Unfinished Business

Well, this morning we are in the New Testament book of Titus, and we started this series two weeks ago.

In case you missed that, this is a letter written by the Apostle Paul to Titus,

and Titus was a trusted co-worker of Paul's in his gospel ministry to the Gentile world.

And Titus, at the time of this writing, is serving as an apostolic delegate right now on the island of Crete,

which is a large island just southeast of Greece in the Mediterranean Sea.

After introducing himself and naming Titus as his recipient, Paul now moves into his first words of instruction to Titus.

Let me read our passage for this morning for us from Titus chapter 1, starting in verse 5.

Titus 1 · chapter mention

The reason I left you in Crete was that you might put in order what was left unfinished

and appoint elders in every town as I directed you.

An elder must be blameless, faithful to his wife,

a man whose children believe and are not open to the charge of being wild and disobedient.

Since an overseer manages God's household, he must be blameless,

not overbearing, not quick-tempered, not given to drunkenness,

not violent, not pursuing dishonest gain.

Rather, he must be hospitable, one who loves what is good,

who is self-controlled, upright, holy, and disciplined.

He must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught

so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it.

So the first thing that we hear from Paul is a reminder of why he has left Titus there on the island of Crete.

Let's just notice a few things here.

Paul has left him there to put things in order, to set things right.

What things?

The things left unfinished.

The things that remain to be done.

The things that were lacking or incomplete.

It's sort of implied here that Paul himself, with Titus, has done some ministry on this island.

Remember that the time of this writing is thought to be after Paul's first imprisonment in Rome.

It's sort of implied that Paul and Titus went to Crete after he had been released,

and that as a result of preaching the gospel in various towns on the island,

new local churches were established.

Paul then leaves the island, and he leaves Titus behind to continue on with the churches

and see that these remaining things are completed.

Now, there were likely several things that Titus had been given to do to put in order what was left unfinished,

but here at the start of this letter, Paul mentions one main thing in particular.

Paul left Titus there so that he might appoint elders in every town.

This is one of the things that was lacking.

Church leadership will be needed in each of these newly established churches.

And let's not miss that Titus serves the whole region.

He's doing this work of appointing elders in more than one town.

In each town where the gospel has been received with faith,

and there's a local church growing,

he is to appoint elders.

Now, I know that we talked a fair bit about elders last fall in our series through Paul's first letter to Timothy,

but here we see again that establishing elders as leaders in the local church is of the utmost importance.

Think about this.

Paul is very soon to be executed,

and it won't be long before all of the apostles will die.

They'll be gone.

And so how will the churches be led in the years ahead?

How will the churches be governed?

Jesus wills it that elders shoulder that responsibility in each local church.

This is the leadership imperative that was given by Christ through Paul for the churches on Crete

and for the local churches everywhere.

And if we read carefully through the book of Acts,

we notice that Paul not only preached the gospel in every place that he could,

but he also circled back to those newly established churches again and again,

and he appointed elders in each church.

And it was elders, plural, in each church.

So this is one of the main tasks that Paul has left Titus on Crete to do.

Now what follows,

Paul gives Titus a list of qualifications that men must have in order to be elders in the church.

So leadership in the church is not open to just anyone.

Jesus wills that only a certain kind of man hold this role in the church.

And in summary, he must be a man of very good reputation.

He must be a man of godly character.

He must be managing his own family well.

And he must be holding firmly to the gospel and all the sound teaching that goes with it.

Paul gives about a dozen qualifications here.

Some are things that he must be.

Some are things that he must not be.

Some have to do with character.

Others center more on behavior.

Let's work through this list this morning.

An elder must be blameless.

Now in this context,

blameless does not mean perfectly flawless or a man who never sins.

Rather, it means that he's not known to be at present guilty of wrongdoing.

And that generally, he's a man of very good reputation.

A man to whom accusation or blame does not stick

because he has a long pattern of good conduct.

And it's well known by everyone.

An elder must be faithful to his wife.

Just as in Paul's letter to Timothy,

he must be a man who keeps his marriage vows,

keeps the marriage bed pure,

and is the faithful husband of one wife, one woman,

and not engaged in any sexually immoral behavior with other women.

An elder must be a man whose children believe

and are not open to the charge of being wild and disobedient.

Now this is a hotly debated qualification.

And much of the debate is over the word believe.

That same word can also be translated as faithful.

An elder must be the husband of one wife with faithful children

who are not accused of wildness or rebellion.

And in this case, it's not that they're full of faith,

but that they're trustworthy, dependable,

submissive, obedient.

And so there's kind of a divergence of opinions here

on what that means.

Some believe that the elder's children

must have a personal faith in Jesus.

Others believe that the children

must just generally be well-behaved,

faithful children, obedient and submissive

to parental authority.

And then there's the question of

what's meant by children?

Does this refer to just young children,

school-aged children?

Or does this refer to a man's children

even once they're grown

as they go through their lives?

So the questions here abound.

My take on this

is that Paul means faithful children

rather than believing children.

And that the following clause

further explains what he means

by faithful children.

They are children who are not accused

of wildness or rebellion.

Now this doesn't mean that an elder's children

never disobey their parents

or never do a foolish or reckless thing.

These descriptors, wild and rebellious,

are the same words that are used elsewhere

in the scriptures

to describe drunken partiers

and rebellious false teachers,

people who have a deep-seated rebellion

against church authority.

In other words,

a man is disqualified

if his son or daughter

is often defiant and disobedient

against his authority

or is engaged in a pattern

of regularly carousing,

drunkenness, drug use,

crime, immoral behavior, etc.

And my take on this

is that it doesn't apply

to grown adult children of a man

but only to those children

who live under his roof

and are therefore part of his household.

A man is not responsible

for the behavior of other men.

He's responsible for the behavior

of those in his own family

since he has given authority over them

by God as head of his household.

And this idea of a man

only being responsible

for the children in his household

is kind of assumed

in what Paul says next in verse 7.

He says,

since an overseer manages God's household,

he must be blameless.

So just like in his letter to Timothy,

Paul is saying

that a man's good management

of his own household

and those in it

is a requirement

for him to serve

as an overseer or manager

of God's household,

the church.

The two are connected.

He must,

I guess in his words to Timothy,

it was,

if he can't be managing

his own family well,

which is smaller,

how will he be able

to manage God's church?

Now in the local church,

we can't compel people to believe,

we can't force them to believe,

and so this is another reason

why I think it's faithful children

and not believing children,

but we do hold people accountable

for how they live,

for their conduct.

In the home,

discipline is required

to teach children to obey

and to do what's good and right.

And in the same way,

in the church,

discipline may be required

if people enter

who are rebellious,

deceitful,

divisive.

And we're going to hear

more about that next Sunday

in the next portion

of this letter.

But just to quickly recap,

an elder must be

blameless,

good reputation,

he must be faithful

to his wife,

he must be faithful

in his parenting,

in the home,

and the list goes on

in verse 7.

An elder must not be

overbearing.

This word means

to be self-willed,

stubborn,

and arrogant.

Now, if a person

is these things,

he is likely

an argumentative person,

quick to express

his opinions

about everything

and to try to convince

others that

his way of

seeing everything

is the only right way

to see things.

An elder must not be

like that.

He must not be

overbearing.

He must not be

quick-tempered.

There was a man

named Herodian

who was a Roman

civil servant

who lived in the

second century,

and he defined

this word well.

He said,

quick-tempered persons

lose no time

being angry

and do so

with those

they ought not

over things

they ought not

and far more

than they ought.

An elder must not

be a quick-tempered

or easily angered

person.

He must not be

given to drunkenness.

It speaks for itself.

He must not be

violent,

meaning a man

who is a bully

or given to

fighting

or brawling

or making threats.

He must not be

pursuing dishonest

gain.

And there's really

kind of two shades

of meaning

in this word.

The first is to be

greedy for money.

It's a person

who has an

immoderate desire

for wealth,

money,

possessions,

and often,

but not always,

often this love

of money

shows itself

in a willingness

to deal

dishonestly

to get it,

to cheat,

even to steal.

A church elder

must not be greedy

for money

or be pursuing

dishonest gain.

rather,

Paul now flips

to the positive

side,

rather he must

be hospitable.

He must be

a person

who's welcoming

and kind

to strangers

and outsiders

and who's

attuned

to the needs

of others.

An elder

must be one

who loves

what is good

as opposed

to what is

immoral

or foolish

or worthless.

And I think

it's interesting

that he uses

that word

loves

what is good.

Not just a person

who does

what is good,

but a person

who loves

what is good.

That it's in here,

in his heart.

An elder

must be

self-controlled.

What does it

mean to be

self-controlled?

The origins

of this word

point back

to this idea

of having

a sound

mind,

a purposeful

mind,

a mind

free from

illusion

or distortion

or deception,

a person

who makes

good decisions

and judgments.

And by the time

the New Testament

was written,

this word

came to mean

a person

who governs

himself well.

A person

who rules

over their

appetites

and their

emotions

and their

desires

instead of

a person

who's ruled

by their

appetites

and their

emotions

and their

desires.

The self-controlled

person

fulfills

their obligations

and their

responsibilities

and keeps

their promises

because they

are in

control of

their lives

I don't

mean in

the sense

that God

is in

control

of their

lives

but the

person who

lacks

self-control

they're the

person who

is spiraling

out of

control

the person

who's ruled

by their

emotions

they're as

dependable as

they are

feeling

that day

the person

who lacks

self-control

is often

derailed

by bodily

appetites

for food

drink

pleasures

they go

where their

feelings take

them

many times

in the service

of Christ

things must

be done

which are

immediately

unpleasant

which offer

no immediate

comfort

or reward

or fulfillment

an elder

must be one

who regularly

shows self-restraint

and who rules

his appetites

and leads

his emotions

an elder

must be

upright

says Paul

this word

means just

fair

not corrupt

not crooked

or deceitful

not someone

who plays

favorites

an elder

must be

holy

to be

holy

means to

be set

apart

it means

to be

different

from the

common

way

of the

world

it means

to be

specially

devoted

to God

a man

whose life

stands out

in our

world

because of

his faith

in Jesus

an elder

must be

disciplined

this word

is very

similar in

meaning to

self-controlled

but one of

the ways

this word

was used

was to

describe

what was

required

of an

athlete

preparing

to compete

in the

games

in order

to have

a chance

they would

have to

discipline

themselves

they would

have to

train

with purpose

and intention

they'd have

to do it

consistently

they'd have

to make

hard decisions

and even

sacrifices

they'd have

to rearrange

their lives

and their

priorities

around

their goal

they'd have

to rule

their appetites

and emotions

as we talked

about earlier

and they'd

have to do

this for more

than a week

they'd have

to do it

for a long

time

all this

to become

competitive

at the

games

to have

a shot

at winning

being an

elder is

demanding

and difficult

it requires

more than

just showing

up at 12

meetings a

year

and casting

a vote

and expressing

opinions

it's about

shepherding

the local

flock

the local

household

of God

well

it's something

you can't

do well

without living

a disciplined

life

it not only

requires self

control

but intentionality

it's about

more than just

responding to

things as they

come up

it's about

seeking the

Lord's

will in

his word

and then

purposefully

and intentionally

leading the

people in

that direction

an elder

must be

disciplined

and finally

an elder

must hold

firmly

to the

trustworthy

message

as it has

been taught

so that he

can encourage

others by

sound doctrine

and refute

those who

oppose it

so it's not

enough for a

man to be

good

kind

successful

in his

trade

he must

hold

firmly

to the

trustworthy

message

as it

has been

taught

there is

a body

of teaching

that comes

from God

himself

it came

through

Jesus

and then

through Jesus

through the

apostles

the ones

that he

chose

and sent

out

and as

the time

of the

apostles

draws to a

close here

Christ's

will is

that his

teaching

that

trustworthy

word

or message

would be

passed down

from generation

to generation

and who's

responsible

for this

in the

local

church

elders

an elder

himself

must hold

firmly to

the teaching

to the

gospel

to the

word of

God

so that

he can

encourage

others

by sound

doctrine

that word

encourage

could also

be translated

exhort

teaching

is in

view

so it's

not enough

for him

to just

believe it

he must

hold

firmly

to it

he must

cling

to it

if you're

a man

and you're

excelling

in all the

other

qualifications

but have

little desire

to know

God's

word

to read

it

to meditate

on it

to study

it

then you're

disqualified

from leadership

in the church

because

this is

the trustworthy

message

that has

been given

to us

by God

by Christ

and without

this faithful

word

we cannot

lead the

church

to be

and to

do

what Christ

wills

not only

that

but an

elder

must hold

firmly

to the

trustworthy

message

so that

he can

refute

those

who

oppose

it

elders

need to

know

God's

word

well

so that

they can

correct

and expose

false

teaching

those

who

would

lead

God's

people

astray

whether

intentionally

or

unintentionally

whether

they're

inside

the church

or whether

outside

the church

now how

does this

all apply

to us

today

well

for starters

we see

that it's

Christ's

will

for the

local

church

to be

led

by

qualified

elders

men

of good

reputation

and

godly

character

men

who

have

proven

themselves

at

home

with

their

families

and

who

are

holding

firmly

to

the

word

of

God

by

the

grace

of

God

this

is

a

reality

in

our

church

today

but

who

will

rise

up

to

help

shoulder

this

responsibility

in

our

church

in

the

future

this

is

critical

this

is

of

the

utmost

importance

for

us

the

Davidson

Community

Bible

Church

because

it's

elders

who

God

has

tasked

with

teaching

the

trustworthy

message

and

exposing

and

correcting

false

teachers

the

vitality

of

our

church

is

tied

up

in

this

so

this

is

why

we've

been

putting

such

an

emphasis

on

our

men's

ministry

lead

we

want

to

challenge

our

men

not

just

to

take

it

easy

and

coast

the

way

that

many

in

our

world

are

doing

but

to

follow

Christ

with

tenacity

and

devotion

the

future

of

our

church

its

testimony

in

this

community

its

vitality

depends

on

this

now

some

of

you

might

be

thinking

well

that's

good

to

know

for

elders

that's

what's

required

for

them

but

what

relevance

does

this

have

to

me

personally

maybe

you're

a

woman

or

a

young

person

or

just

not

interested

in

being

an

elder

or

you

look

at

this

list

and

you

think

I'm

disqualified

already

I'm

not

even

there

if

that's

you

this

morning

I

have

a

question

for

you

do

you

think

all

these

things

listed

are

things

that

Jesus

only

wants

to

see

in

the

lives

of

church

leaders

these

things

are

not

just

gatekeepers

to

the

office

of

elder

many

of

these

things

if

not

all

of

them

are

just

what

it

means

to

be

a

devout

follower

of

Jesus

a

mature

Christian

man

or

woman

the

picture

Paul

paints

for

us

here

is

something

for

all

of

us

to

aspire

to

whether

we're

interested

in

being

an

elder

or

not

we

could

look

at

all

kinds

of

passages

in

the

New

Testament

where

just

Christians

in

general

are

commanded

to

be

each

of

these

different

things

in

the

list

we're

commanded

to

live

lives

that

are

worthy

of

Christ

to

be

of

good

reputation

to

be

faithful

to

our

spouses

and

sexually

pure

to

manage

our

homes

well

to

teach

our

children

to

know

the

Lord

to

discipline

our

children

when

it's

needed

we're

commanded

all

of

us

as

Christians

to

be

self

controlled

it's

one

of

the

fruits

of

the

spirit

not

to

be

given

to

drunkenness

Ephesians

4

to

be

holy

1st

Peter

to

not

be

greedy

Jesus

commands

all

of

his

followers

to

do

and

to

be

almost

everything

in

this

list

he

talked

about

these

things

during

his

earthly

ministry

and

then

the

apostles

followed

up

and

talked

about

these

things

and

urged

the

Christians

to

be

and

do

these

things

in

their

letters

so we

should

not

think

well you

know

this

stuff

is

just

about

elders

it

has

nothing

to

do

with

me

no

this

is

the

example

this

is

the

kind

of

person

that

we

should

all

strive

to

be

forget

the

elder

part

for

a

minute

if

you're

a

follower

of

Jesus

and

one

or

more

of

these

things

is

not

true

of

you

Christ

is

calling

you

to

bring

that

area

of

your

life

or

that

attitude

or

that

behavior

before

him

and

repent

and

seek

his

grace

and

power

to

change

regardless

of your

gender

or your

aspirations

to be

in

leadership

which

of

these

characteristics

do

you

most

need

to

grow

in

let

me

encourage

you

to

make

that

a

matter

of

prayer

to

ask

the

Lord

about

that

thing

in

your

life

ask

him

how

to

remedy

that

how

to

grow

in

it

ask

him

to

strengthen

that

quality

in

your

life

and

share

that

quality

with

a

brother

or

sister

or

with

your

spouse

or

your

children

ask

them

to

pray

for

you

about

it

maybe

this

year

is

a

good

year

to

read

a

good

Christian

book

on

the

subject

or

listen

to

a

good

Christian

podcast

on

the

subject

one

that

will

help

you

hear

more

of

what

God's

word

has

to

say

about

that

area

in

your

life

one

that

will

give

you

practical

steps

and

tested

wisdom

about

how

you

can

grow

in

that

aspect

of

your

faith

because

these

things

are

what

it

means

to

be

a

faithful

disciple

of

Jesus

it

means

in

part

as

we

hear

in

the

great

commission

that

we

are

obedient

to

his

commands

and

these

are

the

things

that

he

has

commanded

of

all

his

people

to

live

this

way

there

are

two

final

things

that

I

want

to

remind

us

of

as

we

set

our

faces

towards

this

first

of

all

living

like

this

isn't

about

earning

a

right

standing

with

God

God

salvation

cannot

be

earned

no

amount

of

good

works

is

enough

and

we've

already

done

enough

wrong

to fall

short

of

his

standard

a

right

standing

with

God

and

membership

in

God's

household

comes

to

us

as

a

gift

through

Jesus

and

what

he

has

done

for

us

we

accept

this

gift

by

faith

by

repenting

and

believing

in

him

and

so

this

list

is

not

a

list

of

what

you

must

do

to

be

loved

by

God

as

we've

been

memorizing

together

with

the

kids

God

demonstrates

his

own

love

for us

in

this

while

we were

still

sinners

Christ

died

for us

so what

is this

list

this

list

here in

Titus

is what

we do

because

we believe

because

we belong

to Christ

this is the

kind of

life that

flows

out of

our

faith

in

him

it's

the

fruit

of

our

being

united

with

him

which

brings

us

to

the

second

thing

yes

we have

to be

intentional

to

live

like

this

to

grow

in

these

things

but

we're

not

left

alone

to

ourselves

to

live

like

this

or

to

become

more

like

this

Jesus

gives

us

his

Holy

Spirit

for

all

of

us

who

believe

and

who

belong

to

Christ

God's

own

spirit

comes

to

live

inside

of

us

he

works

in

us

he

produces

these

things

in

us

we

have

God's

help

to

live

like

this

every

day

and

so

what

do

we

need

to

do

each

day

we

need

to

look

to

Jesus

we

need

to

look

to

the

spirit

and

ask

for

his

help

ask

for

his

power

we

need

to

rely

on

it

daily

as

we

seek

to

live

in

obedience

to

him

and

the

wonderful

thing

about

this

is

that

with

God's

spirit

inside

of us

we

truly

can

change

we

can

become

more

and

more

like

this

list

that

we

see

in

Titus

wouldn't

it be

something

if

every

single

one

of

us

sought

with

all

of

our

hearts

to

be

and

to

live

like

this

mature

devout

men

and

women

of

God

men

and

women

of

character

disciplined

self

controlled

men

and

women

in

the

service

of

Christ

in

the

service

of

our

families

in

the