Dear Titus – Titus 1:1-4 – At Quamba Baptist Church

The historical context and background of the book of Titus serves to provide a timeless application of ecclesiastical instruction for the church universal. Titus was a gentile convert. A first generation believer and direct disciple of the apostle Paul. A prototype church planter in a pagan context called to establish a multi-generational outpost of the Church of Jesus Christ on the tiny island of Crete. The culture both inside and outside the professing church presented extreme challenges to the longevity and health of the fledgling body of Christ in this region. Secular humanism without, and self-serving malignant false teaching within threatened to snuff out the light of the gospel indefinitely in the province of Dalmatia. One might think that books, formulas, and conferences of "how to market your church in first century Hellenism" were essential to the success of this missionary effort, instead Paul delivers three vacuum packed chapters of the gospel applied sent from an able slave of Jesus Christ. From the salutation we immediately observed Paul does not waste a word in getting straight to the bottom line of his prescription for a healthy, thriving Church. The book of Titus is structured around three theological reprises the first being our text today, the 2nd: 2:11-14, and the 3rd: 3:4-7 which is followed by a theme verse (3:8). Christianity is a relationship that begets true religion. With the truth of the gospel ever in the forefront of the mind, Paul address the 'how then shall we live' question in three areas: 1. true doctrine, 2. proper order, and 3. ethical living. The apostle addresses his letter from Paul to Titus with a 70 word, or so, parentheses in between... This will provide the body of our sermon today.