“A lover of what is good…” (Titus 1:8)

The apostle Paul gave Titus a list of character qualities to look for in potential church leaders. In all, he listed 18 aspects of character. Number 12 of the qualities to look for is what we find in verse 8, that a leader among God’s people must be a lover of what is good.

This ancient Greek word (philagathos) is only used here in the New Testament. Philos is a word for love, and agathos is a word for good or virtue. Put the two together and you have the idea of lover of what is good or “lover of goodness,” or even “promoter of virtue.”

There is a lot of evil and corruption in the world today. I don’t think that is anything new; there has always been a lot of evil and corruption! Yet we, as believers, should never love the evil things of this world. We should be lovers of what is good.

In Micah 3:2 the prophet spoke against those who did the opposite. Micah spoke against You who hate good and love evil. We see a lot of that; those who actually hate what is good and love what is evil. The mixed-up morality of our present age is the cause of so much brokenness and trouble in the world. The godly man or woman will have a sense of moral clarity. They see good and recognize it as good; and they see evil and call it what it actually is.

This sense of moral clarity means not only that we should be lovers of what is good, but that we will also hate evil. Psalm 97:10 says, You who love the LORD, hate evil! It also says in Amos 5:15, Hate evil, love good; establish justice in the gate.

Loving good and hating evil can be difficult for many reasons. It demands courage and moral clarity, which both seem rare in today’s world. They are also often confused with hating evil people. We can hate the evil that people do, and even work against that evil without hating the people themselves. We can commit ourselves to loving them in Jesus’ name and to pray for God’s good in their life, even though they do evil things. And if you think it is impossible to hate the sin while at the same time loving the sinner, remember that we do this with ourselves all time. We love ourselves (Ephesians 5:29), while at the same time hating our sin. We can do this for others as well.

Finally, remember that God is the ultimate good: James 1: 7 says, Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights. Jesus also said in Mark 10:18, No one is good but One, that is, God. God is the source of all true goodness. In fact, God invites us to taste and see that the LORD is good (Psalm 34:8). To be a lover of what is good is to be a lover of God.

Click here for David’s commentary on Titus 1

For a bishop must be… not greedy for money. (Titus 1:7)

Paul listed several qualities that Titus should look for as he appointed leaders in the many young churches on the island of Crete. Here at the end of verse 7, another quality is mentioned. A leader among God’s people must not be greedy for money.

Greed has been the downfall of many Christian leaders. Pastors and other leaders are often warned against the dangers of sexual immorality, pride, and greed. Those three go together for a good reason, and we should never forget the trap of being greedy for money.

It’s not only church leaders who must avoid greed. In 1 Timothy 6:9-10, Paul also wrote this: But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.

Paul gave a great warning. Significantly, in 1 Timothy 6:9 Paul warned against the “desire to be rich.” That desire for riches is far more dangerous than the riches themselves – and it isn’t only the poor who desire to be rich, it is also the rich who are greedy for more riches.

It’s good to remember that in the Bible, poor does not mean godly and rich means ungodly; nor is it true the other way around. There were many remarkably godly men in the Bible who were almost unbelievably rich, such as Abraham, David, and Solomon.

But the godly rich have the heart like the Psalmist in Psalm 62:10: “If riches increase, do not set your heart on them.”

Those who run after greed are like what Paul wrote about in 1 Timothy 6:9 – they “fall into temptation and a snare.” This desire for riches tempts our heart away from eternal riches and ensnares us in a trap few can escape – always dreaming of riches, and always setting one’s heart on them.

At the end of it all, the desire to be rich can really only be satisfied in Jesus Christ and fulfilled with spiritual riches rather than material ones. Everything else falls short.

Notice one other warning Paul gave in 1 Timothy 6:10. He wrote “some have strayed from the faith in their greediness.” It’s sad to think about but it is true – there are some people who forsake the faith because of their greed. As Paul wrote, they pierce themselves with many sorrows because that is the fate of those who live for the love of money. They are not satisfied. We sometimes want the opportunity to find out if riches can satisfy, but we should trust the Word of God and the experience of many others.

Instead of being greedy for money it would be better for us to be “greedy” in a good sense for godliness and God’s kingdom. God helping us, that is what we will be in Jesus Christ, and those are the kind of leaders we will look for in God’s family.

 

Click here for David’s commentary on Titus 1

For a bishop must be blameless, as a steward of God, not self-willed. (Titus 1:7)

Paul gave Titus a list describing the character to look for in men who would be leaders among God’s people. The first item of the list was that a man should be blameless (Titus 1:6), and we previously looked at that character quality – here repeated in Titus 1:7. Our focus in this verse is the phrase that an overseer, a bishop, a leader among God’s people, would be not self-willed.

Self-will is the opposite of the nature of Jesus. Our Savior was and is the ultimate other-centered person, and a self-willed man or woman is a self-centered person.

Jesus said that if anyone would come to follow Him, he must deny himself (Matthew 16:24). When Jesus said this, He added an important phrase:If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. Jesus said it this way to make the point that for someone to deny himself was like going to their crucifixion (to take up his cross).

The cross wasn’t about self-promotion or self-affirmation. The person carrying a cross knew they couldn’t save themselves. Denying self means to live as an others-centered person. Jesus was the only person to do this perfectly, but we are to follow in His steps and to follow Him. This is following Jesus at its simplest: He denied self, He carried a cross; and so must those who follow Him.

Those who would be leaders among God’s people must lead in self-sacrifice. They must come to serve, and not to be served. They should not be selfish. They should not be arrogant, stubborn, or have a proud self-focus.

James 3:17 describes true wisdom: But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield. Out of pure stubbornness, the self-willed man is not willing to yield. The self-willed man is determined to have his own way in everything. They think their judgment is always right and superior to everyone else. They expect everyone to pay honor to their wisdom and to always do things their way.

That isn’t godly leadership, and such self-willed men should not be appointed leaders among God’s people. Instead, leaders should be like Jesus who truly said of Himself I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me (John 5:30). We should be God-willed instead of self-willed.

There are times when a leader must make a stand and hold his ground. When that time comes, he must do it in a spirit of humility and with a humble searching that he makes his stand seeking after the will of the Father, not his own will.

Click here for David’s commentary on Titus 1

If a man is blameless… For a bishop must be blameless, as a steward of God. (Titus 1:6-7)

The Apostle Paul wrote to Titus, telling him the character of the men he should appoint to leadership among Christians. We find a similar list in 1 Timothy 3, and both of these lists begin by saying that the leader among God’s people should be blameless.

When we consider a person’s character, it’s a great place to start. The ancient word literally means, “nothing to take hold upon.” It simply means there must be nothing in the life of the leader that others can take hold of and attack his life or the church.

The Bible commentator Adam Clarke said that the word was a metaphor taken from the world of boxing. Just like a skillful boxer defends every part of his body and gives his opponent no place to hit, so a blameless person gives the outside world no true place to attack his character.

This is a broad term for a person who lives a righteous life that can be seen as righteous. No one could stand up and rightfully accuse the man of grievous sin.

More than ever, the world around us finds and exposes the sins and faults of leaders. Sometimes the sins and faults of leaders in the church are found out and exposed to the world. When this happens, sober consideration should be given to how this impacts the leader’s standing as a blameless person. When Paul wrote about deacons in 1 Timothy 3:10, he used the phrase being found blameless. This implies being blameless is demonstrated by a track record of behavior – it is found and demonstrated to other people. A leader can’t decide for himself if he is blameless; there should be trusted people who can honestly look at him and his reputation, and how they reflect on God and His people.

This doesn’t mean that a godly leader will never be accused. Jesus, Paul, and many other godly men have been accused of terrible sins – but they were false accusations. We understand that blameless here applies to the truth of a man’s reputation and does not take into account false accusations.

I don’t think this means that a person with sin in his past can never be a leader among God’s people. It means that their reputation for repentance and godliness must be more public than their prior reputation for sin and compromise. It means that when those who know the person think about him, they first think of his godliness, before they would of the sins of his past. Godliness and time can restore a reputation.

If your reputation is good, if you are blameless in the sense described here, remember how easy it is to wreck your reputation. It can happen surprisingly fast. Trust Jesus every day to actually live in such a way that will only improve your reputation.

If your reputation is not good – if you are not blameless in the sense described here – then don’t despair! Jesus came to forgive and restore us all. Just remember that the restoration of your reputation will take time and consistency. Ask Jesus for daily faithfulness so that day by day, year by year, you can build a reputation that can be once again regarded as blameless.

Click here for David’s commentary on Titus 1