Titus 1
About TitusWritten by AI
Titus is a short letter from Paul to a trusted coworker. Titus was a Gentile believer who had traveled with Paul, and Paul had left him on the island of Crete to set things in order in the young churches there. Traditionally it was written in the mid 60s AD, close to the time of 1 Timothy. Like the other Pastoral Letters, some scholars think it comes from a later follower of Paul.
Crete had a rough reputation, and the churches faced teachers who were stirring up trouble for gain. Paul tells Titus to appoint faithful elders, silence false teaching, and help every group in the church live in a way that makes the gospel attractive.
The letter is practical, but it rests on two rich summaries of the gospel, in 2:11 to 14 and 3:4 to 7. Watch how Paul ties good conduct to grace: “For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to everyone.”
Before you read Titus 1Written by AI
Paul greets Titus as his true child in their common faith and explains why he left him in Crete: to appoint elders in every town. He lists what an elder must be, blameless, faithful in marriage, hospitable, self-controlled, and holding firmly to sound teaching. Then he warns about rebellious teachers, many from the circumcision group, who claim to know God but deny Him by their actions.
Paul’s Greeting to Titus
Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ for the faith of God’s elect and their knowledge of the truth that leads to godliness, in the hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, promised before time began. In His own time He has made His word evident in the proclamation entrusted to me by the command of God our Savior.
To Titus, my true child in our common faith:
Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior.
Appointing Elders on Crete
The reason I left you in Crete was that you would set in order what was unfinished and appoint elders in every town, as I directed you. An elder must be blameless, the husband of but one wife, having children who are believers and who are not open to accusation of indiscretion or insubordination.
As God’s steward, an overseer must be above reproach—not self-willed, not quick-tempered, not given to drunkenness, not violent, not greedy for money. Instead, he must be hospitable, a lover of good, self-controlled, upright, holy, and disciplined. He must hold firmly to the faithful word as it was taught, so that he can encourage others by sound teaching and refute those who contradict it.
Correcting False Teachers
For many are rebellious and full of empty talk and deception, especially those of the circumcision, who must be silenced. For the sake of dishonorable gain, they undermine entire households and teach things they should not. As one of their own prophets has said, “Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.”
This testimony is true. Therefore rebuke them sternly, so that they will be sound in the faith and will pay no attention to Jewish myths or to the commands of men who have rejected the truth.
To the pure, all things are pure; but to the defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure. Indeed, both their minds and their consciences are defiled. They profess to know God, but by their actions they deny Him. They are detestable, disobedient, and unfit for any good deed.