! [to blend these as 1 is to diminish God’s self-image]
  3. He created them male...our ½ so to speak, was always that of Leadership from the beginning.
    1. Yes, he shall rule over you came after the fall, but even before the fall…
      1. Adam was created 1st, then Eve.
      2. Eve was created as a helper for Adam.
      3. Adam named Eve. (not vice-versa)
      4. God named the Human race, Man (not woman, nor something gender neutral) He created them male and female, and blessed them and called them Mankind(adam) in the day they were created.
      5. The serpent came to Eve 1st. (going for the role reversal maneuver tempting Eve to take the leadership role)
      6. God spoke to Adam 1st after the fall.
      7. Adam, not Eve, represented the Human race. (we’re counted sinful cuz Adam’s sin)
5. Remember a Man & His male disciples founded Christianity. Most of its major saints & heroes were men. Men penned all of the OT & NT. And, 95% of senior pastors in America are men. (This section is from CBN.com/spirituallife/ChurchAnd Minstry/menhatingchurch.aspx)
  1. A quote from an article I read said, “Today’s churchgoing man is humble, tidy, dutiful, & above all, nice.” :(
  2. Where are the high achievers, alpha males, risk takers, & visionaries. The fun-lovers & adventurers?
  3. The bible’s full of men like Moses, Elijah, Daniel, Peter, Paul’s, & David who was able to dance in his underroo’s in complete abandon.
    1. These guys were lions, not lambs. Take charge men who risked everything in service to God. They fought valiantly & spilled blood. They spoke their minds & stepped on toes of religious people. They were true leaders, tough guys who were feared & respected by the community. [Wait. Jesus was a Lamb...yah, in reference to how He went to his death]
    2. Explain: 4 military guys in Haiti after earthquake. Just call me Jack [calm, strong, firm presence]
  4. The church of the 1st century was a magnet to males. Jesus’ strong leadership, blunt honesty, & bold action mesmerized men.
  5. All of these men had 2 things in common: they had an intense commitment to God, & they were what you’s call saintly.
6. Gen.1:26,27 (msg) God created human beings; he created them godlike, Reflecting God’s nature. He created them male and female. God blessed them: Prosper! Reproduce! Fill Earth! Take charge! Be responsible for fish in the sea and birds in the air, for every living thing that moves on the face of Earth.
7. For most of human history a man would go through 2 life phases...boy to man. (This is taken from Mark & Grace Driscoll, Real Marriage, ch.3.)
  1. This transition was made up of 5 events that happened almost simultaneously: Leave your parents home. Finish your vocational training or education. Start a career tract. Meet a woman, love her, honor her, court her, marry her. Parent children with her.
  2. Rather than moving from boyhood to manhood we created a 3rd life stage in the middle called adolescence.
    1. It starts with the teen years & in many cases continues indefinitely.
    2. Maybe the problem in our culture is that we don’t know when we become men. And, no pressure is exerted on us to do so in society today.
    3. Is it when we can legally drive, vote, join the military, or drink alcohol? Is it when we graduate from High school or college? Is it when we get married, have kids, buy a house...no one knows. No one will say.
    4. We are left with indefinite adolescence!
    5. Driscoll called it a Peter Pan syndrome where some men want to remain boys forever (singing, I don't want to grow up) (reason? most despise/fearful of responsibility)
      1. Then some who make it to manhood, get married, have kids...but then reverting back to boyhood in what we term a mid-life crisis. [Some changing in their wives for a newer model]
    6. Paul said(paraphrased), When I was a boy, I spoke and thought and reasoned as a boy. But when I grew up, I put away boyish things. (1 Cor.13:11)
    7. You were made to be a producer...not just a consumer.
8. Men were told to Take Charge (subdue it) - This appointment by God gave man the privilege but also responsibility as caretakers of Gods backyard.
9. Men were told to Be Responsible (have dominion) - Man is to rule or have dominion. God’s dominion was presented by a representative.
  1. Be His Representative - Egyptian kings later represented their rule or dominion by making representative statues of themselves.
    1. Men you are God’s representative here, you sons-of-God.
  2. Be a Leader - Yes, leadership is needed w/in the home, but also outside the home to sustain the common good & the direction of those around him. And, lead with a sense of sacrifice & responsibility.
    1. Also, to stand as a protector of all those under his care, particularly over women & children, as well as all vulnerable, in need of defense [orphans, widows, hurting, enslaved, etc]. If need be, to sacrifice his very life to protect others.
10. What if Men were about, not just trying to please their wives, or to fulfill religious tradition, but men who were spiritually alive to rock their world. We don’t need to call men back to the church. We need to call the church back to men. :)
11. Want to fix your marriage? - Do what God said in ch.1 of the bible.
12. Want to have a good dating relationship? - Do what God said in ch.1 of the bible.
13. Want to attract an awesome Christian woman? Do what God said in ch.1 - Take charge/be responsible
  1. Jesus is giving you freedom to be male, a real man. Adventurous, passionate in your pursuits, willing to fight for what is right.
  2. Jesus the ultimate man, the ultimate lover, and the ultimate fighter.
    1. Col.2:15 (msg) He/Jesus stripped all the spiritual tyrants in the universe of their sham authority at the Cross and marched them naked through the streets.
WOMEN - He created them female…
1. Mothers Day: Honoring Mothers was so important God placed its instruction right in the 5th commandment. Honor your father & mother. Deut.5:16
  1. As one said, “The first 10 years of the life of a child lie in the heart of its mother. All the remaining years will be colored by the touches of those ‘mother years’.”
  2. Moses, Samuel, & Timothy lives were shaped by their praying, spirit-led mothers.
  3. So we can remember our moms: night vigils, seasons of intercession, maybe her well-marked Bible, or soulful words of admonition...if you were blessed with a godly mom.
  4. The best monument that a child can raise to a mother’s memory is that of a clean, upright life, such as she would have rejoiced to see him/her live.
2. The profession of motherhood is more than a variety of tasks:
  1. It involves a higher calling. It is a calling to invest years in the life of another. It is a calling to love unconditionally. It is a calling to sacrifice. It requires a serving heart & a willingness to give.
  2. “A mother’s love runs so deep, that God has to specifically tell her son that he must leave her, & cling to his wife!” :)
3. Mother is used approx. 300 x’s in Scripture.
  1. In Scripture we have every kind of mother: rich moms, poor moms, single moms, widowed moms, moms that suffered hardships, moms that seemed to have had a easy life. One mom that brought the Messiah into the world, & another that boiled & ate her son (2 Kings 6:29).
4. And what is required of moms today? It’s the most creative job in the world & involves: Fashion, decorating, recreation, education, transportation, psychology, romance, cuisine, literature, art, economics, government, pediatrics, geriatrics, entertainment, maintenance, purchasing, law, religion, energy and management.
  1. Anyone who can handle all those has to be somebody special.
5. HONOR
6. Proverbs Book Overview: Proverbs has much to say about wicked women & about nagging wives in (Ch’s.1-9). The book closes, however, with a glorious tribute to the godly, dedicated woman who brings honor to God & joy to her family.
  1. The book of Proverbs begins with the wise words of a father(1:8) and ends w/the wise words of a mother.
    1. 1st & last, the home is the bastion of the nation. As the home is, so is the homeland.
7. Motherhood, a Powerful Profession-They can even guide the hearts of kings.i.e.Lemuel’s mom Prov.31
  1. She taught him lessons on chastity & self-control (1-7)
  2. And that the afflicted are to be comforted & defended (8,9)
  3. Slide#21 Happy is that person who had a God-fearing mother who warned about sin; and happier is the person who heeded her warnings.
    1. She teaches him the perils of loose living (i.e. Promiscuous sex & drunkenness) & the universal duty of compassion.
    2. Open your mouth for the speechless - Speak up or speak out. Make your views heard.
      1. The speechless refers to people who are unable to defend themselves. People “who cannot speak for themselves.” “Those who are helpless.”
        
        Be an advocate for those who cannot speak up for themselves. Like what Jesus did it for the women taken in adultery.
        
        Babies who will be aborted are speechless. Children sold into slavery don’t have a voice. Young boys & girls sold into prostitution are voiceless.
8. Mothers, what would you like your son or daughter to remember you by?
  1. This is what her son (Lemuel) remembered.
    1. By him writing this tells its own story of his acceptance of these powerful warnings.
9. Mom’s don’t allow your grown children to remain children, but help them to become adults.
  1. Motherhood is a delicate dance between mothering & smothering.
    1. Balance? – Don’t force, don’t push, don’t smother.
  2. Mom’s continue to look for opportunities to share wisdom with them.
  3. Give God centered counsel, not mom centered. (point them to Jesus)
10. Prov. 31:10-31 form an acrostic in Hebrew (22vs - 22 letters). The ABC’s of the perfect Wife/Mother.
11. SACRIFICE
12. A good mother is the symbol & incarnation of sacrificial love & care.
  1. In Lithuanian the word for mother(motina/moTenUH) means martyr.
    1. It is a beautiful picture of sacrificial motherhood. (A Mothers Devotion)
13. In 2 Sam.21:10 In the long annals of sacrificial Motherhood we know of nothing more beautiful or moving than Rizpah’s devotion.
  1. Rizpah, 1 of the wives of king Saul. When her 2 sons were hung by David as a satisfaction for the Gibeonites, because Saul blew off his covenant with them & had sacked their towns. Rizpah took up a sad & lonely vigil (from barley harvest, til 1st rain, end of summer). Day by day night by night there she stood waving off circling birds & vultures, & by night prowling jackal & wolf. When David heard of this mother’s devotion, he went in person to Gibeon, took down the bodies & gave them a decent burial.
  2. Her noble act is a picture, or symbol, of a mothers care for the bodies of her children, & still more, for the welfare of their souls.
14. To the tired moms:
  1. One young mother said to her friend, “He’s eating solids now…keys, bits-of-paper, pencils.”
    1. Oh, moms of toddlers don’t give up. Moms of teens don’t give up. Moms of prodigals don’t give up. Moms of special needs kids don’t give up.
  2. Who was greater, Thomas A. Edison or his mother? When he was a young lad his teacher sent him home with a note which said, ‘Your child is dumb. We can’t do anything for him.’ Mrs. Edison wrote back, ‘You do not understand my boy. I will teach him myself’. And she did, with results that are well known.
  3. Mothers, It’s worth it. It’s worth it. It’s worth every hour of it.
    It’s worth every sleepless night of it.
    It’s worth every moment of counsel.
    It’s worth the repetitions.
    It’s worth it.
    1. Like the little boy who said, “Mom, I remember that little prayer you used to say for me every day, “God help you if you ever do that again!”
15. (10) Adorn -it is used of the arrangement of jewels in a manner to set off their full beauty (LKGNT)
  1. It then entices/attracts. We are to adorn the doctrine of God to those around us.
  2. Is the way you live out the gospel & share the gospel an attractant or a repellent?
16. Whether young or old, married or single, we are all needed in the local church.
  1. God has a job for us to do. Regardless of age, gender, occupation, or any other classification. He calls us to live differently.
  2. Don’t just protect sound doctrine, practice sound doctrine.
  3. Since God did not design the Christian life to be lived independently. Interweave your lives into the community life of the church.

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Verses 11-15

Intro:
1. There is a period of time each day, just before sunrise and just after sunset, when the sun is below the horizon, when the light is known as sweet light.
  1. This period of time is known as The Blue Hour. This is a period of time each morning and evening when there is neither full daylight, nor full darkness.
  2. The light is almost ethereal, with a soft blue glow bathing the scene.
  3. The Blue Hour happens in tandem w/the Golden Hour, making the beginning and end of the day exceptional for photography.
2. I see 2 blue hours & 2 golden hours in our history. It’s the appearing of another sun/the Son.
3. I’m talking about Jesus’ 1st & 2nd appearing. Appearing = epiphaneia. [Enlgish root epiphany]
  1. Epiphaneia referred to the sudden appearance of a deity in Greek culture.
  2. The Greeks also used this word to describe what happens at dawn when the sun dispels the darkness.
  3. At the birth of Christ, the epiphany of God’s grace - Jesus - suddenly burst into the world’s darkness, vividly revealing God’s nature & ushering in a new age.
  4. The believers blessed(happy) hope & glorious appearing is the 2nd epiphaneia when Jesus will return & judge the earth & set up His kingdom.
4. Title: Blue Hour
5. Outline: Grace Past, Grace Present, Grace Future, Grace’s Result.
  1. Past, present, future...these verses demonstrate the timelessness of God’s grace.
  2. This section is like a shot of espresso...highly compressed but incredibly rich.
  3. The Grace of God not only saves us but also teaches us how to live the Christian life, how to living differently in the grip of grace.
    1. Jesus saved us not only so we’d belong to Him, but also so we would live like we belong to Him.
6. vs.11 & 14 show what God has done for us - vs.12,13 show what we should do for God.
GRACE PAST (11) Favor...an act of kindness beyond what is due.
1. Have you ever done a favor for a friend? sure we all have.
2. Grace – the Greeks used Xaris to refer to a favor that one does for another person, expecting no return; but these favors were always done for friends.
  1. Christ gave grace a far richer meaning because the favor He did at Calvary was done not for friends, but for those who hated Him.
    1. Rom.5:10 For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.
3. “Only as we grasp the significance of God’s grace can we eagerly do what is pleasing to Him.”
GRACE PRESENT (12) Living differently in the grip of grace.
1. msg - We’re being shown how to turn our backs on a godless, indulgent life, and how to take on a God-filled, God-honoring life.
2. Paul gives 2 ways in which we can live differently: what we should say no to & how to now live.
3. Slide#11a What To Say No To (12a)
4. Denying ungodliness or (NIV) Say no to ungodliness.
  1. We are surrounded by a world that says no to just about...nothing.
5. A story is told of a young girl who accepted Christ as her Savior and applied for membership in a local church. "Were you a sinner before you received the Lord Jesus into your life?" inquired an old deacon. "Yes, sir," she replied. "Well, are you still a sinner?" "To tell you the truth, I feel I'm a greater sinner than ever." "Then what real change have you experienced?" "I don't quite know how to explain it," she said, "except I used to be a sinner running AFTER sin, but now that I am saved I'm a sinner running FROM sin!"
6. How To Now Live (12b)
7. Let me first say we should live speaks to something done together.
  1. The Gk word is Aorist, Active, Subjunctive (or, likely to occur)
  2. The subjunctive is cohorative, “let us live.” (cohorative = mutual encouragement)
    1. Cohort (dict.) a group of people banded together w/a common interest. (from the latin) cohors = as ancient Roman military unit.
8. So what will ultimately make us holy?…not willpower, not guilt, not an inspiring message, but deep apprehension of the grace of God in Christ.
  1. The Puritans taught this truth w/the image of the live oak, a variety of trees whose leaves – though dead – stuck to their branches through the winter. What eventually forced the leaves from the tree was not the abuse of the cold or the beating of the wind, but the new life of springtime welling up w/in the branches & forcing out what was dead.
    1. Often we tend to focus on sin management more than pursuing intimacy with God.
    2. We're too busy trying not to sin to really embrace life as a saint.
      1. We are like this old oak...our evil affections are to be being replaced by an eagerness for good (sober, rt, godly), as Christ’s grace wells within us driving out the old affections.
  2. To live soberly is to rule your self.
    1. God’s grace should not be an excuse for sin but a motivation for holiness.
GRACE FUTURE (13) Yes we should live for Him, but we also should look for Him
1. What starts with grace will lead to glory. :)
2. Looking for - conveys the idea of persistent expectation.
3. Also don’t miss the profound statement of Jesus’ deity, identifying Jesus as our great God & Savior. Jesus is God & He will return for His people.
4. Slide#13 Yes the return of Christ for His people is more than a blessed hope…
  1. It is a joyful hope (Rom.5:2). It is a unifying hope (Ep.4:4). It is a living hope (1 Pet.1:3). It is a stabilizing hope (Heb.6:19). It is a purifying hope (1 Jn.3:3). (Warren Wiersbe, With The Word, pg.807,808.)
5. Glorious appearing – to appear suddenly upon the scene.
  1. Again, this Epiphaneia referred to the sudden appearance of a deity in Greek culture. And, what happens at dawn when the sun dispels the darkness.
6. A tourist who visited an exquisite garden on a lovely estate in Italy spoke to the caretaker: “How long have you been here?” he asked. “25 years.” “And how often has the owner been to see the estate?” “4 times.” “When did he come last?” “12 years ago.”“Who comes then to look after things?” “I am left pretty much alone.”“Yet you keep the garden so spic-and-span that one would think you were expecting the owner tomorrow.” “Today, sir, today! replied the caretaker.”
GRACE’S RESULT (14,15) Grace’s result redemption & purification
1. The highest & purest motivation for Christian behavior is not based on what we can do for God, but upon what God has done for us…& will yet do.
2. (15) Note Speak these things bookends (1).
3. That He might redeem us - 3-fold Redemption…
4. Slide#15a Agorazo (ἀγοράζω) buy in the market
  1. 1 Cor. 6:20 For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.
5. Exagorazo (ἐξαγοράζω) buy out of the market
  1. Gal.3:13 Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us for it is written, Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree.
6. Lutroo (λυτρόω) to set free never to be bought again [this 1 is used here]
  1. Titus 2:14 (Jesus) who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people.
7. Who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us - Christ’s death is central to salvation.
  1. It’s a process which starts with justification, advances by sanctification, & climaxes in glorification.
  2. Here Paul speaks to the 2nd phase - progressive sanctification, where we are delivered from sin’s power through the life of cross-bearing.
    1. Salvation (we are saved from sins penalty) Immediately, wholly, completely, & eternally.
      1. Eph.2:8 For by grace you have been saved
    2. Sanctification (We are being saved from sins reigning power)
      1. Phil.2:12 Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.
    3. Glorification (We will one day be saved from sins presence)
      1. Rom.13:11 And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed.
8. There are two poles to the Christian life: we look back to the cross (v. 14) and ahead to the coming of Christ (v. 13).
  1. These two poles help keep us steady in our Christian walk.
  2. And for the believer, Gods grace is inescapable, from your cross all the way to your crown. Oh, the tirelessness of God’s grace.
9. If Christ is going to appear in the future to purify His people from sin then His people should be purifying themselves from sin right now & cultivating a life of holiness.
10. Grace is not a license for laziness. Instead, knowing that Christ has redeemed us should make us zealous to do good works while we wait His return.
  1. We are not saved by our good works but saved for our Good works.
  2. As Luther said, God doesn’t need your good works...your neighbor does.
11. Malcolm Muggeridge, Behind the debris of these solemn supermen, and self-styled imperial diplomatists (context, world leaders), there stands the gigantic figure of One, because of whom, by whom, in whom and through whom alone, mankind may still have peace: the person of Jesus Christ. I present him as the way, the truth, and the life.
  1. Do you know this One called great God & Savior, Jesus Christ, who has come & is coming again? You must be apart of seeing for yourslef the mornings Blue Hour before you will be able to enjoy the 2nd Blue Hour, at life’s evening.
    1. For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. (11) Have you seen it with your own hearts eyes?
  2. Prayer: Lord as we daily look for our happy hope of Your glorious appearing may we not look forward as to our getting out of some situation, or our troubles but simply look for YOU.

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TitusTit 1 TitusTit TitusTit 3

Copyright Statement
These files are the property of Brian Bell.
Text Courtesy of Calvary Chapel of Murrieta. Used by Permission.

Bibliographical Information
Bell, Brian. "Commentary on Titus 2". "Bell's Commentary". https://studylight.org/commentaries/eng/cbb/titus-2.html. 2017.

Bible CommentariesTitus 2

Bell's Commentary on the BibleBell's Commentary

Verses 1-10

Verses 11-15

Bible Commentaries
Titus 2