In his letter to Titus, the apostle Paul lays out a plan that would help the church in Crete get their act together. In a nutshell, Paul tells Titus to lead by example and encourage all Christians to do the same.
In chapter two Paul tells Titus how various groups within the church ought to act as examples to others. Paul tells Titus to encourage everyone to live their lives in such a way that ?no one will malign the word of God ? (2:5), so that people outside the church ?have nothing bad to say about us ? (2:8), and so that ?they will make the teaching about God our Savior attractive ? (2:10).
This kind of encouragement has several major benefits. First, it helps everyone in the church grow in unity in faith and knowledge of Jesus through sound doctrine (Titus 2:1; Ephesians 4:13). Second, it bridges the gap among generations and among different groups within the church, as each of Paul ?s instructions was for the older, more mature Christians to teach younger Christians and lead by example. Third, it helps us deal with the temptations of this world and strengthens our faith as we wait for heaven (2:12, 13). Last, it encourages us to do good works (2:14).
This letter to Titus should encourage us today to continue focusing on the core values of our faith. We need study the Bible and learn and accept its sound doctrine. We need to apply that doctrine in our lives, not only as we wait for Jesus ? return but also as we hold out to all people our hope of life in heaven with him. We need to continue to bridge the gaps between people within the church so that we can be unified in faith and knowledge and so that we can encourage each other to do good works. As Paul wrote in verse 7, ?In everything set them an example by doing what is good. ?