Titus 1

In today’s chapter, Paul instructed Titus to appoint elders or overseers and gave some guidelines as to the kind of characters that would make the mark.

For an overseer, as God’s steward, must be above reproach. He must not be arrogant or quick-tempered or a drunkard or violent or greedy for gain, but hospitable, a lover of good, self-controlled, upright, holy, and disciplined. He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it. (Titus 1:7-9)

As God’s steward…
Aren’t we all called to be stewards of God as well? We are exhorted to be good stewards of the manifold grace of God (1 Peter 4:10) by using the various gifts which God has given us individually to minister to one another. Have we been faithful in using the gifts which God has bestowed upon us to edify others and to help the Church to grow?

We are also stewards of the truth, the gospel of Christ. What have we been doing with this amazing knowledge of the truth, which God has opened our eyes to see and know? Do we rejoice at the knowledge that we have found something precious and spread the good news around? Or have we bury this treasure away? How have we been stewards of the truth?

And since we are also stewards of God, let’s take a look at the guideline and measure it against ourselves:

…must be above reproach.
Another word for “above reproach” can mean “perfect”. Basically, you should be different from the others; you should be blameless. Nothing you do should bring you criticism from others. Everything that you do is right and good.

Wow, a perfect man?

You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect. (Matthew 5:48)

We know that no one is perfect, and none of us has reached perfection. However, we can strive to be perfect.  And as we strive for perfection, to be like Christ, though sometimes we may still fail, we know that God will perfect that which concerns me (Psalm 138:8).

As we strive on this journey of faith, can we truly say that we are above reproach? Or perhaps, are we barely making the mark, always hovering around the passing mark? Or worse still, have we been failing?

…must not be arrogant or quick-tempered or a drunkard or violent or greedy for gain.
These are all characteristics from the teachings in the Bible. We know how the Bible teaches us to be humble and to see others as better than ourselves. We are also encouraged to be slow to anger, and not to let the sun set on our wrath. We need to be sober and alert, and to remember that godliness with contentment is great gain (1 Tim 6:6).

How many of these are easy for us? But how many are difficult? Each of us has our own weaknesses and though we may find some of the above easy to fulfil, that does not give us the excuse to close one eye on our weakness. We must be “above reproach” and hence, need to strive to be perfect in all these things.

…hospitable, a lover of good, self-controlled, upright, holy, and disciplined.
The previous are things we should not be; here are characteristics that we should have. Being “disciplined” left a great impression on me after NWYS at Brisbane last year. I find that it is one of the Christian traits that are more likely to be neglected.

What does being disciplined mean then? To me, it means having a proper, somewhat predictable life so that important things get done. It means getting up for work and going for services, and fulfilling the roles and responsibilities in our lives. Though a little spontaneity can bring colour and joy into our lives, discipline shows that we know what we are here (on earth) for and we move in the direction of that goal. On the other hand, a total lack of discipline would show that we simply don’t know and we don’t care.

He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught…
How have we held firmly to the Word that was taught to us? Do we find ourselves loosening our grip as the currents of the world kept sweeping over us? Do we truly believe that the Word saves us?

… so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it.
The previous is for one’s own salvation with regards to the Word, how holding fast to the Word and enduring to the end can save us. However, that is not all that is required of us. The Bible is very consistent and clear on this - that we cannot only care about oneself, but need to also look out for the others.

There were many times when I had felt that the world (or the Church) would be a better place if everyone can individually just mind their own salvation and make sure that they are walking on the right path. Then, we won’t jeopardise our own salvation by being burdened by other people’s burden, especially when we are feeling weak ourselves. But what does the Bible say?

Bear each other’s burdens (Galatians 6:2).

Hence, we need to know the Word, hold firm to it, and teach others too.

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Now that we know the requirements that we should have as stewards of God, how do we measure against it? Have our faith often stopped at the “knowing” or “believing” but not actually “doing”? Is that, then, faith?

As we conclude with the verse below, let us (myself included, definitely) seriously ponder over the works of our faith and whether we truly meet the mark of a true Christian.

They profess to know God, but they deny him by their works. (Titus 1:16)