Sermon: What A Bishop Must Be - Part 1 (Titus 1:5-9)

The Local Christendom Podcast with Aaron Ventura

What A Bishop Must Be – Pt. 1
Sunday, August 3rd, 2025
Christ Covenant Church – Centralia, WA
Titus 1:5-9

Prayer

Father, we thank you for our fathers and mothers in the faith. Those who begat spiritual life into us by telling us the truth, that we are sinners, that we need Jesus, and that Jesus loves to forgive and transform sinners into saints. And so holy Savior, make us to aspire now to imitate the lives of the faithful, especially those bishops, those overseers, who have kept watch and keep watch over our very souls. Teach us now by thy Holy Spirit, in Jesus name, Amen.

Introduction

The title of my sermon this morning is What A Bishop Must Be – Part 1. And I have broken this sermon into multiple parts because here the Apostle Paul gives to us 16 distinct qualifications by which a man must be judged if he would become a Presbyter/Bishop. And so this morning we are going to consider the first 4 of these qualifications, and then the rest in future sermons.

• Now recall the occasion of this letter from Paul to Titus. Paul had visited the Island of Crete and preached the gospel there. That gospel had taken root, baby churches had been planted, but they lacked leadership, they lacked church government, and so Paul leaves Titus on Crete to “set in order the things that are wanting/lacking, and ordain elders/presbyters in every city.”
  • So Titus’s job is establish what we call a presbytery on the Island of Crete. What is a presbytery? A presbytery is a gathering of 3 or more qualified men of equal rank, who together govern the church in obedience to God’s Word.
  • The apostolic pattern was to establish a local presbytery over each congregation, which today we call an elder session, and then above that congregation’s local presbytery was a larger regional presbytery, and then above that various synods or church councils where all the church would come together and be represented. Acts 15 is the first example of such a synod, where multiple churches send delegates to Jerusalem to deliberate, and then that decision is written down and circulated amongst the broader church.
  • This is what we call Presbyterian church government, and it was Titus’s task to establish this form of government on the Island of Crete.
• Now to give you a little portrait of what the Island of Crete is like, just imagine white sandy beaches everywhere, crystal blue water that you can snorkel in, palm trees, mountains, beautiful landscapes everywhere you look, and all that on an Island that is just a little bigger than King County and Thurston County combined (about 3,200 square miles).
  • And so if you are Titus, this is a beautiful environment in which to work. But with that beautiful vacation-like atmosphere comes also the challenge of arousing these Cretan Christians to live not for the pleasures of this world, but for the surpassing pleasures of the world to come.
  • We learn in verse 12 that it was a distinct vice of these islanders to be lazy, liars, and given to sensuality. Paul says in verses 12-13, One of themselves, even a prophet of their own, said, The Cretians are always liars, evil beasts, slow bellies. This witness is true. Wherefore rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith.
  • And so Titus has his work cut out for him. On top of the sounds of waves lapping at the shore, and birds chirping cheerfully in the palm trees, there is Titus rebuking the Cretans. “Stop lying! Get up and do some work! Put down that third mojito and become sober minded!” This is what Titus was left in paradise to do.
• Now amongst those Christians in Crete who do not need such a sharp rebuke, Titus must examine and assess the men in each congregation so that he can identify and ordain elders/bishops in each city. And Paul has set down these 16 qualifications for an elder/bishop, which are to be read in every church. And this is the bar for morality that every Christian man of every age and stage of life should aspire to, even if he is not called to be an elder.
  • In other words, these 16 qualifications are a universal standard for godliness and the whole church should desire this for themselves and their leadership.
  • And so while the focus is on what a bishop must be, these character traits are what every Christian ought to desire to become in his or her unique way. And so as we go through the first 4 of these traits, I want you to examine yourself. As Paul says in 2 Corinthians 13:5, Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. As to whether Christ is really living in you.
  • If Titus were to visit our church, and sit each of us down for a 1 on 1 personal interview, and this was the rubric, how would you do?
  • So with that in mind, let us consider now the first 4 of these qualifications for a bishop.

#1 – A Bishop must be blameless (ἀνέγκλητος)

• This quality is repeated in verse 6 and 7. And in the parallel passage of 1 Timothy 3, this quality of being blameless is also put first in the order of qualifications. So this is a big deal and of utmost important to Paul.
• What does it mean to be blameless? Other translations say, “above reproach.” And the idea is that you must not be chargeable with any notorious crime, or heinous sin. Or to put it positively, you are a law-abiding citizen, and you keep the ten commandments. You do not have a reputation for being a thief, or a liar, or a cheat, and therefore your blameless character will not bring any reproach upon Christ and the ministry of the Word.
  • We are told in Luke 1:6 that John the Baptist’s parents were of blameless character. Zacharias and Elizabeth, were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless.
  • So we are not talking about imputed righteousness here, we are talking about actual and inherent righteousness. Zacharias and Elizabeth were such people, and so also a bishop must be.
• In Philippians 2:13-15 Paul gives us some practical advice for how to become blameless. He says, For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure. [that is, grace is always available to you, so use it!] Do all things without murmurings and disputings: That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world.
  • So if you would like to make progress in becoming blameless, start by doing all things without murmuring and arguing. Not complaining is always a good place to start if we would grow in godliness.
  • And lest this seems like an unreasonably high standard, consider the promise of 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24, Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it.

#2 – A Bishop must be the husband of one wife (μιᾶς γυναικὸς ἀνήρ)

• This could also be translated more literally as a bishop must be a one-woman man. Here monogamy is set forth as essential to a married man’s character, and by this qualification, polygamists, fornicators, and adulterers are excluded from the pastoral office.
• An elder must be content in his marriage, faithful to the wife of his youth, and he must shun in himself every temptation to let his mind and thoughts wander.
  • Blameless Job says in Job 31:1, I made a covenant with mine eyes; Why then should I think upon a maid?
  • And it says in Psalm 119:9, How can a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed according to Your word.
• And so this quality of being a one-woman man, is about fidelity, chastity, purity, and contentment.
  • If a man is not faithful to the wife of his youth, how can he be faithful to God’s bride, the church?
  • If a man is willing to violate the covenant of marriage, how can he be trusted to keep his ordination vows?
• For the pastor who is married, his marriage is a constant proving ground to first love his wife the way Christ loves the church, so that he can love the church the way Christ loves the church.
  • Husbandry is the art of caring for and cultivating something, so that it becomes fruitful. In marriage, a husband must show tender care to study and cultivate, to nourish and to cherish his wife, so that she bears the fruit of the Holy Spirit.
  • And it is this school of marital husbandry that teaches a man to nourish and cherish also the bride of Christ, so that she can become fruitful for God.
• And so a bishop must be a one-woman man, just like he ought to be a one-church pastor. He must be content to love and serve in the first instance the unique and particular congregation God has called him to, and to not covet his neighbor’s church. A man who is content in his marriage, and being faithful and attentive there, has the qualities of someone who can also be a husbandman in God’s vineyard.
  • Like Adam in the Garden, a Bishop must guard and keep the bride of Christ. He must be jealous for the purity and chastity of God’s people, even as he is jealous for the purity and chastity of his own wife.
  • Paul says in 2 Corinthians 11:2-3, For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ. But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.
• The serpent’s lies still resound in our world. He still tempts us with forbidden fruit and provokes us to ask, “Did God really say?” and “Ye shall not surely die.”
  • And therefore, a pastor must study to refute these lies with truth and be jealous for the chastity of the church to remain intact.This is all part of being a one-woman man, and a faithful husband.

#3 – A Bishop (if he has children) must have faithful children not accused of riot or unruly.

• I should note that both this qualification and the previous one do not require that every pastor must be married and must have children, but rather if he is married, or if he has children, these principles apply to him. And we know this because the Apostle Paul was himself unmarried (likely a widower) and without children under his roof. Moreover, the apostles considered it a matter of liberty as to whether they could bring a wife along with them in their work.
  • For example, Peter had a wife (Jesus healed Peter’s mother-in-law), and she accompanied him for at least some parts of his apostolic work. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 9:5-6, Have we not power to lead about a sister, a wife, as well as other apostles, and as the brethren of the Lord, and Cephas? Or I only and Barnabas.
  • So these are not absolute qualifications, they are relative to a man’s station in life, otherwise a pastor would be disqualified if his wife suddenly died, or when his children graduate and leave the house.
  • I should also note that the language here applies to children still living under their parent’s authority, not to grown children who have been emancipated and are off living as adults.
    • It is true that the lives and character of grown children still matters, and can reflect poorly on an elder (for wisdom is justified by her children), but the focus of this qualification is on those under the immediate authority of their father.
• So for those who do have children living under their roof, those children must not be little demons. They must not be bullies on the playground, giving kids wedgies and robbing them of their lunch money. They aren’t being called to the principal’s office every week for stuffing the redhead into the locker.
• In the parallel of 1 Timothy 3:4-5, Paul expands on this saying, a bishop must be One that ruleth well his own house, having his children in subjection with all gravity; (For if a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God?).
  • So the idea here is that his children are professing believers. They love Jesus. They go to church. They are baptized. They are little disciples, not worldlings, not Taylor Swift fans, they do not follow every new fad.
  • This language of not being accused of riot or unruly implies the sins of drunkenness,sensuality, and irreverent partying. What is most likely in view here are teenaged children who shun their father’s authority. But this can also apply to grown children like Eli’s sons who were sleeping with the women at the tabernacle, and Eli allowed them to remain as priests.
    • For Eli’s lack of discipline as both father and priest, he was supernaturally judged and deposed from office by death.
    • It says in 1 Samuel 2:29-30, Why do you kick at My sacrifice and My offering which I have commanded in My dwelling place, and honor your sons more than Me, to make yourselves fat with the best of all the offerings of Israel My people?’ Therefore the Lord God of Israel says: ‘I said indeed that your house and the house of your father would walk before Me forever.’ But now the Lord says: ‘Far be it from Me; for those who honor Me I will honor, and those who despise Me shall be lightly esteemed.
• The logic of this qualification is that a pastor’s children are his first ministry of discipleship. And if they are without discipline, then something’s off in that home. And when something is off in an elder’s home, it hinders his effectiveness and his confidence to minister to others. We don’t want to be hypocrites, and so we must take heed that our children are faithful children, not rioters and unruly.
• I should also add that Paul is not requiring here anything above and beyond what he requires of ALL Christian parents and children.
  • Ephesians 6:4 applies to all Christian fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.
  • A father who has failed his own children is not qualified to be the pastor of other people’s children.

#4 – A Bishop must be blameless, as the steward of God (ἀνέγκλητον εἶναι, ὡς Θεοῦ οἰκονόμον)

• This word for steward is οἰκονόμος, which literally means a household manager. And the idea is that a steward has real authority, but it is a authority over what belongs to God, and his authority is regulated by the bounds God has set.
• To be a pastor and a bishop is to steward the most precious possessions in the world: 1) immortal souls and 2) God’s truth.
  • This means a pastor must genuinely love people, because they are the people Christ died to purchase for Himself. And if Jesus thought you were valuable enough to die for, then a pastor must value them in that same way. He is stewarding God’s possessions.
  • Jesus says in Luke 16:10-12, He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much. If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? And if ye have not been faithful in that which is another man’s, who shall give you that which is your own?
  • So a bishop must be faithful in stewarding first his own soul, his own gifts, his own person. And if he has kept well his own soul, entrusting it to our faithful Creator, then to him may be trusted the true riches, other souls, other people, the mysteries of the faith which are as life to the soul.
• To be called as a pastor is to be called to steward the most important things in the world. And because this is such a grave and daunting task, the Apostle Paul tells Timothy in 1 Timothy 4:16, Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee.
  • And so an elder must keep a close watch on himself and his doctrine. And he must continue in this with vigilance, because his own salvation, and the salvation of others depends on it.
  • The mindset of a steward is to say, “Jesus died for these precious souls, and what is precious to Jesus is precious to me.”
  • A steward knows and trembles at Hebrews 13:17 which says, Obey those who rule over you, and be submissive, for they watch out for your souls, as those who must give account.
  • And our only response is to say with the Apostle, And who is sufficient for these things? (2 Cor 2:16), And But he gives more grace. (James 4:6).
  • Much grace and much fearand trembling attend the pastoral office.
• Paul says in 1 Timothy 3:1,This is a faithful saying: If a man desires the office of a bishop, he desires a good work.
  • It is work that a man should aspire to, not to honors or status or position.
  • Many people aspire to be pastors and elders out of misguided zeal, or out of frustration from their own bad experiences under bad leadership. But the one who God truly calls to this office, knows that he desires a good work. Work that will demand his entire life and being, and that comes with it the warning of James 3:1, not many of you should become teachers, knowing that we shall receive a stricter judgment.
• And so if you would desire a stricter judgment, and a good work, then you must be blameless as a steward of God’s household. You must have the mind of Christ, who thought it not robbery to be equal with God, But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men. (Phil 2:7).
  • A bishop, like Christ, seeks to be all things to all men, not to please men for their own sake, but for God’s sake and to win them to salvation.

Conclusion

It is a high standard to meet these qualifications. And yet they are not so unreasonably high that no man can attain to them. What is certain is that God so love the church, and He so cares for your soul as the Chief Shepherd and Supreme Bishop of the church, that he tells us exactly what an under shepherd and bishop must be.

• So if you are challenged by these four qualifications or feel that you may never make progress in your sanctification, remember who the original twelve apostles used to be. Some of them were fishermen, tax collectors, unlearned and ignorant men (Acts 4:13). And yet they made the Jews marvel at their boldness because they had spent time with Jesus.
• Remember who the Apostle Paul used to be. He was a persecutor of Christians, breathing out threatening’s and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord (Acts 9:1). And yet God visited Saul in such an evil state, and converted him, and changed him into the kind of man who says things like, But we were gentle among you, even as a nurse cherisheth her children: So being affectionately desirous of you, we were willing to have imparted unto you, not the gospel of God only, but also our very own souls, because ye were dear unto us. (1 Thess 2:7-8).
• If God can turn a proud, self-righteous and haughty Saul, into a sweet and gentle nursing mother Paul, He can change you from who you are right now, to who God created you to be.
• The wonderful thing about knowing Jesus, and following Jesus, and doing what Jesus says, is that when you trust Him, He gives you beauty in exchange for your ashes.
• If you give Him your sins, your shortcomings, your shame, your story, your brokenness, the ugliness, all the imperfections, then He will say back to you, “I know, and I love you. I know who you are, I know your past, I know your pain, and I died to forgive you and heal you from all of it. I have abundant life waiting for you, if you will trust me and follow me until the end.”
• This is the glory of the gospel. That God hath made Christ to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him (2 Cor 5:21). And that means if any man be in Christ, he is a new creation: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. (2 Cor 5:17).
• The promise of Jesus is that eternal life can begin here and now through repentance and faith. So cast aside your half-hearted commitments, renew your covenant with Jesus to love Him with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength.
• If the gospel could go to the Island of Crete, and change Cretans into Christians, the gospel can do the same for Centralians, for Washingtonians, for Americans, for anyone. And so may God bring this transformation about, in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Amen.