Titus 2:8

Titus had to be careful about everything that he said in public or private conversation. He had to be sensible. He always had to speak the truth. Many people opposed the Christians. People watched Titus and they listened to him. They were ready to accuse him. But Titus could show that they were wrong. If he lived in the right way, he would be innocent. They might still oppose him. But they would have to respect his good behaviour. People would see that Titus was different from the false teachers. As a result, some of them would believe the good news about Jesus.

v9 Teach slaves always to obey their masters. They should try to please their masters. They should not argue with their masters. v10 Slaves should not steal from their masters. Instead, slaves should prove that their masters can trust them. This will show that the good news about God our *Saviour is attractive in every way.

Christian slaves

Verses 9-10

Today, most people believe that people should not be slaves. But in those days, there were many slaves in society. Both men and women were slaves. Paul accepted it as part of normal life. In Colossians 3:22-4:1, Paul taught Christian masters and slaves how to behave in the right way. Both slaves and masters serve Jesus Christ. He is their master who is in heaven. So slaves are actually working for the *Lord.

1 A slave must obey his master. Paul did not say whether the master was a Christian. But the slave should even obey a master who is not a Christian. However, no one should do anything that God’s law opposes (Acts 5:29). If the master is a Christian, the slave must still respect his master (1 Timothy 6:2).

2 A slave must be eager to please his master. A slave must be willing to do his duties. He should work well.

3 A slave should not argue with his master. He should respect his master. A slave should not insult his master. His master is the boss.

4 A slave must not steal. Many slaves stole some of their master’s property. They probably thought that their master would not notice. A Christian slave must not steal even the smallest thing.

5 A slave must be completely honest and loyal. A master should be able to trust his Christian slave.

In those days, people thought that slaves were useful. But people did not consider that slaves were important as people. So, Paul showed that Christian slaves had an important responsibility. They could show that the Christian good news is powerful. ‘God our *Saviour’ is powerful. He can change the way that people behave. Christian slaves should behave much better than other people in their society did. Slaves who acted in the right way would make the Christian message more attractive to everyone. And more people would become Christians. Today, many countries do not allow people to be slaves. But these verses also apply to anyone who works for a boss.

Paul referred twice in this letter to God as ‘*Saviour’ (2:10; 3:4) and also in his letter to Timothy (1 Timothy 2:3; 4:10). In Ephesians 2:4-5, he said that God loved people so much that he rescued them from their *sin. Therefore, Christians should behave in the right way. They should be different from the false teachers, who behaved in the wrong way.

v11 For God’s *grace, which can save everyone, has appeared. v12 God’s *grace teaches us to refuse anything that opposes God. It teaches us to refuse our wicked desires for things in this world. Instead, we should control ourselves. We should do what is right. We should please God while we live in this world. v13 We should live like that while we look forward to a wonderful future event. God our *Saviour, who is Jesus Christ, will appear with great *glory. v14 Jesus Christ gave himself for us. He freed us from all our *sin and from our wicked ways. He made us clean (forgiven) so that we could belong to him. And so, we should be eager to do what is good.

*Grace and *Glory

Verse 11

The reason why every Christian should live a good life is because of God’s *grace. ‘*Grace’ means that God is kind to us (see notes on 1:4). God’s *grace ‘appeared’ when Jesus came to earth. ‘Appeared’ describes the way that the sun rises at dawn. This word links with Luke 1:79. ‘God our *Saviour’ (verse 10) wants to save everyone from his or her *sin. But every person has to decide whether to believe and trust God.