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Titus 3:1. Remind them to obey and submit to superiors and authorities, to be ready for every good work, Everywhere the apostle desires that believers “submit to the authorities.” And he shows how to “obey,” namely, if “they are ready for every good deed.” From this it is clear that whoever is ready for evil does not obey the authorities. Or, let “you be ready to incline towards what is good,” and not towards wickedness, or anything else harmful to the soul. Titus 3:2. not to slander anyone, not to be quarrelsome, but quiet, Even if someone does something bad, “do not slander”, that is, do not reproach. Our lips must be clean from reproach. Whether it is fair or false is not for us to judge. Look at what danger there may be. and to show all gentleness to all people. And to the Jews, and to the Greeks, and to those who cause harm, and to the unjust. Titus 3:3. For we too were once foolish, disobedient, erring, slaves of lusts and various pleasures, In the Epistle to the Corinthians he fears the future, so as not to be judged, saying: “If anyone thinks he stands, take heed lest he fall” (1 Cor. 10:12). Here he admonishes those who have passed, saying: let us not reproach others, since we ourselves once sinned more. What a thief said to another thief: “We too are condemned to the same thing” (Luke 23:40). When were we senseless? Before Christ. Wasn't it pointless to serve such gods? And isn’t sacrificing people the greatest misconception? But we also served various passions and pleasures. Here I meant sodomy, marriage with one’s mother or sister and other shamelessness; for the devil amuses us in various ways. they lived in anger and envy, were vile, hated each other. “They lived in malice and envy,” that is, always spending time in rancor “and envy” and living such a life; that is why we were worthy of hatred, since we hated each other. It’s fair: hatred comes from envy. Titus 3:4. When the grace and love for mankind of our Savior, God, appeared, That is, when the Only Begotten became incarnate and became like us. Titus 3:5. He saved us, not by works of righteousness that we had done, but by His mercy, “He saved us not because of the works” that we did, in other words: we did not do works worthy of justification, and were not saved by them, but His grace did everything. the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, Titus 3:6. whom he poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, Alas, we were so immersed in evil that we could no longer cleanse ourselves, but we needed rebirth. For this means rebirth and renewal, rebirth and new formation. Just as we do not support a completely dilapidated house, but, having destroyed it to the ground, we build it again: so God did not correct us, but recreated us in full. How? Holy Spirit. So that you don’t try to figure out how this happened, he says: The Spirit has corrected everything. Where can you see this? “Whom he poured out,” he says, “richly upon us.” He not only recreated through Him, but also generously rewarded with Him, so that this too could be seen through Him. And fair enough. After He cleansed us, He filled us richly with the Spirit. This means: poured out. For the unclean does not enter into the pure. And this was accomplished through Jesus: He is the mediator and giver of all good things. Titus 3:7. so that, having been justified by His grace, we may become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. Again – by “grace”, and not by merit. This teaches humility. For we ourselves did not do anything. And it's encouraging about the future. If He saved those who were completely lost by “grace,” how much more will He give a future to the justified. So that, he says, we will be heirs of eternal life, as we hope for. Or: we are already heirs, because we live in hope. Titus 3:8. The word is true; Since he spoke about the future, he adds confirmation of his word. After all, it is clear from the past: He who bestowed such blessings also bestows these. and I desire that you confirm this, so that those who believe in God may strive to be diligent in good works. Having mentioned the ineffable goodness of God, he says: I want you to teach about this in such a way that believers learn not only to be humble and not to offend others, but also to show them all kinds of mercy. For whoever remembers the mercy of God, which he has been vouchsafed, will himself be merciful. So that they “try to be diligent,” he says, that is, so that they always have the task and constant concern to help those who are offended: about widows, orphans, about everyone in need. For this is what the words mean: “to be diligent in good works”—not to expect those in need to come to them, but to take care of them themselves. this is good and useful to people. Care and patronage in good deeds, or good deeds themselves. Titus 3:9. Stay away from foolish competitions and genealogies, and disputes and strife about the law, for they are useless and vain. He talks about the stupid competitions in which the Jews involve believers. About the genealogies that they compile for themselves, deriving their genealogies from the patriarchs and being proud of them. "Move away" instead of: avoid. For one should not, leaving necessary matters, waste time on vanity and fruitless disputes. What is the use of arguing where there is no hope that anyone will be captured into Christ. But how did he command above to stop the mouths of those who resist? When they harm others, then their mouths should be stopped. For the sake of their benefit, don’t even try to tell them: you won’t be able to do anything, because they are incorrigible. Titus 3:10. The heretic, after the first and second admonition, turn away, Titus 3:11. knowing that such a one has become corrupt and sins, being self-condemned. How does Paul say in another place: “Will God not grant them repentance” (2 Tim. 2:25)? There he spoke about people showing hope for correction; but here he speaks of an incorrigible heretic, completely depraved, who is condemned by himself, that is, irresponsible. For he cannot say: no one enlightened me, no one taught me. So, if, after admonition, he persists in the same thing, he has condemned himself. Titus 3:12. When I send Artema or Tychicus to you, hurry up and come to me in Nikopol, for I have decided to spend the winter there. Why does the apostle, having entrusted such a large island to Titus, call him again, distracting him from his post? This is for his own benefit, in order to better set him up for business by discussing how he fulfilled what was entrusted to him. Nikopol is a city in Thrace, located on Istra. Titus 3:13. Make sure to send Zina the lawyer and Apollos so that they will not lack anything. This is what he calls a person experienced in the laws of the Jews: such was Zina; and Apollos was eloquent and powerful in the Scriptures. They had not yet been entrusted to the Church, “so that they would not lack anything,” that is, make sure that they have in abundance everything they need, namely food and clothing. Titus 3:14. Let ours also learn to practice good deeds, to satisfy necessary needs, so that they are not fruitless. As if he were saying this: I could have otherwise made those mentioned not needy, but I don’t want to, so that “ours,” that is, those who are around you, would learn from the fact that you provide them with what they need for the road, “to practice good deeds,” that is, to take care of those in need - both in money, and in words, and in everything else, not so that those in need would receive such benefit from it, but so that they themselves would enjoy the fruits his philanthropy towards his neighbors. After all, the Lord, who fed five thousand, of course, could always feed both Himself and the disciples, but He wanted to receive food from women so that they would benefit. So in relation to us, it is not so much the poor who benefit from our alms as we benefit from them. The poor are for us a source of forgiveness of sins and boldness before God. Titus 3:15. All those who are with me greet you. Greet those who love us in faith. Or: “those who love” him faithfully and unfeignedly, or: “those who love” him faithfully, that is, Christians. Grace be with you all. Amen. Prayerfully wishes that the gift of God may be preserved in them, or love for mankind will always be with them, preserving them with grace. Or: may “grace” always be with them, those who most need it, protecting both their souls and bodies in the Holy Spirit. To him be glory forever. Amen. You might be interested in: