Qualified for Christ's Church

Introduction / Review

Good morning! I’m grateful for the opportunity to bring God’s Word to you today. We’re taking a short pause in our Genesis series, and instead we’ll be spending time in Titus 1. So if you have your Bibles, I invite you to make your way there, and we’ll read our passage in just a moment.

Many of you may remember that a couple months ago, I preached a sermon on the first 4 verses of Titus. Lord-willing, in the coming months, my hope is that we’ll eventually walk through the entirety of this letter together. Before we keep moving forward into today’s section, I think that it would serve us well if we get a quick refresher on those first 4 verses…verses which make up Paul’s introductory greeting to Titus.

As I’ve already mentioned, this book is actually a letter…a personal letter from Paul to Titus himself, who was on the island of Crete and was a close ministry companion to him. While this letter was indeed personal in nature, it was never intended to be private. Not only were the truths from this letter meant to be shared with Titus, but they were also meant to be shared with the larger Christian community in Crete. And not only that, but these truths are for our sake as well.

Paul’s greeting to Titus wasn’t just any ordinary greeting. Far more than a simple “hello”, Paul packed a ton of truth into these 4 verses!

First, he shared about his own Identity and Credentials. He was “Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ.” Chosen and authorized by the resurrected Jesus Himself to submissively be sent out by Christ as an official messenger on His behalf. As we’ll see in today’s section, it was very necessary for Paul to “pull rank” as an Apostle in this letter, and to remind Titus and company that he was writing to them on the good authority of Jesus Christ Himself.

We also learned about Paul’s Purpose and Message as an Apostle, which was this: ministering to God’s People—ministering to God’s elect—“for the sake” of their “faith and their knowledge of the truth, which accords with godliness.” And this purpose of ministering to God’s People? It all revolved around the very Message that he carried as an Apostle: The Gospel of Jesus Christ. The Good News that proclaims the hope of eternal life with Jesus Christ!

In his greeting, Paul then explains this hope of eternal life a little more. He essentially says this: “this hope of eternal life? You not only possess it, but you can confidently possess it. Why? Because the God of this Universe…the God who never lies…He promised to give you this hope before the ages began! And not only that, but the very fact that I’ve been entrusted to preach this Gospel Message to you, and that it even exists, is evidence that your hope of eternal life is secure. Jesus Christ has completed his redemptive work in history, and the proper time has now come for this Gospel to be manifested, for me to proclaim it, and for it to be received in faith by God’s Elect.”

Lastly, Paul then zeroes in on Titus personally. Before giving him a word of blessing, Paul addresses Titus as his “true child in a common faith.” Though Titus was not Paul’s biological son, he was a spiritual son to him. And though Paul and Titus had very different backgrounds, it was the “grace and peace from God their Father and Christ Jesus their Savior” that bound them together in this common faith that they shared…this common faith that you and I, in spite of our own differences, have the privilege of sharing as well.

So that’s where we left off last time, and that brings us to the beginning of the body of Paul’s letter. With that being said…if you’re able and willing to do so, I invite you to stand at this time. And I’d like to read our passage for today. Titus 1:5-16.

Read the Text / Pray/ Set the Table

This is the Word of the Lord:

Titus 1:5–16 ESV

This is why I left you in Crete, so that you might put what remained into order, and appoint elders in every town as I directed you— if anyone is above reproach, the husband of one wife, and his children are believers and not open to the charge of debauchery or insubordination. For an overseer, as God’s steward, must be above reproach. He must not be arrogant or quick-tempered or a drunkard or violent or greedy for gain, but hospitable, a lover of good, self-controlled, upright, holy, and disciplined. He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it. For there are many who are insubordinate, empty talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision party. They must be silenced, since they are upsetting whole families by teaching for shameful gain what they ought not to teach. One of the Cretans, a prophet of their own, said, “Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.” This testimony is true. Therefore rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith, not devoting themselves to Jewish myths and the commands of people who turn away from the truth. To the pure, all things are pure, but to the defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure; but both their minds and their consciences are defiled. They profess to know God, but they deny him by their works. They are detestable, disobedient, unfit for any good work.

Amen. We thank God for His Word. You can have a seat at this time.

My plan for us this morning is to consider this passage under 4 basic headings before finishing out with some concluding reflections together. Just a disclaimer: I will be pretty brief with my first 2 headings, which will largely cover verses 5-8. Normally I would devote more time to these verses, but you’ve already gotten a pretty good diet on this topic of elder qualifications over the 10 months, with Matt and Kevin already preaching on them from both Titus and 1 Timothy. With that being said, much of my emphasis will be on the last 2 headings, which will cover verses 9-16.

My hope is that we’ll not only gain a better understanding of what qualified elders look like, but what qualified elders looks like in the face of real-time threats. And not only that, but that we’ll understand why these under-shepherds are so necessary, and why we so desperately need our Good Shepherd’s care.

So right now, let’s jump back into the text and let’s briefly consider our 1st heading this morning, which is this: An Elder’s Recognition of His Role.

Explain & Apply the Text

An Elder’s Recognition of His Role

In order for a local church to be healthy, the role of elder must be known and embraced. Christ has purposely designed His local churches in a way where He entrusts certain qualified men with leadership responsibilities for the sake of His Flock.

In verse 5 of our passage, the Apostle Paul gives Titus the challenging task of appointing elders in every town on the island of Crete. He writes that the appointing of these elders “is why he left him” there and is just “as he had directed him” to do.

And as Paul writes to Titus about appointing these elders, among other things, we’re able to learn about the very nature of an elder’s role.

An Instrument of God’s Order

One aspect of his role that he must recognize is that he is an Instrument of God’s Order. As we’ve beautifully seen in our Genesis series so far, God Himself is a God of order. And part of His design for His local churches is that they would be in good & right order. Paul exhorts Titus to, quote “put what remained into order, and appoint elders.” So we see that the putting of these churches into right order is directly tied to the appointing of elders.

This “putting into order” was especially important in Crete, where the believers here were not only living on a “famously pagan” island, but where there were also many destructive false teachers in their midst. These believers were struggling to live out their faith in this environment, and they needed these appointed elders to be instruments of order, in the hands of the Good Shepherd Himself, for their sake.

An Instrument of God’s Oversight

Another aspect of an elder’s role is that he is to be an Instrument of God’s Oversight. In verse 7, Paul describes these elders as “overseers” and “as God’s Stewards.” This more specifically speaks to the function of managing God’s Household. Remember: a local church is not not the elders’ household. It’s God’s Household. God Himself calls and entrusts qualified elders to oversee and steward His Local Households as faithful under-shepherds.

But here’s the thing. Elders must remember that this overseeing should not (and cannot!) be done from an ivory tower. From a place of distant elevation…from a place of removed separation. Why? Because life is messy, and because we’re ultimately talking about overseeing the very souls of God’s people. And as the writer of Hebrews tells us, God holds His under-shepherds accountable for their “overseeing of (these) souls”. Beloved, there’s a reason why Paul refers to this role of overseeing as a “noble task.” Being an elder is being an instrument of oversight in the very Hands of the Good Shepherd Himself.

An Instrument of God’s Word

One other aspect of an elder’s role that I want to briefly mention is this: that he is to be an Instrument of God’s Word. We’ll unpack this in much more detail later. But suffice it to say for now: an elder must be able to “hold firm to the trustworthy word” as Paul writes in verse 9. When someone holds firm to a trustworthy word, you can count on that person to pass that word on accurately rather than to distort that word. This is critical for bringing legitimate order and oversight to a local body of believers.

An Elder’s Reputation Before Others

Well, aside from being able to recognize and embrace the nature of his role, it’s also vital for an elder to have a certain reputation before others. This is our 2nd heading this morning: An Elder’s Reputation Before Others. What should that reputation be? He must be “above reproach”, as Paul tells us twice in this passage.

Inside and Outside of His Home

This “above reproach” reputation starts inside of his home and extends outside of his home. Paul writes in verse 6 that he is to be “the husband of one wife...and his children are believers and not open to the charge of debauchery.” Simply put: he’s a “one man woman” who is faithfully devoted to his wife, and a faithful overseer and shepherd of his children. He leads his family in Christ-like manner, and holds their willing submission and respect.

Beyond the home, this “above reproach” reputation should remain. As verses 7-8 show us, among both believers and unbelievers, it should be observed that he is a man who is “not full of arrogance...not quick-tempered...not a drunkard, nor violent or greedy for gain.” But instead, a man who is “hospitable, a lover of good, self-controlled, upright, set apart in how he conducts himself, and disciplined.”

While all of these “above reproach” qualities will by no means be perfect in this man, they must be consistently present in this man…and qualities that he is earnestly pursuing.

An Elder’s Relationship with God’s Word

One other aspect of an elder’s “above reproach” life that Paul mentions is actually unique to elders. What I mean is this: that all of the qualities that we’ve just highlighted are qualities that should be present in all Christian men to some degree...right? And as Christians—both men and women—we’re all called to live “above reproach” lives in and out of our homes.

But in verse 9, Paul begins to write about a unique qualification for elders. This is a qualification that some men may possess in an elder-qualified sense, while other men may not possess in an elder-qualified sense. And that’s OK! That’s part of the beauty of God’s design for His Church. It’s not necessarily a matter of character, but it’s more about How God chooses to work out His sovereign will, and how He chooses to distribute His gifts and His graces.

This qualification that I’m referring to pertains to an elder’s relationship with God’s Word. This is our 3rd Heading this morning: An Elder’s Relationship with God’s Word.

Just as an elder is to be above reproach in his moral reputation, he must also be above reproach in his relationship with God’s Word. It needs to be observed and affirmed, from other qualified elders and teachers, that this man is marked by certain characteristics when it comes to Scripture.

Paul shows us a few of these characteristics in verse 9. He writes this: “He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it.”

A Firm Hold on God’s Word

First, Paul shows us that an elder “must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught.” He must have A Firm Hold on God’s Word…firm convictions that are deeply rooted in Scripture. He must be firmly convinced that the Bible is the inspired and infallible Word of God...he must be firmly submissive to Its absolute authority...and He must firmly trust in Its absolute sufficiency for Christian Faith and Life.

Here’s the thing: firm convictions about God’s Word don’t just happen overnight. This takes time. That’s partly why the office is that of an “elder”...and that’s partly why this man isn’t to be a “recent convert” to the faith. In order for these convictions to be deeply rooted, time for watering and sunshine is necessary. That’s why Paul also says that this trustworthy Word has been “taught” to him. There needs to have been a lengthy season of time spent under the right teaching and preaching of God’s Word.

Most pointedly, an elder must hold firm to the crowning part of God’s Word: the Gospel of Jesus Christ. What does it mean to hold firm to the Gospel? First, it means firmly understanding the gospel. He must have absolute clarity on what the Gospel is…that it is a Message based on real, historical events…that it is the Good News of the Person and Work of Jesus Christ…and that this Good News demands nothing from us other than to believe it. The Gospel is “Jesus Christ for sinners”! It’s none of our work...it’s all of His grace. Now please don’t hear what I’m NOT saying. I’m not saying that our works and our obedience don’t matter. It’s just that they aren’t the gospel. Our good works flow downstream from “gospel received.” We pursue obedience in light of “gospel received”. The elders in Crete—and elders today—need to be able to know what the gospel is, and what the gospel is not.

A second way that an elder holds firm to the gospel is by being firmly convinced of Its Exclusivity! He must be absolutely convinced that there is only one faith that has been once-and-for-all handed down to the saints…that there is only one gospel upon which we stand.

And then lastly, an elder holds firm to the gospel by being firmly convinced of Its Power! Paul declares in Romans that “the gospel…it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes.” In chapter 2 of this very letter to Titus, he also writes that this same gospel even empowers and “trains us” for godly living. Saints: all of our salvation…from our justification, throughout our sanctification, unto our glorification…it comes from the very power of God’s Gospel! From the very power of His Supernatural Message!

Elders mustn’t lose their firm conviction of the Gospel’s power by falling into more man-centered, hyper-moralistic approaches. While the intentions might be good, and while these kinds of approaches might seem very “onward-and-upward”, they’re not going to win the day. When it comes to ministering to Christ’s Church for the sake of their salvation, what’s going to win the day is heralding the gospel above all. Heralding Jesus Christ. As Paul writes elsewhere, may He be of “first importance” here at Light City…and may we trust in the supernatural power of the Gospel to do the heavy lifting.

An Ability to Administer God’s Word

Aside from having a firm hold on God’s Word, Paul shows us that an elder must also have An Ability to Administer God’s Word. In verse 9, he writes that “he must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught”.....why?.......”so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it.”

While God’s Word must be a very personal thing to an elder, it must never be a private thing for him to keep to himself. No, a massive part of his role includes administering that Word to others.

Paul shows us two ways in which an elder must be able to administer God’s Word. First, he must be able to “give instruction in sound doctrine.”He must be able to rightly teach the Word of God to others. Paul says that this teaching must be “sound”, meaning that it must be “healthy” teaching. Week in and week out, elders must be able to give Christ’s flock a “healthy diet” of God’s Word.

What does this look like?

First, a healthy diet of God’s Word must consist of feeding the flock with God’s Law. He must be able to teach his fellow sheep about what God requires from them morally in order for them to earn their own righteous standing before Him. But he also must be able to recognize that he and his fellow sheep can’t possibly earn their righteous standing before God through the Law…Why?…Because true righteousness requires perfect obedience to God’s Law. And so he must know that feeding them with a diet of only “do this and don’t do that” is going to leave the Flock hungry and starving—whether they realize it or not—because they’re sinful and because they lack their own righteousness.

And so the elder must be able to nourish and strengthen them with a steady diet of God’s Gospel. He must be able to proclaim to them that this hungering and thirsting that they’re experiencing? This lack of righteousness that they’re feeling? God has fully satisfied for them with the perfect righteousness of Jesus Christ. That they’ve been set free, in Christ, from the Law’s condemnation. An elder must be able to feed God’s flock with the nourishment of the Gospel…with the nourishment of Christ Himself.

And then lastly, an elder must be able to remember to still feed the sheep with God’s Law. Why? Because God’s Law is good! But...he must be careful to dish it up to them in a way that is specific for them as believers. He must remember that they’ve already been set free from the Law’s condemnation, and that they’re already safely secure in Christ. So in an effort to guard the believers’ assurance, He must be able to avoid constantly bringing their salvation into question when He preaches God’s Law. Instead, he must be able to teach them about what it looks like to love God and neighbor as liberated, completely new Creatures in Christ…about what it looks like to pursue holy lives in the midst of a fallen and sinful world. But in the midst of this, he must also be able to remember to keep the Gospel within close feeding range for the sheep. Because, remember, in order to pursue obedient and holy living, they continually need the power and nourishment of that Gospel.

Beloved: this is what elders must be able to do. This is what being “able to give instruction in sound doctrine” looks like. It’s “capability” for the sake of God’s elect…for the sake of more believers being able to hold firm to God’s Word…for the sake of more believers having the ability to administer God’s Word to others....for the sake of more men—more future elders—being capable and qualified themself.

Aside from being able to teach, there's another important aspect of administering God’s Word. In verse 9, Paul writes this: that an elder must be able to, quote, “rebuke those who contradict” their teaching. He must not only be able to “give instruction in sound doctrine”, but he must be able to administer a corrective word to those who are promoting “unsound” doctrine. Here in Crete, Paul is most pointedly referring to an elder's ability to rebuke those who contradict the Gospel.

But here’s the thing: it’s one thing for elders to be “able” to rebuke false teachers. It’s whole ‘nother thing for them to actually be ready and willing to do so.

An Elder’s Readiness to Protect God’s Flock

As Paul was laying out all of these elder qualifications to Titus, in his crosshairs were the many false teachers whom these elders were going to be called on to rebuke. And yet, even more so, Paul had in his cross-hairs the Flock of God, whom he was calling on these elders to protect. The very first word of verse 10—which is the word “For”—it shows us right away that Paul is absolutely connecting what he had just written to what he was about to write next. He immediately goes from writing about an elder’s ability to rebuke false teachers, to writing about the real-life false teachers whom they were going to need to actively rebuke.

On that island, there were real-time threats to the well-being of Christ’s Flock. These sheep were in need of under-shepherds who were qualified, ready, and willing to actively protect them. The same is true for us today.

That brings us to our final heading this morning: An Elder’s Readiness to Protect God’s Flock.

The Identity of These False Teachers

Before we examine how Paul wants these elders to go about rebuking these false teachers, we need to learn a little more about these false teachers. First things first…who exactly were these guys?

In verse 10, Paul writes that there were quote, “many” of them. Paul doesn’t get too specific with the doctrines that these “many” false teachers held, so we can’t be perfectly certain as to who all of them were. But from broader Biblical and extrabiblical evidence, these “many” false teachers no-doubt held a blend of different false religions. Since Crete was a Greek island, there would have indeed been the influence of Greek mythology there. And then in addition to that, the early seeds of Gnosticism would have also been present.

But here in verse 10, Paul does give us the clear identity of who the biggest culprit was. He writes that “there are many who are insubordinate, empty talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision party.” So Paul makes a distinction, saying that there were many false teachers, yet he brings special attention to a select group: the circumcision party.

On this island, there were many “professing Christians” who had a “Judaistic” background…many who had long swam in the waters of Israel’s Old Covenant Law…a Law that included the command for male circumcision.

The Actions of These False Teachers

So what was this circumcision party actually doing? What were they falsely teaching? And what was the result of their actions?

Well it’s important to note that they were a group of professing Christians. The problem? They were heralding a “Jesus Plus” Gospel. Essentially they were saying this: “yes, believe in Jesus Christ for your salvation and for your right standing before God. And in addition to that…in order for you to truly be saved and to truly be in right standing with God, you must also obey God’s Law that He’s given to Israel. That means, among other things, that your males must be circumcised, that you must observe the Jewish feasts, and that you must only eat certain foods.”

These false teachers were trying to add “Judaism” to Christianity. They were trying to “Judaize” Christians. They were trying to add “Law” to the “Gospel”....trying to add man’s “works” on top of God’s “grace”. And once you start trying to add any of man’s works on to the finished & sufficient work of Jesus Christ for your salvation, you no longer have the gospel. You have a false gospel.

And not only that…they were not only undermining God’s Gospel by doing this, but they were also undermining God’s Law by doing this! They were undermining what the believers actually had been called to morally pursue and morally flee from. Those ceremonial commands like circumcision, Jewish feasts, and clean/unclean foods? They no longer apply to New Covenant believer. Why? Because all of these kinds of ceremonial laws ultimately pointed to Jesus Christ, who fulfilled them all! And so these false teachers were undermining God’s Law by inventing extra moral laws—laws that went beyond the bounds of God’s moral law—and they were heaping these burdens upon these believers. In verse 10 and 14, Paul writes that this kind of teaching? It was “empty talk”…it was “Jewish myths”…it was “the commands of people.” Not useful words, but empty words. Not truths, but myths. Not the commands of God, but the commands of people.

It was the very “spirit” of the Pharisees living on. These false teachers in Crete were seemingly very devout…seemingly very serious about God’s Law and about holy living. And yet they were in such error. Thinking that they were upholding God’s Law, in an effort to show just how devout they were....they were constantly setting up moral fences beyond and around God’s Law. But what was really happening by them doing this? Rather than upholding God’s Law, they were relativizing It. Rather than keeping God’s Law up at Its Perfect and Un-Achievable Standard, they were actually lowering the bar—as if that were even possible—because they were essentially turning It into some sort of checklist that was achievable for them. This provided them with a way to flaunt their own righteousness, and in the process, they piled unnecessary burdens onto others. That’s what this kind of “works-based, prove your standing” kind of religion can lead to: other people serving as stepping stones for the sake of propping yourself up.

Beloved: we must be very careful not to follow the way of these false teachers. Not to try to use others to prop ourselves up. Not to bind one another’s consciences with moral commands that God himself doesn’t bind our consciences with. Man-made commands of our day like holding a certain political view…affiliating with a certain social movement…how to school your children...…having an adult beverage or not. And the list goes on.

Now, this doesn’t mean we that we shouldn’t be mindful of our own consciences or the consciences of others...and this doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t reflect on our lives and in our weaknesses, and reason together about what might be the wise thing to do in certain scenarios. But we must remain committed to staying within the bounds of what God actually commands us to do morally. This is especially important for elders in their shepherding. They don’t have free reign with their vested authority. Their authority is limited to the bounds of what God Himself truly authorizes.

Back to this island of Crete. So, what was the result of the actions of these false teachers? Verse 10-11 tells us that they were “deceiving” believers with their false teaching and they were “upsetting whole families.” They were wreaking havoc.

Friends, in our world today…if you happen to notice that there is a trail of wounded people consistently being left in the wake of a local church: you can almost be certain of a few things: that God’s Gospel is being undermined there in some way…that God’s Law is being undermined there in some way...and that God’s Vested Authority is being undermined there in some way.

Yes, many unbelievers will only be further hardened by sound doctrine and sound leadership if they happen to visit a church. Yes, many immature believers will leave churches and choose to pout over extremely non-essential stuff. But...churches with sound doctrine and sound leadership do not leave a trail of wounded believers in its wake. This is absolutely not the kind of fruit that sound gospel ministry and sound shepherding bears.

The Impurity of These False Teachers

Well so far, we’ve been able to identify, in part, who these false teachers were...what they were falsely teaching…and how much damage it was causing.

That leaves us with the need to further examine the why. Why were these false teachers wreaking this kind of havoc? In verses 10-16, Paul not only gives us a lot of indicators, but he ultimately gets to the very heart of the matter.

In verse 10, he describes them as being “insubordinate”. In verse 11 he writes that it was, quote, “for shameful gain” that they were doing this. In verse 12, he even ironically quotes an old Cretan false prophet in an effort to emphasize how sinful and dishonest these false teachers were. Verse 12 says this: “One of the Cretans, a prophet of their own, said, ‘Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons’.” Paul bluntly agrees with this assessment. In verse 13, he simply writes: “This testimony is true.” You see, Cretans had historically been famous for being liars and manipulators. Within their own stream of Greek Mythology, they claimed that all of the Greek gods had moved to Crete, and that Zeus had died and was buried there. And the mainland Greeks vehemently disagreed with this and called them a bunch of liars. They thought they were such liars that they even invented a verb for them... “Cretize”...which meant “to lie”. Paul—By agreeing with this Cretan false prophet—he is simply saying that these false teachers are falling right in line with the reputation that this island had earned for itself. Throughout the rest of this section, Paul continues to expose these false teachers. In verse 14, he writes that these are the kind of men who “turn away from the truth.” Down in verse 16, he writes that “they profess to know God, but they deny him by their works. They are detestable, disobedient, unfit for any good work.” This circumcision party was outwardly professing to be Christians, while their outward fruit of lying and manipulating was giving evidence to who they really were. And as Paul says, this made them “unfit for any good work.” As opposed to the call for “qualified” elders, these false teachers were completely “unqualified”…not only unqualified for the elder office, but unqualified for “any good work.”

And this really leads us nicely back to verse 15. Verse 15 really gets to the heart of the matter as to why they were doing what they were doing. Paul uses a ‘play on’ of words in this verse, and he writes this: “To the pure, all things are pure, but to the defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure; but both their minds and their consciences are defiled.”

At the end of the day, why was it that these false teachers were wreaking havoc on God’s Flock? Why were they undermining the gospel of Jesus Christ? Why were they undermining God’s Law? Why were they burdening believers with man-made commands? Commands like “don’t defile yourself by eating that defiled food” or “don’t make yourself unclean by touching that unclean thing”? Why were they doing all of this? It’s because they themselves were unclean. Their minds and their consciences were corrupt. What was coming out of them was exactly what was in them. And so the defiling damage that they were causing all around them was simply a by-product of their own defiled hearts.

And why was it that their hearts were so impure and defiled? It’s because they chose to remain in unbelief. Paul says: “to the defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure”. You see…defiled hearts and unbelief go hand-in-hand. Though they professed to know Jesus Christ, they didn’t trust Jesus Christ. Instead of looking to Christ for their perfect cleansing and true purity before God, they instead chose to look to their own “purity” for their right standing before God. To other fallen humans, they may have seemed like fairly moral people on the outside, with a strong dedication to seemingly righteous acts. But before the one true God, these seemingly righteous acts were like filthy rags. Why? Because they were done in their own flesh. They were done apart from faith. And as the writer of Hebrews says: “without faith, it’s impossible to please God.”

I want to go back to the first part of verse 15. It says this: “to the pure, all things are pure.” Beloved: if it weren’t for our union with Christ, we would all still have these exact same defiled hearts. Scripture tells us that the human heart is “deceitful above all things, and desperately sick.” If we were left to ourselves, we would still be freely choosing to remain in our sin and unbelief. But by God’s grace and mercy alone, He has given us the gift of faith…He has purified and cleansed us by the blood of His Son....He has regenerated and renewed our hearts by His Holy Spirit. By faith, we’ve been united to Jesus Christ, the truly pure and righteous One. And here’s the thing: when we are joined to Christ, we don’t make Him unclean. When we are joined to Him—just as He did with the Leper—He makes us clean! And yes, while sin is still a thing in our lives, and while we'll still struggle in these fleshly bodies, we remain completely pure in the Body of Christ. Clothed in His Righteous Robe. That’s how our Father continues to see us as we stand before Him in faith.

You know, there’s one particular elder qualification that’s always just kind of assumed because it seems so obvious. But when considering this passage, and when considering all of the wounded sheep that are out there in this world, this needs to be mentioned. An elder must be a Christian. He mustn’t be one who just professes Christ while simultaneously trusting his own flesh. He must be one who both professes AND TRUSTS Christ. He must be one who has been washed and made pure by the blood of the Lamb. He must be one who continually repents of trusting in his own remaining flesh and keeps coming back to the fact that the only righteousness he has? It’s the righteousness of Jesus Christ that’s been imputed to him.

The Response to These False Teachers

Well we’ve done the work of examining who these false teachers were, what they were doing, how much damage they were causing, and why they were doing it. Now it’s time for us to finally see how Paul wants these qualified, purified elders to go about rebuking them.

He essentially gives these men a simple 2-step exhortation…and yet he also wants to make sure that they approach this rebuke with a certain posture and motive. In doing this, Paul always gives us a little glimpse into elements of church discipline, which is a gracious gift from the Lord. First, Paul exhorts these elders to silence these false teachers. Literally, to “muzzle” them. He writes in verse 11 that “they must be silenced, since they are upsetting whole families by teaching for shameful gain what they ought not to teach.” This false teaching needed to be shut down immediately. It was already wreaking havoc on these Christian communities and wounding whole families.

But silencing these false teachers wasn’t all that Paul was exhorting these appointed elders to do. In verse 13, he writes this: "Rebuke them sharply”. Paul uses strong language here to describe what this rebuke needed to look like. This is a much, much different approach than, let’s say, gently addressing a well-meaning young believer who just needs to get a better handle on God’s Word. No…here, gentleness is not the play. There needs to be sharp and firm words of correction given to these men. They need to know about the harm they are causing..they need to be told precisely where their false teaching lies...and they need to be given the clear truth instead.

No doubt, there’s an intensity to this kind of confrontation. And so there’s surely going to be a temptation for anger to boil. And yet in the midst of this, Paul calls on these elders to remain self-controlled. They must seek the grace and wisdom of God, and draw upon the strength of Christ’s Spirit within them. To do what? To carry out this sharp rebuke in a pastoral manner. To rebuke these false teachers lovingly and redemptively.

“Rebuke them sharply”. Why? Verse 13: “That they may be sound in the faith.” Not only is Paul calling on these elders to silence these men, or simply to rebuke them for the sake of rebuke. But his hope and prayer is that this rebuke would lead to their faith and repentance. His hope and prayer was that the unleashed power of the True Gospel would purify these men. That the Holy Spirit would regenerate and renew their hearts. That they would no longer be wolves in sheep’s clothing, but that they would be sheep in the Good Shepherd’s clothing.

Beloved: this redemptive exhortation from Paul shouldn’t surprise us one bit. Remember Paul? He had been the biggest enemy of Christ’s Church…one who had made it his mission to destroy the Church. And yet he went from being the biggest enemy of Christ’s Church, to being an Apostle in Christ’s Church. What happened? “The power of God for salvation” happened. The Gospel of Jesus Christ happened. Paul desired for these false teachers to experience exactly what he himself had experienced: being washed and purified by Jesus Christ.

Concluding Reflection

Reflecting on our Good Shepherd

Brothers and Sisters: there are some of you in this room who are still licking wounds that have been inflicted upon you by self-serving under-shepherds. We are so sorry for that, and by God’s grace, we hope that this church family can be a place of healing for you. Please know that God has not left you alone. You don’t have perfect under-shepherds here, but God has blessed you with qualified under-shepherds here, who love and care for you. Not to mention, fellow church members who do as well. Most importantly though…God has blessed you with a Perfectly-Qualified Good Shepherd…the Chief Shepherd...who Himself loves and cares for you supremely. Cast yourself upon Him today for continued healing.

As we close, here’s the reality for all of us this morning: this life can be very difficult, and we are all frail sheep…elders included. We’re all prone to wander. We all have propensity to sin. And if you’re like me, there may be days where you feel awfully dirty. But we must remember this: Our Good Shepherd has sought us out…He has laid down His life for us....and He has saved us. And in saving us, he has completely purified us. We have been clothed with the pure and righteous robe of Jesus Christ. So may we find rest and comfort in our Good Shepherd today. He will lose none of His sheep. He will continue to nurture and care for us throughout this difficult life...until He raises us up on the last day…when He presents us unto himself “in splendor...without spot or wrinkle, or any such thing.”

PRAY.

One of the ways that Christ cares for us throughout this life is in and through His Table. Kevin is going to lead us through that time together right now.