THERE IS A very strong general resemblance between the 1St Epistle to Timothy and the Epistle to Titus; so much so that at first sight we might be misled into thinking that the latter is mainly a repetition of the former. As we examine the Epistle to Titus in more detail we shall soon become conscious that it has features all its own, and that it fills a niche in the scheme of Christian truth which without it would remain empty.
As we remarked when surveying the four personal epistles of Paul, Titus is the epistle of sobriety and soundness. It is also marked by the strong assertion of authority, the authority vested in Paul as an Apostle of the Lord, and in Titus acting as his delegate. The conditions prevailing in Crete, owing to the racial characteristics of the Cretians to which Paul alludes in his first chapter, rendered this strong assertion necessary; but as there is all too much of the Cretian difficulties—if not of the Cretian character—about us and amongst us all today, we shall find the exhortations of this epistle peculiarly healthful to our souls.
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