The church at Corinth was jacked up in all kinds of ways...just like the church in our day! People make comments how they don’t want to go to “church” because it’s full of hypocrites. Churches are full of people...people are jacked up...we ALL need Jesus! However, the church in Corinth seemed to bring a lot of their culture into the church instead of allowing the Holy Spirit to shape them but in all of that, Paul still tells them, “You are God’s holy people.” Despite being jacked up in all kinds of ways, they said “yes” to Jesus and his blood washes their sins away...just like you and me if we have said “yes” to him.

One of the things Paul wants the people of Crete to learn is to be generous givers. He tells Titus that he will soon be sending Tychicus or Artemas to take his place, and once they get there, Titus is to meet Paul in Nicopolis. But toward the end of the letter, Paul mentions two people, Zenas the lawyer and Apollos. He says they are basically traveling missionaries and they have needs that the church in Crete needs to meet by giving them what they need and be generous about it. He says by doing so, they will learn to “do good by meeting the urgent needs of others.” One way we can show Jesus to people is to be generous givers, like Jesus. He was always giving and we must do the same!

In many of his letters, Paul talks about how we are saved and he is clear: Not by our works but by God’s grace and His mercy. He talks about the Jews trying to convince the Gentiles they must also follow the law, including circumcision. The guy Paul is writing this letter to is a Gentile who is not circumcised which is living proof that God is moving in the lives of the uncircumcised Gentiles therefore, salvation has nothing to do with works. He tells Titus to not engage in any arguments with these people who insist on following the law, in fact, he tells Titus to warn them twice, and if they don’t listen, send them on their way and have nothing to do with them.