Introduction To The Epistle Of Paul The Apostle To 

TITUS

“This is the third of Paul’s “Pastoral Epistles.”  The two letters to Timothy and this letter to Titus were pastoral letters written to pastors, to instruct them concerning the conduct of the church and the ministers.  We don’t know much about Titus.  He isn’t mentioned in the Book of Acts.  We know that he traveled with Paul and that Paul used him to deliver the second letter to the Corinthians and that he was also the one who collected money for the needy church in Jerusalem [during a famine].  One of the first outreaches of Paul was to the island of Crete; and Paul eventually sent Titus there to help get the church established.  As Paul was writing this letter to Titus, Paul was probably in Macedonia, while Titus was in Crete.  It is thought that this letter was written about A.D. 62, probably at about the same time Paul wrote his first letter to Timothy.  In Titus 1:5, Paul says that he left Titus in Crete so that he could “set in order the things that are lacking, and appoint elders in every city.”  So the emphasis of this book is the orderliness and organization of the church and the qualifications of the leaders of the church.  He also exhorted the church to live a life of grace and to demonstrate it by their good works.  As he described the qualifications for church leaders, Paul reminded Titus that the proper perspective of any church leader is “looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ” (Titus 2:13).  Besides being one of the strongest declarations of the deity of Jesus Christ in the New Testament, this verse also reminds us to keep our eye on the sky, waiting for the Rapture of the church and living our lives knowing that Jesus could come back at any time.  Paul really packed some precious jewels into this short book, and it should be read often by every Christian and especially by every church leader or pastor.”  [The Word For Today Bible, New King James Version, p. 1602, opening comment on the Book of Titus by the late Pastor Chuck Smith]