A GUIDE FOR CHRISTIAN LEADERS TITUS _HILDA BRIGHT AND HELEN POCOCK_ ABOUT THIS LETTER WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT TITUS Titus was a *Gentile Christian (Galatians 2:3). Titus had probably become a Christian when Paul taught the good news about Jesus Christ. So Paul described Titus as his ‘true son’ (1:4... [ Continue Reading ]
‘*Eternal life’ is the life that comes from God himself. Christians already have *eternal life (John 5:24). It begins on earth. It continues in heaven after a Christian’s physical body dies. So, Christians know that they will live for ever with God. Even before the world began, God promised *eternal... [ Continue Reading ]
The ‘good news’ is the message that God gives *eternal life by means of Jesus (1 John 5:11-12). Jesus can forgive people’s *sin and forgive their wicked deeds. Then they can receive *eternal life. Paul said that ‘God, who saves us’ had told him to declare the good news. In verse 4, Paul referred to... [ Continue Reading ]
Paul calls Titus his ‘true son’. Titus probably became a Christian when he first heard Paul teach about Jesus. So, Paul felt that he was like a Christian father to Titus. However, they both belonged to same Christian family. So, God was the Father of both Paul and Titus. Paul gave the usual greetin... [ Continue Reading ]
Paul and Titus had visited Crete. The book of Acts did not record the visit. So, it probably happened after Paul had been a prisoner (Acts 28:16). Paul may have visited Crete for only a short time. He did not have enough time to complete his work. But he had told Titus what to do. Therefore, Titus h... [ Continue Reading ]
Some English Bibles translate the word ‘leader’ as ‘bishop’. But the words ‘*elder’ and ‘leader’ refer to the same job. Paul was referring to a leader in a local church. A manager is responsible for something that belongs to another person. God trusts leaders to do his work properly. All Christians... [ Continue Reading ]
Even one of their own famous speakers described the people in Crete as bad. His name was Epimenides. He was a teacher and a poet. He lived about 600 years before Jesus was born. He said that: 1 They always told lies. The common phrase ‘to speak like a person in Crete’ meant ‘to tell a lie’. 2 They... [ Continue Reading ]
Paul knew this famous phrase about the people who lived in Crete. Paul believed what Epimenides had said. Paul also knew it from his own experience, especially with the false teachers. So Titus had to deal with them firmly. They would continue to cause trouble if they did not know the truth. Paul di... [ Continue Reading ]
The ‘*Jewish false stories’ are probably the same ones that Titus 3:9 and 1 Timothy 1:4 refer to. Some *Jews had made up stories about people in the *Old Testament. Then people wasted time as they discussed these false stories. The ‘commands’ were probably traditions and rules that men had invented... [ Continue Reading ]
In this verse, the word ‘pure’ means innocent and without *sin. A pure person is good. He is not a mixture of good and evil. The *Jews said that a person should obey all the *Old Testament commands. And they said that he should obey all the *Jewish traditions. That person would then be ‘pure’ or ‘cl... [ Continue Reading ]
A person who truly knows God will behave in a good way. But the false teachers behaved in a very bad way. This showed that they did not really know God. They declared that they were pure. But they could not do anything that was good. Therefore, they were no use to God or to other people. GENTILE ~ a... [ Continue Reading ]