Titus
1New American Standard Bible (NASB)
Salutation
1
Paul, a bond-servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, [a]for the faith of
those chosen of God and the knowledge of the truth which is according to
godliness, 2 in the hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, promised
[b]long ages ago, 3 but at the proper time manifested, even His word, in the
proclamation with which I was entrusted according to the commandment of God our
Saviour,
4
To Titus, my true child [c]in a common faith: Grace and peace from God the
Father and Christ Jesus our Saviour.
Qualifications
of Elders
5
For this reason I left you in Crete, that you would set in order what remains
and appoint elders in every city as I directed you, 6 namely, if any man is
above reproach, the husband of one wife, having children who believe, not
accused of dissipation or rebellion. 7 For the [d]overseer must be above
reproach as God’s steward, not self-willed, not quick-tempered, not addicted to
wine, not pugnacious, not fond of sordid gain, 8 but hospitable, loving what is
good, sensible, just, devout, self-controlled, 9 holding fast the faithful word
which is in accordance with the teaching, so that he will be able both to
exhort in sound doctrine and to refute those who contradict.
10
For there are many rebellious men, empty talkers and deceivers, especially
those of the circumcision, 11 who must be silenced because they are upsetting
whole families, teaching things they should not teach for the sake of sordid
gain. 12 One of themselves, a prophet of their own, said, “Cretans are always
liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.” 13 This testimony is true. For this reason
reprove them severely so that they may be sound in the faith, 14 not paying
attention to Jewish myths and commandments of men who turn away from the truth.
15 To the pure, all things are pure; but to those who are defiled and
unbelieving, nothing is pure, but both their mind and their conscience are
defiled. 16 They profess to know God, but by their deeds they deny Him, being
detestable and disobedient and worthless for any good deed.
The
IVP New Testament Commentary Series
Greeting
(1:1-4)
How
many of us really know who we are and why we are here? Of course, we all have
names and our own personal histories. We have goals, dreams and characteristics
which we feel give us a special identity, and these things are certainly to be
valued. But when we think about reason for being, personal identity and meaning
in life, do we do so with God and his will in mind?
The
letter to Titus lays that challenge, among others, before us today. Much of the
letter encourages rather ordinary believers, who occupy all walks of life, to
consider their lives in every facet as an expression of the will of God. In
fact, once life is considered in this way, the thought of
"ordinariness" departs from Christian thinking about life. No matter
what path God has given us to walk, we are intended to be a vital piece in
God's missionary plan to reach the rest of the world. Each "piece"
has meaning, each human life has inestimable value and usefulness to God, and
this realization is a tremendous source of joy, satisfaction and peace. But to
comprehend this, we may need to make some adjustments in the way we view life.
Let's begin, then, with a look at how Paul defined his own life. Although he
was an apostle, the pattern of his thinking ought also to be ours.
As
he does in the opening greeting of 1 Timothy, Paul again identifies formally
his status and his office and then identifies and blesses the intended
recipient. In comparison with 1 Timothy, however, the apostle, using very
compact language, describes in more detail his Christian raison d'etre. This
sets the tone and introduces the main theme of the letter.
Opposing
False Teachers (1:10-16)
Having
concluded the list of qualifications for the elder with a reference to refuting
error, Paul goes on to unmask the false teachers in the Cretan church. These
opponents of Paul must have arisen soon after the churches were planted, but we
cannot be certain exactly how this came about.
Heresy
involves more than simply teaching an unorthodox doctrine. Just as the
Christian message affects the whole life, heresy left unchecked penetrates deep
into the community's and the individual's life and thought, leaving nothing
undisturbed. But its subtle beginnings and secretive motives often make it
undetectable until it has surfaced as a movement with increasing momentum. For
this reason Paul identifies and unequivocally denounces the false teachers and
their doctrine.
The
False Teachers
What
kind of people would, in the name of Christianity, oppose the true faith?
Paul's indictment of them, which is designed to expose and discredit them
completely, begins by revealing some tell tale clues of heresy.
Far
from being innocent seekers of truth, verse 10 portrays false teachers as
willful and culpable. Rebellious (see v. 6; 1 Tim 1:9) describes them as
consciously defiant and in opposition to Paul's authority and work. Paul
characterizes their activity as "idle" or "mere talk," a
reference both to their meaningless speculation and discussions and to the
pagan quality of their "knowledge" (1 Tim 1:6). But it is as
deceivers (v. 10) that false teachers do their most dangerous work; they
willfully lead others astray. Paul's language places them into the same
category as the heretics in Ephesus, who, by misrepresenting God's law and
causing others to break it, come under its condemnation (1 Tim 1:8-10).
The
description those of the circumcision (v. 10) provides a clue to the identity
of those troubling the Cretan churches. As the term's use elsewhere suggests,
the troublemakers were Jewish converts (Acts 10:45; 11:2; Gal 2:7-9, 12).
Earlier Paul opposed Jewish believers in Galatia who were teaching the need to
return to the ceremonies of the law to achieve righteousness. While this is not
the same group, nor precisely the same teaching (see below), we can at least
see that the influences of Judaism on the church had not yet ceased.
Paul's
description is too brief to make absolutely plain the meaning of ruining whole
households by teaching things they ought not to teach (v. 11). This may be a
reference to the turning of whole house churches to the heresy, or possibly
some part of their doctrine challenged traditional concepts concerning the
household. To judge from 2:1-10, their teaching may have spawned a disregard
for the accepted patterns of behavior in the various social relationships.
Either way, the word whole here suggests that the influence of this doctrine
was thorough. In Ephesus disruptions resulted from a misunderstanding of
salvation and the times, and something similar may have been at work in Crete.
These false teachers disrupted the unity of the church and endangered the
church's reputation with those outside, who valued highly the traditional
social structure.
False
teachers can also be detected by their false motives. These
"Christian" teachers in Crete were seeking to make a profit from
their ministry. Such financial motives expose the false teacher's selfish
desire to benefit more than the hearers from the "ministry" (compare
1 Tim 6:5-10).
The
description Paul has thus far given has drawn out the obvious faults of the
false teachers. When their attitudes, methods and motives are exposed, there can
be no doubt that these people are evil. Paul puts the cap on this expose with
his surprising quotation of Epimenides (v. 12). He calls this ancient religious
teacher, from the sixth century B.C., one of their own [that is, the false
teachers'] prophets. This first connection probably lies in their common
profession, teaching religious fables, and in their common homeland, Crete. But
how does Paul mean the citation to be understood? Cretans had acquired the name
liars because of their claim that the tomb of Zeus was on Crete. Thus a
reference to religious deceit is at the heart of the saying. These false
teachers have fulfilled Epimenides' prophecy in their own generation by
propagating a religious lie. The rest of the quotation, evil brutes, lazy
gluttons, associates the false religious claim with uncontrolled, wanton
behavior. Notice how closely Paul's description of the errorists corresponds to
the three-part saying: they are deceivers (v. 10), rebels and disrupters (vv.
10-11), with minds set on money (v. 11). Clearly, in the case of these Cretan
heretics, the ancient forecast held true. Today the religious lies propagated
by cult leaders (those that draw attention away from the gospel) belong to the
same category. Their purpose is to attract attention to the leader or the
cult's ruling elite. Their result is self-gratifying behavior on the part of
the leaders and ignorance on the part of naive followers.
Paul
describes the false teaching in verse 14 with two terms. The first, Jewish
myths, is similar to the "myths and genealogies" mentioned in 1
Timothy 1:4. Together with the reference to genealogies in 3:9, the term
probably indicates a peculiar use of the Old Testament (see 1 Tim 1:4 and
notes). Verse 15 implies that they were preoccupied with ritual purity, which
suggests that the false doctrine had some affinity with the teaching about
foods and defilement in Colosse (Col 2:16-23) and Ephesus (1 Tim 4:3). Verse 16
may reflect a claim on their part to special knowledge: they claim to know God.
However, Paul's language is too general to allow us to be sure of this, and it
is better to understand the statement in Jewish terms as a claim to be zealous
and exacting in their approach to "the faith."
The
second term in verse 14 describes the false teaching as "commands of
men." This is a technical term, which goes back to Isaiah 29:13, for
teaching of human origin that is added to God's revelation (the NIV somewhat
obscures this nuance). Jesus picked it up in his denunciation of Jewish
regulations about clean and unclean things (Mt 15:9; Mk 7:7). And Paul
describes the ascetic practices in Colosse with this term (Col 2:22).
Ironically, adherence to such regulations, which to the false teachers
indicated holiness, was actually an indication of how far they had strayed from
the truth (of the Christian message; v. 14).
Paul
operated on the basis of Jesus' principle "Nothing outside a man can make
him `unclean' by going into him. . . . What comes out of a man makes him
`unclean' " (Mk 7:15, 20). This Paul translates in verse 15: To the pure,
all things are pure, but to those who . . . do not believe, nothing is pure
(compare Rom 14:14). Purity that counts comes only through faith in Christ. The
heretics' obsession with external purity grew out of unbelief and rejection of
the gospel. In their false teaching they cut themselves off from the One who
could cleanse them. Their rejection of the truth (v. 14) signaled the
corruption of their minds (v. 15). The mind, the organ of rational discernment,
plays an important role in accepting the truth (1 Tim 6:5; 2 Tim 3:8). These
teachers' obsessive behavior and evil motives signaled equally the corruption
of their consciences, for it is by the conscience that faith and knowledge
issue in behavior (see on 1 Tim 1:5; 4:2).
Ultimately,
as Paul explains in verse 16, the condition of these opponents was paradoxical.
Their profession to know God was contradicted by their outward behavior. The
excoriating description that closes the passage heightens this paradox: (1)
they are detestable, though they strive to avoid "detestable" things;
(2) they are disobedient, though they strive to be exactingly obedient; and (3)
they are unable to bear any spiritual fruit (good deed), though they claim to
know God. One thing is clear from Paul's denunciation of the false teachers:
they present a danger to the church and to themselves, a danger that cannot be
ignored but must be confronted.
Opposing
False Teachers
As
we have seen, confronting false teaching is a task that falls to the leadership
of the church. Titus and the leaders he selected were to handle this matter in
Crete.
The
gravity of the situation is reflected in the two commands that Paul gives.
First, Titus is to "silence" (literally, "stop the mouths")
of the heretics (v. 11). This must mean to "take the wind out of their
sails," or to take away the momentum they had established, by publicly
correcting their false doctrines with the approved teaching of the apostle.
Second, he is to rebuke [correct, reprove] them sharply (v. 13). The graphic
adverb used only here and in 2 Corinthians 13:10 implies the use of force that
is backed up by authority. Confronting false teaching calls for decisive, firm
correction, for the church's ministry and the spiritual health of believers are
at stake.
But
the goal of correction is not simply to protect the gospel. Correction also
seeks (so that—v. 13) to restore the erring one to spiritual health (1 Tim
1:20; 2 Tim 2:22). Paul employs the verbal form of the term used elsewhere to
describe the gospel as "health-producing" (v. 9; 1 Tim 1:10; 6:3) to
convey this thought. This health comes only from acceptance of the faith.
Turned around, as they were, these lying and perverse heretics could still be
brought to repentance through confrontation with the true faith.
The Bible Panorama
Titus 1
V 1–4: INTRODUCTORY REMARKS Paul, bond
servant and apostle, writes to his spiritual son Titus, and sends him Christian
greetings having emphasised the importance of faith, truth, godliness, eternal
life, God’s faithfulness, preaching His Word, and his own commission to obey
his Saviour.
V 5–9: IMPORTANT RESPONSIBILITIES Titus had
been left in Crete to help organise the churches in each city and appoint
elders. Elders (the same as bishops) are to be spiritually mature and godly men
whose essential characteristics and abilities are spelled out to Titus by Paul.
Theirs is an important responsibility in the churches, and so is that of Titus
in appointing them on Paul’s behalf. They must be able to hold, teach and
defend the truth of God’s Word.
V 10–16: INTERNAL REBELS
Insubordinate, idle, deceiving, self-seeking, false teachers—many of whom are
Jewish legalists—are to be opposed and rebuked, so that the Christians acquire
a soundness in the faith of God. Jewish fables and man-made commands are to be
opposed. The false teachers’ wicked, self-seeking, materialistic and
disobedient lifestyles disqualify them from any good work, obviously including
eldership, as they profess to know God but show by the way they live that they
do not know Him.
Dictionary of Bible Themes
8749 false teachers
Those who teach error and in so doing lead others astray. They are to be
distinguished from false prophets who are equally condemned in Scripture.
The OT prophets warned God’s people against being led astray by false
teachers
Isa 9:16; Eze 34:2 See also Isa 3:12; Isa 8:20; Jer 2:8; Jer 10:21; Jer
23:1; Eze 22:26; Mal 2:7-8
Jesus Christ condemned false teachers
He opposed legalism and hypocrisy Mt 5:19
He identified the teachers of the law and Pharisees as false teachers Mt
23:1-33 pp Lk 11:42-52 See also Mt 15:14
He warned his followers against them Mt 16:6,12 pp Mk 8:15 pp Lk 12:1
The condemnation of false teachers in the early church
Paul urges his readers to avoid false teachers 1Ti 6:3-6 See also Ac
20:29-31; Ro 16:17-18; 2Co 11:3-4 The Corinthian church had been undiscerningly
tolerant of Jewish deceivers in their midst; Eph 4:14 The Colossian heresy
taught that the combination of faith in Jesus Christ with man-made regulations
was necessary for salvation: Col 2:4,8 Paul warns against the heretical
teachers in the Ephesian church: 1Ti 1:3-4,7
1Ti 4:1-3; 1Ti 6:20-21; Tit 1:10-11; Heb 13:9; 2Jn 9-10 The Nicolaitans:
Rev 2:6,15
Rev 2:14 the followers of Balaam; Rev 2:20
Hymenaeus and Philetus are cited as examples of false teachers 2Ti
2:17-18
Those who teach will be judged particularly strictly Jas 3:1 See also
2Co 11:13-15; Gal 1:6-9; Gal 5:10
In comparison
7789 shepherd, as church leader
Church
leaders are likened to shepherds, on account of their pastoral responsibilities
and tasks.
Jesus
Christ, the archetypal shepherd
1Pe
5:4
Appointment
of shepherds
Eph
4:11 See also Mk 3:14; Ac 14:23; 1Co 12:28
Shepherd
responsibilities
Feeding
the flock Jn 21:15 See also Mk 6:34; Jn 21:17; 1Co 3:2; Heb 5:12-14; Jude 12
Caring
for the flock Jn 21:16 See also Mt 25:36; Ac 20:28; Php 1:1; 1Ti 3:1-2; 2Ti
1:17; Tit 1:7; Jas 1:27; 1Pe 5:2
Protecting,
from false teachers Ac 20:29 See also Mt 7:15; Jn 10:1,10
Leading,
not exploiting 1Pe 5:3
Being
accountable See also Heb 13:17
Risking
death Jn 10:15; Ac 12:1-4; Ac 21:13
Yours by His Grace
Blair Humphreys, Southport, Merseyside
19th August 2015
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