SERMON: “Elder Rule” (Titus 2:15)
“Elder Roles
and Rule” (Titus 2:15)
Series: “Titus: Godly People, Godly Church,”
#13 Text: Titus
2:15
By: Shaun Marksbury Date: August 11, 2024
Venue: Living Water Baptist Church Occasion:
PM Service
I.
Introduction
That wasn’t the only issue, but we continued talking. The pastor of the other church said that he
only had women reading because there weren’t enough men without us, and that
his church was open to a couple of changes like that. He said that he had even talked to his people
about all this, and they were open, as well.
So, we combined congregations. However, after the merger, we realized he had
not communicated our concerns to his congregation, which was, in fact, not
open to changes! While we tried to make
the merger work, the pastor’s deception made it appear to his congregation like
we were the ones not up front, surprising them with changes to their church. Even after the other pastor gave a
half-hearted public confession that he had not been honest through the process,
the animosity toward us remained, so we backed out of the merger and left in an
attempt to preserve the peace. I had
been told that my error was in dealing mainly with the pastor of the church
rather than the true authority within the church.
Today, we’ll delve into Titus 2:15, a verse that
encapsulates the significant responsibilities and authority given to elders
within the church. This verse reiterates
important themes in this chapter. We can
see that the Apostle says to “speak,” a command which goes back to the
beginning of this chapter: “But as for you, speak the things which are fitting
for sound doctrine.” This verse also
goes back to Paul’s instructions to Titus concerning his selection of elders
and what kind of leadership he should exude.
The Apostle Paul, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit,
outlines clear directives for Titus as well as a description of how he should
operate in godly churches. And as Titus
is supposed to be setting churches in order and selecting elders to make the
church sound, we can apply this to what we should expect of our leaders. We’ll note that elders have a unique function
and authority in godly churches. Let’s
get started.
II.
First, Note the Function of Elders
These things speak
and exhort and reprove
There has been much debate on the function of elder. Some Southern Baptists, for example, have tried
to split the difference between the role and function of elder, which is not
biblically permissible. Nonetheless,
some supposedly conservative churches have had women like Beth Moore come and
preach to the congregation with the reasoning that, if they don’t claim she is
a pastor, it’s okay for her to preach.
The Bible doesn’t make such a distinction, though.
Paul gives three verbs which identify the function of elders,
and they are all connected to God’s Word.
We can describe it this way: elders are to communicate God’s Word, they
are to call people to God’s Word, and they are to correct people according to
God’s Word. It’s not that non-elders
don’t sometimes counsel and do these things privately, but the public work of
communicating, calling people, and correcting people falls upon the pastor’s
shoulders. Let’s consider the first of
those.
A.
Godly elders communicate God’s Word.
What things are Titus
to proclaim? Looking backward in this
text, Titus is to teach what older men and women should do within the
church. Titus is to teach what younger
men and women should do within the church.
Titus is to teach what the amazing grace of God does within the
church. He’s to always speak about the
kind of grace and resultant living we need in our lives.
As I’ve continued to think about the issue I brought up at
the beginning of the sermon, I’ve taken an even more firm stance. The more biblical view seems to be to reserve
Bible reading for the elders alone.
As such, at this church you will only see the pastors leading in the
Bible reading, or someone who is qualified to be in that position (perhaps
someone who is on the path to being in elder or a pastor at this church). Is that too firm a conviction?
Scripture identifies certain functions within the church as
belonging to the office of elder. If God
commands the elder to speak in churches, then this should be something peculiar
to the role of elder or someone qualified for the office of elder within the
church. There certainly shouldn’t be a
man guilty of adultery addressing the congregation, and there also shouldn’t be
a woman reading Scripture and preaching a sermon.
The pastor is wielding the Word of God in a particular
manner that must be accurate. Not only
is he declaring what God has said, he is thinking through the implications of
the ministry. That brings us to the next
point.
B.
Godly elders must call people to God’s Word.
Titus is not only to talk but also to exhort. What does that mean? This conveys the idea of appealing to someone
or urging right behavior.[1] Paul used this word in v. 6, where he told
Titus, “Likewise urge the young men to be sensible.” It’s an impassioned plea to conform to the
Word of God.
It’s not enough for a preacher to stand behind a lectern and
provide linguistic analysis of the text.
It is not enough for him to flatly state, “Christians should be
sober-minded.” He must entreat
believers; “Get the sinful junk out of your minds and think like Christ! Focus on what Scripture promises, because you
can be sober-minded in the power of the Holy Spirit. Wake up from your spiritual slumber and start
thinking like God wants you to think!”
See the difference? The pastor
must never engage in simple academics, and certainly not entertainment; he
instead seeks to persuade others to live differently.
This applies to biblical counseling. We balance being gracious and being
clear. Here, vv. 11–12 says, “For the
grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to
deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and
godly in the present age.” If it’s clear
that a counselee is unsaved, then we must urge them to repent and trust in the
good news of God’s grace. If it’s clear
that the counselee is a Christian but in sin, then we persuade them that the
grace of God gives them hope that they can deny those ungodly and worldly
desires, living a new life in Christ. We
have to say to the counselee, “That was sin, but there is a better way in
Christ you can and must follow.” That’s
biblical exhortation.
Sometimes, though, the issue proceeds into a more serious
situation. That requires
correction. That’s our next point:
C.
Godly elders must correct people with God’s
Word.
This is what God is looking for in His shepherds. Let’s go back to Titus 1:9, where the spirit
says that a pastor must be one “holding fast the faithful word which is in
accordance with the teaching, so that he will be able both to exhort in sound
doctrine and to refute those who contradict.”
We see another example of this in 2 Timothy 3:16, where Paul says to
Timothy, “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for
reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness.” The rebuking is, again, centered around the
Word.
So, a pastor might go to a member privately to discuss an
issue. Perhaps it comes up in
counseling, and the member refuses to heed biblical exhortation on a particular
sinful habit. Or, maybe it’s a teacher
in the church who doesn’t believe he or she is doing wrong, despite what the
pastor says. Of course, a church member
might have initiated this, bringing the pastor in later in the process, but
this is the point at which church discipline is beginning to be applied in a
more official sense. A pastor/elder has
the call and authority to bring this biblical correction, even announcing it to
the church should exhortation and reproof go ignored.
Again, anyone can speak, exhort, and reprove with the Word
of God in a private sense, and we see examples of that in Aquila and Priscilla. However, the office of elder is a particular
one in this function. A biblical counselor
may be male or female, and a Christian friend may have just the right verse for
you to hear. Yet, to engage the
congregation from the front of the church requires qualification, which
includes a willingness to go the extra mile and not ignore sins within the
church. The pulpit ministry carries an
inherent authority, then, bringing us to the next point.
III.
Second, Note the Authority of Elders
…with all
authority. Let no one disregard you.
The question of church government has many varied opinions
in church history. One deacon once told
me his church had a single pastor because they were a Southern Baptist church. I explained that such was not the historic
Southern Baptist position, showing him the comparison of the Baptist Faith and
Message throughout the years and the position of the founders of the Southern
Baptist Convention. He grew angry and
stated, “Well, we’re an autonomous church, so the Southern Baptists can’t tell
us what to do!” Though he wasn’t a
pastor, nor did he believe himself qualified for the role, he carried himself
as the true authority within his church.
Many Southern Baptists have faced this issue. Most of the time, though the deacons don’t
think of themselves as pastors, they make the pastoral decisions of the church. Many times, a congregational form of government
is specified, meaning that the loudest voice who can influence the most votes has
authority over a pastoral decision. Having
people spiritually unqualified to be elders making decisions for the church isn’t
a biblical form of church government.
What does Paul tell Titus?
The text says that all of this conveying
of God’s Word, all of this
communication, calling, and correcting, is to be done “with all authority” or “command” (NASB footnote). Now, this can be done well and it can be done
poorly, so let’s back up for a moment. Nearly
every translation renders this “authority.”
This is elder rule, which we have discussed in greater
detail when looking at elders in chapter one.
Scripture entrusts elders with significant authority in the church, stemming
from their responsibility to uphold and teach God's Word. The apostles wielded this kind of command,
though they spoke at times with simple concession (1 Cor. 7:6; 2 Cor. 8:8). Titus is not an apostle, but he is to operate
in this manner, as are the elders appointed to the churches. It’s not that the word of an elder is
infallible, nor is his written word inspired.
Yet, in as much as he is governing the church according to the word of
God, he is to do so with all command.
It's an authority that upholds Scripture as a higher
authority. When Paul instructs Titus, he
says to select men as elders who can hold firm “to the faithful word,” as it has
been taught (Titus 1:9). He also commanded
Timothy to “preach the Word” (2 Tim. 4:2).
The preacher models Christ-likeness by calling his congregation back to
the authority of Scripture.
The pastor does not have the right to tell people to do
things without warrant from Scripture.
He isn’t allowed to tell people who to marry, or what home to buy, for
instance. He may, however, give biblical
instructions in these regard, and even provide correction if someone is making
sinful choices (marrying an unbeliever, for instance).
This is also an authority calling for respect. The Lord says here, “Let no one disregard
you.” Now, there are two ways that this
is understood.
Jesus even pointed to the bad examples, the Pharisees, and
said to listen to and to obey them when they teach Moses (Mt 23:1–3). Why?
When God’s Word is taught, authority accompanies it. The preacher should, in turn, teach like what
he has in his hand is commands respect.
The first application of this is for the elder. There are those pastors who might engage in
disrespectful behavior, thus inviting disregard. This would include sin, obviously. Yet, it also includes an unwillingness of the
pastor to wield a biblical authority when needed, including in church discipline,
as we will read about in the next chapter (3:10–11). If a pastor has authority, he mustn’t back
down at the first sign of resistance.
The second application for this is in regards to the congregation. The word here can refer to thinking around
all sides of an issue, with an obvious negative connotation.[2] I’ve seen some notes that inmates keep, sometimes
in journals or Bibles, where they have a complete list of the names of officers
and their schedules. The incarcerated
individual has been silently watching and noting the who and the when, looking
for weaknesses to exploit, which is why officers must vary their routines. Paul tells Titus, “Don’t allow anyone to
think around you.” Don’t let your
authority to be circumvented by unprincipled men.
Sometimes, authority can be circumvented by simple laziness
on the part of pastors. The Lord says to
congregations, “Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they keep watch over your souls as those who will give
an account. Let them do this with joy and not with grief, for this would be
unprofitable for you” (Heb. 13:17). Yet,
I’ve seen pastors wash their hands of particular issues, refusing to assert
authority. There were numerous complaints
brought to one church about a particular woman in the children’s ministry who
was treating others poorly, even yelling at the janitorial staff for not
cleaning well enough; the pastors and the deacons literally all threw up their
hands and said, “We’re not touching that one!”
That is a recipe for folks in the church to begin disregarding elders.
IV.
Conclusion
It’s important that we, as a
church, have a right view of the offices of the church. It’s important that elders or those on the
path to becoming elders understand their roles in Bible reading and preaching;
they are to speak, exhort, and reprove with authority, ensuring that the church
remains faithful to God's Word. They are
also to lead with consistent, biblical authority.
It’s also important for the
congregation to affirm the leadership of elders in the decision-making process,
respecting and supporting their elders. As
a church, let us support our elders, pray for them, and honor their leadership,
knowing that they serve as God’s appointed shepherds over His flock.
[1] George W. Knight, The
Pastoral Epistles: A Commentary on the Greek Text, New International Greek
Testament Commentary, (Grand Rapids, MI; Carlisle, England: W.B. Eerdmans;
Paternoster Press, 1992), 329.
[2] A. T. Robertson, Word
Pictures in the New Testament, (Nashville, TN: Broadman Press, 1933), Tt
2:15.