“He must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it.”
~ Titus 1:9
Hi James and Ellen,
Crete is about a 165 mile long and between 7 to 37 mile wide island. The island of Crete is located 99 miles south of the coast of Greece in the Mediterranean Sea. Paul – in his short letter to Titus, implies that he helped to initiate with Titus fledging Christ-follower communities of guys and gals on the island of Crete. Paul asked Titus to stay for a time on the island of Crete to continue to help the emerging communities of Christ-follower guys and gals. An incarnate guy – whose name was Jesus – Who was God the Son, jumpstarted a new belief paradigm when He died while tied and nailed to a cross, was resurrected and ascended into heaven. Then fifty days later a loud noise, the sound of wind and tongues of fire announcing the arrival of God – as God the Spirit, on planet Earth. It is quite possible that some guys from the island of Crete were in the city of Jerusalem when Jesus – as God the Son, was crucified and were still there on the Day of Pentecost – the day that God – as God the Spirit, arrived on planet Earth. Cretan guys had a poor moral reputation. Around 600 years before God – as God the Son, came to planet Earth as an incarnate baby, a Cretan poet – whose name was Knossos, wrote a description of how he perceived Cretans. Paul in his Titus Letter quoted Knossos in a poem that he wrote where he called Cretan guys compulsory liars, evil brutes and lazy gluttons. In the letter that he sent to Titus, Paul gave Titus specific instruction on the appointing of elders wherever there was an emerging community of Christ-follower guys and gals. Your grandpaa is convinced by what Paul had scribed in his letter to Titus – in Titus 1, that there were probably a number of emerging Christ-follower communities of guys and gals on the island of Crete. Your grandpaa also is convinced that trying to help natural born or environmentally conditioned liars was something that Paul may have really struggled with doing.
Titus is on your grandpaa’s list of short term New Testament missionaries. Your grandpaa does not know how long Titus stayed on the island of Crete. Paul begins his short letter to Titus by affirming Titus by calling Titus his true son whose faith was like his faith. Paul was adamant with Titus that Titus admonish the guys who liked to hear themselves talk, censure the guys who were deliberate deceivers and rebuke the guys who were using Jewish myths in their teachings – such as insisting on keeping the circumcision component of the old Jewish belief norms. Jews are the Israelite people group guys and gals – God’s specially chosen guys and gals. The opinion that Paul had of these guys who were opting to add their supposed insights to the Good News message was that they were doing this for a financial reason to augment in a dishonest way their income flow. When Paul told his spiritual kid – Titus, that he wanted him to appoint elders in every town, Paul included a list of requirements to be an elder. Paul did not want a Cretan guy who was not blameless to be an elder in a Christ-follower community of guys and gals. Your grandpaa thinks that there were very few Cretan guys who were not blameless. Paul began his list of requirements with a guy not having been caught up lying to . . . in spite of the norms of a society that promoted lying to get ahead. Paul’s list of requitements for a guy to be an elder in a Christ-follower community of guys and gals on the island of Crete also included that a guy be the husband of one wife versus a guy having more than one wife at a time. Paul’s list does not say that he was saying that a single guy could never be an elder but . . . Paul’s implication here – to your grandpaa, is that he preferred that married guys be the elders for a Christ-follower community of guys and gals. In order to be an elder in a Christ-follower community of guys and gals on the island of Crete, a guy had to have an orderly home, he could not have kids who were not Christ-followers and he could not have kids who acted out disobediently in his home. Also – in order to be an elder in a Christ-follower community of guys and gals on the island of Crete, a guy could not be overbearing or bossy, he could not be quick tempered or sharp tongued, he could not be known as a drunk or a wine bibber, he could not be known for violent acts or irrational actions and he could not be known for pursuing dishonest gains or for doing things illegally. Also – in order to be an elder in a Christ-follower community of guys and gals on the island of Crete, a guy needed to have a hospitable spirit, an innate desire to always do what is good to do, the ability to control himself at all times, been an upright and a decent guy, a life that was being lived in a holy way and a disciplined life that had been dedicated and was dedicated to serving God – as God the Father. Verse 9 sums up Paul’s list of requirements for a guy to be asked to be an elder in a Christ-follower community of guys and gals on the island of Crete, “He must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it.”
When your grandmaa and grandpaa lived in Aberdeen, South Dakota, your grandpaa was elected by members of the Aberdeen Christian & Missionary Alliance Church to be an elder. Your grandpaa was 31 years old when he was elected to be an elder. Now that your grandpaa is twice as old as he was when he was elected to be an elder, your grandpaa knows that he was a naïve and neophyte elder. Over the 30 years since your grandpaa was elected to be an elder, your grandpaa has thought a lot about what it means to be an elder. Your grandpaa believes now per the instructions that Paul gave to Titus that guys who have been able elders are to choose new guys to be elders versus guys being elected to be elders by a Christ-follower community of guys and gals. Your grandpaa believes that a gal is not to pursue being an elder. An elder is to be the spiritual guide of a Christ-follower community of guys and gals.
Titus 1 (636)