“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,” (v1) In hope of eternal life which God, who cannot lie, promised before time began, (v2) But has in due time manifested His word through preaching, which was committed to me according to the commandment of God our Saviour; (v3)
It was common practice for letter writers to start with their own name and then to add a greeting. He calls himself a bondservant of God.
A bondservant is quite simply, a slave. In some Bibles, the word bondservant is the translation of the Greek word doulos, which means “one who is subservient to, and entirely at the disposal of, his master; a slave.” Other translations use the word slave or servant.
In Roman times, the term bondservant or slave could refer to someone who voluntarily served others. But it usually referred to one who was held in a permanent position of servitude. Under Roman law, a bondservant was considered the owner’s personal property. Slaves essentially had no rights and could even be killed with impunity by their owners.
The Hebrew word for “bondservant,” ‘ebed,’ had a similar connotation. However, the Mosaic Law allowed an indentured servant to become a bondservant voluntarily: “If the servant declares, ‘I love my master and my wife and children and do not want to go free,’ then his master must take him before the judges. He shall take him to the door or the doorpost and pierce his ear with an awl. Then he will be his servant for life” (Exodus 21:5-6).
Paul considered himself to be a bondservant of Jesus Christ, totally subservient to Him, as well as being an Apostle. Bondservant was the first of his credentials, apostle came second. It was a lowly place but also a high place to be a bondservant of Almighty God. He chose the word deliberately as the lowest position.
One of the benefits of being a slave is that you were owned by your master, but your master had the responsibility to take care of and to provide for you. They had to feed you, clothe you, house you, and take care of you. There are benefits of being a slave or a servant of God that God must take care of us. We belong to God, and we need to use our time, talent, and our treasure to serve Him. The Bible says, “For ye are bought with a price: therefore, glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.”
An Apostle of Jesus Christ – an apostle is a special messenger of God – There were the 12 apostles and there was Paul, and one of the qualifications to be an apostle was that you had to have seen the resurrected Christ and you had to be commissioned by Christ. There were others who witnessed the resurrected Christ like Mary Magdalene and over five hundred other people (1 Corinthians 15), but they are not classed as apostles.
In that primary sense, I do not believe that there are apostles today that have apostolic authority to speak authoritatively. Beware of anybody that comes and says, “I’m an apostle, and you have to do what I tell you to do.” The authority lies in the apostle’s Scripture, the writings of the apostles. Remember the Bible says in Acts 2, “And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine,” in their teaching, so that’s where the authority lies. The foundation of the church was given by the apostles.
Perhaps the closest to an apostle today would be an ambassador, one who represents Christ. We are, as Christians, his ambassadors.
We then come to one of the difficult problems which I have mentioned before in other passages of Scripture. The question of election. I confess that I don’t fully understand this, but the Bible teaches that God elects those who will be saved, but I don’t really believe that God chooses some to be lost. We are chosen to bring forth fruit and preach the gospel to all. In 1Timothy 2:3,4 we read that ‘For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour, who desires all men to be save and come to the knowledge of the truth.’ (See also 2 Peter 3:9) If only God’s elect will be saved, why preach the gospel at all, they will be saved anyway. I leave you to grapple with this. I’m a simple man!
Faith is required to be saved; it is by grace through faith. God does not save us apart from faith in Jesus Christ. We must repent and believe, otherwise we cannot be born again.
Our teaching must lead to godliness. If what is preached does not do that, it is not the true Word of God.
Paul was an apostle in the hope of eternal life. His hope was in a God who couldn’t lie. It wasn’t hope in the sense that one hopes it will happen, but the assurance of which was backed up by the fact that God couldn’t lie. The eternal life is promised by the very same God; therefore, it is certain. In verse 3 what was promised in eternity past was manifested in his word. Meaning it was made clear through the preaching of God’s Word. It is vital that we preach God’s Word in our churches, there is no substitute for it. His Word is truth and we are sanctified through His truth. His truth is also necessary for our evangelism, for our knowledge and for our assurance of the future return of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. In other words, all we need for life and godliness. God’s Word must be preached throughout the world. We cannot all travel the world to do this, some are called to that, but we must start where we are. Paul knew that the preaching of thenWord was entrusted to him and he preached wherever he went. It was not only to him, but to us all who are believers in Jesus Christ.
You might say, but I’m not a preacher or a teacher. That maybe so, but we are all witnesses, and witnesses tell what they know and have seen.
Paul then goes on to say who the letter was written to – “To Titus, a true son in our common faith: Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ our Saviour.” (v4)
As I said in the introduction, we don’t know anything about Titus from the Acts of the Apostle, but he is mentioned elsewhere in Paul’s letters. In 2 Corinthians 8 and 12 we are told that he was sent to Corinth with another brother, who some suggest was Luke. Paul refers to him in v4 as a true son in the faith; a genuine brother 2 Corinthians 2; a fellow worker and partner in 2 Corinthians 8; and one who walked in the same spirit and steps as Paul in 2 Corinthians 12.
Paul mentions a common faith and Jude 4 says it is common to all believers.
He uses a common greeting; however, these were not just words, but grace, mercy, and peace come from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ our Saviour.
He reminds Titus as to the reason why he left him on Crete – “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- “ (v5) When there are young believers they needed stable churches with mature leaders to nurture them in the truth. We are told that the Cretans had a reputation of being liars and lazy, thus Titus had a tough job of teaching and finding reliable leaders. This was indeed a challenge, and Paul believed that Titus was the man for the job.
He was to set in order the things that are lacking. I believe that this is a medical term of setting of a crooked limb (Wiersbe). I suppose that one could say that about our work in prisons, but not all ‘crooked’ people are in prison. One of my Managing Chaplains was asked whether it was easier to preach the gospel in prison or in church. He quickly answered that it was in prison because you don’t have to convince your congregation that they are sinners. There’s a lot of truth in that.
Paul did not have to give that instruction to Timothy; Titus had a more difficult congregation. He is told to appoint elders in every city. It was a huge job; Titus had to look for men who would be good elders for these churches in lots of cities. Elders are not by popular vote or by application, but by the leading of the Holy Spirit. God has specific qualifications for leaders in the church, and they must match those qualifications. There may be gifted men, even natural leaders but they still must match the qualifications. Godly character is essential but don’t look for perfection as none would qualify.
In verses 6-9 Paul tells Titus what to look for in men who qualify. A man who is blameless. This word literally means “nothing to take hold upon.” There must be nothing in the life of the leader that others can use to attack his life or the church. He must be seen as righteous and have nothing which could be seen as grievous sin. It is not perfection.
Husband of one wife: he doesn’t have to be married, otherwise Jesus would not be qualified. He could be remarried if his wife has died, or he has been biblically divorced. He is a one-woman man; his focus is on his wife.
…. having faithful children not accused of dissipation or insubordination. He must have raised his children well. To lead the family of God he must lead his family well. The idea is that his children are believers. It is significant that in 1 Timothy 3 he must keep order, but here the submission of his children is emphasised. The word dissipation is used in this context, which is the word used in the parable of the prodigal son who spent his inheritance in riotous living. Such a person is incapable of saving and is wasteful and extravagant on personal pleasure and ruins himself in the end just as the prodigal did before he repented.
We are then told why the man must be blameless. He is a steward of God.
Not self-willed: he must not want his own way nor a selfish person. Self-willed people show arrogance, pride, and stubbornness.
Not quick tempered: the word used usually refers to a settled state of anger rather than the flash of bad temper. More like a person who can control his temper.
Not given to wine: those who drink more than is necessary. Not addicted to wine.
Not violent: it is thought that the word is not only violence in action, but also in speech. Not a bully who seeks to force his way.
Not greedy for money: (see 1 Timothy 6 for my notes on the subject of the love of money.)
Hospitable: Biblical hospitality can be defined as “the quality or disposition of receiving and treating guests and strangers in a warm, friendly, generous way.” In the New Testament, the Greek word translated “hospitality” literally means “love of strangers.” Hospitality is a virtue that is both commanded and commended throughout Scripture. In the Old Testament, it was specifically commanded by God: “When an alien lives with you in your land, do not mistreat him. The alien living with you must be treated as one of your native-born. Love him as yourself, for you were aliens in Egypt” (Leviticus 19:33-34). The writer of Hebrews reminds us not to forget to “entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it” (Hebrews 13:2).
Jesus discussed the hospitable behavior of those who will inherit the kingdom: “For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me” (Matthew 25:34-36). In these days we often don’t think much about entertaining strangers, but hospitality is still an important part of Christian ministry (Romans 12:13; 1 Peter 4:9). By serving others we serve Christ (Matthew 25:40) and we promote the spread of God’s truth (3 John 5-8).
A lover of what is good: Men who love the base and the sordid things of this world are not yet qualified to be leaders among God’s people. We must love what is good. A man’s heart is revealed by what he loves. Whatever a man loves becomes his passion, the thing to which he ascribes great value, from which he derives great pleasure, and for which he will labour long and hard. Such will dominate his thoughts and motivations and will determine his priorities.
Sober minded: A person who is able to think clearly. Sober does not mean that the person has no sense of humour, always somber and serious. He knows the value of things and doesn’t cheapen Christian ministry by foolish behaviour.
The word sober is often used today as someone who abstains from alcohol or drugs. It is quite pertinent because if one is befuddled by such things he cannot think clearly and does things he would not do if he was sober.
Paul uses the word ten times in the letters to Timothy and Titus.
Just, holy, self-controlled: Just – right attitude and behaviour towards men, holy – attitude and behaviour towards God, self-controlled – attitude and behaviour towards himself. A person who cannot control himself is unfit to control or govern a church.
Must hold fast the faithful word as he has been taught: The person who is to be a leader must be sure of the word himself. To bring God’s word to others he must have confidence in it and speak with authority. He must speak God’s word and that word alone. We may have to check those who’s teaching he has been under, as it is vital that the teaching one has received is also sound and solid.
We then see why this is important – “That he may be able, by sound doctrine, both to exhort and convict those who contradict.” (v9)
A solid foundation in God’s word will help him to encourage and nurture his congregation and to continue convict those who contradict and seek to cause division. He must be soldier and shepherd. Shepherd to teach, care, guide and protect his sheep, and soldier to be strong enough to fight against error and the enemy. To deal with those who contradict. Correction only comes with sound doctrine. Leaders must use the word properly, not as superiors or back-stabbers, but in humility and gentleness. Not in self-confidence but confidence in the Word of God.
Verses 10, 11 give us more details about those who need to be confronted. “For there are many insubordinate, both idle talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision, whose mouths must be stopped, who subvert whole households, teaching things which they ought not, for the sake of dishonest gain.”
The word insubordinate is the negative form of the word submit, therefore, it is a person who will not submit to God’s authority. If there were many in Paul’s day, there are certainly many today. There are many problems in our churches even today and much of it is because people will not submit to authority whether man’s or God’s. Most of these are idle talkers and deceivers and usually these will be obvious to spot, although many can be crafty and lead us astray unless we are fully submitted to God’s authority laid down for us in His Word.
One commentator has said, “These people in Crete could talk glibly but all their talk was ineffective in bringing anyone one step nearer goodness.” There were those who came into young churches with false teachings, Jewish believers who were pushing that Christians had to keep the law of Moses in that they must also be circumcised. (See Galatians). They were trying to persuade the believers that trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ who died on the cross was not sufficient, that grace was not enough for salvation, the works were necessary.
Paul said that their mouths must be stopped otherwise they would subvert households. Not by violence but silenced by reason, because they were teaching things which they should not. More than likely the churches were in houses, hence affecting households. These false teachers were motivated by dishonest financial gain. Some seek gain of recognition, others financial gain for themselves. How interesting! Remember this was written over 1950 years ago, and yet how up to date it is – we have many who seeking to gain their hearers finances by dishonest means today. Many so-called evangelists are asking for your money under the false pretence that the more you give, the more you will receive. They are merely lining their pockets, living in huge mansions, driving fancy cars, flying around in their personal jet planes, and dressing in the finest clothes, when their listeners are often in deep poverty.
Timothy faced the same problems because Paul wrote a similar word to him in 1 Timothy 1:4 where he said, do not give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which cause disputes rather than godly edification which is in faith.
Paul warns him (v12-14) about one of Crete’s own prophets who had said that Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons. Interesting that Paul starts this letter by referring to his God who cannot lie. Titus was evidently stronger than Timothy, hence given a seemingly more difficult task with Cretans. Hardly a good recommendation for the Cretans from one of their own prophets. Paul agreed with that description saying that it was true.
One commentator has said that the Greeks formed a word because the Cretans were so notorious which meant to lie and cheat. Paul didn’t mince his words when he said, “Therefore rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith, not giving heed to Jewish fables and commandments of men who turn from the truth.” Titus was to rebuke the Cretans sharply. It isn’t always easy to do that but sometimes it is necessary. We may try not to offend but sometimes straight talk is required. The purpose of those words is to cause them to become sound in the faith, otherwise they would follow fables and the commandments of men who turn from the truth. The particular teaching seemed to be Jewish legalism.
It was important that Titus appoint elders to lead the church because it was not going to be an easy job. They must be strong enough to stand up to these Cretans and those who came in trying to mislead them. If these congregations were left to themselves, they would fall into chaos and error. Not only that but erroneous teaching would dominate. It was necessary that they would be sound in the faith. Paul knew that these people needed to be changed by the power of Jesus Christ however bad they were.
I am not sure how to explain verse 15 but the problem seemed to be recognising what is pure and what is defiled. We might say that it should be quite simple, but it is not always the case. Some things are obvious, but it depends upon the mind of the person looking at it.
“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.”
The pure see everything as pure, but the defiled see nothing as pure. It sounds quite naïve for the pure to see everything as pure. Some people will believe anything.
God is pure and purity should characterise believers. We have been cleansed from sin, and we must strive to live for Him. It is not just that which appears pure on the outside but pure on the inside. Around the time of writing the Jews emphasised external purity, like circumcision, and thousands of rules and regulations, elevating them above God’s laws, thus their hearts were impure. They were honouring God with their lips, but their hearts were far from Him (see Matthew 15). Unbelievers cannot truly discern what is pure. One writer said that the only hope for a darkened, impure mind is the blood of Christ, which alone can cleanse defiled consciences “from dead works to serve the living God” (Hebrews 9:14). Another has said that we must hide the purity of God’s Word securely in our hearts to keep from sinning against God (Psalm 119:11).
To the pure all things are pure in that believers who have been purified by Christ’s sacrifice can truly pursue that purity from the heart. When our hearts are not pure, no amount of external rule-following or self-righteousness will purify us.
Paul knew that if a Christian walked in the purity of the Lord, these things were pure to him. But to those of a legalistic mind (those who are defiled and unbelieving), they seemed to believe nothing is pure. The problem was with their defiled and unbelieving minds and consciences, not with the things themselves.
Paul does not mean that obviously sinful things are pure. Paul has in mind those things which are permitted by Scripture but forbidden by legalists in a mistaken attempt to earn favor with God. One commentator said that Paul was refuting the false teaching of these legalists with reference to foods. They were teaching that Jewish dietary laws still applied to Christian believers.
The clue comes in the words, “They profess to know God, but in works they deny Him, being abominable, disobedient, and disqualified for every good work.” (v16) They talked the talk but didn’t walk the walk. He uses strong words like abominable. This showed the character of the people Titus had to deal with. His task would not be easy, and I suggest that it is very similar today. His first task was to find men to lead the church, who would not be tainted by the things we have mentioned because they would also have to deal with the people who Paul was describing.
