QUALIFICATIONS OF A GODLY LEADER - II

Titus 1:6
Bob Bonner
December 28, 2009

When the end of winter comes, and spring begins, I take a close look at my cars and my house to see if the harsh winter months have uncovered areas that need repair or maintenance on these two, the most expensive earthly possessions I own. The end of April, after all of the taxes have been paid, is also a good time to stop and review how one has spent and invested one’s monies. Are there places in the budget that need tightening up? Have I invested as much as I would like in the Lord’s work? As it concerns investing for the future, do I need to scale back investments or increase them, if I can, in light of the present economy?

As with the end of these seasons, other seasons’ ends give us different opportunities to examine, evaluate, and make changes to different aspects of our lives. As we come to the end of this year and face the New Year, I personally find it a good time to stop and prayerfully consider what the Lord has been doing in my life.  Here are the types of questions I wrestle with: 

How well have I lived so as to fulfill His purpose for my life as a Christian? In other words, how successful have I been in encouraging and building up my brothers and sisters in Christ? 

What impact have I had on introducing others to Jesus Christ? What, if anything, has held back my effectiveness?

What lessons have I learned about the Lord and about myself this past year? 

How has the Lord answered my various recorded prayer requests? 

How has the Lord blessed my life, and more importantly, have I stopped to thank Him? 

In what areas have I seen victories in my own spiritual and emotional growth? 

In what areas have I seen growth in my relationships with the significant people in my life such as my wife, children, grandchildren, parents, siblings, staff, and elders?

What new areas of weakness and needed growth has He uncovered in my life this past year?

On which places in my life has the Holy Spirit put His finger, telling me, “This weakness or this area of ignorance will be one of My works in process this next year?”

Some people think such times of self-examination are futile or unproductive, and I would have to admit that for some people they are, because of how they approach the task and what they use as their measuring line. The Apostle James, moved by the Holy Spirit, not only encourages such times of self-examination, but he gives us the measuring line against which we should examine ourselves. God, through James, speaks to all of us when He says in James 1:22-25:

But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who

delude themselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a

doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror; for once

he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten

what kind of person he was.

Now, let me stop right there to make sure we don’t miss his point. James is making a very sexist but true remark about men in general, for the purpose of driving home a principle for all people to consider. 

When women dress in front of a mirror or look intently in a mirror, they do so for the purpose of looking for anything that may need to be changed. If they find a blemish which needs to be covered or a tear in the fabric of their outfit that needs to be repaired before they go out in public, so that their physical appearance would be at its best, they will take steps to improve their appearance if given a choice. That’s not only a good thing, but it is the purpose of a mirror. What use is a mirror if one does not use it to better themselves?

Men, for some reason, typically don’t take the mirror seriously. As James infers, a typical man, in comparison to most women, spends very little time in front of a mirror. Whereas Elvia may look in a mirror to address the needs of her hair or her make up, Floyd takes a quick glance at his scalp, grabs a wash cloth and wipes it over his head, and he’s done and out the door. I’m not much different at this stage in my life. I hunt for the two or three hairs I have left, try to put them in place with some hair glue, and if it doesn’t work, so be it! I’m out the door, never to think about it the rest of the day. 

Different than most women, men don’t always look in a mirror to check their clothes before leaving the house. And if they do, it’s a very quick glance, and they say to themselves, “Ah, that’s good enough,” and they are out the door. I mean, how else do you explain men putting on two different colored pairs of socks and going to work, not caring? The only possible exception of men really using a mirror for its intended purpose is when men are serious about making an impression at a job interview, or to close a deal, or before meeting a certain lady. But for the most part, it is a quick glance, and we are gone! 

James’ point is that this has been a cross cultural custom of men for centuries. However, it may not be a wise practice, especially when one does not stop to seriously evaluate one’s life. None of us should live like the typical male who rarely seriously considers his life and whether or not it may need some changing.

God continues to speak to us in these matters when He states, through James:

But one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty,

[meaning the Word of God] and abides by it, [in other words, sees areas

that need addressing in one’s life according to the Word and does

something about it] not having become a forgetful hearer but an

effectual doer, this man will be blessed in what he does. 

It’s very clear from these verses what the measuring line is or what the mirror is that we are to look into as we examine our lives. It is the Word of God. The Word of God is not to just be read or to be agreed with. To say to oneself, “Yes, what I just read in the Bible is a good thing,” or “What it says is true,” and then do nothing with it as it concerns our lives is failure to use the Word of God for the purpose for which it was intended. The Word of God was not given to us for us to agree with or to discover what is true. It was left to us to examine, and through examination and application to our lives to change us! 

So often, many read the Daily Bread or other devotional material, or they read their Bibles only and then close them, never to really consider, “God, why do you have me, in your providence, reading this passage today? Is there something you wish for me to consider and to change?” God tells us in 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.” It’s obvious from these words that God’s Word was given to us to change or give direction to our lives.

With that healthy reminder for the New Year, let’s return to our study of Titus. In a few moments we are going to return to a list of qualifications for an elder, a list that can also be used as a measuring stick to evaluate one’s present spiritual maturity. Lists can be boring unless we recognize that as the Word of God, they are to be seen as a personal mirror for all to examine their lives.

In an attempt to better understand and apply what we are about to study this morning, let me remind you of the historical setting for this letter, why Paul wrote it to Titus, and what we have covered thus far.

Titus was left on the island of Crete to complete the organization and establishment of a healthy church on the island. Crete was spiritually primitive from a Christian point of view. From what we can tell of history, there is no evidence of an organized church on the island at this time. The vices Paul lists in 1:6-9 and elsewhere in this letter would not be necessary to list in a more mature, established church. At a minimum, Paul wants Titus and the believers in Crete to live up to the minimum moral standards of the culture groups on the island. Even amidst a society that would be considered lawless, those who lived on Crete did still have an honor code of sorts. They held some of the same high virtues that Christians hold to and admire. And these virtues are the ones that Paul highlights in verses 6-8.

As we study these virtues, you will notice three specific areas of maturity being considered. In verse 6, Paul focuses on the candidate for eldership’s home life. In verses 7-8 he speaks to the candidate’s public and private life as it concerns the man’s personal character. And finally in verse 9, Titus is called to measure the man’s devotion or commitment to the Word of God.

This morning we want to return to verse 6 and those qualifications which concern the home life. We read this, “Namely, if any man is above reproach, the husband of one wife, having children who believe, not accused of dissipation or rebellion.”

Paul began his list of standards for an elder with an entry that is the overall objective for all of the qualifications to follow. We know this because this first qualification, to be “above reproach,” is the only one that is repeated twice in these verses. Why repeat this charge? Because ultimately the mission of every Christian, not just the leadership, is to live in such an appealing way that it will give him or her an opportunity and authority to share with others the truth of the transforming power of Christ made possible for those who put their trust in Him. After all, who is going to be attracted to our Savior if our lives morally are not attractive to those we are trying to reach? Furthermore, this repetition for the elders to be “above reproach” is another indicator of the problems and immaturities of the Christians on Crete.

Last time, we defined the meaning of “above reproach” as, first of all, not meaning that one be free from faults. It means a life is characterized by moral integrity.  In other words, is one firmly committed to Christian, Biblical morality—in his thinking, acting, and speaking.

From this over-arching qualification of being above reproach, Paul’s next qualification is that the man be the “husband of one wife.”  More literally, does he treat her and does she feel as though her husband is, literally, a “one woman man,” committed only to her? Has this man proven himself to be committed to the one to whom he is married, both in thought and deed?  Is he winning the war against lust, even though he may lose a battle once in a while in his mind?

If the man is not married, this qualification would not concern the man’s marriage, obviously, but how he manages his relationships with other women. Does he treat them honorably as one would treat a sister or even mother? Does he demonstrate that he values the fairer sex?

As we consider this qualification as a measuring stick of maturity for females, the question might be put this way:  Is my heart sold out to my husband? Or do I romantically fantasize about another man or another woman’s husband? 

The third qualification of an elder measures his integrity and ability to manage his own home and thus to manage people in the church family. It concerns his relationship with his children. Paul first states that he must have “children who believe”. In the past, this qualification has been sorely misunderstood. It has been taken to mean that all of the elder’s children, including children who are no longer under their parent’s supervision, must “believe” in the sense of “being saved” in order for him to be qualified to be an elder. Thankfully, modern scholarship has corrected this misunderstanding through a better study of the terms used and a fuller understanding of the passage and its historical context, along with the rest of Biblical theology.  

To properly understand Paul’s intent, one must first understand what Paul means by “having children.” The verb “having children” along with the meaning of “children” suggests that Paul has in mind those children young enough to still rightfully be living at home under the authority of their parents. And note that the word used here for “children” is plural, not singular. It does not point to an individual child, but rather emphasizes the workings of the entire household.

In addition, allow me to simply state that this text does not point to holding parents accountable for their adult children’s activities when they are no longer living under their parents’ authority or supervision. I will show you why this is true in a moment.

In order to understand this qualification, it is also important to understand how the Greek word “pistos,” translated here as “believe,” should be understood in this verse. Often in the New Testament, the word “pistos” refers to saving belief, as someone putting their trust in Jesus Christ as one’s Savior and Lord.

But it is also used many times elsewhere in the New Testament and in these pastoral epistles in a nonreligious sense to describe someone as “trusting in, being faithful to, obedient to, or submissive to.”  The obvious meaning that Paul has in mind here is for these children to be trusting in or submissive to their earthly father. This is not a statement concerning what the children believe theologically, but rather a statement describing their behavior in the home as it reflects their relationship to the father, his character, and his leadership ability in the home.

To support this interpretation, keep in mind that contextually the criteria of this list are not focused on the children but the father. And by the father, this passage is not speaking of the heavenly Father, God, but of the human father. Hence, it describes a child saying, “I believe in you, Dad.”

Secondly, the last phrase which describes the situation of these children does not stress what they believe but their behavior. They are not to be wild kids who are disobedient or disrespectful to their parents. Again, keeping the contextual audience in mind, the Cretan children, Paul is saying that the elder’s kids are not to be like the other Cretans’ children, who flagrantly disregarded their father’s authority.

Furthermore, a study of Paul’s list of qualifications for an elder in 1 Timothy 3:4, 12 reveals that although he does not specify this exact qualification of children being “faithful,” he does point to the qualification of a spiritual leader being one whose children support, go along with, trust in, or submit to his oversight of them. In other words, in Paul’s letter to Timothy, he supports this meaning.

In addition, this primitive church had no elders yet, and few if any households were made up of both parents being believers, let alone the kids that trusted Christ. Titus is called to appoint elders where there were none. Hence, it was enough that the man’s character at home was proven by the respect he received from his children as he managed his own home. If Paul had limited elders to only those whose entire family members were saved, none would have qualified to be elders at Crete.

Finally, the interpretation that the qualification for an elder demands that his children, whether young or old, be saved proves to be a theological problem that goes against the teachings of the rest of Scripture. Scripture clearly teaches that it is the responsibility of each individual to choose to trust in Christ as personal Savior and Lord. The Scripture clearly states that no other human being can force another to believe in Jesus Christ. To put one’s trust in Christ as Savior and Lord is a supernatural miracle that takes place between that person and God. The best anyone, and in this case a parent, can do in regards to leading another person to Christ is to cultivate the ground and plant the seeds of the gospel. Whether it takes root or not is between that child and God. Even the best Christian parent cannot guarantee their child will be saved. 

It should be noted that being a faithful parent is based on observations of a child’s conduct over time, not on isolated incidents.  As well, there may be challenges that parents face with just one of many of their kids--what I call the “black sheep syndrome.” What it gets down to when you are examining a candidate for eldership is the question of patterns of unruliness over time in a man’s household. Occasional or exceptional difficulties well handled should not disqualify a man. Rather, challenging situations with children that are handled well by a father are precisely what does qualify one to be an elder.

Let’s quickly look at Paul’s two last descriptive terms of children’s behavior. It is unfortunate that the Greek word “asotias” is translated here as “dissipation,” because that choice of word suggests “drunkenness,” and the meaning of this word is not “drunkenness” or “debauchery” as some have suggested. The word means “to be riotous, or wild.” Yes, people who get drunk or are involved in orgies are considered wild. But being wild and drunk or debaucherous is not the same thing. 

This is not a term that only refers to adult behavior either. That’s a bogus concept created to support the view that this qualification for an elder included adult children. To be “wild” could mean a child lives as though he has never been given any restraints. A child can be “riotous” because he is living a lawless life due to parents who are never home to lay down the law. In reality, this describes the very culture of many homes on Crete during the first century before Christianity took hold on the island. Parents weren’t interested in raising godly children. Men, especially, were more interested in their hedonistic pursuits. Hence, kids would become “wild.” 

The last descriptive term used of an elder’s child is that he not be “rebellious.” The idea here does not point to a child who once in a while disobeys, who naturally has a strong will that needs to be tamed, or who does childish things that are wrong but part of growing up. It is a term that describes a child who is unruly, incorrigible. It is a child who will not recognize or submit to proper authority, whether it be parents, teachers, coaches, tutors, or police.

Hence, this final qualification of an elder, as it concerns his home, points to a man who has earned and maintains the respect of his children by the way he treats them. He is a man who trains his children how to behave and to submit to those in authority over them. To put it another way, this is a man who is not so busy with other matters of life that he is an absentee parent who has lost the love and respect of his children and is incapable of managing or giving leadership to his family.

Let’s remember the backdrop of Paul’s letter to Titus. This subject of character is important, because if we have no character or our character is not changing for the better we have no foundation upon which to speak to others about Christ’s ability to save us from our sin and to transform our lives. So with that in mind, consider the following questions:

If you are a parent, how would others at your child’s school, on his or her sports team, or in your neighborhood describe your child’s overall behavior? Would the assessment be that he is unruly, incorrigible, and disrespectful toward you and other authority figures? Or would it be that he is submissive, teachable, responsive to instructions, and respectful toward you and other authority figures?

If you are a child, how would others at school, on your team, and in your neighborhood describe your behavior toward your parents and other adult figures? Are you respectful, obedient, and teachable? Are you wild, rebellious, and refusing to obey authority?

If you are an adult, how would children around you describe your attitudes and actions toward those in authority over you, such as your parents?

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