An ongoing investigation found that over 300 Roman Catholic priests across six dioceses in Pennsylvania found guilty, accused of sexually abusing at least 1,000 children. 1,000 were reported and there were also many that were reported that were supposedly misplaced or lost. Most of them were boys, and many of them were even under the age seven. The details of the report I'll spare you, but it's harrowing to see even the damage and blight that it has put on the Catholic Church, and unfortunately, as well with Christians that are grouped in the same category in general. What makes it such a horror, what makes it even worse, is that these men have been entrusted with a great responsibility, the shepherding of God's children, both spiritual maturity and in terms of biological age. What makes it an even greater horror is the failure of the Catholic Church to follow God's prescription and description of its leaders. Compounding this, which is equally shameful, is the cover-up of such a monstrosity. This apparent sexual abuse has been occurring for at least 70 years, and it hadn't been reported. Unfortunately, you have men who are not occupying a position, and they're not saved. We should be outraged and rightfully so. This is what happens when God's word is compromised. The church, we should place a high premium on leadership. Why? Because oftentimes the people do not rise above its leaders. God is going to use the church to draw sinners to himself, and he has not only called, but he has equipped and energized the church, you and I, to do so. The church is not a building, it is people. But the problem that we have is oftentimes the church does not look much different than the world. We act the same, we think the same, we spend our money on the same things, we talk the same, our leaders are the same. We don't ask, what type of man is this? We ask, how much money can he make us? How many people can we can he appeal to instead of asking this man honoring to the Lord? Oftentimes, there is such little persecution in the church because the church doesn't look much different than the culture. We have seen already, Paul has entrusted his fellow worker, his sooner gone, his fellow worker, Titus. with appointing elders on the island of Crete. Last time, we saw that the command is not only to have elders, but to have a plurality of elders. And not only is the command to have elders or a plurality of elders, but also God's design is very clear. The leaders are to be men. It's to be men. We see the pronouns listed in 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1, all being he. Paul is writing to Titus, and he does not wait to get into the qualifications of leadership like he did in Ephesus when he wrote to Timothy. In 1 Timothy, Paul waited until chapter 3, but in Titus chapter 1, he deals with it immediately beginning in verse 6. We need to ask ourselves, why? Why does Paul not wait until chapter 3 like he did in 1 Timothy? We saw last week or we saw last time that the church was already relatively established in Ephesus because Paul spent three years There not so with Crete. We don't know how long Paul and Titus spent in Crete But we do know that Paul and Titus did not find or establish the island of Crete Please turn if you would to Titus chapter 1 verse 5 Titus chapter 1 verse 5 The last time we met, we looked at the two reasons why Paul left Titus and Crete. Deals with it in verse five. This is why I left you in Crete. I love it. Very straightforward. First, so that you might put what remained in order. And second, to appoint elders in every town as I directed you. So we see that it is important that you cannot compromise the qualifications of an old overseer, an elder. And really verses six through nine are the qualifications in Titus. And I want you to notice as well that this has nothing to do with skill. In these lists, this skill or the oration or any Any particular grace that God has given him in terms of skill is not mentioned with the exception of being able to teach but I would even Encourage you and I would argue that the ability to teach and the skill of teaching is actually a moral requirement But I want you to notice that God is concerned with the character of his people right off the bat and Paul says, by the grace of God, I am what I am. And by the grace of God, any leader, any elder of the church is by grace, a vessel of God. And for the next several months, we are going to be looking at six negatives and six positives, six negatives and six positives found in verses six through nine, six virtues to pursue and six negations. And what I love about the word of God, and I hope that you love as well, is that it is not ethereal. We don't have to ask any questions. I want you to notice that God is concerned with the character of his people. God has ordained not only the end, but also the means to the end. And all six of these characteristics from verses six through nine are moral. It has nothing to do with the amount of money the man makes, or how many Instagram followers he has, or the amount of people that attend his church. This has to do with integrity. Now you'll see in your bulletin, the outline, I'm gonna call in audible. In audible, I wanna give you a fourth, okay? And so the order is gonna be this. Number one is reasons, reasons. Number two is recollection and reflection. Same thing in your bulletin. But number three is the curve ball. I want you to add response to that, response. And then number four is revelation and redemption. reasons recollection slash reflections response and revelation slash Redemption we're going to continue the alliterations with ours. I ran I ran out of words with these so we're just going to go with ours Point number one reasons reasons The synonym for being upright is holy, godless, or godly, blameless, and beyond reproach. We're not gonna spend too much time inspecting the differences between them, but throughout our time, I am gonna be using them as synonyms. I wanna give you a reason, first of all, for being upright. First reason is because God calls us to holiness. God calls us to holiness. 1 Peter 1, 16, be holy, for I, and holy. The call is not just for elders and leaders and deacons of the church. The call is for everybody. We are to be holy. We are to be set aside. Literally, holiness or holy means to cut, to cut. It means to set aside, to be separate. Some of you are wondering, separate for who? Separate for God. Separate for what? Separate for holiness. Holiness is not a mindset. Holiness is conduct. It is a lifestyle. And I must ask you this question. Have you, as a believer, being united with Christ, set yourself aside for the Lord? Does he command your life? Would other people in your life say, I don't know anything about Jesus. I don't know anything about God. But he loves Jesus. She loves Jesus. Are there people in your life that would say that about you? Reason number two for being upright or being above reproach is because without holiness, no one will see the Lord. Without holiness, no one will see the Lord. Hebrews chapter 12, verse 14. There are plenty of people who are religious. Plenty of them. Buddhists, Hindus, and Jews are all religious, but they are not godly, and they are not holy because they don't actually know God. If they knew God, they would set themselves apart because God has set them apart. They would see Christ as beautiful and worthy of all homage and worth. Without holiness imputed to you, you will not see the Lord. Without the imputed righteousness of Christ, you will not see the Lord, because there is only one person in all of existence whom God is pleased with. It is not you, it is not me. Who is Christ pleased with? His Son, Jesus Christ. And so, if you don't know Christ, God is not pleased with you. You can participate in as many ceremonies, as traditions as you would like. You can try to be a good person, but you will be damned. Being a good person does not get you to heaven. Christ is our only hope. Titus chapter 1 verse 2, in hope of eternal life. This hope is in a person. It is in Jesus Christ. Colossians 119 for in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell God is pleased with himself first and foremost Secondly, he's pleased with Christ and anyone who looks like Christ and who has been paid by the blood of Jesus Christ Reason number three God will bring every deed into judgment God will bring every deed into judgment with every secret thing, good or evil. Ecclesiastes chapter 12 verse 11. God, by nature of his omniscience, is well aware of everything. He knows what would be, what could be, and what should be. And He has ordered the universe and every molecule in the universe according to His eternal and wise counsel. God does not have a body, which means that He is everywhere at all times. He is not limited by time because He exists outside of time, and He is not hindered by any feeble attempt of man. Additionally, God will bring every deed and every thought into judgment. Now, for those who are in Christ, even though you are redeemed, you will have to answer to Christ. It is not an issue of heaven or hell. It is an issue of eternal inheritance and stewardship. And lastly, reason number four, our sin. may cause a brother or sister to stumble and may bring reproach on the name of Christ. Mark chapter nine, verse 42, whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him if the great millstone was tied around his neck and he were thrown into the sea. And we need to ask ourselves this question, who is this little one? Well, the answer is both it is both in terms of children and second it is also in terms of the um of the nature and the spiritual advancement and maturity of a believer The reality beloved is that there are mature men and women in this congregation. I have met you And you must realize that there are children both in biological and in terms of salvific that are looking up to your life. Christ looking and watching should be enough, but there are others watching you. Woe to me if I make any little one to stumble. Woe to me if I bring reproach on Christ in regards not only to my relations to the godly, but also to the ungodly. Woe to me if my doctrine is different than my practice, if my words and actions contradict We only model genuine repentance. I want to read to you a quote from Richard Baxter's book, The Reformed Pastor. If you are a leader in A church, I would encourage you to read this. Even if you are not a leader in church, I would encourage you to read this. So basically everybody here should read this. And I quote, take heed to yourselves because the tempter will ply you with his temptations more than other men. If you will be the leaders against the prince of darkness, he will spare you no further than God restrains him. He bears the greatest malice to those who are engaged to do him the greatest mischief. as he hates Christ more than any of us, because he is the general of the field, the captain of our salvation, and does more than all the world beside against his kingdom, so he hates the leaders under him more than the common soldiers. He knows what a route he may make among them if the leaders fall before their eyes. He has long tried the way of fighting, either against great or small comparatively, but of smiting the shepherds that he may scatter the flock. And so great has his success been along the way that he will continue to follow it as far as he is able. Take heed therefore, brethren, for the enemy has a special eye upon you. He shall have his most subtle insinuations and incessant solicitations and violent assaults. As wise and learned as you are, take heed to yourselves lest he outwit you. The devil is a greater scholar than you and a nimbler disputant. He can transform himself into an angel of light to deceive. He will get within you and trip up your heels before you are aware. He will play the juggler with you, undiscerned, and cheat you of your faith or innocency. And you shall not know what you have lost it. Yes, he will make you believe it is multiplied or increased when it is lost. You shall see neither hook nor line, much less subtle angler himself while he is offering you his bait. And his bait shall be so fitted to your temper and disposition that he will sure to find advantages within you and make your own principles and inclinations betray you. And whenever he ruins you, he will make you the instruments of ruin to others. Oh, what a conquest will he think he has got if he can make a minister lazy and unfaithful, if he can tempt a minister into covetousness or scandal, He will glory against the church and say, these are your holy preachers. See what their preciseness is and whether it brings them. He will glory against Jesus Christ himself and say, these are your champions. I can make your chiefest servants abuse you. I can make the stewards of your house unfaithful, end quote. Let your light shine before others that they may see your good works and give glory to your father who is in heaven. We need to ask ourselves this question, what does Jesus mean? Its primary rebuke was towards the Pharisees because they did everything in the open to appear pious. Beloved, you need to realize that there are always three audiences watching you. God is watching you, believers are watching you, and unbelievers are watching you. The unconverted may be drawn because of the excellency of such your manner of thinking and conduct. The believer may be sanctified and encouraged in that same excellency, but for the unbeliever who rejects revelation, God will be glorified both in the judgment of that revelation and rejection. And so regardless of what happens, God gets glorified. God either gets glorified through the salvation of sinners through faith, or the punishment of the wicked. He receives glory in both categories because both testify to the excellency of his name. I'm gonna continue what Richard Baxter says, and this is very dear to my heart, and I pray that this will move you as well. Take heed to yourselves, lest you live in the sins which you preach against in others, and lest you be guilty of what which you daily condemn. Will you make it your work to magnify God, and when you have done, dishonor Him as much as others? Will you proclaim Christ's governing power and yet condemn it and rebel yourselves? Will you preach His laws and willfully break them? If sin is evil to you, why do you live in it? If it isn't, why do you dissuade men from it? If it is dangerous, how dare you venture on it? If it be not, why do you tell men so? If God's threatening be true, why do you not fear them? If they be false, why do you needlessly trouble men with them and put them into such frights without a cause? Do you not know that the judgment of God to those who have committed such things are worthy of death, and will you do them? You who teach another, do you not teach yourself? You that say a man should not commit adultery or be drunk or covetous, are you thy yourself? You that make the boast of the law through the breaking of the law, do you dishonor God? What? Shall the same tongue speak evil and do evil? Take heed to yourselves, lest you cry down sin and do not overcome it. Lest while you seek to bring it down in others, you bow to it and become its slave. Yourselves, oh brethren, it is easier to chide at sin than to overcome it." End quote. Point number two, recollections and reflections. Point number two, recollections and reflections. You'll see in our texts in verse six, if anyone is above reproach, you must be above reproach. Your translation may differ slightly on the meaning. Some say blameless, unaccused, having a good record, unquestioned integrity, a good reputation, well thought of, be without crime. without fault, irreproachable character. But we need to ask ourselves, what exactly does above reproach mean? I want you to notice the if in verse six. If anyone is above reproach. The if does not assume doubt. It assumes what follows. And a glottis, a is without, n or in, or kaleo means to call out. It means to call out. It literally means, above reproach, someone who cannot be called out. It has a judicial language. It means, literally, to call as a debt or a demand or to bring an accusation in court. It means that nobody can successfully bring an accusation or charge against you. Now, this is both literal and figurative. It means that anybody who charges you with anything is ill-founded. It means that there is no serious blot in your life. It means that there is no habitual encompassing sin that has dominion in your life. And I want you to notice as well that charisma, public speaking, intelligence, education, influence, talents, or attractiveness is not mentioned. It is not mentioned. This has to do with character because God is concerned with the character and holiness of his church. Now right off the bat, Paul inspired by the spirit lists blameless or above reproach. As I have already mentioned, there would be a large Jewish presence in the island of Crete. These Jews were saved following Pentecost, Acts chapter two, and they would have brought the gospel to the Cretans. Paul or Titus, as I already mentioned, were not the first to bring the gospel to the island of Crete. Jews who were saved did. And if you were a good Jewish boy or good Jewish girl, your antennas would be flaring and firing as soon as you heard, blameless or above, reproach Why? Because there are Old Testament saints who were blameless above reproach or whose Righteousness was imputed to them who Noah Job and Abraham Because of our time this morning. I only had to pick one and I'm sure from the scripture reading you can kind of figure out who I chose and And you're right, I chose Job. So if you would, please turn to Job chapter one, verse one. Job chapter one, verse one. There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job, and that man was blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil Being blameless and upright in what he is what he was I want you to notice that this is a statement not a description The description and synonym is found at the end of verse one Job was a blameless man that feared god and shunned Evil if you want to know right off the bat generally what it means to be blameless in terms of a life principle. It is this Fearing god and hating evil I must pause right now and ask you, do you hate evil and sin? I want you to notice as well, this fearing has nothing to do with punishment. This has to do with reverence and awe and love. Job feared God and he shunned evil. To fear the Lord is to hate evil. This is the main quality. Now, we actually, I don't know if you've seen this, if you've ever read the book of Job, but we actually find a description of what it means to be upright or blameless, and I want you to look at verse 5. When the days of the feast had run their course, Job would send and consecrate them, and he would rise early in the morning and offer burnt offerings according to the number of them all. For Job said, it may be that my children have sinned and cursed God in their hearts. Thus, Job did continually. One characteristic of a godly man or a godly husband or a godly grandparent is loving their children. But not just loving their children, loving them spiritually. Job was concerned with the spiritual welfare of his children, which was evident through his sacrifices to the Lord on behalf of his children. And we can camp here for a while. We're not going to, but I do want to note a couple of things. A godly man, a godly husband, a godly father is concerned with the spiritual welfare of his children, period. Not only is he concerned, but this is more than an idea. It is more than a thought. It is even more than a desire. This man acts on desperation. He is interceding for his children through sacrifice. We must intercede for our children through example and prayer. And so I have to pause here and ask the parents and grandparents here a question for you. Are you praying for the salvation and the sanctification of your children and grandchildren? Does your heart as Job go after their soul? Your heart may go after the physical wellbeing and you may spoil them physically You may buy them toys and bicycles. You may spoil them richly physically. Do you place as much of an emphasis on their spiritual developments? Are you thinking how to bless them? You provided room for prayer as Job did. That God would save them. keep them, that he would be merciful to them. Job here is a prime example of one facet of what it means to be a blameless man, an upright man. He's thinking in his mind, just in case my children have sinned, I'm going to offer sacrifices. I love my children so much that if they have sinned against the Lord, I will do everything I can in faith to be an intercessor. If your children, beloved, are not walking with the Lord, intercede for them in prayer, because the prayers of a righteous man fail much. Job, as a blameless and righteous man, did provide spiritual nourishment for his children. We just read Job 31. Job did not live in falsehood. His heart had not gone after his eyes. His heart had not been enticed by a woman. He did not withhold anything from the poor. He had not taken advantage of the widow or the fatherless, but had opened his hands to them. Even in light of his wealth, it was not his trust. His boast, his security was not in how much money he made. His house was open to those who needed a place to stay. He did not conceal or hide his transgression or sin. Job did not fear men. He did not remain quiet when it came to something being right because of the fear of people or how other families would treat him. This is also indicative of the life of a blameless man. And so I must ask you in light of Job chapter one, verses one through five and Job 31, how does your life fare out? Point number three, response. Response. If. As we have already looked at, there is a condition for leadership in the church. The if is the condition. It means that there may or may not be men who are suitable. The if includes both the immediate congregation, first of all, and the outside world. But these requirements take time, because it takes time to test a man. Paul lists the qualifications to the church, but you have to keep in mind, Titus was not a pastor of a particular congregation as Timothy was. As we saw in Titus chapter one, verses one through five, that the context behind this is that there probably would have been at least 30 cities at least on the island of Crete. And Titus here is moving in and out of these cities and reading to these small Christian congregations the requirements. Now this is the reason why we have a response. Other leaders may nominate elders, but the congregation, I am convinced in this text, has the final say. All of this being said, the congregation gets to see the man. You get to see him. You see the way he treats his wife, his children, what he values, what he talks about. You see what he hates. You see him in his life, in his doctrine, in his practice. He becomes real to you. The if is not determined necessarily by the leadership, but by the congregation. Because if Titus is an itinerant pastor, if he's moving around, well, then who do you think would know these people the best? Congregation. Scripture places a lot of emphasis on moral integrity, but it is important for you to realize, all of you in here, that this same standard applies to you. The elders of the church should be the models of what godliness and virtue look like, but we can't brag about anything because, as the apostle says, by the grace of God, I am what I am. But you must understand that these moral qualifications that you see are not just for elders. It is for all of us in here. The elders are called to be the hands and feet, but you should never say, well, they are elders. We just saw in terms of the reason we are all called to be holy. Do not create a false dichotomy between the leaders and the congregation. Oftentimes, as I already mentioned, the congregation does not rise above its leaders. That is, for those who are mature, for those who leave churches, other than relocating, many of you have left because of serious theological errors or character traits of the leaders. When you become a member of Crossway here, we ask you a question, an important one. Why did you leave? Where did you attend? What's the reason for it? Because we want to kind of pick your brain to find out what's going on in the background. And as I already mentioned, the congregation oftentimes does not rise above its leaders. If it does, people will oftentimes leave and go somewhere else. This man must be upright in light of the watching world. Now, we're not gonna turn to it, but in Job chapter 31, The reason why Job had said all of those things is because that's what his friends were blaming him for. It was his final response. So all of those negations, if I have done this, if I've done that, it was all a response to those who were pointing their finger and saying, the reason why you're suffering is because of this. The reason why there's difficulty in your life is because of this. And Job's saying, hey, let God try me. But I do want you to turn to Job chapter 42, and then we'll be done in the book of Job, Job chapter 42. I'm gonna read verses seven through nine. After the Lord had spoken these words to Job, the Lord said to Eliphaz, the Temanite, my anger burns against you and against your two friends, for you have not spoken of me what is right as my servant Job has. Now, therefore, take seven bulls and seven rams and go to my servant Job and offer up a burn offering for yourselves. And my servant Job, pay attention, shall pray for you, and I will accept whose prayer? His prayer. not to deal with you according to your folly. For you have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has. So Eliphaz the Temanite and Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Neamathite went and did what the Lord had told them, and the Lord accepted Job's prayer. So the one who was wronged prayed and interceded. or those that wronged him. Point number four, revelation and redemption. Job one, we're not gonna turn to it, but as Satan approached the Lord, the Lord said to Satan, have you considered my servant, Job? There's no one like him on earth, blameless and upright man who fears God and shuns evil. Beloved, there was a better Job. There was one who was more blameless. There was one who had walked this earth perfectly. There was one not from the land of ooze, but there was one from heaven who entered time and space and became a man. There was one who was born in the likeness of man without compromising his deity. Job was blameless, but he was not sinless. And regardless of how moral or how good we think we are, all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. God searches the heart. And God dealt with Job on account of his pride in sin and drilled into him over 150 questions based on creation or the created world. He asks him, where were you? There was a better intercessor than Job. See, the Lord's anger burned against Job's friends, and they offered sacrifices, and Job prayed for them. There was a better intercessor. The night before his execution in the Garden of Gethsemane, as he was sweating, as it was, great drops of blood, he asked and he said, Father, if it is possible, take this cup for me. If it's possible, take it away. The night before he was betrayed, Christ prayed in two different locations. He prayed in the upper room in discourse, you see that, in his high priestly prayer in John chapter 17, and he also prays in the garden. Get sent to me. But you must realize, beloved, that on that cross there was no ram caught in the thicket. There was no bull, there was no turtle dove, there were no grains. Jesus Christ hung on that cross. Divine love met divine justice. On that cross, he bore my sin and anyone's sin who in faith cries out, remember me when you enter into your kingdom and he will say to you, you will be with me in paradise. On that cross, the God-man died. But you know what's great? He did not remain dead. As death and sin did everything they could to hold him down with all of their force. They did everything they could to keep him there. And as the famous hymn says, up from the grave he arose. That's right. He ascended to God and on his ascension He sent the Holy Spirit which now dwells inside of believers causing them to walk in his statutes beloved This blameless man is not it's not blameless because there's something unique or special about his DNA He is blameless because the Spirit of God dwells inside of him as he yields to him if you are in Christ this morning the same spirit dwells in you God calls all of his people to be blameless. And evidence that you belong to Christ and that Christ belongs to you is that your life through the enablement of the Holy Spirit looks more and more like Christ. God places a high premium on leadership because if God is to build his church, it must be God's way. God must do it, which means that God must be the enabler, the supplier, and the finisher, and he uses sinful people, sinful men, to accomplish such a task. Praise the Lord. May we all pursue what God has called us to, enable all of us to be blameless and above reproach, looking to Jesus as the author and the perfecter of our faith. Let us pray. Father, we confess that all of us are born in sin, hating you and loving ourselves. We are thankful that the love of God met the justice and the wrath of God on that cross that you have drawn sinners to yourself and that you are in. the business of advancing your kingdom as your kingdom of light draws back the kingdom of darkness we confess lord uh that we are oftentimes not what you have called us to be and we're thankful that you have forgiven us that you have loved us and in light of that love may it spurn us to holiness and godliness and as always we Confess, Lord, and we admit that at any time, in any way, in any shape, manner, or form that we resemble Christ, it is because of your spirit that enables us, that equips us, that energizes us to have that kind of life. And in all things, you will be praised. In Jesus' name, amen.