WORD: OC's 60-Day New Testament PlanSample

God Always Offers a Way Out

In the few short verses of Titus, the author provides us with one of the two major passages in the New Testament about the qualifications of elders. Since this passage has been taught over and over—especially when a church decides to appoint new elders—I’d like to introduce you to a minor character quoted later in this short letter.

Titus apparently had been left in Crete by Paul to strengthen churches in this island that was notorious for the debauched nature of its natives. He carried out this mission by appointing elders among those who love what is good and rebuking those who fail to do good. I find it interesting that the bad reputation of the citizens of Crete had lasted for centuries. In verse 12, Titus quotes an unnamed philosopher who said this of his countrymen: “Cretans are always liars, evil brutes and lazy gluttons” (NIV). We now know that the quote comes from the 7th or 6th Century philosopher Epimenides. Evidently, the phrase “Cretans, always liars” lived on for more than 700 years before Titus gave it a new lifetime by putting the condemnation in his epistle. Talk about a lasting reputation!

But I like the other Biblical quote by Epimenides that is found in Acts 17 in Paul’s sermon in Athens after he found the altar to the “unknown god.” Paul takes the opportunity to tell them about the one true God they had missed. Twice in this sermon, Paul, who had been classically educated before his conversion experience on the road to Damascus, turned to philosophers. And one of those philosophers was our friend Epimenides. This time, he provides us with one of the best descriptions of our relationship with God in all of scripture. In Acts 17:28 Paul quotes Epimenides saying “In Him we live and move and have our being.” Though Epimenides was undoubtedly saying that about Zeus, it lives on today as one of the hallmarks of how man and God relate—without him we have no life at all. This early philosopher, teaching more than six centuries before Jesus, hits on two immortal topics—man is trapped by his own flaws, but God offers a way out.

Written By Philip Patterson
Communications Professor, Oklahoma Christian University