Titus 2:9, 10 Teach Slaves

Titus 2:9, 10 Teach slaves to be subject to their masters in everything, to try to please them, not to talk back to them, and not to steal from them, but to show that they can be fully trusted, so that in every way they will make the teaching about God our Saviour attractive.

In Titus 2:9, 10 we find Paul's instructions to Titus as to what he should teach slaves. Some five inter-related commands are given. 1. They must be subject to their masters in everything 2. They must try to please them 3. They must not to talk back to them 4. They must not steal from them 5. They must show that they can be fully trusted. A great deal has changed since the days of the Roman Empire when large numbers were in life long servitude, chiefly under the influence of the gospel. It is not difficult to see applications to today's workaday world - respect, hard work, no insolence, no pilfering but trustworthiness and integrity of the highest sort. Paul's concern then was so that in every way they will make the teaching about God our Saviour attractive. That same concern should be prominent in our thinking today. This is the sort of thing that congregations need to be reminded of regularly.