Are you being taught sound doctrine? If you're uncertain, join Aaron and Nick as they dive into Titus chapter two, discussing the importance of having qualified elders in place to keep the teachings of Christ intact, especially in a small group setting. We'll explore how Paul and Titus set up the church in Crete, reflecting on the possibility that it was a small group in hiding due to persecution, and how easily false teachings can infiltrate such an environment.
In this eye-opening episode, we'll also discuss the characteristics of a godly leader and the role of older women in teaching younger women. You'll learn how living a life of faith, exemplified by the elders and older women in our church and community, is vital for a healthy spiritual journey. Plus, we'll delve into living for God in the present age, revealing how to use God's grace to turn away from sinful pleasures, focus on good works, and ultimately simplify our lives. Don't miss this insightful and thought-provoking episode of the Two Fish Podcast!
Are you being taught sound doctrine? If you're uncertain, join Aaron and Nick as they dive into Titus chapter two, discussing the importance of having qualified elders in place to keep the teachings of Christ intact, especially in a small group setting. We'll explore how Paul and Titus set up the church in Crete, reflecting on the possibility that it was a small group in hiding due to persecution, and how easily false teachings can infiltrate such an environment.
In this eye-opening episode, we'll also discuss the characteristics of a godly leader and the role of older women in teaching younger women. You'll learn how living a life of faith, exemplified by the elders and older women in our church and community, is vital for a healthy spiritual journey. Plus, we'll delve into living for God in the present age, revealing how to use God's grace to turn away from sinful pleasures, focus on good works, and ultimately simplify our lives. Don't miss this insightful and thought-provoking episode of the Two Fish Podcast!
Welcome back to the Two Fish podcast. My name is Nick, i'm Aaron and this week we're going back to the book of Titus, chapter two, and looking at whether we're being taught sound doctrine.
Speaker 2:That's right. Two Fish community. We are back and we're moving on to Titus two. Last week we did Titus one, which was kind of laying out what Titus, what Paul wanted Titus to do and how he wanted to lead the community and kind of describe what the community was like. And this week we're going to dive into promote right teaching. Are we, are we learning sound doctrine, and are the people that are teaching us the right people?
Speaker 1:Yeah, i came across something new this past week and I think it's worth going back just for a second before we jump into two about one. If you listen to last week's episode, i really think at least my mindset was okay Paul and Titus started setting up this community, started setting up this church, and then Paul left and said Titus, i want you to stay here and get the elders in the church going, make sure you got the right people in place to build this church. And I think really in my mind, what I was thinking as I was reading this was a church like we have now, a church maybe of a couple hundred people.
Speaker 1:Yeah a church. I mean we have a church down the road that I think they run 5000 over a couple of services. I mean that would be considered a mega church. That's what I'm thinking. But as I started reading chapter two and then looking back on chapter one, i changed my mindset and thought, you know, back then this would have definitely been a small group thing.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:And we even talked about hey, this guy should the elder should be hospitable, you know, be happy to host people. I mean, I really started thinking about this, as this is a small group setting.
Speaker 2:Yeah, they likely would not have had a building to go to, like Christians were not necessarily accepted. So the buildings that were existing, unless that entire synagogue converted to Christianity, like the Christians, would not have been welcome in there.
Speaker 1:So this would be more of a home church, a barn church those type of things And, depending on when I don't know if we discuss when this was, but I mean, you had persecution, christians were being persecuted, so some of this could have been Hey, we're doing this in hiding as well, we're doing this in our home because we don't have a public place that we can go to.
Speaker 1:And so when, when I started thinking about that, i thought how easy. Because he says verse 10, for there are many who are just just born it, empty talkers and deceivers, especially those from the circumcised party which he's referring to, the Jewish people there, the religious people. How much easier is it in a small group setting, for someone to say, hey, we're doing a Bible study, we're talking about the Bible. All of a sudden, insert here, insert Nick's opinion, enter Nick's thought right in this verse, and all of a sudden I completely changed the context of what God meant out of scripture. And how quickly what we have as the gospel, what they had, the, you know, the teachings of Paul and Titus, and all these Peter and all these guys, how quickly that changes. And it's not what was intended.
Speaker 2:No, it'd be, it'd be really easy, especially if it's a, if it's a guy of your community that I believe last week. You know he's describing an elder and what if he kind of fit that but didn't necessarily agree with Christianity. So he's going to take it and say, ah, you still got to be circumcised.
Speaker 1:Yeah, or that's not quite what it said, yeah, or you know, we've kind of laughed sometimes about the grape side. Hey, you know, we talked last week. the Cretans had an issue. They were known for this lifestyle. They were drunkard, drunkards, you know, debauchery, all this stuff. How quickly and easy it would be to go. Hey, you know what we can get drunk while we're having this Bible study, because it's okay, because you know Jesus died on the cross first, or whatever it is, All of a sudden you're entering into something that wasn't meant to be.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and so I think that's when I rethink about that, paul, having bounced from home to home to home, as he's working through this community with Titus and saying man, i see a problem here. We need to make sure we have qualified elders in place that can keep this thing going in the direction that Christ intended this thing to go. Yeah, so let's start in chapter two, verse one. But as for you talking to Titus, teach what accords with sound doctrine. Older men are to be sober minded, dignified, self controlled, sound and faith in love and instead, fastness. Older women, likewise, are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much mind there to teach what is good. Let's stop right there. Paul's writing Titus and he's saying as for you, teach what accords would sound doctrine. How does yours read there?
Speaker 2:Mine says uh, promote the kind of living that reflects wholesome teaching.
Speaker 1:Oh, that's good, i like that even better. And then he break. He's gonna break down into four categories here. He's gonna say which we read older men and older women, yep, and then younger men and younger women. So we have the genders and the age group set up. Now, personally, i like to feel like I'm in the younger men category.
Speaker 1:You are not, but my new gray hair as I've turned 34 now tells me I'm in the older. No, i'm probably in the younger. You're, you're in the younger. My boys would say, no, you're in the older, but I tend to feel like I'm in the younger. But the older men are to be sober minded, dignified, self controlled, sound and faith, love and instead vastness. I mean, this is a solid guy.
Speaker 2:They're definitely solid guys. Mine reads exercise self control, be worthy of respect, live wisely. And they must have sound faith and be filled with love and patience.
Speaker 1:No, okay, I'm not in the older guys. I'm still not 100% patient.
Speaker 2:So it is a well rounded gentleman. Yeah, let's put it. Let's put it that way.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so again, the Cretans were known for a lifestyle of wildness, a lifestyle of drunkenness. And here Paul's writing and saying no, no, no, no, no, no. As Christ followers no longer Cretans, your Christ followers you need to be able to live a testimony that points to God, and this is how you're going to do it. This is what you should look like now.
Speaker 2:Yeah, well, a testimony that points to to Jesus, right Like at this time they're going from appointed to God right to the new gospel of Jesus And that like they're in that transition. So this gentleman has got to believe in Jesus and the resurrection or the death and the resurrection of Jesus. Yeah, they pointed to God, but yeah like this is.
Speaker 1:I think they said Hey, we're this now, but they weren't living the lifestyle of that.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:And it wasn't. They said, yeah, we believe in the crucifixion and all that stuff And we believe, but then they were living a totally different life And their, their character, what they were saying wasn't adding up. You know, i'm gonna interject something here might be controversial.
Speaker 1:Oh we can talk about editing this later. When I look at, when I think of here, the cretin people and what they were known for, and then what I say, what I hear Paul saying to Titus make sure that they change. They're Christ followers now. They need to look and live and be like Christ. We need to be closer to Him. When we become Christ followers, we will change, because our old life doesn't look like our new life and it shouldn't. We're set apart.
Speaker 1:Okay, i hear a lot of times I look online and I hear things where people say just be yourself, just be who you are. You're loved. God loves you How you are, who you are. But there's so many times in Scripture and just like this and this is why I bring it up where the Cretan people were one way They became Christ followers. And now Paul is saying I expect change, god expects change. You are no longer that person you were. Yes, god loves you, but you are no longer that person that you were. And when we receive the Holy Spirit, which the Bible says we will the Helper that is going to make us change. And I just look at these Cretan people and what they were and what they need to be, and that's two totally different groups of people.
Speaker 2:Yeah, i think if you went back to verse 11, and Titus 1, paul writes they must be silenced because they are turning whole families away from the truth by their false teachings, and they do it only for money. Even one of their own men, a prophet from Crete, has said about them the people of Crete are all liars, cruel animals and lazy glutenants. That was one of my favorite verses from last week. But that is Paul's telling Titus like we got chapter one, is we got to get these elders? And now he's saying find these men and these older women that are raising their families in this manner. These are going to be the leaders of your church and your community And they are people that have turned from that lifestyle. Yeah, they're examples.
Speaker 2:They're examples of it And they are not the ones that are being liars and cruel animals and lazy gluttons.
Speaker 1:Yeah, they're perfect examples of what it looks like to be Christ followers. This is what you need to be Not saying it's easy, not saying it's an overnight process. Sanctification is a process. Don't just be. Oh, i am who I am. This is how God made me. God wants you design you to be like Christ, to be an example for the rest of the world.
Speaker 1:So there's the old men. The older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers I think you could throw in gossiping there or slaves to much wine. So don't drink Not saying don't drink ever, but a slave will be someone that can't control it. They're an addict, it's, it's it's controlling them so that, let's say, you can train the young women. You need to live one life so that you can pass on. I feel like this is a passing on thing. Hey, as you're older, you need to be passing these things on, and you're not going to be able to pass these things on to the younger women. You're not going to be able to train up the younger, the next generation, if you're acting like slaves to alcohol.
Speaker 2:Well, you're going to train them up Just the wrong way. The wrong way, Yeah, And I mean I've lived that life. I had a kid early in my life and I was not a good example for quite a while. I was a heavy drinker. When he was around, I did like there's a lot of things I don't dwell on my past but if I could go back, be like probably wouldn't have done that.
Speaker 2:Yeah, because you're passing that lifestyle on. They're looking up to you at that age, whether if you're a man or a woman. right, the little girls are looking up to their moms and little boys are looking up to their dads. and what behaviors are you training your kid up with? Is it the ones that Paul saying? these are our leaders, or is it the ones he's saying? or are lazy and liars or a heavy drinker?
Speaker 1:Yeah, we're to be examples, verse number four. And so train the younger women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind and submissive to their husbands that the word of God may not be reviled.
Speaker 2:So here here's older women, teach the younger women to do these things once again if, if you're not Doing these things as an older woman, how are you gonna teach the younger women to do it? How are you going to train your daughter to love your husband? Yeah if you're not exemplifying what that looks like and how Christ has called us to do that. Yeah, men, love your wife like Jesus of the church.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's an. Ephesians 5, 22 Wives, submit to your own husbands as to the Lord, for the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is ahead of the church and his body and is himself its savior. Verse 24 Now, as the church's mr Christ, so also should wife, should submit to everything to their husbands. Most men stop reading there. Verse 26, verse 25 husbands, love your wives as Christ loves the church and gave himself up for her That he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word. Most men stop, don't want to read that. We're gonna say, oh, submit.
Speaker 1:Yeah but We're called to sacrifice ourselves for our wives. What he doesn't say is women, you do this if he does that. Men, you do this if she does that, which, again, it'd be nice, you know, if it said that, if it said that, but we can't insert that. There said do this as unto God. Do this because God called us to. Whether she's doing it or he's doing it right now or not, this is what I've called you to. So back to Titus here wives, love your husband and children. Be self-controlled, pure submissive to your husband, not not so that he can hold you under his thumb. That's not what he's saying. God called you to do this.
Speaker 2:He will then do what he needs to do, yeah hopefully he's loving you, like Christ loved the church, and Christ sacrificed for us, and that's what We should be doing as husbands and then Hopefully, in return, we're receiving that level of respect in our wives I love. There was a book love and respect. Yeah, that's good, and it was a really good book that I didn't realize how much I need to know that my wife Respects me more than I need to know that she loves me.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's a great book. I think we've talked about that before, but it's been a long time. Married people to listen to show. Go get that book, read it together, read alone. I think I read alone first. Yeah, because you would recommend it. I think two people right in the row recommend that book, so I got I. Obviously I don't read, i listen to books and so I Got the audiobook and man, that just changes your perspectives, you know, and we're blue hearing aids, women were pink hearing aids. We hear things different. Yeah, such a good book. Go read it.
Speaker 2:And speaks wonders into what submission is and what loving your wife looks like to yeah. Moving on here to verse six, in the same way, encourage the young men to live wisely, and you yourself must be an example to them by doing good works for every kind. Let everything you do reflect the integrity and the Seriousness of your teaching. Hmm first eight teach the truth so that your teaching Can't be criticized. Then those who oppose us will be ashamed and have nothing bad to say about us.
Speaker 1:Again, i think, more than anything, My says likewise urge your younger men to be self-controlled. Show yourself, in our specs, a model of good works. Again, this is an example. Older men are gonna start passing this down. Women are gonna pass things down to their children. Younger men, you need to live this out and be examples of, maybe even the product of this life, the product of this change, as The older men and older women are working with their children. Young men, be self-controlled. Show your spouse selves as a good role model, with dignity. I mean That says to me that's kind of this plus this equals this. Young men, you need to be the examples. You need to be the product of all this work We've been putting in and then verse eight, like teach the truth.
Speaker 2:I mean like just end it there teach the truth.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I think he's lumping Titus here into the young. He's kind of going from young men Rolling into Titus because Titus is a young man as you're doing this.
Speaker 2:Teach the truth, Yeah and yeah, this little little section here teach the truth so that your teaching can't be criticized. Then those who oppose us will be ashamed and have nothing bad to say about us. Like that's not our society right now. No, it's not. Like There's terrible view on on Christians and there's a terrible view coming from Christians of of the world. Yeah, like it is not this right now. And does that come back to? maybe we're not teaching the truth? I don't know.
Speaker 1:I Would say that probably would help. I think we have gotten away from. I mean, even if you think of your kids in school, school, like I remember having to sit down and my dad helped me with math I don't sit down with my youngest son and do math.
Speaker 1:We can't well, yeah, they've changed it so much It's not math anymore, It's something different. But all that aside, i just don't do it. Hey, get your homework done. Well, now, my older son that was less of a problem than my younger sons like the attention span of a goldfish sometimes, and Next thing I know he's. I don't know what he's doing, but, but I remember that my. So we've we've dropped the. I think we've dropped the boss of society. I'm passing now. Let's talk about scripture. We're talking about fake math. Let's talk about scripture here. Are we doing a good job passing these on? Or we, as older women and older men And compared to I can compare myself to my nine-year-old, i'm an older man Am I passing these things on like I should? probably not, yeah.
Speaker 2:I feel pretty guilty, like sitting here right now And you're saying that like, let alone, do I not help with the math. one like Kid never brings home homework. at this point I don't know if that's she doesn't have it or yeah, she gives it done. school, yeah, i think schools have transitioned to We got to get it done during the day. Yeah, because Parents aren't helping their kids at home. Yeah, but then you bring the Bible into that and I have a hard enough time Sitting down teaching myself, yeah, let alone sitting down, yeah, with my kids and saying, hey, let's dive into Matthew, let's go read a couple verses out of the Bible and discuss it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, we just we don't do it. A yeah, i mean we can. We can put every excuse out there possible We're too busy, we're, maybe it's awkward, you know doing that kind of thing because you've never done it before.
Speaker 1:You know what I mean. Maybe there's all these different things, but at the end of the day God says, as an older man, be dignified, self-controlled. I mean you could throw disciplined in there. Disciplined to do these things, to take the time and sound and faith, love instead, vastness, i mean those are qualities that you need to be able to do those things.
Speaker 2:Yeah, i think that's a good challenge for this week. Maybe reflect on that a little bit as a parent, or maybe you're not a parent and do you do that with your friends. Yeah, but we'll keep moving along here, we. I think we could get hung up on that subject for quite a while, and for sure and I think Nick and I are deflating a little bit- We're like man, we got a podcast but we don't talk to our kids, it's, it's.
Speaker 1:It can be hard. Yeah, verse number nine bond servants are to be submissive to their own masters and everything. They're to be well pleased, not argumentative, not pilfering, but showing all good faith so that in everything they may be, they may adore the doctrine of God, our Savior. So, yeah, a bond servant is a willing slave. I like to think of this as an employee. Okay, you're willingly working, now you're getting paid. But That that pops into my mind there are to be submissive to their masters, our bosses, in everything. Well, sometimes that's not cool. I don't want to listen to my boss because my boss is a jerk. I want to be argumentative, i want to argue about why I don't think that's the right way to do it. But God says by showing all good faith so that in everything they may adore the doctrine of God, our Savior, we're to respect our bosses. Slaves, you're to respect your masters. Why, that's a testimony.
Speaker 2:Yeah, i think that that's the major thing at the end of All of these. It is to reflect God, our Savior. That is why you should want to live this way, rather, if you're a man, a woman, a young man, a young woman, or you're a slave Verse 11 here for the grace of God has been revealed, bringing salvation to all people, and We are instructed to turn from godless living and sinful pleasures. We should live in this evil world with wisdom, righteousness and Devotion to God Holy cow. Yeah.
Speaker 1:I think I got ahead. We got ahead of ourselves earlier, because this is exactly what we're trying to say here. Mine says training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in the present age. When I read that, i say, okay, paul, you wrote it to Titus in that present age. But now here I am to twenty, two hundred years later, however long two thousand years later, and I can read that in the present age Renounce ungodliness and our worldly possessions and to live self-controlled. So that is not what our world says right now. Our world says right now Be who you are, be who you want to be who you think you are, do what you want And create your own pronoun. Yeah, sexual immorality, which is a worldly passion.
Speaker 1:The scripture says flee from it. I love it. So I'm gonna use God's grace so that I can continue to do it. It's saying no, no, no, no. Change, the fruit of the spirit is gonna cause us to change. Creating people you should not look like creating people. In a year from now, when I come back to visit you, this is what I'm thinking Paul's gonna say I should be blown away. This isn't cretin. That I remember.
Speaker 2:Yeah there should be a much smaller portion of people living The way that was described in chapter one.
Speaker 1:Yeah, verse 13, waiting for our blessed hope. So we're doing all this, waiting for our blessed hope, which is the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, jesus Christ, who gave himself up to redeem us from all Lawlessness and to purify for himself a people of his own possession who are zealous for good works.
Speaker 2:Mine is totally committed to doing good deeds.
Speaker 1:So we're doing these things in anticipation, with great hope of the appearing of Jesus Christ, and we're doing these things because he gave himself up to change this. I Don't know how we can live in 2023 and say, well, this sin is okay, it's not really sin, and this sin is okay because it's really not that it's not sin. But at the end of the day, you look, we look exactly like the world does, right there.
Speaker 2:There's. There's no gray area in this, like sin is sin and evil is evil. Yeah, it's either you're doing good or you're doing evil. Yeah, hopefully your life Simplifies doing good and even though perhaps I'm not sitting down with my daughter and Talking the Bible like I should every day, my life, hopefully, exemplifies.
Speaker 1:These good deeds.
Speaker 2:Yeah, she can see those fruits and Hopefully the same is true for the two fish community.
Speaker 1:Yeah, round in this chapter out declared that he's talking to Titus again. Declare these things, exhort and rebuke with all authority. Let no one disregard you. He's telling Titus get in there, teach these things, don't let anyone stop you from doing doing this mission, because it's so important. We're passing this stuff on. We're trying to change The cretin people here and in the present age. We can read this now. We need to change Who we are as Christ followers right, he's.
Speaker 2:He's telling them to do it with a boldness, to stand up in front of people and and Don't let them come against you. Yeah.
Speaker 1:I love it. Older men, older women, younger men, younger women, slaves, employees, wherever you are, you're probably more than one of those things. Are you self-controlled? Are you pointing towards God? Is your life like your old cretin self, your old non-Christian self, or are we renouncing ungodliness and worldly passions, waiting for Christ to come? I think these things are a huge thing We can think about and reflect on this week. Next week, join us again here on the two fish podcast. We'll wrap up Titus, chapter three.
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