Sermon Notes

3 Remind them to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work, 2 to speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show every courtesy to everyone. 3 For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, despicable, hating one another. 4 But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, 5 he saved us, not because of any works of righteousness that we had done, but according to his mercy, through the water[a] of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit. 6 This Spirit he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. 8 The saying is sure. I desire that you insist on these things, so that those who have come to believe in God may be careful to devote themselves to good works; these things are excellent and profitable to everyone. 9 But avoid stupid controversies, genealogies, dissensions, and quarrels about the law, for they are unprofitable and worthless. 10 After a first and second admonition, have nothing more to do with anyone who causes divisions, 11 since you know that such a person is perverted and sinful, being self-condemned.
(New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition, NRSVue)
3 1-2 Remind the people to respect the government and be law-abiding, always ready to lend a helping hand. No insults, no fights. God’s people should be bighearted and courteous. 3-8a It wasn’t so long ago that we ourselves were stupid and stubborn, easy marks for sin, ordered every which way by our glands, going around with a chip on our shoulder, hated and hating back. But when God, our kind and loving Savior God, stepped in, he saved us from all that. It was all his doing; we had nothing to do with it. He gave us a good bath, and we came out of it new people, washed inside and out by the Holy Spirit. Our Savior Jesus poured out new life so generously. God’s gift has restored our relationship with him and given us back our lives. And there’s more life to come—an eternity of life! You can count on this. 8b-11 I want you to put your foot down. Take a firm stand on these matters so that those who have put their trust in God will concentrate on the essentials that are good for everyone. Stay away from mindless, pointless quarreling over genealogies and fine print in the law code. That gets you nowhere. Warn a quarrelsome person once or twice, but then be done with him. It’s obvious that such a person is out of line, rebellious against God. By persisting in divisiveness he cuts himself off. (The Message, MSG)

Paul’s Letter to Titus refers to one of Paul’s close co-ministers in the Gospel ministry and a Greek (Gentile) Christian who is mentioned in several of Paul’s undisputed letters. Titus attended the Jerusalem apostolic conference with Paul (Galatians 2:3); assisted with the collection for the poor in Corinth (2 Corinthians 8:6-23), and served as mediator between Paul and members within the Corinthain Church after a painful dispute (2 Corinthians 2:13; 7:6-16).
Along with the other Pastoral Letters (1 Timothy and 2 Timothy), Titus is one of the disputed Pauline writings (the undisputed Pauline letters are Romans, 1-2 Corinthians, Galatians, Philippians, and Philemon). Most scholars believe Titus is a pseudonymous work encourage written in Paul’s name, after Paul’s death, by one of Paul’s students from 80-150 CE. The “Paul” of Titus writes to encourage a “true child in the faith” as he provides leadership for Christian churches which are spread across the island of Crete. According to the author, Titus was left behind in Crete so he could, “put in order what remained to be done and appoint elders in every town,” (Titus 1:5; NRSVue).
Because Titus is not an occasional letter—a pastoral letter written to a specific church, addressing a specific church concern—we do not have a specific historical context from which to discern the specific reason for its writing. However, the letter is theologically similar to the other Pastoral Epistles and several themes recur. First, the gospel of Jesus Christ is called the “faith” (1 Timothy 1:19; 2 Timothy 3:8; Titus 1:13). Second, Christians are encouraged to know “the truth” of the gospel as the basis for properly exhibiting faith (1 Timothy 2:4 and 4:3; 2 Timothy 2:25 and 3:7; Titus 1:1). Third, Christian ethics is often presented within Greco-Roman hierarchical, patriarchal, and civic norms (people are encouraged to obey their rulers). Fourth, salvation is considered both a present and future reality. Both God and Jesus are called “savior.”
In this week’s lesson, the theme of submitting to governmental authorities mimics the ideas of Christian ethical norms discussed in 1 Timothy 2:1–4, where that Pauline writer seeks to ensure that Christianity is acceptable to Roman imperial authority. Likewise, the “Paul” of Titus encourages Cretan Christians to be model Roman citizens by submitting themselves to Roman authority so the Christian faith will not draw unwelcome attention.

1-2 Remind the people to respect the government and be law-abiding, always ready to lend a helping hand. No insults, no fights. God’s people should be bighearted and courteous.
In the opening verses of the lesson text, the Pauline writer utilizes the Greco-Roman literary form of a father’s letter to a son to tell Titus to remind the Cretan churches to abide by civic regulations and good “household management.” While the author does not specify reasons for adhering to Roman law, it is logical to assume that this behavior would establish Christians as trustworthy citizens in the eyes of Rome. Because many Christians refused to worship the Roman emperor—this was considered to be idolatry because they only affirmed Jesus as “Lord” and “Savior”—they needed to demonstrate their allegiance to Rome in other ways. Obeying Roman laws and Roman elected officials demonstrated their civic duty.
Further, it is likely that the rulers to which the Pauline writer asks the Cretan Christians to submit to were not Christians. It would be difficult for the Cretans navigate submission to municipal and imperial authorities while other aspects of Greco-Roman culture. Christians today often struggle with the same tension, because governments and prevailing cultures are often oppositional to Christian values. Like the Christians in Crete, contemporary Christian must live in a way that represents Christ even as we adhere to local, state, and federal laws.
3-8a It wasn’t so long ago that we ourselves were stupid and stubborn, easy marks for sin, ordered every which way by our glands, going around with a chip on our shoulder, hated and hating back. But when God, our kind and loving Savior God, stepped in, he saved us from all that. It was all his doing; we had nothing to do with it. He gave us a good bath, and we came out of it new people, washed inside and out by the Holy Spirit. Our Savior Jesus poured out new life so generously. God’s gift has restored our relationship with him and given us back our lives. And there’s more life to come—an eternity of life! You can count on this.
In verse 3, the Pauline writer reminds Titus that Christians are people who exist within Christian community and the wider culture in which we live. Our actions and behavior affects everyone that we come in contact with. Paul reminds us of what we were before God stepped in to save us through Jesus Christ. We were driven by our physical appetites, bad attitudes, selfish and self-serving motives, arrogant and aggressive tendencies, vengeful and hateful mindsets. But, God intervened. Without a doubt, the writer sets his case with some amount of hyperbole. However, the writer’s point is that early Christians likely perceived their lives before Christ as foolishness; tossing from whim to whim; embroiled in the covetous, greedy, materialistic lifestyle of the wider society. Paul says should draw in our previous lived experience before we were in Christ, as a permanent reminder of how Jesus transformed our lives. Then, those who have not yet accepted Jesus as Savior, may see the benefit and blessing of submitted to Jesus as their Lord.
In verses 4-8a the Pauline writer incorporates an early Christian liturgical formula to explain how God and Jesus collectively provide salvation for humanity. The liturgical formula ends with the words “The saying is sure“ (NRSVue), or “You can count on this,” (MSG) which is echoed in the other Pauline Epistles (1 Timoty 1:15; 3:1; 4:9; 2 Timothy 2:11; 3:5–6). This the original Greek, the writer uses one lengthy sentence to illumines a singular theological idea that has several parts. The key phrase is “God our Saviour appeared (epiphaino in Greek), He saved us.” Everything prior to that phrase builds toward that phrase, and everything that follows explains how God’s appearance saved us.
• While God’s appearance is incarnational (in the sense of John 3:16 and John 1:14), here the Pauline writer speaks of the impact of Divine saving grace—wholly by Divine initiative and not our works—appearing to the whole world for the salvation of the whole world.
• God’s appearing is compassionate, in the vein of the Hebrew word, chesed which is often translated lovingkindness—although chesed actually means womb love, as in the case of a pregnant mother with her child. Because God is compassionate with chesed, God acts to save us.
• God’s appearing restores us to a place of wholeness—actually cleansing us from our sins—as God acts to save us.
• God appearing is a God-initiated activity. Therefore, God is singularly responsible for the salvation that we experience—God alone acts to save us.
The Paul of Titus wants Christians to understand that Christian moral, or ethical behavior, is a result of salvation not the cause of it.
We get the full force of this in Romans 3:23-27 perhaps best illumines the depth of humanity’s sin and the depth of Divine mercy. Paul states that” all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.” We can only be justified—or made right—by the gift of God’s grace and the gift of Jesus’s crucifixion on the cross. Just as we could never fully repay a person who left us an inheritance of unimaginable wealth, neither can we repay God for the gift of salvation. However, we can be faithful to the God who gives us salvation by being grateful for Jesus Christ and living in accord with God’s will.
8b-11 I want you to put your foot down. Take a firm stand on these matters so that those who have put their trust in God will concentrate on the essentials that are good for everyone. Stay away from mindless, pointless quarreling over genealogies and fine print in the law code. That gets you nowhere. Warn a quarrelsome person once or twice, but then be done with him. It’s obvious that such a person is out of line, rebellious against God. By persisting in divisiveness he cuts himself off.
In the final verses of the lesson text, Paul tells Titus what he should avoid:
• Mindless, pointless quarreling. Bickering over certain issues is poisonous to the Christian life. For example, the Jewish Rabbis had spent much time building up imaginary genealogies over characters of ancient Hebrew history that were wholly unrelated to Scripture. These arguments are unprofitable and worthless.
• People who insist on stirring up division. In fact, Titus is to warn them twice, then have nothing to do with them. False teachers, agitators, and such are not to be given a platform or undue attention in the Church. Their own conduct condemns them. Titus is told in no uncertain terms not to have any association with someone who tries to cause divisions within the church. They are a heretical person who must be disciplined. In fact, the Pauline writer says people who persist in causing confusion should be cut-off because they clearly do not want to yield to the Spirit. They condemn themselves.
Even today, false teachers and troublemakers cause problems within Churches. Church leaders must carefully and courageously correct false teaching. And, at times, they must make a point of having nothing to do with false teachers, or people who would divide the body of Christ.
Ultimately, the Pauline writer of Titus is concerned with how the Church’s witness will fare in an unfriendly world. We live in a culture that exalts evil and rejects God. There is an increasingly militant mood against those of us who hold to God’s love and service ethic. How should we respond? The Pauline writer’s answer is that we must live godly lives in this evil world. We must excel in good works that display God’s grace through us. The changed lives of believers and visible works of Christians will provide the platform for verbal witness that points others to God’s grace in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. God’s grace transformed us, and it can transform others.

i. Clarice J. Martin, “Colossians,” in Brian Blount et. al., True To Our Native Land: An African American New Testament Commentary Second Edition (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2024), 456.
ii. T. Christopher Hoklotubbe, “Titus” in The Westminster Study Bible: New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition with the Deuterocanonical/Apocryphal Books (Louisville, Westminster John Know Press, Kindle Edition), p. 5244