This is one of four “pastoral” epistles (1st & 2nd Timothy, Titus, and Philemon) which the Apostle Paul wrote under divine inspiration. They are called such because they are not written to assemblies, or to groups of people, but to individuals, giving them personal counsel and instruction. (The Apostle John also wrote two pastoral epistles – 2nd & 3rd John.)
This is the only epistle written to a Gentile; there are also only two books in the Bible written by a Gentile (Luke)—the Gospel of Luke and the book of the Acts. W. Kelly said that, judging from internal evidence within the epistle, this letter seems to have been written after Paul wrote his first epistle to Timothy, but before he wrote his second epistle to him (The Epistles of Paul, p. 131). It resembles 1st Timothy in that both epistles deal with order in the house of God and dwell much on the conduct that is suited to that order. The epistle to Titus is not, however, a repetition of the epistle to Timothy. Coupled with the need for sound doctrine, the epistle to Titus insists on “good works” that manifest the reality of one’s faith. Good works are mentioned in every chapter (chaps. 1:16; 2:7, 14; 3:1, 8, 14), and therefore, this epistle has been called “The Epistle of Good Works.”
It is not known how the gospel reached Crete. It might have been through the Cretian Jews who heard Peter preach in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:11). By the time of the writing of this epistle, there were a number of Christian assemblies on the island.
His Personal History
Titus first appears in the divine record at Antioch as a Gentile convert of the Apostle Paul (Gal. 2:1-3). He was brought to Jerusalem as a “test case” regarding a question that had arisen as to whether believing Gentiles needed to be circumcised. At the apostolic council, James pointed out from Scripture, that in the conversion of the Gentiles in the coming kingdom of Israel’s Messiah, God will not put that stipulation upon them (Acts 15). James concluded that since it will not be necessary for believing Gentiles in the world to come (the Millennium), then it would not be necessary for believing Gentiles today when God is calling out those who compose the Church. Titus, therefore, was not compelled to be circumcised.
The next time Titus appears in Scripture, we see him labouring with Paul in connection with the Corinthians’ reception of Paul’s first epistle to them (2 Cor. 2:13; 7:5-7, 13-14). He also carried Paul’s second epistle to the Corinthians and attended to matters among them concerning the collection for the poor saints in Judea (2 Cor. 8:6, 16-17, 23; 12:18).
The next time we read of Titus, he is seen with Paul in Crete, and being left there to appoint elders (Titus 1:5). After having done so, he was to meet Paul at Nicopolis in western Greece (Titus 3:12).
Titus is last seen with Paul in Rome, where Paul was captive for a second time, and about to be executed by the Roman authorities. From there, Titus went to Dalmatia (2 Tim. 4:10).
Being a faithful servant of the Lord, Paul called Titus his “brother” (2 Cor. 2:13), his “partner,” his “fellow-helper” (2 Cor. 8:23) and “mine own son” (Titus 1:4). While Paul greatly valued Titus, he does not speak to him with the same intimacy that he does with Timothy. Nevertheless, he was a very trustworthy man, and this is why Paul committed to him the responsibility of carrying the collection from the Gentile assemblies to those in Judea. Paul’s care that Titus’ integrity would be maintained before all, led to him sending “a brother” (2 Cor. 8:18) with him so that the delivery of the funds would be above suspicion, and that Titus couldn’t be accused of negligence or theft in those money matters (2 Cor. 13:1).
The Occasion of the Epistle
In those days, the assemblies in Crete were in a state of disarray due to Judaizing teachers bringing in erroneous doctrines and practises. These men had worked their way into leading roles in those assemblies, but sadly, they were not genuinely concerned about the spiritual welfare of the saints as true shepherds ought to be. Instead of leading the saints after Christ, they were exploiting them for monetary gain! Adding to the confusion was the problem of the character of the Cretians—being “liars” and “lazy gluttons” (chap. 1:12). Needless to say, this was having a negative impact on their testimony as Christians.
Titus was to correct these things by appointing elders who were sound in doctrine and whose lives were of sterling character. These men were to hold the Word faithfully and to insist on the truth being taught in the assemblies, and thus refute the gainsayers. Besides ordaining elders, Titus was to instruct the saints in a line of conduct that was according to God’s moral order in the assembly (chap. 1), in the home (chap. 2), and before the world (chap. 3).
The Epistle’s Practical Relevance in Our Day
The practical application of this epistle is of great importance today, for there are a growing number of Christian assemblies that have men in the place of leadership who do not have the best interests of the flock at heart. These persons need to be removed and replaced with men who are morally and spiritually qualified to lead local assemblies. The question is: “How is this to be done since there are no apostles or delegates from apostles on earth today to appoint them?” Scripture does not indicate that it should be done in the way assemblies formed on Congregationalist lines function—by having the people vote for whom they would like to lead the assembly. Well meaning as that may be, democracy is not God’s way of church government. Nor does Scripture indicate that it should be done as the Episcopalian denominations do—by having a so-called “Bishop,” with authority over a group of assemblies in a region, who legislates and mandates everything in those assemblies. Man-made hierarchy is also not God’s way of church government.
The answer lies in Paul’s remarks to two assemblies that did not have ordained elders—Corinth and Thessalonica. At Corinth, the assembly was in such a carnal state that the Apostle refrained from ordaining any when he was there. At Thessalonica, they were all new converts, having been saved only a matter of weeks (Acts 17:1-9), and as such, none among them were mature enough for that role (1 Tim. 3:6). But in writing to these assemblies sometime later, he gave them a principle by which the saints could know those who were the genuine leaders, and thus to recognize them as such, even though they had not been officially ordained to that office.
It is important to understand that regardless of whether there are apostles (or delegates from apostles) available to officially appoint elders, God is still raising up men by the Holy Spirit to do that work in various localities (Acts 20:28). And, in days of weakness and failure, even though these men may not have all the moral qualifications to be officially appointed to that office, if at least they genuinely had a care for the flock (1 Cor. 16:15-16; 1 Thess. 5:12-13), the saints were to follow their lead. All that is required of the saints is that they would be found in a right state of soul to recognize these men for who they are, and thus, to “esteem them very highly in love for their work’s sake” (1 Thess. 5:13) and to “submit” to them (Heb. 13:17) and follow their “lead” (1 Thess. 5:12; 1 Tim. 5:17). When this is done, the assembly will have the proper men in place and the problem of assembly leadership will be solved.