Titus 1:1-4

“This letter is from Paul, a slave of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ. I have been sent to proclaim faith to those God has chosen and to teach them to know the truth that shows them how to live godly lives. This truth gives them confidence that they have eternal life, which God—who does not lie—promised them before the world began. And now at just the right time he has revealed this message, which we announce to everyone. It is by the command of God our Savior that I have been entrusted with this work for him. I am writing to Titus, my true son in the faith that we share. May God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior give you grace and peace.”

We are going to start a brand new series in the book of Titus entitled “Firm Foundations.” This short book is often forgotten in the shadows of Scripture because of its small size. But this section of Scripture is especially relevant to our lives today because we are in desperate need of a firm foundation on which to stand. If we don’t start standing on scripture we will get swallowed up in the sinking sands of secular thinking. Our goal is to mine the treasures of Titus so that as verse 17 says, we will be “Thoroughly equipped for every good work.” Now the name of the book introduces us to the original recipient of this letter, a man named Titus who was:

A convert of Paul. We see this in Titus 1:4: “…my true son.” Paul also discipled and mentored this man in the faith. We’ll be talking more about mentoring when we get to chapter two.

A companion of Paul. Titus went with Paul to the Jerusalem council to argue that Gentile converts did not have to keep the Law (Acts 15). In 2 Corinthians 8:23, Paul refers to him as “…my partner and fellow worker among you.”

A man of conviction. Galatians 2:3-5 gives us some detail: “Yet not even Titus, who was with me, was compelled to be circumcised, even though he was a Greek…We did not give in to them for a moment, so that the truth of the gospel might remain with you.”

A comfort to Paul in 2 Corinthians 7:6: “But God, who comforts the downcast, comforted us by the coming of Titus.”

A confidant of Paul. He was entrusted with collecting an offering from the Corinthians in 2 Corinthians 8:6: “So we urged Titus, since he had earlier made a beginning, to bring also to completion this act of grace on your part.”

He has a caring heart. We see this in 2 Corinthians 8:16: “I thank God, who put into the heart of Titus the same concern I have for you.”

As Paul looked at Titus he saw in him not just the ability to be a good troubleshooter but to be a teacher of Truth. As they traveled together, they stopped to minister on the island of Crete, and when it was time for Paul to go, he left Titus behind to “complete the work, and straighten out what was left unfinished” (Titus 1:5). Titus had a tough task, Crete is an island located southeast of Greece in the Mediterranean Sea. This Roman province had a hundred cities, many of which were heavily populated and very independent. To be known as a Cretan was not a good thing. The poet Epimenades, whom Paul quotes in Titus 1:12, referred to these people as “always liars, evil brutes, lazy gluttons.” It is believed that the Philistines, the arch enemies of Israel throughout the Old Testament, came from the island of Crete. Cretans were steeped in pagan superstition and false religion. Do you ever feel like our culture is controlled by “Cretans”? Or that your co-workers are from Crete. Or maybe you have a couple of Cretans cousins hanging from one of the branches in your family tree. Or here is a scary thought you might be a Cretan! The challenge for us, as it was for young Titus, is to stand for the truth so that we won’t fall for and fill ourselves up with trash.

As we look at the first four verses which lay the groundwork for the rest of the letterva principle arises: Ministry is messy. Proverbs 14:4: “Where no oxen are, the manger is clean.” If we’re going to reach out to those in Crete we are going to have to deal with the dung. The challenge for the church today is that we want to preach we just don’t want to deal with the problems. But theology isn’t theory it has to be put into practice. We have to get serious and stop kidding ourselves into believing that service is sterile, the truth is service stinks. And if we are going to care for Cretans we are going to have to get uncomfortable and come to grips with the fact that the ox is going to messes up the manger. Today as we start this new series we need to recognize that in order to impact our world and saturate them with truth we need to stand on scripture.  It’s not enough just to take time for truth you have to trust in that truth.