Word Study

English translations of this word in Titus 1:9 range from encourage (NIV, NLT, CSB, GNT) to some form of the word exhort (NASB, KJV, NKJV, NET) to give instruction (ESV). So what exactly is Paul saying that church leaders should do with sound doctrine? The term παρακαλέω can have a range of possible meanings:

1. “to ask to come and be present where the speaker is”
2. “to urge strongly, appeal to, urge, exhort, encourage”
3. “to make a strong request for something, request, implore, entreat”
4. “to instill someone with courage or cheer, comfort, encourage, cheer up”
5. “treat someone in an inviting or congenial manner” 1

The word at times in the New Testament has the meaning of encourage as in comfort or cheer up. In Matthew 5:4, Jesus said, “blessed are the ones who mourn, for they will be comforted.” The word can also be used of a strong request, as in when the legion of demons in Mark 5:10-12 begged Jesus not to send them out of the country, but to send them into the pigs. παρακαλέω can also refer to an invitation, as in when the Ethiopian eunuch invited Philip to come and sit with him in the chariot (Acts 8:31). It can also refer to a strong appeal as in when Paul appealed to the Romans to present themselves as living sacrifices (Romans 12:1).

But in Titus 1:9, the word is closely connected to teaching, so we need to examine the uses of this term in the New Testament that most closely parallel Titus 1:9. In Acts 2:40-41, at the end of Peter’s sermon at Pentecost, Peter exhorted his hearers with the gospel, appealing to them to be saved, and 3,000 were added to the number that day. In Acts 11:23, Barnabas exhorted the church in Antioch to remain faithful to the Lord, and in Acts 14:22, Paul encouraged the disciples in Lystra, Iconium and Antioch to continue in the faith in spite of tribulations. And in Acts 15:32, the word is paired with another word translated “strengthened” as Judas and Silas encouraged and strengthened believers in Antioch.

To move to some of Paul’s uses of this word, in 1 Thessalonians 2:12, Paul’s encouragement to the Thessalonians included an appeal to walk in a manner worthy of God, to be encouraged in the faith in the face of persecutions (3:2-3), and to build one another up (5:11). In 2 Thessalonians 3:12, Paul’s encouragement included the command for people to work quietly and to earn their own living. In 1 Timothy 6:2, Paul told Timothy to “teach and encourage these things.” In this passage we see a close connection between this encouragement or exhortation and teaching (see also 2 Timothy 4:2). In Titus 2:15, these same two words are paired again (exhort and rebuke), but there Paul tells Titus exhort and rebuke with “all authority.”

So while Paul does use the word παρακαλέω in a variety of ways, when paired with the idea of teaching, Paul’s use of the word indicates that the intent of this encouragement or exhortation is to strengthen people in their faith and to encourage them to live in a godly manner based on that sound teaching. This exhortation includes the positive teaching of the truth for the purpose of encouraging people to trust in God and to live in accordance with His truth, or to live in a manner worthy of God.

1 W. Arndt, F. W. Danker, W. Bauer, & F. W Gingrich, “A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature.” 3d ed. (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000), 764-65.

This term is used much less frequently in the New Testament. The word broadly involves the exposure of wrong-doing. Jesus used this word in Matthew 18:15 in reference to demonstrating that your brother had sinned against you. In John 3:20, the term is used to refer to exposing evil deeds. Those who are wicked do not want to come into the light because they do not want their works to be exposed (see also Ephesians 5:11). The word can also be used in reference to conviction of sin (John 16:8, 1 Corinthians 14:24). And in 1 Timothy 5:20, the word is used to refer to the public rebuke of elders who are found in be in sin. In Titus 1:13, Paul used this same word to urge Titus to sharply rebuke the false teachers in Crete.

So in the context of Titus 1:9, with the connection to those who contradict sound teaching, Paul is most likely referring to the elders responsibility to expose the errors of these false teachers, likely both their false teaching and their immoral living. Taken together, these two terms include both the positive and negative sides of the elders’ use of the faithful words. Positively, they are to strengthen the church by teaching sound doctrine. This teaching will encourage the church in their faith and help the church to live in a manner worthy of the gospel. Negatively, the elders were to expose false teaching and immoral living, warning the church of following the destructive pattern of the false teachers plaguing the churches in Crete. In the same way, faithful pastors today must likewise be willing both to encourage or exhort in their teaching and to rebuke when necessary.