Holding firmly

Text Titus 1:9 Time 09/06/10 Place Childs Hill Baptist Church

We are looking at Titus 1:6-9, the list of qualifications for elders that is parallel with the one in 1 Timothy 3. We have said that there are two obvious ways to use such verses

1. If you are an elder or would like to be one then here is the standard - quite forbidding in some ways but impossible given the grace of God.

2. Further, we can use these verses to examine ourselves, elders or not.

We've already asked several questions

1. What is the situation at home? The elder must be

1 The husband of but one wife. This suggests a strong marriage and precludes an immoral man.

2 A man whose children believe and are not open to the charge of being wild and disobedient. If he has children they must not be obvious rebels who break out in obvious ways.

2. How are you doing in these five areas?

An elder is not only like a father over his family but also a steward or manager over a household.

1 Using authority - Not overbearing

2 Not quick-tempered 

3 Not given to drunkenness. We must be hospitable not over indulgent.

4 Not violent or not a striker. Violence and intimidation are out of court for any who engage in Christian ministry.

5 Avoiding pursuing dishonest gain.

3. How are you doing in these areas? In contrast to the five negatives Paul lists some six positives:

1 What about hospitality? Rather he must be hospitable.

2 What about loving what is good? One who loves what is good.

3 What about self-control? Who is self-controlled.

4 What about being upright? Upright. However, Paul is using the word here in the sense of being just and fair and honest towards all men.

5 What about being holy? The word Paul uses for holy is not the more familiar one that points to being separate or distinct. This word means pure, unsullied, unspotted, free of pollution. Holiness is absolutely vital if we are ever to be of any use to God.

6 What about being disciplined? The word used here evokes similar ideas to those of being self-controlled. Literally it means one in control of strength. Masterful. What are you doing to take control of your body? How disciplined are you in your daily living?

The final statement comes in verse 9 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.

This applies most of all to elders but also suggests the direction in which all believers should be headed.

There are a number of things to notice

1. Consider the requirement to hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught
There are really two things to notice here
1. There is a trustworthy message that has been taught

Some people would deny that the New Testament really has a coherent message. Others are happy to accept that it has a coherent message but they do not consider it trustworthy or reliable. Others suggest a certain vagueness about the message and so suggest that it is difficult to be sure how the message should be proclaimed today. In fact, a careful study of the New Testament shows that there was a definite and clear cut message that was preached consistently and clearly in New Testament times and that is preserved for us today to also believe. This is why Paul refers here to the trustworthy message as it has been taught. He also speaks (2:1) about the need to teach what is in accord with sound doctrine. All the way through the pastoral letters you get this sort of language

In 1 Timothy 1:10, 11 he talks about whatever else is contrary to the sound doctrine that conforms to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, which he entrusted to me. He speaks of himself (2:7 ) as a teacher of the true faith to the Gentiles and urges Timothy to be (4:6) a good minister of Christ Jesus, brought up in the truths of the faith and of the good teaching that you have followed. Command and teach these things (not anything else) he says (4:11). These are the things you are to teach and urge on them ... the sound instruction of our Lord Jesus Christ ... godly teaching, (6:2, 3).

2 Timothy 1:13, 14 What you heard from me, keep as the pattern of sound teaching, with faith and love in Christ Jesus. Guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you - guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us.

In 4:3 he speaks of how the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.

So we have The trustworthy message as it has been taught ... what is in accord with sound doctrine ... the sound doctrine that conforms to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, which he entrusted to me ... the true faith ... the truths of the faith ... the good teaching that you have followed ... These are the things you are to teach and urge on them ... the sound instruction of our Lord Jesus Christ ... godly teaching ... the pattern of sound teaching ... the good deposit that was entrusted to you ... sound doctrine.

That conjures up a very distinct body of teaching. It is the same elsewhere in the New Testament. Elsewhere Paul writes of wholeheartedly obeying the form of teaching to which you were committed and the teaching which you have learned (Romans 6:17, 16:17). In 1 Corinthians 11:2 he speaks of holding to the teachings (traditions) just as I passed them on to you and in more than one place he talks of what he received as a tradition and passing it on to them. In 1 Thessalonians 3:6 he speaks of the teaching you received from us.

Finally, don't forget 2 John 9, 10 and Jude 3 Anyone who runs ahead and does not continue in the teaching of Christ does not have God; whoever continues in the teaching has both the Father and the Son. If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not take him into your house or welcome him ... the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints.

The actual phrase here in Titus 1:9 is the faithful or trustworthy word. Here is a word that you can trust and this is the word that has been taught. What is that word? Well, more extensively it is what is found throughout the New Testament, the apostles' teaching (as it is called in Acts 2:42). In four places in the pastorals we have trustworthy or faithful sayings that seem to be attempts to sum up the vital elements in this body of doctrine. These are teachings that all Christian should know and believe and be eager to pass on.

1 Timothy 1:15 Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.

1 Timothy 4:8, 9 This is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance (and for this we labour and strive), that we have put our hope in the living God, who is the Saviour of all men, and especially of those who believe.

2 Timothy 2:11-13 Here is a trustworthy saying:

If we died with him, we will also live with him;

if we endure, we will also reign with him.

If we disown him, he will also disown us;

if we are faithless, he will remain faithful, for he cannot disown himself.

Titus 3:3-8 At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. But when the kindness and love of God our Saviour appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Saviour, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life. This is a trustworthy saying.

2. Those who wish to be useful in serving God must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as taught

Now concerning this word or message, Paul says elders must hold firmly to it. They must cling to it. They must cuddle it or nurse it. These things must be closer to them than their own breath. They must eat, drink and sleep these things so that they become so much a part of him that they can talk about them in their sleep.

I'm sure we don't know some doctrines nearly as well as we ought to – the Trinity, the person and work of Christ, the way of salvation, the doctrine of the last things. Theology, Christology, Pneumatology, Soteriology, Ecclesiology, Eschatology – they all need work in most cases. There are lots of helps for us in this direction today. One way we can help ourselves is by learning to explain these things.

Take justification by faith. Can you explain how we are sinful by nature, not only because we do things that are against God's law but also because we are are fallen in Adam and need to be put right? Can you explain how by coming as the God man Jesus of Nazareth who lived a perfect life and suffered a penal substitutionary death on the cross has opened up a way for all who trust in him to be justified? We who are elders should be able to do this but so should most Christians if they have been believers for any length of time. Sometimes we do know but find it hard to articulate and part of being an elder is that you are able to articulate. We all need to get to know our doctrine better, however.

2 Thessalonians 2:15 So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the teachings we passed on to you, whether by word of mouth or by letter.

How can we improve our grasp? We need to get to know our Bibles better. We need to read more, meditate more, memorise more. It is important too to listen to sermons. Reading good books can also help. Be on the watch for error.

2. Consider why we must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught

He must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, for two reasons. Someone has put it this way “The shepherd must be able to tend the sheep and drive away wolves”.

1. So that he can encourage others by sound doctrine

Some people don't think of doctrine as encouraging but it is – or it can be at least. Isn't it encouraging to know that God has sent his Son into the world (the incarnation we call it)? Isn't the doctrine of election encouraging once you understand it properly? Certainly the doctrine of the perseverance of the saints ought to cheer us. Even doctrines like original sin and total depravity and the last judgement at least make sense of what is a fallen and wicked world? Doesn't the doctrine of the inspiration of Scripture and the coming of the Holy Spirit encourage you? And think of the fact of the resurrection and the Second Coming. What about the doctrine of the church – the church militant and the church triumphant, the church on earth and in heaven. Doctrine can be very encouraging indeed if we hold firmly to it. Elders should do all they can to inform and remind the people of sound doctrine so that they may be encouraged.

2. So that he can refute those who oppose it

This is the other side of the coin. It is important that elders spend part of their time warning against error. Just as in New Testament times so today there are all sorts of errors about – errors from without and errors from within; errors of Romanism and so called Orthodoxy, errors of the cults, errors of liberals on one hand and certain fundamentalists on the other.

Today, because the world is global village, the errors seem to come thick and fast and it is not always easy to decide which to mention and which to simply ignore. Partly this depends on the congregation. When I first came here I was keen to debunk the charismatic movement because some had been exposed to it where as now I rarely mention it as it does not appear to be the draw it once was for most, although the health and wealth gospel, for example, is so widespread that I often want to seek to refute it.

In recent years the false doctrines that have been most conspicuous among evangelicals have been what is called "open theism" (which is basically the idea that God is not omniscient), the new perspective on Paul's understanding of justification by faith (which threatens once again the biblical doctrine that a person is made right with God by faith alone) and the onslaught on the traditional doctrine of the atonement that came to prominence with Steve Chalke's unhelpful reference to penal substitutionary atonement as a case of “cosmic child abuse”. We have not attacked these false doctrines as far as I am aware directly but I have sought to keep up with the debates so that my preaching is informed by an awareness of the issues. In stating our doctrines we will sometimes have to be negative and say that the Bible teaches this but not that, that but not this.

Christian doctrine is a wonderful thing – it is, paradoxically, to be held on to and passed on. It is there to encourage believers and to refute false teachers.