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Titus An Apostle Part 2

Titus 1:1 – An Apostle Paul identifies himself as an apostle of Jesus Christ. You might be wondering what the significance of this is, so, let’s dive in! Literally, the Greek word Apostolos means ‘to send off’. The Bible uses the word to refer to someone sent on a mission, but also in reference to specific people. An apostle of Jesus Christ is someone taught by Christ that witnessed to His life, teaching and resurrection. Jesus chose twelve men to be apostles, to spread the gospel and to establish the early Christian church. They were called and commissioned by Christ to teach, train, and lead the churches, establishing the doctrine of salvation. In Ephesians 2 Paul tells us that we are all one in Christ, “Built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets. Christ Jesus Himself being the cornerstone.” (Ephesians 2:20). In Ephesians 4 we learn that the apostles were sent “to equip the saints for the work of the ministry, for building up the body of Christ” (Ephesians 4:12). In Matthew
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Titus 1:1 Slaves to God Part 1

  Titus 1:1 Read Romans 6 Paul starts the letter to Titus with a surprising amount of information packed into his greeting. The first few verses tell us quite a bit about who he is and why he is writing. He starts off with telling us that he is a slave of God. Our translation uses the word servant but the original word, doulos, actually means slave. This is significant because he’s inferring that although he used to be a slave to sin, he has been bought by the precious blood of Jesus Christ and now is a slave of God. If we turn to the book of Romans, chapter six, Paul talks about what this means. He tells us, “For we know that our old self was crucified with Him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin.” He goes on to say in Romans 6:16, 18, “Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone to obey Him as slaves, you are slaves to the one who you obey… You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.”
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A Series on Titus - introduction

Before we get into the book of Titus it is good to know some historical context. Titus was a Greek man that was converted by Paul’s ministry. He worked with Paul at Ephesus during Paul’s third missionary journey. Paul then sent Titus to Corinth to help the church there. As we can see by several passages in 2 Corinthians, Paul greatly cared for Titus and calls him “brother” on many occasions. After Paul’s release from his first imprisonment, he and Titus worked briefly in Crete; after which, Paul asked Titus to stay there. This is evident by what he writes to Titus; chapter 1 verse 5 says, “The reason I left you in Crete was that you might straighten out what was left unfinished and appoint elders in every town as I directed you.” This would have been written for the benefit of the local churches, so that they might know the purpose of Titus’s stay. He was to be a directing leader and teacher. Paul describes Crete as having “many rebellious people, mere talkers and deceivers” (Titus 1
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The Wanderer James 5:18-20 Part 14

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Read James 5:18-20 As we look at the final verses of the book of James, it is interesting to note that unlike a lot of the other letters in the New Testament, James does not end with a prayer or a blessing for the reader. Instead, he wants to pursue those who are wandering in their faith. He reminds us of his compassion when he once again calls the readers brothers; he’s reminding them that we are family in Christ and ought to be a living, loving community. As such, we ought to be worried when anyone wanders from the truth.  What does wandering look like? James has been teaching us this throughout the whole book. He’s been trying to teach us about Christian living. When we wander from the truth it is often a slow, subtle drifting from what God has told us in His word, and a shifting viewpoint of who God is. When we start blaming others for our sin instead of accepting responsibility for our own thoughts and actions, we start thinking differently from what the Bible teaches us. When we
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Praying in Faith James 5:13-18 Part 13

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Read James 5:13-18 Prayer is vitally important to our faith life and James wants to emphasize that no matter what the circumstances, we ought to pray. Prayer is the appropriate response to everything. James challenges our understanding of what it means to live by faith; we are called to be active. We must become a praying person, a praying people, and praying congregations. Whether in sickness or health, good times or bad, in all circumstances we must go to God in prayer. He is our faithful heavenly Father; we must have a God-centered perspective, not putting ourselves first, but having a God-centered trust. We must also recognize that always, and in all circumstances, God knows best.  When you have a best friend or spouse you want to share your whole life with them and tell them all about it. Our relationship to God should be so much closer than any other relationship so we should want to bring everything to Him. Philippians 4:6 says, “Do not be anxious about anything but in everythin
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Let your Yes be Yes James 5: 12 Part 12

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Read James 5: 12 Why does James start this verse with the word “finally” when there’s still more to follow? Well, it’s what comes next that makes this make sense. James says, “Finally, above all…” He wants to emphasize that while everything he’s said about the tongue thus far is important, what he’s about to say is even more important. James is urging us to pay attention to this area of Christian living. He echoes Christ’s teaching in Matthew 5: 33 – 37 where Jesus said, “Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not break your oaths you have made to the Lord.’ But I tell you, do not swear at all, either by heaven, for it is God’s throne; or by earth for it is His footstool; or by Jerusalem for it is the city of the Great King. And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black. Simply let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes’, and your ‘No’, ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.” In the Old Testament, in Leviticus 19: 12 it says, “Do n
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Patience in suffering James 5: 7-11 Part 11

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Read James 5:7-11 James just spoke to the rich unbelieving oppressors, but now he turns his attention back to the congregation he was writing to. Our faith must shape every part of our lives and James is particularly interested in our attitudes while we are here on earth. He wants us to be patient, without grumbling, because the Judge’s coming is near. We must persevere, even through the difficult times.  In a world where instant gratification is demanded, our text today calls us to be patient. Just as the farmer must wait patiently for the rain to help his crops, we too must wait patiently for the Lord’s return. A farmer cannot just take the summer off, he must work hard as he waits for the rain and for his crops to grow. So, too, we as Christians must work hard as we wait for Christ’s return. Deuteronomy 11:13-14 says, “So if you faithfully obey the commands I am giving you today – to love the Lord your God and to serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul – then I will sen
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