Titus
Confession time: OK, I maybe know least about this text than any other NT book (and that’s saying a lot). Um, I remember the Fox sitcom “Titus”—but I never watched it. So now that I’ve frightened some people off, let’s get to it!
As was the case with 1-2 Timothy, the purpose of this letter was to help Titus deal with false teachers/teaching, and deal with the church’s organizational difficulties. Scholars believe that it was written some time between 1 and 2 Timothy. The basic structure of the letter is: opening (1:1-4), leadership matters (1:5-16), instructions for the church (2:1-15), instructions for daily living (3:1-8), further instructions about dealing with false teaching (3:9-11), and closing remarks (3:12-15). So let’s take a look at Titus.
If you take a quick scan of Titus you can see certain recurring words: “belief”/“faith”/“trust” (etc.)—same Greek word behind each—“teaching”/“doctrine”, “sound”, “sensible”, “good deeds,” and “God our Saviour” (these words might vary depending on your bible version) These repetitions reveal the author’s emphases, like faith and orthodoxy.
In his opening greeting, Paul refers to “the knowledge of the truth which is according to godliness” (Tit 1:1). Knowledge of the truth leads to godliness. In other words, if someone who claims to be a Christian, i.e., 1 of God’s elect (cf. 1:1), then their knowledge of the Truth—Jesus (John 14:6)—and his truth (the scriptures) necessarily leads to a godly life; otherwise the veracity of their confession remains in doubt (e.g., Tit 1:16a). Question: Why should “knowledge of the truth” lead to a godly lifestyle? Can’t you “know” the truth without it influencing how you live?
Paul then quickly moves to leadership matters, specifically, for elders. Paul reminds Titus that he left him in Crete to appoint elders for the different congregations (Tit 1:5). He then restates for him the qualifications for elders (1:6-9) which, not surprisingly, sound nearly identical to those listed in 1 Timothy; so I needn’t go into them any further here. 2 important prerequisites of an elder is that he be able to teach and be sound in doctrine, in order to silence false teachers who go around upsetting believers with their deceptions (Tit 1:9-11). Question: Do these requirements mean that every elder in the church should have some sort of teaching ministry? Similar to what we observed in 1 Timothy, the false teaching seemed to revolve around Jewish mysticism and an unwarranted emphasis on obeying the legal requirements of the Mosaic Law (1:14).
Paul’s instructions now broaden to the rest of the church, offering instructions dealing with the character of older men (2:2), the behaviour of older women, for whom he has much more to say (2:3-5): they are to mind their habits, their speech, and help teach the younger women to be good home-makers. Paul similarly offers instruction for young men—for whom Titus is to set a godly example (Tit 2:7-8)—specifically, about controlling themselves (2:6). He also addresses slaves (2:9-10) who, by conducting themselves well, can “make the teaching about Christ attractive” (Tit 2:10). Interestingly enough, masters are not addressed, which is odd b/c I think in every other instance in the NT slaves and masters are always addressed together. Question: Why do you think masters are not explicitly addressed here?
The basis for all of these ethical exhortations is “the grace of God” (Tit 2:11), i.e., the gospel. The gospel brings salvation to every person—regardless of age, race, class, gender, etc.—who receives it. But salvation isn’t just about being saved “from” something; it’s about being saved “for” something. In other words, we are saved “from” God’s eternal punishment of sin, and we are saved “for” godliness/holiness (Tit 2:12). This truth receives emphasis in the subsequent verses: Jesus gave/sacrificed himself on the cross in order to redeem/save us but also to purify us for himself (Tit 2:13-14). There is no pardon with purity!
Similar to Paul’s exhortation in Rom 13, he exhorts Titus to command the people to obey the earthly authorities and to watch their conduct before people in general, walking especially with a humble spirit (3:1-2). It certainly can be difficult to do this at times, given how crude and rebellious unbelievers can be. But patience comes with understanding: we used to be the same way (3:3); “use to,” that is, until Christ saved us.
Verses 4-7 offer an amazing picture of salvation. 1st, Christ’s incarnation—which brought salvation—was a completely free act of divine kindness (Tit 3:4); God did not owe fallen humanity the incarnation. The only debt God owed us was eternal punishment! 2nd, God saved us purely out of mercy (Tit 3:5a). God didn’t have to send Jesus; but having sent him, he did not apply his cross-work to people who tried to do good works to try to gain God’s favour—b/c no one ever could! Salvation is purely an act of mercy/grace. 3rd, salvation comes through the work of the Holy Spirit (Tit 3:5b-6). Jesus said that no one can come to him unless the Father draws him (John 6:44). This drawing is none other than the salvific work of the Holy Spirit in the life of a person who is in the process of coming to (faith in) Jesus. Question: What does the “drawing” work of the Holy Spirit look like in the life of an unbeliever? 4th, the initial result of salvation is justification with God (Tit 3:7); in other words, God declares the guilty person just in his sight b/c of Christ. The final result is we get to receive/experience our full inheritance in Christ when we are with him in glory.
I think with that, I’ll end my overview of Titus. Next up: Paul’s shortest letter in the NT.