Young men likewise exhort to be sober-minded - Margin, “discreet.” On the meaning of the Greek word used here (σωφρονεῖν sōphronein), see the notes at Titus 2:2, Titus 2:4. 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 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 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.