October 13th, 2011
Today’s reading from Encounter with God

Truth Leads to Godliness

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Opening Prayer

Heavenly Father, may Your truth shape my life today. Strengthen me to live each day according to Your better way.

Read TITUS 1:1-16

[1] Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ for the faith of God’s elect and the knowledge of the truth that leads to godliness- [2] a faith and knowledge resting on the hope of eternal life, which God, who does not lie, promised before the beginning of time, [3] and at his appointed season he brought his word to light through the preaching entrusted to me by the command of God our Savior, [4] To Titus, my true son in our common faith: Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior. [5] The reason I left you in Crete was that you might straighten out what was left unfinished and appoint elders in every town, as I directed you. [6] An elder must be blameless, the husband of but one wife, a man whose children believe and are not open to the charge of being wild and disobedient. [7] Since an overseer is entrusted with God’s work, he must be blameless-not overbearing, not quick-tempered, not given to drunkenness, not violent, not pursuing dishonest gain. [8] Rather he must be hospitable, one who loves what is good, who is self-controlled, upright, holy and disciplined. [9] He must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it. [10] For there are many rebellious people, mere talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision group. [11] They must be silenced, because they are ruining whole households by teaching things they ought not to teach-and that for the sake of dishonest gain. [12] Even one of their own prophets has said, “Cretans are always liars, evil brutes, lazy gluttons.” [13] This testimony is true. Therefore, rebuke them sharply, so that they will be sound in the faith [14] and will pay no attention to Jewish myths or to the commands of those who reject the truth. [15] To the pure, all things are pure, but to those who are corrupted and do not believe, nothing is pure. In fact, both their minds and consciences are corrupted. [16] They claim to know God, but by their actions they deny him. They are detestable, disobedient and unfit for doing anything good.

Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 International Bible Society. All rights reserved throughout the world. Used by permission of International Bible Society.

Meditate

“…train yourself to be godly. For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come” (1 Tim. 4:7b,8).

Think Further

Paul had sent Titus to stabilize the vulnerable young church in Crete by appointing reliable leadership for each town congregation. The local culture had a well-justified bad reputation. The saying Paul quoted (12) was typical. Crete had a reputation for self-indulgence and caring only for its own. The Gospel had begun to take root and had spread across the island, but there was insufficient evidence of transformed lives. Furthermore, Jewish Christian teachers (“the circumcision group,” v. 10) were spreading a version of the Gospel that pandered to Cretan culture by emphasizing commands (the Law), “myths” (14) and purity rituals (15), none of which had the power to transform (16). Late in his ministry, Paul was still protecting young churches from this inadequate form of Christianity he had challenged from the beginning (e.g., in Galatians).

The truth which Paul has been preaching leads to godliness. Faith is sustained by hope, which is rooted in God’s promises. Unlike Cretan culture, God does not lie. Gospel truth is lived truth. It makes godly living possible. Titus is to identify leaders whose faith is sound and whose lives are godly. Their sound belief is to counter the false teachers and enable them to instruct the young churches (9). Their godly lives are to contrast with Cretan culture and show God’s better way (6-8). In this passage the “elders” and the “overseers” are probably the same people. We are not all called to be overseers (i.e. church leaders), but in another sense everyone who follows Christ is called to be an “elder,” an example of long-term discipleship. Young Christians need examples of stable and mature Christian living.

Apply

Ask: “How is what I believe reflected in my life? What sort of example am I to younger believers?”

Closing prayer

Lord, I pray as Paul prayed for the Philippian Church, that I may be able, “…to discern what is best and be pure and blameless until the day of Christ.”

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