Titus 1:5-9
Seventh Sunday After Pentecost
Pastor Nathan P. Kassulke Sunday, July 7, 2024
“Your Pastor Has a Trustworthy Message”
How would you like to have Titus’ job? We meet Titus in the book of the Bible that bears his name. That book is a letter from the Apostle Paul to Titus, a man who came to faith through Paul’s ministry. We read five verses from that letter as our sermon text today. The first of those verses lays out what Titus’ job was. Paul had left this man on the island of Crete in order to finish work that still needed to be done there. And the specific work that is mentioned, likely the majority of what was unfinished, was to appoint elders. The congregations located in this region needed pastors. They needed leaders. And Titus would facilitate that. So, would you want that job?
Some people might say yes. Among them might be those who have had questions or concerns about what we do in the WELS at call meetings and think they might have a better way. I’ve heard some of their questions at call meetings. They think about job listings and resumes and search teams and interviews, things that happen in other hiring scenarios, and they wonder if adopting some of that process might be better for our church. The reality is that the Bible doesn’t specify the method. Paul doesn’t lay out for Titus detailed instruction for how he is to do the job. We could do things in a different way. But generally as a synod, we have chosen to follow a procedure that as much as possible reflects some of the truths about the public ministry and the role of pastors that we see in these verses.
Maybe those who question our call process worry about the person who ends up serving as pastor. People, maybe you, first think how much they would like to enjoy the pastor’s personality. How would you like to try to find a man who gets along with everyone and everyone gets along with him? That’s a great idea, but it might be hard to carry out. How would you like to be responsible for finding what each church needs in its own unique circumstance and situation? How would you like to try to match up the gifts that God has given with the needs of his churches? Do you get a sense of why Titus’ job might be a little more challenging then it might appear at first glance?
While Paul, writing according to the direction of the Holy Spirit, does not give Titus a particular method, he does give Titus quite a bit of direction. He describes in some detail the sort of person that should be installed as an elder or overseer, a pastor. But Paul is also not writing just for Titus’ benefit. We expect that this letter would have been read by others in the churches, and we get to listen in on this instruction, too. And Paul’s words, God’s words, give us reason to rejoice. You can rejoice that your pastor has a trustworthy message.
That factor, out of all the ones that Paul lists, is really the key factor. It’s our last verse for today that is really the most important. He must cling to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he will be able both to encourage people by the sound teaching and also to correct those who oppose him. That’s what Titus is to look for. That’s what the congregation is to expect. That’s what you ought to demand of your pastor. Hold on to the trustworthy message.
That’s what gives a pastor authority. That’s what gives him power to encourage and power to correct. He knows what God says and is called to share it. Paul speaks at length in his letters about the trustworthy message. There are so many places we might turn to summarize it. Let’s just use today a few verses from later in this letter. Paul writes to Titus: But when the kindness and love of God our Savior toward mankind appeared, he saved us—not by righteous works that we did ourselves, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and the renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs in keeping with the hope of eternal life (3:4–7).
And we heard another example today of Jesus sending out men with this same message and this same authority. When Jesus sent out the Twelve, he gave them authority over demons. He gave them a way that people could see what was true of their message: that it came with authority. And they went out and preached that the people should repent. They should turn away from their sinful lives and turn to God and his promised mercy and grace and forgiveness. We wouldn’t want a pastor bringing any other message.
And about those men with the trustworthy message, Paul describes that the message not only gives them authority, it also changes their lives. He instructs Titus to appoint men who are blameless. They are to be faithful to wives and be leading their children in faith. He expects them to be honest, self-controlled, disciplined. He expects them not to be quick-tempered, violent, or drunk. And we could spend some time talking about each of those characteristics, what they mean and how they are displayed.
For now, though, let’s leave it at these are outward demonstrations of an inner faith. These are actions and character traits that go against our sinful selves, against our own natural inclinations. They are ways that we show love to others.
It is worth pointing out that no one can completely live up to standards like these. Not perfectly. Not consistently. Not constantly. These are attitudes worked through repentance. These are traits that God gives and empowers through repentance and faith. There is only one person throughout history who could be described in these terms and fit them perfectly for his entire life, and that is our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. And he died to forgive the pastors and the people who do not live up to these expectations. And just as he rose from the dead, we live new lives of love and service.
And maybe you noticed in all of this that we’ve gone a bit away from just talking about pastors, and we’re also talking about all Christians. Your pastor has a trustworthy message. That gives him authority. That changes his life. That message is also one that you have and in which you share.
What on this list of characteristics doesn’t apply to you? We might describe the individual circumstances and the individual callings a little bit differently, but what God expects of pastors is sanctified living. That is the same sort of life that he invites all of his children to lead. “blameless… [spouse] to only one [other], …have believing children who are not open to a charge of wild living or disobedience. …not arrogant, not quick-tempered, not a drunkard, not violent, not eager for dishonest gain. Instead… hospitable, loving what is good, self-controlled, upright, devout and disciplined.
It’s not just our pastors who fall short of that description. It’s not just our pastors who need the call to repentance, the assurance of forgiveness, and the motivation of the trustworthy message. We all need it. You need it. And you have it in your worship services and in your Bible studies and in your devotions. You have the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus so that God sees you as blameless. He sees you as holy. He gives you opportunities to love and serve others.
And he gives you that same message to share as well. Yes, there are people whom God has called to share his Word in special ways. Jesus sent out Twelve, not all who followed after him. Jesus called certain men to be Apostles. He calls certain men to be elders and overseers and pastors and teachers. He calls men and women to serve him in full-time ministry positions today. But even those who do not fit one of those categories still have a mission and a ministry. They still serve in their own unique vocations.
Are you a father, a mother, a wife or a husband? Are you a son or a daughter? Are you an employer or an employee? Are you a neighbor, a co-worker, a friend? All of these questions show us a place in relation to others. They show us how we might best serve others. They show us where to look for opportunities to love. And they give us chances to hold firmly to a trustworthy message.
Tell your neighbor that you will pray for them when they are facing tough times. Invite your coworker to speak to your pastor if he asks questions you can’t answer. Offer to bring the friend to church with you. Better yet, tell them why church is so important to you. And don’t worry about the response. Just know that the trustworthy message comes with the authority of God himself, the authority of your Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Titus had a big job to do. Appointing overseers and elders for the congregations of believers was an important unfinished task. But what a blessing! God called him with the trustworthy message and invited him to serve others in love. May he be an example for our ministries, our lives, and our loving service to others.
The Text: Titus 1:5–9 (EHV)
5The reason I left you in Crete was so that you would set in order the things that were left unfinished and appoint elders in every city, as I directed you. 6Such a man is to be blameless, the husband of only one wife, and to have believing children who are not open to a charge of wild living or disobedience.
7Indeed an overseer, since he is God’s steward, must be blameless, not arrogant, not quick-tempered, not a drunkard, not violent, not eager for dishonest gain. 8Instead, he must be hospitable, loving what is good, self-controlled, upright, devout, and disciplined. 9He must cling to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he will be able both to encourage people by the sound teaching and also to correct those who oppose him.