Titus 1

Give Greetings from Germany and Nairobi

1 Paul, a bond-servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the faith of those chosen of God and the knowledge of the truth which is according to godliness,

2 in the hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, promised dlong ages ago,

3 but at the proper time manifested, even His word, in the proclamation with which I was entrusted according to the commandment of God our Savior,

4 To Titus, my true child in a common faith: Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior.

Qualifications of Elders

5 For this reason I left you in Crete, that you would set in order what remains and appoint elders in every city as I directed you,

6 namely, if any man is above reproach, the husband of one wife, having children who believe, not accused of dissipation or rebellion.

7 For the aoverseer must be above reproach as God’s steward, not self-willed, not quick-tempered, not addicted to wine, not pugnacious, not fond of sordid gain,

8 but hospitable, loving what is good, sensible, just, devout, self-controlled,

9 holding fast the faithful word which is in accordance with the teaching, so that he will be able both to exhort in sound doctrine and to refute those who contradict.

10 For there are many rebellious men, empty talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision,

11 who must be silenced because they are upsetting whole families, teaching things they should not teach for the sake of sordid gain.

12 One of themselves, a prophet of their own, said, “Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.”

13 This testimony is true. For this reason reprove them severely so that they may be sound in the faith,

14 not paying attention to Jewish myths and commandments of men who turn away from the truth.

15 To the pure, all things are pure; but to those who are defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure, but both their mind and their conscience are defiled.

16 They profess to know God, but by their deeds they deny Him, being detestable and disobedient and worthless for any good deed.

Pray - Thank God for meeting with us.

Brothers and sisters when we think of qualifications for eldership or deacons, we must begin in 1 Tim 3 and Titus 1. In both of these epistles Paul is writing to two of his pupils and co-labors in the faith Timothy and Titus. Both texts give qualifications for the man to be considered for the task of elder/pastor/overseer, and you will notice they are consistent. Paul does not tell Timothy one thing and Titus another, no these are the traits that must be met in order to be qualified for ministry.

Do not be fooled brethren, do not be deceived, your church is about to begin the incredibly sober and serious task of looking for a man to take up the role of elder/pastor. It is good and it is right to be cautious and enter into this process with much prayer and fasting. We are going to see why it is not about one man’s vision of what an elder should be, or their role in the church. No beloved, we must seek out what God’s Word has to say about this matter. We must bend our understanding and our will to that of God, both as the man called and the church who does the calling. While we are considering Titus 1, that is by no means exhaustive. We must look at ALL of Scripture to get the full understanding. It is easy to think this is what our church is looking for, or maybe say in our heart, this is what I want the man to be. Oh be on guard for such things! Search the Scriptures, pray and fast, re-search Scripture, pray and fast. However, I want to exhort and encourage you as you prepare to step out and begin this endeavor. My prayer as we consider Titus, we will refresh our minds on what GOD says the attributes and demeanor of the should reflect. This is how you know you are in God’s will. Bending your understanding and conforming to God, this IS the mark of operating within God’s decrees.

Overseer

But to understand this role let us first dive into the text: in verse 7 we read:

For the overseer must be above reproach as God’s steward

Now your translation may use the word Bishop instead of overseer, particularly if you use the King James or New Kings James. In the notes you will see Bishop literal translation is overseer. However in 1611, Bishop was understood to be overseer. We see Paul use the title overseer to describe the role of elder/pastor. In case you missed how we got to knowing the overseer is an elder, let us look at verse 5 and read: appoint elders in every city as I directed you.

This role we are told is to act as God’s stewart. But what is a steward? To understand we must look back 2000 years when Paul was writing this Epistle. We know at that time a steward was a slave who was appointed to this role by the master who owned him. This steward/slave was a man who proved trustworthy, loyal, and competent carrying out his masters tasks and business affairs. Thus the steward had the authority to conduct business and manage the daily tasks of his master’s holdings. This would include ensuring the other members of the house carried out their duties faithfully and according to the master’s wishes. The master entrusted the steward to conduct the daily affairs of his estate as if it were the master doing it himself. Keep in mind, despite this elevated role, that the steward was still a slave of his master, just like those he oversaw; however, the steward was personally charged by the master of the house and given the tools to carry out his increased responsibility. The steward had to give an account to the master for how he oversaw and administered the others in his charge.

So when Paul tells us the overseer being God’s steward, we can all clearly understand the role of the overseer/pastor as fulfilling the role of the steward. Again this man is charged with ensuring the master’s house and all his people were diligently following all the master’s commands. Notice the overseer is still a slave just like everyone else in the Lord’s service, he is just tasked with ensuring the well being and care of the other members of the house. The steward has a position of honor; however, he was held to a higher standard, his responsibility higher, and he would be judged and evaluated to a much higher standard.

To sum up the role of a pastor, the Apostle Paul tells us this man is God’s stewart. His role is to oversee the daily life in the church, care for the members of the local church, and perform the specific tasks assigned to his role. Likewise the pastor must be exemplary in all things. He is to be an example, not perfect, but an example for the people of God to look towards. This man is not exempt from sin rather we still find comfort in:

Matt 10:25 It is enough for the disciple that he become like his teacher, and the slave like his master.

Again God’s steward has special tasks within the church, leading worship, performing the sacraments, and shepherding believers inside the local church, and so on. The pastor of the church WILL stand before God and give an account to the Lord on how they led the church. This is no small thing, and must not be taken lightly. Yes, each and every one of you will stand before the Lord and give an account of your life and how you used the gifts given to you, and your faithfulness in all these areas. Husbands you will stand before the Lord and have to give an account to the Lord on how you managed your families, how you led your wife and children, how you raised your family in the Lord. (Different day of teaching). Likewise, elders will give an account in both areas, and in addition they will also stand before God Almighty and give an account of how he shepherded God’s people entrusted to him. So understand this is a very serious matter and one that MUST NOT be treated lightly. No matter your role in life you WILL stand before the Holy and Righteous Lord and give an account of every action and every word spoken.

Self-willed

7 For the overseer must be above reproach as God’s steward, not self-willed, not quick-tempered, not addicted to wine, not pugnacious, not fond of sordid gain,

8 but hospitable, loving what is good, sensible, just, devout, self-controlled,

What is the pattern here? Do you see it? Do you see the commonality? This list is all about character. God is not concerned about His steward possessing good looks, a tall muscular build, a man who has the gift of eloquence, nor a man who can be prince charming in anyroom he walks into. NO! God is concerned with the heart! No different than all of you whom He has called unto Himself. God is concerned with the character of the man. To shepherd God’s people the man must be of sound, strong moral character. God is not saying perfect, for only Jesus Christ is perfect, but rather a man who is not deficient in moral character.

It would be impossible to explore this list in a message. So this morning we will be focusing on not being self-willed. I believe the other attributes can be seen in light of the man not being self-willed. It is important to note these qualifications are not about how a man sees himself, but rather how the man really is and does the body of Christ confirm these attributes. This is why there can be no self-appointed church leaders. This is why in Scripture we see churches planting churches, not men. We don’t see men self-appointing themselves to a ministry, but the church confirms the ability and calling of a man to ministry. The self-willed man calls himself to ministry and doesn’t care about God. You can say in your heart these people around me don’t see my calling, they don’t see how well I can lead people. I will go do my own ministry, I will start my own church, I will go be my own missionary, I will go preach God’s Word without the blessing of the local church. Let me ask you, does God NOT SEE? If God is calling a man, can God not align up all the means for the local church to see your gifting, even if that local church is as blind as the self-willed man thinks. If a man is called to ministry, if a man is called to be a pastor, God WILL put all these things into place. God is not forgetful, God is not blind, God does not need your help to call you. This is such an easy way to spot the self-willed man in regards to ministry. It is a plague that runs throughout America, self appointed pastors.

Why I cannot just wake up and say I am a pastor.

Not being self-willed means to not be arrogant, stubborn, nor insisting on getting your own way. This is the exact opposite of the humility required to submit to God’s will. The other attributes will play out, we get angry and quarrel when we are not getting our way. We get angry when we are not getting what we desire, or not being treated the way we thought we ought to be treated. We are dishonest in our dealing because we think we deserve more than we have. We don’t temper our will to line up with Scripture.

All we must do is examine Christ to understand not being self willed. Christ who being the second person of the Trinity, through whom all things were created, submitted Himself to the will of the Father. Christ, left His place in heaven, took on the role of a servant and even laid down His life for the Church. The creator of all things, came to earth and washed the feet of the disciples. These men are far less than Christ, not even to be compared, and what did our Savior do, He cast off His own will and served all those with whom He has contact with. Do you understand at that time how dirty and disgusting feet could become. Everyone wore open sandals. The streets were not paved as today. Animals used the streets, and often pulled carts and what do beasts of the field do as they walk, they poop. The roads were dusty, had animal feces, and urine puddles, trash, and by products. And at these same dirty sweaty feet, Christ knelt down and lovingly washed their feet. This is unimaginable, even at the time His disciples understood how much Christ was lowering Himself to wash their feet. In John 13:8, Peter said to Him, “Never shall You wash my feet” Peter understood the humbling act his Lord and Savior was about to do, and was horrified that Christ could even think of humbling Himself to wash the men’s feet. Is this an act of self-willed? No!! The self-willed man may serve others, but not in a Biblical way, they serve to prop themselves up, They serve to be recognized and to receive praise from those around them, even though they may do so under the disguise of humility. This is the real trap, this is why you must know the man.

The selfless man gives himself to others freely and completely. More times than not this man will be embarrassed by the recognition of his deeds. The man who is not self-willed does not serve for praise, but rather, Because he can do NO OTHER. This is how God created him. This is not self-seeking, rather from a heart of servitude. The man God calls to ministry cannot be self-seeking. Yes this man has convictions, Yes he desires to live a holy life, Yes he desires to ensure the straight and narrow path is followed. But this is because he is a servant, a steward, of the Holy God who bought him with a price and now can do no other. A selfless man does what the church needs, not what he sees right in his own sight and estimation. Again look at Christ at Gethsemane Matthew 26:39 “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me, yet not as I will, BUT as YOU WILL!” Christ did not seek His own will, but always the will of His Father who sent him. Brethren, how much more for us! Are any of us considered worthy to be even mentioned in the same sentence as Jesus Christ!! NO! The steward of God must be the premier example for the local body of Christ in this regard. This man cannot, must not, be stubborn, arrogant, insisting on his own will! He must be the example Christ was, submitting Himself to the will of God, in all manners of life.

Paul was personally called by Christ. Christ called Paul to be an apostle to the gentiles, and still we see Paul submitting to the local church. He did not stand up boasting I am going into ministry and preaching God’s Word on my own. No, what did he do? He submitted himself to the church and waited for the church to say he was ready to be set apart. Paul was instructed and was tested before going out with Barnabas.

Not self-willed, means the pastor must have the desires of God above all else. The man must be able and willing to die to himself, even on some personal issues. This man's drive must be completing the will of the Lord, no matter the cost. It is in all our natures to some degree to want to be liked by others. Even the most die hard anti-social person is being dishonest to say they don’t care at all about how they are perceived by others. When you are to be a harold of God’s Word, you MUST die to self. First and foremost in preaching and proclaiming the truth faithfully and true to the text and resist the urge to preach what YOU want Holy Scripture to say. No, we must deal rightly with God’s Word, and proclaim God’s truth even when it makes you unpopular. Yes proclaiming and calling out sin in the world will get you mocked and slandered, but brethren, do not be fooled, proclaiming truth and calling out sin inside the church will equally get you mocked. Yes, teaching and preaching God’s Word will also cause you to be slandered, even inside the building you preach in. To serve you must be willing to be slandered for doing what is right. Now this is not the kind of proclamation that you definitely stand and say I will. I don't care what others say. Yes, it is true you are unashamed to declare the truth, but you not being self-willed means you teach God’s law in a caring and compassionate way.

The one called to ministry has to have a solid foundation so they do not be arrogant of the position the Lord has given them. The very real danger in pastoring is to start thinking this is my church. I planted this church, I grew the church, I ensured that this church achieved all the goals I had for it. I convinced men to repent by my preaching, I fixed all the doctrinal issues! No, this man is the problem. If the Lord blesses a person’s labor or ministry, all glory goes to the Father, never the man.

When referring to the church Grace to You, you often will hear it referred to as John McArthur’s church. Not by himself, mind you, but by others. Brothers and Sisters I know this seems like and innocent mistake, but we must guard our tongues from saying such things! No matter how big the church, no matter how prolific the pastor, that church IS Christ’s church. The people inside that church are God’s people. I know to some this may seem like a small issue, but be warned out of small issues come great heresy, or great catastrophes.

Now this does not mean you go the other direction and are soft on sin. Soft on standing for truth. NO! It means to guide in accordance with Scripture and not letting your own desires rule your actions and behavior.

Teaching Sound Doctrine

9 holding fast the faithful word which is in accordance with the teaching, so that he will be able both to exhort in sound doctrine and to refute those who contradict.

The pastor/elder has many roles in the church. Preaching the Word of God is the most prolific task a pastor does. And while we will be focusing on the task of teaching and preaching, we do need to remember this is not the only task of the pastor. Counseling those in need, visiting the members of the church on a regular basis, physically going and visiting the sick and praying for them, doing the work of the evangelist, and opening your home to others to demonstrate Biblical hospitality.

The steward of God MUST be able to rightly interpret the Word. This may sound obvious but before we dismiss this principle too quickly, let us look at this important qualification of a pastor. What is the first step in correctly dividing God’s Word?

The first principle is does this man hold fast to the sufficiency of Scripture. 2 Tim 3:16-17

16 All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness;

17 so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.

Does the man being considered for this position hold fast to this passage. A qualified pastor must believe ALL of God’s Word is inspired and profitable for teaching. Not picking and choosing what to teach, but to teach accurately all God has commanded us, and this to be understood in light of Scripture. What does this mean? We use Scripture to interpret Scripture. Scripture CANNOT and DOES NOT contradict itself. This is a truth we must be willing to die for. God’s Word is inspired by the Holy Spirit, many saints have gone to prison and martyred for this truth, God’s Word is sufficient and final, which means it is NOT subject for your own interpretation. The man who says what I think it means is….Who cares? Who are you? What does God say it means?? We see this particularly when we come across teachings we don’t like or are inconvenient for our personal life. The man of God must not cave into such temptations! When we come upon hard teachings, and debated teachings, does this man say in his heart, I must use the easy to understand passages of the Bible as a lens to interpret the harder to understand passages. The steward of God must not read a hard to understand passage and formulate a doctrine and then apply that to easy to understand teaching, and pervert the simple teachings. You would not do this in ANY other area of life.

8 See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ. Colossians 2:8

Let me ask you this. If I told you paradise awaits you if you can give an accurate character analysis of Froto Baggins, one of the main characters from The Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien. How would you go about it? Would you spend your time reading C.S Lewis Chronicles of Narnia? Would you? No? Why not?? You, like any rational person, would pour over Tolkien's series The Lord of the Rings. Why? Because in that story the author tells you all you need to know about the person in question.

To rightly understand and teach the Word of God, a pastor must know where to get his information. We cannot and must not rely on the cleverness of men, no matter how clever they are. For all man is sinful and corrupt. So we must turn to God’s Word to see how God has revealed Himself to us. All of us knew the sound of our mother’s voice. We knew the moment she spoke, we had no doubts, we had no reservations who it was. Why or how did we know our mother’s voice? Because so much time was spent with her, she was important to you, the sound of her voice was ingrained in you. This is much like how all of us ought to be the Word of God. Pastors doubly so. For a pastor is to give himself over to studying the Word, day and night. This is why they can accurately teach and preach the Word of God. They have so much time in, it is like breathing air, it just is required for daily life.

God gave us His Holy Word so we come to know Him, and correct our own thinking to come into alignment with God’s Word and will for us. We must always be vigilant and guard against the temptation of imposing your own will and thinking you can make God’s Word fit your own world view. We like doing that don’t we? We love trying to impose our view into Scripture. (Reason for divorce)

Can we sum up verse 9? The role of the elder is to be a Guardian of Sound Doctrine. How is this done? How can a man be a Guardian of Sound Doctrine?

Step one is to submerge yourself in God’s Word, day and night. An elder must be searching the Scriptures for God’s truth, tirelessly! How can you refute those who contradict sound doctrine if you are not well rooted in sound doctrine. Paul tells us it is not enough for a pastor to teach the word of God and use the Word of God to encourage. No! The pastor is an under shepherd and must be able to refute false teaching. This is one of the ways elders protect the flock, they must be able to quickly detect false teaching, dispel the hersey and by doing this the local body is protected.

This is not just outside the church like many suppose. But this threat is equally inside the church as it is outside the church. In fact it is fives times more dangerous from the wolves inside the church. Paul warns us multiple times of wolves inside the church including in Acts 20:29-30

29 “I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock;

30 and from among your own selves men will arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them.

The Apostle Paul’s warning is to all of you hearing my voice. But brethren, it is doubly true to say it is the pastor’s role to ensure such people and such false doctrines do not enter into the church, and definitely is not allowed to remain inside the church to corrupt the flock of the Lord. Paul is warning Ephesus but is equally written to us today! This should not be news to any of you, false teachers are everywhere. Yes you have to extreme cases like the Copelands who claim God sought Copelands advice. But brethren do not be fooled there are subtle ones roaming in the local small town church.

The local church can even be found in the position to contradict local authorities. Here in the US you closed churches during Covid, and men were faced with potential fines and fees. In Germany it was a risk of going to federal prison. ERB took a stance and refused to close its doors, ever. The church went underground and met, because men in the pulpit were willing to stand up for God’s Word! All the other churches in Germany stood against ERB and said we were sinning by not following what the government decreed.

Luther standing at Worms saying, Here I stand I can do no other, so help me God.

You need a man of God who will stand for the truth and fight off world religion before it can fester within the body of your church. One drop of the right kind of poison can make the entire well deadly. You need a man who can stand up and show you how poorly you treat God, how you sin against God daily and yet He is faithful to keep you and not cast you off. You need the man who is not afraid to be hated for preaching God’s Word and not afraid when the wolves come, he must stand and protect the flock, the church body, even with his own life.

No matter your calling, these principles are not solely reserved for the elders nor pastors. Study 1 Tim 3 and Titus 1, every Christian should be marked by these attributes, this is what we are all called to be. You cannot say to yourself, I am not called to ministry so this is a special list just for pastors. No, we are all priests 2 Peter 2

9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession

Do not walk away thinking you are exempt from being this type of man or woman. Rather walk away realizing the man you are seeking for ministry and exhibits these traits well and faithfully.

Your Role

So what is your role as a church? You may say to yourself, yes but I am not called to ministry, and I have nor role in this selection process. Oh but you do. I challenge you over the next week to do your own study on prayer and fasting when seeking God’s will. We do not have the time to explore this; however, it instructs us to come to Him with our prayers and petitions through prayer and fasting. There is no such thing as a sideline Christian. Yes we all have different giftings and different roles, but that does lessen your role, nor exclude you from the involvement of seeking God’s will. Be like the Bereans, study the Word of God yourself, take an active part, do not just entrust such activities and be passive. You are an equal heir to the Kingdom of God. Maybe you dont have the gift of discernment, but you DO HAVE the gift of prayer. We all do!! Be fervent, be unceasing as Vail Valley Baptist Church decides the direction of the church. Are your current elders enough, do you want to call in a new person? Pray for wisdom, pray for wise counsel, pray for discernment. Many who are ‘least” in the church will be exalted to higher positions in the Kingdom.

Men who will be more frontline in the decision process, I exhort you not to be secretive. Do not be proud of your role. Seek diligently, let the body of Christ know of the struggles and encouragements. If you truly belong to Christ, none is better than another, and we are all equal heirs. Work together, commit to extra prayer times, commit to church wide prayer and fasting! Seek God with all you have know you have resources outside of here! Be encouraged, be of good cheer, seek diligently!!

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