Titus 1:5-16--Qualifications for Elders

Titus 1:5-16
English Standard Version

Qualifications for Elders
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 you— 6 if anyone is above reproach, the husband of one wife, and his children are believers and not open to the charge of debauchery or insubordination. 7 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, 8 but hospitable, a lover of good, self-controlled, upright, holy, and disciplined. 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.

10 For there are many who are insubordinate, empty talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision party. 11 They must be silenced, since they are upsetting whole families by teaching for shameful gain what they ought not to teach. 12 One of the Cretans, a prophet of their own, said, “Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.” 13 This testimony is true. Therefore rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith, 14 not devoting themselves to Jewish myths and the commands of people who turn away from the truth. 15 To the pure, all things are pure, but to the defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure; but both their minds and their consciences are defiled. 16 They profess to know God, but they deny him by their works. They are detestable, disobedient, unfit for any good work.

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We have talked about this exact topic before in Paul's letters to Timothy, though it bears discussing again.  I won't forget to mention up-front this time that there are only two Scripturally defined leadership roles for the Church--Elders and Deacons. We'll be talking about Elders in this passage and Deacons in the next passage.

Elders may be other names that these roles go by such as Elders also going by the name of "pastor," "bishop," or "overseer."  All of these are equivalent words in the Greek and point back to the same role of those who are given primary responsibility as under shepherds under the authority of the Chief Shepherd who is Christ Jesus.  They are responsible for teaching and preaching the Word of God, answering questions to the meaning of the Scriptures, exercising authority in matters of church discipline, rebuking false prophets and false teachers, to live lives above reproach that are examples people can follow, and to exalt Christ in all things.

I will note here that "Elders" always comes in the plural form in any place it is mentioned with the church.  Though the pastor of the church is an elder, it would seem that Paul and the other apostles do not think that these duties are things that he should do alone--in fact, Timothy and Titus are both charged with finding other men (plural) who can serve alongside them as Elders.  Even in some of the smaller congregations met in people's houses to start off with, it was still necessary for their to be a team of spiritual leaders to take care of the preaching, teaching, and other spiritual needs of the church.  The deacons (also always shown in the plural) are there to take care of the physical needs of the congregation, though their authority is a delegated authority that flows from the authority that has been given to the Elders.  The Elders may decide that certain tasks are good things to do but would get in the way of their primary duties and then delegate these tasks to the Deacons of the church.

So, what of the people who will not submit to the authority of the Elders?  What is to be done with them?  Paul says they are to be silenced and put out of the Church if necessary.  Their rebellion is probably rooted in false teaching that is dangerous to the Body of Christ.  The Cretans were especially bad (and this is why we have the word Cretan in our vocabulary to this day).  Paul cites one of their own that said, "Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons," and furthermore he says, "This testimony is true."  This was an extremely hard place to be a pastor as the cultural norms were totally antithetical and hostile towards the gospel.  Yet, the leaders of the Church and those who claimed to have experienced the transformational work of the gospel were to be in the world, but not of the world.  The Elders are to make sure that the Church is influencing the world and that the world is not influencing the Church.

There were also those in Crete who struggled with the Jews who stirred up trouble everywhere that Paul and the gospel went.  Paul says that the Jews will never accept the Gentiles as clean, but it has nothing to do with the Gentiles being unclean, but it has to do with these Jews being unclean.  Paul also says that the Gentiles who have been made clean will have no problem with worshiping with Jewish Christians, because the Lord has made all of His people clean.  If any Gentile refuses to worship with a Jewish Christian because he is Jewish, he is in sin, and likewise if any Jewish Christian refused to worship with a Gentile Christian, he too is in sin, for there is no longer the distinction between Jew and Gentile with the gospel.  The walls of division have been torn down and the two have become one Body in Christ.  Those who preach the words of Christ but deny His power to make one people of the Jews and Gentiles deny the power of the gospel, and this is evidenced by their sinful lifestyles that show that they are controlled by the flesh and not by the Spirit of God.