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This section has 2 verses.
Titus 3:1-2
1 Put them in mind to be subject to principalities
and powers, to obey magistrates, to be ready to
every good work,
2 To speak evil of no man, to be no brawlers, but
gentle, shewing all meekness unto all men.
We will begin with the Barclay commentary.
CHRISTIAN CITIZENS
First, the paraphrase of verses 1 and 2:
Remind them to be duly subject to those who are in
power and authority, to obey each several command,
to be ready for every work so long as it is good, to
slander no one, not to be aggressive, to be kindly,
to show all gentleness to all men.
HERE is laid down the public duty of all Christians;
and it is advice which was particularly relevant to
the people of Crete. The Cretans were notoriously
turbulent and quarrelsome and impatient of all
authority. Polybius, the Greek historian, said of
them that they were constantly involved in
‘insurrections, murders and internecine wars’. This
passage lays down six qualifications for good
citizens.
Good citizens are law-abiding. They recognize
that, unless the laws are kept, life becomes chaos.
They give a proper respect to those who are set in
authority and carry out whatever command is given to
them. Christianity does not insist that people
should cease to be individuals, but it does insist
that they remember that they are also members of a
group. ‘Man’, said Aristotle, ‘is a political
animal.’ That means that we best express our
personalities not in isolated individualism but
within the framework of the group.
Good citizens are active in service. They are
ready for every work, as long as it is good. The
characteristic modern disease is boredom, and
boredom is the direct result of selfishness. As long
as people live on the principle of ‘Why should I do
it? Let someone else do it’, they are bound to be
bored. The interest of life lies in service.
Good citizens are careful in speech. They
must slander no one. We should never say about other
people what we would not like them to say about us.
Good citizens will be as careful of the words they
speak as they are about their actions.
Good citizens are tolerant. They are not
aggressive. The Greek word is amachos, which means
not a fighter. This does not mean that good citizens
will not stand up for the principles which they
believe to be right, but that they will never be so
opinionated as to believe that no other way than
their own is right. They will allow to others the
same right to have their own convictions as they
claim for themselves.
Good citizens are kind. The word is epieike¯s,
which describes someone who does not stand upon the
letter of the law. Aristotle said of this word that
it denotes ‘indulgent consideration of human
infirmities’ and the ability ‘to consider not only
the letter of the law, but also the mind and
intention of the legislator’. Someone who is
epieike¯s is always ready to avoid the injustice
which often lies in being strictly just.
Good citizens are gentle. The word is praus,
which describes the person whose temper is always
under complete control. Such people know when to be
angry and when not to be angry. They patiently bear
wrongs done to them but are always ready to spring
to the help of others who are wronged.
Qualities like these are possible only for those in
whose hearts Christ reigns supreme. The welfare of
any community depends on the acceptance by the
Christians within it of the duty of demonstrating to
the world the nobility of Christian citizenship.
~Barclay Commentary
Now to the other commentaries. We will begin with
and spend this whole lesson in the general
commentaries.
We will begin with the Matthew Henry Main. This
commentary covers the first 8 verses of Chapter 3. I
will include here what is said for the first verse.
Here is the fourth thing in the matter of the
epistle. The apostle had directed Titus in reference
to the particular and special duties of several
sorts of persons; now he bids him exhort to what
concerned them more in common, namely, to quietness
and submission to rulers, and readiness to do good,
and to equitable and gentle behaviour towards all
men - things comely and ornamental of religion; he
must therefore put them in mind of such things.
Ministers are people's remembrancers of their duty.
As they are remembrancers for the people to God in
prayers (Isaiah 62:6), so are they from God to them
in preaching: I will not be negligent to put you
always in remembrance, 2 Peter 1:12. Forgetfulness
of duty is a common frailty; there is need therefore
of reminding and quickening them thereto.
Quoted verses:
Isaiah 62:6
I have set watchmen upon thy walls, O Jerusalem,
which shall never hold their peace day nor night: ye
that make mention of the LORD, keep not silence,
2 Peter 1:12
Wherefore I will not be negligent to put you always
in remembrance of these things, though ye know them,
and be established in the present truth.
Here are the duties themselves, and the reasons of
them.
I. The duties themselves, which they were to be
reminded of.
1. Put them in mind to be subject to principalities
and powers, to obey magistrates. Magistracy is God's
ordinance for the good of all, and therefore must be
regarded and submitted to by all; not for wrath and
by force only, but willingly and for conscience'
sake. Principalities, and powers, and magistrates,
that is, all civil rulers, whether supreme and chief
or subordinate, in the government under which they
live, of whatever form it be; that they be subject
to them and obey them in things lawful and honest,
and which it belongs to their office to require. The
Christian religion was misrepresented by its
adversaries as prejudicial to the rights of princes
and civil powers, and tending to faction and
sedition, and to rebellion against lawful authority;
therefore to put to silence the ignorance of foolish
men, and stop the mouths of malicious enemies,
Christians must be reminded to show themselves
examples rather of all due subjection and obedience
to the government that is over them. Natural desire
of liberty must be guided and bounded by reason and
scripture. Spiritual privileges do not make void or
weaken, but confirm and strengthen, their
obligations to civil duties: “Remind them therefore
to be subject to principalities and powers and to
obey magistrates.”
And, 2. To be ready to every good work. Some refer
this to such good works as are required by
magistrates and within their sphere: “Whatever tends
to good order, and to promote and secure public
tranquility and peace, be not backward, but ready,
to promote such things.” But, though this be
included, if not first intended, yet is it not to be
hereto restrained. The precept regards doing good in
all kinds, and on every occasion that may offer,
whether resecting [focusing
on] God, ourselves, or our neighbour -
what may bring credit to religion in the world.
Whatsoever things are true, honest, just, pure,
lovely, of good report: if there be any virtue, if
there be any praise, think on these things
(Philippians 4:8), to do and follow and further
them. Mere harmlessness, or good words and good
meanings only, are not enough without good works.
Pure religion and undefiled before God and the
Father is this, to visit the fatherless, and the
widow in their affliction, and keep unspotted from
the world. “Not only take, but seek, occasion for
doing good, keep fitness and readiness that way; put
it not off to others, but embrace and lay hold on it
thyself, delight and rejoice therein, put all in
mind of this.” ~Matthew
Henry Main
Note: See
Edification Blog
Quoted verse:
Philippians 4:8
Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true,
whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are
just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things
are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if
there be any virtue, and if there be any praise,
think on these things.
Now from the Matthew Henry Concise which covers
verses 1-7.
Spiritual privileges do not make void or weaken, but
confirm civil duties. Mere good words and good
meanings are not enough without good works. They
were not to be quarrelsome, but to show meekness on
all occasions, not toward friends only, but to all
men, though with wisdom, James 3:13. And let this
text teach us how wrong it is for a Christian to be
churlish [chur-lish]
[boorish; rude; mean;
difficult to work or deal with] to the
worst, weakest, and most abject.
Quoted verse
James 3:13
Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among
you? let him shew out of a good conversation his
works with meekness of wisdom.
The servants of sin have many masters, their lusts
hurry them different ways; pride commands one thing,
covetousness another. Thus they are hateful,
deserving to be hated. It is the misery of sinners,
that they hate one another; and it is the duty and
happiness of saints to love one another. And we are
delivered out of our miserable condition, only by
the mercy and free grace of God, the merit and
sufferings of Christ, and the working of his Spirit.
God the Father is God our Saviour. He is the
fountain from which the Holy Spirit flows, to teach,
regenerate, and save his [sinful]
creatures; and this blessing comes to mankind
through Christ. The spring and rise of it, is the
kindness and love of God to man. Love and grace
have, through the Spirit, great power to change and
turn the heart to God. Works must be in the saved,
but are not among the causes of their salvation. A
new principle of grace and holiness is wrought,
which sways, and governs, and makes the man a new
creature. Most pretend they would have [the
Kingdom] at last, yet they care not for
holiness now; they would have the end without the
beginning. Here is the outward sign and seal thereof
in baptism, called therefore the washing of
regeneration. The work is inward and spiritual; this
is outwardly signified and sealed in this ordinance.
Slight not this outward sign and seal; yet rest not
in the outward washing, but look to the answer of a
good conscience, without which the outward washing
will avail nothing. The worker therein is the Spirit
of God; it is the renewing of the Holy [Spirit].
Through him we mortify sin, perform duty, walk in
God's ways; all the working of the Divine life in
us, and the fruits of righteousness without, are
through this blessed and holy Spirit. The Spirit and
his saving gifts and graces, come through Christ, as
a Saviour, whose undertaking and work are to bring
to grace and glory. Justification, in the gospel
sense, is the free forgiveness of a sinner;
accepting him as righteous through the righteousness
of Christ received by faith. God, in justifying a
sinner in the way of the gospel, is gracious to him,
yet just to himself and his law. As forgiveness is
through a perfect righteousness, and satisfaction is
made to justice by Christ, it cannot be merited by
the sinner himself. Eternal life is set before us in
the promise; the Spirit works faith in us, and hope
of that life; faith and hope bring it near, and fill
with joy in expectation of it.
~Matthew Henry Concise with some editing by me
Now a couple of things from the Biblical
Illustrator:
Put them in
mind to be subject
Obedience to
civil magistrates
I. Who are to be understood by civil rulers. All
those who are in the peaceable possession of civil
power.
II. It is the duty of subjects to obey their
civil rulers.
1. The Scripture expressly enjoins this duty upon
subjects.
2. The duty of submission naturally results from the
relation which subjects bear to their rulers. There
would be no propriety in calling the body of the
people subjects, unless they were under obligation
to obey those in the administration of government.
3. All subjects ought to obey their rulers for the
sake of the public good.
III. Ministers ought to inculcate such submission
to civil magistrates.
1. Preachers are expressly required to press this
plain and important duty upon the people of their
charge.
2. It becomes the preachers of the gospel, in this
case, to fellow the example of the inspired
teachers—John the Baptist, Christ, etc.
3. It no less belongs to the office of gospel
ministers to teach men their duty towards civil
rulers than to teach them any other moral or
religious duty.
4. There are some peculiar reasons why the duty of
submission to civil authority should be more
especially inculcated upon the minds of subjects.
(1) Men are extremely apt to forget that they are
under any moral obligation to obey the rulers of the
land.
(2) There is scarcely any duty more disagreeable to
the human heart than submission to civil government.
(3) The safety and happiness of the whole body
politic more essentially depend upon each member’s
performing this, than any other duty. Where there is
no subordination, there can be no government; and
where there is no government, there can be no public
peace nor safety.
Concluding reflections:
1. There is no ground to complain of the ministers
of the gospel for inculcating political duties.
2. There appears to be no more difficulty in
determining the measure of submission to civil
government than the measure of submission to any
other human authority.
3. It is extremely criminal to disobey civil rulers,
and oppose the regular administration of government.
4. It is criminal not only to disobey and resist
civil authority, but also to countenance, cherish,
and inflame a spirit of disobedience and rebellion.
5. Those in executive authority are under
indispensable obligation to give rebels and traitors
a just recompense of reward. They are God’s
ministers to execute wrath upon them that do evil;
and they ought not to hold the sword of justice in
vain. ~Biblical Illustrator
Here is another item from the Biblical Illustrator:
The authority
of law
I. Law is of God. Therefore godly men are obedient
to human laws, when not inconsistent with the
dictates of conscience, as being ordinances of God.
II. Authority is derived from God. Therefore
righteous lawgivers and just judges are to be
esteemed as God’s gifts to a nation.
III. Obedience to law an essential preparation for
good works. No amount of religious profession, and
no degree of activity in the performance of
Christian duties, can compensate for the neglect of
social duties or disregard of the claims of
citizenship. ~Biblical
Illustrator
And a third item from the Biblical Illustrator:
Ready to every
good work
Christian duty
I. Every Christian must make account with himself
that every Christian duty belongs to Him.
1. This doctrine first teacheth us to learn the rule
of every good work, legal or evangelical. Content
not thyself that thou canst say the commandments,
nor if thou canst say that thou hast kept the whole
letter of the law from thy youth; but study the
whole Scripture, which is an exposition and large
commentary of those ten words; hear it, read it
diligently, meditate upon it, apply it to thy heart
and life, else knowest thou not how to begin any
good work.
2. If every good work belong to every Christian then
may not men post over the matter to the minister.
The common conceit is, that the clergy should be
holy, hospitable, and so qualified as we have heard
in the first chapter; but for common men and
unlearned it will be acceptable enough if they be
almost Christians, that is, as good as never a whir;
whereas the Lord bindeth upon every Christian, of
what condition soever, the practice of every good
work which is offered him within the compass of his
calling.
3. If a Christian must employ himself in every good
work, then must men so cast and contrive their
courses, and neither duties of piety hinder the
duties of their calling, nor these stand in the way
of the other. And he that hath the heart of the wise
to know time and judgment, forecasteth both wisely,
and knoweth one of these to be subordinate, but not
opposite unto the other. Hence must Christians
forecast, and remember the Sabbath beforehand, and
so order and husband their times and seasons, that
there may be place and time and opportunity for
every good work in the weekday, and especially for
the best works, whether public exercises of religion
or private prayers and exercises in the family.
II. That every Christian ought to keep in himself
a fitness and readiness to every good work is plain
in the Scriptures. For
1. In duties of piety, we are enjoined not only to
come to the house of God, but to take heed to our
feet, and to wash our hands in innocency before we
compass the altar, and first to sanctify ourselves
before God and reconcile ourselves to men, and then
bring our gift. If we preach, we must do it readily,
and of a ready mind, and then we have reward. If you
hear, you must be wise to hear, and ready to hear,
rather than to offer a sacrifice of fools.
2. In performance of duties of love and mercy unto
men, we are called to readiness in distributing
(1Timothy 6:18), and mindfulness to distribute
(Hebrews 13:16).
Quoted verses:
1 Timothy 6:18 [see
Lesson]
That they do good, that they be rich in good works,
ready to distribute, willing to communicate;
Hebrews 13:16
But to do good and to communicate forget not: for
with such sacrifices God is well pleased.
3. In private duties, when God giveth us peace and
opportunity, we must serve Him with cheerfulness and
good hearts (Deuteronomy 28:47).
Quoted verse:
Deuteronomy 28:47
Because thou servedst not the LORD thy God with
joyfulness, and with gladness of heart, for the
abundance of all things;
4. In private injuries, we must be ready to receive,
yea, to offer reconciliation, and to forgive, which
is another good work, and so in the rest. Reasons
1. We herein become like unto God, whose nature is
to accommodate Himself to our good; whose readiness
to give bountifully and forgive freely is hereby
shadowed.
2. Hereby we also beautify, and as it were gild our
duties, when they come off without delays, without
grudging, murmuring, or heaviness, but am from men
inured to well-doing.
3. Hereby we may lay hold of Christian consolation,
in that this ready and willing mind is accepted,
where often power of doing good is wanting, and
indeed the regenerate often want power and ability
unto good, but to want will and desire is dangerous.
III. Some rules of practice for the better
setting us forward in this duty.
1. Get into thy soul the conscience of this
commandment, accounting it worthy of all thine
obedience, being so often urged in the Scriptures,
and made in the end of the former chapter, the end
of Christ’s purchasing of us. This reason drawn from
the fear of God prevailed so far with Job, that
thence he was moved to use mercifulness to all sorts
of men; for God’s “punishment was fearful unto me,
and I could not escape His highness.”
2. Take every opportunity of well-doing while it is
offered, for else the opportunity may be cut off
from thee, or thou from it. This is the apostle’s
rule, “While we have time do good unto all”
(Galatians 6:10), that is, take the present occasion
of doing all the good thou canst.
Quoted verse:
Galatians 6:10
As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good
unto all men, especially unto them who are of the
household of faith.
(1) In regard of thyself, perform the principal and
main duty, know the day of thy visitation; slack not
this thy term time, but get the oil of faith,
knowledge of God, and obedience to His Word, that
thy lamp may ever be shining to the glorifying of
the Father which is in heaven; in one word, forget
not while thou hast time to give all diligence to
make thine election sure.
(2) In regard of others, if now thou canst do them
good in soul or body, delay it not. “Say not unto
thy neighbour, go, and come again tomorrow, and I
will give thee, if now thou hast it” (Proverbs
3:28); and what knoweth any man, whether this may be
the last day wherein he can do good to himself or
others?
Quoted verse:
Proverbs 3:28
Say not unto thy neighbour, Go, and come again, and
to morrow I will give; when thou hast it by thee.
3. Go yet one step further, to seek and watch
occasions of doing good, and be glad when thou hast
obtained them, that so thou mayest ever be
furthering thy reckoning. We read of the patriarchs,
Abraham and Lot, how they sat at their doors
watching to entertain strangers, that they espied
them afar off, ran out to meet them, and most
earnestly entreated them to abide and refresh
themselves; show thyself herein the son of Abraham.
~Biblical Illustrator
So,
1] Be subject to the principalities and powers over
you.
2] Obey the magistrates--those with civil power.
3] Be ready to every good work and seek continual
opportunities to invoke them.
These are the lessons of verse 1. |