SSL 11 - Titus 1:1-5, 10-16
INTRODUCTION TO BOOK OF TITUS: The author is the apostle Paul, writing from Macedonia in about 65 A.D. Titus, the recipient of the letter, was one of Paul's most trust co-workers. He was known to be a Greek (i.e., Gentile) and possibly, a native of Syrian Antioch. He worked closely with Paul during the latter's ministry in Corinth (see, 2 Cor. 2:13; 7:6; 8:23). Upon Paul's release from his first Roman imprisonment, Titus is known to have joined him on his journey to Crete. When Paul departed for Macedonia, he left Titus behind in Crete to continue the ministry there (Titus 1:5). Crete is an island approximately 300 miles southeast of Greece between the Mediterranean and Aegean Seas. The island itself is about 150 miles in width from east to west and from north to south, varies from 25 miles at its widest point to 7 ½ miles at its narrowest. While in Macedonia Paul wrote this letter along with the first letter to Timothy. We last hear of Titus in 2 Tim. 4:10 where Paul sends him to minister to the churches in Dalmatia (NW coast of Greece). In general theme, the Book of Titus has much in common with 1 Timothy, the subject matter being the work of a pastor with the charge to ordain elders and train the congregations.
Read Titus 1:1-5 - GREETING AND INTRODUCTION
1 Paul, a bond-servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the faith of those chosen of God and the knowledge of the truth which is according to godliness, 2 in the hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, promised long ages ago, 3 but at the proper time manifested, even His word, in the proclamation with which I was entrusted according to the commandment of God our Savior, 4 To Titus, my true child in a common faith: Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior. 5 For this reason I left you in Crete, that you would set in order what remains and appoint elders in every city as I directed you,
v. 1: "Paul, a bond-servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the faith of those chosen of God and the knowledge of the truth which is according to godliness. - Paul frequently used the term "bond-servant" (Gk. doulos) which literally means a man under orders. But here is the only place he refers to himself as a "bond-servant of God," rather than one of Christ, as he does elsewhere. While the meaning is similar, the wording here suggests a more direct connection to Moses, David, and other figures in the OT described as bond-servants, which has the effect of placing him in the long line of those who have been God's spokesmen from the beginning. And this concept of received authority is made even stronger by the connection "an apostle of Jesus Christ." In the next phrase, "for the faith of those chosen of God and the knowledge of the truth," Paul identifies the divine source of his authority -God-and the goal of his apostleship-saving people with the knowledge of the truth. And "according to godliness" denotes living a life that outwardly expresses the image of Christ.
v. 2: "in the hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, promised long ages ago" - Paul's whole mission, his every effort, is rooted in the certainty of God's promise of eternal life. Eternal life isn't a wish but a hope, and the word "hope" (Gk. elpis) literally means the expectation of what is certain. It is impossible for God to lie because it is the opposite of His perfect character. This contrasts with the Cretans mentioned in vv. 12-13, above. Paul's reference to "promised long ages ago" means that eternal life was God's plan all the way back to "In the beginning" (Gen. 1:1a).
v. 3: "but at the proper time manifested, even His word, in the proclamation with which I was entrusted according to the commandment of God our Savior" - The "proper time manifested" means that Paul saw this time in history as the time in which God revealed "His word" in the form of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Messiah He resurrected from the dead. Finally, it's interesting that Paul points out that this wasn't a ministry he chose for himself, but one he received "according to the commandment of God our Savior."
v. 4: "To Titus, my true child in a common faith: Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior" - Like Timothy, Titus was a spiritual son to Paul on several points: (1) Calling him "my true child in a common faith," suggests that Titus was converted through Paul's ministry; (2) they shared faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior; and (3) their faith was not only shared but "common," inasmuch as Paul was a Jew and Titus a Gentile, which underscores the unity of all Christians everywhere, regardless of race, language, culture, or nationality.
v. 5: "For this reason I left you in Crete, that you would set in order what remains and appoint elders in every city as I directed you" - Unlike Timothy at Ephesus, the churches Titus is dealing with in Crete are apparently very young. So, to "set in order what remains" probably indicates (1) getting them organized from the ground up as well as (2) appointing elders. I think all of us have had very recent experience with the problem of ground up organization, yes? Notice also that Titus is to "appoint" elders rather than elect them by congregational vote, which would be prudent in the case of a young church made up of immature believers. Remember also, as we recently learned from 1 Tim. 3:1 that pastor and elder can refer to the same office.
Skipped vv. 6-9: This is basically a repeat of the qualifications of overseers/elders that we covered two months ago in 1 Tim. 3:1-7. From that lesson, we learned that the qualifications required for men to be eligible for church leadership positions have very little to do with giftedness but everything to do with high standards that relate to godly character and lifestyle. No candidate is ever perfect-all men have strengths and weakness-but a church leader should be a man who strives to live by these godly standards with his whole heart in the church, at home, at work, and in his community.
TRUTH 1: For a born-again Christian, eternal life isn't a wish but a hope based on certainty. The word "hope" (Gk. elpis) means the expectation of what is certain. Eternal life is a promise of God (and it's impossible for God to lie). God planned it all the way back to "In the beginning" (Gen. 1:1a).
TRUTH 2: Christian ministry isn't a choice but a calling. As Paul pointed out in v. 3, that his ministry wasn't something he chose for himself but a calling he received "according to the commandment of God our Savior."
Read Titus 1:10-16 - THE PROBLEM OF FALSE TEACHERS
10 For there are many rebellious men, empty talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision, 11 who must be silenced because they are upsetting whole families, teaching things they should not teach for the sake of sordid gain. 12 One of themselves, a prophet of their own, said, "Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons." 13 This testimony is true. For this reason reprove them severely so that they may be sound in the faith, 14 not paying attention to Jewish myths and commandments of men who turn away from the truth. 15 To the pure, all things are pure; but to those who are defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure, but both their mind and their conscience are defiled. 16 They profess to know God, but by their deeds they deny Him, being detestable and disobedient and worthless for any good deed.
v. 10: "For there are many rebellious men, empty talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision" - In this series of verses, which shifts to false teachers, Paul intentionally contrasts them with the descriptions of the character standards required of elders who, in general, are to be men who not only teach the truth but demonstrate it outwardly in the way they live their lives. First off, Paul brands them as "rebellious" in that they are rebelling against both the word of God and the apostolic authority of Paul and people under his guidance like Titus. That they are described as "empty talkers and deceivers" means that that their wrongdoing came from the words they spoke rather than from physical persecution. "Those of the circumcision," similar to the problem Paul addressed about the "Judaizers" in Gal. 2:12, i.e., insisted that it was necessary both to be circumcised and keep Mosaic Law in order to qualify for salvation, sanctification, or even both. This issue had been effectively put to rest by the Jerusalem Council (Acts 15:1-35) between 49-50 A.D.
v.11: "who must be silenced because they are upsetting whole families, teaching things they should not teach for the sake of sordid gain" - Paul uses the strong word "silenced" (Gk. phimoō). which literally means to muzzle or gag. While Paul isn't suggesting physical altercation, he's saying that these false teachers must be denied any opportunity to speak before any group in the church. Titus would need to be especially careful to prevent this from happening in the small house churches of Crete. The term "sordid gain" reveals these false teachers were not only teaching lies but charging people admission to hear them!
v. 12: "One of themselves, a prophet of their own, said, 'Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.'" - This quotation of the Cretan poet Epimenides (6th Cen. B.C.) was a popular saying among the Cretans. Crete was proverbial in the ancient word for its decadence. The famous Roman statesman Cicero (106-43 B.C) said of them: "Moral principles are so divergent that the Cretans... consider highway robbery honorable."
v. 13: "This testimony is true. For this reason reprove them severely so that they may be sound in the faith" - Here, rather than criticize the decadence of Cretan society directly, Paul wisely quotes a well-known Cretan poet and then agrees with him, and the addition of the word "them' in the second sentence limits the reference to false teachers rather than all Cretans in general. The word for "reprove" (Gk. elegchó) also means to convict and carries the sense of confronting, discrediting, correcting, and exposing the error. There are several points to this verse: (1) The "reprove" is targeted at Christians, or those pretending to be Christians, who are spreading the false teachings; (2) they are to reproved "severely" (Gk. apotemnō) which literally means to cut off, in other words, they were to be stopped or otherwise prevented from the opportunity of spreading this error to others in the church; and (3) after being exposed and corrected, they were to be given the opportunity to repent of their error and to become "sound in the faith." Paul never wanted to drive people away but tried his best to teach them the true Gospel and bring them fully into the Christian fold.
v. 14" "not paying attention to Jewish myths and commandments of men who turn away from the truth" - Paul talked about the same type of error in 1 Tim. 1:4 which he described as "myths and endless genealogies, which give rise to mere speculation..." The specific content of these "myths," apparently of Jewish origin, is unknown. The word for "myth" (Gk. mýtythos) means a false account that is posing to be true. The phrase "commandments of men" is self-explanatory. Man-made requirements fall into the same category as myths: something false that pretends to be true. Anything man-made that adds requirements, practices, standards, principles, values, etc. to the Bible that aren't consistent with apostolic interpretation is legalism. Adding to the truth is the same as turning away from it.
15: "To the pure, all things are pure; but to those who are defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure, but both their mind and their conscience are defiled" - The word "pure" (Gk. katharos = also clean, unstained, innocent, guiltless) can mean different things to different people. To born-again Christians it means we have been made pure by the atoning death of Jesus Christ. Unlike unbelievers-and Paul is alluding to the ascetics we covered in 1 Tim. 4:1-5 who taught that a person could achieve a higher moral state by practicing self-denial of certain 'normal' things-who don't enjoy the freedom of true Christians who have the benefit of all of God's creation with thanksgiving. The restrictions set up by the ascetics were arbitrary, man-man prohibitions (i.e., legalism) against what they considered to be impure. However, this is tempered by what Paul said in Rom. 4:20-21: "Do not tear down the work of God for the sake of food. All things indeed are clean, but they are evil for the man who eats and gives offense. 21 It is good not to eat meat or to drink wine, or to do anything by which your brother stumbles." In other words, even though we aren't bound by any dietary restrictions, we shouldn't offend another believer by eating or drinking in front of them things they believe to be forbidden.
16: "They profess to know God, but by their deeds they deny Him, being detestable and disobedient and worthless for any good deed" - Here are Paul's final words regarding Crete's false teachers. First, Paul doesn't believe they are true believers in Christ, as they claim; that their works-i.e., their lifestyles-show them to be otherwise on three counts: (1) They were "detestable" (Gk. bdelugma) literally means to reek with a stench, which is a word commonly associated with idolatry; (2) they were "disobedient" (Gk. apeithés) literally means unwilling to be persuaded, which implies that they were hypocrites who taught obedience while living in disobedience themselves: and (3) "worthless" (Gk. dokimas) literally means failure to pass the test and thus unfit for service, as contrasted with the elders who were to be above reproach and known for their good works.
TRUTH 3: The proper remedy for false teaching is to cut-it-off before it can spread. Paul instructed Titus to "reprove them severely" - (Gk. elegchó apotemnō) which literally means to cut off, in other words, they were to be stopped or otherwise prevented from the opportunity of spreading this error to others in the church.
TRUTH 4: Born-again Christians have been made pure by the atoning death of Jesus Christ. The word "pure" (Gk. katharos = also clean, unstained, innocent, guiltless) can mean different things to different people. To born-again Christians it means we have been made pure by the atoning death of Jesus Christ. Unlike unbelievers-and Paul is alluding to the ascetics we covered in 1 Tim. 4:1-5 who taught that a person could achieve a higher moral state by practicing self-denial of certain 'normal' things-who don't enjoy the freedom of true Christians who have the benefit of all of God's creation with thanksgiving.
