Titus-1

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• WHO: From Paul to Titus. Artemas, Tychicus, Zenas the lawyer and Apollos.
• WHAT: Works: its relationship to those who are called to lead and to those who believe. Qualifications of leaders in the churches.
• WHEN: After Acts 28:28 between Paul's two imprisonments in Rome, in the mid-60's around the same time as 1 Timothy.
  
  • Probable Timeline:
    
    1. Paul was released from his house arrest in Rome (where we find him at the end of Acts), probably because his accusers did not choose to press their charges against him before Caesar, probably because his Jewish accusers failed to appear (Acts 24:1; 28:30).
    2. Paul visited Ephesus, left Timothy there to supervise the churches, and went on to Macedonia (northern Greece).
    3. From there he wrote 1 Timothy (1Timothy 1:3).
    4. He visited Crete, left Titus there to supervise those churches, and went to Nicopolis in Achaia (southern Greece, Titus 3:12).
    5. Either from Macedonia or Nicopolis, he wrote this letter to encourage Titus.
    6. He visited Troas (2Timothy 4:13), where he was suddenly arrested, taken to Rome, imprisoned, and finally beheaded.
    7. From Rome, during this second imprisonment, he wrote 2 Timothy.
• WHERE: Crete, an island in the Aegean Sea, about 140 by 30 miles with about 100 cities in it at that time.
• WHY: Verse 5: I left you on the island of Crete so you could complete our work there and appoint elders in each town as I instructed you.
• THEME: The inseparable link between faith and practice, belief and behavior.
• KEY VERSES:
  
  • Titus 2:7: And you yourself must be an example to them by doing good works of every kind. Let everything you do reflect the integrity and seriousness of your teaching.
  • Titus 3:8: This is a trustworthy saying, and I want you to insist on these teachings so that all who trust in God will devote themselves to doing good. These teachings are good and beneficial for everyone.
    
• KEY WORDS:
  good works, teach, teaching (doctrine), sober (sound mind).

1 Timothy and Titus give us the characteristics of an elder or church leader, which should be our goal as well:

• Temperate — Even-tempered. Not erratic or unstable.
• Prudent — Showing good judgment; common sense.
• Not addicted to wine — Not a heavy drinker.
• Not pugnacious — Does not lose his temper. Not a violent man.
• Gentle — Patient; considerate; kind.
• Uncontentious — Peaceful; willing to listen; not argumentative.
• Free from the love of money — Not greedy for personal gain.
• Not self-willed — Willing to yield to others. Not trying to get his own way.
• Not a novice — Not recently saved. Evidence of spiritual maturity.
• Not quick-tempered — Not easily angered.
• Loving what is good — Loyal to the highest moral and ethical values.
• Just — Fair and honest.
• Devout —Devoted to God in his personal life.
• Self-controlled — Able to control himself under pressure.
• Above reproach — No questionable conduct; no grounds for accusations.
• Hospitable — Receptive and open to people.
• Good reputation with outsiders — Admired by non-Christians.
• Family
• Husband of one wife — A “one-woman” man. Faithful to his wife.
• Manages own household well — Spiritual leader at home.
• Children under control — Children who respect him.
• Children who believe — Children who display faith.
• Able to teach — Knows and communicates biblical truth.
• Holding fast the word of truth — Firm in the truth. Not a compromiser.
• Exhort with sound doctrine — Encourages others with biblical truth.
• Refute those who contradict — Spots and refutes false teaching.

(1) This letter is from Paul, a *slave of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ. I have been sent to proclaim faith to those God has chosen and to teach them to know the truth that shows them how to live godly lives.

• *slave: One who has been bought!

(2) This truth gives them confidence that they have eternal life, which God—who does not lie—*promised them **before the world began.

• *promised: 2 Timothy 1:1: This letter is from Paul, chosen by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus. I have been sent out to tell others about the life he has promised through faith in Christ Jesus.
• **before the world began:
  
  • "world" here is aionios. The concept is that of a space/time continuum. The phrase could be read "before the space/time cosmos" or "before the ages" or "before time". That is, God promised eternal life to His people even before our universe of space and time existed.
  • Ephesians 1:4: Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes.
  • 2 Timothy 1:9: For God saved us and called us to live a holy life. He did this, not because we deserved it, but because that was his plan from before the beginning of time—to show us his grace through Christ Jesus.

(3) And now at just the right time he has revealed this message, which we announce to everyone. It is by the command of God our Savior that I have been entrusted with this work for him.

(4) I am writing to *Titus, my true **son in the faith that we share. May God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior give you grace and peace.

• *Titus:
  
  • Galatians 2:1: Then fourteen years later I went back to Jerusalem again, this time with Barnabas; and Titus came along, too.
    
    • Titus was brought with Paul to Jerusalem to be a living example of what God was doing among the Gentiles.
  • 2 Corinthians 2:13: But I had no peace of mind because my dear brother Titus hadn’t yet arrived with a report from you. So I said good-bye and went on to Macedonia to find him.
  • 2 Corinthians 7:6: But God, who encourages those who are discouraged, encouraged us by the arrival of Titus.
  • 2 Corinthians 8:6: So we have urged Titus, who encouraged your giving in the first place, to return to you and encourage you to finish this ministry of giving.
  • 2 Corinthians 8:16: But thank God! He has given Titus the same enthusiasm for you that I have.
  • 2 Corinthians 8:23: If anyone asks about Titus, say that he is my partner who works with me to help you. And the brothers with him have been sent by the churches, and they bring honor to Christ.
  • 2 Corinthians 12:18: When I urged Titus to visit you and sent our other brother with him, did Titus take advantage of you? No! For we have the same spirit and walk in each other’s steps, doing things the same way.
  • 2 Timothy 4:10: Demas has deserted me because he loves the things of this life and has gone to Thessalonica. Crescens has gone to Galatia, and Titus has gone to Dalmatia.
  • Tradition has it that Titus, having become first bishop of Crete, died there in advanced years. His successor, Andreas Cretensis, eulogized him in the following terms: "The first foundation-stone of the Cretan church; the pillar of the truth; the stay of the faith; the never silent trumpet of the evangelical message; the exalted echo of Paul's own voice."
  • While this is written to Titus, Titus probably read it aloud to the congregations too and copies were made for each church so they'd know what the requirements were for being an elder in the churches.
• **son in the faith: A Gentile converted by Paul. 1 Timothy 1:2: I am writing to Timothy, my true son in the faith...

(5) I left you on the island of *Crete so you could complete our work there and appoint elders in each town as I instructed you.

• *Crete:
  
  • Acts 2:11: (both Jews and converts to Judaism), Cretans, and Arabs. And we all hear these people speaking in our own languages about the wonderful things God has done!”
  • Paul set foot on the island as a prisoner, en route to Rome (Acts 27:7-17), but the initial planting cannot be attributed to that brief visit. The first Christians were probably those Jews who had heard Peter preach at Pentecost.

(6) An *elder must live a **blameless life. He must be ***faithful to his wife, and his ****children must be believers who don’t have a reputation for being wild or rebellious.

• *elder: While these requirements are for the elders, they are also good characteristics for us too. An elder was to be an example to other Christians in the church - should we not also be examples? Are we held to a lower stand than they?
  
  • The Christian walk of Will Houghton, a preacher who became the president of Moody Bible Institute during the 1940's, played a large role in the conversion of an agnostic who was contemplating suicide. The skeptic was desperate, but he decided that if he could find a minister who lived his faith he would listen to him. So he hired a private detective to watch Houghton. When the investigator’s report came back, it revealed that this preacher’s life was above reproach; he was for real. The agnostic went to Houghton’s church, accepted Christ, and later sent his daughter to Moody Bible Institute.
• **blameless - Greek anenkletos, is literally, “without indictment or accusation, unchargeable.” He is one who has nothing that can be brought against him; i.e., he is above reproach.
• ***faithful to his wife:
  
  • literally, a “one-woman man” - men characterized by marital and sexual fidelity
  • 1 Timothy 3:2: So an elder must be a man whose life is above reproach. He must be faithful to his wife. He must exercise self-control, live wisely, and have a good reputation. He must enjoy having guests in his home, and he must be able to teach.
  • Hebrews 13:4: Give honor to marriage, and remain faithful to one another in marriage. God will surely judge people who are immoral and those who commit adultery.
• ****children: 1 Timothy 3:4: He must manage his own family well, having children who respect and obey him.

(7) For an *elder must live a blameless life. He must not be arrogant or quick-tempered; he must not be a **heavy drinker, violent, or dishonest with money.

• *elder:
  
  • Or an overseer, or a bishop.
  • 1 Timothy 3:1: This is a trustworthy saying: “If someone aspires to be an elder, he desires an honorable position.”
• **heavy drinker: Greek- must not drink too much wine. 1 Timothy 3:3: He must not be a heavy drinker or be violent. He must be gentle, not quarrelsome, and not love money.

(8) Rather, he must enjoy having *guests in his home, and he must love what is good. He must live wisely and be just. He must live a devout and disciplined life.

• *guests: Hebrews 13:2: Don’t forget to show hospitality to strangers, for some who have done this have entertained angels without realizing it!
  
  • The practice of hospitality among Christians was often urgent, sacrificial and risky: urgent because Christians might be forced from homes or jobs with no one to turn to but fellow Christians; sacrificial because material goods were often in short supply; risky because to associate oneself with those who had been forced out meant to identify with their cause. Thus, hospitality required sacrificial sharing and stretching. It was a very practical expression of love, not a source of entertainment. While the practice of hospitality had primarily the needs of believers in mind, there is no reason that it could not be a way of showing concern for unbelievers. The importance of this practice for the church, in either case, required that a leader must model it for all (1 Timothy 3:2; 5:10).

(9) He must have a strong belief in the trustworthy message he was taught; then he will be able to encourage others with wholesome teaching and show those who oppose it where they are wrong.

(10) For there are many rebellious people who engage in *useless talk and deceive others. This is especially true of those who insist on **circumcision for salvation.

• *useless talk: literally, empty talkers. It’s just one word in the Greek. We get it as two words in English, but it means “those who peddle big words with vaporous content.” Big words, big talk; very, very little substance - like many of our politicians. And so they are deceivers. They are peddlers of false doctrine. So, they reject the authority of the Word, they peddle big, empty talk, but are deceivers in the end.
• **circumcision: Jewish Christians insisted that circumcision was necessary for salvation (Acts 15:1-5).
• The troublemakers were Jewish converts (Acts 10:45; 11:2; Galatians 2:7-9, 12). Earlier Paul opposed Jewish believers in Galatia who were teaching the need to return to the ceremonies of the law to achieve righteousness.

(11) They must be silenced, because they are turning whole families away from the truth by their *false teaching. And they do it only for money.

• *false teaching: The presence of false teachers requires leaders who have the ability to expound and defend the faith. They claimed to be teaching truth, but they were peddlers of error. Because they themselves were deceived by Satan, they deceived others. A false prophet will always come up with some extra-biblical thing to tell you that is necessary to live the Christian life, and encourage that as key to the Christian life.

(12) Even one of their own men, a *prophet from Crete, has said about them, “The people of Crete are all liars, cruel animals, and lazy gluttons.”

• *prophet: This quotation is from Epimenides of Knossos who lived in the 6th century B.C. So infamous were some of them for lying that the Greek word kretizein, to act like a Cretan, was a proverbial term for telling a lie.

(13) This is true. So reprimand them sternly to make them strong in the faith.

(14) They must stop listening to *Jewish myths and the commands of people who have turned away from the truth.

• *Jewish myths:
  The Jews of Jesus' day had modified their system of belief with pagan ideas - such as the concept of Abraham's bosom. Jesus took one of them and changed it a little for a parable Luke 16:19ff. Many of these Jewish myths are fantastic fiction about Old Testament figures, such as Seth, Enoch, Abraham, Moses, Solomon and Ezra. The modern-day version is Kaballah.
  
  • 1 Timothy 1:4-7: Don’t let them waste their time in endless discussion of myths and spiritual pedigrees. These things only lead to meaningless speculations, which don’t help people live a life of faith in God. The purpose of my instruction is that all believers would be filled with love that comes from a pure heart, a clear conscience, and genuine faith. But some people have missed this whole point. They have turned away from these things and spend their time in meaningless discussions. They want to be known as teachers of the law of Moses, but they don’t know what they are talking about, even though they speak so confidently.
  • Titus 3:9: Do not get involved in foolish discussions about spiritual pedigrees or in quarrels and fights about obedience to Jewish laws. These things are useless and a waste of time.

(15) Everything is pure to those whose hearts are pure. But nothing is pure to those who are corrupt and unbelieving, because their minds and consciences are corrupted.

(16) Such people claim they know God, but they deny him by the way they live. They are detestable and disobedient, worthless for doing anything good.

• 2 Timothy 3:5: They will act religious, but they will reject the power that could make them godly. Stay away from people like that!
  
• James 2:18-19: Now someone may argue, “Some people have faith; others have good deeds.” But I say, “How can you show me your faith if you don’t have good deeds? I will show you my faith by my good deeds.”
  You say you have faith, for you believe that there is one God.[a] Good for you! Even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror.
  
  

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NOTE: Unless otherwise noted, the scripture version used is the New Living Translation.

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NOTE: Sources and References are on line at: http://titus-study.blogspot.com/2010/11/titus-references-and-sources.html