In 1990, the federal government passed what was called the NLEA, stands for the Nutritional Labeling and Education Act. This act mandated and required that all packaged products bear information regarding what exactly was inside of that product. Today, when you go to the store, you will notice the nutritional information on the side of most things that you purchase and buy. This act was important because people now were exactly educated in knowing what was in that product, things such as calories and the amount of fats and sugars, whether it was processed or pure, the amount of vitamins and minerals, and the percentages of each. Today, you will even find an expiration date on most of them. You pick something up that you want to consume, you turn it over on its side to check out what exactly is in it, and then you make your decision. People need to know what exactly is inside of it so they could determine whether or not that is something that they want to pursue or something that they want to avoid. If you would, please take your copy of God's Word and open to Titus chapter 1. We are going to be continuing our study in Titus, and whether you are happy about it or sad, we are going to be concluding our qualifications for leadership. You'll notice, just as a heads up at the top of the bulletin in your outline, you will notice that I have provided the verse for you in the NASB. Now, as hard as it was for me to do this, I did provide the NASB because it was the most literal translation, and some of you will argue it is the most literal translation. I would say amen to that. And so I just provided the NASB for you from the top. We are going to be sticking in this one verse, Lord permitting, our full time. And so as I make reference, it is going to be to this one verse. Titus chapter 1 verse 9, let us read it together. 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. Now, Paul now is moving from the moral and character qualifications now to a particular skill. Up until this point, from verses 5-8, or really 6-8, No skill has been mentioned. They've been moral qualifications. There are some who believe that the moral qualifications ends here at verse 8, but it doesn't. No. No, no, no. Verse 9. Teaching is a moral requirement. Teaching is a skill and a gift, but this still falls under the umbrella of moral qualification. Teaching is the only specific skill that an elder must possess that is mentioned in our text this morning. He must be a skilled teacher. And how do we know? Because of verse 9, part B. He must be able to give sound doctrine, or your version may say, give instruction. Doctrine in regards to teaching. that has not been mentioned at this point. He must be able to teach and he must be able to have sound doctrine. You'll notice in your outline I have three major points. Point number one, the character and commitment of the Word of God, or the character and commitment of holding fast to the Word. Point number two, the competency of holding fast to the Word. And point number three, the consequence of holding fast to the Word, and then the comfort and correction of the Word. word right here, hold firmly, the Greek word is antechomai. It comes from two words, ante, which means corresponding to, and then echo, which means to have or to possess or to hold. It literally means to proportionately lay hold of something or someone in a way that matches the object grasp. This is not a loose grip. This is not a noodle grip. This is a firm, sound holding. And so you notice point number one, the character of holding fast to the word. As I already mentioned, teaching is both a skill and a moral requirement for leadership. A teacher is only as effective as his life demonstrates what he claims he believes. There are several here in the healthcare practices. There are some doctors and lawyers and there are some physicians. I just want to make this statement. I've never met an obese physical trainer. I mean, picture going to the gym and having this personal trainer assigned to you. And here is this 600 pound massive manly man who is overweight, who is in charge of getting you in shape. The first thing, honestly, you'd probably be thinking is this is a joke. Somebody works here and is playing some joke on me. It's funny. Who is my real trainer? The reality is that he is your trainer and you're going to look at him and you're going to say, wait a second, you're responsible for getting me in shape when you cannot take care of your own body. Now picture him training you and saying, come on, do it, burn those calories, work really hard, it's a mental game, fight it, fight it. And meanwhile, in the back of your mind, you're thinking, does this guy really believe what he's saying? I mean, honestly, how effective would he be as a personal trainer? Would you listen to him? And just as a side note, why are all physical trainers in shape? I think for that very reason. Or take a dentist. Picture going to the dentist and the hygienist smiles. And they have cavities, and plaque, and the food in their grill is from last month. And it's waving at you, and the dentist is smiling at you, and welcoming you, and trying to make you feel comfortable and welcome. And you can't take him or her seriously because you can't stop looking at their teeth. And you're saying, something is wrong here, and I know what it is. Now, picture him saying, open up your mouth, and him giving you a lecture about how you need to take care of your teeth and floss. He says, well, Johnny, you gotta floss more often. You would be saying to yourself, again, this feels really uncomfortable right now, and I would venture to say most likely you would not go back to that dentist. Now, if you are objective and you're paying attention, Whether or not the profession matches the practice, there are some of you here who are mature enough to be able to actually take the truth that they're saying away from them, even though it's not practically applicable in their own lives. But the problem is that is that it creates tension between what they say that you should be doing and what's good for you, but then not something that they're carrying out in their own lives. The reality is that what you profess must be what you possess. And additionally, if you're paying attention, some of you are thinking of that rare occasion where the trainer or the dentist or whoever it is could have an underlying medical condition where they just can't get in shape or their teeth just can't be clean. And you know what? I will yield to you for that exception. But for the most part, the message sticks when the life matches the lips. And you'll notice I make two main points about the effective teacher on your outline. First, is that the effective teacher will match what he possesses with what he professes, with what he possesses. And second, the effective teacher will match his life with his lips. While you can divorce the moral arena of most other professions, you can't do it with leadership of God's church. There are many professions here that you can be skilled at and have no integrity whatsoever and still be employed or still have respect. You may hear people say, he's really, really good at his job, but he's just a bad person. or his life is a mess, or he's really good at his job, but did you hear of what he did to his children or his wife? We can't disconnect this with the pastor or elder or elder or deacon. This is what separates the pastor and leadership from most other professions. It's this, he must be what he preaches with no exception. He must be what he teaches with no exception. He must be who and what scripture holds him to. Society may not have any integrity whatsoever. Society is always shifting and changing. but God's Word remains unchanging and the same. There is no room, not one inch of compromise that has to do with the Word of God. There are pastors and elders in other churches who do not meet their profession with their practice. Not only are the leaders not living out God's prescription for leadership, but they're not holding others accountable. There are many churches today that in light of the culture or in light of the pressures of society will water down the Word of God. There are many reasons for this. You know why? Because preaching the Word of God faithfully may just make some people uncomfortable. As a matter of fact, being faithful to the Word in terms of the character may even cause some people to leave. I would even venture to say that many of you are here because of the character of leaders in other churches. Beloved, preaching the Word of God faithfully will cause divide because truth divides. The Word of God is a mirror And as you look at that mirror, and as you expose the Word of God to yourself and others, you get to see what's really going on in your heart and in their heart. Some may choose not to preach through a particular verse or chapter of the Bible because it may bring up some tension between them and other people. And so we're just going to avoid it. No. Faithful teacher, pastor, shepherd, must hold fast the word of God because it is the word of God. He must be a word man, a word minister and a word slave. He is concerned with the word of God. The instrument only makes the noise. The instrument does not have the right to choose which melody to play. God must wield him and he does it primarily through the Word of God. There are many that will allow social and political and cultural pressures to dictate truth and to compromise God's message. And really all it boils down to are these two truths. First, these churches have pastors and leaders who are more fearful of man than they are of God. And they think that God will move if the mechanism of that movement is compromised, mainly the proper handling of the Word of God. If anything is added or subtracted to the Word of God, you compromise the power of it. You handicap the Spirit of God from moving. The pastor or shepherd or leader is not the filter of the Word of God. The congregation is not the filter of the Word of God. The Word of God is the filter that the pastor and the leadership and the congregation is put through. Manipulating the Word of God on account for the fear of man is to do them the actual greatest disservice because God uses his Word to change lives. He did it in yours. And Jesus said to Peter, I will build my church. I will. How does he build his church? By the word of God. Stone and brick layers may put down building material, but that's not a church. Anyone, it doesn't matter who they are, what their occupation is, anybody who usurps the word of God and replaces it with the word of man, they may have a church building, but it will not be God's church. God's church, by possession, must have the Word of God at the center. People are saved by the Word of God, they grow by the Word of God, they are kept by the promises of the Word of God, and their inheritance will be according to the Word of God. Why would you want to go to any other source? Paul is writing to Titus and saying this, you Titus, you need to find men that can teach and assumed in this is that their character and life matches up with doctrine and the Word of God. Titus, you need to hold fast the Word of God, and you need to find men as well who are holding fast the Word of God. Crete was not an island that had a rich history of orthodoxy. There are a dozen of pagan shrines within the 30 or so cities on the small island, and there's a cauldron of religions. There is a cultural mindset of loosey-goosey, and the reality is this. The leadership, at least here at Crossway, does not have loosey-goosey doctrine and theology. And I pray to God, and I hope that you see this. Not only will you notice the character, but also the commitment. Also the commitment. He must be committed to the Word of God. There are other places who have elders, as John Phillips says, who are well taught in everything but the Bible. It is not so here at Crossway. And you should thank the Lord that you have men in leadership, both officially and unofficially, behind the scenes that hold fast the Word of God. There are men in other buildings. who spent hours and hours, who are in leadership, who spent hours and hours on everything but the studying and the internalizing and the seizing of the Word of God. The elder or pastor must hold fast the Word of God. He must hold to it, he must take hold of it, become familiar with it, eat of it, simmer in it, and then release it. Not to release it to hold it, to release it, to share it. God has spoken and you have his word. Did you know that? You know, people wait in long lines, hours and hours and hours, to meet a famous person. And you have the word of God at your fingertips. The reality is that as you grow, as you have the word of God at your hand, as you internalize it, It becomes then part of you. The Word of God, like a snake, will fill you and will wrap around your DNA and your synapses. And before you know it, you are a walking, breathing, talking Bible. I know when we get Hudson from the nursery, I know when the ladies have held him. Because I pick him up and give him a kiss and I smell perfume. Matter of fact, we can even deduce which lady held him because their perfume of choice has a certain smell to it. I'll pick up Hudson and I'll say to Kate, yeah, so so-and-so was in the nursery, wasn't she? And she goes, yep, she was. And in the same way, as the word of God is seized, you start to look like it and smell like it. It becomes literally part of you. Shepherd must be committed to the Word of God. He must know it. And any minister or any shepherd who does not know the Bible is not worthy to lead God's church. He must be committed to the Word of God and his commitment is similar to his character. You cannot divorce the two. His commitment is not just a knowledge of it, but a practice of it. He doesn't just have to know what is in it. what God has spoken of himself and men, but he must also submit to it and bring his life under subjection to it. When a messenger was sent by the king to the surrounding cities and villages, that messenger did not have a choice of what he was to say. The king would have a message on a scroll and this herald or messenger would go from city and city and town to town and he would open up a scroll and he would say, thus says the king. The messenger would be killed if the message was not exactly what the king wanted. So let me ask you this question. Do you hold firm the word of God? Do you know what it is? Yes, this is a qualification for leadership, but don't think you're excused from that. Reality is that everybody in this room is a teacher. Doesn't matter your age. If you have children, you better believe you're a teacher and your life must match your lips. If not, you get to. a model repentance for those in your family. If you're married men, you are teachers. You are teachers to your spouse. God calls you to man up and to help your wife. If you are a grandparent, you are a teacher, even if you're not any of these. Even if you don't fall under any of these categories, everybody here is a teacher because their life is saying a lot about what they believe. If you work in the public arena, you are a teacher. And the effectiveness, check it, the effectiveness of the message is this, when life meets lips, when doctrine meets practice, are you holding fast the word of God where you're at. Point number two, the competency of holding fast to the word. You'll notice in our text it is the faithful word and the teaching, the faithful word and the teaching. So not only does he have to have character and commitment, but he must know the word. You can actually be committed to something and not have a good grasp of it. The faithful word, the logos, what is this? It is the combination of the Old Testament and it is also the teaching and message of the disciples and the apostles through the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, I'm going to rock some of your boats because I don't think we realize this, but did you know that most likely the only book in the New Testament that Titus has right now in his hand is the letter? Titus does not have the 27 books of the New Testament. Titus doesn't have it. He's on a creep. As a matter of fact, if you take the early writing of the Gospel of Matthew, that was written in maybe 55 AD. Paul's writing this letter at 63, 64 AD maybe. It's nine years. And it's not like there's any Gutenberg printing press here where they're just pumping it out. Titus doesn't have what we have. So when he's talking about to be faithful to, or to the faithful word, we need to realize that Titus has none of Paul's general epistles. All Titus probably has is this letter. Titus does not have what we have. Now, in the Greek, and this is why I chose the NASB, and some of you saying amen, is because there's an article, and it is not, as the ESV says, in accordance with teaching, it is literally the teaching. It is the teaching. So you have the faithful word, and then you have the teaching. Not just teaching, not a teaching, not some teaching, the teaching. So the teaching refers to something specific. So you have the faithful word, and then you have the teaching. This has to do with the teachings of those who the Savior had appointed, namely the disciples and apostles. Titus would have had copies of the Old Testament, and he would have had the teachings of the disciples and the apostles, but not in a paper form like you and I have. But he would have been familiar with the teaching. So how do we know? Well, here's a good question. How long did Titus know Paul for? It's a good question. Glad you asked. Titus may have known Paul for close to two decades. If Paul met Titus in 46 A.D., and as Paul brought Titus and Timothy and Barnabas with him to Jerusalem, and if that was in 46 A.D., and this letter is written in 63, 64 A.D., you've got two decades there. You've got two decades. Even though Titus is never mentioned in the book of Acts, he is mentioned 13 times in Paul's epistles. Why is this important? This is why. Because Titus would have been exposed to a plethora of teaching. Keep in mind, Paul was not taught by any man. He spent three years in the Arabian desert, and guess what happened there? He received one-on-one tutoring with the Lord Jesus Christ. One-on-one. Paul was not taught by man. He was taught by the Lord Jesus Christ. And you know what, Paul took that and he poured it into his faithful protégés, and Titus being one of them. So Paul had visions he couldn't speak about. All this grace had been given to Paul, and then Paul then dispensed it to men like Titus and Timothy. And additionally, not only was Titus with Paul or taught by Paul, but Titus has some spiritual giants around him. He has giants around him. He didn't only know about them, but he knew them, and he spent time with them. As I already mentioned, Titus went to Jerusalem with Barnabas, and he also went with Timothy. Titus also may have met and spent considerable time with Luke and John and others. This is not some guy who's in the corner of the street, and Paul's saying, I pick you. Me? No, this is two decades of him being surrounded with men who know the word of God and who have been instructed by the Lord Jesus Christ. This is the teaching. So, Titus would be a well, Titus is a well-groomed man. And out of all the men that Paul could have chosen, to represent Christ and to spread the gospel on the island of Crete. He chose Titus 20 years or so. False doctrine will lead to false living. If you have a wrong view about God, about man, about the Bible, and about doctrine, and if you're honest with what you believe that you know, and you live that out and it's wrong, guess what? You're living out what is wrong. And although truth is unchanging, God's truth does not change. The culture changes. And just as a side note, I find it very interesting that society at large, and even many of you here, demand faithfulness in every area but the word of God. The defendant in a court wants his lawyer to be faithful with his homework. The police officer must be faithful in upholding the law. The judge must be expected in judging and not being partial towards interpreting the law. People want the mechanic to be faithful with fixing the car. People want the appliance that they bought to work and will even drive back to the store and make a big deal out of it. But it is only with spiritual truth that some people have problems with, how is that so? When it comes to truth and faithfulness in that area, how many cave in? Most are concerned with everything healthy but truth. Now you'll notice the consequence as well. The consequence of holding fast the Word of God. The consequence of it. This word able, it's a cool word. In Greek it's dounatai, where we get our English word dynamite from. That's where we get power from. That is, faithful Christian, the faithful leader who seizes the Word of God, check it, you will have power. You will have power. The consequence of holding fast the Word of God. Truth divides, as I already shared with you. Jesus did not come to bring peace, but to a sword. And there are consequences in your life if you choose to hold fast to the word of God. There will be consequences. There will be family consequences, there will be spousal consequences, children, job, church, you name it. One commentator notes that the overseer ought to have two voices. One for gathering the sheep and another for warding off and driving away wolves and thieves. That is, the overseer must be able to draw sheep and feed them and instruct them while at the same time shutting down those who contradict the word of God. So you notice the two consequences of holding fast the word of God. There will be power. That word be able, that word able is power. That able is the consequence of holding fast the faithful word and the teaching. This is what will happen in your life. If you hold fast the word and the teaching of scripture, first you will be able to be comforted and you will be able to comfort others. So first is the comfort of the word. Your version may say comfort. The immediate context behind Paul's words to Titus is that there's a lot of heresy going on in Creed, which we'll see next week, Lord permitting. And Titus needs to appoint these men. And the word of man is not what you want to hear. You can say amen to that. The word of man you don't want to hear. You and I are not the comforter. God is. And as our words are seasoned with Scripture and Bible, there will be power. You don't want to hear my words. You want to hear the Word of God. You have not come to corporate gathering to hear the pastor's state of the union. You have come to hear God's state of the union of man, and it is found in the Word of God. So your translation may say comfort, but in the Greek it's parakalein. The Holy Spirit is called the what? Parakaleo, or the comforter. Para means alongside of, and kaleo means to call. It literally means to come alongside, to call, come along. Now, parents, you know exactly what this means. Think of when your children first started to walk. I mean first started to walk. You weren't sitting in the corner and saying, come on, you can do it. No, what were you doing? You were getting up, you were bending down. Forget if they were holding onto your hand or your fingers, you were holding onto them. And you were coming down to them. You were hovering over them and making sure as they get their first couple walks in, that they were held up secure. Some of you parents may remember teaching your children how to ride a bicycle. I would assume most of you would put training wheels. I don't want to know who didn't first, but I would assume most of you would put training wheels on. If you don't, I'll keep that between you and your family. So what a parent will do is, as the training wheels go on, the parent won't push them and say, all right, see you later. No, that parent, whether they're in shape or not, is gonna be running next to them, making sure that if they fall down, guess who's there to catch them? Parents. And even some of you may have even, as the training wheels came off, maybe some of you, you know, neighbors looking out the window and seeing, you know, parents chasing after their kid. You're not chasing after them, you're running beside them to make sure that that they don't fall. That's what God does with His Word. That's the Word of God coming alongside of you, holding you up and comforting you. Brothers and sisters, when you are in a tough time, you don't want to hear my words. You want to hear the Word of God, and you will find it in the Word of God. The psalmist says, This is my comfort in my affliction that your word gives me life. Brothers and sisters, if I would be transparent with you, I fear that the reason why there are many weak Christians is because they are weak in the word. And they go to seek every type of counsel, but that of scripture. We have so many discouraged. We don't need to be. who are not familiar with the Word of God. Or another way of looking at this word, parakaleo or comforter, is a judicial word. It has to do with a defense attorney or counsel in a court of law who's pleading the case of the accused. No man in and of himself is light. You don't need to hear someone say, you can do it. Pick yourself up by the bootstraps, just try harder. No, you don't want to rely on yourself. And you don't want to believe in yourself because you have let yourself down. And you will continue to let yourself down as you divorce your life from the Word of God. You don't need a pep talk. You need dynamite. You need power. And you will get that only as you are filled with the Word of God. William Barclay notes that the overseer must be able to encourage the saints. The function of the true preacher or of the true shepherd or elder is this, not to drive a man to despair, but to lift him up to hope. And he does that primarily by the word of God. Now, when a person is on their sickbed, they don't request a newspaper to be read. The graveside of a loved one, they don't ask Charles Darwin's theory of evolution by means of natural selection to be read. They don't. They ask for the word of God. Why? Because the word of God is a comfort. And so not only does sound doctrine or healthy doctrine comfort the weary, but it afflicts the comfortable. Permit me for one minute to digress. The Word of God does something to the comfortable. So you've got one thing primarily going on, that is the comfort of the Word, but the Word of God also does something additionally to those of you who may be spiritually lukewarm. There is a comfort that the Word of God gives, and there is also an affliction and wrong that it brings. The Word of God is a comfort to the afflicted and an affliction to the comforted. Some of you right now are in a comfortable state. Some of you are content where you are spiritually. And I'll just be honest with you, woe to me if I ever reach that stage. Woe to me if I ever feel as though I have arrived or I've had enough or I've reached the mountaintop. The Word of God has a way of spiritually afflicting the comfortable. The Word of God has a way to penetrate the soul burdened by passivity and laziness. Some of you may feel comfortable right now with terms of your maturity of the Word of God. The Word of God always has a way of convicting those who are lukewarm. Did you know Christ would rather you be hot or cold? He hates lukewarmness. And the church of Laodicea knows that very, very well. He wants you to be hungry. Are you hungry for the word of God? And lastly, to refute those who contradict. Your translation may say correct, The goal of a rebuke, whatever it is, is not to bring a sinner to humiliation, but to bring them to restoration. The goal of a rebuke is to lead to a confession or at least a conviction of sin. If you have ever rebuked anyone, your goal should not be to embarrass them and to humiliate them, but it should be to restore them. The Greek word for rebuke means literally to bring to light. God does that by his word. Points of application. Point number one, a healthy church will have men who are committed and competent in the word of God. The leadership must be hungry and faithful to the word of God. Point number two, a healthy church will have a congregation that desires the word of God, not man's opinions, but healthy and sound doctrine, which is accessible to all through God's word. Point number three, the effectiveness of the teacher is in large measure how well his life matches what he claims he believes. Number four, the word of God is able to comfort and to exhort. Point number five, the word of God is able to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable. False beliefs will lead to false living. And so in conclusion, as we look at the list of ingredients to a healthy teacher, he must have knowledge what exactly is not in that can of food. But is in that Bible. He must not only have the knowledge of what is in it, but be faithful in telling others about it. There is no expiration dates. On this word. It is timeless, it is eternal. Anyone. can slap a nutritional table on the side of a can, but scripture does not allow the pastor or the elder or the shepherd to have a disconnect between what the word of God says and his lifestyle. So when you turn the leadership on its side and check to see what is in it, you should find these characteristics from verses five through nine. Brothers and sisters, the qualifications here is what God expects from all of us. May all of us hold fast the word of God. May we be a healthy church, and may we give God all of the glory. Let us pray. Father in heaven, we confess that in and of ourselves we have no good thing, that apart from you we are dead. We confess, Lord, that at any point in our lives when we have any spiritual integrity, it is because of your Holy Spirit working in us and through us. Confess, Lord, that oftentimes we choose to hold fast to other things that are not profitable. But Lord, give us a holy discontent of maturity that we are seeking and panting and longing after your word. May you give us, Lord, that desire and may we not snuff it out, but walk in it and exert it. And Lord, may you be pleased with us. We're thankful as well, Lord, for your word, which is able to comfort us and also able to rebuke us. And so, Lord, we come to you in humility, in transparency, and we ask for your help as we become what you have called and qualified us to be. It is in Jesus' name, amen.