Well, this morning we are in the New Testament book of Titus, and we started this series two weeks ago.
In case you missed that, this is a letter written by the Apostle Paul to Titus,
and Titus was a trusted co-worker of Paul's in his gospel ministry to the Gentile world.
And Titus, at the time of this writing, is serving as an apostolic delegate right now on the island of Crete,
which is a large island just southeast of Greece in the Mediterranean Sea.
After introducing himself and naming Titus as his recipient, Paul now moves into his first words of instruction to Titus.
Let me read our passage for this morning for us from Titus chapter 1, starting in verse 5.
The reason I left you in Crete was that you might put in order what was left unfinished
and appoint elders in every town as I directed you.
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.
Since an overseer manages God's household, he must be blameless,
not overbearing, not quick-tempered, not given to drunkenness,
not violent, not pursuing dishonest gain.
Rather, he must be hospitable, one who loves what is good,
who is self-controlled, upright, holy, and disciplined.
He must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught
so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it.
So the first thing that we hear from Paul is a reminder of why he has left Titus there on the island of Crete.
Let's just notice a few things here.
Paul has left him there to put things in order, to set things right.
What things?
The things left unfinished.
The things that remain to be done.
The things that were lacking or incomplete.
It's sort of implied here that Paul himself, with Titus, has done some ministry on this island.
Remember that the time of this writing is thought to be after Paul's first imprisonment in Rome.
It's sort of implied that Paul and Titus went to Crete after he had been released,
and that as a result of preaching the gospel in various towns on the island,
new local churches were established.
Paul then leaves the island, and he leaves Titus behind to continue on with the churches
and see that these remaining things are completed.
Now, there were likely several things that Titus had been given to do to put in order what was left unfinished,
but here at the start of this letter, Paul mentions one main thing in particular.
Paul left Titus there so that he might appoint elders in every town.
This is one of the things that was lacking.
Church leadership will be needed in each of these newly established churches.
And let's not miss that Titus serves the whole region.
He's doing this work of appointing elders in more than one town.
In each town where the gospel has been received with faith,
and there's a local church growing,
he is to appoint elders.
Now, I know that we talked a fair bit about elders last fall in our series through Paul's first letter to Timothy,
but here we see again that establishing elders as leaders in the local church is of the utmost importance.
Think about this.
Paul is very soon to be executed,
and it won't be long before all of the apostles will die.
They'll be gone.
And so how will the churches be led in the years ahead?
How will the churches be governed?
Jesus wills it that elders shoulder that responsibility in each local church.
This is the leadership imperative that was given by Christ through Paul for the churches on Crete
and for the local churches everywhere.
And if we read carefully through the book of Acts,
we notice that Paul not only preached the gospel in every place that he could,
but he also circled back to those newly established churches again and again,
and he appointed elders in each church.
And it was elders, plural, in each church.
So this is one of the main tasks that Paul has left Titus on Crete to do.
Now what follows,
Paul gives Titus a list of qualifications that men must have in order to be elders in the church.
So leadership in the church is not open to just anyone.
Jesus wills that only a certain kind of man hold this role in the church.
And in summary, he must be a man of very good reputation.
He must be a man of godly character.
He must be managing his own family well.
And he must be holding firmly to the gospel and all the sound teaching that goes with it.
Paul gives about a dozen qualifications here.
Some are things that he must be.
Some are things that he must not be.
Some have to do with character.
Others center more on behavior.
Let's work through this list this morning.
An elder must be blameless.
Now in this context,
blameless does not mean perfectly flawless or a man who never sins.
Rather, it means that he's not known to be at present guilty of wrongdoing.
And that generally, he's a man of very good reputation.
A man to whom accusation or blame does not stick
because he has a long pattern of good conduct.
And it's well known by everyone.
An elder must be faithful to his wife.
Just as in Paul's letter to Timothy,
he must be a man who keeps his marriage vows,
keeps the marriage bed pure,
and is the faithful husband of one wife, one woman,
and not engaged in any sexually immoral behavior with other women.
An elder must be a man whose children believe
and are not open to the charge of being wild and disobedient.
Now this is a hotly debated qualification.
And much of the debate is over the word believe.
That same word can also be translated as faithful.
An elder must be the husband of one wife with faithful children
who are not accused of wildness or rebellion.
And in this case, it's not that they're full of faith,
but that they're trustworthy, dependable,
submissive, obedient.
And so there's kind of a divergence of opinions here
on what that means.
Some believe that the elder's children
must have a personal faith in Jesus.
Others believe that the children
must just generally be well-behaved,
faithful children, obedient and submissive
to parental authority.
And then there's the question of
what's meant by children?
Does this refer to just young children,
school-aged children?
Or does this refer to a man's children
even once they're grown
as they go through their lives?
So the questions here abound.
My take on this
is that Paul means faithful children
rather than believing children.
And that the following clause
further explains what he means
by faithful children.
They are children who are not accused
of wildness or rebellion.
Now this doesn't mean that an elder's children
never disobey their parents
or never do a foolish or reckless thing.
These descriptors, wild and rebellious,
are the same words that are used elsewhere
in the scriptures
to describe drunken partiers
and rebellious false teachers,
people who have a deep-seated rebellion
against church authority.
In other words,
a man is disqualified
if his son or daughter
is often defiant and disobedient
against his authority
or is engaged in a pattern
of regularly carousing,
drunkenness, drug use,
crime, immoral behavior, etc.
And my take on this
is that it doesn't apply
to grown adult children of a man
but only to those children
who live under his roof
and are therefore part of his household.
A man is not responsible
for the behavior of other men.
He's responsible for the behavior
of those in his own family
since he has given authority over them
by God as head of his household.
And this idea of a man
only being responsible
for the children in his household
is kind of assumed
in what Paul says next in verse 7.
He says,
since an overseer manages God's household,
he must be blameless.
So just like in his letter to Timothy,
Paul is saying
that a man's good management
of his own household
and those in it
is a requirement
for him to serve
as an overseer or manager
of God's household,
the church.
The two are connected.
He must,
I guess in his words to Timothy,
it was,
if he can't be managing
his own family well,
which is smaller,
how will he be able
to manage God's church?
Now in the local church,
we can't compel people to believe,
we can't force them to believe,
and so this is another reason
why I think it's faithful children
and not believing children,
but we do hold people accountable
for how they live,
for their conduct.
In the home,
discipline is required
to teach children to obey
and to do what's good and right.
And in the same way,
in the church,
discipline may be required
if people enter
who are rebellious,
deceitful,
divisive.
And we're going to hear
more about that next Sunday
in the next portion
of this letter.
But just to quickly recap,
an elder must be
blameless,
good reputation,
he must be faithful
to his wife,
he must be faithful
in his parenting,
in the home,
and the list goes on
in verse 7.
An elder must not be
overbearing.
This word means
to be self-willed,
stubborn,
and arrogant.
Now, if a person
is these things,
he is likely
an argumentative person,
quick to express
his opinions
about everything
and to try to convince
others that
his way of
seeing everything
is the only right way
to see things.
An elder must not be
like that.
He must not be
overbearing.
He must not be
quick-tempered.
There was a man
named Herodian
who was a Roman
civil servant
who lived in the
second century,
and he defined
this word well.
He said,
quick-tempered persons
lose no time
being angry
and do so
with those
they ought not
over things
they ought not
and far more
than they ought.
An elder must not
be a quick-tempered
or easily angered
person.
He must not be
given to drunkenness.
It speaks for itself.
He must not be
violent,
meaning a man
who is a bully
or given to
fighting
or brawling
or making threats.
He must not be
pursuing dishonest
gain.
And there's really
kind of two shades
of meaning
in this word.
The first is to be
greedy for money.
It's a person
who has an
immoderate desire
for wealth,
money,
possessions,
and often,
but not always,
often this love
of money
shows itself
in a willingness
to deal
dishonestly
to get it,
to cheat,
even to steal.
A church elder
must not be greedy
for money
or be pursuing
dishonest gain.
rather,
Paul now flips
to the positive
side,
rather he must
be hospitable.
He must be
a person
who's welcoming
and kind
to strangers
and outsiders
and who's
attuned
to the needs
of others.
An elder
must be one
who loves
what is good
as opposed
to what is
immoral
or foolish
or worthless.
And I think
it's interesting
that he uses
that word
loves
what is good.
Not just a person
who does
what is good,
but a person
who loves
what is good.
That it's in here,
in his heart.
An elder
must be
self-controlled.
What does it
mean to be
self-controlled?
The origins
of this word
point back
to this idea
of having
a sound
mind,
a purposeful
mind,
a mind
free from
illusion
or distortion
or deception,
a person
who makes
good decisions
and judgments.
And by the time
the New Testament
was written,
this word
came to mean
a person
who governs
himself well.
A person
who rules
over their
appetites
and their
emotions
and their
desires
instead of
a person
who's ruled
by their
appetites
and their
emotions
and their
desires.
The self-controlled
person
fulfills
their obligations
and their
responsibilities
and keeps
their promises
because they
are in
control of
their lives
I don't
mean in
the sense
that God
is in
control
of their
lives
but the
person who
lacks
self-control
they're the
person who
is spiraling
out of
control
the person
who's ruled
by their
emotions
they're as
dependable as
they are
feeling
that day
the person
who lacks
self-control
is often
derailed
by bodily
appetites
for food
drink
pleasures
they go
where their
feelings take
them
many times
in the service
of Christ
things must
be done
which are
immediately
unpleasant
which offer
no immediate
comfort
or reward
or fulfillment
an elder
must be one
who regularly
shows self-restraint
and who rules
his appetites
and leads
his emotions
an elder
must be
upright
says Paul
this word
means just
fair
not corrupt
not crooked
or deceitful
not someone
who plays
favorites
an elder
must be
holy
to be
holy
means to
be set
apart
it means
to be
different
from the
common
way
of the
world
it means
to be
specially
devoted
to God
a man
whose life
stands out
in our
world
because of
his faith
in Jesus
an elder
must be
disciplined
this word
is very
similar in
meaning to
self-controlled
but one of
the ways
this word
was used
was to
describe
what was
required
of an
athlete
preparing
to compete
in the
games
in order
to have
a chance
they would
have to
discipline
themselves
they would
have to
train
with purpose
and intention
they'd have
to do it
consistently
they'd have
to make
hard decisions
and even
sacrifices
they'd have
to rearrange
their lives
and their
priorities
around
their goal
they'd have
to rule
their appetites
and emotions
as we talked
about earlier
and they'd
have to do
this for more
than a week
they'd have
to do it
for a long
time
all this
to become
competitive
at the
games
to have
a shot
at winning
being an
elder is
demanding
and difficult
it requires
more than
just showing
up at 12
meetings a
year
and casting
a vote
and expressing
opinions
it's about
shepherding
the local
flock
the local
household
of God
well
it's something
you can't
do well
without living
a disciplined
life
it not only
requires self
control
but intentionality
it's about
more than just
responding to
things as they
come up
it's about
seeking the
Lord's
will in
his word
and then
purposefully
and intentionally
leading the
people in
that direction
an elder
must be
disciplined
and finally
an elder
must hold
firmly
to the
trustworthy
message
as it has
been taught
so that he
can encourage
others by
sound doctrine
and refute
those who
oppose it
so it's not
enough for a
man to be
good
kind
successful
in his
trade
he must
hold
firmly
to the
trustworthy
message
as it
has been
taught
there is
a body
of teaching
that comes
from God
himself
it came
through
Jesus
and then
through Jesus
through the
apostles
the ones
that he
chose
and sent
out
and as
the time
of the
apostles
draws to a
close here
Christ's
will is
that his
teaching
that
trustworthy
word
or message
would be
passed down
from generation
to generation
and who's
responsible
for this
in the
local
church
elders
an elder
himself
must hold
firmly to
the teaching
to the
gospel
to the
word of
God
so that
he can
encourage
others
by sound
doctrine
that word
encourage
could also
be translated
exhort
teaching
is in
view
so it's
not enough
for him
to just
believe it
he must
hold
firmly
to it
he must
cling
to it
if you're
a man
and you're
excelling
in all the
other
qualifications
but have
little desire
to know
God's
word
to read
it
to meditate
on it
to study
it
then you're
disqualified
from leadership
in the church
because
this is
the trustworthy
message
that has
been given
to us
by God
by Christ
and without
this faithful
word
we cannot
lead the
church
to be
and to
do
what Christ
wills
not only
that
but an
elder
must hold
firmly
to the
trustworthy
message
so that
he can
refute
those
who
oppose
it
elders
need to
know
God's
word
well
so that
they can
correct
and expose
false
teaching
those
who
would
lead
God's
people
astray
whether
intentionally
or
unintentionally
whether
they're
inside
the church
or whether
outside
the church
now how
does this
all apply
to us
today
well
for starters
we see
that it's
Christ's
will
for the
local
church
to be
led
by
qualified
elders
men
of good
reputation
and
godly
character
men
who
have
proven
themselves
at
home
with
their
families
and
who
are
holding
firmly
to
the
word
of
God
by
the
grace
of
God
this
is
a
reality
in
our
church
today
but
who
will
rise
up
to
help
shoulder
this
responsibility
in
our
church
in
the
future
this
is
critical
this
is
of
the
utmost
importance
for
us
the
Davidson
Community
Bible
Church
because
it's
elders
who
God
has
tasked
with
teaching
the
trustworthy
message
and
exposing
and
correcting
false
teachers
the
vitality
of
our
church
is
tied
up
in
this
so
this
is
why
we've
been
putting
such
an
emphasis
on
our
men's
ministry
lead
we
want
to
challenge
our
men
not
just
to
take
it
easy
and
coast
the
way
that
many
in
our
world
are
doing
but
to
follow
Christ
with
tenacity
and
devotion
the
future
of
our
church
its
testimony
in
this
community
its
vitality
depends
on
this
now
some
of
you
might
be
thinking
well
that's
good
to
know
for
elders
that's
what's
required
for
them
but
what
relevance
does
this
have
to
me
personally
maybe
you're
a
woman
or
a
young
person
or
just
not
interested
in
being
an
elder
or
you
look
at
this
list
and
you
think
I'm
disqualified
already
I'm
not
even
there
if
that's
you
this
morning
I
have
a
question
for
you
do
you
think
all
these
things
listed
are
things
that
Jesus
only
wants
to
see
in
the
lives
of
church
leaders
these
things
are
not
just
gatekeepers
to
the
office
of
elder
many
of
these
things
if
not
all
of
them
are
just
what
it
means
to
be
a
devout
follower
of
Jesus
a
mature
Christian
man
or
woman
the
picture
Paul
paints
for
us
here
is
something
for
all
of
us
to
aspire
to
whether
we're
interested
in
being
an
elder
or
not
we
could
look
at
all
kinds
of
passages
in
the
New
Testament
where
just
Christians
in
general
are
commanded
to
be
each
of
these
different
things
in
the
list
we're
commanded
to
live
lives
that
are
worthy
of
Christ
to
be
of
good
reputation
to
be
faithful
to
our
spouses
and
sexually
pure
to
manage
our
homes
well
to
teach
our
children
to
know
the
Lord
to
discipline
our
children
when
it's
needed
we're
commanded
all
of
us
as
Christians
to
be
self
controlled
it's
one
of
the
fruits
of
the
spirit
not
to
be
given
to
drunkenness
Ephesians
4
to
be
holy
1st
Peter
to
not
be
greedy
Jesus
commands
all
of
his
followers
to
do
and
to
be
almost
everything
in
this
list
he
talked
about
these
things
during
his
earthly
ministry
and
then
the
apostles
followed
up
and
talked
about
these
things
and
urged
the
Christians
to
be
and
do
these
things
in
their
letters
so we
should
not
think
well you
know
this
stuff
is
just
about
elders
it
has
nothing
to
do
with
me
no
this
is
the
example
this
is
the
kind
of
person
that
we
should
all
strive
to
be
forget
the
elder
part
for
a
minute
if
you're
a
follower
of
Jesus
and
one
or
more
of
these
things
is
not
true
of
you
Christ
is
calling
you
to
bring
that
area
of
your
life
or
that
attitude
or
that
behavior
before
him
and
repent
and
seek
his
grace
and
power
to
change
regardless
of your
gender
or your
aspirations
to be
in
leadership
which
of
these
characteristics
do
you
most
need
to
grow
in
let
me
encourage
you
to
make
that
a
matter
of
prayer
to
ask
the
Lord
about
that
thing
in
your
life
ask
him
how
to
remedy
that
how
to
grow
in
it
ask
him
to
strengthen
that
quality
in
your
life
and
share
that
quality
with
a
brother
or
sister
or
with
your
spouse
or
your
children
ask
them
to
pray
for
you
about
it
maybe
this
year
is
a
good
year
to
read
a
good
Christian
book
on
the
subject
or
listen
to
a
good
Christian
podcast
on
the
subject
one
that
will
help
you
hear
more
of
what
God's
word
has
to
say
about
that
area
in
your
life
one
that
will
give
you
practical
steps
and
tested
wisdom
about
how
you
can
grow
in
that
aspect
of
your
faith
because
these
things
are
what
it
means
to
be
a
faithful
disciple
of
Jesus
it
means
in
part
as
we
hear
in
the
great
commission
that
we
are
obedient
to
his
commands
and
these
are
the
things
that
he
has
commanded
of
all
his
people
to
live
this
way
there
are
two
final
things
that
I
want
to
remind
us
of
as
we
set
our
faces
towards
this
first
of
all
living
like
this
isn't
about
earning
a
right
standing
with
God
salvation
cannot
be
earned
no
amount
of
good
works
is
enough
and
we've
already
done
enough
wrong
to fall
short
of
his
standard
a
right
standing
with
God
and
membership
in
God's
household
comes
to
us
as
a
gift
through
Jesus
and
what
he
has
done
for
us
we
accept
this
gift
by
faith
by
repenting
and
believing
in
him
and
so
this
list
is
not
a
list
of
what
you
must
do
to
be
loved
by
God
as
we've
been
memorizing
together
with
the
kids
God
demonstrates
his
own
love
for us
in
this
while
we were
still
sinners
Christ
died
for us
so what
is this
list
this
list
here in
Titus
is what
we do
because
we believe
because
we belong
to Christ
this is the
kind of
life that
flows
out of
our
faith
in
him
it's
the
fruit
of
our
being
united
with
him
which
brings
us
to
the
second
thing
yes
we have
to be
intentional
to
live
like
this
to
grow
in
these
things
but
we're
not
left
alone
to
ourselves
to
live
like
this
or
to
become
more
like
this
Jesus
gives
us
his
Holy
Spirit
for
all
of
us
who
believe
and
who
belong
to
Christ
God's
own
spirit
comes
to
live
inside
of
us
he
works
in
us
he
produces
these
things
in
us
we
have
God's
help
to
live
like
this
every
day
and
so
what
do
we
need
to
do
each
day
we
need
to
look
to
Jesus
we
need
to
look
to
the
spirit
and
ask
for
his
help
ask
for
his
power
we
need
to
rely
on
it
daily
as
we
seek
to
live
in
obedience
to
him
and
the
wonderful
thing
about
this
is
that
with
God's
spirit
inside
of us
we
truly
can
change
we
can
become
more
and
more
like
this
list
that
we
see
in
Titus
wouldn't
it be
something
if
every
single
one
of
us
sought
with
all
of
our
hearts
to
be
and
to
live
like
this
mature
devout
men
and
women
of
God
men
and
women
of
character
disciplined
self
controlled
men
and
women
in
the
service
of
Christ
in
the
service
of
our
families
in
the
service
of
our
church
what
kind
of
a
testimony
would
we
have
in
this
community
who
would
be
able
to
measure
the
impact
for
Christ
that
we
would
have
right
here
in
Davidson
also
in
Crake
in
the
surrounding
areas
for
the
glory
of
Christ
in
the
words
of
Charles
Studd
only
one
life
will
soon
be
passed
only
what's
done
for
Christ
will
last
let's
pray
father
in
heaven
we
open
ourselves
up
to
you
and
we
confess
and
we
admit
that
this
is
a
list
that
at
times
and
in
different
ways
you
know
our
lives
and
our
stories
we
have
fallen
short
of
we
have
all
sinned
we've
all
broken
your
commands
we've
all
lived
selfishly
and
it's
affected
every
area
of
our
lives
but
we
thank
you
that
with
you
there
is
grace
there
is
forgiveness
that
these
sins
of our
past
don't
own
us
that
you
wipe
the
slate
clean
and
now
as
your
children
as
members
of
your
household
we
pray
and
we
ask
that
you
would
form
these
good
fruits
of
your
Holy
Spirit
inside
of
us
make
us
a
blessing
at
home
to
our
spouses
to
our
children
make
us
a
blessing
here
at
the
church
and
in
our
relationships
with
each
other
to
one
another
make
us
a
blessing
in
this
community
may
we
be
that
light
shining
pointing
people
to
you
Jesus
that
more
may
be
saved
and
that
your
name
might
be
glorified
we
ask
this
in
your
name
amen