Introductory remarks:
Paul begins this chapter teaching the assembly in Crete how to maintain good works. "Titus should remind them to obey rules and be eager to do good works. To be gentle and humble to all men because we were once wicked, but God revealed His kindness and love in Christ. In His mercy, not because we deserved it, He washed us clean by the Holy Spirit through Christ. We therefore are justified and have the hope of eternal life. Titus should reaffirm this constantly to encourage good living. He should avoid foolish topics and if someone holds to false doctrines after being corrected twice, he should be rejected because he will only lead others astray. Paul says he will winter in Nicopolis and will send for Titus. He says when Zenas and Apollos visit, they should furnish them with all they need" (A Survey of Titus - By Brenda). This last chapter may be outlined as follows: Maintain good deeds vv. 1-11: Personal instructions and greetings vv. 12-15.
Maintain Good Deeds
Verse 1, "Put them in mind to be subject to principalities and powers, to obey magistrates, to be ready to every good work."
LGT "Put them in remembrance to be subject to rulers, authorities, to be obedient, to be prepared to every good work."
Put them in remembrance: this simply means to remind them. To be subject to rulers, authorities: Paul tells Titus to remind everyone in the assemblies to respect and obey authorities, that is, the law of the land. As long as the rulers don't conflict with dedication to the Lord, they should be obeyed. In Paul's day most of the rulers were opposed to Jesus Christ, so he is directing them to obey the laws that did not oppose Christ. To be obedient: they were to obey the laws of the land. To be prepared to every good work: this is regarding the authorities; a Christian should be prepared to respect authority, and yield their services to help others do the same. These Cretans were an unruly bunch, and Paul was well aware of the need to remind them that their Christian duty as citizens of the state was obedience to the laws of the land, and respect for authority. "Here is laid down the public duty of all Christians; and it is advice which was particularly relevant to the people of Crete. The Cretans were notoriously turbulent and quarrelsome and impatient of all authority. Polybius, the Greek historian, said of them that they were constantly involved in 'insurrections, murders and internecine [deadly - mutually destructive] wars" (William Barclay).
Verse 2, "To speak evil of no man, to be no brawlers, but gentle, showing all meekness unto all men."
LGT "To blaspheme no one, not to be contentious, gentle, showing all meekness to all men."
To blaspheme no one: this is to speak lies about someone in order to ruin their reputation. This is generally done out of jealousy over some ones gift. Not to be contentious: Titus is to teach them not to be touchy and disagreeable; also it means not ready to fight. This does not mean that one is not to stand up for what they know is right, but they are to be tolerant of others as far as possible, without compromising their position in Christ. Gentle: they are to be kind and understanding, not impulsive and obstinately pig-headed. They are also to be in control of their temper at all times. Showing all meekness to all men: they were to be humble with a modesty that brings glory to God. All of these traits are only possible where the Holy Spirit is in control.
Verse 3, "For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another."
LGT "For we were once also without intelligence, disobedient, led astray, serving various lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, hating one another."
For we were once without intelligence: this we were in our unconverted state. Paul equates intelligence with conversion. Before we start gloating over the grace of God, consider what Christ has redeemed us from. Paul continues to describe the condition of the unsaved. Disobedient: defiant, rebellious and insubordinate, and totally unruly. Led astray: the unsaved have nowhere to go but to follow their father, the devil, and every step of their life. Serving various lusts and pleasures: the unsaved have no choice but to give in to the lusts of the eye, the lusts of the flesh, and the pride of life; these are the threefold basis of appeal Satan has used since the Garden of Eden when he deceived Eve, and the first pair fell into sin. Living in malice and envy: the disposition of the unsaved is hatred fueled by jealousy and greed. Hateful: the unsaved are hateful of everyone, for they have no capacity for love; the love they may have is superficial because they have no frame of reference. The love of the unsaved would be that they like the ones who are a compliment to them, that is, those who are like themselves, and agree with them. Hating one another: the unsaved seethe with hatred because it is their nature, for their spirits are dead. Believers are known for their unconditional agape love for one another (read 1 John).
William Pringle, editor of Calvin's Commentary, quotes Charnock on this verse:
"We ourselves, who had the oracles of God, that had the greater privileges than others, were carried out with as strong an impetus naturally, till grace stopped the tide, and, after stopping, turned it against nature. When the mind was thus possessed, and the will made the lusts of the flesh its work and trade, there was no likelihood of any co-operation with God, in fulfilling His desires, till the bent of the heart was changed from the flesh and its principles. The heart is stone before grace. No stone can co-operate with any that would turn it into flesh, since it hath no seed, causes, or principles of any fleshly nature in it. Since we are overwhelmed by the rubbish of our corrupted estate, we can no more co-operate to the removal of it than a man buried under the ruins of a fallen house can contribute to the removal of that great weight that lies upon him. Neither would a man in that state help such a work, because his lusts are pleasures; he serves his lusts, which are pleasures as well as lusts, and therefore served with delight."
Verse 4, "But after that the kindness and love of God our Savior toward men appeared."
LGT "But when the kindness and the love to man of our Savior God appeared:"
The Authorized Version has "love of God" which does not bring out the true meaning of the verse. The Greek word is philanthropia, which means "love to man", or "lover of man." You see God did not save us by His love but by His grace. God is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. God loves man, whom He created, but He did not create man to sin; but since man did sin, God provided him a Savior, Jesus Christ the Lord, and by his wonderful grace, he saved all that come unto Him by faith in Jesus Christ.
Verse 5, "Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost."
LGT "Not by works, those namely in righteousness, which we did, but according to His mercy He saved us, through [the] washing of regeneration and renewing of [the] Holy Spirit."
Not by works, those namely in righteousness, which we did: Paul begins here by stating the fact that salvation has not been obtained by anyone based upon any righteous act that they think they have performed. The fact of the matter is that if man was to earn salvation by works, they would have to have been perfect from birth; and we know this has not happened, save in the case of our Redeemer Himself. Unsaved man cannot perform one single good work; man is totally depraved, and must be redeemed by the blood of Christ; this is grace, and there is no other way. Unsaved man can do nothing but sin until saved by the grace of God. But according to His mercy He saved us: Paul is speaking to believers explaining the features of saving faith. God had mercy on fallen man, and by His wonderful mercy He provided a Savior in the Person of His only begotten Son, and by His magnificent grace He saved all who come unto Him through Christ. According to God's Divine Viewpoint, our salvation is complete; on our side, it is complete positionally, but will not be fully realized until this worldly warfare is over. Through the washing of regeneration: the Word of God does the cleansing of regeneration. Without the Word man cannot be saved. Once a believer is born again, Christ simultaneously imputes upon him His perfect righteousness, and he is completely washed clean, and presented a perfect vessel to the Father. The washing of regeneration is the act of the Holy Spirit sanctifying us, that is, He set us apart as God's possession. We read in Eph. 5:25, 26, "Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ loved the church, and gave himself for it, that he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the Word." The water represents the Word of God; it does not refer to water baptism, for no work of righteousness is able to save a man. And renewing of the Holy Spirit: the very moment a person accepts Jesus Christ he is immediately indwelt with the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit renews that person into a new creation acceptable to God through the process of sanctification; the believer is washed clean, sanctified, and set before the Father positionally as perfect as he or she ever will be.
Verse 6, "Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior."
LGT "Whom He poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior."
Whom: this is literally the grammatical case in the Greek, not 'which' (Robertson). The relative pronoun whom refers to the Holy Spirit of verse 5. He poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior: Paul is making reference to the pouring out of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost: "And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven like a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave utterance" (Acts 2:1-4). This great event was before the Word of God was complete, and the church was given supernatural gifts as a sign that they were indwelt with the Holy Spirit. Now, in the age of grace, that the Word of God is complete, we have the witness of the Scriptures that we are all indwelt with the Holy Spirit, and there is no longer any need for spiritual gifts; the Word of God is all we have, and all we need.
Verse 7, "That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life."
LGT "That having been justified by His grace, we should become heirs according to [the] hope of life eternal."
That having been justified by His grace: we all had to be justified before we could become part of God's family. The moment we believed in Christ we were justified and immediately made presentable to the Father, and we become joint heirs with the Lord Jesus Christ. We should become heirs: as family members we are now joint heirs with Jesus Christ to all the benefits Christ enjoys as God's only begotten Son; most of all, God loves us with exactly the same love He has for His blessed Son. According to the hope of life eternal: as certain as our eternal life is, so is our being joint heirs. "When we wish to ascertain the method of our salvation, we must begin with the Son of God. For it is He who hath washed us by His blood - it is He who hath obtained righteousness for us by His obedience - it is He who is our advocate, and through whom we now find grace - it is He who procured for us the adoption by which we are made children and heirs of God. Let us carefully observe that we must seek all the parts of our salvation in Jesus Christ; for we shall not find a single drop of it any where else" (William Pringle).
Verse 8, "This is a faithful saying, and these things I will that thou affirm constantly, that they which have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable unto men."
LGT "Faithful is the word: and concerning these things I desire you to affirm consistently, they who have believed God take care to continue in good works: these things are good and profitable to men."
Faithful is the word: all what I have been writing to you, and what I am about to tell you. And these things I desire you to affirm consistently: think on these things seriously for you must teach them to the entire family, because they are so important for their spiritual growth. They who have believed God: all the believers that have been saved by God's wonderful grace. Take care to continue in good works: before they were saved by grace, all they could produce were human standard good, which according to God were "Filthy rags in His sight" (Isa. 64:6). The only thing they have done that God counted as divine righteousness was to accept His gift of grace in the Person of His Son Jesus Christ. Now that they are saved by grace, they are to continue in this grace by doing works that are acceptable in His sight. These works are those, which benefit the family beginning with loving one another. Remember, God examines our motives, and whether or not our good works line up with grace doctrine. Without the indwelling Holy Spirit, we are unable to do one good work. These things are good and profitable to men: Titus was to teach them that they need to spiritually consider grace doctrines, and then adjust their lives to these doctrines, for they are not only beneficial to themselves, but to the edification of their brothers and sisters, and in turn, they will be ready to give an answer of the hope that is within them, in the light of grace, to the unbelievers they come in contact with.
Verse 9, "But avoid foolish questions, and genealogies, and contentions, and strivings about the law; for they are unprofitable and vain."
LGT "But stand aloof from foolish questions, and genealogies, and strifes and contentions about [the] law; for they are unprofitable and vain."
But stand aloof from: stay away from wrangling I am about to describe. Foolish questions: avoid getting into discussions that are useless displays of speculative human reasonings. Paul gave this same exhortation to Timothy (2 Tim. 2:23). And genealogies: this was a favorite subject of the Jews, for they thought highly of their heritage, which doesn't amount to a second of our time with God (see 1 Tim. 1:4). And Strifes and contentions about the law: the false teachers were striving about the law contributing to their salvation. They were saying it is okay to believe what Paul taught about grace, but they insisted that they must be circumcised; keep the Sabbath, and a whole lot more. "Paul gives this disdainful [contemptuous] appellation [designation] to those debates which were raised by the Jews under the pretence of the law; not that the law of itself produces them, but because the Jews, pretending to defend the law, disturbed the peace of the church by their absurd controversies about the observation of ceremonies, about the distinction of the kinds of food and things of that nature" (Calvin). For they are unprofitable and vain: when they stand before the Bema Seat of Christ they will go up in smoke, as wood, hay, and stubble. If what is taught does not contribute to the edification of self, or the assembly, it is worthless.
Verse 10, "A man that is an heretic after the first and second admonition reject."
LGT "A sectarian man, after one and a second admonition reject."
A sectarian man: one who is attempting, or already has, started a sect or false cult. A man who is stirring up the people to follow him in his heresy is a sectarian man. After one and a second admonition: Paul says this in order that Titus does not jump to conclusions without giving the man accused, an opportunity to explain his conduct and then repent of his heresy. Paul does not explain how he is to administer this admonition, whether he was to do it publicly or privately; both could be used. Reject: in the context Titus was not to allow such a man to teach. He was to be refused, and if he was willing to stay and fellowship, he was to be allowed; he just was to be refused to teach heresy.
Verse 11, "Knowing that he that is such is subverted, and sinneth, being condemned of himself."
LGT "Knowing that such a one is perverted, and sins, being self-condemned."
Having turned aside from the truth, such a one, if he does not repent, condemns him. Titus learns that he is to be temperate in his condemning such a one, but if he does not repent, that is, change his mind; the man is headed for self-ruination.
Personal Instruction and Greetings
Verse 12, "When I shall send Artemas unto thee, or Tychicus, be diligent to come unto me to Nicopolis: for I have determined there to winter."
LGT "When I send Artemas to you, or Tychicus, be diligent to come to me to Nicopolis: for there I have decided to winter."
Tychicus was Paul's well-known disciple (Col. 4:7; Eph. 6:21; 2 Tim. 4:12), but nothing more is known of Artemas. "Nicopolis was a city selected by Augustus and built as his capital of Epirus. He had camped there prior to the battle of Actium, in 31 B.C. He built the city on a promontory [peninsula] of the Ambracian Gulf, to celebrate his decisive victory over Mark Antony. It was situated on the West Coat of Greece in the Gulf of Arta. As a Roman colony, the town had some reputation for the Actian games, also established there by Augustus.
Although there are other towns named Nicopolis, it is likely that this was the rendezvous that the Apostle Paul planned to use as a base from which to evangelize in Epirus. The other sites would scarcely have warranted Paul's intention to spend a whole winter in the town. Nicopolis had significant commerce and fisheries. It was later destroyed by the Goths, and though rebuilt by Justinian Preveza, on a site further, subsequently supplanted it south. Nicopolis has extensive ruins, but the site has not been excavated by archeologists" (Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible - edited by Merrill c. Tenney).
Verse 13, "Bring Zenas the lawyer and Apollos on their journey diligently, that nothing be wanting unto them."
LGT "Diligently set forward Zenas the lawyer, and Apollos, that nothing to them may be lacking."
Diligently set forward: give them their needed supplies for their journey when you bring them with you. Zenas the lawyer, and Apollos: these two were converted Jews, well versed in the Mosaic Law, and very able to expound the Old Testament Scriptures. That nothing to them may be lacking: that they should have everything they needed.
Verse 14, "And let ours also learn to maintain good works for necessary uses, that they be not unfruitful."
LGT "And let ours also to be forward in good works for necessary wants, that they may not be unfruitful."
And let ours: our folks, the Cretan converts, not just Paul's friends (Robertson). Also to be forward in good works for necessary wants: the meaning here is that keep on doing good works such as is necessary to their families. That they be not unfruitful: that others may look on and see that their religion is not in vain.
William Pringle notes:
"As he said before, let them apply their mind to it. He contrasts this with the foolish presumption but too common among those who thought that they were clever men, when they had speculated on this and the other subject. You have fine speculations, says he, but yet consider what is the true excellence of the children of God; it is to show that they have profited well in doing good, and that this is the subject to which they have given their study. And then he says, let them learn; as if he had said, Hitherto you have employed your time ill, for there was nothing but foolish ambition, you yielded too far to your fancy. You must now follow a different course. Henceforth you must excel in doing good, and not in rambling talk. Instead of being led by curiosity and ambition, let every man be employed in doing good to his neighbor. Let every man consider what is his ability; and according to the power, which God has given us, let us serve one another. Thus shall we show that it is not in vain that we have received the gospel."
Verse 15, "All that are with me salute thee. Greet them that love us in the faith. Grace be with you all. Amen."
LGT "All those with me salute you. Salute all the ones who love us in faith. Grace [be] with you. Amen."
Paul sends his final greeting to Titus. He brings this letter to a close with saluting all the loved ones in the faith. As can be expected Paul ends his letter with God's wonderful grace.
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