Titus 3

1. Remind your people to surrender and obey those in the government who have authority over them and to stay ready to offer any help that they can.

Plutarch the historian said that the Cretans were rebels because they were always fighting against the Romans.

God was using the Romans to bring order into the world, just as He used Nebuchadnezzar . Jesus did not teach us to overthrow the government, but to cause them to be curious about how we live by obeying any laws which do not conflict with the Bible. See Romans 13:1-7, 1 Timothy 2:1-2, 1 Peter 2:13.

2. Not to say evil things about another man, not getting into heated arguments but patient and considerate, showing humility.

Avoid people who like to argue about their faith. They will tell you they are earnestly contending for the faith. They will say they are speaking the truth in love. They are twisting the Scriptures.

By pride comes nothing but arguments (Proverbs 13:10).

3. We remember when we did not know the things of God and were not willing to listen, tricked by the devil into becoming slaves of lust. Our lives were spent in bitterness and greediness. Hating other people.

Proverbs 14:30, Ephesians 4:8, 1 Corinthians 6:11, 1 Timothy 1:13, 6:10

Paul is speaking of his own life:

Now Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest. Acts 9:1

4 - 5

But when the goodness and generosity of God, our Savior, became clear, He saved us in His mercy. Not because of any good thing we had done, but the washing away of our old life and a completely new life through the Holy Spirit.

Romans 12:2 shows us that God washes our mind when we turn away from the world's way of thinking.

This reminds us of the brass laver in Exodus 30:18 which shows us that we need to be clean before we approach God. John 15:3 and Ephesians 5:26 describe how God's Word washes us. 1 Corinthians 13:4, 1 Timothy 6:4

6. God generously poured out the Holy Spirit on us, through Jesus Christ our Savior.

There are some who teach that becoming born-again is not enough. They say that unless you have been baptized in the Holy Spirit and speak in tongues, then you are living without the Holy Spirit.

No one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit. 1 Corinthians 12:3

However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him. Romans 8:9

First of all, if we have confessed Christ as our Savior (Romans 10:9), we are immediately filled with the Holy Spirit. There is no way that someone could become born-again without receiving the Holy Spirit.

We do see in the Scripture that we are to be continuously filled with the Spirit (Ephesians 5:18). We are reminded in several places to ask God to fill us with more of his Spirit. Those who say that you are not a real Christian, unless you have been baptized in the Holy Spirit and speak in tongues, need to find a balance in Scripture.

Do all speak in tongues? 1 Corinthians 12:30

7. The result is that we have been declared righteous by His grace. Because of this we have confidence that we have inherited eternal life.

The Jews were taught that they would inherit everything that was promised to Abraham. The Jews did not understand that the promises came by faith and not by keeping the law. Those of us who trust God by faith are the real children of Abraham (Galatians 3:7). This means that we inherit all the promises of Abraham.

In the Bible days, the children did not think of their inheritance as something that would come after their parents died. Their idea of inheritance was that everything their parents owned already belonged to them. This is why the prodigal son said, “Give me what already belongs to me.”

Ephesians 1:14 says that God sent the Holy Spirit as a down payment of our inheritance. So when we say that we have inherited eternal life, we need to see that this is not only talking about heaven.

Eternal life is a kind of life that we can already experience while we live on the earth. When we hold ourselves back from anger, bitterness, or selfishness we are experiencing what it is like to live in eternity with God.

Do you see that selfish things will not be practiced in heaven? Try to walk and talk as if you were already in heaven and you will understand more about eternal life.

See also Romans 4:14, Romans 8:17

8. Those are words that can be trusted and nobody can argue against them. I want you to speak boldly and tell believers to help each other. This is a useful way for men to live.

Check out these other passages where Paul spoke of faithful sayings:

1 Timothy 1:15, 4:9, 2 Timothy 2:11, James 2:17-26

9. But stay away from stupid arguments, and tracing of ancestors and opinions about the law of Moses because they are a waste of time.

The Jews use their family genealogy to prove which tribe they were descended from. The Romans destroyed Jerusalem in 71 A.D. and wiped out all temple records. We can trace the prophecies about the genealogy of Jesus to prove that He is the Messiah. A false messiah would not be able to trace his family history because there are no longer any records. Rom. 14:5,22, 1 Timothy 1:4-6, 4:3

10. If a man is still wants to continue pushing people into arguments after a first and then a second warning, you should separate yourself from him.

A forgotten teaching is found in Matthew 18:17. No matter how bad we think someone is, we are told to first speak to them privately about it. If he rejects the first meeting and then refuses to listen to the leadership of the church, we are to separate ourselves from him. This does mean that we hate him (Jesus said to pray for your enemies) but that we continue to show love and forgiveness to him, as we would to anyone else.

Do not forget that Paul said there was a man who was disciplined by the Corinthian church who needed to be allowed back into fellowship so that he would not be punished more than he was able to handle. 2 Corinthians 2:6-8.

One of the reasons we do not allow angry people to spread their poison is found in Proverbs 22:24.

11. You can be sure that he has twisted himself away from what he knows is right, and he knows he is guilty.

They show the work of the Law written in their hearts, their conscience witnessing against them, and their thoughts go back and forth accusing and then defending them. Romans 2:15

The devil uses many ideas that are half true. Some psychologists use a half-truth to change the world of counseling. They say that some people have mental problems because they have gone against what they were taught to be correct. So then, people who have done something that they think is wrong will experience mental sickness.

The half-truth here is that people can open the door to mental issues when they break God's rules which show us how to live.

The so-called experts in science and counseling have completely convinced the world that Bible-based counseling is dangerous. They demand that counseling should only be done by so-called experts who believe we evolved from monkeys and react to life as animals.

The full truth is that mental sickness often comes from a spiritual battle which a person does not know how to handle.

The Bible teaches us that there are lying, demonic spirits who make evil suggestions to our minds. We must take control of these evil thoughts or they will gain more control over us.

See 1 Timothy 4:1, 2 Corinthians 10:5.

There are three types of thoughts:

Our thoughts – what to eat today

Demonic thoughts – suicide, stealing, lusting

God's thoughts – God's Word

We will have control over what we think when we take back any territory (a location or place to stand) we have allowed the enemy to control. Ephesians 4:27

12. When I send Artemis or Tychicus to you, do your best to meet me at Nicopolis because I have decided to spend the winter there.

Paul was deciding which of these men to send so they could take over the ministry in place of Titus.

Nicopolis was about halfway between Crete and Macedonia, where Paul was writing from. Paul is saying, “Let us meet halfway.”

Some teachers believe that verses 12-15 were written in Paul's own hand as a side note. 2 Timothy 4:10-12

13. Do your best to help Zenas the lawyer and Apollos on their journey so that they have whatever they need.

Zenas and Apollos delivered this letter to Titus. Acts 18:24, 1 Corinthians 1:12

14. Let our people help others, especially those who have an emergency, so that they will show the world what the real Christian way of life looks like.

One of the secrets of living this way is found in Proverbs 11:25, “ Those who refresh others will be refreshed.”

Those who have found this secret have a deep joy when they have the privilege of helping someone else. Those who do not know what we are talking about have no idea about this kind of joy.

15. All the ones who are here with me want to say, “Hello to you!” Please say, “Hello” to everyone who loves us in the faith. Grace be with all of you.

Notice how Paul makes his team feel included.