Titus Chapter 1

Salutation

1:1 From Paul, a slave of God and apostle of Jesus Christ, to further the faith of God’s chosen ones and the knowledge of the truth that is in keeping with godliness,

The author is Paul, meaning "little."  Paul was a little man who brought down the mighty Roman Empire.

The Greek word for "slave" is δοῦλος (doulos), meaning a slave who is set free by his master, but the slave loves his master so much, that he decides to have his ear pierced, wears an earring, and serves his master free of charge for the rest of his life. In Romans, Paul advised all believers to become a δοῦλος (doulos) for Christ.

The Greek word for "apostle" is ἀπόστολος (apostles), meaning one who is sent by God. Paul was sent by God to be a messenger of the good news to the Gentiles. Paul is going to use his apostolic authority to inform Titus on how to run an organized church. This letter was circular, so it is a blue print for all churches, even today.

The Greek word for Jesus is Ἰησοῦς (iasous), which comes from the Hebrew word יֵשׁוּעַ (Yeshua), meaning Jehovah is salvation. Jesus is Jehovah, the second person of the trinity. He is the one who provided atonement for all.

The Greek word for "faith" is πίστις (pistes), meaning divine persuasion. One believes in the Lord Jesus Christ because of the divine persuasion of the Holy Spirit. God the Father does the choosing. God the Son provided the atonement, by exchanging the unrighteousness of a total and depraved person to the righteousness of Christ. God the Holy Spirit makes the dead human spirit alive so that it can understand the gospel. The Trinity sends another believer so that one can hear the gospel and believe it. The call is irresistible. It was the only way and the best way that God could provide salvation for His people.

The Greek word for "chosen ones" is ἐκλεκτός (eklektos), meaning those who were chosen for salvation before the foundations of the world were created. God chose believers before they even did anything good or bad. Salvation is 100% God and 0% man. Faith alone in Christ alone produces faith.

The Greek word for "knowledge" is ἐπίγνωσις (epignosis), meaning super-experiential-knowledge. Super knowledge comes from studying the entire counsel of the Word of God and being able to apply that knowledge.

The Greek word for "truth" is ἀλήθεια (alatheia), meaning the divine truth revealed in the moral sphere. Paul desired for the church to experience super-knowlege of divine truth, which only comes from Scripture.

The Greek word for "godliness" is εὐσέβεια (eusebia), meaning the inner response to God's word. Positive volition is hearing God's word, believing it, and acting upon it. A believer who practices positive volition to the super-knowledge of divine truth will gain eternal rewards in heaven.

1:2 in hope of eternal life, which God, who does not lie, promised before the ages began.

The Greek word for "hope" is ἐλπίς (ellis), meaning what is sure to come. It is not the hope of eternal life, but the assurance of eternal life. God gives believers an assurance of eternal life.

God is omnipresent and can do anything, but He cannot lie. He is not lying about this promise. He is not attempting to deceive anyone. This is the opposite with Satan, who is the father of lies and a deceiver. God gave this promise to His elect before the foundations of the world were even created.

1:3 But now in his own time he has made his message evident through the preaching I was entrusted with according to the command of God our Savior.

"The Greek word for "time" is καιροῖς (kairos), meaning at just the right time in history. At the best time in history,  God revealed his message to the Gentiles through the preaching of Paul. 

The Greek word for "preaching" is κήρυγμα (karma), meaning that the king sends his messenger into the streets of a busy city, blows his trumpet to get everyone’s attention, and then he informs the townspeople of the king's message. Paul was the messenger of the King for the Gentiles.

1:4 To Titus, my genuine son in a common faith. Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior!

The letter was written to Titus. The Book of Acts did not record any information about Titus. The Book of Acts was basically just a glimpse of the ministries of Peter and Paul.

Titus is a genuine son of Paul because Paul led him to Christ and became his spiritual father.

The common faith is the gospel of Jesus Christ.

The Greek word for "grace" is χάρις (chars), meaning the kindness of God. All believers are lost and headed to the Lake of Fire. If God is indifferent and does nothing, then no one would be saved and everyone would burn in the Lake of Fire. However, God is kind, so He decided to choose His elect for salvation before the foundations of the world were formed. This was the typical Greek greeting.

The Greek word for "peace" is εἰρήνη (eiraynay), which comes from the Hebrew word שָׁלום (shalom), meaning peace with God. One gains peace with God by believing in the Lord Jesus Christ. One cannot believe unless God shows grace and kindness. God must wake up the dead spirit or no one would believe. Therefore, grace must come before peace. This was the typical Hebrew greeting. Together, they give the salvation plan of God in two Greek words.

The Savior is the one who saves mankind from their sins. Jesus did this at the cross, becoming the eternal substitute lamb of atonement for all men. Only those who believe will experience eternal life with the Lord Jesus Christ. Only those whose spirits have been made alive have the capacity to seek, understand, and know God.

Titus’ Task on Crete

1:5 The reason I left you in Crete was to set in order the remaining matters and to appoint elders in every town, as I directed you.

The only information that we know about Titus is that he was converted by Paul, trained to be a pastor, and left to be a pastor in Crete. Paul wrote this letter sometime between 64-67 A.D. to Titus so that he could be a better pastor to the Cretans. 

Crete was a large island in the Mediterranean. There was a large influence of Greek mythology in the region. Minos defeated the Aegean pirates and established a lawful society. Crete was also involved in the Trojan War. It became a Roman colony about 67 B.C. Paul left Titus on this large island to begin local churches and appoint elders in every town.

The Cretans were very evil people. Paul called them liars. There was a Greek word, kretizein, which meant to speak like a Cretan and was synonymous with one who lies. One of the Cretan poets wrote, “Crete, which a hundred cities doth maintain, cannot deny this, though to lying given.”

The gift of elder is a gift from God to the church. Many churches lay their hands on good businessmen who do not know the Word of God and they think that they have made an elder.

An elder was chosen by God before the foundations of the world was even created. They are trained by the Holy Spirit via pastor-teachers in Bible-teaching local churches. When one attends a local church that contains false doctrine, then this is a church run by elders who were not chosen by God. If these so-called elders possessed complete Bible doctrine, then they would not be ruling over a church which possessed false doctrine. The only way that an elder can know if his church is teaching correct Bible doctrine is by studying the entire counsel of the Word of God from the original languages. Any elder who is too lazy to go through this process should resign, because he will lead his flock into error. If anyone thinks that an elder does not need this process, then they are placing their family under shepherds who do not have the proper tools and weapons to protect the flock.

Most denominational, charismatic, prosperity, Arminian, and seeker churches contain Biblically ignorant elders. Elders of denominational churches (such as Baptist, Methodist, Catholic, Anglican, Presbyterian, etc.) support their denominational doctrine over the true doctrine taught in the Bible. The elders accept this denominational doctrine, because they do not have the Greek and Hebrew skills to check out what their specific denominational doctrine actually teaches. 

Charismatic church elders do not understand the two Greek usages of tongues that are recorded in 1 Corinthians 14. Therefore, they lead their flocks astray. The Book of Acts is a history book that recorded the history, not the doctrine, of the early church. This causes the elders to misunderstand the plan of salvation and the use of apostolic gifts as authentication. 

Prosperity church elders take the promises of Israel and apply them to the church. Israel was promised material prosperity if they kept the Mosaic Law. The mature believer is promised suffering. These are two dispensations that the prosperity elders do not understand.

Arminian church elders do not have the Greek skills to understand election and predestination. It only takes one little Greek word to demolish Arminian teachings, but since the elders can only read the text in their native languages, they cannot see this key doctrine of salvation.

The elders of seeker churches think that the hooks of the culture will bring unbelievers into their church. This erroneous method will produce more numbers, more carnal believers, more professing believers, more pride, and higher salaries for the seeker pastor, but this method is not relying on the Holy Spirit to build the church. It is teaching the Bible at the deepest level via a gifted pastor- teacher that is the method of the Holy Spirit. These kinds of churches will be small and materialistically poor, but these types of elders will earn crowns in heaven. This type of congregation, although small, will do more for the Kingdom of God than a mega-church of carnal believers. This type of congregation will earn more crowns in heaven.

Therefore, elders must be able to understand, study, and teach the entire counsel of the Word of God in the original languages so that they can keep their flocks from error. If an elder completes this kind of study, then he will be attacked by less mature people in the community. The less-mature believers and the professing believers will claim that the elder is too harsh, he should not expose the false doctrine of other churches, he does not have enough agape love in his motives, his presentation style was not given in love, he needs to dumb down his teaching level, etc. The mature elder needs to expect these kinds of attacks, ignore them, and keep studying and teaching the Word of God at the deepest level. It is the responsibility of the congregation to study and catch up to the teaching of the elders. It is not the responsibility of the elder to lower his teaching level, because baby believers are refusing to grow. The deeper the Bible doctrine can penetrate into the soul, the more the believer can do with the gifts that God has given them. 

1:6 An elder must be blameless, the husband of one wife, with faithful children who cannot be charged with dissipation or rebellion. 

The Greek word for "discharged" is κατηγορία, meaning to accuse. The Greek word for "dissipation" is ἀσωτία (asotia), meaning one that cannot be saved. The Greek word for "rebellion" is ἀνυπότακτος (anuptaktos), meaning unwilling to come under the authority of Christ's lordship. The elders are to father believing children. If an elder cannot lead his own children to Christ, then he cannot lead others to Christ. If, from his elder position, he has to judge someone, the accused might remind him of his own parental failure. The accused will not desire to be judged by one who cannot even lead his own children to Christ.

1:7 For the overseer must be blameless as one entrusted with God’s work, not arrogant, not prone to anger, not a drunkard, not violent, not greedy for gain.

The Greek word for "overseer" is ἐπίσκοπος (episkopos), meaning bishop, which is the office of the church. This is the same person as the πρεσβύτερος (presbyteros), meaning elder, which is the individual. Paul instructed Titus on a list of qualifications for elders.

The Greek word for "blameless" is ἀνέγκλητος (aneklaytos), meaning they must be scrutinized in a legal court and found to be innocent. Only the most moral believers were qualified to become an elder.

The Greek word for "arrogant" is αὐθάδης (authadais), meaning to gratify oneself with pleasure. Elders were not to be Epicureans, who believed that one should "eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die".

The Greek word for "prone to anger" is ὀργίλος (orgilos), meaning angry enough to seek revenge and punish those who caused the anger. There is a righteous anger that Christ exhibited. This is not the anger mentioned in this passage. Elders were not to be quick to anger and act upon it with revenge.

The Greek word for "drunkard" is πάροινος (paraoinos), meaning one controlled angrily by alcohol. Paul is not commanding abstinence from wine, but he is commanding abstinence from overindulgence in wine.

The Greek word for "violent" is πλήκτης (playktais), meaning a fighter or brawler. Elders are not to be those who like to fight with their fists.

The Greek word for "greedy for gain" is αἰσχροκερδής (aisxhrokerdais), meaning to lust for profit. The main motivation of the elders was not to be money, but teaching the gospel.

Paul completed his disqualification of eldership. Now, he would concentrate on the qualifications of an elder.

1:8 Instead he must be hospitable, devoted to what is good, sensible, upright, devout, and self-controlled.

The Greek word for "hospitable" is φιλόξενος (philozenos), meaning the love of strangers.

The Greek word for "devoted to what is good" is φιλάγαθος (philagatos), meaning a friend of what God loves.

The Greek word for "sensible" is σώφρων (sophrown), meaning to possess a sound mind that can make logical decisions.

The Greek word for "upright" is δίκαιος (dikaios), meaning approved by God.

The Greek word for "devout" is ὅσιος (hoses), meaning one who subjects himself to the higher law, which is Bible doctrine.

The Greek word for "self-controlled" is ἐγκρατής (egkratais), meaning to contain the power to master inner-control. 

As pastor-teacher, Titus must model all of the characteristics mentioned by Paul's apostolic authority.

1:9 He must hold firmly to the faithful message as it has been taught, so that he will be able to give exhortation in such healthy teaching and correct those who speak against it.

There are two things that elders must be able to do. First, they must be able to teach the Word of God firmly at the deepest level. This means they need to understand the entire counsel of the Word of God from the original languages. The Bible is 66 different books, but they are all connected. If an elder does not understand the connection of these books, then he will not be a very effective teacher. The Holy Spirit does not reward lazy elders.

Second, they must be able to refute the heretics. Again, they need knowledge of the entire counsel of the Word of God from the original languages to be able to refute heresy. Otherwise, they are receiving their knowledge second hand. They do not have the Berean capacity to check out their teachers.

There should be no quick elders. Elders should be carefully trained in the entire counsel of the Word of God at the deepest level. Most churches today have no training programs for their elders. They place strong businessmen in elder positions who are not grounded in the entire council of the Word of God. These elders create a doctrinal statement mixed with truth and error, but they think that their Bible doctrine is sound. They sit on elder boards and make human viewpoint decisions, such as replacing expository teaching with music concerts, skits, plays, and entertainment, in order to increase their attendance. It is not the responsibility of elders to increase attendance. It is the duty of elders to teach the Word of God at the deepest level and allow the Holy Spirit to increase the attendance. The elders need to be concerned with teaching truth, not building a mega church. The elders need to teach at the deepest level and demand that the congregation mature to catch up. Instead of placing the cookies on the bottom shelf where only children can reach them, they should place the cookies on the top shelf so that the child must grow and mature, to become stronger in order to reach them.

1:10 For there are many rebellious people, idle talkers, and deceivers, especially those with Jewish connections,

The Greek word for "rebellious people" is ἀνυπότακτος (anupotaktos), meaning those who hear the word with negative volition. These rebellious people hear the Word of God from their pastor-teachers, but they refuse to follow their teachings. They refuse to place themselves under God's sovereign education plan.

God's education plan for spiritual growth is to supernaturally appoint gifted pastor-teachers as a gift to the church. The elders are to study and teach the Word of God. The congregation is to provide for the needs of the elders so that they can study and teach at the deepest level. The congregation is to listen to the elders, but check out what they teach from the Scriptures. If the teaching of the elders agrees with Scripture, then the congregation is to place themselves under the elder leadership. Those who rebel against the authority of the elders are rebellious people. They are out of the will of God. This is a sin that must be confessed. Many do not honor elders today, because both the elders and the congregation are ignorant of Scripture. They think that going to a seminar or conference is going to meet their spiritual needs. The divine plan of God is for the gifted pastor-teacher to fulfill the needs of the congregation. If the elders are not studying and teaching the Word of God at the deepest level, then the elders need to resign and allow others to take over who will follow God's divine plan.

The Greek word for "idle-talkers" is ματαιολόγος (mataiologos), meaning those who speak nothing. When elders or false teachers do not study the Word of God at a very deep level, then they have a lot to say, but it is nothing but human viewpoint. Biblically ignorant elders and false teachers can only teach what is in their souls. Since they have not filled their souls with Spiritual truths, they are forced to teach the humanistic views of the satanic world system.

The Greek word for "deceivers" is φρεναπάτης (prenapatais), meaning deceivers who lead others into their own delusions. Satan and the demonic world will learn the interests of their victims, feed upon these interests, and use these interests in order to lead them away from Bible doctrine. For example, if a person is interested in Ouiji boards, then demons will speak through the boards. If the interest is musical rhythm, then he will use the music of the culture to express demonic views. If it is drugs, then demons will speak to the individual when his mind is clouded with drugs. If it is of the supernatural, demons will use charismatics and faith healers to perform satanic miracles so that a false message can be expressed from the pulpit. Believers must understand that the doctrine of demons is always a mixture of truth and error. The delusion is so demonically empowered, that only a believer with strong Bible doctrine can discern the difference. Knowledge of Bible doctrine from the entire counsel of the Word of God is the only defense against this type of delusion. Elders are to identify, expose, and warn their flocks about these kinds of dangers.

The Greek word for "Jewish connections" is οἱ ἐκ τῆς περιτομῆς (oi ek taus peritomais), meaning those out of the circumcision, which would be the Jewish false teachers. As Paul was planting Gentile churches all over the Roman Empire, Satan would wait until Paul left the town, and then send in Judaizers who would teach a false doctrine of salvation plus works. They would mix truth and error in order to deceive the people. They would teach that Paul was not one of the original 12 super-apostles, so Paul had no authority to teach. They would bring letters of authority from the Sanhedrin which claimed that they were appointed apostles and teachers. They taught that one must keep the Mosaic Law to be saved. Many of these rebellious people, idle-talkers, and deceivers came from the Judaizers. Others came from the Greco-Roman pagan mystery religions. The elders were to have strong Bible doctrine so that they could discern the truth and expose evil.

1:11 who must be silenced because they mislead whole families by teaching for dishonest gain what ought not to be taught.

When a heretic attacks the doctrines of the Bible, then he must be silenced. The reason is that one heretic will mislead a community of families into false doctrine. Many false teachers teach for dishonest profit. For example, modern charismatic false teachers will claim that they died, went to heaven, and then write a book on their visit, sell it to the public, deceive the public, and make a lot of money. There was one false teacher who wrote a book called "88 reasons why Christ will return in 1988." Many bought the book as 1988 came and went, but Jesus did not return. This false teacher made a lot of money, but the church was discredited.

When a false teacher teaches false doctrine, then he must be refuted with Scripture. In the wilderness, Jesus refuted Satan with Scripture. He backed Satan into a corner, showed him his ignorance, and Satan fled. Jesus did the same with the Pharisees and Sadducees. Elders and believers are to imitate Christ. They are not to be ecumenical and tolerate all false teachings. They are to silence the false teachers with sound Bible doctrine.

1:12 A certain one of them, in fact, one of their own prophets, said, “Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.”

Titus was appointed by Paul as the pastor of Crete. Crete was known to be an island filled with wicked people. This quotation comes from Epimenedes, a Cretan poet who had lived a couple of centuries later. He commented that the Cretans were known for their lies and deceptions. They were like evil animals, meaning that they were rude, crude, and devoured others. They were lazy gluttons, meaning that they did not honor work and they placed value on filling their stomachs. However, the grace of God worked with these evil people. God sent Paul to appoint and prepare Titus to pastor to these evil men.

1:13 Such testimony is true. For this reason rebuke them sharply that they may be healthy in the faith

Paul informed Titus that he is going to have to become more strict with the Cretans, because of their background and disposition about life.

1:14 and not pay attention to Jewish myths and commands of people who reject the truth.

Jewish myths are the Mishnah, which the rabbi falsely claimed was the oral law of God. Jesus warned His elect not to listen to the Pharisees and Sadducees, because they were teaching "traditions of me'. When Jesus taught, He always said "it is written", meaning that the only authority was the written word of God. The Mishnah was simply the writings of rabbi who falsely claimed that their oral teachings were equal to the written Scriptures. Later, the Mishnah was placed in written form and called the modern day Talmud. The rabbi claim this to be the Word of God, but it is nothing but Jewish myths. There are some very wild tales in these writings that contradict the written Word of God.

The commands of people are the additions that the rabbi added to the Mosaic Law. Legalism is teaching that one must have faith in Christ, plus he must keep the Law. The Bible teaches that man is saved by faith alone in Christ alone.

1:15 All is pure to those who are pure. But to those who are corrupt and unbelieving, nothing is pure, but both their minds and consciences are corrupted.

Many of the pagans sold beef in the Roman meat markets that were sacrificed to false demonic gods. Paul informed Titus that all beef is kosher. Believers have the liberty to eat this meat, because these gods do not actually exist. Corruption does not come from meats sacrificed to idols. Corruption exists in the human mind. 

1:16 They profess to know God but with their deeds they deny him, since they are detestable, disobedient, and unfit for any good deed.

 

Paul warned Titus that as pastor, he needs to recognize that there are wheats and tares in every church. There are those who profess Christ, but their outward works prove to be opposite. Good works do not save, but they do reveal the relationship that one has with Christ. One who loves Christ will do good works for Christ. To do good works for Christ, one must have lots of Bible doctrine stored in his soul. A man becomes what he eats. One who eats Bible doctrine will grow strength to produce good works. One who feeds upon the doctrines of demons will produce human viewpoint deeds. Human viewpoint deeds look good to the Biblically ignorant, but they are advancing the kingdom of the satanic world system. Human viewpoint works are dirty menstrual rags to God.