Page 98 - New Testament Survey Student Textbook

Overview of II Timothy

Titus: A Call to Thought and Action

Background

Author and Date

Internal evidence shows that Paul is the author of the letter to Titus
(1:1). See the discussion on authorship of First Timothy about the
modern debate and counter arguments concerning the writer of the
Pastoral Epistles. As far as date goes, this letter may be dated in the mid-60s AD. Though the book does
not mention the actual location of Paul when writing, it appears that he might have been on a
missionary journey, since he mentions his desire to spend the winter in Nicopolis (Titus 3:12).

Recipient

The book names Titus as its recipient. Titus was Paul’s spiritual son and partner in ministry for a long
time. When the “Letter to Titus” reached him from Paul, he already had an assignment to oversee
churches at Crete. At one time he represented Paul to the Corinthian Church, and accompanied Paul to
meet some church leaders in Jerusalem (2 Cor 8:23; Gal 2:1–3; 2 Tim 4:10). In Paul’s team, Titus was one
of the Gentile partners, interestingly, he was not required to circumcise by the Jews.
Themes

An easy theme to pick up in the letter to Titus is that of a marriage between right belief and right action
(1:1). Some scholars propose that according to the culture at Crete, dishonesty was accepted because it
was a fact of life. So, it follows that a quick lesson be given to Titus about the balance of the two in order

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