Titus
contains one of the most practical messages of all the epistles. This pastoral
letter deals with the worship and divine order of the Church. Bishops and
pastors are enjoined to set good examples before their people, teach true
doctrine, and emphasize on maintaining good works. We are under obligation to
be zealous of good works- Tim. 2:14.
Like Timothy, Titus was an early convert of
Paul. He was a Greek, a beloved friend and co-worker of the apostle He is
pictured as a trustworthy and godly man, capable and unselfish- 2 Cor. 2:13,
7:6, 8:23; Gal. 2:1-3; 2 Tim. 4:10. Paul had given him the responsibility of
superintending the churches in Crete, a most difficult field. Before dealing
with the problems in the Cretan churches, Paul focused his attention on his
credentials as a servant of God, and an apostle of Jesus Christ.
The
work of the apostle of Jesus Christ is to further the faith of God's people and
the knowledge of the truth. By the commandment of God, Paul was given the right
to preach the doctrine of faith and to be an instrument in bringing men to the obedience of faith-
Rom. 1:5, 10:17.
Crete,
one of the largest island in the Mediterranean sea, lies almost equal distance
from Europe, Asia, and Africa. It is annexed to the Roman Empire about 67 B.C.
It is abounded with Jews of wealth and influence, a luxurious and corrupt place
and heathenism affected the total life of the inhabitants. Titus was left in
Crete to organize the churches and dispel disorder and confusion. The need of
godly order in churches is evident
because Crete as in other places has members that were unruly, vain talkers and
deceivers. There were pastors who were
not doctrinally sound and were not qualified to give leadership; hence a
critical mission was thrust upon Titus as is thrust upon many genuine men of
God today to help sanitize the church. God does not condone division,
confusion, contention, false teaching or error. He wants godliness, harmony,
and unity among His children. Many
times, the Holy Spirit spontaneously put the various parts of the service-
singing, music, preaching- together in beautiful pattern of ebb and flow. The
Bible instructs that worship be decent and orderly- 1 Cor. 14:40.
The Christian church
has been attacked in many ways from its very beginning. It has suffered under
the heavy hand of persecution and survived. In fact, persecution has never
hindered the church's growth. A greater danger to the Church has been false
doctrine and heresy. Man's errors mixed with God's truth is called ''heresy''.
The Judaizers' teaching was contrary to Paul's understanding of the gospel.
Their teaching was rooted in Jewish myths and liturgical customs with the
attending taboos and superstitions. Paul points to the confusion in the
churches wrought by insubordinate men, empty talkers and deceivers. They had
upset whole families, sowed seed of distrust and turned people away from the
truth in Christ Jesus. We are to avoid heresy and false doctrine and also guard
against taking a legalistic point of view in our personal interpretation of
holiness and building a system of doctrine upon it. Wherever the word of God is
sown, the devil will war. The Christian life is not merely a matter of right
beliefs, it is also a matter of right behavior
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