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Leadership Matters – part 8
Titus 1:5-9 (9)
March 16, 2025

Hopefully by now everyone is aware of the study we are currently in.
We are talking about the requirements for leadership in the church.

• Paul has left his protégé and “true child in the faith” on the island of Crete.
• He left him there to “set in order what remains and appoint elders in every city”

I’ll give you the outline again on the screen like we did last Sunday night
Instead of going back through all of it since we are now several sermons into this.

I. The Purpose (5a)
II. The Directive (5b-9)
A. The Title
B. The Job
C. The Plurality
D. The Appointment
E. The Gender
F. The Reputation
1. In His Family
a. With His Wife
b. With His Kids
2. In His Church
a. His Maturity
b. His Ability

After examining that extra criteria from Timothy this morning,
TONIGHT we move back to Titus for the final point and that is
THE ELDER’S ABILITY.

(9) “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.”

The wording is obvious there in the middle of the verse.
“so that he will be able…”

In 1 Timothy Paul’s point is even more direct.
Paul lists it as a direct prerequisite.

1 Timothy 3:2 “An overseer, then, must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, temperate, prudent, respectable, hospitable, able to teach,”

It is the only ability-based criteria that is given.

That definitely speaks to the SINGULARITY of the job.

You may have in your mind what the job description of an elder is.
You may have in your mind what he should be doing with his time.
Certainly the world has expectations.

When I was a kid it seemed like there was this scale that was often used.

I would hear people talk about a man, perhaps a potential new pastor at the church and they would sort of rate him on a scale.

• To the far left would be PASTOR
• To the far right would be PREACHER

And they would talk about the man
As either more of a pastor or more of a preacher.

But that is NOT how the New Testament looks at the office.

The New Testament requires a man to pastor the flock
And he does that by preaching and teaching.

• He teaches them the word.
• He applies the word to their situations.
• He encourages them with the word.
• He corrects them with the word.
• He guides them with the word.

THAT IS HOW HE PASTORS OR SHEPHERDS

We saw that clearly from the apostles early in the book of Acts
Acts 6:1-4 “Now at this time while the disciples were increasing in number, a complaint arose on the part of the Hellenistic Jews against the native Hebrews, because their widows were being overlooked in the daily serving of food. So the twelve summoned the congregation of the disciples and said, “It is not desirable for us to neglect the word of God in order to serve tables. “Therefore, brethren, select from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may put in charge of this task. “But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.”

The apostles understood what it meant to shepherd the flock.
It was to pray or them and to minister the word to them.

You cannot be a faithful pastor if you are not a faithful preacher.
• There is no such thing as a faithful pastor who is not a faithful preacher.
• There is no such thing as a faithful elder who is not a faithful preacher.
• There is no such thing as a faithful overseer who is not a faithful preacher.

Those are NOT the opposite two ends of the scale.

When Scripture lays out the one trait
That the elder must be able to do well, that one trait is teaching.

Above all else, the elder, overseer, pastor
Must be one who is gifted and committed to faithfully and accurately
Preaching and teaching God’s word.

1 Timothy 5:17 “The elders who rule well are to be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who work hard at preaching and teaching.”

2 Timothy 4:1-2 “I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction.”

THIS IS THE CALLING.

SO LET’S EXAMINE
What Paul has to say to Titus about this one ability based requirement.

When you read verse 9 there are three actions that really jump out.

(9) “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.”

1. We see “holding fast”
2. We see “exhort”
3. We see “refute”

So when Titus goes forth to evaluate potential elders;
After examining their home life and their maturity,

Titus will then inquire about:
1. His Conviction
2. His Confrontation
3. His Correction

Let’s talk about that a little

1) HIS CONVICTION

“holding fast the faithful word which is in accordance with the teaching”

We certainly see in the end of the verse
• That he’s going to have to preach both to exhort the church and to refute critics.

The PREREQUISITE to being able to do either of these well
Stems from his own personal convictions regarding God’s Word.

What sort of convictions are we talking about?
What are the man’s convictions concerning God’s Word?

Obviously he must be convicted regarding: THE SUFFICIENCY OF SCRIPTURE

That is what is implied in the phrase “holding fast”

• He doesn’t abandon the Scripture
• He doesn’t omit the Scripture
• He doesn’t get discouraged if the Scripture operates slowly
• He holds fast to the Scripture no matter what.

When looking for men to lead the church,
We want men who have the ability to preach and teach
And who will never abandon the Scriptures as the sole curriculum.

We know the propensity of man today,
Especially in a pragmatic and results driven culture.

There have been many church growth books written in the past 20 years
• Most saw preaching as an obstacle to growth.
• Most preferred psychology, humor, cultural relevance, even prosperity

• Many today even prefer politics as the main focus.

That is not the type of men we want in leadership in the church.

THE CHURCH NEEDS TO HEAR FROM GOD.
The place where that happens is in the Bible.

The elder then must be a man who is committed
To rightly dividing the word of God for his people.

• He must be committed even when growth seems slow.
• He must be committed even when enthusiasm lessens.
• He must be committed even when people grow apathetic.

I’m often reminded of Jeremiah.
I’m not sure any prophet had it more difficult than Jeremiah.

Jeremiah 20:7-9 “O LORD, You have deceived me and I was deceived; You have overcome me and prevailed. I have become a laughingstock all day long; Everyone mocks me. For each time I speak, I cry aloud; I proclaim violence and destruction, Because for me the word of the LORD has resulted In reproach and derision all day long. But if I say, “I will not remember Him Or speak anymore in His name,” Then in my heart it becomes like a burning fire Shut up in my bones; And I am weary of holding it in, And I cannot endure it.”

For Jeremiah preaching God’s word did not produce any of the desired results of the modern church growth movement.
• Jeremiah preached and his people grew more wicked.
• Jeremiah preached and his people grew more apathetic.
• Jeremiah preached and the people hated him more for it.

He saw none of those positive results that we all hope for,
And the human temptation, (Jeremiah even expresses it,)
Would be to abandon God’s word in favor of something that works.

Jeremiah did not.
He had a burning conviction in his bones to cling to and hold to the words of God.

THAT IS A SHEPHERD.

To be in a leadership position in the church
You must be a man who will pull out the Bible
And teach it when everyone else was willing to ignore it.

HE MUST HOLD FAST.

Paul told Timothy
1 Timothy 4:13 “Until I come, give attention to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation and teaching.”

Read it, explain it, call men to conform their lives to it.
THEN REPEAT.

THE SHEPHERD ELDER MUST BELIEVE AND BE CONVINCED
That the only thing that can transform a man into the image of Christ
Is the Scripture.

• He would not dare turn to another tool.
• He would not dare neglect it in favor of trendy gimmicks or tactics.
• He believes that God’s word is living and active.
• He believes that God’s word is sharper than any two-edged sword.

He believes what Paul told Timothy:
2 Timothy 3:16-17 “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.”

And he sees no need to find another method.

He believes what Paul says to the Thessalonians:
• That it is God’s word “which also performs its work in you who believe.”

He believes what David declared:
Psalms 19:7-11 “The law of the LORD is perfect, restoring the soul; The testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple. The precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart; The commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes. The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever; The judgments of the LORD are true; they are righteous altogether. They are more desirable than gold, yes, than much fine gold; Sweeter also than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb. Moreover, by them Your servant is warned; In keeping them there is great reward.”

He is convicted regarding the sufficiency of Scripture.

He is also convicted regarding THE EFFECTIVENESS OF SCRIPTURE

Paul says that he will be “holding fast the faithful word”

He calls it “the faithful word”

Indicating his believe that God’s word never fails.

Isaiah 55:10-11 “For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven, And do not return there without watering the earth And making it bear and sprout, And furnishing seed to the sower and bread to the eater; So will My word be which goes forth from My mouth; It will not return to Me empty, Without accomplishing what I desire, And without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it.”

THAT IS THE ELDER’S CONVICTION.

While it is true that God’s word may at times appear to be slow in it’s accomplishment, it is also true that it never fails.

I THINK OF THE STORY OF ELIJAH,
When in frustration he ran to the mountain of God to complain to God about the pitiful state of Israel.

As Elijah stood on that mountain
• He first endured a strong wind that broke the mountain apart,
• Then an earthquake that shook the ground,
• Then a fire which blazed brightly,
• But none of those was the LORD.

Following those mighty displays of earth-shaking power
There was a gentle blowing, and that was the LORD.

What an illustration of God at work.

So much of the time, in our impatience,
• We want the mighty wind, or the earthquake, or the fire.
• We want God to do some mighty work that blows the doors off the place,
• But 2,000 years of Church history should teach us that this is now how God typically works.

God is more likely to be a gentle blowing.
Calm, steady, relentless – just like the preaching of His word.

It works, over time, and it works every time.
It never fails.

It is “the faithful word”

The elder must be a man with this conviction so that he will never abandon it even when results seem slow.

A man who will abandon the Scripture in favor of faster remedies
Is a man will heal the flock superficially
And leave them worse off than when they started.

We also find in regard to his conviction that he is convicted regarding THE MESSAGE OF SCRIPTURE

Paul says that when he olds fast to the word he does so
“in accordance with the teaching,”

WHICH IS TO SAY he holds to the accurate message of Scripture.

Not only does he cling to the word,
But he doesn’t manipulate or change the word to fit his longings.

THERE ARE MANY PREACHERS
• Who will stand in the pulpit with their Bibles
• And claim to preach the word of God
• But who malign the Scriptures until they are spewing nothing but heretical thoughts. (Joel Olsteen comes to mind)

THE TRUE ELDER
Is not only committed to the Bible, but the accurate exposition of it.

• He doesn’t stop preaching repentance just because the culture loves their sin.
• He doesn’t stop preaching Christ crucified just because the culture worships human goodness.
• He doesn’t stop preaching Biblical holiness just because the culture seeks to tolerate iniquity.

He is a man who holds fast on the cultural topics of the day.
• Things like feminism or homosexuality or abortion or sexual immorality.

He clings to the message of the apostles.

SO THE ELDER MUST BE A MAN OF CONVICTION.
• He is convicted that God’s word is what the people need.
• He is convicted that God’s word is all they need.
• He is convicted that God’s word will work.
• He is convicted that His job is to accurately declare what God’s word says.

As you examine men for a leadership position EXAMINE THAT.

Listen to him talk.

When he talks what comes out?
• It is out of the overflow the heart that the mouth speaks.
• If he is not filled with the word of God before you ordain him an elder don’t
expect him to be afterward.

It’s like what Charles Spurgeon said of John Bunyan
“Read anything of his, and you will see that it is almost like reading the Bible itself. Prick him anywhere—his blood is Bibline, the very essence of the Bible flows from him.”

Maybe the man won’t be quite a John Bunyan, but you get the idea.
He is a man who is a teacher of the word whether he has a pulpit or not.

That’s how you spot a potential leader.
You see his CONVICTION

2) HIS CONFRONTATION

“so that he will be able both to exhort in sound doctrine…”

Don’t let anyone fool you,
The role of a shepherd is a confrontational role.

I realize that in our day and age
To be considered “confrontational” is a negative thing.

And I would agree to an extent.
After all, we recently learned in verses 7 and 8
• That this man can’t be “self-willed” or “quick-tempered”.
• We saw that he must be “self-controlled”.
• So we obviously aren’t looking for a man who just likes to pick fights.

Even the end of Titus will give a sobering warning:
Titus 3:10 “Reject a factious man after a first and second warning,”

When we say that the role of a shepherd is a confrontational role
We are NOT SAYING that he must be a selfish, immature, factious type man.

But the role of a shepherd IS one that confronts.

Even the verse we just read in Titus says,
“Reject a factious man after a first and second warning”

Someone had to warn that factious man,
And then potentially someone must reject him.

In addition, Paul will tell Titus
Titus 1:10-11 “For there are many rebellious men, empty talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision, who must be silenced because they are upsetting whole families, teaching things they should not teach for the sake of sordid gain.”

And again:
Titus 2:15 “These things speak and exhort and reprove with all authority. Let no one disregard you.”

There is a confrontational job to be done.

To be more specific,
The role of the elder is to confront the old man
That he might be put to death
In order that the new man might become manifest.

IN SHORT,
• He confronts sin in his people.
• He takes the word and confronts the flesh.

Hosea 6:4-5 “What shall I do with you, O Ephraim? What shall I do with you, O Judah? For your loyalty is like a morning cloud And like the dew which goes away early. Therefore I have hewn them in pieces by the prophets; I have slain them by the words of My mouth; And the judgments on you are like the light that goes forth.”

God said that His people were disloyal and fickle and hypocritical.

What was God’s plan for confronting that and changing it?
He sent His prophets to confront.
• He says “I have hewn them in pieces by the prophets”.

Has that ever happened to you?
Has God’s word ever carved you up until you were willing to put away your sin?

Jeremaih 23:29 “Is not My word like fire?” declares the LORD, “and like a hammer which shatters a rock?”

There God presents His word like a hammer.

Has God ever taken His word and crushed your hardened heart with it?
Has He ever broken up the rocky soil of your heart with His mighty sledge?

THAT’S WHAT GOD’S WORD DOES.

The shepherd elder uses that sword; that hammer
To do the same in your life.

• He calls men to leave their sin and to follow Christ.
• He calls men to abandon their laziness and serve Christ.
• He calls men to forsake their comfort and obey Christ.

Listen to Paul as he preached to the Ephesians
Ephesians 4:17-24 “So this I say, and affirm together with the Lord, that you walk no longer just as the Gentiles also walk, in the futility of their mind, being darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their heart; and they, having become callous, have given themselves over to sensuality for the practice of every kind of impurity with greediness. But you did not learn Christ in this way, if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught in Him, just as truth is in Jesus, that, in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit, and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.”

He is confronting their former life of sin and calling them in sanctification
To put on the new man to the glory of Christ.

Colossians 1:28-29 “We proclaim Him, admonishing every man and teaching every man with all wisdom, so that we may present every man complete in Christ. For this purpose also I labor, striving according to His power, which mightily works within me.”

It is a confrontational role.

However, the word “confrontation” is NOT the word typically used.

Scripture prefers the word “exhort”

“so that he will be able both to exhort in sound doctrine…”

“exhort” is PARAKALEHO

It means “to call to one’s side for instruction or comfort or encouragement or confrontation or exhortation”

• When Jesus announced to the disciples that He was leaving He promised to send them “another Helper”. You and I know Him as the Holy Spirit.
• He would come and convict, guide, and glorify Christ.
• The word “Helper” was PARAKLETOS
• He would be the One to come beside you to encourage and help you.

THAT IS THE IDEA HERE.

The shepherd elder is an exhorter.
• He is a helper,
• He comes beside you to challenge you, to comfort you, to encourage you.

Though he strikes you with the sword of God’s word…
Though he smites you with the hammer of God’s word…
The goal is not destruction it is redemption.

He uses the word to destroy your flesh
That your soul might find freedom and sanctification.

And if he is going to accomplish this task,
Then he must have the ability to rightly wield the sword
And swing the hammer.

He has to be able to teach.

2 Timothy 4:1-2 “I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction.”

• A man that won’t do that cannot serve as an elder.
• A man who can’t do that cannot serve as an elder.

So we are looking for a man who holds to the word
And who is committed to using it
To drive you toward sanctification and Christ-likeness.

And again, don’t miss the word “able” there.
“so that he will be able…”

We’re looking for men who have the ability to rightly divide the Scriptures
• We are looking for men who have the ability to speak the truth in an understandable way.
• We are looking for men who have the ability to confront in love.

And not to say too much here,
But you should know that this is a TWO-PART ABILITY.

On one hand he must be a SPIRITUALLY GIFTED person.

We know that preaching and teaching are spiritual gifts.

Paul describes the practice of preaching in 1 Corinthians 2
1 Corinthians 2:9-13 “but just as it is written, “THINGS WHICH EYE HAS NOT SEEN AND EAR HAS NOT HEARD, AND which HAVE NOT ENTERED THE HEART OF MAN, ALL THAT GOD HAS PREPARED FOR THOSE WHO LOVE HIM.” For to us God revealed them through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God. For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so the thoughts of God no one knows except the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things freely given to us by God, which things we also speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words.”

THAT IS PREACHING.
It is to take transcendent truth which originates in the mind of God
And to bring it down into comprehension to the human mind.

• It is truth so amazing that no man would ever think of it.
• It is deep and complex and entirely spiritual.

The art of preaching is to take that heavenly reality
And make it clear to the fallen human mind.

That cannot be done except by the gifting of the Holy Spirit.
WE ARE LOOKING FOR GIFTED MEN.

That is why Paul told Timothy:
1 Timothy 4:14 “Do not neglect the spiritual gift within you, which was bestowed on you through prophetic utterance with the laying on of hands by the presbytery.”

• The presbytery did not give Timothy his gift of preaching,
• But they did recognize it.

That is what the church must do.
They recognize men who have been gifted to rightly divide God’s truth.

But it is not just about his giftedness, it is also about HIS WORK ETHIC.

In the very next verse, after acknowledging Timothy’s giftedness, Paul goes on to say:
1 Timothy 4:15 “Take pains with these things; be absorbed in them, so that your progress will be evident to all.”

Later in 2 Timothy
2 Timothy 2:15 “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth.”

You see the balance in Paul:
1 Corinthians 15:10 “But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me did not prove vain; but I labored even more than all of them, yet not I, but the grace of God with me.”

It was a mixture of giftedness and labor.
• Paul told the Colossians “I labor, striving according to His power” (Col. 1:29)
• Paul told Timothy to “do the work of an evangelist” (2 Tim. 4:5)

1 Thessalonians 5:12 “But we request of you, brethren, that you appreciate those who diligently labor among you, and have charge over you in the Lord and give you instruction,”

Preaching IS WORK.
Rightly dividing the truth IS WORK.
And a man must be willing to do the work.

I can show you the work.

Proverbs 2:1-5 “My son, if you will receive my words And treasure my commandments within you, Make your ear attentive to wisdom, Incline your heart to understanding; For if you cry for discernment, Lift your voice for understanding; If you seek her as silver And search for her as for hidden treasures; Then you will discern the fear of the LORD And discover the knowledge of God.”

“receive” – “treasure” – “make your ear attentive” – “incline your heart” – “cry for discernment” – “lift your voice” – “seek her as silver” – “search for her as for hidden treasures”

THAT IS THE WORK.
Take that text and wrestle with it, and dig for it and beg for it
Until God makes the unclear clear
So that you can present it to the people.

Otherwise how will the congregation benefit?

And you have seen this.
It’s why so many of you love John MacArthur or R.C. Sproul.
• It is because of their ability to take the deep truths and make them simple.
• That is the result of both their giftedness and their labor.

You are looking for the man who has both.

That is the man who can come beside you
And help you overcome sin.

1. We are looking for men with conviction regarding God’s word.
2. We are looking for men with the willingness and ability to confront and exhort.

His Conviction, His Confrontation
3) HIS CORRECTION

“and to refute those who contradict.”

THIS IS THE PROTECTOR ROLE.

The gospel has plenty of enemies.
• Those who fight it
• Those who deny it
• Those who distort it

2 Peter 2:1 “But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves.”

Jude 4 “For certain persons have crept in unnoticed, those who were long beforehand marked out for this condemnation, ungodly persons who turn the grace of our God into licentiousness and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.”

Galatians 2:4 “But it was because of the false brethren secretly brought in, who had sneaked in to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, in order to bring us into bondage.”

Somebody has to spot them.
That job falls to the elders.

The elder must know the word enough to spot the dangers
And be competent enough to show them to you.

That is actually what Paul will tell Titus next.

Titus 1:10-11 “For there are many rebellious men, empty talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision, who must be silenced because they are upsetting whole families, teaching things they should not teach for the sake of sordid gain.”

The shepherd elder must know the word
Because there are enemies who are attacking the flock
AND HE MUST SILENCE THEM.

1 Timothy 1:3-4 “As I urged you upon my departure for Macedonia, remain on at Ephesus so that you may instruct certain men not to teach strange doctrines, nor to pay attention to myths and endless genealogies, which give rise to mere speculation rather than furthering the administration of God which is by faith.”

Consider the church at Ephesus
They were overrun by men teaching strange doctrines.

Timothy had to identify them, expose them, correct them,
And then show the people why they were wrong.

2 Timothy 2:14-19 “Remind them of these things, and solemnly charge them in the presence of God not to wrangle about words, which is useless and leads to the ruin of the hearers. Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth. But avoid worldly and empty chatter, for it will lead to further ungodliness, and their talk will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus, men who have gone astray from the truth saying that the resurrection has already taken place, and they upset the faith of some. Nevertheless, the firm foundation of God stands, having this seal, “The Lord knows those who are His,” and, “Everyone who names the name of the Lord is to abstain from wickedness.”

Timothy was called to study God’s word faithfully
So as to be able to spot heretics like Hymenaeus and Philetus.

Paul exposed their heresy and noted that it spreads like “gangrene”.

SOMEONE HAS TO EXPOSE THAT.

We think even of Paul confronting Peter.

Galatians 2:14 “But when I saw that they were not straightforward about the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas in the presence of all, “If you, being a Jew, live like the Gentiles and not like the Jews, how is it that you compel the Gentiles to live like Jews?”

There is another compelling argument for a plurality of elders.
• Sometimes even elders need to confront elders.
• Sometimes even godly men get it wrong.

There must be other men, full of conviction, gifted,
And having labored in the word to protect the flock
Even from unintentional departures from truth.

Peter wasn’t looking to be a heretic.
But on that day the flesh got the better of him
And Paul had to protect the flock even from his co-shepherd.

When Paul spoke to the Ephesian elders he said:
Acts 20:28-31 “Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood. “I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves men will arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them. “Therefore be on the alert, remembering that night and day for a period of three years I did not cease to admonish each one with tears.”

Someone has to be on the alert.
• Someone has to be able to spot error, expose error, and explain it to the people.

I heard a great quote a few weeks ago.
“He who spares the wolf sacrifices the sheep.”

What a true statement!
The flock of God must be protected.

And the men appointed for the protection of the flock are the elders.

They are men who
• Bear witness to knowing how to love their wife.
• Bear witness to knowing how to raise kids.
• Bear witness to being mature and self-controlled.
• Demonstrate the ability and work ethic to rightly divide the word of God.

NOW AGAIN LET ME ADD THIS.

When we spoke of a man in his home
We acknowledged that a man might not appear immediately qualified.
• Maybe be we need more time,
• Maybe we just need to examine his circumstances more carefully.
• But we acknowledge that he may get there.

The same can be said of the immature man.
He may not be mature today,
• But through repentance and growth and sanctification
• We certainly hope he gets there and he may be qualified one day.

THE SAME can be said for the man lacking ability.

If you have a heart to shepherd God’s people
But you lack the bible knowledge or ability to accurately teach it,
What are you going to do?

STUDY! PRACTICE!

You say, “But what if I’m not gifted?”
Well how are we going to know if you never try to cultivate it or practice?

The ability to preach and teach comes like any other skill comes.
You study, you practice, you improve, you grow,
But you keep working until you do it well.

There was an older man at Crawford named Scott Dozier.
Almost every Sunday after the sermon he would say,
“I believe you’re getting better.”

WELL THAT’S THE GOAL!

People ask me how I learned to build furniture, we had lots of practice.
• People kept buying the junk we were building and eventually we got better.

The same is true for preaching and teaching.
Do the work, cultivate the gift, and be of use to the flock.

THE CHURCH NEEDS FAITHFUL SHEPHERDS.

download here

Leadership Matters – part 7
Titus 1:7-8 (1 Timothy 3:1-7)
March 16, 2025

As you know we are currently examining
The requirements for leadership in the church.

LEADERSHIP CERTAINLY MATTERS.
Throughout the Bible so much credit is given to leadership
For both the judgment and the blessing that falls on God’s people.

THE GOOD LEADERS lead their people to obedience and God’s blessing,
THE BAD LEADERS lead their people to sin and God’s judgment.

SELECTING THE RIGHT LEADERS IS ESSENTIAL.

FORTUNATELY God has given us the criteria to select those men.

He has told us to examine their FAMILY LIFE.
• Are they faithful to their wife?
• Have they raised faithful children?

And He has told us to examine their LIFE IN THE CHURCH;
• Namely their character or maturity

This is what we did last Sunday night
As we began looking at the maturity of a potential elder.

We studied verses 7-8
(7-8) “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,”

We noted that there were two major distinctions in those verses.
• Verse 7 speaks negatively of what an overseer must not be.
• Verse 8 speaks positively of what he must be.

And while we examined each word individually
It was the overall picture that gave us the greatest indicators.

Verse 7 actually outlines the maturity of a TODDLER.

(7) “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,”

• Someone who only thinks of themselves and what they want.
• Someone who throws a fit when they don’t get their way.
• Someone who needs a pacifier when they get told “not” (in this case a bottle)
• Someone who is prone to fight, kick, or bite when they get offended.
• Someone who needs a treat or a cookie to calm them down (sordid gain)

THAT IS A BABY.
They don’t belong in the pulpit, they belong in the nursery.

AND IT DOESN’T MATTER
• How successful a man has been financially.
• What positions of influence he has held in the world.
• How long he has been a member of the church.

If he is a baby you do not want him in a position of leadership.
He must first grow up.

And look, we believe that he can.
• We certainly believe in the process of sanctification.
• We certainly believe in repentance and revival.
• We certainly believe in spiritual growth.

But we do not put him in a position of leadership until he learns
To deny himself and take up his cross and follow Jesus.

HE MUST BE MATURE.

Well, what does maturity look like?

(8) “but hospitable, loving what is good, sensible, just, devout, self-controlled,”

• He is a man who loves the people of God
• He loves for them do what is good.
• He is sensible, you can talk to him.
• He is just, he won’t make decisions based on preference or coercion.
• He is a man who has self-control.

That is what you look for.

And as we pointed out last Sunday night,
Churches have found themselves in horrible predicaments when they overlook this requirement.

• Far too many churches have ordained pastors, deacons, or elders simply because they weren’t divorced,
• But failed to pay any real attention to their maturity and those churches paid for it greatly.

How many people can give testimonies or horror stories
Of watching a flock get absolutely run over by a brutal pastor
Or by a selfish deacon body or by a power hungry group of elders?

A man’s maturity must be examined just as thoroughly as you examine his faithfulness to his wife and the behavior of his kids.

We are looking for a man like Christ.
1 Peter 2:23 “and while being reviled, He did not revile in return; while suffering, He uttered no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously;”

We know that LEADERSHIP CAN BE BRUTAL.

We took a little trip through Numbers
We saw all the times that the congregation wanted to overthrow Moses.
• Time after time he was accused, slandered, ignored, blamed, etc.
• If Moses had been a brawler or a selfish fighter, he would have turned on those people quickly.
• But Moses was a mature man and instead of attacking the people he interceded for them.

If you’re going to put a man into a position of leadership
And make him susceptible to the complaints and blame of people
Then he had better be a mature man.

AND WE TALKED ABOUT THAT LAST SUNDAY NIGHT.

What I want to do THIS MORNING is to continue on this theme.

A couple of weeks ago we talked about the gender of an elder and
We looked at 1 Timothy 2 where Paul was more exhaustive in his coverage of the topic.

Well, regarding the maturity of an elder,
• We would not say Paul is more exhaustive in 1 Timothy,
• But we would note that he had more to say there
• And while we are on the subject we want to know what he said.

SO THIS MORNING,
As we continue to discuss the maturity of an elder I want you to…
TURN TO: 1 TIMOTHY 3:1-7

Paul will do two things for us.
1) He will EXPOUND on the elder’s maturity.
2) He will EXPAND the elder’s circle of evaluation.

Well let’s start with the first.

LET’S EXPOUND ON THE ELDER’S MATURITY

First I want to draw you attention to verse 1,
• Here Paul makes a point that is not mentioned in Titus,
• But I think it relates directly to the issue of maturity.

(1) “It is a trustworthy statement: if any man aspires to the office of overseer, it is a fine work he desires to do.”

You clearly have Paul here speaking of the office of overseer
And he speaks of it as a desired office.

He speaks of a man who “aspires to the office of overseer”.

Incidentally, even though “overseer” is used here in the singular
I think the verse again makes a strong case for the plurality of the office.

It would be strange for a man to aspire to the office
If there is only one person in the office.

• That would be more like what occurred under Moses when men tried to remove
him and take his position.
• Clearly Paul is not talking about a hostile takeover here, but rather a man in the
congregation who has aspirations of joining the work of an overseer.

And not only does Paul mention him aspiring to the job
But Paul also speaks of his desire to do it.

He says, “it is a fine work he desires to do.”

And please don’t miss that last part.

I realize that when working through these qualifications
They can seem daunting and even tiresome.

But for you men out here,
Please do not let the seriousness of the qualifications
Discourage you from the joy of the work.

“it is a fine work”

I can’t imagine a greater work in my life.
I absolutely love what God has allowed me to do.

Let me also just say quickly that it is a rewarded work.

For those who do the job well.

The New Testament calls for them to be honored and obeyed.
1 Timothy 5:17 “The elders who rule well are to be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who work hard at preaching and teaching.”

1 Thessalonians 5:12 “But we request of you, brethren, that you appreciate those who diligently labor among you, and have charge over you in the Lord and give you instruction,”

Hebrews 13:17 “Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they keep watch over your souls as those who will give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with grief, for this would be unprofitable for you.”

It is a work that comes with honor.
I have certainly felt that.

But it also comes with eternal reward.
1 Peter 5:4 “And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.”

So don’t miss the point that this is indeed “a fine work”
• This job is NOT punishment.
• This job is NOT without joy.
• This job is NOT without honor.
• This job is NOT without reward.

And, as we see here, not only is it ok to aspire to this work
Or to desire this work, but it may even be a prerequisite.

And that speaks to maturity.

I think of Paul’s letter to the Corinthians.

When you read it, one thing that continually jumps off the page to you
Is the lack of spiritual maturity in the church there.

More than once Paul calls them “infants” and rebukes them for their selfishness and petty divisions.

You also see in the letter Paul referencing
THE NECESSITY OF GROWING UP.

1 Corinthians 13:11 “When I was a child, I used to speak like a child, think like a child, reason like a child; when I became a man, I did away with childish things.”

Or even the strong admonition at the end of the letter.
1 Corinthians 16:13-14 “Be on the alert, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. Let all that you do be done in love.”

The idea Paul brings before the Corinthians is that
It’s time for their men to quit being boys. It’s time grow up and be mature.

• Get over yourself
• Grow up
• Take off the boy and put on the man

There comes a time when a young man
Must quit being immature and grow into manhood.
He must STOP needing protective leadership and must START offering it.

And part of that maturity is seen in a love for the flock.
He grows into a spiritually mature man who wants to care for the flock.
• He starts caring about their doctrine.
• He starts caring about the dangers they face.
• He starts caring about how they live.
• He longs to lead them and help them.

It is perfectly natural and a glorious thing for a young man
To grow into spiritual maturity and desire to lead the flock of God.

AND PAUL CALLS THAT OUT HERE.
Don’t miss that.

If you have a desire to be an overseer or shepherd or elder.
If you aspire to the office,
THAT IS A GOOD THING.

THERE ARE FAR TOO MANY MEN who are unwilling to take up the mantel and shoulder the responsibility.

Your desire to sacrifice yourself for the good of the flock
Is an indication of maturity
I want to make sure and point that out.

BUT THAT IS NOT ALL Paul has to say here in 1 Timothy about maturity.

There is another aspect that must be addressed.

Now, when we read verses 2-5
We get much of the same information that we covered in Titus.

(2-5) “An overseer, then, must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, temperate, prudent, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not addicted to wine or pugnacious, but gentle, peaceable, free from the love of money. He must be one who manages his own household well, keeping his children under control with all dignity (but if a man does not know how to manage his own household, how will he take care of the church of God?),”

You see a lot of the same stuff.
• “husband of one wife”
• “manages his own household well”

Even character requirements that we saw duplicated in Titus.
• “above reproach”
• “prudent” (that same word is translated “sensible” in Titus 1)
• “hospitable”
• “not addicted to wine”
• “not…pugnacious”
• “free from the love of money”

And the other words we see listed here that are not in Titus really don’t change anything.
• “temperate” – means sober or “one who abstains from alcohol”
• “respectable” –means “well-arranged” or “modest or proper”.
• “gentle” – is a word that means “seeming” or “suitable” or “fair”
• “peaceable” means “not contentious” or “free from fighting”

Though Paul may have used different words in Titus,
These are clearly synonyms of what we studied there.

He is a mature man.
He is not selfish.
He is not a fighter.
He doesn’t need a bottle.
He will be gentle and just and peaceable.

That’s really NOT NEW information, even if it differs slightly.

The expounded information comes in verse 6.
(6) “and not a new convert, so that he will not become conceited and fall into the condemnation incurred by the devi.”

PAUL DIDN’T MENTION THIS IN TITUS.
Perhaps the usage of the word “elder” in Titus instead of the word “overseer” like he used here sufficed to make Paul’s point there.

Either way, it is an important issue to discuss
As we look at the maturity of a potential elder – overseer – shepherd.
He cannot be “a new convert”

Clearly we are NOT talking necessarily about the MAN’S AGE here.
After all:
1 Timothy 4:12 “Let no one look down on your youthfulness, but rather in speech, conduct, love, faith and purity, show yourself an example of those who believe.”

• Timothy himself was considered youthful yet he was not disqualified.
• Though even there we point out that as a youth he would have to work twice as hard to demonstrate his maturity.

SPIRITUAL MATURITY IS THE KEY.

LET’S TALK MORE ABOUT SPIRITUAL MATURITY.

Ephesians 4:13-14 “until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ. As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming;”

There maturity is spoken of as Christ-like-ness.
• It speaks of no longer being gullible children who believe everything.
• It speaks of those who can discern truth from error.
• It speaks of those who are not prone to trickery and scheming.

We see something similar in Hebrews:
Hebrews 5:14 “But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil.”

The writer of Hebrews speaks of the mature
As those who are trained to discern.

And this is the primary reason why a “new convert”
Is prohibited from serving as an elder or overseer.

HE LACKS DISCERNMENT.

Now, it is NOT A SIN to be a new convert.
• Everyone starts there.

It is NOT A SIN for a new convert to lack discernment.
• Everyone starts there as well.

But until he develops that discernment he cannot be an elder,
And it doesn’t matter how old or gifted he may be.

AND THERE IS A REASON

Paul says, “so that he will not become conceited and fall into the condemnation incurred by the devil.”

WHAT IS THE THREAT?
CONCEIT

“conceited” translates TOOF-AH-O
And it literally means “to raise a smoke”

Metaphorically it speaks of one who is puffed up.
Or perhaps we might say he is “full of hot air”

He is more proud of himself than he ought to be.

The office of an elder or overseer is NOT an office that is earned or rewarded to someone who deserves it.

There is no reason to brag or think better of yourself for being in it.

THINK OF IT LIKE FATHERHOOD.
Fatherhood is a great thing.
• It is a noble position and a high calling,
• But being able to conceive a child hardly makes you special.
• The honor comes from fathering well, not being a father.

It is the same with being an elder or overseer.
But a new convert may have trouble discerning that.

Conceit is a real temptation, even for the spiritually mature.

Think of Uzziah.
• He was Isaiah’s hero king.

2 Chronicles 26:16 “But when he became strong, his heart was so proud that he acted corruptly, and he was unfaithful to the LORD his God, for he entered the temple of the LORD to burn incense on the altar of incense.”

Think of Hezekiah
• Who demonstrated faith during the Assyrian invasion, but still we read:

2 Chronicles 32:25 “But Hezekiah gave no return for the benefit he received, because his heart was proud; therefore wrath came on him and on Judah and Jerusalem.”

Pride and conceit are dangerous for any man at any age.
But for a new convert who lacks discernment it is especially dangerous.

It’s not that a new convert is less devout or less in love with Christ.
But it’s less likely that he has been humbled in his walk with Christ.

Think of all the humbling that Moses endured at the hands of a grumbling congregation.

In fact, in that incident where even Aaron and Miriam rose up against Moses we read:
Numbers 12:1-3 “Then Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Cushite woman whom he had married (for he had married a Cushite woman); and they said, “Has the LORD indeed spoken only through Moses? Has He not spoken through us as well?” And the LORD heard it. (Now the man Moses was very humble, more than any man who was on the face of the earth.)”

When Moses was a young man, a new convert
• We remember him boldly rising up and killing the Egyptian thinking everyone
would recognize him as the deliverer.
• But reproach and years of leadership had sort of taken the starch out of him.
• It humbled him and he quit being a fighter and became an intercessor.

A man must develop the discernment of humility.
• He must lose his dependance on his own strength.
• He must lose his confidence in his own ability.
• He must recognize that he can accomplish nothing.
• He must see he does not deserve the position he is in.

Because conceit leads to condemnation.
“so that he will not become conceited and fall into the condemnation incurred by the devil.”

Paul doesn’t mean that the devil will condemn him.
• Satan doesn’t have that right nor power.

No Paul means he fall into
The same type of condemnation that the devil fell in to.

TURN TO: EZEKIEL 28:11-19

That was Satan.
• Puffed up by his own high position and glory.
• It was more than he could take and he fell into sin and reproach.

Isaiah spoke of the conceit of Satan.
Isaiah 14:12-14 “How you have fallen from heaven, O star of the morning, son of the dawn! You have been cut down to the earth, You who have weakened the nations! “But you said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God, And I will sit on the mount of assembly In the recesses of the north. ‘I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.’”

All those “I will” statements from Satan.
It was pride and it led to rebellion.

And this is a real threat for any elder, but especially a new convert.

Listen to Paul warn the Ephesian elders.
Acts 20:29-30 “I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves men will arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them.”

THAT IS REAL.
It is men, who in their conceit, think too highly of themselves
And actually pull the church away after themselves.

The threat is too great and so a new convert is not qualified
Until he develops discernment and demonstrates true humility.

There is another thing we gain here in 1 Timothy
LET’S EXPAND HIS CIRCLE OF EVALUATION

Something else Paul doesn’t mention to Titus
That is mentioned here and vitally important.

(7) “And he must have a good reputation with those outside the church, so that he will not fall into reproach and the snare of the devil.”

1. We’ve discussed his reputation at home.
2. We’ve discussed his reputation at church.
3. Here we discuss his reputation outside the church.

Paul says that the elder “must have a good reputation”

NOW FIRST OF ALL, in just the simplest explanation
Every believer is called to have “a good reputation”

Philippians 2:14-15 “Do all things without grumbling or disputing; so that you will prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you appear as lights in the world,”

Colossians 4:5-6 “Conduct yourselves with wisdom toward outsiders, making the most of the opportunity. Let your speech always be with grace, as though seasoned with salt, so that you will know how you should respond to each person.”

AND YOU’LL REMEMBER
That is one of the main concerns in the book of Titus.

Remember that older women are supposed to teach the younger women to love their children and husbands:
Titus 2:5 “to be sensible, pure, workers at home, kind, being subject to their own husbands, so that the word of God will not be dishonored.”

Remember that young men are supposed be dignified:
Titus 2:8 “sound in speech which is beyond reproach, so that the opponent will be put to shame, having nothing bad to say about us.”

Remember that slaves are supposed to honor their masters:
Titus 2:10 “not pilfering, but showing all good faith so that they will adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in every respect.”

All believers are to strive for “a good reputation”,
How much more should that be the case for the overseer?

“reputation” translates MARTURIA
(where we get our word for “martyr”)

And it simply means a witness.

Here we learn that the world must be able to bear witness
To the moral integrity and character of the man.

• Certainly the world cannot bear witness to the accuracy of his doctrine.
• Certainly the world may even hate the gospel he proclaims.
• He may even be hated by those in the world.

That is NOT what “good reputation” means.

For in some ways if the world loves you and you have that kind of reputation that alone may disqualify you.

Perhaps it is better to understand it as RESPECT.

Here are a couple of passages that may aid in our understanding.

1 Corinthians 14:24-25 “But if all prophesy, and an unbeliever or an ungifted man enters, he is convicted by all, he is called to account by all; the secrets of his heart are disclosed; and so he will fall on his face and worship God, declaring that God is certainly among you.”

• Paul was speaking about the exercise of spiritual gifts in the church.
• And you have nonbeliever enter the church and he witnesses the expression of
the gift of prophecy or preaching.

“he will fall on his face and worship God, declaring that God is certainly among you.”

The point being that the world recognizes your devotion and genuineness even if they don’t agree with it.

I’m reminded of the atheist who enjoyed listening to Charles Spurgeon.

Someone asked him, “Do you believe what they guy is saying?”
The atheist replied, “No, but he does.”

Or consider after the church witnessed the death of Ananias and Sapphira for lying to the Holy Spirit:
Acts 5:13 “But none of the rest dared to associate with them; however, the people held them in high esteem.”

They didn’t want anything to do with them,
But there was no denying that they were real.

And this is the type of witness that must be provided
For the man who would be an elder in the church.

Even an unregenerate world
That may hate him and the message he preaches
Must be able to testify that he is different.

I think of:
1 Peter 4:1-5 “Therefore, since Christ has suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same purpose, because he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, so as to live the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for the lusts of men, but for the will of God. For the time already past is sufficient for you to have carried out the desire of the Gentiles, having pursued a course of sensuality, lusts, drunkenness, carousing, drinking parties and abominable idolatries. In all this, they are surprised that you do not run with them into the same excesses of dissipation, and they malign you; but they will give account to Him who is ready to judge the living and the dead.”

It is far better for a non-believer to mock or malign or belittle you for your refusal to join in their sin,

Than for the non-believer to be shocked when someone tells them you are a Christian.

The really key passage on this issue is:
Romans 2:17-24 “But if you bear the name “Jew” and rely upon the Law and boast in God, and know His will and approve the things that are essential, being instructed out of the Law, and are confident that you yourself are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness, a corrector of the foolish, a teacher of the immature, having in the Law the embodiment of knowledge and of the truth, you, therefore, who teach another, do you not teach yourself? You who preach that one shall not steal, do you steal? You who say that one should not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? You who boast in the Law, through your breaking the Law, do you dishonor God? For “THE NAME OF GOD IS BLASPHEMED AMONG THE GENTILES BECAUSE OF YOU,” just as it is written.”

There is the real problem.
• If the man doesn’t live consistently…
• If the man is a hypocrite…
• If the man lives a double life…

He will only bring reproach on the church and blasphemy upon God.

You must know who that man is in all of his dealings
And in all of his relationships.

We are not leaving anything up to chance.
The flock of God is too important to risk putting a phony in the ranks.

And Paul says that if you do ordain a phony
He might “fall into reproach and the snare of the devil.”

What is “the snare of the devil”?

2 Timothy 2:24-26 “The Lord’s bond-servant must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to all, able to teach, patient when wronged, with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition, if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will.”

There “the snare of the devil” speaks of
One who is “held captive by him to do his will.”

I should think this is easily understandable to us today.

How many of you follow politics at all?
• How many of you think some politicians are corrupt?
• How many think it is because they have either been bribed or compromised?

If you have a man in office
Who is compromised and being blackmailed by someone else
You’ve got a dangerous man in office.

That is a man who will destroy everyone around him
In order to save his own skin.

He may have been a rightly elected official,
But through his compromise he has now become a plant of the enemy.

And you must know that
Satan is constantly recruiting plants to infiltrate the church.

2 Peter 2:1 “But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves.”

Jude 4 “For certain persons have crept in unnoticed, those who were long beforehand marked out for this condemnation, ungodly persons who turn the grace of our God into licentiousness and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.”

“snare” in the Greek
Is a word that means “trap” it can even mean “noose”

In other words you’ve got a man in leadership
Who has Satan’s noose around his neck.
Satan has a gun in his back.

WHY?
Because he is leading a double-life and he fears being found out.

• How many people will he destroy to cover his lie?
• How many people will he run off to maintain his façade?
• He’ll blow a hole right through the middle of the church.

Just look at some of the fallout of well-known spiritual leaders
Who were exposed as leading double lives.
THAT DESTRUCTION IS GREAT.

Before you ordain a man into the office
You must make sure that he is not that type of man.

Make sure that the world agrees that
Like him or not, he is a man devoted to Christ.

The church cannot ordain a wolf and hope he’ll be kind to the sheep.

So again, the right leadership matters in the church.
It is greatly needed
We need to identify the men who are qualified to do it.

We need also to encourage the men to GET QUALIFIED to do it.
THEY ARE NEEDED.

• Men who will love the bride of Christ the way they love their wife.
• Men who will shepherd the children of God the way they shepherd their own children.
• Men who are spiritually mature and full of discernment and self-control.
• Men who are proven in true in every walk of life.

And we need those men to rise up and shepherd the flock of God.

download here

Leadership Matters – part 6
Titus 1:5-9 (7-8)
March 9, 2025

Tonight let’s continue looking at the qualifications for leadership.

I’ll refresh you with our outline on the screen here.

I. The Purpose (5a)
II. The Directive (5b-9)
A. The Title
B. The Job
C. The Plurality
D. The Appointment
E. The Gender
F. The Reputation
1. In His Family
a. With His Wife
b. With His Kids
2. In His Church

That is where we have come tonight.

And again, I want to just begin tonight by reminding that
We are not necessarily here looking to disqualify a man.

What we are seeking to do if find men who are obviously qualified.

The others we’re calling POTENTIALLY qualified after deeper examination
Or perhaps we should say EVENTUALLY qualified after proven changes.

Some men may need to live faithful to their wives for a few more years
• To put behind them past mistakes and prove that redemption and sanctification
has taken hold and they are now ready to shepherd the flock.

Some men may need to go shepherd their children a little while longer
• And invest their energy in that arena first,

Or perhaps the church needs to dig a little deeper
Into the circumstances of the man to determine eligibility.

But the list we have here is a list that shows us men who are ready today.
If you want to know what a qualified man looks like this is it.

As we examine men as potential elders in the church,
Having examined his family
WE NOW LOOK to how he carries himself in the church.

LET ME ALSO SAY, that it has been my personal observation
• That these criteria have generally taken a back seat over the years to the first two,
• And I think that is tragic.

WHAT I MEAN IS THIS,
That for years in the church all that people really seemed to evaluate
• Was whether or not a man had been divorced,
• And perhaps how his kids behaved.

But if he wasn’t divorced and his kids were pretty good kids,
No one really cared too much about the rest of the list.

And that is one of the main reasons why
Churches have been saddled with bad leadership in so many situations.

As I have visited with people about church structure
And have even discussed an elder led model,

I have had some tell me of “bad experiences” with elder led churches.

I’m sure that is true.
It was an elder board that dominated, ignored, and disregarded the flock
And it is no surprise that the flock suffered under such leadership.

It is perfectly understandable that someone in that scenario
Would cringe at the thought of an elder led model.

I CAN CERTAINLY WEIGH IN ON what it’s like being under a deacon board that was just as oppressive.
• I could pretty much tell you on a weekly basis what part of my sermon was going to get me ripped by the deacon body at Crawford,
• Eventually they told me to leave and not come back.

There are plenty of us who have our own personal PTSD
From having suffered under bad leadership.

And the reason for this is because
Churches have been notorious for placing ungodly men
In leadership positions so long as they had never been divorced.

THAT IS A TRAGEDY.

THE CRITERIA WE LOOK AT TONIGHT
Is every bit as IMPORTANT as the criteria we looked at this morning.

A man may be faithful in marriage and have obedient kids
And be totally unfit for the role of an elder.

IT’S NOT JUST HIS FAMILY WE LOOK AT, IT’S ALSO HIS ATTITUDE.

AND THAT IS WHAT WE WANT TO LOOK AT TONIGHT.

Paul starts in verse 7 with a perfect transition
Between an elders family and his attitude.

He says, “For the overseer must be above reproach as God’s steward…”

You of course notice that Paul has shifted
To one of the other titles for the leadership in God’s church.
• Those he referred to as “elders” in verse 5
• He now refers to with the title “overseer” in verse 7.

This is EPISKOPAS – and it refers to a manager.
It is one who comes to oversee what is going on.

No doubt Paul uses that title
Because he also refers to the man as “God’s steward”

“steward” is OIKONOMOS
It means “the manager of a household”

He is one of the men whom God is putting in charge of His household.
He is one of the men whom God is charging to oversee His people.

Well that makes sense why God is so concerned
With how he managed his own house up in verse 6,
Because in verse 7 he is about to tasked to manage God’s.

I love the term “steward” as a title for leaders in the church.

One of the most convicting passages I read is:
1 Peter 5:2 “shepherd the flock of God among you, exercising oversight not under compulsion, but voluntarily, according to the will of God; and not for sordid gain, but with eagerness;”

That phrase “flock of God” cuts me to the heart.
• It is the reminder that the church does not belong to me.
• It is the reminder that the church does not exist for me.
• This is God’s church.
• You are God’s people.

He created you, He redeemed you, He is sanctifying you,
He will come back for you.

In the meantime He appoints stewards
To watch over you, feed you, shepherd you, etc.

And those who are in leadership must never forget their place.

We have been entrusted with the flock of God
And it matters how they are cared for.

Just like you would be selective who you asked to take care of your dog or your cat or your chickens or your cows while you are on vacation,

So is God selective with who He selects to manage His flock until He returns.

AND CERTAINLY if you are going to select someone to take care of your dogs
• You are going to pick someone who actually likes dogs (or cats or chickens or cows).
• You don’t want someone who hates dogs and kicks dogs and ignores dogs on a daily basis.
• That would be a bad selection.

In the same way, when we start examining men as potential elders
It is important to select men who know how to deal with people.

• He needs to be someone who loves people.
• He needs to be someone who desires to minister to people.

1 Timothy 3:1 “It is a trustworthy statement: if any man aspires to the office of overseer, it is a fine work he desires to do.”

There must be a desire to care for the people of God.

Far too often men are selected simply because they want to preach.

Certainly preaching is a big part of it,
• You’ll see down in verse 9 that he has to be able to do that too,
• But there is far more to the job than just preaching.

Does he even love the people he is preaching to?

This job of elder is not merely theological, though that is important.
This job of elder is not merely administrative, though that is important.
This job of elder is to manage the flock of God.

I think the Ezekiel passage gives great insight there.

Ezekiel 34:4 “Those who are sickly you have not strengthened, the diseased you have not healed, the broken you have not bound up, the scattered you have not brought back, nor have you sought for the lost; but with force and with severity you have dominated them.”

We are NOT dealing with an abstract audience.
We are NOT dealing with a cyber flock.
The church is comprised of living, breathing, emotional, spirited people.

• Sometimes these people are diseased, or broken, or scattered, or lost.
• Sometimes they are angry, or disillusioned, or confused, or burdened, or deceived, or stubborn.

And the overseer must deal with these real living people
In the midst of their real messy and emotional lives.

The sheep don’t always “lay down in green pastures beside still waters”.
• Sometimes they wander off.
• Sometimes they butt back at you.
• Sometimes they are hard to catch; hard to doctor; hard to lead.

When selecting leadership in the church
We are directed to select men
Who are equipped with the right disposition to handle that.

I want to ILLUSTRATE this tonight before we get to the list.

I often tell people that if they think they want to be in a leadership position
To first read the book of Numbers,
Just so they will know what they are getting in to.

• It would not be a stretch if we were to say that apart from Jesus, Moses was the greatest leader who ever walked on the earth,
• But you should know what it was like for him.

TURN TO: NUMBERS 11:1-15

(READ 11:1-15)
• Incidentally, one of the solutions God gave to Moses was to appoint elders to help him with the leadership. (READ 11:16-17)

But they were certainly an unpleasant people to shepherd.

TURN TO: NUMBERS 12:1-2
• There it was Moses’ sister who grumbled against him because they didn’t like the wife he chose.
• It would be later in the chapter that God would make Miriam leprous for a time.

TURN TO: NUMBERS 13:27-28
• Remember when Moses sent out the spies?
• Remember the report? (VS 31-32)

That must have been a great day for Moses.
God gives a direction, you tell the people, and they vote not to obey.
Fun days as a leader.

TURN TO: NUMBERS 14:1-4
• It wasn’t Moses’ fault, but he took the blame
• And the people wanted to get a new leader and go back to Egypt.

But instead of growing angry, Moses interceded for them (VS 19)
That is leadership.

TURN TO: NUMBERS 16:1-3
• Those people resented Moses being in authority over the people.
• They were all God’s people and they resisted that someone would ascend to an authoritative position over them.

If you’ll remember God killed Korah and Dathan and Abiram
By opening the ground and swallowing them alive.

TURN TO: NUMBERS 16:41-50
• God killed Korah and the people blamed Moses and tried again to overthrow him.
• God was again angry and Moses again interceded for them.

It seems like someone was always angry at Moses
And someone was always trying to overthrow him.

AND THAT IS NOT TO MENTION
The sin of the people that certainly grieved Moses.

• Did he not have to intercede when they made the golden calf?

• What about Baal Peor where they intermarried with the Moabites and God sent a plague that killed 24,000?

• What about Meribah and Massah where Israel grumbled with no water and God came to loath the people there?

• What about when they grumbled again in the wilderness and God sent serpents to bite them from the sand and Moses had to make a serpent on a pole?

When you read the book of Numbers
You don’t walk away with a glorious view of leadership.
LEADERSHIP IS HARD

PEOPLE CAN BE stubborn, ungrateful, disobedient, rebellious, grumbling, and even mutinous.

THEY CAN attack you, blame you, accuse you, slander you, grumble about you, ignore you, etc.

IT IS REAL.

AND HERE IS THE QUESTION.
How is the man you are considering going to respond to such reproach?

• Is he a “turn the other cheek” kind of guy?
• Is he a “return their curse for a blessing” kind of guy?
• Or is he a fight back and beat you up kind of guy?

Is he going to pull a Moses and intercede for the people even when the sin they committed was against him?

• Or is he going to pull a Jonah and ask God to kill them anyway?

I might further set the stage by reading:
Philippians 2:1-11 “Therefore if there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and compassion, make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose. Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

We are certainly aware of how Christ cared for the flock.
• He was humble and humiliated.
• He was lowly and rejected.
• But He never stopped loving the flock.

Matthew 12:14-21 “But the Pharisees went out and conspired against Him, as to how they might destroy Him. But Jesus, aware of this, withdrew from there. Many followed Him, and He healed them all, and warned them not to tell who He was. This was to fulfill what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet: “BEHOLD, MY SERVANT WHOM I HAVE CHOSEN; MY BELOVED IN WHOM MY SOUL is WELL-PLEASED; I WILL PUT MY SPIRIT UPON HIM, AND HE SHALL PROCLAIM JUSTICE TO THE GENTILES. “HE WILL NOT QUARREL, NOR CRY OUT; NOR WILL ANYONE HEAR HIS VOICE IN THE STREETS. “A BATTERED REED HE WILL NOT BREAK OFF, AND A SMOLDERING WICK HE WILL NOT PUT OUT, UNTIL HE LEADS JUSTICE TO VICTORY. “AND IN HIS NAME THE GENTILES WILL HOPE.”

• Not a screamer.
• Not a bragger.
• Not a bully.

He was tender and calm and patient and compassionate.
• He bore reproach and scorn.
• He endured murmuring and complaint.
• He was patient with little faith and slow growth.

Psalms 103:8-14 “The LORD is compassionate and gracious, Slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness. He will not always strive with us, Nor will He keep His anger forever. He has not dealt with us according to our sins, Nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, So great is His lovingkindness toward those who fear Him. As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us. Just as a father has compassion on his children, So the LORD has compassion on those who fear Him. For He Himself knows our frame; He is mindful that we are but dust.”

That is how Christ shepherds His flock.
He is looking for men who will shepherd them the exact same way.

NOT ONLY THAT,
He is also looking for men who will set that kind of example for His flock.

Christ doesn’t only bid undershepherds
To walk with humility and patience with the flock.

Christ also expects sheep to be humble and patient with each other,
And they will learn how by watching the example of their elders.

That is why we see passages like this:
1 Timothy 4:12 “Let no one look down on your youthfulness, but rather in speech, conduct, love, faith and purity, show yourself an example of those who believe.”

1 Peter 5:3 “nor yet as lording it over those allotted to your charge, but proving to be examples to the flock.”

Titus 2:7 “in all things show yourself to be an example of good deeds, with purity in doctrine, dignified,”

See you want an overseer who will manage like Christ managed,
And who will set a Christ-like example for the sheep to follow.

If you don’t select this type of man the church is going to suffer.

He may not have been divorced
He may have obedient kids,
BUT HE NEEDS TO BE MORE THAN JUST THAT.

HIS ATTITUDE MATTERS TOO.

Now, with that as a backdrop
I think you’re going to understand this list much better.

There is a sense in which we need to examine each word individually
• To know what it means,

But I think even more so you need to see these words as a whole
• Because it paints for us quite a picture.

So we are discussing HIS REPUTATION IN THE CHURCH.
• And if you are keeping the outline then call this (a) and (b) under that heading.

I. The Purpose (5a)
II. The Directive (5b-9)
A. The Title
B. The Job
C. The Plurality
D. The Appointment
E. The Gender
F. The Reputation
1. In His Family
a. With His Wife
b. With His Kids
2. In His Church
a. His Maturity
b. His Ability

We are going to look at:
1. HIS MATURITY
2. HIS ABILITY

TONIGHT LET’S LOOK AT HIS MATURITY.
We’ll get to his ability next Sunday morning.

(7-8) “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,”

It is very easy to see the distinction between verse 7 and verse 8.
• Verse 7 speaks negatively of what things the man must not be.
• Verse 8 speaks positively of what he must be.

Let’s first look at what he must not be found in verse 7.

“not self-willed”

The Greek word there simply means “self-pleasing”.
• You are not looking for a man whose objective in life is only to please himself.

Peter used the word when talking about false prophets who seek to infiltrate the church.

2 Peter 2:10b-11 “Daring, self-willed, they do not tremble when they revile angelic majesties, whereas angels who are greater in might and power do not bring a reviling judgment against them before the Lord.”

It is a man who only cares about what he wants
And gives no concern to the will of anyone else.

That sort of dominating type leader is strictly forbidden.

“not quick-tempered”

That is ORGILOS in the Greek.
• It comes from the word ORGE which is the word for “wrath” (even God’s wrath)
• This compound word means “inclined to anger; passionate”.

That is to say that his temper is his “go-to”
When he doesn’t get his way or when he gets offended.

He is ready to fly off the handle.
He manipulates the flock with his temper.
(Incidentally, that might be why his kids are so well-behaved, they might just be terrified)

A Christian is commanded not to act like that.
Ephesians 4:31 “Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.”

Colossians 3:8 “But now you also, put them all aside: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and abusive speech from your mouth.”

If the sheep are not supposed to fly off the handle in anger
Then certainly the example setting shepherd must not either.

A man with a temper is not presently qualified to oversee God’s flock.

“not addicted to wine”

The Greek word simply indicates “one who always has wine by his side”.
• He lingers long at the bottle.

This would be his coping mechanism to a frustrating job.
It is hard to lead, it is frustrating to lead and the way he copes is by drinking.

Obviously you don’t want a man who buries his struggles in the bottle.
You want a man who is given to lay his burdens at the feet of God.

Ephesians 5:18 “And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit,”

“not pugnacious”

That Greek word simply means “a giver of blows”
• He’s a puncher.

Not only will get fly off the handle in his anger,
But he’s liable to punch you in the nose if you irritate him.

And perhaps it’s not a physical blow, perhaps it is a verbal one.
He might just destroy you with his words when you anger him.

Sheep don’t need a shepherd who delights in kicking them
Or whacking them with a stick when they frustrate him.

“not fond of sordid gain”

This speaks of a man who only stays with the sheep for one reason…to make money.
• He doesn’t care about the sheep.
• He may not even like the sheep.
• But the sheep provide a source of benefit or income that he does like so he stays there.

Micah 3:5 “Thus says the LORD concerning the prophets who lead my people astray; When they have something to bite with their teeth, They cry, “Peace,” But against him who puts nothing in their mouths They declare holy war.”

This is not the type of man you want as an elder.

NOW WE WENT THROUGH THOSE QUICKLY,
Not because they aren’t important individually,
But because I want you just to consider them as a whole for a moment.

Imagine a man like this in leadership.
Imagine if Moses had behaved like this.

The people rebelled and grumbled so:
Moses, thinking only of himself,
• Flew off the handle at them,
• Then to handle his frustration he went and got drunk,
• Then got violent and started beating the people.
• He would have left all-together but he craved the power of the position.

Was that Moses?
No.
• Moses was patient, interceding, enduring, caring.
• Moses was a shepherd, not a butcher.

But what do you call a person who throws a fit when they don’t get their way?
• What do you call a person who needs wine to pacify their anger?
• What do you call a person who kicks and hits when they are angry?
• What do you call a person who only calms down when you put something in
their mouth?

I know what we call that type of person…A BABY

They don’t belong in the pulpit, they belong in the nursery.

1 Corinthians 3:1-3 “And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual men, but as to men of flesh, as to infants in Christ. I gave you milk to drink, not solid food; for you were not yet able to receive it. Indeed, even now you are not yet able, for you are still fleshly. For since there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not fleshly, and are you not walking like mere men?”

Go sit in the nursery.
• All they think about are themselves.
• They scream when they don’t get their way.
• You have to shove a pacifier in their mouth to calm them down.
• They are prone to bight and punch and kick if they aren’t happy.

And unfortunately there are men in the church who are just like them.
They never grew up.

• They still can’t handle their emotions.
• They still can’t control their temper.

I don’t care if they’ve been divorced or not, don’t let them be a leader.

Churches have had plenty like that, and they destroy flocks.
A leader must be mature.
Not a baby.

WELL WHAT DOES MATURITY LOOK LIKE?
Well let’s examine verse 8

“but hospitable”

It is a word that means “love of guests”

1 Peter 4:9 “Be hospitable to one another without complaint.”

• He has to be a man who actually loves people.
• He has to like being around them.
• He has to like having them over.
• He has to like it when they stop by to visit.

It’s hard to shepherd when you don’t like being around sheep.

“loving what is good”

He is a lover of goodness or a promoter of virtue.
• He is concerned about his flock doing the right thing.
• He is concerned about setting the right example.

It’s not about winning, it’s about running the race the right way.
• He is not a pragmatist where the ends justify the means.
• He is a perfectionist where running properly matters.

He doesn’t just want the sheep to get fed and lay down and be quiet,
He wants them to be good and pleasant sheep.

He cares that they are pleasing to God.

“sensible”

It is a word that means “of a sound mind; and able to curb one’s impulses”

He may be a man who feels anger at the response of his people,
But his mind controls his emotions.

There may be a part of him that wants to fly off the handle,
But he is mature enough not to.

“just”

The word actually means “righteous”

Matthew 1:19 “And Joseph her husband, being a righteous man and not wanting to disgrace her, planned to send her away secretly.”

Mark 6:20 “for Herod was afraid of John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and he kept him safe. And when he heard him, he was very perplexed; but he used to enjoy listening to him.”

Luke 1:5-6 “In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zacharias, of the division of Abijah; and he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. They were both righteous in the sight of God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and requirements of the Lord.”

It is simply people who do the right thing.

Joseph was certainly confused and hurt
• When he thought Mary had betrayed him
• But even then he was going to do the right thing
• By her and send her away secretly.

It is what we saw in Moses over and over.
Taking the reproach of the people but doing the right thing by interceding.

“devout”

This is a word that means “undefiled by sin, free from wickedness, pure, holy, pious”

It was a word used to describe Jesus as the “Holy One”

OBVIOUSLY IT CANNOT BE a man who is without sin and totally holy,
(At least not beyond the imputed righteousness of Christ to his life.)

But it is a man who is committed
To being as holy and free from sin as he can be.

• He is not a man who settles at a certain level of wickedness.
• He is well-aware that he is an example to the flock
• And that he must be above reproach at all times.

He’s not a guy with skeletons in the closet.
He’s not a guy who leads a double life.

You don’t want a guy who is only holy when he’s at church,
But who is someone else when he’s in the world.

“self-controlled”

The Greek word means “strong, robust, having power over, mastering, controlling one’s self”

In short, he is a mature man.
He is not overrun by his emotions.

Now again, each word is important by itself.

We might note that to Timothy
Paul added the words “peaceable” and “gentle”

And certainly they fit this list easily.

But I think the idea here is more of
The general idea that all of these words portray together.

When you are looking for an elder to oversee the flock of God
You don’t want an immature baby
• Who needs to be pacified;
• Who will fight and kick and scream when he doesn’t get his way.

What you want is a mature man,
• Who has control over his emotions.
• A man who is more concerned about godliness than winning;
• A man who is more concerned about being holy than being honored by men.

If you don’t pick men like that,
You are asking for trouble in the leadership of the church.

So as you examine the congregation for men who could lead the flock.

Look at his family.
• Is he faithful to his wife?
• Are his kids faithful and obedient?

Now look at his attitude.
• Is he a mature man who can turn the other cheek?
• Is he a self-controlled man who will be a good example?

THAT IS THE TYPE OF MAN WE ARE LOOKING FOR.

AND AGAIN, IF A MAN DOES NOT FIT THAT BILL TODAY,

Then we are not going to ordain him right now,

But we do hold out that through repentance and sanctification and growth
That a man not qualified today might be qualified in time.

This is not a list to disqualify forever,
It is a list to show who is presently qualified.

We want men who will be faithful to the bride of Christ.
We want men who will rightly manage the household of God.
We want men who will patiently and selflessly lead the flock of God.

1 Peter 5:1-3 “Therefore, I exhort the elders among you, as your fellow elder and witness of the sufferings of Christ, and a partaker also of the glory that is to be revealed, shepherd the flock of God among you, exercising oversight not under compulsion, but voluntarily, according to the will of God; and not for sordid gain, but with eagerness; nor yet as lording it over those allotted to your charge, but proving to be examples to the flock.”

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Leadership Matters – part 5
Titus 1:5-9 (6)
March 9, 2025

I certainly want to thank Daniel for filling in last week.
• It is a blessing to have capable men like him who are willing to do the work to stand before you and rightly divide God’s word.

THIS MORNING we are going to return to our study of the book of Titus
And we return right in the middle of our segment on leadership.

We have said it many times, “Leadership Matters”

The Bible has so much to say regarding the negative effect that bad leaders can have on God’s people.

Jeremiah 10:21 “For the shepherds have become stupid And have not sought the LORD; Therefore they have not prospered, And all their flock is scattered.”

Ezekiel 34:5 “They were scattered for lack of a shepherd, and they became food for every beast of the field and were scattered.”

Hosea 4:6 “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I also will reject you from being My priest. Since you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children.”

Aside from the prophets and priests, how much of the pain and suffering of the Old Testament is the direct result of the leadership of BAD KINGS?
• Do we remember the effects of Solomon’s immorality and the influence of pagan worship he allowed into the nation?
• Do we remember the effects of his son Rehoboam’s arrogance and how the nation of Israel was split into two kingdoms?
• Do we remember the effects of Jeroboam, the northern kingdom’s first king, and his idolatrous decision to replace Jerusalem as the ordained worship site?
• Over and over in the kings we read, “he did not depart from the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat”
• It was Ahab who corrupted Israel with Baal worship.
• It was Ahaz who corrupted Judah with worship of Assyrian gods.
• We could lay the entire exile of Israel into Assyria and the exile of Judah into Babylon at the feet of their bad leadership.

And when we get into the New Testament it doesn’t get any better.

Matthew 9:36 “Seeing the people, He felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and dispirited like sheep without a shepherd.”

Ultimately Jesus exposed those bad leaders in Matthew 23

Matthew 23:1-4 “Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to His disciples, saying: “The scribes and the Pharisees have seated themselves in the chair of Moses; therefore all that they tell you, do and observe, but do not do according to their deeds; for they say things and do not do them. “They tie up heavy burdens and lay them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are unwilling to move them with so much as a finger.”

Matthew 23:15 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you travel around on sea and land to make one proselyte; and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves.”

Bad leaders bring condemnation and judgment on their people.

But the flipside is also true.
Good leaders bring blessing and salvation to their people.

Paul told Timothy:
1 Timothy 4:16 “Pay close attention to yourself and to your teaching; persevere in these things, for as you do this you will ensure salvation both for yourself and for those who hear you.”

• How blessed was the nation of Israel when they actually listened to the leadership of Moses?
• How much blessing did David bring to his people?
• We think of kings like Hezekiah or Josiah who brought about deliverance and revival by leading their people to walk by faith and obedience.
• We think of prophets like Haggai who led the people to rebuild the temple and to bring an end to the temporal judgments they were experiencing.

LEADERSHIP MATTERS.
It is an issue that every church and every church member
Should be intently concerned about.

AS WE HAVE SAID,
The world has all sorts of ideas regarding what makes a good leaders.

• Experience, education, charisma, culture, ingenuity, success, etc.

But fortunately for us,
Scripture outlines for us what to look for in a leader in the church.

God has not left it up to us to determine what we think is best,
God has laid out for us the specific qualifications
Of what to look for in the leadership of the church.

And we have been examining it.

#1 THE PURPOSE
Titus 1:5a

“For this reason I left you in Crete, that you would set in order what remains”

• Titus was to be a spiritual chiropractor for the church; a spiritual orthodontist.
• He was to help the congregations all over the island get in order.

#2 THE DIRECTIVE
Titus 1:5b-9

“appoint elders in every city as I directed you”

Titus was to set the church in order and then appoint leaders
To direct the flock from that point forward.

We discussed the office.
• The Title – elders, overseers, pastor/shepherd
• The Job– they set an example, oversee, and shepherd the flock
• The Plurality – the New Testament shows a model of plurality in leadership
• The Appointment –elders were identified by the church and appointed by Titus
• The Gender – that the office of elder is restricted to men

And then we began looking at:
THE REPUTATION

This is where we are learning how to identify these men.
• Paul gave Titus a list of qualities.
• If a man fit these qualities he is approved.
• This is how you spot who is ready.
• And they are based upon his reputation.

This is why we see the same phrase used twice:
“above reproach”

• (6) “if any man is above reproach…”
• (7) “for the overseer must be above reproach…”

The phrase indicated a man that could not be indicted.
• It is NOT a perfect or sinless man,
• It is a man who could be evaluated according to the qualifications
• And the congregation would have no grounds for accusing him of being unfit.

That is how these men are going to be evaluated.

And, as we said, in Titus Paul focuses on two main areas of examination.
• His Home
• His Church
• 1 Timothy adds a third…Those outside the church

We are currently looking AT HIS HOME LIFE.

We started this two Sunday nights ago, looking at His marriage.

(6) “If any man is above reproach, the husband of one wife…”

I don’t want to hash all back through all of that,
But I would say, if you missed that please go online and listen.
It is too important an issue for the church to rightly understand
And everyone needs to be aware of it.

What we are talking about here is a “one-woman man.”
• We are looking for a man who is not adulterous.
• We are opening his folder on sexual immorality.

Affairs, pornography, unbiblical divorce and remarriage, filthiness, perversion, etc.

As we examine the men of the congregation as potential leaders,
We are looking for the men who have a solid reputation
Of being faithful to their wife.

Now we also said, I still stand by it, I DO NOT believe this to be a “one offense and disqualified forever” issue.

Paul is not here giving a list of who is disqualified forever.
He is giving a list of how to spot who is presently qualified without debate

Certainly REDEMPTION plays a role in this,
• You would be hard pressed to find a man in any culture and in any age who
was not guilty of heart-adultery or lust even before redemption.

But also, even among the redeemed,
• It may be true that a man has made mistakes in his past, as we all have,
• But if he has shown a faithful track record of repentance, sanctification, and
faithfulness for many years since, I do not see a permanently disqualified
man.
• We are far more concerned with what a man is today, and perhaps what he
has been over the past decade than we are with what he was 20 or 30 years
ago.

The qualification given here shows us who is immediately qualified,
But other men, after some investigation, through the lens of redemption,
May also be considered.

But we look at his faithfulness to his wife
Because that is a wonderful indication
Of how faithful he will be to the bride of Christ.

If he is not faithful to his own wife, how can he be faithful to the church?

THAT IS THE POINT.
• Do you see men who are faithful to their wives?
• Do you see men who are one-woman men?
• Do you see men who are examples of self-sacrificing love?
• That is what we are looking for.

WELL, THAT IS WHERE WE’VE COME SO FAR.
I’m sorry for the lengthy introduction and catch up, but it is so important that we all get this. If you’ll all show up on Sunday night we won’t have to do all of this.

BUT LET’S MOVE FORWARD.
Still talking about his reputation in his family.

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

Now we look at the children he raised.

Just like it is important to look at how a man loves his wife,
It is equally important to see how he raises his children.

And let me just shoot straight here.
I find this to be the most difficult requirement to handle.

FOR ONE, sound commentators and authors and theologians are all over the place as to what this qualification actually means and how it should be applied.

You’ve got men like MacArthur
• Who say the man must have genuinely redeemed and believing children, who even when they are grown and out of the house do not engage in any kind of wild living for the rest of their lives.

Such a position certainly POSES QUESTIONS:
• Does there ever come a day when the father is no longer responsible for the decisions of his grown children?
• What if those grown children apostasize later in life? (John Piper)
• What if the father seemingly shepherds them well even in their rebellious state?

Such questions have led other commentators
To a little less direct of a response.

Men like Alexander Strauch
• Say that it is not redeeming belief that Paul is referencing, since no man can guarantee the salvation of his son since salvation is the work of God.

Of course this comes with its OWN SET OF PROBLEMS.
• If we are talking about unredeemed men, is there any certainty that they won’t become wild living?
• If they don’t have the Spirit of God how can you be sure that those children won’t fall into grievous and embarrassing sin?
• And if they do, what do you do with the elder then?

Or we could listen to men like Gene Getz
• Who says the issue is only the reproach that falls on the father as a result of the child’s living.
• He points out that if the child doesn’t live anywhere near the father, and his behavior is not in the public view then it has no negative effect on the ministry of the father.

HOWEVER,
• What is to keep the child from moving home?
• In a social media world, a child can become very public living miles away.

Beyond those scenarios.
• What do you do if a man has multiple children?
• What if 9 are faithful believers and 1 is a prodigal?
• Does 1 prodigal nullify the 9 faithful?
• What if it is split 5 and 5?
• Which 5 are the aberration?
• What if the man is saved after his children are grown?

In many ways these are unanswerable questions.
Namely because Paul does not address such situations or issues.

He does not elaborate.
He does not dive into various scenarios.

Paul gives us one, short, concise sentence by which to evaluate.
“if any man is above reproach…having children who believe, not accused of dissipation or rebellion.”

THAT IS IT.

AND I JUST POINT ALL OF THOSE OUT TO YOU TO AGAIN SAY,
No matter where you land on this issue there are going to be questions.

We live in a messy world with messy circumstances.

The church of Jesus Christ
• Is being built in a fallen world
• And it is being led by men who needed redemption.

There are always going to be sticky and confusing issues.

OUR OBJECTIVE THIS MORNING
• Is to do our best to navigate Paul’s command to Titus
• And to rightly apply it to our understanding of how we select men to lead the church.

So let’s start working on it.

LET’S START BY EXAMINING THE CRITERIA
What does it actually say?

Well, let’s start with the word “children”

TEKNON in the Greek which simply refers to “ones offspring”.
If you want to talk about “little children” you use the term TEKNION

So we assess that all children of all ages are in view here.
• And certainly that makes sense since Paul will in a moment mention sins like “dissipation and rebellion” which are not really toddler level sins.
• Those are more likely to occur in teenagers and grown children.

When considering a man for leadership we examine his children.
• We look at his young children in his home.
• We look at his teenage children in their freedom and adolescence.
• We look at his grown children even as they leave the house.

And the first criteria Paul mentions is that they “believe”
• “having children who believe”

Now, first of all, if we want to just do a word study,
• The word here is the same word used of genuine and faithful believers throughout the New Testament.

For example:
Matthew 25:21 “His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’”

• There it is twice used and clearly referencing true believers.

Acts 16:1 “Paul came also to Derbe and to Lystra. And a disciple was there, named Timothy, the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer, but his father was a Greek,”

• There it is used regarding Timothy and translated “believer”

Galatians 3:9 “So then those who are of faith are blessed with Abraham, the believer.”

But it is also a word that just speaks of “basic faithfulness”.
Luke 16:11 “Therefore if you have not been faithful in the use of unrighteous wealth, who will entrust the true riches to you?”

So it is a word that means “faithful” and it is perhaps
The best way to describe one who is a genuine Christian.

But is Paul here requiring genuine Christianity from every child raised by this man?
• MacArthur says “yes”
• Other faithful men say “no”

NOW, we certainly would NOT absolve a man of a responsibility to lead his children to the Lord.

Ephesians 6:4 “Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.”

• We certainly do not teach that a father has no duty or responsibility there.
• We certainly do not encourage a passive “let go and let God” approach.
• There is a sense in which we certainly hold a father responsible for the faith of his children.

And even as it relates to shepherding God’s people we think of passages like the one we already quoted:
1 Timothy 4:16 “Pay close attention to yourself and to your teaching; persevere in these things, for as you do this you will ensure salvation both for yourself and for those who hear you.”

Or even what the writer of Hebrews taught:
Hebrews 13:7 “Remember those who led you, who spoke the word of God to you; and considering the result of their conduct, imitate their faith.”

We certainly see that
In the same way as a shepherd is responsible for the souls of his flock
So also is a father responsible for the souls of his children.

However, we would also quickly point out that
No shepherd or father can guarantee the salvation of his flock or his kids.
• We know salvation to be a work of God, not a work of man.
• We know that salvation is something God works in the heart of that child, it is a personal thing.

SO IT WOULD SEEM IMPOSSIBLE
To hold a man totally responsible for the saving faith of his child.

After all, do we not see God lament
In the Old Testament at the waywardness of His children?

Isaiah 30:1 “Woe to the rebellious children,” declares the LORD, “Who execute a plan, but not Mine, And make an alliance, but not of My Spirit, In order to add sin to sin;”

Isaiah 30:9-11 “For this is a rebellious people, false sons, Sons who refuse to listen To the instruction of the LORD; Who say to the seers, “You must not see visions”; And to the prophets, “You must not prophesy to us what is right, Speak to us pleasant words, Prophesy illusions. “Get out of the way, turn aside from the path, Let us hear no more about the Holy One of Israel.”

Malachi 1:6 “‘A son honors his father, and a servant his master. Then if I am a father, where is My honor? And if I am a master, where is My respect?’ says the LORD of hosts to you, O priests who despise My name. But you say, ‘How have we despised Your name?’”

That is the continual problem of Israel that
Despite the perfect spiritual leadership of God, they refused to believe.

We are certainly aware of Judas, who was one of the 12, but we do not hold Christ responsible for his apostasy.

It would seem then that the point of the qualification here is that
These children be orderly and faithful to a right standard of living.

I think this walks in step with the qualifications Paul gave to Timothy.

1 Timothy 3:4-5 “He must be one who manages his own household well, keeping his children under control with all dignity (but if a man does not know how to manage his own household, how will he take care of the church of God?),”

Paul doesn’t mention salvation there,
Only that the father did a good job of managing his household.

The idea there is that he keeps them under control with dignity.

With that in mind I think it best to understand Paul’s criteria here is that
WE ARE LOOKING FOR A MAN WHO RAISES DIGNIFIED CHILDREN.

They know how to live.

This fits with what we’re expecting from an elder in the church.

A shepherd, elder, overseer may not be able to
Guarantee salvation in every person in his church,
BUT HE CAN CONTROL THE BEHAVIOR OF EVERY MEMBER.

If they live wild he is called to discipline them,
And then even potentially remove them from the flock.

We are talking about a man who knows how to oversee;
He knows how to control his flock with dignity.

When Paul wrote to Timothy in his letter he said:
1 Timothy 3:14-15 “I am writing these things to you, hoping to come to you before long; but in case I am delayed, I write so that you will know how one ought to conduct himself in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and support of the truth.”

There it is again,
• Can he control the flock?
• Can he manage the conduct of his people?

And the way you are going to analyze that is whether or not
He has been able to manage the conduct of his children.

SO THAT IS FIRST.
He must have faithful, orderly, well-managed, dignified children.

And that is really what the CONTEXT INDICATES.
Paul expounds on what he means by “having children who believe”

And THEN says, “not accused of dissipation or rebellion”

• If he was talking about genuine redemption he would have said something more like, “having children who believe, filled with the Holy Spirit”.

It is their faithful, dignified character in view.

Specifically that they are “not accused of dissipation”

“dissipation” is equivalent to being a prodigal.

Ephesians 5:18 “And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit,”

1 Peter 4:3-4 “For the time already past is sufficient for you to have carried out the desire of the Gentiles, having pursued a course of sensuality, lusts, drunkenness, carousing, drinking parties and abominable idolatries. In all this, they are surprised that you do not run with them into the same excesses of dissipation, and they malign you;”

You understand “dissipation” there.

Paul says a qualified elder needs to have children who are not accused or charged as free-living, prodigal, drunks.

The other word used is the word “rebellion”
It comes from a word that means “not made subject; disobedient”

1 Timothy 1:9 “realizing the fact that law is not made for a righteous person, but for those who are lawless and rebellious…”

We see it later in Titus:
Titus 1:10 “For there are many rebellious men, empty talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision,”

It just refers to a person who does not submit their life in the areas where God calls for submission.
• They don’t obey parents
• They don’t submit to governing authorities
• They don’t submit to church leadership
• They ultimately don’t submit to God or His word.

These are just wild-living, unsubmissive, disrespectful, prodigal people.
And when we are looking for elders
We are looking at his kids to see if that is how his kids behave.

If they don’t, then this man is what you are looking for.

The qualification reads like an easy or obvious evaluation.

“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.”

It is a quick evaluation.
• Does he love his wife properly?
• Has he raised his kids properly?

Can you find any red flags here?
• If not, then this is the type of man you are looking for.

NOW FIRST, LET’S ASK WHY?
Why do you want a man who manages his household well?

Namely because of the similarities of fathering and shepherding.

Many times in the New Testament ministry is compared to parenting.
• Paul even called Titus “my true child in the faith” up in verse 4.

When Paul wrote to the Galatians:
Galatians 4:19 “My children, with whom I am again in labor until Christ is formed in you”

He wrote to the Corinthians:
1 Corinthians 4:14-16 “I do not write these things to shame you, but to admonish you as my beloved children. For if you were to have countless tutors in Christ, yet you would not have many fathers, for in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel. Therefore I exhort you, be imitators of me.”

2 Corinthians 12:13-14 “For in what respect were you treated as inferior to the rest of the churches, except that I myself did not become a burden to you? Forgive me this wrong! Here for this third time I am ready to come to you, and I will not be a burden to you; for I do not seek what is yours, but you; for children are not responsible to save up for their parents, but parents for their children.”

John wrote to his congregation as his children:
3 John 4 “I have no greater joy than this, to hear of my children walking in the truth.”

And to the Thessalonians Paul even compared his ministry to that of parenting.
1 Thessalonians 2:3-8 “For our exhortation does not come from error or impurity or by way of deceit; but just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not as pleasing men, but God who examines our hearts. For we never came with flattering speech, as you know, nor with a pretext for greed—God is witness— nor did we seek glory from men, either from you or from others, even though as apostles of Christ we might have asserted our authority. But we proved to be gentle among you, as a nursing mother tenderly cares for her own children. Having so fond an affection for you, we were well-pleased to impart to you not only the gospel of God but also our own lives, because you had become very dear to us.”

• There he was gentle like a mother.

1 Thessalonains 2:9-11 “For you recall, brethren, our labor and hardship, how working night and day so as not to be a burden to any of you, we proclaimed to you the gospel of God. You are witnesses, and so is God, how devoutly and uprightly and blamelessly we behaved toward you believers; just as you know how we were exhorting and encouraging and imploring each one of you as a father would his own children,”

• There he exhorted and encouraged and implored like a father.

The role of a shepherd is very much like the role of a father.
If the man didn’t father well
You have no reason to expect he will shepherd well.

So we look at his kids and determine what kind of shepherd he will be.
• Are they orderly, dignified, well-behaved children?

NOW – WHAT IF THEY AREN’T?

• We already established that at times even God’s children are ill-behaved.
• We already pondered what if it’s not all of his children, only some.
• We already pondered that he may have done it right, but the world simply
corrupted his kids.

I get that this is a sticky issue.

So let’s get back to THE HEART OF THE QUALIFICATION.

Paul says that when we examine a man’s married life
And how he raised his kids we are doing so for one main reason.

It is to determine whether or not that man is “above reproach”

THAT IS THE ISSUE.
IS HE ABOVE ACCUSATION OR CONDEMNATION?

And let me just give you some things to think about
Before you ordain a man whose children are out of control.

Well for one, there is a REPUTATION issue at stake.

We’ve all heard the phrase, “Those who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones.”

Sometimes an elder has to do some confronting.
• Grown prodigal rebellious children will undermine him at every turn.

One of the issues we consider is that
The congregation needs to trust the counsel of it’s leaders.
Wayward children will undermine the man’s credibility.

The presence of wild children can make shepherding very difficult.

Another reason is the ABILITY issue.

We said that parenting and shepherding are very similar in their job description.
• If he hasn’t done it well with his children, we should not expect that he will start doing it once he is ordained as an elder.

Remember the admonition to Timothy?
1 Timothy 3:4-5 “He must be one who manages his own household well, keeping his children under control with all dignity (but if a man does not know how to manage his own household, how will he take care of the church of God?)”

That is a real issue that must be considered.

And that leads to a third issue which I would call the HYPOCRISY issue.

Rebellious children can indicate that something is internally wrong
Which were not able to see.

One of the reasons we examine the kids of a potential elder
Is because they are more prone to show us
If what we are seeing is A MIRAGE.

If a man’s children grow rebellious it may be an indication of
Hypocritical or Inconsistent or Dominating leadership.

One glaring example of that in the Old Testament is Eli.

1 Samuel 2:12-17 “Now the sons of Eli were worthless men; they did not know the LORD and the custom of the priests with the people. When any man was offering a sacrifice, the priest’s servant would come while the meat was boiling, with a three-pronged fork in his hand. Then he would thrust it into the pan, or kettle, or caldron, or pot; all that the fork brought up the priest would take for himself. Thus they did in Shiloh to all the Israelites who came there. Also, before they burned the fat, the priest’s servant would come and say to the man who was sacrificing, “Give the priest meat for roasting, as he will not take boiled meat from you, only raw.” If the man said to him, “They must surely burn the fat first, and then take as much as you desire,” then he would say, “No, but you shall give it to me now; and if not, I will take it by force.” Thus the sin of the young men was very great before the LORD, for the men despised the offering of the LORD.”

We find then that God promised judgment on those boys.
1 Samuel 3:12-14 “In that day I will carry out against Eli all that I have spoken concerning his house, from beginning to end. “For I have told him that I am about to judge his house forever for the iniquity which he knew, because his sons brought a curse on themselves and he did not rebuke them. “Therefore I have sworn to the house of Eli that the iniquity of Eli’s house shall not be atoned for by sacrifice or offering forever.”

God revealed that the wild living of Eli’s sons was due to inconsistency on the part of Eli.
• He did not rebuke his sons.
• He was a bad leader
• Under his leadership the ark of God was actually stolen by the Philistines.
• We would not have known about Eli’s failures, but they became evident in his sons.

It could be that a man has
No conviction or justice or discipline or consistency in his home
You know it because his grown children are wild and uncontrolled.

But THE OPPOSITE could be true as well.
• Even today has a father been prone to legalism?
• Has he pushed his sons to an impossible standard?
• Has he led void of grace?
• Has he frustrated his children and caused them to give up and turn away from the faith?

Colossians 3:21 “Fathers, do not exasperate your children, so that they will not lose heart.”

If children rebel against that, you need to pay attention and dig deeper
Because they might be showing you a real problem.

AND MY POINT is that we must take this qualification seriously.

• I DO NOT read this as an obvious or eternal disqualification of a man.
• I DO believe that under further examination he may be acceptable.
• But if he has wild children you cannot immediately ordain him either.

So perhaps the best way is to say it like this.
I don’t like using the term “disqualified”, in fact Paul never uses it.

Let’s simply talk about those men who are IMMEDIATELY QUALIFIED,
And those men who may be POTENTIALLY QUALIFIED.

For a man to be immediately qualified he must be a one woman man with believing children who are not wild living.

A man with a past of immorality, or with questionable children
May be potentially qualified under further examination, but as a congregation you would have to know why.

You would have to dig deeper.

AND HERE IS WHY.

THE FLOCK OF GOD IS THAT IMPORTANT.

We may love the man.
• We may respect the man.
• Indeed he may be a godly man.
• And it may be painful to not immediately ordain him.

But the flock of God is more important
You cannot overlook God’s criteria
For the sake of a personal relationship or personal admiration.

You just can’t risk the flock.

A man can only be immediately ordained
IF he is faithful to his wife and IF he has obedient children.
And IF he fits the other qualifications we will see later,

And there is ONE MORE THING I would say here.

Let’s say you are a man who desires eldership,
But you are concerned about your eligibility
Because of the condition of your children.

Let me say this to you.
THERE IS NO SHAME IN PRIORITIZING YOUR CHILDREN.
• That is to say there is no shame in focusing on shepherding your children first,
before you come to shepherd God’s flock.

After all no man with a shepherd’s heart
• Is going to be content to abandon his family just so he can be an elder.
• Is going to try and hide his lost children so he can be an elder.

The heart of Christ
Was to suffer humiliation, reproach, and rejection
In order to save his lost sons and daughters.

There is no shame in focusing on shepherding your family correctly
Before stepping into the role in the church,
In fact that may be more godly.

But the admonition to the church is clear,
Even if all our questions are not answered.

As we look for men
Who are immediately and unquestionably qualified for eldership,

1. We are looking for men with the reputation of being faithful to their wives
2. And men with a reputation of raising godly children.

And we take that man and we say:
• Would you do for the bride of Christ what you have done for your own wife?
• Would you do for the children of God what you have done for your own children?

That is what we are looking for.
(more about his reputation tonight)