SPEAKER_00 0:00

Good morning, church. I hope you all had a wonderful week. This past week was uh especially special for my wife and and me because we celebrated our anniversary. We we grabbed some coffee, took took a drive down to Hockin Hills, and on the way back we stopped at one of the most incredible libraries I've ever been to, the Wagnalls Memorial Library in Canal, Winchester. It felt like it was something straight out of an old English storybook, a beautiful architecture, quiet reading rooms, shelves full of books and books and books, and honestly, it was my kind of place. My wife was kind enough to sit with me while I worked on this week's sermon, and that may have been my favorite part of the day. And as I sat there studying Titus, I couldn't help but think about how fitting it was to prepare this message in a place dedicated to learning the truth. Because today we come to what I believe is one of the most foundational passages in the life of a healthy church. Last week we spent some time unpacking Paul's introduction to the letter. We explored the historical and cultural context of Crete, its strategic importance to the spread of the gospel, and why Paul intentionally describes God as the God who never lies. We learned that Cretans believe Zeus, their chief god, was born on their island, a god known in Greek mythology for deception and manipulation. Against that backdrop, Paul makes a bold declaration. He cannot lie, he's perfectly faithful, and every promise he makes can be trusted. Finally, we ask God to do something in us before he does something for us. That before he grows Watkins Community Church numerically, he would first grow us spiritually. That we would become a people who know God more deeply, trust him more completely, love him more fully, and whose lives are shaped by the gospel. Today, Paul begins showing us what that kind of church actually looks like. Before we dive into the text, let's take a moment to pray. Father God, thank you so much for your loving kindness and for your saving grace. Lord, you deserve all the honor, all the glory, and all the praise forever. Lord, I pray that the preaching of your word brings you glory and that it would point us towards you and helps us establish your church's culture for generations to come to bring honor to your name. Lord, reveal your desire for this church through your word and make our hearts willing to obey you. In Jesus' name. Amen. Okay, open your Bibles to the book of Titus. We will be reading starting in chapter one, verse four. I'll give you guys a second to get there. Alright, let's read together. To Titus, my true child in a common faith. Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior. This is why I left you in Crete, so that you might put what remained into order and appoint elders in every town as I directed you. If anyone is above reproach, the husband of one wife, and his children are believers not open to the charge of debauchery or insubordination, for an overseer as God's steward must be above reproach. He must not be arrogant or quick tempered, or a drunkard, or violent, or greedy for gain, but hospitable, a lover of good, self-control, upright, holy, and disciplined. He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it. For there are many who are insubordinate, empty talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision party. They must be silenced, since they are upsetting whole families by teaching for shameful gain what they ought not to teach. One of the Cretans, a prophet of their own, said, Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, and lazy gluttons, not devoting themselves to Jewish myths and the commands of people who have turned who turn away from the truth. To the pure all things are pure, but to the defile and unbelieving nothing is pure. But both their minds and their consciences are defile. They profess to know God, but they deny him by their works. They are detestable, disobedient, unfit for any good work. Alright, let's talk about the context for a moment. That was a large section of scripture. So let's zoom out for a moment and let's get the big picture. I like to think of stories like movies, probably because of my photography and filmmaking background. Uh, it is so so such a big part of my life. And every good movie begins with a setup, it introduces the problem that needs to be solved before the story unfolds. And this is the setup for the rest of the book of Titus. The problem is simple. The churches in Crete need healthy leadership. Paul reminds Titus why he left them on the island. He says, This is why I left you in Crete, so that you might put what remained into order. That little phrase right there, put what remained into order, tells us a lot. The gospel had already reached Crete. People had already come to faith, churches had already been planted, but they were still young, and they there were still things that needed to be established. Most importantly, they needed elders. Throughout the New Testament, we see that God has consistently designed his church to be shepherded by qualified elders. Whether you see them called elders, overseers, or pastors, the New Testament is referring to the same office, different titles, but the same calling. Man entrusted with shepherding God's people. Now, I have to tell you, this passage has been incredibly, incredibly humbling for me to study. Because this isn't just a list of qualifications for someone else. This is a mirror that every pastor ought to hold up to his own life. It is an incredible privilege to be entrusted with God's people, but it's also an incredible responsibility. James 3:1 tells us that teachers will be judged with greater strictness. That ought to make every pastor tremble, which is exactly why Paul spends so much time talking about character before he ever talks about ability. Church, here is the heart of this passage, the golden thread, if you will, what the passage wishes to communicate and what ties everything together. The health of a church depends upon leaders who know the truth and live the truth. The health of a church depends on leaders who know the truth and live the truth. Now, before anyone thinks this passage is only for pastor, let me pastors, let me remind you that while Paul is describing the qualifications of elders, he's also describing the kind of maturity every Christian should aspire to. Every believer should desire to come, to become the kind of person who is above reproach, self-control, hospitable, faithful, and devoted to the truth. So this standard is not just for me. And if we're going to build a culture of godliness and gospel transformation, this standard applies to you as well. We want people who walk through those doors, people we encounter in our daily lives, to see our lives and see someone who is above reproach, self-control, hospitable, faithful, and devoted to the truth. And notice that Paul is not simply concerned with right doctrine here. That's very important, but that's not all that he's concerned about. He's concerned with right doctrine producing godly lives. That's been Paul's argument since verse one. Truth and godliness belong together. Healthy theology produces healthy living. And the last thing we need is to become the frozen chosen and holy huddle every Sunday, simply gaining more information, but not really learning how to apply it. And over the next few verses, Paul is going to show us exactly what that looks like through three simple themes. Theme number one, God's design for healthy leadership. God's design for healthy leadership. Theme number two, why leadership matters. Theme number three, the tragedy of empty religion. So number one, God's design for healthy leadership. Number two, why leadership matters, and number three, the tragedy of empty religion. Let's start with number one. God's designed for healthy churches. So why did Paul leave Titus? He says in verse five that he might put what remains into order. The Greek word used for putting things into order is epitiorto, epitiorto, which is the same word used for when you need to set a broken bone. It means that something isn't completely wrong, but at the same time, it's not how it's supposed to be. It's not healthy either. The churches in Crete existed, they were meaning already, which was great, but they weren't ordered. And Paul, seeing this, he is proactive about how he guides Titus in the way that the churches must be set up. He doesn't come up and say, Titus, now that you have some sort of church set up, we should do some more programs, maybe better music, and definitely some new kind of marketing material. No, instead, he appoints elders. He appoints elders. He tells them, you need to appoint elders. Why elders and why immediately? Church, the reason is simple. It's because churches eventually resemble their leadership. Churches eventually resemble their leadership. So healthy leaders will lead a healthy church. Unhealthy leaders will lead an unhealthy church. Paul then goes on to spend a good amount of time determining what makes a healthy leader. So let's read it together, starting in verse 6. If anyone is above reproach, the husband of one wife and children are believers and not open to the charge of debaucher, debauchery or insubordination, for an overseer as God's steward must be above reproach. He must not be arrogant or quick-tempered or drunkard or violent or gritty for gain, but hospitable, a lover of good, self-control, upright, holy, and disciplined. He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as thought, so that he may be able to give instruction and sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it. Okay, let's break it that down. Imagine a list with two columns: the must be and the must not be. And if I could show you guys that, it would look like something like this. On the one side, would have the must-be, above reproach, the husband of one wife, a father of believing children. You can break that into two. He must be a father and a father of believing children, hospitable, a lover of good, self-control, upright, holy, disciplined, must be steadfast, able to teach, and able to rebuke. In the must be, in the must-not be list, we have he must not be open to debauchery or insubordination, must not be arrogant, must not be quick-tempered, must not be a drunkard, must not be violent, must not be greedy. Notice that Paul not only not once mentions education here. He doesn't ask how many books he has read or how many books he has written or how many churches he has planted or how charismatic is he, or how good he is on stage, or he may be on stage. No, instead, Paul asks, What kind of man is he? Church, after looking at those qualifications, let me ask you something. Do you know how many of them have to do with talent? The answer is one. He must be able to teach. Everything else is about character. And I don't think that is an accident. Because God is far more concerned with the character of a shepherd than the charisma of a shepherd. I always say this charisma is cheap. You can fake that all day long. Paul even makes it a point to mention it twice. And this is the umbrella under which all the other qualifications fall in. So if you don't meet this one, you won't meet the rest. He says he must be above reproach. But what does that mean? I'll tell you. It means to exhibit a level of integrity and conduct that is completely blameless, making it impossible to legitimately criticize, accuse, or find fault on a person. Or find fault in a person. Now, it says legitimately criticize. Now it doesn't mean that criticize criticism will not come, it just means that it will not stand. Now, does it also mean that it's perfect, that he has to be perfect? No, absolutely no. If that was the case, there would be no pastors. It means that there's no obvious pattern of sin that brings shame upon Christ or his church. It means that his life matches the message. And he sets this standard because character is not built in the spotlight. Because long before a man stands behind a pulpit, God has been shaping him in his home, in his marriage, with his children, in his conversations, in his repentance, because character is the public evidence of private faithfulness. In church, these qualifications are not random. Every one of these qualifications protects people, either protects people or hurts people. Arrogance hurts people, violence hurts people, greed hurts people, hospitality serves people. Self-control blesses people. Holiness points people to Christ. These qualifications aren't arbitrary rules, they are designed to protect the flock. They are designed to protect the flock. And that is huge. Because church leadership is always culture forming. Parents shape families, teachers shape classrooms, coaches shape teams, employers shape the workplace, pastors shape churches. People naturally begin to imitate the people leading them. And Paul knows that. That is why he starts with the shepherds. Every pastor naturally wants to preach this passage to everyone else, but God first preached it to me. Before I ever stand here and ask you to examine my life, I had to ask the Lord to examine mine. Church, please pray for me. Please pray for me. Not because I'm afraid of this passage, but because I want to increasingly reflect it. And remember this while Paul is describing the qualifications of elder, he's also describing the kind of maturity every Christian should aspire to. Every believer should desire to become the kind of person who is above reproach, self-control, hospitable, faithful, and devoted to the truth. Now, do you know why Paul spends so much time talking about elders before he even starts talking about false teachers? It's because healthy leadership is one of God's primary means of protecting healthy churches. Which brings us to Paul's second point. There's something profound hiding in disqualifications, and that is that every one of them reflects the character of Christ. Hospitable, holy, self-controlled, not greedy, not arrogant, faithful, a lover of good, able to teach, patient. The elder isn't just supposed to be qualified to lead, he is called to model Christ. Which brings me to our next theme. Why leadership matters. So Paul has just spanned several verses describing the kind of man who should lead the church. So it's natural to ask why. Why all the qualifications, why why so much emphasis on character, why not simply find someone who is gifted and have him do it? Paul answers that question beginning in verse 10. And he reads like this For there are many who are insubordinate, empty talkers, and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision party. They must be silenced, since they are upsetting whole families by teaching for shameful gain while they ought not to teach. Did you catch that reasoning? The word for at the beginning of verse 10 connects everything that came before it. In other words, here is why healthy leadership matters. Because unhealthy teaching destroys people. Unhealthy teaching destroys people. Notice the progression Paul lays out here. In verse 10, empty talkers. That phrase literally means people whose words are empty. They sound convincing, they sound spiritual, even, they sound intelligent, but when you peel back the layers, there's nothing there. No truth, no gospel, no life. Church, one of the greatest dangers today is that we've confused confidence with correctness. There is no shortage of people out there, especially especially on the internet, that would say something with a lot of conviction, a lot of passion, and still be very, very wrong. And someone can have millions of followers and still lead millions of people away from Christ. Never mistake charisma for truth. Charisma is cheap. You can fake that all day. What you cannot fake is gravitas, and gravitas is built in character. God doesn't call you to follow the loudest voice, He calls you to follow the truest voice. The word Paul uses here literally means to overturn, to ruin, to completely flip upside down. False teaching spreads, and and one false teacher rarely hurts himself or herself at first. Only they hurt marriages, they hurt children, they hurt churches, they hurt generations because ideas don't stay in our heads, they eventually show up in our homes. We are all being discipled by something or someone, so we ought to ask ourselves, who is shaping the way we think? Because whoever shapes your theology will eventually shape your life. In verse 12, we read, Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, and lazy gluttons. Now remember, Paul isn't making an ethnic insult here. He's quoting one of the Cretans' own poets to describe the culture Titus is ministering in. Because false teaching, like I said before, rarely stays with the false teacher. Eventually, it shapes culture. Think about our culture, how our culture has as a whole it is now. Every worldview begins with an idea, then it becomes a belief, then that belief becomes a lifestyle and eventually an entire culture. Ideas have consequences. The ideas we believe today become the lives that we live tomorrow. So beware. Bad theology hurts people. Not just now, but for generations to come. In verse 13 is where Paul becomes a little more direct and he says, Therefore rebuke them sharply. Now this may sound a little harsh by modern standards. We live in a world where we must never tell someone they're wrong. And Paul says, No. When the gospel is at stake, love sometimes confronts. Notice his goal here. He doesn't say rebuke them because you hate them or you should hate them. He says that they may be sound in f in the faith. The purpose of correction is restoration. This isn't about winning argument, it's about winning people. Think of a surgeon for a moment. When a surgeon cuts, he doesn't cut to hurt people or because he enjoys cutting. He cuts because he loves healing. That is what Paul is telling Titus to do. This is hardly applicable to the gospel alone. Remember in Proverbs 27 and 6, faithful are the wounds of a friend. Church, genuine care sometimes requires delivering painful truths. Genuine care sometimes requires delivering painful truths. This whole time, Paul has been taking aim, taking aim, taking aim, and at verse 14, he finally hits his target. He says, not devoting themselves to Jewish myths and the commands of people who turn away from the truth. And there is the issue, church. Truth. Do you remember how Paul opened this letter? Verse 1, the knowledge of truth which accords with godliness. Now look at where we've arrived. False teachers have abandoned that truth. Paul's argument at the beginning was that truth produces godliness. Falsehood produces ungodliness. Healthy doctrine produces healthy Christians. False doctrine eventually creates broken lives. And that right there is why leadership matters. This is why healthy leadership matters, because pastors, elders, deacons don't merely manage an organization, they guard the truth and protect the flock. They guard the truth and protect the flock. Now on to our third and final theme. Now we're here. At the saddest part of this entire passage, listen carefully to what Paul says, beginning in verse 15. To the pure all things are pure, but to the defile and unbelieving nothing is pure, but both their minds and their conscience are defile. Paul isn't saying that everything is morally acceptable here. He's making a much deeper point. You see, the false teachers believe purity came from keeping external religious rules. Don't eat this, don't touch that, observe this ceremony, follow these traditions. Paul says that they've completely missed the point. The problem isn't outside of you, the problem is inside of you. Jesus said that exactly, this is exactly the same thing in Matthew 15, 11. It isn't what goes into a man that defiles him, it is what comes out of his heart. The issue has never been just behavior, the issue is the heart. Church religions are very good at changing appearances, but only the gospel changes the heart. You can clean up your behavior without cleaning your soul. You can make things look religious without making them righteous. And that is exactly what false teachers were doing. They were trying to fix hearts by changing habits, but the message of the gospel is completely different. God gives you a brand new heart, willing to obey him. And that is what produces the change. We know this by contrast, uh, what he says next in verse 16, which is incredibly sovereign. They see he says, They profess to know God, but they deny him by their works. That line right there needs to stop every single one of us in our tracks. Notice that Paul doesn't say they deny him with their mouths. No, quite the opposite. He says their mouths are saying the right thing. They profess him, they sing songs, they know the language, they speak Christianese all the way, they know all the things outwardly, they look like believers, but their loves tell a different story. They profess Christ with their lips, but deny him with their actions. That is terrifying, church. It is entirely possible to know what God's uh to know about Jesus without actually knowing Jesus. It is possible to master the Christian vocabulary without ever surrendering your heart. It is possible to sit in church every Sunday and never be changed by the gospel. Someone said before, going to church makes you as much of a Christian as standing in your garage makes you a car. Paul then goes on to say they are detestable, disobedient, unfit for any good work. Those are hard words. Why is Paul so strong? Again, because the stakes are so high. Last week I mentioned uh that my prayer was that Watkins would become a church known, uh, to be a to be a church full of people who live and breathe the gospel, that it would spill out of our hearts in every conversation, and that we would never fear what man may say. Let me tell you something. Nothing is more loving than telling someone the truth about eternity. Okay, now to wrap it up, here's some application. This passage forces us to ask uncomfortable questions. Has the gospel actually changed me? We're going to be uh celebrating some baptisms here soon. And my question to those getting baptized is how do you know that the gospel has changed you? Do you see the evidence of it in your life? Jesus said you will recognize them by their fruit. James tells us that faith without works is dead. Genuine salvation produces fruit. Remember how Paul opened this letter? The knowledge of truth, which accords with godliness. Now we've come full circle. This gospel never stops at your mind. It travels to your heart and eventually it reaches your hands. Truth produces godliness. That's the heart of Titus. That's why Paul is so passionate about sound doctrine, not because he wants people to win theological debates, but because he wants people to become more like Jesus. Church, as we begin this journey through Titus, I don't want us to simply become a church that knows more theology. I want us to be a church whose lives increasingly display the beauty of the gospel. A church where the truth is belief, the truth is love, the truth is lived. Because the goal of Christianity has never been to produce impressive religious people. The goal has always been to produce people who look more and more like Christ. And that is only possible because the same gospel that saves us is the gospel that continues to shape us every day. Let us pray.