Titus 3:1-15
1 Put them in mind to be subject to principalities and powers, to obey magistrates, to be ready to every good work,
2 To speak evil of no man, to be no brawlers, but gentle, shewing all meekness unto all men.
3 For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another.
4 But after that the kindness and lovea of God our Saviour toward man appeared,
5 Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;
6 Which he shed on us abundantlyb through Jesus Christ our Saviour;
7 That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
8 This is a faithful saying, and these things I will that thou affirm constantly, that they which have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable unto men.
9 But avoid foolish questions, and genealogies, and contentions, and strivings about the law; for they are unprofitable and vain.
10 A man that is an heretick after the first and second admonition reject;
11 Knowing that he that is such is subverted, and sinneth, being condemned of himself.
12 When I shall send Artemas unto thee, or Tychicus, be diligent to come unto me to Nicopolis: for I have determined there to winter.
13 Bring Zenas the lawyer and Apollos on their journey diligently, that nothing be wanting unto them.
14 And let ours also learn to maintainc good works for necessary uses, that they be not unfruitful.
15 All that are with me salute thee. Greet them that love us in the faith. Grace be with you all. Amen. [It was written to Titus, ordained the first bishop of the church of the Cretians, from Nicopolis of Macedonia.]
14 The ransom of Christ has a present power. Lawlessness is that basic conception of sin in which it is viewed as a departure from the normal and natural course of things. The ransom Of Christ will eventually restore us into that ideal condition which conformity to the laws of the universe produces. At present this takes the form of zeal for good deeds.
1 The place of the believer is one of subjection in this eon. It is not our time to reign (1Co_4:8). That will come in the next eon. The path of the saints is not at all aggressive. It is not for them to redress wrongs, but to yield to injustice, not to speak evil of others even if they justly deserve it, not to stir up trouble, but to be pacific, making allowance for the failure of others, meekly enduring what would naturally inflame our indignation.
3 The emphatic we, repeated in the fifth verse, suggests that the apostle is now referring to himself as one of the Circumcision-those who, indeed, ought to have kept the law and who thought that their salvation depended on their righteousness, but who needed to be regenerated and renewed by the holy Spirit, as the Lord taught Nicodemus (Joh_3:5), according to His mercy.
5 The Septuagint uses this word loutron twice for a bath in the (Son_4:2; Son_6:6), but renders laver by another form, louter, in all of its occurrences. Hence it is evident that here it is not the instrument which contained the water, but the element itself which is a figure of renascence. Though literally regeneration, the word is always used in a much looser sense of any renewal, much like our word renascence.
9 It would seem that by far the largest share of the difficulties of the early ecclesias was introduced by the Circumcision-the very ones who ought to have been a help instead of a hindrance. The record of the book of Acts is full of their opposition to the evangel and they were directly responsible for Paul's imprisonment in Rome. Pharisees who believed were the source of continual turmoil. They could not clear themselves of the trammels of Judaism. They could not rise to the new revelation vouchsafed to Paul. With their genealogies, and circumcision, and contentions about the law, they were continually drawing the saints from the ground of grace and faith down to law and works. Finally the apostle put a stop to the discussion of these subjects.
10 Though this is the Greek hairetikon, it does not refer to a heretic, but one who belongs to a sect. It is applied to the Sadducees (Act_5:17), the Pharisees (Act_15:5; Act_26:5), and the Nazarenes (Act_2:45). These could not all be called heretics. Sectarianism is essentially preferring to associate with a class or clique. The Circumcisionists would readily prefer their kind.
12 Tychicus was later sent to Ephesus (2Ti_4:12). As he delivered the letter to the Ephesians (Eph_6:21), it appears that this letter to Titus was written some time before the Perfection epistles. Titus seems to have gone to Nicopolis, but Paul remained in Rome.