The Book of Titus

How do you engage a godless culture?

How do you engage with truth a culture that celebrates lies and deceit?

What role does morality play in a culture where promiscuity is celebrated?

Where does goodness and charity exist in a culture that is fueled by greed?

While it may seem like I’m talking about America (well, if the shoe fits), I think these are some of the challenges that faced Christians on the Island of Crete in the first century. I think this is some of what a young pastor named Titus was dealing with. I think this is some of what prompted Paul to write the letter that we get to consider today.

Background

The Apostle Paul likely wrote this letter to Titus in the late 50s AD. Titus is not mentioned in the book of Acts, where we get to see many of Paul’s missionary endeavors. Some commentators suggest that Paul met Titus on his third missionary journey and invited him to come along. It’s quite possible that Titus was accompanying Paul on the voyage to Rome, and then remained in Crete, a natural stopping point along the way.

The Island of Crete is a long, narrow island just south of Greece. Culturally, the Cretans believed a variation in the pantheon of Roman gods. They believed that the Roman gods were once men who attained to deity. Their patron god was Zeus. But rather than being a gracious and straightforward god, Zeus was a manipulative and deceitful, womanizing deity who did or said whatever was needed to get his way.

With their patron deity acting this way, the people of Crete embodied Zeus’ behaviors. In fact Paul quotes one of their own philosophers in describing them:

Titus 1:12 ESV

One of the Cretans, a prophet of their own, said, “Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.”

So, as Titus worked to organize the church, he was working against a culture that was antithetical to Christian values. He was also working against some corrupt leaders who had adapted Cretan greed and manipulation in order to instruct believers in a mixture of ritualistic judaism, christian liberty, and cretan prosperity (Titus 1:10-14). This intersectionality became a danger-point for this young church.

As we look at the book of Titus today, we get to answer a question that seems to rest in the context...

How do you impact a culture that opposes Godly values?

Paul’s encouragement to Titus is timely for where we are here in America today.

Paul begins by encouraging Titus to...

Appoint Godly Elders (Titus 1:5-16)

In Cretan culture, so many of the leaders were sinful, wicked, and deceitful. The standard at the top of the society became a model for the rest of society. Sinfulness, wickedness, and deceit permeated Cretan culture.

Paul instructs Titus to appoint elders in every town of the island. These leaders in the church would be drastically different from society’s leaders. The values of these men will be completely distinct from the values that would be observed in culture at large.

Titus 1:5 ESV

This is why I left you in Crete, so that you might put what remained into order, and appoint elders in every town as I directed you—

These men who lead the church should exhibit godly characteristics in every part of their lives. This exhibition of godliness begins at home...

In their families

Cretan and Roman culture taught that a man was essentially free to do whatever he wanted. He was the king of his household. He could sleep with whomever he wanted, whenever he wanted. There was no value in fidelity.

In contrast, Paul writes...

Titus 1:6 ESV

if anyone is above reproach, the husband of one wife, and his children are believers and not open to the charge of debauchery or insubordination.

For Christian men and especially elders in the churches, Paul says that they should be “above reproach” or blameless in regard to their families. He should be a man who is devoted and faithful to his wife. In regards to an elder’s children, they should be faithful or trustworthy or ideally, believing. Now, this is not to say that all children of pastors and elders will be believers - that is ultimately up tp the call of God on their lives. But I think part of what Paul is doing here is elevating the family. For a pastor or an elder, the family must be esteemed. They must not be sacrificed on the altar of the church. Children, I think, should not despise the church because of the role that their father plays in the church.

But not only are godly family relationships to be a priority for elders, But

In their care for God’s church

Titus 1:7a

English Standard Version Chapter 1

For an overseer, as God’s steward, must be above reproach.

As a steward (Tit. 1:7a), the elder is taking care of something that is not his. He is stewarding God’s church. In this regard, an elder should be blameless or above reproach. Did you notice that this phrase has come up twice? This quality of blamelessness is vital in the church.

So many of the cultural/societal leaders were selfish and swindlers. They were following Zeus’ example and getting all they could.

The elders in the church should not be that way. There should be no room for greed or selfishness or deceit among the elders. They won’t be perfect, but they will be drastically different than the leaders of society.

Elders will also demonstrate godliness...

In their demeanor

Paul lists several personal qualities that elders should and should not embody. As for the qualities that they should not embody - it almost seems like everything that a Cretan would: Titus 1:7b

English Standard Version Chapter 1

He must not be arrogant or quick-tempered or a drunkard or violent or greedy for gain,

In contrasts, elders should exhibit these characteristics in their demeanor:

Titus 1:8 ESV

but hospitable, a lover of good, self-controlled, upright, holy, and disciplined.

Each elder will exhibit these qualities in varying degrees, but generally, they should be drastically different than society’s leaders.

But finally, the elders should demonstrate godliness...

In their firmness in the truth of the Word

Some of the other leaders in the area, Jewish background Christians, were teaching strange doctrines, genealogies, and more. This was unsettling to many younger believers and was causing division in the church.

Elders in God’s church should not delve into strange myths or fanciful doctrines. As we said last week, we have one text, one sourcebook, one Word.

Titus 1:9 ESV

He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it.

Let’s think briefly about some of the doctrines that Titus would have been fighting against.

On one hand, there were the Judaizers or those of the “circumcision party” who would have said that salvation truly only comes by faith in Jesus AND adherence to the moral and ceremonial laws. They might say that if you believe in Jesus’ atoning death on the cross but also eat pork or are not circumcised or worship on Sunday or don’t observe the Sabbath, then you are not truly saved.

On the other hand, there were the people who would advocate salvation by faith alone, but that it has no bearing on how we live. They might say, believe in Jesus, but live like a Cretan. They would mix a little Christianity with a little paganism.

In commenting on this verse, John Stott writes that this “word” is characterized in a couple of ways.

“First, it is reliable (pistos). It is trustworthy because it is true, and it is true because it is the word of God who never lies. Secondly, it is (literally) ‘according to the didache,’ that is, consonant with ‘the teaching’, namely that of the apostles.”

(Stott, 178)

The point that the Apostle Paul is getting at is that what the elders teach and live should be consistent with what has been passed down from the apostles. We have that teaching embodied here in the New Testament. The Elders need that tradition of doctrine in order to teach the church but also to refute false doctrines.

It seems like what Paul is setting up for Titus and for the churches of Crete is that there should be godly men who embody a drastically different ethic than the pagan Cretan culture. They should honor God in their families (if they have families) - displaying the beauty of God’s design in marriage. They should honor God by how they humbly and carefully steward the church that God has called them to shepherd. They should honor God generally in how they act. They will not be perfect. They should also honor God by being consistent and unified in their teaching. This is why there is a pattern of a plurality of elders in churches. Each elder is to exhibit these qualities and teach sound doctrine, but together they ensure that one is not speaking out of turn or teaching in a way that is contrary to sound doctrine.

Which bring us to the next section of Paul’s letter to Titus, where Paul urges Titus to...

Teach Godliness (Titus 2)

Paul begins this chapter by urging Titus in this way:

Titus 2:1 ESV

But as for you, teach what accords with sound doctrine.

So, imagine this scenario. You are a citizen of Crete. You’ve grown up in the pagan and pleasurable culture all of your life. You’ve recognized that there are some good things, but that life is not very fulfilling, even if you do get to do whatever you want. As you’re walking through town, engaging people in the marketplace, you get to meet a group of people that are different than those around them. The families seem happy and or at least content. People are treated with respect and dignity. There is love. You begin to inquire about what makes them different. You hear of the sacrificial work of this man named Jesus. You also here how his influence started a new community of people who exhibit qualities that are drastically different. The leaders of this community even embody those qualities. So you come to one of their gatherings where you experience robust singing. You also hear people pray in a personal way - signifying they have a personal relationship with the one to whom they are praying - it’s not empty mantras or repetitive phrases. Then this young man begins to talk in an authentic and genuine way about the life of people who are part of this community. In response you find it refreshing and life-giving.

I don’t know if that is how it would have worked for the people in Crete, but when it comes to what Paul instructed Titus to teach - he talked about teaching sound doctrine, but then he immediately goes into what that doctrine looks like in the home and at work.

He begins by instructing...

Older Men

It is likely that a person was considered a “young man” if they are under the age of 30. So here, older men would be older than that. It seems like there was a tendency for men in the Cretan society to grow in pride as they aged. Paul is urging that older men to be different, to exhibit

(walk through each admonition with the bullet’s below.

Titus 2:2 ESV

Older men are to be sober-minded, dignified, self-controlled, sound in faith, in love, and in steadfastness.

sober-minded (level-headed) - not given to pride or rash thinking, but calm in response.

men - how are you in this? Are you reacting to the latest news or cultural developments with anger and frustration or are you devoting them to prayer and trusting that God will prevail?

dignified - this refers to acting in a way that deserves or demands respect

men - are you respectable? Do you walk in a humility that deserves respect on in a pride that causes others pause?

self-controlled - remember - this was a society where sexual promiscuity, debauchery, and gluttony were pervasive and expected - Paul seems to be urging men to be in control of their passions.

Sound in faith - not given to myths or mysterious theories - but secure, logical.

(sound) in love - (agape) - not emotionally motivated, but marked by God’s love for us - unconditional.

men - how are you doing in showing love to others - in and outside the church - of other backgrounds?

(sound) in steadfastness - or faithfulness - consistent - or constant

men - is there a steadiness to your actions or are you inconsistent?

I wish I could adequately communicate how drastically different these qualities are from the Cretan culture into which Titus was teaching. In many ways, they are admirable in our culture, but not expected.

Our faith is not just about what we believe, but it is also about how we behave.

Paul then has some things for Titus to teach to...

Women

It is interesting that he says things specifically to older women, expecting them to teach younger women.

Titus 2:3–5 ESV

Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good, and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled.

Older women are expected to be...

reverent - (toward God) - or as some translations say - becoming of holiness.

not slanderers - essentially not given to gossip or speaking ill of other people

not slaves to much wine - he is not forbidding wine, but rather forbidding drunkenness or the need for strong drink

Older women are also encouraged to teach younger women about how to live as godly wives and mothers. (re-read 3b-5).

I don’t quite know why Paul wouldn’t have Titus teach these things directly to the younger women. I kind of suspect that Titus may have been on the younger side (as we’ll see in a moment). But there is something rich and profound in multi-generational relationships among women. The life experiences that older women can share have the ability to ease the tension of the tumultuous child-rearing years. They have this ability to provide this long-range view. When it seems like life is filled with dirty diapers, crying babies, career minded husbands, a relationship across generational lines can help in gaining a godly and maturing perspective.

younger women - who do you need to reach out to for a conversation or a cup of coffee?

older women - who do you see around you who could benefit from your experience; not to preach at them, but to lovingly be-friend and teach?

Next, Paul comes to...

Younger Men

He present a very simple admonition:

Titus 2:6 ESV

Likewise, urge the younger men to be self-controlled.

The impulsiveness of youth can be a hindrance to our spiritual growth. Paul simply urges that young men control themselves - their passions, their propensity to fight, their curiosity in places that are unbecoming a man of God.

One of the reasons I think Titus might fall into this category is that Paul has some very specific words for Titus.

Titus 2:7–8 ESV

Show yourself in all respects to be a model of good works, and in your teaching show integrity, dignity, and sound speech that cannot be condemned, so that an opponent may be put to shame, having nothing evil to say about us.

In much the same way that Paul urged Timothy not to let anyone look down on him because of his youth, so Paul, including Titus in this encouragement for young men, urges him to be an example. While this encouragement is for Titus and his ministry on Crete, I think it’s a good word for all young men. Be a man of integrity, of respect, of speech that is clear (watch your language). Don’t let anyone look at your life and think - “I thought he was a Christian, if that’s how Christian’s act, then I don’t think I want any of that.”

(possibly encourage Kadin)

Finally, Paul has a word for...

Slaves or employees

Now, in this case, Paul is not endorsing the kind of chattel, human stealing slavery that is a blight on history. Slavery in the Roman world was a different environment altogether. Some slaves indentured themselves to others as a means of survival. Other slaves were prisoners of war.

I think it’s most helpful for us to look at Paul’s encouragement here from the perspective of employees - people who work for someone else.

Paul encourage them to be submissive and pleasing to their employers, not stealing things - essentially honoring God with their work.

As Christian employees, we should be the best employees that our bosses have. They should see the hand of God in our work.

So, as Paul gives Titus these things to instruct the Christians of Crete - he is essentially communicating that what we believe about God and our life in Christ, should be lived out in the family and in the marketplace. Our faith is more that mental ascent or a new way of thinking. Our faith is a new way of living - antithetical to our culture.

Titus 2:11–14 ESV

For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.

Did you notice how often the phrase “self-controlled” came up? Older men are to be “self-controlled,” young women are to be “self-controlled,” young men are to be “self-controlled,” and then here in this last section - all Christians are to be “self-controlled.” Our society would like us to think that we are a slave to our passions, our whims, our inclinations. We have to recognize that in our flesh - we are at enmity with God - which means that our natural inclinations are likely leading us away from godliness.

Cretan culture was a culture of deceit. Our culture is a culture of white lies and air brushed social media posts - doing everything to put ourselves in the best light. Our culture is one of padding resumes and accomplishments to make us look better. As men and women of God, we need to show self control and be people of truth.

Cretan culture was a culture of unbridled passions - men sleeping with whomever they wanted - no matter what gender; young women sleeping around. Our culture is one where sexual expression is distorted as people explore any number of variations of sexuality. While some may struggle with lust, same-sex attraction, pornography - as men and women of God, we must be self-controlled - submitting our lives to the beauty and wisdom of God’s plan for sexuality and humanity. God has ordered relationships and sexuality to give life, to reflect his sacrificial, self-giving love.

We could go on making cultural comparisons, but there is one final chapter that Paul has for Titus and for us as he encourages Titus to tell the Cretans to...

Live Godly Lives (Titus 3)

As if what Titus was given to instruct men and women and employees of all ages wasn’t enough, Paul gives some general instructions for all Christians (of course all of us are men or women, young or old).

But in this final chapter, Paul begins to give some insight into how we should interact with culture. This has been a challenge for Christians for centuries. How should we interact with the culture around us?

Do we engage?

Do we separate?

Do we rebel?

As I mentioned in the “Dear Family” this week, Tim Keller wrote a small book entitled How to reach the west again. He seeks to lay out several things that Christians can do to make an impact in the culture. He also points out a few things that we’ve tried over the centuries - reference research by James Hunter from UVA. While Keller doesn’t explicitly delineate exactly how, here are a few things that Christians have done over the centuries in this battle with the culture:

"Be defensive against culture and seek to dominate it” - we saw this some in the crusades and with a heavy-handed legalism of the church-state unity - like the Holy Roman empire or even some of the early colonies here in America. We’ve seen this in some of the protests - like when some churches boycotted Disney in the 1990s. I think we also saw this a bit in the last few years with the rise of what some call Christian Nationalism.

“Seek purity from culture and withdraw from it entirely” - we’ve seen this as some Christian groups have set up enclaves - for example - the Amish. They have separated themselves as much as possible from American culture. We also see this in some ways when we refuse to make friends with non-christian neighbors or when we only shop at Christian-owned stores (which is hard to do).

“Compromise with culture and by assimilated by it” (p. 46-47) - We see this in many of the liberal churches today as the cultural narrative is adopted. Several Catholic priests in Germany this past week blessed hundreds of same-sex unions. Some denominations have elected trans-gendered bishops and priests/pastors.

How should we respond to culture? Should we rebel and force adherence to biblical values? Should we avoid culture altogether? Should we capitulate?

Paul seems to suggest that there is another way.

Live godly lives in the culture

Titus 3:1–3 ESV

Remind them to be submissive to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work, to speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all people. 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.

If we are submitting to rulers and authorities, we are certainly not rebelling against it. In as much as we can obey the governing authorities and still obey God, then we should.

In the way that we show perfect courtesy toward all people and act in gentleness, seek peace, and speak about people - we are certainly not disengaging the culture.

In the way that we are ready for every good work - guided by the Word of God - we are not capitulating.

Live godly lives in the culture.

Jesus said the same thing:

Matthew 5:16 ESV

In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

and the Apostle Peter to the believers who had be exiled because of persecution:

1 Peter 2:12 ESV

Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.

It is a delicate line to walk. It’s a challenging line to be gentle and respectful when we watch our culture morally deteriorate.

Our good and godly works in society should reflect the salvation that we’ve received from Jesus.

Conclusion

As we close, let’s keep in mind, Titus was sent into a culture that did not reflect godliness in any way. In order to counteract the cultural challenges he faced, Paul urged him to:

Appoint Godly Elders - men who could live as examples for other believers.

Teach believers what it means to be godly - at home and at work, and then to

Live godly lives - in a godless culture.

I don’t know if Titus ever saw the Cretan culture changed - that wasn’t his goal. His goal was to preach the gospel and to teach people how to live the gospel.

I don’t know if we will ever see our culture return to godly, biblical values. I hope so - but I’m not holding my breath. But I do believe that as we continue to raise up and appoint godly men like Carl, Vern and Bryan who can live as godly examples for us and instruct us in godliness and then challenge us to live godly lives in this godless culture - we will see lives impacted one by one.

Titus 3:4–7 ESV

But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, 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, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

God showed his love to us in sending His Son. We are declared righteous in him by faith, but are being renewed, sanctified. Thankfully, we have this glorious hope of eternal life on the horizon.

Let’s pray.

Memory Verse: Titus 2:7-8

Titus 2:7–8 ESV

Show yourself in all respects to be a model of good works, and in your teaching show integrity, dignity, and sound speech that cannot be condemned, so that an opponent may be put to shame, having nothing evil to say about us.

References:

https://bibleproject.com/learn/titus/

https://bibleproject.com/blog/titus/

Crossway Bibles. The ESV Study Bible. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2008.

deSilva, David Arthur. An Introduction to the New Testament: Contexts, Methods and Ministry Formation. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2004.

Dever, Mark the Message of the New Testament: Promises Kept, Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 2005

Keller, Timothy. How to Reach the West Again.

Gromacki, Robert G. New Testament Survey. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 1974.

Stott, John R. The Message of 1 Timothy and Titus. Downers Grover, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1996.