Sermon: What A Bishop Must Be - Part 4 (Titus 1:5-14)

What A Bishop Must Be – Pt. 4 Sunday, August 24th, 2025 Christ Covenant Church – Centralia, WA Titus 1:5-14

Prayer

Father, we thank You for Your Son, who is true man and true God, the way, the truth, and the life eternal. Grant us now to value Truth more than all the fleeting and deceitful riches of this world, for we ask this in Jesus’ name, Amen.

Introduction

For the last three weeks we have been answering the question, “What are the qualifications to be a bishop?”

• Recall that the word bishop means to oversee, or to supervise, and it is the work of elders/presbyters to oversee the lives and teaching of God’s people.
• Thus far we have studied 15 moral qualities thata bishop must possess, and this morning we come to the 16th and final quality, which is unique in that while being a character trait, it is also a matter of skill, competency, and action.
• We find this 16th qualification in verse 9 of our text which says, Holding fast the faithful word as he hath been taught, that he may be able by sound doctrine both to exhort and to convince the gainsayers.
  • Now I need to flag for you that this 16th qualification is what distinguishes within the eldership, what we call Teaching Elders/Pastors from Ruling Elders/Governors.
  • In classic Presbyterianism, Teaching Elders/Ministers of the Word must meet a much higher standard for understanding and teaching doctrine, and they must be examined and ordained by the regional Presbytery. Ruling Elders/Governors on the other hand are elected and installed by the local congregation, and because they are not called to regular preaching duties, it is not expected that they need to know Greek, Hebrew, Systematics, Church History and the like. It is certainly a bonus if they have these things, but they are not essential to their official duties of ruling.
  • I’ll spare you the details of this important distinction, but I want to flag it here because this is the one qualification that does not strictly speaking apply to everyone in the church. The moral aspect of holding fast to the faithful word applies universally, but the skill and action to exhort and convince gainsayers (to argue with and refute heretics) applies only to a Pastor/Teaching Elder.
• And so with that caveat in mind, let us consider this 16th qualification according to three different questions:

Outline

1. What is this moral quality of holding fast to the faithful word?
2. What actions/duties result from this moral quality?
3. Why is this quality essential for a Pastor to possess?

Q#1 – What is this moral quality of holding fast to the faithful word?

• This Greek verb that we translate as holding fast is ἀντέχω, and it can signify loyalty, devotion, or clinging to someone in love.
  • Jesus uses this same verb in Matthew 6:24 when he says, No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold (ἀντέχω) to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
  • It says likewise in the Greek version of Proverbs 3:18, speaking of wisdom, She is a tree of life to them that lay hold (ἀντέχω) upon her: And happy is every one that retaineth her.
• So to hold fast to the faithful word, is to cling to Christ’s teaching from love. It is to join your soul in marriage to God’s infinite wisdom and goodness, and to hate/shun/despise anyone or anything that tries to separate you from it. This is what it means to hold fast to the faithful word.
  • This firmness of mind/resolve stands in contrast to the person who wavers in their faith. James 1:5-8 speaks of this person saying, If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways. And then later in James 4:7-10 he calls that wavering person to repentance saying, Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.