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Titus 3:1-15

9/24/2023

Teacher: Rusty Kennedy
Series: Titus

Rusty's Notes

CHRISTIAN LIVING AMONG OUTSIDERS
TITUS 3
1 Remind them to submit to rulers and authorities,

Paul’s words can be hard to understand and even embrace, especially for those who live in democratic nations.
His point is not that we ought to blindly follow the governing authorities even if they lead us into error.
But rather believers ought to recognize their position with humility and be subject to their implementation of laws.
He doesn’t want believers to have a reputation for illegal activities.
Christianity is not meant to be a movement built on force and the overthrow of governments.
Instead, it is designed to permeate and transcend every circumstance.
The Gospel does not call for violent revolutionaries but rather peaceful ambassadors of God’ grace.

to obey, to be ready for every good work, 2 to slander no one, to avoid fighting, and to be kind, always showing gentleness to all people.

Christians were often looked on with suspicion in the Roman Empire because their conduct was so different, and they met in private meetings for worship (see 1 Peter 2:11–25; 3:13–4:5).[1]
The Greek word used here, blasphēmeō, describes speaking against someone with the purpose of harming his or her reputation.
Believers will ruin their own reputation if they seek to ruin the reputation of others.[2]
This is a hard bit of instruction, but government officials, employers, and any other persons of authority should be the recipients of our every good work.[3]
Paul encourages Christians to love and respect the inherent value within all people.
Christians are not to stir up discontent with people but rather to love and express the fruit of Christ in a hurting world.
God has consideration for all people and therefore wants His children to share the same love.

3 For we too were once foolish, disobedient, deceived, enslaved by various passions and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, detesting one another.

Paul wanted this reality to encourage humility and compassion in believers towards others.
As ugly as this world is we must remember that we too were once enslaved to the world system.
But when we believed we were set free from sin.
We can now see the errors of the world system in a way that we could not when we were spiritually dead.
Now that believers are no longer enslaved, we can live free from the constraints of sin.
Believers are often tempted to look down their noses at unbelievers—forgetting that they too were once lost.[4]

4 But when the kindness of God our Savior and his love for mankind appeared, 5 he saved us—not by works of righteousness that we had done, but according to his mercy—through the washing of regeneration and renewal by the Holy Spirit.

The love of God appeared in Jesus.
The two are one and the same.
Jesus is the love of God made flesh.
This love of God was expressed perfectly in Christ’s sacrificial work for salvation.
This salvation is not based on our deeds but the regeneration of the Holy Spirit.
For Paul, regeneration occurs at faith in Jesus not prior to it.
Faith, therefore, does not arise because of regeneration but precedes it.

6 He poured out his Spirit on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior 7 so that, having been justified by his grace, we may become heirs with the hope of eternal life.

Justification is often viewed as a position for Christians that is somehow disconnected from the fact of regeneration.
In other words, we are justified even though we aren’t truly righteous to the core.
However, such a concept is missing from Pauline theology.
Justification is synonymous with the inner righteousness of regeneration.
Justification is the gracious act of God whereby He declares a believing sinner righteous because of the finished work of Christ on the cross.
God puts to our account the righteousness of His Son, so that we can be condemned no more.
Not only does He forget our sins, but He forgets that we were even sinners![5]
This is the message that Paul wanted the believers to be adamant about in the midst of their ministry to the world.

8 This saying is trustworthy. I want you to insist on these things, so that those who have believed God might be careful to devote themselves to good works. These are good and profitable for everyone.

Paul connects the message of regeneration to engaging in good works.
The good works flow out of our new nature.
These good deeds impact the world and hopefully win people over to the Gospel.

9 But avoid foolish debates, genealogies, quarrels, and disputes about the law, because they are unprofitable and worthless.

Few things drive away seekers like church infighting.
Satan loves to encourage selfish strife and division among church members.[6]
Paul is blatant in his insistence that disputes about the law are worthless.
This is because of Paul’s overall perspective on the differences between the Old Covenant and New Covenant but also because he was writing to Greeks, non-Jews, who never had the law.
Therefore, arguing about the law was pointless for them.
These arguments were also pointless because all who believe in Jesus are participating in a New Covenant, not the Old Covenant.
Such admonition would be encouraging for the Greek believers as they combatted the false teachers who were mixing law and Gospel.

10 Reject a divisive person after a first and second warning. 11 For you know that such a person has gone astray and is sinning; he is self-condemned.

Notice that Paul believed the false teachers to be condemned, not by God, but buy their own performance under the law.
The law condemns all people because it can be kept by nobody.
God, however, is not condemning.
He wants to save all people through Christ.

FINAL INSTRUCTIONS AND CLOSING
12 When I send Artemas or Tychicus to you, make every effort to come to me in Nicopolis, because I have decided to spend the winter there.

We know nothing about Artemas; Tychicus we met in Acts 20:4.
He was with Paul in his first Roman imprisonment and carried the epistles from Paul to the Ephesians (Eph. 6:21), the Colossians (Col. 4:7–8), and to Philemon (cf. Col. 4:7–9 with Phile. 10).[7]
Map of Nicopolis.

13 Diligently help Zenas the lawyer and Apollos on their journey, so that they will lack nothing.

It is possible that Zenas and Apollos (see Acts 18:24ff) carried this letter to Titus.
Paul had sent them on a mission and Titus was to aid them all he could.[8]

14 Let our people learn to devote themselves to good works for pressing needs, so that they will not be unfruitful.

Paul reminded Titus of the main theme of the letter: Insist that God’s people devote them to good works for pressing needs…[9]
For the Christian productiveness is fun because it arises out of our new natures.
We do not produce good works to maintain or earn the righteousness which only comes from the regeneration of God.[10]

15 All those who are with me send you greetings. Greet those who love us in the faith. Grace be with all of you.[11]

[1] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 2, p. 267). Victor Books.
[2] Barry, J. D., Mangum, D., Brown, D. R., Heiser, M. S., Custis, M., Ritzema, E., Whitehead, M. M., Grigoni, M. R., & Bomar, D. (2012, 2016). Faithlife Study Bible (Tt 3:2). Lexham Press.
[3] Evans, T. (2019). The Tony Evans Study Bible (p. 1447). Holman Bible.
[4] Evans, T. (2019). The Tony Evans Study Bible (pp. 1447–1448). Holman Bible.
[5] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 2, pp. 267–268). Victor Books.
[6] Evans, T. (2019). The Tony Evans Study Bible (p. 1448). Holman Bible.
[7] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 2, p. 268). Victor Books.
[8] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 2, p. 268). Victor Books.
[9] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 2, p. 268). Victor Books.
[10] Farley, Andrew. www.BibleCommentary.com. Titus 2.
[11] Christian Standard Bible (Tt 3:1–15). (2020). Holman Bible Publishers.

Titus 2:1-15

9/10/2023

Teacher: Rusty Kennedy
Series: Titus

Rusty's Notes

Paul is responding to Titus based upon the word he had received while in Macedonia.

SOUND TEACHING AND CHRISTIAN LIVING
TITUS 2
1 But you are to proclaim things consistent with sound teaching.

The sound doctrine of which Paul was a minister is the Gospel of grace.
The New Covenant is our foundation (2 Corinthians 3:6-7).
Anything that violates this is not sound doctrine no matter how popular the teaching.

2 Older men are to be self-controlled, worthy of respect, sensible, and sound in faith, love, and endurance.

Older men are to be temperate, dignified, sensible, sound in faith, in love, in perseverance. [1]Paul seems to be equating older age with Christian maturity assuming that sound doctrine is held as one ages.
Older men - In Paul’s first-century ad context, this refers to men over age 50.[2]
This is why he encourages older men to behave in a loving manner.
NASB – “Older men are to be temperate, dignified, sensible, sound in faith, in love, in perseverance.” [3]
Sober, sober-minded.
Old men with time on their hands could linger too long over the cup.
The older men should know what they believe, and their doctrinal convictions should accord with God’s Word.[4]
Titus was young and Paul was encouraging Titus to not overlook the older men and women in discipling the younger generation.
Youth Ministers come to a point where they realize the impact of parents is greater than their own ministry.

3 In the same way, older women are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers, not slaves to excessive drinking. They are to teach what is good, 4 so that they may encourage the young women to love their husbands and to love their children, 5 to be self-controlled, pure, workers at home, kind, and in submission to their husbands, so that God’s word will not be slandered.

The Christian home was a totally new thing, and young women saved out of paganism would have to get accustomed to a whole new set of priorities and privileges.
Those who had unsaved husbands would need special encouragement.[5]
Similarly, older women are to be examples for younger women of how to love their husbands and children.
Christ breeds love in His children.
The greatest priority in a home should be love.
If a wife loved her husband and her children, she was well on the way to making the marriage and the home a success.
In our Western society, a man and a woman fall in love and then get married; but in the East, marriages were less romantic.
Often the two got married and then had to learn to love each other.[6]
The more we know sound doctrine, the more we will see this love come forth.
Also, important to note: According to this verse women were teaching in the early church.
They are teaching younger women about godliness.
So, evidently, Paul assumed that women were fully capable of teaching in the ministry context.
Paul consistently encourages husbands and wives to submit to one another (See also Ephesians 5:21).
Here the wife is in focus.
The wife shows love to her husband by submitting to his needs and desires.
This prevents the dishonoring of the word of God, or the Gospel, in a public atmosphere.
People can see Christians living in unity with one another and consequently being attracted to the Gospel.
So, the marriage is not to be a place of oppression for women or men. Rather, a place of submissive love and servitude.

6 In the same way, encourage the young men to be self-controlled 7 in everything.

Just as older men and women are to be of sound doctrine and love, so also are young men and women.
Paul does not allow age to discount someone’s value and effectiveness in God’s kingdom.
He is more concerned with spiritual maturity than age.

Make yourself an example of good works with integrity and dignity in your teaching.

Good deeds are not synonymous with legalistic practices.
Good deeds, or good works, always arise out of our new identity in Christ.
Good deeds are Christ’s work within His children.
As we allow Him to express fruit through us, we produce good works in the world.
This is Paul’s consistent message to his readers.

8 Your message is to be sound beyond reproach, so that any opponent will be ashamed, because he doesn’t have anything bad to say about us.

Paul encourages Titus to instruct people to live at peace with one another while maintaining pure doctrine.
This puts to shame those who are antagonistic to Christians and the Gospel message.

9 Slaves are to submit to their masters in everything, and to be well-pleasing, not talking back 10 or stealing,

Paul likely has the employee in mind.
In Greek culture slaves referred to those who were manual laborers, tutors, and other jobs often held for a family or individual.
Paul does not have in mind an oppressive system of slavery.

but demonstrating utter faithfulness, so that they may adorn the teaching of God our Savior in everything.

The good works being encouraged by Paul are decorating sound doctrine.
As we express Christ to people light is shined on the sound doctrine of the Gospel.
People will see the fragrant aroma of Christ amongst Christians and inquire about the source of their joy.
Christ’s life within us is attractive to the world.

11 For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people,

God, through Jesus, did not die for some people or a select group.
Jesus died for the whole world because He wants all people to believe.

12 instructing us to deny godlessness and worldly lusts and to live in a sensible, righteous, and godly way in the present age,

God’s grace teaches people to live godly lives.
This, in contrast, to the Old Covenant law which is a ministry of condemnation and death.
So, Paul’s point is that grace saves us and teaches us.
As we rest in grace, we will see Christ’s life shine through our own lives in beautiful ways.

13 while we wait for the blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Paul has an incredible optimistic view of Christ’s Second Coming.
There is no room in Paul’s theology for the believer’s fear at Christ’s return.
There is no movie of our bad works to be played. Instead, we will step into the full reality of our salvation.

14 He gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to cleanse for himself a people for his own possession, eager to do good works.

“redeem” - The Greek word used here, lytroō, (lay-troe-o) means “to release” or “set free,” especially from slavery.[7]
“lawlessness” - In our unsaved condition, we were rebels against God’s law; but now all of that has been changed.[8]
Because Christians have a new heart, they are eager for good deeds.
These good deeds are the fruit of the Spirit produced within us and through us.
Christians are eager and zealous to live righteously.
This is reality regardless of what we feel or experience.

15 Proclaim these things; encourage and rebuke with all authority. Let no one disregard you.[9]

Paul is not speaking of being combative with people but rather standing confidently in the Gospel of grace.
He wanted Titus to bolster the church in their identity so that they would be confident during persecution and rejection.[10]

Be confident in who you are what you know… you have been entrusted with the Gospel… the Good News!

[1] New American Standard Bible: 1995 update (Tt 2:2). (1995). The Lockman Foundation.
[2] Barry, J. D., Mangum, D., Brown, D. R., Heiser, M. S., Custis, M., Ritzema, E., Whitehead, M. M., Grigoni, M. R., & Bomar, D. (2012, 2016). Faithlife Study Bible (Tt 2:2). Lexham Press.
[3] New American Standard Bible: 1995 update (Tt 2:2). (1995). The Lockman Foundation.
[4] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 2, p. 264). Victor Books.
[5] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 2, p. 265). Victor Books.
[6] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 2, p. 265). Victor Books.
[7] Barry, J. D., Mangum, D., Brown, D. R., Heiser, M. S., Custis, M., Ritzema, E., Whitehead, M. M., Grigoni, M. R., & Bomar, D. (2012, 2016). Faithlife Study Bible (Tt 2:14). Lexham Press.
[8] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 2, p. 266). Victor Books.
[9] Christian Standard Bible (Tt 2:1–15). (2020). Holman Bible Publishers.
[10] Farley, Andrew. www.BibleCommentary.com. Titus 2.

Titus 1:1-16

9/3/2023

Teacher: Rusty Kennedy
Series: Titus

Rusty's Notes

The Neronian Persecution
Spring 65 - Nero’s massacre of the Christians begins.

Over the next three years, Nero will brutalize the Christians in such unspeakable ways that the Romans themselves have sympathy for them.
He will have some sewn up in the skins of wild beasts to be preyed upon by dogs until they expire.
Others he will dress up in shirts of stiff wax, fix them to the trees in his garden, and light them up as human torches.
The church in Rome has dwindled due to the killings.
Priscilla and Aquila move to Ephesus to help Timothy care for the church.
The persecution of the Christians spreads throughout the entire Roman Empire and lasts until A.D. 68, when Nero is banished from Rome and commits suicide.
Crisis in Crete Paul is still in Macedonia, and Apollos and a lawyer named Zenas visit him there.
Paul gets word from Titus in Crete that the churches on the island are still in crisis.
The influence of the false teachers is growing. They are spreading the same heresy that Timothy is combating in Ephesus.
Some of them are also encouraging rebellion and an immoral lifestyle. (The Cretans as a culture are noted for lying, engaging in wild parties, and gluttony.)
A number of families are being disrupted as a result.
Specifically, both the old and young men in the church are being influenced by the old Cretan lifestyle and are not exercising self-control.
Some are rebelling against the local authorities.
Some of the older women are engaging in slander and are abusing wine.
Paul is burdened to write to Titus and give him further instructions on handling the crisis.[1]

PAUL WRITES TITUS

Year: A.D. 65
From: Macedonia
To: Titus who is in Crete
Provocation: Paul encourages Titus to strengthen the things that remain in the churches at Crete.
He gives him practical instructions on selecting elders (1:5ff).
Paul exhorts Titus on how to silence those who are spreading heresy in Crete and how to encourage and remind the believers with the truth that is in Christ (1:10–3:11).
He closes the letter by asking Titus to meet him in Nicopolis for the winter and promises to send either Tychicus or Artemas to replace him in Crete.
Paul sends the letter off with Apollos and Zenas the lawyer and asks Titus to care for their needs while they are in Crete.
Luke scribes the letter.[2]

GREETING
TITUS 1
1 Paul, a (bond-)servant of God

A “bond-servant” is one who has been set free by his master, but chooses to remain with and serve him for life (Exodus 21:5–6; Deuteronomy 15:12–17).
This was Paul’s perception of his relationship with the Lord. Jesus set Paul free![3]

and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the faith of God’s elect and their knowledge of the truth that leads to godliness,

God’s grace leads to godliness.
When we believe we are made completely righteous to the core.
This means that grace encourages righteous living.
This is a central theme of Titus.
We don’t need to focus on trying to be moral people.
Our focus is to be on God’s grace in Christ, and to allow this to encourage us to live righteously.

2 in the hope of eternal life

Paul is not speaking of hope as a speculation about eternal life.
For Paul, hope is a reality.
The hope is something that is unshakeable and unbreakable.

that God, who cannot lie,

The New Covenant is founded on God’s promise to humanity.
God has sworn to Himself that He will save forever all who believe in Jesus (see Hebrews 7:25).

promised before time began. 3 In his own time he has revealed his word in the preaching with which I was entrusted by the command of God our Savior:

Paul is reminding Christians that their Savior is none other than God Himself.
The Father, the Son, and the Spirit are responsible for our salvation.
Before time began it was the entire Trinity who set out the plan of salvation in Christ.

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

Titus was Gentile who was led to Christ by the apostle Paul.
Titus ministered on the island of Crete.
It’s unknown as to whether Titus taught but he evidently had the task of acting as an administrator, setting up the leadership for the church.
God is giving us endless grace and peace.
This is God’s message to the world today regardless of what we may feel or experience because of life’s difficulties.
In Christ, God has provided an all-sufficient salvation.
When we believe we become beneficiaries of God’s grace and as a result experience His peace.

TITUS’S MINISTRY IN CRETE
5 The reason I left you in Crete was to set right what was left undone and, as I directed you, to appoint elders in every town.

Titus seems to have been, primarily, an administrative pastor.
There is no indication that he taught the congregation though this could have certainly been the case.

6 An elder must be blameless (above reproach), the husband of one wife, with faithful children who are not accused of wildness or rebellion.

Paul wants Titus to find people who truly know Jesus.
This relationship will be expressed through righteous living at home as well as in the world.
This is seen in Paul’s admonition to find someone who is married to one woman and consequently not a polygamist.
Those who know Jesus will have lives characterized by His fruit and not deeds of the flesh.

7 As an overseer of God’s household, he must be blameless, not arrogant, not hot-tempered, not an excessive drinker, not a bully, not greedy for money, 8 but hospitable, loving what is good, sensible, righteous, holy, self-controlled,

Hospitable, loving: Love is the single characterizing trait of the Christian. Consequently, elders ought to be examples of how Christ’s love can shine through believers.

9 holding to the faithful message as taught, so that he will be able both to encourage with sound teaching and to refute those who contradict it.

Elders must be well-versed in the New Covenant otherwise confusion will spread in the congregation.
Those who lead the church need to have a crystal-clear understanding of God’s grace and have good theological boundaries.

10 For there are many rebellious people, full of empty talk and deception, especially those from the circumcision party.

The number one enemy for the Christian is legalism or adopting a law-based religion.
During the days of the early church there was a constant battle to not mix the Old and New Covenants.
Paul was absolutely against such an act.
Therefore, Paul encouraged the silencing of these teachers who are wreaking havoc on the family.

11 It is necessary to silence them; they are ruining entire households by teaching what they shouldn’t in order to get money dishonestly. 12 One of their very own prophets said, “Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.”

The false teachers were engaged in racism and bigotry and stereotyping the people of Crete.
This is a constant affliction for humans.
We always label people according to the flesh and to what is seen.
However, Christ is the only real identity for people.
He brings all people together.

13 This testimony is true. For this reason, rebuke them sharply, so that they may be sound in the faith 14 and may not pay attention to Jewish myths and the commands of people who reject the truth.

Paul encouraged reproving of false doctrine ultimately so that the church would be strengthened in their understanding of sound doctrine, and perhaps the false teachers saved through faith in Jesus.

15 To the pure, everything is pure,

If we have believed in Jesus, we are pure to the core.
To those who are pure every act, no matter how mundane, is an act of purity because we are in union with Jesus and can express Him in every context.

but to those who are defiled and unbelieving nothing is pure; in fact, both their mind and conscience are defiled. 16 They claim to know God, but they deny him by their works. They are detestable, disobedient, and unfit for any good work.[4]

They profess to know God: Paul seems to be speaking of those who have mixed law and grace.
These judaizers were ever present amongst the early church.[5]

[1] Viola, Frank. The Untold Story of the New Testament Church, Destiny Image Publishers, Shippensburg, PA. 2004, PP 162-163.
[2] Viola, Frank. The Untold Story of the New Testament Church, Destiny Image Publishers, Shippensburg, PA. 2004, PP 162-163.
[3] Warren, B. (2013). Romans: The Foundational Truths of Romans 1–8 (p. 7). The Hill Publishing.
[4] Christian Standard Bible (Tt 1:1–16). (2020). Holman Bible Publishers.
[5] Farley, Andrew. www.BibleCommentary.com. Titus 1.

Titus 3:1-15

Rusty's Notes

Titus 2:1-15

Rusty's Notes

Titus 1:1-16

Rusty's Notes

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