Nicopolis was a Roman colony on the west coast of Greece, on the isthmus separating the Ambracian Gulf from the Ionian Sea. The city would serve as winter quarters for Paul and his colleagues in AD 68 before his arrest and second imprisonment at Rome. Paul was on his way to Nicopolis, perhaps along the road from Macedonia, when he paused to write this letter to Titus, his representative serving congregations on the island of Crete. Paul urged Titus to sail to Nicopolis and join him for the winter (3:12).
The Letter to Titus is quite similar to 1 Timothy in its occasion, purpose, and content. Paul had worked for a while as a missionary on the island of Crete together with Titus, the prudent, able, and tactful Gentile companion who had rendered him such valuable services at the time when the relationship between the Corinthian Church and Paul had been strained to the breaking point (2Co 2:13; 7:6; 8:6; 12:18). At his departure from Crete, Paul left Titus in charge of consolidating and organizing the newly created Christian communities. His task resembled that of Timothy at Ephesus in that the faith and life of the Church were being endangered by the rise of false teachers, more pronouncedly Judaic in their teaching than those at Ephesus (Ti 1:14; 3:9). The situation was further complicated in Crete, however, by the fact that solid organization was lacking in these newly founded Christian communities, and the pagan environment was particularly vicious (1:5, 12–13). Whereas Timothy was to restore order in established churches, Titus had to establish order in young churches. It was a task that called for all his courage, wisdom, and tact.
The apostle Paul, a Jew from Tarsus who studied under the Rabbi Gamaliel at Jerusalem, was regarded as the author of the letter by early Christians. Paul wrote this letter to Titus in AD 68, not long before Paul was executed for ministering the Gospel.
Paul wrote to Titus to encourage him in this difficult assignment, to aid him in combating the threatening heresy, to advise him in his task of organizing and edifying the churches, and, not least, to give Titus’s presence and work in Crete the sanction and support of his own apostolic authority. This last intention of the letter is evident in the salutation, which dwells on Paul’s apostolate (1:1–3), and in the closing greeting, “Grace be with you all” (3:15, emphasis added), which shows that the letter addressed to Titus is intended for the ear of the churches also.
Titus 1:1–4 Paul opens his Letter to Titus and the churches on Crete with a greeting that asserts his authority, recaps God’s plan for salvation, and notes his personal bond with Titus.
Titus 1:5–3:11 Step by step, Paul outlines the requirements for those who wish to lead as stewards of God’s Church. Then he turns his focus to the false teachers, who do not measure up in understanding or teaching the truth, in their corrosive behavior, or in their motives. Self-controlled, godly living is beneficial regardless of our age or status in life, and it is important to our family relationships as well as to our witness as a Christian. God brings us out of sin and into new life in Christ, beginning with the cleansing and rebirth He provides in Baptism. This is all accomplished by the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, not by anything we can do on our own. Those who stray away from God’s truth and stir up division among God’s people must be disciplined by the Church.
Titus 3:12–15 Paul’s closing remarks mention four coworkers who, with him, spread the Gospel and minister to churches in various locations. Paul and the others could not perform such ministries without the help of other Christians, so his closing includes instructions for their support.
Paul charges Titus with being above reproach so that he may commend the pure and rebuke the defiled. He emphasizes the need for submissiveness among God’s people in their various circumstances of life. Believers must devote themselves to good works.
The doctrine of election was an important element of Paul’s message to Titus, for his comfort. As with Timothy, Paul urged the soundness of God’s Word and grace for granting spiritual health. Chapter 3 beautifully summarizes the redemption in Christ through the washing and renewal of Holy Baptism. Paul makes justification the basis of the Christian life.
This letter has taken its place alongside 1 and 2 Timothy as a valuable, practical church manual. Its inspired combination of teaching about Jesus Christ with practical guidance serves as a model for Christian pastors.
This is a short epistle, but a model of Christian doctrine, in which is comprehended in a masterful way all that is necessary for a Christian to know and to live.
In chapter 1 he teaches what kind of man a bishop, or pastor, ought to be, namely, one who is pious and learned in preaching the gospel and in refuting the false teachers of works and of man-made laws, those who are always warring against faith and leading consciences away from Christian liberty into the captivity of their own man-made works, [as if these works,] which are actually worthless, [should make them righteous before God.]
In chapter 2 he teaches the various estates—the older, the younger, wives, husbands, masters, and slaves—how they are to act, as those whom Christ, by his death, has won for his own.
In chapter 3 he teaches Christians to honor worldly rulers and to obey them. He cites again the grace that Christ has won for us, so that no one may think that obeying rulers is enough, since all our righteousness is nothing before God. And he forbids association with the obstinate and with heretics. (AE 35:389–90)
Scripture: ESV®.
The quotation marked AE in this blog is from Luther’s Works, American Edition, vol. 35 © 1960 by Augsburg Fortress. Used by permission of the publisher.
Blog post adapted from Lutheran Bible Companion, Volume 2: Intertestamental Era, New Testament, and Bible Dictionary © 2014 Concordia Publishing House. All rights reserved.