# Insights on 1 & 2 Timothy, Titus

## Metadata
- Author: [[Charles R. Swindoll]]
- Full Title: Insights on 1 & 2 Timothy, Titus
- Category: #books
## Highlights
- We are all being watched. Paul said so. Note the progression of his letter thus far. He insisted upon belief that can be observed (Titus 1:1). He sent Titus, who had observed Paul’s belief in action during their years together and most recently on Crete (1:5). He directed Titus to appoint spiritual leaders whose behavior had been observed and then judged to be “above reproach” or “blameless” (1:6). He commanded the Cretan leaders to silence false teachers, whose behavior reflected faulty doctrine (1:16). Then, Titus and the appointed elders were to cultivate godly behavior within the congregations, primarily by setting a worthy example. Finally, Paul expressed his desire for each congregation to pursue godly behavior “so that they may encourage” (2:4), “so that the word of God will not be dishonored” (2:5), “to be an example of good deeds” (2:7), “so that the opponent will be put to shame” (2:8), and “so that they will adorn the doctrine of God our Savior” (2:10). The character of the church is being watched, both from the outside and from within. ([Location 6794](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00H598D3K&location=6794))
- While we typically think of older men as wiser, more mature, and stronger in faith, those who are up in years do not always justify our expectations. The passage of time and the experience of life invite each person to gain wisdom, but many refuse the offer and, instead, they become critical, cynical, cranky, negative, and even lazy. ([Location 6812](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00H598D3K&location=6812))
- Paul expected older men to cultivate in themselves six qualities that he hoped would define the church at large. ([Location 6817](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00H598D3K&location=6817))
- “Temperate” means avoiding extravagance and overindulgence in any area. ([Location 6818](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00H598D3K&location=6818))
- “Dignified” comes from a term that usually refers to people or things that are majestic. On the negative side, it means to avoid becoming frivolous, trivial, tedious, or superficial. On the positive, a dignified person is worthy of respect. ([Location 6821](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00H598D3K&location=6821))
- “Sensible” is the defining quality that Paul sought for all Cretans, perhaps because they consistently and universally lacked this mark of maturity. Sensible means “moderate,” “prudent,” “modest,” “restrained,” and “disciplined.”[117] It’s the only term the apostle applied to both genders and every age group. ([Location 6823](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00H598D3K&location=6823))
- The longer I live, the more I value a virtue that Paul mentions several times in these verses: sensibility (2:2, 5, 6, 12). ([Location 6830](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00H598D3K&location=6830))
- remain calm and quietly confident—in a word, sensible. ([Location 6834](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00H598D3K&location=6834))
- “Sound in faith” is literally, “wholesome in faith.” This concept, along with the next two, is merely an extension of the “sound teaching” commanded in 2:1. This wholesome belief in Christ is a lifestyle that begins with trusting Him as Savior and then extends, progressively, to every aspect of life. ([Location 6846](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00H598D3K&location=6846))
- “[Sound] in love” refers to healthy agapē [26], the other-focused, exercise-of-the-will kind of love best exemplified by the Lord. ([Location 6849](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00H598D3K&location=6849))
- “[Sound] in perseverance” uses hypomonē [5281], a profoundly significant Greek term that embodies the very essence of spiritual maturity. ([Location 6850](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00H598D3K&location=6850))
- All of God’s people share dual citizenship in these realms, yet many lose sight of the supernatural world, perhaps blinded by temporal concerns or enslaved by the tyranny of the urgent. Author William Irwin Thompson likened such people to flies crawling across the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, blissfully unaware of the magnificent shapes and forms and colors that lie above them (or beneath them, as it were). Not only do they fail to appreciate the magnificence of the world they inhabit, they lack the capacity to recognize their own blindness. ([Location 7148](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00H598D3K&location=7148))
- While I find speaking, exhorting, and correcting to be challenging work, living the truth through my actions is far more difficult—yet far more effective. Let’s face it; the world has no lack of convincing talk and noteworthy spokespeople. But people need to see results. ([Location 7155](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00H598D3K&location=7155))
- Paul expected Christians to obey “rulers” and “authorities,” which represent both the offices of government and the people who occupy them. His commands leave no room for anything short of complete, submissive obedience. Not merely respect, but full compliance with their laws and directives. ([Location 7159](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00H598D3K&location=7159))
- Just when I think I can’t imagine a less deserving leader in the Oval Office, I remind myself that when Paul wrote this letter, Nero commanded most of the known world. Thoroughly pagan. Morally bankrupt. Despotic, cruel, oppressive, murderous, unjust, sexually immoral, and sadistic. He was corrupt to the core. No one embodied the very spirit of antichrist more than Nero. Yet Paul called for obedience and urged believers to be prepared to do good works. ([Location 7162](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00H598D3K&location=7162))
- This attitude contrasted sharply with traditional Jewish society, which urged strict separation from local culture. Before the Exile, the Israelites failed to maintain separation from their idolatrous neighbors in the Promised Land, so the Lord chastised them by allowing Babylon to carry them far from home. While in captivity, the Hebrews learned how to maintain their identity as God’s covenant people, even as they shared living space with other captured cultures. But by the time of their return to the land, this crucial ethic of separateness had become an obsession. So, in the first century, Jews living outside Israel formed tight-knit communities, reluctantly submitting to local laws and authorities, and treating local culture with thinly veiled disdain. Rather than elevate God in the minds of pagan cultures, and instead of winning respect and admiration as His covenant people, Jews provoked hatred. ([Location 7166](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00H598D3K&location=7166))