The Five T's
1 & 2 Thessalonians, 1 & 2 Timothy, Titus

Titus was taught by Dr. James Modlish

 

Titus
Chapter One
(A MESSAGE TO THE LOCAL CHURCH)

Introduction:

The same sense of urgency that prevailed in the letters to Timothy seems to be present in Titus. The Lords return is in view (2:11-15). Paul's sense of responsibility is strong upon him as his own ministry nears its end (1:3). The progress of the Gospel is endangered by "unruly men, vain talkers and deceivers" (1:10).

Titus was a Greek believer (Gal. 2:3) won to Christ through Paul's ministry (1:4). He had proved himself a loyal and zealous coworker, and was very dear to Paul (11 Cor. 2:13; 7:6; 8:1-6,16,17). Paul left Titus in Crete to reorganize the church (1:5) until Tychicus or Artemas could replace him (3:12). Titus was with Paul at Rome in his second imprisonment, from whence he traveled to Dalmatia on a mission for the Apostle (2 Tim. 4:10). Paul's estimate of Titus is given in (2 Cor. 8:23), The Cretians were not the easiest people to work with (1:12-13). The church evidently suffered from two sources:

[1]. Visiting Judaizers who mixed law and grace.
[2]. Ignorant Christians who abused the grace of God and turned it into a license to sin.

First & Second Timothy the emphasis is on doctrine; in Titus it is on good works. In First Timothy we are to protect the Gospel, in Second Timothy we are to proclaim it and in Titus we are to practice it. Several words are repeated in this brief letter, helping us to understand the burden that was on Paul's heart.

Note that good works is a major emphasis (1:16; 2:7,143:1 5,8,1 4). Christian doctrine and Christian living are to be sound (1:9,13; 2:1-2,8). There ought to be a life of godliness (1:1; 2:12), not worldliness. God's grace leads a person to live a godly life (1:4; 2:11; 3:7,15). If there is a key verse for the book, it is probably (3:8).

 

I. Proclaim The Word (1:1-4)

Preaching was the major part of Paul's life and he directed Titus to put the same principles into effect in his life. (I Cor. 1:17,18). The message that Titus was to preach was:
A. God's grace to sinners - However one of the problems in Crete was an abuse of the grace of God. "God has saved us by grace, so we are free to sin," these believers argued. Paul answers this from the start by defining the faith as the "truth which is after godliness" (vs. 1). This is a favorite word with Paul (I Tim. 2:2; 3:16; 4:7,8; 6:3,5,6,11; 11 Tim. 3:5).

B. The blessed hope of eternal life (1:2) - The blessed hope of the Christian can and should be ever present as we look forward to the return of Christ (2:13).

 

II. Organize The Church (1:5-9)

When Titus arrived in Crete the churches were in a weakened and divided condition. There was definite opposition to his ministry. Evidently the churches had lacked God called leadership and were being run by laymen. Hence, Paul tells Titus to ordain elders in every city. Without leadership and an established claim of command chaos can quickly result. The qualifications that are given are parallel to those given in (I Timothy 3) which we have already studied. The admonition to the pastors is to hold fast the "faithful word" and this brings to mind Paul's "faithful words'' in (1 Tim. 1:15; 4:9; 2 Tim. 2:11 & Tit. 3:8). He must know the Word for two reasons:
[1]. To be able to minister to the saints.
[2]. To be able to refute the false teachers.

 

III. Refute The False Teachers (1:10-16)

Satan is always at work where good seed has been sown. His primary strategy is to counterfeit the truth with false teachers. This was the case in Crete. "They of the circumcision" (vs. 10) had battled Paul from Jerusalem to Rome. They mixed the law with grace and came up with a false doctrine.

Paul even quotes a famous poet, Epimenides, who described the Cretians as liars, ferocious beasts, and "idle gluttons" - not a beautiful description' In fact, the people of Paul's day invented a new word out of the name "Cretian" which meant "to lie, to speak like a Cretian." Of course, Paul is not suggesting that all Cretians were lazy gluttons and liars! Doubtless there were many people, both within and without the churches, who lived decent lives.

Dietary laws and asceticism were key doctrines to these false teachers, and Paul attacks them in (vs. 15). He is dealing with the problem of clean and unclean foods, as he had in (I Tim. 4:2-5). The believer who knows the Word of God receives all foods as clean; the unbeliever (and the false teacher) has a defiled mind and conscience and therefore sees nothing as pure. Moral and spiritual purity is not a matter of diets; it is a matter of a clean heart and a good conscience (Matt. 6:22,23; Rom. 14:14).

How is Titus to treat these false teachers? Is he to unite with them and try to see their point of view? No! He must stop their mouths (vs. 11) and rebuke them sharply (vs. 13). After all, their teachings were upsetting (subverting) entire families (vs. 11). And their motive was simply to get money (filthy lucre) and not to honor the Lord. Verse sixteen sums up the situation clearly: these false teachers profess one thing and practice another; they are denying Christ by their works, they are abominable and disobedient; they will never pass the test (reprobate).

We have false teachers attacking the church today. It is one thing for a person to hold to a false doctrine because of ignorance, and quite another for him to hold it and teach it in the fact of God's truth. Ignorant people should be pitied and taught the truth; deliberate false teachers should be rebuked and rejected. Once the church compromises on the truth, the truth will be swallowed up in lies.

 

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