Paul wraps up his letter to Titus with a final encouragement and an exchange of greetings. His final statement is his common expression of grace.

See this passage at Titus 3:14-15:

Paul gives Titus one last instruction in the first verse of this passage. He states that “Our people too must learn to devote themselves…”

This untranslated “too” ties this statement directly to the one before it where Paul tells Titus to help meet the needs of Zenas and Apollos. The believers on Crete, as well as you and I, must learn to meet the needs of others and do good works. This is not simply limited to the two men who brought Paul’s letter to Crete, but should be a way of life for all believers, meeting the needs of those around them.

Paul expands this though by giving two purposes for these good works.

They help provide for daily necessities

These are the things that we need each day to function. The idea behind this phrase means pressing needs or urgent necessities. In classical Greek, the idea is that of the necessary things of life. This would include things like food, clothing and shelter, but wouldn’t necessarily be limited to that. Indispensable wants would also be included in this idea as well.

They help us to not live unproductive lives

When we see and grasp each opportunity to do good works, we become fruitful. Paul encourages Titus to teach the believers on Crete to learn to seize these opportunities as they occur. Producing fruit is an indicator of our faith. If we do not display fruit, we show that we are not growing, and in John 15, Jesus warns that the unproductive branches will be pruned.

Paul’s letter to Titus is almost complete. All that is left are a few personal greetings and instructions. And though these seem inconsequential, they actually provide some significant insight into Paul’s life and companions.

You can the first part of these personal greetings at Titus 3:12-13:

Throughout the letter, Paul has given some strong, long-term instructions to Titus, indicating that he was to stay in Crete. However, in his final remarks, he lets Titus know that he is considering a replacement for Titus, at least for a while, so that Titus can join him for the winter.

What this was for, we do not know. Perhaps Paul wanted to give some additional, more in-depth instruction to Titus about ministry. Perhaps he had a different task for Titus in mind.

Either way, he is considering two men as potential replacements for Titus: Artemus or Tychicus. One of these men will arrive soon after Titus receives this letter, quite possible carried by Zenas and Apollos, as indicated in verse 13.

Of the two possible replacements, we know nothing of Artemas. This is the only mention of him in the New Testament. The most logical assumption is that he is another of Paul’s pupils, and has been instructed on how to spread the message of the Gospel of Christ.

After instructing Titus on what he should be focusing on, the message of the gospel, Paul reverts back for a final description of the false teachers on Crete. This description shows Titus just what he is to avoid.

You can see it for yourself in Titus 3:9-11:

Paul’s final description of the false teachers on Crete shows the corrupting influence that they had, and Paul tells Titus to avoid it at all costs. He lists several different items that Titus should steer clear of.

Foolish Controversies

This, paired with the next item in the list, were listed in 1 Timothy 1:4, indicating that Titus was experiencing the same sorts of thing on Crete as Timothy in Ephesus. Some of the false teachings permeating the church were widespread indeed. These were arguments concerning specific, obscure points of Judaism, and were not worth Titus’ time.

Genealogies

Again, this was probably based upon some of the Jewish beliefs about their history, and quite probably were in conflict with the scriptural account of history. Some of these genealogies were expanded and fanciful, and many attempted to teach that there were hidden truths in these lists.

Over the previous few verses, Paul has presented a very brief, yet extremely encouraging synopsis of the gospel message. With this verse, he concludes that thought, before moving on to some final instructions to Titus.

You can find this passage in Titus 3:8:

This marks the fifth occurrence of a “trustworthy saying” in Paul’s three Pastoral Epistles. The other four are found in Paul’s letters to Timothy: 1 Timothy 1:15, 3:1, 4:9, and 2 Timothy 2:11. In this instance, Paul is stating that the previous statements concerning God’s grace are reliable and trustworthy. As a result, those who believe, both on Crete and for us today, must live accordingly.

Also, Paul intends for Titus to “stress these things.” Again, this most definitely refers to the previous thoughts concerning God’s saving work, but may also be broad enough to include all of the instructions that Paul has given Titus to pass on to the believers on Crete.

Because of this, this passage may very well be a summary statement of the entire letter to Titus. And Paul’s verb usage here is emphatic. Titus’ job is to stress these things, and to do so with the urgency necessary for people to understand this saving grace of God as quickly as possible.

The result of all of this is that the people who have turned to God will display their faith in the things that they do. And they will be a benefit to everyone.

In last week’s passage, Paul began a very succinct statement of the gospel message. In this week’s passage he completes that thought, giving us the promise of eternity.

You can see this passage for yourself in Titus 3:6-7:

In the previous verses, Paul stated that God, out of love, saved us, not because of our own efforts, but through his mercy. He did this through the Holy Spirit, at baptism, accomplishing the renewal of our lives into something much more attuned to him.

In these two verses, Paul continues his thoughts on the gift of the Holy Spirit that God gives us. It is notable that this gift of the Holy Spirit comes from God, through Christ. Here we have a glimpse of the Triune nature of the Godhead, at work in our lives to bring about our salvation.

This gift of the Holy Spirit is poured generously into our lives. This is no trivial matter. This is a massive blessing from God into our lives, accomplishing much more than we usually realize.

In fact, Paul gives us three things in verse 7 that help us to realize just what the Holy Spirit gives us.

After presenting the negative side of things evident in our lives before Christ in the previous verses, Paul turns to the positive, and to the event of Christ’s mercy itself in our lives.

Take a look at this week’s passage in Titus 3:4-5:

On the one hand, this passage is simple and straight-forward, and very encouraging. On the other hand, the final phrase of these two verses presents a bit of an interpretive challenge.

Paul makes a very strong contrast between our lives pre- and post-Christ. And the difference maker is Christ himself! Christ came. That is the message of the Gospel in a nutshell. Christ came, and did for us what we could not do for ourselves by restoring us to God’s good favor.

And, lest we believe that we had anything at all to do with this, Paul makes it clear that this work is all Christ’s doing. None of our righteous works were enough to even get us close (See Romans 4:4-5; Ephesians 2:8-9, 2 Timothy 1:9). What brings about our salvations is solely God’s mercy, through Christ’s actions on the cross.

Paul then goes a step further, and describes how God chooses to save us; or perhaps when. This happens through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.

As Paul begins to wind down his brief letter to Titus, he takes some time to lay out the simple message of the salvation that came through Jesus. In this week’s passage, he describes our condition before salvation.

You can see this description in Titus 3:3:

Our lives before Christ saved us were bleak. Even if we had a “good” life, without Christ, we had no hope, no purpose, no identity. And, as sinners, we were a mess.

Paul gives a brief description of this deplorable state before moving on the the grace of God in his salvation in the next few verses. But before we can see just how good the Good News is, we must first see just how bad we are without him.

In that light, Paul describes our state before Christ, and he paints a very dark picture.

However, we must remember, as we reach out to those who do not know Christ, that we were once just the same, lost in our sins. Paul realizes this, and knows that he was once just as bad everyone else. As we share our faith, knowing what we were saved from can be a vital part of our testimony to others.

Here are some of the terms Paul uses to describe himself when he was unsaved, and by extension, to all who do not know Christ: