July 10, 2014 (Thursday)
Titus was a convert in Antioch of Syria. When a big conference was held in Jerusalem about whether Gentiles could be saved without first becoming Jews, Titus accompanied Paul to the meeting. Since Paul had circumcized Timothy, whose father was a Gentile and whose mother was a Jewess, the men at the conference suggested Paul circumcize Titus to show good faith. Paul refused, adamantly. Timothy’s mother was Jewish, so that placed Timothy and Titus in differing situations. Titus was 100% Gentile, and therefore there was absolutely no need for him to become a Jew. After all, that’s what the whole conference was about, and, thankfully, they saw things from Paul’s point of view, and announced a decision that converts to Christ need not become Jews in order to become Christians. Titus is never mentioned by name in the Book of Acts, but we learn of him through other books of the New Testament. Titus was one of Paul’s most trusted companions. He was given jobs to do by Paul. One of them was in Corinth, where he helped them resolve their differences. He was with Paul when they went to Crete with the gospel, but, at Paul’s request, stayed on after Paul had left Crete. In Paul’s final imprisonment in Rome, Titus was there, and was sent to Dalmatia as at other times prior to that. He proved himself skillful in the handling of disputes between people, and was dearly loved by the Apostle Paul, who wrote, “As for Titus, he is my partner and co-worker among you” (2 Corinthians 8:23 NIV). The letter to Titus is similar to the ones written to Timothy, and is meant to provide both instruction and encouragement.
Titus – a devotional thought
Titus and Timothy were both entitled to be called Paul’s sons in the ministry. Perhaps there were others, because there always seemed to be an entourage with Paul, young men who wanted to serve the Lord with Paul and learn from him. (Acts 20:4 NIV: “He was accompanied by Sopater son of Pyrrhus from Berea, Aristarchus and Secundus from Thessalonica, Gaius from Derbe, Timothy also, and Tychicus and Trophimus from the province of Asia.”) Paul not only served the Lord–he also taught others how to do so. When you are gone, will there still be someone loving and serving the Lord because of you?