Titus 1

Paul writes to Titus, whom he left on Crete to put the young churches in order. He lays out what kind of man should be appointed as an elder: a person of proven character who holds firmly to sound teaching. He then warns about false teachers whose lives deny what they claim to believe.

Titus 1:1

Paul opens by naming himself a servant and an apostle. His work aims at two things: helping God’s chosen people believe, and helping them truly know the truth. Real truth is not only to be known, it leads to a godly life.

BSA: servant (“a bondservant, servant of God”): Paul calls himself a slave who belongs wholly to God and has no other master. godliness (“piety, reverence for God”): True knowledge produces a life that honors God, not just correct ideas.

Greek: δοῦλος (doulos, G1401) — “slave, bondservant.” This is the plain word for a slave who is owned by his master. Paul takes it as a title of honor.

Titus 1:2

All of this rests on the hope of eternal life. That hope is firm because God promised it, and God cannot lie. The promise was made before time began, so our salvation was in His heart long before we came to be.

BSA: cannot lie (“is absolutely truthful, faithful”): God’s very nature guarantees that every promise He makes will stand.

See also: Numbers 23:19; Hebrews 6:18.

Titus 1:3

At the right moment, God brought His word out into the open through preaching. Paul did not invent this message. It was entrusted to him by God’s command. God is called Savior here, since the message is about rescue.

BSA: evident (“manifest, revealed”): What was hidden in God’s plan has now been made plain for all to see.

See also: Galatians 4:4.

Titus 1:4

Paul greets Titus as his true child in the faith, most likely meaning he led Titus to Christ or raised him in the faith. They share one faith, though Titus was a Gentile and Paul a Jew. Grace and peace come from the Father and the Savior Jesus.

BSA: Grace (“unmerited favor, divine kindness”): Grace is favor we have not earned, and it is the first gift Paul wishes for Titus.

Titus 1:5

Paul had left Titus on the island of Crete to finish the work of organizing the new churches. His task was to appoint elders in every town. The churches needed settled, godly leaders to carry on after the apostles.

BSA: set in order (“straighten out, arrange”): The churches were still rough and unfinished, and Titus was to bring them into good order.

Greek: ἐπιδιορθώσῃ (epidiorthōsē, G1930) — “to straighten out further.” The word pictures setting something crooked right, like straightening a bent limb. Titus was to correct what remained lacking.

See also: Acts 14:23.

Titus 1:6

An elder is chosen first for character, and his home life shows it. He must be blameless and faithful to his wife. His children should be believers who are not known for wild or rebellious living. How a man leads at home shows how he may lead God’s people.

BSA: blameless (“irreproachable, without reproach”): No credible charge of wrongdoing can be brought against him.

See also: 1 Timothy 3:2-5.

Titus 1:7

The same leader is now called an overseer, so these were two names for one office. He is God’s steward, managing what belongs to God. Paul lists five faults to avoid: stubborn pride, a hot temper, drink, violence, and greed for gain.

BSA: steward (“the supreme Creator, Elohim”): A steward runs a household that is not his own, so the church belongs to God and not to its leader. overseer (“bishop, church leader”): The word means one who watches over and cares for the flock.

Greek: οἰκονόμον (oikonomon, G3623) — “household manager, steward.” A steward was a trusted servant put in charge of his master’s house. He answered to the master for how he cared for it.

See also: 1 Corinthians 4:1-2.

Titus 1:8

Paul now gives the positive side. The overseer opens his home to guests and loves what is good. He is self-controlled, fair, devout, and master of his own desires. A leader should show the beauty of the faith he teaches.

BSA: hospitable (“welcoming to guests”): He gladly welcomes strangers and fellow believers into his home. disciplined (“temperate, having self-mastery”): He keeps firm hold of his appetites and does not let them rule him.

Titus 1:9

A leader must also cling to the trustworthy message as the apostles taught it. This lets him do two jobs: build believers up with healthy teaching, and answer those who oppose it. He needs both a firm grip on truth and a willingness to defend it.

BSA: sound (“healthy, uncorrupt”): Good teaching keeps the soul healthy, as good food keeps the body healthy.

Greek: ὑγιαινούσῃ (hygiainousē, G5198) — “healthy, health-giving.” We get the word hygiene from it. Paul often speaks of true doctrine as healthy teaching that makes people well.

See also: 2 Timothy 4:2.

Titus 1:10

Paul explains why firm leaders are needed. Many people in Crete refuse to be led and fill the air with empty talk that misleads. He singles out some from the circumcision, meaning Jewish believers who pressed their own ideas on the church.

BSA: empty talk (“idle chatter, babbling”): Their words sound weighty but have nothing of substance in them.

Titus 1:11

These teachers must be silenced, since they upset whole households. Their motive is money, which Paul calls shameful gain. They teach what they ought not teach. False teaching spreads from home to home, so it is a serious matter.

BSA: undermine (“subvert, overthrow”): They tear down whole families’ faith, as one would overturn a house.

See also: 2 Peter 2:3.

Titus 1:12

Paul quotes a well-known saying by a Cretan poet about his own people. Cretans had a reputation for lying, greed, and laziness. Paul uses this common saying to describe the real danger Titus faced, not to insult a whole people.

BSA: liars (“intentional deceivers”): The charge is of habitual, deliberate deceit and not of a single slip.

Titus 1:13

Paul agrees that the saying describes what Titus sees. So Titus must correct them firmly. The purpose of the sharpness is not harm but healing, so that they may become sound and healthy in the faith.

BSA: sternly (“severely, abruptly”): The correction must be sharp enough to cut through false ideas.

See also: 2 Timothy 4:2.

Titus 1:14

Healthy faith will no longer listen to Jewish myths or to rules made up by men. People who have turned away from the truth cannot lead others to it. Believers are to hold to what God has revealed, not to human inventions.

BSA: myths (“fables, fictional stories”): These were made-up stories with no root in God’s revealed word.

See also: 1 Timothy 1:4; Mark 7:7-8.

Titus 1:15

Purity is not mainly a matter of outward things. To a clean heart, God’s good gifts are clean. To those with corrupt hearts, even good things become stained, because the pollution is inside. Their minds and consciences are both spoiled.

BSA: consciences (“moral awareness, inner guide”): The inner voice that tells right from wrong has itself been damaged in them.

Greek: συνείδησις (syneidēsis, G4893) — “conscience.” It means a shared knowing, an inner witness that knows what we have done. Paul says in these people it has been stained.

See also: Romans 14:20; Mark 7:18-23.

Titus 1:16

These teachers say they know God, but their lives say otherwise. Actions speak louder than words. Being disobedient and useless for any good work shows that their claim is empty. True knowledge of God always shows itself in good deeds.

BSA: deny (“reject, refuse to acknowledge”): Their way of living contradicts the words they speak about God. unfit (“worthless, reprobate”): They fail every test for real good works, like a coin that proves false.

See also: James 2:17-18; 1 John 2:4.