Epistle of Obedience – Titus 1-3

Titus served as a missionary and a messenger. He listened to Paul’s teachings, and was converted by him. Paul then trusted him to deliver his epistles to the people in Corinth. Titus held a responsibility to convert and lead the Saints living in Crete. He would have been their instructor and Priesthood authority. As Paul’s fellow missionary, he had to make sure the Church was staying on the path of righteousness.

Paul knew that the Saints in Crete were hypocritical and greedy. He wrote, “They profess that they know God; but in works they deny him.” He accuses some of the Saints as being false teachers that perverted the teachings of the gospel in order to make money. In Paul’s Epistle to Titus, Paul described the attributes the Saints should have. More specifically, Paul wrote that Bishops should have a wife, and must raise obedient children. Bishops must also be blameless and faithful. They must not be self-willed, short-tempered, drunk, or greedy, but they must be hospitable, charitable, sober, just, holy, and temperate. They must also always hold fast to their faith and the sound doctrines of the gospel. These actions were extremely wicked, so Paul used strong language to condemn these activities.

Paul encouraged Titus to speak of sound doctrine to the Saints in Crete. Paul even wrote about how different people would react to this doctrine. The aged saints would become sober, grave, temperate, sound in faith, charity, and patient. They would become humbled and holy, teaching the truth. The young would also become sober-minded, loving, obedient, and chaste.

Paul also cautioned the Saints to be patient and loving to all men, even those that make mistakes. He counseled them to be meek and gentle, speaking no evil of others, because “we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another.” No one is perfect or above another because everyone has made mistakes. Paul then goes on to remind them that it wasn’t their own works that saved them, it was the grace and mercy of God. Only through Christ’s willing sacrifice and atonement can we receive forgiveness for our sins. Only when we humble ourselves unto baptism and repentance can we be redeemed and renewed. Christ pleads for us in Heaven, fights justice with his grace, so that we can be forgiven. We must, therefore, turn to him in complete faith and submission so that we can be made new and better.

How foolish, then, were the Saints in Crete for having meaningless debates about “foolish questions, and genealogies, and contentions, and strivings about the law”? Because of their pride and selfishness, they lost sight of the glorious truths of the gospel. In order to avoid the same fate of those ancient people, we must always remember the glory of God. If we can remember that Christ is the only one who can save us, then we will always be humble. We will remember that Christ’s doctrine is sound, and that we need nothing else. We must “deny ourselves of all ungodliness, and love God with all [our] might, mind and strength” (Moroni 10:32).