Doing what is good (Titus)

The third of the Pastoral Epistles in the New Testament is addressed to a different co-worker of Paul than are First and Second Timothy. The situation is different, too, for Titus is addressed as the person in charge of developing the church on the large Mediterranean island of Crete (Titus 1:5), a place Paul had never, according to the New Testament, visited. The tone is closer to that of First Timothy as three topics of church life and structure are discussed: presbyter-bishops (see the note on Titus 1:5-9), groups with which one must work in the church (Titus 2:1-10), and admonitions for conduct based on the grace and love of God that appeared in Jesus Christ (Titus 2:11-3:10). The warmer personal tone of Second Timothy is replaced by emphasis on church office and on living in the society of the day, in which deceivers and heretics abound (Titus 1:10-16; 3:9-10).