Titus Chapter 1

Titus was left with the difficult task of setting things in order within the church on the island of Crete and appointing elders to lead the church.  There was a large contingent of Jewish Christian believers here.  Cretan Jews were among those in Jerusalem in Acts chapter 2 who converted to Christianity. 

Titus 1:1-4 “Paul, a bondservant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God’s elect and the acknowledgment of the truth which accords with godliness, ² in hope of eternal life which God, who cannot lie, promised before time began, ³ but has in due time manifested His word through preaching, which was committed to me according to the commandment of God our Savior; ⁴ To Titus, a true son in our common faith: Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ our Savior.”

Paul, as in many of his epistles, acknowledged that the gospel was committed to him.  The gospel is faith in our Lord Jesus Christ and the free gift of righteousness He gives to us by His grace.  This faith is also the acknowledgment that God has come to dwell in us by the Holy Spirit; as we acknowledge this truth, it leads us into godliness.    

Titus 1:5-9 “For this reason I left you in Crete, that you should set in order the things that are lacking, and appoint elders in every city as I commanded you— ⁶ if a man is blameless, the husband of one wife, having faithful children not accused of dissipation or insubordination. ⁷ For a bishop must be blameless, as a steward of God, not self-willed, not quick-tempered, not given to wine, not violent, not greedy for money, ⁸ but hospitable, a lover of what is good, sober-minded, just, holy, self-controlled, ⁹ holding fast the faithful word as he has been taught, that he may be able, by sound doctrine, both to exhort and convict those who contradict.”

These elders were appointed only if they demonstrated good character.  No one is going to be perfect; but Paul wanted Titus to appoint elders who had demonstrated some level of outward holiness.  The elders were to hold fast the teaching of the gospel and sound doctrine.  Titus appointed faithful men who would be able to teach others also. This is how churches are established and set in order.

Titus 1:10-16 “For there are many insubordinate, both idle talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision, ¹¹ whose mouths must be stopped, who subvert whole households, teaching things which they ought not, for the sake of dishonest gain. ¹² One of them, a prophet of their own, said, “Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.” ¹³ This testimony is true. Therefore rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith, ¹⁴ not giving heed to Jewish fables and commandments of men who turn from the truth. ¹⁵ To the pure all things are pure, but to those who are defiled and unbelieving nothing is pure; but even their mind and conscience are defiled. ¹⁶ They profess to know God, but in works they deny Him, being abominable, disobedient, and disqualified for every good work.”

Paul referred to those of the circumcision.  These were Jews who became Christians but were saying that men still needed to be circumcised to be saved.  These Jewish Christians also taught the commandments and customs from the Old Testament in an attempt to cause the Cretans to live in holiness.   But these ideas were subverting people from the gospel message of faith in our Lord Jesus Christ and His free gift of righteousness by grace.  These Jewish Christians were to be rebuked sharply. Circumcision was an Old Testament ritual that was no longer necessary under the New Testament.  Teaching the commandments of the Old Testament would only show people that they were sinners in need of a Savior; it could not lead them to walk in holiness.  The teaching of grace and the acknowledgment of the truth that God is in us leads us into holiness.  

According to verse 12, the Cretans at that time were apparently known for their lack of character, even though some of them had accepted the gospel and were born again.  In verse 16, Paul said they profess to know God, but in works they deny Him, being abominable, disobedient, and disqualified for every good work.  The phrasing “in works they deny Him” is very similar to 2 Timothy 2:12 and 2 Timothy 3:5.  These Cretans Paul talked about were born again but were denying the power of grace to deliver them from sin.  They did not acknowledge that God lived in them and were not working out their salvation from the inside to the outside. We must walk in holiness so that people can see that God has come to dwell in us.  Notice that verse 16 said they were disqualified from every good work.  Some people try to infer this and similar phrasing in other epistles somehow means losing your salvation; it does not mean that.  It just means they were not demonstrating good works.  

In 1 Corinthians 9:27, Paul said that he disciplined his body brought it under subjection, lest, when he had preached to others, he might have become disqualified.  The KJV says that Paul might have been a castaway.  Paul did not say that God would have cast him away and that he would have lost his salvation and be damned forever.  What Paul said was that if we don’t walk in holiness as we preach the gospel, men will cast us away and reject our testimony about God’s grace.  This is exactly what Jesus meant in Matthew 5:13.  It says we are the salt of the earth.  But if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it (the earth) be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out (by men) and trampled underfoot by men (not God).

Keith Oliver