For several days and verses
now we have been observing Paul the apostle's words to Titus who is
Paul's young protege' pastor over the church located in the island of
Crete. Paul has been instructing Titus about the characteristics that
an elder or overseer must have, and as Paul has completed his list,
he is now teaching Titus the sound doctrine that he must share with
the church himself. Paul begins with instruction toward “aged”
men in chapter two and verse two where he wrote:
That the aged men be
sober, grave, temperate, sound in faith, in charity, in patience.
The idea
of an “aged” man is an older man or one well-seasoned in years.
Maturity should be gained at this point in life, and yet, there are
some men who are older who continue to need sound teaching toward
their attitudes and behavior.
Paul
first instructs Titus to teach aged men to be “sober”
which means temperate, abstaining from wine, either entirely or at
least from it immoderate use. There is nothing worse that someone who
is so given over to wine that their entire judgment is altered. Aged
men should be level-headed and not have their minds altered by
chemical influences.
Paul
adds, “grave” which denotes august, venerable, and
honorable. Aged men must be those who have a high regard for the
things of God, and they should not be undignified, irreligious and
disrespectful. They must remember that younger people are watching
their lives and whenever there is opportunity for reverence to the
things of God they must be aware of their attitudes and behaviors.
Paul
continues that they aged men must be “temperate”. This
means that they must be of a sound mind, sane, and in one's senses.
They must be self-controlled, and not given over to selfish impulses.
Too many people have been affected in their faith by seeing an older
man in the church act with no self-control at all, and the harm done
by one aged man who is supposed to be respected can last a lifetime
for the onlooker.
The aged
men, Paul adds, must be “sound in faith” which means he
must be healthy in his conviction of truth. He must be a person of
strong belief relating to God, Jesus Christ, and the religious
beliefs of Christians. Aged men must not be wavering from one
doctrine to another and one teaching to another without any solid
belief. The greatest of aged men are those who immerse themselves in
the word of God and live lives that are in accordance with the
Bible's teaching.
Aged men
are also to be sound in “charity.” Aged men are to be
filled with love. Paul wrote to the Corinthian church in the First
book of Corinthians in chapter thirteen and verse one:
Though I speak with the
tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become [as]
sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.
Regardless
of an aged man's works and words, if he is not a man of “charity”
or “agape” love, his words and actions are in vain. This love
toward God and others must be a pure love that is affectionate, good
willed, benevolent, and filled with brotherly love.
Finally Paul says the aged men must be
sound in “patience.” In
other words they must be steadfast, constant and enduring. They must
be ones who are sustaining and filled with perseverance. Quitting is
not an option, and although many people give up when the going gets
tough, these aged men must be ones who last.
If we
think about this list long enough, we will discover that Titus has
his work cut out for him. These are quite the qualities aren't they?
Perhaps it will help us to think about those “aged” men in our
lives who exude these traits. Do we know anyone who is sound in these
areas: “sober, grave, temperate, sound in faith, in
charity, in patience?” If we
do, we are blessed, and if not, maybe after meditating upon these
characteristics we too will seek God's face and ask Him to make them
a part of our lives as well.
Next
time we will study Paul's instruction for “aged” women, so read
ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until
tomorrow...there is more...
Look
for the new devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From
Generation to Generation” in all major bookstore sites,
www.amazon.com
; www.barnesandnobles.com
; download
to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore
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