Titus 1:5-7 - An elder must be blameless

1:5,6

Paul’s purpose in establishing churches was not to create some sort of empire that he ruled over, but to set up churches that could be self-governing under Christ. He had left Titus in Crete so that he could appoint elders to lead the church there. We then get a description of the qualities of an elder, and these are similar to those found in 1 Timothy 3:1-7. The primary ones are related to the way that he runs his own household. The fruit of our faith will show itself in our lives and in our families.

1:7

We then get a series of “must nots”. He must not be overbearing. Elders are there to lead, not dominate. They are not to be quick tempered, and not given to drunkenness. The latter might seem obvious, but given the state of some parts of society it might need to be stated explicitly. Not violent and not given to dishonest gain. Again, we might think these things obvious, but the gospel was reaching into rotten parts of society, or into rotten societies. This is what the gospel is meant to do, so when it is working as it should these sort of things will need to be dealt with.