This session was the third of the 2022 Spring Bible Course at Grace Church Guildford on 23 June 2022.
‘Your country needs you.’ That is of course the famous advertising slogan used by the British War Minister, Lord Kitchener, in his campaign to recruit soldiers during World War One. It was included on a poster picturing Lord Kitchener pointing straight out at the reader and saying the slogan. It conveyed a clear message: war with Germany meant Britain needed men to sign up and fight. The country’s situation required the recruitment of soldiers. Our passage this evening has a similar sentiment. It’s slogan is not ‘Your country needs you’, but ‘Your church needs you’. For here we see that the Cretan churches found themselves in circumstances requiring the recruitment, not of soldiers, but of shepherds. We see that straight away in this task that Paul gives Titus in 1:5, where we read, ‘The reason I left you in Crete was that you might put in order what was left unfinished and appoint elders in every town, as I directed you.’ Crete is the largest of the Greek islands in the Mediterranean, and it appears that at some point Paul and Titus were both there together. While it is unclear what took place, based on what Paul does throughout Acts, it is likely he and Titus were sharing the gospel, that is the good news of Christianity, with locals there. It appears people became Christians and began to gather together into local churches. Once this happened, it seems that Paul, as he does elsewhere in Acts, moved on to share the gospel elsewhere. However, he asked Titus to stay behind to help the churches develop. From 1:5 we see there was one particular task that Titus entrusted with. Until this job was complete, until elders were appointed, the work on Crete remained unfinished.
While from 1:5 it is clear Paul told Titus about this responsibility before, here we see he is writing to remind him of it and give directions for how Titus can finish his initial work on Crete, appoint these elders. First, in 1:6-9 Paul shows Titus what he should be looking for in these shepherds, lays out qualifications to look for in their lives, and then in 1:10-16 he highlights the reason why Titus needs to complete this task, reminds him of the reason he needs to appoint elders in each town as he has directed. This evening we are going to spend our time considering these two portions of the passage together: (1) The Nature of Elders (1:6-9); and (2) The Need for Elders (1:10-16).
1. THE NATURE OF ELDERS (1:6-9)
Sometimes people can have very different ideas of what a good leader looks like. Just consider the most recent presidential election in the US: Donald Trump and Joe Biden not only contrasted in policies, but also in their characters. Or think of our current two political leaders here in the UK: Boris Johnson and Sir Keir Stammer. Their qualifications for and style of leadership are very different to each other. Thankfully, when it comes to the church, we aren’t left to work out how to define and identify a good leader, for Paul tells us exactly what to look for. Here in Titus 1, as well as in 1 Timothy 3, we are told that elders, those who lead the church, shepherd God’s sheep, are to be (1) godly men (3) who teach God’s truth. I think those two things really summarise all that Paul teaches here in 1:6-9 about what elders should be. In 1:6-8 Paul explains that elders are godly men and in 1:9 adds that they must also be able to teach God’s truth. And we see the very same twofold criteria in 1 Timothy 3.
First of all, what do we mean by saying that elders are to be godly men? Well, I think 1:6 really acts as a summary of what it means for an elder to be godly: ‘An elder must be blameless, faithful to his wife, a man whose children believe and are not open to the charge of being wild and disobedient.’ That term ‘blameless’ is perhaps better translated in the ESV as ‘above reproach’. It means an elder must possess a character that is beyond criticism. In 1:7 Paul begins to flesh out what this means in very practical ways, giving examples of a man’s blamelessness by listing both what he is not and what he is. Sometimes this word blameless can seem rather intimidating. It might give the impression that somebody needs to be perfect, flawless, sinless. However, that obviously isn’t the case – there is only one sinless Shepherd, and that is Jesus. Instead, Calvin summarises what it means well when he said it: ‘does not mean one who is exempt from every vice, (for no such person could at any time be found,) but one who is marked by no disgrace…[it] means…that he shall be a man of unblemished reputation.’ Paul does not teach an elder is to be beyond sinning. Rather, he teaches an elder is to possess a character beyond criticism. To have a life is free from obvious faults or flaws. Someone who is still fighting sin yes, but fighting in the way you expect a mature Christian to do so, recognising sin and responding with repentance. When people look at an elder, they should see a godly man. Of course, he is still growing, his character is not yet completely Christ-like. And yet, there should be no clear criticisms, the presence or absence of some of these traits Paul highlights to us. If such sins are present, or virtues absent, then he is not yet qualified to be an elder, suited to shepherd sheep. And if he is already an elder, and some of these things have creeped into his life, then he should be lovingly corrected, helped to address these issues, which can not only hinder his ministry, but damage the flock.
Paul teaches this godliness should not only be seen in a man’s personal life, but also his family life. He is not only to possess a character beyond criticism, but he is also to preside over a family being faithful. That is what Paul mentions in the second half of 1:6. The NIV translates part of that verse ‘children who believe’, which gives the impression that an elder’s children must be Christians. And while that it is a possible translation, I think would be a poor one, which the NIV itself acknowledge in their footnotes by them providing the better alternative of ‘who are trustworthy’. We don’t have time to work through the issue now, I would be happy to discuss it with you after if you have questions, but I don’t think Paul is saying here that an elder’s children must be Christians. Instead, Paul is teaching that an elder should be a man who is both faithful to his wife, and who has children faithful to him. He is not unfaithful to his wife through adultery, pornography, or lust. He is devoted to her and her alone. Similarly, his children are not unfaithful to him by living wildly and disobediently: even if they are not believers, they behave appropriately towards him, respect and honour him as their father. Again, with limited time we can’t explore it, but I also don’t think that Paul is suggesting here that a man must be married and have children in order to be an elder. I think that will normally be the case, but I don’t think texts like this one require it to be so. Again, happy to discuss that with you afterwards if it would be helpful. However, the main point Paul is making is a man’s life will show his suitability to lead. A godly man displays Christlikeness in caring for those closest to him. In order to work out whether a man is qualified to care for Christ’s bride, we can check whether cares for his own bride. Before asking him to oversee God’s household, we can look to see how his is currently overseen. In 1:6-8 Paul tells us elders must be godly men: possess characters beyond criticism, preside over a family who are faithful.
Do you see that by considering the qualifications like this, it is clear the character expected of elders, should not be exclusive of elders. There is nothing Paul lists here in 1:6-8 that God does not want for all his children. God wants all of us to be people of personal godliness with faithful family lives. As a result, D A Carson famously said, ‘These qualifications are remarkable for being unremarkable.’ Brothers and sisters, every one of these instructions is found elsewhere in the New Testament as a commandment for all Christians. Another writer puts it like this: ‘There is nothing here that is extraordinary, it is just the ordinary things done extraordinarily well.’ And so whether you aspire to be an elder or not. Whether you can be an elder or not. You should aspire to be like this. All Christians are to cultivate characters that are beyond criticism. We should all be aiming to have faithful family lives. In this, elders are to be our examples. Paul explains that leaders must not only teach godliness with their lips, but they are also to teach it with their lives. That is why the author of Hebrews can exhort the whole church, whether young or old, male or female, ‘Remember your leaders…Consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith.’ (13:7) An elder’s life is to be an example to aim for, not an exception to admire.
Secondly, he also tells us that elders must be able to teach God’s truth. They are godly men who teach God’s truth. It is remarkable isn’t it that up to the end of 1:8, Paul has said nothing about competence and a lot about character. It seems that for Paul the primary qualification he looks for church leaders is their godliness rather than their gifting. Unfortunately, this is sometimes the reverse of how our world thinks about leaders: whether in politics or business, charisma somehow makes up for character, the more gifted a guy is it seems the less integrity he needs. If he makes big bucks for a business, who cares if he is a difficult to work with? If he win votes and elections, what does it matter that he is economical with the truth? And yet, we see here that the church operates in a different way. If a guy is not godly, it doesn’t matter if he is gifted. He doesn’t make it past Paul’s first hurdle, he is eliminated in round one. For the first question we must ask regarding church leadership, especially eldership, is whether someone is godly enough for that responsibility. If they are not godly, it doesn’t matter if they are gifted.
However, that all being said, praise God that he not only gives us godly leaders, but godly leaders who have gifts. You see, there is an element of ability in the qualifications for elders. That is literally the case, for in 1 Timothy 3:2 Paul says that these men must be ‘able to teach’. What does Paul mean that elders must be able to teach? What does this look like? Must a man be able to preach a 45-minute sermon? Take a whole service? Able to read Greek and Hebrew and write a book of systematic theology? What exactly does Paul mean? Well, Paul doesn’t give us such specifics, for each context and church will have different needs. However, it is important we realise that what really matters is not the format this teaching takes, but the effect that it has. The equivalent qualification in Titus is found in 1:9. In 1:9 Paul tells us these men must be able to ‘encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it’. Paul tells us what is important it that when this man communicates with church members, whether this is in front of them at a public service, alongside them in a bible study or across the table from them while having a coffee together, that this man must be able to instruct in true doctrine and correct any false doctrine. And elder is somebody who can open God’s Word and apply it in whatever context they find themselves in, to whoever is in front of them, teaching them the truth and warning them away from error. The key question is not whether these men can hold the attention of an audience for 45 minutes in a sermon, but simply whether other Christians can consistently learn the truth from them. If you had a Christian asking a question about what the Bible teaches, could you send them to this man knowing that he will be able to explain and apply the truth to them? If so, then that man meets this teaching qualification, may have what we must look for in an elder.
As an aside, you will note throughout I have talked about elders as ‘men’. I doubt that will surprise many of you, for as a church we understand the office of elder is reserved for godly males who can teach God’s truth. Here at GCG we believe that while men and women have identical worth and value, both made in the image of God, they have complimentary roles and functions in the family and the local church. This is taught implicitly here in Titus 1 by Paul referencing a male throughout these qualifications, as he also does in 1 Timothy 3. However, we see it explicitly taught in passages like 1 Corinthians 14 and 1 Timothy 2. Of course, women have a vital role to play in local church ministry and the teaching of the truth. Indeed, if we were to continue into Titus 2 we would see that there together. But this evening we are limited to Titus 1. However, if you have any questions, feel free to come chat to myself after or one of our elders, those godly men who we have recognised as able to teach us God’s truth.
2. THE NEED FOR ELDERS
In many ways, this is really the main point of the passage, for it was this need for elders in Crete in 1:5 that led Paul to tell Titus about the qualifications in 1:6-9. And in 1:10 he returns to this in order to expand and explain what this need for elders is. Immediately we see why Paul says elders must be able to ‘encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it’, for both of these things are needed in the churches of Crete. Do you see in 1:9 Paul perceives there to be two sides to this teaching coin: building up and beating off. Constructing and correcting. Reflecting on this, the 17th century London minister, Thomas Manton, wrote that elders should ‘be able to handle the sword and the trowel…’. Likewise, Calvin commented, ‘They must have two voices: one for gathering the sheep and another for driving away the wolves’. In 1:9 we are told that elders must be able to fight the wolves and feed the sheep. Why? Well here in 1:10-16 Paul teaches that elders are need to do this because there are (1) wolves to fight and (2) sheep to feed in these local churches in Crete.
You see that first one so clearly in the first word of 1:10. In 1:6-9 Paul tells Titus to appoint godly men who can teach God’s truth, why? Well in 1:10-11 Paul explains.... It seems there are many wolves lurking around these flocks on Crete. For in 1:10-11 we read of false teachers who must be silenced, stopped, refuted and driven off. Paul believed the church needs elders to fight the wolves, to keep the sheep safe from false teaching and error. If these wolves are not driven off, if the disease of false teaching is not dealt with, then these flocks of sheep will soon become unhealthy and dwindle away. And certainly, the need for this kind of care is no less today than it was in the first century, for after 2000 years of error and false teaching, there are as many if not more wolves around today than there were then. One of the reasons a local church needs elders is to protect it from false teaching, for these men can fight the wolves, fend off attackers from preying on the flock of God.
However, secondly, from 1:12 we see that we also need elders to feed the sheep. Not just to protect them from false teaching, but also to provide them with good teaching. In 1:12, Paul quotes a rather provocative phrase from a Cretan poet called Epimenides, who hundreds of years before Paul, summarised the sinful state of his nation. He described his people as: ‘always liars, evil brutes, lazy gluttons.’ When we look at other ancient accounts, it only confirms this conclusion. As a result, when Cretans began to become Christians, much work needed to take place. We see that in 1:13, where those who are still in such sins need to be rebuked so they could be ‘sound’, that is healthy, in their faith. These churches needed to be taught the truth that would make them healthy. And that is what exactly Paul spends the rest of the letter urging Titus to do. You see that in 2:1 and 15 and then in 3:1 and 8. Titus is to teach the truth, and find others who can do the same. If these young sheep are to grow and mature in their faith, they need to be fed. And so Paul tells Titus to set up shepherds for this task. Do you see here the connection between the health of a church and the existence of elders? Of course local churches can exist without elders. It is members, not elders, that constitute a church. We see that even here in Titus 1:5, don’t we? For these churches without elders are still called churches. And yet, as someone has put it, ‘elders [though] not essential for the being of a church...are essential to its wellbeing.’ A church may survive, but it is unlikely to thrive without elders. A shepherd might leave his flock alone for a few nights out in the wild, but if they are left indefinitely, you can be sure that either the wolves will come or the sheep will starve. And so Paul writes to Titus to tell him that these churches on Crete need elders. They need godly men who can teach God’s truth, for there are both wolves to fight and sheep to feed, and without such shepherds the wolves will come and the sheep starve.
Concluding Reflections
As we close, I want to do so by highlighting three applications of what we have seen here. First, from all we have read in Titus 1, it is clear the New Testament does not anticipate that healthy local churches, mature congregations of believers, will be built overnight. See here that even Paul, an apostle, in the fastest years of Christian expansion, was unable to rapidly raise up churches on Crete. Even if multiplication happens quickly through many coming to faith, maturity in that faith is a slow process. It takes time to raise up elders, that is why Paul had to leave Titus behind to complete this task, and in many ways that is only the start of the journey, for before such shepherds lies years of fighting wolves and feeding sheep, so the flock under their care reaches a measure of stability and safety. Friends, church work is slow work. Just as the great buildings of this earth, whether pyramids or temples, were not built up in a few days, but took many lifetimes, the great building of eternity, final dwelling place of God, the church of Jesus Christ, is not constructed quickly. And as a church we must remember this both as we seek to mature in our faith and witness here in Guildford, as well as plant and revitalise other congregations around us. We must think less about the next year and more about the next decade. Maturing and planting churches is more like a marathon than a sprint. We must avoid any temptation to rush towards the finish line. For what we really need is to set a steady pace at which we can stay over many decades together.
Secondly, do you see how the development of elders is crucial to this vision of both maturing our own church as well as planting and revitalising others? Before ascending into heaven, Jesus left a task for his people to finish. In Matthew 28 the church was given the Great Commission, to take the gospel to the ends of the earth and make disciples of all nations, baptising and teaching them. That is why Paul went to Crete, and why Titus stayed there. To see a local church of disciples being taught the truth together. However, do you see here in Titus 1 that one of the primary ways we complete that commission, carry out that calling, is by raising up elder qualified men to serve God’s churches, to shepherd God’s sheep, to teach God’s truth. We see here in Titus 1:5, that this Great Commission task is unfinished on Crete until elders are established in these churches. The Great Commission is completed when local churches have their own elders established to teach them to obey Christ’s commands, it is the setting apart of shepherds that ensures the safety of the sheep. I was at a meeting recently where a pastor in another Grace Baptist church commented on the faithfulness of this church in training men for such ministry over the last few years. Praise God for that fruit! And pray to him for more workers for the harvest. We need more labourers for the Lord! How wonderful it would be to be a church overflowing with godly men who can teach God’s truth! To have enough elders to not only care for our own sheep, but also to have spare shepherds that can be sent to struggling churches all around us. To be able to give another church the gift of a godly man who can teach God’s truth, whether in fulltime supported ministry or as a lay elder serving alongside his secular job. Or to be able to send out some members with a group of such men to go with the gospel and plant a new church, as we have seen recently in the work at Haslemere.
Finally, if that is the great need of the day, and the way we complete Christ’s commission, how do we get such shepherds? Where do we find these elders? Well see here what Titus was to told to do: Paul sent him to go and identify men in the churches of Crete who met these qualifications. Elders are created and cultivated in churches. They should be grown in our own garden, rather than imported from a foreign land. A flock needs shepherds, and the primary place it should find them is from within its own sheep. We should be thankful for the brothers who serve us all as shepherds here at Grace Church. Perhaps in our prayer times in a moment we should spend time praising God and praying for the elders he has given us in the present. However, if Grace Church Guildford is to have elders in the future, if the future flock of God’s sheep here are going to be fed and if wolves are going to be kept away in the years to come, new elders will be needed. And such men will not primarily be found in a foreign land, but rather trained and taught and raised up from among our own number. If Grace Church is to have elders in the future, Grace Church must be raising them up in the present. And we all have a role to play in that, encouraging and getting alongside brothers who are growing in godliness and teaching the truth. Further, each brother among us must ask himself whether he might be able to serve in this way in the future.
Brother – do you desire that? If not, why not? In 1 Timothy 3:1, Paul tells us that aspiring to serve as an elder is to aspire to a noble task. Why would you not desire it? What is holding you back from aspiring to such a good work? Brother, there may be all kinds of reasons that mean you never become an elder, but let us ensure not bothering to aim for it, aspire to it, isn’t one of them. Ask yourself, why in 5, 10, or 15 years time could I not be an elder? When you look at this list of qualifications, there a sin in your life that disqualifies you? You need to address that. Is there a Christlike character quality you still lack, you need to develop that! Do you lack a sufficient knowledge of the truth, or feel insecure about teaching others, go and talk to a current elder about how you can grow in those areas. Grace Church needs elders, all churches need elders. Praise God we have six elders now, godly men teaching God’s truth. But Grace Church, every church, in 20 years’ time will need elders just as much as they need them today. Who in this room will quietly and steadfastly aspire to such a task? Seek to so grow in godliness and knowledge of the truth so that you can shepherd a flock of sheep in the future? ‘Your country needs you.’ That advertising slogan and poster of Lord Kitchener was incredibly successful in recruiting soldiers to fight in and ultimate win World War One. The country’s situation required the recruitment of soldiers. Surely today we face a similar situation in the church, require the recruitment of shepherds. Will you respond to that need? Rally to that call?
ALEXANDER ARRELL