Your Church Needs Qualified Elders

Sermon Transcript

INTRODUCTION

I want to begin our time in God’s word with a personal question that I’d like each one of us to consider: what do you think our church needs? Whether this is your first time here or you’ve been around for years, what do you think our church needs to truly grow stronger as a gospel culture, which is a church that makes the truth of the gospel visible through our relationships and life together so that the world sees in us the difference that Jesus really makes? What do we need? That’s the question that the Apostle Paul will answer for us in our passage in Titus this morning. This morning we are in our second week of a six-week journey through Paul’s letter to Titus. Paul wrote to help Titus strengthen the local churches on Island of Crete so that they will be churches that last. What does Paul say the churches in Crete needed because we are safe to assume it’s what we need as well? Titus 1:5: 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. Elders? Is that what you thought we need? One of the reasons I love the Bible is because it’s timeless and gets us thinking about things that no one is going to tell you the church needs to be a gospel culture growing strong. Elders! Why elders? The churches on the Island of Crete, like all local churches including ours, had some things that needed to be put into order if the churches were going to truly last and really matter long after Paul’s death. The churches had false teaching that needed to be corrected, they had divisiveness that needed to be rebuked, they had immorality that needed to be abandoned and they had spiritual beauty that needed to be encouraged. To meet those needs Paul says the churches need elders. Paul isn’t saying that elders are the only thing our church needs, he’s saying that without elders, none of the other problems that remain can be put into order. That brings us to the big idea of our passage: Your church needs qualified elders. What are elders? Elders (pastors/overseers) are men who (i) meet the qualifications in 1 Timothy 3:1-7 and Titus 1:6-9, (ii) are recognized by their congregation as elders, (iii) and lead the congregation by teaching the Word (1 Tim. 3:2), praying for the sheep (Jas. 5:14), and overseeing the affairs of the church (1 Pet. 5:2). Question: what kind of elders should you appoint, pray for, encourage, follow, and imitate? That’s the question Titus 1:5-9 answers. Qualified elders are: (1) Above reproach at home, (2) Above reproach in character, and (3) Above reproach in doctrine.

ABOVE REPROACH AT HOME

Titus 1:6-7b: -if anyone is above reproach… Let’s pause here for a moment. The overarching character qualification for an elder is that they be above reproach or blameless. “Above reproach” doesn’t mean sinless, well-liked by or unopposed by everyone, or that an elder has to be above any legitimate criticism. The term “Above reproach,” or blameless, in the Bible refers to those who have been declared forgiven and blameless through the grace of the gospel and then lives in the present in a way that is consistent with the grace that the gospel confers.

The very first place where elders should be known for walking in step with the gospel is at home. Titus 1:6a: -if anyone is above reproach, the husband of one wife… The pastor who is married should be known, as it literally reads in Greek, for being “a one-woman-man.” As Paul writes in Ephesians 5:25: “Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her…” The married elder should be known for loving his wife and nourishing and cherishing her as Christ does the church. Some scholars believe that the accent in verse six is on the elder’s sexual devotion to his wife. The pastor should not be known for being flirtatious, having a wandering eye, or being enslaved to pornography. Instead, the pastor and his wife should be sexually devoted to one another. To be entrusted with the bride of Christ, the elder should be known for being devoted to his bride. The elder is a one-woman-man. Now, I don’t believe that this means that a qualified elder and his wife can’t have seasons significant marital challenge. Rather, I believe this means that when the pastor’s marriage experiences significant challenges, he goes to counseling, he prays, he treats his sin as the problem, and seeks God’s grace for his marriage because he’s a one-woman-man.

The elder not only walks in step with the gospel in marriage, but also toward his children if he has them. Titus 1:6-7b: -if anyone is above reproach, the husband of one wife, and his children are believers and not open to the charge of debauchers or insubordination. For an overseer, as God’s steward, must be above reproach. The word “believers” should probably be translated “faithful.” An elder isn’t responsible for his children following Jesus. No parent carries that responsibility. However, an elder should delight in and raise his children in the discipline and instruction of the Lord in such a way that when his children are children, they’re known for being faithful to their parents, rather than being known for debauchery or insubordination. Now these are serious terms. As one scholar puts it, “The word does not describe penny-ante transgressions or the foibles of youth.” The reason it’s so important that an elder be known for being a one-woman-man and known for having faithful kids is because elders are stewards, or managers, of God’s family, the church. If an elder is faithful pastor to the little flock at home, then he can be entrusted with the larger flock, the church. One of the most influential people in my early life as a Christian was a pastor name Mike Pedlowe. In high school he was the first person who taught me to treasure God’s word and I’ve been treasuring it ever since. I first met Mike soon after my conversion and for various reasons I didn’t trust Mike or other pastors back then. You know what won me over to him? It wasn’t his leadership skill or his great Bible teaching, it was his family. He was so obviously devoted to them, his wife so obviously delighted in him, and his kids so obviously respected him that I thought surely I can entrust myself to his leadership and my life has never been the same. Above reproach at home.

There are a myriad of ways that you can apply this qualification for elders to your life, but I’ll mention two. First and most importantly, only appoint elders in Citylight who are known for being good pastors at home. Secondly, please pray for your elders’ families. It’s a rare thing that someone’s job description includes their marriage, sex-life, and their kids’ behavior. Satan loves to exploit that pressure. Pray for us. Pray and, at the risk of sounding self-seeking, please be the answers to your prayers by coming alongside our marriages and children. It’s not easy to be a pastor’s wife or kid. Each of our wives and children will feel the weight of their marriage or their behavior being part of their husband or daddy’s qualification to be a pastor. Our children need to you disciple them, mentor them, teach them to be faithful, delight in them, and show them grace. Our wives need to hear words that build them up from you. Pray that your elders will be above reproach at home because only men who are faithful to their families can be entrusted with shepherding God’s family. For our church to be a gospel culture growing strong, we need elders and future elders who are above reproach at home. Secondly, our church needs elders who are…

ABOVE REPROACH IN CHARACTER

In Titus 1:7b-8, Paul tells Titus first what an elder shouldn’t be known for and then what he should be known for as far as his character. Let’s begin first with what he should be known for. Titus 1:7b: He must not be arrogant or quick-tempered or a drunkard or violent or greedy for gain… You can summarize all five of these negative character traits with one idea: self-control. The elder should not be known for being unable to control himself because if a man is unable to control himself, then he cannot be entrusted with you, God’s precious people. He should not be known for being unable to control himself. He should not be known for being unable to control his sense of his own importance (arrogance), unable to control his internal or external anger, especially his tongue (quick-tempered), unable to control his alcohol, food or media (drunkard), unable to control his fists or other means that he may use to manipulate or abuse those entrusted to his care (violent), or unable to control the temptation to accrue money dishonestly (greedy for gain). Let’s move to what he should be known for. Titus 1:8 but hospitable, a lover of good, self-controlled, upright, holy, and disciplined. In summary, elders should be so controlled by the Holy Spirit that they are able to control themselves so that they are known for being lovers of people and lovers of God. The church needs qualified elders who are above reproach in their character.

Why is an elder, a pastor, a shepherd’s character so important? Eleven specific qualifications in a verse and a half and all of them have been about character. Why? I believe the emphasis on the character of elders reveals something deeply important the nature of God and His church. God is a shepherd who loves his sheep. Ezekiel 34:11, 14-16: “For thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I, I myself will search for my sheep and will seek them out…14 I will feed them with good pasture, and on the mountain heights of Israel shall be their grazing land. There they shall lie down in good grazing land, and on rich pasture they shall feed on the mountains of Israel. 15 I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I myself will make them lie down, declares the Lord GOD. 16 I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak, and the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them in justice. The Lord is a shepherd who loves his flock, the church, so he entrusts his flock to undershepherds who can be trusted with his precious flock. The emphasis on character in elders reveals that God your shepherd loves you and will only entrust you, his flock, to undershepherds who follow him and shepherd him like He does, rather than use your loyalty and abuse his authority. He is the shepherd who loves you. The emphasis on character also reveals something profound about the church. Why is God so intent that you have godly shepherds, rather than being concerned that you have pastors who are scholars, orators, visionaries, or brilliant managers? The church isn’t university, a show, or a business venture. The church is God’s flock, and for his flock to truly last and really matter in our generation, his flock needs godly shepherds not professionals. Question: Is it godly character that you long to see in us most? Is it what you’re looking for in future elders, is it what you’re praying for in us, and is it what you’re most interested in imitating?

When I was a student at Penn State, I was part of a small church plant about fifteen miles from campus. Pastor Tim was the youth pastor there. The Lead Pastor of that little church in the sticks of central PA was a faithful preacher, but his Bible teaching was neither scholarly nor overwhelmingly inspiring. His leadership was adequate, but no one is going to knock down his door to get him to write a book on strategic planning. But Tim and I, and about a hundred other people thrived there because he had godly character and we became godlier by following Him. That’s what shapes a gospel culture. Finally, our church need qualified elders who are…

ABOVE REPROACH IN DOCTRINE

Titus 1:9a: He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught… Titus, and you, must appoint men who hold firm and have a settled, seasoned dedication to gospel-doctrine. In the Bible, good character and good doctrine are not neatly separated. Rather, part and parcel of godly character is an immovable, steadfast commitment to sound doctrine that may seem fanatically unwavering to those not yet convinced of the truth. The pastor should be known for holding firm to the truth of the gospel because it’s God’s word that he is charged to uphold and it’s not his to re-invent, shape to his own demands or the demands of others, or edit to fit anyone’s preferences. Pastors are not creative innovators when it comes to their doctrine and teaching. As Jen Wilkin says, “it’s not new truths that we need; we need old truths recently forgotten.” Pastors are not chefs who create the meal. They’re waiters who deliver the meal that God has made. Elders are to embrace, live, and impress the teaching that we have received from the Apostles and his laid down in Scripture (Yarbrough). Elders are Bible men. Why? Let’s read the rest of Titus 1:9: 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. Elders have to hold firmly to God’s word because elders lead by teaching sound doctrine and rebuking those who contradict it. Elders are like shepherds (instruct & call back the strays).

Question: Why didn’t Paul simply write letters to the churches himself? Surely, these elders aren’t the Apostle Paul. In the same way, the Citylight elders aren’t______. But God’s will is for the word to do the work through your elders, not podcasts, blogs, or books.

Now is the time when I have an existential crisis. Who can be an elder? The gospel! In 1 Peter 2:24-25 we read, “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. 25 For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.” We were all straying like sheep, but our Lord Jesus Christ bore our sins in his body on the cross so that we straying sheep can return to Jesus the Shepherd and Overseer of our souls. And as we come to Jesus our Shepherd and Overseer, by his grace he not only forgives our sins and rescues us from eternal judgment, he can also make sinful men into qualified elders by grace. Our church needs qualified elders and by the grace of Jesus alone we will have them and be a gospel culture that truly lasts.