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Titus

Titus was a young pastor serving a church on the island of Crete, whose citizens were notorious for bad behavior (see Titus 1:12–13). Paul’s letter to this young man in a tight spot is a pastor’s manual for leading a local church. Beyond its stated recipient, though, this is a letter of instruction for all pastors and laypeople. Paul writes as a religious “elder statesman” giving advice to a young pastor and co-laborer in the gospel. The letter’s theme is the unbreakable link between faith and practice, belief and behavior. This truth is the basis for Paul’s criticism of false teaching, his instruction in Christian living, and standards he sets for church leaders. (Summary adapted from the ESV Literary Study Bible and the ESV Student Study Bible)