Titus 1:5 For this cause left I thee in Crete, that thou shouldest set in order the things that are wanting, and ordain elders in every city, as I had appointed thee:
6 If any be blameless, the husband of one wife, having faithful children not accused of riot or unruly.
7 For a bishop must be blameless, as the steward of God; not selfwilled, not soon angry, not given to wine, no striker, not given to filthy lucre;
8 But a lover of hospitality, a lover of good men, sober, just, holy, temperate;
9 Holding fast the faithful word as he hath been taught, that he may be able by sound doctrine both to exhort and to convince the gainsayers.
Leadership is extremely important. Leadership without the fear of God will be a disaster. Yesterday the world witnessed a major breakdown in communications between the U.S. and Ukraine. It has been clear for some time that the West has no business in Ukraine. We know that much of the support sent to Ukraine has been mismanaged by the Ukrainian government. We know that war is a bottomless pit. Canada has foolishly promised more money and resources for Ukraine. There are Ukrainians living in Canada who are expecting the west to give more money to Ukraine. If the West would have stayed out of this mess in the first place, there would not have been a war. Mr. Trump has warned of this escalating to WWIII. Financially and militarily it already is WWIII. We have invested heavily in this war without any oversight in it.
The U.S. is finally waking up a little bit to the never ending demands that are not producing good results. Yesterday there was a public display of the breakdown in relations between the leaders of both countries. Mr. Zelensky has never been an honest player in this matter. He is a very cruel leader. He has come to the West time and time again demanding more aid. He acts like a spoiled child that believes he deserves our help. He does not deserve anything from us. He should be begging for help and thankful for help, but that is not the case.
The mainstream media has lied to us for a long time and they have stated that Russia is losing this war. They and their many followers need to read their Bibles. Russia will be a major player in end times prophecy. They are not going anywhere. They are a dictatorship, but so is Canada. Canada treats those who oppose the “system” very much like Russia does. Canada wants to put everyone on a guaranteed income and take the wealth away from all but the elite. Trudeau has publicly stated at the beginning of the Wuhan virus debacle that it was a great opportunity to further initiate the “great reset”. That is supposed to be in place by 2030.
Leadership in defiance of God will never last. It will always degrade to tyranny. That is where we are at and that is where the world is at.
We find in the Bible that God sent prophets to speak to the various kings. Even in the New Testament, the apostle Paul had opportunity to speak to governors and kings. They were not saved, but he gave them some truth to think about. There is little access to leaders in our country today. Letters sent to government officials are received by assistants with either a form letter response or some assistant responds. Occasionally a politician will actually answer a letter sent, but their response is usually not genuine. They get the attitude that they know best and we should just back off and let them do as they see fit.
Politicians are not open to the truth. They are only looking for ways to get more votes. They will say what they need to say to try to get support, but they govern as if they do not need any support.
True churches cannot function like a political party. Pastors do not need a doctorate or a masters degree in order to pastor. In fact most times those degrees will disqualify the man from being a pastor. In order to obtain those degrees they had to learn to compromise and not speak the truth.
There needs to be much prayer in choosing a pastor. The criteria needs to be based on the Word of God, not on humanistic ideas.
The Bible teaches us that pastors are chosen by God. They are to be under the headship of the Lord Jesus Christ. The Bible is their authority. They need to be sound in doctrine. A godly pastor is not necessarily well liked by the people. People need to understand they need the truth, not fairy tales.
In our text we read that the apostle Paul chose Titus to be the overseer of the churches in Crete. Titus was to set in order things that were wanting in that area. It seems there were several churches in that area but they lacked godly leaders. A carnal church will not choose a godly leader. They do not have access to God’s throne of grace due to their carnality. God can and sometimes does give a church a good pastor to give the people opportunity to change course and get right with Him. However, if that church rejects God’s man, they will not find another one. I have personally witnessed that on several occasions. It is very unwise for a church to fight against God.
Titus was to appoint elders in every city as Paul had appointed him. Titus was not voted on. He was appointed by Paul. Paul was a humble servant of God and thus willing to be led by God to choose Titus for this important task. Titus would need to be a humble servant of God as well in order to be led to the right men to serve as elders.
We see the importance of local churches in every city. People should not have to drive to some large centre to a large church for service. A church does not need a gymnasium or a kitchen to be a church. It needs a God-fearing pastor who submits to the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ and faithfully preaches and teaches the Word of God.
In verse 6 we see that the elder, who is also the pastor, must be blameless. He cannot be a cheat or liar. He cannot be a mean tempered person. He needs to be a humble born again man. He cannot be a woman. He needs to be the husband of one wife. Some pastors believe a pastor can be divorced and remarried. They twist the Scriptures and suggest that as long as he only has one wife at a time, that is all that matters. The fact is that a man that is divorced and then remarried is a polygamist. God knows divorce happens. He knows the reason for divorce is hardness of heart. He hates divorce. A man that cannot look after his wife has no business in the pulpit trying to tell people how to live. He has not learned that himself. His children need to be faithful as long as they are under his rule. Children grow up and they move out and make their own choices. The desire is to see them walk in the fear of the Lord, but that cannot be forced on anyone. The devil will certainly work hard to try to destroy a godly home. It is very important to protect the home from unnecessary ungodly interference.
The godly pastor/elder must not be a fighter. If he cannot control his temper, he is not fit to be in the pulpit.
In verse 7 we see that the word bishop is brought into the picture. The bishop is another name for the pastor/elder. They are one and the same office and describe different aspects of the office. The pastor cannot be a novice, and he needs to know how to feed the flock that God has given him.
He needs to be blameless. Accusations are a dime a dozen. However, the accusations cannot be such that they stick. The bishop is the steward of God. He needs to be capable of overseeing the work of the local church. He cannot be self-willed. He needs to function according to God’s will. He cannot be one who is soon angry. There is a time for anger, but it must be measured carefully. He cannot be given to wine. Drunkenness has no place in a pastor’s life. He cannot be one who gets into fights with others. He also should not be guilty of being greedy. A pastor will not be the highest paid person in his church. The members need to see the importance of supporting the man of God, but they may not have much and may not be able to give much. God will look after His man. His man needs to be faithful to Him and trust Him to provide for his needs.
The pastor needs to be a lover of hospitality. He has been called to a public ministry. If he does not like to be around people, then he should not be the pastor. He was not put there by God. Jesus spent hours with the people. Even when the disciples assumed He was tired, He insisted on allowing the people to come to Him. A pastor needs to take the time to minister to the needs of the people God gives him to serve.
The pastor needs discernment regarding the nature of people. He needs good men around him. He needs their prayer support as well as their counsel. Good men do not dictate what the pastor should preach, but they are there to be an ear to listen to concerns he may raise or questions he may ask.
The pastor needs to be a serious person. It is ok to laugh at times, but there is also a need to look at life with the seriousness that God demands. He needs to be fair and separate from sin. He will not be perfect in the sense of not sinning, but he cannot have sinful habits. To be temperate means to be disciplined. He needs to know how to control his finances and his time and his actions and attitudes.
He also needs to hold fast the faithful word as he has been taught. Thus we learn that the pastor/elder/bishop is one that has been trained for the ministry. He cannot be a self-made man who scanned the internet to find a certificate. He needs to be trained by older godly men who have had input into his life. Thus the pastor needs to be a humble man who will receive wise counsel. We see that the way the godly pastor will help people is by faithfully preaching sound doctrine. If a person does not want to listen to sound doctrine, there is no hope for that person. It is the Holy Spirit Who works in the heart of each person. He works through God’s Word. A secular argument may sound good, but it cannot produce the fruit that God expects.
Gainsayers are argumentative people who will not submit to Biblical truth. They may be quite influential with lost and carnal people. They will not be an asset to a true church. They do manipulate most pastors today because most pastors have rejected sound doctrine. The flesh likes a puppet who will invoke God when they want it, but they do not want to know the truth. They stay away from that and try to convince others to stay away as well. God will deal with them. The pastor must be a faithful servant of God. That is his calling.
Pastor Bartel
