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[Last week we focused on a single phrase out of verse five and I preached the message Setting Things In Order.  In that message, I hope that I convinced you that, much like in the days of Titus, things need to be set in order.  Now we will discover the major thrust toward setting things in order again.  Paul told Titus to ordain elders or pastor’s over the churches and that in so doing he would be working toward setting things in order.]   

[This sheds light upon how our culture has fallen into such disorder in our day.  Sin, immorality, and rebellion against God are taking our nation and culture in force.  Why?  Because men of God are no longer seen as essential in our Churches today.  Our culture is out of order because our pulpits are out of order.  I recall a deacon, in one of the Churches I pastored, saying to me, “We were doing great when we were between pastors.  Our Church was growing, and ministry was getting done.  It seems to me that we, as a Church, do not really need a pastor.”] 

[Perhaps this deacon thinks that he is wiser than our Lord Jesus Christ.  For it is our Lord who gave the Church the Pastor.  Ephesians read,] 

[Ephesians 4:8,11 ⁸ Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men. ⁹ . . .  ¹¹ And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;]

[It is God who has set the order of things in life.  God set the order of the home.  God set the order of the Church.  And God has set the order of society.  Whenever people believe that they can set the order of the authorities in their life, better than God can, then they are no longer submitting themselves to God.  If we are going to Set Things In Order, as charged in verse five, then we must yield to God’s authority and the order of authorities he has placed in our lives.]

[Our text now leads us to understand what Titus needed to do to set things in order in his day, and this is what we must do in our day if we will set things back in order.] 

A.    The Charge (vs 5,7; Heb 13.7, 17; 1 Thess 5.12-13) [–  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: - Titus was given orders.  He was to ordain elders, pastors, or bishops to teach, train, and lead the Church in the region.] 

[An elder, pastor and bishop are all one and the same office in the New Testament.  Some teach in our day that elders are a different New Testament office than the pastor or bishop.  However, the clear indication of the New Testament is that these three titles refer to the same office in different regards.] 

·         [Elder refers to the dignity of the office or the standing to be granted to the office.  One is to respect a pastor as if he were his elder.]

·         [Pastor refers to the role of the office in respect to those over whom the minister is to tenderly care.  He is the shepherd of our Lord’s flock.]

·         [Bishop – refers to the authority to be granted the office, in that a pastor is to be a leader in the Church and the community as much as possible.] 

[In our text this morning we find the terms elder and bishop used interchangeably.  Compare,] 

[Titus 1:5 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, . . .]

[Titus 1:7 ⁷ For a bishop must be . . .]  

[The word Pastor only appears once in the King James New Testament  (Eph 4.11) and eight times in the King James Old Testament (Jer 2.8;3.15; 10.21; 12.10; 17.16; 22.22; 23.1,2) and refers to the spiritual leaders of our Lord’s people as if they were under-shepherds who answered to the Chief shepherd who is our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Pet 5.4).  Hence a Pastor is one who is responsible for the care of our Lord’s kingdom on earth, the Church, and will be accountable to our Lord Jesus Christ when He returns one day very soon.  The Bible declares,] 

[Hebrews 13:7 ⁷ Remember them which have the rule over you, who have spoken unto you the word of God: whose faith follow, considering the end of their conversation. ]

[Hebrews 13:17 ¹⁷ Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you.]

[A Pastor is commissioned by our Lord Jesus Christ to take a spiritual responsibility for the eternal souls of those he is called to pastor.  He is told in the Word of God that he will answer to our Lord Jesus Christ for the stewardship he is given.  Think for a moment about what that commission means to pastors in this sinful world.  It means that in our American culture, where free individuals demand their inherent rights and liberty, that a man of God is responsible for the very people who will likely take offense to what he has a responsibility to proclaim and minister.  In other words, a pastor must sometimes say things to his church members that they may not like to hear him say.  Yet, a true man of God will find himself having to say it none-the-less.  For this reason the Bible says,] 

[1 Thessalonians 5:12-13 ¹² And we beseech you, brethren, to know them which labour among you, and are over you in the Lord, and admonish you; ¹³ And to esteem them very highly in love for their work's sake. And be at peace among yourselves. ]

[It is important that we remember that Titus was charged with training and ordaining elders or pastors who would be ordained to SET THINGS IN ORDER (vs 5).  Clearly this would be no easy task, and so it is still today.  The calling of a Pastor has not changed throughout the sifting tides of human history and cultures.] 

B.     The Credentials (Rom 3.23; Heb 4.15; 1 John 3.5) [– As Paul left Titus in Crete with a charge, Paul also gave Titus direction concerning who he should ordain as Pastor’s over the Churches in the region.  Paul gives the credentials or qualifications that should mark these men who would be charged with setting things in order.  Now, let us be careful with these qualifications, for these qualifications are very high standards indeed.  So, high that if taken to their highest degree no man would ever qualify to fill the Pastoral office.]   

[If we were to take these qualifications to their highest level even the Apostle Paul would be ruled out of the ministry for we know Paul’s history and how he mistreated the very Christians he now serves with sacrificial determination.  We must remember that,]  

[Romans 3:23 ²³ For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;]

[There has only been one born in all of human history that never sinned, and even he was falsely accused and convicted.  Yet we know our Lord Jesus Christ was sinless because God said,] 

[Hebrews 4:15 ¹⁵ For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.]

[1 John 3:5 ⁵ And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin. ]

[A Contemporary Warning – It never ceases to amaze me how, when a congregation is seeking to call a pastor, in diligently examining a man, they find faults but yet find him qualified and worthy.  They place him in the office of their Bishop.  Then a few years later, when the honeymoon of ministry ends, they begin to revisit those same faults and suspiciously those faults are now thought to make him unworthy of ministry.  Be careful how you approach these qualifications, my friends, for while they are meant to protect and promote the Church of or Lord they can also be used to divide and spoil the Church.  Note that these qualifications are meant to examine a man for his ordination into office not his continuation in office.  The Discipline of the Church (Matt 18.15-17) and the Protection of a Minister (1 Tim 5.19) are designed to protect the Church from an apostate Pastor or a deceiver.] 

A Pastoral Candidate Must Be,  

1.      Blameless (vs 6; 2 Tim 3.12) [– If any be blameless, . . . – This first characteristic is a rigorous one indeed.  After all who is blameless in the simple sense of this word.  One must carefully examine what this word really means.] 

a)      [Word Study - Blameless - ἀνέγκλητος (Gk) - from the priv. a  (1), without, and egkaléō (1458), to accuse in court. Not merely unaccusable but unaccused, free from any legal charge. Occurs in 1 Cor. 1:8; Col. 1:22; 1 Tim. 3:10; Titus 1:6, 7.^[1] ]   

[1 Cor 1:8, of the Church, which will be blameless in the coming judgment; similarly in Col 1:22, along with ἁγίους καὶ ἀμώμους; 1 Tim 3:10, of διάκονοι, and Titus 1:6f., of ἐπίσκοποι, who are to be blameless men. W. Grundmann, TDNT I, 356f.; H. Währisch, DNTT III, 923–25.^[2] ] 

[As our word study demonstrates some would define this word to mean void of any accusation at all, while others would point this word to mean one free of accusation before our Lord Jesus Christ.  Let us carefully consider this word blameless for if it means without any worldly accusation then the ministry of the gospel under the light of the New Testament would be rendered impossible.  The New Testament itself declares,] 

[2 Timothy 3:12 ¹² Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. ]

[Our Lord warned,]

[Matthew 10:17-23 ¹⁷ But beware of men: for they will deliver you up to the councils, and they will scourge you in their synagogues; ¹⁸ And ye shall be brought before governors and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them and the Gentiles. ¹⁹ But when they deliver you up, take no thought how or what ye shall speak: for it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak. ²⁰ For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you. ²¹ And the brother shall deliver up the brother to death, and the father the child: and the children shall rise up against their parents, and cause them to be put to death. ²² And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved. ²³ But when they persecute you in this city, flee ye into another: for verily I say unto you, Ye shall not have gone over the cities of Israel, till the Son of man be come.]

[My Christian brethren, understand the distinction I am making here.  To be blameless means to be blameless in the sight of our Lord Jesus Christ.  For the gospel ministry places one at WAR with our spiritual adversary (The Devil) who is the prince of this world.  When this powerful adversary, in a worldly sense, stirs up the blind and lost of this world then persecution will be the result. ]

[Let us carefully understand that a blameless man of God is one who is blameless with our Lord Jesus Christ.  If possible he should be at peace and blameless in his community, but he must first be blameless with our Lord.] 

2.      Faithful (vs 6; 1 Tim 3.4) [ - . . . the husband of one wife, having faithful children not accused of riot or unruly. – The New Testament speaks of the marriage relationship as a spiritual picture of our Lord’s relationship with His bride, the Church (Eph 5.21-28).  Likewise the home is meant to be a kind of picture of the Church and its harmony.  Hence we notice that a Pastor should be faithful in his marriage and home.] 

a)      [Faithful in Marriage – There is, without doubt, a mass of debate concerning what this phrase “Husband of one wife” might mean.  Some claim it means the husband of one wife at a time, allowing for divorced pastor’s and deacons.  However, knowing that our Lord clearly condemns divorce, if we take the whole of scripture as our testimony we come to the conclusion that a pastor must be faithful in his marriage.   Marriage is meant to be between one man and one woman for the duration of their lives.  Hence, a divorced man, so long as his spouse lives, should not be ordained as a pastor.] 

b)     [Faithful in Family - . . . having faithful children not accused of riot or unruly. – This speaks of his ability to lead in his home and to direct with authority in his home.  Consider the words,] 

[Riot - ἀσωτίας (Gk) - from ásōtos (n.f.), a prodigal, which is from the priv. a (1), and sózō (4982), to save. Having no hope of safety; extravagant squandering, dissoluteness, prodigality (Eph. 5:18; Titus 1:6; 1 Pet. 4:4; Sept.: Prov. 28:7). An ásōtos, a prodigal, is one who spends too much, who slides easily under the fatal influence of flatterers and the temptations with which he has surrounded himself into spending freely on his own lusts and appetites. Asōtía is a dissolute, debauched, profligate manner of living. Cf. asélgeia (766), lawless insolence and unmanageable caprice (Mark 7:22; Rom. 13:13; 2 Cor. 12:21; Gal. 5:19; Eph. 4:19; 1 Pet. 4:3; 2 Pet. 2:7, 18; Jude 1:4). Adv.: asótōs (811), dissolutely, riotously.^[3]]  

[Unruly - ἀνυπότακτα (Gk) - from the priv. a (1), without, and hupotássō (5293), to subject, sit under in an orderly manner. Not subject (Heb. 2:8); disobedient to authority, disorderly (1 Tim. 1:9; Titus 1:6, 10).^[4]] 

[In Timothy we read,] 

[1 Timothy 3:4 ⁴ One that ruleth well his own house, having his children in subjection with all gravity; ]

[A minister should guide, grow and rule his home well.   A Ministers children may go the way of the prodigal, but a Godly minister  will not allow such conduct under his umbrella of protection and provision.  He must have his house in order.]

3.      Focussed  (vs 7) [– For a bishop must be blameless, as the steward of God; not selfwilled, . . . – We note the word steward here.  This deals with the minister’s recognition of what he is given in his ministry.  The Church he leads is not his own, but it belongs to the Lord Jesus Christ.   The Church is our Lord’s bride, it is our Lord’s holy temple, indwelled by the Holy Spirit of God.  The Church is our Lord’s vineyard.  The pastor is but granted a stewardship of the flock of our Lord and when our Lord one day returns the pastor will be held accountable to the chief shepherd.] 

[Hence, a pastor must not be self-willed, doing what he thinks is right, but he must strive to be God-willed, doing what his Lord would have him to do.  This means a pastor must be meek in respect to our Lord, placing the reigns of his control into the hands of our Lord.   He must be surrendered, and submissive to master and head of the Church which is the Lord Jesus Christ.] 

4.      Disciplined (vs 7-8) [- . . . not soon angry, not given to wine, no striker [giving blows], not given to filthy lucre [greed,covetousness]; But a lover of hospitality, a lover of good men, sober, just, holy, temperate;  - This describes a man who has control of his conduct, emotions, and compassion.  This is a disciplined man, but not just disciplined, but spiritually self-controlled in a manner that honors our Lord Jesus Christ.  Just as our Lord was strongly self-controlled so must the man of God learn to be conformed to the image of our Lord showing the same self-control.  A pastor must be strong in godly discipline.]

5.      Determined (vs 9; 2 Tim 4.2-5; Psalm 119.160; John 17.17) [- 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. – A Pastor must be determined to cleave to the Word of God.  Being convinced that he carries the inerrant, plenary, infallible Word of God down to the last dot on an “i” and cross on a “t” (Matt 5.18).  He must trust that God is true and every man, in comparison to God, is a liar (Rom 3.4), and must decisively choose to stand on God’s side.  The Pastor’s doctrine, or teaching, must be sound doctrine.  It must be true doctrine.  It must be founded on the enduring Word of God and not upon the opinions and philosophies of mankind.] 

[Paul challenged Timothy,] 

[2 Timothy 4:2-5 ² Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. ³ For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; ⁴ And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables. ⁵ But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry.]

[My friends there is only one enduring, eternally trustworthy truth available to mankind in this corrupt, sinful, and deceived world and that is the Word of God.] 

[Psalm 119:160 ¹⁶⁰ Thy word is true from the beginning: and every one of thy righteous judgments endureth for ever.]

[In our contemporary culture too many Churches have abandoned the righteous judgments of God for some watered down philosophical opinion of some, so called, educated person.  Our Lord Jesus Christ prayed,] 

[John 17:17 ¹⁷ Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth. ]

[A Pastor must be given to the never changing Word of God with decided determination.]

C.    The Calling (2 Tim 1.9; 1 Cor 12.18; Eph 4.8,11) [– We don’t hear much about calling anymore in our day.  Today, so called minister’s, both men and women, of various denominations speak of pastoral ministry more like a profession or an job.  Just as any member of a congregation would have their job.  But Pastoral ministry, in a Biblical sense is anything but a job.  Paul wrote Timothy,] 

[2 Timothy 1:9 ⁹ Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began, ]

[The call to ministry is anything but a worldly decision.  It is our Lord who places each and every Christian into the Church body as He sees fit,]

[1 Corinthians 12:18 ¹⁸ But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him. ]

[It is our Lord Jesus Christ who gave the leadership of the Church, the Pastor’s, to the Church.  The Bible states,]

[Ephesians 4:8 ⁸ Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men. ]

[Ephesians 4:11 ¹¹ And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; ]

[It is high time that the people of God stopped turning to self-called people who have placed themselves into the ministry with a general disregard for the Word of God, the truth of God, and the purity of the bride of Christ.  It is our Lord Jesus Christ, who calls and fits men for the pastoral ministry.]

[Now, one might wonder, what does this passage and text mean for me?  I’m not called to be a pastor, I am but a Church member.  This passage teaches you what to expect from your pastor.  In a world that is thoroughly confused about Christianity and religion in general you must be able to recognize what a God called and God ordained pastor should be.] 

[Can a Church be led by a woman pastor?  Can a Church be led by a divorced pastor?  Can a Church be led by a homosexual Pastor?  Can a Church be led by a pastor who cannot seem to find the Word of God or who changes the Word of God for the sake of cultural or political correctness?  All of these questions are answered right here in this text.] 

[Why are things out of order in our day?  Why did things need to be set back in order and in the days of Titus?  Because God called pastors are essential if things will be set in order and kept in order.] 

CrossRoads Baptist Church,  Aug 29, 2010