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Pastor's Blog October 31, 2019
"Holiness and Women"
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Last week we looked at what 1 Timothy 2:15 had to say about holiness in the context of women, and this week we are continuing this theme by focusing on our sisters in Christ. Titus 2:3 says, "The aged women likewise, that they be in behavior as becometh holiness, not false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things" (KJV).
At first glance, it might appear surprising that most modern Bible translations render Titus 2:3 as stating "be reverent in behavior," whereas the KJV translates the phrase as "behavior as becometh holiness." But the reason for this translation difference is due to the difficulty of understanding what Paul is saying about holiness in this passage.
Titus 2:1-10 provides directions for the men and women who make up the church - specifically, those who are leaders and set an example of devotion to Christ for the younger or newer members. Much instruction is given by the apostle in terms of how individuals should relate to each other and what kind of Christian behavior should characterize their lives.
The ethical rationale for all this instruction is Titus 2:11-14, which talks about the first and second coming of Jesus for our salvation, redemption, and moral transformation. This is the context we have to keep in mind so we can properly understand Paul's point about holiness in Titus 2:3. And Paul's point in this passage is a doozy!
The usual word for "holiness" in the New Testament, which has connotations of being set apart, different, distinct, and used by God, does not show up in Titus 2:3; it is nowhere to be found in the Greek of the phrase "behavior as becometh holiness." Instead, Paul uses a word that means roughly the same thing: "that which is befitting the sacred and holy." This idea suggests that individuals already have a relationship to the holy and sacred (i.e., God), and that this relationship is fitting them for living WITH God because the holy and sacred (again, God) is transforming them to IMITATE God in their behavior.
Rather that telling women what to do, Titus 2:3 turns out to be an encouragement for all of us to keep letting God do what he's been doing in our lives: making us holy. Let us praise God that he has given us a relationship with himself, the One who is sacred and holy.
God Bless.
Pastor Nathaniel Gamble
