Jeremiah 51:1-53 / Titus 2/ Psalm 99 / Proverbs 26:17
The Bible is our instruction manual for life. Some say the Word of God is not relevant or that it is fallible since it was written by men. I say it is the divinely inspired Word of God and has the power for salvation contained in its pages; not because of the words themselves, but because of the One who is the Word both written and revealed.
If I’m unsure how I ought to live or how I should behave in a certain situation, studying God’s word will inform me. I must be willing to read, study, meditate upon and act on God’s word for it to “work” in my life. God’s word is living and powerful (Hebrews 4:12).
There are some instructions in Titus 2 that will apply to everyone. I’ll start with instructions for the older men, then share some instructions for both the older and younger women. The entire chapter is beneficial, so I encourage you to read all of it in either the New Living Translation, (NLT) or The PassionTranslaton (TPT).
Let’s begin with instructions for the men since that’s where Titus 2 begins. Verse two tells us to teach the older men to be temperate, worthy of respect, self-controlled, and sound in faith, in love, and in endurance. Let’s look at each of these instructions to see what the men are being instructed to follow.
What is temperate? abstaining from wine, either entirely or at least from its immoderate use. (Definitions taken from Strong’s Concordance)
What does it mean to be worthy of respect? To be venerated for character, honest. (Definitions taken from Strong’s Concordance)
How does one operate as self-controlled? To be of a sound mind, sane, in one’s senses. Curbing one’s desires and impulses. (Definitions taken from Strong’s Concordance)
How is one sound in faith, love, and endurance? To have sound health, i.e. be well (in body); figuratively, to be uncorrupt (true in doctrine). In faith – conviction of truth. In love – affection, goodwill, and kindness. In endurance – the characteristic of a man who is not swerved from his deliberate purpose and his loyalty to faith and piety by even the greatest trials and sufferings. (Definitions taken from Strong’s Concordance).
Now, let’s get some instructions for the older women. Beginning in verse three the older women are told to be reverent, not slanderers, not to be addicted to much wine, and to teach what is good. If the older women are living this way, they can urge the younger women in how they are to live.
What does it mean to be reverent? Reverence speaks of being holy or set apart to and for God. When a woman is reverent, she does not operate according to the mandates of the earth, but according to the mandates of heaven as found in scripture.
What is slander and how may we avoid it? Slander refers to false accusations. The Strong’s Concordance says this: “May be said to act the part of the devil or to side with him.” That is very sobering. I would never want to act like or side with the devil.
Not addicted to much wine is self-explanatory. However, I will say this; this is not saying we should not drink wine, but we must not be drunk. If we feel free in our hearts to drink wine, we still have a few parameters. One is that we should be moderate in our consumption. The second is we must be aware of those around us so that our behavior is not offensive. If we are around someone who is or has struggled with alcohol addiction, it is loving to abstain in her or his presence.
How are we as women to teach what is good? First, we must know and study good things such as God’s Word. Then as we take in the Truth contained and we put these things into practice, we are free and mandated to teach what we’ve learned and practiced to others. In my opinion, the truth here is the good that has been spoken.
Finally, what about the younger women? Verses four through five give instructions for the younger women. They are to love their husbands and children, be self-controlled and pure, be busy at home, be kind, and be subject to their husbands. To keep this post at a good length, I will not dive deeper into these final topics but will encourage you to take time to look up this verse in the online Strong’s Concordance.
If you’d like to share with me what you find, please post in the comments, along with which category you fall into – older men, older women, or younger women.
