Titus 1:1-9

Titus 1:1-9

Paul begins this short letter with a 4-verse introduction. This is a rather long introduction compared to his other letters, and in terms of percentage, it is his longest salutation. Paul has not directly had a challenge to his authority among the Cretan churches. And he wants to make sure folks do not mistakenly believe that he is just one more guy offering a non-binding opinion. Paul identifies himself as a bondservant or slave. Rather than the automatic negative reaction we have to the term slave, we need to remember the historic context. In that time, it was considered honorable to be a slave of a great person. Such a slave could act in and out of the master's power and authority. The reason Paul goes to great lengths in the salutation about authority is because he is going to be addressing issues of leadership and conduct. These issues need to be settled based on authority and not on opinion or on attempts to control people and situations. One interesting cultural note in verse 2 is that Paul quotes “God, who cannot lie.” In Cretan culture, lying was considered acceptable. This was because the chief pagan god Zeus was noted for being a liar. And we know that people become like the god(s) they worship.

Beginning in verse 5, Paul describes and expounds on the character of a godly leader for the church. It is Titus's job to appoint leaders, and the idea of a democratic election is not found here or anywhere else in the scriptures. The character of these men is critical because a church will never grow beyond its leaders. The impact and depth of a church's ministry, more than anything else, reflects the leadership of that congregation. Here Paul gives 17 characteristics of a leader in three general areas: social or domestic character (verse 6), personal character (verses 7-8), and doctrinal character (verse 9). In chapter 2, Paul will begin to teach about the character and conduct of the church as a whole, but before that, he will talk about the character and conduct of the leaders of the church. If the leaders are not of the highest character, there is little chance that the flock will grow up with very high character. Behavior matters for the church, especially that of the leaders.

While we can't go into detail about the character of the elders, we can sum it up with three statements that may help us understand what to look for in leaders. Domestic: “I want to be married to a person like that.” Personal: “I would like to be financially committed in business to a person like that.” Doctrinal: “I would like to learn from a person like that.”

“Lord, bless the church with leaders of the highest character, and help me to grow into that as well.  AMEN”