New Testament · Letter (Pastoral Epistle)

Paul's Letter to Titus: Author, Context and Complete Study

Titus is Paul's short letter to his co-worker on Crete about putting young churches in order: appointing elders of good character, silencing false teachers and teaching every group to live in a way that adorns the gospel. Its heart is the grace of God that saves us and trains us to live godly lives.

Updated on November 14, 2026

What is Titus about?

Titus is a letter in which Paul tells his co-worker how to set the churches of Crete in order. Titus must appoint elders who are above reproach and hold firmly to sound teaching (Titus 1:5-9), silence deceivers who teach for shameful gain (1:10-16) and teach older and younger men and women and slaves to live in a way that makes the gospel attractive (2:1-10). Paul grounds it all in two rich summaries of the gospel: God's grace has appeared, bringing salvation and training us for godly lives (2:11-14), and God saved us by his mercy, not by our works, through the renewing work of the Holy Spirit (3:4-7).

Author: The apostle Paul, who calls himself a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ (Titus 1:1). Like 1 and 2 Timothy, it is attributed by many modern scholars to a later follower of Paul.
Date: c. AD 62-64, between Paul's two Roman imprisonments, if he wrote it; it belongs to the same period as 1 Timothy.
First readers: Titus, Paul's Gentile co-worker, left on the island of Crete to appoint elders in every town and confront false teachers; through him, the young churches of Crete.
Genre: Letter (Pastoral Epistle)
Chapters: 3 chapters
Key verse: Titus 2:11-12

Historical context

Titus was a Greek believer and one of Paul's most trusted co-workers. Years earlier he had gone with Paul and Barnabas to Jerusalem, where the church leaders did not require him to be circumcised, a test case for the freedom of Gentile believers (Galatians 2:1-3). Later Paul sent him to Corinth during a painful crisis, and Titus returned with good news and went back to organize the collection for the poor in Jerusalem (2 Corinthians 7:6-7, 13-15; 8:6, 16-17, 23). Curiously, he is never named in Acts.

Acts mentions Crete only briefly: Cretans heard the apostles at Pentecost (Acts 2:11), and Paul's ship, carrying him to Rome as a prisoner, sheltered at Fair Havens on the island's south coast (Acts 27:7-13). The letter, however, says that Paul had left Titus in Crete to put in order what remained and to appoint elders in every town (Titus 1:5). Because this ministry does not fit the journeys in Acts, many place it after Paul's release from his first Roman imprisonment, around AD 62. Jewish writers such as Philo and Josephus mention Jews living on Crete, and the false teachers included members of the circumcision party, who spread Jewish myths, genealogies and quarrels about the law and upset whole households for money (1:10-14; 3:9). Paul planned to replace Titus with Artemas or Tychicus and asked him to come to Nicopolis for the winter (3:12).

Geographical context

Crete is a long, mountainous island south of the Aegean Sea, about 260 kilometers (160 miles) from east to west. It was the center of the ancient Minoan civilization, with its palace at Knossos, and Homer called it the island of a hundred cities, which helps explain Paul's command to appoint elders in every town (1:5). Rome conquered Crete in 67 BC and governed it together with Cyrene, on the coast of North Africa, as one province, with its capital at Gortyn.

Nicopolis, where Paul planned to spend the winter (3:12), was most likely the city of that name in Epirus, on the western coast of Greece, founded by Augustus to celebrate his victory at the battle of Actium in 31 BC. It was a natural base for work along the Adriatic coast, and later Titus went to Dalmatia, farther north on that coast (2 Timothy 4:10).

Why does the book of Titus exist?

Paul states the purpose plainly: he left Titus in Crete to put in order what remained unfinished and to appoint elders in every town (1:5). The churches there were young and lacked mature leadership. False teachers were rebellious and empty talkers who deceived people and taught for shameful gain, and the surrounding culture had a reputation, even according to one of its own poets, for dishonesty and excess (1:10-12). Paul's answer is threefold: appoint elders whose lives are blameless and who hold firmly to the trustworthy word (1:9), teach every age group and social class the way of life that fits sound doctrine (2:1-10), and remind believers to be good citizens, gentle toward all people and devoted to good works (3:1-2, 8, 14).

Again and again Paul gives the reason: so that the word of God may not be reviled, so that opponents will have nothing evil to say about believers, and so that they may adorn the teaching about God our Savior (2:5, 8, 10). Titus contributes to the Bible one of its tightest connections between doctrine and life, and two of the most compact summaries of the gospel in the New Testament (2:11-14; 3:4-7), together with a second list of qualifications for elders alongside 1 Timothy 3.

Outline of Titus

Titus 1:1-4
Greeting: truth that leads to godliness
Paul, servant of God and apostle, writes for the faith of God's chosen people and their knowledge of the truth that leads to godliness, in the hope of eternal life promised by the God who never lies. He greets Titus as his true child in their common faith.
Titus 1:5-9
Appoint elders in every town
Paul left Titus in Crete to finish the work and appoint elders. They must be blameless, faithful husbands with children who are believers, not arrogant, hot-tempered, drunken, violent or greedy, but hospitable, self-controlled and firmly committed to sound teaching.
Titus 1:10-16
Silence the deceivers
Many rebellious talkers, especially of the circumcision party, upset whole households for shameful gain. Even a Cretan prophet described his people harshly. Titus must rebuke them sharply; they claim to know God but deny him by their deeds.
Titus 2:1-10
Teaching that fits sound doctrine
Titus must teach older men and women, younger women and men, and slaves to live with self-control, love and integrity, setting an example himself, so that no one speaks evil of God's word and the teaching about God our Savior is made attractive.
Titus 2:11-15
The grace that trains us
God's grace has appeared, bringing salvation for all people and training believers to reject ungodliness and live godly lives while they wait for the glorious appearing of Jesus Christ, our great God and Savior, who gave himself to redeem and purify a people for himself.
Titus 3:1-8
Saved by mercy, devoted to good works
Believers should submit to rulers, be ready for every good work and be gentle toward all, remembering what they once were. God saved them by his mercy, not by their works, through new birth and the renewing work of the Holy Spirit, so that they devote themselves to good works.
Titus 3:9-15
Avoid divisions; final instructions
Titus must avoid foolish controversies and warn a divisive person twice before having nothing more to do with him. Paul asks him to come to Nicopolis, to help Zenas and Apollos on their way and to teach the believers to meet urgent needs.

Famous passages in Titus

Titus 1:5-9
Elders in every town
Paul left Titus in Crete to finish what was incomplete and appoint elders in every town. The list of qualifications, similar to 1 Timothy 3:1-7, stresses a blameless life at home and in public and the ability to hold firmly to the trustworthy message, in order to encourage with sound teaching and correct those who oppose it.
Study Titus 1 →
Titus 1:12-13
Cretans described by their own prophet
Paul quotes a Cretan poet who called his own people liars, wild beasts and lazy gluttons, and adds that the description is true of the false teachers. Ancient writers attribute the line to Epimenides of Crete. The quotation is famous for its bluntness and for the logical puzzle known as the liar paradox: a Cretan saying that Cretans always lie.
Study Titus 1 →
Titus 1:15
To the pure, all things are pure
Against teachers who imposed human rules about purity, Paul says that to the pure all things are pure, but to the corrupt and unbelieving nothing is pure, because their minds and consciences are defiled. Purity is a matter of a heart cleansed by God, not of outward regulations, as Jesus also taught (Mark 7:14-23).
Study Titus 1 →
Titus 2:11-14
The grace of God has appeared
In one sentence Paul joins the past, present and future of salvation. God's grace has appeared in Christ, bringing salvation for all people; it now trains believers to say no to ungodliness and to live sensible, upright and godly lives; and it teaches them to wait for the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself to redeem them.
Study Titus 2 →
Titus 3:4-7
Saved by his mercy
When God our Savior showed his kindness and his love for humanity, he saved us, not on the basis of any good deeds of ours but out of his own mercy, through the cleansing of new birth and the renewal of the Holy Spirit, poured out generously through Jesus Christ. Justified by his grace, we become heirs with the hope of eternal life.
Study Titus 3 →
Titus 3:8
Careful to do good works
After summarizing the gospel, Paul calls it a trustworthy saying and tells Titus to insist on these truths so that those who have believed in God will be careful to devote themselves to good works. Good works appear in every chapter of the letter, not as the root of salvation but as its fruit (1:16; 2:7, 14; 3:1, 14).
Study Titus 3 →

Main themes

Grace that saves and trains: God's grace is not only the gift that saves sinners but also the teacher that trains them to reject ungodliness and live wisely and justly while they wait for Christ (2:11-14). Salvation comes by mercy, never by works (3:5).
Sound doctrine and godly living: Paul insists on healthy teaching and shows that it always produces a way of life. The truth leads to godliness (1:1), and every group in the church should live in a way that fits sound doctrine (2:1), while false teachers deny God by their deeds (1:16).
Good works: Good works run through the whole letter. False teachers are unfit for any good work, while Christ purified a people eager to do good. Believers should be ready for every good work and help meet urgent needs, so that their lives bear fruit (1:16; 2:14; 3:1, 14).
Leadership and order: Healthy churches need qualified leaders. Elders must be blameless at home and in public, hospitable and self-controlled, and must hold firmly to the trustworthy word so that they can encourage believers and correct opponents (1:5-9).
A witness before outsiders: Paul repeatedly explains why conduct matters: so that God's word is not maligned, so that opponents have nothing bad to say and so that believers make the teaching about God our Savior attractive (2:5, 8, 10). Gentleness toward everyone, rulers included, commends the gospel (3:1-2).
God our Savior: The title Savior appears six times, given to God and to Jesus Christ in each chapter (1:3-4; 2:10, 13; 3:4, 6). The salvation promised before the ages began is accomplished by Christ and applied by the Holy Spirit (1:2; 2:14; 3:5-6).

Main characters

Paul: The apostle, now free and traveling, who had worked with Titus on Crete and left him there to finish the work. He presents himself as a servant of God and plans to spend the winter at Nicopolis (1:1, 5; 3:12).
Titus: A Greek believer, Paul's true child in their common faith and his trusted troubleshooter, sent earlier to Corinth. On Crete he must appoint elders, confront false teachers and teach with authority, letting no one disregard him (1:4-5; 2:15; 2 Corinthians 7:6-7; 8:23).
The elders: Leaders to be appointed in every town of Crete. Paul calls them elders and then overseers and stewards of God, a sign that both titles referred to the same leaders (1:5-9).
The circumcision party: False teachers, apparently Jewish in background, who were rebellious, empty talkers and deceivers, upsetting whole households, teaching for money and devoting themselves to Jewish myths and human commands (1:10-11, 14).
The Cretan prophet: A poet from Crete whom Paul quotes without naming, traditionally identified as Epimenides, who had described his own people as liars, wild beasts and lazy gluttons (1:12).
Artemas and Tychicus: Two co-workers, one of whom Paul planned to send to Crete so that Titus could join him at Nicopolis. Tychicus is known from other letters as a trusted messenger; Artemas appears only here (3:12; Colossians 4:7).
Zenas and Apollos: Travelers whom Titus must help on their way with everything they need. Zenas is called a lawyer, an expert in Jewish or Roman law; Apollos is the eloquent teacher known from Acts and 1 Corinthians (3:13; Acts 18:24-28).

In-depth study of Titus

Introduction

Titus is one of the shortest letters of the New Testament, only 46 verses, but it is packed with practical wisdom and some of the most beautiful summaries of the gospel anywhere in Scripture. Paul writes to a trusted co-worker who has been left with a difficult assignment: to organize young churches on an island known for its rough reputation and to confront teachers who were damaging families for profit.

The letter moves constantly between belief and behavior. Paul never gives an instruction without grounding it in the gospel, and he never states the gospel without showing what it produces. The grace of God, he says, not only saves us; it trains us (2:11-12). That is why the phrase good works runs through the letter like a refrain.

Who wrote Titus and when?

The letter and its recipient

The letter opens with Paul's name and an unusually long greeting that already sums up his gospel (1:1-4). Titus, the recipient, was a Greek convert whom Paul calls his true child in their common faith (1:4). He had traveled with Paul to Jerusalem (Galatians 2:1-3) and represented him in Corinth during a painful crisis (2 Corinthians 7:6-7). The early church received the letter as Paul's, and Irenaeus cites it around AD 180.

The authorship debate

Titus shares the questions raised about the Pastoral Epistles as a group: a vocabulary somewhat different from Paul's other letters, a concern for church order and a ministry on Crete that Acts does not mention. Its similarity to 1 Timothy is striking, especially the list of qualifications for elders (1:5-9; 1 Timothy 3:1-7). Those who defend Paul's authorship see two letters written in the same period, to two delegates facing similar problems, and point to the concrete details at the end: Artemas, Tychicus, Zenas, Apollos and a winter at Nicopolis (3:12-13).

Date and setting

If Paul wrote it, the most likely setting is after his release from house arrest in Rome, around AD 62-64. Paul had worked on Crete with Titus and left him there, and he wrote while traveling, perhaps from Macedonia or elsewhere in Greece, on the way to spend the winter at Nicopolis (3:12).

Literary style and structure

Titus is a letter of instruction to a delegate, meant also to be heard by the churches, as its closing greeting to all shows (3:15). Its style follows a clear pattern: Paul gives practical instructions and then supplies the theological reason, usually introduced with the word for. The instructions to the different groups in 2:1-10 are followed by the great statement of grace in 2:11-14, and the call to gentleness toward all in 3:1-2 is followed by the summary of salvation in 3:3-7.

Paul also uses purpose clauses to show why behavior matters: so that the word of God may not be maligned, so that an opponent will be put to shame, so that believers adorn the teaching about God our Savior (2:5, 8, 10). The letter includes a trustworthy saying (3:8), a formula found only in the Pastoral Epistles, and lists of virtues and vices (1:7-8; 3:3).

The flow of the letter

Greeting (1:1-4).
Elders for every town (1:5-9).
The false teachers (1:10-16).
Instructions for the household of faith (2:1-10).
The grace that saves and trains (2:11-15).
Life in society and salvation by mercy (3:1-8).
Warnings, plans and greetings (3:9-15).

Titus in the story of the Bible

Paul calls God the one who never lies (1:2), echoing the conviction of Numbers 23:19 that God, unlike human beings, does not lie. His description of the church as a people for God's own possession (2:14) applies to believers the language God used of Israel at Sinai (Exodus 19:5; Deuteronomy 7:6; 14:2), and the promise that Christ redeems his people from all lawlessness recalls Psalm 130:8. The washing and the outpouring of the Spirit in 3:5-6 reflect the promises of Ezekiel 36:25-27, where God promises clean water and a new spirit, and Joel 2:28, where he promises to pour out his Spirit on all flesh.

In the New Testament, Titus completes what we know of a co-worker who appears in Galatians 2 and throughout 2 Corinthians. The letter also connects with Acts: Cretans were present at Pentecost (Acts 2:11), and Apollos, the eloquent teacher from Alexandria, appears in Acts 18:24-28 and 1 Corinthians 3:4-6. Its instructions on elders form a pair with 1 Timothy 3, and its call to be subject to rulers matches Romans 13:1-7 and 1 Peter 2:13-17.

Titus and Jesus Christ

In this short letter the title Savior appears six times, three times for God and three times for Jesus Christ, and in each chapter the two are placed side by side (1:3-4; 2:10, 13; 3:4, 6). The salvation planned by God is accomplished by Christ. In 2:13 Paul speaks of the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, which most interpreters read as a direct confession that Jesus is God.

Christ gave himself for us to redeem us from lawlessness and to purify for himself a people eager to do good (2:14). His first appearing brought grace; his future appearing is the blessed hope believers await (2:11, 13). In 3:4-6 the whole Trinity is at work in salvation: God our Savior shows his kindness and saves us, the Holy Spirit renews us, and the Spirit is poured out richly through Jesus Christ our Savior. Believers are justified by his grace and become heirs of eternal life (3:7).

Interpretive challenges

Children who believe (1:6)

An elder's children are described with a word that can mean believing or faithful. Some understand that an elder's children must be professing believers; others that they must be trustworthy and well behaved, not open to the charge of wild living, since no father can guarantee his children's faith. Both readings agree that an elder's home should show his ability to lead God's household.

Wives, slaves and the culture of the day (2:4-10)

Paul asks young wives to be submissive to their husbands and slaves to be submissive to their masters, so that the gospel will be honored. Most interpreters note that Paul was guiding believers' conduct within the institutions of his day, not endorsing slavery, and that the principle of living so as to adorn the gospel applies to every believer in every setting. They differ on how much of the household pattern of the first century carries over directly into marriage and work today.

The divisive person (3:10-11)

Paul tells Titus to warn a divisive person once and then twice and afterward to have nothing more to do with him. The Greek word later gave us the word heretic, but here it describes someone who stirs up factions. The instruction aims at protecting the church and gives the person two clear opportunities to change.

Salvation for all people (2:11)

The grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people. Some read this as God's offer of salvation to people of every kind, from the older women to the slaves just mentioned in 2:1-10; others as a salvation available to every person. The letter itself makes clear that salvation is received by faith and shown in a changed life (1:1; 3:8).

Little-known facts

A puzzle for logicians. The saying quoted in 1:12, a Cretan declaring that Cretans are always liars, became known as the Epimenides or liar paradox, a classic problem in logic.
A borrowed line. The poet Callimachus, in the third century BC, also used the words Cretans are always liars in a hymn to Zeus, mocking the Cretan claim to show Zeus's tomb.
Paul and the poets. Paul quotes Greek poets in three places: here (1:12), in his speech in Athens (Acts 17:28) and in 1 Corinthians 15:33.
The God who cannot lie. The Greek word for God who never lies (1:2) appears only here in the New Testament, in a letter that soon after quotes a saying about Cretan liars.
A city of victory. Nicopolis, where Paul wanted to spend the winter, means city of victory; Augustus founded it to commemorate his triumph at Actium.
A later tradition. The church historian Eusebius records the tradition that Titus was the first overseer of the churches of Crete.

How to study Titus

Read it in one sitting

The letter can be read in about ten minutes. Read it once straight through, then again with three colored pencils: one for the word good or good works, one for sound or healthy teaching, and one for Savior.

What to look for

The pattern of instruction followed by a gospel reason (2:1-14; 3:1-7).
The purpose clauses that show how conduct affects the church's witness (2:5, 8, 10).
What believers were before and what God has done (3:3-7).
How each age group can help the others grow, especially older women training younger women (2:3-5).

Teaching it in a class or small group

A three-week series follows the chapters: leaders who model the truth (1); grace that trains every generation (2); saved by mercy for good works (3). A fourth session can focus on memorizing 2:11-14 and 3:4-7, two short summaries of the gospel. As an application, the group can pair older and younger members for prayer and mentoring, and look for one urgent need in the community they can meet together, so that, as Paul says, they will not be unfruitful (3:14).

Titus chapter by chapter

Every chapter of Titus with a summary, key verses explained, themes, people, questions with answers and application.

Frequently asked questions about Titus

Who wrote the book of Titus?

The letter names the apostle Paul as its author (Titus 1:1), writing to his co-worker Titus, and the early church received it as Paul's; around AD 180 Irenaeus cites its instruction to avoid a divisive person after warning him (3:10). Many modern scholars think the Pastoral Epistles were written by a disciple in Paul's name, while many others defend Paul's authorship, pointing to the personal travel plans and names at the end of the letter (3:12-13).

When was Titus written?

If Paul wrote it, probably around AD 62-64, after his release from his first imprisonment in Rome and in the same period as 1 Timothy. Paul had worked on Crete with Titus, a ministry Acts does not record, and planned to spend the winter at Nicopolis (3:12). Scholars who see the letter as the work of a disciple date it later in the first century.

What is the main message of Titus?

Grace produces godliness. The God who saved us by his mercy, not by our works (3:5), also trains us to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives (2:11-12). So the churches of Crete needed leaders of proven character, sound teaching and believers devoted to good works, whose conduct would adorn the teaching about God our Savior (2:10; 3:8).

How many chapters does Titus have and how is it organized?

Titus has 3 chapters and 46 verses. Chapter 1 deals with the appointment of elders and the false teachers; chapter 2 gives instructions for different groups in the church, grounded in the grace of God; chapter 3 describes the believer's conduct in society, summarizes salvation by mercy and closes with warnings, travel plans and greetings.

Who was Titus in the Bible?

Titus was a Greek believer who worked closely with Paul. He went with Paul and Barnabas to Jerusalem, where he was not compelled to be circumcised (Galatians 2:1-3). Paul later sent him to Corinth, where he helped restore the church's relationship with Paul and organized the collection (2 Corinthians 7:6-7; 8:6, 16-17). He is never named in Acts, and he last appears going to Dalmatia (2 Timothy 4:10).

Why did Paul say that Cretans are always liars?

In Titus 1:12 Paul quotes a Cretan poet, traditionally Epimenides, who said this about his own people. Crete had a reputation in the ancient world for dishonesty; Greek even had a verb formed from the island's name that meant to lie. Paul applies the saying to the false teachers, not as a verdict on every Cretan, since the elders and believers he addresses were Cretans too.

What is the washing of regeneration in Titus 3:5?

Paul says that God saved us through a washing that brings new birth and through the renewing work of the Holy Spirit, poured out through Jesus Christ (3:5-6). Some see a reference to baptism as the outward sign of this new birth; others see the inner cleansing that the Spirit himself performs, as promised in Ezekiel 36:25-27. All agree that the saving power belongs to God's mercy and Spirit, not to human works (3:5).

Does Titus 2:13 call Jesus God?

Paul speaks of the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. Most translations and interpreters read the phrase as referring to one person, Jesus Christ, called both God and Savior, since in Greek the two titles share one article and the appearing is always Christ's. Others read it as referring to God the Father and to Jesus the Savior. The first reading makes it one of the clearest statements of Christ's deity in the New Testament.