Titus 1:5-9 - Dustin Hawkins

As Nicholas mentioned, we're in the book of Titus,

the letter of Paul to Titus, and today's exposition

will be focused on verses 5 through 9, but I'd

like to start by reading from verse 1 all the

way through verse 9. I'd like to read this aloud

as you please follow along, and remember that

this is God's fully inspired and inerrant word.

Paul, a bondservant 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, in the hope of eternal life which

God, who cannot lie, promised long ages ago,

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.

To Titus. my true child in a common faith, grace

and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus

our Savior. 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,

namely, if any man is above reproach the husband

of one wife, having children who believe not

accused of dissipation or rebellion. 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,

but hospitable, loving what is good, sensible,

just, devout, self -controlled, 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. Let's pray. Gracious Heavenly

Father, as we come to your word yet again today,

we ask that you would give us understanding.

Your word is truth, and through it you instruct

us in righteousness and reveal how your church

is to be ordered and led. Help us to see clearly

what you require of those who shepherd your people.

Guard our hearts from pride and from worldly

definitions of leadership. Instead, Lord, please.

Shape us according to the wisdom of your word.

May Christ be honored as the true shepherd of

the church. And may your spirit, the author of

scripture, give us ears to hear and hearts ready

to obey. These things we ask in the name of Jesus

Christ. Amen. Please be seated. I literally took

a pink post -it note and a black sharpie and

stuck a note on the first page of my... sermon

notes that said something to the effect of no

tangents. It's important, I think, to handle

a larger swath of Scripture like this in an efficient

manner, and I know it doesn't seem all that big,

verses 5 through 9. You've got a mere five verses

there, but there is so much truth packed into

these verses, so much instruction, so much teaching

that we can absorb. that we need to do it in

an efficient manner. So I'm going to try and

have some self -control here today as God's steward

and get through the message in a timely fashion.

I did make the joke to Nick that I forgot my

phone this morning, and that's usually what I

use to tell time, so you guys may be at a disadvantage

when it comes to that. As we continue our study

of Paul's letter to Titus, we now arrive at a

foundational passage that is so important for

us to understand how the church should be ordered

and led. Now, in some ways, this is going to

sound a little bit like preaching to the choir

today because the particular type of biblical

church leadership that is described here in Paul's

letter to Titus. also happens to be the type

of church leadership that we prescribe to here

at Grace Fellowship Church. One might argue that

the reason for that is because we simply see

it as being biblical. In the previous verses,

and when we spent time there in verses 1 through

4, Paul's salutation, his greeting to Titus,

his true child in a common faith, Paul introduced

the purpose of his apostleship and reminded Titus,

that the gospel message was entrusted to him.

Paul, in his apostolic authority, has delegated

some of that to Titus as he ministers in Crete.

But now Paul turns to a very practical matter,

the organization and leadership of the churches

that have been established on the island of Crete.

These congregations were young. The gospel had

taken root. But the work of establishing healthy,

ordered churches was not yet complete. So Paul

left Titus on the island with a clear task, to

finish what had been started and to ensure the

churches were properly structured. This passage

explains why Titus remained there in Crete, and

it also explains what kind of men must lead Christ's

church. I want to get right into the meat of

the matter. So Paul first describes the purpose

of Titus' assignment, and then he lays out the

qualifications for elders who will lead these

congregations. So we'll begin first with just

that, the purpose. Why did Paul leave Titus in

Crete? The answer to that question is found in

verse 5. He says there, for this reason I left

you in Crete, and then notice what he says next.

that you would set in order what remains. You

know, we serve a God of order. Just as Paul writes

to the Corinthian church to order their worship

service in a particular way, in 1 Corinthians

1 Corinthians 14 · chapter mention

chapter 14 and verse 33, he writes, For God is

not a God of confusion, but of peace, as in all

the churches of... Now, most of you know that

passage in 1 Corinthians chapter 14. Most of

1 Corinthians 14 · chapter mention

you are very familiar with the book of 1 Corinthians,

and most of you know that it was very much intended

to correct bad behavior in the church. And in

that particular chapter, that whole section there

in the middle toward the end of 1 Corinthians,

Paul is dealing with the abuse of spiritual gifts

and the chaos that that had created in the churches

at Corinth. Namely, that they desired to use

those gifts, speaking in tongues and prophesying,

as a way to bring attention to themselves. Many

people in that church had fallen prey to a desire

to make much of themselves, and this was causing

chaos in the church. It led to disorder. But

order is a hallmark of Christian ministry, particularly

in the church. God has prescribed the manner

and the means by which his church should be ordered.

Paul goes on in verse 5 here in Titus to tell

how to attain and maintain order in the church,

and that is to be done through elders. Note what

he says, 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.

Building on this notion of orderly churches,

Paul tells Titus to appoint elders to lead the

various congregations that have been established

in those cities on the island of Crete. Elders,

how do you maintain order in the church? You

maintain order in the church through the ministry,

through the work of elders. Between Paul's command

here and what we find elsewhere in Scripture,

it's clear New Testament churches, early New

Testament churches, were led by elders. In fact,

they were led by multiple elders, multiple elders

within the same congregations. And that should

be the case for us today as well. The New Testament

consistently supports the notion of what we commonly

refer to as a plurality of elders. And of course,

elders are also called overseers, pastors, shepherds,

and so on. These folks are intended to lead local

churches rather than a singular leader. Rather

than having just one elder in a congregation,

it is clear from the Testament of Scripture that

there should be multiple elders. And you know,

if you're taking notes, you can write these references

down. It had kind of been my intention to look

at each one of them, but I think it would just

take up too much time to do so. But there are

several biblical passages that you can turn to,

lest you question what I'm saying right now about

the need for multiple elders or a plurality of

elders in the local church. In Acts chapter 14,

Acts 14:23

verse 23, Paul and Barnabas appointed elders

in every church. In Acts chapter 15, during the

Acts 15 · chapter mention

Council of Jerusalem and leading up to those

events, Acts chapter 15 in multiple places in

Acts 15 · chapter mention

verses 2, 4, and 6 and verses 22 and 23, there

is the mention of a plurality of elders at Jerusalem.

In Acts chapter 20, Paul calls for the elders

Acts 20 · chapter mention

of the church at Ephesus. Kyle just preached

through Acts chapter 20 not that long ago and

Acts 20 · chapter mention

went through that whole conversation that Paul

has with the elders as Paul leaves from Miletus.

In Philippians chapter 1, Paul greets the overseers

Philippians 1 · chapter mention

and deacons, plural, in Philippi. In 1 Timothy

5 .17, there is a reference to elders in the

plural form who rule and labor in preaching.

In James chapter 5 and verse 14, James, who was

James 5 · chapter mention

an elder in the Jerusalem church, James, the

half -brother of our Lord, tells sick believers

to call for the elders, plural, of the church.

In 1 Peter 5, Peter addresses the elders to shepherd

the flock. In 1 Thessalonians 5, verses 12 and

1 Thessalonians 5:12

13, it mentions that those who labor among you

and are over you in the Lord. This implies that

there was a group of them, those who labor among

you. There is significance to the notion, to

the idea of a plurality of elders, and there

are benefits. that come along with it. Just from

a practical standpoint, having a plurality of

elders allows for mutual accountability. It prevents

a single individual from having unchecked authority.

We hear much about fascism in our day, don't

we? That is kind of an en vogue word to use.

And fascism, while I don't believe we live in...

a state of fascism quite yet here in the United

States. Fascism is something that can work its

way into even the church. Authoritarian rule

can work its way into the church, and there have

been instances throughout the church age where

this has happened. And it happens even in churches

today, though it may not look like it. like it

did in the past. We may not have a supreme pontiff

or anything like that, but in the churches today,

this is still a danger that can occur in the

churches. But having a group of men who lead

the church, who are equally accountable, mutually

accountable to one another, prevents that one

singular and gifted person from attaining unchecked

authority. Another benefit of a plurality of

elders is shared responsibility. It allows for

shared oversight, protecting the church from

errors in judgment. Shared responsibility is

good not only for the elders themselves in that

it spreads the load across many shoulders, but

it's also good for the congregation. It allows

them to be more efficient and more effective

in dealing with the needs of the congregation.

It is a representative form of leadership, and

we see this in the Old Testament with the elders

of the Old Testament. But when you have multiple

elders who have the opportunity to fit into the

church and to be among the people of the church,

it gives the people a voice when those elders

meet together. How often have you had one of

the elders of this church call you and ask you,

how can we be praying for you? We'll be praying

for you tonight at our elders meeting. Is there

anything that we need to remember for you tonight

as we pray? Those are good things. Good things

for the elders themselves and good benefits for

the church. And of course, there is the focus

on pastoral care. This enables pastors to focus

on teaching and prayer while others help manage

church affairs. There is no question in our own

church, Kyle does the lion's share of the preaching

and we're grateful for that. Kyle's title actually

is Elder, Pastor for Preaching. It doesn't mean

that Kyle's function in the church is somehow

more important or more prominent, but it does

mean that that is the task which he has been

assigned. Though Nicholas doesn't really bear

a title, he is an elder of our church, and I

would argue that in many ways he is an administrative

pastor for our church. Then there's Josh and

I, and we just kind of float around. There is

some truth to that. But it does allow for a focus

on pastoral care. So there are benefits. This

is a significant thing for us to note, that there

is, in God's design for the church, meant to

be a plurality of elders. not just one singular

individual. I don't know if you're aware of it

or not, but many pastors who serve in churches

where they are the only pastor, maybe there's

a board of deacons, or there are men who have

the title elder, but they really don't serve

in the biblical function as an elder, oftentimes

those singular pastors struggle with burnout.

Oftentimes they leave congregations because they

just can't meet. all of the expectations that

are placed upon them. So what a blessing and

a benefit it is when elders come together as

a group of men to share the load. And it's good

for the church as well. So we understand the

purpose of elders to help order the church, but

also we must understand that elders should meet

certain qualifications. Now, this passage is...

one that is a little bit harder to preach because

there are things that are contained herein that

oftentimes I myself struggle with, and I know

many other men who serve as elders in their church

feel the same way. Verses 6 through 9 really

lay out the qualifications, and I would just

ask the question, how do we identify elders?

How do we identify elders? There's no doubt.

we are constantly looking for opportunities to

see men in our own church who might well serve

as elders. And I can tell you that Titus chapter

Titus 1 · chapter mention

1 and 1 Timothy chapter 3 are the two most prominent

1 Timothy 3 · chapter mention

passages on those qualifications. And we look

to those to try and understand who might best

serve our church at some point in the future

as an elder. So these questions are here, or

this question. is here answered. How do we identify

elders? Frankly, and this is going to seem very

basic, frankly, a biblically qualified elder

must be, I hope I don't get in trouble here,

must be a man. A biblically qualified elder must

be a man, a dude, a guy, a bro, right? I was

just trying to use some Gen Z language to be

contextual. This is something that we need to

do. We need to get it out of the way quickly.

But in every instance in the New Testament, when

discussing the leadership of the church, the

office of elder is reserved for men. Notice how

Paul says in verse 6, if you look there again,

Namely, if any man, if any man. Look back at

all the references that I gave you earlier if

you're making notes. Put a little question mark

there. Were there any ladies included in these

references?