Titus's Instructions

Parenting is challenging work. When our first daughter was born, I was struck by our lack of anticipation of her basic needs: food, sleep, clean diapers--often at inconvenient times. But most parents discover that this stage is nothing compared with what is to come. The needs associated with the child's growth and maturity require greater attention and unconditional love from the parent. Encouragement builds self-esteem and propels the child forward to meet life's challenges. Correction instills and increases an understanding of right and wrong, as it teaches that human behavior has moral consequences. Parents must provide the child's life with structure and organization. In this way the young person learns about expected roles and responsibilities within the home and society, as well as lines of authority and the importance of interdependence among fellow human beings. Meeting these needs prepares the child for life as an adult. If all of this is taken seriously, parenting is not easy.

Parenting a church requires most of these same skills and responsibilities. As the church grows in numbers and maturity, its needs change much as those of the growing child do. When Titus received Paul's letter, the churches of Crete were still quite young, but quickly growing out of infancy. They had reached the stage where more structure was required, where church members needed to ascend to roles of leadership and where they could begin to carry on ministry independent of their spiritual parents. Preparing them for this was a task that fell to Titus. At the same time an element within the churches was introducing false doctrine that threatened the development of these Christians. Thus Titus's instructions include correction.

The tone and content of this passage are very similar to those of 1 Timothy. After a reminder to Titus about his purpose in Crete (1:5), Paul includes the same basic set of qualifications for the overseer/elder that he issued to Timothy (1:6-9) to guide him in his task.

Appointing Elders

Paul's strategy for church planting included the eventual selection of leaders from among the converts to oversee the ministry and spiritual growth of the community (compare Acts 14:23). In this way the missionaries could move on freely to expand the work in new and unreached areas. As Paul's team of trained coworkers grew, he entrusted a good deal of the work to them. In the case of the Cretan churches, Titus functioned in this capacity.

Paul spells out his purpose in appointing Titus to the work in Crete in verse 5. It has two parts. The first phrase Paul uses to describe this purpose might address the need for correction (of things gone wrong) or completion (of things as yet undone). The former possibility makes sense in view of the false teaching that Titus is to combat (vv. 10-16). But the second part of the purpose, to appoint elders, and the phrase "what is lacking" in the first part suggest that Paul means completion of the tasks that remain to be completed. Actually, since correcting the false teachers is linked to careful choice of leadership (v. 9), it may be best to combine the two possibilities as the NIV has done: straighten out what was left unfinished.

In any case, the second part of the purpose is clearly first on Paul's list of specific things that Titus is to finish. Precisely what went into the process of appointing elders is not clear. Certainly from the qualifications that follow we can guess that some form of evaluation played a part. But the situation in Crete, where the churches were younger, was not the same as that which we find in Ephesus, where a body of elders already existed (see 1 Tim 4:14). And any evaluation may have been carried out by Titus himself (compare Acts 14:23). The appointment of the elders would have been signaled by the laying on of hands (compare Acts 14:23; 1 Tim 4:14; 5:22) in the presence of the congregation. It is also impossible to determine how many elders would have been selected in every town (meaning "in the house church of each town"); but the general rule would probably have been a plurality of leaders. Qualifications of the Elder/Overseer (1:6-9)

To guide Titus in choosing leaders, Paul included the same basic office code (with certain modifications) that appears in 1 Timothy 3. Before we consider differences we should consider similarities. Most important, the purpose of this code is identical to that of 1 Timothy 3 in that it is meant to test the candidate's "blamelessness." The broad standard appears twice at the head of the list (vv. 6, 7; compare 1 Tim 3:2). Then the remainder of the verses place "blamelessness" into a concrete framework, treating the domestic, personal and ecclesiastical aspects of the candidate's life. It is equally obvious that the codes share most of the specific requirements; where terms are not duplicated, concepts generally are. In the end it is clear that whatever the circumstances of a church, its leadership must be of the highest moral standard in all aspects of life; to expect less is to place the church's reputation and ministry in jeopardy.

The code begins abruptly (for there is no break in the Greek sentence at the end of v. 5) in verse 6 by laying down the general standard of "blamelessness" (compare 1 Tim 3:10). Again, the examination begins in the domestic sphere, with fidelity in marriage. The reappearance of this qualification at the head of this list (compare 1 Tim 3:2, 12) excludes the possibility of compromise here. It should perhaps be pointed out that while "one-woman man" has sexual fidelity primarily in view, Paul undoubtedly expected the marriages of church leaders to exhibit mutual love and respect (Eph 5:22-33). The leader of the church must be a model of faithfulness in marriage.

Keeping the domestic concerns together, the remainder of verse 6 refers to the children of the elder and their behavior. But there is an interpretive problem here that we must pause to consider. The problem lies in the meaning of the Greek word pista in the phrase "having believing [or faithful] children." One view understands Paul to be limiting membership in the office to those whose family members all believe; pista can certainly bear this meaning. Another view is that the term means, more generally, "faithful" or "trustworthy" (1:9; 3:8; 1 Tim 3:11; compare 1 Tim 1:15; 3:1), which quality is then delineated in the phrase that follows. While the first view is possible, it seems to place more stringent requirements on the elder than does 1 Timothy 3:4. Moreover, in view of this parallel, Paul probably means that the elder's children are to be faithful in obeying the head of the house. In fact, the rest of the verse contrasts "faithful" with the charge of being wild and disobedient, which suggests a more general kind of faithfulness. The code asks that candidates for the office of elder not be those whose children will attract accusations of dissipation and rebellion (compare v. 10). This is very much in accord with 1 Timothy 3:4.

As we consider application of this quality today, a practical question arises regarding the length of time elders are to be held accountable for the behavior of their children. As used here, the term children views sons and daughters in relation to their parents. Within the household their status would be that of dependents. The instruction, therefore, restricts the elder's accountability to children who are not yet adults. And of course, then and now and from one culture to the next, entrance into adulthood is measured by different combinations of age and events (marriage, leaving home, beginning a career), which prevent us from drawing rigid lines (such as up until age eighteen or twenty-one). Nevertheless, it is reasonable to think that the attitudes and behavior of children still within the household provide an indication of the faithfulness of an elder in parenting. But while this formative influence is meant to prepare children for godly adult lives, it does not constitute a guarantee such that elders ought to be made responsible for the directions that their grown children might choose to take.

Verse 7 inserts the formal introduction of the code (compare 1 Tim 3:2), which uses the term overseer. Apparently, the terms elder and overseer were interchangeable (at least at this stage of the church's development and in this locale). Alongside the official title Paul introduces a significant theme that the NIV interpretation (entrusted with God's work) of the literal "as God's steward" fails to convey. By describing the overseer as God's steward, Paul calls to mind the image of the church as God's house (compare 1 Tim 3:5, 15; 2 Tim 2:20-21). In the secular household the steward was charged with the responsibility of managing the master's affairs. The church leader is equally obligated to God to discharge the duties of oversight in the church. Also, to be a "steward" was to acknowledge the requirement of utter faithfulness (Lk 12:42; 1 Cor 4:2).

In God's house faithfulness is required in every part of life. Therefore the examination of the potential steward's "blamelessness" extends to the personal life. First, Paul prohibits four kinds of behavior. Tendencies toward overbearing behavior and anger are indications of unfitness for working as part of a team. Such people do not listen to the views of others but rather force their wills on them, causing disunity. Arguments and quarrels were in fact characteristic of the false teachers (3:9). The implied opposite qualities of gentleness and amicability (1 Tim 3:3) are required of the leader who must lead as Christ does (2 Cor 10:1).

Equally to be avoided are those who are controlled by strong drink or who react with violence to people and situations. Such people are not able to control their own behavior and certainly should not be entrusted with the oversight of others.

Finally, the overseer must not be allured by dishonest gain. Complete honesty in financial matters and an attitude of detachment toward wealth (compare 1 Tim 6:7-8, 17-19) that leads to generosity are the signs of a leader who will be able to model faithfulness in these things before the congregation.

Verse 8 continues, without a break in the sentence, to enumerate some positive and observable characteristics of blameless conduct. The leader must be hospitable. This widely praised virtue in that day was practically a social obligation for the householder. It also became a mark of Christian behavior (Rom 12:13; 1 Pet 4:9). What sometimes passes for hospitality today (the entertainment of friends and church members, often with the expectation of a return invitation) is a rather dim reflection of the New Testament concept. The practice of hospitality among Christians was often urgent, sacrificial and risky: urgent because Christians might be forced from homes or jobs with no one to turn to but fellow Christians; sacrificial because material goods were often in short supply; risky because to associate oneself with those who had been forced out meant to identify with their cause. Thus hospitality required sacrificial sharing and stretching. It was a very practical expression of love, not a source of entertainment. While the practice of hospitality had primarily the needs of believers in mind, there is no reason that it could not be a way of showing concern for unbelievers. The importance of this practice for the church, in either case, required that a leader must model it for all (1 Tim 3:2; 5:10).

The leader must "love" what is good. Paul's term for this occurs only here in the New Testament (compare Wisdom 7:22). It is the inclination or devotion to things that are or that promote good. This trait was prized in the secular world, and it is easy to see that it would serve the church leader well in the task of oversight.

Self-control is a fundamental mark of genuine faith, and Paul refers to it frequently in these letters (see above on 1 Tim 3:2). Like most of these observable qualities, self-control was prominent in the secular understanding of respectability. Paul, however, emphasizes that the possibility of such conduct depends on the work of Christ (2:12) and conversion.

The remaining three qualities, upright, holy and disciplined, complete this profile of the blameless life. Uprightness was one of the cardinal virtues in Greek thought. Here "uprightness" refers to behavior in relation to people that is holy in the presence of God (Lk 1:75; Eph 4:24; 1 Thess 2:10). Disciplined (or self-controlled) here means to be in full control of oneself (one's temper, moods, behavior and so on). This observable quality is truly a mark of the Spirit's work in an individual (Gal 5:23).

Paul's description of the blameless personal life is extensive. A person's life is capable of measurement because the characteristics of this life are observable. While Paul clearly teaches that genuine Christian conduct results from conversion (2:12), he does not shy away from presenting the church's leaders for the approval of outsiders, as his vocabulary and concepts for behavior show. Those who would lead the church and promote its cause must be respectable in the eyes of all people.

Verse 9 takes the qualifications for leadership into the area of ministry (compare 1 Tim 3:2). With the false teaching in mind, Paul instructs Titus to ensure that the leaders he chooses are committed to the approved doctrine of the church (compare 1 Tim 3:9). He calls it the trustworthy (or faithful) word. This message has been handed down by the apostles (literally, "it accords with `the teaching' "). In other words, leaders must affirm as the Christian doctrine that which has the traditional apostolic stamp of approval. Elders must not be chosen from among those who have been toying with new doctrines.

There are two purposes (so that) for this commitment. First, only adherence to the "sound doctrine" (see on 1 Tim 1:10) will enable the leader to fulfill the ministry of encouraging and exhorting (that is, producing "healthy") believers. Second, it is only by means of correct doctrine that the leader can successfully refute the opponents (1:13; 1 Tim 4:6; 6:2-3; 2 Tim 3:16).

What qualifies a person to be an elder? Not management skill alone, but also a lifestyle that is proved to be pure and respectable within the church and on the outside. In public and in private the overseer must meet the high standard of "blamelessness." But as with the similar code in 1 Timothy 3, the emphasis in this teaching is often missed. "Blamelessness" is more a measure of wholeness and balance than of perfection. The code examines all dimensions of life for evidence of the Spirit's influence in each part. This kind of balanced "reading" means development toward maturity is under way. And Paul felt that "whole" believers were best suited for church leadership. The code serves equally as a yardstick of maturity for all believers. Both those in leadership and those in support positions will profit from a periodic look at the reference marks it provides; it will point out areas of neglect and areas of success, but it will always point us to maturity in the whole of life.

Titus's task of appointing elders from among recent converts (notice that in this case Paul cannot rule out recent converts; compare 1 Tim 3:6) must not have been easy. Nevertheless, the importance of the church's unity and evangelistic mission required that care be taken to select only leaders whose genuine faith could be measured by commitment not simply to the true gospel but to the Spirit's influence in every part of life.

Opposing False Teachers

Having concluded the list of qualifications for the elder with a reference to refuting error, Paul goes on to unmask the false teachers in the Cretan church. These opponents of Paul must have arisen soon after the churches were planted, but we cannot be certain exactly how this came about.

Heresy involves more than simply teaching an unorthodox doctrine. Just as the Christian message affects the whole life, heresy left unchecked penetrates deep into the community's and the individual's life and thought, leaving nothing undisturbed. But its subtle beginnings and secretive motives often make it undetectable until it has surfaced as a movement with increasing momentum. For this reason Paul identifies and unequivocally denounces the false teachers and their doctrine. The False Teachers

What kind of people would, in the name of Christianity, oppose the true faith? Paul's indictment of them, which is designed to expose and discredit them completely, begins by revealing some telltale clues of heresy.

Far from being innocent seekers of truth, verse 10 portrays false teachers as willful and culpable. Rebellious (see v. 6; 1 Tim 1:9) describes them as consciously defiant and in opposition to Paul's authority and work. Paul characterizes their activity as "idle" or "mere talk," a reference both to their meaningless speculation and discussions and to the pagan quality of their "knowledge" (1 Tim 1:6). But it is as deceivers (v. 10) that false teachers do their most dangerous work; they willfully lead others astray. Paul's language places them into the same category as the heretics in Ephesus, who, by misrepresenting God's law and causing others to break it, come under its condemnation (1 Tim 1:8-10).

The description those of the circumcision (v. 10) provides a clue to the identity of those troubling the Cretan churches. As the term's use elsewhere suggests, the troublemakers were Jewish converts (Acts 10:45; 11:2; Gal 2:7-9, 12). Earlier Paul opposed Jewish believers in Galatia who were teaching the need to return to the ceremonies of the law to achieve righteousness. While this is not the same group, nor precisely the same teaching (see below), we can at least see that the influences of Judaism on the church had not yet ceased.

Paul's description is too brief to make absolutely plain the meaning of ruining whole households by teaching things they ought not to teach (v. 11). This may be a reference to the turning of whole house churches to the heresy, or possibly some part of their doctrine challenged traditional concepts concerning the household. To judge from 2:1-10, their teaching may have spawned a disregard for the accepted patterns of behavior in the various social relationships. Either way, the word whole here suggests that the influence of this doctrine was thorough. In Ephesus disruptions resulted from a misunderstanding of salvation and the times, and something similar may have been at work in Crete. These false teachers disrupted the unity of the church and endangered the church's reputation with those outside, who valued highly the traditional social structure.

False teachers can also be detected by their false motives. These "Christian" teachers in Crete were seeking to make a profit from their ministry. Such financial motives expose the false teacher's selfish desire to benefit more than the hearers from the "ministry" (compare 1 Tim 6:5-10).

The description Paul has thus far given has drawn out the obvious faults of the false teachers. When their attitudes, methods and motives are exposed, there can be no doubt that these people are evil. Paul puts the cap on this expose with his surprising quotation of Epimenides (v. 12). He calls this ancient religious teacher, from the sixth century B.C., one of their own [that is, the false teachers'] prophets. This first connection probably lies in their common profession, teaching religious fables, and in their common homeland, Crete. But how does Paul mean the citation to be understood? Cretans had acquired the name liars because of their claim that the tomb of Zeus was on Crete. Thus a reference to religious deceit is at the heart of the saying. These false teachers have fulfilled Epimenides' prophecy in their own generation by propagating a religious lie. The rest of the quotation, evil brutes, lazy gluttons, associates the false religious claim with uncontrolled, wanton behavior. Notice how closely Paul's description of the errorists corresponds to the three-part saying: they are deceivers (v. 10), rebels and disrupters (vv. 10-11), with minds set on money (v. 11). Clearly, in the case of these Cretan heretics, the ancient forecast held true. Today the religious lies propagated by cult leaders (those that draw attention away from the gospel) belong to the same category. Their purpose is to attract attention to the leader or the cult's ruling elite. Their result is self-gratifying behavior on the part of the leaders and ignorance on the part of naive followers.

Paul describes the false teaching in verse 14 with two terms. The first, Jewish myths, is similar to the "myths and genealogies" mentioned in 1 Timothy 1:4. Together with the reference to genealogies in 3:9, the term probably indicates a peculiar use of the Old Testament (see 1 Tim 1:4 and notes). Verse 15 implies that they were preoccupied with ritual purity, which suggests that the false doctrine had some affinity with the teaching about foods and defilement in Colosse (Col 2:16-23) and Ephesus (1 Tim 4:3). Verse 16 may reflect a claim on their part to special knowledge: they claim to know God. However, Paul's language is too general to allow us to be sure of this, and it is better to understand the statement in Jewish terms as a claim to be zealous and exacting in their approach to "the faith."

The second term in verse 14 describes the false teaching as "commands of men." This is a technical term, which goes back to Isaiah 29:13, for teaching of human origin that is added to God's revelation (the NIV somewhat obscures this nuance). Jesus picked it up in his denunciation of Jewish regulations about clean and unclean things (Mt 15:9; Mk 7:7). And Paul describes the ascetic practices in Colosse with this term (Col 2:22). Ironically, adherence to such regulations, which to the false teachers indicated holiness, was actually an indication of how far they had strayed from the truth (of the Christian message; v. 14).

Paul operated on the basis of Jesus' principle "Nothing outside a man can make him `unclean' by going into him. . . . What comes out of a man makes him `unclean' " (Mk 7:15, 20). This Paul translates in verse 15: To the pure, all things are pure, but to those who . . . do not believe, nothing is pure (compare Rom 14:14). Purity that counts comes only through faith in Christ. The heretics' obsession with external purity grew out of unbelief and rejection of the gospel. In their false teaching they cut themselves off from the One who could cleanse them. Their rejection of the truth (v. 14) signaled the corruption of their minds (v. 15). The mind, the organ of rational discernment, plays an important role in accepting the truth (1 Tim 6:5; 2 Tim 3:8). These teachers' obsessive behavior and evil motives signaled equally the corruption of their consciences, for it is by the conscience that faith and knowledge issue in behavior (see on 1 Tim 1:5; 4:2).

Ultimately, as Paul explains in verse 16, the condition of these opponents was paradoxical. Their profession to know God was contradicted by their outward behavior. The excoriating description that closes the passage heightens this paradox: (1) they are detestable, though they strive to avoid "detestable" things; (2) they are disobedient, though they strive to be exactingly obedient; and (3) they are unable to bear any spiritual fruit (good deed), though they claim to know God. One thing is clear from Paul's denunciation of the false teachers: they present a danger to the church and to themselves, a danger that cannot be ignored but must be confronted. Opposing False Teachers

As we have seen, confronting false teaching is a task that falls to the leadership of the church. Titus and the leaders he selected were to handle this matter in Crete.

The gravity of the situation is reflected in the two commands that Paul gives. First, Titus is to "silence" (literally, "stop the mouths") of the heretics (v. 11). This must mean to "take the wind out of their sails," or to take away the momentum they had established, by publicly correcting their false doctrines with the approved teaching of the apostle. Second, he is to rebuke [correct, reprove] them sharply (v. 13). The graphic adverb used only here and in 2 Corinthians 13:10 implies the use of force that is backed up by authority. Confronting false teaching calls for decisive, firm correction, for the church's ministry and the spiritual health of believers are at stake.

But the goal of correction is not simply to protect the gospel. Correction also seeks (so that--v. 13) to restore the erring one to spiritual health (1 Tim 1:20; 2 Tim 2:22). Paul employs the verbal form of the term used elsewhere to describe the gospel as "health-producing" (v. 9; 1 Tim 1:10; 6:3) to convey this thought. This health comes only from acceptance of the faith. Turned around, as they were, these lying and perverse heretics could still be brought to repentance through confrontation with the true faith.