The island of Crete was renowned in the time of the New Testament for piracy and malice – one of Crete’s own philosophers even said: “Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.” When Paul brought the Gospel to Crete, he tasked his friend Titus to establish and order the new churches. In this letter to his friend, Paul anchors us in the central reality of the Gospel, and provides a vision for what it looks like to live a distinctive Christian life within a secular and morally challenging culture.