Titus, part 2

"You must teach what is in accord with sound doctrine." (Titus 2:1, NIV)

Continuing in the book of Titus, Paul begins chapter two with the above verse.  This verse comes as a contrast to the end of chapter one.  In chapter one, Paul gives Titus a list of qualifications for church elders (much the same as in 1 Timothy).  At the end of the chapter one, Paul writes, "For there are many rebellious people, mere talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision group. They must be silenced, because they are ruining whole households by teaching things they ought not to teach—and that for the sake of dishonest gain" (Titus 1:10-11).  Paul is saying that the false teachers in Crete must be silenced, and then goes on to tell Titus what he must do.

"You must teach what is in accord with sound doctrine."  In contrast to what the false teachers were teaching, Titus was to teach what is in accord with sound doctrine.  This verse is the linchpin for what follows in chapter two.  Verse one is the principle (teach what is in accord with sound doctrine), and verses two through ten are how that works out in the church.  Those verses contain Paul's instructions to Titus on how to teach various groups within the congregation:  older men, older women, younger men, younger women, and servants.  But what ought to be taught to them stems from Paul's instruction in verse one.

There are three points that can be drawn from this verse:  the command, the method and the source.  First the command:  Teach.  Titus was to teach.  The word "teach" in this verse is the Greek word laleo, which actually means "to speak."  Titus, as the pastor of the church in Crete, is commanded to teach, to speak.  As Paul pointed out in his letter to Timothy, the pastor's primary function is to preach and teach.  It's not the only thing he does, but it is to be the primary thing.  In Acts 6, a situation arose in the early church, in which there was a dispute between Grecian Jews and Palestinian Jews over food distribution.  A church council was convened, and it was decided that seven men would be appointed to take charge of the food distribution.  Why?  So the Apostles could give their "attention to prayer and the ministry of the word" (Acts 6:4).  The pastor's primary duty is to be in prayer and to teach and preach God's word.

Second the method.  We know that Titus is to teach, but how is he to teach?  He is to teach what is in accord with sound doctrine.  We'll get to the "sound doctrine" in a moment.  The point I want to make here is that Titus, and all who preach and teach, must teach what is in accord with sound doctrine.  The phrase "in accord with" in the Greek means what is appropriate, what is fitting.  The method Paul ascribes to Titus is to teach what is appropriate or fitting with sound doctrine.  This might sound trivial, but it's not.  The pulpit drives the church.  The messages taught from the pulpit often are what motivates the church in the rest of its ministry.  From the pulpit, the rest of the body gets its direction and vision.  If the messages taught from the pulpit are weak, then the church's ministry will be weak.  If the messages taught from the pulpit are full of doctrinal error, then the church's ministry will be misled.  However, if the teaching from the pulpit is in accord with sound doctrine, then that usually flows naturally into the ministry of the church.

Sadly, being in accord with sound doctrine is not a motivating necessity in all of Christendom--especially in the United States.  Witness the recent flap in the Episcopal Church USA over the ordination of a homosexual bishop.  It doesn't take a rocket scientist (or a highly degreed Bible exegete) to know what Scripture has to say regarding homosexuality--it is roundly condemned!  Yet the Episcopal Church, because they don't teach what is in accord with sound doctrine, reads Scripture differently.  The only way you can say the Bible isn't against homosexuality is to say the Bible doesn't really mean what it says when it speaks on the issue of homosexuality; it really means something else.  In other words, you have to deny the veracity and authority of Scripture; which is what false teachers do when they want to promote un-Biblical teachings.

I was recently reading the statement of faith for the Presbyterian Church USA (not to be confused with the Presbyterian Church in America, or PCA), and on the issue of abortion they didn't come out flatly against it.  Here is a a supposedly Christian denomination that can't seem to make up its mind on a topic the Bible is very clear on.  The Bible is clear that life begins at the moment of conception, and that God is intimately involved with each created life from the earliest possible moment.  Each baby, even while in the womb, is a special creation of God imbued with His image and precious in His sight.  Any decision to terminate a pregnancy for any reason short of saving the life of the mother is murder, plain and simple!  The PCUSA can't see this because they don't teach what is in accord with sound doctrine.

That brings me to the third point, the source of Titus' teaching.  Paul gave him the command (teach), the method (what is in accord with), now the source (sound doctrine).  What is sound doctrine?  Literally, in the Greek, sound doctrine means "healthy teaching."  Where do we get sound doctrine?  From God's word.  Remember 2 Timothy 3:16?  "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness."  Sound doctrine is found in the Bible.  Any teaching which is Biblical in content is sound (healthy).

As I said earlier, this opening verse in chapter two is the linchpin for what follows.  Paul gives Titus instructions and guidelines on how to teach various demographic groups within the church, and all of it flows from sound doctrine.  I want to close with the following thought:  sound living flows from sound thinking.  The only way chapter two verses two through ten work is because Paul tells Titus to teach them right in verse one.  In Romans 12:2, Paul says that we are not to be conformed to this world, but be transformed.  How?  By the renewing of our minds.  Right thinking informs right living, right living flows from right thinking.  The church must be in the business of teaching what is in accord with sound doctrine if it is to have any positive impact in society.

Back to “Pastoral” page.