City On A Hill
Join us as we begin a verse-by-verse study through the book of Titus!
The Culture War
Titus 1:5-9
Non-Toxic Masculinity
“What is a man?”
v.5 – “This is why I left you in Crete, so that you might put what remained into order, and appoint elders in every town as I directed you.”
1 Timothy 3:1 – “The saying is trustworthy: If anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a noble task.”
I. RELATIONSHIPS BUILT ON COMMITMENT (v.6)
“Above reproach,” lit. “unblameable”
a. He is a committed husband
“A one-woman man”
1. Marriage Teaches Leadership
Ephesians 5:23 – “For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior.”
2. Marriage Requires Sacrifice
Ephesians 5:25 – “Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her.”
What about single men?
What does it mean to be a one-woman man?
Two Choices:
i. A one-woman (at a time) man
ii. A one-woman (for all time) man
1 Timothy 5:14 – “So I counsel younger widows to marry, to have children, to manage their homes and to give the enemy no opportunity for slander.”
What about divorced and remarried men?
b. He is a committed father
v.6b – “And his children are believers and not open to the charge of debauchery or insubordination.”
I. A REPUTATION BUILT ON CHARACTER
v.7 – “For an overseer, as God’s steward, must be above reproach.”
Character Defects
a. Arrogance
αὐθάδης, “to be pleased with oneself.”
Proverbs 28:25 – “An arrogant man stirs up strife, but he who trusts in the LORD will prosper.”
b. Quick Tempered
c. Drunkard
Ephesians 5:18 – “And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit.”
Galatians 5:19-21 – Drunkenness = “acts of the flesh”
“Those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.”
d. Violent
πλήκτης, “one who is apt to strike.”
e. Greedy for Gain
Character Strengths
a. Hospitable
b. A Lover of Good
c. Self-Controlled
d. Upright – δίκαιος: “just, equitable, or fair.”
e. Holy
f. Disciplined
1 Timothy 3:7 – “Moreover, he must be well thought of by outsiders.”
III. A RESPONSIBILITY BUILT ON CONVICTION
v. 9 – “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.”
Two Responsibilities:
a. He is devoted to the truth
b. He develops others in the truth