Another Bible Commentary: Titus

This letter was from Paul to Titus, who had been sent to appoint and supervise elders, making him the Bishop of Crete. Titus is an uncircumcised Gentile (Galatians 2:3). (The Roman general involved with the destruction of the Temple who went on to be Emperor was a different Titus.) Crete, the island of the long-gone Minoan civilization, had become a haven for pirates.

1:1-2 God does not lie (Numbers 23:19). God’s omnipotence is only within the constraints of His character (Okay, the 1 Kings 22:22 note explains an odd episode). When He says whosoever (John 3:16), He means it.

1:6 “faithful to his wife” or “husband of one wife” Since Paul was single, this means “obedient to the one-wife rule of the Roman government”. Plus, think of the time and energy needed to be a full-time Christian leader under persecution. Regarding the requirement of believing children, since Paul is single we see that this is another mark of public respectability, a black mark to avoid instead of a hoop to jump through. Having minor children reputed to be godless criminals, etc., would not have reflected well upon a candidate’s ability to shepherd a congregation.

1:7 When the New Testament warns against drunkenness, it means don’t get “so hammered you don’t remember fathering your own grandchildren”-level drunk. Remember Jesus’ miracle at the wedding at Cana, the four drink minimum at Passover, etc. As long as you can still distinguish what sinful behavior is and the “wine god” isn’t possessing you in a blackout, you’re still in Psalm 104:15 territory.

1:8 “hospitable” The Church met in believers’ homes. A nice building may be an inviting space for worship, but the Church is made of people.

1:9 The “sound doctrine” of the Gospel is pretty simple, and much of what I’ve been trying to defend it from is the result of centuries of overthinking it. We’ve seen several behavior criteria for an elder in verses 6 through 9, and the expectations for a regular Christian never exceed this. The average cuts-a-lawn believer on the back pew that doesn’t go around picking fights or stealing whose commitment is questioned by some holy rollers is not only fine, but might have been a first century candidate for leadership (settling grievances as within a family and holding the purse strings).

1:10-11 There have always been hucksters in it for the money (2 Corinthians 2:17), but a group still valuing circumcision teaching for dishonest gain sure sounds like putting believers under a tithe that’s part of the Old Covenant we’re not under.

1:12 Epimenides’ Paradox.

1:14 Paul warning about Jewish myths in the home of the Minotaur amuses me. From Paul, a reformed Pharisee with a high view of Scripture (2 Timothy 3:16-17), “Jewish myths…human commands” sounds like the Pharisees’ oral traditions (mishnah) and extra rules as a fence around the Law of Moses.

1:15 “all things” refers to mundane stuff like what to eat per 1 Timothy 4:3. Timothy and Titus faced similar roles and issues, so they got similar letters. We can compare them for context. 1 Corinthians 5 would read differently if being a pure new-hearted believer let you do anything you could think of, like marry an iguana.

1:16 “claim to know God” Paul’s Jewish opponents (Romans 10:2-3) from verse 10. Their “actions” included convincing people to trust human works instead of faith in Christ; things like keeping kosher and getting snipped to earn/maintain a status that only Jesus gives freely for the asking.

2:2 Believe and Love are both found in this verse. See also Galatians 5:22. See how love can balance patience in Paul’s wish for those harassing the Gentiles to cut their own genitals off in Galatians 5:12.

2:3-10 The behavior is meant to avoid giving Christianity a black eye publicly (Titus 2:10, Colossians 3:17). Proverbs 31 also affirms the validity of work outside the home for women.

2:11 “offers…all people” Anyone, Jew or Gentile, can be saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ.

2:12 Grace teaches us to say no to sinning. See Psalm 130:3-4. Understand the behavior instructions in the context of former pagans in pagan Rome. Knowing you’re saved makes you want to act clean.

2:13-14 See Deuteronomy 14:2, Psalm 130:8, and Ezekiel 37:23. The eagerness to do good flows from the new heart in the New Covenant. The modern version of Paul’s Judaizer opponents now use verse 14 to sell works-based righteousness.

3:1 See Romans 13, 1 Peter 2, Jeremiah 29:7, and Exodus 22:28.

3:2 In general: be gentle, and don’t be contentious. Usually avoid getting into heated arguments. Leave your case with God (1 Peter 2:23). Publicly call people vipers (Matthew 12:34) and wish they’d neuter themselves (Galatians 5:12) on special occasions. I’m just saying that being loving isn’t always being nice (both of those incidents were born of love in response to people trying to block the way to salvation for others).

3:3 Paul wasn’t a freaky former pagan (Philippians 3:6) (Romans 7:8 – he was into coveting at most), so his “passions (strong desires) and pleasures” were addictive hate and pride. Hate produces a high like a pharmaceutical stimulant. The “being hated” bit is more like “disgusting” – Paul did not like his former self.

3:5 Again, salvation is a free gift based on Jesus’ finished work. Salvation is already accomplished for believers, and we don’t earn anything.

3:6 We received the Holy Spirit completely (Ephesians 1:3) when we first believed in Jesus Christ (Galatians 3:2,5).

3:7 Believers are already justified. The “might become heirs” means for the purpose of becoming. I logged into this computer so that I might write. Did I? Yes, I did.

3:8 Paul wanted believers to know that Jesus had already made them saints and for believers to act like it for the good of all (verse 14).

3:9 As in 1 Timothy 1:4, genealogies to prove how Jewish and therefore superior an instructor was (like those Paul answered in Philippians 3:5) or apostolic succession (like 1 Corinthians 1:12) don’t matter in the face of the Holy Spirit (John 16:13) and the Scripture (2 Timothy 3:16-17). We’re not under the Law of Moses (Romans 6:14), so arguing about its finer points isn’t the best use of our time, either, compared to putting the focus on Jesus Christ and what He did for us.

3:10 like the apostates from 1 Timothy 1:20. Timothy and Titus faced similar roles and issues, so they got similar letters. As in 2 Thessalonians 3:14-15, you can completely shun someone without being at odds with God about it.

3:11 Remember the people from Titus 1:10-16.

3:12 “Tychicus” from Acts 20:4. Sailing the Mediterranean in the winter was unsafe back then.

3:14 This amounted largely to earning a living and helping those with urgent needs (who are actually helpless – 1 Timothy 5:16), especially believers (Galatians 6:10, Ephesians 4:28, 1 Thessalonians 4:11-12), while being good ambassadors (Titus 2:10) for Christianity.

Previous Post

Next Post