Titus

Sidenote: I have a brother-in-law named Titus. Every time I read this book I pray for him. It’s good practice.

The Apostle Paul mentions Titus 9x in the book of 2 Corinthians. That gives you an idea of how much Paul liked this guy and how much work they did together.

In this letter to Titus, Paul reminds him that his testimony and the church’s testimony would be their best witness in the land of liars, evil beasts, and lazy gluttons. Also helping their witness would be their response to those in government and authority. If Paul was writing to a pastor in America, I think he would say the exact same things. Ironically, these two areas seem to be where Christians in America fall the most. They either get caught up in sin, looking just like the world, or they criticize the government and show disrespect toward leaders.

May God give us more men like those in 1:6-9. I sure hope for more 2:7 pastors too.

Throughout the letter we see key words and phrases like, “self-control” and “devote yourselves to good works.” Surely these things were repeated for a reason. Paul knew how necessary self-control and good works were for the Gospel to thrive in a place like Crete. Again, same for us.

Overall, the letter is short and sweet, but full of good nuggets. Sermons could be crafted from anywhere, just like the ESV Study Bible gives one on effective evangelism from Titus 3:1-11. Someday, I hope I too can craft a sermon from this letter.