Adorn the doctrine of God

I think I finally figured out the problem that has kept me from posting for a month now!  So I will work on catching myself up on a few things now that the holidays and shingles are over.

My special verse for 2019 is Titus 2:10b: "... adorn the doctrine of God our Savior."  Or, as it is put in the NIV version, "make the doctrine of God attractive."  I was really struck by the picture of what God is asking of me, so here is what I wrote the first day I read this and was meditating on it.

Titus 2:10b … adorn the doctrine of God our Savior.

So just how does a believer “adorn the doctrine of God?”  Paul told Titus to encourage, teach and exemplify for the believers in Crete how to do this, so just what should they do?  I see several things mentioned in the letter to Titus:

           

            1. be self-controlled.  Everyone is included, beginning with the leaders (1:7) to older men (2:3), then women/wives (2:5) and younger men (2:6).

            2. be submissive and “well-pleasing” with others.  This is mentioned for servants   in particular (2:9), but can easily be applied to everyone when Paul ends the statement with the exhortation to “show all good faith.”  Besides, everyone has someone who is of greater authority than themselves and to whom he/she must submit, whether it be employment, home, church, government, etc.

            3. be pure and true to your faith.  Paul tells Titus that only to the pure all things will be pure (1:15).  This is what gives a believer the ability to accomplish things   for God (1:16 and 3:14).