"Since an overseer is entrusted with God's work, he must be blameless - not overbearing, not quick-tempered, not given to drunkenness, not violent, not pursuing dishonest gain. Rather, he must be hospitable, one who loves what is good, who is self-controlled, upright, holy and disciplined. 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 1:7-9
In the first chapter of Paul's letter to Titus, Paul lays out the necessary characteristics of an Elder or overseer (an overseer of the "flock"). We often read these character descriptions and say "Yes, an Elder at my church must have these personality traits!" (and yes, this is true), but we don't take it a step further and realize that we must require these same things of ourselves, in our own lives. As Christians, we are ALL "entrusted with God's work". What is God's work? In John 6:29 it says: "Jesus answered, "The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent." Being entrusted with God's work has nothing to do with WORKS or ACTIONS, it is not a role or a job in a church. The work of God is to put our belief in Christ - to stand firmly behind the ultimate work that God has already done. And this is what is asked of every Christian - there could not be anything more fundamental in the life of a Christian than this concept of "God's work". So then, it is only natural then to say that we are accountable in the same way that the "Elders" and "overseers" are, as talked about here in the book of Titus. In order for the power of Christ in us to be truly effective in our lives, and in our witness to others through our actions, we must behave in a pure and holy fashion, in a manner completely different from the way natural man is inclined to live. We must strive to be blameless. Otherwise, we become hypocrites, not only in the eyes of man, but in the eyes of God.
"To the pure, all things are pure, but to those who are corrupted and do not believe, nothing is pure. In fact, both their minds and consciences are corrupted." - Titus 1:15-16
Paul presents us with a great paradox in this section, but a very important one to tackle. He is confronting and rebutting the idea that man can be saved and made pure by customs and rituals - in other words, by works. This belief was leaking into the church by way of false teachers trying to reinstate the validity old Jewish traditions of purification. This section of the letter can be read quite literally, as Paul commenting on the ritualistic dietary customs of the Old Covenant, saying that for those washed in the Blood of Christ, there is nothing that can or cannot be eaten - all is purified. But I do believe that this section can be interpreted in a much deeper way, in a way that can be applied directly to our lives today: Apart from the saving work of the Cross, there is not a single thing that man can do that is good or pure - there isn't a single thing we can do apart from Christ that will not burn away when He returns. Christ's sacrifice on the Cross is EVERYTHING! For those who place their faith in that, it is powerful enough to cleanse and wash away every stain - everything becomes pure. Jesus' blood on the cross takes every short-coming, every burden, every struggle, and does away with it. All becomes cleansed and worthy in the eyes of the Lord. Conversely, apart from Christ's saving work, all is corrupted, even the kindest word, the most generous heart. This is the power of the Cross, and also the power of Sin. Sin turns every single good work into darkness, into death. But the Cross is Sin's undoing, and removes darkness and death from the picture altogether - every work is cleansed, every sin is done away with!
The paradox is this - because of the grace extended to us through Christ's sacrifice on the Cross, we are freed from sin and the endless cycle of sinning, going through acts of repentance, sinning again, repenting again, and so on. The full and eternal price has been paid, once and for all. That being said, the visible outcome of Jesus' power in our life is turning from sin and living a blameless life, as described in the first section. It is not that we are given the freedom to sin without consequence, but it is that we are given the freedom to choose a life lived for God, rather than living life as a slave to sin. Without Jesus, this isn't even an option - without Jesus, Sin is our inevitable reality, and death is our inevitable destination.
We must take a close look at our hearts, we must search our lives for any trace of sin, any trace of unholiness, and pray for the strength to turn from it. The wages of our sins have been paid in full, but still we must lay them down and let them go, lest they deceive us into thinking we are in the light, when in reality we are wandering in the darkness of our old, broken self. Do not let your sin rob you of the new and blameless life Christ has in store for you!
