Summary of Paul's Letter to Titus
I. Introduction.
A. Greeting (1:1-4).
1. Written by Paul (1:1).
a. Paul was God's slave, but sent by Jesus (1:1).
b. The elect are chosen by faith and a knowledge of truth
(1:1).
c. The doctrine is consistent with a proper fear of God
(godliness) in contrast to false teaching (1:1).
2. Fearing God and keeping his commandments, which is
godliness, brings hope of eternal life (1:2).
a. God cannot lie, therefore the promised reward is sure
(1:2).
b. Eternal life in Christ was promised from before eternity
(1:2).
3. The powerful gospel of salvation (1:3).
a. It was revealed at the best time (1:3).
b. God's word is made known through preaching (1:3; 1 Cor.
1:21).
c. Paul was a steward of revelation and received his
commission by the will of God (1:3).
4. Letter was written to Titus (1:4).
a. Titus was Paul's child after a common faith (1:4).
b. Paul prays for Titus the favor of God and a calm soul
(1:4).
II. Various Commands and Exhortations (1:5 to 3:11).
A. Titus work in Crete (1:5-16).
1. Paul left Titus in Crete to set things in order by appointing
elders in every city of Crete (1:5).
a. Titus, a preacher, was to appoint elders (1:5).
b. There is a difference in appointing and selecting (Acts
6:3; John 15:16).
c. The disciples selected the men to be appointed as elders.
d. The church did the selecting and the preacher did the
appointing.
2. Qualifications of elders (1:6-9).
a. Not deserving of blame, Husband of one wife, Believing
children free from riot and unruliness, God's manager, Free
from a self-will that is inconsiderate of others, Not soon
angry, Not a wine-bibber who is abusive, Not spoiling for a
fight, Not greedy, Given to hospitality, A lover of good,
Sound mind and able to think, Just, Holy, Self-controlled,
Holding to the faithful word which is according to the
teaching, Able to exhort in the sound doctrine, and to
convict those who contradict correct doctrine.
3. Many false teachers were disturbing the church, especially
Jews (1:10-14).
a. The false teaching had to be corrected and the false
teachers stopped (1:11).
b. The false teachers sabotaged whole families (1:11).
c. They taught wrong things because they saw an
opportunity to make money by doing it (1:11).
d. Cretans had a bad reputation (1:12).
e. Paul said they deserved their rotten report (1:13).
f. Because Cretans generally were liars, ferocious, and idle
gluttons, it was necessary to reprove them sharply to keep
them sound in the faith (1:13).
g. Titus was to watch out for and avoid false teachers (1:14).
4. To the pure all things are pure (1:15).
a. This does not follow that a saint can do wrong things with
immunity.
b. This means that right thinking people do right things.
5. To the impure all things are impure (1:15).
a. They are polluted in mind and seared in conscience and
therefore morally corrupt (1:15).
b. What we do is controlled by what we think, therefore,
discipline your thoughts.
6. These evil, false teachers claim to be children of God, but
are reprobates (1:16).
B. What Titus was to teach (2:1-15).
1. Preach sound doctrine (2:1).
2. Aged men be temperate, grave, sober-minded, sound in
faith, in love, in patience (2:2).
3. Aged women (2:3-5).
a. Reverent in bearing (2:3).
b. Not slanderers (2:3).
c. Not addicted to much wine (2:3).
d. Teachers of good things (2:3).
e. Train young women to love their husbands and children
(2:4).
f. To be level-headed (2:5).
g. Decent (2:5).
h. In subjection to their own husbands, that the word of God
be not blasphemed (2:5).
4. Younger men to be of sound mind (2:6).
5. Titus to be an example to the believers (2:7-8).
a. His teaching to be uncorrupted (2:7).
b. Conduct himself with dignity (gravity) (2:7).
c. His speech was to be healthy, or sound (2:8).
d. His impeccable character and sound teaching would
shame and put to silence those who opposed him and Paul
(2:8).
6. Servants to be in subject to their masters (2:9-10).
a. Slaves to submit to their masters (2:9).
b. Slaves not to contradict their masters (2:9).
c. Slaves not to steal (2:10).
d. Slaves are to be faithful to their masters (2:10).
e. Good behavior on the part of believing slaves would
beautify the gospel (2:10).
C. The nature and design of the gospel (2:11-15).
1. The gospel makes known to all men God's gracious offer of
salvation (2:11).
2. The God's gift of the gospel teaches the saved to refrain
from wrong and to do right (2:12).
3. The gospel teaches us to look for the second coming of
Christ (2:13).
4. Jesus suffered and died that, because of his stripes and
sacrifice, Jehovah could forgive man and still be just (2:14).
a. Those redeemed by the blood of Jesus are to be
enthusiastic for good works (2:14).
5. Titus was to teach these things with authority (2:15).
6. Titus was to speak and exhort and reprove (2:15).
D. Titus' conduct and teaching (3:1-11).
1. Believers are to be good citizens, but obey God first (3:1).
2. Believers are to treat all men properly (3:2).
3. Believers were once of the world, but have been saved and
are now in the world but of a higher order (3:3-4).
a. Salvation come through the kindness of God our Savior,
which is his grace (3:4).
b. God's grace is his love towards man (3:4; John 3:16).
4. Man is not saved by his own works done in righteousness
(3:5).
a. Man's own works done in righteousness mean a flawless
keeping of moral and divine law (3:5; Rom. 4:2).
b. All mature people sin and fall short of God's glory (3:5;
Rom 3:23).
c. Jesus Christ is the only exception--he lived without sin
and by his perfect keeping of the law earned his reward by
his own works done in righteousness (Heb. 4:14-15; Rev.
5:6-14).
d. It is not possible for man to devise his own plan of
salvation (3:5).
5. Man is saved by his works of faith (righteousness) and
obedience to the gospel (3:6-7; Rom. 1:5, 16; 2 Thess. 1:8;
James 2:24-26).
a. Man by his obedient faith receives God's gift of salvation
(grace). Man's obedience to the law of the Spirit of Life in
Christ makes him free from the law of his flesh which
brings sin and death (Rom. 8:2).
b. It follows that, while man cannot save himself by keeping
the moral and divine law without fail; man, by his
right doing (obeying the commands of God, which is a
work of faith (faith is a work--John 6:28-29)), does
something (works) to be saved by God's grace.
c. Obeying God has merit. Faithful work of obedience to the
commands of God is meritorious. Salvation is a reward for
faithful service (Phil. 3:13-15; Rev. 3:4; Matt. 5:12; 6:1;
10:1, 42; Luke 6:23, 35; 1 Cor. 3:8, 14; Heb. 10:35;
2 John 8; Rev. 11:18; 22:12).
d. Man can be worthy of his calling (Eph. 4:10; 2 Thess.
1:11); worthy of the gospel (Phil. 1:27); worthy of the
Lord (Col. 1:10); worthy of the kingdom of God (2 Thess.
1:5)
e. Paul calls man's part in receiving God's gift of salvation
(grace) the "washing of regeneration and renewing of the
Holy Spirit" (3:5).
f. God gives his favor to us richly in Jesus (3:6).
g. We are justified by God's favor in giving to us a
Redeemer and a plan revealed in the gospel, which is the
basis of our hope (3:7).
6. Salvation begins for man in his good works and he is, being
saved, to maintain (continue) in his good works
righteousness) (3:8).
7. Treatment of the factious (3:9-11).
a. Avoid foolish and meaningless questions and genealogies
(3:9).
b. A rebellious person is to be warned two times and then is
to be rejected (3:10).
c. A factious man is perverted, is sinning, being self-
condemned (3:11).
III. Conclusion (3:12-15).
A. Titus was to bring Zenas and Apollos with him and meet Paul
at Nicopolis (3:12-13).
B. Let our people learn to maintain good works (3:14).
C. Customary salutations (3:15).
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