After the Message - On Teaching Elders
The Power of Sound Teaching: Building Healthy Faith in Chaotic Times
In a world drowning in information, where everyone with an internet connection claims expertise on everything from theology to medicine, the ancient letter to Titus speaks with startling relevance. This brief New Testament epistle tackles a problem as old as humanity itself: the devastating impact of bad teaching on God's people.
The Cretan Crisis
Picture the island of Crete in the first century—a place where chaos had infiltrated the church. The apostle Paul didn't mince words when describing the situation. He even quoted one of Crete's own philosophers, Epimenides, who said, "Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons." Paul's response? "This testimony is true."
This wasn't meant as a blanket condemnation of every individual Cretan, but rather an acknowledgment of a pervasive cultural pattern that had seeped into the church. The problem wasn't just affecting individuals—it was "upsetting whole families." False teaching had created disorder, confusion, and spiritual sickness throughout entire households.
The Real Problem: Bad Teaching
The troublemakers Paul addressed weren't outsiders criticizing the church from a distance. These were people within the church who "professed to know God" but whose teaching contradicted the truth. They were part of what Paul called "the circumcision party"—people who insisted that physical circumcision was necessary for salvation, turning an Old Testament sign into a requirement for God's acceptance.
Paul's description of these false teachers is entirely negative: insubordinate, empty talkers, deceivers, detestable, disobedient, and unfit for any good work. Their minds and consciences were defiled. They were teaching "for shameful gain what they ought not to teach."
The stakes were high. This wasn't just an academic disagreement or a matter of preference. Bad teaching was turning families upside down and leading people away from the truth of the gospel.
The Solution: Good Teaching from Good Teachers
The remedy for bad teaching isn't mockery, anger, or passive acceptance. It's good teaching. As Paul instructed Titus: "Teach what accords with sound doctrine."
But here's the crucial insight: good teaching requires good teachers. Paul spent considerable time outlining the qualifications for church elders—leaders who would be responsible for teaching sound doctrine. These qualifications focused primarily on character: elders must be above reproach, not arrogant or greedy, but self-controlled, hospitable, and lovers of good.
What a refreshing priority—character over capability. While skill matters, moral character matters more. We need teachers who are not just effective communicators but good and holy people who walk by the Spirit.
The Modern Research Trap
Today's culture tells us to "do your own research." While research itself isn't bad, this approach often means spending two minutes scrolling through content created by people with no actual expertise. We get medical advice from content creators who've never studied biology. Political information from podcasters who profit from controversy. Parenting wisdom from "momfluencers" who simply had a couple kids. Theological truth from AI or videos that use Bible-sounding language.
For many Christians, the primary teacher has become the internet—an unreliable source at best. Even a broken clock is right twice a day, but we need more than occasional accuracy. We need trustworthy teachers who hold firm to God's Word.
The Weight of Teaching
Scripture places enormous weight on the role of teaching. James 3:1 warns, "Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness."
Yet many Christians inadvertently take on the teaching role without realizing it. We become teachers when we confidently present our opinions as God's truth, when we claim expertise on complex issues, when we quote Scripture out of context to support our views. We might not think of this as teaching, but it is—and it carries responsibility.
This doesn't mean Christians can't have opinions or discuss important issues. But it does mean we should speak with humility, recognizing the difference between our perspectives and divine truth. We should be careful not to become "empty talkers" who upset families with our words.
The Goal: Spiritual Health
Paul uses a fascinating word when he talks about "sound doctrine" and "sound faith." The Greek word translated "sound" is where we get our English word "hygienic." Paul wants our faith and doctrine to be healthy—not sick, but well.
The goal of good teaching isn't simply correct information or right answers. It's spiritual health. It's transformation into followers of Jesus. It's churches and individuals who are well, sound, whole.
Even the false teachers weren't beyond redemption. Paul told Titus to "rebuke them sharply that they may be sound in the faith." The goal wasn't expulsion but restoration—that through correction, even those teaching falsehood might return to health.
Why Doctrine Matters in a Burning World
Some might wonder: with all the crises facing our world—violence, confusion, injustice, disease, depression—why focus on doctrine? Aren't there more pressing concerns?
Consider the context of this letter. Titus lived under Nero's rule—a tyrant who blamed Christians for Rome's fires and used it as justification for torture and execution. The Roman world was literally burning. People were dying. Protests and revolts erupted everywhere.
Yet Paul wrote about correcting bad teaching.
Why? Because when we're truly grounded in deep truths from God—when we know in our guts that we're adopted children of God, redeemed by Christ's grace—we can walk through fire without being burned. We will not fear. Good teaching provides solid ground to stand on, no matter what storms rage around us.
A Practical Example: The Lord's Supper
What you believe about communion affects how you experience it. If you think it's just a ritual, you'll go through the motions. If you see it merely as a memory aid, you'll remember Christ's death and move on.
But if the Lord's Supper is true communion—a real spiritual union with Christ and with fellow believers—everything changes. You're united to every other person who receives it by faith. You're part of a family. This should affect how you love, care for, encourage, and extend grace to one another.
More than that, when you receive communion by faith, you're united with Jesus himself. He's present with you spiritually, really, uniquely. The one who died to save you from sin is truly with you. As you receive the elements by faith, your union with Jesus is sealed and strengthened.
The Call to Sound Faith
In a world full of noise, confusion, and competing voices, the call remains clear: long for good teaching from good teachers who faithfully proclaim God's Word. Listen to it. Believe it. Devote yourself to it.
Sound teaching produces sound faith. And sound faith—healthy, robust, well-grounded faith—is exactly what we need to navigate the chaos of our times.
The truth still stands: Christ the Savior is with His people. That's worth teaching well.
The Cretan Crisis
Picture the island of Crete in the first century—a place where chaos had infiltrated the church. The apostle Paul didn't mince words when describing the situation. He even quoted one of Crete's own philosophers, Epimenides, who said, "Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons." Paul's response? "This testimony is true."
This wasn't meant as a blanket condemnation of every individual Cretan, but rather an acknowledgment of a pervasive cultural pattern that had seeped into the church. The problem wasn't just affecting individuals—it was "upsetting whole families." False teaching had created disorder, confusion, and spiritual sickness throughout entire households.
The Real Problem: Bad Teaching
The troublemakers Paul addressed weren't outsiders criticizing the church from a distance. These were people within the church who "professed to know God" but whose teaching contradicted the truth. They were part of what Paul called "the circumcision party"—people who insisted that physical circumcision was necessary for salvation, turning an Old Testament sign into a requirement for God's acceptance.
Paul's description of these false teachers is entirely negative: insubordinate, empty talkers, deceivers, detestable, disobedient, and unfit for any good work. Their minds and consciences were defiled. They were teaching "for shameful gain what they ought not to teach."
The stakes were high. This wasn't just an academic disagreement or a matter of preference. Bad teaching was turning families upside down and leading people away from the truth of the gospel.
The Solution: Good Teaching from Good Teachers
The remedy for bad teaching isn't mockery, anger, or passive acceptance. It's good teaching. As Paul instructed Titus: "Teach what accords with sound doctrine."
But here's the crucial insight: good teaching requires good teachers. Paul spent considerable time outlining the qualifications for church elders—leaders who would be responsible for teaching sound doctrine. These qualifications focused primarily on character: elders must be above reproach, not arrogant or greedy, but self-controlled, hospitable, and lovers of good.
What a refreshing priority—character over capability. While skill matters, moral character matters more. We need teachers who are not just effective communicators but good and holy people who walk by the Spirit.
The Modern Research Trap
Today's culture tells us to "do your own research." While research itself isn't bad, this approach often means spending two minutes scrolling through content created by people with no actual expertise. We get medical advice from content creators who've never studied biology. Political information from podcasters who profit from controversy. Parenting wisdom from "momfluencers" who simply had a couple kids. Theological truth from AI or videos that use Bible-sounding language.
For many Christians, the primary teacher has become the internet—an unreliable source at best. Even a broken clock is right twice a day, but we need more than occasional accuracy. We need trustworthy teachers who hold firm to God's Word.
The Weight of Teaching
Scripture places enormous weight on the role of teaching. James 3:1 warns, "Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness."
Yet many Christians inadvertently take on the teaching role without realizing it. We become teachers when we confidently present our opinions as God's truth, when we claim expertise on complex issues, when we quote Scripture out of context to support our views. We might not think of this as teaching, but it is—and it carries responsibility.
This doesn't mean Christians can't have opinions or discuss important issues. But it does mean we should speak with humility, recognizing the difference between our perspectives and divine truth. We should be careful not to become "empty talkers" who upset families with our words.
The Goal: Spiritual Health
Paul uses a fascinating word when he talks about "sound doctrine" and "sound faith." The Greek word translated "sound" is where we get our English word "hygienic." Paul wants our faith and doctrine to be healthy—not sick, but well.
The goal of good teaching isn't simply correct information or right answers. It's spiritual health. It's transformation into followers of Jesus. It's churches and individuals who are well, sound, whole.
Even the false teachers weren't beyond redemption. Paul told Titus to "rebuke them sharply that they may be sound in the faith." The goal wasn't expulsion but restoration—that through correction, even those teaching falsehood might return to health.
Why Doctrine Matters in a Burning World
Some might wonder: with all the crises facing our world—violence, confusion, injustice, disease, depression—why focus on doctrine? Aren't there more pressing concerns?
Consider the context of this letter. Titus lived under Nero's rule—a tyrant who blamed Christians for Rome's fires and used it as justification for torture and execution. The Roman world was literally burning. People were dying. Protests and revolts erupted everywhere.
Yet Paul wrote about correcting bad teaching.
Why? Because when we're truly grounded in deep truths from God—when we know in our guts that we're adopted children of God, redeemed by Christ's grace—we can walk through fire without being burned. We will not fear. Good teaching provides solid ground to stand on, no matter what storms rage around us.
A Practical Example: The Lord's Supper
What you believe about communion affects how you experience it. If you think it's just a ritual, you'll go through the motions. If you see it merely as a memory aid, you'll remember Christ's death and move on.
But if the Lord's Supper is true communion—a real spiritual union with Christ and with fellow believers—everything changes. You're united to every other person who receives it by faith. You're part of a family. This should affect how you love, care for, encourage, and extend grace to one another.
More than that, when you receive communion by faith, you're united with Jesus himself. He's present with you spiritually, really, uniquely. The one who died to save you from sin is truly with you. As you receive the elements by faith, your union with Jesus is sealed and strengthened.
The Call to Sound Faith
In a world full of noise, confusion, and competing voices, the call remains clear: long for good teaching from good teachers who faithfully proclaim God's Word. Listen to it. Believe it. Devote yourself to it.
Sound teaching produces sound faith. And sound faith—healthy, robust, well-grounded faith—is exactly what we need to navigate the chaos of our times.
The truth still stands: Christ the Savior is with His people. That's worth teaching well.
Discussion Questions
- How does the emphasis on character over capability in church leadership challenge our culture's typical measures of success and effectiveness?
- In what ways might we unknowingly take on the role of 'teacher' in our daily conversations, and how should the warning that teachers will be judged with greater strictness affect how we speak?
- What are the dangers of relying primarily on internet sources for theological understanding rather than seeking out qualified teachers within the church?
- How can we distinguish between legitimate disagreement on secondary issues and the kind of 'bad teaching' that Paul warns is upsetting whole families?
- What does it mean for circumcision to be 'a matter of the heart, by the Spirit' rather than just an outward physical sign, and how does this principle apply to other religious practices today?
- Why do you think Paul prioritized correcting doctrine even while Christians were being persecuted and killed under Nero's rule?
- How does understanding the Lord's Supper as true communion with Christ and with other believers change the way we approach and participate in it?
- What practical steps can we take to ensure we're receiving 'good teaching from good teachers' rather than just consuming content that confirms our existing opinions?
- In what areas of life might we be guilty of being 'empty talkers' who speak confidently about things we haven't deeply studied or understood?
- How does the goal of spiritual health and soundness in the faith differ from simply having correct doctrinal knowledge, and what would that health look like in your life?
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