Titus 2:9  Exhort servants to be obedient unto their own masters, and to please them well in all things; not answering again;
10  Not purloining, but shewing all good fidelity; that they may adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things.
11  For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,
12  Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;
13  Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;
14  Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.
15  These things speak, and exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no man despise thee.

During the first century, the Roman empire was in power. There were no labour laws like we have today. Masters were often quite greedy and also quite ruthless. Servants did not have any recourse to how they were being treated.
We need to remember that God directed the apostle Paul to send Titus to Crete to deal with the things that were lacking there. One of those things was servant/master relationships. Servants are just that, they are servants. They do not own the business. They need money to live and they need to serve some master. Servants who were saved, needed to be obedient to their own masters. The Bible is clear that there is no place for a union. Sure, unions have managed to twist the company’s arm and gain concessions that others do not have. Some people believe they would never have what they have if it were not for the unions. Unions are ungodly organizations and they use the union dues they collect for ungodly ventures.
Christians need to learn to trust God. Yes, you might not make as much money in a non-union environment but if you are saved, you would have a greater possibility of having a good testimony. Saved people need to remember that we are already under One Master, and that is God. We need to remember that we are to serve Him in all things. When we have the right attitude things will work better.
Purloining is a form of theft. I worked in a restaurant for a time. We were located across the way from an automotive factory. We were well situated to get many customers for meals. At the end of the shift, all those workers had to walk past a watchman and open their lunch boxes to prove they were not stealing parts on their way out of the plant. That was a unionized shop that had a reputation of theft. That is a form of purloining.
Workers need to demonstrate that they are honest workers. This would be especially true of a professing Christian. If you claim to love the Lord, then you better be sure to prove it. One of the best ways you can show your boss the value of being saved, is by putting in an honest days work. Daniel and his three friends proved their worth in a foreign land with wicked leadership. They were a great asset to that nation and God could work through them to help that king and others to see their need to trust in the true God. God does not need us. We need Him.
In verse 11 we are reminded that God is working. His saving grace can be seen by all. It is not that man does not know better. It is the hardness of man’s heart that needs to be broken. Those who are saved need to live like saved people. That is a major problem in our world. It was a problem in the days of Titus as well.
In verse 12 we see that this grace will teach us the importance of denying ungodliness and worldly lusts. Those who want to steal from their boss are following their lusts. They want more than they can get honestly. They think the boss is making too much money and they will take what they believe to be their “fair share”. Those who are saved need to live soberly — that is to live with eternity in mind. Think carefully about the consequences of your actions. Obviously a person cannot do that when under the influence of alcohol. Righteous living is doing things that are right regardless of what others think or say. We need to have a godly character. We see that testimony in people like Joseph, or David and many others in the Bible. We are living in this present world. We, those who are saved, are looking forward to heaven. However, we are here now. We need to seek to help others to see the benefit of living for the Lord now and for the future.
In verse 13 we are reminded that saints are looking for that blessed hope and glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ. That is what motivates the true child of God. We understand that our time here is short. We are also reminded that we will meet the Lord soon. He is the great God. He is our Saviour. He gave His life so that we could live. That is what verse 14 tells us. Notice as well that He redeems us from all iniquity. There is no sin that a true child of God cannot overcome. We are a peculiar people. The world should be able to see the difference in us if we are saved. We want to be good citizens in this wicked world. We do not follow the pattern of this world. We follow the living God.
Titus was to make these facts the focus of his language. He was to speak them, but not in a casual manner. He was to speak them with authority. Obviously there would be people who would despise him. There are always God-haters. The fact is that Titus needed to live in such a way that no God-hater could make their false accusations stick.
Jesus Christ is our example. The chief priests and their ilk tried hard to bring an accusation against Him. They could not do it. Pilate knew they were motivated by their hatred for Him. Peter and John also were not accused of stealing or murder. They were accused of preaching the Gospel of Christ. The same was true for Paul and Silas. We need to be sure that we have a testimony that will hold up under scrutiny. The world needs to be reminded of the purity of the Gospel and the holiness of the Lord.
Pastor Bartel