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Sunnyside Baptist Church Michael Dirrim, Pastor
Well, let's open our Bibles and let's turn to the New Testament book of Titus. We'll be looking at chapter 1, and we'll be reading verses 5 through 9 this evening. I always like talking to Joe Keck on the phone.
No matter what time of day it is, it's always, good morning. It's very refreshing. All right, let's begin with the word of prayer. Heavenly Father, I thank you so much for this day. I thank you for your word and its truth, its value and power and hope and promises.
I pray that you would help us to rejoice in it this evening as we think about the way you would have your church organized and provided for. We thank you for your love for us and your care for us. We pray these things in Jesus' name, amen.
Okay, Titus chapter 1, beginning in verse 5. Paul writes, for this reason I left you in Crete, that you should set in order the things that are lacking and appoint elders in every city as I commanded you.
If a man is blameless, the husband of one wife, having faithful children, not accused of dissipation or insubordination, for a bishop must be blameless as a steward of God, not self-willed, not quick-tempered, not given to wine, not violent, not greedy for money, but hospitable, a lover of what is good, sober-minded, just, holy, self-controlled, holding fast the faithful word as he has been taught, that he may be able by sound doctrine both to exhort and convict those who contradict.
So we're thinking about what a good church needs. A good church needs proper order and thinking about the way that the church is organized and so that there is good direction. Three basic needs of a good church, as Paul pointed out to Titus, is good direction, good doctrine, and good deeds, working together in a good dynamic.
And the emphasis here really is on good direction, the proper order. Who are the leaders, why are they the leaders, and how are they supposed to be leading, what's the whole point? And so last time we looked at verse 5 and thought about the fact that a good church needs quality leadership, and we see that that is expressed in a plurality of elders in a singular church.
This is the model that we have in Paul's writings and also in Paul's journeys. We see that that is the way that churches are planted in the book of Acts, a plurality of leaders, plural, in a singular church.
It's also the way we see Jesus beginning things with his apostles. There was a plurality of apostles and they gathered together as the church, singular, there in Jerusalem. So the whole way through we see that that's the pattern.
Now there's a bit more focus on these leaders, that a good church needs qualified leaders. It can't just be anybody, and the qualities are not about who has the most money or who has the most political influence.
There is a description of what kind of leaders are needed for the church. And we're going to start off by observing two qualifiers, two qualities. The first is that their reputation is not in doubt, and the second is that their relationships are not damaged.
These are descriptions of what kind of men are qualified to be leaders, that their reputation is not in doubt, and that their relationships are not damaged. So as you see in the text, in verse 6, we see this description of a man is blameless.
We have in other translations, above reproach or beyond reproach. We also see that he's not to be accused of dissipation or insubordination concerning his children. We see again in verse 7, blameless, and notice, as a steward of God, a steward of God.
So in this, his reputation ought not be in doubt. First of all, because the church is public, and this is getting at that where blameless or beyond reproach, that the public reputation matters. And we're going to see how that matters.
But then also, as a steward, there's an idea here that what is entrusted to the elders in their leadership is something very precious to God. It belongs to Christ. He has bought his bride at the cost of his own blood.
How precious is the church to Christ? How precious are the people of God to God, his children? And so when he provides leaders for the church, they are safeguarding and overseeing and leading something very precious to God.
That's why the reputation of those leaders ought not be in doubt, because the church is public and because the church is precious. So let's dive into that a little bit more. The focus here is interesting.
We do have some instructions about what the elders actually do, but the emphasis here in Titus and also in 1 Timothy, the emphasis tends to be on the character of the men more than on their function. The function truly organically emerges from the character, and thus the attention is on the character.
And seeing how that character is tested and forged, then makes sense for how that is expressed in the life of the church. So let's think first of all about the reputation, that his reputation ought not be in doubt.
So twice we're told in verse 6 and verse 7, as we've said, this word blameless, that also can be translated as above reproach, meaning that their conduct is beyond any indictment or charge, any legitimate indictment or charge.
In general, leaders of a church will receive complaints and be complained about, but not for any legitimate reason is the point. So the elders of the church ought not be reasonably implicated in embezzlement, or being lewd or crude, or having a notorious temper, things like that, where there is a reputation that they have amongst the community that, hmm, yeah, that guy's an elder, that man is a leader in a local church.
You see that there must be a character of the leadership that is beyond reproach, that is not going to be publicly reprehensible. This is not emphasizing the public reputation to the detriment of what is private, because in the text we see that it's important how he lives at home, how he lives in his home.
That's also very important. But this is a very important point for Paul to stress to Titus on the island of Crete. In general, the Cretan man could be summed up on a billboard by the side of the highway.
He was like the Marlboro man. Everybody knows what a Marlboro man is, and everybody knew what a Cretan man was, and a Cretan man ought not to be an elder in a church. Now, a man from Crete who was in Christ could be an elder of a church on the island of Crete, but he ought not be a Cretan about it.
There ought to be a real public reputation that was different, that he shouldn't fit that profile of what everyone expected a Cretan man to be, some sort of islander, lazy drunk, who was always lying his way through life to get what he wanted.
But that ought not be true. And so, there needs to be a reputation that is beyond indictment, outside of any legitimate charge. His character ought to be blameless. And now, this is important that we be concerned for the reputation of the church.
A church should not be okay with their leaders exhibiting immorality or arrogance, that there should be a severe deficiency of godly character in their lives. This should not be okay, this should not be permissible.
If a man is an elder in a church, there shouldn't be a group of people making provision for him in patterns of sin. Well, he's been here a long time, or he's well-respected in other areas, or allowances made and then excuses made to cover for his conduct, that should never happen.
We shouldn't be okay with that. And what kind of message are we proclaiming to folks about a new birth and about deliverance from sin? What kind of message do we have about a holy God and a community of saints, if the leaders are renowned for major ungodliness?
If you turn the microscope on any of us, you're going to find all manner of flaws and be the first to admit that. However, we're talking about beyond reproach. And this applies really to the congregation as well.
Remember that the reason why Paul wanted Titus to appoint elders in each church was because this is the apostolic method to bring forth the apostolic mission, which is the preaching and discipleship according to the apostolic message, which is the gospel of Jesus Christ.
If you have ungodly leaders in the church, that's going to hamper discipleship, not going to be very effective. And it applies to the whole congregation as well. After all, in the model of those who make disciples, the disciple models and follows the example of the teacher.
And so it's no good to have a couple of men with a good reputation and put them in charge of a congregation of notorious ruffians, and they'd be the professional Christians on behalf of everybody else.
You know, kind of like the parish model of ministry, where you have a holy priest in the area, and he does all the holiness for everybody. And you just show up and tap into a little bit of spiritual vibe through the liturgy, and then off you go to be yourself, and I'll remain here being the holiness for you all week long.
That's not real church. That's not the apostolic method. That's not really progressing the kingdom of Christ. The kind of leader that God desires for the church actually reflects the kind of character he desires for the whole church.
Everything that Paul says about a qualified elder in Titus and 1 Timothy, he also says of the membership of the church in Hebrews 13. It's all to be consistent. Unsalty salt, Jesus says, and hidden lamps are pretty much useless and even worthy of ridicule.
The church must be above reproach. Now, because the church is public, we need to have elders whose reputations are not in doubt, not only because the church is public, but also because the church is precious.
The elder is described as an overseer, a steward, an episkopos. We get the idea of the episcopal from that, or the translation of bishop, but it simply means overseer. Now, this word speaks to somebody who maintains order for somebody else's household.
That's what it means to be a steward. It all belongs to this other person, but you're managing those affairs on his behalf. Joseph in the house of Potiphar, all of Egypt, Potiphar and then also the Pharaoh, so whatever household he was in, he was managing everything.
It didn't belong to him, but he was managing it on behalf of somebody else, and it was valuable stuff, precious stuff. The elders are to be stewards of God's household. Because the church is precious to God, it's his household, the elders need to have a reputation that is not doubtful.
Would you leave your children in the care of a babysitter with a horrendous reputation? Of course not. And the church is described as the bride of Christ. So would a father approve of his son's fiancee being influenced by a man who was known for his lack of character?
That doesn't work very well, does it? The church is far too precious to God to be entrusted to the leadership of infamous men. And so this description of above approach, I think, kind of governs all the other qualifications.
Now where is the character most consistently, thoroughly, accurately on display in the life of an elder? It's in his home, it's in his home, it's in how he treats his wife, and how he treats his children.
This is where the real test is. The home of the elder should be what should be happening in the church at large, the creational family and the new creational family. There's a connection that is made.
Notice that their relationships should not be damaged. Not only should their reputations not be in doubt, but also their relationships ought not be damaged. This is another qualifier that we're seeing.
Notice in verse 6, in verse 6, if a man is blameless, the husband of one wife will note that. Having faithful children, not accused of dissipation or insubordination. Also in verse 8, we have this note that an elder must be hospitable, hospitable.
And so the church needs elders who do not have damaged relationships, but proper relationships. Notice the man must be the husband of one wife. The Greek reads a one woman man, a one woman man. So it's not simply, well I never got divorced.
It's always more than that, it's a one woman man. Debates have raged about the meaning of this phrase, I think, for a long time all throughout church history, just how strict is it read. There wasn't a lot of concern about polygamy on the island of Crete, that wasn't normally the issue, just out and out polygamy, like it was in the days of Abraham and Jacob and David and Solomon.
Polygamy wasn't the main issue, though it certainly covers that issue. In the day that Paul wrote this to Titus, the Hellenistic, the Greek culture of the first century, there was a well-established double standard for men and women.
A woman was expected to be chaste, and promiscuous behavior drew the condemnation of adultery fairly quickly. But a man, on the other hand, in Hellenistic culture was rather expected to be free to pursue as many partners as he wanted in addition to his wife.
And a Cretan man would probably be known for that. So Paul is writing something very counter-cultural here, like no, a one woman man, just like it should be from Genesis chapter 1 and 2, a one woman man.
From the beginning, it was this way. When the Jews questioned Jesus about the raging debate about when can I divorce my wife and get another one, and they had option A and option B, Jesus said no to both.
No, you've got it completely wrong. And then he quotes to them Genesis 1 and Genesis 2 and says, this is the way that God designed.
It.
And so, just how strict is this? It's to be a one woman man who is beyond reproach. Not a flawless man who's never had any issues at all in the entirety of his life, but we're talking about a man who's a one woman man and he's beyond reproach, and everybody looks at him and respects him for the way he loves his wife and says, you're a faithful man.
Right?
Our missionary Mitch Tillman is a good example of this, who was lost and on his way to hell, addict, a meth addict, arrested, facing possible hard time in the federal pen. God saves him, turns his life around, ends up as a missionary to Mongolia.
Now, of course, his wife had divorced him, because he had abandoned her and the children. He's since reconciled with his children from that marriage, but then he went to Mongolia and he married there, Bolshima, and they married and they've been married very faithfully for decades.
And he's a one woman man in the grace of God, because God transformed his life and he preaches the gospel and he's a man beyond reproach. And here is a man who, by the grace of God, has been redeemed and he's very useful in the ministry.
It's like, well, but he had this thing, oh yeah, but that's not what this text is saying. My seminary was infamous for trying to be as strict and as conservative as they possibly could. So I had a friend at the church I was an intern at.
His wife had been married before. She got married very young and that man beat her and committed adultery against her and abandoned her. And my friend came to know her later on and wooed her and loved her in the grace of God and married her.
And then my seminary said he couldn't come to seminary because she had been married before inside of this text. Is that what that text is saying? So the point of it is, is this a man who is beyond reproach?
Is this a man who is faithful? Is this a man that others can look to and say, ah, there's a great example of how to love your wife in the home. It's not a matter of having the structure in place or as much as it is the character.
The character has to be in place, not all the specific ingredients that somebody thinks should be there. The concern about children, some translations say having children who believe, but that treats the word for belief as a preposition.
It's actually an adjective in the Greek, so faithful children. This doesn't mean that a man cannot be an elder unless all of his children are professing believers, professing baptized believers. You can't be an elder until all of your children are professing baptized believers.
That's not what I mean. Faithful children means the idea that they live trustworthy lives, reliable lives, consistent lives. The idea is that the elder is shepherding his children in a way that is consistent and showing them the way forward, that in his home there is a proper kind of order, one that is full of all those ingredients that should be present in the life of the church.
An elder has no control over whether or not his children come to faith in Christ, but he is responsible for how he disciplines and trains his children. Notice the description of faithful is qualified by this, that they are not accused of dissipation or rebellion, that there is a sense in which there is a loving, proper, truthful household going on.
If he allows his children to live recklessly, wastefully, or ruinously, or if he exasperates his children and chases them off, then he doesn't have the character to be an elder. In the instructions to elders and pastors to nourish the flock, to tend the lambs with all longsuffering, to rebuke and exhort and to teach, that should be tested in the home.
No elder has perfect children, but how he governs his home and how he leads in his home indicates how he is going to lead in the church. That's because the church is a family and a home. It's tested first in the creational family, and then we see it in the new creational family.
The man must also be hospitable. He must be hospitable. Remember, in the context in which this is being written, there's not, throughout the island of Crete, little white brick churches with steeples on the corner of Cretan streets.
They didn't have that infrastructure, but there was the gathering of the saints together.
In homes.
It wasn't until about the 200s that they actually had a house with a baptistry installed on the inside, the actual first Baptist church, which they think was Peter's home. But when the church gathered, we see them gathering, according to Acts, very often they would just gather in homes.
And what better place to gather than the elder's home? And sometimes you'll hear Paul writing to the church who meets in so-and-so's house. It would be the elder's house in general. And so in that, there is a natural connection of the bringing in and the welcoming of others into your home as an elder, so you have to be hospitable.
The term in the Greek is xenophilos, meaning the lover of strangers, to be just welcoming and to people from all different types. If you're a Jewish man who is an elder in a church, you have to be willing to welcome Gentiles.
If you're a cultured Hellenistic man who becomes an elder, you have to be willing to welcome barbarians. Are you hospitable in welcoming everybody into the gathering of your church services? What were the rebukes in Corinth that they were not being hospitable towards one another?
What was the caution in James that certain people of certain standing were more welcome than others? There was concern that this hospitality would be in place, whereas Paul was concerned in Galatians that they were not being straightforward concerning the gospel because they were not being welcome to everyone.
The church is a family in a home, so how the elder leads in the home matters. The most natural place for the church to meet is in the home of an elder, so if you come into an elder's home, and his children are living an obvious sin, or there is just broken relationships across the board between the elder and his children, and the elder and his wife, he's cold and rude to his wife and exasperating his wife and his children, there should be little confidence in his ability to lead in the church family.
Makes no sense. This is a good reminder that we're not a business, right? We're not looking for elders who would run a good board. One of the changes we made a couple of years ago out of our bylaws was that we got rid of all expressions of the elder board.
We said bye-bye to the elder board. We're an elder body, okay? And this church is not a business. This is the local expression of the body of Christ, family. And when young men desire the work of an overseer, the work of an elder, they desire a good thing, and the training ground and the proving ground is in the family, in their own home.
The church is to be hospitable, the elders are to be hospitable, because the church is to focus on the harvest. Hospitality has a lot to do with evangelism. One of the primary ways, I read a book a long time ago by Michael Green, Evangelism in the Early Church, but one of the ways that the gospel spread most rapidly in the life of the early church was through hospitality.
Families opening up their homes to other families, and over the course of a meal, spending time with others and sharing with them the grace of Jesus Christ. You know, we've not really advanced past that.
What a wonderful way to progress the harvest, to be evangelistic, is through hospitality. So the elders must lead out in this, warmly welcoming others with evangelistic aims, and this is something that should be seen in the life of the church.
So, when we're thinking about qualified leaders, we see that their reputation should not be in doubt.
Why?
Because the church is public and the church is precious. The relationship should not be damaged, because the church is a family in a home, so how a man is in his home is the real test of character to be an elder, and the church is to focus on the harvest, so we need to be hospitable, and our homes need to be those places that truly taste the grace of God, transformed lives.
All right, we'll leave it there, and we'll come back to the balance of verses six through nine at a future opportunity, but let's close by singing the doxology together. God, from whom all blessings flow, praise Him, all creatures, here be above His Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.