Titus Introduction - God’s willing slave

Diving into the book of Titus, today, I am just going to start with the introduction. There is so much power in a few opening sentences that I do not want to personally rush through this. 

For a little context, I did some research to get some critical understandings around this book. Titus was a pastor that became a very important church planter. He was a Greek follower of Jesus that had been a traveling companion with the Apostle Paul. Act chapter 27 unpacks some key details the Isle of Crete, and what they discovered traveling through. To sum it up, Crete was an important port city, and this key city had no strong churches, they lacked leadership and robust Christian modeling. So, Paul dispatched Titus to bring leadership and set up a network of churches. 

Paul typically opens his letters with greetings and introducing himself. In Titus, this opening is a bit unique and jumped out at me this morning.

“From Paul, God’s willing slave and an apostle of Jesus, the Anointed One, to Titus...” - ‭‭Titus‬ ‭1:1a‬ ‭TPT‬‬

God’s willing slave. Or in a few other translations, we read bondservant, bondslave, or slave of God. These words were translated from the original Ancient Greek word doulos. According to a few Greek scholars, they called it “the most abject, servile term in use among the Greeks for a slave”), and it was also the word for a slave by choice. This is to me was critical because Paul was set free in Christ Jesus, but yet chose to remain in “bondage” to God, it was his choice, it was his calling. I loved this opening and these learnings as I process my life and process the reality of so many Christian leaders. We have the freedom to do just about anything we want or desire, could pursue financial wealth, could pursue notoriety or independence, but part of the calling, part of the choice to follow Jesus is being a bondslave to God’s will, and this is a choice, it’s a calling. This calling requires necessary sacrifices but produces limitless fruit and joy that are fulfilled this side of heaven and beyond. 

The next part that I loved, and am honestly still processing as I write was the next part of that opening verse. 

“I’m writing you to further the faith of God’s chosen ones and lead them to the full knowledge of the truth that leads to godliness,” - ‭‭Titus‬ ‭1:1b‬ ‭TPT‬‬

Here, Paul lays out the mission of Titus in just a few words. Lead them to the full knowledge of the truth that leads to godliness. Wow, a compelling mission in only a few words...words we can learn from and some key learnings I want to unpack. Paul links two things together, knowledge (what we believe) to godliness (how we behave.) Don’t miss this; in other words, Paul was writing centuries ago about our mindset. What we believe is directly tied to how we behave. You see, this tells us that the Gospel in us does not or has not taken root until our actions change. Another way to say it is, if the actions are not Godly, then it’s worth questioning the commitment to God and the Gospel. Having the knowledge of the Gospel isn't enough; it's about living it out and our actions. 

As a Christian leader, my massive takeaway here is the importance of the calling that Christ has put on my life. Taking this seriously as a bondslave, entirely bought in and sold out to the mission of Christ Jesus. Living this out, and having this knowledge leads to a life that looks the part, and models it for others. This was Paul's opening verse in the book of Titus. A call to all Christian leaders, our mission, or better said God’s purpose for us.