Titus

<<a co-worker with Paul>>

He accompanied Paul on several of his missionary journeys. Paul called him “my true son in our common faith” and wrote a letter (the book of Titus) instructing him how to oversee the churches on the Isle of Crete (Tit 1:4) His story is told in 2 Corinthians 2-12, and also mentioned in Galatians and 2 Timothy. 

Lessons from his life: * Titus had the same real concern as Paul, encouraged other believers to give financially, and was one of the men responsible for collecting the money for the poverty-stricken Jerusalem church (2 Cor 8:6,16,17). It was a genuine concern for the well-being of the suffering Christians, which also resulted in others being stimulated to provide financial support for those who required assistance. Christianity should address every area of life practically: spirit, soul and body (Jas 1:27).

* He wasn’t to do all the work himself but instead appoint suitable people to govern the new churches. The majority of the book outlines the teachings that Paul wanted taught (Tit 1:5). Leadership role-modelling qualities we should be developing in our lives include mentoring, teaching and delegating.

* Paul urged Titus to be an example in speech and actions, but not to get involved in fruitless discussions (Tit 2:7,8, 3:9). Do I live a godly life with my walk matching my talk? To be a genuine, credible witness for the Lord we need to be continually working on and evaluating our whole manner of life, not subtly adopting the world’s standards that are deteriorating further from God’s unchanging standards of holiness.

* Titus, who was a Gentile (non-Jew), was not compelled to be circumcised; the church leaders correctly understood this was not a necessary requirement for salvation or church membership (Gal 2:3). Being a devoted follower of Christ is a heart issue, not a ritual or custom. Do I put more value on the observance of tradition than growing an intimate relationship with Jesus?

See also: Paul, role models, Titus (Tit), tradition.