Titus 2:1

But as for you, speak the things which are proper for sound doctrine: that the older men be sober, reverent, temperate, sound in faith, in love, in patience; the older women likewise, that they be reverent in behavior, not slanderers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things—that they admonish the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, to be discreet, chaste, homemakers, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be blasphemed. Likewise exhort the young men to be sober-minded, in all things showing yourself to be a pattern of good works; in doctrine showing integrity, reverence, incorruptibility, sound speech that cannot be condemned, that one who is an opponent may be ashamed, having nothing evil to say of you. Exhort bondservants to be obedient to their own masters, to be well pleasing in all things, not answering back, not pilfering, but showing all good fidelity, that they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in all things. (Titus 2:1–10)

Even the world admits people are broken and need transforming—Scripture answers the question they cannot: how?

The World Admits We Are Fallen

This last week I was listening to a podcast conversation between British comedian and cultural commentator Russell Brand and Canadian professor and clinical psychologist Jordan Peterson. About an hour and ten minutes in, Russell Brand—who would not at all be classified as a Christian, probably an atheist, or at least agnostic—made this comment: "We cannot trust people in free markets to do the right thing."

He went on to argue that we need to regulate access to things like alcohol, because free markets will not self-regulate, and people cannot be trusted to regulate themselves. His conclusion, word for word: "There has to be some moralizing force. There has to be something that's not economically led, that's not the manifestation of greed. Someone in secular society, where there is no reasonable trusted voice of God, has to be able to say, 'Don't drink too much alcohol,' because people will drink too much alcohol."

Brand isn't only speaking from observation; he speaks from personal experience as a former addict who struggled with substance abuse. He has experienced the reality of what those with a Christian worldview call the fallenness of human beings—what theologians have for centuries called original sin, the fall described in the Bible. What's fascinating is that Brand not only sees the fallenness of human nature; he accepts the necessity of an absolute moral standard, the necessity of enforceable standards of morality, and that someone must be empowered to enforce them. That's striking in the libertine culture he lives in.

Regulate People, or Transform Them?

Jordan Peterson responded to Brand's dilemma differently. He said we need economic systems run by distributed individuals who are themselves aiming at a higher good—individuals scattered throughout society pointing people toward a higher good. He put it this way: "The most effective way to regulate society is to improve the moral character of the people who make up the society, rather than to directly regulate society."

So Brand says people are fallen, and if left to their own nature they will not choose good things, so we must legislate and regulate access. Peterson responds, "I don't think regulation is the best way. I think we actually need to transform people and make them better." He said we need to orient people toward a transcendent good—outcomes that benefit yourself, your future self, your family, and ultimately your community.

These are two very prominent voices in 21st-century Western culture. Brand objected that our consumeristic culture will not set people on a path toward being the best version of themselves—and there I partly agree, because if you yield to the current of our culture, you simply go with the flow, and our culture is oriented toward 100% of self 100% of the time. Peterson's answer is the transformation of the individual, resulting in the transformation of families and communities. To that I'd give a wholehearted amen. But the ultimate question is left hanging: how?

We Are Fallen and in Need of Transformation

This is exactly what this text says. Back up to Titus 1:15. To the pure, all things are pure—but none of us are pure. So to those who are defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure; even their mind and conscience are defiled. Paul identifies the complete fallenness of humanity down to the level of conscience and mind. They profess to know God, even the religious, but in their works they deny Him, being abominable, disobedient, and disqualified for every good work.

Point one: we are fallen and in need of transformation. This was true two thousand years ago and is certainly true today. Even outspoken atheists acknowledge it. I don't know what it is about me—I like to listen to atheists. I listen to Sam Harris, one of the most articulate and outspoken atheists of our day, and even he acknowledges the fallenness of humanity. So whether you're in the elite class of academia and neuroscience or you're a theologian, we agree: we are fallen and in need of transformation.

This letter was written to a man named Titus, given leadership over a church on the island of Crete. The people there were known for this—Titus 1:12: "One of them, a prophet of their own, said, 'Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.'" Dishonest, cruel, lazy, self-absorbed. Sound familiar? First-century Crete, 21st-century California. That's our nature.

God Steps In Through the Gospel

It wasn't always this way. Inside every human being is a desire for a better society, one not characterized by dishonesty, cruelty, laziness, and self-absorption. Where does that desire come from? When God originally created everything, it was not as it now is. Genesis 1:31: "God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good." But it didn't stay that way. Genesis 3 describes the fall. As Paul says in Romans 5:12, "Through one man sin entered the world, and death spread to all humanity."

But God. Those are the transitional words of the gospel. God looks at the world He created—perfect, very good, now broken by sin—and says, "That's not how I designed it, and that's not how I want it to stay." Russell Brand says we need someone to come in and say, "This is right and this is wrong." God, who is rich in mercy because of His great love, steps in to bring newness, transformation, and restoration through the gospel, the good news of the kingdom.

If you're a believer today, you have experienced the kingdom of God, and you are now an ambassador of that kingdom. You represent His rule, His reign, His power, His glory, and you pray, "Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven." Paul was an ambassador of the kingdom. He preached the gospel on Crete, people trusted Christ, and a church was established. Then Paul had to leave, and he left Titus there.

Setting in Order a Disordered World

Titus 1:5: "For this reason I left you in Crete, that you should set in order the things that are lacking, and appoint elders in every city as I commanded you." We could read it: set in order the things that are in disorder. The church orders a disordered world, a world in chaos because of the fall. But to do this you need good leaders—and the pool from which you draw them is a people known for being dishonest, cruel, lazy, and self-absorbed.

That's a problem, because bad leaders don't only lead badly; they tend to lead people in bad directions. Jesus said in Luke 6, "If the blind lead the blind, won't they both fall into a ditch?" Isaiah, twenty-eight hundred years ago, said it like this in Isaiah 9:16: "For the leaders of this people cause them to err, and those who are led by them are destroyed." Strong language. So how do you get good leaders out of such a people? Peterson said we need to improve people's moral character, to have individuals aiming at a higher good. Okay—how?

Sound Doctrine Promotes Sound Conduct

Look at what Paul says in Titus 2:1: "But as for you, speak the things which are proper for sound doctrine." The New Living Translation renders it beautifully: "As for you, Titus, promote the kind of living that reflects wholesome teaching."

Point two: sound doctrine promotes sound conduct. Any teaching or preaching—whether in first-century Crete or 21st-century California—must ultimately be practical. It can't just be theoretical or ideological, making people feel smarter because their heads got fatter. It must be oriented toward action, so that when we gather on Sunday and the word of God is given, on Monday you can begin, by God's grace and the work of His Spirit, to put those things into practice.

This means those in positions of oversight—a Titus, or the elders he would appoint—must be those whose works align with their words. They must practice what they preach. So if God ever calls you to move and look for another church, look for a church that teaches the sound doctrine of Scripture and whose teachers seek to live out what they preach, where there is no discrepancy between what they say and how they live. As Jesus said in Matthew 7:16, "You will know them by their fruit."

Good Doctrine Promotes Godliness in Every Generation

So what does that living look like? Verse 2: "that the older men be sober, reverent, temperate, sound in faith, in love, in patience." Notice how Paul opens each section: "the older men," then "the older women," then "the younger women," then "the younger men," and later "bondservants."

Point three: good doctrine promotes godliness in God's people in every generation. The doctrine that accords with godliness applies to every person at every stage of life. The Scriptures are given, in part, to transform us. As 2 Timothy 3:16 says, "All Scripture is given by inspiration of God"—it is God-breathed and useful for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, so that the man or woman of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

I like to think of it like a plumb line. In my office I have a brass plumb line—a heavy weight on the end of a string. Because of gravity, it shows you a perfectly straight line, and immediately you see what's out of plumb, out of alignment. Scripture gives us a doctrinal plumb line. The moment it sets up what is right and wrong, you see that your life does not line up. So the word is useful for doctrine (the line), for reproof (it exposes you), for correction (it shows you how to get back), and for instruction in righteousness (how to stay on the line).

Or think of a navigation system. You put in where you want to go, and it shows you that you're pointed in the wrong direction, then tells you how to get back on track and stay there. That's what God's word does. So when we come to Scripture—corporately or privately—we should come with two questions: "God, what do You want to speak to me? And in response, what do You want me to do?" When Paul first met Jesus, his very first words were, "What do You want me to do, Lord?" That's the heart we need.

Righteousness Requires the Grace of God

Before we leave this point, an essential gospel truth: endeavoring to walk in righteousness without the enabling grace of God is vain and futile. First, we are hopelessly lost without the gospel. Second, we are helplessly incapable of righteousness without God's enabling power.

We know this by experience. If you've read Romans 7, you've probably identified with Paul: "The good that I want to do, I don't do, and the bad that I don't want to do, that's what I practice. O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?" You saw yourself in the mirror of God's word. We also know it from Scripture. Titus 2:11: "For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men"—not a select few. Verse 12: "teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age."

The grace of God brings salvation—justification. The grace of God instructs us in righteousness—sanctification. And the grace of God carries us to total transformation—glorification. Verse 13 points there: "looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works." As 1 John 3:2 says, "When we see Him, we shall be like Him."

Point four: the doctrine of grace is effectual for justification, sanctification, and glorification. Christ died for our sin and took our punishment so He could declare us righteous—justification. After we trust Him, He begins the work of purification—sanctification. And one day He will rescue and redeem us completely from all sin and its effects—glorification.

A quick aside for the theology students: I said the doctrine of grace, not the doctrines of grace. I'm not referring to the Calvinistic systematic. I mean simply this—grace teaches us. It teaches us we cannot save ourselves, that we are justified only by the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus and not by our works. It teaches us that we are sanctified by His truth—Jesus prayed in John 17:17, "Father, sanctify them by Your truth; Your word is truth." And it teaches us that by His grace we will be glorified: "He who began a good work in us will be faithful to complete it until the day of Christ Jesus."

Grace at Work in Every Kind of Person

Back to the passage. Verse 2: as God's doctrine is taught, the grace of God at work in us makes the older men sober, temperate, and circumspect—not drunkards. And by drunkard I don't mean only the abuse of alcohol, but any substance or appetite that can bring us under its bondage—food, drugs, alcohol, sex, whatever. Men, the longer you walk with Jesus, the more you should be sound in faith, love, and steadfast perseverance. If you're not, you're not taking these things to heart.

From men he moves to the older women: reverent in behavior, as becomes holiness; not slanderers—the Greek word is diabolos, not accusers of people; not given to much wine; teachers of good things. Whom should they teach? Verse 4: the younger women—to love their husbands and children (apparently things that are not automatic), to be discreet (curbing their desires and impulses), chaste (modest), homemakers, good, and submissive to their own husbands. Why? Verse 5: "that the word of God may not be blasphemed."

Verse 6: "Likewise, exhort the young men to be sober-minded." That word sober keeps recurring. They are to be patterns of good works, a type to emulate. Oh, that we who walk with God would over time be able to say, "Imitate me as I imitate Christ." In doctrine showing integrity—and the mark of integrity is being the same in private as in public; the opposite is a hypocrite. Showing reverence, dignity, incorruptibility, sincerity, and sound speech that cannot be condemned, so that an opponent of the faith may be ashamed, having nothing evil to say of you—because the doctrine of God is being worked out in your life.

Adorning the Doctrine in the Marketplace

Verse 9: "Exhort bondservants to be obedient to their own masters, to be well-pleasing in all things, not answering back, not pilfering, but showing all good fidelity, that they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in all things." We don't have bondservants in our culture as they did in first-century Crete, but most people then existed as workers in the marketplace of the day. If you live in the marketplace as an employee, this word is for you.

So we should be submissive to those over us, recognizing authority. We should be acceptable in our behavior, not constantly disputing or contradicting, not pilfering—not stealing or embezzling—but showing all good fidelity, proving ourselves trustworthy. The trustworthy person is the one you'd have no problem handing your credit card to and saying, "Order this for me." We need to be those kinds of people.

Why? Remember the three reasons given: the end of verse 5, "that the word of God may not be blasphemed"; verse 8, sound speech that cannot be condemned, so the opponent is ashamed; and the end of verse 10, "showing all good fidelity, that they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in all things."

Your Life Substantiates Your Doctrine

Point five: our sound conduct substantiates the soundness of the doctrine we proclaim. Let me say it another way: what does your life, Christian, say about your faith? This week you'll bump into many people—on a campus, in an office, on a construction site, at the mailbox—who don't call themselves Christians and may never have read the Bible. But they know you are a Christian, and they see you every day. You are the living Bible they interact with.

So does our conduct exalt the doctrine of Christ that we proclaim, or does it deflate it? Even the secular voices of our culture are saying we need people transformed into better people. The doctrine of Christ is precisely what can do that, because the grace of God saves us from our sins and then transforms us into good people—so that those who don't know God would see our good works and glorify our Father in heaven. May that be the outcome of our faith. Amen.

Closing Prayer

Father, we may need to pray a prayer of confession this morning, asking forgiveness. When we see the plumb line of Your word, we are immediately reproved, for by nature we are not kind, not self-controlled, not patient. By nature we are impulsive, impatient, sometimes given to anger, covetousness, and carnality of all kinds. So God, we confess that we are impatient, that we are sometimes covetous, that sometimes our anger comes out in wrath and malice. We thank You that by Your grace we can be forgiven. We pray that You would forgive us, and Your word says You are faithful and just not only to forgive us as we confess, but also to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. So let Your grace overflow us and cleanse us like a flood of Your righteousness, that when we go from this place we would, even in some small way, walk in a way that honors and glorifies You. Work in us. Transform us by the renewing of our minds, that we would display this week Your good and perfect will in a world in such desperate need of Your grace. Do a work in Your church, we pray. We ask this in Jesus' name, and all those who agree, it's out.