Women Who Honor God
Titus 2:3-5
May 11, 2025
This morning we want to return to our study of the book of Titus.
We took about a month off as we focused on the suffering and resurrection of Christ.
Now we want to return to the study,
But perhaps only a half-way return.
TONIGHT, we’ll jump back more into the overall theme of the letter and tie it all back together and start moving through it again.
BUT THIS MORNING, we want to take the opportunity that is before us,
Since it is Mother’s Day and look at a few verses
That are found here in Titus chapter 2.
We want to look at verses 3-5 as they are very important verses
That deal with God’s calling for women.
Now certainly we are going to discuss mothers specifically this morning,
But in all reality the passage is bigger than that.
• After all, not all women are mothers.
• Not all women are even married.
• Some are widows.
• Some are single.
• All are important to the church.
• All have a ministry to fulfill.
But this passage does speak in a general nature
To the typical role of a woman who gets married and raises children.
And we want to address it all this morning
On this day when we celebrate mothers and motherhood in general.
So if you are a mother with children at home right now,
• We want to see what the Bible has to say to you about that role.
If you are a mother, but your children are grown,
• We want to see what the Bible has to say to you about your role.
If you are a single women who ascribes to be a mother someday,
• We want to see the pattern God lays out for you.
But even if you are an older woman who never had children, or perhaps never even married,
• That does not render you outside of God’s plan, and we want to see God’s pattern for your life as well.
Now, in these 3 verses we see that
Paul breaks his instruction down into two main categories.
1. We have those he calls “older women” in verse 3 through the first half of verse 4.
2. And he has those he calls “young women” in the last half of verse 4 and verse 5.
And if you’re wondering which group you fall into,
Paul’s division seems to be this:
• Older women seem to be categorized as those whose children have been raised and left the home.
• Young women are those whose children are still at home.
If you are a single woman who does not expect to have children,
• Similar to Anna in the temple then you’d follow the counsel given to the older women.
And if you are a single woman who expects to marry and have children
• You’d definitely pay attention to the counsel given to the younger women as what will be your expectation when you do marry and have kids.
BUT YOU SEE THE WAY PAUL BREAKS IT DOWN.
What we see here is that Paul is addressing all of these women
With regard to God’s expectation for their lives.
Now, we’ll talk about this MORE TONIGHT, but:
It is important to recognize the purpose of these commands.
Paul ends verse 5 by saying,
“So that the word of God will not be dishonored.”
“dishonored” is BLAS-FE-MAY-O
It’s where we get our word “blasphemy”
Clearly the concern of Paul here is
That women live their lives in such a way as to honor God’s word
And to protect it from being blasphemed or reviled or spoken evil of.
And this is important right off the bat to grasp.
The purpose for this instruction is the exaltation of the word of God.
The primary reason for this command IS NOT
• Your own fulfillment,
• A successful family,
• Your own personal glory.
Although, we certainly believe that doing things God’s way
Is more fulfilling and does bring success
And will result in you being glorified by God.
We certainly agree that doing things God’s way
Always has a better outcome than walking in rebellion.
But the main point of what Paul says here
Is to give women a way to defend God’s word in the world
And to protect it from being blasphemed.
So ladies, let’s begin this morning with the question:
• Is it your desire to honor God and His word with your life?
• Do you want your life to be a testimony that God’s word is perfect?
• Would you like for your life to be a natural defense of God’s word?
I certainly hope that you would sincerely say “yes” to those questions.
Well, if so, here is how God says to do that.
This is God’s instruction to women
Of how He would have them honor and defend His word.
FAIR ENOUGH?
So, How does God indicate that women should bear testimony to the perfection of His word?
Well, if you are an older woman?
• Reverence
• Self-Control
• Encouragement
And if you are a young woman?
• Devotion
• Self-Control
• Purity
• Kindness
Those are general descriptions,
So let’s talk about the practical application of those principles.
#1 OLDER WOMEN
Titus 2:3-4a
“Older women likewise are to be reverent in their behavior, not malicious gossips nor enslaved to much wine, teaching what is good, so that they may encourage the young women…”
The statements are clear and direct, but let’s look at them.
“Older women likewise are to be reverent in their behavior”
It simply means that she is to
Act in a fitting manner before men and God.
Her behavior is such that would be fitting
If she were walking in the very presence of God.
There is obviously no crudeness or rudeness or indecency.
I think of what Paul wrote regarding widows.
1 Timothy 5:5-6 “Now she who is a widow indeed and who has been left alone, has fixed her hope on God and continues in entreaties and prayers night and day. But she who gives herself to wanton pleasure is dead even while she lives.”
• In the early church widows were actually provided for by the church.
• Most of them were totally destitute and poor
• The church stepped in to provide for them.
• They in turn would become servants in the church.
We think of Anna
Luke 2:36-37 “And there was a prophetess, Anna the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years and had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, and then as a widow to the age of eighty-four. She never left the temple, serving night and day with fastings and prayers.”
• Anna served continually in the temple with a specific devotion to fasting and
prayer.
Anna is the type of prototype Paul had in mind when he spoke of widows.
But what was also clear is that
Such widows earned the right reputation even BEFORE they became widows.
• They earned a reputation as women of faith, women of prayer, and those who
abstained from what Paul calls “wanton pleasure”.
• They were reverent women.
• Even before they became widows.
THAT IS THE CALLING REVEALED HERE AS WELL.
Not to follow the pattern of this world, but to be reverent.
To be women of faith, prayer, and those who resist wanton pleasure.
So ladies if you want to honor God’s word then live in a reverent manner.
But if you give yourself to irreverent living
You will bring reproach on the Bible you claim to obey.
Paul continues:
“not malicious gossips nor enslaved to much wine”
Both of those speak to her self-control.
Again, when Paul spoke of widows he also instructed:
1 Timothy 5:11-14 “But refuse to put younger widows on the list, for when they feel sensual desires in disregard of Christ, they want to get married, thus incurring condemnation, because they have set aside their previous pledge. At the same time they also learn to be idle, as they go around from house to house; and not merely idle, but also gossips and busybodies, talking about things not proper to mention. Therefore, I want younger widows to get married, bear children, keep house, and give the enemy no occasion for reproach;”
IMPLIED THERE is that one of the ministries of older women and widows is a “house to house” type of ministry.
• There was no social media.
• There were no cell phones.
• But clearly there was a desire to check on one another and even to fulfill a
desire for fellowship and friendship.
The problem Paul saw in that was that
Younger widows could too easily get caught up in the gossip of the day.
• He feared they would become idle and busybodies.
• And so he refused to put them on the list, instead telling them to get married.
• The calling of visiting and encouraging was to be left to the older and more
mature women.
And the instruction from Paul here is the same.
Don’t be “malicious gossips”.
You can’t be one who just goes from house to house
Or phone call to phone call gossiping about people.
If you do, you will bring dishonor on the word of God you claim to obey.
And the same is true regarding “wine”
• Paul says “nor enslaved to much wine”
We can have all the debates about alcohol and its biblical use
Versus it’s use today, but maybe that will be for another time.
Clearly the implication here is that if you are one prone to getting drunk
You are going to bring shame on the word of God.
AND ALL OF THAT SHOULD BE FAIRLY OBVIOUS RIGHT?
But it is the NEXT POINT I really want us to start to look deeper at.
There is more than just certain behaviors to avoid,
There is also a mission for older women to accomplish.
OLDER LADIES, YOU HAVE A JOB TO DO,
And one that is incredibly important.
You are called to be a voice of godliness in a world steeped in deception.
Paul says, “teaching what is good, so that they may encourage the younger women…”
Paul specifically calls older women to be teachers.
• We aren’t talking about a pulpit here.
• We aren’t even talking about a Sunday school class.
We are talking about older women making the rounds in ministry
And purposely approaching the young women
In order to instruct and encourage them.
CAN I JUST SAY IT LIKE THIS?
No one is under a greater attack in our culture than young women.
The reach of feminism has saturated our culture
And sadly is even becoming the normal train of thought
In the minds of far too many young women.
From the time girls are very little
Our culture starts pushing young girls
In a very different direction than Scripture calls them go.
1. They are bombarded with the importance of worldly success, secular jobs, important degrees, etc.
2. A chip is intentionally placed squarely on their shoulder so that they are taught to be offended if someone implies that something is “women’s work” or “man’s work”.
3. They are told to throw off stereotypes and embrace a new way of thinking.
4. Women who reject such indoctrination and who seek a life of being a wife and mother without education or secular job are scorned and reproached.
OUR WORLD IS LYING TO YOUNG WOMEN.
They get it in the classroom, they get it on the television,
They get it in the marketplace, it is everywhere.
They’re made to feel shame if all they pursue is to raise a family.
They’re made to feel as though they are lazy and wasting their life.
AND THAT MESSAGE IS RELENTLESS.
OLDER WOMEN, then is where you come in.
God has ordained you to be the voice of sanity in their world.
I don’t typically like to lay blame
But at the same time we don’t want to absolve people of responsibility either.
But Biblically speaking
The rise of feminism and its acceptance among younger women as the norm in our culture
Falls at the feet of older Christian women
Who have failed to do the job God has called them to.
What is that job?
“encourage the younger women”
You’ll see in a minute what they are to encourage them to do,
But FIRST let’s look at the word “encourage”.
It is the Greek word (so-fron-EED-zo)
It comes from the root word (so-frone)
• Which means to be “prudent” or “sensible”.
• It is the word used in verse 2 and 5 translated “sensible”.
• It means to be of sound mind.
Paul uses it in a compound form (so-fron-EED-zo)
And it means “to restore one to his senses” or “to teach one to be sober”
Perhaps we should say it like this.
The job of the older women is to cut through all the insanity
That the world is throwing at younger women
And to call them back to their senses.
In verse 3 Paul said “teaching what is good”
• They are to elevate for the younger women what is truly good in this world.
• They are to call them back to their original and highest calling.
• They are to quit letting the world define for them what female success looks like.
WHEN THE WORLD TELLS THEM TO
Flaunt their bodies, abort their babies, divorce their husbands, abandon their kids, get a career, and become a lesbian or transition into actually becoming a man.
THE OLDER WOMEN of the church are to step in
And to CUT THROUGH THE NONSENSE.
And teach the younger women that
That is not what God designed them for
And it is not what God calls them to.
And yes, a preacher from the pulpit can say all of this,
But ultimately God intended for that message to come from older ladies.
It is the job of the older women
To restore sanity into the minds of the young women.
What specifically does that look like?
Well, let’s get to the next part.
#2 YOUNG WOMEN
Titus 2:4b-5
“the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, to be sensible, pure, workers at home, kind, being subject to their own husbands, so that the word of God will not be dishonored.”
Older ladies, this is your message.
1. You are to tell them that their high calling is not to abandon the home but to be devoted to it.
2. You are to tell the young women to go home and be a faithful wife and a faithful mother.
And what is really GRIEVOUS TO ME in our day and age
Is that the statement I just made is actually now a controversial one.
Did that preacher really just say that a woman’s place is in the home?
Did that preacher really insinuate that women should be homemakers?
OF COURSE I DID, because that is what the Bible says.
But honestly, when did the home become such a bad thing?
When did the home become a place of derision?
• The home is considered as less valuable than the workplace.
• The home is considered as less fun than the town square.
• The home is considered as less important as the stadium.
And women who make the home their priority
Are literally scorned for doing so.
But honestly, what could be more valuable than the home?
What location could be more important?
What sphere could possibly matter more than the home?
• The home is a hospital when you are sick.
• The home is a diner when you are hungry.
• The home is a workshop for your projects.
• The home is a gathering place for your loved ones.
• The home is a lodge for guests.
• The home is a fortress from dangers.
• The home is a community amongst family.
• The home is a hangout for all.
• It is a refuge of protection.
• It is a sanctuary of peace.
• It is a classroom of sanctification.
• It is a haven of rest.
• And not to mention it is a significant financial investment.
Whoever told you that devoting your life to the home was foolish
LIED TO YOU.
You don’t have a location in this life more valuable than the home.
Being called by God to be the keeper of the home
Is not a demotion, it is a high honor and calling.
Societies crumble when the God-ordained keeper of the home
Abandons the home in favor of worldly pursuits.
I don’t care if that is for more money or more fame or more fun or whatever else.
• Husbands suffer
• Wives suffer
• Children suffer
• When the home is not cared for.
So God tells the older women, to go and cut through the insanity
And to tell the younger women to go home and care for their families.
Specifically to “love their husbands, to love their children”
We ARE NOT speaking here of emotional attraction.
We ARE talking about self-sacrificing devotion.
Young women, go sacrifice for your husband and your children.
Go show them Christ-like self-sacrificing love and devotion.
“to be sensible” – that is of a sound mind.
Don’t buy the nonsense that the world is selling.
This world will tell you to get a degree, get a good job, make a lot of money, accomplish great things, make a difference, etc.
And this world will forget you the second you are gone.
Can I remind you of the woman who bears eternal honor?
It seems to me that a sensible woman would pursue this.
TURN TO: Proverbs 31:13-29
Now first, I want you to see her love personified.
Do you see her devotion?
(12) “she does him good and not evil all the days of her life”
Do you see where he is?
(23) “her husband is known among the gates when he sits among the elders”
• He is getting notoriety, while she is sitting in the shadows.
Do you see here devotion to her family?
• Looking for wool and flax (13)
• Bringing food from afar (14)
• Getting up while it is dark to cook breakfast (15)
• Staying up late to do laundry (18-19)
• Her household is clothed (21)
And at the end of all of it who is praising her?
It’s not corporate America, it’s her husband and her children.
And that is the message that the OLDER WOMEN
Are to be giving to the young women.
Young woman go invest in your family
And let their admiration and praise be enough.
Don’t worry about what the world thinks of you, go love and serve your family.
I honestly could not wait to preach this text this morning,
Even with all of the possible points of contention that it could contain.
And the reason I couldn’t wait is because
It gives me such an opportunity to publicly honor my wife.
My wife was valedictorian of her high school
She studied to be an engineer,
BUT when God convicted her heart and saved her
She walked away from college to pursue one thing; motherhood.
She committed to being a stay-at-home mom
And to be devoted to the raising of our kids.
People brag to me all the time about my kids,
But anyone who knows me knows why, it’s all Carrie.
• She is the teacher, she is the trainer, she is the corrector.
• She decided her legacy would not be bridges with her name on them,
• It would be 2 sons and 2 daughters who would take what she taught them into
the world.
REMEMBER talking about women preachers several weeks ago and looking at that passage in 1 Timothy.
1 Timothy 2:15 “But women will be preserved through the bearing of children if they continue in faith and love and sanctity with self-restraint.”
• Paul doesn’t mean their soul will be saved if they have babies.
• He means that is where their purpose in life will be redeemed.
• They won’t stand in the pulpit, but they will have a greater influence on the church than anyone else.
THEY WILL RAISE THE NEXT GENERATION.
Her faith will become their faith.
Her convictions will become their convictions.
Paul instructed Timothy to lead the church at Ephesus, and do you want to know where Timothy went to seminary?
2 Timothy 1:5 “For I am mindful of the sincere faith within you, which first dwelt in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and I am sure that it is in you as well.”
That’s what godly women do.
That’s what my wife has done.
PAUL GOES ON TO TELL the older women to teach the young women “to be…pure, workers at home, kind”
“pure” speaks of being chaste or modest.
• Their goal is NOT to attract the attention of the world.
• Their goal is to mold and instruct their children.
He says “workers at home”
This statement is typically met with quite an argument
As to whether or not it is biblical for women to have jobs at all.
Let’s be as clear and honest as we can here about what is said.
The word itself is (oy-koor-GOS)
OYKOS = house
OUROS = a guard or a worker
She is literally called to be the “keeper of the house”
We read earlier how Paul instructed younger widows:
1 Timothy 5:14 “Therefore, I want younger widows to get married, bear children, keep house, and give the enemy no occasion for reproach;”
We should also understand that in Paul’s day
The problem was NOT that too many women were leaving the home to get a secular job. That is just not likely in that day and time.
What was the problem?
That women were at home, but they weren’t working to keep the house as they should.
Paul is calling these women to love their husbands and children
And to do that by keeping the house.
Not being a busy-body, not giving herself to wanton pleasure,
But working hard in the home as an act of love and service to those in it.
Proverbs 31:27 “She looks well to the ways of her household, And does not eat the bread of idleness.”
Now we could talk physically about that for a moment
And say that young women should keep a clean home.
There’s nothing sexist or chauvinist about that,
It’s a calling; a job and it’s an important one.
And again I praise my wife.
• I’d put our house up against any house in the world.
• I could wear the same pair of socks every other day if I wanted.
But working at home is more than just cleaning the house.
MY WIFE IS A GUARDIAN OF THE HOME.
What do I mean?
It’s NOT just about wiping your feet before you come in.
• Who in my house is the biggest advocate that we all set down to a family meal and talk to one another?
• Who in my house will actually cook the meal to allow that to happen?
• Who in my house is the biggest advocate that the TV turn off and the phones get put down and we all play a game together?
• Who in my house is the biggest advocate that we all gather under one roof?
• Who will make sure the sheets are clean so everyone is comfortable when the do that?
No one protects the sanctity of our home like Carrie does.
It’s not just about the house, it’s about the family.
• She is devoted to the family.
• She is devoted that I am fed and cared for.
• She is devoted that our children are safe and cared for.
• She is devoted to our home being a home of peace, love, laughter and safety.
• She labors at that.
• She strives for that.
Young women that is your highest calling.
Older women, teach them that.
Now, am I going to say that means you can’t have a job?
I get that circumstances arise.
• Carrie worked as a nail tech for 5 years.
• She kept hours while the kids were in school.
I also am well-aware that that excellent wife in Proverbs 31 worked.
Proverbs 31:16 “She considers a field and buys it; From her earnings she plants a vineyard.”
Proverbs 31:24 “She makes linen garments and sells them, And supplies belts to the tradesmen.”
But the point is that your main focus and your main priority
Has to be the home.
• Sending kids off to daycare so you can have a fulfilling career…
• Abandoning your family at home for extra money for a nice car…
• Neglecting the work of the home to do more honorable work in the world’s eyes…
I’m sorry ladies, but that is not the calling.
I think something should also be said here to husbands
Who push their wives to get jobs outside the home
So they can have more money.
• Guys you are cheating her of what God designed her to do.
• You are cheating your children of the present mother God designed them to enjoy.
• And you are cheating yourself of the helpmate God knew you needed.
Strive for contentment.
Strive to have less money and less things.
But let her be the wife and mother God created her to be.
And older women you encourage her to do it.
Paul also calls them to be “kind”
That word is (AGATHOS)
Most of the time it is translated as “good”
You’ve seen it.
Luke 10:41-42 “But the Lord answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things; but only one thing is necessary, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her.”
Mary chose the AGATHOS part.
Acts 9:36 “Now in Joppa there was a disciple named Tabitha (which translated in Greek is called Dorcas); this woman was abounding with deeds of kindness and charity which she continually did.”
You’re just to be a woman devoted to good and kind things.
Remember that excellent wife?
Proverbs 31:12 “She does him good and not evil All the days of her life.”
And finally “being subject to their own husbands”
• The clear and high calling of submission.
• It is God’s natural designed order.
AND WHAT A BLESSING SUCH WOMEN ARE.
• I cannot state it more emphatically that my wife is my greatest blessing in life.
• I cannot state it more emphatically how grateful I am for my mother.
They are godly women who have devoted themselves
To seeing their children trust God and develop godliness in their lives.
• How much money would a man pay to have godly children?
• How much money would a man pay to have peace in his home?
• How much money would a man pay to be able to rest in his house?
I don’t know how much money Carrie gave up when she walked away from that engineering degree, but I’m telling you I got a steal of a bargain in her.
THIS IS THE CALLING.
Older women set an example of reverence.
• Stop gossiping, don’t get drunk and make it your mission to teach the young women to go home and serve their families in godliness.
You ladies who don’t have kids go do the same.
• Encourage them in godliness.
You young women
• Go be devoted to your husband and your children. Love them, sacrifice for them, work for them, serve them.
• Be chaste and modest, be sensible and kind, have a submissive quiet spirit and devote yourself to raising Godly children.
WHY?
“so that the word of God will not be dishonored.”
THAT IS WHY YOU DO IT.
This world is constantly attacking the wisdom of God.
This world says that God’s plan is foolish and stupid.
The world mocks and hates titles like
“stay-at-home mom”, “homemaker”, “housekeeper”, “women’s work”
And if you think they are demeaning positions
Then it only proves you have bought the lies the world is selling.
God sees those positions as the highest of callings.
God sees those jobs as infinite in value.
But ladies, when you ignore God’s mandate to follow the world’s advice you cast shame on God’s wisdom.
You in effect preach a message to the world that God doesn’t’ know what He’s talking about and His word is foolish.
• Obviously God was off His rocker when He called for wives to submit to their
husbands.
• Obviously God was out of His mind when He called for women to keep house.
• Obviously God was misinformed when He called for women to raise kids.
The world knew what was best, they are wiser than God.
That is the message that is being preached
When we ignore God’s mandate in favor of the world’s logic.
I AM SO THANKFUL FOR GODLY WOMEN.
I am so thankful for women who are devoted to God’s high calling.
Those of you who are doing that,
Let me encourage you that you are bring honor to the word of God.
You are bearing reproach that God’s word might be honored.
To women who may have missed the mark.
Welcome to the club, we have all missed the mark.
But your final sentence has yet to be written.
You can still choose to honor God’s word.
You can still embrace the role God has for you.
If you are young woman
You can refocus and devote yourself to your family.
If you are an older woman
You can go encourage the young women, even if that encouragement is “Don’t do what I did”.
Our God is full of mercy and grace even in the midst of our failures.
But today let’s make a commitment
To live lives that bring honor to God’s wisdom and His word.
Thank you mothers for that.
• Thank you ladies for your commitment to your families.
• Thank you ladies for your devotion to the word of God.
• I know you fight a hard battle, but may God richly bless you for it.
Proverbs 31:28-30 “Her children rise up and bless her; Her husband also, and he praises her, saying: “Many daughters have done nobly, But you excel them all.” Charm is deceitful and beauty is vain, But a woman who fears the LORD, she shall be praised. Give her the product of her hands, And let her works praise her in the gates.”
