Books of the Bible

The Book of Titus

New Testament · Pauline Epistles · Genre: Epistle · Author: Traditionally attributed to the apostle Paul · Chapters: 3

Titus is a short letter guiding a young leader to establish healthy churches on the island of Crete. Paul links sound doctrine to godly living, showing that the grace of God that brings salvation also trains us to live upright, self-controlled, and devoted lives.

Start reading: Titus chapter 1

A key verse

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;Titus 3:5 (KJV)

The setting and background of Titus

Titus is the third of the Pastoral Epistles, written to another of Paul's trusted coworkers, whom he had left on the island of Crete to finish organizing the young churches and to appoint elders in every town. The Cretan culture was known for its rough and unruly character, and Paul writes to help Titus establish churches marked by sound teaching and godly living. Like the other Pastorals, it is traditionally attributed to Paul.

The letter describes the character required of elders, binds sound doctrine to godly conduct in every group in the church, and holds out one of the New Testament's clearest summaries of the gospel: that the grace of God that brings salvation trains us to renounce ungodliness and to live godly lives as we await the appearing of our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ.

Titus was written to guide a leader in ordering the life of new churches around the gospel. In the sweep of Scripture, though brief, it is a gem among the Pastoral Epistles, joining practical instruction with a beautiful summary of the gospel, and its picture of grace that both saves and trains us to live well has shaped Christian discipleship in every generation.

The story and structure of Titus

Titus is the third of the Pastoral Epistles, written to another of Paul's trusted coworkers, whom he had left on the island of Crete to finish organizing the young churches and to appoint elders in every town. The Cretan culture was known for its rough and unruly character, and Paul writes to help Titus establish churches marked by sound teaching and godly living. The letter is traditionally attributed to Paul.

Paul describes the character required of the elders Titus is to appoint, men of integrity and self-control whose lives match their teaching, able to hold firmly to the trustworthy word and to refute those who contradict it. He warns sharply against deceivers and empty talkers who upset whole households for dishonest gain.

The letter's central concern is the tight bond between belief and behavior. Sound teaching should produce sound living in every group in the church, older men and women, younger men and women, and servants, so that the gospel is adorned and made attractive rather than slandered by how believers conduct themselves.

At the heart of the letter is a jewel of the gospel. The grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all, teaching us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, as we wait for the blessed hope, the appearing of our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ.

Paul grounds this new life in what Christ has done: he gave himself for us to redeem us and to purify a people for his own possession, zealous for good works. And he reminds Titus that we are saved not by works of righteousness that we have done, but according to God's mercy, through the washing of regeneration and the renewing of the Holy Spirit.

The great themes of Titus

Key passages in Titus

Titus in the sweep of Scripture

Titus, though brief, is a gem among the Pastoral Epistles, joining practical instruction for church order with one of the New Testament's clearest and most beautiful summaries of the gospel. Its insistence that sound doctrine and godly living belong together has guided the church's understanding of the Christian life, showing that grace does not leave us as we are but transforms us. Its picture of grace that both saves and trains us to live well has shaped Christian discipleship in every generation.

Where Christ is in Titus

Titus centers on the appearing of our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ, whose grace both saves us and teaches us to live godly lives as we await his return. He gave himself for us to redeem us and to purify a people for his own possession, so that the whole of the Christian life, its salvation and its transformation, rests on his mercy and his self-giving love.

How to read Titus well

Read Titus to see how faith and life belong together, letting its call to godly living flow from its message of grace rather than from mere duty. Let its central passage remind you that the grace which saved you is also the grace that trains you to renounce sin and live uprightly. Rest in the assurance that you are saved by God's mercy and not your own works, and let the blessed hope of Christ's appearing shape how you live in the present age.

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