Titus 3:1-7

Life Application Bible Commentary, 1 & 2 Timothy and Titus Obey the Government / 3:1–7

Most of chapter 2 covers relationships and responsibilities of believers. We are not sure if the masters were Christians whom Paul instructed the Christian slaves to obey, but he was still dealing with individual relationships. In this chapter, Paul discussed Christian behavior in the context of government and society.

The quality of our earthly citizenship should reflect the confidence we have in our heavenly citizenship! Because we are citizens of the eternal kingdom, we can live with hope and serve people in the earthly kingdom. I’ll read the chapter and then we will walk through it together.

(ESV)

Be Ready for Every Good Work

3 Remind them to be submissive to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work, 2 to speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all people. 3 For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another. 4 But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, 5 he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, 6 whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

Final Instructions and Greetings

12 When I send Artemas or Tychicus to you, do your best to come to me at Nicopolis, for I have decided to spend the winter there. 13 Do your best to speed Zenas the lawyer and Apollos on their way; see that they lack nothing. 14 And let our people learn to devote themselves to good works, so as to help cases of urgent need, and not be unfruitful.

15 All who are with me send greetings to you. Greet those who love us in the faith.

Grace be with you all.

Life Application Bible Commentary, 1 & 2 Timothy and Titus Obey the Government / 3:1–7

Christians understand obedience to the government in different ways: All Christians agree that we are to live at peace with the state as long as the state allows us to live by our religious convictions. For hundreds of years, however, there have been at least three interpretations of how we are to do this:

(1) Some Christians believe that the state is so corrupt that Christians should have as little to do with it as possible. Although they should be good citizens as long as they can do so without compromising their beliefs, they should not work for the government, vote in elections, or serve in the military.

(2) Others believe that God has given the state authority in certain areas and the church authority in others. Christians can be loyal to both and can work for either. They should not, however, confuse the two. In this view, church and state are concerned with two totally different spheres—the spiritual and the physical.

(3) Still others believe that Christians have a responsibility to make the state better. They can do this politically, by electing Christian or other high-principled leaders. They can also do this morally, by serving as an influence for good in society. In this view, church and state ideally work together for the good of all.

None of these views advocates rebelling against or refusing to obey the government’s laws or regulations unless those laws clearly require believers to violate the moral standards revealed by God.

But above all we must remember our true citizenship. According to , we are actually citizens of heaven rather than of the United States of America. In , and 2:11, we are called strangers and sojourners (or tourists and resident aliens) of our own nations on earth.

In Verse 2, we see characteristics that we should use to check our conduct.

Bruce B. Barton, David Veerman, and Neil S. Wilson, 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, Titus, Life Application Bible Commentary (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 1993), 283.

By saying that we are to speak evil of no one, Paul was forbidding Christians to spread evil rumors or gossip about anyone to anyone.

“To avoid quarreling” conveys more directly the meaning behind the Greek words translated to be peaceable. Christians were to be known as peacemakers in their relationships and within the church. There may be disagreements, but the believers should actively avoid, not the disagreement, but quarreling about it. When disagreements degenerate into quarreling, there is little possibility of preserving peace and working toward a solution.

The considerate believer goes out of the way to “see” the other person’s point of view. Believers could show gentleness to unbelievers in their neighborhoods by offering help without strings attached. When we help unbelievers, we open a door for the gospel; but our help should be offered even when the door remains closed.

Humility is a very elusive character trait. Yet the Bible regards it as a highly important quality. Jesus referred to himself as “humble in heart” (). Paul listed humility as a fruit of the Holy Spirit (). (See also ;

; .) In , Paul wrote the clearest definition of humility apart from Jesus’ own example: “For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you” (NIV).

Humility, then, boils down to having an honest estimate of ourselves before God. We show false humility when we project negative worth on our abilities and efforts. We show pride when we inflate the value of our efforts or look down on others. True humility seeks to view our character and accomplishments honestly. Recognizing that we have succeeded in an effort need not be pride.

Life Application Bible Commentary, 1 & 2 Timothy and Titus Obey the Government / 3:1–7

Humility is a very elusive character trait. Yet the Bible regards it as a highly important quality. Jesus referred to himself as “humble in heart” (Matthew 11:29). Paul listed humility as a fruit of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22–23). (See also Ephesians 4:2;

Colossians 3:12; James 3:13.) In Romans 12:3, Paul wrote the clearest definition of humility apart from Jesus’ own example: “For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you” (NIV).

Humility, then, boils down to having an honest estimate of ourselves before God. We show false humility when we project negative worth on our abilities and efforts. We show pride when we inflate the value of our efforts or look down on others. True humility seeks to view our character and accomplishments honestly. Recognizing that we have succeeded in an effort need not be pride.

Bruce B. Barton, David Veerman, and Neil S. Wilson, 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, Titus, Life Application Bible Commentary (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 1993), 284.

Paul ends this list of character traits by saying that Christians should show ‘perfect courtesy’ to all people.

Verse 3, The Cretans had a reputation for certain vices (1:12), yet Paul well understood that all believers once were sinners and had lived far from God. Paul never forgot the change that God had made in his life, beginning with his experience on the Damascus road (). Paul included himself, Titus, the believers in Crete, and all believers across the world in the list of past rebels.

Following a life of pleasure and giving in to every sensual desire lead to slavery. Many think that freedom consists in doing anything they want. But this path leads to a slavish addiction to sensual gratification, where a person is no longer free but a slave to what his or her body dictates (). Christ frees us from the desires and control of sin. Have you been released?

Instead of avoiding slander and quarrels, being peaceful, considerate, and humble (3:2), we lived in malice as people wanting to harm one another, envious of others’ possessions and appearance. No matter how much “love” the world tries to create without God, the overriding power of sin produces a greater amount of hatred. Thus there is no hope for sinful humanity apart from the intervention of the holy God, our Creator.

Fortunately for us, God did intervene on earth for the sake of hopeless, sinful humanity. In the Greek text, the next four verses form one long sentence. The contrasting but that Paul used here introduces a profound summary of the gospel.

God’s kindness and love appeared in the human form of Jesus Christ. “Love” is the affection God has for his created children. God’s love and kindness provide the only way for us to be saved. By his death, he saved us from our deserved punishment for disobeying God, taking that punishment upon himself. When we become Christians, we can experience personally the kindness and love of God provided for us through the death of Christ.

His saving action was for people estranged from God (see 3:3). They needed to be saved, not theoretically, but actually. Their condition and ours (“we too”) was so desperate that the only possible way we could be saved was for help to come from “the outside.” By sending Christ, God did exactly that!

Bruce B. Barton, David Veerman, and Neil S. Wilson, 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, Titus, Life Application Bible Commentary (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 1993), 286.

Bruce B. Barton, David Veerman, and Neil S. Wilson, 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, Titus, Life Application Bible Commentary (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 1993), 285.

Bruce B. Barton, David Veerman, and Neil S. Wilson, 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, Titus, Life Application Bible Commentary (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 1993), 283.

Why did God save us? He offered this salvation because of his mercy alone, not because we deserved it by doing righteous works; indeed, we were incapable of righteous works (3:3). Paul knew this from experience—God mercifully called Paul as he traveled to Damascus to arrest Christians.

The Bible uses a number of images to describe the transformation from being lost to being saved. On this occasion, Paul chose to picture his and Titus’s previous state apart from Christ as a condition of moral corruption that had to be cleansed. The direct means of salvation, then, was washing.

As Paul explains the transaction, when believers receive this washing of rebirth, all sins, not merely some, are washed away. We gain eternal life with all its treasures. The process is complete. We can experience what we have in new ways, but we have received the whole package! We live a “new” life because of our renewal by the Holy Spirit .

Verse 6 reminds us of the Day of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit filled that first group of believers. We received the Holy Spirit abundantly (also translated “richly,” “generously”). God is not stingy, he gives in abundance.

Bruce B. Barton, David Veerman, and Neil S. Wilson, 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, Titus, Life Application Bible Commentary (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 1993), 288.

Verse 7, To be heirs refers to our being children of God who inherit all his riches: “And if you belong to Christ, then you are … heirs according to the promise…. So you are no longer a slave but a child, and if a child then also an heir, through God” (; NRSV).

In the human setting, heirs don’t inherit until the owner of the estate dies (though they may enjoy many benefits in the meantime). But in the spiritual realm the opposite occurs: We do not fully inherit until we have died; yet in this life we can experience many joys and benefits of being “heirs” of God. Those riches are summed up in the hope of eternal life. As mentioned in 2:13, this “hope” is a certainty. Eternal life began the moment we gave our life to Christ, but there is more to come! Our experience now is only a foretaste of what God has guaranteed to us in the future!

Bruce B. Barton, David Veerman, and Neil S. Wilson, 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, Titus, Life Application Bible Commentary (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 1993), 287.

Bruce B. Barton, David Veerman, and Neil S. Wilson, 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, Titus, Life Application Bible Commentary (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 1993), 289.