 Good morning, everyone, and welcome back to another week of studying from God's Word, learning. And welcome to our class on Titus. We finished 1st and 2nd Timothy, and we began looking and studying the book of Titus last week. And a very good morning to all of you. For some of you, it's night. I'm not going to say good night, at least you'll fall asleep. Must be tired, but thank you all for joining class. And I just pray that it just be a meaningful time for all of us. Let's begin with a word of prayer. Can I ask Siddharth to lead us in prayer, please? Father, in the name of Jesus, Lord, we thank you for this time, for your grace and mercy, Lord. Thank you for the class as well. As we learn, Lord, help us to receive and understand. Lord, we surrender ourselves to the Word of your grace, which is going to build us. In Jesus' name, I pray. Amen. Thank you, Siddharth. Last Monday, we began studying the book of Titus. We looked at the first nine verses. And we just saw in verses six to nine what Paul writes to Titus, how he must look for leaders, appoint leaders. And then he lists out various qualifications that he needs to look at as he appoints leaders at the church, for the churches at the island of Crete. And so we divided these qualifications into four categories, domestic, personal, positive and doctrinal qualifications. And we looked at all of the qualifications that Paul lists out for Titus in these four different categories, which he mentions in verses six to nine. And then he goes on to talk about the characteristics of false teachers. Now, why does he bring in the characteristics of false teachers when he's talking to him about the qualities or the important things that he must look at while appointing leaders? He's saying that it's so important for Titus to appoint leaders at the churches of Crete because of the background that these people had. You know, the Cretans were known as greedy, lazy, gluttonous and evil as well. They were very evil. So one of their own poets who they looked at as a prophet said Cretans are always liars, evil beasts and lazy gluttonous. And in the midst of such kind of, you know, characteristics of people that dwelt in the island of Crete, Paul is mentioning how important it is for Titus to appoint the right kind of leaders. And then he goes on to say that, you know, the need to appoint such kind of leaders is because that there are so many false teachers in the island of Crete among the people, among the believers in the churches as well. So this is not a problem from outside but within. And then he talks about the characteristics of these false teachers and then he goes on to tell him what he needs to do. So one of you can please read verses 10 to 16, please. And before you read that, you know, the notes are very elaborate and detailed. And as I mentioned last week, this is my own study and research. So whatever, you know, I have studied and just put in the entire content. So it's quite, you know, lengthy, complete content that is there and I'm just going to teach from this because there's nothing more that I need to add. And I'm not just going to be touching on every aspect. I'm going to be just mentioning, highlighting a few points because it's very detailed. And I've given it in detail so that you all can use it for your own personal study. Okay. So with that, we'll begin looking at verses 10 to 16. Can one of you please read verses 10 to 16, please of Titus chapter one. Yeah, for there are many rebellious people full of mean meaningless talk and deception, especially those of the circumcision group. They must be silenced because they are disrupting whole households by teaching things they ought not to teach. And that for the sake of dishonest gain. One of Crete's own profits has said it. Cretans are always liars, evil roots and lazy crooks. This saying is true. Therefore, rebuke them sharply so that they will be sound in the faith and will pay no attention to Jewish myths or to the merely human commands of those who reject the truth. To the pure, all things are pure, but to those who are corrupted and do not believe, nothing is pure. In fact, both their minds and consciences are corrupted. They claim to know God, but by their actions, they deny him. They are detestable, disobedient and unfit for doing anything good. Thank you, Christopher. So we see in these verses, Paul is listing out the kind of false teachers or the characteristics of false teachers that are there in the island of Crete. And he says there are many of them. So there are many who stand opposed to the truth. He mentions this in verse 9 as well as in verse 14 that there are many who and also in verse 10, there are many who are insubordinate. There are many who stand opposed to the truth of the gospel. And he says that there are insubordinate, which means that they're not willing to subordinate or willing to submit themselves to God's authority or God's authority structure that he has placed in the church. And these false teachers or those who are teaching false doctrines, they are basically people who are indulging or who are just speaking empty talk. There's no point in what they're saying. There's nothing. There's no truth. There's nothing substantial in what they're saying. They basically their empty talk is all about Jewish fables, which is like picturesque tales, which they talk about Adam, Moses, and Elijah and all the other saints in the Old Testament. I already mentioned this when we were studying the book of Western Secondary and also Romans as well. So all of these false teachers that, you know, all of these in these various churches at Ephesus, at Rome, at Crete, where not false teachers who were outside the church were impacting the saints or the believers in the church. But they were these Jewish, you know, Hellenistic Jews, those who were, you know, came from the Jewish faith and they received salvation. They're part of the church. But they're bringing in all of these Jewish fables, mythology about, you know, the prophets and the Old Testament saints. And also what he says is these false teachers can be characterized by people who are having, you know, making their own commandments, commandments of men, which is, you know, they're very legalistic, very acidic in their rules, very severe in their kind of rules that they are bringing in, which is basically these rules and regulations of they've been very legalistic in dealing with the things of the flesh. So it's basically circumcision, the kind of food that they need to eat, bringing in all of these Jewish laws regarding the way you need to pray, the way you need to dress, the way you need to eat. And also the circumcision rituals. So he says that, you know, these men who teach these false teaching are basically empty talkers because they talk about Jewish fables and, you know, they have their That's why it's called commandments of men, which is very legalistic and acidic or very severe in their rules is basically they're doing it to deal with the things of the flesh. Okay. And that is why Paul is saying it's so important or it's absolutely necessary for him to choose elders who hold on to the truth in the gospel. And, you know, and they're able to teach and teach the truth so that it can impact the lives of people who are influenced by these false teachers. And he says, you know, that their idol talkers and deceivers is because basically they've been deceived by Satan, and, and it's only the truth in God's word that has the power to change life. So he's saying, you know, this preach and teach the word of God. And he says that these false teachers are especially those of the circumcision. The, you know, other version says that they are some of them who are from the Jewish followers, the passion translation says converts from Judaism. So this gives us a clue or the identity of the nature of these false teachers who were, you know, bringing about false teaching in the churches at Crete. These were Jewish Christians, Jews who became Christians who became believers and who insisted on, you know, circumcision and keeping the rituals of the law in terms of food in terms of how they pray and other things, which was necessary for salvation. And in verse 11, Apostle Paul says that, you know, they must be stopped, whose mouths must be stopped. That means these offenders must be refused or not given the opportunity to spread their teachings in the churches. And also this, this word stopped means it also that you need to silence them by, you know, logically denying their views from the truths in God's word so that, you know, you can stop them from further causing damage or bringing division in the church and spreading their false teaching, which would, you know, impact the entire church, families, and there can be such a chaos in the church. And he says, you know, whose mouth must be stopped, whose subword, how cold households. So subword means the word Burt, B-E-R-T in this, in this word subword means turn. So basically the word subword means to overturn or to overthrow. So, you know, these false teachers and their false teaching is basically having such a disastrous effects in the life of the church that it's overturning or overthrowing families or the entire house churches that are gathering and are meeting together to worship God. So he's saying, you know, to subvert households so these households can either mean, you know, the churches that are meeting in houses in, in Paul's time, they didn't have, you know, churches in terms of buildings or structures. But there were many house churches. So here households means, you know, the house churches and also it could mean families because families consist of these house churches. So either way, you know, if a family is impacted or affected by these false teaching, or if the head of the family is impacted by these false teaching, then he is going to, you know, get his wife and his children also. And to this false teaching. And if this family is going to be affected, then it's going to affect other families, and it's ultimately going to affect the entire house churches that are meeting. And he says that these false teachers, they're not doing these false, they're not sharing these false teachings, because, you know, they are so zealous for the truth or that they are holding on to or they're so passionate about what they believe in. Or what they think is the truth or holding on to these things, because they're so convinced that this is the truth. But the main motive of these false teachers is to make money. And we, we, we looked at this even in, you know, Second Timothy, when Paul writes to Second Timothy, the main agenda for these false teachers is basically to make money and they did not basically care in what they believed in. They didn't even know if it was the truth or if it was the right doctrines. They were not fully convinced or passionate or zealous that they are, you know, holding on to this truth and this truth has to be taught to others. But it was basically that, you know, as far as they made money, they got money, they just kept, you know, spreading these false teaching teachings among the people. Now, verse 11 points us to the nature of their seductive activity of the false teachers and why Paul is saying that they must be totally silenced or their mouths must be stopped because in verse 11 we see the motive. Their motive of these false teachers is this honest gain and what is their method? Their method is they teach what ought not to be taught that is false doctrines and what is the multiple result of it, it is misleading the whole family. So, you know, verse 11 basically points us to the nature of the seductive activity of these false teachers. And in verse 12, you know, Paul points out another reason why, you know, that Titus must appoint elders or, you know, leaders in the church is because what one of their own prophets or the poet who was considered as a poet, a prophet, a religious reformer who was living in Crete during the 6th of the 5th century BC. He says that all Cretans are liars, evil beasts and lazy delusions. And, you know, he's pointing out that not just because there are false teachers that you have to appoint, you know, leaders who are qualified who can address these false teachers or can stop them, but also it is so important because of the, you know, the bad character that these Cretans has or, you know, how they are recognized as. And so it's important to appoint leaders with good qualities having all of those qualifications so that, you know, they can lead the church at Crete. And then in verse 13, he says, you know, this testimony is true. Therefore, rebuke them sharply that they may be sound in the faith. So he says rebuke them sharply. Now this word rebuke is, you know, is something that points out to convict, you know, have those who are guilty, you know, teach them, convince them, give them the proof of God's word. So they are convicted. And, you know, they're hopefully they're convinced of the false teaching that they are teaching and hopefully they're convinced of the truth. And so he says, you know, you need to do this very, very sharply because knowing the characteristics of these false teachers and knowing also the kind of people these Cretans are by nature. And hence it is very important to rebuke them very, very sharply. So the word sharply in the Greek means severely or rigorously. So, you know, a sharp review would just get their attention. And, you know, if not, it's going to escalate the problem and it's not going to help in any way. So he says, you know, rebuke them sharply so this them can refer to the false teachers and also to the believers in the, in the, in the house churches who have kind of listened to these false teachings and have received it and are part of it. So, you know, he's saying, even them include them in rebuting them sharply so that, you know, they become sound in the faith and they are no longer open or interested in these false teachers and then teachings. And so he says, you know, rebuke them sharply so that they may be sound in the faith. So there may be sound means they may be whole, they may be healthy in the faith. So the goal of rebuking these false teachers and the goal of rebuking the others in the church, the saints and believers who have kind of listened to these false teachers, to receive their teaching is basically to rebuke them, to restore them to wholeness and to wholeness in the faith and to healthy faith that they can hold on to. So that is the main reason why he's telling them to be, to rebuke them so that they are not sick in their belief system, but they're restored to the truth and that would help them to be healthy in their faith. Okay. And then in verse 15, he says, you know, to the pure, all things are pure, but to those who are defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure, but even their mind and conscience are defiled. So he says, to the pure, all things, so this all things, you know, applies to all kinds of food that, you know, is that the some of the Jews, these Jewish believers who are now spreading all of these false teachings, you know, Jewish fables and this weird legalistic aesthetic rules of eating the right kind of food, eating it in a particular way and all of that. So he says all things which means, you know, applies to food as well applies to all kind of food. So he says all kind of food is created by God for consumption, which we studied in 1 Timothy chapter five verse five. And so he's saying, you know, these false teachers were teaching these, you know, Jewish food laws. And they said it's still applied for Christian believers who are part of the church. And so, you know, Paul says, it's not what you, what goes in that makes you clean, but for those who are already clean in their hearts, those who are internally pure, all things are pure. So the statement does not mean that, you know, does not include sinful things because sin is not pure. But here he's basically meaning talking about food. So he says you can eat any and every kind of food because everything is created by God. And it's not what goes in that makes you clean or pure but it's, you know, having a clean and a pure heart that is more important. And he says that, you know, for the pure, all things are pure. But those who are defiled, you know, the word defiled in Greek means when a person either rejects the truth of salvation by grace, you know, as an unbeliever or because of other forces or other outside pressures. So here the pressure can, the outside forces can be those who are Judaizers or these Jewish Christians who become the Jews who become Christians for bringing in all of these legalistic aesthetic rules. And he says, you know, who are doing this to add to their work of sanctification, or they're doing this and saying that, you know, you have to follow all of these laws so that you can maintain your salvation. They're not just looking at salvation by grace, you know, and through faith, but they're saying, yes, it is by grace through faith, but also you have to maintain your salvation. You have to add works for your sanctification for you to be sanctified. You have to add works. And one of this is, you know, circumcision and the others is all of the other legalistic aesthetic rules that they were, you know, spreading among the believers in the church. And the house churches. So he's saying that when you add to salvation that is by grace through faith, and you add all of these legalistic rules, then Paul is saying, you know, your mind, your thinking process also becomes defiled and polluted. And when you're thinking or your thought process is defiled and polluted because you're trying to achieve or maintain your salvation or, you know, being sanctified by works, then it's naturally going to impact your conscience as well. And, you know, the conscience which influences your faith and your actions also becomes defiled as well. So he's saying that, you know, it's important to, you know, not add anything to salvation by grace or not add works for your sanctification, but just receive it by grace through faith, and, you know, not add on to anything apart from that. If you do it, it's going to basically defile or pollute your basic mind, your thought process, and also impacts your conscience, which influences your faith and your actions. And thus we see in 1 Timothy chapter 15, you know, Paul is demonstrating to us that the true purity lies not in just observing external rules, but in the inner purity of the heart. And that has to be cleansed. That has to be regenerated. And how can it be cleansed and regenerated when it's only when we put our faith and our trust in the finished work of the cross. And, you know, the complete provision that we receive because of what crisis accomplished for us on the cross for our salvation. And it is this that, you know, leads us to moral, moral rightness, or this is what leads us to be righteous and justified in God's sight, and also gives us the capacity because our minds are sound, our thinking process is sound. It's not defiled. It's not polluted. It's only then we can discern what is truly good and evil. So what Paul is telling Timothy Titus is, hey Titus, these people are not able to discern truth from wrong, from error, good from evil, because, you know, they are not fully trusting or putting their faith in the complete finished work of the cross. But they're trying to achieve salvation by works. They're trying to achieve sanctification by works. So this is something that we too can learn. You know, it's not our works that is important. I'm not saying that, you know, we don't bother about our actions and the way we live. You know, when we are fully trusting on putting our faith in what Jesus has accomplished for us on the cross, what he has purchased for us, we are mindful of that, you know, and that becomes our thought process. That becomes what is there in our minds, and our minds are not polluted by other things, then it just automatically translates into our actions and our faith in God. So, you know, we are constantly judging ourselves, looking at ourselves, you know, and saying, hey, you know, Jesus died for me on the cross for this sin, this sin is rendered inoperative. You know, it's nullified. I'm dead to sin. So the sin cannot overrule, overpower me, have any kind of dominion over my life. And hence I'm going to, you know, you know, the power of the Holy Spirit is available, and I can overcome this sin. But if you think that, you know, we need to do works, works become very important for our salvation, then we will continue to live in sin thinking that, hey, you know, I have not been able to, I can't overpower the sin. This is something that genetically is part of me. It's coming down from generations, anger or strife or outburst of anger, you know, with that leads in being physically very abusive. And I can't overcome this because, you know, I've seen this in my parents. I've seen this in my grandparents and it's coming down from the generations. I can't do anything about it. But if you're looking at, you know, your focus is, and then what you're doing is, you know, okay, I did the sin. So I'm going to do something to cover it up. So, you know, maybe feed the poor or, you know, giving to some orphanage. So try to, you know, or go and take holy communion thinking that the sin can be atoned and covered for trying to do it by works. But if you're somebody who's looking at the finished work of the cross, sorry, if you're somebody who's looking at the finished work of the cross and what Jesus has done for us and the provision that he's made for us on the cross, then you will think differently. Your whole thought process is different. Hey, you know, Christ has nullified this, has indebted to this sin. The sin has no longer control over my life. The Holy Spirit is going to empower me because the same power, the same dunamis power that has resurrected Jesus back from death to life. And I identify with him spiritually in his death, in his burial, in his resurrection, in his ascension and him being seated. I identify with him spiritually what we studied in Romans chapter six, you know, and hence, you know, I'm spiritually dead to the sin. The sin has no control over my life. And I'm seated on the right hand of God and I have dominion and power and authority over every force of evil that is trying to tempt me and overpower me to, you know, indulge in the sin. You know, I have the authority and I'm going to speak against this use God's word and then you're trying to not, you know, do it in your own flesh, but standing on the finished work of the cross, standing on the word of God, declaring it and using your spiritual authority and position that you're given in your mind full of that. And that will translate into deeper faith in God and action that can be seen in your lifestyle. And also you are totally dependent or abandoning yourself to what Christ has done on the cross, cross and the complete provision that you have received for your, as part of your salvation, the gifts that you have received, the spiritual blessings that you've received. You're walking in that and you're seeing that becoming a reality in your life. So let's not, you know, depend on works, but let's just, you know, depend on what Christ has done and make that a reality in our own lives. Okay. So any questions so far? So I just wanted to ask, just to confirm. So you're saying that the verse that says that to the pure, all things are pure. And then to the pure. It's basically referring to food and nothing else. Correct? Yeah, it's not just, you know, these all things is in this context talking about food because they're bringing in the legalistic son of how what kind of food to eat, what how to eat it. And also, yes, you know, so he's saying what goes in is not what defiles a person. But in this context, he's talking about that. But it can also apply in our context, it can apply about what not just what we eat, but what we watch. You know, how we live our lives, who we are listening to, whether we're following the pattern of the world or following the pattern of the things of the spirit of the things of God. Okay. Thank you for that clarification. Thank you, Pastor. Okay. Any other questions? Anyone else has. Okay, if not, we'll move on to verse 16. Verse 16, as was read says, you know, they profess to know God, but in work they deny him being admirable, disobedient, disqualified for every good work. So in verse 16, Paul states a fact that nearly sums up the matter as it is related to the false teachers. He says that, you know, they profess to know God, which could simply mean that they know him as savior because these are not somebody who's from outside the churches. They are part of the churches, their believers, these Jews who have become believers, who have become Christians, they have received Christ as their Lord and savior. But it could also be, you know, a profession to know him in a deeper, in a more intimate way through observing rules and regulations which they seek to impose on others. So they're trying to bring in their whole ritualistic baggage that they had for the Jews in terms of keeping those strict laws and rules, which of course, yes, God gave it to them. But his whole idea of giving it to them was not for it to become illegalistic. It was not for them to become ritualistic, but it was a means where they would actually do it out of love for God, out of a sense of reverence, a meaning, and, you know, in getting close in their relationship, in their fellowship with God. But this totally took about a different turn than what God had brought in all this for them in terms of purity in words so that they can relate to this pure God who is holy. But, you know, they were trying to achieve salvation or maintain their salvation, so to say, through not just what they have received by grace or the finished work of the cross, but also through rules and regulations. And so he says, you know, deny them, says, but in works they deny him, which means, you know, in their works, it's absolutely not going to, you know, get them anywhere because it never got them anywhere even as they kept those rituals and the laws in the Old Testament. They just followed it because they had to. It was no love for God. It was, they did not worship him with all of their heart, soul, mind, and strength. So he says, though, their works deny him, which means their works means the Greek word means it refuses or disregards, this owns or rejects their works. So their works does not have any standing. It does not have any beaming because they have slipped from, you know, their fellowship with God in terms of receiving what they should by grace and by love. They have slipped into works or legalism and, you know, have gone away from the way of grace that God had designed for them and also, you know, as a result, they have gone away with their relationship with God himself or their fellowship with God himself. And so he uses very strong words. He says they're admirable, disobedient, disqualified for every good work, which means admirable means, you know, the Greek word means the testable. It just carries this idea of disgusting because they've turned away from grace into legalism and hence it is this testable in God's sight. They're disobedient, which means they are failing to trust or rest in the person and the work of Jesus Christ as their savior in what he has accomplished for them on the cross. And disqualified means that they, you know, the Greek means they have been rejected, not standing the tests and hence they are unqualified, worthless and unfit for any good work, which means one of the purposes of our life and why we have been, you know, transformed from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light is so that we can be that royal priest to that holy nation. People declaring, who are declaring the praises of him who was brought us from darkness into his marvelous light. People who are kingdom builders who are building God's kingdom, who are, you know, in the, in the, in the whole work of fulfilling his purpose for our lives, which is usefulness in the ministry and serving Christ, you know, they cannot be useful. They cannot be qualified. They are worthless and unfit for any good work because, you know, their sufficiency is not in what Christ has accomplished for them on the cross, but is this based on works and hence they cannot do any good work. They cannot be part, you know, accomplish anything. And so he's saying, hence, you know, choose leaders who can, you know, would not be disqualified or obedient, who are qualified for that position so that they can continue the good work that God has started in their midst and encourage and strengthen and identify the churches at feet. Okay, so that was chapter one. Anyone has any questions? Chapter one. Any questions? Any doubts? Okay, there are no questions and doubts. Then we'll move on to chapter two. Okay. Can one of you please read chapter two versus one to three, please. Chapter two versus one to three. Anyone can read. Shall I read now? Yeah, please. Thank you. Chapter two versus one to three says, but as for you, speak the things which are proper for sound doctrine that the older men be sober, reverent, temperate, sound in faith, in love, in patience. The older women likewise, that they be reverent in behavior, not slanderers, not given too much wine, teachers of good things. Amen. Thank you, Stephanie. So here in verse one, Paul is talking to Timothy, Titus here, in contrast to, you know, the false teachers, he was just described, sorry. In contrast to false teachers that he has just described in chapter one, verses 10 to 16. So he's telling Titus that, you know, he is supposed to speak things that are sound and keeping with sound doctrine. So he says, speak the things, these things that Paul is referring to, is what he has mentioned in verses two to ten, which is regarding the truths, the attitudes, the actions that are all biblical based, which are based on biblical truth. So he's saying, you know, speak these things. And he says, speak the things which are proper for sound doctrine. I've just put various translations here that the Living Bible says, speak up for the right living that goes along with true Christianity. The New Living translation says, promote the kind of living that reflects right teaching. And the Passion translation says, your duty is to teach them to embrace a lifestyle that is consistent with sound doctrine. So the idea behind this phrase which are proper for sound doctrine has to do with right living and not just right thinking. Now sound doctrine in Titus chapter one, verse nine, which we already looked at, focuses on the teaching of sound doctrine and how to refute the false teachings or the errors that are there. Whereas the sound doctrine that Paul is writing here in chapter two, verse one, is more on a practical application of sound doctrine that I said that the idea behind this phrase has to do with right living and not just right thinking. So wherever we see sound doctrine, it does not mean just teaching it like he writes in Titus chapter one, verse nine, where he says, teach the sound doctrine so that you can refute the false teachings or the errors that is here. But here in, that is there, sorry, but here in chapter two, verse one, he's saying, you know, it's a more practical application. It's about living right in accordance with the sound doctrine or the truths that is in God's Word. So Paul always, you know, he ties up sound doctrine with practical Christian living that flows out of it. So it is not just a sound doctrine has to do with teaching sound doctrine or teaching the truth of the doctrines in God's Word. So people are sound in their understanding of the truth of the doctrines in God's Word. But also he ties it along with, you know, that the sound doctrine has to translate into practical Christian living. So if you have doctrine and and it does not, you know, it's not showing in your, in the way that you're living in your lifestyle, then it basically shows whether you are following the right doctrine. You're following the truths in God's Word because you're following the truths in God's Word, the doctrines in God's Word, it will translate into right living. Otherwise, it is just, you know, having a doctrine without practice or without the right kind of living or the right kind of lifestyle is a dead belief. And it was true, he says, following it was his true following. He talks about older men, then he goes on to talk about older women, and he talks about younger men, younger women. And also he goes on in this chapter to talk about born servants or he talks about slaves. So first he talks about older men. He says that older men must be sober, reverent, temperate, sound and faith in love and in patience. So he says, you know, teach them these sound doctrines. So the older men will have all of these qualities, which means that it does not come automatically with age. All of these things to be sober, reverent, temperate, sound and faith in love and patience. It does not come automatically. You know, you have to teach it to these people so that, you know, those who are older and they do not have these qualities that should describe them. Then they would need to focus on them rather than going on as they are. So the first thing he says these qualities of these older men should be that they should be sober, which means that they must be vigilant. They must be watchful over themselves, over their conduct, their conversation, the way that they are living their lives so that they are not setting a wrong example to the younger folks, the younger people in the church or the community of saints or believers. And then he says they need to be reverent, which means that they need to be honorable in their behavior, in their speech, in the way they dress. They need to be temperate, which means, you know, here the word literally means not to be intoxicated by wine or strong drink. So temperate here is not talking about your temper, emotion temper, but it's talking about this word literally means that not to be intoxicated by wine or strong drink. But it also has a meaning to be sober-minded and clear-headed in how you're living your life. And then he says sound in faith, sound means healthy whole in your faith. So the older men have to be healthy in their faith in God. And this comes, you know, the life that they have lived of trusting God in every aspect of their life, in every area of their life over the last so many years of their life. And there should be sound in their minds in the doctrine of the faith. And they should not be led away by all of these false teachings so that, you know, they are able to be an example to the younger folks. And he also says that their faith in Christ should be right and genuine so that it can, you know, it can help impact the younger folks. Then he says in love, you know, even as older people, you know, people who are old and they grow into old age, they become very grouchy and, you know, hard to live with. And so he says, you know, you should be loving rather than being intolerant and being hard in towards others, you should be more gracious and compassionate. And then he says, you know, they should be patient, which means the Greek word here means to be steadfast and active endurance, not passive, waiting on others, you know, but older men are usually not patient with others around them. And also, you know, they just sit around doing nothing, just waiting to, you know, to go into the next life that is eternal life or whatever next world, so to say. And, you know, but he says you need to be actively, you know, enduring the challenges that you're facing in life, the challenges of the old age. And you should continue running your race with perseverance and endurance, fixing your eyes on Jesus Christ as we read in Hebrews chapter 12, verses one and two. So he says, you know, when older men have these kind of qualities, they stand out in the world, they stand out in the church and, you know, they are ultimately able to point out the beauty of Christ. And the other younger people are able to follow that, and that becomes a kind of lifestyle and a pattern that they set for the believers in the churches. And then he says the older women likewise need to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers, not giving too much wine, teachers are good things. So just like the older men, older women also, you know, who are, who no longer have a child-rearing responsibilities, basically around 68 years of age, 60 plus. You know, what are these qualities that these older women should possess that should be reverent in their behavior. The Greek word here translated reverent is used only here in the Bible. So, of course, reverent is used elsewhere in the Bible, but the Greek word for reverent that is used here is only used here in the Bible. And it conveys an idea of being priest-like, which means acting as a representative of God. So the word Paul uses here is basically, you know, describes the whole thing of being devout and having a godly character. So these older women should be devout and have a godly character. And they are to live like holy priests serving in the churches, serving in the presence of God. And their sacred personal devotion to the Lord will have an influence on every aspect of their lives and also will influence the younger folks. And so he says, you know, reverent in their behavior, which basically points to their inner characteristics. And of course, when your inner characteristics are reverential, it translates in the way that we, in our actions, that can be seen outwardly. And he says there should not be slanderers. Very interesting here. The word slanderers here is diabolos. The Greek word for slanderers is diabolos. And diabolos, as you know, is one of the Greek words that is used as a name for Satan. And the word diabolos is used as a name for Satan 34 times in the New Testament. So this gives us a whole background of this word slanderer. So, you know, we know that Satan is a slanderer. He slanders the saints. He's a false accuser. And each time he, you know, he leads us as believers to slander, to gossip about others. It is basically we are doing the devil's work. And it's, it is so eye-opening to this whole fact. We never thought of it, you know, when we're slandering somebody behind their backs or we're gossiping about somebody, it is actually we are doing the work of Satan because the word slander is diabolos, which is one of the names of Satan. And so he says when older women or anyone is slandering or indulging in gossip, they're doing the devil's work. And so he says that older godly women should never surrender their tongues to the devil. I hope this is an eye-opener to all of us, you know, to be very careful that, you know, when we slander people, when we are gossiping about others, it's basically we are doing the work of Satan because the word slanderer, the word slanderer means diabolos, which is one of the names of Satan. So if any of us have been indulging in that, you know, we can just come, repent and ask God to forgive us and break that spirit and ask the Holy Spirit to take control of this area of our life. Okay, we'll stop here. I'll meet you at 11.01. I've taken one minute extra so I'll give you one more minute. Okay, thank you everyone. Enjoy your break.