Titus Introduction

Titus 1:1-3

What happens when different ethical and moral standards collide? In college, I lived in a fraternity house. Now, most of the guys in my fraternity were good guys at heart, and many of them have gone on to be productive members of society, but there was a general ethos of fraternity life that was stuck somewhere between brotherhood and Animal House. A lot closer to Animal House than most would like to admit.

The ethos that was celebrated was, to put it frankly, sinful through and through. It wasn’t always easy to live in the fraternity as a Christian.

The island of Crete had its own ethos as well. Crete is an island in the Mediterranean Sea. They were a fiercely independent people, and were one of the last strongholds to resist Roman domination and occupation, finally becoming a Roman province around 70 BC. They were a sea-trading people and a famed haven of pirates. The Cretans believed their race had emerged from the earth, that they were the original Greeks. They contested the historicity of the Greek gods, saying they were but men and women of Crete elevated to deity because they were so benevolent to humanity. Crete, then, was the birthplace of most of the Greek gods, especially Zeus, the “man became god”, who was also said to be buried in Crete.

I don’t know what you know about Zeus, but I don’t know much. But John Chrysostom, Archbishop of Constantinople and one of the most influential Church Fathers, preserved a fragment of the Greek historian Diodorus’ writings about Crete, and identified Zeus as the king Picus, who was a well-known womanizer (and had many children to prove it). He apparently assumed godlike qualities to seduce women, and for this reason some people thought he actually was godlike. His grave bore the epitaph: Here lies Picus, whom men also call Zeus. Diodorus tells the story of Zeus assuming the form of the husband of a woman he is unsuccessfully trying to seduce. Because of his failure, Zeus resorts to deception.

Now, if your god is a deceiver, it stands to reason that you’re probably going to live that out as well. And by reputation, Cretans were exactly that. They were a deceitful, self-indulgent, belligerent, wild, immoral society. In fact, the term “kretizo” was coined to mean lying, and a “Cretan point of view” meant deception.

Into that situation comes the Christian message; in Acts 2, Luke includes Cretans in his list of peoples who heard the Gospel proclaimed in their own languages on the day of Pentecost. Crete was included in the list of “God fearing Jews from every nation under heaven.” (Acts 2:5). The unfortunate thing, as is often the case, was that the Gospel didn’t transform the people of Crete – they just added the message to what they already had, creating a Frankenstein monster of spirituality.

Paul’s friend Titus has been tasked with getting the church in Crete back on task, helping them be transformed into the people God had called them to be. We will get to Titus and his qualifications next week, but now that we have some background to the book of Titus, we can jump in. Paul doesn’t waste words; they’re all important. He doesn’t just throw down a ‘sup when it comes to greeting; he always tips his hand to what he is going to include in his letter.

Paul, a servant of God.

As usual, Paul introduces himself with his qualifications. The word “servant” here does not mean what we mean when we say “servant”. Doulos always means slave. We get easily offended at the term slave, and rightly so, because God created us for freedom, but called himself “slave” here on purpose. In Paul’s Jewish and Greco-Roman culture, a slave was the property of a master and had limited rights. Therefore the slave lived in servitude and submission to the master. A slave not only obeyed without hesitation, but also completely depended on the master for subsistence and protection.

This is important as Paul makes his identity known, to Titus and to the church in Crete. He is completely obedient to God and God only. The words he says are not his own; a slave is not afforded the right to speak his mind. He is speaking (or writing, as the case may be) God’s words to Titus.

Let’s continue with Paul’s self-description: an apostle of Jesus Christ. In calling himself this, Paul is recognizing Jesus’ unique call in his life, for the term apostle denotes one sent forth. Paul, then, is sent forth by Jesus Christ, for Jesus’ purpose: for the faith of God’s elect and the knowledge of the truth that leads to godliness. (Titus 1:1)

Jesus’ first purpose for calling Paul was for the faith of God’s elect. Paul, under the direction of God, sent by Jesus, is writing to Titus to uplift the faith of God’s elect. God’s elect are simply the people of God. The Old Testament concept was that the people of Israel were God’s chosen people, called out by God for God’s purposes. They were blessed to be a blessing to the world. In the New Testament, Jesus opened up this blessing to “the world” and Paul was an apostle to the Gentiles, opening up God’s Kingdom, and thus extending God’s election, to Gentiles as well. Election here does not refer to everyone who will come to faith in the future; it refers to those who have already done so.

Meaning the letter to Titus was to encourage Titus as he empowered, encouraged, and uplifted the church in Crete. This isn’t a letter to non-Christians.

Jesus’ second purpose for Paul was for the knowledge of the truth that leads to godliness. Notice that Paul hasn’t even finished his introduction, and he is already stirring things up. The culture actually valued deceit, but Paul is clear that it’s the knowledge of truth that leads to godliness, for, unlike the people of Crete, we worship a God who does not lie.    

There are a lot of American Christians today who are more like Paul and Titus’ audience than we’d like to admit. I found online a Powerpoint game called “The Bible or Ben Franklin” in which you had to determine if a quote was from Ben Franklin or from the Bible (note: the game is no longer on the website; if you'd like to see it, let me know and I can e-mail it to you). Here are some of the quotes:“Be in general virtuous, and you will be happy.” How about this good one: “Whatever is begun in anger ends in shame.” This is probably the most quoted one of the lot: “God helps them that help themselves.”

Like the people of Crete, we have mixed elements of our own culture into the Gospel to the point where the Gospel doesn’t look like the Gospel anymore. Our culture has long prized a strong work ethic, so even though we know that God’s grace is free, we try to add work to it. Our general ethos is as long as I outweigh my bad deeds with equal or more good deeds, I’ve worked my way to being “OK” or “good enough.” This is not truth, and it doesn’t lead to godliness! Being helpless in sin and realizing the magnitude of the grace of God through the personal sacrifice of Jesus Christ – that leads to gratitude and thanksgiving… and transformation. The Gospel, the Good News, which is news of Jesus life, death, resurrection, and return, is Truth, and that Truth leads to godliness.

Our culture loves a health and wealth, name-it-and-claim-it gospel, one in which our comfort and happiness are the end goal of everything, but Jesus never claims the Christian life is easy. Comfort and happiness don’t necessarily lead to godliness. We often get very mixed up about what’s the American Dream and what’s Biblical Christianity. Jesus tells us that following him is filled with suffering and self-denial.

In contrast to our cultural values, many of which were originally based on Judeo-Christian values and upon the Puritan work ethic, Jesus’ calling on and sending of Paul were based on true faith and biblical knowledge, which both rest on the hope of eternal life, which God, who does not lie, promised before the beginning of time, and at his appointed season he brought his word to light through the preaching entrusted to me by the command of God our Savior. (Titus 1:2-3)

Everything rests on the hope of eternal life promised by God (a God who does not lie). Again, this is an obvious contrast with the Cretan image of their gods, but it goes deeper than this. Paul is reminding his listener of the covenant God made with humanity. God gave his covenant to us, basing it on his character. The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands and forgiving wickedness, rebellion, and sin. (Exodus 34:6-7a).

If your god lies, even if your god simply has the ability to lie, then what basis might we have to trust in that god for the present or the future? It drives me nuts to see young women going after the guy who has already cheated on her. “But he loves me!” What has he done to win your trust back? Did he just come crawling back to you when he got tired of the other woman? That’s not the basis to trust him! Or the people who think that money is their savior – money is a liar.

But Paul is saying that our God is trustworthy, from the beginning of time, and at his appointed season he brought his Word through Paul.

God’s timing is always perfect. God doesn’t say, “whoops, I guess I was a day late and a dollar short this time. My bad.” God has perfect timing, and Paul is claiming God’s perfect timing. God still has perfect timing, and when God is telling you to share Him, that’s His timing. Did you notice that Paul didn’t claim God’s “suggestion” here? It’s God’s command.

One of the problems of the American church is that often we have mistaken our preferences for God’s commands. Instead of focusing on God’s mission and purpose for us, we focus on our personal preferences. We have created the term “church shopping” – meaning we look for a church that caters to our wants and needs.

Here’s a little video to illustrate what I’m talking about. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cGEmlPjgjVI&feature=related

Paul’s message to Titus and the Church in Crete is important, because it is rooted in the hope of eternal life. It is not rooted in selfish desires. It is not rooted in personal ambition or preference. It is rooted in the character of God.

Is that where our root is?

Next week we will continue by looking at Titus and Paul’s initial instructions for leaders in the church.