Straight Line, in a Crooked Culture

Paul, a bondservant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God's elect and the acknowledgment of the truth which accords with godliness, in hope of eternal life which God, who cannot lie, promised before time began, but has in due time manifested His word through preaching, which was committed to me according to the commandment of God our Savior; to Titus, a true son in our common faith: Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ our Savior. (Titus 1:1–4)

A letter written under a lunatic emperor that calls us to walk a straight line in a crooked culture.

Opening a New Book

We are starting a new study this week in the book of Titus, a book that speaks to people living in a chaotic climate and shows them how to walk with Jesus and display His glory. I believe it speaks directly to us in our day, living in a chaotic world.

Anytime we open the Scriptures, it's important to remind ourselves that the events chronicled here actually happened. The sixty-six books of the Bible were written by forty different authors over fifteen hundred years. There are some stories that are just stories—like the parables of Jesus—but the vast majority of what we find here are actual events that happened in actual places at an actual time in history. The book of Titus is no exception.

Who Is Titus?

From the very first word, Paul announces himself. In the culture of the day a writer introduced himself at the beginning of a letter rather than at the end. This is one of Paul's thirteen letters in the New Testament, and he tells us in verse 4 that he is writing to Titus.

The name Paul is familiar to most people because he dominates much of the book of Acts and wrote most of the New Testament. The name Titus may not be. Titus is an intriguing figure—he is mentioned in Galatians, Corinthians, and Timothy, and we have this letter written directly to him—yet his name never appears in the book of Acts.

Reading between the lines of Galatians, we learn that Titus was probably a Greek convert during Paul's first missionary journey in the region of Galatia (Acts 13–14). When Paul returned to his home church in Antioch, he brought Titus with him. Titus was even with Paul when he went down to Jerusalem in Acts 15 over the dispute about Gentiles coming to faith—Galatians 2 tells us so—yet Acts never names him. He was a convert, a disciple, and a co-laborer with Paul, but essentially a silent partner in the ministry.

It Is Good to Be Faithful When You Are Unknown

Titus's life teaches us a helpful lesson: it is good to be faithful even when you are relatively unknown. For some of you that may come easily—you would rather remain anonymous and behind the scenes. But I confess that I find within myself a desire for notoriety, a desire to be known, and that is not uncommon in our culture.

We live in a time where, through social media and the internet, people can be known like never before. So we have scores of people pursuing likes, clicks, views, and subscribers. It's almost as if he who dies with the most subscribers wins. But any fame in this world is entirely temporary—that's why it's called fifteen minutes of fame.

It is far better to be faithful before God, like Titus. Though you may be unknown in this life, if you are faithful to the God who cannot lie and promises eternal life, the Scriptures make clear you will be rewarded eternally—and that is far better than a whole bunch of views on YouTube.

How Titus Came to Crete

At the close of Acts 28, Paul is under house arrest in Rome, having appealed to Caesar as a Roman citizen against the charge of sedition. Between A.D. 63 and 64 he was released from what is called his first imprisonment. After his release, piecing together Scripture and tradition, we know Paul revisited churches he had planted—leaving Timothy at Ephesus, visiting Galatia, going to Macedonia and down into Greece.

As part of that journey, before his execution around A.D. 66, Paul made his way to the large Mediterranean island of Crete, and Titus was with him. We see it in verse 5: "For this reason I left you in Crete." This had become Paul's pattern—he left Timothy as overseer at Ephesus and Titus as overseer of the churches in Crete, then wrote back to encourage them. I believe Paul saw the handwriting on the wall, knew his time was short, and was passing the work of the ministry on to those who would carry it forward.

A History Lesson: The Climate of Nero's Rome

It is helpful to remember the cultural climate in which Paul ministered. I love history, and the more I study it, the more I realize people have not changed all that much in two thousand years. We have advanced in science and technology—we can put electric vehicles in space—but as people, we are very much the same.

To understand Paul's day we need to backtrack about ninety years. By the first century B.C., Rome held a grip on most of the known world—some fifty million people, from modern-day Iran to the British Isles. For most of its history Rome was a Republic, governed in large part by the Senate, and much of our own political system here in the United States is built on that foundation. But by the first century B.C. the Republic was weakened through civil unrest and division—sound familiar?

In 49 B.C. the Senate gave dictatorial power to Julius Caesar. Five years later, in January 44 B.C., senators assassinated him hoping to restore the Republic—but it backfired. His adopted heir Octavian seized power, proved more ruthless, and by 27 B.C. the Senate gave him absolute power and a new name: Augustus, the first emperor of the Roman Empire. His dynasty held power for nine decades through Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, and finally Nero.

The Madness of Nero

By the time Paul reaches Crete around A.D. 65, Nero had been emperor for about ten years, and he was a lunatic. Consider his "accomplishments": he murdered his own mother; he married two different men; he kicked his pregnant wife in the stomach, killing her and his unborn child; he built a giant pleasure palace called the Golden House with a 120-foot bronze statue of himself in front of it.

He fancied himself a great musician, locking the gates of theaters so no one could leave his hours-long performances—one historian says a woman went into labor and had to deliver her child because no one could leave. He fancied himself an athlete and is still the most decorated Olympian in history, taking 1,808 victories in A.D. 67, even in games he did not play. In A.D. 64 he is blamed for the great fire of Rome, which he wanted in order to rebuild parts of the city to his liking; to deflect the rumor that he had set it, he blamed the Christians, turning public opinion against them. He also had Peter and Paul put to death. The only thing that could have made it worse is if Nero had had a Twitter account—thankfully he didn't.

All of this came to a head in A.D. 65, the very time Paul was likely writing to Titus. A group of conspirators in the Senate—including Nero's former tutor, the Stoic Seneca—plotted to put the madman to death. Nero discovered the plot and forced them to commit suicide. That was dominating the headlines when Paul wrote this letter.

It Is Good to Be Faithful in Chaos

Why bring all this up? Because virtually all of Paul's writing ministry took place under Nero's authority—and yet you never see Nero's name in Romans, Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, Philemon, Thessalonians, Timothy, or Titus. Paul never mentions the emperor's insanity, unrighteousness, or bad leadership. The closest he comes to political commentary is this:

Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves. (Romans 13:1)

The point is this: it is good to maintain faithfulness even when the world is in chaos, remembering who we are and whose we are—"Paul, a bondservant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ." Looking at Paul's day, we realize things aren't quite as bad here as we are sometimes told; they can be a lot worse.

And maybe your chaos is personal—the loss of a family member, the loss of a job, the loss of your health. Wherever you find yourself, it is good to maintain faithfulness when your world is in total chaos. Paul knew his identity: though more than sixty percent of those under Roman rule were slaves and Paul was born a free man, he identified as a bondservant—a servant of God by choice. And he knew his calling. Though Rome would burn and its emperor was a raving lunatic, that could not change the nature, power, and position of God, nor the calling of His apostle.

It Is Good to Live in Hope of Eternal Life

...in hope of eternal life which God, who cannot lie, promised before time began. (Titus 1:2)

It is good to remember that we live in hope of God's promised eternal life. This is not wishful thinking—this is God who cannot lie, who promised it before time began, so it is absolutely certain. And it is easier to maintain faithfulness in a chaotic climate when we hold this as our hope. Not easy—but easier.

Notice too that this is "according to the faith of God's elect." Simply put: if you have faith, you are God's elect. There has been contention in the church for five hundred years between God's sovereign election and our free, responsible will in salvation, and it will continue until Jesus returns. I don't have time to settle it, but I will say this: if you have faith, you are among God's elect—chosen in Christ.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him... (Ephesians 1:3–4)

We are chosen in Christ, and we are in Christ by faith. So if you've put your trust in Jesus, you are among the elect.

It Is Good for Faith to Produce Godliness

If you are God's elect by faith, then you should grow in the fruit of godliness. It is good for faith to produce godliness. This is really what the whole letter is about—it describes sound faith according to sound doctrine producing sound conduct.

For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age. (Titus 2:11–12)

God's grace comes to us, saves us, and teaches us how to walk in righteousness. The chaotic world we live in needs to see Christians walking in godliness. The island of Crete was known for being a gluttonous, lying people, and Paul tells Titus the believers there need to stand out in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation.

It Is Good to Proclaim the Good News

Eternal life was God's plan and promise from the beginning, and now He has made it known—through the proclaiming of the good news. It is good for us to proclaim the good news of our God and Savior Jesus Christ. That is what a chaotic world needs.

The first century did not need Paul's political commentary and prescription—that's why he never gives it in thirteen letters. I'm sure it infuriated some people: "When are you going to say something about Nero, Paul?" "I'm not. I'm going to talk about Jesus, because Jesus will be on the throne a lot longer than Nero." "When are you going to talk about Donald Trump, Miles?" "I'm not. I'm going to talk about Jesus." We have a primary coming up; if you're over eighteen, you should vote in line with the principles of the gospel. But the world doesn't need my political commentary—the world needs Christ.

Here's an observation from my relatively short time on this planet: politics doesn't change people, but the gospel does. That's why Paul never gave political commentary under Nero—because he understood the gospel is far better. The world needs Jesus. It needs the gospel. It needs Christians who walk in line with the gospel and bear the fruit of godliness, because every problem we face as a people is rooted in sin, and Jesus addresses the root. Every political solution addresses only the symptoms. May we be those who are focused on the root problem.

Closing Prayer

Father, I thank You for the challenging words that come to us from the Scriptures. I pray that we would take note of these things, think on them, and be challenged by them—that there would be conviction, maybe reproof, but ultimately correction, that we would know how to walk in righteousness for Your name's sake and Your kingdom. So God, do work in us by the working of Your word and the power of Your Spirit right now and this week. Help us not to be ashamed to proclaim the gospel, for You commanded us, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature." Give us boldness and the stirring of Your Spirit to do just that, and in hope of eternal life, help us to walk in a way that brings glory to Your name. We pray this in Jesus' name, amen.