Titus

Overview

Who

Written by Paul, who calls himself "a servant of God, and an apostle of Jesus Christ" (1:1).

Written to Titus, whom Paul calls "mine own son after the common faith" (1:4). Paul had left him in Crete to set the churches in order (1:5). Titus was a Greek believer who travelled with Paul (Galatians 2:1-3; 2 Corinthians 8:23).

When

Traditional view: About AD 63-65, after Paul's release from his first Roman imprisonment, between 1 Timothy and 2 Timothy.

Scholarly view: Many scholars hold that 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy and Titus were written after Paul's death by a follower writing in his name, about AD 80-100. Others accept that Paul wrote them.

Where

Written to Crete, a large island in the Mediterranean south of Greece, with churches "in every city" (1:5). Paul had sailed along its coast on his voyage to Rome (Acts 27:7-13).

Written from The letter does not say. Paul plans to winter at Nicopolis (3:12), so he was somewhere on the way there, perhaps in Macedonia or Greece.

Why

To instruct Titus to ordain elders in every city (1:5-9), to silence false teachers who "subvert whole houses" (1:10-16), to teach each group in the church how to live in a way that adorns the doctrine of God our Saviour (2:1-10), and to remind believers that God saved them by his mercy so that they would be careful to maintain good works (3:1-8).

The churches in Crete were young and needed leaders. Some teachers, "specially they of the circumcision," were spreading "Jewish fables" and teaching for money (1:10-14). Paul quotes a Cretan prophet who called his own people liars (1:12). Cretans were present at Pentecost (Acts 2:11).

Outline

1. 1:1-4 Greeting
2. 1:5-9 Elders for every city
3. 1:10-16 False teachers in Crete
4. 2:1-10 Sound teaching for older and younger, and for servants
5. 2:11-15 The grace of God that teaches us
6. 3:1-8 Good works, because God saved us by his mercy
7. 3:9-11 Avoid foolish disputes
8. 3:12-15 Travel plans and greetings

Key themes

• Sound doctrine shows itself in godly living (1:1, 2:1, 2:10).
• God's grace both saves and teaches (2:11-14, 3:4-7).
• Salvation is "not by works of righteousness which we have done" (3:5), yet believers are to be "zealous of good works" (2:14, 3:8).
• Leaders must be blameless and hold fast the faithful word (1:6-9).
• Believers' conduct should give outsiders no evil thing to say (2:5, 2:8, 2:10).

From the letter's own text, compared with Acts, Galatians and 2 Corinthians; dating views summarized from standard introductions.