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About this book: Titus

Titus is a short, practical letter from Paul to a trusted co-worker he had left on the island of Crete. The young churches there needed leaders and a clear sense of how to live in a culture where honesty and self-control were not assumed. Paul asks Titus to appoint elders of proven character and to correct false teachers who were upsetting households. He then describes what sound teaching looks like in the daily lives of older men and women, younger people, and enslaved workers, always tying conduct to the grace of God that has appeared in Christ. He asks believers to be good citizens, ready for every good work, gentle and courteous to everyone. In the middle of the practical advice stands a short, rich statement that we are saved by God's mercy and not by our works, through the washing of new birth. Good works flow from that gift. Christians differ on church offices and on how to apply the household instructions today.

Author
The apostle Paul; traditionally accepted, though some scholars suggest a later follower.
Date
Probably about AD 62–65, between Paul's two Roman imprisonments.
Audience
Titus, a Gentile co-worker of Paul, and the young churches on Crete.

Themes

Grace that teachesLeaders of good characterSound teaching and daily lifeSaved by mercy, not worksGood works for everyone

Outline

  1. 1:1–1:4Greeting
  2. 1:5–1:16Appointing elders and correcting false teachers
  3. 2:1–2:15Sound teaching for every group and the grace that trains
  4. 3:1–3:11Good citizens, saved by mercy, devoted to good works
  5. 3:12–3:15Final instructions and greetings

Key verses

About this chapterPaul greets Titus, whom he left in Crete to put the churches in order and appoint elders in every town. The qualities he lists mirror those in 1 Timothy: blameless, faithful in marriage, with believing children, not arrogant, quick-tempered, or greedy, but hospitable, self-controlled, and holding firmly to sound teaching. Titus is to rebuke rebellious teachers, especially those pushing Jewish myths and human commands for the sake of profit, and Paul cites a harsh local saying about Cretans. He closes with the striking principle that to the pure all things are pure, while those who are corrupted deny God by their deeds.

Paul greets Titus, whom he left in Crete to put the churches in order and appoint elders in every town. The qualities he lists mirror those in 1 Timothy: blameless, faithful in marriage, with believing children, not arrogant, quick-tempered, or greedy, but hospitable, self-controlled, and holding firmly to sound teaching. Titus is to rebuke rebellious teachers, especially those pushing Jewish myths and human commands for the sake of profit, and Paul cites a harsh local saying about Cretans. He closes with the striking principle that to the pure all things are pure, while those who are corrupted deny God by their deeds.

Themes

  • Qualified elders
  • Sound doctrine
  • Faith shown in deeds

Key verses

Audio Bible · Titus 1

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Titus 1

Berean Standard Bible16 verses · 2 min read

1Paul, 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, 2in the hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, promised before time began. 3In His own time He has made His word evident in the proclamation entrusted to me by the command of God our Savior. 4To Titus, my true child in our common faith: Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior. 5The 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. 6An 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. 7As 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. 8Instead, he must be hospitable, a lover of good, self-controlled, upright, holy, and disciplined. 9He 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. 10For many are rebellious and full of empty talk and deception, especially those of the circumcision, 11who must be silenced. For the sake of dishonorable gain, they undermine entire households and teach things they should not. 12As one of their own prophets has said, “Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.” 13This testimony is true. Therefore rebuke them sternly, so that they will be sound in the faith 14and will pay no attention to Jewish myths or to the commands of men who have rejected the truth. 15To the pure, all things are pure; but to the defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure. Indeed, both their minds and their consciences are defiled. 16They profess to know God, but by their actions they deny Him. They are detestable, disobedient, and unfit for any good deed.
Verses in Titus 1

Chapters of Titus

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