Titus 1:5-9
The reason I left you in Crete was that you might put in order what was left unfinished and appoint elders in every town, as I directed you. An elder must be blameless, faithful to his wife, a man whose children believe and are not open to the charge of being wild and disobedient. Since an overseer manages God's household, he must be blameless - not overbearing, not quick-tempered, not given to drunkenness, not violent, not pursuing dishonest gain. Rather, he must be hospitable, one who loves what is good, who is self-controlled, upright, holy and disciplined. He must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it.Over the past several years I have held various positions of responsibilities, both in my church life and in my job. I have thrived in those positions, instigating new ideas and seeing them through to completion. But in some cases, I have had to move on before the fruits of my labour has been obvious and I had to go through the pain staking action of handing over to someone else who will fill my role.
Paul is doing that here. This letter to Titus begins with instruction to Titus, an early church leader. He had worked closely with Paul in the early days of his conversion, no doubt following one of the numerous sermons that Paul delivered to the Greeks. Paul is handing over the responsibility to Titus to ensure the church in Crete continued to thrive in the right direction, 'that you might put in order what was left unfinished...'
Paul wanted to ensure the work he begun in Crete was completed correctly. He goes on to explain that Titus could not do this himself and so must appoint elders in every church. Although we do not know how many were to be chosen, we know they should be of high calibre, upright citizens who know the Lord and have their own house in order.
But, why so perfect? Can we get that level of perfection?
Paul is quite clear here, those chosen for this high position in church communities must be 'blameless, faithful to his wife, a man whose children believe and are not open to the charge of being wild and disobedient.' Isn't that a tall order? Even the children of the elder's must be perfect? Who are these people that the entire family must be perfect to lead God's people?
Lets think about this a little more, these elders were to be in charge of God's household here on Earth. They were to be examples of holy living. Reproachable in the eyes of the law and approachable in the eyes of the church goers. These men (as it is written in Paul's letter) were to be good citizens in order to provide counsel to the church goers, they were to be a living example to all.
How could they be trusted to lead the church, if they themselves were imperfect? They couldn't and Paul knows this. He is not saying people must be perfect. He knows that we are all sinners. We are dishonest. We do give way to wild and disobedient lives. We are not self-controlled. He knows we are incapable of living such a perfect life, but we are called to be holy. 'holy and disciplined' You see, Paul is not just talking about the elders here, he is talking about every Christian. He wants every Christian to follow suit, with the elders as examples.
But, how can we live a holy life if we, ourselves, are incapable of living a holy life? Is Paul setting us up for a mighty fall? Is he setting the bar incredibly high so that everyone falls short and fails?
Of course, the answer is no. He is pointing us to the ultimate example of perfection. The only person who is 'self-controlled, upright, holy and disciplined', Jesus Christ.
Christ lives the life he asks of us. He is holy and he wants us to be but he knows we can't on our own. We are inherent sinners who constantly do things wrong. Christ knows this yet he still gave his life for us. It is through this love that we can have that holy life.
Christ died so we can live. Christ clothes us in his perfection and takes on our imperfect himself. The Son died so we can stand in the presence of the father, perfect. He rose again so we can be reborn in him. Therefore, he calls us to live a holy life in him.
But we must 'hold firmly to the trustworthy message', that is in Christ Jesus and rely completely on him.
