Titus 1:7

Some English Bibles translate the word ‘leader’ as ‘bishop’. But the words ‘*elder’ and ‘leader’ refer to the same job. Paul was referring to a leader in a local church. A manager is responsible for something that belongs to another person. God trusts leaders to do his work properly. All Christians belong to God’s family. So leaders care for God’s family. That is why leaders should be able to care for their own families first.

Paul repeated that leaders should behave well. He listed 5 bad things that leaders should not do. Then, in verses 8-9, he listed good things that leaders should do.

What a leader must not do:

1 He must not please himself. A selfish man pleases himself. He takes no notice of what other people need. Jesus showed that a leader should serve other people (John 13:1-17).

2 He must not have a bad temper (James 1:19-20). A man who gets angry quickly often insults people. He argues and does not listen to people. Instead, a leader should be patient as he helps people.

3 He must not drink too much alcohol. Instead, he should control himself properly.

4 He must not fight. A leader should help to unite people. He should be gentle.

5 He must not be greedy to get more money. He must not try to get money in ways that are not honest. People who love money may turn away from God. Instead, a leader should be content and generous (1 Timothy 6:6-10; 1 Timothy 6:17-19). He must not be like the people in Crete, who were greedy for money (verse 11).

What a leader should do:

Verses 8-9

1 He should be ready to welcome strangers into his home. In those days, small hotels were dirty and expensive. Christian teachers and other travellers often needed somewhere to stay. Both Paul (Romans 12:13) and Peter (1 Peter 4:9) urge Christians to welcome guests.

2 He must love good people and good things. He must act in ways that will help other people.

3 He must be sensible. This means that he should control what he says and does. He must think about the possible results of his words and actions.

4 He must behave in the right way towards other people. He should have a high standard of behaviour.

5 He must be holy. This means that he should be sincere and be loyal to God.

6 He must be able to control himself. Then he will be able to rule other people.

7 He must firmly believe the true message. Paul had taught the true message about Jesus to the people in Crete. But there were many false teachers who did not teach the truth. And many people opposed the Christians. So, Titus had to appoint leaders who had continued to believe the truth. Those leaders would teach the truth to Christians. The leaders would also be able to explain the truth to the false teachers.

The good character and qualities of Christian leaders were important. They had to be different from the false teachers in Crete.

How to deal with the false teachers

v10 There are many people, especially from among the *Jews, who refuse to obey God’s truth. They talk about things that have no value. They lead people away from the truth. v11 You must stop these people. They are upsetting whole families. They teach things to these families that they should not teach them. They do it for financial profit. v12 One of their own prophets (speakers) has said, ‘People who come from Crete always tell lies. They are like evil wild animals. They are lazy people who eat too much.’ v13 This is true. Therefore, correct these people very firmly. Then they will be strong when they believe the truth about Jesus. v14 Then they will not give attention to the *Jewish false stories. And they will not obey the commands from the men who have opposed the truth. v15 Everything is pure (morally good) to the people who are pure. But nothing is pure to the people who are not morally pure. They do not trust God. Their mind and their conscience are full of evil things. v16 They say that they know God. But they deny him by the way that they live. They are very bad people. They do not obey. They cannot do anything that is good.

The false teachers

Verses 10-11

There were many false teachers in Crete. Many of them were *Jews. They probably went to the Christian meetings. But they caused a lot of trouble among the Christians. Many false teachers said that Christians must obey the *Jewish rules. For example, they should avoid certain food. They also should wash in a special way before they ate meals. The *Jews had accused Jesus’ *disciples because they did not obey these rules (Mark 7:1-5). However, the false teachers would not obey God’s word, and they would not obey the church leaders.

The words of these false teachers were not useful. They did not cause people to live a good life (verse 16). They told false stories (verse 14). They led people away from God’s truth. The false teachers had a bad effect on family life. They were teaching lies that ruined families. The false teachers taught those things for the wrong reason. They were greedy for money and they wanted to become rich. They did not care about other people. They cared more about money.

Paul said that Titus should stop the false teachers. The word ‘stop’ means to shut their mouth. The false teachers’ lies could have ruined the church.