Titus: Introduction

Titus is mentioned a number of times in the New Testament (2 Cor. 2:13; 7:6, 13-14; 8:6, 16, 23; 12:18; Gal. 2:1, 3; 2Tim 4:10).
Paul calls him his true son in their common faith, meaning that he’s Paul’s spiritual son, just like Timothy (1Tim 1:2) and Onesimus (Phm 10). All three were converted through Paul’s ministry.

Titus might have converted during Paul’s ministry of Acts 11:25-26, but since he is never mentioned in Acts, it’s hard to know for sure. He was certainly a Christian by the time of the Jerusalem council (Acts 15) since Paul took him to the council as an example of a Greek convert who needed not to be circumcised to attain salvation.

Paul trusted Titus enough to assign him important tasks, particularly missions to Corinth and his assignment in Crete (the subject of the epistle).

Titus was not an apostle. Any authority he had was given by Paul. He could be viewed as Paul’s pastoral assistant and special apostolic representative. At the time of this letter Titus was in Crete, trying to address unfinished business from the time the churches there were first established. The conditions were not good as evidenced by the people’s low moral standards and the existence of false teachers.

The letter is commonly dated in the early 60’s AD. Since there is no reference to the persecution of Christians by Nero in 64, the letter was probably written after Paul’s house arrest (Acts 28) but before 64.

One should always read the entire work straight through before examining it more closely. Reading the letter reveals this brief outline:
1)Salutation (1:1-4)
2)Qualifications for elders (1:5-9)
3) Warnings regarding false teachers (1:10-16)
4) Instructions for teaching different groups in the Church (2:1-10)
5)Teaching about God’s grace and salvation (2:11-15)
6) Teaching regarding a believer’s obligation as a citizen of the state (3:1-2)
7)Reasons for living good lives based on God’s love (3:3-8)
8)Instructions on dealing with spiritual error (3:9-11)
9) Final instructions and greetings (3:9-11)