“Sober-minded…” (Titus 1:8)

What qualifies someone for leadership among God’s people? Surely, there must be a sense of calling, and the heart and gifts to match the calling. But those things are not enough, even if one were to add ambition to them. When God speaks of what qualifies someone for leadership, He speaks of character.

The list of character given in 1 Timothy 3 and here in Titus 1 not only gives us the character to look for in leaders and potential leaders, but it also gives us an important way to measure Christian maturity. The more this list describes our character, the more like Jesus we are.

These lists are more than measures of character, they are also goals to reach for. When we measure ourselves against a list like this and come up short, it gives us a direction to reach for. We trust that the truth of the gospel means we can be forgiven through what Jesus did for us on the cross, and that the new life He gives us can cause these qualities to grow within us.

The ancient Greek word we translate sober-minded (sophron) has the idea of being self-controlled, clear-thinking, and sensible. That’s a quality that seems to be in short supply today. We see this especially on social media and the internet, where people are so quick to rush to extreme opinions and statements, usually and little evidence.

The sober-minded person is not so quick to rush to judgment. Clear thinking is important to them. They aren’t constantly joking about everything, but they know how to deal with serious subjects in a serious way. In the mind of the Apostle Paul, this was an important quality in a leader. He used this root word ten times in his short letters to Timothy and Titus.

Warren Wiersbe wrote of this quality, “This does not man he has no sense of humor, or that he is always solemn and somber. Rather it suggests that he knows the value of things and does not cheapen the ministry or the Gospel message by foolish behavior.”

When it comes to foolish behavior, sometimes preachers can be the worst! Some preachers will do anything ridiculous to draw a crowd or please a crowd. I think God wants a preacher of His word to be serious about God’s message without taking himself so seriously.

Paul told us in another place using the same root word for sober-minded. Paul wrote, “For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith” (Romans 12:3).

It’s not clear thinking to think too highly of yourself! May God give us clarity of thought about ourselves, about our present age, and most of all about God’s truth.

Click here for David’s commentary on Titus 1

“But hospitable…” (Titus 1:8)

As Paul listed the character qualities Titus was to use to appoint leaders in among the many new churches on the island of Crete, we see here that he mentioned the practice of hospitality. This means that God regards this as one characteristic of a person qualified for leadership among the people of God. God sees if we are hospitable or not; God cares if we are hospitable or not.

The ancient Greek word that we translate hospitable is philoxenos, which simply means “lover (philo) of strangers (xenos).” It is a mark of godly character to love more than those of your own family or group, but to also have a love for strangers and foreigners.

By nature we may stick to our selves or to our own group. It may seem dangerous or foolish to extend love to strangers. But that is how God loved us. The Bible says that at one time we were strangers from God (Ephesians 2:12 and 2:19). When we were strangers from Him, He showed His love to us and invited us into His home.

The importance of hospitality ran deep in the ancient Middle East. When travelers crossed great distances over dry and dangerous ground, the hospitality of a stranger’s tent might mean the difference between life and death. Failing to help a needy stranger was a disgrace, and the gift of simple hospitality was greatly appreciated.

We love Psalm 23 as a beautiful description of God as our shepherd – and He is. But Psalm 23 also describes God as our host. He prepares a table for us, even in the presence of our enemies (Psalm 23:5). As we come into God’s house He soothes our head with oil, a customary greeting practice among those ancient peoples (Psalm 23:5). He fills our cup with refreshment, so much so that it runs over (Psalm 23:5).

As it is with God, so it should be with His people. They should show the practice of hospitality with open homes and open hearts, giving this gift to both friends and strangers. It isn’t done to impress them with what wonderful hosts we are or how many beautiful things we have, but to bless them in Jesus name and to open our lives to them.

Romans 12:13 says that God’s people should be “given to hospitality.” That word “given” is a strong word, sometimes translated “persecute” (as in Romans 12:14). The idea is to “pursue” people you don’t know with hospitality. This is love in action, not just feelings – and something for every Christian, not only leaders. Open your home and your live to someone else soon.

Click here for David’s commentary on Titus 1

For a bishop must be… not violent. (Titus 1:7)

As we read what the Apostle Paul wrote as a description of the character Titus should look for in leaders among God’s people, it’s good for us to ask: If I’m not a leader among the people of God, and don’t plan on being a leader, why should I care about this list? I can think of a few reasons why every Christian should care about this list.

1. Every Christian should care about this list because it gives God’s description of what spiritual maturity and godliness practically look like. We may never have the calling to leadership, but every Christian should grow towards the character of a godly leader.
2. It helps us to understand what God expects of the leaders we should respect and pray for in God’s church.
3. In many ways it gives us a wonderful description of Jesus in His earthly life. He perfectly fulfilled all God’s expectations for leaders.

Here, the fifth quality (or sixth, depending on how one counts) is that the bishop or leader must be not violent. It should go without saying, but it still needs to be said: there is no place for a leader among God’s people who is violent towards others.

He must not be violent towards those he works with, and those who in some sense work for him. He must not be violent in any way that would force himself upon a woman. He must never be violent towards his wife, and if it is appropriate for him to spank his children it must always be done without anger and in proper measure.

Normally, we think of only two exceptions to this for a leader among God’s people. The first is if he does it in correct measure under proper authority, as a solider or an officer of the law. The second is if he does it in self-defense, and then only in proper measure.

Yet there is something else to see here, pointed out by William Barclay. He said that the ancient Greeks understood the meaning of this word to include not only physical violence, but also verbal abuse. It might be that this was Paul’s focus here. Usually we understand that those who have a problem with physical violence are not qualified for church leadership. But it is more common to make excuses or overlook when a man is verbally abusive to others, especially if he thinks he does it for the goal of church work or ministry. But if someone is consistently verbally abusive to others (not necessarily the occasional, rare outburst), they should not be leading God’s people.

Think about it: Jesus was never violent or abusive. He spoke strong words of rebuke, but never in a sinful way. He turned over tables in the temple courts, but never struck another person. To pay our debt of sin, Jesus received violence; He didn’t give it out. If you have a problem with being physically or verbally violent to others, remember that Jesus took violence on Himself to pay for that sin, to defeat its power in your life, and to pour out His grace upon you to help build new habits that please God. Jesus also died to rescue the violent man, and to transform him into a strong yet gentle man, into the image of God’s Son.

Click here for David’s commentary on Titus 1

If a man is blameless, the husband of one wife, having faithful children not accused of dissipation or insubordination. (Titus 1:6)

Paul left Titus on Crete to find, appoint, and train leaders for the churches in the many towns and villages across the island. Paul told Titus to look for men of character, and this verse describes the family life of a man of character.

First, the man of godly character is the husband of one wife. The idea behind this phrase is not that a man must be married to be qualified for leadership in the church. We know that both Jesus and the Apostle Paul were both unmarried men, and certainly they had the character to be leaders in God’s work.

More literally, the idea of husband of one wife is that the man of godly character is a “one-woman man.” He has his focus on one woman – his wife, or his future wife. Simply said, the Biblical leader is not a playboy, an adulterer, or a flirt. He does not show romantic or sexual interest in other women, including the images of women in pornography.

We live in a day when this standard for leaders seems more difficult than ever to fulfill, but God’s measure does not change. We should pray that God would give us leaders who are truly the husband of one wife, and pray that they would by God’s power remain one-woman men.

Paul gives another measure of a man’s character relevant to his home life – that he is a good and godly father. This is seen in that he has faithful children, that he has raised his children well. His ability to lead the family of God must be first demonstrated by his ability to lead his own children. Here the emphasis is on the idea that his children display godly living (they are faithful) and they do not live wild, disobedient lives (dissipation or insubordination).

Bible teachers and scholars debate if this refers only to the younger children of the Christian leader or if it also includes his adult children, out of the home. Because of the emphasis in Jewish culture on the age of responsibility of a child (expressed in the bar mitzvah ceremony), Paul probably had in mind only the younger children, those who were not yet accountable to God for their own lives and sins. It is true that a child may rebel in even a good home; but one must ask, is that rebellion because of the father or in spite of the father? How does the father respond to the rebellion?

The principle remains important: The godly leader demonstrates his leadership ability first in his own home. God recognizes that it is in the home where our Christianity is first demonstrated. Sometimes we find it easy to be a Christian everywhere but the home, but God’s standard still applies.

If you fall short in the measure of your home life (or even miserably fail), in Jesus there is for you grace, forgiveness, and strength for obedience. If these troubles mean that now is not the right time for you to have a place of Christian leadership, don’t despair. Live day by day in Jesus and in Him build maturity and the evidence of it in your life.

Click here for David’s commentary on Titus 1