Aged and Young Women
Part 10: Titus 2:3-5
There are many lovely ladies in our churches! I love each of them and admire them for their qualities that I identify with, and for those qualities that I lack. All of us have differing talents and abilities, strengths and weaknesses. Each of us has a certain set of responsibilities that God has given us, and I'm so glad that He has not left us to wonder and guess at what we should be busy doing. Our Lord has directed us to some specific things we ought to be doing, who should be doing them, how we should be while doing them, and why.
It is a tragedy in our culture that the aged men and women are not held in as high regard as they ought to be. Too often, an elderly woman is either pitied or neglected, or both. This was not the case in the New Testament Church! After all, is it not our experiences and hardships that refine and build our spiritual sensitivities? Should we not value the highest those who have had the most time and experience in living out God’s Word? Is not the inner man being renewed day by day as the outward man is perishing (2 Cor. 4:16)?
The younger women in our churches carry a joyful burden that is also worthy of honor and respect. The hectic business of running a household and serving a family, training children, and helping their husbands requires energy and strength that can only be supplied by the Lord. The care and love that they are supplying have eternal rewards that must be cultivated and encouraged.
Both situations in life, and everything in between are seen as essential to the life of the local church. Let us look at the dynamic that is described and prescribed in our text.
Read Titus 2:1-5
1. Who is the first group of believers that is addressed in Titus 2?
In verse 3, Paul uses the conjunction “likewise,” inferring that the aged women are to have the same character qualities as the aged men. Again, we note how a woman has just as much capacity to live a God-honoring life as a man. No inferiority here!
2. Look up the words sober (temperate) and grave from Titus 2 and write the definitions.
Sound in faith, in charity, in patience - The words “faith,” “charity,” and “patience” in verse 2 are all objectives in the original language. That is, in every part of the Christian life, these elders are to be the example to follow. They are to uphold, not just faith, but The Faith. They are not just to love, but to show what The Agape Love is all about as they love unconditionally. The elders are not just to be patient, but to show The Patience that comes from suffering for the Lord’s sake, withstanding the pressure to give in.
This all stems from the faithful teaching of doctrine (vs. 1). So, as the older men are given a weighty and critical charge, likewise, Paul gives some heavy-duty instruction to the older women.