Friday, Sept. 18 –
It is Friday, and over the next two to three days (weekend),
you’re going to be reading Paul’s short letter to Titus. Today we’ll read Titus 1:1 – 2:15. You’ll find it similar to the letters to Timothy
we just finished. After you’ve finished
reading the passage, come back, and we’ll look at it a second time.
Paul’s letter to Titus is very similar to his letter to Timothy, only
shorter. Since we haven’t looked at Titus
before, let’s explore a little background information. Paul was in Macedonia when he wrote this letter
(3:12), so it was written earlier than his letter to Timothy. Titus was a Gentile Christian whom Paul had
appointed to lead the church planting process on the island of Crete. Paul references him in his letters to the Corinthians,
and in Galatians, where Paul recounts how he had taken him to Jerusalem, and in
a conflict with some Jewish legalists, had refused to have Titus be circumcised
(Gal. 2:1-3). Paul was giving him some
instructions to close up his ministry by appointing leaders(1:5-9), deal with false
teachers (1:10-14), and provide instructions for proper conduct in the church
and world (2:1 – 3:8). He tells Titus
that when he is finished, he is to catch up with him in Nicopolis (3:12 – a capital
city in the Roman empire on the west coast of modern Turkey). Virtually everything that Paul says to Titus
about doctrine, false teachers, conduct in the church mirrors what he had
written in 1 & 2 Timothy.
The major difference between the two letters is that Timothy
was left to lead an established church in Ephesus, while Titus had been placed
on the island of Crete to establish churches.
Paul didn’t want him to Pastor a church, but to lead a church planting process,
appointing elders in the churches he established. Paul’s greeting to Titus is similar to
Timothy – “Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the
sake of the faith of God’s elect and their knowledge of the truth, which
accords with godliness, in hope of eternal life, which God, who never
lies, promised before the ages began and at the proper time manifested in his
word through the preaching with which I have been entrusted by the command of
God our Savior; To Titus, my true child in a common faith: Grace and
peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior” (1:1-4).
As in Timothy, Paul reminds Titus he is serving Christ Jesus, as Apostle. His mission is the Gospel for “God’s elect,”
that they may know the truth that fits godliness in living and prepares them
for eternal life in God’s presence. It
all sounds so religious, but Paul is speaking into a Roman culture known for
its immorality and unethical behavior.
One of the words Paul uses over and over in this letter is “good,” which
is his reminder to Titus that while the message of the Gospel is the grace of
God in Christ, there is an expectation that grace produces the fruit of
goodness (among other fruit) in living. Paul’s affection for his young ministry
partners is always fatherly, calling Titus his “true child.”
Paul’s instruction is to appoint elders and gives Titus the necessary
character qualities that characterize someone who qualifies to be considered.
“ An elder must be blameless, faithful to his wife, a man whose
children believe and are not open to the charge of being wild and disobedient.
Since an overseer manages God’s household, he must be blameless—not
overbearing, not quick-tempered, not given to drunkenness, not violent, not
pursuing dishonest gain. Rather, he must be hospitable, one who loves
what is good, who is self-controlled, upright, holy and disciplined. He
must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he
can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it (1:6-9
NIV).
It is very similar to what he wrote to Timothy.
Much of what Paul qualifies is based on the leaders' private life. The problem of appointing leaders such as Pastors,
Elders, Deacons is that if it’s merely a popularity contest, what the leader
brings into the church’s oversight is bound to make things worse rather than
better. Most of all, leadership is
responsible for knowing the truth, guarding the truth, and defending the truth. A pastor leads a congregation, who are called
“sheep,” and a shepherd’s task is to feed the sheep the right food and protect
them from predators.
It is the predators that Paul reminds Titus to watch out for. Re-read 1:10 – 16 and look at the descriptive
things Paul says of these who falsely teach a different Gospel. They are “rebellious, meaningless talkers,
deceptive, disruptive (of households), dishonest, liars and lazy.” The nature
of false teachers is summed up in his final sentence – “They claim to know
God, but by their actions they deny him. They are detestable, disobedient and
unfit for doing anything good” (1:16). Given
Paul's emphasis in every letter – whether to Churches or Pastors/Elders – one
can only wonder what has happened within our modern churches with the lack of
doctrinal teaching. Ask the average
Christian what they know about the Trinity, the Deity of Christ, Salvation by Grace
through Faith, the Inspiration of the Word of God, and other major doctrinal
themes, and – at least in the Western Christian world – many are largely devoid
of comprehensive knowledge of these doctrinal vitals. I believe it’s the faddish entertainment
mentality that characterizes much of evangelicalism in the west today that is
the main culprit. Can we last as the people
of God this way? It’s statistically true
that more and more people find their faith to be irrelevant to their everyday
lives. It’s also statistically true that more Christians do not believe in the
orthodox faith that the Apostles delivered to the early church. In the most
recent “State of Theology” survey, the statement “Jesus was a great teacher,
but he was not God” was agreed by 52% of those who responded. Only 27% strongly disagreed! [1]
Paul reminds Titus – “ You, however, must teach what
is appropriate to sound doctrine” (2:1). In the next ten verses, Paul names
five groups of people – older men, older women, young women, young men, and
servants (slaves) – what a healthy response to the Gospel looks like. It is similar to what he wrote to
Timothy. Behavior, conduct, character,
integrity all matter. For example, to
the young men, Paul reminds Titus – “Show yourself in all respects to be a
model of good works, and in your teaching show integrity, dignity” (2:7). He uses the word “good” three times as a
triangle surrounding Christian character.
Teach what is good, be a model of good works, and show good faith – what
we hear, take in, and own we live out in serving others, and we demonstrate
Christ to those who do not know him. If
we call ourselves Christian, we are being watched, from within the church, and
from without among our neighbors, co-workers, and friends. Some watch as cynics to look for the flaws,
the hypocrisy, the “you don’t walk the talk” lifestyle. Some watch to know whether this faith, life
in Christ, believing is truly real. When
we do life in Christ with character and integrity, people will often seek us
out when life gets difficult, and need help.
In theology, being leads to doing.
What we do is a direct result of who we are…yes, there will be flaws,
failings…these we confess and not hide, or excuse. It is Grace, not works, that sets us apart
and demonstrates the power of Christ to transform lives.
It is here that Paul finalizes the grace of Christ as the foundation
of a Christian’s life in Christ –
“…show all good faith, so that in everything they may adorn the doctrine of
God our Savior. For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for
all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and
to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age,
waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God
and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all
lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are
zealous for good works” (2:10b-14).
Grace is never an excuse for living selfishly – that is abuse that demonstrates
the person doesn’t understand, maybe never has genuinely received God’s grace. “Grace has appeared” – how? Where? In Jesus
Christ, who has brought salvation for all who put their faith and trust in
him. This grace changes us, transforms
us, and causes us to live in the expectation, even anticipation, of Jesus' return
in glory! Grace not only saves (2:11),
it sanctifies (2:12), and leads us towards the end in glorification (2:13) –
all because of Christ Jesus’ redemption (2:14).
The conclusion is simple – “Declare these things; exhort
and rebuke with all authority. Let no one disregard you” (2:15).
In the end, Paul tells Titus, preach Christ, preach Grace, preach a Sanctification
because of Christ and grace. These are
the doctrinal themes we proclaim, or should - the life of Jesus, the work of
Jesus, the salvation by Jesus, the return of Jesus. It begins and ends the same – all of life is
meant to be lived in Christ. Will all
love it? No. We know that some will not; it makes no
difference. Christians are beating on
one drum, and even if some despise you (ESV says “disregard”), it is the only
authority we carry into a lost and dying world.
Peace
[1]
The State of Theology is a bi-annual survey of evangelical churches in America. The latest release, as of this writing, was
the Summer of 2020. You can see the survey
at https://thestateoftheology.com/
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