Young Men & Servants
Sunday, October 19th, 2025
Christ Covenant Church – Centralia, WA
Titus 2:6-10
Prayer
O Father, we hate vain thoughts, but Thy law do we love. Before You afflicted us we went astray, but now being corrected by Your discipline, we do keep Your word with a whole heart. So teach us now Thy statutes, Thy testimonies, which are our delight. Through Christ Jesus our Lord who reigns together with the Holy Spirit, One God, world without end, Amen.
Introduction
In our Lord’s famous Sermon on the Mount, he warns in Matthew 7 about the danger of judging the sins of others. He says in Matthew 7:1-2, Judge not, that you be not judged. For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you. And then he goes on to tell us that the only way to judge your brother rightly, is by first seeing yourself rightly, and that requires looking into the mirror of God’s law, judging yourself strictly and honestly by that law, and then repenting of whatever sins you have committed against that law.
- Jesus puts it this way in Matthew 7:3-5, And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye’; and look, a plank is in your own eye? Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.
- So according to Jesus, there is a right order in which judgments should be rendered. First, we must judge ourselves and remove the sins that obscure our vision (the planks), and only then can we see clearly to help someone else with their lesser sins (the specks).
- Now what Paul has been doing here in Titus chapter 2, is telling all the different classes of people in the church, where they ought to look first to find and remove the planks in their eye.
- Paul, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit has been listing the common virtues we ought to pursue, the common vices we ought to avoid, and pointing out the unique tendencies and temptations of older men, older women, younger women, and now this morning younger men and servants.
- And so we can consider this chapter as a kind of checklist for our own self-examination, and a pointer to help us do what that great sentence in the Westminster Confession of Faith declares, “Men ought not to content themselves with a general repentance, but it is every man’s duty to endeavor to repent of his particular sins particularly” (WCF 15.5).
- What Titus 2 is all about is giving us a starting point to find our particular sins, not to condemn us, but so that we can be set free from our favorite shackles and chains and prison cells, so that we can confess our sins to God, and then be able to see God and our neighbor more clearly.
- Remember how Jesus begins his Sermon on the Mount. He starts by telling us what a life of beatitude in a fallen world consists of. He says, Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled. Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God. (Matt 5:3-8).
- The person who wants to see God, has to start by seeing the real ugliness of their own sin. For only then can we begin to appreciate that God came down in Christ to die for our sins, to save us from our sins. And only then can we move from pursuing what is right, not as slaves from the fear of punishment, but as sons of God and from love for our savior.
- This is what Paul means when he says in Titus 2:10 that the whole underlying rational for our repentance, and our good works, and our pursuit of virtue is so: that they may adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things. So does your life bring glory and honor to Christ, or does it give the world cause to blaspheme and reproach Him?
- Through this letter, Paul has been flagging and tagging different parts, groups, and members of the body, and this morning he continues his diagnostic with an exhortation to young men and to servants.
Outline of the Text
Our text divides into four basic sections, but only three of them will we treat this morning.
- In verse 6, Paul charges the young men to be sober minded.
- In verses 7-8, he charges Titus to be an example to the younger men.
- In verses 9-10, he charges servants to be obedient to their masters.
- And then in verses 11-15 which will be a future sermon, Paul extols the grace of God in Christ.
Verse 6 – A Charge for Young Men
6Young men likewise exhort to be sober minded.
- This virtue of sobriety (σωφρονέω) is a virtue that Paul assigns to every class of people in the church. Back in Titus 1:8 he made it a qualification for a bishop/elder. He assigned it the older men in Titus 2:2, to the older women and younger women in Titus 2:4 and 2:5, and now this is the one thing he charges the younger men to focus on: be sensible, be sober minded.
- We said that this Greek word σώφρων/σωφρονέω, can be translated many ways but it captures the idea of being thoughtful, self-controlled, prudent, discrete, and temperate. It is a moral virtue of the mind that governs and directs our thoughts, our words, our passions and actions. To be sober is to know what is right and pleasing in the eyes of God and then to subject your will and bodily appetites to God’s will.
- Now the sins that militate against this virtue are legion. But I will just highlight a few that tend to ensnare young men.
- It says in Proverbs 18:16, Pride goes before destruction, And a haughty spirit before a fall.
- And in Romans 12:3 Paul contrasts the pride of conceit with sobriety saying, For I say…to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly.
- So young men, we all tend to think far too highly of ourselves, far too often of ourselves, and imagine that the world exists to serve us and our pleasures. We think too much about what other people owe us, and we tend to think too little and too lowly about others and what we owe them. This is the narcissism and conceit of immaturity, and we must all grow out of this.
- Pride is that great sin that blinds us (obscures our vision), and it is the first plank we ought to confess to God regularly, daily, frequently, and often. Underneath almost all other sins you can find this sin of having an inflated view of self, it is why we exaggerate the faults of others while minimizing our own.
- Pride avoids taking ownership, except when doing so will make us look good. And so heed the words of Jesus who said in Matthew 23:12, Whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; but he that shall humble himself shall be exalted.
- With humility is honor, and God promises in Psalm 138:6, Though the Lord is on high, Yet He regards the lowly; But the proud He knows from afar.
- Some of the other common sins that war against sobriety are: laziness, lack of diligence and follow through, procrastinating, complaining, making excuses when things are hard or are taking longer than we would like, being impulsive, being self-willed rather than seeking and heeding godly counsel. And on and on I could go.
- The book of Proverbs is really the handbook that young men should be keeping upon their chest. You ought to be reading Proverbs every day as a young man, because in it is all kinds of encouragement to build and channel your strengths, and all kinds of warnings and cautionary tales for what to avoid (foolish friends, liars, thieves, the easily angered, the seductive woman and more).
- It says in 1 John 2:14, I have written unto you, young men, because ye are strong, and the word of God abideth in you, and ye have overcome the wicked one.
- So young men, you are the future, God made you strong and aggressive and powerful for a reason, because He wants you to lead. But you need the wisdom of God’s Word and godly examples to direct that strength for good and not evil. Consider a few examples:
- It says in Proverbs 28:20, A faithful man will abound with blessings, But he who hastens to be rich will not go unpunished.
- So don’t gamble, don’t go to the casino, don’t bet on sports, or try any other get rich quick schemes. God will not bless it in the end. Instead find honest work that you can become excellent at.
- It says in Proverbs 12:24 says, The hand of the diligent shall bear rule: But the slothful shall be under tribute.
- And Proverbs 22:29 says, Seest thou a man diligent in his business? He shall stand before kings; He shall not stand before mean men.
- So young men, amongst whom I count myself, get wisdom from Proverbs, get wisdom from older godly men, for as God himself tells us in Proverbs 4:7, Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: And with all thy getting get understanding.
- It is this supernatural wisdom that teaches us to be sober.And it says in Proverbs 19:8,He that getteth wisdom loveth his own soul: He that keepeth understanding shall find good.
- And in Psalm 34:12-14 it says, Who is the man who desires life, And loves many days, that he may see good? Keep your tongue from evil, And your lips from speaking deceit. Depart from evil and do good; Seek peace and pursue it.
- This is the sober life that God blesses and rewards if you will patiently seek Him.
- This brings us to verses 7-8 where Paul charges Titus to be an example to the younger men. Proverbs is good, but we also need to see Proverbs enfleshed, incarnated, lived out, and this is where elders especially should be a good example to the young men.
Verses 7-8 – A Charge for Titus to be an Example
7In all things shewing thyself a pattern (type) of good works: in doctrine shewing uncorruptness, gravity, sincerity, 8Sound speech, that cannot be condemned; that he that is of the contrary part may be ashamed, having no evil thing to say of you.
- So here Titus is charged to both live well and preach well. In living the elders ought to aspire to be examples of good works. And because doctrine/teaching is our most public work and duty, Paul says we need to especially take care that four things characterize our teaching.
- 1. First, our doctrine is to be without corruption. Meaning the content of what we preach is the pure and undefiled Word of God, and that not mixed with falsehood or mere opinion.
- 2. Second, that our teaching is with gravity. Meaning it is firm, weighty, reliable, immoveable.
- It says in 1 Peter 1:24-25, For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away: But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you.
- So the Word is weighty in a world that is vain, and therefore our preaching and lives should reflect that weight of glory we proclaim.
- 3. Third, our teaching is to be with sincerity. Meaning we are honest, upright, without flattery or deceit. If God’s Word says it, we have to say it, even if you we know you don’t want to hear it.
- This is why Paul says in Galatians 1:10, For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ. God’s servants must be sincere.
- 4. Fourth, our doctrine is to be with sound speech that cannot be condemned. Meaning our preaching can be crosschecked and verified by comparing Scripture with Scripture. Moreover, we do our best to not give any unnecessary offense or intentionally try to scandalize our hearers.
- It says in Romans 1:16, For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.
- And so while we try to not offend anyone by our words or lives, we also recognize that truth is offensive to liars, light is offensive to the darkness. And so we want our light to shine brightly, in gravity, sincerity, and truth. And so that as Paul says in verse 8, that he that is of the contrary part may be ashamed, having no evil thing to say of you.
- Our lives and doctrine should shame our adversaries.
Verses 9-10 – A Charge to Servants
9Exhort servants to be obedient unto their own masters, and to please them well in all things; not answering again; 10Not purloining, but shewing all good fidelity; that they may adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things.
- In the original context, servants (δούλους) here almost certainly refers to what we would today call slaves, or bondservants, and these were often people who had no choice about who their master was, or where and how they earned their keep. And in some cases, they would never have an opportunity to be free, they were the lifelong property of their masters.
- Now it is one the great blessings and effects of the gospel that this kind of slavery is no longer prevalent in our land, but it can also dull the force and power of these exhortations if we forget the state of these slaves to whom Paul was writing.
- Paul is addressing people who for whatever reason (whether justly or unjustly) have little to no choice or opportunity to be their own master.
- Perhaps the closest modern equivalent would be the person who has no economic upward mobility, they are wage slaves, or debt slaves, or they are stuck in a dead-end job. Or perhaps you still owe years of service to the military or some corporation. Whatever the case, God has a special word to those who feel trapped at the bottom of the economic totem pole. And what is that word?
- He gives 3 specific exhortations:
- 1. Be obedient (or submissive) to your own master, and to please them well in all things.
- This means obeying cheerfully and promptly all their lawful commands, and the only exception is if they command you to sin. So yes, you must not obey if they tell you to lie, or steal, or do something dishonest, but that is because both you and they have a master above them, namely God to whom you both will give account.
- Paul repeats this command in Ephesians 6:5 and Colossians 3:22 saying, Servants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh, not with eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but in sincerity of heart, fearing God.
- And again in 1 Timothy 6:1 he says, Let as many servants as are under the yoke count their own masters worthy of all honour, that the name of God and his doctrine be not blasphemed.
- Christian servants, Chistian employees, really should be the best workers. And this would especially stand out on the Island of Crete when Paul says that the culture there is that, Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons (Titus 1:12).
- What Paul wants is for all the Cretan masters to be forced to admit that “Christians are always truthful, honest, good, and hardworking.” Is that the reputation you are winning for Christ at your job?
- 2. The second exhortation is for servants to not talk back to their masters. This phrase, “not answering again” refers to that impulse of children and inferiors to want to argue with and contradict their superiors, rather than just silently doing what they are told.
- This is a long-lost virtue in our egalitarian age where we think every voice needs to be heard, every decision made by democratic committee. But that is not what Paul tells servants to do. He says don’t be that fool who always has some comment to make.
- And in Proverbs 10:19, In the multitude of words sin is not lacking, But he who restrains his lips is wise.
- Don’t be the servant who tries to tell his master how to do his job. Don’t be the employee who imagines he could run the place better than the boss. Perhaps you could, maybe you can, but has God put you in that position?
- Consider the example of Jacob serving under Laban’s tyranny. God took care of Jacob and blessed him, while Laban was rebuked. Or consider the example of Joseph, who served well in Potiphar’s house, God took care of Joseph, and elevated him above Potiphar, but only after being tested, again and again.
- 3. Third and finally Paul says, not purloining (or pilfering), but rathershewing all good fidelity (trustworthiness).
- Purloining is what we would today call petty theft, or skimming off the top. The idea is that a person takes what their employer or master is unlikely to notice. And then he usually rationalizes or justifies that stealing as not really being stealing because the amount is trivial, or because the servant really deserves it.
- But this is that seemingly little sin, that like a small leak in a great ship can sink it.
- This sin and crime of pilfering is rampant in our world. Companies now have to just budget for all the petty thefts that they know will happen from their own employees. And because this crime is so common, it becomes easier and more tempting for Christians to do it, because everyone else is, and often without consequence.
- But of such behavior, Christians should have no part. And indeed, this is one of the easiest ways for a Christian to set themselves apart in this dishonest world, don’t pilfer, but show all good fidelity. See the good of your employer as if their good is your good. That’s what the golden rule commands of us, and that is also how faithful servants get promoted and elevated to high position.
- When you refuse that impulse to take advantage of what your employer can’t see, God who sees all, shall reward you openly. Sometimes in this life, but always in the next.
- Recall how Jesus describes the kingdom of heaven in Matthew 25. He says, For the kingdom of heaven is like a man traveling to a far country, who called his own servants and delivered his goods to them. And to one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one, to each according to his own ability; and immediately he went on a journey.
- This life is like God giving different amounts of talents, position, and goods, to different people, and then going away to see what they will do with what He has given.
- To those who use and invest those talents well, he says, Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.
- But what does he say to the person who is unfaithful, who pilfers away the time and gains no profit for his master?
- It says in Matthew 25:26-29, But his lord answered and said to him, ‘You wicked and lazy servant, you knew that I reap where I have not sown, and gather where I have not scattered seed. So you ought to have deposited my money with the bankers, and at my coming I would have received back my own with interest. So take the talent from him, and give it to him who has ten talents. ‘For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away.
- This is a sober warning to all of us, whatever our state and position in life. All of us must give an account to God, for how we have stewarded the time he has given, the status he has given, the body and mind he has given, and opportunities and resources he has placed around us.
- What none of us are allowed to do is complain that he has five talents but I only have one. None of us are allowed to grumble that he or she came from money and good Christian family, and I came from poverty and a broken family. God knows, and God sees, and God shall judge and reward accordingly.
Conclusion
So by way of conclusion and example consider Christ. He is the eternal Son of God, perfect in wisdom and power and might. And yet he humbled himself to be born into a world that we ruined, ruined by our sin, our selfishness, our pride, and our conceit.
- And while He could have left us in our sins, and rendered to us the just punishment of eternal death, it says in Philippians 2:7, He made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. And because of this, God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
- If God Himself came down to serve and save you, are you so proud that you cannot serve and be faithful to God, and to those He has placed above you?
- May God help us to adorn the doctrine of God our savior, with all meekness, humility, and submission, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Amen.
