Titus 2:1-10 You must teach what is in accord with sound doctrine. Teach the older men to be temperate, worthy of respect, self-controlled, and sound in faith, in love and in endurance. Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good. Then they can train the younger women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God. Similarly, encourage the young men to be self-controlled. In everything set them an example by doing what is good. In your teaching show integrity, seriousness and soundness of speech that cannot be condemned, so that those who oppose you may be ashamed because they have nothing bad to say about us. Teach slaves to be subject to their masters in everything, to try to please them, not to talk back to them, and not to steal from them, but to show that they can be fully trusted, so that in every way they will make the teaching about God our Savior attractive.

Today one of my pastors, Dan Behrens, responded to yesterday's breakfast on purity in the following way, "IT SEEMS THAT PURITY HERE (TITUS 1:15) HAS MORE TO DO WITH SUBMISSION THAN IT DOES WITH THE ABSENCE OF SIN." I wrote the following response, which I feel is appropriate for our passage above as well:

Submission is a major key to a successful walk in Christ. Most Christians do not want to submit everything; they always have something in the back closet that is JUST THEIRS, NOT GOD'S. This is always a troubled walk, for God demands a dying, a laying down of all. This is not easy, flesh never dies easily. And it is probably a continuous experience. How many times we say to the Lord, "Everything is on the altar now," but then the next corner of life greets us, and we find that not all is on the altar. Sometimes the corner leads us to great success, other times to great difficulty, but all has to be placed immediately under God's authority. That is not always easy. If you're losing your house, it is not east to submit to God. If you find a great job with lots of benefits, it is not easy to give it all back to the Lord. If the road seems smooth with a lot of possibilities of success, it is not easy to relinquish that to the Lord, and if the road seems to have no possibilities of advancement and peace, it is not easy to say, "Your will not mine." No, submission is not easy. That is why men's Bible study is so important. That is why gathering together is so important. For our compass in life is the Bible and the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, not our wills.

What is sound doctrine? What should our lives consist of? In the above passage, we see Paul telling Titus to teach what is in accord with sound doctrine. Otherwise, for the sake of the gospel, to teach that lives should submit to the authority of God. He is telling people of every walk of life to be committed to God in everything they do. If you read the list above for your category, you will realize quickly that the flesh does not always want to follow the dictates of the Spirit. The flesh is compliant sometimes, but to be compliant sometimes is not what Paul wants Titus to ask of the people. He must ask them for the sake of the gospel to be compliant all of the time, regardless of the circumstances, to set the secular world a positive example by doing what is good.

Recently, I have watched Christian people in town-hall meetings yelling, hooting, screaming, displaying vein-bulging necks in attempts to get their points across to their representatives or senators. I wonder how all that fits with the above scriptures. Are we bearers of peace or of conflict? Would someone desire to have our Christ as their Savior, the prince of peace, or would they say those Christians are just like all the other people I know: full of envy, anxiety, and frustration. Are we indistinguishable from all the other people, the lost, the dying? WE ARE SUPPOSED TO BE DIFFERENT. Jesus says, if we have lost our savor, what good are we? Listen to what Paul tells Titus to relay to the slaves: Teach slaves to be subject to their masters in everything, to try to please them, not to talk back to them, and not to steal from them, but to show that they can be fully trusted, so that in every way they will make the teaching about God our Savior attractive. Are we making our Savior attractive when we are shouting back, screaming, being rude?

Now, I know some will chafe under these scriptures, but they are the Word of God. Is slavery right? No, but this world is not our home. We are leading people to another home, not this one. Our lives should be different. Our focus should be different. Our actions and reactions should be different, clearly distinguishable from the world. When we are disappointed with life, we still submit. When we are on top of the mountain, we still submit. Everything is God's. Our lives should be his. We have been bought with the precious blood of Jesus Christ. Our lives depend on that blood, our hope of eternity depends on that blood; therefore, we are to be obedient to his will, to his perspective, to his life. Certainly, his blessings overflow in abundance in the midst of everything, and we can easily shine forth as the happiest people alive.