Titus 03.01-08
Titus 03.01
“1 Remind them…” G5279. upomimnhskw hupomimnesko
hoop-om-im-nace’-ko; from 5259 & 3403; to
remind quietly, i.e. suggest to the (middle voice one’s own) memory:-- put in mind, remember, bring to (put in) remembrance.
The way that this word is written in the original Greek is
in the Imperative mood meaning that it is an absolute
command requiring full obedience on the part of all hearers.
Throughout Scripture, God gave His
people reminders because He knew that His people would forget Him (Deuteronomy
06.12), forget what great things He did (Deuteronomy
04.09) & forget His commands (Deuteronomy
04.23; Deuteronomy 08.11).
The children of Israel had the Law
& the Prophets to remind them. In the New Testament, after Jesus ascended
into heaven, there were the Apostles, who then set up the church leadership
& gave us the New Testament (under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit- Ephesians 04.11; 2Timothy 03.16) to
be reminders for the church.
Paul commanded Timothy to remind
the believers at Ephesus, as well as himself (1Timothy 04.06; 2Timothy 01.06).
Peter reminded his readers (2Peter 01.12; 2Peter 03.01-02) of
the truth of the Word of God.
The role of the pastor is to remind the church how to be
healthy (Titus
02.01-10), remind them of the Gospel of Grace given to us by our
LORD & Savior Christ Jesus (Titus 02.11-15) as well as how to act towards
those in the world (Titus 03.01-08).
Paul tells Titus 03 Reminders…01. Reminder: How to Act In the World (Titus 03.01-02);
02. Reminder: What Jesus Saved Us From
(Titus 03.03-07);
& 03. Reminder: Do Good Works (Titus 03.08).
01. Reminder: How To Act In the World (Titus
03.01-02)
“1 to be subject” G5293. upotassw hupotasso hoop-ot-as’-so;
from 5259 & 5021; to subordinate; reflexively, to
obey:-- be under obedience (obedient), put under, subdue unto, (be, make)
subject (to, unto), be (put) in subjection (to, under), submit self unto.
“1 …to rulers, to authorities,” Paul commanded
Titus to be subject to those in authority.
“1 to be obedient,” G3980. peiyarcew peitharcheo pi-tharkh-eh’-o;
from a compound of 3982 & 757; to be persuaded by a ruler, i.e.
(genitive case) to submit to authority; by analogy, to conform to advice:--
hearken, obey (magistrates).
The way that this word is written in the original Greek is
that it is to be a current & continuous obedience to rulers by Titus &
the CHRISTians on Crete.
Submission does not always mean
subservient. A mark of a true follower of Jesus is that they are submissive to
those who are above them, whether it’s the government (Proverbs 24.21; Romans 13.01-07),
in our job (Titus
02.09-10; Ephesians 06.05-06; Colossians 03.22-24; 1Timothy 06.01),
in our family (Ephesians
05.22-28; Colossians 03.18-19), or in the church (1Corinthians
14.34).
Paul is saying that any person
who is in leadership, we are to be submissive to them, & be obedient to
them.
Samuel told Saul after he failed
to obey the LORD that it’s better to obey than sacrifice (1Samuel 15.22-23).
Paul writing to the church at
Rome told them that they needed to be submissive to the government in Romans 13.01-07.
This was during the time of the wicked Caesar Nero (54-68 AD).
The only time that we do not
have to be subject to ruling authorities is when we are commanded to do
something that is against what God has commanded.
Paul wrote that he & the
recipients of his letters knew that they were citizens of the kingdom of Christ
(Philippians
03.20; Colossians 01.13).
We see an example of being obedient to God’s command (being
citizens of the kingdom of Christ) in Acts 04.01-31 when the Sanhedrin (the Jewish
high council in Jerusalem) ordered Peter & John not to speak or teach in
the name of Jesus (Acts 04.18).
The apostles replied, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to give heed to
you rather than to God, you be the judge; for we cannot stop speaking about
what we have seen & heard.” Acts 04.19-20.
Apart from telling us to do something that violates the
commandments of God, Paul here is saying that everyone, not just some, but
everyone must submit themselves to the governing authorities.
Why did he say this under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit?
He said this because we need to realize that those who are in authority are put
there by God (Romans
13.03-06; Daniel 04.17; Daniel 04.25; Daniel 04.34-35).
So if you rebel against
authority, Paul is saying that you are then rebelling against (Romans 13.02
“resists
authority” or literally “has taken a stand against”) what God has
established (Romans
13.02 “the ordinance of God”). So by rebelling against God &
the civil authorities that He has established, you not only bring civil but
divine judgment upon yourself!
If you obey the laws of the
land, you have no need to fear those in authority.
Solomon said something similar
in Proverbs
24.21; Ecclesiastes 08.02-05; Ecclesiastes 10.04.
Jesus, the Son of God said that
we are to be submissive to governing authorities in Matthew 22.21 (even though Caesar
claimed to be a god & demanded to be worshiped as such!) as well as to religious authorities (Matthew 23.02-03).
Paul said that we are to be
submissive to governing authorities (1Timothy 02.02).
Peter said that we are to be submissive
to governing authorities (1Peter 02.13-17).
Cretans were known at this time
to be extremely rebellious, so this is why Paul commanded Titus to remind the
CHRISTians on Crete not to be like the heathen, but instead be willing to
submit to those in leadership.
Paul said in Romans 13.03
that rulers are to favor the good & punish the bad.
“1 to be ready for every good deed” G2041. ergon ergon er’-gon; from a primary (but obsolete) ergw ergo (to work); toil (as an effort or occupation); by implication, an
act:-- deed, doing, labour, work.
As followers of
Jesus, we ought to be doers of good deeds (James 01.22; James 03.13) because He has changed our hearts (John 03.03-05;
2Corinthians
03.18; 2Corinthians 05.17; Galatians 06.15; Ephesians 02.10), we
now belong to another kingdom & we are to glorify Him in all that we do (Titus 02.14; 1Corinthians 15.58; Galatians 06.09-10;
Ephesians
02.10; Philippians
01.11; Colossians
01.10; 1Timothy 05.10; 2Timothy 02.21; Hebrews 13.21).
Doing good deeds will make us in direct contrast w/the false
teachers that Paul warned Titus about in Titus 01.16.
Doing good deeds gives us an opportunity to share Jesus w/others,
as they see that our words are backed by our actions (1Peter 03.15).
Titus 03.02
“2 to malign no one” G987. blasfhmew blasphemeo blas-fay-meh’-o;
from 989; to vilify; specially, to speak impiously:-- (speak)
blaspheme(-er, -mously, -my), defame, rail on, revile, speak evil.
One of the root words for “malign” in the Greek literally means,
“to show or make known one’s thoughts” (G5346 fhmi phemi fay-mee’).
The way that this word is written in the original Greek is
that it is to be a current & continuous speaking what is evil or false of
no one by Titus & the CHRISTians on Crete.
So in context Paul is telling Titus not to speak blasphemous
things against any one, especially those in authority.
We are not to say anything to any one that will cause the character
of the person we are talking about to be damaged. We are to never say anything
that we know is false about that person, & this includes exaggerating or
embellishing to make it sound that they are wicked & horrible & that we
are completely innocent.
This does not negate though what Paul said about exposing
false teachers (Titus
01.09-16) because what a CHRISTian pastor/teacher is to do is tell
the truth about someone & warn the flock.
But if the only reason that you speak slanderously about
someone in authority is just because you don’t like them, are jealous of them,
or want to undermine their authority, than you are doing it for the wrong
reason & Paul is saying don’t blaspheme about someone.
For example: After Paul called
the High Priest a whitewashed wall, he then was told that he was speaking to
the High Priest & he repented of it (Acts 23.01-05).
Throughout the New Testament, we
are told that those who are followers of Jesus as the Christ are not to be
marked w/blasphemy (1Corinthians 06.10; 2Corinthians 12.20; Ephesians 04.31;
1Timothy
03.11; James 04.11; 1Peter 02.01; 1Peter 03.10;
1Peter 04.04;
2Peter 02.10;
Jude
01.08-10).
“2 to be peaceable” G269. amacov amachos am’-akh-os; from 1 (as a negative particle) & 3163; peaceable:-- not a brawler.
Paul says that Titus & the CHRISTians on Crete are to
not be quarrelsome or contentious.
Instead they are to be: “2 gentle,” G1933. epieikhv epieikes ep-ee-i-kace’;
from 1909 & 1503; appropriate, i.e. (by implication) mild:-- gentle,
moderation, patient.
The Cretans had a bad reputation of being greedy &
aggressive, so Paul was telling Titus that he & the Cretans were to be
gentle to all, especially to those who were mean to them.
This goes in line w/what we are taught throughout the New Testament about how we are to treat those who are mean & wicked to us (Ephesians 04.02; 2Timothy 02.24-25; 1Peter 02.18; 1Peter 03.08).
The Cretan CHRISTians Paul said are to be gentle because
our LORD is gentle (Isaiah 40.11; Matthew 11.29).
Being gentle is a mark of a follower of Jesus & is a
fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 05.22; Philippians 04.05; Colossians
03.12-13).
“2 …showing every consideration (gentleness) for all men.”
Paul is saying that we are to show by the way that we live
that we are gentle, meek towards all men, something that he had also said in Colossians
03.12 & in Ephesians 04.02.
The truly meek person is submissive as a matter of choice,
because he simply wants to obey His master & to be like Him (Matthew 11.29;
Matthew
21.05; 2Timothy 02.25).
As followers & imitators of
Jesus, were are not called to fight for our rights or privileges in this
ungodly world. Instead, we are to be in subjection to those over us, doing good
deeds, maligning no one, & not being quarrelsome, but instead gentle &
meek, so that we can demonstrate the power of God to transform sinner &
make them more like His Son, just as was done for us.
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