Free Bible Commentary
Titus
Titus 3:12-15
Wednesday, January 30, 2019“When I send Artemas or Tychicus to you, make every effort to come to me at Nicopolis, for I have decided to spend the winter there. Diligently help Zenas the lawyer and Apollos on their way so that nothing is lacking for them. Our people must also learn to engage in good deeds to meet pressing needs, so that they will not be unfruitful. All who are with me greet you. Greet those who love us in the faith. Grace be with you all.”
---End of Scripture verses---
Even though we tend to just glance over the beginnings and endings to the New Testament epistles, they are important. When we read these real names of real people we are reminded that this was a real letter written to address the real concerns and needs of the Lord’s church. Artemas, Tychicus, Zenas and Apollos dedicated their lives to assisting the Apostle Paul and serving the Lord Jesus Christ in all faithfulness. We owe a debt of gratitude to these men and people like them who serve the Lord today. We should “diligently help” God’s ministers, making certain that they lack nothing they need in this earthly life, as they diligently help the Lord’s people in regards to their spiritual needs and the eternal life to come.
In closing this letter, Paul used the example of these four faithful servants of God to instruct all of the Lord’s people to “also learn to engage in good deeds” (verse 14). Let this serve as a reminder to us that it is not just the preacher’s job to teach people the truth and help bring them to the Lord Jesus. Undoubtedly the most “pressing” need known to mankind is the Gospel of Christ that, alone, can save people’s souls. God demands labor that produces fruit from all of His children. Jesus is the True Vine and we are the branches. If we are truly “in Him” we will bear fruit, and He will “prune” us so that we will be able to bear much more still. If we do not bear fruit He will cast us away as branches and we will wither and die (John 15:1-2).
I do not say this to shame us or scare us but to remind us that we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us (Philippians 4:13)! God would never ask anything of us that is too difficult for Him to empower us to do! “Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen.” (Ephesians 3:20-21)
Lord willing we will have a brief introduction to Paul’s letter to Philemon for tomorrow.
Have a wonderful day!
- Louie Taylor
Titus 3:8-11
Tuesday, January 29, 2019“This is a trustworthy statement; and concerning these things I want you to speak confidently, so that those who have believed God will be careful to engage in good deeds. These things are good and profitable for men. But avoid foolish controversies and genealogies and strife and disputes about the Law, for they are unprofitable and worthless. Reject a factious man after a first and second warning, knowing that such a man is perverted and is sinning, being self-condemned.”
---End of Scripture verses---
Isn’t it interesting that the “trustworthy statement” that God “saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done” (verse 5) is all the motivation we should need to “be careful to engage in good deeds” (verse 8). All the good works in the world would never be enough to save us without God’s grace and mercy, and “the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit”, but we had better take care to be fully engaged in them until the Master comes just the same. The one talent man in the Lord’s famous parable was condemned as a “wicked and lazy servant” because He refused to put that which his master entrusted to him to good use (Matthew 25:26). “You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone” (James 2:24).
“Disputes about the Law…are unprofitable and worthless” (verse 9) for the simple reason that the Law of Moses has been fulfilled by Jesus and therefore nullified and rendered unnecessary. “For He Himself is our peace, who made both groups into one and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall, by abolishing in His flesh the enmity, which is the Law of commandments contained in ordinances, so that in Himself He might make the two into one new man, thus establishing peace.” (Ephesians 2:14-15). To argue, fuss and fight in the name of the Lord is foolishness, but to do so over a law which has been abolished is foolishness run amok.
“A factious man” must be rejected and silenced after giving him adequate warning because the Lord does not permit rifts and divisions in His body (Proverbs 6:16-19; 1 Corinthians 1:10-13). Paul says such a person is “self-condemned” (verse 10). I believe this implies that the “heretic” knows that what he is doing is forbidden by the Lord and damning to his soul, and yet he chooses to do it anyway. Friends, it is the height of foolishness to know good and well that the sins we commit are condemning our souls to Hell, and yet to callously continue in them just the same. God loves our eternal spirits so much that He sent His Son to pay the ultimate price to save them. Do we dare think so lightly of our immortal spirits and His eternal love that we would snub the sacrifice of His Only Begotten Son?
Please read Titus 3:12-15 for tomorrow.
Have a blessed day!
- Louie Taylor
Titus 3:1-7
Monday, January 28, 2019“Remind them to be subject to rulers, to authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good deed, to malign no one, to be peaceable, gentle, showing every consideration for all men. For we also once were foolish ourselves, disobedient, deceived, enslaved to various lusts and pleasures, spending our life in malice and envy, hateful, hating one another. But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared, He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by His grace we would be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.”
---End of Scripture verses---
The Apostle Paul reminds us all to not forget where we came from in this passage. We should show “every consideration for all men” (verse 2) precisely because God showed every consideration to us by granting us adequate time as He sought us out and reached us by His truth. We should be patient and loving with all people because there were people in our lives who lovingly endured our disobedience and hatefulness while teaching us about “the kindness of God our Savior and His love” for us (verse 4). Every time I am tempted to look at some poor, pitiful soul ensnared by the entanglements of the adversary and write him off as a “lost cause,” I must stop and remind myself that, but for the grace and patience of my Father in heaven, that would still be me.
God saved those of us who have obeyed the Gospel, “not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy” (verse 5). It may seem like a contradiction to say that God requires our obedience for salvation, and yet He does not save us by our deeds, but there are no inconsistencies here. We see clearly in verse 5 that it is by an act of God’s unmerited mercy that He cleanses us of our iniquities “by the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit,” when we obediently submit to the Spirit’s command to be baptized for the forgiveness of sins (Acts 2:38). To say that God places conditions that must be met upon our salvation, in no way negates the fact God still saves us by His mercy and grace and not by our own meritorious works when we do meet them.
When we do what we are told, we are simply unprofitable servants who are only doing things that are required of us, and are in no way earning our salvation. We are merely accepting God’s immeasurable gifts according to the terms that He has placed upon them. When the Heart-pierced listeners of that Pentecost sermon asked Peter and the other Apostles, “what must we do?” (Acts 2:37), under inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Peter responded: “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:38). The Holy Spirit enumerated two things that people must DO in order to receive His free GIFT of eternal life: repent and be baptized. The believers who obeyed these commands were saved, not by their own works, but by the power and grace and mercy of our loving God.
“So then, those who had received his word were baptized; and that day there were added about three thousand souls” (Acts 2:41). “And the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved” (Acts 2:47).
Do the math with me here. Those who were “baptized” were “added” (verse 41). Those that the Lord “saved” were “added” (verse 47). By the simple rule of replacement, “baptized” = “saved”!
This reads like a simple syllogism that logically cannot be denied. (Premise 1) Those who were baptized were being added. (Premise 2) The Lord added those who were being saved. (Conclusion) Therefore those who were baptized were being saved!
Please read Titus 3:8-11 for tomorrow.
Have a great day!
- Louie Tauylor
Titus 2:11-15
Sunday, January 27, 2019“For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus, who gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds. These things speak and exhort and reprove with all authority. Let no one disregard you.”
---End of Scripture verses---
This is one of my favorite “memory passages” for many reasons, and one of them is the number of false religious doctrines that are shot down by just 5 short yet exquisite verses of Scripture.
(1) God’s grace instructs us (verse 12). Grace is not an overpowering, mystical, better felt than told or explained experience. God’s grace “appeared” to us in the form of Jesus Christ coming to this earth and living and dying for our sins. God extends His grace to us by “instructing” us through His perfect revelation on what we need to do to contact the blood of Jesus, and how we need to live our lives in faith. Living faithfully, as instructed by God’s grace, requires denying ungodliness and worldly desires and living sensibly, righteously and godly in this present age.
(2) Jesus died for, and God’s grace is available to “all men” (people) (verse 11). God did not “hand-pick” a certain, select number of people to save unconditionally. Anyone who is convicted by the power of the word, and by the repulsiveness of their sins, will be saved eternally if they repent and are baptized for the remission of those sins (Acts 2:38). “For the love of Christ controls us, having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died; and He died for all, so that they who live might no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf.” (2 Corinthians 5:14-15).
(3) Jesus is “our great God and Savior” (verse 13). Jesus was not a created being. He was “the Word” who has existed from all eternity as an equal part of holy deity (John 1:1). When “the Word became flesh” (John 1:14), God took on the form of humanity (being simultaneously God and man) in the person of Jesus the Christ. Jesus is not a god. He is not “the mighty god” while Jehovah is “the Almighty God”. Jesus is Yahweh God and is equal to the Father in eternity, essence and purpose (Colossians 1:14; Hebrews 1:3). The Word subjected himself to the will of the Father when He “emptied himself,” took on the form of a human servant, and humbly obeyed to the point of death on a cross (Philippians 2:5-8).
(4) Jesus is going to appear again in glory (verse 13). He did not return to this earth invisibly sometime in the past as some people falsely claim (2 Timothy 2:18). When Jesus appears the second time, it will be in all His radiant glory, and it will be the most amazing spectacle to ever behold, visibly and audibly (1 Thessalonians 4:14-18; 1 Corinthians 15:51-52). In light of what Jesus did and what He will do, we must stay focused on living godly lives of purity and zealousness, wholly devoted to good works (verse 1). “Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God…” (2 Peter 3:11-12).
Please read Titus 3:1-7 for tomorrow.
We would love to see you at worship services today at the Taylorsville Road church of Christ.
We assemble at 3741 Taylorsville Road in Louisville Kentucky.
9:30 AM Bible classes for all ages. 10:30 AM and 5:00 PM worship services.
Have a great Lord’s Day!
- Louie Taylor
Titus 2:6-10
Saturday, January 26, 2019“Likewise urge the young men to be sensible; in all things show yourself to be an example of good deeds, with purity in doctrine, dignified, sound in speech which is beyond reproach, so that the opponent will be put to shame, having nothing bad to say about us. Urge bondslaves to be subject to their own masters in everything, to be well-pleasing, not argumentative, not pilfering, but showing all good faith so that they will adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in every respect.”
---End of Scripture verses---
Being “sensible” is the one attribute that Titus is encouraged to teach and “urge” both gender and age groups to embrace. Some of these characteristics overlap and can even be used interchangeably. Just looking at the NASB New Testament Greek Lexicon definitions for this word: “of a sound mind, sane, in one's senses…curbing one's desires and impulses, self-controlled, temperate”. It seems like common sense was as much a rarity on the Island of Crete in the first century as it is in 21st century America. God wants us all to come to our senses, and keep the brains and bodies that He gave us under His control. I think we can all improve in the area of exercising good judgment in some if not all areas of our lives.
I have been thinking about verses 9 and 10 a lot here lately, and how this applies to me personally. People tend to dismiss the passages about slave and master relationships because they are uncomfortable to think about, and frankly dismissed as irrelevant in our culture. While the specifics may be different, good application can still be made to our employer-employee relations of today. I hear and see a lot of “argumentative” employees at the workplace that God has blessed me with. Honestly, I have been one myself in times past. Some people “bad-mouth” their bosses at every opportunity that they get. I have witnessed a whole lot of “pilfering” as well, and stealing is condemned outright in the Bible, over and over again, no matter how “entitled” we feel to the things that we are swiping.
God is not pleased with these expressions of disloyalty to our superiors. Christians do not “adorn” (beautify) “the doctrine of God our Savior” when we act ugly, hatefully and sinfully toward the people who write our checks. We actually bring reproach upon the word, the Lord and His church when we do that. Friends listen. If God demanded loyalty and respect from slaves toward their masters, even the ones who treated them cruelly (1 Peter 2:18), I can assure you that He expects the same kind of fidelity and esteem from His people for their employers. Please remember that when we are at work or on our own “free time,” we are never off the clock in our service to our Lord and Master in heaven above. We are always working for The Higher Power, so let’s serve Him and do our work with all our heart and all our might (Colossians 3:23).
Please read Titus 2:11-15 for tomorrow.
Have an sensible day!
- Louie Taylor
Titus 2:1-5
Friday, January 25, 2019“But as for you, speak the things which are fitting for sound doctrine. Older men are to be temperate, dignified, sensible, sound in faith, in love, in perseverance. Older women likewise are to be reverent in their behavior, not malicious gossips nor enslaved to much wine, teaching what is good, so that they may encourage the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, to be sensible, pure, workers at home, kind, being subject to their own husbands, so that the word of God will not be dishonored.”
---End of Scripture verses---
God’s older men should be paragons of self-control, dignity, faith, love and patience (verses 1-2). These are clear indications that they live and model spiritually “sound” or “healthy” lives for others look up to and emulate. Experienced veterans in the faith are susceptible to the temptations of sin as all humans are. But most of them should have accumulated an abundance of life experiences and a wealth of biblical knowledge to help sharpen their faith and smooth out the rough edges of their temperaments and personalities. They have survived the naivety and impulsiveness of youth, have witnessed the calming and healing powers of love, and have persevered through the storms and trials of life. God’s older men should be a wellspring of knowledge, wisdom and virtue for the family of God to draw from.
The same is true for God’s older women (verses 3-4). They are to be beautiful portraits of reverence and holiness. And there should be no question that older women play a vital role in the teaching of the Lord’s spiritual family. They should teach all the brethren by their godly example of love, wisdom and temperance; and there is no better qualified person to directly teach a young Christian woman how to be the kind of wife and mother that God wants her to be than our godly “mothers and grandmothers” in the faith.
Young women need to be taught how to properly love their husbands and children. This is not a skill that comes naturally and easily to most women. Husbands have a special set of needs to be met in order for them to feel loved and respected, and, let’s be honest—children can just make you crazy! Okay, men can do that too! That’s why we need godly, older women teaching faithful, younger women the knowledge and wisdom and love that they have accrued from a lifetime of experience of being a wife and mother and that they learned from older women when they were younger as well.
Friends, no matter what stage of life you may find yourself standing upon, God expects us to “act” in ways that harmonize with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Our speech and our conduct must be consistent with the “sound doctrine” of the faith if we want to be pleasing to God and helpful to our brothers and sisters in Christ. Each one of us has an appointment to keep (Judgment) and a part to play (in God’s family), no matter what our age or gender might be. If we refuse or neglect to live our lives accordingly, we do disservice to our spiritual family and we dishonor the word of God (verse 5).
Please read Titus 2:6-10 for tomorrow.
God’s blessings!
- Louie Taylor
Titus 1:10-16
Thursday, January 24, 2019“For there are many rebellious men, empty talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision, who must be silenced because they are upsetting whole families, teaching things they should not teach for the sake of sordid gain. One of themselves, a prophet of their own, said, ‘Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.’ This testimony is true. For this reason reprove them severely so that they may be sound in the faith, not paying attention to Jewish myths and commandments of men who turn away from the truth. To the pure, all things are pure; but to those who are defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure, but both their mind and their conscience are defiled. They profess to know God, but by their deeds they deny Him, being detestable and disobedient and worthless for any good deed.”
---End of Scripture verses---
“Rebellious men…must be silenced” (verses 11-12). There is no room for rebellion in the kingdom of God. In a real sense, all sinfulness is rebellion against God and places our souls in peril of destruction. But this type of open sedition, where “deceivers” teach damnable heresies in order to acquire personal advantage, is personally destructive for them, and also upsets “whole families” and the entire spiritual family of the Lord. Dialogue and reprimand do not work in situations such as these. The only appropriate action is to shut the “empty talkers” down.
The inhabitants of the island of Crete had the reputation for being “always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons” (verse 12). Sometimes a bad reputation is undeserved, and sometimes it is spot on. Paul said “this testimony is true,” as corroborated by “a prophet” (poet) “of their own” (verses 12-13). If we get a bad rap for our faithful service to the Lord Jesus Christ, we have no reason to be ashamed and can even wear it as a badge of honor. But if what they are saying about us is true, we need to take a good look in the mirror and make sure we are being faithful doers of the word and not hearers only.
“To the pure, all things are pure” (verse 15). This refers back to the “Jewish myths and commandments of men,” and likely was said in reference to food restrictions that the deceivers from “the circumcision” (verse 10) were trying to impose upon the brethren of Crete. When a person’s “mind and their conscience” have been defiled (verse 15), everything they try to do comes out twisted and tainted, even when they vainly endeavor to operate within the sphere of the doctrine of Christ. There are multitudes and multitudes of men who “profess to know God, but by their deeds they deny Him” (verse 16). You let a person talk long enough and eventually he will reveal his true heart to you. You will know the bad trees by the bad fruits that they produce. The same is true with the good trees!
Please read Titus 2:1-5 for tomorrow.
Have a super day!
- Louie Taylor
Titus 1:5-9
Wednesday, January 23, 2019“For this reason I left you in Crete, that you would set in order what remains and appoint elders in every city as I directed you, namely, if any man is above reproach, the husband of one wife, having children who believe, not accused of dissipation or rebellion. For the overseer must be above reproach as God’s steward, not self-willed, not quick-tempered, not addicted to wine, not pugnacious, not fond of sordid gain, but hospitable, loving what is good, sensible, just, devout, self-controlled, holding fast the faithful word which is in accordance with the teaching, so that he will be able both to exhort in sound doctrine and to refute those who contradict.”
---End of Scripture verses---
The Apostle Paul temporarily left the young evangelist, Titus, on the Island of Crete to “set in order” some things that were “wanting” or “lacking” in the local churches of Christ there (verse 5). This statement and appointment necessarily implies that God fully intends local congregations to exist, and for them to function properly, according to a determined plan or design. The Lord did not leave the structure, organization and leadership of local churches up to the whim and discretion of the merely mortal, human mind.
Paul wrote to the very dysfunctional church in the city of Corinth that, “all things must be done properly and in an orderly manner” (1 Corinthians 14:40). There is a proper way to do things in the Lord’s church and that is the Lord’s way that He revealed in the New Testament. There are many improper ways to do things and those are the ways that feel right to the human will. Paul left the young preacher, Titus, at Crete to set things right in the churches in each city on that island. But know for certain that this was not Titus’ determination, nor did the Lord leave the ordering of congregational structure and worship up to the discretion of preachers. Titus merely did what Paul “directed” him to do by the apostolic authority granted to Him by his Master, Jesus Christ.
An important aspect of the Lord’s design and pattern for His local churches is that each of them have a set (a plurality, at least two or more) of elders to “rule well” over them (1 Timothy 5:17). These elders must meet the qualifications placed within the pattern by the Designer. They must be men, they must be married to “one wife” and they must have “children who believe” (verse 7). These are some of the “objective” qualifications that are not open for debate or negotiation. There are other qualifications that are more “subjective” or “relative” in nature, and some latitude should be given. Some people are more “hospitable” than others, so there are varying degrees of hospitality that are acceptable.
The one qualification that leaps off the page to me in this passage is that an elder must be “above reproach” (verses 6 and 7). Anytime a statement is repeated in a short context, it appears to me that the Lord is stressing this characteristic. This does not mean that the man must be perfect, but he must be quick to admit and repent and make things right when he is wrong. This does not mean that accusations will not be leveled against his character, but that the charges will prove to be unwarranted. A “blameless” man is one with a great track record of being a solid, upstanding person of proven character and worth in the Lord’s kingdom.
Please read Titus 1:10-16 for tomorrow.
Hope you all have a blessed day!
- Louie Taylor
Titus 1:1-4
Tuesday, January 22, 2019“Paul, a bond-servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the faith of those chosen of God and the knowledge of the truth which is according to godliness, in the hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, promised long ages ago, but at the proper time manifested, even His word, in the proclamation with which I was entrusted according to the commandment of God our Savior, To Titus, my true child in a common faith: Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior.”
---End of Scripture verses---
Paul made himself a “bond-servant of God” in order to dedicate his life to the promotion and improvement of “the faith of those chosen by God,” and to increase the “knowledge of the truth” which instructs and equips God’s people to be godly people (verse 1). Paul was hand-selected and given the authority by God to be “an apostle of Jesus Christ,” which was a divinely appointed privilege given to a select few. But he personally chose to live a life of dedication to the Lord and His purposes as “a bond-servant of God,” which anyone can elect to do.
“The hope of eternal life” (verse 2) is what prompted Paul to do what he did, and is more than enough motivation for all of God’s people to do what He wills us to do with our momentary earthly lives. Lift your eyes up and look around you for a moment. Everything that you see is temporary. You will only have occasion to enjoy your home, drive your car, drink your coffee, spend time with your family, breathe this air for a very short time. But you have the opportunity to share in the glories of heaven with God and His saints forever, and ever, and ever, if you will only choose to spend your fleeting time on earth serving your Creator in loving, trusting, obedient faith. Don’t take my word for it. God himself promised eternal life to His faithful, and it is an utter impossibility for Him to tell a lie.
God sent Jesus to make salvation available to the world at just the perfect, “proper time” (verse 3). As imperfect humans, we often squander our time and miss out on our opportunities to do what we want and need to do. Thanks be to Him that God’s timing is always perfect timing. God always knows what is best for us and God always does what is best for us. Friend, God sent Jesus to this world at the perfect time to die for you and your sins. Take it personally. Don’t fool yourself into thinking that you have plenty of time left to make your life right with Him. God knows how much life you have left in you, but you do not. Don’t waste your time and miss your chance. Give your life to Him. Put Christ on in baptism. Become His bond-servant. Take hold of the hope of eternal life today while you can.
Please read Titus 1:5-9 for tomorrow.
Have a great day!
- Louie Taylor
Introduction to Paul’s letter to Titus
Monday, January 21, 2019Excerpts from Marshall Patton’s Truth Commentary on The Books of 1 & 2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon by Guardian of Truth Foundation:
“Titus was a close associate and trusted companion of the Apostle Paul. The apostle refers to him as ‘mine own son after the common faith’ (Tit. 1:4), ‘my brother’ (2 Cor. 2:13), and ‘my partner and fellowhelper’ (2 Cor. 8:23)… Like Timothy, Titus was a young evangelist who had been converted to Christ by Paul, as indicated by the expression ‘mine own son after the common faith.’
“We do know that he was a Greek and that, about fourteen (perhaps seventeen) years after the conversion of Paul, he was at Antioch in Syria and with others went up to Jerusalem with Paul and Barnabas to see the apostles and elders concerning circumcision (Gal. 1:18; 2:1; Acts 15:2). Since Titus was a Gentile and uncircumcised, Paul later used this occasion and Titus as an example of the truth on this saying, ‘But neither Titus, who was with me, being a Greek, was compelled to be circumcised’ (Gal. 2:3).
“Nine times Paul mentions Titus in 2 Corinthians… From these references we learn that while Paul was at Ephesus on his third journey, he wrote his first letter to the church at Corinth… Paul sent Titus to Corinth probably as the bearer of the letter and primarily to encourage the brethren in making…corrections… Again, we find Paul sending Titus a second time to Corinth…this time he bears Paul’s second letter… We are not surprised, therefore, to find in this epistle that Paul left Titus on the Island of Crete to ‘set in order the things that are wanting, and ordain elders in every city’ (Tit. 1:5).
“The island of Crete is one of the largest in the Mediterranean Sea and lies at the entrance to the Aegean Sea about equidistant from Europe, Asia and Africa. The Apostle Paul…showed that he was well acquainted with the character of the Cretians and the reputation they had established for themselves when he said, ‘One of themselves, even a prophet of their own, said, The Cretians are always liars, evil beasts, slow bellies’ (Tit. 1:12). This prophet or poet…is generally identified by authorities as Epimenides…variously dated between 630 and 500 B.C.’
“The purpose of Paul’s letter to Titus is clearly implied in Titus 1:5, ‘For this cause left I thee in Crete, that thou shouldest set in order the things that are wanting, and ordain elders in every city, as I had appointed thee.’ This implies a divine pattern to be followed and the need for divine instructions in carrying out the charge.”
Please read Titus 1:1-4 for tomorrow.
Have a blessed day!
- Louie Taylor