Titus 1:6 - Meaning and Application

The apostle here gives Titus instructions about ordination, showing whom he should ordain and whom he should not. He first names the qualifications and virtues of those who may be appointed. Some of these qualifications concern their life and behavior, and others concern their teaching. The qualities about life and behavior are given in verses 6, 7, and 8, and the qualities about doctrine are given in verse 9.

The first requirement is general: if any man is blameless. This does not mean absolutely free from every fault, because no one is. Scripture says that no one lives without sin. It also does not mean that he has never been blamed at all, since even Christ and His apostles were blamed by others, though they did not deserve it. Christ had nothing blameworthy in Him, and the accusations against the apostles were false. The meaning is that a man must not have a bad reputation. He should have a good report, even from those outside the church. He must not be guilty of obvious or shameful sins that would disgrace the holy office.

Paul then speaks more specifically. In his family life, the man must be morally pure and faithful to his marriage vows, a husband of one wife. The church of Rome teaches that a minister must have no wife, but that is not how it was from the beginning. Marriage is God’s gift, and no calling shuts a person out from it (1 Corinthians 9:5). Paul says that forbidding marriage is one of the false teachings of the antichristian church (1 Timothy 4:3). This does not mean that ministers must be married, only that if they are married, they must not have more than one wife at the same time. They must not be bigamists, nor must they have divorced one wife and taken another for light reasons, as some among the Jews did. Polygamy is shameful in anyone, and so is living with a concubine or mistress while still having a lawful wife. Anyone entering so holy an office must be far removed from such sin and from any lustful behavior.

As for his children, they must be faithful children, obedient and good, brought up in the Christian faith and living in it as far as faithful parents can guide them. It reflects well on ministers when their children are pious and fit their religion. They must not be accused of wild living or rebellion, at least not with any fair reason. Even innocent people may be falsely accused, so a man must make sure there is no real basis for such charges. Children who are faithful, obedient, and disciplined are a good sign that the parent has been faithful and careful in raising them. If he has shown faithfulness in his own house, he may be trusted with the greater work of governing the church of God.

The reason for this qualification is tied to the nature of his office: a bishop, that is, an overseer, must be blameless, as God’s steward (Titus 1:7). The men earlier called elders are here called bishops, and in this place those terms refer to the same office. At that time there were no higher fixed officers above them. Titus’s work in Crete was temporary, and his stay there was short. After he appointed elders and set things in order, he left them in charge. Scripture does not mention any successor to him in Crete. These elders, or bishops, were entrusted with the full care of feeding, ruling, and watching over the church. They had all the authority needed to carry on religion and ministry among them and to pass it on to later generations.

Since they were overseers of the flock and examples to the people, and since they were God’s stewards charged with the care of His household, there is strong reason why their character should be clear and good. How could religion thrive if their lives were disgraceful? How could their work not be hindered, and souls not be harmed, if their conduct gave offense? These are the relative qualifications, together with the reason for them.

The more personal qualities are then given. Negatively, an elder or bishop must not be self-willed. This covers a wide range of faults: being proud of one’s own ideas, overvaluing one’s abilities, always trusting one’s own judgment, loving oneself above others, seeking one’s own advantage, depending on oneself, pleasing oneself, and being stubborn, harsh, or fixed on one’s own way. A minister is greatly honored when he is not like this. He should be ready to seek advice, ready to yield where he can, and ready to adapt himself to others so that he may win some for Christ.

He must also not be quick-tempered. He should not have a hot, easily provoked spirit. How unfit are those to rule the church who cannot rule themselves or their own restless passions! A minister should be gentle, meek, and patient toward all people.

He must not be given to wine. There is no greater disgrace to a minister than to be a wine-drinker who loves it and gives himself too much liberty in it, until it masters him. Moderate and proper use of wine, like other good gifts of God, is not sinful. Paul told Timothy to use a little wine for his stomach and frequent ailments (1 Timothy 5:23). But excess in drink is shameful in anyone, and especially in a minister. Wine can dull the mind and degrade a person. Paul’s warning fits here well: “Do not get drunk with wine, for that leads to excess, but be filled with the Spirit” (Ephesians 5:18). There is danger in going too far in this area, so one must avoid even approaching the edge.

He must also not be violent or quarrelsome, striking others in anger or treating them with cruelty, revenge, or needless roughness. Nor must he be greedy for dishonest gain (1 Timothy 3:3). This does not mean he should refuse fair support for his labor. It means he must not make money his first goal, and he must not enter ministry or conduct it for worldly profit. Nothing is more unfit for a minister, who should lift his own eyes and the eyes of others to another world, than to be overly focused on this one. It is called filthy gain because it stains the soul of anyone who loves it too much or chases after it greedily, as if it had value for any reason beyond proper and lawful use.

This finishes the negative side of a bishop’s character. Now, second, there are positive traits as well: he must be a lover of hospitality (Titus 1:8). That shows he is not controlled by a love of money, but is willing to use what he has well. He does not keep things for himself in a way that keeps him from generous giving. Instead, he receives and welcomes strangers, which the word itself suggests.

This was a very important duty of love, especially in times of suffering and danger. Christians often had to flee and wander for safety because of persecution and enemies. Travelers also moved from place to place when there were not the public inns we have today. Many poor believers may not even have had enough of their own to offer hospitality. In such times, welcoming them was good and pleasing to God. A spirit and practice like this, according to one’s ability and opportunity, fit those who should be examples of good works.

He should also be a lover of good men, or of good things. Ministers should show this in both their life and their choices. That proves open godliness and a likeness to God and the Lord Jesus Christ. We should do good to all, but especially to those in the family of faith, the excellent people of the earth, in whom we should delight.

He must be sober, or prudent, which is what the word means. This is a necessary grace in a minister, both in his work and in his personal conduct. He should be a wise steward, not rash, foolish, or hasty. He should know how to govern his passions and desires. He must also be just in civil life, acting with moral honesty and fairness in all dealings, giving each person what is due. He should be holy in what concerns religion, a man who reveres and worships God, and whose way of life is spiritual and heavenly. He should be temperate, a word that points to strength, meaning one who has power over his appetites and desires, and who can hold them in check for good ends even in lawful things.

Nothing fits a minister better than these things, sobriety, self-control, justice, and holiness, sober toward himself, righteous toward other people, and holy before God. So the apostle has now described the minister’s life and conduct, both in what he must avoid and what he must practice.

2. As to doctrine, there is his duty: he must hold fast the faithful word, as he has been taught, keeping close to the doctrine of Christ, the word of his grace, and staying with the instructions he has received. He must hold it fast in his own belief and profession, and also in teaching others.

We should note two things. First, the word of God given in Scripture is true and completely trustworthy. It is the word of the One who is the Amen, the true and faithful witness, and whose Spirit guided the writers. Holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit. Second, ministers must hold fast, and also hold out, this faithful word in both teaching and life. Paul’s comfort was, “I have kept the faith” (2 Timothy 4:7), and also that he did not avoid declaring the whole plan of God; that was his faithfulness (Acts 20:27).

The goal is that he may be able, by sound teaching, both to encourage and to refute those who speak against the truth. He must persuade and lead others into the true faith, and also correct those who oppose it. How could he do that if he himself were unsure or unstable, not holding fast to the faithful word and sound doctrine that should shape his teaching and his answers to opponents?

In this, we see the main work of the ministry in brief: to encourage those who are willing to know and do their duty, and to convince those who contradict it. Both must be done with sound doctrine, that is, in a clear and reasonable way, using Scripture arguments and Scripture testimony. These are the true words of truth, and all people may and should rest on them and be settled by them. So much for the qualifications of the elders Titus was to appoint.

The apostle then shows whom Titus should reject or avoid, men of a different character. He brings them up as a reason for why he had stressed such careful qualifications for ministers, why they must be only the kind he described. He gives reasons drawn from the bad teachers and bad hearers among them.

1. First, from the bad teachers. These false teachers were unruly, headstrong, and eager for power. They were rebellious and hard to manage, unwilling to submit to the discipline and proper order of the church. They could not bear sound government or sound teaching. They were also empty talkers and deceivers. They thought themselves wise, but were really foolish, and so they talked much, fell into errors, loved those errors, and worked hard to lead others into the same mistakes. Many such people were there, especially among those of the circumcision, converts who claimed to come from the Jews and who wanted to mix Judaism and Christianity together, making a corrupted mixture. These were the false teachers.

The apostle’s direction for dealing with them is this: their mouths must be stopped (Titus 1:11). That does not mean by force, for Titus had no such authority, and that was not the method of the gospel. It means by refuting and exposing their error, and by not giving way to them even for an hour. If they are stubborn, disturb the peace of the church, and spread corruption to other churches, then church discipline must be used as a last means, both to restore the guilty and to keep many from harm. Faithful ministers must oppose deceivers in good time, so that, once their foolishness is made clear, they may go no farther.

The reasons for this are clear. First, their errors do great damage. They upset whole families by teaching what they should not teach, such as the need for circumcision and keeping the law of Moses, and in doing so they overturn the gospel and ruin souls. They did not just mislead a few people, but whole households. It was wrongly said of the apostles that they turned the world upside down, but it was rightly said of these false teachers, because they pulled many away from the true faith to their destruction. Such people should have their mouths stopped, especially because of their base motive, filthy lucre’s sake, meaning they were serving worldly gain under the cover of religion. The love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. It is most fitting, then, that such men be resisted, refuted, and shamed by sound teaching and by arguments from Scripture.

2. Next, in reference to their people, or hearers, who are described from old testimony about them. There is the witness (Titus 1:12): one of themselves, even a prophet of their own, meaning one of the Cretans, not a Jew. This was Epimenides, a Greek poet, someone likely to know them well and unlikely to slander them without cause. He is called a prophet of their own because their poets were counted as voices of divine truth, and they often spoke sharply against the sins of the people. Aratus, Epimenides, and others did this among the Greeks, and Horace, Juvenal, and Persius among the Latins. They often used sharp words against many kinds of sin.

Here is the charge made against them: “The Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, slow bellies.” Even by proverb, they were known for falsehood and lying. To “play the Cretan” meant to lie, and they were also compared to wild, harmful animals because of their sly cruelty and savage temper. They were called “slow bellies” because they were lazy and given to pleasure, more eager to eat than to work or earn an honest living.

Notice how such shameful sins, which brought reproach on the pagans, should be far from Christians. Falsehood, crafty harm, cruelty, every beastly and sensual practice, along with idleness and laziness, are sins condemned even by natural reason. These were the faults the Cretan poets themselves laid against their own people.

Paul confirms this testimony himself: “This witness is true” (Titus 1:13). He had seen enough among them to know the description was accurate. Some nations seem more inclined to certain sins than others, and the Cretans were widely known, and too often seen, as lazy, ill-natured, false, and untrustworthy.

Because of that, Paul tells Titus how to deal with them: “Rebuke them sharply.” When Paul wrote to Timothy, he told him to teach with gentleness, but here he tells Titus to be firm. The difference may fit the temper of the two men, or it may fit the people they served. Timothy dealt with a more polished people, so gentleness was needed; Titus dealt with rougher, less refined people, whose sins were open, gross, and shameless, so stronger rebuke was needed.

Reproof must be wise. Some sins are more serious by their nature, or more shameful because they are done openly and boldly, bringing greater dishonor to God and more harm to people. Some sinners are tender and easier to reach with kindness, while others are stubborn and need sharper words to awaken shame and repentance. That is why wisdom is needed to fit the correction to the case, as Jude says, “Have mercy on some, making a distinction; and save others with fear” (Jude 1:22-23).

The sins of the Cretans were many, serious, and long-standing, so they needed sharp rebuke. But Paul does not want Titus to misuse that command. The goal is this: “that they may be sound in the faith” (Titus 1:14). That means they must truly and clearly be changed from their evil ways, and not keep holding to Jewish fables and the commands of men that turn people away from the truth. Some who had been converted might still be tempted to cling to Jewish traditions and Pharisaic superstitions, and those would only make them lose their taste for the gospel and its pure, wholesome truth.

The sharpest rebukes must always aim at the good of the person rebuked. They must come from love, not malice or anger. Their purpose is not to satisfy the reprover’s pride or temper, but to reclaim and reform the one who is in error. Soundness in the faith is a great blessing. It is the health and strength of the soul, pleasing to God, comforting to believers, and helpful in making them steady and cheerful in duty.

A major means of becoming sound in the faith is to turn away from fables and human inventions (Titus 1:4). “Neither give heed to fables and endless genealogies, that give rise to disputes rather than godly edification” in the faith. As Paul says elsewhere, “Refuse profane and old wives’ fables, and train yourself for godliness” (1 Timothy 4:7). Human ideas in God’s worship are against truth and godliness. Jewish ceremonies and rites had once been God’s own appointments, but now that Christ has come and their time is past, they are only human commands. They do not fit with the truth, but turn away from the pure gospel and the spiritual worship Christ has set up in place of the outward service of the law.

It is a serious judgment to be turned away from the truth, to leave Christ for Moses, the gospel’s spiritual worship for the outward ordinances of the law, or God’s true commands for human inventions. “Who has bewitched you,” Paul asked the Galatians, “that you should not obey the truth?” (Galatians 3:1, Galatians 3:3). “Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh?” This shows how dangerous it is to fall back from the truth.

Paul then gives the reasons for this warning, drawn from the freedom we have in the gospel from legal observances and from the harm caused by a Jewish spirit under the Christian covenant. For believers who are sound in the faith and cleansed by grace, “all things are pure.” Foods, drinks, and other things that were forbidden under the law are no longer divided into clean and unclean in that way. They are lawful and free in their use. But to the defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure. Even good and lawful things they twist into sin. They draw poison from what should bring sweetness, because their mind and conscience, the guiding parts of the soul, are already defiled.

As Scripture says, “The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord” (Proverbs 15:8). And, “The plowing of the wicked is sin” (Proverbs 21:4). It is not sinful in itself, but it becomes so because of the person doing it. The evil bent of the mind and heart spoils all the work of the hands.

Some may object: Are not these Judaizers people who profess religion and speak well of God, Christ, and a righteous life? Should they be spoken of so severely? Paul’s answer is that they “profess that they know God, but by their works they deny him” (Titus 1:16). Many say with their lips that they know God, but their lives deny him. Their conduct contradicts their confession. They are like the people who came and listened to Ezekiel, but would not do what he said. “With their mouth they show much love, but their heart goes after their greed” (Ezekiel 33:31). They are “abominable, disobedient, and unfit for any good work.”

The apostle tells Titus to rebuke sharply, and he does the same here. He uses very strong words, but they are no stronger than the people’s sin and need called for. He describes them as abominable, meaning so offensive that God and good people should turn away from them. He also calls them disobedient, that is, unwilling to be persuaded and unbelieving.

They may have done many things, but not with the obedience of faith. What they did was not what God commanded, or even close to it. They were reprobate for every good work, meaning they had no skill or right judgment to do anything properly. This shows the sad condition of hypocrites, people who have only an outward form of godliness but not its power.

Still, we should be careful not to accuse others too quickly. We must make sure this charge does not fit us too. We must guard against having an evil heart of unbelief that turns away from the living God. Instead, we should be sincere and without blame until the day of Christ, filled with the fruits of righteousness that come through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God (Philippians 1:10-11).