Reading for November 29th

Read Titus 1.5-16. In 1.5-16: Instructions on church order. The letter contrasts the elders and the false teachers: The false teachers are motivated by sordid gain (v. 11); the elders must not be greedy for gain (v. 7). The false teachers upset whole families (v. 11); the elders must be able to control their own families (v. 6). In verse 5: Paul, while a captive, spent time at Crete (Acts 27.7-15), but niether Acts not his letters says he started a mission there. Furthermore, after Crete Paul is taken on to Malta, not Nicoplolos (Acts 28.1). Inverses 5-7: Elders and bishops seem to be the same. In verse 9: The determination of sound (healthy or correct) doctrine is based on the reasoning of a community; see 1.13; 2.1, 2, 8; 1 Tim 1.10; 6.3; 2 Tim 1.13; 4.3 In verse 12: A sterotype attributed by some early Christians (Clement of Alexandria, Chrysostom and Jerome) to Epimenides, a Creatan poet from the sixth century BCE. In verse 16: Work, see 1,16; 2.7, 14; 3.1, 8). Comments or Questions..