of God. Salvation is for whosoever will. Christ died for the sins of the whole world. Anyone hearing the Word of God, believing that Christ died for the ungodly, and anyone who will trust in the Lord Jesus, be lieving that He was crucified, buried, and that He rose again comes to the promise of salvation (Acts 16:31). We are only saved by grace through faith, and not of ourselves whatso ever; it is the gift of God. There’s no cause for anyone’s boasting. What the Holy Spirit is saying in this second verse is that the purpose of saving men and women was formed before God ever created the universe. (I Pet. 1:18-25). I believe in the sovereignty of God. God had no beginning (Psalm 90:1-2). I don’t understand it, but I believe it. I’m glad that My God is greater than I am. The soverignty of God has nothing to do with the free-will of man. God provided salvation for whosoever will, but whosoever is saved must, as an individual, have faith in God. The third verse is likewise tre mendous. Notice the expression “hath in due time.” It means “at the appointed time.” The time which God intends is always best. In Gene sis 3:15 God promised the seed of the woman. In Galatians 4:4 Paul tells us that in the fulness of time Jesus came, bom of a woman. God, who is sovereign and all-powerful, is going to reign supreme in the end and throughout the endless ages to come. Paul reminds Titus that God has made known His eternal purpose through the preaching of the gospel. Jesus now mediates between God and man, which is the good news of the Gospel. Paul wanted Titus to know for sure that the message he delivered was God’s inspired Word, given to him by God and not obtained from or by man. It was all “accord ing to the commandments of God our Saviour.” Again the writer points out that he was divinely com- 30
missioned by God to engage in the work of preaching the Gospel. Paul well knew that it was the power of God unto salvation, to every one who believeth (Romans 1:16). C hapter F our T oo often do we have a tendency to pass by some of the smaller books of the Bible, not realizing the tremendous messages which they contain for our lives. Certainly Titus is a primary example of that fact. We have come in our study to verse five. The preceding four verses form the salutation of the book. Paul has pointed out that he is a servant of the Lord and an apostle of Jesus Christ. In the next section we see the ap pointment of elders in the churches of Crete, which is an island in the Mediterranean Sea. There are some very practical lessons here for our application today. The authority giv en must be used by Titus in his work of ordering affairs in these assem blies. Here is a detailed delineation of the moral qualifications of the men who were to be appointed to service. Titus had been working on the is land of Crete when Paul sent him this epistle. A high state of civiliza tion once flourished on Crete. By New Testament times the moral level there was absolutely deplorable. Drunkenness and debauchery pre vailed on every side. Different schol ars have tried to fit the travels of Paul into this important area. More than likely it could have taken place after his first Roman imprisonment. Just how long he may have worked with Titus there is not known. The demand for his presence elsewhere compelled him to depart. Titus car ried on the work that remained to be done. There are those who believe the commission was given to Titus as a temporary apostolic nature. Ti tus was not the permanent pastor
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