TIMOTHY was by no means the only young man whom Paul enlisted in the Gospel ministry. The venerable apostle to the Gentiles seems to have been very successful in encouraging the youth to engage in work for the Master.
Paul calls Titus his own son in the common faith. He was not afraid to place upon this young worker in the cause grave responsibilities.
Titus was left in the island of Crete, where he and Paul had labored together, to set in order the things that were wanting, or, as the margin of Titus 1:5 reads, "left undone." So Titus was left in Crete to set in order the things that Paul had left undone. But the question may arise, Would such a thorough worker as the apostle Paul
leave anything undone? It seems he did, for he knew it would be better to have the important matters of church organization, etc., attended to by younger and less competent persons than himself, than to have the work done prematurely.
In this again he set a good example for Gospel workers in future generations. It would be quite natural for those of experience to think that it would be better for important matters to be settled by themselves rather than leave them to others, even tho the proper time had not come. But that is a mistake. Better trust to God and less experienced persons than to do a thing before the proper time.
The qualifications of church elders are given in the latter part of the first chapter. This, taken in connection with the instruction in 1 Timothy 3, forms a very clear outline of what kind of persons should be selected for such a sacred trust. Doubtless Titus himself was a model in this respect. Like Timothy, he was of Greek descent, and is thought to have been the first Gentile convert who was not circumcised. His experience in this respect was the opposite of
Timothy's, as is seen by comparing Gal. 2:3 with Acts 16:1-3. It seems that Paul took Titus with him to the Jerusalem council as a test case in the matter of circumcision, but even after this he found it prudent to circumcise Timothy.
An incident connected with the last verse of the first chapter illustrates how careless persons can be in reading the Scriptures. I remember in my youth hearing a minister in the desk read this first chapter of Titus for the scripture lesson of the morning. He thus read verse 16: "They profess that they know not God, but in works they deny Him," etc. The preacher never noticed his mistake, altho the sense was exactly reversed. Thus often the Bible is read so carelessly that no notice is taken of the meaning of the words of Holy Writ. But this is not the way that we should handle the Word of God. The omission or addition of such a simple little word as not makes a vast difference in the meaning.
In 1632 an edition of the Bible was published that was called the Wicked Bible. (See Webster's Unabridged Dictionary.) The entire edition was condemned to be burned, and the publisher to pay a heavy fine. What was the matter with this "Wicked Bible"? Simply this: the word not was left out of the seventh commandment, by carelessness no doubt.
If it is so wicked to take one word from the Decalogue, what must it be to make void the entire law? And again, would it be any worse to take the "not" out of the seventh commandment than to take it out of the fourth commandment? Pause and consider, and never dare to make void the fourth or any other commandment either by precept or practise.
Titus 3:3 gives us a very correct photograph of the natural human disposition. "We ourselves also were sometimes [formerly] foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice, and envy, hateful, and hating one another." Whose photograph is this? Who used to act so hateful, and also hate others? Is it I? Who wishes to demolish the mirror, the law of God, that exposes these defects?
The daughter of a chieftain of a savage tribe had always been told that she was extremely beautiful. After procuring a looking-glass and for the first time viewing her homely features, she was so enraged that she dashed the mirror to pieces. Is it not for a similar reason that many wish to destroy the law of God? Let us be careful how we reverse the sense of God's holy commandments.
"The kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man," changes our disposition in this matter. That is the key-note of this epistle as well as of the entire Bible. Titus 3:4. F. D. STARR.