Latest / Pastor John Piper's answers / Eleven Marks of Mature Elders Titus 1:5–9, Part 4

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Eleven Marks of Mature Elders Titus 1:5–9, Part 4 · Pastor John Piper's answers

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  Speaker 1: This is part four on Titus one five through nine,
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  Speaker 1: which is mainly a description of the qualifications that the
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  Speaker 1: elders of the church should have on account of this.
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  Speaker 1: And let me just pause there and remind you that
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  Speaker 1: I argued that this referred not only to what's coming
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  Speaker 1: on account of this, but what went before. And what
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  Speaker 1: went before was Paul's statement that his role as an
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  Speaker 1: apostle and as a slave of God was designed for
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  Speaker 1: the sake of faith in God's elect I mean the
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  Speaker 1: faith of God's elect, the knowledge of the truth, godliness,
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  Speaker 1: and the hope of eternal life, those four massive realities.
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  Speaker 1: And so as we look at the qualifications for elders,
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  Speaker 1: just keep in mind that it's not merely moralistic, like
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  Speaker 1: I want a certain kind of elder just because a
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  Speaker 1: certain character is preferable from various practical reasons, but rather,
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  Speaker 1: these traits that Paul is pursuing are on account of this.
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  Speaker 1: Churches are to be led in a certain way on
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  Speaker 1: account of the vast importance of the faith of God,
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  Speaker 1: delect and the knowledge of the truth, and the hope
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  Speaker 1: of eternal life and godliness. So when we're thinking about
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  Speaker 1: what kind of leaders we want in the church, let
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  Speaker 1: every one of these qualities have behind it. We are
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  Speaker 1: pursuing truth, we're pursuing godliness, we're pursuing faith, we're pursuing
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  Speaker 1: eternal life. That's why these things matter, that will elevate
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  Speaker 1: them above the merely on account of this, I left
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  Speaker 1: you in crete so that you might fully set right
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  Speaker 1: what he's lacking and appointowners in every town as I
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  Speaker 1: directed you. If anyone is above approach, the husband of
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  Speaker 1: one wife and his children are faithful, not open to
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  Speaker 1: the charge of debauchery or insubordination, For it is necessary
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  Speaker 1: for the overseer, as God's household manager, to be above approach.
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  Speaker 1: That's as far as we've gotten so far. And what
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  Speaker 1: we look at now is eleven qualities that he just names,
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  Speaker 1: and in the middle, if you can have a middle
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  Speaker 1: in eleven is But so the first five are negative
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  Speaker 1: and the next six are positive. He must not be arrogant,
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  Speaker 1: quick tempered, drunkard, viole, greedy for gain. But there's the
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  Speaker 1: butt in the middle of the list. He must be hospitable,
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  Speaker 1: lover of good, prudent, upright, or just holy, self controlled.
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  Speaker 1: What I think will be most helpful to do with
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  Speaker 1: this list is to put a scripture outside of Titus
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  Speaker 1: together with every one of these traits, so that as
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  Speaker 1: you ponder what is that, you have at least one
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  Speaker 1: passage of scripture to unpack it. So let's just go
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  Speaker 1: one at a time. Arrogant, here's Philippians two three. To
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  Speaker 1: go with arrogant, Do not do nothing from selfish ambition,
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  Speaker 1: or conceit or arrogance, But in humility, count others more
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  Speaker 1: significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only
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  Speaker 1: to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.
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  Speaker 1: So the opposite of arrogant is this beautiful description of humility.
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  Speaker 1: And then not quick tempered. Here's James one. Know this,
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  Speaker 1: my beloved brothers. Let every person be quick to hear,
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  Speaker 1: slow to speak, slow to anger, for the anger of
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  Speaker 1: man does not produce the righteousness of God. Drunkard, don't
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  Speaker 1: be addicted to wine if Heesians five. Do not get
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  Speaker 1: drunk with wine, for that is debauchery. But be filled
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  Speaker 1: with the spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns
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  Speaker 1: and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord
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  Speaker 1: with your heart, as a beautiful elder, not violent, not
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  Speaker 1: a bully, not pugilistic instead peaceable. The wisdom from above,
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  Speaker 1: which is what elders should pray for continually, is first pure,
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  Speaker 1: then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy, good fruits,
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  Speaker 1: and partial and sincere. And the harvest of righteousness is
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  Speaker 1: sown in peace by those who make peace. The elder
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  Speaker 1: is a peace maker, not violent, not greedy for gain. Oh,
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  Speaker 1: how we need to live in these promises. Keep your
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  Speaker 1: life free from the love of money, elders and everybody else.
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  Speaker 1: Be content with what you have, for he has said,
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  Speaker 1: God has promised, I'll never leave you nor forsake you,
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  Speaker 1: so we can confidently say the Lord is my helper.
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  Speaker 1: I will not fear what can man do to me?
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  Speaker 1: And then the positives, but rather be hospitable elders. Above all,
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  Speaker 1: keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude
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  Speaker 1: of sin. Show hospitality as one of the key ways
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  Speaker 1: of loving one another, and do it without grumbling, all
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  Speaker 1: you elders, and be a lover of good. What does
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  Speaker 1: that mean? I think it means not just that you
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  Speaker 1: love to do good, but that whenever you see good done,
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  Speaker 1: you rejoice. You're not a cynic. You don't look around
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  Speaker 1: the world, finding fault with everything. Everywhere you look, that
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  Speaker 1: something slightly good happens, You're on it with love and celebration.
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  Speaker 1: It's like love in uh one becwen Is thirteen, where
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  Speaker 1: it says love is patient and kind. Love does not
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  Speaker 1: envy or boast. It's not arrogant or rude, it does
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  Speaker 1: not insist in this o way, is not irritable or resentful.
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  Speaker 1: It does not rejoice that wrong. And then your daughtter
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  Speaker 1: was going to say, but rejoices in right good, and
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  Speaker 1: that's what it means. But it says truth that rejoices
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  Speaker 1: in the truth, which would impos see the opposite of
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  Speaker 1: wrongdoing is good and right and true. So the elder
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  Speaker 1: is as a rejoicer, not in wrong, but he rejoices
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  Speaker 1: wherever he sees the good and now prudent, so hospitable,
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  Speaker 1: lover of good, prudent. What does that mean? It means
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  Speaker 1: wise or having sober judgment. He's Romans twelve three. By
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  Speaker 1: the grace of God given to me, I say to
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  Speaker 1: everyone among you not to think of himself more highly
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  Speaker 1: than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment.
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  Speaker 1: Be a prudent person with sober judgment. Each according to
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  Speaker 1: the measure of faith that God has given him upright,
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  Speaker 1: or another simpler trans translation just, which calls to mind
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  Speaker 1: the simple, straightforward Old Testament interpretation of what it means
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  Speaker 1: to be a just person. In your dealings, you shall
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  Speaker 1: have a just balance, just balances, just weights, just ephah,
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  Speaker 1: a just hin, and all your measurements. When people come
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  Speaker 1: in to measure out their flower or their meat or
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  Speaker 1: their grain or whatever they're bringing you, don't you cheat them.
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  Speaker 1: You are a just person, mister Elder of the church.
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  Speaker 1: And then holy or devout for Timothy four, train yourself
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  Speaker 1: in godliness very closely related to holiness or devoutness. For
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  Speaker 1: while bodily training is some value, godliness is of value
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  Speaker 1: in every way, as it holds promise for the present
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  Speaker 1: life and for the life to come. One more self
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  Speaker 1: controlled the Latians five, the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness,
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  Speaker 1: self control. And I choose this text to cite because
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  Speaker 1: the very translation self control could cause us to think
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  Speaker 1: we're in charge. Here we originate our self control. Well.
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  Speaker 1: Self control does mean I say to myself be controlled.
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  Speaker 1: I choose for you not to say that in this
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  Speaker 1: moment I choose you not to do that. I am
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  Speaker 1: in control of my emotions here, but even that is
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  Speaker 1: the fruit of the spirit, and we must recognize it.
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  Speaker 1: In fact, I end there because I think all these,
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  Speaker 1: all eleven of these, are fruits of the Holy Spirit,
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  Speaker 1: and they are designed to lead the church into health
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  Speaker 1: that brings about faith of God's elect, hope of eternal life,
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  Speaker 1: knowledge that accords with Godliness.