Bible Diary - Titus 1:1-9
March 19, 2008
Like 1 Timothy, this letter was written during Paul’s fourth missionary journey and before his final arrest and imprisonment in Rome. Titus, “my genuine son in a common faith,” a Gentile convert of Paul’s, was left in charge of the church on Crete. He begins this letter to Titus with a two-sentence summary of his ministry to proclaim the gospel. Paul sees himself as a slave of God and an apostle. No one can accuse Paul of not knowing the name of the game.
Salutation
1:1 From Paul, a slave of God and apostle of Jesus Christ, to further the faith of God’s chosen ones and the knowledge of the truth that is in keeping with godliness, 1:2 in hope of eternal life, which God, who does not lie, promised before the ages began. 1:3 But now in his own time he has made his message evident through the preaching I was entrusted with according to the command of God our Savior. 1:4 To Titus, my genuine son in a common faith. Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior!
Titus’ Task on Crete
1:5 The reason I left you in Crete was to set in order the remaining matters and to appoint elders in every town, as I directed you. 1:6 An elder must be blameless, the husband of one wife, with faithful children who cannot be charged with dissipation or rebellion. 1:7 For the overseer must be blameless as one entrusted with God’s work, not arrogant, not prone to anger, not a drunkard, not violent, not greedy for gain. 1:8 Instead he must be hospitable, devoted to what is good, sensible, upright, devout, and self-controlled. 1:9 He must hold firmly to the faithful message as it has been taught, so that he will be able to give exhortation in such healthy teaching and correct those who speak against it.
It sounds like churches had been planted in a number of towns in Crete, the fifth largest Island in the Mediterranean, so Titus had a lot of territory to cover. His objective was to train and appoint elders in each church to teach and to pastor. It sounds like a large and difficult assignment. Paul briefly reviews the requirements for an elder, as he had done for Timothy. The most difficult of the qualifications was to avoid deviating from the message as transmitted to the elder, through Titus, from Paul. Considering the difficulty the modern church has in staying on-message, I have to wonder how well they did.
What keeps elders, then or today, on track? I can only think of two reasons: 1) the miraculous preservation through the centuries of the Word of God, and 2) the ministry of the Holy Spirit in the lives of believers. Otherwise the stain of sin would surely distort the transmission of the truth.
Dave, more than a little stained himself.
-sdg-
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