But speak thou the things which befit the sound doctrine:
that aged men be temperate, grave, sober-minded, sound in faith, in love, in patience:
that aged women likewise be reverent in demeanor, not slanderers nor enslaved to much wine, teachers of that which is good;
that they may train the young women to love their husbands, to love their children,
to be sober-minded, chaste, workers at home, kind, being in subjection to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed:
the younger men likewise exhort to be sober-minded:
in all things showing thyself an ensample of good works; in thy doctrine showing uncorruptness, gravity, sound speech, that cannot be condemned; that he that is of the contrary part may be ashamed, having no evil thing to say of us.
Exhort servants to be in subjection to their own masters, and to be well-pleasing to them in all things; not gainsaying; not purloining, but showing all good fidelity; that they may adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things.
For the grace of God hath appeared, bringing salvation to all men,
instructing us, to the intent that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly and righteously and godly in this present world;
looking for the blessed hope and appearing of the glory of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;
who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto Himself a people for His own possession, zealous of good works.
These things speak and exhort and reprove with all authority. Let no man despise thee.
Heavenly Father, we do thank Thee for the precious blood of our Lord Jesus and for the new and living way which He has opened for us through His body.
We do praise and thank Thee that, knowing He is our High Priest, interceding for us at Thy right hand, we dare to approach the throne of grace, looking for mercy and for grace.
We ask Thee, Lord, that as we are in Thy presence, Thou wilt shine upon us. Give us the spirit of wisdom and revelation, that we may truly know Thee.
We pray that Christ will reveal Himself not only to us, but in us; that Christ may be formed and expressed through us. To Him be all the glory, in the name of our Lord Jesus. Amen.
We mentioned before that 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, and Titus form a group because these three letters are written to individuals. First and Second Timothy are written to Timothy, and Titus is written to Titus. Yet, even though they are written to individuals, they deal with church matters.
In 1 Timothy, we see Christ in church order. In 2 Timothy, we see Christ in church crisis. Now, in the letter to Titus, we shall see Christ in church discipline.
Before we go into this letter, perhaps a little background will be helpful. This letter is written to Titus. Now, who is Titus?
It is interesting that the name Titus is never mentioned in the book of Acts. Paul had two young associates in the work of God: Timothy and Titus. We find Timothy’s name many times in the book of Acts, but Titus’ name is never there. Yet, through the other writings of the Apostle Paul—for instance, 2 Corinthians, Galatians, and, of course, the Epistle to Titus—we know that he was there.
Titus was most probably a native of Syria and Antioch. He was a Gentile—not like Timothy. Timothy was half Jew and half Gentile, because Timothy’s father was a Greek, but his mother was Jewish. Titus was a Gentile believer.
He came to know the Lord Jesus through the Apostle Paul, just like Timothy. That is why Paul sometimes called Timothy his son in the faith, and he called Titus the same thing. Both of them served the Lord with Paul and under Paul.
At the council in Jerusalem, Paul took Titus with him to Jerusalem—not in the sense of participating in the discussion, but to use him as a test case to see whether a Gentile should be circumcised. Titus was in Jerusalem during that council, and he was not compelled to be circumcised, because the truth prevailed.
We do not see Titus with the Apostle Paul on his second missionary journey. But during his third missionary journey, Paul sent Titus from Ephesus to Corinth to find out what happened after Paul’s letter to the Corinthians. Titus later met Paul in Macedonia and gave him a good report, which comforted Paul very much. Then he was sent back to Corinth to complete the work.
Titus was most likely a little older than Timothy. Both had been with Paul as his companions, but it seems that the relationship between Paul and Timothy was more intimate than his relationship with Titus. These two young men were very different—not only in background, but also in temperament and gifts.
Timothy was brought up in a believing family. His grandmother Lois and his mother Eunice were devout women, and they trained Timothy from his boyhood. Titus did not have that kind of background, because he came from a totally heathen family.
Timothy, by nature, was timid and shy. But Titus seems to have been made of a stronger and sterner disposition. Timothy seems to have been a born follower. He liked to follow and to live under the shadow of somebody else. Paul had to stir him up and push him to the front, because that was not his disposition.
Titus, however, seems to have been different. It seems that Titus was born with leadership capacity. He could take initiative. He had something of an aggressive character.
Paul sent Timothy to Ephesus, but he sent Titus to Corinth, and later to Crete. It is interesting to see that Paul knew the limitations, gifts, and ministries of his young associates. Corinth was a very difficult place. Titus was a troubleshooter—a careful person, discerning and disciplined, yet strong and patient in his use of the Lord.
To go back a little, in order to understand the time: after Paul was released from Roman imprisonment, he began to travel and visit some old places, such as Asia and Philippi. He probably went to Spain with Titus.
After his release, on his way to Asia Minor and Ephesus, Paul passed the island of Crete. Crete is a large island in the Mediterranean Sea. We have no record that Paul had visited that island before and worked there. It seems that this was the first time Paul really visited the island.
When he passed through Crete, he discovered that there were Christians and churches there. We do not know how these Christians came to be on that island or how these churches began. But most likely, these Christians were among the original believers—that is, people who had been in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost.
On the day of Pentecost, Jewish people came from all over the world to attend the feast. There were people from Crete there. Evidently, these Cretans heard the message given by the Apostle Peter and the eleven apostles. They were converted, saved, and baptized; then they went back to their native island. Probably through their preaching, other people were saved and churches were established throughout the island.
When Paul visited Crete, therefore, he found Christians already there and churches already established on the island. Yet the Cretans did not have a good reputation. Even one of their own prophets described them as “always liars, evil beasts, idle gluttons.”
The Cretans did not have a good name because they were natural liars. Even in English there is the word cretanizing, which means lying. There was a saying, “Play the Cretan with a Cretan,” meaning to trick a Cretan. They were not only liars but, as their prophet said, evil beasts. Many of them were bandits. They loved to enjoy the pleasures of this world and to satisfy their lusts.
Every race or nation seems to have certain national or racial traits. The Cretans had traits that were not commendable. But the wonderful thing is that even Cretans can be saved. The salvation of our Lord Jesus is so wonderful that He can save anybody—even a Cretan.
There were Christians on that island. There were churches on that island. There is the glory of the gospel of Jesus Christ. There is no sinner impossible for God to save. The salvation of our Lord Jesus reaches the chief of sinners. Therefore, there is hope for everyone. Thank God for that.
Yet because these Cretan believers naturally had such bad dispositions, habits, customs, environments, and behaviours, their transformation took time. Of course, the Lord is able to save them to the uttermost—that is, to transform them completely—but transformation takes time.
When Paul visited them, he found that everything was in disorder. There was no order there. They were the Lord’s, but their understanding of the finished work of Christ on the cross was insufficient. They did not know the daily working of the Holy Spirit in their lives, sanctifying and transforming them.
They probably did not know that, on the cross of Jesus Christ, our old man was crucified. Certainly, their old man was not very commendable. It seems that they were still living much of their lives according to the old life received from Adam. Their old habits and dispositions were evident in the churches among the believers, to the great disgrace of God.
Paul did not have much time to stay there because he had to travel and visit many other places. Finally, he left Titus behind on the island of Crete. He said, “I left thee in Crete, that thou shouldest set in order the things that are wanting.”
Thus, although the letter was written to an individual, it is centred upon the matter of discipline. The Cretans were an undisciplined people, not only by nature but, even as believers, still undisciplined in their personal lives and church life. Therefore, it is a letter on church discipline. We shall see Christ in church discipline.
Discipline is a necessity of life, even in the natural realm. After life comes upon this earth, that life needs to grow, develop, and mature into manhood and womanhood. But how can life develop properly? It develops through discipline. If there is no discipline, growth becomes wild and will not be right.
Character is developed through discipline. If this is true in natural life, it is also true spiritually. Spiritually, we have received a new life, but this new life in us can only grow and develop through discipline.
The word discipline carries the thought of “saving the mind.” Dear brothers and sisters, even though we have received the life of Christ in us, the old life received from Adam needs to be dealt with by the cross.
If the self-life, the natural life, and the flesh are not put away through the cross of the Lord Jesus, then they will suppress the new life—the life of Christ within us. It is by the setting aside of the flesh that the Spirit, the life of Christ in us, is given opportunity to grow, develop, and be expressed.
All this can only be done through discipline. Christian character is beautiful. What God is looking for in us is character: to be conformed to the image of His beloved Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.
The image here does not refer to outward appearance. It refers to inward character. The Holy Spirit today is building up Christ’s character in the believer. But in the process of building Christ’s character, discipline is the means; it is an absolute necessity.
Unfortunately, when we hear the word discipline, we draw back. We think discipline is a hard word. We do not like to hear the word discipline; we would rather hear the word freedom. But do you know that discipline actually is a sweet word?
Discipline is not negative at all. Sometimes negative means have to be applied, that is true. But discipline itself is very positive. It is saving the mind. In other words, it is to save a person, develop a person, complete a person, and bring that person to maturity.
In the Epistle to Titus, many forms of discipline are mentioned. For instance, in the last verse of Titus 2, it says, “These things speak, and exhort, and rebuke with all authority.”
Speaking is a form of discipline because discipline is not only corrective; it is also instructive. Here discipline is education. It is not only to correct what is wrong, but also to instruct what is right.
Exhortation is another form of discipline. To exhort is to encourage on the one hand and to warn on the other hand: to encourage those who are on the right track, and to warn those who are going in the wrong direction.
Rebuke is another form of discipline. Sometimes rebuke has to be applied, with all authority. In the same letter, we also find the word teach. Titus 2:12 speaks of grace “teaching us,” and the original word carries with it the thought of discipline. Teaching is discipline.
To put in line, remind people, stop the mouths of deceivers, admonish, and even refuse fellowship with an unrepentant divisive person—these are all forms of discipline. Discipline can come in many different forms, but let us remember that discipline is not negative.
Discipline in Scripture is based upon love. There can be no discipline without love. Do not try to exercise discipline if there is no love.
God loves us; therefore, He chastens us. He disciplines us because we are His children. The whole idea of discipline is based on love. It is because of love that God disciplines His children. It is because of love that we need to be disciplined. It is because of love that we may sometimes be used as instruments in God’s hand to exercise discipline. There is nothing legalistic about it.
Discipline must also be in the power of the Holy Spirit. Unless it is in the power of the Holy Spirit, it is not effectual.
In this letter, we can see at least three areas of discipline:
Dear brothers and sisters, the church is not a democracy. It is not a Laodicean condition—that is, the opinions of the people ruling. The church is a theocracy. God rules over His house.
Christ is the Head of the church. The government is upon His shoulder. He is the authority over His house. In Crete, it seems as if the believers were very democratic. There was absolutely no order. Everyone could do or say whatever he or she wanted.
But the church is not a democracy. It is not the opinion of the people or majority rule. The church is a theocracy. God rules. His Son rules over His house. He is the Head. Because of this, there needs to be order.
The church is not chaos. There is order in the church. Yet church order is not a matter of organization; it is the outgrowth of life. There must be order, but it is not produced merely through organizing. This order comes from life growing up. Life expresses itself in order.
Christ is the Head of the church. To maintain order, there must be some who bear responsible positions: the elders. It seems that the churches in Crete, although they may have existed for a long time, never had elders.
They maintained a kind of democratic society. There was no order, no authority, and there was chaos. Paul knew that elders had to be chosen and appointed in order that the church might have order.
Who are the persons to be chosen to take responsibility in the church? Paul mentions a number of qualifications—perhaps fifteen or sixteen. But remember, this is not an exhaustive list. Even if one seems to fulfil every item on the list, that does not automatically mean he ought to be an elder. It is a suggestive list, not an exhaustive one.
If you compare the list in Titus with 1 Timothy, you find variations. In other words, Paul is illustrating the kind of elders who need to be chosen.
The qualifications for elders are very different from the qualifications for an executive in a company. When you choose an executive in a corporation, you look for ability. But in finding elders for the church, ability is very minor. It is minimal.
Perhaps only two qualifications relate directly to ability: ruling one’s house well, and having the ability to refute those who teach false doctrine. But most of the qualifications relate to what the world would call morality and what we should call spirituality.
Morality, as such, can be the improvement, cultivation, refining, or polishing of the old man. But spirituality is developed through the spiritual life in a person. It is the knowledge of the Lord—an intimate, experiential knowledge of the Lord—developed into Christian character.
Those chosen as elders are not simply people with ability; they are people with spirituality, that is, Christian character developed through discipline. How can anyone rule, supervise, oversee, shepherd, or lead the church—the assembly of the living God—unless he has first been disciplined by the Lord?
The quality of an elder is discipline: a person who has been disciplined by the Lord and has known the Lord’s dealings. Because he has been disciplined, Christian character has developed in him, and that qualifies him to oversee, shepherd, and lead the flock of God.
The elders of the church shepherd the flock of God. In Psalm 23, the shepherd has two instruments in his hand: a staff and a rod. The staff is to lead; the rod is to discipline.
Those in leadership have responsibility for the spiritual affairs of the flock. They are to lead God’s people, and sometimes they have to exercise discipline over them. Unless we ourselves are disciplined, how can we exercise oversight over other people?
In church government, God is looking for disciplined people so that His discipline may be exercised through them.
The churches in Crete had a deep problem. Titus 1:10 says:
For there are many unruly men, vain talkers and deceivers, specially they of the circumcision,
whose mouths must be stopped;
men who overthrow whole houses, teaching things which they ought not, for filthy lucre’s sake.
In 1 Timothy, Paul mentioned that there were some teaching other things which should not be taught. But in Titus there were many unruly, vain talkers and deceivers. Think of that.
The ministry of the word of God is very important to the church. When God’s people assemble together, they hear the word of God. Therefore, there should be people who minister the word in order to build up the faith of God’s people.
Yet in church history we tend to go to two extremes: all-man ministry and one-man ministry. In some places, everybody is allowed to minister the word of God. Just as in Crete, everybody can speak. There are many speakers, but they are disorderly. They speak vain things and bring in things that deceive people in order to make gain for themselves.
All-man ministry is democracy. God has not given the gift of speaking and teaching to every member of the body of Christ. He gave such gifts to some, but not to all. Those who are called, gifted, trained, and developed should minister. Not everybody can minister.
Then people go to the other extreme: one-man ministry. In the whole assembly, only one man is always teaching and preaching, and nobody else ministers. Certainly that is not right either.
It is neither all-man ministry nor one-man ministry. It is the ministry of those teachers and prophets whom God has called and gifted, and through that ministry the church can be edified.
The elders must look after this matter. The shepherd goes before the flock to find the right pasture for the sheep and to keep the sheep away from pastures with poisonous herbs.
At certain seasons and times, sheep need certain kinds of grass. It is the responsibility of the shepherd to find the pasture and to keep the sheep away from poisonous grass and herbs. This is part of the responsibility of the eldership.
They are to see that the people of God are well fed with sound teaching and solid teaching, because only the teaching of Christ can build up God’s people. He is our food.
Sometimes they have to exercise authority to stop the mouths of those who make vain speeches and deceive people with unsound things. It may seem hard, but remember: it is all because of love.
God loves His people and does not want them to be fed poisonous food. He wants His people to be well fed with the finest of the wheat—that is, Christ. This is part of the work of the eldership, and it requires those in eldership to be highly disciplined themselves. They need to set an example, a model, to all God’s people.
Discipline in the church involves fellowship because the church is the assembling of God’s people. The church in action is fellowship. God’s people come together to share together, to have things in common, and to share with one another the Christ whom they know, that they may enrich one another.
Whomever Christ receives, we receive. The church as a fellowship must receive everyone whom Christ receives. Everyone who believes in the Lord Jesus has His life within him or her. Because we share the same life, we are exhorted—even commanded—to assemble together, encourage one another, exhort one another, admonish one another, and build one another up in love.
But we must remember that this fellowship is a fellowship of light. There is no fellowship between light and darkness. The fellowship of the church is a fellowship of life and light.
If we walk in the light, as He is in the light,
we have fellowship one with another,
and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanseth us from all sin.
When sin comes in, when disobedience comes in, when rebellion comes in, when the flesh comes in, when the world comes in, and when things not of God come in, all these represent darkness. When these things come in, they affect fellowship. Therefore, discipline is needed for fellowship.
God’s people often do not like discipline. Unfortunately, they do not like discipline in their personal lives, and perhaps especially they do not like discipline in the church. They want the church to be a free-for-all, where everybody can do whatever he likes.
But are discipline and love contradictory? On the contrary, discipline is because of love. The church is God’s house and the kingdom of the Son of God’s love. Because there is love in the church, discipline should be most evident in the church. As a matter of fact, if there is no discipline, there is no church.
How is church discipline to be applied? Unfortunately, throughout the ages, discipline in Christianity has been abused. Because of this, it has become legalistic and judicial. But discipline, in its nature, is not judicial. Discipline, in its nature, is love.
In the New Testament, there are at least three levels of discipline:
The last is church discipline.
Church discipline is the last level to be practised. After everything else has been exhausted, then one comes to the final level. Not everything must be disciplined by the church. If a matter has been dealt with effectively in a brotherly relationship, there is no need for the church to exercise discipline.
In Matthew 18, we find the matter of a brother sinning against another. Suppose there are brothers and sisters among us. We are not perfect, and from time to time, though hopefully not often, one may sin against another.
What should we do? Do we bring it immediately to the church and ask the church to judge it? Never. That would be judicial. If we did that, the church would become a permanent court.
If a brother sins against you, do not broadcast it among the brethren. Do not bring it to the church right away. First, forgive him. But that is not enough. Even if you forgive him, he may still be in darkness. You have to restore him.
Discipline is for restoration. Basically, it is never for punishment. Therefore, after you have forgiven him, you should go to him and speak the truth in love—not to vindicate yourself.
Sometimes someone wrongs us, and we go to him because we want to prove that we are right. If you go in that spirit, you will find yourselves further apart. But if you go and say, “Brother, you may not know it, but you did such a thing to me, and it was wrong. It was not right before the Lord,” then you are trying to bring light to that brother.
If he is in darkness, his fellowship with the Lord and his fellowship with you are affected. If a brother sins against you and the matter is never dealt with, there is always a kind of shadow between you and that brother. Your fellowship is affected.
Therefore, it is your responsibility of love to go to the brother and say, “I want to have full fellowship with you. Because this matter stands in the way, it has to be cleared. You did the wrong thing. You have to come back to God through the Lord.”
If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. But if he does not listen, your responsibility is not finished, because love goes the second mile. Take one or two other brothers with you—not just any brothers or sisters, but those respected by both parties—to serve as witnesses.
By the mouth of two or three witnesses, every matter is established. This shows that you are not merely trying to prove yourself right; you desire your brother to be recovered and restored.
If the brother still does not listen, then bring the matter to the church. The church, represented by its leadership, should speak with him: “Brother, we see that you are in darkness. You have to repent, because your fellowship is affected.”
If he does not listen to the church, what happens? Do you excommunicate him? No. Christianity has often done wrong in using this passage to excommunicate people. But read Matthew 18:17 carefully:
And if he refuse to hear them, tell it unto the church:
and if he refuse to hear the church also,
let him be unto thee as the Gentile and the publican.
Notice the words, “unto thee.” It does not mean that the church has excommunicated him. It means that, in your personal relationship with him, you look upon him as one of the nations and a tax collector.
His sin is not serious enough to affect the whole assembly, but it is serious enough to affect your personal relationship. Therefore, it has to be dealt with personally. From that day onward, you look upon that brother as an unbeliever or a tax collector. But how do you look upon an unbeliever or a tax collector? Do you despise him? No. You love him.
This is discipline on a brotherly basis. If more of this were exercised among God’s people, the church would not need to exercise much discipline, because matters would be settled beforehand. But when discipline becomes judicial in character, it is wrong.
Secondly, there is discipline in a fatherly relationship. God, as our heavenly Father, disciplines us in order to make us His sons and daughters.
Among God’s people, there are those who are more spiritual. They have known the Lord in a deeper way, have a larger measure of Christ in their lives, have gone through more, and have been disciplined by the Lord more. Because of their experience, they have a kind of fatherly care over brothers and sisters who are less mature.
Galatians 6:1 says:
Brethren, even if a man be overtaken in any trespass,
ye who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness;
looking to thyself, lest thou also be tempted.
There are some in the church who are as fathers. When they see someone in fault, they recognise what may not yet be apparent to the one who has fallen, because they have experience. They do not want to see that person go further down the road. They love him.
They seek to restore him in a spirit of meekness. They do not merely rebuke and blame him. They may say, “The Lord has dealt with me in this matter. Therefore, my eyes have been opened. I can see that this thing in your life will lead you astray. So I exhort you, I beg you, and I plead with you, with tears, that you repent and come back.”
When you do this, be careful. Do not think you are better than the other person. You may be tempted and fall too. This is discipline on a fatherly basis.
If neither brotherly discipline nor fatherly discipline works, and if the matter becomes something that will corrupt the whole church, then the church has to exercise discipline.
The church is like a lump of unleavened bread. As Paul said in 1 Corinthians 5, “Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump?” Corrupt conduct or false teaching, if allowed to remain in the church, will begin to leaven the whole assembly and destroy its testimony.
When the church exercises discipline, remember that it must always be in love. One brother said that the very thought of one brother disciplining another person whom the Lord loves is a terrifying responsibility. Who are you that you can judge another? Do you not know yourself? Do you not know your own weakness? How dare you do such a thing?
But the thought of love overcomes this. It is not because I am better than you are, but because I love you for God’s sake. Therefore, I am willing to pay the cost, even sometimes to be misunderstood, because I want you to be restored.
Discipline is never divorced from love. In 1 Corinthians 5, there was a brother who committed a sin that even the world did not approve of, and he persisted in it. Paul said that if he were allowed to remain in the church, he would leaven the whole lump and destroy the testimony of the church.
But before the church could exercise discipline, Paul sought to awaken the conscience of the whole church. The whole church had to identify itself with that brother and repent before the Lord. Only when the conscience of the whole church was awakened—“Oh, we have sinned against God”—could discipline be applied to purge the leaven from the lump.
Even then, the action had to be taken with tears and sorrow of heart. To put a brother or sister out of fellowship is a serious matter. How dare we do such a thing unless it is absolutely necessary?
The reason the man had to be put out was that he might be put to shame and restored. In 2 Corinthians, we find that the man was restored. He was put out so that the leaven would not remain and the purity of the testimony of Jesus might be preserved—but not in self-righteousness. It must be done in humility.
The brother put out of fellowship should not be treated with hatred. No one keeps company with him so that he may be brought to repentance and desire restoration. The limit of church discipline is the church itself. After a person is put out, he is no longer under the discipline of the church, because we judge those who are inside, not those who are outside.
Even though fellowship is suspended, that does not mean you may hate that brother. You may look upon him as an unbeliever, but you love an unbeliever. You want to see that unbeliever saved and brought back to the Lord. Admonish him as a brother; do not treat him as an enemy.
The church is the assembly of believers. Therefore, if we as individual believers are disciplined, the church does not need to exercise much discipline. Unfortunately, if we as individuals are undisciplined, then the church has many disciplinary problems.
Fundamentally, discipline has to begin with each individual. In Titus 2, the words “sober” and “discreet” occur again and again. These words deal with personal and family relationships, and they carry the thought of self-control.
Self-control is one of the elements of the fruit of the Spirit. In Galatians 5, the fruit of the Spirit is love and so forth, and the last item is self-control. But self-control does not mean that you merely control yourself by your own power. Self-control means that you put yourself under the control of the Holy Spirit.
The older men are to be self-controlled. The older women are to be self-controlled. The younger women are to be self-controlled. The younger men are to be self-controlled. As men and women, we all need self-control.
That is, we need to put ourselves under the discipline of the Holy Spirit. In daily life, let the Holy Spirit speak to you. Let the Holy Spirit train you. Let the Holy Spirit take away things in your life that God is not pleased with, and reveal within you that which will satisfy God’s heart—the life of Christ in you.
If in your daily life you follow the Holy Spirit and come under His discipline, then you are self-controlled.
Young men and women need self-control, but that does not mean older men and older women do not need it. When you are young, you may still have some willpower. For policy’s sake, you may be able to control yourself.
For example, if you are in a store and a difficult customer comes in, looks at all kinds of things, and does not buy anything, you try to control yourself. But that may be merely for policy’s sake. You may exercise a kind of self-control through willpower, but that is not the real thing. The only real self-control is through the Holy Spirit.
No discipline is effective without the power of the Holy Spirit. When you get older, you may find that your willpower becomes weaker. Therefore, older men and older women need self-control too.
Especially if you were never disciplined when you were young, then when you are old, you will find it very difficult. But even if you were disciplined while young, you still need discipline when you are old. Everybody needs discipline. Not only children need discipline; you need discipline.
Discipline is not only a matter of personal life; it is also a matter of family life, because family life involves relationships, and our relationships need to come under discipline.
Children, obey your parents in the Lord.
Parents, do not provoke your children to the point that they lose heart. Husbands, love your wives. Wives, submit yourselves to your husbands.
Older women who are disciplined can teach younger women to be disciplined: to care for their homes, to love their husbands, to love their children, and to be subject to their husbands. There is family relationship that needs to come under discipline.
Finally, there is social life. We still live in this world, even though we are strangers and sojourners. We have a testimony to bear in this world. Therefore, we need to be subject to the authorities that God has placed over us.
These things are not merely teachings, rules, and regulations. As you read the Epistle to Titus, you find that everything is connected with the mercy of God, the salvation of our Lord Jesus, and the power of the Holy Spirit.
God has saved us from all these undisciplined things. By His grace, we have become a people for His own possession. With such mercy and grace upon us, He is able to discipline us and bring us to the point where we will be perfected—that is, matured, transformed, and conformed to the image of God’s beloved Son.
That is the ultimate purpose. So, dear brothers and sisters, I hope we will correct our concept of discipline, have a right understanding of discipline, and not shun it. On the contrary, we should welcome discipline, because it is for our profit and our opportunity.
Dear heavenly Father, we need Thy Holy Spirit to refresh our hearts and interpret what we have just shared, that we may come to a right understanding and be brought to a willingness to submit ourselves to Thee and to Thy discipline.
O our Father, we pray that we may not be a wild people, but that we may be a people for Thy possession, a disciplined people unto the Lord. We ask in Thy precious name. Amen.