You must teach what is in accord with sound doctrine
(Titus 2:1).
Paul was not an old man by our standards, but he didn't have long to live. He was soon to be – probably in the same year as Peter – another apostle of Christ martyred for the cause of the gospel.
And in that final short season – possibly measured in terms of months – the great apostle dashed off 3 short letters to 2 young men he loved dearly and trusted deeply.
Timothy was Paul's son in the faith.
But Titus – of a sturdier temperament – has been called Paul's “spiritual paratrooper” because the apostle dispatched Titus into known tough and threatening neighborhoods: Corinth, Dalmatia (which is modern-day Croatia), and the island of Crete.
We might think of Crete has an ideal place for a
Mediterranean vacation. However, in the 1st century it was known to be a haven
for pirates.
Titus was to be a pastor to pirates.
I think Paul chose Titus for this task because he was a
young man capable of keeping his elbows up (to use a hockey metaphor) and yet
demonstrating grace and love as a shepherd to these people.
As an apostolic delegate Titus would likely be called on to mix things up a bit, make changes that weren’t always welcome, robustly confront those teaching heresy – all with the objective of bringing about spiritual health where once had been apathy, doctrinal sloppiness, selfish control.
And as such, Titus shouldered Paul’s delegated authority, which was of course, sourced from the authority of Christ and which He conferred on each of the apostles.
Titus’ region of ministry was to be in this haven for swashbuckling adventurers: Crete.
There, he was to assume leadership for the purpose of
establishing order, appointing leaders, and nurturing spiritual health in these
small local house-churches of Christ-following pirates.
And in his epistle, Paul was commissioning Titus
regarding hygiene.
Paul wasn’t concerned about the young man’s physical self-care. Nor was he fearful that Titus was falling short on practices to promote his personal body-health and well-being.
But Paul was desperately concerned about the spiritual
hygiene of the folks that Titus was shepherding, teaching and discipling.
Consequently, Paul used – in the 3 letters to Titus and Timothy – a Greek term that the Apostle used nowhere else in his New Testament writings.
That Greek word hygiaino indicates completeness,
wholeness, strength and health. Our English term hygiene is so derived.
As he composed his letter, Paul used hygiaino four
times in the 46 verses he wrote to Titus.
And that's because Paul recognized that healthy faith is
founded on sound doctrine, solid theology, and biblically truth-based Gospel
teaching.
The apostle long ago had realized – and wanted his young proteges to also understand – that the gospel of Christ is not primarily
about social justice or relational openness; nor is its objective to enhance
personal self esteem; neither is the Salvation message of Christ intended to
provide positive cultural change for the oppressed and disenfranchised.
The gospel may do all of those things, but that's not its
foremost purpose.
The Gospel is the proclamation of the good news of the
person and work of Christ and the eternal benefit to every person who embraces
him through repentant faith.
The Gospel provides reconciliation – rectification – for women, men and children who are estranged from God.
And that includes everybody.
Once reconciliation has occurred, the Spirit of God works
relentlessly to ensure that spiritual hygiene results in healthy living.
Takeaway: Healthy faith results from sound
doctrine
Consequently, Paul instructed Titus: You must teach
what is in accord with sound [hygiaino] doctrine (Titus 2:1).
Or structured as an equation:
sound
doctrine = spiritual hygiene + healthy faith
