Paul moves his focus from within the congregation to those outside of the church. Christians should submit to government as model citizens being a part of the good work that governments do (because every government, whether godly or not, has been instituted by God, Rom 13:1). Where a government usurps the authority of God and commands a believer to disobey God, then we should refuse on the principle that “we must obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29). Christians should not speak evil of anyone avoiding ridicule, insult, and verbal abuse. This is especially important today when social media gives us a sense of anonymity and we feel we can say what we like. We should be peaceable towards others and avoid quarrelling, be gentle and considerate of others, being perfectly courteous towards all people, not just believers. Paul aptly reminds us that we were all once foolish and disobedient and deceived. We were slaves to various passions and pleasures. We spent our days hating and being hated and responding to others with malice and envy. Remembering this should cause us to be gracious to those who are still like that. Remembering that we were saved from that should give us compassion for those who are still slaves to sin. When God our Saviour, Jesus Christ, appeared, He saved us out of lives like that. He didn’t save us because of works of righteousness which we have done. That isn’t to say people don’t do righteous deeds. We are simply not saved because of any righteous deeds we have done. In fact, any righteous deeds we have done are seen as filthy rags before a perfect and holy God (Isa 64:6). We were saved by God’s mercy and compassion, close relatives to God’s grace. Our salvation included washing and regeneration because of the transformative work of the Holy Spirit within us. When we were saved we became new creatures (2 Cor 5:17). Because we were justified, made righteous before a holy God, by His grace, we are now heirs according to the hope of eternal life. We are now part of God’s family and while we have eternal life now, we will experience it most fully when we are with Jesus in heaven—that is the hope we live with. Because we have received such an incredible salvation our response as believers should be to devote ourselves to good works. While we focus on devoting ourselves to good works, we must avoid things that are unprofitable and worthless like quarrelling over things that are insignificant, putting too much emphasis on our preferences, and anything that causes division in the church rather than uniting us to the common goal of reaching the lost. Paul tells Titus that when dealing with people like that, he should warn them twice and then have nothing more to do with them. Someone who is focused on division shouldn’t be tolerated in the church. If they don’t respond to two warnings they prove themselves to be warped and sinful. They are self-condemned because they cling to their sinful practice. As with any church discipline like this, the goal is to have the person recognise their sin and return in repentance.

Paul’s closing greeting mentions Artemas and Tychicus who were possibly men who could relieve Titus and continue his work while he went to visit Paul in Nicopolis where he had decided to spend the winter. Paul was writing with the freedom to decide where to spend winter so it was likely after his first Roman imprisonment. Zenas was probably an expert in Roman law because of his Gentile name. Apollos was likely the preacher of (Acts 18:24). Both Zenas and Apollos may have carried the letter to Titus. He was encouraged to look after them and send them on their way. Paul again emphasises the need for believers to devote themselves to good works with a focus on helping those in need. This outward focus saves us from selfishness and an unfruitful life.

Are you living a life devoted to good works? What is one area you can help with within the church? Where can you contribute to those outside the church within your community? Both will give you the opportunity to show and share the love of Jesus.