October 1 / Titus 1:1-9

Titus 1:1-9

Titus! I presume that most of you would have been expecting II Timothy to follow immediately after I Timothy. But you have to remember that we are reading chronologically – well, as chronologically correct as The Chronological Study Bible may be. So Titus comes between the two Timothy epistles. One other note from my other Study Bible that surprised me. My guess is that you, like me, are more familiar with Timothy than with Titus. Here’s why – surprisingly: Titus is not mentioned in Acts while Timothy is mentioned at least five times (Acts 16:1-3; 17:14-15; 18:5; 19:22; 20:4) Timothy is also included in the greeting in a number of Paul’s letters (Philippians, Colossians, Philemon), so we tend to be more familiar with Timothy. But here’s another surprising item about Titus – although he is not mentioned at all in Acts, he is mentioned 13 times in the epistles!! Clearly, Titus was one of Paul’s most trusted companions.

In the qualifications of elders (vv. 6-9) Paul requires that an elder be the “husband of one wife” – one wonders why the Catholic Church has long maintained celibate priests – and that his children are believers and not open to the charge of debauchery or insubordination. (v. 6b) So the “sins of the children” are reflected back onto the father?? That’s a tough one! Maybe the first century household was very different from what we have today. Yes, we want godly parents to raise godly children, but we have no guarantees. We can teach and model behavior and pray, but the world also has its hold on today’s kids. How often have we heard the phrase, the initials “P.K”, often referring to a “preacher’s kid” who has gone astray??!! We need to always be praying for our own and for our friends’ children.

Slava Bohu!