Womanhood Wednesday Wrap Up- Titus 2:1-5

Nothing has grown my walk with Jesus more than becoming a student of his Word. As I’ve learned to study Scripture in context (reading whole books of the Bible at a time), the Lord has revealed to me areas where I had a misconception about what the Christian life should look like. One of these areas is Biblical womanhood. In my spiritual immaturity, I saw Titus 2:1-5 as a weird checklist for women, that I honestly wasn’t a big fan of. Through the Word, the Lord taught me the beauty and freedom he had for me in this passage, and laid on my heart to teach it. Thus, Womanhood Wednesday was born. You can find those reels on Facebook and Instagram, but here, I wanted to compile the captions into one central place.

Intro

From the Barbie movie, to memes, & more, there’s endless thoughts about women- who we should be, our careers, how our homes should look, & more. I get why women are weary… kind of. In some ways, though, I don’t. Sisters, I fear too many women (specifically, Christian women) are falling for the world’s ideas & pressures of womanhood instead of God’s Word.

I’ve become so burdened for women. I’m burdened, not because the pressures are too much, but because we allow culture to be our standard instead of the Bible. This world has nothing for us, though. It’s time we ditch the world’s ways & start living God’s way. Trust me, there’s beauty & freedom to be found in Christ.

This is why I’m excited to introduce you to this new series, #womanhoodWednesdays. Each Wednesday, we’ll slowly work through Titus 2:1-5. You may have rolled your eyes at the mention of Titus 2 (I’ve been there!), but please, join me each week as we dive into a specific part of this passage. As we attempt to rightly study it, I pray we find joy in living lives as women rooted in the Gospel.

Context + Background Info

A key step in studying any passage of Scripture is context & background info. Though our focus is Titus 2:1-5, it’s situated in a specific book for a specific reason. Here are a few important things to remember as we study:

• Titus was inspired by God, & written by Paul.
• It’s one of the pastoral epistles, a letter specifically addressed to Titus. He was on the island of Crete, commissioned by Paul to help the local church there.
• Therefore, Titus gives a blueprint for a healthy church.
• Right before our focus passage, Paul addresses false teachers (Titus 1).
• Titus 2 begins with, “But as for you,” thus exhorting Titus to be opposite of the false teachers, & be rooted in sound doctrine.
• This passage specifically focuses on typical groups within the family structure by gender & age.

As we remember & understand the author, original audience, & context of this text within the whole book of Titus, we’ll be able to better understand the meaning of this passage (which will lead to being more able to rightly apply it!). 

Sound Doctrine + Addressing the Men (Titus 2:1-2)

This first verse is key in understanding this entire passage. I used to think Titus 2 was a checklist for biblical womanhood that included washing dishes, making dinners, & sweeping floors. While our hearts are to be for our homes & serving is a good thing (more on that later), that’s not the purpose of this passage.

The commands we’ll discuss in the coming weeks are rooted in sound doctrine. Therefore, they’re not an early-church cultural concept. They apply to us today! The point, though, is for us to live a godly life. These commands are for our good, given to help us live in a way so that our lifestyle matches our claim to know Christ.

Verse 2 actually addresses the men. My audience in this is mainly women, but it’s important to note that both men & women are addressed. Therefore, both godly men & women are necessary for the church to flourish. Our culture disregards & downgrades men, but strong, godly men that live according to this passage are absolutely necessary.

This week, I encourage you to pray for the Lord to give you a right understanding of this passage. Ask him to soften your heart for what he has for you, & to not allow the culture to cloud your vision in rightly understanding and applying his Word. Also, be aware of your words (what’s said/posted & how) toward your brothers in Christ. Let’s uplift them as fellow image bearers that God is also using in mighty ways in his Kingdom!

Reverent in Behavior (Titus 2:3)

The first group Paul addresses is the older women. No specific age is given, but they’re most likely women who have a lot of experience under their belt, and thus, have a lot of wisdom. The driving force behind this passage, though, is discipleship. In discipleship relationships, there may be times when we’re the older woman & times when we’re the younger. Therefore, I encourage women of all ages to heed what God’s Word says with this character trait & those following.

We’re commanded to be “Reverent in behavior” (v. 3). It does NOT mean we can’t get together with our girlfriends & have fun. It doesn’t mean we won’t laugh or be silly with our children. It doesn’t mean a boring life that’s serious 100% of the time. Essentially, reverent behavior is living as a godly person. Living reverently is rooted in sound doctrine, because it’s living in a way that makes much of Christ, not ourselves (John 3:33).

I don’t know about you, but I want to be known as a woman who makes much of Christ. This week, let’s ask God’s help to live reverently, so he’ll increase & we’ll decrease.

Not Slanderers (Titus 2:3)

Times have changed, but temptations haven’t. It seems the women in Crete (the original audience) were tempted to slander, & if we’re honest, we’re not immune from such temptation. Today, the temptation to bash others isn’t limited to in-person conversations, but is also present on social media, texting, & more. Plain & simple, though, we aren’t to be women who slander. It’s an easy command to understand, but sometimes, a hard one to live out.

When we slander, our words aren’t rooted in sound doctrine because they don’t show dignity to the person we’re slandering, who’s an image bearer of God (Gen. 1:26-27). Instead, slanderers give the world opportunity to question if we actually love others as Christ does. John 13:34-35 tells us the world will know we’re Christians by our love for one another. Let’s shout to the world, “We love Jesus!” by using words (whether typed or said) that don’t slander, but give grace to all who may hear (Eph. 4:29).

Not Slaves to Much Wine (Titus 2:3)

This one may be a hot-button issue. The next command given to older women is for them to not be “slaves to much wine.” The purpose of this passage/ post isn’t to debate if Christians should drink alcohol or not. This is about what has us under its influence. Romans 6:15-23 tells us we’re either enslaved to righteousness or to sin and things of this world. If wine is our master, then Christ isn’t. If wine (or anything) becomes a need, crutch, or stumbling block, those are key indicators we’re enslaved to it. Christ is our gracious master. We can’t obey our way to salvation, but obedience to Christ is a fruit of salvation. Living enslaved to the good lordship of Christ & not things of this world is a life rooted in sound doctrine because it shows it’s wonderful to submit to his lordship (& it is!).

Sisters, if we claim Christ is sufficient with our mouths, yet we “need” things of this world (wine, coffee, chocolate, social media, etc.) to get us through our day, then something doesn’t add up. Christ is both Savior AND Lord, so let’s live lives of sound doctrine, where we’re under Christ’s influence & nothing else.

Teach What’s Good (Titus 2:3)

Paul now addresses what the older women are to teach to the younger, & that’s “what is good”. This doesn’t mean the women weren’t & shouldn’t be under the authority & teaching of their local church pastors (pastors are vital!), but it does mean it’s important that women disciple other women. We can’t grow into the godly woman God calls us to be without other godly women. The local church is the best place to build these relationships, because it’s there where we connect with women in other seasons of life (thus living out these relationships discussed in Titus 2).

What the women are to teach is God himself, because he’s the essence of good. While discipleship can be informal & often occurs as we simply do life together, there should also be formal times of discipleship. The “textbook” of these times should be God’s Word. Isn’t it beautiful that God calls us to teach the good things of him? As we live out this command, we get to participate in the Great Commission (Matt. 28:18-20). What a joy that God uses us to teach those younger than us of his goodness! As we teach what’s good, let’s also be younger women who are in relationship with those older so that they can train us in God’s goodness.

This week, let’s aim to teach what’s good (God + his Word) in our homes, churches, conversations with friends, etc 💛!

Loving Your Husband + Kids (Titus 2:4)

Part of the “good”older women are to train the younger in is to love their husbands & children. This does NOT mean marriage & kids are a requirement to be a godly woman, but for those of us who have these roles, they’re opportunities to display Christ’s love. Note that loving husbands is listed before loving kids. What a great reminder that our marriage relationship should take priority (under our relationship with the Lord, of course!). As young moms, it’s easy to let our children take center stage. This is dangerous, though, & it’s why we desperately need older women to teach us this- to tell us it’s okay to leave our kids with trusted adults for a date night (or maybe even offer to babysit!). We need older women to remind us that one day, our kids will move out, & we have a lot of joyous marriage years ahead of us if we continue to pursue one another in the chaos of raising young kids.

As far as loving our children goes, the best way we can do this is by discipling them in the Lord. A temptation of my generation of moms is to make everything centered around our child. This is actually far from loving. Christ needs to be the center of our home, not our children. We need older ladies to tell us how they did this. They’re such a wealth of encouragement & wisdom for us! Personally, I look to ladies in my local church to help me navigate sports/prioritizing church, sibling relationships, & more. I’m so grateful for these precious ladies God has put in my life!

Let’s love our husbands & children in such a way that it shines a light for the Gospel!

Self-Control (Titus 2:5)

The older women are to train the younger women to be self-controlled. This characteristic & those following we’ll discuss in the next few weeks are characteristics of Christ himself! To think about how being self-controlled is living a life of sound doctrine, it’s helpful to think of the opposite. A woman who lacks self-control may often speak harshly to her children, react in anger, or engage in gossip.

Instead, we’re called to be women who live under the good control of the Holy Spirit. As I type this, I can think of a million ways I’ve lacked self-control. Praise God that his grace covers this. However, God’s grace doesn’t mean I should just go on sinning. I’m so thankful for the Spirit. On our own, we don’t have the self-control keep a watch on our tongue or actions. But God graciously gives us His Spirit at salvation. The longer we walk with Jesus, the more the Spirit takes over our lives, & the more we can see small changes along the way where we respond more Spirit-controlled than flesh-controlled. Praise God!

May we be women who are marked by the good control of the Spirit, & not our flesh.

Purity (Titus 2:5)

Here’s another characteristic of Christ- purity! Christ is the essence of purity. Therefore, we display the Gospel when we live purely, because we’re putting on a characteristic of Christ himself (though he alone does this perfectly). Purity isn’t just for before marriage, though that’s important. Purity goes much deeper, including everything from our entertainment, words, social media feed, thoughts, & more.

Truly, I think purity may be more of an issue among women than we realize. I remember when many women, including Christian women, excitedly lined up to see Magic Mike. If the men of our church were to see such a movie geared toward men, we’d riot (as we should), but yet women seem to have a different standard for themselves & entertainment (which we shouldn’t). Another area we must be careful with is rom-coms & books like them. I’m not against (most) of these. However, we must be watchful that reading/watching these doesn’t lead to impure thoughts about our husbands/future husbands. Impure thoughts may be neglecting to see the much better gift we have in a godly husband & marriage.  

Ultimately, impurity leads to being of the world rather than just in it (John 17:14-16). Yes, we’re in this world, but let’s not be of it, sisters. Christ has much better for us!

Working at Home (Titus 2:5)

If talking about wine & “Magic Mike” wasn’t controversial, then this one may be because “working at home” is the next thing the older women are to train the younger in. I’ll be honest, this is the one that caused me to take pause many years ago. Culture tells us working at home is a waste. I fear too many women, Christian women included, have bought into this lie, thus burning themselves out as they try to live up to a standard God never called them to. I don’t think this passage teaches women can’t do any work outside the home. The Proverbs 31 woman does just that, but it does teach that our hearts and priority should be on our home.

What does working in our homes have to do with being rooted in sound doctrine? Honestly, there’s much more to this than a caption & 3 minute video can cover. To put it simply, though, our homes can be used to make eternal impacts. For me, the home is the place where we’re training up the next generation of Jesus followers. For all of us, our homes should be places where we practice hospitality as we’re commanded in Scripture. I’m not perfect at this, but by God’s grace, he’s used our home to be a place where our kids ask theological questions, the Gospel is shared, & youth girls squish on the couch to study God’s Word. Maybe, to the world, I’m “wasting” my time centering so much of my life around the home. However, I don’t believe for a second that imaging my Savior as I serve my family, train my children in Christ around the dinner table, & love others through a meal & fellowship is any sort of a waste.

Sisters, there’s joy & freedom to be found in Christ as we center our hearts on our homes. Ditch the world’s lies & come to Christ for truth. May our homes be places of joy, where the Gospel is shared, discipleship happens, & God is glorified.

Kindness (Titus 2:5)

Today’s characteristic is an easy one to understand, but sometimes a difficult one to live out. As Christian women, we’re called to be kind, another characteristic of Christ himself! If we’re continually marked by unkindness, then it may beg the question of if we truly understand the kindness that Christ has lavished on us. Being kind is a simple, yet necessary virtue that leaves a lasting impact. As women, we have great influence over the places the Lord has put us in – homes, jobs, churches, communities. If we’re kind in both our attitudes & actions, that’s going to overflow into the culture of these places. If we’re unkind, that will overflow as well.

Ladies, let’s be women who are marked by kindness. This doesn’t mean we have a fake “unicorns & rainbows” kind of attitude. On good days & bad, we can remember Christ’s kindness to us so that whether we’re at the grocery store, work, or carpooling, that’s what overflows out of us!

Submissive to Their Own Husbands (Titus 2:5)

Let’s talk about one of my favorite topics- submission. Yep, you read that right! The longer I’m married, the longer I walk with Jesus, & the more I study his Word, the more I love God’s beautiful design for marriage, which includes wives submitting to their husbands. This is rooted in sound doctrine because a godly marriage is an earthly picture of the Gospel (Eph. 5:22-33). We don’t have the time/space to exhaust this subject here, but let’s discuss what submission isn’t & is.

Submission isn’t less-than. God the Son submits to the will of God the Father, & so to think we’re too good to submit is to say we’re better than Jesus himself. Submission isn’t the husband being domineering, controlling, or abusive (I know this has been abused & if that’s your story, I’m so sorry!). Submission isn’t the wife never having a say in big or small decisions.

Submission is living under the loving leadership of our husband. As we do this, we show the joy that it is to submit to the loving leadership of the Lord. It’s respecting & loving our husband. It’s serving him. As he leads by serving & we submit to him by serving, it truly does create the most joyful relationship that honors the Lord.

If you’re married, aim to live in the good design of marriage that God has created. Define roles, what it should look like, etc. by the Bible, not the world. If you’re not married, don’t settle for anything less than God’s design (& as a reminder, marriage isn’t the goal of the Christian life; singles can glorify the Lord in ways married people can’t, & vice-versa!).

That the Word of God May Not be Reviled (Titus 2:5)

This passage closes in a similar way that it started, the purpose of all of this. Biblical womanhood isn’t some dreadful checklist created to oppress us. In fact, it’s quite the opposite! Instead, we’re reminded that all of these exhortations are so that God’s Word won’t be reviled. Everything in this passage is sandwiched between care for sound doctrine & God’s Word. Truly, the root of biblical womanhood isn’t home cooked meals or Pinterest-worthy homes, but living in a way that corresponds with the Gospel, & we must do this together, in biblical community.

Will living in the way Christ calls us to cause us to shift our mindset & priorities? Most likely. I could’ve used the word “counter cultural” weekly throughout this series. The world won’t encourage us to not be slaves to wine, prioritize our homes, serve our husbands, or be self-controlled. In fact, it’ll encourage us to live the very opposite. The world doesn’t offer us joy, peace, & freedom, but following Christ does. It doesn’t mean our life will be perfect or we’ll do all of this perfectly, but I can attest that aiming to live faithfully unto Christ brings far more satisfaction & joy than any kind of salary, fancy career, world recognition, or wine could ever give.

Live so that God’s Word won’t be reviled, ladies. Let’s live so that our life shouts, “I love Jesus!”

Conclusion

It’s been a joy to walk through Titus 2:1-5 with you each week! I can’t say this enough, but I truly believe we’ll find freedom & joy as women when we ditch the world’s lies for God’s Word. If you want to continue to pursue biblical womanhood, here are 2 closing encouragements for you:

Prioritize God’s Word (God’s actual Word, not just books/devos about it). Make it the necessary part of your day. Be a student of the full counsel of it (from Genesis-Revelation). Soak up the treasure of the Bible!

Be engaged in the local church. The driving force behind this passage is discipleship, & God has given us the local church as a means for these relationships. Don’t just warm a pew on Sundays. Stay before & after & talk. Serve. Show up at fellowships. Be a part of a small group, Sunday school, etc. Invite women of all ages into your home & life.

Thanks for joining me for Womanhood Wednesdays! This series is ending, but continue to join me here on socials as I share my passion for God’s Word, the local church, & more.