Titus 2:6 Commentary - Dr Peter Masters

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Titus 2:6

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Again, the ‘likewise’ doesn't just refer to the manner of exhortation, but to the content. Even the young men are to be sober, grave, temperate, sound in faith, and love, in patience, not false accusers, not given to much wine, and teachers of good things. But particularly singled out for the young men is the need to be sober minded. ‘Sober minded’ – that means rational, thoughtful. It means restrained and moderate in all things, and it also means to be watchful, because the word from which it is translated is used in terms of the work of a sentry, a guard, and with a view to defending or protecting something. Of course we are thinking about the spiritual warfare. There is so much potential in early manhood. Obviously, there is the potential of strength. There is clarity of mind possibly, and a tremendous capacity to learn and to remember, and the same goes for young women. The young have a tremendous capacity to absorb knowledge, and to retain it. All these things are refined greatly by conversion, and amplified, and if people are saved young, then they are given, by the Lord, a spirit of sacrifice. The young Christian understands, more clearly perhaps than at any other stage of life, the necessity of sacrificial living. Naturally the culture around us constantly pulls us away from this, but there is an early Christian instinct in every born-again person to be for the Lord, and holy for the Lord, and there is a consciousness that now you are his and you are in his hands. But the young also have tremendous vulnerabilities, and young men among them: to act too quickly, to trust their judgement, to leap to conclusions too early, and to make many missteps, many sad mistakes, many wrong decisions. One of the biggest things about young manhood is that you must have a deep realisation of the spiritual warfare you are embarking on. It is vicious. The enemy and his demons of darkness are against you, and all sorts of things will be presented to you. If you trust in your judgement and you read something (or more likely hear it on the Internet) and it sounds convincing, you may be persuaded at once. It may be partly right, but it may be misleading and contrary to much Scripture, and you won't necessarily notice. You have leapt to judgment too soon. You forgot about ‘the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive’ (Ephesians 4:14). The word ‘sleight’ translates the idea of a dice that somehow was tossed around in gambling, and some people could manipulate it to get what they wanted, and you are subject to enemy manipulation and it’s coming at you all the time. If you are over-confident with your judgements and your ideas, you will fall victim. You’ll be easy prey, and you may in turn convince many others of this false path.

Application

Practice self-examination every day. What did I do today? How did I sin today? Who did I hurt today? What did I leave out today in my Christian duties? What did I waste my time on unnecessarily, giving myself too much leisure, more than I really need, or should have? Self-examination is humbling and helpful.

This should be followed by dedication. Commitment and dedication – these used to be big words in the Christian's vocabulary. They have almost disappeared today. Nobody wants to be consecrated, dedicated, or sacrificial anymore. Practice self-denial. What did I deny myself today, or this week? What was brought to my mind as being desirable? I need this or that. Something appealed to me; it was an opportunity out of the blue. But it was excessive; it was unnecessarily special; it was just for self-indulgence. It was just to look better than other people, or feel good about oneself. You didn't need that, and it was far too costly. Did you practice self-denial? Because if you did, you not only took a right step, you also strengthened yourself for other temptations. Do you see that Christian who fell terribly into moral sin? But how many steps led up to that? How many temptations did he have in the months preceding in which he gave way to himself, weakening himself for the next big temptation?

Pursue for all you are worth the grace of humility. When the apostle Paul says to Timothy, ‘Flee lust, youthful lusts’, people automatically think he had in mind sexual sins. Well, maybe so. But the biggest youthful lust in the New Testament, the one mentioned most in connection with the young, is actually pride. Now not all young men are proud, but all young men are tempted with pride, and with great power at times, and that is one of the great youthful lusts.

In Psalm 119:9 we read: ‘Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way?’ If you are a Christian the answer comes immediately to your mind: by trusting in the shed blood of Christ on Calvary and his atoning death which alone can remove sin. That is true, but it’s not what this verse says. It’s dealing with us at another level. ‘By taking heed thereto’ – by looking at your behaviour and your judgements and your decisions; by recognising your fallibility and your need of information and help from the word. By mounting a tremendous self-watch, ‘according to thy word’. Yes, by Calvary, ultimately, but in practical terms by taking heed to your life. Self-watch is so important, and it is so humbling too. The psalm goes on by taking the part of the young man in verse 10. ‘With my whole heart have I sought thee:’ – with my whole heart: my affections, my thinking faculty, and my will. ‘O let me not wander from thy commandments’ – there is a tendency to wander. Verse 11: ‘Thy word have I hid in my heart’ – learned its principles, if not its actual words – ‘that I might not sin against thee.’ The more we read and learn the word and its exhortations and its principles, and pray over them and make them our own and take them to heart; the more they will rise up in our minds when we are drawn to sin. I don't pronounce it non-stop, but it is hidden in my heart. and it will appear before my eyes in the moment of conflict, when I am challenged by temptation. ‘Blessed art thou, O LORD: teach me thy statutes. With my lips have I declared all the judgments of thy mouth.’ Teach what you learn to others who are behind you in the pilgrimage, as you have opportunity. Verse 14: ‘I have rejoiced in the way of thy testimonies, as much as in all riches.’ How much time do we give to this: rejoicing in the way of God's testimonies? You read the word, you learn from it all. Oh thank him for it, and reflect on it. it is now your possession; it is in your treasure chest; it is in your heart and in your mind. You are rich. ‘I will meditate in thy precepts and have respect unto thy ways’, which means I will understand the reasons behind the laws of God, and why they are so important, and what they protect me from, and why he requires them of me, so that I appreciate them as well as fear them and obey them. Rejoice in the Scriptures, value them, treasure them.

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Titus 2:6 Commentary and Bible Study