Titus Chapter 1

Introduction: Titus is not mentioned in the Book of Acts but he is mentioned eleven times in Paul’s epistles:

1. He accompanied Paul as the Gentile representative to the first big dispensational debate between Paul and the Twelve Jewish Disciples at Jerusalem as recorded in Acts 15 and Galatians 2:1-3.Paul created quite a stir when he announced that circumcision and the keeping of religious law was not a part of his message of grace to the world.

2. He was sent by Paul to deal with the Corinthian’s lack of financial stewardship. (II Cor. 8:6,16 and 7:15).

3. He was commissioned to "set in order" the things that were wanting among the believers on the island of Crete (whose inhabitants were widely known for their moral irresponsibility), and to "ordain elders in every city” if they met the qualifications set forth by the Holy Spirit (Tit. 1:12,13 and 5-9).

Paul is telling Titus, as a pastor, how to perform the ministry of a local assembly. I believe that pastors and local assemblies became obsolete when the Bible was completed. (Eph. 4:13)

I Timothy and Titus were probably written at about the same time---64-65 AD. It was written after Paul had completed his “Acts ministry”. As far as I can tell, the Scriptures do not tell us where Paul was when he wrote the book of Titus.

Vs. 1-4…"Paul, a servant of God, and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God's elect, and the acknowledging of the truth which is after godliness; In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began; But hath in due times manifested His word through preaching which is committed unto me, according to the commandment of God our Savior; To Titus, mine own son after the common faith: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, our Savior.”

“Paul, a servant of God, and an apostle of Jesus Christ”… Paul reminds Titus that every Christian is a servant… What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? [20] For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's. (I Cor. 6:19, 20). The Greek experts that translated the 1611 KJV did not translate the Greek word “doulos” as slave in this verse. Instead they chose to translate it “servant”. Without getting into a linguistic debate about the matter (one in which I am not qualified to participate) I can see that the word “servant” is a result of “spiritual discernment” by… “comparing spiritual things with spiritual.” (I Cor. 2:13) A slave is one who is forced to do the work of another against his will. A servant is one who is willingly devoted to the work of another to the disregard of one's own interests. Paul willingly surrendered himself to the service of His Lord…For if I do this thing willingly, I have a reward: but if against my will, a dispensation of the gospel is committed unto me. (I Cor. 9:17)

This is a beautiful example of Paul having the proper sober view of himself as a Christian (Rom. 12:3-4); he was a servant of God; however he also wore the title of “Apostle of Jesus Christ”. Being an “Apostle of Jesus Christ” could have puffed Paul up with pride, so he states publicly he was a servant at the same time

“according to the faith of God's elect, and the acknowledging of the truth which is after godliness”… There were two guiding principles by which the Lord confronted “Saul” on the Damascus Road:

1. “The faith of God’s elect”---Jesus did not “call Saul into the ministry” and then send him to seminary for training. So who taught Paul? According to Galatians 1:15-17, Paul was taught by the Lord Jesus Christ Himself… “But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother's womb, and called me by his grace, [16] To reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him among the heathen; immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood: [17] Neither went I up to Jerusalem to them which were apostles before me; but I went into Arabia, and returned again unto Damascus..” What was he taught? The faith of God’s elect! And specifically what is that? Well let’s answer the last part first and then the first part will make perfect sense. According to Isaiah 42:1, Jesus is God’s elect… “Behold my servant, whom I uphold; mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth; I have put my spirit upon him: he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles.” Therefore Jesus personally appeared unto Paul on several occasions… “And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure” (II Cor. 12:7).and taught him “the faith” (grace doctrine; this included the gospel of the grace of God, the preaching of Jesus Christ according to the revelation of the mystery, and the Scriptures of the prophets) and sent him out into the Roman Empire to proclaim it to whosoever will. Do not let the Calvinists lead you astray by telling you “the faith” is your personal belief and “God’s elect” are those whom God chose for salvation before the foundation of the world. (See my study on “Calvinism on Trial”)

2. “The acknowledging of the truth which is after godliness”---Grace truth does what the law program of Israel could not and did not do---it produces godliness. Grace does not free us to “do as we please”; it effectively works in us to produce god-life-ness not god-like-ness. Jesus does not save us and then exhort us to imitate Him. (Gal. 2:20; I Thess. 2:13; Col. 2:6 & II Cor. 5:14-15) Remember this trilogy: Christ gave His life for you, so He could give His life to you, so He could live His life through you. Rules, regulations and laws will never achieve godliness in your sons and daughters. If they refuse to take in grace truth, rightly divided, it will be evident in their attitudes, words and actions. Attending church, listening to sermons, joining clubs, participating in recreation will never produce one ounce of godliness. Purposefully putting in rightly divided Scripture in the inner man transforms our lives. Because we are “sons of Adam” we manifest ungodly words, deeds and attitudes. What will make this “dirt” turn loose of our lives? God’s truth rightly divided!!! We wash our dirty clothes with water and detergent. “Dirt can’t hide from intensified Tide” the commercial goes. The “dirt” in our lives will only give way to grace doctrine, rightly divided… “For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe.” (I Thess. 2:13). We must replace the ignorance with truth… Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart”.

“In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began”… Titus was commissioned by Paul to work with the Cretians who were “notorious liars”…"One of themselves, even a prophet of their own, said, The Cretians are always liars. . . .” (1:12). They could not trust each other but "God, who cannot lie.” "God is not a man, that He should lie; neither the son of man, that He should repent: Hath He said, and shall He not do it? Or hath He spoken, and shall He not make it good?” (Num. 23:19).

“promised before the world began”… God made this promise to Himself in the councils of the Godhead, far back in eternity past---a promise of eternal life for poor sinners! Paul has much to say about this promise that had been kept secret by God until revealed to Paul.

• II Tim. 1:1: "Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, according to the promise of life which is in Christ Jesus.”
• II Tim. 1:9: “[God] hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began.”

“But hath in due times manifested His word through preaching which is committed unto me, according to the commandment of God our Savior”…The one thing Satan is desperate to do is to separate you from your Apostle. If he can do that, he is home free. Satan accomplished this at the Corinthian, Galatian, and Ephesian churches before Paul ended his approximately thirty year ministry. The number of churches that Satan has been successful in abandoning the ministry of Paul is “Legion”. (II Cor. 11:13-15).

How could the special ministry given to the Apostle Paul be any clearer?

"But is now made manifest by the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ . . . whereunto I am appointed a preacher, and an apostle, and a teacher of the Gentiles”(II Tim. 1:10,11).

"That the Gentiles should be fellowheirs and partakers of His promise in Christ, by the gospel: [7] Whereof I was made a minister, according to the gift of the grace of God given unto me by the effectual working of his power. [8] Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ” (Eph. 3:6-8).

“To Titus, mine own son after the common faith”…Paul calls Timothy "my own son in the faith” (I Tim. 1:2), whereas he calls Titus "my own son after the common faith.” Why? Perhaps because Titus was a Gentile and Paul was a Jew; however, in Christ they had become one. In TIME PAST any Gentile wishing to be accepted of God, was required to submit to circumcision and the Law of Moses and become a Jew by religion (Isa. 56:6,7; Esther 8:17). Titus and Paul were now one in a “common faith," the "one faith" of Eph. 4:4-6, with its "one body" and "one baptism" (I Cor. 12:13).

Vs. 5… “For this cause left I thee in Crete, that thou shouldest set in order the things that are wanting, and ordain elders in every city, as I had appointed thee”…The phrase "set in order" tells us that there was misunderstanding, confusion, and disorder among the Christians at Crete. The very same phrase is found in I Cor. 11:34 where the apostle, having given instructions as to irregularities in the Corinthian church, says, "The rest will I set in order when I come.” Rest assured, wherever the revelation of the mystery is proclaimed, spiritual warfare will break out.

Do not forget that Satan physically attacked the nation of Israel during the dispensation of Law/Kingdom (murder, devil possession, and disease). However, he changed his tactics when God ushered in the dispensation of Grace and established a new agency on earth called---the Church, the Body of Christ. Satan’s response to this new agency on earth has been to attack it spiritually by perverting its doctrine (Eph. 6: 10-20). Satan’s first line of attack is to blind you to the gospel of Christ, the preaching of Jesus Christ according to the revelation of the mystery and the “scriptures of the prophets” (Romans---Philemon)! A fellow grace believer’s illustration (@ Revelation of the Mystery) of how Satan is so effective in keeping Christians blinded to truth is called …

“BLINDNESS BY OMMISSION”

Quite a few years ago, a man was attending a psychology class and took part in an amazing experiment about perception. There were about 20 students in the class. They all sat down and the teacher dimmed the lights. An overhead projector sent a very blurry image to the screen at the front of the room.

The teacher had placed a written question on each of the student’s desks. As they looked at the blurry image on the screen, the teacher announced that they were looking at a picture of familiar objects out of focus. He instructed them to look very carefully at the blurry image on the screen and answer the following question:

What are you looking at?

A. Crayons and an eraser
B. A bus at a bus stop
C. A barn, a silo and bails of hay
D. Different colored balloons

Each student basically guessed at the right answer because the objects on the screen were too far out of focus.

The teacher then turned the focus dial on the projector to bring the objects into clearer focus and then asked the students to turn their papers over and once again select from the same four choices the correct answer to the question, “What are you looking at on the screen?’ The teacher announced, “If anyone wants to change their answer based on a “clearer” picture, do so now.”

With the image still blurry, he had the students to push their desks together in groups of four.
"You will now discuss your choices, and within each of your groups, decide on one answer," he said.
He reached for the focus and turned it yet again so that the objects were a little clearer. One group was torn between answer C and answer D, but after a little bickering they settled on answer C---a barn, a silo and bails of hay.

After a couple more slow twists of the focal lens, the teacher announced the students would now discuss and come to a consensus on one of the four answers as an entire class.

Most of the students had concluded it was the barn, silo and hay bails in the foreground but some were still holding out for the different colored balloons. As the teacher continued to turn the focus a little more, the entire class unanimously agreed that the correct answer was C.

"Good job", the teacher said once they all agreed. "Now let's bring it into focus completely."

He turned the dial till the objects were in complete focus and the class begun to applaud because they had in fact got the right answer. There it was--- a square red barn with a black roofed silo and odd shaped oblong bails of hay in the foreground. They could finally see and confirm the image.

While the room was still dark, the teacher walked over to the door and opened it. Students were walking in the hall. He randomly called one female student into the room. “What do you see on the screen?” he asked the student. "It's a red lunch box, with a thermos next to it and some Twinkies in the foreground," she said.

The class burst into laughter. What a stupid answer!!! The class had just spent the last twenty minutes confirming the answer to be C---a barn, a silo and bails of hay. However, the laughter slowly began to subside as the realization that the objects on the screen were in fact a lunch box, a thermos and Twinkies. How did the whole class agree on the same answer in spite of seeing the same objects the student taken from the hallway?

Two things played a key role on how the entire class arrived at the same answer: 1. The class was given only four possible choices. Because the class assumed that one of the four choices given was correct, their eyes and minds would not allow them to consider other possibilities. 2. The power of peer pressure to come up with the "right" answer only served to guarantee the whole class unanimously agreed on a popular answer.

I think these are the same two reasons why most Christians have not seen in the Bible what was clearly there to see all along---the church does not give you the choice of "right division" (II Tim. 2:15). It's not listed in the "multiple choices”. In addition, the peer pressure to choose a church, a denomination, a faith gets the best of us and we at some point agree to accept what the majority of Christians see. Even if peer pressure doesn’t affect us, life altering experiences can and will. A disease, a divorce, a disaster or a death can barge into our lives and shake us to our very core. These moments of desperation can entice us into two equally bad “decisions”: 1. Accepting what those around us “see” as the answer to our problems. 2. Trust only in yourself for the solutions to your problems---replace your pain with pleasure, blame God, condemn yourself, and ultimately “lose touch with reality”. The cycle of desperation and “help” will continue until someone throws the last shovelful of dirt on your casket. Everyone will walk away from the cemetery thinking, “We tried to help him, but he just wouldn’t listen.” The right answer was never given…”For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe.” (I Thess. 2:13)
The lesson to learn---Don't be fooled by man's choices!!!

God desires two things for Christians.:They are stated in 1 Timothy 2:4… Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.

Every child born into this world is indoctrinated with lies. Satan is “the god of this world” (II Cor. 4:4) and as such he uses education, science (falsely so-called), television, the media and religion to wage his war in our minds against the truth of God, rightly divided. Satan is no bumbling fool. He uses the most powerful weapon ever employed in military warfare---lies/deception (John 8:44). Satan’s “weapon of mass destruction” is not intended to be physically lethal (ripping or burning flesh, breaking bones or maiming bodies) it is designed to program the mind of man to think and operate contrary to God’s truth. Therefore Satan designs philosophies, institutions and religions (much like banks) in order to get us to “open an account” of lies (checking or savings), “loan” us some lies, or mortgage our lives with lies. There is a continuum of lies Satan can deceive us with. However, in the case of Satan’s lies it is just the opposite of how we normally think about things. For instance, if the subject is character; the continuum is from bad to good. If the subject is wealth; the continuum is poor to rich. If the subject is lies, the continuum is reversed. The fewer lies Satan offers you the more dangerous the philosophy, institution or religion. His number one all-time most effective trap is to mix truth with his lies (a little sugar makes everything tastier). The continuum would look something like this in terms of the most blatant lies and fewest followers to the mixture of truth and lies and largest following: Radical Islamic terrorist killing in the name of Allah, Hindus worshipping the creation rather than the Creator, Buddhists worshipping the traditions of a man in order to reach “nirvana”, Catholicism with its ceremonies and rituals and Christianity with its mixture of Old Testament Law system with a pinch of grace. Yes, I believe the most dangerous and deceptive religion on Satan’s continuum is what goes on at the “Christian church house” every Sunday morning. Is it any wonder then that the largest number of “followers” to the above referenced “religions” in the world is Christianity, followed by Islam, Hinduism and Buddhism? Radical Islam has the fewest followers because when you are flying into buildings with 747s in the name of Allah, your followers are regularly being reduced. Blatant, “bald-faced” lies are not that effective in attracting followers. But as long as there are unsaved decedents of Adam in the world, Radical Islam will never lack for adherents.

Paul warned the Corinthian Christians to be on high spiritual alert for “heresies” (lies) among you. It is proverbial among Christians that, “They will know we are Christians by our love”. That saying has some truth to it if we understand that our highest Christian love must be a love for truth---not our fellowman! When we embrace and proclaim rightly divided grace truth, it evidences that we love God and are “approved” by Him. “For there must be also heresies among you, that they which are approved may be made manifest among you.” (I Cor. 11:19) “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” (II Tim. 2:15) You and I are to be like the student in the above referenced story who was walking down the hallway when asked to step into the classroom. She was able to see things from the correct perspective and thereby get the right answer. When you "see" the Bible the God put it together you will be “running the race” and “fighting the good fight” of faith as God intended. May our lives be used of God to insure that our loved ones, friends and the world at large have an opportunity to at least consider the “right answer” and thereby be rescued from BLINDNESS BY OMMISSION. Let your choices come only from God Himself.

If Satan is not successful in blinding you to grace truth, he then will engage in the tactic we see described here at Crete---disorder, confusion and separation. What you had at Crete was a group of “wounded warriors”. Since the Church, the Body of Christ did not have a completed Bible to give each Christian to study and rightly divide (II Tim. 2:15), the Holy Spirit through Paul instructed Titus to ordain elders in every city to educate and edify the new converts. Holy Spirit filled and led men were the solution to the problem AT THAT TIME. I think you can see how spiritually gifted men and women (Rom. 12; I Cor. 12) were so crucial in getting the Church, the Body of Christ up and operational in the first generation. The Church needed Holy Spirit gifted men to verify the epistles of Paul (there were counterfeits circulating---II Thess. 2:2), to make copies of it and send it to other “assemblies”, to write it in other languages since there were diverse people groups, and to proclaim it in the assemblies. God ushered in the new dispensation by directing Paul to establish local assemblies of new converts being educated and edified by Holy Spirit gifted men. This model stayed in existence until the completion of the Bible (I Cor. 13: 9-13). The model of Holy Spirit gifted men ministering in a local assembly had its flaws and limitations. According to Eph. 3:11-14 people were "tossed to and from with winds of doctrine". These "assemblies" became miniature "towers of Bable". It appears to me that in II Tim. 1 & 2 the assemblies had so thoroughly abnandoned the teaching of Paul that God changed the model of ministry to "faithful men teaching other faithful men". I believe God scrapped the "church model" of ministry around 70 AD and replaced it with the "faithful man model" of ministry. 

Vs. 6… “if any be blameless, the husband of one wife, having faithful children not accused of riot or unruly.” When Saul saw David go forth against the giant Goliath, he did not ask, "Who is this youth?" but "Whose son is this youth?” (I Sam. 17:55). Sons have a duty to reflect honor on their dads.

Vs. 7-9… “For a bishop must be blameless, as the steward of God; not selfwilled, not soon angry, not given to wine, no striker, not given to filthy lucre; [8] But a lover of hospitality, a lover of good men, sober, just, holy, temperate; [9] Holding fast the faithful word as he hath been taught, that he may be able by sound doctrine both to exhort and to convince the gainsayers.” Paul begins verse 6 by stating that a bishop “must” (not just preferred) be blameless. Then he repeats it again in verse 7 and specifically states what he is to be blameless in regard to---the fact that he is the steward of God. A steward is a person who dispenses something. In context Paul is instructing them to dispense "mystery truths" (I Cor. 4:1-2). If a bishop is unqualified in this area, his personal moral character will not be sufficient to change people’s lives. The Word, when not studied dispensationally, or when wrongly divided, can change the truth into a lie.

Vs. 10-11…“For there are many unruly and vain talkers and deceivers, specially they of the circumcision:[11] Whose mouths must be stopped, who subvert whole houses, teaching things which they ought not, for filthy lucre's sake.” …Crete had a surplus of ignorant, religious “big mouths”. This is the reason Paul instructed Titus to “appoint elders in every city”. According to Acts 2:5,11 there were some of "the circumcision," who lived at Crete who were present on the Day of Pentecost. Obviously they were not part of the 5,000 who asked Peter, “What can we do about the crucifixion of Jesus?” They were a part of “unbelieving Israel” that refused to acknowledge their Messiah.

It appears to me that these “unruly and vain talkers, specially they of the circumcision” followed Paul throughout the Roman Empire harassing him and contradicting everything he taught. This is certainly one aspect of the “thorn in the flesh” Paul is asking God to deliver him from in II Cor. 12:7-10… And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure. [8] For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. [9] And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. [10] Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.  “The circumcision” was that “thorn in the flesh” (not thorn in my flesh); “the circumcision” was “the messenger of Satan” delivering infirmities, reproaches, necessities, persecutions and distresses.

“But when the Jews saw the multitudes, they were filled with envy, and spake against those things which were spoken by Paul, contradicting and blaspheming. [50] But the Jews stirred up the devout and honourable women, and the chief men of the city, and raised persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and expelled them out of their coasts.” (Acts 13:45,50)

“But the Jews which believed not, moved with envy, took unto them certain lewd fellows of the baser sort, and gathered a company, and set all the city on an uproar, and assaulted the house of Jason, and sought to bring them (Paul & Silas) out to the people.”  (Acts 17:5)

“But when the Jews of Thessalonica had knowledge that the word of God was preached of Paul at Berea, they came thither also, and stirred up the people.” (Acts 17:13)

“Serving the Lord with all humility of mind, and with many tears, and temptations, which befell me by the lying in wait of the Jews:” (Acts 20:19)

“And when it was day, certain of the Jews banded together, and bound themselves under a curse, saying that they would neither eat nor drink till they had killed Paul.” (Acts 23:12)

 These attacks on Paul were intended to intimidate, frustrate and if possible terminate the grace message. There is no telling how many people would have been saved and come to the knowledge of the truth (I Tim. 2:4) had it not been for the messenger of Satan (unbelieving Jewish zealots who taught Jew’s religion, not true Judaism---Matt. 15:1-8). The fact that Paul had done the same thing prior to his conversion on the Damascus Road no doubt only served to increase his pain… “For ye have heard of my conversation in time past in the Jews' religion, how that beyond measure I persecuted the church of God, and wasted it: [14] And profited in the Jews' religion above many my equals in mine own nation, being more exceedingly zealous of the traditions of my fathers.”  (Gal. 1:13-14)

We are surrounded today with “vain talkers” and “unruly” religionists. It is most painful when Satan uses family and friends to attack you and your message. If you refuse to participate in the mixing of law and grace and calling it Christianity, you will be a “man without a church”. Paul refused to frustrate the grace of God by adding the law to it.  “I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.” (Gal. 2:21)

Vs. 12-13… “One of themselves, even a prophet of their own, said, The Cretians are alway liars, evil beasts, slow bellies. This witness is true. Wherefore rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith;”

“Wherefore rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith”… This is the proper “grace response” to “religious zealots”---a sharp rebuke and sound doctrine. In the next chapter Paul restates this response… "But speak thou the things which become sound doctrine” (Tit. 2:1). The things which become sound doctrine can be described in one word---godliness. The people living on the Island of Crete were anything but godly. In Titus chapter 2 Paul gives instructions as to godliness for older men and women, for young women and men, and also for servants. Paul wants the Cretian Christians to live in a manner consistent with their Position/Standing.

Vs. 14-16… “Not giving heed to Jewish fables, and commandments of men, that turn from the truth.
[15] Unto the pure all things are pure: but unto them that are defiled and unbelieving is nothing pure; but even their mind and conscience is defiled. [16] They profess that they know God; but in works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate.”

Paul does not play mister nice guy and make everybody feel good by saying some of these Jewish zealots are probably saved but just misguided. In fact Paul boldly states that…"They profess that they know God; but in their works they deny Him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate.”  Paul presumes that these people are not saved. However, let’s not forget that saved people can deny Him by their works and be disapproved as “His workmen”.  . (II Tim. 2:12; I Cor. 3:12-15; II Cor. 5:10,11).