Titus
Titus together with 1 & 2 Timothy have been called
the “Pastoral Epistles” since the 18th century, and traditionally
believed to be written by the Apostle Paul. It is likely that Titus was converted by Paul, and as a result Paul called
him his “true son” (1:4). We shall learn
more about Titus as we study this short letter although when and why Paul wrote
this letter has been a subject of many speculations. Allow me to simply quote from Gordon Fee
whose comment in this respect makes the most sense to me:
“Since it displays a more prophylactic, less urgent, appearance than 1 Timothy, the Epistle to Titus was probably written after the latter. Paul had left Titus in Crete to finish setting the churches in order. In Macedonia he wrote back to Ephesus to give Timothy authority for his task there. At the same time he reflected on some similar opposition encountered in Crete while he had been there, so he also wrote to Titus, again to give him authority against these false teachers. But because the situation there lacked the urgency of Ephesus, he encourages Titus to help the people toward exemplary Christian behavior for the sake of the word.” (NIBC, 1 and 2 Timothy, Titus, Fee, 12)
1:1-4—Salutation: Paul opens with a rather unusually lengthy salutation
(1) He calls himself both “a servant of God” and “an apostle of Jesus Christ”
a. What are the two different aspects of who he is that he tries to emphasize?
b. Why?
(2) Paul sees that this calling, both as a servant and an apostle, is for the benefit of God’s elect (v. 1).
a. Who are God’s elect? (See Rom. 8:33; Col. 3:12; 2 Tim. 2:10)
b. What is his calling concerning their faith?
c. What is his calling concerning their knowledge of the truth?
d. Does knowing the truth necessarily lead to godliness? Why or why not?
(3) What does the hope of eternal life have to do with faith and the knowledge of the truth? Can one truly have faith and knowledge of the truth without any concern for eternal life?
(4) What does Paul see as the essence of his preaching? (vv. 2-3)
(5) What might be the implication of calling Titus his “true son”?
(6) Read the following Scripture passages concerning Titus:
a. Galatians 2:1, 3
b. 2 Corinthians 2:3-4, 13; 7:6-16
c. 2 Corinthians 8:16-24
What can you learn about Titus through the above passages?
(7) Although the language of the greeting in v. 4 is a very standard one, how important is it to Titus? What does it mean to you?
(8) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
“To Titus, my true son in our common faith” (Tit. 1:4)
In church ministry, we always like to compare one minster with another. It is not only unfair, but is harmful. As 1 & 2 Timothy and Titus are commonly known as the “Pastoral Epistles”, people also like to compare Titus with Timothy, and I find William Barclays’ comment in this respect very helpful:
“Titus was the companion of Paul for an awkward and a difficult time. When Paul paid his visit to Jerusalem, to a Church which suspected him and was prepared to mistrust and dislike him, it was Titus whom he took with him along with Barnabas (Gal. 2:1). It was said of Dundas, the famous Scotsman, by one of his friends, ‘Dundas is no orator; but he will go out with you in any kind of weather.’ Titus was like that. When Paul was up against it, Titus was by his side.
"Titus was the man for a tough assignment. When the trouble at Corinth was at its peak, it was he who was sent with one of the severest letters Paul ever wrote (2 Cor. 8:16). Titus clearly had the strength of mind and the toughness of fibre which enabled him to face and to handle a difficult situation. There are two kinds of people. There are the people who can make a bad situation worse, and there are the people who can bring order out of chaos and peace out of strife. Titus was the man to send to the place where there was trouble. He had a gift for practical administration. It was Titus whom Paul chose to organize the collection for the poor members of the Church at Jerusalem (2 Cor. 8:6, 10). It is clear that he had no great gifts of speech, but he was the man for practical administration. The Church ought to thank God for the people to whom we turn whenever we want a practical job well done.” (DSBS, Timothy, Titus and Philemon, 23)
1:5-9—Qualifications of Elders
(1) It appears that it is Paul’s strategy to evangelize a city and leave behind an assistant to deal with unfinished business as was the case with Timothy in Ephesus (see 1 Tim. 1:3). In the case of Titus in Crete, what might be the unfinished business that he “might put in order” since the churches were so new? (“put in order” carries a sense of “correct” or “set right”)
(2) Another important matter on the agenda for Titus was to appoint elders in every town. Paul set out a list of qualifications for elders:
a. It is helpful to compare the list here with the list in 1 Timothy 3:1-7:
- Why didn’t Paul simply repeat the same list in 1 Timothy? How different was the situation there? (1 Tim. 3:14-15)
- Can you detect their similarities and their differences?
b. What is the over-riding qualification that is mentioned twice here? (vv. 6-7)
c. What is the equivalent of this qualification in 1 Timothy? (1 Tim. 3:2)
d. Under this overriding qualification, the first specific requirement concerns the family (v. 6)
- Why is faithfulness to one’s wife so important to spiritual leadership?
- Why is faith (and the behavior) of one’s children so important to leadership in God’s household? (v. 7 and 1 Tim. 3:5, 15)
e. Then Paul deals with the negatives (v. 7) which include:
- Not overbearing (i.e. self-willed): What might be another word for “self-willed” and how destructive would it be as a spiritual leader?
- Not quick-tempered: What is the opposite of being “quick-tempered”? How destructive would it be as a spiritual leader?
- Not given to drunkenness: What might be the cause(s) for drunkenness and why should it disqualify one from spiritual leadership?
- Not violent (literally, not a striker): What might be the cause(s) for acting violently? How does violence disqualify one from spiritual leadership?
- Not greedy (or not pursuing dishonest gain): Can you give examples of pursuing dishonest gain? Do you think buying lottery tickets is a form of greed? Why or why not?
f. Positive qualifications (v. 8)
- Hospitable: How important was hospitality in Paul’s time? How might this quality be exhibited in God’s household today?
- Love what is good: What does it really mean?
- Self-controlled (or simply put, being sensible): How important is it for spiritual leaders to exercise “common sense”?
- Upright (or just): We are justified not by works but by faith, so how then can one live out a life justified by faith in God?
- Holy: Refer to 2 Timothy 2:20-21 and see the relationship between being holy and being used by God.
- Disciplined (or self-controlled): List the areas that a spiritual leader needs to especially exercise self-control over.
g. Gift (v. 9): What is the only gift that Paul lists as a qualification of elders?
- Even though it is a gift, what does Paul emphasize?
- Why would Paul put it at the end of the list, preceded by qualifications that deal with who a person is?
(3) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
“An elder must be blameless, faithful to his wife, a man whose children believe and are not open to the charge of being wild and disobedient.” (Tit. 1:6)
It appears that it is Paul’s strategy to evangelize a city and then leave a trusted assistant to deal with “unfinished” business (Tit. 1:5) so that he could move on to evangelize another city. Such was the case in both Ephesus and Crete. However, the situations in Ephesus and in Crete are very different.
Paul spent a considerable period of time in Ephesus (at least two years according to Acts 19:10) while his ministry in Crete was not even long enough to be mentioned by Luke in his account of the three missionary journeys of Paul.
We know also from 1 and 2 Timothy that the church in Ephesus was extremely chaotic. Not only was it infiltrated by false teachers, but it also despised and likely bullied Timothy as a young minister, even by a group of women in the church. As a result, the words of Paul in his letters to Timothy were very strong and his instructions were far more ad-hoc, including the list of qualifications that he gave about elders and deacons, hoping to bring matters under control while he tried to quickly return to set things right (1 Tim. 3:14).
While false teachings were also a problem in Crete, it appears Titus, perhaps of his age, had things under control. All Paul needed to do was to write a much shorter letter to give him the authority to set up the proper structure in these new churches, including the appointment of elders.
But one thing is common among the two lists of qualifications which appear in the two letters (i.e. 1 Tim. and Tit.), and that is they deal primarily with the life of a spiritual leader rather than his gifts. The list in Titus makes this emphasis even more obvious.
The overriding emphasis for a spiritual leader is “blamelessness” and under this emphasis, he puts the family relationship of the leader first on the list. He then lists 5 negative and 6 positive traits, followed only by one gift—the gift of teaching, the focus of which is not even on eloquence but on sound doctrine.
This is such an important reminder to us that we should never put giftedness above the inner life of a person when it comes to the selection of spiritual leaders in the church. Often, it is our compromise in this respect that had led to divisions in the church.
1:10-16—Unsound Doctrine
(1) In setting out the last qualification for the elders, Paul deals with the need to effectively oppose the teaching of heresies and he cites the “circumcision group” as an example:
a. How prevalent was this heresy in the time of Paul? (see Acts 15:1; Gal. 2:7-9, 12)
b. What were the follies of this “circumcision” teaching? (Gal. 5:2-12)
c. Why did Paul call it “meaningless talks and deception”?
d. How should they be dealt with?
e. What was the purpose of the propagation of this heresy according to Paul? (1:11)
(2) In rebuking false teachers, Paul quotes from one of Crete’s poets, Epimenides (ca. 600 B.C—see Note below):
a. What did the poet say about the people of Crete?
b. In what ways did the “circumcision group” fit the words of this poet?
c. In what ways did the “Jewish myths” teacher fit the words of this poet? (see 1 Tim. 1:4 about what Jewish myths were likely about)
(3) Why did Paul say that "both their mind and their conscience are corrupted (or defiled)" (v.1:15)?
(4) What are the results of such a corruption or defilement? (1:16)
(5) Can you think of what might be today’s
a. Law or work-based teaching that resembles the teaching of circumcision?
b. Myth-based teaching that resembles Jewish myths and genealogies?
c. Teaching that is merely human commands?
(6) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
Note:
“According to a well-established tradition found in Callimachus’ Hymn to Zeus 8 (305-240 B.C.) and Lucian’s Lover of Lies 3 (cf. Timon 6; A.D. 120-180), the reason that Cretans are always liars was that they claimed to possess the tombs of Zeus, who, of course, as a god, cannot have died! (NIBC, Titus, 179)
“This saying is true. Therefore rebuke them sharply, so that they will be sound in faith.” (Tit. 1:13)
While Paul urges us to be gentle, he does not appear to take the same attitude toward those who teach false doctrine and promote heresy. Among some so-called believers in Crete, who were likely influenced by the Jews in Jerusalem, there were those labeled by Paul as the “circumcision group” (1:10). It is safe to assume that they were like those Jews mentioned in Acts 15 who insisted that “Unless you are circumcised, according to the custom taught by Moses, you cannot be saved” (Acts 15:1).
We know that Paul would not give an inch to such teaching, because it effectively contradicts salvation by grace through faith. Referring to circumcision, Paul says, “You who are trying to be justified by law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace.” (Gal. 5:4)
But the false teachers, like those in Ephesus, have gone beyond the teaching of circumcision, and paid attention to Jewish myths. This means that they based their teaching not purely on the Bible, but they used materials outside the Scripture and taught them as if they were the words of God. The result was that whatever they taught had become “merely human commands” (1:14). No wonder Paul commands Titus to “rebuke them sharply”, not only because they created controversies, arguments and quarrels (3:9), but because they robbed others of their faith in Christ (Gal. 5:2-4).
It is a pity that these days, some Protestants Christians tend to apologize for the Reformation of Martin Luther as if he should not have been so harsh on the Papal teachings of the time. The truth of the matter is he did exactly what the Apostle Paul has taught: To rebuke harshly those teachings that contradict salvation by grace through faith and teachings that are based on myths and traditions that are “merely human commands”.
2:1-5—Sound Doctrine (I):
(1) While false teachers must be silenced, Paul exhorts Titus to teach sound doctrine, but why does Paul have to split his emphases into different age groups?
(2) To older men:
a. What positions do older men normally occupy in God’s family?
b. Paul urges Titus to teach them to be:
- Temperate (more like self-controlled): Should this not be the peril of youth? Why would it be something peculiar to older men?
- Worthy of respect: Do you think most older men understand that “respect is earned not demanded”?
- Self-controlled (or sensible): Are most older men sensible or stubborn? Why?
- Sound or healthy in
1. Faith: Does one’s faith grow or become stagnant with age? Why?
2. Love: Does one’s love grow or become stagnant with age? Why
3. Endurance: Does one’s endurance grow or diminish with age? Why?
c. How important is it for the older men to excel in the above in God’s family?
(3) To older women: I am sure the preceding exhortations also apply to them. Here Paul highlights the following as well.
a. Reverence: This word occurs only here in the Greek Bible which carries a special sense of “acting like a priestess” (Fee, 186). If you are an “older woman” in church, what does it mean to you personally?
b. Not being slanderers: The root of this word is one that describes Satan as the “devil”. How does a slanderer serve as an opposite to a priestess?
c. Not being addicted to much wine: Do you think it is only a reflection of “first-century culture”? Why or why not?
d. Teaching what is good: This compound word is also unique “in all Greek literature” and it reflects the important role of older women in the church (not necessarily teaching in the formal sense). How should they live out this exhortation?
e. How important is it for older women to excel in the above in God’s family?
(4) To the younger women:
a. Why is it the responsibility of older women to urge (or to train) younger women in church?
b. Is this the case in your church?
c. What do you think is the best way of such training:
- by teaching in a formal setting?
- by modelling in life?
- or in mentoring? Why?
d. The instruction is to train them to:
- Love their husbands.
1. What is the most important way that a wife should show her love to her husband?
2. The more literal translation is “lovers of husbands”: What is Paul trying to say?
- Love their children. Should this not be a given? Why or why not?
- Be self-controlled (or sensible). When do younger women find it hard to control their emotion? How should they deal with it?
- Be pure (or holy). What should young women do to maintain their purity?
- Be busy at home (literally, home-makers). Do you think it is only a reflection of “first-century culture”? Why or why not?
- Be kind (or good). Why should this be a particular exhortation to younger women?
- Be subject to their husbands (the original has “own” husbands).
1. Why does Paul single out younger women and exhort them to submit to their husbands?
2. Why is there an emphasis on “own” husbands?
e. How important is it for younger women to excel in the above in God’s family? (v. 5)
(5) To younger men. (v. 6)
a. Why does the exhortation to younger men have only one aspect?
b. The only exhortation highlighted is to be self-controlled (or sensible) which appears to be common to all age groups. Why is it so important to all, and especially to younger men?
(6) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
“Cretans are always liars, evil brutes, lazy gluttons. This testimony is true.” (Tit. 1:12-13)
We might be a little shocked to read Paul’s disparaging words directed to the people of Crete, saying they are liars, evil brutes and lazy gluttons. Today, it would be most politically incorrect to label anyone like this. The truth of the matter is Paul is only quoting from one of the numerous remarks by noted philosophers and historians of ancient time against the Cretans. Polybius remarks that “the Cretans…live in a perpetual state of private quarrel and public feud and civil strife.” The ancients spoke of the three most evil C’s—the Cretans, the Cilicians and the Cappadocians (source: William Barclay’s DSBS).
No wonder, the major theme in this letter to Titus, as most commentators point out, is good work, meaning the people in the churches of Crete must distinguish themselves from the society that they lived in, “so that no one will malign the word of God” (2:5). This also explains why Paul chooses to address each age group within the church so that the older men would be “worthy of respect”, the older women would be “reverent in the way they live”, the younger women would be “busy at home” and the younger men would be “self-controlled” (2:2, 3, 5, 6) and all would “devote themselves to doing what is good” (3:8).
Obviously, Paul is not teaching salvation by work, but in order to convince and convict their city of the truth of the gospel, they have to live out an exceptionally good example in life that is markedly different from the society.
2:7-15—Sound Doctrine (II)
(1) The way to teach sound doctrine (vv. 7-8)
a. What ways does Paul urge Titus to use in his teaching?
b. Teaching by example: Should examples be set consciously or subconsciously? Why?
c. In teaching by word (or speech):
- How can one show integrity?
- How can one show seriousness?
- What is meant by “soundness of speech that cannot be condemned”?
d. How important is it for today’s teachers of the Word to heed the above?
e. What might be the greatest temptation of teachers of the Word to deviate from the above?
(2) To slaves (vv. 9-10)
a. Since Christian slaves had found their freedom in Christ, should they not also seek freedom from their earthly master? Why or why not?
b. What kind of attitude does Paul demand from these slaves in vv. 9-10?
c. What is the reason given in v.10?
d. What are the reasons given by Paul in Colossians 3:22-24?
e. Does the same principle apply to us who are subordinates? Why or why not?
(3) To all people (vv. 11-14) — Paul reminds us that we live a life of double-focus:
a. One on earth: In summary, how should we live while on earth? (v. 12)
b. The other one in heaven: How should our blessed hope affect our lives here on earth?
c. What will happen if we only have the former and not the latter?
d. What if we only have the latter and not the former?
(4) Whether people will despise us (v. 15) is not under our control, so what does Paul mean when he urges Titus “do not let anyone despise you?”
(5) What should we do if we are despised for Christ’s sake?
(6) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
“In everything set them an example by doing what is good. In your teaching show integrity, seriousness and soundness of speech that cannot be condemned…” (Tit. 2:7-8)
I find that the greatest temptation to the teacher of the Word is pride, and pride raises its ugly head the highest when we compare ourselves to other teachers. Our ego is hurt when another Sunday School teacher has people flocking to their class, while we have only a few students. A preacher is greatly discouraged when he has tried his best to prepare and preach, and yet the people in the church tend to migrate to another pulpit that, according to them, is more lively and eloquent. It is in times like this that we are tempted to use gimmicks, inject jokes or mimic styles that are not part of our personality to seek popularity. This is, however, never the teaching of the Bible.
In urging Titus to teach sound doctrine, Paul points to the essence of a faithful teacher in that
(1) We first and foremost teach with our lives: “In everything set them an example by doing what is good”. It does not matter how flowery and eloquent our teaching is, in the long run, the hearers will see through our phoniness and our teaching will cease to have the power of the Holy Spirit to impact lives. Teaching, especially pastoral teaching is not a sprint but a marathon. Many a preacher falls because they cannot walk their talk.
(2) Then, we have to preach with “integrity, seriousness and soundness of speech”:
(a) Integrity: This is needed in that whatever we teach reflects our thorough study and understanding of the Word of God, and every example we quote or story we tell has to be true, and if God has inspired us to use somebody’s work, we honestly give credit to its source.
(b) Seriousness: In that we respect our position as teachers who handle the Holy Scripture and thus we teach with seriousness. I do think that especially when it comes to the preaching of the gospel, how seriously the hearers accept the gospel depends to a great extent on how seriously we present it.
(c) Soundness: Paul is using a medical metaphor to refer to healthy teaching that gives and supports life, and we know that only the Word of God gives and supports life. Therefore, sound or healthy teachings are teachings that develop not from human philosophy or wisdom. As Paul emphasizes to the Corinthians, he has resolved “to know nothing…except Jesus Christ and Him crucified” and as a result his message and preaching “were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on men’s wisdom, but on God’s power” (1 Cor. 2:2, 4-5)
If we heed the advice of Paul, we may not draw a huge crowd to our teaching, but we will not bring shame to the name of God and “no one will malign the Word of God” (2:5).
Having dealt with primarily the relationships among believers, Paul now turns to our responsibilities to the world:
(1) Crete was a Roman province in Paul’s time. Given its political situation, what kind of rulers and authorities did they have?
(2) Why should Paul command them to be subject to such rulers and authorities? (see reasons given in Rom. 13:1-5)
(3) Is it important that Christians should be known for being good citizens that contribute good to society? Why or why not?
(4) Paul goes on to urge us “to slander no one, to be peaceable and considerate and always to be gentle toward everyone".
a. Is that the reputation of Christians in the world today?
b. Is that the truth within (i.e. inside) the church?
(5) Who does Paul say we were before we were saved? (v. 3)
(6) Was it a picture of your former self?
(7) According to Paul’s reminder, what was the reason God saved us? (v. 5)
(8) In describing our salvation, Paul refers to:
a. The washing of rebirth:
- How are we born again? (Jn. 3:5)
- What does this washing refer to? (Eph. 5:26, Rom. 6:3ff)
b. The renewal by the Holy Spirit:
- How have we been renewed? (2 Cor. 5:17; Rom. 12:2)
- What part does the Holy Spirit play? (Rom. 8:9-16; Gal. 5:22-25)
c. The justification by God’s grace
- How are we justified before God? (Eph. 2:8-9; 1 Cor. 6:11)
d. Becoming heirs having the hope of eternal life:
- What are we heirs of? (Gal. 4:7; Rom. 8:17)
- What has being heirs to do with the hope of eternal life?
(9) How does our being saved reveal the kindness, love and mercy of God? (vv. 4-5)
(10) Why does Paul use the process of our being saved (including the reminder of who we once were) to urge us to devote ourselves to doing what is good? (v. 8) Has he motivated you to do good? Why or why not?
(11) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
“Remind the people to be subject to the rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready to do whatever is good.” (Tit. 3:1)
Paul’s instruction to subject ourselves to the rulers and authorities appears to counsel absolute obedience on the part of Christian to the civil power. This creates a host of questions that demand a lengthy theological treatise to address. However, allow me to simply draw our attention to three things:
- It is a common theme throughout the New Testament; apart from Titus 3:1, instruction is also found in 1 Timothy 2:1-2, 1 Peter 2:13-17 and Romans 13:1-7; the last passage emphasizes that “the authorities that exist have been established by God”.
- Paul was a strong proponent of submission to civil authorities and as we can see from the Book of Acts, he also walked his talk in that he suffered often under the hands of civil authorities. A case in point was his imprisonment in Philippi. He and Silas were “stripped and beaten…severely flogged” before being “thrown into prison”. He only invoked his Roman citizen’s rights when he was about to be released (Acts 16:22-23, 37).
- As William Barclay points out, “even centuries later, when persecution had begun to rage and Christians were regarded as outlaws, the Christian leaders were saying exactly the same thing (as Paul did)”, and in support of his claim, he quoted from church fathers like Tertullian, Athenagoras and Justin Martyr with the latter saying, “Everywhere, we more readily than all men, endeavor to pay to those appointed by you the taxes, both ordinary and extraordinary, as we have been taught by Jesus. We worship only God, but in other things we will gladly serve you, acknowledging you as kings and rulers of men, and praying that, with your kingly power, you may be found to possess also sound judgment.” (DSBS, Romans, 172)
vv. 9-11—Final words of exhortation
(1) At the end of this short letter, Paul returns to the theme of false teachings which he has already mentioned in 1:10-16:
a. What does he urge Titus to do with respect to such controversies and why? (v. 9)
b. Why does Paul call them divisive persons? (v. 10)
c. How then should Titus deal with such divisive persons? (v. 10)
d. What might be the proof that these people are warped and sinful? (v. 10)
vv. 12-15—Final Remarks
(2) What is Paul’s next assignment for Titus? What should Titus do in the meantime? (see Note below)
(3) Zena and Apollos were likely the bearers of this letter:
a. How should Titus help them?
b. How does this reflect the hospitality necessary at the time for Christians?
c. Judging from the words of Paul in v. 14, do you think the believers of Crete were good at hospitality?
d. What does “unproductive life” mean?
e. How may we emulate such hospitality today?
(4) In the final greeting, do you get a sense that not all in the churches of Crete loved Paul? Why might this be the case?
(5) Use some time to recap your notes of the past several days, and see what might be the main message to you. How may you apply it to your life?
Note:
We have no idea who Artemas was, except that since Tychicus was subsequently sent by Paul to Ephesus (2 Tim. 4:10), he would be the one who replaced Titus in Crete. Nicopolis (meaning city of victory) was founded by Augustus upon his victory over Mark Antony in 31 B.C. and is located about 200 miles northwest of Athens on the north side of the Adriatic Sea.
“Our people must learn to devote themselves to doing what is good, in order that they may provide for daily necessities and not live unproductive lives.’” (Tit. 3:14)
The Apostle Paul is certainly a great theologian, but the greatness of this theology lies in the fact that it can stand up to lofty philosophies (Acts 17) and it can stoop down to the level of common folk who understand it and put it into practice. The Book of Titus, in my opinion, belongs to the latter. He speaks to the common Christian folks in Crete who, by culture, were not the most trustworthy people. As a result, Paul repeatedly urges them to do good, “so that no one will malign the word of God”, and so that “those who oppose you may be ashamed because they have nothing bad to say about us” (2:5, 8).
In his reflection on the Book of Titus, Chuck Swindoll concludes with these words, “We need to do what is good, excellent and profitable for the kingdom of God, for when we live that kind of life, we show that our belief is more than just theoretical theology—it is life-transforming faith” and in this respect, he shares the following story:
“I love the story of the British pastor who had spoken powerfully to a large Sunday morning congregation about honesty. He preached his heart out, and the audience had been touched deeply by his passion. The next morning he caught the trolley to return to his study at the urban church. The driver collected his fare-and gave him too much change in return. He walked back and sat down. As he fingered the shillings in his hand, he first thought, ‘My, how wonderfully God provides, and in such surprising ways!’ But the longer he sat, the hotter the coins became in his hand and the less he could live with himself. When he came to his stop he walked up to the front and gave the excess change back to the driver and said, ‘You accidentally gave me too much Change'. And the driver said, ‘Oh no, it wasn't an accident. You see, Reverend, I was in your congregation yesterday morning when you spoke on honesty, and I thought I’d put you to the test and see if you practice what you preach'.”
(The Living Insight Study Bible, 1320)