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You, however, must teach what is appropriate to sound doctrine. Titus 2:1

Apart from the weighty task of choosing elders, Titus was also commissioned to teach sound doctrine.  It pretty much guaranteed him explosive feedback with the false teachers that had preceded his arrival.  His job wasn’t easy whether choosing elders, confronting the wolves among the flock, or teaching doctrine for course correction.

Doctrine should always affect lifestyle.  The dots connect between my behavior and my beliefs, between choices and convictions.  The way I conduct my life reflects the truth that I know.  While there is not a chapter a verse for every situation, the whole counsel of scripture provides a context for making a righteous decision.  Sound doctrine intersects the diverse circumstances of life, life inside, and outside, of a classroom.   

If I believe that all scripture is inspired and God-breathed, I will live deliberately and prayerfully, honoring the Word that captured my heart, soul, and mind.

If I believe that Jesus was divine, one with God the Father, I will live a cross-centered life, humbled and grateful that Jesus paid for my sins. 

If I believe that Jesus is coming again, I will detach from things that pass away and invest in the kingdom that lasts forever.

If I believe that God created mankind, I will bear no prejudice to race, color, or creed.  Each person will be seen as an object of God’s love, their soul precious enough to be sought after by Jesus. 

How would the damage from false teaching on Crete be corrected?  How would so many believers, engaged in perverse learned behavior, begin to love what God loves? By a diet of sound teaching ~ carried by the wind of the Spirit of Truth.  Titus knew all that was at stake, how messy a process this would be with so many people he knew well, but he knew the power of the Gospel and believed God when He said that ‘Light overcomes the darkness’. 

Examine your church, beginning with me.  Whatever is foggy, skewed, out of line, reorder me through the power and purity of Your Word.  Amen

They claim to know God, but by their actions they deny him. They are detestable, disobedient, and unfit for doing anything good.   Titus 1:16

My parents were strict about the way we talked about other people.  No name calling or disparaging comments allowed. The cliche, “If you can’t say anything nice, don’t say it!” was the rule of the day.

If I walked into my next small group meeting and overheard someone say, “Frank is detestable and unfit for Christian service,” it would be a turnoff.  So how is this kind of talk from Paul okay?  Since all scripture is God-breathed, can name calling really be inspired by God?

‘Detestable’ was the word used in Leviticus 7 regarding those who had not kept the observances of the Torah about touching or eating unclean things.  It came out of the mouth of God.  But it’s one thing for God to say it as His motives and words are pure, but quite another thing for me to say it. 

And isn’t Paul the very one who told us to encourage one another, and build one another up in holy faith?  I Thess. 5:11 He is.  Both kinds of talk are to be Spirit led.  God models it for us.  God is just and God is gracious.  He has harsh words for the rebellious and fatherly words for His children.  He is both fierce and tender.  The challenge comes when God’s children use harsh words outside of prayerfulness and an examination of their own heart.  Can’t you hear the sneer behind the mean name calling?  I can.  But in a much rarer sense, I can also hear the holy cry of a righteous man who laments the damage done through false teachers.  He has discerned the heartbreak and anger of a righteous God who fiercely guards His flock. 

When I use words like disgusting or detestable, what people come to mind?  For what reasons?  Have they personally offended me?  Or am I upset because they offended God?  Finally, is it possible I call them and their behavior detestable because I have the same log of offense in my own eye?  People can be most offended by the sin of others that they, themselves, struggle with.

If I’m bent toward mercy, I must grow into bolder speech.  If I’m bent toward justice, I must grow into more merciful speech.  In either case, I must examine my heart.  If I’m only merciful, I probably fear conflict and rejection.  If I only want justice, I am probably reacting to past hurts where evil behavior went unpunished.  I’ve never worked through it to the point of forgiveness.  Either way, I am to be like Jesus, who was, and is, the exact representation of God.  He is the full package and will, by the power of His Spirit, transform me into His likeness.

Show me where I need to grow.  Amen

To the pure, all things are pure, but to those who are corrupted and do not believe, nothing is pure. In fact, both their minds and consciences are corrupted. Titus 1:15-16

Know any control freaks?  They run a tight ship at home and come up with rules for everything.  Like, how much water to use to wash dishes, or what knives to use to do a certain job, or even what methods to employ to stock the cupboards correctly.  People who need to control everything are miserable to live with. 

There’s a common trait among those who make all the rules.  They don’t trust people.  It’s wearisome to listen to their reasons.  If a person is quiet, he’s hiding something.  If he’s too sanguine, he doesn’t take his job seriously enough.  If he’s generous, then he wants something from you.  Unhappy are the spouses and children of such a person.  Trusting will never come easily for them because of the suspicious rhetoric they hear in their home day in and day out. 

Titus had to deal with people like this in the church; rule makers, otherwise known as false teachers.  They manufactured laws and codes of conduct.  Paul warned Titus that these people were corrupted unbelievers, though their work was in, and among, the churches.  There was no pleasing them if their rules weren’t kept perfectly enough.  To question them was to be traitorous and disloyal. 

Christians who languish under false teaching are told that these standards are from God.  Who is going to love God when He is presented as unreasonable and impossible to please?  Who is going to trust God with his heart?  Not many.   

‘To the pure, all things are pure.’ God has given us pleasures to enjoy, starting with the enjoyment of Him.  To the pure, there is no suspicion of God’s intentions.  Love can be trusted.  Grace and mercy inspire awe.  Consciences are washed clean by the blood of the Lamb.  Believers are the freest people in the world.

False teachers operate with satanic charisma, but also with a spirit of judgement and condemnation. They love to size people up and make assessments regarding their performance. But with the pure in heart comes the spirit of our gracious and loving God.  They live to find opportunities where the love of God can be expressed.  For true believers, fellowship is a party where God’s gift of salvation is celebrated among sinners saved by grace.

Are there any rule-maker tendencies left in me?  Touch me with grace so that I may be gracious.  Amen

Therefore, rebuke them sharply, so that they will be sound in the faith and will pay no attention to Jewish myths or to the merely human commands of those who reject the truth. Titus 1:13-14

My father’s aunt was a feisty old woman named Ida.  She survived brain, stomach, and breast cancer in her 60’s.  In her 70’s, she shingled her own roof and laid flagstone on her outdoor patio.  In her 80’s, she still kept a loaded shotgun beside her bed and used to say, “Anyone who comes in here in the middle of the night without telling me ahead of time, will be picking buckshot out of their backsides.”  The language was spicier than that!  Aunt Ida was a version of Granny on the Beverly Hillbillies. 

Aunt Ida wasn’t good at accepting gifts.  She figured out how to repay you – making sure that she gave you more than you gave her.  Everything was a contest.  If you had her for dinner (which we did for most every holiday throughout my childhood), she would let you know, while she was still eating, that she would be reciprocating.  She would ask my mom for some of her recipes and announce that she was sure she could make them just as well, or maybe even better, than she had.  Was her payback meal really a gift?  It sure didn’t feel like it.  Lots of strings.

Despite this, she could be fun to hang out with.  We played dominoes most every weekend with a primitive homemade scoreboard that dated back to her farmhouse of the 1880’s.  She sure loved to win!

The false prophets in the church didn’t believe in the free gift of salvation.  They believed that men were good enough to earn God’s favor.  They added Jewish myths to the equation; Gentiles had to be circumcised and believers should abstain from the consumption of meat.  The sinister message behind everything was this ~ You must do religious things, religiously, to impress God and feel good about yourself.

These false teachers promoted a lifestyle that was characterized by ‘a form of godliness but without power.’  Christian cultures are full of people who talk alike, read the same books, attend the same conferences, and share the same communion bread.  Some have the power of the Spirit on the inside, but some are empty shells just going through the motions.  There are false teachers today who promote rule-keeping, giving approval and acceptance that is conditional upon conformity.  Guilt is used to keep the people in line.  Grace is a rare commodity.  So far from who Jesus is and what He graciously gave. 

Thank you. Amen

For there are many rebellious people, full of meaningless talk and deception, especially those of the circumcision group. They must be silenced, because they are disrupting whole households by teaching things they ought not to teach—and that for the sake of dishonest gain.  Titus 1:10-11

Truth is radiant, uncomplicated, and unpolluted.  When God’s Word begins to transform a congregation, it doesn’t take long for wolves to show up with attempts to disfigure what is holy.  Paul predicted this kind of satanic activity back in the book of Acts.  He said, “I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock.”  Acts 20:20

Paul named these disruptors, ‘rebellious people.’  The Greek language gives more specifics. They refused to submit to anyone’s authority. They disregarded restraint, were insubordinate, headstrong, and uncontrollable. 

The first rebel, Satan, planned the first rebellion and he carried it out in the heavens.  Though he was once a worshipper of God, his heart became corrupted.  God speaks of him in Ezekiel 28.  Your heart became proud on account of your beauty, and you corrupted your wisdom because of your splendor. So, I threw you to the earth; I made a spectacle of you before kings. By your many sins and dishonest trade, you have desecrated your sanctuaries.  No longer willing to be subject to God’s authority, Lucifer took his mutinous plan to the angelic hosts in heaven.  His leadership gifting was impressive and effective as he persuaded one third of them to defect. 

Akin to the first mutiny in heaven, rebellion is a force to be reckoned as it is fueled by the god of this age.  False teachers are not always recognizable at first.  They are articulate and their arguments are logical, even if twisted.  Their true nature might not be fully revealed until there is a threat of exposure.  This happens with a biblical confrontation.  Their smooth veneer begins to splinter with the truth and their ability to cloak themselves in false light is diminished.  Paul told the believers in Ephesus, “Do not participate in deeds of darkness.  Instead, expose them.” Ephesians 4:11    

Paul’s mandate to Titus was to pick strong elders who could contend for the faith.  He did not advocate a quiet meeting behind closed doors with rebellious troublemakers, appealing to their good nature to change.  He said they must be silenced.  The elders Titus was searching for were to resemble Jesus ~ who knew when to extend mercy and when to initiate tough conversations with religious people. 

It was hard for the people of Crete to recognize liars because this intersected their own native blind spot.  I have not always been wise about spotting a wolf in sheep’s clothing.  Show me why.  Amen     

He must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it.  Titus 1:9

Titus dwells on the island of Crete with people who are notorious for lying compulsively.  In several more verses, Paul will quote the famous Cretan, Epimenides, a seventh-century BC poet and native of Crete, who said, “Cretans are always liars, evil brutes, and lazy gluttons.”  

Other ancient writers spoke of them this way as well.  A Roman poet named Ovid referred to the island as ‘Lying Crete.’  The Greeks used the verb cretize as a synonym for lying. If you were from Crete, you were believed to be a compulsive liar, someone who lied by default and didn’t give it a second thought.  There was not a twinge of guilt. 

Paul commissioned Titus to find elders who no longer struggled with compulsive lying, who no longer resembled their native people. How Titus labored to find those who treasured the purity of the scriptures.  He looked for needles in a haystack, for truth lovers and truth tellers.  Because of the saving power of the Gospel, they had forsaken the ways of their families and ancestors.  They paid dearly to love God more than ‘father and mother.’  They suffered rejection as they confronted people they knew well about every form of falsehood.   

I must read the book of Titus contextually.  I can’t perceive the island of Crete to be like my own culture where there is a healthy pool of seminary trained pastors and teachers.  Infant believers on Crete had so far to go become like Jesus ~ the One in whom ‘no deceit was found at all.’  Sound doctrine was critical then, and it is critical now.  The truth of the scriptures is breathed from the mind of God, the very One who is Truth.  When sound doctrine is compromised, the character of God is assassinated.  He is not seen as reliable, His promises can’t be relied upon, and He is not worshipped as the unchanging God whose Word stands forever.  Defending His character, His very Word, must be our default. 

A believer on Crete had to leave a culture of liars.  What part of my culture am I blind to?  Show me.  Amen

Rather, he must be hospitable, one who loves what is good, who is self-controlled, upright, holy and disciplined.  Titus 1:8

May it be ~ that those who are characterized by today’s attributes would be the ones leading the flock to wholeness.  Each descriptive infuses a breath of fresh air into my spiritual lungs.  Think about them with me ~

Hospitable ~ How many times have you rung a doorbell and been greeted by a man who exuded sincere hospitality.  Comments like these followed.  “Come in out of the cold and make yourself at home.”  “We’ve waited a long time for this day. We’re so excited you’re here.”  Often, these are the kinds of things expressed by the lady of the house, not the man.  Oh, but when it happens, it’s easy to dream of moving in for a while.  So different than being greeted by a stoic. 

Loves what is good ~ His stories reveal that he loves to think about what is good rather than what is bad.  As you listen, you are not on edge about what’s coming next.  He seeks to find the good in others, the ways God is at work through people.  He does not delight to point out flaws, but strengths. 

Self-controlled ~ In a contentious meeting, he keeps his cool and mediates.  When offended, he works through his hurt privately and then forgives.  When frustrated, he has the skills to work it out without hurting others. His life is not characterized by indulgences, but balance.  

Upright ~ He has a reputation for sincerely doing what is right without fanfare.  When he walks into a stressful situation, people feel better because ‘he’ just walked in.  He brings security and a sense of relief.  When emergencies arise, he is one of the first people you think of to call.  He epitomizes a place where you feel safe ~ just like with Jesus.

Holy ~ He knows he’s a sinner saved by grace.  There is no need to present himself as perfect.  He is well aware that he is not, also knows his specific Achille’s heels, and is actively working with God for victory. 

Disciplined ~ He’s dependable. If he makes a commitment, he will keep it. Once carved into his schedule, he will see it through.  He is this way about every area of his life.  He gives his attention to what God says is important.  If this is your father, or grandfather, how blessed you are.

I’m so blessed to have so many men come to mind.  Thank you.  Amen

Since an overseer manages God’s household, he must be blameless—not overbearing, not quick-tempered, not given to drunkenness, not violent, not pursuing dishonest gain. Titus 1:6

God’s word is divinely inspired and rightly ordered.  Nothing written is insignificant.  Paul didn’t pull six ungodly attributes out of the air. They were the very things God led him to mention.  Each one is a giant in importance as it relates to appointing overseers in the church. 

Notorious ~ How can a man lead and inspire others to follow him if is not blameless, if he is notorious for wrongdoing?  He does not practice what he preaches.  Contradictions abound.  Those who hear him give counsel fail to take him seriously.  They reason, “If he doesn’t do it, why should we?”

Overbearing ~ How can a man lead and inspire others if he is pushy?  He does not invite others to serve, allowing them time to be prayerful as they consider his request.  He quenches the Holy Spirit by the pressure he exerts. The result is that holy offices are given to those who end up working in the flesh just to please their leader. 

Quick-tempered ~ How can a man lead if others if they walk on eggshells around him?  They will not dare be authentic in their interactions with him for fear of displeasure.  They will see him as an angry father, one where they need to keep a low profile with near perfect behavior.  

Drunkenness ~ How can a man lead if he has so little self-control that he allows alcohol to be his master?  How will anything he says hold any weight when he has lost his credibility?  His teaching will be discounted as whispers of his drunken behavior circulate. 

Violent ~ How can a man lead if he is known to act violently?  How will others trust, and then follow, someone they fear?  He will be famous for his cruelty rather than the righteous acts that bear witness to the glory of the God he claims to worship.    

Greedy ~ How can a man lead if he has so little regard for his neighbor that he will seek to exploit them out of self-interest?  Whatever he is greed for ~ is gotten at their expense.  The results are collective feelings of betrayal and distrust of God’s anointed.

These six negative attributes create a toxic spiritual environment.  No wonder Paul had to write so directly, to spell out these traits with pinpoint clarity.  Any one of them would bring great harm to a church family.  Distrust of church leaders could span generations.

You must grieve to see such dysfunction in your church, played out amongst impressionable sheep.  Give us a passion to do things your way.  Amen

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.  Titus 1:6

The meaning of this scripture regarding elder’s children who are either believing or unbelieving, is unclear if traced back to the Greek language from which it came.  The closest interpretation of ‘believe’ in this context is ‘faithful and trustworthy.’  With that in mind, it would no longer involve believing or unbelieving children.  Rather obedient, respectful children or lawless and rebellious children.  This correlates exactly with 2 Timothy 3:5 For if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for God’s church?”  This is about an elder’s ability to be a faithful overseer.

Elders are to manage two households well.  1.). His up-close and personal household ~ where there are believers and potentially unbelievers. 2.) And the household of God ~ where there will be believers and unbelievers. If a man cannot bring order and biblical management to the first, how will he bring the same to a church family?

Whether Christian leader, pastor, elder, or prominent bible teacher, many (perhaps the majority) lament that they have a child, or children, who have not embraced Jesus as Lord.  Does that mean that none of these should be in ministry?   To believe that a child’s salvation is totally dependent on a man’s fathering is unbiblical.  Every child has a free will and must bear the weight of their own decision. Many are the children who have walked away from Jesus though they were raised in a home where children were discipled.  (It is true that those raised in Christian homes have a greater chance of coming to saving faith, but it is still no guarantee.)  Parents are to live out their faith but are not held responsible for whether a child ever surrenders his life to God.

Elders and other spiritual leaders might have three children who believe and one who does not.  Does this disqualify him?  Does having one unbelieving child mean that he has not managed his household well?  How then, can three Christian children be explained?  This is a difficult text and must be interpreted in the larger context of other scriptures where good leadership within an elder’s household is a pre-requisite for church leadership. 

While children are under his roof, they will dwell within a culture of respect and submission to authority.  What is the result?  He takes this style of biblical leadership into the church and develops an even larger culture of respect and submission to God’s authority. 

Father, may your Holy Spirit teach us well today and lead us into all truth regarding this scripture.  May it free someone from guilt and a lifetime of shame.  Amen

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.  Titus 1:5

How hard can it be to find qualified people to serve in critical leadership roles?  Tough!  Just ask any pastor.  If biblical precedents are followed in the vetting, the number of candidates dwindles significantly. 

When I was growing up, our family attended a local independent Baptist church.  It was small, less than a hundred people.  Our hometown of Petersburgh, NY was home to barely a thousand people.  The teaching was somewhat sound, but the leadership lacked.  The pastor favored politics and wealth over biblical integrity.  For example, one of the head trustees was a crooked politician who boasted of having had multiple affairs over the years.  Some were even women in the church.  Not only did this man hold a church office, but he escaped accountability and church discipline for his blatant immoral behavior. Why?  Because he was a big donor and because he had connections. 

Titus made no errors like this in judgement, most likely, even though his pool from which to choose elders was small.  The churches were in trouble, full of carnality and false teaching.  Appointing leaders was stressful.  Not only did the candidates need to be mature enough, but they also needed to be able to withstand controversy and criticism.  False teachers wouldn’t back down without a fight.  Old learned behaviors involving pagan worship were part of their defaults.  What should have been shocking and repulsive was second nature to them.  Paul warned Titus that people were confused about what was holy and what was sinful.  Elders were appointed to defend the faith, expose sin, while also loving the people into Christlikeness. 

Leading others in the process of sanctification is messy.  The same pride that keeps men and women from coming to Jesus is the same pride that works in the hearts of God’s people after conversion.  Living by the flesh is more attractive than living by the Spirit.  Paul knew that.  Seven years earlier, he had written the book of Romans to address this in detail.  I’d like to think that Titus had access to a personal copy as he discipled leaders about the war of the flesh and Spirit-filled living.  Though Paul was in Asia, the Holy Spirit was with Titus as He is with us.  This timeless Counselor still indwells, still changes hearts, and still teaches wisdom – the likes of which makes it possible for us to do the work God has set before us.

Titus, in heaven, still reviews Your faithfulness.  Amen