Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the sake of the faith of God’s elect and their knowledge of the truth, which accords with godliness, 2 in hope of eternal life, which God, who never lies, promised before the ages began 3 and at the proper time manifested in his word through the preaching with which I have been entrusted by the command of God our Savior;
4 To Titus, my true child in a common faith:
Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior.
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— 6 if anyone is above reproach, the husband of one wife, and his children are believers and not open to the charge of debauchery or insubordination. 7 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, 8 but hospitable, a lover of good, self-controlled, upright, holy, and disciplined. 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.
10 For there are many who are insubordinate, empty talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision party. 11 They must be silenced, since they are upsetting whole families by teaching for shameful gain what they ought not to teach. 12 One of the Cretans, a prophet of their own, said, “Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.” 13 This testimony is true. Therefore rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith, 14 not devoting themselves to Jewish myths and the commands of people who turn away from the truth. 15 To the pure, all things are pure, but to the defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure; but both their minds and their consciences are defiled. 16 They profess to know God, but they deny him by their works. They are detestable, disobedient, unfit for any good work.
This is the beginning of St Paul's letter to Titus. He has sent, or left Titus to be over the churches in Crete. Titus has been given the task of training up, and placing proper leaders over the churches in Crete. Just as every Church in all the world needs faithful pastors, elders, or overseers. St Paul gives a very stricht list of qualifications, here and confirms this list elsewhere in scripture. I would urge you all to think of the various pastors you know and ask whether they live up to these qualifications.
But It is also important to think about how we treat these servents of Christ. Do we constantly question them for no reason? Do we seek out faults were little or none exist? Do we treat our Pastors and Teachers like we would expect to be treated at our own jobs? St Paul quotes one of their own prophets as saying, "Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons." Are we so different from the Cretans?
Often times we do like our fiction stories and television more than we like the facts taught in the scriptures. Often times it is easier to tell a little lie, but all the other lies that become necessary to keep the illusion of truth there. Similarly, we often like to think of our stomachs rather than our souls/spirits. We are truly sinful creatures.
We may deny God by works and actions. We may even struggle to accept his messenger. But God continues to place that man in the office of the ministry to proclaim to you, "Your sins are forgiven." Christ has died for your sins. He has died for your lies. He has died for your idolatry. He has died for all your sins. He takes the punishment you deserve upon himself. He even lives and reigns so that you may have life everlasting.
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