Well, good morning to everyone. Nice to have you all just a little closer to me here. Amazing how just a little thing can throw us off, eh? I wanted to thank everybody for Thursday night—everybody who prepared food and helped with the cleanup and setup and made treats—and all the work that went into that. So thank you very much for that. We had a wonderful time.

We're going to be continuing our study in the book of Titus this morning, Titus 1:5-9. The other morning at 5:30, I received a text from a man offering a suggestion to me for what he called a daily mental prayer. It was the daily prayer of St. Alphonsus, and it goes like this. His prayer is to Mary, whom he calls the Mother of God: "I love you most dear lady, and for the love I bear you, I promise to serve you willingly forever and to do what I can to make you loved by others. I place in you all my hope for salvation. Accept me as your servant and shelter me under your mantle, you who are the Mother of Mercy."

Paul left Titus in Crete to set things in order in all the churches. Let me ask you this question, my brother, my sister in Christ: who's going to set things in order today in the churches? The man who sent me this prayer is a very religious man affiliated with a major so-called Christian Church, as you might imagine. I think verse 9 of our text applies here: "holding fast the faithful word as he has been taught, that he may be able by sound doctrine both to exhort and convict those who contradict."

There's a tremendously important maxim found in our text, really the whole of this book, concerning the role and function of the elders of the church. We're going to look at these requirements, the standards for a man to be an overseer or a pastor and elder in the church. And they are weighty, my friends—seemingly impossibly high—and this is really a difficult study for me. But here's the maxim I want you to understand: the reason, as we have seen throughout Timothy's letters and as we see in Corinth and throughout the scriptures, the reason that there's such a high standard for the man of God, the Elder, is because he is to be an example to all of the believers. 

Because it is God's desire for every saint to live a fruitful life of holiness and influence for the furtherance of the gospel in this world. So in a real sense, Titus was to appoint elders in every city to set things in order in the church so that the truth would be taught, so that men might grow and mature, as we read in passages like Ephesians 4, so that each believer might speak the truth, correcting the error, so that men might believe and be saved, and that believers might grow and be discerning and glorify God in all that they do.

How do we respond when confronted with such blasphemy and lies as the prayer that man sent me? We respond with truth. But we must be able to discern error and know the truth, and that comes with teaching. That comes with study, with expository preaching, personal and corporate study of God's Word—immersing ourselves in it, letting the Word of Christ dwell in us richly. Thus, the way that a man can set things in order in the church, the way that the pastor can build up the body, is by preaching and teaching the Word of God. 

This is the simplicity. This is the clear instruction. This is the purpose of the elder, the overseer, first and foremost. And what we see in the church today is a wholesale abandoning of this basic principle. We see a failure to preach and teach the Word, and we see a failure on the part of many pastors and teachers to live a holy life, to meet the requirements that we'll look at this morning. 

They're doing all kinds of things—all kinds of programs and outreaches and 12-step plans and group studies—and they're spending all their time waiting on tables. But Peter said we, as elders and overseers, must not leave the study of the Word of God in prayer to serve tables. What is the focus? Where's the emphasis? Where's the fulfillment of the clear command of the Word of God for what the pastor is to be doing? 

And my friends, we see the fruit of it in such great portions of the church that claim the name of Christ today. No man is perfect. It's a very difficult thing for a preacher to even study these standards for the position of elder. But as we've seen all throughout Timothy, we will see again in verse 9, again this morning, the central way to not undermine our message by how we live is to focus on the message, to be focused on the Word of God, preaching and teaching, saying what He says. 

Because the truth is the means of sanctification; the truth is the means of refuting the error. The weapon of our warfare is the sword of God. It is this singular focus on Christ, on who He is and what He has done, His provision and grace for us found only in His Word that will produce the fruit of righteousness in our lives as well. We must hold fast the faithful word as we have been taught, so that we might be able, by sound doctrine, both to exhort and convict those who contradict.

How do you respond to such a text as the one I received the other morning? By holding fast the faithful word so that by sound doctrine we might convict those who contradict. What do we say to such a Christ-denying, blasphemous statement as the prayer I read to you? I wrote back a text to that man, for whom Christ died, and said salvation was accomplished by Christ and His substitutionary death on the cross, His burial, and resurrection from the dead. If all my hopes are in Mary, then none of my hope is in Jesus. And in order to receive salvation, all of my hope must be in Jesus.

My brothers and sisters, we have the good news message of the gospel, and we've been entrusted by God. We've been given the word of reconciliation. We are ambassadors for Christ in this world, and we're here to implore men to believe, to be reconciled to God. What more do we need? What more is there?

Let's look at our text in Titus 1:5. "For this reason I left you in Crete, that you should set in order the things that are lacking and appoint elders in every city as I commanded you. If a man is blameless, the husband of one wife, having faithful children not accused of dissipation or insubordination, for a bishop must be blameless as a steward of God, not self-willed, not quick-tempered, not given to wine, not violent, not greedy for money, but hospitable, a lover of what is good, sober-minded, just, holy, self-controlled, holding fast the faithful word as he has been taught, that he may be able by sound doctrine both to exhort and convict those who contradict."

I've given you three points on your outline this morning: first, we're going to look at "For This Reason," second, "Standards for Service," and third, "Holding Fast the Faithful Word."

Well, we begin in verse 5 with a tremendously clear truth about how we are to do church, how we are to conduct ourselves in the house of God—the specific plan of God to set the churches in order. We read in 1 Corinthians 14 that God is not the author of confusion. God is a God of order. He has a plan, a prescription for order in His church, the local body of believers. 

And that plan is laid out here by the Apostle Paul in his commission to Titus: to appoint elders in every city on the island of Crete, that these men might oversee the local body, the churches in each of these cities. This is the plan of God for church administration. I believe it's important to be clear, as we've seen in our studies of passages like 1 Corinthians 12 or Romans 12, that the body is made up of many members; that each member has a function, has a purpose, and works in unity together for the health and purpose, the proper function of the body.

Let's look at Ephesians 4:11—such an important text for our understanding of what we're doing here on a Sunday morning: "And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastor-teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, that we should no longer be children tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men and the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, but speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love."

Each part does its share, contributing, serving, edifying the body. When one member suffers, we all suffer. The health and vitality of the body depends on each member doing its share in the gifting and role that each believer has been given by the grace of God. 

And so the elder, the overseer, is no better, no more useful, and is in no way set above any other member; he simply has a different role—a role of service in and to the body. Each role, particularly the role of the elder, is laid out here and in 1 Timothy 3, with a set of requirements, necessities for a person to be qualified to serve in that role.

I hope you understand the principles here. Titus was to appoint overseers in each church, a plurality of elders, to oversee and to guide and to teach the church by the grace of God and the power of the Holy Spirit. It is one role in the body. There are many roles and many ways to contribute to the health and the purpose of the local body, and all are vital. But with this role comes some very specific requirements—weighty, I would say, lofty and for me intimidating requirements.

The word "set things in order" means literally to straighten out, to set right, as in mending a broken bone. Set in order the things that are lacking, Paul writes. What is out of joint? What is inconsistent with the Word of God? What is lacking in the church must be set in order. This is the purpose of the elder, the overseer, the church, and it was for this reason that Paul left Titus in Crete.

Well, next we see the standards of service. Verse 5: "For this reason I left you in Crete, that you should set in order the things that are lacking and appoint elders in every city as I commanded you." 

Look at these standards of service: "If a man is blameless, the husband of one wife, having faithful children not accused of dissipation or insubordination." For a bishop must be blameless as a steward of God, not self-willed, not quick-tempered, not given to wine, not violent, not greedy for money, but hospitable, a lover of what is good, sober-minded, just, holy, self-controlled, holding fast the faithful word as he has been taught.

Paul gives us a list of standards here to qualify a man to serve in this role. First, we see that he must be blameless—the husband of one wife. Well, the word "blameless" means above reproach. You'll remember in 1 Timothy 3 when we studied this requirement, it has the idea of not having an accusation stick or be valid. He has a good testimony. There's no accusation, no secret sin, no October surprise in the life of this man. It does not mean he is perfect or sinless or that he does not struggle with sin. 

What it means is that his sin is dealt with. He is humble, contrite, and seeking by the grace of God to live a holy life consistent with who he is in Christ. There's no persistent or dominating sin in his life that controls him, nor are there secret sins that give a valid place to accusation. This largely seems to play out in the area of sexual sin, as we see as a persistent problem in the lives of false teachers, and it's often the downfall of a true believer in the ministry. 

This is encompassed in the phrase "the husband of one wife," which literally translates to "a one-woman man." In order to be qualified to serve in the office of overseer, a man must be faithful to his wife. He must be a one-woman man, not involved in sexual immorality, and thus adultery or sexual immorality is a disqualification for being a pastor or teacher. This is contrary to the practice and philosophy of many churches today. We want to restore a man and bring him back into the position, but it's an important qualification.

The phrase "husband of one wife" does make comment on the situation of divorce as well, although I do not believe it's a primary intent here or in Timothy. The word "blameless" or "above reproach" probably speaks more directly to the situation of a divorced man. What we need to understand here is that this role is a very specific role in the church. If there are 200 people in a church, in a local body, only a handful of men are needed to fulfill this role. The rest of the men have other roles in the body, as well as the women and the children. God has laid out very high standards to serve in this role for very specific purposes, which we will consider here shortly.

The truth we need to understand is that the cause of Christ is much bigger, much more important than any individual man. So the example of the man in this office—his life, his testimony—must be pure lest he be unable to fulfill the purpose for which God has him there, lest he bring reproach on the name of Christ. So a man must be above reproach; he must be blameless and the husband of one wife.

Next, we see he must have faithful children not accused of dissipation or insubordination. This is a most difficult standard here, my friends, and I believe sometimes difficult to sort out. I believe the clearest way to understand some of these requirements is to remember that it is the man who is being measured—his faithfulness, his lifestyle, his heart, his holiness—and this includes how he manages his household. 

This is tough. And in assessing this standard, I think we must remember that ultimately each individual is responsible for his own belief or unbelief and for his own actions. Yet we see that he should be a faithful father and husband. He should be an example to those in his own household first of all—one who disciplines, guides, directs, and loves with the example of Christ. 

It is my family who knows me best. It is those in my own household who see my weaknesses, my failings. But here is where the highest standard must be met. A man must be most concerned with leading his wife, his children, and following Christ in the Word, and he must be an example to them as well. And this is manifest in faithful children—believing children who are not insubordinate, corrupted, engaged in profligate living. 

In 1 Timothy 3, it says that a man must rule his house well. And here it seems to indicate that the fruit of this is the fruit of the lives of his children. Now listen, the point of this again would be that there would be no accusation to undermine the message of Christ. I think we must evaluate the man and his faithfulness, his life, his heart for the Lord, and his willingness to lead and teach and pray for his family.

This is an extremely difficult line to draw. I've heard some preachers say that if a man has an unbelieving child, then he is immediately disqualified from the position of elder. However, the Bible teaches that each individual has his own will, his own choice, and the measure of a man is his faithfulness, his desire and action to lead his wife and children in the truth of the Scriptures by word, by example.

And certainly, there's a difference between a young child in the home and his behavior and an adult child off on his own. James said, "Don't let many of you be teachers, for they will receive the stricter judgment." These standards are weighty—a weighty thing for the man of God, my friends. And I'm not sure that any of us really measure up to them completely. 

But by the grace of God, He works through imperfect men. Notice verse 7; he continues: "For a bishop must be blameless as a steward of God." This is the essence of all this, again, as Paul reiterates here—blameless. 

The word means above reproach, not having an accusation stick. There's nothing valid to accuse him of, no secret sin that attaches itself to him. The description of this continues in verses 7 to 8 for understanding. This is a description of what this means: "Not self-willed, not quick-tempered, not given to wine, not violent, not greedy for money, but hospitable, a lover of what is good, sober-minded, just, holy, self-controlled."

Remember last week we talked about the understanding that we are bond servants of Christ. And that has to do with a Christ and others-centered attitude, our will being swallowed up in the will of Christ. The opposite of that is being self-willed—focused on self, seeking my own selfish, sinful desires. The believer in Jesus Christ has been given by God a desire to serve Him, to serve others, primarily through the ministry of the gospel. It's our desire to do the will of God. 

But when men are self-willed—mindful of their own interests over that of others—they are not qualified to be elders. Not quick-tempered. This has to do with outbursts of wrath when something doesn't go their way or when someone gets in the way of their will; they blow up. This is not the type of man who can serve in ministry. Not given to wine.

We've talked about this before in other passages, including Timothy and Ephesians. But there are some things we must understand concerning what Paul describes here as wine in his time. It was a simple issue in the time of Paul in the Middle East. It was a hot, dry climate. There was no refrigeration; the water was often contaminated. There was a need for sustenance by way of hydration. 

I saw this type of situation when I was in India, and I remember two of the elders there at Augustine's home took Guy and me for a walk around the town square in the city of Chennai, a city of 10 million. They had a little festival going on, and we got a treat and took a walk around. We walked past a large pond in the town square there in Chennai, and the pond was like nothing I'd ever seen. It looked as if the swamp monster would emerge at any moment. 

We were there in January, the coldest time of the year. It was in the mid-80s every day. The people wore their earmuffs in the evenings because they were cold. Guy started to joke with our Indian hosts as we walked past the pond, but they weren't following his Jack Pine Savage sarcasm. He said, "I think I'll just go down to that pond and wade in a little bit," and he started walking that way. He said, "Maybe a swim would be nice this evening." 

The men became very concerned, and they began to plead with Guy, "Oh no!" they said, "Stay away from that water! Don't go to the water! It is not safe." It wasn't safe. That was sort of the issue in Paul's time. The water was not safe. They had to drink to live, so the custom was to use fruit juice. But in that hot climate, it wouldn't be long in the heat before it would begin to ferment. They had no other way to keep it, so they would take the fermented wine and mix it with water to purify the water. Some historians say they mixed it at about eight to one, but I'm sure this varied.

They also boiled the grape juice down to a paste to keep it, like we would do with maple syrup, and the concentrate could be kept and preserved in skins or jugs, and then they could reconstitute it with water to have something to drink. The point is that the wine was something very different and had a very different purpose than what our wine has today.

We have so many options today for staying hydrated, staying healthy, clean water to start with available in every tap all around us. We have refrigeration, so we can keep fruit juices from fermenting and milk from spoiling. We have an endless supply of drinks at the quick mart everywhere we go. There's absolutely no necessity for us to drink wine, and the wine we have today is not mixed wine but what the Bible calls hard drink.

We don't need to get real far into this and study this morning, but certainly Romans 14 and 1 Corinthians 8 come to mind. Why would I drink alcohol when it could cause my brother to stumble? Alcoholism has real potential to damage my witness and bring bondage and destruction to my life or the lives of those around me. 

I especially think it's an unwise thing for an elder to drink alcohol because of witness, because of example, and because of potential harm. Let me ask you this: where's the upside? Where's the profit? There's only potential for destruction, my friends, and we see it all around us. I deal with it. Alcohol dominates and destroys people's lives.

So when Paul says "not given to wine," the literal meaning here is one who stays alongside the wine, spends time with wine, lingers long at the wine. In those days, with the wine Paul's speaking of, a man would have to stay a long time with the wine, drink a lot of wine in order to get drunk—not so much in our time with our wine. But the main meaning here is one who drinks to the point of being—or for the purpose of getting drunk. 

I would point out too that the man of God is to be self-controlled. He's to be in his right mind. And any inebriation, what we might call today "getting a little buzzed," is indeed a loss of control. It's being filled or controlled with wine, and it is sin. Be not filled with wine, but be being filled with the Holy Spirit. Clearly this is true for the pastor, teacher, elder as an example, and also an expectation for every believer for the profit of the gospel.

Next we see not violent, not greedy for money. Violence is the same word we see in 1 Timothy 3—a brawler. It literally means quarrelsome or a striker—one who punches another in the face to settle disputes, which has gone on for a long time. A man given to violence has no place as an elder. And greedy for money—in it for the filthy lucre—this is a huge problem in the professing church in reality and in perception. 

2 Peter 2 and Jude tell us that false teachers are in it for the money, that they will make merchandise of you. They seek their own profit, and are in it for the filthy lucre, as the King James says. A man who loves money has a heart that is selfish, self-willed. He will compromise himself for the sake of having more, and this man cannot be an elder.

This is something that is characteristic of false teachers—we see it all the time. Sexual immorality and greed are the downfalls of pastor-preachers and characterize false teachers. And this is what the world thinks of ministers of the gospel.