God's Plan for Older Men

Titus 2:2

Sunday, April 11, 2010

 

We are in chapter 2 of Paul's letter to Titus, where Paul gives very practical and very specific instructions to different groups in the local church.  Paul addresses five groups in the church: older men (2:2); older women (2:3); young women (2:4-5); younger men (2:6); Elders or Pastors as represented by Titus (2:7-8); and, slaves (2:9-10).

 

Before addressing these various groups Paul introduces his words with a statement in Titus 2:1 But as for you, teach what accords with sound doctrine.

 

"But as for you" contrasts Titus with the false teachers that Paul has just described (1:10-16). Paul said that these men were insubordinate, empty talkers and deceivers, who were upsetting whole families for shameful gain (1:10-11) They were teaching Jewish myths and the commandments of men, rather than the truth of God's Word (1:14). Their  unbiblical teaching does not lead to godliness and good deeds (Tit 1:16 says, "They are detestable, disobedient, unfit for any good work.").

 

By contrast, Titus was to "teach what accords with sound doctrine." Simply put, it means Titus was to give practical application of sound doctrine. Paul's method of instruction always included sound doctrine and practical Christian living that flowed out of it. As someone said, "To have doctrine without practice is dead orthodoxy. To have practice without the foundation of sound doctrine is just human moralism."

 

Today, we will look at God's plan for the older men in the church.

 

Titus 2:2 ESV  Older men are to be sober-minded, dignified, self-controlled, sound in faith, in love, and in steadfastness.

 

q     The phrase "older man" comes from a word in Greek which means "old or elderly man."

 

q     The word is used three times in the NT:

-         Titus 2:2 ESV  Older men are to be sober-minded, dignified, self-controlled, sound in faith, in love, and in steadfastness.

-         Luke 1:18 ESV  And Zechariah said to the angel, "How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years."

-         Philemon 1:9 ESV  yet for love's sake I prefer to appeal to you--I, Paul, an old man and now a prisoner also for Christ Jesus--

 

q     Ancient Greek writers say that that ranges from 50 to 56 years old.

 

q     Some Bible scholars suggest that 60 may have been considered the point at which one passed into old age based on Leviticus 27 and 1Ti 5:9:

-          Lev 27:1-3The LORD spoke to Moses, saying,  2  "Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, If anyone makes a special vow to the LORD involving the valuation of persons,  3  then the valuation of a male from twenty years old up to sixty years old shall be fifty shekels of silver, according to the shekel of the sanctuary.

-          1 Timothy 5:9 ESV  Let a widow be enrolled if she is not less than sixty years of age, having been the wife of one husband,

 

q     MacArthur:

 

Perhaps a good definition of it will flow out of Luke 1:18, Zacharias the father of John the Baptist had been told that he would have a son, that his wife would become pregnant and they would have a son and, of course, it would be John the Baptist. But Zacharias says, "How shall I know this for certain?" I mean, this seems impossible. Why? "For I am an old man and my wife is advanced in years." And he uses the word presbutes there which would lead us to believe that he is saying an old man is one who is unable to produce a child. So you're talking about an age where child production is no longer the norm. That's what the word means. It's talking about a man at that point in his life. And again Paul uses it to refer to himself in his sixties.

 

I checked the National Statistics Office website and I found a report which they released last March 18, 2005: http://www.census.gov.ph/data/sectordata/sr05151tx.html

The total number of senior citizens (60 years old and over) based on the 2000 Census of Population and Housing was 4.6 million, accounting for 5.97 percent of the 2000 Philippine population. ... The number of senior citizens is expected to reach seven million in 2010.

 

Just by looking at the people here in our congregation, I guess we have 5 to 10 persons who are senior citizens.

 

I read some humorous things regarding getting old.

q      American comedian and actor Bob Hope said, "You know you're old when the candles cost more than the cake."

q      A famous writer of crime novels, Agatha Christie, wrote on one occasion that she married an archaeologist. And someone asked why would you marry an archaeologist...to which she replied, "Because the older I get the more he'll appreciate me."

q      Washington Irving, an American author, best known for his short stories "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" and "Rip Van Winkle", said, "Whenever a man's friends begin to compliment him about looking young, he may be sure that they think he is growing old."

 

But humor aside, old age does carry with it negative aspects:

q      Infirmities come with old age.

2 Samuel 19:34-35 ESV  But Barzillai said to the king, ...  35  I am this day eighty years old. Can I discern what is pleasant and what is not? Can your servant taste what he eats or what he drinks? Can I still listen to the voice of singing men and singing women? ...

Ecclesiastes 12:1-7 from the Amplified Bible

1 REMEMBER [earnestly] also your Creator [that you are not your own, but His property now] in the days of your youth, before the evil days come or the years draw near when you will say [of physical pleasures], I have no enjoyment in them--

2 Before the sun and the light and the moon and the stars are darkened [sight is impaired], and the clouds [of depression] return after the rain [of tears];

3 In the day when the keepers of the house [the hands and the arms] tremble, and the strong men [the feet and the knees] bow themselves, and the grinders [the molar teeth] cease because they are few, and those who look out of the windows [the eyes] are darkened;

4 When the doors [the lips] are shut in the streets and the sound of the grinding [of the teeth] is low, and one rises up at the voice of a bird and the crowing of a cock, and all the daughters of music [the voice and the ear] are brought low;

5 Also when [the old] are afraid of danger from that which is high, and fears are in the way, and the almond tree [their white hair] blooms, and the grasshopper [a little thing] is a burden, and desire and appetite fail, because man goes to his everlasting home and the mourners go about the streets or marketplaces.⁽²⁾

6 [Remember your Creator earnestly now] before the silver cord [of life] is snapped apart, or the golden bowl is broken, or the pitcher is broken at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern [and the whole circulatory system of the blood ceases to function];

7 Then shall the dust [out of which God made man's body] return to the earth as it was, and the spirit shall return to God Who gave it.

q      Sometimes, there's also the sinful habits that come with age.

Ecclesiastes 4:13 ESV  Better was a poor and wise youth than an old and foolish king who no longer knew how to take advice.

John MacArthur says, "We become creatures of somewhat formidable and unbreakable habits. And the longer we do them the harder they are to deal with. Sometimes even our besetting sins become so much a part of the fabric of our lives that even recognition of them becomes difficult. Sometimes we get a little bit obstinate and a little bit stubborn and sometimes we think we know more than we do know..."

 

However, lest I be misunderstood, the general attitude of the Bible toward aging is positive:

 

q     Oswald Chambers (1874-1917) says, "The Hebrews regarded life as complete when it was full of days and riches and honor. Age was looked upon as a sign of favor. Whenever a nation becomes unspiritual, it reverses this order; the demand is not for old age but for youth. This reversal in the modern life of today is indicative of apostasy, not of advance."

 

q   The aged occupied a prominent place in the social and political system of the Jews. In private life, Their experience made them to be regarded as depositories of knowledge

-          Job 12:12 ESV  Wisdom is with the aged, and understanding in length of days.

-          Job 32:9 ESV  It is not the old who are wise, nor the aged who understand what is right.

 

q     the young were ordered to show respect to the aged. They were to rise up in their presence, Lev_19:32

-          Leviticus 19:32 ESV  "You shall stand up before the gray head and honor the face of an old man, and you shall fear your God: I am the LORD.

 

q     The aged were allowed them to give their opinion first

-          Job 32:4 ESV  Now Elihu had waited to speak to Job because they were older than he.

 

q     they were taught to regard gray hair as a "crown of glory

-          Proverbs 16:31 ESV  Gray hair is a crown of glory; it is gained in a righteous life.

-          Proverbs 20:29 ESV  The glory of young men is their strength, but the splendor of old men is their gray hair.

 

q     The attainment of old age was regarded as a special blessing.

-          Job 5:26 ESV  You shall come to your grave in ripe old age, like a sheaf gathered up in its season.

-          Genesis 15:15 ESV  As for yourself, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried in a good old age.

-          Psalms 91:16 ESV  With long life I will satisfy him and show him my salvation."

-          Proverbs 3:1-2 ESV  My son, do not forget my teaching, but let your heart keep my commandments,  2  for length of days and years of life and peace they will add to you.

 

q     Premature death was a temporal judgment for sin

-          1 Samuel 2:32 ESV  Then in distress you will look with envious eye on all the prosperity that shall be bestowed on Israel, and there shall not be an old man in your house forever.)

 

q     It is a blessing to communities when they have old men among them

-          Zechariah 8:4 ESV  Thus says the LORD of hosts: Old men and old women shall again sit in the streets of Jerusalem, each with staff in hand because of great age.

 

q      Jesus Christ is portrayed with the white hair of old age

-          Revelation 1:14 ESV  The hairs of his head were white like wool, as white as snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire).

 

John MacArthur:

Just because you're growing old life doesn't have to be bleak. ... All those who know Christ, all those who have walked with Him for any length of time should look forward to old age because it takes us nearer to heaven, doesn't it? It puts us in a situation where we have accumulated spiritual experience which makes us truly rich. It enables us to be the leaders and the mentors and the models and the examples for the young. It allows us to filter out life and keep what we think is really valuable. Should be a good time.

The aging of Christians is a blessing. It's the aged people in the congregation that provide its strength, its stability and its wisdom. Older believers should they be in great numbers in the future in the church are going to make the church a better place, a richer place. The maturity of godliness will be a benediction to the body of Christ.

Somebody old who has walked a long time in the path of righteousness is a treasure, a treasure of wisdom and a treasure of experience and a treasure of understanding, a triumphant Christian who has fought the battle over and over and over and been victorious, who has experienced everything that the young are waiting to experience...become a great treasure to the church.

Those who can best declare the character of God are those who have walked with Him longest.

Older people then in a fellowship do become a treasure, a tremendous blessing. They bring spiritual experience, spiritual strength, spiritual endurance, spiritual wisdom to all of us. And if in the years ahead the church has an abundance of such people, what a source of blessing. But only if they walk in the way of righteousness.

 

There's no value in being old if you're not godly. There's no value in being old if you're not a model or an example. And so the Apostle Paul lays down some very specific characteristics that are to be manifest in the older people in the congregation. ... [Older] men here are called to be spiritually responsible to demonstrate godly character.

This is very important. In fact, it's so important in the church that if they don't do it they're to be rebuked. Back in 1 Timothy 5:1 Paul says, "Do not rebuke an older man but encourage him as you would a father." Now the assumption here is that in the life of the church older men are going to sin. And that's true. It doesn't mean that because I'm older, I'm over 50, over 60, over 70, or over 80 that all of a sudden I don't sin anymore...not so. And it is very reasonable to assume that the very fact that Paul is telling Titus to tell these men to behave this way indicates that there's a real possibility that some of them might not.

It is indicated in 1 Timothy 5:1 that the older men may need to be rebuked. They may need to be confronted about their sin. And Paul says if you do it, don't do it sharply. Don't do it cruelly. Do it graciously. You come alongside and appeal to him with the respect that you would give to a father.

Now Paul is saying to Titus, "You must confront the older men in your congregation and you must call them to this level of spiritual living or else...the implication is...they must be so confronted."

Every older man should set as his goal to come to the latter years of his life and be able to say with Paul, "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith," 2 Timothy 4:7. Every older man should be able to say, "I want you to be a follower of me as I am of Christ." Every older man should be able to say to the younger man, "Let me show you how to live life."

And so how are the older men to live? This is what we find in Titus 2:2 ESV  Older men are to be sober-minded, dignified, self-controlled, sound in faith, in love, and in steadfastness.

1. Nēphálios (sober-minded)

q      In the NT the term occurs in the listed requirements for elders (1 Tim. 3:2), deacon's wives (3:11), and older men (Tit. 2:2).

-         1 Timothy 3:2 ESV  Therefore an overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach,

-         1 Timothy 3:11 ESV  Their wives likewise must be dignified, not slanderers, but sober-minded, faithful in all things.

q      This word basically means "abstaining from wine" or temperate in the use of wine."

q      It also has the broader meaning of being sober-minded, clear headed, watchful, circumspect.

-         1 Peter 1:13 ESV  Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

-         1 Peter 4:7 ESV  The end of all things is at hand; therefore be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers.

-         1 Peter 5:8 ESV  Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.

q      In this context, nephalios refers to being free from all forms of excess or life-dominating patterns through the control of the Spirit (Eph. 5:18). This is seen in contrast to the "lazy gluttons," a term used to describe the false teachers.

 

q      MacArthur

He has learned the high cost of self-indulgent living. He has learned the high cost of filling out all his pleasures, satisfying all his whims, pursuing all his dreams. And he's now filtered through all of that and he's left a lot of stuff along the path discarded. When he was young it was a matter of accumulation. And as he accumulated he began to find out what really had value. As a young man he poured energy into a lot of things, as an older man he can look back and see where that energy was wasted in so many cases. As a young man he dreamed a thousand dreams and wanted to accomplish a thousand things and looks back only to a handful of things that had eternal value. As an older man he has a myriad of experiences one after another, day after day, month after month, year after year and life has been moderated by those experiences.

He has found that what he thought he wanted that would give him satisfaction never did. And all the possessions and all the accumulation and all the reputation and all the achievement and all the accolades have been somehow set aside on the path of life and discarded because they had no real value. He has come to a right value system.

2. Semnós, dignified

q     In the Pastoral letters, this is a quality required of the deacon, the deacon's wife, and the older person (1 Tim. 3:8, 11; Tit. 2:2).

q     The sense is "serious or grave, noble, and dignified, serious minded and not a clown.

q     This quality reveals a personal dignity and seriousness of purpose that invite honor and respect.

q     It combines the ideas of gravity and dignity that makes people worthy of respect.

 

q     William Barclay, revised and edited: The word means to be serious in purpose or to have the personal dignity that invites honor and respect. It does not imply being gloomy or lacking a sense of humor. Rather, it refers to someone who lives in light of eternity, knowing that very soon he will stand before God.

 

q     MacArthur

Secondly, they are to be dignified, semnos, serious, worthy of respect, venerable. It doesn't mean that they're boring, gloomy people, it must means they're not frivolous. They're not flippant. They're serious in life. I mean, they've lived long enough to see that life is a serious thing. They're over the feeling of immortality and invincibility that plagues young people. And they've seen too much and felt too much to be trivial. They've buried their parents in many cases, most cases. They've buried their sisters and brothers. They've stood in hospital waiting rooms while those they love died. They've been waiting for the surgeon to come out and explain what happened in the cancer surgery to a life partner. They've watched a child rebel. They've watched a child born who turned away from everything they believed in. They watched a child die of leukemia. They watched a child die of cancer. They've seen it all. They've felt it all. They have borne the burdens of their own life and family and the burdens of a myriad of other people with whom they have shared life. They've come to the disillusioning reality and fact that the world is not going to get any better and they couldn't make it any better and neither can anybody else. They've lived through all the anticipated utopian thoughts. They have lived through the hopeful euphorias that said we're going to fix everything. And they're down on the other side of it and they know with an honesty that life is the way it is because man is the way he is and he is not going to change by himself.

3. sōphrōn, Self-controlled

q     This word is a favorite of Paul in the Pastoral Epistles. It is used of elders (1 Tim. 3:2; Tit. 1:8), of the younger women (Tit. 2:5) and the verb form, sophroneo, is used of younger men (Tit. 2:6).

q     of a sound mind, sane, in one's senses or "in one's right mind

q     it means to be balanced and in control. He is in control of his mind and emotions so that he can act rationally and discreetly.

q     The sensible person is not impulsive or given over to various passions.

q     Since "temperate" as listed above contains the idea of self-control, perhaps the focus here is on "soundness of mind in thought and judgment."

q     Barclay: Over the years the senior men must have acquired that cleansing, saving strength of mind which has learned to govern every instinct and passion until each has its proper place and no more.

Then there are three more positive virtues that are all summed up in the final statement. Sound in faith, in love, in perseverance...sound means healthy, without weakness, without disease, without debilitation. They have strong well whole attitudes in these areas.

1.    First are to be healthy in faith.

q     Titus 1:13 ESV  This testimony is true. Therefore rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith,

q     "Faith" may be objective, as the doctrinal content of the faith professed, but the following two items suggest that it is subjective, their personal faith in the Lord.

q     Older men should have the healthy faith in God that comes from trusting God in the practical matters of life over the years.

q     MH. Sound in the faith, sincere and stedfast, constantly adhering to the truth of the gospel, not fond of novelties, nor ready to run into corrupt opinions or to be taken with Jewish fables or traditions.

q     NIVBC: "Faith" may be objective, as the doctrinal content of the faith professed, but the following two items suggest that it is subjective, their personal faith in the Lord.

q     Gill: they should be sound in the doctrine of faith, lest they should lead others into error; and their faith in Christ should appear to be right and genuine;

q     Barclay:     He must be healthy in faith. If a man lives really close to Christ, the passing of the years and the experiences of life far from taking his faith away will make his faith even stronger. The years must teach us, not to trust God less but to trust him more.

 

q     MacArthur

They have spiritual faith that is healthy, whole, well, sound, solid. What does that mean? That means their faith in God is unwavering. They've seen enough. They've been through enough. The 50, 60, 70, 80 years have shown them God and God is to be trusted, right? They don't doubt. They don't question God. They never lose their trust in God's good intention. They never lose their confidence in God's plan. They never lose their hope for God's sovereignty to fulfill itself. They never accuse God of disappointing them. They never doubt the truth of Scripture. They never question the power of the Holy Spirit. They never ever question whether the gospel can save. They know, they've seen it.

Those who have lived through all the years and God has shown Himself and shown Himself and shown Himself and shown Himself through all of the vicissitudes and struggles and all the difficulties of life, he has been there and he has proven himself and he's an old man now and he says...I believe God. And his faith holds up the church. He's strong. His faith is courageous because a life of believing has taught him to trust God. God has proven Himself faithful over the long years. In all the hospitals, at all the funerals, in all the losses and disappointments of life, God has been faithful. Through all of the sins and the temptations and trials and the repentances and the renewals, through all of the exposure to the truth and the application of the Word, it has been as God said it would be and He can be believed. And that kind of mature faith holds up the church. It gives us a faith to emulate.

2.    Secondly he says he is to be healthy in love.

q     NIVBC: They must be mature in their exercise of genuine "love," not bitter and vindictive

q     Barnes: The meaning is, that an old man should evince love for all, especially for those who are good. He should have overcome, at his time of life, all the fiery, impetuous, envious, wrathful passions of his early years, and his mind should be subdued into sweet benevolence to all mankind.

q     Barclay:     He must be healthy in love. It may well be that the greatest danger of age is that it should drift into censoriousness and fault-finding. Sometimes the years take kindly sympathy away. It is fatally possible for a man to become so settled in his ways that he comes unconsciously to resent all new thoughts and ways. But the years ought to bring, not increasing intolerance but increasing sympathy with the views and mistakes of others.

q     As you grow older, rather than becoming more grouchy or hard to live with, you should become more loving. Rather than becoming more intolerant and hardened towards others, you should become more gracious and compassionate. Measure yourself by the list in 1 Corinthians 13:4-7.

 

q     MacArthur

Here is a man who has learned through the years what ought to be loved and what not to love. His love is set on things that should be loved. He's learned to love when love is not returned. He's learned to love when love is rejected. He's learned to love when love isn't even deserved. He's learned to love and in his love to forgive and in his love to serve. He's learned to love patiently, kindly. His love is not jealous. His love does not brag. His love is not arrogant. It doesn't act unbecomingly. It doesn't seek its own. It isn't provoked. It doesn't take into account a wrong suffered. It never rejoices in somebody else's sin, it rejoices with the truth. His is a love that bears all things, believes all things and hopes all things, endures all things and his love never fails.

One of the tragedies of old age is when people become unloving and bitter and selfish. This older man that the church desperately needs is healthy in his love. He doesn't love out of emotion, he loves out of principle. He loves because it's right. He loves with his will not his feelings. Part of growing old is that you don't do everything by your feelings.

 

3.    Third, he is to be sound in steadfastness 

q     NIVBC: they must display active "endurance," that steadfast persistence that bravely bears the trials and afflictions of life.

q     Barclay: He must be healthy in fortitude. The years should temper a man like steel, so that he can bear more and more, and emerge more and more the conqueror over life's troubles.

q     Barnes Sound in patience - In the infirmities of old age - in the trials resulting from the loss of the friends of their early years - in their loneliness in the world, they should show that the effect of all God's dealings with them has been to produce patience. The aged should submit to the trials of their advanced years with resignation - for they will soon be over. A few more sighs, and they will sigh no more; a little longer bearing up under their infirmities, and they will renew their youth before the throne of God.

q     Older men should know how to bear up under life's trials with a buoyant hope in the promises of God. Rather than dropping out of the race, older men should be running with endurance by fixing their eyes on the Lord Jesus (Heb. 12:1-2).

 

q     2Co 6:4-5 Paul proceeds to itemize his hardships (cf. 1Co 4:9-13; 2Co 4:8-9; 11:23-29) as he seeks to commend and defend his ministry as a servant of God and to provide the Corinthians with further material they might use in his defense (cf. 5:12). Paul's commendation was a matter of actions, not words.

   After a reference to the "great endurance" that marked all his service and suffering (cf. 12:12), Paul lists nine afflictions, which fall into three groups. (1) General trials: "troubles" are oppressive experiences; "hardships" refer to unrelieved adverse circumstances; "distresses" are frustrating tight corners (cf. 4:8). (2) Sufferings directly inflicted by others: "beatings, imprisonments and riots." (3) Self-inflicted hardships: "hard work" includes the arduous task of incessant preaching and the toil of manual labor (cf. 1Th 2:9; 2Th 3:7-8); "sleepless nights" means voluntary abstention from sleep (cf. Ac 20:7-11); "hunger" probably refers to voluntary fastings (cf. 11:27).