Pastor Aaron Prelock continues our series in Titus and preaches about 3 aspects of a healthy church from verses 5-9 of chapter 1.
Bloomington Bible Church Sermons
Ecclesiology Matters
he was giving me a hard time and says look it's a great hymn but that last verse nobody knows what it means nobody knows what it means especially if English isn't your first language he wanted to get rid of it so yeah there's other hymns that we can use to say the same thing i was like no this is some of the best poetry in English hymnity but it is worth explaining in case some people don't understand the word all um crown him with many crowns the potentate of time god is the king over time we don't use potentate much anymore unless you were left behind fans ok potentate of time god is the king over time even time is under god's rule but as the hymn goes on to say creator of the rolling spheres anyone what are the rolling spheres there we go the planets just a big way of saying the planets the big round things that go around in the sky that apparently we gained another one recently cool god is king over the planets he's put the planets in the sky ineffably sublime just a way of saying god is really really really great we don't have the language to express how great he is he's so much above everything else in our world so it's a the hymn is that final verses a wave despite everything else that's come even greater than our redemption even greater than christ work on the cross god in himself is great because he's king over time he's creator of all that is he's beyond even our capacity to think or speak he is great and thus as the hymn closes all hail redeemer hail it's good for us to think about the songs that we sing and even if you're very familiar with the wording sometimes the words go past us it's worth meditating on what we sing that was for free turning your Bible the tightest chapter one tightest chapter one verses five to nine last week we looked at tightest chapter one verses five to nine this week is part two of that sermon because believe it or not fifty six minutes was not enough to get to the bottom of this text last week we're looking at the theory or the philosophy of eldership we're looking at character this week we're looking at some of them the practical application of eldership in the local church last week we're seeing that character matters this week we're seeing that ecclesiology matters or theology of the church you could call this getting things right part two after high school I went off to Iowa to go to bible college by the time I finished bible college and began seminary if I'm being completely honest with you I did not like the church I thought the church was stupid I thought the church was old fashioned I thought the church was divisive I wanted to be a pastor but I was going to downplay the church you know this whole I don't have religion I have a faith that was kind of where I was I was in the process of going emergent I thought Rob Bell was the coolest those newma videos were awesome until they kind of went heretical but I didn't like the church I thought the church was divisive dusty I thought guys who talked about the church and theology of the church just didn't understand the importance of love the importance of I wouldn't have used the buzzword then but community it wasn't until I was nearly done with seminary and then into the time when Kate and I moved to Bloomington to help plant this church that I realized I need to love the church because Jesus loves the church and if Jesus loves the church enough to call her his bride if Jesus loves the church enough to an Ephesians five give himself for her sanctification then I need to love the church it well as well I need to repent my pride my thinking I know better than God and the center of my ministry is a pastor needs to be loving the church not putting the church to one side of a much bigger ministry that maybe includes the church but focuses on other things I need to be consumed with love for the church I think there are a lot of Christians today who don't love the church or they don't love the church for what the church is they love the church for something extra to it brothers and sisters you and I need to love the church for what the Bible says the church is and that means it's important for us actually it's essential for us to look at what the Bible says about theology of the church the fancy word is ecclesiology the doctrine of the church the doctrine of the church is tremendously important for us now the doctrine of the church is often used to define different denominations what makes Methodist different from Episcopalian's from Presbyterian's from Baptist's from assemblies of God and there is a sense in which that's true the doctrine of the church does help us understand why different denominations do things differently why they believe differently why there's a different vibe but this morning we're not so much going to go into all of that we're just going to go big picture doctrine of the church around the time of the Reformation some 500 years ago there was a big discussion over what is the church and there were two sometimes three marks that defined what is a true church anyone no two or sometimes three marks of what a true church is anyone give me one of them okay proper administration of the sacraments Lord supper and baptism you have to have the sacraments to have a church well another mark of the church anyone I'll give you a hint it's what we're doing right now technically what I'm doing right now preaching of the word and sometimes it was included under right administration of the sacrament sometimes it was considered a separate mark discipline the biblical process of church discipline not just excommunication it's self but the even the whole process how discipleship takes place that discipline is a part of the local church so the preaching of the word the right administration of the sacraments and if it's not implied under the administration of the sacraments discipline that's what you have to have in order to have a church it means a college ministry or college bible studies important as it is is not the church salvation army is it helpful as it has been in the past doesn't practice the sacraments it's not a church we need to focus on these elements of the church and so thinking through the topic of church governance or church the doctrine of the church church leadership ecclesiology helps us understand how as a church we function and last week we looked at some theological matters or the the principles particularly the qualification of elders and a little bit of how elders function this week we're looking at the practical application how we should think about the church basic local church theology all of that a very long way of introduction turning your bibles to Titus chapter one will read verses five to nine a Titus chapter one verses five to nine this is why i left you in crete so that you might put in order what remained and appoint elders in every town as i directed you if anyone is above reproach the husband of one wife and his children are believers and not open to the charge of the botry or insubordination for an overseer as god steward must be above reproach he must not be arrogant or quick tempered or a drunkard or violent or greedy forget but hospitable a lover of good self-controlled upright holy and disciplined he must hold firm to the truster of the word as taught so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it this is the word of the lord this morning three aspects three ingredients of a healthy local church first following on explicitly from last week pastors are shepherds pastors are shepherds this is why it's so critical that we follow the qualifications that we have here that we pay close attention to verses five to nine now as i mentioned last week i think we can overemphasize Titus one five to nine and the qualifications in first timothy and those can be the only things we talk about we we need to see pastoral ministry not just in light of these qualifications but even more in light of first peter five pastors are shepherds ax 20 makes this very clear the apostle paul talks about when he was an Ephesus how he cared for the church and Ephesus as a shepherd john 21 jesus tells peter feed my sheep tend my lambs feed my sheep pastors are shepherds and if we miss this point if we we de-emphasize or under emphasize shepherding ministry what we end up with is reasonably godly warm bodies that don't sin that badly that's not a good model for pastoring in other words the pastoral heart a pastoral bent in a man's soul is an absolute prerequisite for pastoral ministry and that you only get a good pastor if you have someone with that qualification and then evaluate him under Titus one five to nine versus just looking for people who are godly incapable but don't really have any love for the sheep pastors who don't have love for the sheep can do a tremendous amount of damage even as publicly they can be very well acclaimed pastors are shepherds I mentioned last week that I understand the book of Titus and the new testament to teach plurality of elders in every congregation look back at verse five Titus tells or paul tells Titus I left you in Crete that you might appoint elders in every town multiple elders in every town in every church it's not good for a church just to have one single leader church needs multiple elders in every congregation also mentioned last week that I understand that parity or equality is a biblical part of eldership I don't see a new testament warrant for different ranks of elders some churches have different responsibilities for elders and I don't see anything wrong with that different elders have different gifts and different responsibilities but from Titus chapter one we see that all elders are equally elders and I hope you view our elders that way there's nothing inappropriate about in an elders meeting the elders out voting me not gonna pretend I'm happy about that if it happens not gonna pretend I'm not going to argue my case but it is appropriate in an elders meeting if I get out voted if we argue and disagree with one another there's nothing inappropriate or wrong about the elders correcting me or confronting me or asking me personal questions don't think it's anything inappropriate about the congregation confronting or asking questions about personal matters as well it's not that I'm afraid to lead I'm not but the bible teaches multiple elders shared responsibility shared authority the bible and church history also warn us that it's dangerous for one man to have all of the authority or all of the responsibility on his own shoulders that's not good for us as men it's not good for me with my ego look if I'm being honest with you I think I'm a decent pastor and I have ambition I have plenty of drive there are things I want to do and it would be easy for me to seek to build a kingdom around myself my emphases my personality doesn't mean I'd be successful but I'd love to try that's a temptation I want to build a kingdom I want to build a monument a memorial to myself that's what I'm thinking carnally when I'm justifying it I want to do something for Jesus same sorts of things and I think biblical eldership helps me fight that temptation I think biblical eldership helps all of us fight the temptation to make the church about us I think there's so many churches whose pastors you would know over the last 20 years it's so easy for a man to build an empire around himself his own ministry his own study his own personality his own gifts and while we praise God for great men that God has used mightily in the church our goal for ourselves should simply be to be faithful as an aside pray for the five of us elders as we learn to work together this relationship is new to us me coming into this pray for Joel and Esteban I'm not the easiest guy to work with pray for the three of us as we work together more regularly pray for all five of us as elders we're trying to work through these things work through some of these discussions work through differences of gifting in personality we need charity with one another we need to listen we need patience with one another on that note of charity while I do believe in plurality and parity of eldership I also believe in charity that means differences in local church government are not top tier issues they're probably a number of different views on local church theology or ecclesiology here in this room and that's okay as our elders I don't even know that we fully landed on how we're going to move forward how we're going to function together we still have to talk through a number of these things at our elders meeting I think it was in august had a chat with the elders briefly and said here's what I'm planning to say are there any disagreements am I stepping on any land mines sometimes it's fun to step on land mines I like the expression on other people's faces when I step on land mines but it's good to know that you're going to step on them rather than stepping on them accidentally we're still working through our theology of local church practice we're working through some of these things and we praise God for other gospel preaching congregations who might understand these things or practice these things different to us this is not a top tier issue and so we want to interact charitably with those who might disagree but saying it's not a top tier issue doesn't mean it's unimportant that's right for us to look into this and dive deep into theology of the local church okay that's all an aside on how pastors function as shell as elders or pastors function as shepherds a little bit on the intricacies of local church theology how do we see pastors lead in the church as shepherds how do we see pastors lead in the church as shepherds so if you're taking notes we're still on the first point pastors as shepherds first we see pastors lead as shepherds by overseeing back in verse five elder or presbyter pastors lead by overseeing then in verse seven overseer or bishop and one of the reasons I understand the church the the bible to teach um a paratier equality amongst elders is the word for elder or overseer or pastor these words are used interchangeably the words for presbyter bishop or shepherd are used interchangeably in the new testament the pastors lead by overseeing pastors function as a shepherd again we looked at first peter five ax 20 john 21 the language of shepherding is throughout scripture the language of god shepherding his people gods people seeing themselves as sheep this is throughout scripture the song that we'll sing at the close of the service the lord is my shepherd brothers and sisters do you recognize that you need oversight in your life as christians you need oversight you need someone we could say even looking over your shoulder not in a big brother sort of way not in a condescending sort of way but definitely in a spiritual oversight sort of way i think this is one of the most unamerican characteristics of a healthy church is recognizing each and every one of us that i am not wise enough i am not good enough i am not strong enough i am not godly enough to make it through the christian life on my own i need brothers and sisters around me and elders giving out oversight over me all of us myself included we all need this it's not healthy for us to look out for ourselves on our own and even if we didn't have all of the emphasis in the new testament on how much jesus loves the church practical reality makes clear that when we're on our own we're easy pickings just like sheep the brothers and sisters do you recognize that you need spiritual oversight in your life the pastors secondly lead by instruction or teaching verse nine this is one of the key characteristics of elders in fact it's the only characteristic of elders or pastors that's different than from what every other christian is supposed to have verse nine the an elder or pastor must hold firm to the truster of the word as taught so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradicted pastors are to lead by instructing or teaching one of the ways that we know this explicitly that this is teaching or instruction is a regular part of our life is even the very word that we call ourselves that scripture uses for believers and that word is disciple anyone tell me what does disciple mean i'll give you i'll just let you know heads up probably the first two or three of you're going to get it wrong so don't don't be don't feel bad disciple what does it mean i might have already said this before so don't be shy what sorry no not follower student you got it there how'd you get the wrong answer and the right answer that's cheating student disciple means student someone who is under a teacher so brothers and sisters do you know that you need instruction you need instruction do you go to your elders for instruction not just for encouragement not just for help do you go to them to be taught by them we talked about this last week and i gave carl and chris a hard time but i get to walk back a little bit what i was saying then while it is true that all elders are to be able to instruct doesn't mean all elders need to preach from the front all elders need to have the ability to teach or preach i don't see a tremendous difference between them but practically that doesn't mean that every elder needs to be preaching regularly there are different giftings and there are different responsibilities in the church but if every elder is to be able to teach then brothers and sisters you can go to every elder for teaching again it may not be public from the front but i hope you sit down and you ask your elders for input you ask them for prayer you ask them for help ask all five of us mix and match like decks in a card you can see which one you like best i don't think we're going to disagree that much and practical matters by the way and if we do we'll have to work that out but go to your elders for instruction ask them for help when you have a theological question when there's something in the bible that you don't understand ask them elders are to lead by instruction or teaching and third again we're still under our first point elders lead by modeling elders lead by modeling i don't mean our clothes that would get weird but by modeling our lifestyle by modeling what it is to be a christian look back through these verses elders are to be above reproach their marriage and parenting are to be in order their lifestyle their secret lives are to be in order they're to have a certain character so that you can look at them and then follow their example that you can model your life on them do you want to know what it means to be a godly christian the new testament tells us that in one respect it's appropriate for us to look to our elders to follow them as they follow christ this means that we learn by doing i think we know that right the power of a model is incredible remember years ago was changing a tire and somehow i broke not just the lug nut but i broke the lug off my pickup truck like well what do i do now well that's it's not supposed to break i broke it how do i fix it well asked my dad and he helped me help me punch it out use a punch and a big hammer to punch the rest of the lug out and get a new one and he told me okay go take the the new lug and put it in the freezer what are we are we having a laugh here you making fun of me here it's like no no just watch put it in the freezer and well if you know science which i don't apparently it shrinks just a little bit enough to get it back through the hole in the wheel then you tighten it up and off you go if i had read that i don't think i would have believed it i thought the author's just making a joke of me but seeing someone model it helped me through it was helpful i think back to when i was in college my pastor scott ohin and his wife marty watching his example of ministry was so helpful seeing him and his wife in their example of hospitality how they regularly almost week after week had people over to their homes and the way that they invested in people in their church the power of a model is incredible we learn by doing and having an example is so helpful to us what is it that elders model while they model godliness and they also model repentance if the whole of the christian life is repentance then elders we must be models of this repentance for our people that means at a base level our repentance should be as public as our sin and often should probably be much more public than our sin saying our repentance should be as public as our sin means that maybe we should go beyond just confessing things that everyone else sees that we should be open about our need for repentance in our souls pastors or elders are to model repentance and so we see pastors are shepherds they're shepherds over the sheep one of the key questions that we should always ask is elders as a congregation is this good for the sheep that's the goal as shepherds to look out for the sheep and pastors are not called to be administrators or counselors or community organizers or seminary lecturers or charismatic speakers or movers and shakers or visionary leaders all of those may be appropriate but the key task of pastors and elders is to be shepherds we are to be humble shepherds all of those other things may be helpful but brothers those of us who are elders let us wear shepherd like a badge of honor and may that be the core of what we do so brothers and sisters if you are elders or to see themselves as shepherds what are you to see yourselves as we're all of us also to see ourselves as this leads to the second aspect of local church theology pastors are to serve as shepherds number two congregations are to see themselves as sheep the congregations are to see themselves as sheep we have explicit New Testament warrant from this Hebrews chapter 13 verse 20 we read now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus the great shepherd of the sheep and 1 Peter 2 25 for you are straying like sheep Joel put Isaiah 53 on the screen earlier all we like sheep throughout scripture God's people are called to see themselves as sheep this is obviously not a flattering image do you notice that you will never see a sheep by itself in the wild why because they can't survive it's kind of like chickens sure there are goats and there are turkeys but you won't see sheep or chickens in the wild by themselves number of years ago I was walking down a road and there was a little park or petting zoo and I heard this bang bang bang repeated what on earth is going on and I walk by and there's a ram about 24 inches away from a wooden fence post bam bam this was a fence post in the middle of a big enclosed area the post wasn't going anywhere and the ram was accomplishing nothing just hitting his head against it again and again and again sheep are not known for their intelligence and this well this should be convicting to us because if you're anything like me I think we tend to think that we're actually pretty cool we've actually got it under control pretty well thank you we've got a perspective we know what we want in life and we're going after that but the Bible calls us sheep especially in our relationship to God again that passage Isaiah 53 all we like sheep have gone astray we've wandered off we followed our own desires we've done our own thing we followed our hearts that's led us to wreck our lives if you're here this morning and you're not a Christian this is one of the key aspects of what it means to be a Christian to understand that we have followed ourselves and our own desires and that has led to ruin in our lives because we've listened to ourselves and not the creator we have done things the creator has told us not to do and we've not done the things the creator has told us to do all of this the Bible calls sin and sin is the source of every human misery if you are not a Christian you need to hear this call this morning return to the shepherd come back to Jesus the great shepherd of the sheep acknowledge that you are his earring or wayward sheep that you've gone astray come back to him acknowledge that what he says about you that you are a sinner is true and ask for his mercy plead for his forgiveness and know that all who call on the name of the Lord shall be saved all who come to the shepherd in faith he welcomes into his fold brothers and sisters those of you who have done this who have acknowledged this yes unflattering but deeply realistic image of our lives know that this metaphor the metaphor of shepherd in sheep shapes how we think about the church elders this helps us think about our responsibilities as well we are shepherds not ranchers we lead sheep we don't drive cattle there are a lot of pastors a lot of pastors who may have their theology right but drive their flocks pushing them they don't lead them gently as shepherds sheep need to be led they're not just to be heard it along in a direction sheep need a shepherd and sheep follow a shepherd so if congregations are to see themselves as sheep we need to talk about pastoral authority for a minute think many of us are embarrassed by the topic of authority in our day we live in a very flattening age a very egalitarian age and there've been enough scandals across Christian denominations in recent years where pastors have abused their authority and the topic of pastoral abuse has become so wide and so nebulous that it's almost lost all meaning we need to talk about what is pastoral authority from a scriptural perspective if you look back through Titus we see that pastors are to have authority Titus is to exercise authority in verse five by setting in order what remains things need to be tidied up put in their right place verse nine elders have authority they are themselves to hold firm to the trustworthy word so that they may be able to give instruction in doctrine and in application even to rebuke those who contradict right doctrine that's a use of authority chapter two verse 15 paul makes this explicit to Titus declare these things exhort and rebuke with all authority let no one disregard you pastors shoppers are to exercise authority in the flock but we need to know that that authority is not inherent in us all five of us elders we don't have authority simply because we're awesome dudes kind of like you to think that we're awesome dudes i'm not allowed to say lads i got kicked out of a a telegram group this week for saying lads or bruv or i can't remember chaps dudes that's an american word right that passes muster elders do not have authority that is inherent in themselves elders have authority by virtue of their office as elder or pastor and that authority is bounded by scripture another way of saying this is pastoral authority needs a scriptural warrant for what elders or pastors urge upon the flock i could tell you all of you should love gumbo and guess what i think all of you should love gumbo it is tasty it is healthy it's in contrast to a lot of food has flavor it is nourishing it is good for you and it is good to you i think you should love gumbo so what you can love gumbo as i think you should or you can hate it and that affects nothing in your relationship with god it might affect something in your relationship with me but it affects nothing in your relationship with god pastors need a scriptural warrant for what we urge on the congregation and it means if there's not a scriptural warrant or the classical term that goes with this scripture and good and necessary consequence what follows naturally is an application of scripture a close application where pastors are correctly understanding scripture and correctly applying god's word that means they can urge these things with authority as an aside that's why we want to be careful what we sing when Joel stands up and says please stand and sing with us that is an invitation and it's also a command brothers and sisters sing with us and what we sing we need to be careful that we're singing what's true it's not good for elders to command their congregations to sing heresy and you'd be surprised how often heresy is sung in supposedly christian churches let me give you an example of this this concept of authority and its use in the congregation so the men are going through the ten commandments book great book great study josh is doing a great job kneel did a great job the other week hope you come along men fantastic study women grab a copy read it as well the seventh commandment forbids adultery or immorality pretty black and white pretty straightforward okay not gonna make a lot of disagreements apparently there was one version of the bible when it was translated in the 1600s that forgot the not and it was called the naughty bible because it said thou shalt commit adultery commandment thou shalt not commit adultery good and necessary consequence means although magazines the internet and movies were not invented in the first century things that are explicit that are immoral or encourage immorality in our actions or our thoughts or desires are also forbidden so immorality itself forbidden and things that either encourage immorality or are immoral themselves are also forbidden now by way of application because of that part of that good necessary consequence means things like let's use an older example not that old though game of thrones i can say to you as a pastor on the authority of god's word brothers and sisters you should not watch game of thrones it's poison for your souls the sexually explicit content to say nothing of the nihilistic worldview present throughout it is bad for you it is immoral and it only encourages immorality in your souls move a little bit down the line can i then say so no r-rated films no movie theaters previous generations of christians thought that was a natural application films have bad things in them therefore don't go to the movie theater well that starts getting farther down the application or could we go even further and say okay because of the seventh command therefore no art galleries or museums because they might have inappropriately covered individuals in the art and sculpture well again we're starting to move farther and farther away from the principle the closer we are to the scriptural principle itself the more a pastor elder can use authority and say you should or should not the farther we get away from that the more it's a matter of wisdom and pastors need to be careful i'll add one more level to this that's complicated if someone is really struggling with immorality i might say you probably need to walk not watch anything that could even possibly be immoral you need to have a much higher concern a much higher sensitivity to this and where i might not be able to from the pulpit say okay for example no r-rated films maybe for an individual who's really struggling with these things i might say you know what you shouldn't go to art galleries you probably shouldn't be watching hardly any television right now in that case it's a wisdom call but because of the nature of the struggle at hand there might be more room for authority than there would be in a broad sense pastors need to lead from a scriptural authority let's see again my writing is terrible so if an elder has a legitimate scriptural authority if an elder has a clear warrant from scripture for what he urges upon you brothers and sisters the sheep need to listen to the authority of their shepherds you need to value the authority of your shepherds elders are to function with authority again this is so counter-cultural to have a man in front of a group of people speaking with authority we don't like that in our day we're suspicious of that and even people who use authority are trying to mask it they're trying to cover it they're trying to hide it there's also a horizontal application of this point as well as we help one another is we in the congregation help and encourage one another our authority with one another needs to be firmly grounded in scripture we'll talk about this more when we get to Titus two in a few weeks because Titus two gives us some excellent examples of how we are to exercise the authority of God's word in one another's lives but in our interaction with one another when we are asked for input and I hope we ask each other for input I hope we don't just get together and complain or make comments or share difficulties I hope we say can you give anything back on that do you have any input can you correct anything I've said I hope that's just a normal part of Christian life again we'll come back to that more when we get to Titus two but as we interact with one another the closer we are to scripture the more we can speak with authority and the farther away from scripture the more we need to be careful about issuing principles from merely wisdom in our interactions with one another we do call to repentance we lift one another up as we heard a few weeks ago from Galatians six and Joel sermon we help one another we lift one another out of sin we come alongside one another we encourage one another we rebuke one another there's a mutual ministry among the congregation that is based on the authority not of our own wisdom not of our own perspectives but the authority of scripture let me urge you by way of application caring for one another is not just the pastor's job it's not just the elders job brothers and sisters care for one another there's no New Testament verse that says pastors can only be confronted by other pastors that elders can only be confronted by other elders we need one another there is a mutuality in the local church we need one another we need one another's encouragement we also need one another's correction provided it's grounded in scripture and the authority not of ourselves but the authority of God's word and dear sheep do you love your shepherds and do you listen to your shepherds do you submit to their authority in Hebrews chapter 13 you are called to obey those that have the rule over you that means brothers and sisters that where your shepherds urge you on the authority of scripture to hear them and to listen to them you have a God-given responsibility to obey them that is a weighty weighty responsibility for you to take that seriously that if you disobey your elders where they are exercising clear scriptural authority you're not just disobeying your elders you're disobeying God elders there's a weightiness that we need to be really sure that when we work with the scriptural authority God has given us it is scriptures authority that we exercise so many pastors go astray in this i'm sure you've seen it yourselves i can give multiple examples in my own life that i've seen where elders and pastors exercised authority that went well beyond scripture but just because men have done this wrong just because churches and church cultures have done this wrong doesn't mean we should reject the whole category of pastoral authority as well the brothers and sisters i know you love your shepherds and i know you listen to your shepherds but let me encourage you do so still more love them trust them follow them and listen to their authority and as far as they follow christ follow them so first aspect of the church pastors are shepherds second aspect congregations are sheep third and finally churches are family churches are family paul doesn't make it explicit in the book of titus this metaphor of family we read about it in Galatians chapter six verse ten the the family of faith of the household of believers we are a body we are a flock we are a family i think one of the reasons i didn't like the doctrine of the church earlier on in my theological training was i didn't hear these metaphors mentioned a lot a flock a family a body those metaphors emphasize an interconnectedness with one another one another aspect of local church theology and i just didn't hear that a lot the metaphor of a body in first Corinthians of a flock as we've already talked about or a family that we see throughout scripture this points out that we're we're not just coming into church to do a thing to come and say a bit or eat a bit or wash a bit or get splashed a bit we're coming into church to interact with one another to fellowship a real deep genuine bond with one another a bond that as many here can attest is often thicker even the natural blood relation there should be something that holds us here tighter together than any other relationship that we have tighter than college football as much fun as it is tighter than dare i say at college football in the south a tighter than family tighter than politics tighter than class or social perspective tighter than hobbies tighter than stage of life we'll come back to this in tight is chapter two the fact that Jesus has saved us from our sins is what binds us together and there is nothing that can bind us tighter than that Jesus purchased our redemption through his blood that's why we fellowship together that's why we join each lord's day we are part of a family of those that god has redeemed and this is a family that's to be characterized by love john 13 35 Jesus tells us this is how the whole world will know you belong to me by your right doctrinal statement by your correct understanding of who is the appropriate recipient of baptism that's an important discussion doctrinal statements are important by your denominational order and structure no this is how the whole world will know that you are my disciples by your love for one another brothers and sisters this church is characterized by love that has been so encouraging to see well done continue in this grow in this and your characterization is a body bound by love is not the sort of sentimental sort of love that we see in the world around us some years ago Dietrich Bonhoeffer made this statement the phrase god is love tells us more about love than it tells us about god we like to think god is love therefore god is loving and bonhoeffer is saying no no no the proper way to understand that phrase the phrase god is love means love is godly love is like god and i think so many of you even if you didn't know the bonhoeffer quote you would understand that you would agree with that that's your the basis of your relationship with one another we as a body as a family are to be characterized by a bot godlike love for one another or a way of application that means our christian fellowship is not just rebuke rebuke is necessary it's not just banter or especially among the men i don't know if the women do this the men show love to one another by insults the women do that as well women's groups no okay women are men actually do love each other really like each other and guys show affection by hitting each other it's a boy thing i don't know what else to say banter is great but there needs to be christian love is well correction is good and necessary but so is tenderness compassion care mutual and loving affection this is what we need as a body a body men and women together the whole congregation we are a family of faith when church leadership sees itself as shepherds of the sheep when a congregation sees themselves as sheep christ sheep christ tender lambs and where the church is a family knit together in love that's a church where god's people can thrive and grow and become more and more healthy more and more like their chief shepherd jesus christ all of what we've seen this morning is implicit in what paul is writing to titus much of it has been drawn from titus itself but more of it even from the broader theology of the new testament all of this is essential paul would say all of this needs to be heard by the congregation don't miss that titus is pretty compact it's pretty small don't miss the importance of shepherds seeing or pastors seeing themselves as shepherds don't miss that the people to whom paul is writing on crete he's not actually writing to titus he's writing to the christians on crete the christians need to see themselves as sheep and the whole church needs to be knit and bound together in love these are essential emphases that stand behind what paul is saying to titus and the titus would have himself known and may god help us some two thousand plus years after the writing of this book may god help us today be this kind of church for god's glory and also for our own good let me pray if other we praise you do you've given us your son jesus not just as a shepherd but as our passover lamb you've given us jesus is our atoning sacrifice we praise you that you also raised him from the dead as we sang he has seated at your right hand and he is now our chief shepherd he is the model that all earthly shepherds aspire to he is the one all of us follow the father we praise you for giving us this metaphor help us to humble ourselves and submit to it may we as your sheep is your tender lamb follow those that you have entrusted as shepherds over us and would you produce the abundant harvest of your word in our lives as we do these things we pray this in jesus name amen [BLANK_AUDIO]