Friday, October 18 - Titus 1

Titus 1

New International Version (NIV)

1 Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ to further the faith of God’s elect and their knowledge of the truth that leads to godliness— ² in the hope of eternal life, which God, who does not lie, promised before the beginning of time, ³ and which now at his appointed season he has brought to light through the preaching entrusted to me by the command of God our Savior,

⁴ To Titus, my true son in our common faith:

Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior.

Appointing Elders Who Love What Is Good

⁵ 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. ⁶ 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. ⁷ 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. ⁸ Rather, he must be hospitable, one who loves what is good, who is self-controlled, upright, holy and disciplined. ⁹ 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.

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ELDERS
    Paul's use of the term "elders" in this section refers to the spiritual leader in a congregation -- specifically the pastor.   He directs Titus to appoint men in every town to fulfill this Office so that God's work is not "left unfinished."
   Paul then creates a laundry list of qualifications that Titus should look for as he seeks these men.  He tells Titus that the Lord wants men who stand above reproach, who are exemplary, and who have a shepherd's heart.   
   This list of qualifications is a little intimidating.  In fact, there is really no one who can truly fulfill all of these requirements.  No one is exempt from sin and can withstand the scrutiny of God's perfect judgement.  Nevertheless, in Christ, the pastor's sins (like those of every Christian) are covered over and he is given the blessing of the Lord's righteousness.  The unqualified becomes qualified because of Him who laid down His life.
   So Titus' charge is to seek men who are recognized by the community as standing out because of their love for the Lord, their knowledge of the Scriptures, their godly living, ethical conduct, and faithful family.  In short, rather than having just anyone apply for the job, Paul wanted Titus to seek those who were well-regarded as representatives of Him.  
   These guidelines serve as a blessing to the Church even today.   Those who are called by congregations to be pastors can't be perfect, but they can be well-respected as they honor God with their lives both professionally and personally.
   All pastors, like myself, are keenly aware of our unworthiness for this Office, but we pray that God will continue to make us competent through the gift of His Holy Spirit.
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Rebuking Those Who Fail to Do Good

¹⁰ For there are many rebellious people, full of meaningless talk and deception, especially those of the circumcision group. ¹¹ They must be silenced, because they are disrupting whole households by teaching things they ought not to teach—and that for the sake of dishonest gain. ¹² One of Crete’s own prophets has said it: “Cretans are always liars, evil brutes, lazy gluttons.”^{[c] 13} This saying is true. Therefore rebuke them sharply, so that they will be sound in the faith ¹⁴ and will pay no attention to Jewish myths or to the merely human commands of those who reject the truth. ¹⁵ To the pure, all things are pure, but to those who are corrupted and do not believe, nothing is pure. In fact, both their minds and consciences are corrupted. ¹⁶ They claim to know God, but by their actions they deny him. They are detestable, disobedient and unfit for doing anything good.