Ignorant Historian

The thought of writing a blog post right now is kinda exhausting. I’ve spent most of the day writing, so I thought I’d give you the fruits of my labor instead of the crumbs. This is the teaching ouline of Titus 2:3-5 which is an assignment of my Gender Roles in the Bible class. I’d love any feedback that you could give me since this is not completely polished.

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Though we specifically see the call to women to participate in mentoring relationships, this is not unique to women. Both Jesus (in Matthew 28:19-20) and Paul (in 2 Timothy 2:2) encouraged their disciples who they had been teaching to teach others. Just like those early followers of Christ, we also are to follow the biblical mandate to teach others both the facts and the working out of our faith.

In verse one of chapter two, Paul is instructing Titus to teach “the things which are fitting of sound doctrine.”[1] Older men are also called in verse two to “be temperate, dignified, sensible, sound in faith, in love, in perseverance.” Paul then moves his intention to the older women, who are not only to have the character and actions of a godly woman, but are to teach the younger women.

I. Godly Character Worthy of Imitating (v. 3)
It is generally agreed by commentators that the older women mentioned here would
have been of the age where their children have grown and left home. This allows the older women to have time to encourage and nurture others. They now have the opportunity to devote more attention to spiritual children since their biological children no longer need the same level of care and attention. This could even apply to those who do not have biological children.

Paul probably has in mind women who have demonstrated their maturity and have learned from their various life experiences that the younger women could possibly encounter as well. By reaching out to younger women, it encourages the older women to focus not on themselves, but on others. This can be a good deterrent from idleness and gossip.

While these characteristics mentioned in verse three are meant for older women, they also should be cultivated in the younger women. The younger women should be looking up to their spiritual mentors and seeking to imitate their behavior as far as it is in accord with Scripture.

A. Reverent in behavior
The first characteristic that an older woman should seek to put on is reverent
behavior. The word translated here “behavior” can also be translated “demeanor” while “reverent” means “suited to a scared character.” [2] Both words are unique to the New Testament. “Reverent” is also described as the behavior of a priestess, one who tends to holy things. This is by no means a light description, and is a lofty standard. A woman’s attitude and actions should be evidence of her relationship with her Lord.

B. Uses words wisely
The call not to be “slanderers” or gossipers should not be taken lightly since
the original Greek word, diabolos, is the same title used thirty-four times in the New Testament for Satan.[3] To be a deceiver and a slanderer is the character of our enemy and in no way should be descriptive of one who is seeking to be godly. The use of your tongue should reflect your allegiance to the Lord.

Not only should you refuse to speak slander, you should refuse to listen to gossip. If someone beings telling you something “juicy,” kindly tell them you do not want to hear it and that if they have a problem with someone, they should speak to that person privately. By giving an audience to a slanderer, you are taking part in their sin.

C. Not enslaved to any earthly thing
The older woman is to be in control of her body and exercise her freedom in a way that does not subject herself to bondage to any earthly substance. Everything she does, everything she says, and everything she takes in is a reflection of her godly inner beauty.

The godly woman should have the follow the sentiment of 1 Corinthians 6:13, “All things are lawful for me, but not all things are profitable. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be mastered by anything.”

D. Teaches what is good
While women are not permitted to teach men in the proper ordering of the
church,[4] they do have a responsibility to teach younger women, particularly in helping the younger women to live out their faith in everyday life. While the elders in a church are responsible to teach both men and women doctrine, older women can and should teach the younger women how to apply the doctrine in their specific context.

This teaching should not be as “interfering busybodies, but as humble advisers on problems of married life.”[5] Older women are uniquely qualified to provide this type of instruction and assistance because they have had to learn and apply these same things. This allows the older women to show the younger how to apply the principles of God’s Word to matters that weigh on women’s hearts and minds.[6]

The “good” that is to be taught is what is “noble, excellent, and lofty,” what is “holy and godly.”[7] The curriculum for what is being taught is listed out in verse four. In a nutshell, this training’s curriculum is focused on increasing godliness in the one being trained.[8] The word translated “train” or “encourage” means to “bring someone to his or her senses.”[9]

John MacArthur has said, “When godly Christian women do not infuse the younger generation with the things of God, the church comes to dire straits.”[10]

II. Godly Character Worthy of Learning (v. 4-5)
A. Love your husband
While much is made in our culture today about love being a feeling, it is so much more than that. Love requires sacrifice, and must be pursued even when the feeling is not there.

The older women should teach the younger women what it means to love their husbands. After years of marriage, the older women can teach from example and experience. They truly understand that it is hard to love someone at times and can help the younger women work through this.

B. Love your children
Though this is sometimes combined using one word in translation: “to love their husbands and children,” the “love” is actually mentioned twice. Just like the love of husbands should not be based on emotions, neither should the love of children.

Regardless of the child’s physical appearance, personality, or abilities he is to receive the love of his parents.[11] This can be a daunting task especially when there are many children or if one child has very specific needs,[12] however a mother should seek to learn how to practically and emotionally love her children from older women who have learned by experience and biblical study.

Many women in today’s churches desire to be married and have children but have not received that blessing yet. It is still possible to start to learn how to love your husband and your children before they are even known. A single woman can a learn a lot about marriage and motherhood by spending time with an older woman.

C. Be self-controlled
Older men and younger men in this passage are also encouraged to be self-controlled. This word can also be translated “discreet” or “temperate.” At the time of Paul’s writing, this Greek word was used often to describe a virtuous wife.[13]

All people are responsible for their actions before God. Rather than behaving hastily and brashly, everything should be done prayerfully and with intention. That does not mean that everything has to be planned out 30 days in advance, but neither should major decisions always be pushed back to where they have to be made on the spur of the moment.

D. Be pure
The word “pure” can also be translated “chaste.”[14] This is not an easy calling, especially when purity must be lived out every moment of everyday, regardless of where you are or what your are doing. A woman that is seeking to be pure chooses to avoid books, television shows, conversation, and music that entice her to be discontent in her situation and long for something or someone that is not hers to have. She also should have “a healthy sense of shame at saying anything, doing anything, or dressing in any way that would cause a man to lust.”[15]

E. Be workers at home
The proper translation and understanding of this word has been hotly contested. It can be translated “keepers at home.”[16] However, “the point is not so much that the woman’s place is in the home as that her responsibility is for the home.”[17] The main idea is that the wife has the great responsibility for the upkeep of the home for her husband and children.

One way the older women can help the younger is by showing them how to understand this responsibility for the home in a godly way, negating the overwhelming cultural influence to the contrary. A recent book has come out entitled The Feminine Mistake. The author, Leslie Bennetts, warns that “women still need to be reminded of the risks of being economically dependent on a man.” She finds the continued presence of housewives alarming and a risky behavior.

Also, the young wives and mothers need to learn the practical steps to take in caring for the home with instruction in hospitality, cooking, cleaning, and decorating. These tasks are demanding, especially for one who is unfamiliar to them. More and more young women are not being trained in these tasks. Older women can provide the practical instruction needed to perform these tasks in a manner glorifying to the Lord through example and through hands-on instruction in the home.

A good attitude to have is demonstrated in Jane Austen’s Northanger Abbey, in a conversation held between a mother and a daughter. The mother, Mrs. Morland tell her daughter, “Wherever you are you should always be contented, but especially at home, because there you must spend the most of your time.”

F. Be kind
Kindness is one of the fruits of the Spirit, and most certainly is a characteristic that every Christian should be seeking. It’s possible that the meaning here is specifically in relation to the household, which would make the entire list of seven traits about the home life.[18]

While completing the tasks of a homemaker and mother are important, they are not loving if they are not done in kindness. A woman should seek to not merely check off the tasks on her long to-do list, but to take time to do the little things that show kindness to her husband, children, and others with whom she comes in contact.

G. Be submissive
Just like being a homemaker is offensive to many in our society, being submissive to one’s husband is also considered backwards and demeaning. However, this assessment is based on a wrongful understanding of the biblical teaching on submission.

First of all, this passage clearly is not advocating submission by all women to all men. Instead, this passage is encouraging older women to teach the younger women how to be submissive “to their own husbands.” This “does not imply a position of innate inferiority of being,”[19] but is rather a disposition taken on in love for the husband and a desire to glorify the Lord. By submitting to her husband, a woman recognizes “a God-given order and responsibility.”[20]

III. Godly Goal Worthy of Pursuing (v. 5b)
All of the wonderful characteristics above are meaningless if they are not done with
the right goal in mind. These things should not be pursued in the prideful attempt to become the perfect woman. Instead, these traits should be sought after in an attitude of seeking God’s will and for His glory. The goal of the text is “that the word of God will not be dishonored.”

When a woman neglects these tasks and character qualities in search of something
she deems as more important, she is rejecting the authority of God and His word. By choosing to follow her own will instead of God’s will for her life as laid out in scripture, she is pridefully saying that she knows better than God.

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[1] All scripture taken from the New American Standard Updated version of the Bible.
[2] Donald Guthrie, The Pastoral Epistles: an Introduction and Commentary (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1988), 192.
[3] John MacArthur, The MacArthur New Testament Commentary: Titus (Chicago: Moody Press, 1996), 77.
[4] 1 Timothy 2:12.
[5] Guthrie, Epistles, 193.
[6] Susan Hunt, Spiritual Mothering (Wheaton: Crossway Books, 1992), 45.
[7] MacArthur, Commentary, 78.
[8] Hunt, Mothering, 55.
[9] Gordon D. Fee, New International Biblical Commentary: 1 and 2 Timothy, Titus (Peabody: Hendrickson Publishing, 1988), 187.
[10] MacArthur, Titus, 78.
[11] MacArthur, Titus, 85.
[12] Martha Peace, Becoming a Titus 2 Woman (Bemidji: Focus Publishing, 1997), 77-78.
[13] Guthrie, Epistles, 193.
[14] Guthrie, Epistles, 193.
[15] MacArthur, Titus, 85.
[16] Guthrie, Epistles, 193.
[17] MacArthur, Titus, 86.
[18] Fee, Commentary, 187.
[19] Thomas D. Lea and Hayne P. Griffin, Jr., 1, 2 Timothy, Titus, vol. 34, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman, 1992), 301.
[20] Lea and Griffin, Titus, 302.