Titus 2 ~ sober-minded, dignified, self-controlled, sound in faith, in love, and in steadfastness

Titus 2


But as for you, teach what accords with sound doctrine. 2 Older men are to be sober-minded, dignified, self-controlled, sound in faith, in love, and in steadfastness. 3 Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good, 4 and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, 5 to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled. 6 Likewise, urge the younger men to be self-controlled. 7 Show yourself in all respects to be a model of good works, and in your teaching show integrity, dignity, 8 and sound speech that cannot be condemned, so that an opponent may be put to shame, having nothing evil to say about us. 9 Bondservants[*] are to be submissive to their own masters in everything; they are to be well-pleasing, not argumentative, 10 not pilfering, but showing all good faith, so that in everything they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior.

11 For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, 12 training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, 13 waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, 14 who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.

15 Declare these things; exhort and rebuke with all authority. Let no one disregard you.


Footnotes:
Hebrews 12:6
For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.”


What are we going to do about stuck up religious people running around in gowns? Don't you always think next - toga wear would make more sense? Less floppy. And if you are a woman, and you give these gowns more thought, you wonder if empire waist gowns looked better, like the Jane Austin movies.

And how many bondservants do you know? Slaves?

Well, let me tell you. Bondservants -  are what this generation Is - our grandparents paid for their houses with cash.  And our local Dairy Queen has a photo of an grand opening where every single person was practically running to an obviously smaller town Dairy Queen opening.  Sober-minded, dignified, self-controlled, sound in faith, in love, and in steadfastness,  young women to love their husbands and children, kind, integrity, dignity,  and sound speech.

A few years back, I was in the Museum of Fine Arts Houston and a young man was visibly concerned about the entire room given for saints in robes. "What are they thinking, wasting an entire room on these old, robed men?!"

Well, I've given thought;  this is what this entire blog post is about.

Christianity, today, is working with your prayers, every day, "Father God, what can I do? What is there available for You?"

Like The Museum of Fine Arts Houston. You wouldn't take old Master Portraits - of Saints -  and shove them in storage would you? Perhaps, instead of shoving them on a white wall and ignoring them, they should be revered as ancestors and invited into the family. A few facts, some color and the display (our lives and prayer lives) with practical objectives.

So given we are the generation of CNN ticker-tape, fly-by Christian generation, what do we have time for? Just like the days of yore, we have time for what we deem important. Not just brushing aside this passage with "SAINT? Ain't!!"

What is a Saint? To our generation of don't tell them at Church... or don't go regularly... let the Love of Jesus Christ, Lord and Savior of All draw us to what we are supposed to be.

Old Testament meets New Testament.

Genesis 15:6
Abram believed the LORD, and he credited it to him as righteousness.

Galatians 3:6
Even so Abraham BELIEVED GOD, AND IT WAS RECKONED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS.

There is just One.


Mark 10:18
"Why do you call me good?" Jesus answered. "No one is good--except God alone."

Why do we have some saints we love to think about?

Psalm 145:9
The LORD is good to all; he has compassion on all he has made.

And Good Saint Nick?

Yes, there is a real St. Nicholas, a Bishop of present day Turkey. This remarkable follower of Jesus Christ made life better for those around him. Prostitutes. The poor. The jailer where he was jailed for 10 years, thanks personally to Emperor Diocletian; who would not have been pleased to know the jailor came to love St. Nicholas. St. Nicholas, dear friends, traveled on a get-out-of-jail-free-card from Emperor Constantine. He was one of 1,800 illegal, condemnable by death Christian Bishops invited to ratify the Books of the Bible for the official change in legal status of Christianity. A real man, who really loved Jesus. A brave man, one of the 300 Bishops who attended the Council of Nicaea.


Declare these things; exhort and rebuke with all authority. Let no one disregard you.


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