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Lord God, our heavenly Father, please teach us from your Word, so that this church will be built up for the glory of your Son, our Saviour, Jesus. In His name we ask it, Amen.

We’re back to Titus 1. Last we looked at Titus 1.1-4. This evening we’re on to Titus 1.5-16. Please have that open in front of you (it’s on page 998 of the Bibles). And here the apostle Paul contrasts two ways to lead the church – the godly way, and the ungodly way. One way is there in Titus 1.5-9, and the alternative way to lead is described in Titus 1.10-16. So my first heading is:

1. Godly leadership

This is Titus 1.5-9. Now, a question. What gives me the right to stand up here and expect that you’ll pay attention to what I have to say? What is more, what gives me and Ian and Ramzi, who stand up here week by week wearing a collar like this, the right to provide leadership to this rather extraordinary and wonderful body of believers that we call Jesmond Parish Church, which is such a key part of so many of our lives? What does this collar signify? It signifies that we are appointed, ordained, ministers, elders, presbyters of this church. But what is the biblical basis for this office of elder in the church? Is it there in the New Testament and in the Spirit-anointed, Christ-authorised teaching of the apostles, or is it only a later development (however useful) that has no Biblical warrant? Well it is very clearly present in the New Testament and taught by the apostles. Different words are used which refer to the same office – especially elder or presbyter, overseer or bishop (but put out of your mind most of the images of bishops that you might have from the modern world), and pastor or shepherd. And Titus is a classic case in point. So here in Titus 1.5 and Titus 1.7, the apostle Paul says to Titus:

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…For an overseer, as God's steward, must be above reproach.

Elsewhere Paul used pastoring language when he spoke so movingly to the elders of the church in Ephesus when he met with them for the very last time. A summary of what he said is there, very wonderfully, in Acts 20. So he spoke to them of his own example, and urged them (Acts 20.28-31):

Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood. I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them. Therefore be alert…

It is this deeply challenging apostolic teaching which is the foundation and the Biblical basis for this office of minister (or elder, or presbyter) in the life of the church. What, then, are the qualifications for being an elder? When I was on the national executive committee of the Anglican Mission in England I had some involvement in assessing men for ordained ministry and church leadership. And I find the three ‘Cs’ that are often used to summarise what’s needed to be very helpful. What are they? 1st Character; 2nd Convictions; 3rd Competence. What you’re like; what you believe; what you can do. Character; Convictions; Competence. That’s exactly what you see Paul setting out more fully here in Titus 1.6-9. So, he spells out what Titus should look for when he’s appointing elders like this – listen out for those three ‘Cs’:

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. For an overseer, as God’s steward, must be above reproach [Here’s character]. He must not be arrogant or quick-tempered or a drunkard or violent or greedy for gain, but hospitable, a lover of good, self-controlled, upright, holy, and disciplined. He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught [there’s conviction], so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it [There’s competence].

These are searching words, and over and over again they drive me, for one, to cry out for mercy and for a fresh empowering of the Holy Spirit for this ministry. Note that they say nothing about social or academic background. The test is what you believe and what you do, not what exams you’ve passed. Note also that there is an apostolic requirement to be male for this office of minister. There has of course been much discussion of that, and we don’t have time to pursue it now. Let me just make two brief comments. First, there is something fatherly about this role in particular within the life of the church, in the wisdom of God, that requires those who are presbyters to be male. And secondly, if that is something you would like to think through further, there is a valuable resource in David’s two sermons on 1 Corinthians 11 and 1 Timothy 2. You can find those through the website. Now, the fact is that whether male or female, only a few of us become elders in the church. But this is relevant for all of us. Here are five things we can all do, whatever our own particular calling within the Body of Christ:

i). Pray for those who have been called to this office of minister, of presbyter, in the church of God. I speak from the heart when I say that we need it.

ii). Pray that the Lord would overrule the calling process within the life of the church. Pray that we all, collectively, as the Body of Christ and the Household of God and the Temple of the Holy Spirit would have the Lord’s wisdom to discern, by the Holy Spirit, which of our number is being called to this ministry. And pray too for those who are specially authorised to do the calling, humanly speaking. So pray for those involved in processes of assessment, and for bishops.

iii). Pray about whether you or someone you know is being called to this. There are many who have had their eyes opened to what God is calling them to through a thoughtful brother or sister in Christ challenging them to think about it. And maybe you can begin to see that you yourself are becoming qualified. Maybe the Lord is saying to you, as (Isaiah 6.8) to the prophet Isaiah “Whom shall I send, and who will go for me?” And you need to reply “Here I am! Send me.” If you’re beginning to think that could be you, get in touch with me, or Ian or Ramzi, so we can talk it over with you. Speaking personally, I thought for a long time that I was called to be an engineer. And that is a magnificent and Godly calling! But looking back, I can see that God always had another plan. I remember that as a teenager there were times when I would kneel by my bed and pray earnestly to the Lord that he would make me a preacher, despite the fact that speaking in public was my worst nightmare. So where did that come from? From God. He was calling me, though it took me many years to realise it.

iv). Be ready, as we all need to do, to live in Godly and appropriate submission to those who have been called and authorised to lead the church. The Bible says – this is Hebrews 13.17:

Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you.

We are in this together. We need one another. I am very aware that soon I will be standing before the Lord Jesus and I will be required to give account for how I have followed his call. And so will you.

v). Serve faithfully in whatever way the Lord is calling is you, whatever particular member of the Body of Christ he is asking you to be.

So in Titus 1.5-9 we have a picture of godly leadership. But then in Titus 1.10-16, things turn dark, and Paul paints a starkly contrasting picture. If godly leadership is one way to lead, then ungodly leadership is another. So that’s my second heading, as we turn to Titus 1. 10-16:

2. Ungodly leadership

There are tremendously powerful forces on us and within us that are dragging us down and seeking to cause us to fall away from godly leadership and to become ungodly leaders – and to listen to ungodly leaders. These forces are displayed very graphically here. Here are leaders who, far from helping anyone, cause great harm. This is Titus 1.16:

They profess to know God, but they deny him by their works. They are detestable, disobedient, unfit for any good work.

If we want to avoid being like that, and if we want to help others to avoid being like that, then there are three points we need to understand:

i). Knowing the truth leads to godly living.

We’ve got to understand this before we can make sense of Paul’s broadside in Titus 1.10-16. Titus 1 begins with the word For – in other words, ‘because’. Titus 1.10-11:

For there are many who are insubordinate, empty talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision party. They must be silenced, since they are upsetting whole families by teaching for shameful gain what they ought not to teach.

In other words, he’s saying that Titus has got to take on board and put into practice Titus 1.1-9, because Crete (where he is) and indeed the church in Crete, is riddled with rebel leaders who are causing havoc and wrecking people’s lives. The task of the elders appointed by Titus is to teach them the truth. They need (Titus 1.1):

…the knowledge of the truth that leads to godliness…

Knowledge of the truth leads to godliness, and even if you say you know the truth, but below the surface of your mind you deny it so that you carry on as if it wasn’t true – that is not knowledge. That’s just a more subtle way of denying the truth and demonstrating that you don’t really know the truth at all. Titus 1.16 again:

They profess to know God, but they deny him by their works.

Really knowing the truth leads to godly living. That’s the first thing. And by contrast:

ii). The lies of ungodly leaders lead to ungodly living.

Here is the other side of the coin. Listen to the truth, and that truth will produce godliness in your life. Listen to lies, and those lies will produce ungodliness. If you trace back every sin to its source, you will find a lie there. All rebellion against God is rooted in lies. So what Paul is doing here in Titus 1.10-16 is exposing lies and the ungodliness that lies produce. It is not at all a pretty picture. But lies are evil things that have Satan the father of lies as their ultimate source and their effect is evil and disastrous. Paul would not be doing anyone any favours if he was to soft-pedal the truth at this point. There is no point in telling someone they’ve just got a headache and should take an aspirin if they’ve got a brain tumour. So, Paul describes these lying leaders in Titus 1.10:

For there are many rebellious people, mere talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision group.

In Titus 1.12 he applies to them the strong words of one of their own cultural heroes:

[Even one of their own prophets has said] “Cretans are always liars, evil brutes, lazy gluttons.” This testimony is true.

No beating around the bush there. But let’s be clear – Paul is very well aware that we are all like this without the transforming impact of the gospel on our lives. So a bit later in the letter, in Titus 3.3, he says:

At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved…

The lies of ungodly leaders lead to ungodly living. It’s no different today. This is exactly what we see happening all around us. And we are not immune. This is precisely the temptation that every one of us faces every single day.

We are, as I hope you’re aware, in the thick of a major crisis in the wider Church of England, because of the decision of the majority of the bishops (including, very sadly, the Bishop of Newcastle) effectively to abandon Biblical and apostolic sexual ethics, and the two thousand years of teaching on sexual ethics that has been universal in the church until this last generation. That teaching is the truth, given by God, out of love, to bless the church and the world that sex is for marriage; marriage is between a man and a woman for life; and such marriage points to the love of Christ for his church for which died. What is being proposed and pursued would destroy the Church of England as a force for the gospel and the Kingdom of God. Already attendances in the Church of England have fallen by 20% in the last 5 years, and by significantly more than that for under 18s. The immediate symptom of that rejection of the apostles’ teaching on sexual ethics is the blessing of same-sex sexual relationships, which has already been permitted. Last Monday, General Synod agreed (by a small majority) to the bishops’ proposal first to introduce what are known as ‘standalone’ services of blessing that will look very like weddings, and then, in effect, to work towards accepting same-sex weddings, both in the life of the church and for clergy. The deadly lie is that we know better than the living God, our maker and redeemer, what is good for us all. So what’s the answer?

iii). The lies of ungodly leaders must be stopped by telling the truth.

Replace lies with the gospel. So Paul urges Titus in Titus 1.11:

They [the liars] must be silenced, since they are upsetting whole families by teaching for shameful gain what they ought not to teach.

Silence them. Put a stop to their lies. How? Titus 1.13:

…rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith…

So Titus has got to say to them, in so many words: “What you are teaching is not true. It is a lie. Stop teaching it. And here is the truth of God’s word to replace it with.” Titus’s goal is not to destroy them or get rid of them in some way, or even to drive them out of the church – though if they keep peddling lies that is what God will do in the end. Rather, Titus’s goal must be to help them to recognise their lies for what they are, to reject the lies, and to believe the truth (possibly for the first time) so that they will be, as he says, sound in the faith. Lies are devastating. Lies ruin whole households if they’re given half a chance. That’s why Paul uses such strong language. He wants Titus, and us, to know that this is serious, life and death business. And that’s why, if you had to sum up the whole of this letter to Titus in two words, you wouldn’t go far wrong if you said Paul’s message was: “Teach truth”. Elders must be those who know, live and teach the truth. Titus 1.9 again:

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.

Let’s bow our heads to pray. And let me pray a modern version of a prayer from the old Book of Common Prayer service of ordination:

Almighty God, giver of all good things, by your Holy Spirit you have appointed various orders of ministry in your church. Look in mercy on your servants who are called to be presbyters; fill them with the truth of your doctrine and clothe them with holiness of life, so that by word and example they may faithfully serve you in this office to the glory of your name and for the upbuilding of your church through the merits of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, now and for ever. Amen.