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A wrap on Titus

A wrap on Titus. Titus 3.9-15

It was about seven weeks ago that we began our study of Paul’s letter to Titus, who was residing at Crete, endeavoring to lead the community of young Christians on the island. As he wrote to Timothy, Paul warned of false teaching that was making its way into the church, and he repeatedly trumpeted the importance of teaching what is good.

He closed out his letter with, “Do not get involved in foolish discussions about spiritual pedigrees or in quarrels and fights about obedience to Jewish laws. These things are useless and a waste of time. If people are causing divisions among you, give a first and second warning. After that, have nothing more to do with them. For people like that have turned away from the truth, and their own sins condemn them.

I am planning to send either Artemas or Tychicus to you. As soon as one of them arrives, do your best to meet me at Nicopolis, for I have decided to stay there for the winter. Do everything you can to help Zenas the lawyer and Apollos with their trip. See that they are given everything they need. Our people must learn to do good by meeting the urgent needs of others; then they will not be unproductive.

Everybody here sends greetings. Please give my greetings to the believers—all who love us.

May God’s grace be with you all.”1

In Paul’s remarks to Titus, I notice several things—those who repeatedly cause division or dissension have no place in the community of Christ followers. Second, Paul really loved spending time with Titus. Did you catch it, ‘Do your best to meet me at Nicopolis, for I have decided to stay there for the winter’? Paul was looking forward to time spent with his friend and brother Titus. Love that.

‘Everybody here sends greetings.’ Those who were with Paul knew he was writing to the church at Crete and to Titus, their brother. Paul wrote from the heart of a community of love. What’s more … Paul wrote from a heart of grace and peace, which he offered by way of greeting at the start of his letter. May God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior give you grace and peace. Grace and peace ~ sometimes the best way of grasping grace and peace is by witnessing the absence of it. Perhaps someone you know has met Jesus—has for the first time encountered grace and peace—and he has been radically changed by that grace! Everyone around sees the change, the dawning of peace, grace and love … but then, some thing encroaches and threatens to steal the peace and love away, and the entire personage is changed … some one or some thing endeavors to steal away the peace, love and joy. Life, eternity hangs in the balance! O God, come and perform a rescue.

Hence the reason God prompted Paul to write to Titus--keep your brother strong, encourage him that his teaching his sound, his cause vital. Why? Because life with Christ changes everything. Indeed the ‘when kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior.’2

Sound teaching, right doctrine about what real life looks like is critical. It is the reason God inspired Paul to write this letter to Titus – a short little book that we glean from two thousand years later. May you and I not only ‘teach what is good’ but follow only that ‘which is good’ now and always …