A Letter to Titus

So.. I finished Romans yesterday which left me wondering…what book should I study next.  Hubby dear suggested 1 Corinthians and I thought oh.. maybe, but it didn’t sit well.  Started leafing through my on-line ESV bible and Titus felt like it leapt off the page so I said “okay, we’ll do Titus”. 🙂   Easy enough eh?

Titus 1:1-4 tells us these words: 

Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the sake of the faith of God’s elect and their knowledge of the truth, which accords with godliness, 2 in hope of eternal life, which God, who never lies, promised before the ages began 3 and at the proper time manifested in his word through the preaching with which I have been entrusted by the command of God our Savior;
4 To Titus, my true child in a common faith:
Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior.

Just like Romans, Titus was written by the Apostle Paul.   

Paul starts this letter being very clear about who he is and who he serves.

• servant of God
• Apostle of Jesus Christ

He then goes on to say just what that means.  for the sake of the faith of God’s elect and their knowledge of the truth, which accords with godliness, 2 in hope of eternal life, which God, who never lies, promised before the ages began 3 and at the proper time manifested in his word through the preaching with which I have been entrusted by the command of God our Savior. He preaches to encourage faith in God’s chosen people…wanting them to know truth and through truth encourage their godliness.  Showing God’s truthful promise from long ago…eternal life.   God showed how this promise would be fulfilled (through his son Jesus Christ) at the proper time in history.    And so Paul preaches.  A command entrusted to him by God.   God says preach, so Paul does.

This letter is written to one man named Titus.   Paul calls him “my true child in a common faith“.  That statement makes me think of Titus as a power house of a believer… knowing God’s call on his life and following.  (because that’s how I think of Paul).   One often thinks like father like son eh?  🙂  So if Titus is like Paul’s child in the faith…. see where I’m going here? 🙂

Anyways, it will be interesting to read what Paul has to say to Titus eh?

Paul closes these first four verses with a greeting “Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior.” Imagine if we greeted each other that way eh?   Or started off our letters to each other that way?   Isn’t it a great way to keep The Lord foremost?  Passing on God’s grace and peace to those we are in contact with?   

I have to admit…it would seem odd to me to do so…but I recall my brother writing us a letter once in the New Testament style and how it made us all in the family smile to get it.  Isn’t that smile worth it?  Worth it to help people see the Lord more clearly?