Final Study from the book of Titus

We are studying through the complete book of Titus and we have come to our last study in this book now. Today we are going to be studying Titus 3:8-15. Once again we will go verse by verse and I will comment on each verse as we go along. 

Verse 8 - This is a faithful saying, and these things I will that thou affirm constantly, that they which have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable unto men.
Here in verse 8 we are encouraged once again to do good works. We know that good works can never save anyone, but after we have come to saving faith in our Lord Jesus Christ we are to follow Jesus every moment of every day. The Lord has prepared good works for each of us to do and as we obey the nudges from the Holy Spirit, He directs and guides us to do that which He has prepared for us to do.


Verse 9 - But avoid foolish questions, and genealogies, and contentions, and strivings about the law; for they are unprofitable and vain.

Here we are instructed ( we must remember that the Bible is not a book of suggestions, it is a book of instructions!! ) We are not to be involved in foolish arguments about genealogies or the law. We must devote ourselves to living according to the teachings of the Bible. Some people are often disagreeable and seldomly will agree with you even if they know you are saying the truth. Some people are just disagreeable for the sake of arguments. The Bible is very clear and in most cases if we just state what the Bible says, there is really no valid argument. The Bible has the ultimate and final authority in a Christians's life.

Verse 10 - A man that is an heretick after the first and second admonition reject;

Here again Paul is not playing games ... he is giving solid instructions. He is teaching that a person that is teaching untruth or one causing sinful divisions in life is to be given two warnings. After that, if there is no repentance or change in the person's behavior, we are to have nothing to do with that person any longer. This is a very difficult portion of Scripture to truly live out. We must be in humble prayer as we go about these issues and be obedient to the direction of the Holy Spirit. 

Verse 11 -  Knowing that he that is such is subverted, and sinneth, being condemned of himself.

Here Paul elaborates on the heart condition of the person with whom we are to have nothing to do with. Such a person has turned away from the truth and his or her own sins condemn that person. They know that the lifestyle they are living is sinful but they love their sin and have no fear of God in their hearts. Eternal judgement awaits these persons unless they truly repent.

Verse 12-When I shall send Artemas unto thee, or Tychicus, be diligent to come unto me to Nicopolis: for I have determined there to winter.

Now we come to some closing remarks. Paul is sending a friend out to Titus and is asking him to come to Nicopolis as he plans to spend the winter there.

Verse 13 - Bring Zenas the lawyer and Apollos on their journey diligently, that nothing be wanting unto them.
He is asking Titus to help Zenas and Apollos with whatever they need, to help them with their trip.


Verse 14 -  And let our's also learn to maintain good works for necessary uses, that they be not unfruitful.

Here again we are instructed as children of God to learn to do good and to help to take care of the urgent needs of other people. When the Holy Spirit nudges us to supply the needs of others we must be quick to respond. Always be alert to the nudging of the Holy Spirit within your heart and life.

Verse 15 -  All that are with me salute thee. Greet them that love us in the faith. Grace be with you all. Amen.

 Here are the goodbyes and final greetings of the letter. He says "grace be with you all". We all need the grace of our Lord Jesus in our life each and every day. He gives us many blessings each day that we do not deserve nor could we ever earn. Salvation is by grace. God's grace is very powerful and active in our daily life.

That concludes our study in the book of Titus. May God richly bless you as you continue to trust Him and study His Word!

Do That Which is Good... Bible Study from Titus 3:1-7

We are studying through the book of Titus. Today we come to Chapter 3. We are learning to take God at His Word as we are studying verse by verse. What good is it to know the Word of God and then not to obey? We must be willing to yield to the authority that the Lord God has in our lives. He holds eternity in His hand. So let's begin with verse 1 of Titus Chapter 3.

Verse 1: -Put them in mind to be subject to principalities and powers, to obey magistrates, to be ready to every good work,

Paul is putting out a good reminder for us all. We are to be obedient to the laws of the land, we are to abide by the law - yes this includes paying taxes willingly and driving within the speed limit! Recently we have seen many instances where the authority of our police officers is not respected. This is wrong and results in much tragedy.  We are to obey the police officers and to show them respect. God has placed them in authority for our safety, our protection and for the protection of our rights and property. We are always to be ready to do the next right thing!

Verse 2: - To speak evil of no man, to be no brawlers, but gentle, shewing all meekness unto all men.

We are encouraged here and instructed to be careful in our speech. We must not slander others, and we must not be involved in riots or rough types of protests. As Christians we are people of peace and we promote peace, we promote respectful and God honoring conduct. Christian character is that of gentleness and respect. 

Verse 3: -  For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another.

Here in verse 3, we are reminded of what our character and lifestyle was like before we became a Christian - that is before we surrendered our life to Jesus as Lord and Saviour.  In those days we lived foolishly, we were disobedient to the ways of the Lord, we were deceived and served the sinful lusts and pleasures that the devil entices everyone to. Our lives were filled with envy and hate. Thank the Lord that we no longer need to live in the sinful flesh. Jesus has redeemed us by His blood, He died on the cross to save each of us. Please do turn to Him for forgiveness of your sin today- one day it will be too late and we do not know even if we have tomorrow!

Verse 4: - But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared,

Verse 4 has a very important word. It is the word but. It represents the turning point in our lives. We were lost and living in sin ...But then Jesus came and rescued us from our sin! Our Saviour appeared!!

Verse 5: -  Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;

We are saved by grace, by the grace of God. There isn't anything that we can do to earn God's favor, there is no other way to get to heaven except through Jesus. Jesus is the way! Jesus is the answer! Only Jesus saves!! He washed away our sins, He gave us salvation and new life through the Holy Ghost. 

Ephesians 2:8-9 says - For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:  Not of works, lest any man should boast.

Verse 6: - Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour;

God poured out the Holy Spirit on us through Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit comes to reside in us at the time of our conversion to Christ. He dwells within us, He guides us and speaks to us into our spirit, He comforts us, and He convicts us when we do wrong. Do not quench the Holy Spirit in your heart. This happen when we refuse to become rid of sin.  The Holy Spirit is there to help you.

Verse 7: - that being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

This is a very exciting verse! The blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin, Jesus becomes our righteousness. We are free in Him - free to live the rest of our lives here for Him and then to be heirs with  Him of eternal life in Heaven! Praise the Lord! As the old hymn says ..... What a day that will be when my Jesus I shall see, when I look upon His face, the One who saved me by His grace, when He takes me by the hand and leads me to the Promised Land, what a day, glorious day that will be !!!

Link here to listen to the song "What a Day that will be"  What a Day that will be

The Blessed Hope - Titus 2:11-15

We are studying through the book of Titus. This passage from Titus 2 which we are about to study is a favorite of many many people. It is the passage regarding the blessed hope that we have. We will see Jesus face to face. Our troubles and trials will once and for all be behind us. We wait with great eagerness and longing to be with Jesus! 

So let's go through this passage verse by verse and unpack it slowly:

Verse 11 - For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,
It is the grace of God that provides salvation for us. We read in Ephesians 2:8-9 -For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast

Salvation has been provided full and free for everyone. No one is excluded. All who are willing can be saved. When Jesus Christ came to earth the first time, He came to save us from our sin. The next time He comes, it will be to reign as Lord of lords and King of kings. Every knee will bow to Him and confess that He is Lord!

 Verse 12 Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;

Here in verse 12 we learn that we are to say "no" to the evil that presents itself before us. We are to turn from all that God calls sin, turn away from lust and sinful pleasures. We are to resist evil temptations. We are instructed to in complete surrender and devotion to God. We need to obey Him, do what He says in the Bible. Sometimes we may feel that we have already done what God requires when in fact we have only read about it. One example of this is repentance. We need to repent of our evil ways and turn from them once and for all. The reason why this is so is explained in verse 13.

Verse 13 -  Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;
 We are looking for the return of the Lord Jesus Christ! This is the blessed hope that is alive within us by the power of the Holy Spirit. This gives us hope to endure whatever we are enduring or facing today. This old world is not all there is. We are looking for Jesus to appear in the clouds and take us home! Then we will be with Him forever! No more sorrow, or pain, no more tears. All who are saved through faith in Jesus can rest in this blessed hope of eternal life with Jesus for eternity!

Verse 14 - Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.

Jesus died on the cross for each of us. He took your sin and mine, He became guilty of that which we have done wrong. Jesus was pure and sinless, but He died to pay for our sin.  He died to redeem us back to God. He died to cleanse us from our sin, to purify us for Himself. We belong to Jesus, we are set apart for Him. We are to bring glory and honor to Jesus by doing the good that He has called for us to do. He has something for each of us to do that will build His kingdom and bring the lost to Him for salvation!

Verse 15  - These things speak, and exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no man despise thee.

Here in verse 15, Paul says to Titus that he must teach these things and encourage the believers to obey these teachings of our Lord. The Bible is the true Word of God. If you want to hear from God, then open your Bible and He will speak to you. Read the Bible every day, pray and obey the word of the Lord.

Bible Study for the Workplace - Titus 2:9 -10

We have been studying through the book of Titus. We have studied exhortations on becoming sound in our faith, exhortations to younger men, older men, women and now today we come to a study on the workplace. What is our attitude supposed to be toward our employer? God's Word has the answers to all areas of our lives. We will go through two verses only in this study. So let's begin by going to Titus chapter 2 verses 9 and 10.

Titus 2:9-10 - Exhort servants to be obedient unto their own masters, and to please them well in all things; not answering again;

 Not purloining, but shewing all good fidelity; that they may adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things.

picture thanks to colororigin.com

picture thanks to wegetyouhealthy.com 

This portion of Scripture is addressed to servants. Some translations use the word slave. At the time when this was written, many people served in this role. They were treated as members of the household in which they served. They were usually paid and were given the opportunity to earn their freedom after a given period of time had passed. So we see that there are differences but also similarities to the workplace environment today. You probably see yourself as part of the business you work at and it is your "work family" so to speak.
First of all, beginning in verse 9 - servants are encouraged to be obedient to their masters. This is pretty straight forward, you need to do what the boss tells you. Your boss or employer has authority over those working for him, and the employees need to do what they are instructed to do. Next we see that the servant is to please the master in all things, not answering again. This is saying that you to do your job well, with integrity when your boss is not looking. You do your work well regardless of whether anyone is watching or not.  And not answering back is that you will not bad mouth your employer nor talk back to him, you will show him or her respect.

Verse 10 begins with the words - not purloining, but showing good fidelity.  This means that as an employee you must not steal, but you must show yourself to be completely trustworthy. This would include taking the right length of coffee breaks and lunch time. It is so easy to take a few extra minutes but we must not give in to this temptation, it is a form of stealing. Also another way that purloining happens at the workplace is if you take supplies home with you, perhaps it is paper or a pen, or whatever is available at your particular job site.  We are encouraged to never take that which does not belong to us. As Christians we need to be entirely trustworthy. We serve the Lord Jesus Christ and not ourselves. Whatever we do is to be glorifying to the Lord Jesus as we read in 1 Corinthians 10:31 Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.

Now we come to the final part of verse 10 - we are to adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things. What does it mean to "adorn the doctrine of God"? It is to behave in such a way that others will be drawn to the Lord Jesus. They will see your positive attitude, your patience and perseverance even on the days that are hard or extra busy. You will be kind, thoughtful and helpful, listen to others and share in their joys and sadness. Lend a helping hand where you can. Share your faith with others in your workplace and point them to Jesus every day.

Galatians 5:22-23

 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,

 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.

Bible Study for Young Men from Titus 2:6-8

We are doing a Bible Study that will take us through the book of Titus. Most recently we have studied Biblical instructions to younger and older women and also to older men. I would encourage you to read these study posts as well. Here are the links: Bible Teaching for Younger and Older Women 

Bible Teaching for Older Men

But today the focus of our study is young men. At first thought you might think that it will be a teaching on how to treat a young woman or girlfriend or on remaining sexually pure. These are very important issues and you may be surprised to find a variety of instructions to young men in three short verses. So let's begin and see what these verses from Titus 2:6-8 will teach us. We will go through each verse in the study.

A Teaching to Young men - ( picture shutterstock.com )

Titus 2: 6-8

6 Young men likewise exhort to be sober minded.

7 In all things shewing thyself a pattern of good works: in doctrine shewing uncorruptness, gravity, sincerity,

8 Sound speech, that cannot be condemned; that he that is of the contrary part may be ashamed, having no evil thing to say of you.

 Verse 6 - Young men likewise exhort to be sober minded.

Here again we see the word sober minded. We have seen similar words of exhortation to women and to older men in previous studies. Young men are encouraged to live with a sober mind. This means to live intentionally and to make right choices with purpose. Sometimes a young man does not take the time to think through the choices he is making and he seems surprised when he must face the consequences of his actions. Here in Titus young men are strongly encouraged to be careful to be of sober mind.  Living sober mindedly first of all includes submitting your life to the Lord Jesus Christ in complete surrender. To do this is the most important thing you can ever do and then as you make Jesus Lord of your life and your first love, everything else in life will fall into place. With Jesus as your Savior, the Holy Spirit then indwells you and living according to Biblical teaching becomes clearer every day. So secondly, living sobermindedly would include living a life of integrity, being careful of the friends you choose, careful in entertainment choices and abstaining from alcohol, abstaining from drugs and smoking, and other addictions. Viewing and participating in pornography has no place in the Christian life. It is very dangerous to view and participate in pornography and lustful living and will have lifelong consequences in friendhips and it makes it almost impossible to have a good marriage. So please, please young men do not set yourself up for failure by viewing and participating in pornography, it is a terrible addiction. The Bible has very harsh words for anyone who is living in immorality. Please do not take this lightly. ( For a more complete look at what the Bible says about pornography/immorality, please read my blog post on this topic - link here Sexual Immorality ) 

Ephesians 5: 1-7

Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children;

2 And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour.

3 But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once named among you, as becometh saints;

4 Neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient: but rather giving of thanks.

5 For this ye know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.

6 Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience.

7 Be not ye therefore partakers with them.

Verse 7- In all things shewing thyself a pattern of good works: in doctrine shewing uncorruptness, gravity, sincerity,

Here in verse 7, a young man is encouraged to be an good example to those he come in contact with. Let your peers, friends, family and fellow employees see you doing good. A Christian should be the most loving, kind and helpful person anyone meets. When you feel that  prompting from the Holy Spirit, urging you to help someone and to show kindness, then do not hesitate to follow the Lord. 

Make it your habit to read and study your Bible every day. Set aside a time of day and a place where you meet with the Lord, and pray about everything - and just thank the Lord for things, what He has done for you, for His presence in your life and how He is guiding you, He has your best in mind and He will not disappoint you when you give your whole mind, soul, and body to the Lord Jesus.

The Lord would have men to be leaders, so be willing to follow the Lord in this. Study the Bible and be ready to teach others the pure Word of Scriptures.

Let everything you do be done with integrity, serving the Lord with intentionality.

Verse 8- 

Sound speech, that cannot be condemned; that he that is of the contrary part may be ashamed, having no evil thing to say of you

Here in verse 8, young men are encouraged be be careful in speech. As quoted in the earlier passage from Ephesians, in verse 4 we read these strong words, as to what is not to be a part of our speech - so  Neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient: but rather giving of thanks

So we see that foolish talking, or dirty jokes, are not to be a part of our conversations. Another translation reads -  Obscene stories, foolish talk, and coarse jokes—these are not for you. Instead, let there be thankfulness to God.

 It is important to always be a man of truth. Satan is the father of lies and every lie you or I tell is pleasing to satan but entirely a sin and an offense to the Lord Jesus. 

Be encouraged young men - live your life with integrity, intentionality, truth, decency, purity, and love the Lord Jesus with all your heart. Put Him first in your every thought and decision and may the Lord richly bless you as you seek Him!!

Bible Study - Titus 2:1-2 Biblical Instruction to Older Men

Titus 2:1-2 But speak thou the things which become sound doctrine:

 That the aged men be sober, grave, temperate, sound in faith, in charity, in patience.

As we begin our Bible Study in Titus chapter 2, we see that Paul is giving instructions to Titus as to what he is to teach various groups of people. In this chapter, he will give instructions concerning older men, older women, younger women and younger men. These instructions are applicable to us today. God does not change and His instructions and guidelines for living do not change with the changing times. Some of these instructions that he gives are going to sound old fashioned to some of you but we need to remember that God created marriage and family and He does know best. He sets the boundaries and not we ourselves. So lets begin.

picture thanks to fitnnessthrroughfasting.com

Verse 1 -  But speak thou the things which become sound doctrine:

The Words of the Bible are the Words of God, Words of Wisdom. Sound doctrine is the basis for holy living and for producing characteristics and qualities that a Christian possesses. These are qualities that identify us as true Christians. This includes living a life of faith in our Lord Jesus, and trusting Him with our lives. It includes living a life of love, love in action. A good definition of the word love is "you before me" - that is the putting the needs of others ahead of what we think we need or want. We care for others - this includes those in our immediate family. It can be easy to neglect those closest to us, when these are to be our first priority.

Verse 2 -  That the aged men be sober, grave, temperate, sound in faith, in charity, in patience.

We see here a list of characteristics that are to be evident in the life of an aged ( or older ) gentleman. Let's go through them word by word.

*sober - this means to be clear minded, level headed and serious in how one lives, not thoughtless or careless, but rather making right choices intentionally with purpose. 

* grave - this is to be self controlled and live with dignity

* temperate - this means to show moderation and self restraint

*sound in faith - this means to be solidly grounded in the Lord, living the faith you profess to have. This would include having a personal relationship with the Lord and being in prayer and in His Word daily, saturating yourself in it, keeping your mind focused on the things of the Lord throughout the day.

* in charity - we understand charity to mean love - this is not romantic or puppy love or lust for younger or older women. It is not listening to love songs on the radio all day stirring up your flesh. It is a pure desire to bless another in the Name of Jesus. This includes helping the poor, and widows and widowers, a neighbor in need, those who are lonely, donating to honorable causes and charities etc. but also just putting others in your family ahead of yourself.

* patience - this is being steadfast and willing to wait. Sometimes the answers to our prayers are delayed, and as we wait on the Lord, we need to keep strong in our faith, and not begin to doubt that He is indeed good, that He loves us and He has planned the very best for us.

That concludes our study on instructions from the book of Titus specifically written to older men. 

Deuteronomy 11:16  Take heed to yourselves, that your heart be not deceived, and ye turn aside, and serve other gods, and worship them;

May God bless each one of you!

Bible Study Titus Part 2 ( Titus 1:10-16 )

For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.

picture from biblepic.com

We are now ready to enter Part 2 of our Bible study in the book of Titus. Today we are going to be discussing Titus 1:10 -16. Some of these verses in today's study are somewhat hard to understand, but we are confident that God is willing to speak to us through every book of the Bible and every portion of Scripture. So let's begin with verse 10.

Titus 1:10 For there are many unruly and vain talkers and deceivers, specially they of the circumcision:

In our previous study, we learned about the character qualities that God requires in Bishops and elders. We learned how the Bishop and elder must be a man who is faithful to his wife in marriage and faithful to his family, he must not be a drunkard or violent, and he must be pure in all areas of his life.

Now in verse 10 we read that there are many people who deceive others, people who speak untruth and whose conversation is typically useless and does not center on the things of the Lord. We are warned that these kinds of people are those of the "circumcision".  There were people in Biblical times those who taught that the Gentiles should follow the Jewish customs in order to please God.  We know that what God requires of us is that we repent of our sins and come to Jesus and accept Him as our personal Lord and Savior. Jesus is the One who took our sin upon Himself there on the cross, and He suffered and died in our place. What we must do is to receive Him as Savior and make Him the Lord of our lives. When we give our hearts and life to Him, He becomes our Lord and Savior and therefore we surrender our will to His will and we choose to live according to His ways. We no longer have any desire to live the sinful life of pleasures and worldliness.

Verse 11 - Whose mouths must be stopped, who subvert whole houses, teaching things which they ought not, for filthy lucre's sake.

The mouth of those who speak lies must be stopped. That is why it is so important that our local church pastor regularly inform the congregation he serves of the false teachers that we all encounter through various forms of media, on the internet, radio and TV. The health and wealth preachers of our day, those who distort the Bible or leave out passages of the Bible, passages of the Bible that warn us of the sin of homosexuality and immorality. Please everyone who is reading this, be warned that the Bible is very clear that homosexuality and any sexual activity outside of marriage is a sin against God and will be punished by God Himself. God created marriage - one man and one woman married for life, that is God's original plan. God in His great mercy and compassion has made a way of escape for that man or woman who finds himself/herself suddenly trapped in a marriage where their spouse has broken the marriage covenant and has went outside the marriage for sexual experiences. In a case such as this God does allow for divorce.
Many of the false teachers are very hungry for money and request you give them money while they live in luxury and riches and boost their own egos. Sooner or later God brings them down to destruction.

Verse 12 - One of themselves, even a prophet of their own, said, the Cretians are alway liars, evil beasts, slow bellies.
These people are lazy and live like animals, living a lie. They say they are Christian but deny Christ by their lives and actions.


Verse 13 - This witness is true. Wherefore rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith;
We need to focus our attention on becoming sound in faith. How does one do this you ask? By spending time with the Lord in Bible reading and prayer. This needs to be a regular routine, something that you do every day. God will speak to you as you read the Bible. Take time to pray and listen to what He is telling you, be willing to do what He tells you. 
Rebuke those who are leading others astray. Stand up for truth and righteousness. Take a stand for the Lord even if it costs you something. Take a stand for the Lord at work or school, in your family and with your friends. The Lord rewards those who are faithful to Him.




Verse 14 -  Not giving heed to Jewish fables, and commandments of men, that turn from the truth.

As you take a step of faith and be that witness for the Lord, and take a stand for righteousness, you will be a help to those around you. It will become clear who is truly on the Lord's side and who is in it for themselves. Others will become more bold to take a stand for Jesus, and they too will oppose the sin and darkness that is so prevalent. In this way the Lord will be glorified and honored. You will be glorifying the Lord in your work or school, and in your family and among friends.

Verse 15 -  Unto the pure all things are pure: but unto them that are defiled and unbelieving is nothing pure; but even their mind and conscience is defiled.
Here is a very important verse. When our heart has been cleansed by the blood of the Lord Jesus, we can live lives of purity. The opposite is also true - If a person has not been cleansed by the blood of the Lord Jesus, he or she is living in darkness and will normally gravitate to the dark side, and to live for the devil. Such a person's heart is filled with lust and greed. Such men will look at every woman with lust in their hearts, imagining the unthinkable. Their minds are filled with all sexual perversions. As the verse says "their mind and conscience is defiled". Women who live with these  defiled hearts lure men into immoral relationships and try to be sexy in their revealing clothing and dress showing their breasts with no shame. These people know no other way to live and believe that the life they are living is normal and yet if they would speak honestly, they would tell you that deep inside they are in turmoil, they are not happy and they are unfulfilled. Their heart is empty as they seek for that next thrill. If you are reading this and it describes you or someone you love, please turn your heart over to the Lord Jesus. Seek Him sincerely, repent of your sin, believe that Jesus is the only Savior and that He died for you. Ask Jesus to save you today. For further information on how to be saved please go to this link How to be saved
also I wrote a blog post on Repentance and I highly recommend you check it out.
Also for prayer for healing from your broken heart please contact the ministry of John Mcternan at Luke4.18Heal@gmail.com  and visit his website Jesus Christ Came to Heal the Brokenhearted  where he shares how his own broken heart was healed and there are testimonies of others who have prayed and received healing.

Verse 16 They profess that they know God; but in works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate.

This verse warns us to beware of those who profess to know the Lord but in their actions they deny Him. Our lives are a living testimony to those around us. If the fruit of our lives does not line up with what the Bible teaches, then it is time to examine our hearts to see if we are really Christians. If you are a Christian then you will be living according to the commandments of God as he has given in the Bible. 
There are people who say they know God, that they are Christians  but the evil things they do show that they don’t accept him. They refuse to obey God and because they are not lead by the Holy Spirit ( who indwells the heart and life of every true believer ) and because the Holy Spirit is not in them, they are not capable of doing anything good.

Galatians 5 clearly describes the fruits of those who know Christ and the fruits of those who do not know Him. In which camp are you?


Those who are saved and know Christ -
Galatians 5:22-25

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.  And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.  If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.



Those who are not truly saved - Galatians 5:19 -21

  Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies,  envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

Titus 1:10-16

10 For there are many unruly and vain talkers and deceivers, specially they of the circumcision:

11 Whose mouths must be stopped, who subvert whole houses, teaching things which they ought not, for filthy lucre's sake.

12 One of themselves, even a prophet of their own, said, the Cretians are alway liars, evil beasts, slow bellies.

13 This witness is true. Wherefore rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith;

14 Not giving heed to Jewish fables, and commandments of men, that turn from the truth.

15 Unto the pure all things are pure: but unto them that are defiled and unbelieving is nothing pure; but even their mind and conscience is defiled.

16 They profess that they know God; but in works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate.

Bible Study - Titus 1:1-9

I have wanted to do a study on the book of Titus for some time now. It is a short book - only three chapters but packed with wonderful truths that the Lord would have us know and live by. So my plan here is to go verse by verse and see what it says. Please feel free to leave comments if there is something on your mind - just keeping in mind that I delete comments that are bitter or if a comment is with malice and looking to be argumentative.
So let's begin with Titus chapter 1.
I have posted the verses we are studying at the bottom of the page - Titus 1:1-9

picture from rgbstock.com

Verse 1 - Paul, a servant of God, and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God's elect, and the acknowledging of the truth which is after godliness;
Paul regards himself to be a servant of God. A servant is not above his master. A servant is willing to be obedient to the instructions that his master gives him. So also, we should consider ourselves to be servants of the Lord Jesus and ready to do our Master's will!  God has chosen every person on the planet to be one of His own, but He knows that many will not choose to follow Jesus. To become a part of the family of God we must accept Jesus as our personal Saviour and put all our faith and trust in Him. OnlyJesus can save - no one except Jesus! Jesus is the way, the truth and the life as it says in John 14: 6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

Verse 2 - In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began;
God's goal for each of us is to have eternal life with Him in heaven. This verse reminds us that God does not lie. He will always keep His promises!! God is faithful to us always. 2 Timothy 2:13 If we are faithless, He remains faithful; He cannot deny Himself.


Verse 3  But hath in due times manifested his word through preaching, which is committed unto me according to the commandment of God our Saviour;
It is so amazing to think that God has entrusted us humans to carry forward His Word to our friends and family and to the coming generations. Yet we always must keep our focus on the message of the cross, focus on the message of the Bible and not on the messenger who is preaching the sermon to us. I have looked up to many preachers in my lifetime already, Some have failed to live up to God's standards but the message of the Bible does not fail us. I would encourage anyone who is looking for some good preaching to google James MacDonald or Levi Lusko, or Dr J Vernon McGee, or John Munroe. These are all good teachers of God's Word. We can learn much from their teachings.

Verse 4 - To Titus, mine own son after the common faith: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ our Saviour.
Paul is writing this book to Titus. He is referring to him as his son. This means that Paul has been instrumental in helping Titus come to faith in the Lord Jesus. Grace, mercy and peace is given to us by God our heavenly Father and our Lord Jesus Christ.

Verse 5 - For this cause left I thee in Crete, that thou shouldest set in order the things that are wanting, and ordain elders in every city, as I had appointed thee:

Paul is now getting in the business of the day. He says that he has left Titus in Crete for a purpose. Titus needs to help set things in order in the churches here. There is some work here that needs getting done!  Paul wants Titus to ordain elders in every city. We can also use the word bishop here in place of elder. In verse 7 the word bishop is used. It would appear that Paul had previously given these instructions and now is reminding him to get the job done.


Verse 6  If any be blameless, the husband of one wife, having faithful children not accused of riot or unruly.
Verse 6 begins to tell us what characteristics are required for a man to possess in order for him to qualify to become an elder or bishop. The church that I grew up in did have a bishop. He was the one who would officiate at baptism services and also Communion services. He held a special role in the church. Now a days it is uncommon for a church to have elders or bishops. I don't know why as it seems to be an important role in the church. Where there is no bishop, the role of bishop would fall on the lead pastor or group of pastors in the church.  A bishop needs to be blameless, this means to have no evil behavior in his conduct. There would be nothing you could find in his lifestyle that you could accuse him of. He is living a good, God honoring life in his private and public life - no hidden dark secrets. He is to be the husband of one wife - this means he is faithful to his wife, he must have only one woman in his life and that is his wife. This indicates sexual purity in all it's fullness. The elder or bishop must have faithful children, if a man is not in good relationship with his children, there is something wrong in the family. A father must first lead his own family in the ways of the Lord before God will call him to lead a church. 


Verse 7 - For a bishop must be blameless, as the steward of God; not selfwilled, not soon angry, not given to wine, no striker, not given to filthy lucre;
 Here we see again that a bishop must be blameless, a repeat of verse 6. So what does it mean to be blameless? We have already pointed out that this means this man would be living a pure God honoring life both in public and in his private life. I looked up the word "blameless" in my dictionary and it means there is no fault in the person. So in the work the bishop is doing there will be only uprightness and he will remember that all he does is done to and for the Lord. Not selfwilled, not soon angry, and not given to wine are self explainitory I think. No striker mean he is not a violent person. He will not physically hurt anyone. Not given to filthy lucre - lucre is money or profits. The bishop is not going to cheat or nor will he be greedy or accept bribes or bets, or gamble etc.


Verse 8 - But a lover of hospitality, a lover of good men, sober, just, holy, temperate;
Basically to be a lover of hospitality means you love people, you enjoy engaging people in deeper conversations and topics over a cup of coffee, you enjoy having people over to your house and try to communicate of the things of the Lord with your guests. As the next part of our verse says, a lover of good men - you love good people.  To be sober means to be sensible and discreet and are able to see the serious side of situations. The word just  means that you are fair, you are going to be fair in dealing with people, not take the side of a person just because he or she is has a likeable character or is beautiful to the eye. You will be fair and kind as you counsel people.  Holy - set apart to the Lord, we are to be pure and holy in all mind, thoughts, attitudes and conduct. Hate the evil and cling to what is good and right in the sight of God.
Temperate - a temperate person is a person who is free from extremes - in food and drink, and also calm and restrained in character. 


Verse 9 - Holding fast the faithful word as he hath been taught, that he may be able by sound doctrine both to exhort and to convince the gainsayers.
The elder or bishop  will know the Bible - He will have the Word of God in his heart. He knows the truth of the Word. And since the Holy Word of God is in his heart and mind constantly, he is able to teach and give instruction and encouragement  to anyone who is opposing  the truth of the Bible. He will not hesitate to challenge the one who is speaking  lies or teaching heresy. He can show the the backsliding person the error of his ways and lead him or her back to faith in the Lord. There are many voices out there today who like to contradict Scripture or say that this or that portion should not be in the Bible. God calls the elders and bishops of the church to silence these critics. 


That concludes the first of our studies in the book of Titus. Be blessed as you study the book of Titus with me. 



For further study on this topic please read my blog post Standards for Shepherds  



Titus 1: 1-9 

 Paul, a servant of God, and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God's elect, and the acknowledging of the truth which is after godliness;

2 In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began;

3 But hath in due times manifested his word through preaching, which is committed unto me according to the commandment of God our Saviour;

4 To Titus, mine own son after the common faith: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ our Saviour.

5 For this cause left I thee in Crete, that thou shouldest set in order the things that are wanting, and ordain elders in every city, as I had appointed thee:

6 If any be blameless, the husband of one wife, having faithful children not accused of riot or unruly.

7 For a bishop must be blameless, as the steward of God; not selfwilled, not soon angry, not given to wine, no striker, not given to filthy lucre;

8 But a lover of hospitality, a lover of good men, sober, just, holy, temperate;

9 Holding fast the faithful word as he hath been taught, that he may be able by sound doctrine both to exhort and to convince the gainsayers.