The New Testament | The Letters of Paul
Titus
Things to know



Where does the book begin?
Paul greets Titus. He calls him my true son in the faith* we share.
Places to go
Paul greeted Titus
Titus 1:1-4
Appoint good leaders
Titus 1:5-10
Teach the truth to everyone
Titus 2:1-8
The grace* of God has come
Titus 2:11-14
The Saviour* appeared
Titus 3:3-7
Where does the book end?
Paul reminds Titus to tell people to ‘do what is good.’

People to know
Paul
Titus
The Story of Titus
Paul wrote this letter to his friend named Titus. Titus was Paul’s helper. He had helped Paul tell people the good news about Jesus. Now he lived on an island named Crete. Many people in Crete believed the message about Jesus. But there were not enough leaders to help them grow.
Paul wrote this letter to tell Titus what to do to make the church* strong. He told him many of the same things that he told Timothy. Paul told Titus to appoint leaders in each church*. But he must be careful. They must be good men. They must not have a bad temper or be greedy. They must be faithful* to God and to the truth about Jesus. [1]
But all of the people in Crete were not following Jesus. Some teachers were not telling the truth. These false teachers were a problem. So Paul told Titus to make them stop.
Paul wanted Titus to help people have hope*. That hope* came when people remembered that Jesus would return. When he did return, he would make everything right again. Paul also wanted them to remember what God had already done for them. God had rescued them. He was teaching them how to live good lives. All of these things belonged to them. God gave them these gifts because he was a God of grace*.
When people believed these things, it helped them have hope*. It also helped them to live in ways that pleased God. They did good works. They made it easy for people to know how to follow Jesus.
Titus must teach everyone in the church*. He must teach older men and young men. He must teach older women and they must teach the young women. Then all of the people would be careful to do what was good. [2]
Some parts of the letter asked Titus to do difficult things. When false teachers made trouble, Titus must stop them. He must ‘warn anyone who tries to get people to separate into their own little groups. Warn him more than once. After that, have nothing to do with him‘. [3]
Paul told Titus these things to help him as he helped the church*. He wanted Titus to remember the good things God had done. He was our great God, the one who saved us. He chose us to be his own. When we remembered these things, we would want to live good lives. [4]
‘God’s grace* has now appeared. By his grace, God offers to save all people. His grace teaches us to say no to godless ways and sinful desires. We must control ourselves. We must do what is right. We must lead good lives in today’s world. That’s how we should live as we wait for the blessed hope God has given us. We are waiting for Jesus Christ to appear in his glory. He is our great God and Saviour.’ [5]
[1] Titus 1:5-9
[2] Titus 3:8
[3] Titus 3:10
[4] Titus 2:12-14
[5] Titus 2:11-13