DONE 211031 Titus: The Eldership of Christ's Church

OPENING SLIDE

What happens when someone who is unqualified gets, errrrr, out of their depth? SLIDE 1

PAUSE

We have all worked around someone who has a position that they are not qualified for SLIDE 2 and invariably they make bad choices that lead to damage. SLIDE 3 Damage to equipment, harm to people SLIDE 4 and their lives. We live in a day that in many ways has incredibly burdensome regulations SLIDE 5 but when we see some of these incidents like that are on the wall it is easy to see why they come into being SLIDE 6 . Unqualified people make bad choices which have real life implications… INTRODUCTION 1

What happens when someone who is unqualified gets a position of authority? PAUSE

Unfortunately, we can look to politics for plenty of examples of people, men and women, who are unqualified to be leaders, either through moral or even legal failures… They should never have taken on the role, but somehow they have and what happens… a trail of carnage is left behind them, not only is institutional credibility left in shambles but also real life people are harmed. There are many, many, many long reaching effects from poor leaders making bad choices...

Leaders, in any setting, have tremendous pressure and responsibility and so we expect them to maintain an impeccable character.

SLOW How much more then should leaders of Christ’s church be of the highest character? INTRODUCTION 2

Today, we are going to be walking through the qualifications for the position of “elder” in the church.

That may sound about as interesting as watching paint dry but its incredibly important. Some of you have actually experienced instances of when an unqualified man took a leadership role in the church. You know first hand the damage done not only to the Church, but also to his family and worst of all to the name of our beloved Savior, Jesus Christ.

It behooves us to carefully consider the qualifications of eldership in Christ’s Church and do our part in demanding that these qualifications be maintained, not only before an elder enters service but also while an elder is serving the body.

MAIN POINT

So here is the main point today, The qualifications for eldership are specific, inflexible and ongoing;

intentionally put in place not only for the protection and safety of Christ's Church but also to equip and prepare Her to accomplish Her Commission

We are going to see what testing a man must receive before he is entrusted with being a servant leader of Christ’s Church. It is my sincere hope that this message is not seen as an elevation of the position of elder or those that hold it. All of us are in desperate need of God’s grace and all honor belongs only to our Lord. BLANK SLIDE

Let’s go to Him in prayer now.

PRAYER

Father God, we are so grateful for Your goodness and grace toward us. You give us good things and every good thing is from You. Your supreme gift was the gift of the righteousness of Your Son, Jesus. We come before You today indwelt by His Spirit and in His purity - we dare not approach You in our own merit.

We want to hear from You and Your Word tells us the truth about all that pertains to life and godliness. May we have ears to hear, eyes to see, soft hearts to learn and a desire to understand and obey. Change us and make us like Your Son, and its in His name I pray, amen.

SERMON

I would encourage you to open your Bibles to the book of Titus. While you are finding Titus I will fill us in on the context.

CONTEXT

Paul is writing a letter to a fellow Christian named Titus on the island of Crete. Titus is a convert and fellow missionary of Paul’s and Paul is writing to encourage Titus to accomplish the difficult task he has committed to him - finding qualified men to serve as elders to the church in Crete.

At that time there were men from Crete, the island that Titus would be sent to, who heard the Gospel at Pentecost 33 years prior and presumably returned to the island of Crete and began a church there. MAP

Paul had sent Titus to Crete because not only was a Gentile like the Cretans there but also because he had shown incredible trustworthiness in accomplishing tasks assigned by Paul. Paul is writing from Asia to Titus to encouraging him to be selective in choosing the right servant leaders of the church in Crete.

Apparently, due to the culture and time the pickings were incredibly slim. Actually, a poet from Epimenides who was actually from Crete made this uncharitable and ironic assessment of his countrymen VERSE SLIDE

Titus 1:12 | 12 One of themselves, a prophet of their own, said, “Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.”

So Paul is writing to Titus to locate qualified men in a somewhat difficult setting - if the candidate pool is liars, evil beasts and lazy gluttons - qualified men will be rare indeed.

Presumably, there are mature believers if a church has been in existence for a generation, but the surrounding culture may have made them somewhat difficult to find. The ideal elder is indeed a rare bird, perhaps especially in Crete but not impossible to find and God in His providence has preserved for Himself select men for the task of leading His church.

Maybe one other thing we need to realize before we go through this passage is that Paul is telling Titus to identify men that are the same in each sphere of their life. The ideal candidate will conduct himself appropriately at home, at church and in public. Titus is to use these three spheres as a filter to advance those men that are whole and clearly called into this service.

SLIDE

So we are going to be in chapter 1 and I will begin in verse 5 a

I. The Qualified Elder at Home (1:6-7a)

A. Paul's mission for Titus (1:5)

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,

Paul, has commissioned Titus to complete what is lacking in the church in Crete, qualified leadership of the Church.

Interestingly, he says “elders,” which assumes a couple of things. First there is more than one qualified candidate who is a believer and secondly the position of elder, or πρεσβυτέρους, is not an individual role. Paul is not sending Titus to look for a king of each church;but a group of men to serve the church in a joint capacity.

The ideal candidate for eldership is faultless and the same throughout every sphere of his life. He is the same at home, as he is in public as he is in the church.

I keep saying “men” intentionally not because I am a chauvinistic bigot. Not because I hate women and want to keep them in their place. No, none of that. I say “men” because this particular role of elder is limited to just men - the text makes that clear. To serve the church as an elder one must be a man....

How do I know? How do I know that this role is exclusively restricted to men? The first reason I could cite is right here, the word πρεσβυτέρους in Greek is a plural adjective and masculine in form and verse 6 shows two other reasons SLIDE

B. Must be above reproach - faultless (1:6)

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

The candidate that Titus is to look for is a man who is faultless, blameless or above reproach. Does that mean that Titus needs to look for a perfect man? Nope, thank goodness. There has only ever once been a perfect man and His name is Jesus. No, if it were about finding the perfect man then finding a needle in the haystack would be easier. No, when it says a man who is above reproach it is saying that if someone were to accuse him, it would be so out of character, so incredibly unlikely, that we would say, “No! Not so and so, it couldn’t be!”

That is what it means to be above reproach. Titus is to find men that are like that. The next criteria is that their home life proves their character and this is often seen in how they interact with their spouse and kids, He must be above reproach in his marriage. SLIDE

1. In his marriage

The qualified elder is one who is married to one woman. Married men with girlfriends on the side, polygamists and homosexuals need not apply. The qualified elder is a “one woman” kind of man.

Does this mean that bachelors cannot be elders? No, if that were the case not even the apostle Paul could be an elder in the church. No, literally, the Greek translates to, “One woman man.” “Titus, the kind of guy you are looking for is the guy who only is married to only one woman, and loves her faithfully - a one woman kind of man.”

He is also a man who has fathered believing children SLIDE

2. In fathering his children

Titus is selecting men to serve the church, to lead it and build it up.

QUESTION What kind of leadership is that man going to provide?

Well, a taste of it will be seen in whom he already provides leadership to. His wife and children for example. The qualified man will have children who believe. τέκνα ἔχων πιστά, literally, children having faith.

Faith in what? We didn’t look at it but Paul references the faith in verse four. SLIDE It is the Christian faith. Faith in Christ. If we want to understand what kind of leader a man will be, we need to look at whom he already leads. So his children must be believers, under his control and not accused of dissipation or rebellion SLIDE

3. Unaccused of rebellion or dissipation

Rebellion is pretty easy to understand. If a man’s kids are rebellious, we know it. He will not have any control over them and they will reject his leadership. That’s a dangerous man to have as a leader in the church. What about dissipation? What does that mean? To be dissipated?

The word in Greek has a semantic range of debauchery, wastefulness, recklessness or senseless. The sense is one of lavishness sinfulness. If that is what the leader produces at home what will he produce in the church. SLIDE

As a case in point, I would refer us back to the story of Eli in 1st Samuel. What kind of children did Eli produce? He produced two abusive, carnal sons who should never have been allowed to serve in the tabernacle.

Paul is writing to Titus to beware men whose children are out of control and have seen in their father a faith unworthy of emulation. If he has produced faithless, rebellious children he is unqualified to lead the Church of Christ.

In verse 7 Paul again hammers the overall theme that the elder must be faultless, above reproach and blameless but he also changes the verbiage just slightly. Now instead of πρεσβυτέρους he uses the word ἐπίσκοπον which may be translated in your text as “overseer” or “guardian.”

Let’s see what kind of man this will look like in his private life, verse 7 SLIDE

II. The Qualified Elder at Large (1:7-8)

A. Must not be (1:7)

7 For the overseer (OR GUARDIAN) 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,

1. Self-willed, stubborn, arrogant - a selfish man

The qualified elder will carefully steward and guard what has been entrusted to him. He will not be known as a willful man. He will not be arrogant or stubborn or focused on himself. Furthermore, he will have control of his temper SLIDE

2. Quick-tempered, easily angered - an angry man

He must be able to control strong feelings of which there are many when it comes to faith and practice. The prospective candidate will not be a man that often succumbs to impulsive reactions - he won’t be an “angry man.” SLIDE

Additionally, if he is addicted to alcohol that proves he is out of control and should not be entrusted with the care of the church. SLIDE

3. Addicted to wine, a drunk - a heavy drinking man

SPEAK SLOWLY This text does not mandate abstinence from alcohol but it does place restrictions on its consumption.

PAUSE

Some of us know families impacted by alcohol abuse and the damage that a person can do while intoxicated and the lives that are ruined by drunk drivers.If a man known for his alcohol consumption he is not in control of his appetites and should not be overseer or guardian.

Next he must not be pugnacious SLIDE

4. Pugnacious, brutal, a bully - a violent man

Pugnacious, one who is pugnacious is person who is brutal, violent, abusive. The word here in the Greek means a “striker” or “brawler.” Someone who solves problems with violence is not a good candidate for overseeing or guarding the church. He must not be fond of sordid gain… SLIDE

5. Fond of sordid gain

I found it incredibly interesting that this particular prohibition, “not fond of sordid gain,” is mentioned repeatedly in the New Testament in relation to leaders. It is mentioned in 1st Timothy 3:8 and also in 1st Peter 5. Apparently, how a man treats and regards money is a key indicator of his character and must be considered in this evaluation.

I heard someone say once, “The wallet is the last part of a man to be saved,” and I have seen it to be true. How a man treats money, what he spends his money on, how he spends it and why are incredibly accurate indicators of his spiritual condition. If he is a “get rich quick” kind of guy, or discontent with what God has provided him then, “he’s not the guy!”

Paul tells Titus that the ideal candidate will be in control of his finances. He must not use his service to the church for financial profit, but be absolutely trustworthy with regard to money.

That was a list of must nots, he must not be a selfish man, an angry man, a heavy drinker, a violent man or one who is greedy. That would weed out many potential candidates but Paul also provides a list of what a prospective elder must be known for

Verse 8 SLIDE

B. Must have these particular characteristics (1:8)

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

1. Hospitable

Hospitality, in the first century and especially in the near east was of a different caliber than today. To be hospitable was to be not only generous and kindly disposed to friends and neighbors but also to strangers regardless of who they were. This man must be hospitable and he must have a love for people. SLIDE

2. loving what is good

He must have a consistent love for what is good, this is just what it sounds like. Does the man have an affection for what is good, right and beautiful or is he known to be inclined toward what is questionable. SLIDE

3. Sensible, in control of his passions - a prudent man

The elder must be sensible, in control of his passions and thoughtful, prudent. He must be sound in mind and prudent… wisely keeping control over one’s passions and desires. This man must be just SLIDE

4. Just, capable of discernment - a fair man

He must be δίκαιον, just capable of discerning what is right, fair and equitable. Not a man given to distortion and manipulation. He must be devout SLIDE

5. Devout - a man devoted to God

The elder must be fully devoted to God, morally above reproach and in control of his own desires… SLIDE

6. Self-controlled - a disciplined man

As you can imagine in Crete, an island filled with liars, evil beasts and lazy gluttons this was a tall order, but not an impossible one. God has a way of preserving for Himself men whom He desires to lead His people.

The elders are not to lead in such a way to develop themselves but the body. Perhaps the most important qualifier here in this list is that they must be faithful teachers of God’s word and faithful to the Logos or Word of God SLIDE

Verse 9

III. The Qualified Elder in the Church (1:9)

A. Must be faithful to God's Word (1:9a)

9 holding fast the faithful word which is in accordance with the teaching,

When it really boils down to it the man that lives out his Christian faith is doing it because he believes it, he is holding fast to it. The qualified elder is a man who not only doesn’t play fast and loose with Scripture but interprets it accurately and consistently within the Authors intent.

On it’s face, isolated from the context, this portion of the text looks purely to be a reference to the Scriptures, but in verse 3 Paul uses the word “Word” or “Logos” as a reference to Christ.

The qualified elder must hold fast to the Faithful One, He must cling to Christ, which is in accordance with the teaching. If the elder teaches anything other than the unadulterated Good News of Jesus Christ and the real life implications of it, that’s not the guy you want serving as a leader of the body.

We want to hear about Jesus and we want trustworthy men to teach it, it is too important to be handled haphazardly or carelessly. If on the basis of true faith in or rejection of the Gospel people spend eternity in either heaven or hell then we want the guy that can properly tells us the truth.

This whole search for the right elders has a purpose and verse 9 through 11 gives us the why, the reason why this evaluation needs to be done. It must be done to determine if he is capable of teaching and guiding the Church in the truth SLIDE

B. So that he can teach it and correct from it (1:9b)

9B so that he will be able both to exhort in sound doctrine and to refute those who contradict.

The credibility of the Gospel hinges on the conduct of the Christian. The Christian comes to Church on the first day of the week to worship God and to be taught how to better live out their faith. No one should be here to be entertained or just to hang out with friends. This is not the venue. This is a training ground where we can be reminded of what truly matters. Church is a place where we can be encouraged, exhorted, trained in godliness so that we can better fulfill our Commission.

The purpose of this whole evaluation was to determine which select group of men we want to lead us. We want men that believe this and live it out and can bring the truth to bear, refining us and providing walking talking models of Christ we can see.

The risks are too high, the benefits too important to arbitrarily pick men who are good at business but perhaps unethical, or men who may appear good in one sphere of their life but in reality are inconsistent. We are dealing with matters of eternal life and death and God wants the right men for the job and verse 10-11 explains to us better, the danger of what can happen when the wrong men take leadership. SLIDE

IV. The Danger Explained (1:10-11)

Titus 1:10–11 | 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.

There is a very real risk to the church. We are to be on guard. Not just the current elders, not just the current leaders or even members but everyone here must be careful to watch for these characteristics. The deceiver, satan, loves nothing more than to insert wolves in sheep’s clothing to disrupt and damage the flock.

These deceivers who are also deceived do this for the sake of sordid gain, for the sake of greed. Look at what propels a man, see what drives him and you can quickly discern who his god really is.

Well, that is all well and good but let’s look at a real life example of a good leader and a bad one.

Turn to 3rd John. The best friend of Jesus when He was on the earth was a man named John and he wrote a letter to a church to clarify for them, who was a qualified leader and who was unqualified. Super short letter, only 15 verses but we are just going to read the first 11. John is going to commend a man named Gaius and condemn a man named Diotrephes.

3 John 1–11 | 1 The elder (THAT’s JOHN) to the beloved Gaius, whom I love in truth. 2 Beloved, I pray that in all respects you may prosper and be in good health, just as your soul prospers. 3 For I was very glad when brethren came and testified to your truth, that is, how you are walking in truth. 4 I have no greater joy than this, to hear of my children walking in the truth. 5 Beloved, you are acting faithfully in whatever you accomplish for the brethren, and especially when they are strangers; 6 and they have testified to your love before the church. You will do well to send them on their way in a manner worthy of God. 7 For they went out for the sake of the Name, accepting nothing from the Gentiles. 8 Therefore we ought to support such men, so that we may be fellow workers with the truth.

So, we see here that Gaius is faithful to the truth of the Gospel, he is hospitable, he is loving etc… Now the bad example of what we don’t ever want to see in leadership in a church… verse 9

9 I wrote something to the church; but Diotrephes, who loves to be first among them, does not accept what we say. 10 For this reason, if I come, I will call attention to his deeds which he does, unjustly accusing us with wicked words; and not satisfied with this, he himself does not receive the brethren, either, and he forbids those who desire to do so and puts them out of the church. 11 Beloved, do not imitate what is evil, but what is good. The one who does good is of God; the one who does evil has not seen God.

Diotrephes, loves to be first, he rejects God’s word, he is unjust, he is wicked and inhospitable.

APPLICATION POINT

As I wrap up this message I want to leave us with three takeaways.

1). Each of us has a responsibility to ensure that only qualified men serve as elders. APPLICATION POINT

2). No elder will ever be perfect, side of glory but they must be above reproach APPLICATION POINT

3). The characteristics of a qualified elder are no more than what every believer should be

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, today we learned it is our responsibility as believers to only allow qualified men to take on the role of servant leader. Qualified elder have been tested in various spheres of their life and proven to have exemplary character and consistent fruit - these are the guys we want to lead the church.

Furthermore, we saw a real life example in 3rd John of the dangers of allowing unqualified men to take root in the church. We must be on guard because the danger is real and the risks are too high to take a casual approach in this.

Lastly, in our key takeaways I mentioned that the list of attributes and characteristics is no more than what is required of any believer. None of us should be known as brawlers, heavy drinkers, out of control but As we grow and mature in our faith we should be known for our knowledge of Christ, hospitality and love for what is good.

May God bless this church with such men as elders.

Please rise and I will close us in prayer.

PRAYER

The requirements listed were specific, inflexible and ongoing

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