Titus

The epistle to Titus.

1. Qualifications for Overseers

1: Who are God's elect?

5-9: We have a crisis in the church -- a shortage of men who meet these kinds of qualifications.

The trustworthy word as taught?

10: What was the circumcision aprty?

12: Racism from the apostle Paul!

14: What are the Jewish myths that Paul refers to? The idea that Christians still need to uphold the rituals of the law.

2. Teach Sound Doctrine

2: Do you know old men who fit this description? If you're a young man, seek them out and get to know them. You want to be like them some day when you're an old man.

3-5: Likewise, young women should seek out older women with these kinds of traits for mentorship. This is the sort of person you want to grow into.

6: The thing young men are worst at is self control. This is a great shame because self control is one of the ways we display God's spirit to the world.

9-10: Show good faith at your work. Do you pilfer? Do you cut corners on things you know the boss won't hold you accountable for?

14: Jesus purchased us with his blood and is working to purify us.

15: You can tell who is a good Christian teacher if they are exhorting Christians, young and old, to follow these things. Watch closely: many pastors do not actually do this!

3. Good Works

2: What does it mean to speak evil of no one?

What does it mean to avoid quarreling?

Jesus and the apostles cared a lot about how we speak. How do we know if we're crossing the line? What makes a condemnation worthwhile or worthless? What makes an argument worthwhile or worthless? In his earthly ministry Jesus mostly condemned false teachers. And he is not recorded spending a lot of time debating theology with people.

5: What does it mean that Holy Spirit regenerates us?

7: What does it mean to be heirs? What's being inherited?

8: Per verse 5, it is not our good works that save us but the mercy of God; that said, all that remains for us to do in life is to do good to one another.

9: Many Christians get a lot more excited about strange ideas and arguments than they do about good works.

10: Don't waste your time on people who try to divide the church one way or another.

14: Once again we are told: do good works. It is fruitless to spend all your time worrying about this idea or that idea. We don't know how things will play out in our lives or what everything ultimately means. Focus on doing good, and being good.