Titus 1:5-16
Paul’s letter to Titus is much like his first letter to Timothy. Titus is serving on the island of Crete to establish a young church. He is helping to mentor young believers and to organize, train, and teach doctrinal truths to the leaders God is raising up in the church.
Most of us do not answer to the title of pastor, bishop or overseeer. The importance of Titus 1:5-16 isn’t dependent on what others call you though. It’s focused on a life that seeks to model Christ to others. We should all be seeking to mentor, encourage, and instruct younger Christians in the truths of scripture. We should all be daily modeling the gospel of Jesus to unbelievers around us. We must all remember that we represent the name of Jesus to those we interact with on a daily basis… regardless of what other believers call us.
It is important that our lives reflect the influence of the spirit of God working within us. We serve a holy God and we must model him well to young believers. We must seek holiness whether we are at home, at school, at work or with friends. Would others describe you as one who strives after godliness? Can others readily point to the work of God in your life on a daily basis?
Paul invokes the best ‘Sunday School answers’ available when instructing Titus on how to live a holy life and how to encourage young believers to live in holiness as well. He stresses the importance Jesus and time in the word of God. If you and I are going to model Jesus well through lives marked by holiness, we must “hold firmly to the trustworthy word”. To be able to teach others well in true and sound doctrine, we must know it well ourselves and we must be communicating daily with Jesus.
Do you depend on Jesus for wisdom and strength to make it through your day? Do you refuel daily on the word of God. Do you depend of it to instruct you in godliness? Is God’s word truly a light to your daily path through life or do you live daily by trusting on your own strength and willpower?
There are many false teachers around us. There are many people who profess to know and teach God but they deny him by the way they live. I encourage you to spend time with Jesus on a a daily basis so that you know him well and your sound doctrine might produce a lifestyle of holiness that brings honor to God in the midst of a fallen and sinful world.