Titus 3:10-15 - Grace be with you all

3:10,11
There are some people who are naturally divisive, who seem to love stirring things up. Such people are not led by the Holy Spirit. Such people are to be warned once, and then warned again if they do not change their ways. Such people will often present themselves as super-spiritual and act all hurt when confronted, but as Paul says here “such people are warped and sinful, they are self-condemned”. As is usually the case with Paul, there is no beating about the bush!

3:12-15
Paul then brings his letter to a close. Paul was going to send some helpers to Titus, then Titus could leave Crete and come to Paul at Nicopolis. Verse 14 sums up the essence of Paul’s teaching in this letter: “Our people must learn to devote themselves to doing what is good, in order to provide for urgent needs and not live unproductive lives”. There were practical needs that had to be met. Also see that proper theological understanding leads to practical outworking.

The letter closes with a fairly typical Pauline blessing.

Titus 3:8,9 - Avoid foolish controversies

3:8

The “trustworthy saying” seems to refer back to what has just been said. So often people do not understand the nature of the gospel. It is about much more than forgiveness, and certainly more than forgiveness in the sense of being “let off”. It is far deeper than that. It is about who we are meant to be, it is about our true identity, which we only find in Christ. And Christ being Lord of our lives is absolutely central to that. While we are saved purely by grace, this does not mean that we are passive. Paul here talks about devoting ourselves to doing what is good. “These things are excellent and profitable for everyone.

3:9

So Titus is to make sure that the people receive sound teaching. However, in our desire to teach the truth there is always a danger that we will get sidetracked into “foolish controversies”, Far from being “excellent and profitable”, these things are “unprofitable and useless”. We do need to be careful, for the attraction of foolish arguments is that they tempt us into thinking that we are clever!

Titus 3:4-7 - Renewal by the Holy Spirit

3:4,5

We have a deep rooted tendency to look within ourselves for some reason that God chose to save us. There is none! It is the “kindness and love of God our saviour” that appeared. And He saved us not because of any righteous things that we have done, but purely because of His mercy. We are saved by grace and grace alone. We were saved “through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit”. If we look at what Paul says there are two key elements. We are saved by grace alone, we absolutely did not deserve to be saved. We come just as we are, but we absolutely do not stay as we are. We are born again, we become a new creation, and we are renewed by the Holy Spirit, so we are changed to become ever more Christlike. This is an ongoing work of the Holy Spirit in our lives.

3:6,7

God poured out the Holy Spirit on us generously. The Holy Spirit was not given grudgingly, but generously. Why did He do this? “So that, having been justified by His grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life”. The Holy Spirit speaks life to us, and leads us in the ways of life. Becoming a Christian means dedicating ourselves to becoming Christlike, submitting to Christ’s authority over our lives. Subjecting ourselves to the work of the Holy Spirit, who will be working to transform us from one degree of glory to the next. The idea of being a Christian and staying as we are is a notion that the Bible knows nothing of, and that Christ knows nothing of.

Titus 3:1-3 - At one time we too were foolish

3:1,2

Instructions such as these can be taken in an unhelpfully legalistic manner. Paul did not always obey the authorities if it involved compromising the gospel. However, we need to look at the heart of the matter. Our excuses for rebelling are usually fleshly, rather than spiritual. Our starting point should be that we obey the authorities, and do not have a rebellious spirit. Notice that Paul says “to be ready to do whatever is good”, and then goes on to command us to be gentle, peaceable and considerate. A key question to ask ourselves is am I serving God or myself? Am I seeking to benefit myself or others?

3:3

We have seen earlier that Paul did not consider the Cretans to be a particularly honourable lot. A godless society produces godless people, and people with the characteristics described in this verse. We were once like them, we were “foolish, disobedient and deceived, enslaved by all kinds of passions. We were saved not because of any intrinsic merit within us, but by the grace of God. This old way led to us living in “malice and envy, hating and being hated”. Jesus saved us in order to change us.

Titus 2:13-15 - Encourage and rebuke with all authority

2:13

It might seem unrealistic to live good lives in the present age when so much of the present age is working directly against godliness. Surely we need to compromise, or to go along with the flow? But this age will not last forever, its time is strictly limited. We “wait for the blessed hope”, which is “the appearing of the glory of our great God and Saviour, Jesus Christ”. The return of Christ is fundamental to the gospel, and is a fact that should greatly influence how we live now, and how we feel now.

2:14

Jesus gave Himself for us, and He did this with a purpose. “Jesus loves you” is a hopelessly inadequate and misleading statement. Yes, Jesus loves us, more than we can ever imagine, but He loves us with a purpose and for a purpose. He gave Himself for us in order to redeem us from all wickedness, and to purify us for Himself. He gave Himself up for us in order to create a people “that are His very own, eager to do what is good”.

2:15

These were the things that Titus was to teach the people. He was to “encourage and rebuke with all authority”. We are to do both. We do not just encourage, that is to miss out half of the gospel. We do not just rebuke, that will only discourage people, and is only half the gospel. And he was to do this with “all authority”. When we faithfully preach and teach the gospel some will try to despise us, even people within the church, and definitely people in the world. We are not to take this despising on board, and are not to let it influence how we live.

Titus 2:11,12 - It teaches us to say "no" to worldly passions

2:11

Why should slaves obey their masters and seek to live lives worthy of respect? Indeed, why should any of us do that? A twofold reason is given. First of all the grace of God offers salvation to all, that includes slaves and it includes masters. We do not need to seek a worldly “salvation”. We see people seeking a “worldly salvation” in all sorts of areas, but especially peoples who are oppressed or downtrodden in some way, or view themselves as so. LGBT people demand rights, even that they are celebrated. Others look to the BLM approach as a relief from racism. In cases such as these there almost certainly has been serious mistreatment and oppression, but their method of seeking salvation is delusional. All it does is swap the oppression round. In Scotland there are many who see the English as the problem and so support independence. Independence may or may not be a good thing, but to see it as a source of salvation is also delusional. In the words of the Who (the rock group, not the health organisation), “meet the new boss, same as the old boss”.

2:12

The second reason is vitally important, and one that is so often missed out when people think of God loving us. The grace of God “teaches us to say ‘No’ to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age”. God’s salvation is first of all saving us from ourselves. We are all sinners. We need to become different, we need to act and live differently, and the grace of God enables us to do this. This is true empowerment.

Titus 2:6-10 - Encourage young men to be self-controlled

2:6-8

Young men are to be self-controlled, something which also applied to younger women (2:5). Society encourages young men and women to be out of control, to be rebellious. This is not a Biblical principle. Titus is to encourage them not just by teaching, but also by example.  Titus’ teaching is to show “integrity, seriousness and soundness of speech”. We are not to be like the world. We are to lives lives that are above reproach. So that we “cannot be condemned”. They may still try to slander us, but we should ensure that they have no grounds for any attacks on us.

2:9,10

Slaves are to serve their masters with respect. Slavery was an endemic part of society in those days, and was “normal employment” for many. We should note that it is clear that the gospel attracted many slaves, for they are mentioned in a number of Paul’s letters. So the fools who criticise the Bible for “promoting slavery” (it doesn’t) need to explain why, if the gospel was so evil, it proved to be attractive to slaves. The worldly message might be “they are mistreating you, therefore it is OK to steal from them, get a little of your own back”. The gospel was more concerned with our earning self-respect, demonstrating that we are of good character. The aim is to “make the teaching about God our Saviour attractive”.

Titus 2:3-5 - Teach older women to be reverent

2:3

Next Paul turns to older women. Once again, their lives are to be an example. There can be a tendency to think that once we get older we can do what we like! This is not so. We are to live as children of God and servants of Christ. So women are to live reverent lives.  It seems that women in Crete were prone to being slanderers and addicted to wine. There are various vices that are common in any society. We need to be careful that we do not follow the sinful ways of the society that we live in. Instead the women were to learn what was good. 

2:4,5

The older women were to teach the younger women how to live godly lives. This included loving their husbands and children.  They were to be self-controlled. Self-control is a quality that crops up a lot in the epistles. Sin leads to a loss of self-control, the Spirit gives us self-control to live godly lives. Sin leads to us wasting our lives. In contrast, a godly woman looks after her household. “To be subject to their husbands”. Some will rile at this command! We should remember that in the kingdom when someone is under authority they actually gain more freedom and more authority. If we are the one with authority we are to use it to enhance the lives of those we have authority over. We should also remember the precious wife of Proverbs 31. She did look after her household, but that was not all that she did! She was an enterprising woman.

Titus 2:1,2 - Teach older men to be temperate

2:1

Paul has warned Titus about various sorts of “bad people”, and the type of behaviour they indulge in. Now he tells Titus how he should behave. We need to recognise the bad, but we also need to demonstrate the good. So we must teach “what is appropriate to sound doctrine”. Doctrine matters. It affects lives and affects behaviour. In the West society as a whole has rejected the idea that we are created beings owing a duty to our Creator, and this has contributed to all sorts of bad behaviour. 

2:2

Paul now turns to various age groups. Periodically there are debates in the Christian media about whether or not we should have special meetings for various age groups, with the emphasis being on the desirability of youth groups or ministries. There are valid points in some of the criticisms, but at the same time different age groups do need to be treated differently to some extent. Starting with older men, they are to be taught to be “temperate, worthy of respect, self-controlled, and sound in faith, in love and in endurance”. We are to be examples to the flock, demonstrations that “faith works”, and what a life of faith is all about.

Titus 1:15,16 - To the pure, all things are pure

1:15

The state of our souls or minds heavily influences how we view things. If we are pure in heart then we will tend to see things as pure. Conversely, if we are corrupt in heart then we will view all things from a corrupted view point. We will always see the worst in people, always suspect the worst. This is the opposite of how Paul described love in 1 Corinthians 13.

1:16

Such corrupt people might claim to know God, but their actions show this not to be true.  They act detestably, and they are “detestable, disobedient and unfit for doing anything good”. These might seem to be harsh words from Paul. But we all know people who fit this description. They make a show of being Christian, but the reality of their lives and character says otherwise. Paul is not being harsh, he is being realistic.

Titus 1:13,14 - Sound in faith

1:13

So Titus is to rebuke the Cretans sharply “so that they will be sound in faith”. Faith is not just a matter of doctrinal belief, it is a matter of behaviour as well. Our behaviour affects our faith and faith affects our behaviour. Id we behave badly we will not want to believe the gospel, and our minds will try to find ways to say that the gospel is not true. For the gospel commands us to repent and to make Christ Lord of our lives.

1:14

Jewish myths and “merely human commands” are to be rejected as well. Some Jews added various bits and pieces to the gospel, and to their Old Testament faith. Gentiles would be keen to add “human commands” to the gospel. We want to add something because the gospel itself stresses our complete dependence upon the Lord, and our human nature doesn’t like that. We want to add something, then it gives us a certain degree of control.

Titus 1:10-12 - There are many rebellious people

1:10

Paul had no illusions about the reality of life, even life in the church. “For there are many rebellious people.” He particularly names the circumcision group. They said it was essential to be circumcised and observe other aspects of the ritual Law. They feature heavily in Galatians and the issue of circumcision crops up in other letters, including Romans. Now circumcision was important in the Old Testament, so it required a proper understanding of the gospel to appreciate why it was not necessary for Gentile believers.

1:11,12

These disruptors were not to be tolerated, but silenced. Why? Because they were dangerous, they caused much harm in households. Wrong teaching is poisonous. They taught their rubbish for dishonest gain. Money or immoral behaviour will often be found to go together with wrong teaching. The Cretans seemed to have had a particularly bad reputation, “Cretans are always liars, evil brutes, lazy gluttons”!

Titus 1:8,9 - Encourage others by sound doctrine

1:8

We now return to positive characteristics. He must be hospitable. A good elder as well as knowing and understanding the truth has to be able to interact with people. He is not to be some sort of aloof person. Welcoming people is important. If we look at Jesus we see that one of His characteristics is that He likes people! The elder must love what is good and needs to be self-controlled. He needs to be holy. This is not a “holier than thou” attitude, but a dedication to the Lord. Living his life for God is the dominant motive in his life.

1:9

We now come to the doctrinal bit. He needs to hold firmly to the gospel, there can be no flakiness. The church is founded on the truth of the gospel. We have no foundation other than Christ. “As it has been taught”. The gospel does not develop. Our understanding of it may develop, but the message remains the same. The reason an elder needs to hold firmly to the gospel is so he can encourage others. And how do we encourage others? By sound doctrine. Doctrine matters, it affects lives. Bad doctrine corrupts and destroys lives, so an elder needs to be able to refute false teaching.

Titus 1:5-7 - An elder must be blameless

1:5,6

Paul’s purpose in establishing churches was not to create some sort of empire that he ruled over, but to set up churches that could be self-governing under Christ. He had left Titus in Crete so that he could appoint elders to lead the church there. We then get a description of the qualities of an elder, and these are similar to those found in 1 Timothy 3:1-7. The primary ones are related to the way that he runs his own household. The fruit of our faith will show itself in our lives and in our families.

1:7

We then get a series of “must nots”. He must not be overbearing. Elders are there to lead, not dominate. They are not to be quick tempered, and not given to drunkenness. The latter might seem obvious, but given the state of some parts of society it might need to be stated explicitly. Not violent and not given to dishonest gain. Again, we might think these things obvious, but the gospel was reaching into rotten parts of society, or into rotten societies. This is what the gospel is meant to do, so when it is working as it should these sort of things will need to be dealt with.

Titus 1:3,4 - Through the preaching entrusted to me

1:3

God has revealed what the promises are and how they are going to be fulfilled, and He has done this through the apostles, and all evangelists and preachers who came after them. We are part of God’s revelation if we faithfully live and present the gospel. Paul preached at the command of “God our saviour”. We do not preach what we want to preach, not the latest idea we have dreamed up. We preach the word of God. It is His revelation that we make known.

1:4

The introduction to this letter has been a little longer than was normal in Paul’s letters. Now he eventually comes to the recipient of the letter, Titus. He refers to Titus as “my true son in our common faith”. So there is a close bond between them. Paul considers him as a son in the faith, and that faith is common to them. They are part of the same enterprise. As in his other letters, Paul bestows a blessing of “Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Saviour”. Grace and peace are our heritage in the gospel. Notice that hear he refers to “Christ Jesus our Saviour”, at the end of v3 he said “God our Saviour”. 

Titus 1:1,2 - In the hope of eternal life

1:1

As was his practice, Paul introduces himself as “servant of God” and “an apostle of Jesus Christ”. This is no boasting on Paul’s part. First, it was true. Secondly, being an apostle of Christ was no easy task, it brought much suffering and opprobrium with it. Moreover, Paul did not look on “apostle” as a title, but as a task. His task was to “further the faith of God’s elect and their knowledge of the truth that leads to godliness”. Paul was utterly Christ focused and gospel focused. We serve the people, but we are servants of God. Our task is not to give the people what they want, but what God knows they need. Notice also the term “God’s elect”. We are “God’s elect”, but that is not fatalism, it does not mean that what we do with our lives is of no consequence. Quite the opposite.

1:2

“In the hope of eternal life”. There is a sense in which eternal life starts now, the nature and quality of our life changes the moment we are born again, we are a new creation. However, it is only at the resurrection that this will come into all its fullness. And looking forward to eternal life is not simply “going to heaven when we die”. It is much more than that. We will be immortal, we will be completely Christlike. And our hope of eternal life is founded not on an idea, nor wishful thinking, but on the promise of God. So we can be absolutely certain of it. And this promise was made before the beginning of time! It has always been God’s purpose.

Titus - Introduction

Introduction

Titus is the third of the pastoral epistles, addressed to Titus, a Gentile believer and co-worker with Paul, who was on the island of Crete.

The letter was probably written from Rome towards the end of Paul’s life. Gal 2:3 mentions Titus as being Greek and uncircumcised. Earlier Paul had sent him to Corinth to deal with the difficult situation there. Titus was not as close to Paul as Timothy was, but was probably more competent. Paul does not seem to have a very high opinion of the Cretans! So he gives Titus clear instructions on how to establish the church and deal with troublemakers. Good works and sound doctrine are the two major themes of the letter, showing that the two go together, and are not in anyway opposed to each other, or separate entities.

Titus 3:1-15 - Get a grip

In a situation like that in Crete respect for government is likely to be low. Now the government might not exactly be a paragon of virtue, nevertheless we are to be subject to rulers and authorities. Paul then clarifies this with the instruction to be "obedient, ready to do whatever is good, to slander no one, to be peaceable, considerate and gentle to everyone". These qualities are the exact opposite of what rebellious groups do.

Once we too were enslaved by all kinds of passions, and were foolish. The evil behaviour in society is good for no-one, least of all those who perpetrate the behaviour. If we sin, we become slaves to sin.

The gospel is a message of repentance and as such is an act of kindness on God's part for He is saving us from our sins. This is not a cause for pride on our part, for it is purely an act of grace and mercy on God's part. We are cleansed by new birth, ie through faith in what Jesus did on the cross, and we are renewed by the Holy Spirit. Forgiveness and renewal go together. 

We are justified by His grace and have the hope of eternal life, a glorious inheritance. So we are to devote ourselves to doing good. We are to take a grip of our lives because God has taken a grip of us. We are to live as wise, not as foolish (Eph 5:15).  The converse of this are people who are divisive, all they do is cause trouble.
Paul had several people who helped him in his missionary work, and Titus is to work with them.
Verse 14 describes a lifestyle that was very contrary to that which the Cretans were apparently used to. Likewise there are segments of our society where people have a dependency culture and always expect things to be done for them. The gospel runs counter to that. God created all of us to be useful, to be a benefit and a blessing to others. Part of the fruit of the gospel is that we learn to fulfil this goal.

Titus 2:1-15 - How to live

Paul has just described those who are rebellious against God as "detestable, disobedient, and unfit for doing anything good". Titus is to stand out as a stark contrast to this, both in what he teaches and how he lives his life. He is to teach what is appropriate to sound doctrine. He is also to teach the older men to be temperate, worthy of respect, self-controlled, sound in faith, love and endurance. So he is to teach others to live a godly life, not a Cretan life.

The women are to be taught likewise. One shudders to think what life was like in Crete at that time. Perhaps one of our city centres on a Saturday night would give a rough picture. The women were to be taught to teach what is good. The younger women were to be urged to be good wives and to submit to their husbands. Now this no doubt causes the hackles of some to rise, but this is because we have a distorted view of what submission means. It does not mean that the husband is domineering or gets all his own way. Rather the husband is meant to be like Christ, sacrificing his life for the good of his wife (Ephesian 5:21:33).

Young men are to be self-controlled. Self-control is one of the key fruits of the Holy Spirit,, and stands in stark contrast to the way that society is going. Then Titus is urged to be a living example of all that he teaches.

Slaves are to be good workers. Now we need to remember that being a slave was quite normal in those days, and this is not supporting "human trafficking" or similar exercises as some seem to claim.  Slaves are to be an example of a Christlike life.

This chapter closes with a summing up of the motivation for all this. Christ has appeared to offer salvation to all. And this salvation teaches us to say no to ungodly passions. We do not have to go the way of the world. And Christ is the supreme example of how we go about presenting this good news to the world.

Titus 1:5-15 - Elders and False Teachers

There is no mention in Acts of Paul going to Crete, but verse 5 implies that Paul and Titus had visited there, presumably in the latter stages of Paul's life. Paul had started a work there, but Titus needed to finish it, and this involved appointing elders in each town, implying churches had been established in several places on the island. The church in the NT is never seen as something that is imposed upon a people from outside. Apostles did come and establish a church, for there is no other way that the church could grow, but the goal was that the church became independent and self-sustaining, though remaining linked to, and supporting, other churches. 

The requirements of an elder are similar to those outlined in the letters to Timothy. A man's family life was a vital element of the qualifications. Indeed, in some ways, our everyday lives are the best indicator of our maturity, or otherwise, in Christ. 

Having listed a number of qualities that we must not have, Paul goes on to the positive. Leaders are to be hospitable, lovers of what is good, self-controlled, godly and disciplined. He must also have a sincere faith, and be able to teach the faith, and able to recognise and rebuke erroneous teaching.

This ability to teach the truth and to oppose falsehood is vital. It is vital now and was vital then. Just as then, there are many who are "rebellious and full on meaningless talk".  In Paul's day it was members of the circumcision group who were the major problem. There false teachings were not just a matter of one opinion against another, but had a destructive effect. Likewise today, those who teach unbiblical stuff on sexual morality are not just offering another opinion, another way of looking at things, but are pedalling poison.

Verse 12sums up the state that Crete was in and was known for! Paul sees the role of the gospel to come directly against the attitudes and ways of life on Crete. Similarly today, the gospel should present a challenge to society, we are not meant to go with the flow, for society is flowing in the wrong direction.

Paul does not mince his words about the false teachers. They might claim to know God, but in reality they know nothing.