THROUGH THE BIBLE (Titus)

By Bishop Elijah H. Hankerson III, BA, MA, DD

LESSON NOTES:

I.                  THE KEY TO UNDERSTANDING THE ENTIRE BIBLE. If you understand that the Bible is written to show us how humanity was created for God, fell into sin, was reconciled through Christ (who was the product of a family) and God will restore everything through His sacrifice on the Cross; then you have the message of the entire Bible.

2 Corinthians 5:17-21 ¹⁷Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. ¹⁸And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; ¹⁹To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. ²⁰Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God. ²¹For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

II.            WHO WAS TITUS?

 

                         A.            TITUS WAS A GREEK GENTILE CONVERT; HE HAD NEVER BEEN JEWISH AND WAS UNCIRCUMCISED.

Galatians 2:3 3Yet not even Titus, who was with me, was compelled to be circumcised, even though he was a Greek.

                         B.            HE WAS CONVERTED UNDER PAUL; SO PAUL COUNTED HIM AS A SON.

Titus 1:4 4To Titus, my true son in our common faith: Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior.

                         C.            PAUL TOOK TITUS TO JERUSALEM TO SHOW CHURCH LEADERSHIP THAT AN UNCIRCUMCISED GENTILE COULD GET SAVED AND LIVE FOR GOD.

Galatians 2:1-4 1Then after fourteen years, I went up again to Jerusalem, this time with Barnabas. I took Titus along also. 2I went in response to a revelation and, meeting privately with those esteemed as leaders, I presented to them the gospel that I preach among the Gentiles. I wanted to be sure I was not running and had not been running my race in vain. 3Yet not even Titus, who was with me, was compelled to be circumcised, even though he was a Greek. 4This matter arose because some false believers had infiltrated our ranks to spy on the freedom we have in Christ Jesus and to make us slaves.

                         D.            TITUS WAS ONE OF PAUL’S TRUSTED STAFF MEMBERS.

2 Corinthians 8:23 23As for Titus, he is my partner and co-worker among you; as for our brothers, they are representatives of the churches and an honor to Christ.

2 Corinthians 2:12-13 12Now when I went to Troas to preach the gospel of Christ and found that the LORD had opened a door for me, 13I still had no peace of mind, because I did not find my brother Titus there. So I said goodbye to them and went on to Macedonia.

                         E.            TITUS HELPED WITH THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE CORINTHIAN CHURCH.

2 Corinthians 8:6 6So we urged Titus, just as he had earlier made a beginning, to bring also to completion this act of grace on your part.

2 Corinthians 8:16-17 16Thanks be to God, who put into the heart of Titus the same concern I have for you. 17For Titus not only welcomed our appeal, but he is coming to you with much enthusiasm and on his own initiative.

2 Corinthians 7:6-7 6But God, who comforts the downcast, comforted us by the coming of Titus, 7and not only by his coming but also by the comfort you had given him. He told us about your longing for me, your deep sorrow, your ardent concern for me, so that my joy was greater than ever.

                          F.            PAUL WAS GODLY PROUD OF TITUS.

2 Corinthians 7:13-14 13By all this we are encouraged. In addition to our own encouragement, we were especially delighted to see how happy Titus was, because his spirit has been refreshed by all of you. 14I had boasted to him about you, and you have not embarrassed me. But just as everything we said to you was true, so our boasting about you to Titus has proved to be true as well.

                        G.            TITUS WAS EFFECTIVE AT RAISING FUNDS.

 2 Corinthians 8:10 10And here is my judgment about what is best for you in this matter. Last year you were the first not only to give but also to have the desire to do so.

2 Corinthians 8:17 17For Titus not only welcomed our appeal, but he is coming to you with much enthusiasm and on his own initiative.

                        H.            TITUS WAS THE BISHOP OF THE ISLAND OF CRETE.

Titus 1:5 5The reason I left you in Crete was that you might put in order what was left unfinished and appoint elders in every town, as I directed you.

                             I.            PAUL ASSIGNED TITUS TO WORK IN (WHAT WE WOILD KNOW AS EASTERN EUROPE) NICOPOLIS AND DALMATIA AS WELL.

Titus 3:12 12As soon as I send Artemas or Tychicus to you, do your best to come to me at Nicopolis, because I have decided to winter there.

2 Timothy 4:10 10for Demas, because he loved this world, has deserted me and has gone to Thessalonica. Crescens has gone to Galatia, and Titus to Dalmatia.

III.            THE CHURCHES ON THE ISLAND OF CRETE.

                         A.            THE CHURCHES AT CRETE WERE STARTED BY JEWS WHO GOT SAVED ON THE DAY OF PENTECOST.

Acts 2:7-12 7Utterly amazed, they asked: "Aren't all these who are speaking Galileans? 8Then how is it that each of us hears them in our native language? 9Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome 11(both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs-we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!" 12Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, "What does this mean?"

Acts 2:40-41 40With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, "Save yourselves from this corrupt generation." 41Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.

                         B.            THEY NEEDED TO BE SAVED; BECAUSE CRETANS WERE PRETTY ROUGH PEOPLE.

Titus 1:12-13.

12 Even one of their own prophets said, “Cretans are always liars. They are evil animals and lazy people who do nothing but eat.” 13 The words that prophet said are true. So tell those people that they are wrong. You must be strict with them. Then they will become strong in the faith,

                         C.            AS A PRISONER PAUL SPENT A BRIEF PERIOD TIME ON CRETE.

Acts 27:8-22

8 We sailed along the coast, but the sailing was hard. Then we came to a place called Safe Harbors, near the city of Lasea.

9 We had lost much time, and it was now dangerous to sail, because it was already after the Jewish day of fasting. So Paul warned them, 10 “Men, I can see that there will be a lot of trouble on this trip. The ship, everything in it, and even our lives may be lost!” 11 But the captain and the owner of the ship did not agree with Paul. So the army officer accepted what they said instead of believing Paul. 12 Also, that harbor was not a good place for the ship to stay for the winter, so most of the men decided that we should leave there. They hoped we could reach Phoenix, where the ship could stay for the winter. Phoenix was a city on the island of Crete. It had a harbor that faced southwest and northwest.

13 Then a good wind began to blow from the south. The men on the ship thought, “This is the wind we wanted, and now we have it!” So they pulled up the anchor. We sailed very close to the island of Crete. 14 But then a very strong wind called the “Northeaster” came from across the island. 15 This wind took the ship and carried it away. The ship could not sail against the wind, so we stopped trying and let the wind blow us.

16 We went below a small island named Cauda. With the island protecting us from the wind, we were able to bring in the lifeboat, but it was very hard to do. 17 After the men brought the lifeboat in, they tied ropes around the ship to hold it together. The men were afraid that the ship would hit the sandbanks of Syrtis. So they lowered the sail and let the wind carry the ship.

18 The next day the storm was blowing against us so hard that the men threw some things out of the ship.19 A day later they threw out the ship’s equipment. 20 For many days we could not see the sun or the stars. The storm was very bad. We lost all hope of staying alive—we thought we would die.

21 The men did not eat for a long time. Then one day Paul stood up before them and said, “Men, I told you not to leave Crete. You should have listened to me. Then you would not have all this trouble and loss. 22 But now I tell you to be happy. None of you will die, but the ship will be lost.

III.            THE BOOK OF TITUS.

 

                         A.            PAUL PROVIDES INSTRUCTIONS FOR CHURCH LEADERSHIP AND REFUTES FALSE DOCTRINE (Titus 1).

 

1 Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ to further the faith of God’s elect and their knowledge of the truth that leads to godliness— ² in the hope of eternal life, which God, who does not lie, promised before the beginning of time, ³ and which now at his appointed season he has brought to light through the preaching entrusted to me by the command of God our Savior,

⁴ To Titus, my true son in our common faith:

Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior.

⁵ The reason I left you in Crete was that you might put in order what was left unfinished and appoint elders in every town, as I directed you. ⁶ An elder must be blameless, faithful to his wife, a man whose children believe and are not open to the charge of being wild and disobedient. ⁷ Since an overseer manages God’s household, he must be blameless—not overbearing, not quick-tempered, not given to drunkenness, not violent, not pursuing dishonest gain. ⁸ Rather, he must be hospitable, one who loves what is good, who is self-controlled, upright, holy and disciplined. ⁹ He must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it.

¹⁰ For there are many rebellious people, full of meaningless talk and deception, especially those of the circumcision group. ¹¹ They must be silenced, because they are disrupting whole households by teaching things they ought not to teach—and that for the sake of dishonest gain. ¹² One of Crete’s own prophets has said it: “Cretans are always liars, evil brutes, lazy gluttons.” ¹³ This saying is true. Therefore rebuke them sharply, so that they will be sound in the faith ¹⁴ and will pay no attention to Jewish myths or to the merely human commands of those who reject the truth. ¹⁵ To the pure, all things are pure, but to those who are corrupted and do not believe, nothing is pure. In fact, both their minds and consciences are corrupted. ¹⁶ They claim to know God, but by their actions they deny him. They are detestable, disobedient and unfit for doing anything good.

                         B.            PAUL EXHORTS TITUS TO TEACH SOUND DOCTRINE (Titus 2).

2 You, however, must teach what is appropriate to sound doctrine. ² Teach the older men to be temperate, worthy of respect, self-controlled, and sound in faith, in love and in endurance.

³ Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good. ⁴ Then they can urge the younger women to love their husbands and children, ⁵ to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God.

⁶ Similarly, encourage the young men to be self-controlled. ⁷ In everything set them an example by doing what is good. In your teaching show integrity, seriousness ⁸ and soundness of speech that cannot be condemned, so that those who oppose you may be ashamed because they have nothing bad to say about us.

⁹ Teach slaves to be subject to their masters in everything, to try to please them, not to talk back to them, ¹⁰ and not to steal from them, but to show that they can be fully trusted, so that in every way they will make the teaching about God our Savior attractive.

¹¹ For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. ¹² It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, ¹³ while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, ¹⁴ who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.

¹⁵ These, then, are the things you should teach. Encourage and rebuke with all authority. Do not let anyone despise you.

                         C.            CHRISTIANS ARE TO DEVOTE THEMSELVES TO DOING GOOD (Titus 3).

 

3 Remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready to do whatever is good, ² to slander no one, to be peaceable and considerate, and always to be gentle toward everyone.

³ At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. ⁴ But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, ⁵ he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, ⁶ whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, ⁷ so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life. ⁸ This is a trustworthy saying. And I want you to stress these things, so that those who have trusted in God may be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good. These things are excellent and profitable for everyone.

⁹ But avoid foolish controversies and genealogies and arguments and quarrels about the law, because these are unprofitable and useless. ¹⁰ Warn a divisive person once, and then warn them a second time. After that, have nothing to do with them. ¹¹ You may be sure that such people are warped and sinful; they are self-condemned.

¹² As soon as I send Artemas or Tychicus to you, do your best to come to me at Nicopolis, because I have decided to winter there. ¹³ Do everything you can to help Zenas the lawyer and Apollos on their way and see that they have everything they need. ¹⁴ Our people must learn to devote themselves to doing what is good, in order to provide for urgent needs and not live unproductive lives.

¹⁵ Everyone with me sends you greetings. Greet those who love us in the faith.

Grace be with you all.

IV.            PRAYER FOR SALVATION. As we close, if you have not received this Jesus pray this simple prayer:

"Father, I know that I have sinned against You. Please forgive me. Wash me clean. I promise to trust in Jesus, Your Son. I believe that He died for me—He took my sin upon Himself when He died on the cross. I believe that He was raised from the dead. I surrender my life to Jesus today.

"Thank You, Father, for Your gift of forgiveness and eternal life. Please help me to live for you. In Jesus' name, Amen."