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Set an Example of Incorruptible Teaching Titus 2:6–8 · Pastor John Piper's answers

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  Speaker 1: In Titus two six to eight, Paul says a very
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  Speaker 1: brief word to the younger men, and then speaks to
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  Speaker 1: Titus directly about his being an example to the flock. Likewise,
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  Speaker 1: urge the younger men to be self controlled. That's all,
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  Speaker 1: he says. I'll come back to that, present yourself in
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  Speaker 1: all respects to be an example of good works, and
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  Speaker 1: in your teaching, present yourself as incorruptible. It's an incorruptible teacher, dignified,
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  Speaker 1: offering healthy speech that cannot be condemned, so that an
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  Speaker 1: opponent may be put to shame, having nothing evil to
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  Speaker 1: say about us. Father, we want so much to put
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  Speaker 1: no stumbling block in the way of anybody by our behavior,
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  Speaker 1: our attitudes, our words. Rather, we want to be with
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  Speaker 1: tid Us exemplary. We want to set an example to
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  Speaker 1: those who might look to us. So teach us from
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  Speaker 1: this passage. I pray in Jesus' name, Amen. It may
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  Speaker 1: be that the reason so little is said to the
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  Speaker 1: young men here he says, more to the older men,
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  Speaker 1: more to the older women, more to the younger women.
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  Speaker 1: Why so little to the young men. It may be
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  Speaker 1: that this is the key right here. In other words,
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  Speaker 1: pretty much everything I have said above implies to these
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  Speaker 1: young men. If you go back and say, well, what
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  Speaker 1: what does he mean? Likewise, he's just spoken to the
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  Speaker 1: young women and the older women, and then the older men.
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  Speaker 1: So I think he means it is clear that if
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  Speaker 1: they are clear thinkers, if they are not driven by impulse,
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  Speaker 1: but are thoughtful in their minds here, mature and steady
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  Speaker 1: in their thinking, they will be able to sort out
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  Speaker 1: what I mean by Likewise, perhaps that's the reason. Otherwise
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  Speaker 1: I'm not sure why he would say as little as
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  Speaker 1: he does to the younger men directly while he spoke
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  Speaker 1: to the older men, older women, younger women with more detail.
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  Speaker 1: Could be also that he's one of them. And so
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  Speaker 1: when he says, now here's what you should do, that's
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  Speaker 1: really what the young men should do. Present yourself in
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  Speaker 1: all respects to be an example of good works, and
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  Speaker 1: in your teaching, present yourself as incorruptible, dignified, offering healthy speech.
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  Speaker 1: I can't help when I think be an example here
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  Speaker 1: the contrast with lording it over others. And then when
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  Speaker 1: you look at that passage in one Peter five where
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  Speaker 1: it says, shepherd the flock of God that is among
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  Speaker 1: you exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly as God
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  Speaker 1: would have you, not for shameful gain, but eagerly, not
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  Speaker 1: domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to
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  Speaker 1: the flock. Those two things, examples to the flock and
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  Speaker 1: not for shameful gain, are both here. Make sure you
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  Speaker 1: see this. When he says be examples to the flock,
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  Speaker 1: that's what a good elder does, according to First Peter five.
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  Speaker 1: But when he says, in your teaching be incorruptible, he
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  Speaker 1: probably has in mind back in chapter one, verse eleven,
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  Speaker 1: the false teachers whom he described like this, they must
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  Speaker 1: be silenced since they are upsetting whole families, teaching for
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  Speaker 1: shameful gain. What ought not to be taught. These folks
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  Speaker 1: have been corrupted by the love of money, and for
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  Speaker 1: money's sake, their teaching has been made false, and what
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  Speaker 1: ought not to be taught. So when he says, let
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  Speaker 1: you're teaching, and I translated it incorruptible, because that's what
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  Speaker 1: it really means. It can't be corrupted by money. It's
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  Speaker 1: not going to be corrupted by the desire for the
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  Speaker 1: praise of man. It's not going to be corrupted by
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  Speaker 1: the fact that you want to climb the latter in
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  Speaker 1: your church and you want to avoid criticism and get
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  Speaker 1: a lot of praise, You're going to say the truth.
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  Speaker 1: You're going to speak healthy speech because it's going to
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  Speaker 1: make people healthy rather than sick, if you're not corrupted
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  Speaker 1: by evil motives. So it's in a remarkable parallel with
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  Speaker 1: First Peter five, where we are to be freed from
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  Speaker 1: teaching for shameful gain, and we are to be driven
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  Speaker 1: by setting an example rather than lording it over others.
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  Speaker 1: Be dignified, don't be silly, don't be frivolous, don't be
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  Speaker 1: given to a jocular disposition that would make you a
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  Speaker 1: clown instead of a respectable man whom people look to
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  Speaker 1: with the sense of sober appreciation for your maturity. Offering
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  Speaker 1: healthy speech healthy because it makes people healthy and it
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  Speaker 1: accords with the truth, it cannot be condemned. Now, of course,
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  Speaker 1: we can be criticized, but not legitimately criticized as unhealthy,
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  Speaker 1: not legitimately criticized as false or corrupted, so that an
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  Speaker 1: opponent may be put to shame, having nothing really true,
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  Speaker 1: nothing evil and true to say about us, truly evil
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  Speaker 1: to say about us. So again, he ends, as he
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  Speaker 1: did on the previous note when he was speaking to
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  Speaker 1: the younger women be submissive to their own husbands, that
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  Speaker 1: the word of God may not be reviled. The reputation
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  Speaker 1: for God, the reputation for the word of God, is
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  Speaker 1: carried over for the work of the elder here, namely Titus,
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  Speaker 1: when he says, having nothing evil to say about us,
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  Speaker 1: don't let the world be able legitimately to fault you
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  Speaker 1: and thus bring the Gospel or Christ or God into reproach.
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  Speaker 1: So a brief word two younger men, to think with
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  Speaker 1: sober minded, self controlled thought, so that you can appropriate
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  Speaker 1: everything that had gone before. And then a summary word
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  Speaker 1: to Titus about how to be an example with teaching
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  Speaker 1: and speech that simply cannot be corrupted. Your integrity is
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  Speaker 1: so full and so deep and so strong. People know
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  Speaker 1: in the church they can count on you. You are
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  Speaker 1: a mature, solid, self controlled man whose words cannot be
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  Speaker 1: condemned inside or outside the church. And thus you make
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  Speaker 1: much of Christ rather than letting him be brought into
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  Speaker 1: disrepute by evil talk that can be based on what
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  Speaker 1: you said