This section has just the one
verse
Titus 2:6
Young men likewise exhort to be sober minded.
The phrase, "to be sober minded" is word G4993 and
means "to be of sound mind, that is, sane, (figuratively)
moderate: -- be in right mind, be sober (minded),
soberly.
We will begin with the Barclay commentary.
THE CHRISTIAN CHARACTER
4. THE YOUNGER MEN
Titus 2:6
In the same way, urge on the younger men the duty of
prudence.
THE duty of the younger men is summed up in one
sentence – but it is a loaded one. They are told to
remember the duty of prudence. As we have already
seen, the man who is prudent has that quality of
mind which keeps life safe and the security which
comes from having all things under control.
The time of youth is necessarily a time of danger.
(1) In youth, the blood runs hotter and the passions
speak more commandingly. The tide of life runs
strongest in youth, and it sometimes threatens to
sweep a young person away.
(2) In youth, there are more opportunities for going
wrong. Young people are thrown into company where
temptation can speak with a most compelling voice.
Often, they have to study or to work away from home
and from the influences which would keep them on the
right path. The young man has not yet taken upon
himself the responsibility of a home and a family;
he has not yet made the kind of attachments to
people and things that cannot be easily given up;
and he does not yet possess the anchors which hold
an older person in the right way through a sheer
sense of obligation. In youth, there are far more
opportunities to encounter disaster and to wreck
one's life.
(3) In youth, there is often that confidence which
comes from lack of experience. In almost every
sphere of life, a younger man will be more reckless
than his elders, for the simple reason that he has
not yet discovered all the things which can go
wrong. To take a simple example, he will often drive
a car much faster simply because he has not yet
discovered how easily an accident can take place or
on how slender a piece of metal the safety of a car
depends. He will often shoulder a responsibility in
a much more carefree spirit than an older person,
because he has not known the difficulties and has
not experienced how easily disaster may happen. No
one can buy experience; that is something for which
only the years can pay. There is a risk, as there is
a glory, in being young.
For that very reason, the first thing at which any
young person must aim is self-control. We can never
serve others until we have full control of self.
‘One who is slow to anger is better than the mighty,
and one whose temper is controlled than one who
captures a city’ (Proverbs 16:32).
Self-discipline is not among the more glamorous of
the virtues, but it is the very stuff of life. When
the eagerness of youth is supported by the solidity
of self-control, something really great comes into
life. ~Barclay Commentary
Now to the other commentaries beginning with the
general and going to the specific.
First to the Matthew Henry Main. We will break into
this long commentary that covers verses 1-10 and
discuss what it has for verse 6.
4. Here is the duty of young men. They are apt to be
eager and hot, thoughtless and precipitant;
therefore they must be earnestly called upon and
exhorted to be considerate, not rash; advisable and
submissive, not willful and head-strong; humble and
mild, not haughty and proud; for there are more
young people ruined by pride than by any other sin.
The young should be grave and solid in their
deportment and manners, joining the seriousness of
age with the liveliness and vigour of youth. This
will make even those younger years to pass to good
purpose, and yield matter of comfortable reflection
when the evil days come; it will be preventive of
much sin and sorrow, and lay the foundation for
doing and enjoying much good. Such shall not mourn
at the last, but have peace and comfort in death,
and after it a glorious crown of life.
~Matthew Henry Main.
Now to the Matthew Henry Concise.
This commentary covers verses 1-10.
Old disciples of Christ must behave in everything
agreeably to the Christian doctrine. That the aged
men be sober; not thinking that the decays of nature
will justify any excess; but seeking comfort from
nearer communion with God, not from any undue
indulgence. Faith works by, and must be seen in
love, of God for himself, and of men for God's sake.
Aged persons are apt to be peevish and fretful;
therefore, need to be on their guard. Though there
is not express Scripture for every word, or look,
yet there are general rules, according to which all
must be ordered. Young women must be sober and
discreet; for many expose themselves to fatal
temptations by what at first might be only want of
discretion. The reason is added, that the word of
God may not be blasphemed. Failures in duties
greatly reproach Christianity. Young men are apt to
be eager and thoughtless, therefore must be
earnestly called upon to be sober-minded: there are
more young people ruined by pride than by any other
sin. Every godly man's endeavor must be to stop the
mouths of adversaries. Let thine own conscience
answer for thine uprightness. What a glory is it for
a Christian, when that mouth which would fain open
itself against him, cannot find any evil in him to
speak of! ~Matthew Henry
Concise.
Here are a couple of pieces from the Biblical
Illustrator:
Young men
likewise exhort to be sober minded
Sober mindedness
I. What it is.
1. You must be considerate and thoughtful, not rash
and heedless. Take time to think; learn to think
freely—to think for yourselves, of yourselves.
Note: What
this means, in spiritual terms, is that you do not
allow others to think for you. It means
relying on God for the proven truth and constantly
applying it to your life.
2. You must be cautious and prudent, not willful and
heady. Fix rules of wisdom. Use reason and
conscience. Be diffident of your own [Spirit-driven]
judgment. Study Scripture.
3. You must be humble and modest, not proud and
conceited. Be not above your business, above
reproof, above religion.
4. You must be temperate and self-denying, not
indulgent of your appetites.
5. You must be mild and gentle, not indulgent of
your passions.
6. You must be chaste and reserved, not wanton or
impure.
7. You must be staid and composed, not giddy and
unsettled.
8. You must be content and easy, not ambitious and
aspiring.
9. You must be grave and serious, not vain and
frothy.
II. Considerations to enforce this exhortation.
1. You are reasonable creatures.
2. You are sinners before God.
3. You are setting out in a world of sorrows and
snares.
4. Multitudes of the young are ruined for want of
this sobriety of mind.
5. You are here upon trial for [the
Kingdom].
6. You must shortly go to judgment.
III. Application:
1. Examine yourselves.
2. Exhort one another.
3. Contemplate the advantages of sober mindedness.
You will
(1) Escape vanity of childhood and youth;
(2) Recommend yourselves to the favour of God and
all wise men;
(3) Prepare for a useful and comfortable life, and a
happy death [knowing you
will be in the Kingdom of God].
4. Directions to make you sober minded.
(1) Espouse [adopt,
embrace, invoke] sober principles.
(2) Meditate on serious things.
(3) Choose sober companions.
(4) Read sober books.
(5) Abound in sober work.
~Biblical Illustrator
Exhortation to
sober mindedness
I. The necessity of this exhortation. This arises
from
1. The ignorance and inexperience of youth.
2. Those constitutional inclinations which
predominate in some more than in others.
3. The temptations by which youth is surrounded.
4. The vast importance of commencing well a course
of life.
II. The character of that sober mindedness which the
text recommends.
1. Its basis. Reverence for God, [repentance
for sin], etc.
2. Its contrasts. Pride, rashness, obstinacy,
petulance [bitter],
sullenness [showing
irritation and gloomy ill humor],
presumption, etc.
3. Its objects. It should make you moderate in all
things, etc.
III. The advantages which result from the possession
and display of this sober mindedness.
1. It will qualify you for your relations to
society.
2. It will greatly contribute to your usefulness
wherever you are placed.
3. It will greatly increase your comfort.
~Biblical Illustrator
Discretion the safeguard of youth
This concise statement as to the exhortation to be
addressed to young men may be regarded as a summary
of all youthful virtues. The sins and follies of
youth largely arise from want of thought. This fact,
while it is no excuse for the sins committed, is an
indication of the remedy to be sought. Let youths be
trained to cultivate discretion, and, humanly
speaking, they will be kept safe from the follies so
common to their age. In a sermon to young men,
discretion may be commended thus:
I. As the cultivation of the mental and moral powers
with which God has endowed them.
II. As the fulfillment of the destiny which they are
to fulfil in life.
III. As the fitting preparation for a higher life
hereafter.
~Biblical Illustrator
Sober-minded youth
I. Some characteristics of this sober mind.
1. A habit of moral thoughtfulness.
2. Practical prudence and circumspection.
3. A modest and humble deportment.
II. Some particulars in which this grace of
character should be displayed.
1. In all your plans and schemes for worldly
happiness.
2. In all parts of your social intercourse—dress,
discourse, Choice of recreations, etc.
III. A valuable agency by which this sober
mindedness may be promoted.
~Biblical Illustrator
Now to the specific commentaries.
This verse is not broken out in any way. It is
one thought.
1] Young men likewise exhort to be sober minded.
Young men . . . be sober-minded. - The
precept, sober-minded, occurs four times in six
verses, and may be accounted for by the volatile
character of the Cretans.
~People's New Testament
Young men - exhort to be
sober-minded - Reformation should begin with
the old; they have the authority, and they should
give the example. The young of both sexes must also
give an account of themselves to God;
sober-mindedness in young men is a rare
qualification, and they who have it not plunge into
excesses and irregularities which in general sap the
foundation of their constitution, bring on premature
old age, and not seldom lead to a fatal end.
~Adam Clarke
Young men likewise
exhort to be sober minded. - Temperate,
chaste, modest, moderate, wise, and prudent in all
things: this is said to Titus, as being his province
to instruct and exhort the young men; as it were
proper and convenient for aged women to teach the
young women how they should behave and conduct
themselves. ~John Gill
Young men likewise exhort to
be sober minded. - A virtue rarely
found in youth. ~John
Wesley Explanatory Notes
Young men likewise exhort to
be sober-minded - Margin, “discreet.” The
idea is, that they should be entreated to be
prudent, discreet, serious in their deportment; to
get the mastery over their passions and appetites;
to control the propensities [tendency]
to which youth are subject; and that there should be
such self-government, under the influence of,
religion, as to avoid excess in everything. A
well-governed mind, superior to the indulgence of
those passions to which the young are prone, will
express the meaning of the word here. They should be
“steady in their behaviour, superior to sensual
temptations, and constant in the exercise of every
part of self-government.” Doddridge. The reasons for
this are obvious:
(1) The hopes of the church depend much on them.
(2) a young man who cannot govern himself, gives
little promise of being useful or happy.
(3) Indulgence in the propensities [natural
inclination] to which young men are
prone, will, sooner or later, bring ruin to the body
and the soul.
(4) they are just at the period of life when they
are exposed to special temptations, and when they
need to exercise a special guardianship over their
own conduct.
(5) like others, they may soon die; and they should
be habitually in such a frame of mind, as to be
prepared to stand before God. A young man who feels
that he may be soon in the eternal world, cannot but
be sensible of the propriety of having a serious
mind, and of living and acting as in the immediate
presence of his Maker and Judge.
~Barnes Notes
Let us look at some verses that speak to youth and
related to our verse 6:
Ecclesiastes 11:9-10
9 Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth; and let thy
heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth, and walk
in the ways of thine heart, and in the sight of
thine eyes: but know thou, that for all these things
God will bring thee into judgment.
10 Therefore remove sorrow from thy heart, and put
away evil from thy flesh: for childhood and youth
are vanity.
Ecclesiastes 12:1
Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth,
while the evil days come not, nor the years draw
nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in
them;
1 Peter 5:5-10
5 Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the
elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another,
and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the
proud, and giveth grace to the humble.
6 Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand
of God, that he may exalt you in due time:
7 Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for
you.
8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the
devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking
whom he may devour:
9 Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that
the same afflictions are accomplished in your
brethren that are in the world.
10 But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto
his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye
have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish,
strengthen, settle you. [see
sermon:
Stablishment]
1 John 2:12-13
12 I write unto you, little children, because your
sins are forgiven you for his name's sake.
13 I write unto you, fathers, because ye have known
him that is from the beginning. I write unto you,
young men, because ye have overcome the wicked one.
I write unto you, little children, because ye have
known the Father.
Let us finish with some quotes on the subjects of
being moral, humble, sober minded, prudent [judicious
in practical affairs], discreet,
temperate, wise and master of passions [temptations].
Avoid Temptations:
"It is easier to avoid temptation than to resist
it."
Humbleness:
“Selflessness. Humility. Truthfulness. These are the
three marks of an honorable man.”
Humbleness:
“Humility is the fundamental principle that builds
up greatness. Arrogance on the other hand never
brings anything good. When you are humble, you’ll
learn to become better.”
Wisdom:
"Affliction comes to us, not to make us sad but
sober; not to make us sorry but wise."
Discreetness:
"Heroes are never perfect, but they're brave,
they're authentic, they're courageous, determined,
discreet, and they've got grit."
Temperate: "The
most temperate of persons is the one who controls
himself, and in doubtful events is self-contained."
Wisdom: "A smart
man makes a mistake, learns from it, and never makes
that mistake again. But a wise man finds a smart man
and learns from him how to avoid the mistake
altogether."
Prudence: "Few
things are brought to a successful issue by
impetuous desire, but most by calm and prudent
forethought."
Prudence: "Life
has no blessing like a prudent friend."
Controlling Your Passions:
"“Everybody in the world is seeking
happiness—and there is one sure way to find it. That
is by controlling your thoughts. Happiness doesn't
depend on outward conditions. It depends on inner
conditions.”
So, young men, be sober minded. This is the lesson
of verse 6.
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