Titus 3

Titus 3:1

We are to be a people who live under authority.

Titus 3:2

I learned this the hard way a few years ago… Walking into the YMCA, I saw a young guy I recognized as Marty, a high-school student from Applegate, dribbling a basketball on the gym floor. As he took a shot from half-court, the ball went up in the airand missed everything. “Way to go! Nice shot!” I kidded. He got the ball, took a hook shot, and missed again. “Keep it up, buddy. Looking good!” I jeered. But as I walked closer, I realized it wasn’t Marty at all. Some high-school kid was shooting hoops, and here I was just railing on him! How I wish I had read this verse before I went to the YMCA that day! Paul tells Titus to appoint meek men to the position of elder. After speaking at a men’s retreat one weekend, I was driving to the airport feeling pleased with how well it had seemed to go. “What a blessing,” I said to myself. “Maybe I should do more of this type of retreat. I wonder what’s ahead for me?” That thought had no sooner entered my mind than a sign on the roadside caught my eye. In better days, it had read: WORLD’S BIGGEST JERKY AHEAD. Now, however, the “Y” having fallen off, it read: WORLD’S BIGGEST JERK AHEAD. And all I could say was, “I get the message, Lord!” Oh, that we would be meekalways keeping in mind what we once were, and what we still have a tendency to be!

Titus 3:4

Although we still have fleshly tendencies, we have been washed and renewednot because of our righteousness, but because of what Jesus did on the Cross in our place. And because we’re a forgiven people, we are to forgive others. It’s as if Paul is saying, “Yes, Titus, you must speak truth. You must tell your congregation both young and old how to live. However, you must do so with great meekness, remembering that the Lord washed you, renewed you, and saved you not by any works of righteousness you did, but according to Jesus’ “abundant mercy.”

Titus 3:7

This doctrine is so important in relation to what Paul had told Titus to do. “Keep everything in perspective, Titus. Remember what you once were and how you’ve been washed, renewed, and justified not by your discipline, dedication, or devotionbut solely by God’s grace.”

Titus 3:8

Bible teachers and parents, it’s not how much you know that matters. It’s how well you know what you know. How do people get to know things well? By hearing them over and over again. That is why we are to affirm constantly and remind continually.

Titus 3:9

Mormons spend multiplied millions of dollars and countless man-hours researching genealogies in order that they might baptize for the dead. That is, they believe benefits of baptism can be experienced by those who are already deceased. Cult leader Garner Ted Armstrong tries to prove through genealogies that America constitutes the lost tribes of Israel. It’s all foolishness. Stay away from these tangents. The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing. And the main thing is Jesus. People constantly confront me who want to strive about the law, about diet, or about Sabbath days. Maybe you are too. Paul’s word to Titus concerning such people is not to dialogue with them, but to avoid them.

Titus 3:10

“Warn them once, talk to them a second time, but don’t continue dialoguing with those who are into heresy.” Why? You’ll waste your time. You’ll spin your wheels. You’ll get nowhere. Satan knows your endless talking with someone who’s in a cult will prevent you from witnessing to your next-door neighbor. There are those who waste tons of time trying to convert heretics. Don’t do it. Paul’s instruction is to tell them the truth once. Tell them a second time. Then reject them, knowing they’ve condemned themselves.

Titus 3:12

Nicopolis was a city on the west side of the Greek islands. “Once help arrives for you, come and meet me in Nicopolis,” said Paul.

Titus 3:13

Paul was in jail a lot. No wonder he called for a lawyer! Apollos was a powerful orator, a preacher skilled in rhetoric, and a good man.

Titus 3:14

“To maintain good works” is better translated “to possess honest trades.” That is, the men with whom Titus was ministering were to be those who had the ability to support themselves by the work of their hands in order that they wouldn’t be a burden financially.

Titus 3:15

Thanks to Paul’s letter to Titus, we have just completed Doctrine 101practical things we need to think through, pray in, and remind one another of. I encourage you to take some time to go through Paul’s lists again. If you’re an older man, read the verses addressed to older men. If you’re an older woman, read the verses written for you. If you’re a young man or woman, read the verses concerning you, and say, “Lord, how am I doing in these areas?” And as you do, begin and end your study as Paul did his letter. Begin and end it not with determination or discipline, work ethic or will power. Begin and end it with an appreciation of God’s undeserved, unearned, unmerited favor poured out upon you. In other words, begin and end it with grace.