ALL DECKED OUT FOR GOD!

We don’t know very much about Paul’s mission to the island of Crete; in fact, no records exist of when he was actually there, we just know he was. Paul’s letter to Titus was meant to assist this faithful young man as he put things in order and set the new believers into churches in Crete. Paul shares very practical advice on what specific groups to address and what to talk to them about. In Titus 2:9-10, Paul focuses on what today would be the large middle-income working class. Bondservants of Paul’s day were the blue-collar workers, the office workers, the laborers that made the country run. Many of these had come to faith in Christ during Paul’s visit to Crete.

“Exhort bondservants to be obedient to their own masters, to be well pleasing in all things, not answering back, not pilfering, but showing all good fidelity, that they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in all things” (Titus 2:9-10, NKJV).

Here is a brief synopsis of Paul’s teaching for them:

1. Be obedient to their bosses. They were to submit to the leadership of their work environment.

2. They were to be “well pleasing in all things.” This meant they were to do their work with excellence, with an eye for detail.

3. They were to handle conflict with grace, and use wisdom and courtesy by not answering back.

4. They were not to pilfer. That means no stealing. If that pen in your pocket belongs to the company, why is it on its way to your desk at home? Pilfering does not show integrity!

5. Good workers are loyal and dependable. Paul emphasizes this when he says, “Show all good fidelity.”

This is practical advice for believers living in a corrupt and immoral society, which is exactly what Crete was known to be (and how about the U.S. and Canada today?).

Not only is this good advice for daily living but Paul brings it into sharp focus when he says, “That they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in all things.”
How can we adorn or make attractive the teaching which is about our Savior?

First, let’s talk about the word “adorn.” Paul may have been engaging in a little wordplay here. Crete was known as a center for the manufacture of jewelry; we could say it was “the bling capital of the first century.” So Paul, who was no slouch with words, may have been using this to capture the attention of Titus and the Cretans.
The word adorn means to show something forth in a way that makes what it is attached to more attractive, like an ornament on a tree, or jewelry on a pretty lady. The second way this word is commonly used in the New Testament is to trim, as in “trimming the lamp.” Why were lamps “trimmed”? Because after a while the wick would burn down, ash would accumulate on the wick, and the light from the lamp would dim considerably. A trimmed lamp had the ash removed and the wick slightly elevated so that the amount of light that went forth increased noticeably.

To “adorn the doctrine of God” does not mean to add to the gospel…not at all. The heart of what Paul is saying here is that when we truly embrace and live the truth of the gospel, we attractively show the message to unbelievers. There is nothing more persuasive to the unbeliever than the life of someone living in the grace and mercy of the Lord—it is compelling to them! Don’t worry about what they say or how they may insult or ridicule; the life of a believer fully committed to Him brings the presence of the Holy Spirit with it and that brings conviction and a drawing to Christ.

Paul is saying to the Cretans, “When you live like a believer, you show forth the qualities of obedience, excellence, grace, integrity and loyalty! The amount and quality of the light you show to the world is greatly enhanced and they will see God’s life in you much more clearly!”

What does it mean if, instead of showing forth these qualities as believers, we show forth the opposite? What does that do to the beauty of the message? Ouch!

The message is then, “We can adorn the doctrine of God by the life we live.”

One hundred years ago in Japan, businessmen would seek out and hire Christians, just a tiny minority of the population, to work in the financial areas of their businesses. Why would they look for Christians? Because Christians in Japan were known to be people of exceptional integrity. Is that a great testimony or what?

St. Francis of Assisi said, “Preach the gospel always and, when necessary, use words.”