(2) Chapter 1 : Verses 1 – 4: Paul begins the letter by calling himself a bond-servant of God and an Apostle of Christ. Many of his letters begin this way (Galatians1:1-3, Ephesians 1:1,2). Then, he conveys his greetings. Titus must have learnt of the truth from Paul. Therefore, Paul addresses him as his son in the common faith.
(3) Paul says that he was entrusted with preaching the message of faith and knowledge resting on the hope of eternal life to the church, which God, who does not lie, had promised before the beginning of time. This message was brought to light with his preaching. This is very true. Without Paul’s epistles it would have been impossible to understand the plan of God. ( See Grace – Blossom 24:January 2010, para 1)
(4) Verse 5: The island of Crete was a part of Greece. Many churches had been established by the Apostles in various cities of Greece. 
The Greeks were worshipers of idols (Acts 17:16). Therefore, the followers of Christ needed good guidance. So, the Apostles visited and wrote letters frequently to encourage the Greek Christians. When Paul was taken to Rome as a prisoner, he happened to stay at Crete for a few days (Acts 27:1; 7-13,21). But, it couldn’t have been possible for him to establish churches there in that short time. Atleast, very unlikely. These churches must have been established in Crete even before that. We read in the Bible that some Cretans were present when the Holy Spirit descended on the day of Pentecost in 33 B.C. (Acts 2:11). Probably, some among them could have accepted Christ and later established churches in the island of Crete. There were no overseers in Cretan churches. Titus was left behind to straighten out the churches of Crete and appoint elders. What Paul calls as ‘straightening out’ here probably refers to problems of discipline and lack of growth in the knowledge of the truth due to the lack of elders in Cretan churches (1 Peter 5:2,3). From this, we can understand the need for good overseers in a church. They are important for the overall development of a church.
(5) Verses 6-9: Being a young man, it would not have been easy for Titus to appoint elders on his own. Therefore, Paul gives a meticulous description of the attributes an elder needed to possess. Paul lists 17 merits that are essential for a person to be considered for eldership. Let us discuss them:
- An elder must be blameless: Anyone who has been publicly accused of an offence in the world or even amongst brethren must not be an elder. Ignoring this would tarnish the name of the church and even the truth in the society. If a sitting elder is accused of an offence, it is better for him to relinquish his position until he is proven innocent. At the same time, it has to be kept in mind that any accusation against anyone, especially elders can be taken into account only if there are two witnesses (2 Corinthians 13:1, 1 Timothy 5:19). Hence, hearsays and gossips should not be considered as blame.
- An elder must be husband of one wife: For one to be elected as an elder he must live faithful to his wife. This doesn’t mean that an unmarried person who has decided to dedicate his life to God’s ministry can’t be an elder. Paul is a glorious example and he advises being unmarried as the best way to serve God for both men and women (1 Corinthians 7:25,26,33,34).
- An elder must be one whose children believe: One who desires to be an elder shouldn’t have wild or disobedient children. The bottomline Paul is drawing is that a man who can atleast guide his own immediate family spiritually has the best ability to guide the church effectively.
- An elder must not be overbearing: An elder must not be dictatorial to satisfy his own desires. He must get along with everyone and treat them as equals. He must not be prejudiced. He must love and show concern towards every brother in the church in the same measure and manner.
- An elder must not be quick-tempered: Some lose their temper very quickly. Probably for some, it’s their second nature with no ulterior motives. But if such a one is elected as an elder, there would be many fights and arguments in the church.
- An elder must not be given to drunkenness: How can one who is addicted to alcohol be an example to the others in the church?
- An elder must not be violent: He must be a person who desires peace and not easily tempted into quarrels. His natural predisposition itself should be towards peace.
- An elder must not be pursuing dishonest gain: An elder who pursues dishonest gains like money or fame instead of spiritual pursuits will certainly lead his church in the wrong way.
- An elder must be hospitable: Not only must he be hospitable to the members of his church but he should be willing to serve others too. Since he is the representative of his church it is important that he exhibits such behaviour. It will get a good reputation for the entire church.
- A lover of good people (AV): Who are the good people? The church of Christ is the only good people in this world (See Grace – Blossom 6:August 2008, para 10). An elder must love the members of his church and be willing to sacrifice himself for their spiritual welfare.
- An elder must be sober (AV) : An elder should not be an emotional person. One who easily becomes emotional and loses his clarity of thought must not aspire for the position of an elder.
- An elder must be just (AV): An elder needs to be righteous before God. The Bible says that we are not justified by our own imperfect righteousness but by Christ’s righteousness ( See Grace – Blossom 09:November 2008 and Blossom 10:December 2008). Still, one who is sheltered within Christ’s righteousness is indeed righteous and is just. An elder must be thus just. However, he must not be someone who glorifies in his self-righteousness but someone who understands that he stands justified only due to the the righteousness of Christ.
- An elder must be holy: There is difference between a justified person and a holy person. Justice is about wrong doings. Whereas, holiness is something that a person acquires by doing holy work. Only the works associated with God are holy. Since angels constantly do the work of God, Bible refers to them as the holy angels. But to be able to do holy works a person first needs to be righteous. One can’t become righteous, just by doing holy works (See Grace – Blossom 7:September 2008, para 14). Our calling is to stand righteous due to the righteousness attributed to us in Christ, and do the holy works to avoid our faith being dead. The holy works of faith are preaching the good news about Christ to others and being of service to our brothers, aiding them in their spiritual lives (See Grace – Blossom 24:January 2010, para 6). Only such a holy one is suitable to be an elder.
- An elder must be disciplined: Eventhough we are in a sinful flesh, we can still discipline ourselves to a large extent by constant practice. An elder should be highly disciplined.
- An elder must hold firmly to the trustworthy message: It is essential that an elder has a clear understanding of the truth. A basic necessity indeed.
- An elder must encourage others by sound message: Many who have clarity regarding the truth have a great difficulty in explaining the truth to others in a simple and an understandable manner. An elder should not be like that but should possess the ability to advise others through the truth.
- An elder must refute those who oppose sound doctrine: No matter what, wrong doctrines will keep creeping up now and then in a church. An elder must have the ability to directly refute them and prove how they are wrong according to the Bible. But instead of taking wrong doctrines head on, if an elder tries to avoid them or hide the problem, then only confusion will reign in the church.
If an elder possess such qualities he would be able to face any kind of problem that could rise in a church. If you aspire to be an elder or if you are an elder it is necessary to introspect if you possess all these qualities. Similarly, if you are a member of a church, you must support only such a one as an elder who possesses all these qualities. If we were to support someone simply because he is a relative or a good friend or an older man then we are failing in our spiritual responsibility. Apostle Paul has given us such detailed guidance with regards to the selection of elders. If we were to slight them and elect elders randomly or based on other criteria then it is not only wrong but we would also be responsible when some stumble because of unfit elders as it was our careless attitude that made it happen. Let us beware. It is very essential to select a right elder for the growth of a church. Apostle Peter says that elders should be a model to their church members (1 Peter 5:3). When an elder is an ideal exmple, his church members would carefully heed to his words. In their spiritual life they would strive to grow to his stature. The church would be healthy. Even though, Apostle Paul has written about the qualifications required to be helpers in a church in his epistle to Timothy, he hasn’t mentioned about them in Titus.
(6) Verses 10,11: Paul refers to the Jews of Crete and especially the Jewish Christians of the churches of the Cretan island as ‘the circumcision group’. Even though they had accepted Christ, they insisted upon following the Jewish customs in the church. They twisted the truth and destroyed the faith of the church members by expressing their own opinions in their own wisdom. Sometimes, they had enticed entire families to ruin by their false doctrines. Paul says that their motive was to gain dishonestly power, vanity and fame. Using their reputation as Jews, the chosen ones of God, they must have enticed some with the vain talk of Jewish fables into obeying the law which was fruitless in order to promote themselves and gain fame. We read that even the Galatian church had similar problems (See Galatians 3). Since there were no elders in the Cretan churches, none was able to silence them. Paul says that they should be silenced. That is, their doctrines must be proven false with the support of the scriptures. We too need to ‘silence’ people who preach false doctrines amongst us with the help of the scriptures.
(7) Verses: 12 – 14: A Cretan writer himself had written truly about the Cretans says Paul. Writing about the Cretans, he had called them as liars, evil brutes and idle gluttons. Historically, this writer who lived in 6th century B.C was Epimenides (since the first century Cretans regarded him as a prophet, Paul refers to him as a prophet. In reality, he was just a poet). Paul agrees with Epimenides’ view of the Cretans. Since the Cretans lived according to the flesh they were easily swayed by the Jewish customs which appealed to their fleshly instincts. Therefore Paul instructs Titus to rebuke the Cretans so that they do not fall away from the truth. Even today, many are enticed by worldly wise doctrines. Only the faith that is based on truth is healthy. Though, it is interesting and even engrossing at times to listen to myths and non-scriptural Types, it is not appropriate to believe them as truth. Paul’s words remind us to test every doctrine rigorously with the Bible and rebuke false doctrines.
(8) Verses 15,16: The teachings of the Jews were based on the many fleshly commandments of the law. Some of these commandments dealt with what to eat and what not to touch as touching of certain animals were considered unholy (Leviticus 11:10,47). The Jewish Christians infused such doctrines into the church. These brought confusion. Therefore, Paul says that to the pure, all things are pure. He says that no food or thing can contaminate a man but to the one who is corrupted, nothing is pure. His talk and his actions would be thus impure. Moreover, anyone who tries to become righteous by obeying the law will fail miserably because though the law is just, no fallen man can fulfil it. There is no use obeying only certain aspects of the law. He is still a sinner (James 2:10, also see Grace – Blossom 09: November 08 and Blossom 10:December 08). But, Christ fulfilled the law such that the one who has accepted Christ becomes righteous by having faith in him (Galatians 3:24). But the Jewish Christians counselled that believing in Christ was not enough and one needed to obey the law too. And unfortunately, the very acts of law they did to please God, denied Him because as Apostle John says, if we claim to be without sin, the truth is not in us and hence they denied God by trusting their own righteousness and doing the works of the law. Paul says that such kinds of people are detestable, disobedient and unfit for doing anything good. We too should not be proud of our own righteousness. If we trust our righteousness then the sacrifice of Christ was in vain and in effect we are denying him. Not only that, we would also be disqualified, i.e. ‘unfit’ for doing any holy work, as said by Paul here. This is because it is the righteousness of Christ that allows us to stand before God. Since our own righteousness is always imperfect, we can’t stand in front of God if we trust in it. If we aren’t righteous then, as we saw before (Para 5, under the title ‘An elder must be Holy’) we are unfit for doing God’s holy works, that is, the good works. Paul warns us here that we would be seen by God as sinners, that is, as detestable. So, let us be careful.
(9) Chapter 2: verses 1,2: Next, Paul requests Titus to teach what is in accord with sound doctrine. Older men should avoid the pride of thinking that they know everything or the pride of having wordly wisdom due to their long experience. They should be cautious until the end. They should be self-controlled and thus set an example to the youth. They should be temperate and worthy of respect. Just as they are mature in age, they should be mature in faith, brotherly love and endurance. Not only will such attributes strengthen their faith and discipline but they would also be a blessing to their church.
(10) Verses 3-5: Paul then discusses about older women. They should involve themselves in holy works such as the gospel work and other church activities and thus be reverent in the way they live. They should avoid slandering and addiction to wine. Usually older people, having retired from work, are more prone to gossiping and slandering. Paul advises against them being so. And then there are many older people, since having nothing to do, get addicted to drinks. The reason why Paul particularly refers to these things is probably because he must have observed some older women behaving this way in the churches at Cretan. Therefore, he advises them to give these up. He suggests that they should train the younger women, how to behave at home and church. Paul describes how the younger women should excel in their family life and their spiritual life. A wife should love her husband and children and be self-controlled and pure. Paul’s saying that women should ‘be busy at home’ has been intrepreted wrongly by some to mean that women should not go out to work. This is wrong. Christian women of the Apostolic time did work (Acts 16:14,40). However, it is necessary for women to take the responsibility of looking after the affairs of their home and also the spiritual growth of their children. This does not mean that men do not have a responsibility towards the affairs of home, they do (1 Cor 7:3,32,33). Still, even today’s child health professionals say that mothers have a big responsibility in the upbringing of young children. So, they should take care of their other interests without disturbing the running of their home. Moreover, Paul states that a woman need to be subject to her husband. This is indeed important. But, if the husband is wicked and obstructs the work of God, then she doesn’t need to obey him in matters which are against the will of God. And, if due to this her husband deserts her, it is not her fault, says Paul in his epistle to the Corinthians (1 Corinthians 7:12-15). Because, since women need to be ‘good’ as well, which means pleasing to God, they have to be learned in truth and do God’s work and hence their obedience to their husbands is not a blank cheque but only ‘in Christ’ (Colossians 3:18). Christian husbands would do well to remember this and not exploit the obedience criterion for selfish reasons.
(11) Verses 6-8: Moreover, Paul explains how younger men need to live their spiritual lives. Paul knew that Titus was a youth too. Therefore, he says that in everything, Titus needed to set an example by doing what was good. Young men are more likely to become emotional and lose the use of their sound mind. They should avoid this. It is essential for them to get involved in the works of God, that is, the gospel work and the church activities. Christian young men should behave in such a manner that none can condemn them. It is easy for people to blame the young. Therefore, it is very essential for the young to be extremely cautious, so that those who are skeptical may be ashamed because they would have nothing bad to say about them. They should be sound in their knowledge of the truth and do not let their young age an excuse in this regard. Young age is no barrier to mature in the knowledge of the truth. And only if they have such a maturity in their knowledge of the truth, there would be no shortcomings in their teachings. Moreover, their speech and actions should exhibit a healthy attitude. They shouldn’t be careless, assuming that they have more time in the future to serve God as they are still young. It is a great blessing to surrender one’s life as a living sacrifice to God at a young age (Ecclesiates 12:1).