When you study a book of the Bible, interpretation depends in part upon the understanding of the historical and literary background of that book. For we are so far removed in time and place from the original writing that we will simply plug in our modern ideas to the text and take away only something similar to what we already know. So we will begin our series in the Letter to Titus by examining three essential components of this letter: (1) The Genre of the Letter--What kind of writing is this? (2) The Recipient of the Letter: Who was Titus? (3) The Occasion for the Letter--Why did Paul write to Titus? (4) The Theology of the Letter--What doctrinal themes are important in this letter?