Titus 1:1-4

The following series of posts are the notes I used for a sermon series on the letter to Titus last Summer. I typically use a bare bones outline that helps me recall the direction I want to go without being encumbered by several pages and several lines of writings.

God Cannot lie  

Titus 1:1-4

What do you want to be when you grow up?

What does Titus focus on?

• Church leadership, False teachers, All age groups instructions on doing good, Holy living.

Who is Titus? (V.s 4)

• Though Paul said he tried to be everything to everyone, even he knew it was impossible to be everywhere.  Titus seemed to be trusted co-laborer of Paul’s.
• Titus is not mentioned in the book of Acts, the history of the Church, rather references are found in Galatians, 2 Cor. 2 Tim. and Titus.  We find in these references that he was Greek by birth, accompanied Paul and Barnabas to Jerusalem, twice served as Paul’s ambassador, served as church leader in Crete, may have wintered with Paul in Nicopolis, and went to Dalmatia, with Paul’s direction.
• Timothy and Titus – inexperience and experience.

Why is this letter important?  Paul wanted the people of island of Crete to be taught:

Faith, Truth, & Hope – in Jesus Christ. (vs. 1-2)

• Faith of God’s elect – is trust in God’s chosen way of salvation. – later explained (ch. 3).  Who is God’s elect? Everyone who believes. With Paul’s focus later in the chapter on the Jews, he is focusing on the notion that many argued only Jews could be saved.
• Knowledge of the Truth –  Faith is not just a matter of the heart but also the mind.  You cannot ride a wave of emotion forever. Knowledge leads to godliness, or life transformation for us.
• Hope of eternal life – Our hope is not vague, it’s rests on the trustworthiness of God.  We must know and trust it because God cannot lie and promised it before the world began. In Greek mythology, the gods lied all the time.  Not ours.

God’s Person (vs. 3)

• God promised salvation before time, and when the time was right, revealed it through Jesus Christ, and is preached until this time.
• Preaching: When any preacher or teacher stands before a congregation, he or she holds a trust from God.  Those who communicate God’s message must never lose their sense of wonder over this sacred responsibility.  
  • If every preacher, teacher, and leader adopted Paul’s instructions to Titus as the purpose of his or her ministry, what a difference it would make for the Church.  When we make it our goal to build stronger faith in the hearts of our people, increase their knowledge of the truth, and instill the hope of eternal life within them, the church will thrive!