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Titus 2:9-10
by Samuel E. Ward
Introduction
As noted previously in our study of Titus, the problem of immature and inconsistent behavior among those Cretans who claimed to be Christians seems to have originated from . . .
I. Lack of Qualified Leadership, Titus 1:5-9.
II. The Presence and Influence of False Teachers, Titus 1:10-16.
III. Lack of Good Instruction to Believers Concerning Proper Christian Conduct, Titus 2:1-10; 3:1-3.
(Titus 2:1 NIV) You must teach what is in accord with sound doctrine to:.
A. The Older Men, Titus 2:1.
B. The Older Women, Titus 2:3-5
C. The Young Men, Titus 3:6-8
The next group within the church which Paul addresses is slaves.
In an article from their TV series released in 2001, PBS's The Roman Empire in the First Century, offered these insights into the practice of slavery during the time we are considering in our study of Titus:
1. A common practice
Slavery had a long history in the ancient world and was practiced in Ancient Egypt and Greece, as well as Rome. Most slaves during the Roman Empire were foreigners and, unlike in modern times, Roman slavery was not based on race.
Slaves in Rome might include prisoners of war, sailors captured and sold by pirates, or slaves bought outside Roman territory. In hard times, it was not uncommon for desperate Roman citizens to raise money by selling their children into slavery.
2. Life as a slave
All slaves and their families were the property of their owners, who could sell or rent them out at any time. Their lives were harsh. Slaves were often whipped, branded or cruelly mistreated. Their owners could also kill them for any reason, and would face no punishment.
Although Romans accepted slavery as the norm, some people – like the poet and philosopher, Seneca– argued that slaves should at least be treated fairly.
3. Essential labor
Slaves worked everywhere – in private households, in mines and factories, and on farms. They also worked for city governments on engineering projects such as roads, aqueducts and buildings. As a result, they merged easily into the population.
In fact, slaves looked so similar to Roman citizens that the Senate once considered a plan to make them wear special clothing so that they could be identified at a glance. The idea was rejected because the Senate feared that, if slaves saw how many of them were working in Rome, they might be tempted to join forces and rebel.
4. Manumission
Another difference between Roman slavery and its more modern variety was manumission – the ability of slaves to be freed. Roman owners freed their slaves in considerable numbers: some freed them outright, while others allowed them to buy their own freedom. The prospect of possible freedom through manumission encouraged most slaves to be obedient and hard working.
Formal manumission was performed by a magistrate and gave freed men full Roman citizenship. The one exception was that they were not allowed to hold office. However, the law gave any children born to freedmen, after formal manumission, full rights of citizenship, including the right to hold office.
Informal manumission gave fewer rights. Slaves freed informally did not become citizens and any property or wealth they accumulated reverted to their former owners when they died.
5. Free at last?
Once freed, former slaves could work in the same jobs as plebeians – as craftsmen, midwives or traders. Some even became wealthy. However, Rome's rigid society attached importance to social status and even successful freedmen usually found the stigma of slavery hard to overcome – the degradation lasted well beyond the slavery itself.
http://www.pbs.org/empires/romans/empire/slaves_freemen.html
A Biblical View of Slavery
1. God calls slaves, or other people whom society views to be of lower social status, into the faith. He is not impressed with our position but He is in our faithful service, regardless of our social standing. If slaves can gain freedom, they should do so. God does not will that any man to become a slave if he has a choice. Nevertheless, if not, they must be the best example they can be of God's grace and life-changing power, representing Christ as a slave who is truly free in Christ or a freeman who is truly a slave of Christ.
(1 Cor 7:20-23 NIV) Each one should remain in the situation which he was in when God called him. {21} Were you a slave when you were called? Don't let it trouble you--although if you can gain your freedom, do so. {22} For he who was a slave when he was called by the Lord is the Lord's freedman; similarly, he who was a free man when he was called is Christ's slave. {23} You were bought at a price; do not become slaves of men.
2. Paul considered himself a slave or servant to the needs of man as the pathway to winning them to Christ.
(1 Cor 9:19 NIV) Though I am free and belong to no man, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible.
3. God does not recognize social or ethnic classes.
We all come into the faith by the same Spirit, are made a part of Christ by the same Spirit, are enabled by the same Spirit, and are nourished by the same Spirit. None of us have any type of class or ethnic superiority over another in the Church.
(1 Cor 12:12-13 NIV) The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ. {13} For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body--whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free--and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.
(Col 3:11 NIV) Here there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all.
4. In respect to service, a slave's True Master is Christ.
A slave is to serve Christ for the purpose of showing Christ to his master.
(Eph 6:5-8 NIV) Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ. {6} Obey them not only to win their favor when their eye is on you, but like slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from your heart. {7} Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not men, {8} because you know that the Lord will reward everyone for whatever good he does, whether he is slave or free.
5. Where Christ is concerned, believing masters and slaves are in fact to be dear brothers.
(Phile 1:15-16 NIV) Perhaps the reason he was separated from you for a little while was that you might have him back for good-- {16} no longer as a slave, but better than a slave, as a dear brother. He is very dear to me but even dearer to you, both as a man and as a brother in the Lord.
6. We are all slaves to either Christ or sin. The choice is ours.
(2 Pet 2:19 NIV) They promise them freedom, while they themselves are slaves of depravity--for a man is a slave to whatever has mastered him.
With that being noted, Paul's remarks in his letter to Titus now concern . . .
D. The Slaves, Titus 2:9-10.
(Titus 2:9-14 NIV) Teach slaves to be subject to their masters in everything, to try to please them, not to talk back to them, {10} 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.
1. Necessary instruction: Be subject to masters in everything, Titus 2:9-10a
a. Try to please them.
b. Do not talk back to them, i.e., to be disagreeable or speak against.
c. Do not steal from them.
d. Show they are trustworthy.
How easy it is for employees, especially those who perceive their employers as being unfair, to find ways to "get even" or take what some feel is "rightfully theirs" from their employers. This kind of thinking has no place in the Christian mindset since it works against the mission God has for Christian employees in respect to their employers or supervisors.
It is not always easy to please our employers. It is all too easy to speak against them and work against their policies. We might even feel we can justify stealing time, money, product or supply from them in order to get back something that we feel has been taken from us. But to do so is to work against the objective of showing one's self to be trustworthy for the sake of representing our True Master, Jesus Christ, who is trying to reveal Himself to our bosses.
This brings us to the explicit statement of this objective which states the . . .
2. Necessary effect: Make the teaching about God our Savior attractive, Titus 2:10b
It is interesting how the Greek New Testament phrases this last clause in verse ten.
"...in order that they may might make attractive (Gk., κοσμῶσιν) the teaching of God our Savior."
The same principle is put forth in more descriptive words in Paul's first letter to Timothy.
(1 Tim 2:9-10 NIV) I also want women to dress modestly, with decency and propriety, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or expensive clothes, {10} but with good deeds, appropriate for women who profess to worship God.
Conclusion
Think about this. It is when we are at our lowest standing, with little or no influence upon others and at their service, that we have the greatest opportunity to reveal the strength our commitment to faith in Christ. If under such conditions we can still manifest our joy and allegiance to Him as well as reflect His righteous character in our own actions, then those who are relying with less success on other means to find joy and meaning in life will take note of the Christian's hope in Christ.
Meditate on Christ's words.
(Mark 8:35-38 NIV) For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it. {36} What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul? {37} Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? {38} If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his Father's glory with the holy angels."
