After outlining an Elders character (Titus 1:5-9), Paul shifts his instruction to Titus to what must be rebuked in the Cretan churches, namely, legalism. Self-righteousness is not a new issue. Just as Titus needed to raise up leaders who would guard sound doctrine in the 1st century, so do we in the 21st. The main threat to the modern church is not the worldly culture outside of us. It is the pernicious problems that come from within. Church leaders must preserve and fight for sound doctrine that is anchored in the pure and gracious salvation found in Christ alone.
Titus 1:10-16