Titus (mentioned 13 times in the New Testament) was a Gentile, converted to
Christianity by Paul but left intentionally uncircumcised; he went from Antioch
with Paul and Barnabas to Jerusalem (Galatians 2:1-3; cross-reference Acts 15:2).
According to 2 Corinthians 2:13; 7:6,13-14, which he delivered, Titus was with Paul
on his third missionary journey; his name, however, does not appear in Acts. He
had the responsibility of taking up the collection in Corinth for the Christian
community of Jerusalem (2 Corinthians 8:6,16-19,23). Apparently, Paul took a
fourth missionary journey between his Roman imprisonments; one leg of that journey
was a visit with Titus to Crete (Titus 1:5), where Paul left Titus to wrap up the
organization efforts of the local congregations. Titus was to meet Paul at
Nicopolis (on the western coast of modern day Albania) once the churches were
ordered properly and set for self-administration. The last time we hear of Titus,
he headed to Dalmatia (a mountainous region north of Nicopolis on the eastern coast
of the Adriatic Sea in Illyricum, modern day Bosnia / Croatia), presumably on a
mission trip (2 Timothy 4:10). See the map:
With Titus in charge of the church on the island of Crete, Paul sent a letter of
encouragement with Zenas and Apollos, who were on a journey that took them through
Crete (Titus 3:13). He wrote his first letter to Timothy and this epistle to Titus
at the same time, between 63-65 AD, likely from Macedonia en route to Nicopolis,
after his release from house arrest and prior to his final imprisonment in Rome
(sometime on his uncharted fourth mission trip). I wrote, in Biblical Glasses,
“Titus was the administrator of the Christian churches on the island of Crete, a place
notorious for its liars and thieves and laziness. Paul encouraged Titus to overcome
these vices with right living among pagans, so they would see his good deeds and praise
God in heaven. Paul recommended that Titus teach the believers to teach others.” False
teachings throughout the Roman Empire were similar in 60-65 AD.
Calvin says of the Cretans, “There were some who, through ambitious motives, wished
to be elevated to the rank of pastors, and who, because Titus did not comply with their
wicked desires, spoke unfavorably of him to many persons. On the other hand, there were
Jews who, under the pretense of supporting the Mosaic law, introduced a great number of
trifles; and such persons were listened to with eagerness and with much acceptance.
Paul therefore writes with this design, to arm Titus with his authority, that he may
be able to bear so great a burden; for undoubtedly there were some who fearlessly
despised him as being but one of the ordinary rank of pastors. It is also possible that
complaints about him were in circulation, to the effect that he assumed more authority
than belonged to him when he did not admit pastors till he had made trial and
ascertained their fitness. Hence we may infer, that this was not so much a private
epistle of Paul to Titus, as it was a public epistle to the Cretans [see 3:15,
addressed to “you all”]. It is not probable that Titus is blamed for having with too great
indulgence raised unworthy persons to the office of bishop, or that, as an ignorant man
and a novice, he is told what is that kind of doctrine in which he ought to instruct the
people; but because due honor was not rendered to him, Paul clothes him with his own
authority, both in ordaining ministers and in the whole government of the Church.
Because there were many who foolishly desired to have another form of doctrine than
that which he delivered, Paul approves of this alone – rejecting all others – and exhorts
him to proceed as he had begun. First, then, he shows what sort of persons ought to be
chosen for being ministers. Among other qualifications, he requires that a minister
shall be well instructed in sound doctrine, that by means of it he may resist adversaries.
Here he takes occasion to censure some vices of the Cretans, but especially rebukes the
Jews, who made some kind of holiness to consist in a distinction of food, and in other
outward ceremonies. In order to refute their fooleries, he contrasts with them the true
exercises of piety and Christian life; and, with the view of pressing them more closely,
he describes what are the duties which belong to every one in his calling. These duties
he enjoins Titus diligently and constantly to inculcate. On the other hand, he admonishes
others not to be weary of hearing them, and shows that this is the design of the
redemption and salvation obtained through Christ. If any obstinate person oppose, or
refuse to obey, he bids him set that person aside. We now see that Paul has no other
object in view than to support the cause of Titus, and to stretch out the hand to assist
him in performing the work of the Lord.”
Ligon Duncan notes, “The world is in the church, and Paul is concerned that the church
would be distinct, especially in her life and witness in this immoral context. And so,
in this letter Paul will write to Titus to instruct him how to deal with these kinds of
matters. But interestingly, just like in First Timothy, Paul will deal with matters of
church organization, leadership, and administration; and you may well ask yourself the
question: if the crying need of the hour was for Christians in this congregation to live
more godly lives in the context of a pagan and immoral culture, why in the world would
Paul spend time talking about elders; about different groups within the church; about
dealing with false teaching that was troubling the church; about matters of church
administration. Why would he touch on these subjects? Was Paul somewhat wandering from
his focus by doing this? And of course, the answer is, “No,” because Paul knows that if
godliness is going to be established in this local congregation (or congregations), it
is going to require elders – godly elders, qualified elders according to Scripture,
biblical elders shepherding the people of God. He knows that it is going to take sound
teaching, because false teaching is not going to produce godliness. He knows that if
godliness is going to prosper in this congregation the different groups and the divisions
that exist are going to have to be brought together and healed, because the gospel always
evidences itself not only in individual moral transformation, but in social transformation,
and the way that Christians relate to one another, and the way they love one another and
support one another…Paul wants to help Titus pastor Christian congregations in the
context of an immoral culture, and to encourage those Christians and congregations
to adorn the gospel of God our Savior in all of life by the way that we live. That,
in fact, is the great focus of this book: adorning the gospel of God our Savior in
all things. The gospel has the moral power to transform lives and social relationships,
and that gospel power serves as a witness to the world around us that the gospel is not
the fabrication of our “wish fulfillment,” but it is in fact a reality worked in us by
the Holy Spirit.” Let’s read and study Paul’s pastoral epistle to Titus.
CHAPTER 1
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