One Servant to Another

Titus 1:1

Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the sake of the faith of God’s elect and their knowledge of the truth, which accords with godliness…

Sometimes, we think about the early church right after Pentecost and we may think that the church functioned as an ideal community with everything done properly and in order. But, when we look at Paul’s career, we should realize the fancifulness of this notion. Paul’s letters to the churches, part of the canon of the New Testament, give a picture that is far from the Christian life we may want to believe was going on. In each letter, we see that the church had problems from the start, problems the apostle addresses in nearly all of his writings. By the time Paul wrote this letter to Titus, Titus was the pastor at the church on the island of Crete. This letter to Titus and the two letters to Timothy make up the Pastoral Epistles that Paul wrote to his protégés and they are the last words we have of Paul before he is martyred in Rome by Nero. So, Paul wrote to Titus sometime in the mid-60s, not long before his martyrdom. Titus first appears in Galatians 2:1–10. Unlike Timothy, Titus was a Gentile convert to Christ Jesus. As one of Paul’s closest associates, Titus seems to have been gifted for navigating contentious situations as we see in 2 Corinthians 7–8. Titus delivered both of Paul’s difficult letters to the Corinthian church and he collected money in Corinth for the church in Jerusalem. So, now Titus is on Crete, a church in its infancy, and he received his letter from Paul. We infer this from the fact that, at the same time, Timothy had to reform the Ephesian church already in place at Ephesus. Now, Titus was going to be the first one to appoint elders on Crete. Like Timothy, Titus also had to deal with false teaching. As we look at the letter to Titus, let us consider how the lessons for the young church on Crete may also benefit the established churches of today. There may be ways you can help the leaders in your local church put into practice the lessons Paul gives to Titus. Ask the Lord to bless this look at Titus and that we might grow in greater love for Christ and for His church.

Source: S C Ball May 7, 2024


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