Ensured to be Above Reproach, Part 1

Male teacher writing math formulas on chalkboard

As schools start back during these weeks, I came across an article by a teacher recalling his first classroom. He had graduated school filled to the brim with all the theory of education, ready to pour into students the novel 1984. He spent hours on the lesson plan the night before, but he didn't anticipate one thing: Kermit. One of the students produced seemingly out of thin air an electronic toy Kermit who that would incessantly say, "Hi, Miss Piggy" with no way to turn it off. Despite eventually throwing it down the hall to the laughter of students, he was unable to quell the conversations of students. He realized that theory is great and necessary, but it means nothing without classroom management.

I read somewhere else this week that "amateurs talk doctrine, but professionals talk governance." (Matthew Schmitz Quoting Altieri in "The Two Pope Leos" Claremont Review of Books Vol. XXVI, number 3, Summer 26, p. 24). If I could add to that, Apostles talk both.

Here at the start of this letter to Titus, Paul is reiterating to Titus what governance in the church is going to look like. But what we find is that it is not devoid of doctrine but based in it. These elders are not sought out because of their mastery of technique but their being mastered by the truth. They are men who have been transformed by that truth such that their character recommends them. They are only required one competency: the ability to pass on that truth.

Unfortunately, there are no shortage of men unqualified for this role, and for them to get into these roles is nothing short of disaster. Yet even here, Paul operates as one who firmly has hope in the gospel. These unqualified men aren't merely to be silenced and shoved away, but shown the truth that even they may be made sound.

Our main points today are: Elders are to be transformed preachers of sound doctrine and False teachers are to be silenced and made sound.

Elders are to be transformed preachers of sound doctrine

Now, you might notice in this passage that the deacons are not mentioned, and this list differs slightly with the one in 1 Timothy 3 that has the qualifications for both elder and deacon. That is due to the somewhat unique situation First Pres Crete finds itself in. As Denny Burk points out in his wonderful commentary on Titus that Paul has a pattern when it comes to setting up churches. Acts 14:21-23 "When they had preached the gospel to that city and had made many disciples, they returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch, strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying that through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God. And when they had appointed elders for them in every church, with prayer and fasting they committed them to the Lord in whom they had believed." Paul would preach, disciple, and then set up elders (noting the plural there) in the church. Things would be able to carry on from there. He further notes that it is likely congregations would pick their leaders after that following the pattern in Acts 6 where they pick their deacons (Burk 502-3). You might notice that the PCA works in much the same way. It's like we follow the Bible or something!

Here in Titus, Paul, for some reason we aren't privy to, wasn't able to set up those elders, so that has been left to Titus. Titus is given a list of what a man called to eldership looks like. The first qualification isn't perfection (above reproach), but rather that he has a good reputation (something we also see in 1 Tim. 3).

You will notice how he treats his family is very much involved in that evaluation. Is he dedicated and faithful to his wife? It is unlikely that this is referring to polygamy as that really wasn't practiced in the Grecco-Roman context this letter was written in (Bray, 479). Today, as then, this means he hasn't been unbiblically divorced and is faithful to his wife. Next, are his children faithful in their conduct? Again, we aren't calling for perfection in the children, or referring to adult children outside the home, but are the children directly under his authority living obedient lives (Knight III, 289-90)?

The Church itself is a family (CITE). Does he manage his own well, not perfectly but well? Nothing predicts future results quite like current results. Now, as one scholar put it: "Paul is no asking any more of the elder and his children than is expected of every Christian father and his children. However, only if a man exercises such proper control over his children may he be an elder." (Knight III, 290). Such should be the goal of every father, and those who do it especially well, should be considered for elder.

However, this elder (also called an "overseer" a term used synonymously) isn't just evaluated on results but how he has conducted himself to get those results. You can get obedient children by being an abusive tyrant. You can run whole countries that way, as many do. But the elder/overseer is different. The Church isn't his show to run. The Church is Christ's Bride to steward. This is an immense privilege and responsibility.

There are things that elders should not be. I, and other elders, must not be arrogant (self-willed, stubborn) or reach for anger at every turn. We cannot be mastered by money or wine, controlled by anything other than God's Spirit, and we certainly cannot be violent.

Of course, the elder cannot just not be things, he also has positive qualities he must demonstrate. He is to be welcoming to people in his home (something I think that has only become more important in this day and age), a lover of good things (meaning a lover of the true and morally beautiful (Bray, 483)), self-controlled, devout (this isn't the usual word for holiness), and chaste (Bray, 484). All of these things can only be produced by the Holy Spirit working in their hearts, which is why they must hold firm this trustworthy word, this gospel that really works (Bray 484).

It is here that we get the only competency required with two parts: give instruction and rebuke error.

The give instruction part is more than just being able to download data from one brain to another. The word Paul uses there has the nuance of pleading, begging, exhorting people to follow the truth. This isn't a disinterested gesture towards the truth, but a pleading for the sinner to be made right like this really matters.

My kids have been watching the Lion King recently, and a great scene is when Simba's father, Mufasa, is showing Simba the kingdom he will one day inherit. Simba asks about the shadowy place at the edge. Mufasa, drops down, faces his son, and tells him that he must never go there. There is danger. He is emotionally involved in Simba not going there, and when Simba disobeys and does at great risk to himeslf, it is sternly dealt with, yet with a fatherly care.

That second part is something that is required of elders as well. We don't just lay out positive teaching, but we are called to directly confront error as well and know how to correct it. That doesn't mean that elders have to soak their minds in every little mistake, but their knowledge of the truth should be so firmly planted that error stands out and can be responded to with truth.

Note also that this isn't just confronting nameless, faceless concepts, but confronting the people who teach them. Exactly how this works will be dealt with next time.

Application

For now, what is our takeaway? Congregation, you have an immense responsibility in looking out for men who fit these qualifications. There really isn't room for compromising here, as the stakes are high.

But more than this, don't just look for men like this, but seek to become men like this. Even if you can't ever join this office, pursue after Christ because that is the calling of every Christian. Pursue after Christ and a life of holiness because that is where joy is, and if you pursue this really well, you should consider the office of elder.

We need people willing to be elders, not just at this church but in all the churches. We have more empty pulpits these days than faithful men to fill them. If you see these qualities in yourself, consider the ministry. If you see someone who fits these, give them the nudge. If that is the state of the pulpit, imagine how many elders we need to assist the teaching! The guys who are elders here at Knollwood have been so for years and years. They have faithfully served, but they can't serve forever.

I say this with particular vehemence to the younger generation in here. One day it is going to be your turn, and getting ready doesn't happen overnight. Character formation is a daily pursuit of knowing more about Jesus and becoming more submissive to His will. Start now. I know that there are a billion things coming at you all at once. You're trying to figure out a career, raise kids, take care of a house, and a million other things. Trust me, I get it. But a pursuit of Christ is what gives direction and purpose to all those pursuits. You have to get this one right.

For those of you married to such men, encourage them in this. He needs your support. You are not outside this process. Children of such men, obey your parents. You have a role here, too. This is a family calling. Elder families know the unique pressures therein. When an elder is hospitable, he isn't the only one working in that.

And if you aren't called to this, please pray for those who are.

And in the end, what joy will we all have to have participated in Christ's union with His church! This isn't about preserving a club, but shepherding God's people to a new heaven and new earth and tasting of it along the way.