Hold Firm to the Trustworthy Word as Taught

In one paragraph

Pastor Ray preached through Titus 1:5-16, looking at what Paul required of elders in Crete and why those requirements mattered for a church planted in a culture hostile to the gospel. The driving concern of the passage is holding firm to sound doctrine so that false teachers can be answered and the gospel kept intact. A baptism followed the service, with a brief word from the man being baptized...

Read together

1. Colossians 1:16 Opening verse read aloud: 'For by him all things were created both in heavens and on earth visible and invisible whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities. All things have been created through him and for him.'
2. Titus 1:1-4 Paul's opening salutation and purpose statement read as lead-up to the main passage
3. Titus 1:5-16 Main passage for the sermon, covering elder qualifications, the Cretan problem, and sound doctrine
4. Galatians 1:8-9 Cited to show that adding anything to the gospel makes it no longer the gospel, even if Paul himself did it
5. Galatians 3:1-2 Pop quiz drawn from prior study: 'Oh foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you' and the question of receiving the Spirit by works or by hearing with faith
6. Romans 1 Referenced to support the point that the defiled have been turned over to believe a lie
7. Proverbs 14:12 Cited as 'there is a way that seems right to a man but in the end it is the way of death'
8. Proverbs 16:25 Cited as a second occurrence of the same proverb about the way that seems right leading to death
9. Matthew 7:13-14 Quoted on the narrow gate versus the broad road that leads to destruction
10. 1 Corinthians 1:18-19 Quoted: 'the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing but to those who are being saved it is the power of God'
11. 1 Timothy 1:15 Cited as 'this saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners'

Talk about it

1. Pastor Ray opened with the riddle about the truth-teller and the liar, and connected it to the idea that God never lies. How does knowing that God cannot lie change the way you read or trust Scripture?
2. The elder qualifications Paul gives Titus include five things an elder must not be and seven things he must be. Which of those qualities do you think is hardest to maintain in everyday life, and why?
3. Paul quotes a Cretan prophet saying 'Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons,' and then adds 'this testimony is true.' Titus was sent to plant churches among those very people. What does that say about who the gospel is for, and how does it challenge the way we think about our own community?
4. Pastor Ray listed several groups that might try to 'bewitch' believers today, from cultural pressure to legalism to prosperity-driven teaching. Which of those do you think is the hardest for people in this congregation to recognize and resist, and why?
5. Pastor Ray said that to the extent he stays true to God and His word, he will be telling the truth, and he asked the congregation to hold him to that. What does it look like practically for a church family to hold its pastor and its leaders to sound doctrine?