Dr Paul Allen

Imagine the scene. A guy gets dropped off on a 140 by 30 mile island. With beautiful weather, rich agriculture, calm beaches, and mountainous landscape, it was, externally, a great place. However, as he spends time there, reality sets in. The island is inhabited by stiff-necked, unsaved religious people and liars, evil beasts, and lazy gluttons. There is no worse combination. The place is so debauched that even Greeks cringed at the thought of it. Later, he receives a letter which says, “I want a good church planted in every town on the island.” And, at that time, it’s likely that there were about 100 towns. This was the situation in which Titus found himself near A.D. 60 on the island of Crete, and for which Paul wrote the New Testament letter. Though Crete prided itself on once having advanced societies such as the Minoans, history records it was so bad in Titus’ day, that to be called a “Cretan” was to be called something like a liar or dru...

Of all the elder qualifications Paul gives in Titus 1, none causes more hand-wringing and knee-bending than this: An elder must have “faithful children.” What exactly does that mean? Three most common view: Evangelical View, the Baptistic View, and the Reformed View. “[An elder must be] someone who is blameless, the husband of one wife, having faithful children not accused of wildness or rebellion” ( Titus 1:6 ). Or…“if anyone is above reproach, the husband of one wife, and his children are believers and not open to the charge of debauchery or insubordination” ( Titus 1:6 ). The KJV , Holman and RSV go with “faithful children.” The ESV , NIV , NASB , and probably even The Message (no way I’m checking) all use “children are believers.” The Greek word is pista, which can mean trustworthy, faithful, or believing. Now for the three views: Evangelical View: Children who are under control The essence of this view is that children in the home are to be under control, but the requireme...

Painting by Rembrandt of Paul, one of the most notable of early Christian missionaries, who called himself the "Apostle to the Gentiles." Paul, a Hellenistic Jew, was very influential on the shift of Christianity to Gentile dominated movement. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) "And because the haven was not commodious to winter in, the more part advised to depart thence also, if by any means they might attain to Phenice , and there to winter; which is an haven of Crete , and lieth toward the south west and north west." ( Acts 27:12 )   This seemingly insignificant phrase "by any means" (Greek  ei pos ) is actually used to express the urgency of attaining some object sought, along with the means for its attainment. It occurs just four times in the New Testament , and it is interesting that these four occurrences seem to follow a significant order.   The first of them is in our text above and expresses a search for physical comfort, as the mariners, transporting P...

Image via Wikipedia "To Titus , mine own son after the common faith: Grace , mercy, and peace, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ our Saviour." ( Titus 1:4 )   On the surface, this verse might be considered insignificant and could easily be missed, for it is part of a lengthy greeting to Titus by Paul at the beginning of this very practical book. However, many nuggets are contained therein, and it is well worth our study.   Titus was one of Paul's most trusted companions. He was a faithful worker who had accompanied Paul on a number of his journeys. Late in Paul's life, after years of discipleship, Paul asked Titus to carry on the work he had started in Crete , an island well known for its deplorable moral state. Paul may have been instrumental in Titus' initial conversion, for he calls him "mine own son," literally "my true child," a very endearing term. The bond of "common faith" gave them a mutual goal, and, of cours...

Image via Wikipedia Author: Phil Newton  Over the past decade I’ve engaged a wide-range of Christians on the subject of elders. Some, in desperation, want to change dysfunctional church leadership structures. Others have grown tired of side-stepping the biblical teaching on elders. Some long to adopt elder leadership yet realize many of their congregants would resist change. A mission leader told me that elder plurality was a major issue in his region; nationals, unfamiliar with traditions and arguments against elder plurality, saw it in Scripture and wanted to obey. Christ gave elder leadership to the church for its growth, development, and unity. Yet tradition often tugs stronger than biblical order for those refusing elder leadership. Others have elders but neglect applying biblical standards to them. Paul’s letter to Titus offers great help for both cases ( Titus 1:5-9 ). First, plural leadership is the norm for every church: “appoint elders in every city as I d...