The duty of young men.
The apostle next thinks of those who are to be the strong stays of the Church in the coming generation. "Young men exhort to be sober-minded."
I. THE NATURE OF THIS DUTY.
1. Young men ought to be thoughtful, not rash and impulsive. The Lord says to them, "Consider your ways."
2. They should be circumspect, not heady and reckless, using that Word which "giveth to the young man knowledge and discretion."
3. They should not be self-indulgent, but self-denying. Not "lovers of pleasure, but lovers of God." "Turn away mine eyes from viewing vanity." 4. They should be settled in feeling and conduct, not vacillating or giddy. "Let your hearts be fixed" (Psalms 108:1). "He that wavers is as a wave of the sea "(James 1:6).
II. REASONS FOR SOBER-MINDEDNESS.
1. It is according to the dictates of right reason. It is a great thing to receive the spirit of a "sound mind." Young men are never in a right mind till they sit clothed at the feet of Jesus.
2. Consider the snares and sorrows and drawbacks of life.
3. Consider that death may early reach the young.
4. Consider the number of young men who are ruined by the want of sober-mindedness.
5. The young must answer in the judgment for their follies in this life.—T.C.
Titus himself a pattern of good works.
As a faithful minister of God, he was to mirror forth in his life and teaching the doctrines of the gospel.
I. THE MINISTER OUGHT TO BE A PATTERN OF GOOD WORKS.
1. His teaching is useless unless it is enforced by the power of a holy example. There must be a harmony between his doctrine and his life.
2. Good works are the natural proofs of good principles, and can only issue from the fountain of a purified heart. The very principles are tested by the preacher's life.
3. His whole life is to be an ensample. "In all things." This implies consistency in toil, endurance, and teaching.
II. THE MINISTER MUST BE A PATTERN BOTH IN THE SUBSTANCE AND IN THE SPIRIT OF HIS TEACHING. Teaching is his special sphere.
1. It must be imparted in a right spirit. "In doctrine showing uncorruptness and gravity."
2. The doctrine imparted must be sound and convincing. "Sound speech, that cannot be condemned."
(a) Ministers must expect their words to be sharply criticized as well as their lives.
(b) The truth ought to be conveyed in such a spirit and with such a regard to the analogy of faith that it cannot be justly found fault with.
(c) It must effectually silence gainsayers. "That he that is of the contrary part may be ashamed, having no bad thing to say of us." Whether the adversary be a false teacher or a pagan, the sound speech ought to reduce him to shame and silence.—T.C.
The duties of servants.
The class of servants, or rather slaves, had. received a wonderful elevation through the gospel. They were an oppressed class, and may have been tempted to imagine that their religious emancipation would necessarily change their relations to their old masters. Thus we account for the large body of practical counsel that is addressed by the apostle to this class of believers.
I. THE DUTIES OF SERVANTS.
1. Obedience. "Exhort servants to be obedient to their own masters." This was a manifest obligation which the gospel did not annul. It may have been a hard duty, but the gospel supplied grace for the faithful discharge of it. It mattered not whether the master was a Christian or a pagan; the gospel did not destroy his claims to obedient service. But the obedience was necessarily limited by the Divine Law, for a servant could not sin at a master's command. He must in that case willingly suffer the consequences of disobedience.
2. A cheerful compliance with the, master's will. "And to please them well in all things; not answering again." It denotes that temper which anticipates a master's pleasure, rather than the disposition to thwart it by sullen and capricious ways. Thus they would be doing the will of God and. serving the common Master of all, Jesus Christ, who gave them an example of meekness and submission.
3. Honesty and fidelity. "Not purloining, but showing all good fidelity." Many slaves in ancient times were entrusted with the property of their masters, as merchants, physicians, and artists. Thus they had many ways or' showing their honesty. It was in their power to defraud them by embezzlement, or to waste the property, or to allow it to be wasted without check or rebuke. Servants were to have family interests at heart, and they were thus to commend themselves to the love and confidence of their masters.
II. THE DESIGN OR MOTIVE OF THIS FAITHFUL AND READY OBEDIENCE. "That they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in all things."
1. The Savior is as fully glorified in the servant as in the master, in the poor as in the rich, in the peasant as in the king. Indeed, the adornment of the gospel seems more manifest in the obedience of the lowest class; for of the other classes specified it was only said "that God's Name might not be blasphemed." Calvin says God deigns to receive adornment even from slaves.
2. The Lord lifts the slave out of his mean conditions when he seats him on equal conditions of blessing and honor at the same holy table.
3. The spectacle of cheerful and self-denying obedience on the part of this class would have an arresting influence upon an age of self-love and cynicism, such as that which influenced the world at that time.—T.C.