Bible Study Notes On Titus Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Bible Text

Notes and Thoughts

1 ¶ 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 according to godliness,
2 in hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, promised before the world began,
3 but hath in due times manifested His Word through preaching which is committed unto me according to the commandment of God our Savior,
4 To Titus, my own son in the common faith: Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ our Savior.
5 ¶ For this cause I left 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:
6 ¶ if any be blameless, the husband of one wife, having faithful children, not accused of riot or unruly.
7 For a bishop must be blameless, as the steward of God, not self willed, not quick to anger, not given to wine, not violent, 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.
10 For there are many unruly and vain talkers and deceivers, especially those of the Circumcision,
11 whose mouths must be stopped, who subvert whole houses, teaching things which they ought not for the sake of filthy lucre.
12 One among themselves, even a prophet of their own, said, "The Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, slothful gluttons."
13 This witness is true. Therefore rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith,
14 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 those who are defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure, but even their mind and conscience is defiled.
16 They profess that they know God, but in their works they deny Him, being abominable and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate.

Paul's initial greeting was longer than normal but he has included relationships between the Word of God and the ministry.
v1-4 Preaching the Word of God.
v1 "According to the faith of God's elect." Paul was controlled by the Word of God, a servant (or slave) to God. He was one of those who have trusted Jesus as their Saviour, God's elect. See 1 Peter 1:1-5; Eph 1:4.
"Truth which is according to godliness," A changed life due to the Truth of the Gospel.
v2 According to the promises made by God before the beginning of the world. A hope for the future because God cannot lie. Even right now believers have this eternal life 1 John 5:11-12; John 3:16, but we will be given a changed life when He returns.
v3 "According to the commandment of God" God decided to use men and women to spread His message 1 Cor 1:21. The command came from God Gal 1:10-12
v4 All believers have a "common faith," we may attend different churches but we are all one in Christ.
v5-9 Appointment of the right leaders.
Following his preaching during his short visit to Crete Acts 27 Paul appears to have left Titus on the island to organize the leadership of the churches. It is Possible the message had already reached the island following the events at Pentecost. Acts 2:11
v5 Paul has instructed Titus to appoint elders and provides a list of qualifications, this list is similar to 1 Timothy 3:1-7 but Paul has added additional requirements.
v6 Faithful children . If a church leader is unable to win his own children for Christ, what success will he have with others?. Christian service begins in the home 1 Tim 3:5. This is a warning to new Christians who feel a call to a ministry.
v7 "The steward of God." A steward does not own but controls and manages the property of his master. Compare Matt 25:14-30. All Christians should be faithful stewards, not just the pastors and elders. All we have comes from God.
"Not self willed," Not wanting his own way, an elder or paster must not be a dictator, thinking they are very important, full of pride.
"Not quick to anger," We can have anger against the evil of the world, but we must not have anger against another believer.
v8 "A lover of good men," A person who loves things which are good, people, goods, books, and so on.
"Just" A person who practices what he preaches, his life is right with God.
"Holy" 1 Peter 1:16 Set apart for God.
"Temperate," Able to control his desires, and work load, he is under the control of the Holy Spirit. See fruit of the Spirit Gal 5:22,23.
v9 "Holding to the faithful Word" God cannot lie so we must have faith and trust in all He has said and promised. They must make sure that they only teach the true Word of God, false teachers soon appeared in all of the churches and healthy doctrine was very important.
v10-16 False Teachers
Titus was facing a similar enemy to Timothy, a mixture of Jewish traditions and Eastern mysticism was taught by the false teachers.
v10,11 These teachers would not accept the Word of God or the apostles authority. Their words had no meaning, vain talkers, all they did was talk and tell others what to do but did not do it themselves. Deceiving, many people with their false doctrine, often for financial gain. Note v16.
v12 They were living and teaching for fulfilment of their own desires.
How were they spreading their teaching? They told lies by going from house to house v11. Possibly a warning of the danger of house groups today, which can be open to anyone.
They were including Jewish legalism and traditional worship v10 those of the Circumcision,. Jewish fables probably as 1 Timothy 1:4, making up their own interpretation of scripture.
v15 A verse which is often used by weak Christians to defend their wrong actions and sins. These false teachers were actually talking about the Jewish rules for food, see 1 Tim 4:3-5, according to them, eating the right food made you 'holy'.
Titus was to fight these false teachers with sound doctrine v9, the Word of God. He must stop their mouths v11, rebuke them sharply, v13 that they may turn to the truth.
We can all chose what we believe, but not the result of your belief, John 8:32.

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The Letter to Titus