Read or listen Epistle to Titus chapter 3 online (ESV, Bible Gateway)

Summary of the Christian Faith – Titus 3:1-7

Even though Paul had suffered much at the hands of the Roman authorities, he still refused to abandon authority and prayer for it (verse 1, see also Romans 13:1-7). Even bad authority is better than no authority at all, because then "the dictatorship of the strong" prevails. The function of authority is not only to punish evil (Romans 13:4), but also to reward good (1 Peter 2:13-17).

Christians are not only citizens of this world, but also citizens of heaven (Philippians 3:20) and heirs of God’s promises (Romans 8:17, Galatians 3:29). A Christian must therefore remember that the will of God must always come first. The will of earthly rulers can only be followed if it does not conflict with the will of God (Acts 5:29).

Verses 3 and 4 contain a “before-now” testimony: we used to be "foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another", but God saved us according to his own mercy and we became “new people.” Encountering God changes a person (see also Romans 6:15-23, 1 Corinthians 6:11, Ephesians 2:1-10, Col 3:5-11).

Verses 4-7 contain the core message of the Christian faith:

"But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life."

Notice that grace is central here: It is about what God has done in our lives, not what we have done to God in our lives. It has been suggested that this one long sentence could be a fragment of an early Christian creed.

Verse 5 clearly speaks of baptism: it is the means by which God brings us into communion with Him. Note also the mention of the Holy Spirit in connection with baptism (verses 5 and 6). The word “born again” reminds us that God does not just fix and mend our life, but makes it completely new.

In verse 6, the Greek of verb “poured out” is in the imperfect tense, which means continuous action: God continues to work in Christians through the Holy Spirit. On the other hand, the verb “saved” is in the aorist tense, which means a once-for-all, completed action: salvation has already been accomplished, it was completed on the cross on Calvary.

Hope (verse 7) in the Bible does not mean an uncertain wish, but a sure confidence, on which one can look to the future.

Avoid heretics – Titus 3:8-11

The expression “the saying is trustworthy” (verse 8) occurs four times elsewhere in the pastoral letters (1 Tim 1:15, 3:1, 4:9, 2 Tim 2:11). It occurs in connection with the statement of the central truths of faith. The above (verses 4-7) was one of the most concise presentations of faith in the entire Bible.

The genealogies and quarrels about the law (verse 9) indicate that the heretics were of Jewish background (compare Titus 1:10). On the other hand, it is worth remembering once again that Gnosticism adopted elements from different religions. It also had its own genealogies, which were used to provide a fine background for faith. There were also disputes about the law in Ephesus at that time (1 Tim 1:3-7).

Arguing with false teachers is futile (verse 9), because they have already chosen their path. They should be warned, but if they do not abandon their heresies, they should be excluded from the church, so that they do not lead new people away from the true faith (compare Matt 18:15-17, 1 Tim 1:20).

Disputes about the law do not build up the church (verse 9), but the true faith and life does so (verse 8).

Paul speaks of good works a total of 14 times in his pastoral letters (verse 8). Good works - and are - a testimony to outsiders (Titus 2:9-10), but at the same time they distinguished true teachers from false teachers (Titus 1:16).

The Pastoral Epistles contain many warnings about heresies (verses 9-11, 1 Tim 1:4-7, 4:7-8, 6:3-5, 2 Tim 2:14-18,23-25, Titus 1:10-11). This shows that the early church was not without its problems: indeed, Satan tried to suppress the true faith from the very beginning by sowing false seeds (compare Matt 13:24-30,36-43).

Final Greeting – Titus 3:12-15

Paul wanted Titus to come to Nicopolis, where he planned to spend the winter (verse 12). Nicopolis means “city of victory.” It was located in western Greece, on the Adriatic Sea, near the modern-day border between Greece and Albania. Apparently, Paul was just on his way to Nicopolis, so the Epistle to Titus was written from somewhere else (Greece).

In order for Titus to leave from Crete, Paul planned to send either Artemas or Tychicus as his “replacement” (verse 12). Artemas is unknown to us, he is mentioned only this once in the New Testament. Tychicus was Paul’s close associate who carried his letter to Colossae (Col 4:7-8), whom Paul called “a beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord” (Eph 6:21-22, he also carried the letter to the Ephesians). At other times he also acted as Paul’s representative (Acts 20:4, 2 Tim 4:12).

This letter was apparently taken to Crete by Zenas and Apollos (verse 13). Zenas is unknown to us. He was a lawyer, although the word could also mean a Jewish teacher of the law. Apollos was probably a well-known Jewish Christian from Alexandria (Acts 18:24), who was active at least in Ephesus and Corinth (Acts 18:24, 19:1, 1 Cor 1:12, 3:4-6,22, 4:6, 16:22).

Verse 12 reveals that this letter was not written from captivity.

The letter ends with a rather general greeting. The last sentence has become a much-used Christian greeting: “Grace be with you all.”