Who wrote Titus, and when?
Paul. About AD 62–64.
The letter names Paul as its author, and Christians have read it as his since the earliest lists of New Testament books. Titus belongs with 1 and 2 Timothy in a group often called the Pastoral Letters, written to individuals rather than to whole churches. Traditionally Paul wrote it about AD 62 to 64, after the imprisonment that ends the book of Acts, during a period of further travel. Many scholars date it later and think a follower of Paul wrote in his name, pointing to differences in vocabulary and to the church structures it describes. Others answer that a different secretary and a different subject would explain those differences. The letter's own claim stands in its opening verses (see chapter 1).
Who was Titus written to?
Titus, Paul’s Gentile co-worker, left to organise the churches on the island of Crete.
Titus was a Gentile Christian and one of Paul's trusted co-workers, mentioned often in 2 Corinthians and in Galatians 2:1-3. Paul had left him on Crete, a large island in the Mediterranean, to finish work that had only been started. The churches there were young and loosely organised, with no settled leaders in most towns. Some teachers were pushing Jewish myths and rules about clean and unclean things, and making money from it. Crete itself had a poor reputation in the ancient world for lying and laziness, a reputation Paul repeats from one of the island's own writers (see Titus 1:12). Titus faced a hard job among new believers who had a great deal to unlearn.
What was happening at the time?
Crete had a reputation for dishonesty, and its new churches were disorganised and troubled by teachers of Jewish myths. Paul tells Titus to appoint elders in every town, silence the false teachers, and teach every group in the church what befits sound doctrine. The letter ties grace tightly to changed living: the grace that saves also trains us to live godly lives.
Why was Titus written?
To establish order and godliness in the Cretan churches through good leaders and sound teaching.
Paul writes so that the churches on Crete will be properly led and visibly changed. Titus is to appoint elders in every town, choosing men whose character can be checked at home before it is trusted in church (see chapter 1). He is to shut down teaching that trades in myths, and to teach older men, older women, younger women, younger men and slaves what fits sound doctrine (see chapter 2). One idea runs underneath the whole letter: grace is a teacher, not a licence. The kindness of God that saves people also trains them to live differently while they wait for Christ to appear (see Titus 2:11-14). That joins the letter to the wider Bible story, where God has always been forming a people who belong to him and are eager to do good.
How to read Titus today
Titus is three short chapters and can be read in one sitting. Start at the beginning and notice the shape: leaders first, then teaching for each group in the church, then living well among neighbours. Two passages carry the heart of it, Titus 2:11-14 and Titus 3:3-7, and both are worth reading twice. Watch how often good works appear, and notice that they follow salvation rather than earn it. Do not force the list of qualifications for elders into a scorecard for judging people, since it describes settled character over time. The blunt line about Cretans in chapter 1 repeats a local saying and is not a rule about any nation today. While reading, pray for the leaders of your own church.
The key verse in Titus
For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age,
Passages worth knowing in Titus
- Titus 1
Elders in every city
Blameless leaders who hold fast the word.
- Titus 2
Sound doctrine for every age
The grace of God that brings salvation teaches us.
- Titus 3:3-8
The washing of regeneration
Not by works of righteousness which we have done.
The main themes of Titus
- Church leadership
- Sound doctrine
- Grace that transforms
- Good works
- Order
An outline of Titus
| Section | Chapters |
|---|---|
| Leaders and false teachers | 1 |
| Teaching that fits the gospel | 2 |
| Good works and grace | 3 |