What Titus Had to Teach
v1 But you, Titus, must teach the things that are true. v2 Teach the older men that they should not drink too much wine. Other people should be able to respect them. They should be able to control themselves. They must believe what is true. They must love and be patient. v3 In the same way, you should teach the older women to live a holy life. They must not speak badly about other people. They must not drink too much wine. But they should teach people that which is good. v4 Then they can teach the young women to love their husbands and their children. v5 The young women should also learn how to control themselves. And they should be pure (morally good). They should be busy at home. They should be kind. They should obey their husband. Then people cannot say evil things about the good news that comes from God.
Commentary
Verse 1
Titus had to teach the Christians who lived in Crete. The false teachers had taught the Christians many wrong things. Titus was different from the false teachers. He had to teach what was true. He taught the different groups of people how to behave in the right way.
The older men
Verse 2
Older men should be mature. They should not behave in a foolish way. Younger people often copy older people; so older people should be good models.
1. They should not drink too much wine. People often behave badly when they drink too much wine. Then they cannot think clearly.
2. They must be men whom other people can respect. They should be serious and they should not be silly. They must realise that life on earth will come to an end. Then they will live in the right way to prepare for heaven.
3. They must be able to control their words and actions. They should think about the results of their behaviour. They should be sensible.
4. They must trust God completely as they believe the true gospel message.
5. As they trust God, they will love him more. Then they will be able to love other people more. They should be able to understand people more. Then they can give more sympathy to those people who need help. Some old people tend to complain about people more. But this should not happen to Christians.
6. They should be patient. They should have courage when life is difficult.
Paul links faith (what people believe), love and patience in two other personal letters. (See 1 Timothy 6:11-12; 2 Timothy 3:10.)
The older women
Verse 3
The older women should behave in a mature way, too. They should always try to please God. The result of their good character should be their good behavior. An older woman may have more spare time because her children have become adults. In that society, women often met together to gossip about other people. They also drank too much wine. To ‘speak badly’ means to say evil things and to lie. Paul said that Christian women should be different. They should be good models for other people to copy. They should use their time wisely. Paul wanted these women to teach in their homes. They should always speak about good things.
Verse 4
Paul did not tell Titus to teach the young women. The older women had to teach them. The older women had a lot of experience and wisdom. They had learned how to be good wives and mothers. So, they could advise the younger women when they had problems in married life. They could teach the young women how to be kind to their children. When a woman loves someone, she does not just have good feelings. Paul describes more about the qualities of love in 1 Corinthians 13:4-8.
The young women
Verse 5
In that society, most of the young women were married. Some were widows. But Paul suggested that the widows should marry again (1 Timothy 5:14-15).
1. The young women should learn how to control themselves. They should be sensible. They should behave well.
2 . They should be pure. They should avoid *sin and they should have a good character. They should be morally good.
3. In those days, a married woman worked in her home. She was responsible for everything that happened in her home. Therefore, she should not be lazy. Instead, she should be willing to work hard and serve her husband and her family.
4. They should be kind. A kind woman is helpful. She tries to please other people, so she is not selfish.
5. They should obey their husband. A wife knows that her husband is the head in their home (Ephesians 5:22-24). It is much easier for a wife to obey her husband if she loves him. And she should respect him too.
Women must behave in these ways so that no one can say evil things about the Christian message. This may refer to wives whose husbands are not Christians. Their husbands might believe the good news if their wives made a safe and happy home. And they would be more likely to believe if their wives obeyed them (1 Peter 3:1-2). It could also mean that the Christian good news would attract other people.
Titus as a Model
v6 In a similar way, urge the young men to control themselves. v7 In every way you should be a model to them. You should do what is good. Be honest and be serious as you teach. v8 Speak the truth so that nobody can say bad things against you. Then the people who oppose you will be ashamed. They will not have anything bad to say about us.
The young men
Verse 6
Paul used the strong word ‘urge’. It means to teach and to persuade. Young people, especially young men, are often tempted to do wrong things. They may be too confident because they do not have enough experience or wisdom. They do not understand what can go wrong with a bold plan. They may live or work away from the discipline of a good home. They may be careless about the friends that they choose. If they are not yet married, they can please themselves. If they have a wife and family, they may not realize their responsibilities.
It is very important that all Christians should control themselves properly. They should control:
1. how they act
2. what they say
3. what they think about
4. how they express their emotions
5. their desires
Verse 7
Paul told Titus to be a good model. Paul said this to Timothy too (1 Timothy 4:12). Titus had to be a model ‘in every way.' He had to teach the truth and he had to behave in the right way. This would show that he taught the truth. The false teachers said that they taught the truth. But they behaved in a bad way.
‘Be honest’ also means to be sincere. Titus had to show that his intention was good. He had to teach for the right reason. (The false teachers taught for financial profit, 1:11.) He also had to be serious. As a teacher, he had an important job. He had to be aware of his responsibility.
Verse 8
Titus had to be careful about everything that he said in public or private conversation. He had to be sensible. He always had to speak the truth. Many people opposed the Christians. People watched Titus and they listened to him. They were ready to accuse him. But Titus could show that they were wrong. If he lived in the right way, he would be innocent. They might still oppose him. But they would have to respect his good behavior. People would see that Titus was different from the false teachers. As a result, some of them would believe the good news about Jesus.
Paul's Advice About Slaves
v9 Teach slaves always to obey their masters. They should try to please their masters. They should not argue with their masters. v10 Slaves should not steal from their masters. Instead, slaves should prove that their masters can trust them. This will show that the good news about God our Saviour is attractive in every way.
Commentary
Christian slaves
Verses 9-10
Today, most people believe that people should not be slaves. But in those days, there were many slaves in society. Both men and women were slaves. Paul accepted it as part of normal life. In Colossians 3:22-4:1, Paul taught Christian masters and slaves how to behave in the right way. Both slaves and masters serve Jesus Christ. He is their master who is in heaven. So slaves are actually working for the Lord.
1. A slave must obey his master. Paul did not say whether the master was a Christian. But the slave should even obey a master who is not a Christian. However, no one should do anything that God’s law opposes (Acts 5:29). If the master is a Christian, the slave must still respect his master (1 Timothy 6:2).
2. A slave must be eager to please his master. A slave must be willing to do his duties. He should work well.
3. A slave should not argue with his master. He should respect his master. A slave should not insult his master. His master is the boss.
4. A slave must not steal. Many slaves stole some of their master’s property. They probably thought that their master would not notice. A Christian slave must not steal even the smallest thing.
5. A slave must be completely honest and loyal. A master should be able to trust his Christian slave.
In those days, people thought that slaves were useful. But people did not consider that slaves were important as people. So, Paul showed that Christian slaves had an important responsibility. They could show that the Christian good news is powerful. ‘God our Saviour’ is powerful. He can change the way that people behave. Christian slaves should behave much better than other people in their society did. Slaves who acted in the right way would make the Christian message more attractive to everyone. And more people would become Christians. Today, many countries do not allow people to be slaves. But these verses also apply to anyone who works for a boss.
Paul referred twice in this letter to God as ‘Saviour’ (2:10; 3:4) and also in his letter to Timothy (1 Timothy 2:3; 4:10). In Ephesians 2:4-5, he said that God loved people so much that he rescued them from their sin. Therefore, Christians should behave in the right way. They should be different from the false teachers, who behaved in the wrong way.
God's Grace
v11 For God’s grace, which can save everyone, has appeared. v12 God’s grace teaches us to refuse anything that opposes God. It teaches us to refuse our wicked desires for things in this world. Instead, we should control ourselves. We should do what is right. We should please God while we live in this world. v13 We should live like that while we look forward to a wonderful future event. God our Saviour, who is Jesus Christ, will appear with great glory. v14 Jesus Christ gave himself for us. He freed us from all our sin and from our wicked ways. He made us clean (forgiven) so that we could belong to him. And so, we should be eager to do what is good.
Commentary
Grace and Glory
The reason why every Christian should live a good life is because of God’s grace. ‘Grace’ means that God is kind to us (see notes on 1:4). God’s grace ‘appeared’ when Jesus came to earth. ‘Appeared’ describes the way that the sun rises at dawn. This word links with Luke 1:79. ‘God our Saviour’ (verse 10) wants to save everyone from his or her sin. But every person has to decide whether to believe and trust God.
Verse 12
God’s grace trains us in two ways. It teaches us to give up anything bad. It guides us to do good things. When someone becomes a Christian, he or she starts a new life. In Colossians 3:9-10, Paul said that a person ‘takes off’ his old character. Then he ‘puts on’ his new character, which is like Christ’s character. After that, Christians have to learn how to behave in the right way. As they understand more about God’s grace, they learn how to please God.
God’s grace teaches us to refuse the bad things:
1. People can oppose God in their behaviour, words and thoughts. They also oppose God when they neglect God and his truth.
2. Christians should not satisfy their wicked desires (1 John 2:15-16). These desires are selfish.
God’s grace teaches us to live in the right way:
1. towards ourselves. We will control all our desires. We will control how we behave.
2. towards other people. We will be fair and honest with other people.
3. towards God himself. We will behave in a way that brings honour to God. We will do only the things that please God. This right behaviour shows that a person is a true Christian.
Verse 13
Christians should always think about the future. One day, Jesus will return to this world (Acts 1:9-11; 1 Thessalonians 4:14-18; 2 Peter 3:10-13). It is like waiting for a royal visit. In the past God’s grace appeared. This happened when God sent Jesus into the world (verse 11). In the future, God’s glory will appear when Jesus returns to this world. Jesus Christ, who is both God and Saviour, will return in splendid power. It will be a magnificent event. We know that it will certainly happen. Christians will then live for ever with God. So, we should be happy as we look forward to it.
Verse 14
In John 8:34, Jesus said that everyone who sins is a slave to sin. Sin is like his master. God had to punish all sin. The punishment for sin is death (Romans 6:23). But God has not punished people, because he is very kind to them. Instead, God punished Jesus. God planned that Jesus would have to die (Acts 2:23). Jesus never sinned but he was willing to obey God’s plan. Jesus ‘gave himself for us’. This means that he died instead of us. He freed us from everything that is evil (1 Peter 1:18-19). The word ‘freed’ describes how a person bought a slave from a bad master. The slave was free from his old master. The slave then obeyed his new, good master. When Jesus died, he ‘paid’ for us with his blood (his life).
When we trust Jesus, Jesus frees us from every bad and evil thing. Jesus forgives our sins and makes us ‘clean’. Jesus is now our new master and we belong to him. So we should have a strong desire to please him. Then we will behave in the right way. Paul describes more about this in Romans 6:16-22.
Three Tasks
v15 Teach all these things. Encourage people and correct them with all authority. Make sure that everyone respects you.
Commentary
Paul urged Titus to continue what he had been doing. ‘Teach’ means to continue to speak about those things. Titus had to keep telling the Christians what God had done for them. He had to keep telling them how to behave in the right way. ‘All these things’ refers to 2:1-14.
1. He had to encourage Christians. This means that he had to be kind to them He had to help them and to urge them.
2. Titus, as a Christian leader, had authority that came from God. Some Christians believed the wrong things. They had probably listened to the false teachers. Some Christians behaved in the wrong way. Maybe some Christians still behaved in the way that they used to (1:12). Titus had to correct the people who were wrong. He had to be firm with them.
3. People had to respect Titus. He was teaching God’s message. He was behaving in the right way (1:7-9). This order may have been for the Christians who lived in Crete. Someone would have read Paul’s letter to them. Then they knew that they should respect Titus and his work. Paul gave similar orders to Timothy (1 Timothy 4:12).
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