Godly men

Character of Godly men
Titus 1:5-9
I. He must be a man with godly commitments. 1:5-6
1. Be faithful to the church. 1:5
2. Be faithful to others. 1:6
3. Be faithful to your wife. 1:6
4. Be faithful to your children. 1:6
II. He must be a man of godly conduct. 1:7
1. Understand the need of a good reputation.
2. Understand the nature of your calling.
3. Understand the necessity of a balanced life.
III. He must be a man of godly character. 1:8
1. Pursue the right priorities.
2. Possess the right perspective.
3. Produce the right pattern.
4. Promote the right passion.
IV. He must be a man with godly convictions. 1:9
1. Be devoted to the truth.
2. Be diligent to teach.

I. The overarching requirement of a godly leader - Being above reproach
A. The need of being above reproach: It is a must and an absolute necessity for every leader, Living a life
without blame, one that lives as a follower of Christ, this would seem to be obvious and matter of living as a
Christian
B. The concept of reproach: The Greek term - “not able to be held”, legal term that referred to the ability to hold in
prison, the committing of a crime, literally meaning that nothing against, this does not mean that they have not
sinned but rather that they no longer live by sinful standards, thus they can set the model of proper behavior for
the church, the leader then gives no reason for anyone to attack his reputation,
C. Reasons for being above reproach
1. Leaders are targets of Satan: Satan will assault the leaders because it is the best way to destroy the church,
just as he did in the days of Jesus, Satan will work to create a corrupt leadership, those who are in leadership
positions will bear the brunt of spiritual warfare
2. Leadership that falls will cause greater harm: Leadership that falls devastates the church, it produces great
harm throughout the church,
3. Leadership has a greater knowledge of the Truth: The knowledge of the Truth creates greater accountability
and chastening when they sin
4. Leader’s sin is more hypocritical: The leaders are to have a deep understanding of the Word and teach it, they
then become hypocritical when they commit those sins that they are to be against
II. The moral character of a Godly leader
A. Husband of one wife
1. Key subject of infidelity: The concept Paul presents is being with one person, namely your spouse, this points
to specifically the sexual behavior, the aspect of being sexually pure,
2. Sexual purity: If a person is devoted to their spouse - it is in the heart and the mind, this is a call to full sexual
purity in conduct,
B. Temperate
1. Primary focus on wine: The chief problem of Paul’s day was wine, it was used in a variety of ways and was a
staple in ancient diets, the whole point is that wine and its abuse leads to a loss of the senses, this leads us to
conclude that this prohibition would include all things that cloud the mind
2. Things that effect the mind: If we are unable to keep our mind focused, we will never be able to keep focused
on God,
C. Prudent
1. The ability to order priorities: The leader must be able to order their own mind well, thus they must have a well
disciplined mind, this comes into play in all areas of life, the person who can not order their mind can not
effectively lead the church
2. The ability to keep focused on Christ: The leader must be able to keep focused on Christ, if their mind draws
them away from Christ they will not be able to function properly in the church,
D. Respectable
1. Well ordered life: The leader must be able to not only order their mind but also their life, they must have a well
disciplined life, they must not have a chaotic lifestyle but an orderly one
2. Personal life begins discipline: When the person lacks discipline in their own life, it will carry over into the
church, the person who can not order their own life will not be able to order the church life
E. Hospitable
1. Hospitable is a compound term: Combination of two Greek terms - 1. “To love” & 2. “strangers”, thus to be
hospitable is to have a love for strangers, this is not entertaining friends but being open and loving to strangers,
2. The aspect of travel: In the early church there were many Christians traveling, they were running from
persecution or traveling orphans or widows, hospitality was something of a necessity
F. Teaching
1. The one key function that requires giftedness: Leaders are to be able to reproduce themselves in other
people, the only way to do that is to teach other people, we are called to mentor and raise up leaders from within
our midst, this takes some giftedness in the area of teaching, everyone who is a leader is a teacher of some sort,
some teach in the Sunday School, others teach and instruct by example
2. The criteria of a teacher
a. The leader must have the gift of teaching
b. The leader must have a deep understanding of doctrine
c. The leader must have an attitude of humility
d. The leader must live a life of holiness
e. The leader must be a student of the scripture
f. The leader must avoid error in their teaching
g. The leader must have strong courage and consistent convictions
G. Addicted to wine
1. Personal problem: In the ancient days wine was a staple of the diet, much of the time it was used to purify
water and was mixed, this did often lead to a great deal of drunkenness - when not held in check, the concept
Paul presents here is that leaders were to obstain from wine to not fall into the trap of drunkenness,
2. Personal Reputation: When wine interferes with the persons ability to focus on christ they can not lead the
church, their focus is removed from its right place, the person also jeopardizes their reputation in the community,
they open the door to criticism and strife in the church, also they set a poor example to follow, others may be led
astray by their drinking of wine,
H. Not pugnacious
1. The root term: Word is derived from the Greek word that gives us the English pugilism, the term is negative
here - to not strike, leaders are not to seek to settle their differences through violence,
2. The need to be gentle: Leaders need to be gentle and courteous to others, considerate of others, gracious
with people, no list of wrongs - does not hold grudges
I. Does not love money
1. Money and ministry do not mix: One can love money and also love God, no one can serve two masters,
leaders who focus on what they can get out of life rather than what they can give will come up short in the end,
leaders then need to not become greedy or stingy in their character,
2. Paul’s example: Paul told all of the Ephesians that he envied no ones possessions while in Ephesus, the
riches of God’s blessing will supply what money could never buy, riches in heaven
III. The home life of a leader
A. Manages the household
1. Direct Connection: Leading in the home and leading in the church, both are connected - one cannot be in peril
without effecting the other
2. The aspect of household: All of the family affairs, good steward of the house, finances and all of the people
and resources
B. Management of children
1. The concept of authority: Parents are in charge, too many times parents fail to take charge, they are to raise
their children in such a way that honor comes to the family and to God
2. Keys to producing honorable children
a. Parents exercise authority that makes it advisable to obey
b. Parents have enough wisdom that makes it reasonable to obey
c. Parents must show love that makes it delightful for children to obey
d. Parents must show children the proper understanding of the Word to obey
C. Major point
1. The care of the house: The matters of the personal family pass to God’s family, a leader cannot neglect his
own family and expect to properly care for and lead God’s family, visa versa
2. The common challenges: Leading people to God, teaching holiness and obedience to God, conflict resolution,
building unity and serving one another
IV. The spiritual maturity of a leader
A. New converts: The language used here is also used of a new tree, one does not plant a new tree and not
care for it, the same is true of new converts and the care they need is to be properly discipled, Paul is pointing to
the early church process of discipleship = Conversion - training in the Word - baptism - member, Paul is referring
to someone who has no undergone the faith process
B. Becoming conceited: Paul states this to protect both the church and the converts, leaders who were new
converts could be victims of spiritual pride, one of the key faults of Satan
V. The public reputation of a leader
A. The basis for reputation: The reputation of a leader effects their witness in the community, the Greek term
Maturia is used here, we derive the English martyr, people who are leaders must maintain a Christian presence
in the community, this gives us a positive testimony to the outside world
B. The reason for reputation: Satan is targeting leaders of the church, he knows that the easiest way to destroy a
church is to destroy the leadership, once the leadership is gone there is no one left to guide the flock, Satan
would like nothing better than to discredit leaders of the church