Titus: Loving What Is Good
by G.S. Augustine
Site of an Ancient Church on Crete
Teaching That Which Produces Godliness
Some conclude that Paul wrote this letter to Titus after Paul’s imprisonment in Rome in Acts 28. The thought is Paul went to Crete with Titus but wasn’t able to stay. He left Titus to finish the work by setting up order and appointing elders. But we don’t need the exact timing to understand Paul’s main concern in the letter.
As was common is Paul’s ministry, Jews attempted to corrupt the teaching of salvation through grace by claiming the demands of the Mosaic law still apply. But even here, it is a mistake to think that Paul asks Titus to develop a correct systematic theology that the reformers would have approved. For Paul, correct doctrine wasn’t so much about proper thinking but about proper behavior. The opening verse signals the theme for the entire letter:
Paul, a servant of God and apostle of Jesus Christ for the faith of God’s elect and the knowledge of the truth that leads to godliness. Titus 1:1
Paul’s Overwhelming Concern
Paul speaks of doing what is good, loving what is good, or those unfit for what is good nine times is this short letter of only forty-six verses! He commands self-control and discipline of believers seven times. He prescribes godliness, blamelessness, holiness, or uprightness eight times.
In Titus 1:10-12, Paul shows why he is so concerned about these things. He says that Cretans are known for their dishonesty, bullying and sloth (see v. 12. This is where we get the derogatory phrase for ill manner people: “they are Cretans!”). Additionally, there are “teachers” of a sort running around in the community that like to teach destructive ideas for personal gain and have no intention of living out Christian values:
For there are many rebellious people, mere talkers, and deceivers, especiallythose of the circumcision group. They must be silenced, because they are ruining whole households—and that for the sake of dishonest gain. (Titus 1:10-11)
He will also say that Titus is to rebuke them so that they “will pay no attention to Jewish myths or to the commands of those who reject the truth” (v.14).
Not About Systematic Theology
This perceptive is necessary for understanding what Paul actually means by “the trustworthy message as it has been taught” and “sound doctrine.” If we immediately jump to saying that sound doctrine here refers to reformed theology or dispensationalism or Roman Catholic Thomism or whatever theological hobby horse we ride, we are superimposing something Paul simply did not have in mind.
But also, we can make a different error. Because Paul mentions the Jews and their prescription to keep the Mosaic law, we can get all caught up focusing on a faith-works controversy instead of Paul’s concern for holy living. Here again we will misunderstand Paul’s instructions. Paul’s worry about the Jews is along a different line:
But avoid foolish controversies and genealogies and arguments and quarrels about the law because they are unprofitable and useless. Warn a divisive person once, and then warn him a second time. After that have nothing to do with him. You can be sure that such a man is warped and sinful; he is self-condemned. (Titus 3:9-11)
We Fall Into The Same Trap
This is actually a trap that churches fall into today: fighting over theological controversies. I do not suggest there are no theological requirements. The trinity, the divinity of Jesus, salvation through Christ’s work on the cross, the church empowered by the Holy Spirit and the Bible as the Word of God are foundational. But exactly how all these things are defined often leads to divisiveness which Paul condemns.
But if those quarrels cause a breakdown in holiness and godliness for God’s people, Church leaders, Paul says, must “refute it” and even “silence it” (1:9, 11).
Order and Leadership
In order to accomplish this sense of order among God’s people, Paul instructs Titus to appoint leaders of church in each town. He uses the term “elder” (where we get the word “presbyter”) in 1:6 and the word “overseer” (where we get the word “episcopal” or “bishop”) in verse 7. He uses the words interchangeably, suggesting they refer to the same person but highlight different aspects of their role.
Foundation For Blameless Living
As important as the proper attributes for an elder or overseer are, Paul doesn’t really start there. The “truth that leads to godliness” (1:1) rests on a unbreakable foundation:
… a faith and knowledge resting on the hope of eternal life which God who does not lie, promised before the beginning of time and at his appointed season, he brought to light through the preaching entrusted to me by the command of God our Savior (Titus 1:2-3)
These things Paul points out in the opening of the letter are not just greeting niceties; they are the necessary understanding for the lifestyles he calls believers to. Paul will reiterate this again in Chapter 3:
He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life. (Titus 3:5-7)
Not Natural
Living according to the disciplines Paul outlines is quite unnatural in a fallen world. It is only:
“The grace of God that brings salvation (which includes all that salvation entails)… that teaches us to say ‘No’ to ungodliness and worldly passions and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in the present age.” (Titus 2:11-12 parenthesis mine)
Without this perspective clearly in view, we won’t be very successful in living the kind of life God has called us to. And it will take a certain orderliness of the church to keep this perspective in sight.
Leadership Requirements
Overseers) are to set an example of godliness, first for his family and secondly for the household of faith. Both of these will require that he is blameless even within the unbelievers of his greater community. The list includes martial faithfulness and children who believe and aren’t wild or disobedient (1:6).
Although, I don’t think an Elder must have children who are committed to risking their lives on foreign missions or the sort, it is certainly important that they don’t live as pagans! The church and community should have a positive opinion of them. If a church leader can’t lead his family well, how can he lead the church?
The rest of the list Paul gives is not really surprising. For instance, overbearing, quick tempered leaders are ineffective as well as improper for representing a loving God. Neither is violence, drunkenness or swindling people (1:7) But avoiding negative qualities isn’t enough. An elder must reflect the beauty of our faith. Hospitable folks who love what is good attract praise even from pagans. And people admire self-control, upright behavior, and even holiness and discipline.
Let Paul Define the Message
But then Paul mentions:
… holding firmly to the message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine, and refute those who oppose it. (Titus 1:9)
As I said above, this “message as it has been taught” isn’t devoid of what we would consider “theology,” but we must allow Paul to define what he means. In chapter 2, Paul lays out what Titus should be teaching—and it’s all about behaviors. Although it is possible to say that Paul has shifted gears and is now teaching about holy living, I would argue that there is nothing in this text to suggest a shift of gears.
Additionally, I would refer to verse one where Paul says the “knowledge of the truth leads to godliness.” In my experience, heated arguments about whether John Calvin or Jacob Arminius was right rarely, if ever, has led to godliness.
But more importantly is Paul’s language here: “You (Titus) must teach what is in accordance with sound doctrine (2:1). Paul then goes on to define that “teaching” specifically in behavior terms: Older men to be “temperate, worthy of respect, self-controlled, sound in faith, in love and in endurance” (2:2). Again, theology isn’t eliminated but it isn’t Paul’s focus.
Experiencing God & Responsible Living
There is something enlightening in the list. At first it sounds like the previous list for an elder. But Paul adds at the end: “sound in faith, in love and in endurance.” Older men should exhibit a confidence in God’s help so that they possess a consistent love that endures over time. This speaks of an experiential relationship with God that is visible to all. Belief that accomplishes this, in Pau’s estimation, is sound doctrine. What fails at this is not.
Older women can do the same thing if they are reverent and maintain loving relationships with people (not slanders or winos). They are to teach younger women through their example and words (he uses the word “train”). It is striking that older women are to teach them to “love their husbands and children, be self-controlled, pure and busy at home” (2:4-5). The emphasis in all these behavior lists is about fulfilling our responsibilities to the people around us so we will live productive lives:
Our people must learn to devote themselves to doing what is good, in order that they may provide for daily necessities and not live unproductive lives. Titus 3:14
What God Originally Intended
In one sense, Paul is not talking about special Christian Believer duties. These are the things that God called human beings to from the beginning. Paul is simply asking us to live up to God’s original intent when he created us.
He has the same advice for young men, though this time Paul doesn’t tell Titus to “teach” them but rather “encourage” them and set them an example (2:6-7). When Titus does teach, ostensibly to the whole congregation, this example is to show through.
In your teaching show integrity, seriousness, and soundness of speech that cannot be condemned, so that those who oppose you may be ashamed because they have nothing bad to say about us (Titus 2:7-8)
Making The Gospel Attractive
Lastly Paul tells Titus to teach slaves to be subject to their masters and try to please them (2:9-10). Many people find this language offensive, as if Paul thinks slavery is an acceptable institution. But this comes from a dishonest reading of the passage. Paul’s admonition to slaves to please masters and act in a trustworthy fashion is not a principle for slave-master relations in general, but only for believing slaves in order to make the “teaching about our God and Savior attractive” (2:10)
This same admonition is brought up in chapter 3 only this time for all the members of the body of Christ. They are to subject themselves to rulers and authorities and do whatever is good. They are to “slander no one, act peaceably and considerately, with true humility toward all men (3:1-2 emphasis mine). This Paul knows is a tall order. Some people in authority are insufferable. So Paul reminds as that at insufferability is part of our story as well:
At one time, we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved byall kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of what we had done, but because of his mercy. Titus 3:3-5
We Were Once Insufferable Too
The principles is: Those who receive mercy need to grant mercy. Yes those folks out there are foolish and insufferable, but so were we once. God graciously saved us, gave us a new start (rebirth) and a new story (renewal) by the Holy Spirit
… whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior so that having been justified by his grace we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life. Titus 3:5-7
Notice how the beauty of what we receive in Christ is the perspective we keep in view in order to live and love as Christ also lived and loved. When we are able to focus on the glory that God has provided for us in Christ, we are able to walk with the Holy Spirit in living a worthy life of our calling. And as Paul puts it: “These things are excellent and profitable for everyone.”
