Adam Clarke

“ The piety of the flock must be faint and languishing when it is not animated by the heavenly zeal of the pastor; they must be blind if he be not enlightened; and their faith must be wavering when he can neither encourage nor defend it. ”

“ How contemptible must that man appear in the eyes of common sense, who boasts of his clerical education, his sacerdotal order, his legitimate authority to preach, administer the Christian sacraments, etc., while no soul is benefited by his ministry! Such a person may have legal authority to take tithes, but as to an appointment from God, he has none; else his word would be with power, and his preaching the means of salvation to his perishing hearers. ”

“ The saving grace of this great God hath shone out upon every man; none has been passed by, none left uninfluenced, none without the first offer of life eternal, and a sufficiency of grace to qualify him for the state. ”

“ God loves man; he delighted in the idea when formed in his own infinite mind, he formed man according to that idea, and rejoiced in the work of his hands; when man fell, the same love induced him to devise his redemption, and God the Savior flows from God the Philanthropist. ”

“ A woman may keep the house very closely, and yet do little in it for the support or comfort of the family.
That the word of God be not blasphemed - The enemies of the Gospel are quick-eyed to spy out imperfections in its professors; and, if they find women professing Christianity living an irregular life, they will not fail to decry the Christian doctrine on this account: "Behold your boasted religion! it professes to reform all things, and its very professors are no better than others! Our heathenism is as good as your Christianity." ”

“ By the renewing of the Holy Ghost we are to understand, not only the profession of being bound to live a new life, but the grace that renews the heart, and enables us thus to live; so the renewing influences are here intended. ”

“ If called of God to be a preacher, (and without such a call he had better be a galley slave) , he will be able to bring all his knowledge to the assistance and success of his ministry. If he have human learning, so much the better; if he be accredited, and appointed by those who have authority in the Church, it will be to his advantage; but no human learning, no ecclesiastical appointment, no mode of ordination, whether Popish, Episcopal, Protestant, or Presbyterian, can ever supply the Divine unction, without which he never can convert and build up the souls of men. ”

“ If the grace of God do not communicate ministerial qualifications, no natural gifts, however splendid, can be of any avail. To be a successful Christian minister, a man must feel the worth of immortal souls in such a way as God only can show it, in order to spend and be spent in the work. He who has never passed through the travail of the soul in the work of regeneration in his own heart, can never make plain the way of salvation to others.
3. He who is employed in the Christian ministry should cultivate his mind in the most diligent manner; he can neither learn nor know too much. ”

“ There is one subject in this chapter not sufficiently attended to by those who have the authority to appoint men to ecclesiastical offices; none should be thus appointed who is not able, by sound doctrine, both to exhort and convince the gainsayers. The powers necessary for this are partly natural, partly gracious, and partly acquired.
1. If a man have not good natural abilities, nothing but a miracle from heaven can make him a proper preacher of the Gospel; and to make a man a Christian minister, who is unqualified for any function of civil life, is sacrilege before God. ”

“ But if thus to vindicate himself was at all necessary, why was it not done in his Epistle to the Romans, the grand object of which was to prove that the Gentiles came legally into the Church on believing in Christ, with out submitting to circumcision, or being laid under obligation to observe the rites and ceremonies of the Jewish law? This reason seems too fanciful. It is very likely that in the use of the phrase the apostle had no particular design; for, according to him, he who is the servant of Christ is the servant of God, and he who is God's servant is also the servant of Christ. ”

“ For the grace of God, that which saves, hath shone forth upon all men. Or, as it is expressed in the margin of our authorized version: The grace of God, that bringeth salvation to all men, hath appeared. As God's grace signifies God's favor, any benefit received from him may be termed God's grace. In this place, and in [82] , the Gospel, which points out God's infinite mercy to the world, is termed the grace of God; for it is not only a favor of infinite worth in itself, but it announces that greatest gift of God to man, the incarnation and atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ. ”

“ The substantial knowledge of the truth must have faith for its foundation, godliness for its rule, and eternal life for its object and end. He who does not begin well, is never likely to finish fair. He who does not refer every thing to eternity, is never likely to live either well or happily in time. ”

“ In Candia, the metropolis, they have left two churches to the Greeks, one to the Armenians, and a synagogue to the Jews. Candia is about five hundred miles from Constantinople. Is it not strange that the maritime powers of Europe have not driven those oppressors of the human race from this and every inch of Christian ground which they have usurped by treachery and violence, and which they continue to govern by despotism and cruelty?
Many have observed the affinity that subsists between the First Epistle to Timothy and this to Titus. ”

“ And as the light and heat of the sun are denied to no nation nor individual, so the grace of the Lord Jesus, this also shines out upon all; and God designs that all mankind shall be as equally benefited by it in reference to their souls, as they are in respect to their bodies by the sun that shines in the firmament of heaven. ”

“ In consequence of the appointment of improper persons to the Christian ministry, there has been, not only a decay of piety, but also a corruption of religion. No man is a true Christian minister who has not grace, gifts, and fruit ”

“ God caused the Gospel to be published in that time in which it could be published with the greatest effect. It is impossible that God should prematurely hasten, or causelessly delay, the accomplishment of any of his works. Jesus was manifested precisely at the time in which that manifestation could best promote the glory of God and the salvation of man.
Manifested his word - Τον λογον αὑτου· His doctrine - the doctrine of eternal life, by the incarnation, passion, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. ”

“ Paul, after his liberation at Rome, sailed into Asia, taking Crete in his way; and that from Asia, and from Ephesus its capital, he proceeded to Macedonia, and, crossing the Peninsula in his progress, came into the neighborhood of Nicopolis; we have a route which falls in with every thing. It executes the intention expressed by the apostle of visiting Colosse and Philippi, as soon as he should be set at liberty at Rome. It allows him to leave "Titus at Crete," and "Timothy at Ephesus, as he went into Macedonia;" ”

“ Jesus gave his life for the world, and thus has purchased men unto himself; and, having purchased the slaves from their thraldom, he is represented as stripping them of their sordid vestments, cleansing and purifying them unto himself that they may become his own servants, and bringing them out of their dishonorable and oppressive servitude, in which they had no proper motive to diligence and could have no affection for the despot under whose authority they were employed. ”

“ For an old man to be a drunkard, a light and trifling person, and a glutton, and not to be sober, grave, and temperate, is not only blamable but monstrous. Seneca has well said: Luxuriosus adolescens peccat; senew insanit. "A young man addicted to a life of luxury transgresses; an old man thus addicted runs mad." ”

“ Human nature is in a state of disease; and the doctrine of the Gospel is calculated to remove the disease, and restore all to perfect health and soundness. All false doctrines leave men under the influence of this spiritual disease; the unadulterated doctrine of the Gospel alone can heal men.
He that is of the contrary part - Whether this may refer to the Judaizing teachers in general, or to some one who might, by his false doctrine, have been disturbing the peace of the Churches in Crete, we cannot tell. ”

“ It is likely, therefore, that it was customary among the elderly women, both Greeks and Romans, to drink much wine, and because it was inconsistent with that moderation, which the Gospel requires, the apostle forbids it: doubtless it was not considered criminal among them, because it was a common practice; and we know that the Greek philosophers and physicians, who denied wine to young persons, judged it to be necessary for the aged. ”

“ What the Gospel of the grace of God teaches all men, [72] , [73] . The glorious prospect held out by it; salvation from all sin, and final glory, [74] .
Verse 1
But speak thou the things - This is a conclusion drawn from the preceding chapter: the Judaizing teachers not only taught a false doctrine, but they led an unholy life; Titus was to act directly opposite; he must teach a sacred doctrine, and the things which become it; he must proclaim the truth, and illustrate that truth. The people must not only be well instructed, but they must be holy in their lives. ”

“ Having no evil thing to say of you - Against a person who is sound in his doctrine, and holy in his life, no evil can be justly alleged. He who reports evil of such a person must be confounded when brought to the test. ”

“ With all authority - Μετα πασης επιταγης· With all that authority with which thy office invests thee, and which thou hast received from God.
Let no man despise thee - That is: Act so that no person shall have any cause to despise thee, either for thy work, or the manner and spirit is which thou dost perform it. ”

“ When the earth and the sun were created, every part of the globe did not come immediately into the light; to effect this purpose fully there must be a complete revolution, as has been marked above, and this could not be effected till the earth had not only revolved on its own axis, but passed successively through all the signs of the zodiac. ”

“ Where love is it will be active, and will show itself. So the philanthropy of God appeared, επεφανη, it shone out, in the incarnation of Jesus Christ, and in his giving his life for the life of the world.
Verse 5
Not by works of righteousness - Those who were foolish, disobedient, and deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, could not possibly have works of righteousness to plead; therefore, if saved at all, they must be saved by mercy. ”

“ The words which the apostle uses in this place give a finished picture of the carnal state of man; and they are not true merely of the Cretans and Jews that then were, but of all mankind in every age and country; they express the wretched state of fallen man.
Some of the Greek moralists expressed a dissolute and sensual life by nearly the same expressions as those employed by the apostle. Plutarch, in Precept. Conjug., says: Σωματος εστι κηδεσθαι, μη δουλευοντα ταις ἡδοναις αυτου, και ταις επιθυμιαις· "We must take care of the body, that we may not be enslaved by its lusts and pleasures." ”

“ Whether Titus ever left Crete we know not; nor how, nor where, he died. Some traditions, on which little dependence can be placed, say he lived till he was 94 years of age, and died and was buried in Crete. He appears to have been a young man when intrusted with the care of the Churches in this island. In such an extensive district, an aged or infirm man would have been of little service.
Crete, where Titus was resident, to whom this epistle was sent, is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea ”

“ In this long campaign against this brave people the Turks lost about 200,000 men! Since about the year 1675, the whole island has been under the government of the Turks.
The island of Crete is perhaps one of the most salubrious in the world. The soil is rich, and it produces no ferocious or poisonous animal. The present number of its inhabitants may amount to about 350, 200, of whom about 200 are Jews, 150,000 Greeks, and 200,000 Turks. This is a large population for a place under Turkish despotism ”