Put What Remains in Order: Titus 1
Introduction
Titus chapter 1. Once again, I want to welcome you to our Sunday morning service. And as we enter into this holiday season, we have the joy of having old friends and members and people back with us at Kitwe Church. Those of you who have been away—some of you at school, some of you have moved to other places—but back with us over this holiday, we’re so delighted to see you.
And then we want to pray for many of our people who have traveled far and wide during this holiday season. We gather this morning to carry out our task of commissioning Pastor Gideon Mpeni to the work that he was introducing us to there in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. And I want to speak to you this morning—I want to speak to Gideon and Chiletso, but I also want to speak to Kitwe Church on the subject: Put what remains in order.
Paul’s Charge to Titus
Paul’s charge to Titus is one of the clearest biblical descriptions of church revitalization that we have in the New Testament. Titus has been commissioned by Paul, sent to the island of Crete, a place known for moral corruption and doctrinal instability. And he’s been sent there to strengthen what is weak and to restore what is broken in the church and the churches there on the island. Gideon, your call is similar to his. The three chapters of this letter of Paul to Titus provide you with a Spirit-inspired blueprint for missionary church revitalization.
Defining Our Terms
I want to remind you what the mission is that we are referring to this morning. It is the work of God in reconciling sinful human beings to Himself. God is calling out a people from every tribe and tongue and nation. And He has provided everything in Jesus Christ for their reconciliation to God.
We also have been using the word this morning, missions. We’ve taken the word “mission” and added an “S.” And when we talk about missions here at Kitwe Church, we are talking about the plan. We have a ministry plan that has been approved for the revitalization of Oasis Baptist Church there in Dar es Salaam. Missions, then, is the plan of committed believers to accomplish the mission of God.
This is why we do the designated giving for missions, right? There’s nothing in the Scripture that says we’re supposed to have a card and ask you to commit how much you might give above and beyond your tithes and offerings. No, there’s nothing that specific. But it’s our attempt as a local church within the confines of Scripture and ethos and in line with the mission that God has given to us to say there is plenty of example of the local church taking responsibility for God’s mission and supporting that mission.
And so missions—part of our missions outreach—those commitments that we make here at the end of the year give us a window into what we can do financially in the support of church planting missions in 2026.
And then of course, we have used the word and we will refer to a missionary. A missionary is a person who is intentionally sent across cultural boundaries to preach the gospel, win people to Christ, and disciple them into reproducing local congregations of believers by training biblically qualified elders. And each of us here in the local church have different giftings and different abilities. And we leverage different pieces of that definition. Some are very gifted at gospel proclamation. Others are more gifted at discipling. And others at leadership training. And yet together, this work is carried out. And so today we are talking about sending a missionary from Zambia to Tanzania for the purpose of church revitalization.
The Mission and the Means
Kitwe Church, God has commissioned us to proclaim the gospel and make disciples to the ends of the earth. And the means by which that mission will be accomplished is through healthy, reproducing churches planting other healthy, reproducing churches. This is our prayer, and this is our desire, and to the degree that we are able to use our wisdom—biblical wisdom—this is our plan for Oasis Baptist Church there in Dar es Salaam.
Healthy churches reproduce themselves. In fact, every living organism by its very nature will reproduce itself. So birds grow up and they make a nest and they lay eggs and they produce baby birds, right? Cats reproduce kittens. And I was just down in Livingstone taking some visitors and we came around the corner in the vehicle and we saw a breeding herd of elephants. And they had several little ones. It’s amazing. I’m always astounded at how big those animals are. And I read somewhere that the gestation period for an elephant—in other words, from the time the mother elephant gets pregnant to the time she gives birth to that 500-pound baby—is unbelievable: 22 months. 22 months. Ladies, aren’t you glad you’re not an elephant? Nine months is long enough.
But what’s the point? The point is this: every living organism by its very nature will reproduce itself provided two things are true. Number one, that organism is mature—mature enough to reproduce. In other words, those little baby elephants that I enjoyed watching the other day have the potential to reproduce, but they’re not yet mature enough to reproduce. So for reproduction to happen with any organism, there must be maturity. And number two, that organism must be healthy. So if there’s some sickness or cancer or some type of disease that infects the organism, then that will also keep that organism often from being able to reproduce itself.
And the same is true of a church. You see, a church—like ours is organized and we have an organizational structure, and well we should—but the local church is not an organization as much as it is an organism. In other words, this is the living body, this is the living representation of the body of Christ in Kitwe. This is Kitwe Church, and Christ is the head of the body, and every one of us who know Jesus are the members of that body. And Paul gives us that body analogy when he says we don’t all serve the same function. So we’re not looking at each other and feeling jealous about the giftings. I mean, I can’t sing like Ali can sing. I can’t do that. But we praise God for the giftings of our brother, and he serves the body in that way. So somebody else may have the gifting of hospitality or somebody else has the gifting of service or somebody else has the gift of compassion, right? And each one of us functioning in the body makes the body complete and whole. And Paul says, “to the building of itself up in love.”
And so we guard against disunity, we guard against evil speaking, we guard against some of the things that Titus is being warned about by Paul in our text because the body must be healthy and mature in the faith so that naturally that body will be spinning off and reproducing itself. Christians reproduce other Christians. Churches reproduce other churches. And the point is not, “Oh, well, what was the gestation period? How long did that take?” That really isn’t the point. The point is that there is this ongoing process, this expectation that we are growing in Christ, that we are becoming healthy in Christ, and that we are reproducing the life of Christ in others, and that our congregation is reproducing the life of Christ in other congregations. That is the missionary work that we have been called to.
The Enemy
And in the midst of this mission, we must recognize that there is a mortal enemy—one who opposes Christ and His church. There are challenges to be faced. There are battles to be fought for truth. I think Gideon shared with us a minute ago, 68%—if I got it right, 62%, 68%—Muslim in Dar es Salaam. There are battles to be fought for the truth and the long, hard work of building people up in their most holy faith.
Scripture Reading: Titus 1:1-5
Look please, if you would, to Titus chapter 1.
“Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the sake of the faith of God’s elect and their knowledge of the truth, which accords with godliness, in hope of eternal life, which God, who never lies, promised before the ages began and at the proper time manifested in his word through the preaching with which I have been entrusted by the command of God our Savior;
To Titus, my true child in a common faith: Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior.”
Now look at verse 5. This really is the core piece of our text. Notice what he says to Titus:
“This is why I left you in Crete, so that you might put what remained into order, and appoint elders in every town as I directed you.”
And from this text, Gideon, and Kitwe Church, I want you to see three overarching principles for church revitalization at Oasis Baptist Church in Dar es Salaam. Three things. In fact, you could almost say that these are the themes of the three chapters of this letter.
Principle One: Revitalization Begins with Preparing Godly Leadership
Notice number one: Revitalization begins with preparing godly leadership. That’s number one. Revitalization begins with preparing godly leadership.
Notice the challenge that Paul refers to here as Titus is there in Crete. Notice the challenge of a lack of leadership. You see, a dying church rarely dies by accident. Almost always, leadership failure is at the root of a church that is struggling, unhealthy, and dying. Someone has said, rightly I believe, that everything rises and falls on leadership. And here we find in the churches in Crete, there was an absence of leadership. You see, there is no leadership in the church, and the church is being maintained by maybe a handful of people. They’re struggling to keep the doors open. That’s a challenge—lack of leadership.
The Challenge of a Lack of Leadership
Notice what he says: “I want you to appoint elders in every town, every church, in every town, as I directed you.”
The other challenge with a lack of leadership is unqualified leadership. So because we don’t have leadership, we’re going to take the best person that we have and we’re going to appoint them as a leader. And so perhaps well-meaning, we appoint someone who perhaps does not have the gift of teaching, but we’re going to put them up there because we don’t have anybody else and so we’re just going to have them do it anyway. And then we wonder why the church continues to shrivel and shrink and move towards death.
Or worse, power-hungry leadership—you see that exemplified sometimes, where there’s power struggles in the church, people fighting for position, for honor, for ownership. That’s a challenge with a lack of leadership.
Or compromising leadership—failure to guard doctrine.
Or ungodly leadership—the scandals that we hear from time to time in the public media of moral compromise within the leadership of a church. And often in a church that is dying, moral failure will be excused. There will be an excuse made for that moral failure within the church leadership.
Biblically Qualified Leadership
But notice what Paul says beginning in verse 6. A healthy church must have biblically qualified leadership. Notice verse 6:
Number one, these leaders are to be men who are above reproach. He says in the beginning of verse 6.
Number two, they must be men who are faithful in marriage and at home. They are to be above reproach, “the husband of one wife, and his children are believers and not open to the charge of debauchery or insubordination.”
Number three, they must be men who are self-controlled, upright, and holy. Look at verse 7: “For an overseer, as God’s steward, must be above reproach. He must not be arrogant or quick-tempered or a drunkard or violent or greedy for gain.”
Notice verse 8, they must be men who are hospitable and able to teach. That’s what he says here.
And then in verse 9, they must be men who are steadfast in the truth. “He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it.”
And so the first principle is revitalization begins with preparing godly leadership.
The Challenge of False Belief Systems
Why? Because in a dying church, there is a challenge of a lack of leadership. But there’s also a challenge of false belief systems. Look at verse 10:
“For there are many who are insubordinate, empty talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision party.”
You see, these leaders who are appointed at Oasis Baptist Church must be men who know the truth. Crete, where Titus had been sent, there were many false teachers. And my guess is when you get to Dar es Salaam, brother, you are going to find and attract people, and you’re going to find there are probably many false teachers in that city as well.
Paul warns Titus of:
- Doctrinal drift in verse 10
- Teachers who talk but produce nothing—he calls them “empty talkers” in verse 10
- Those who bring spiritual confusion—he refers to them again in verse 10 as “deceivers”
- Legalistic influence—those who are of the circumcision party
- Prosperity gospel infiltrations in verse 11
Notice verse 11: “They must be silenced, since they are upsetting whole families by teaching for shameful gain what they ought not to teach.” Is that not the prosperity gospel?
And cultural compromise in verse 12: “One of the Cretans, a prophet of their own, said, ‘Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.’ This testimony is true. Therefore rebuke them sharply.”
You see, this is a call for decisive action. Because there is a very real threat to church revitalization and the appointing of leaders. And this challenge often comes from false belief systems.
Decisive Action Required
In fact, verse 11—this action:
Silenced false teachers. He says, “They must be silenced with the truth.”
Verse 13, rebuke them sharply. “Cut off destructive influences within the church and warn those who are without the church, outside the church.”
Then verse 13, restore a healthy understanding of the truth. “These people must be sound in the faith.” Chapter 2 verse 1: “But as for you, teach what accords with sound doctrine.”
You see, you cannot revitalize a church without confronting falsehood. Healthy doctrine brings a healthy church.
The Challenge of False Motives
But there was something else we just read in this first chapter—the challenge of false motives. Do you see that in verse 11? It says, “They must be silenced since they are upsetting whole families by teaching for shameful gain what they ought not to teach.”
You see, these leaders that are to be appointed at Oasis Baptist Church must be men motivated by the glory of God, not motivated by personal gain—looking for some personal advantage from ministry. God, help us and protect us from those kinds of leaders. They’re looking for how they can benefit from the ministry or benefit from the congregation. We are called and Titus was called—we are calling and we’re appointing leaders who are willing to give, to spend and be spent for the sake of the gospel.
The Challenge of a Wicked Culture
Notice there’s a fourth challenge—verse 12, and again in verses 15 and 16—from a wicked culture. He says that these men that you appoint must be men of character. Crete was a wicked culture. Their own writers said that when you think of the Cretans, they are always liars, evil beasts, and lazy gluttons. Wow!
Rather, these men who are appointed as leaders in the Cretan church—these must be men who set an example for the congregation to follow.
Verse 15: “To the pure, all things are pure, but to the defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure; but both their minds and their consciences are defiled. They profess to know God, but they deny him by their works. They are detestable, disobedient, unfit for any good work.”
The Key Principle
So here’s the key principle: You cannot revitalize a church unless you rebuild leadership. Start with people, not programs. Faithfully teach the truth and set the example for other leaders to follow.
So there’s three things. Revitalization begins with preparing godly leadership.
Principle Two: Revitalization Focuses on Establishing a Culture of Discipleship
Number two, notice in chapter 2: Revitalization focuses on establishing a culture of discipleship. Revitalization focuses on establishing a culture of discipleship.
Look at chapter 2, verse 1: “But as for you, teach what accords with sound doctrine.”
So Titus was to teach sound doctrine.
Anchored in the Gospel
You see, a culture of discipleship in a local church is anchored in the gospel. The gospel must be boldly and clearly proclaimed. Look at your text in Titus. Look at how this shows up throughout this letter.
Look at chapter 1, verse 2: “In hope of eternal life, which God, who never lies, promised before the ages began.” So here was the promise of eternal life.
Notice chapter 2, look at verse 11: “For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people.” So the promise of eternal life—here Paul refers to God’s saving grace.
Look at verse 14, chapter 2: Speaking of our Savior, Jesus Christ, “who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.” And so here we have reference to Christ’s redeeming work in the gospel.
Not only that, look at chapter 3, verse 5. Notice the Holy Spirit’s regenerating power. Three, five: “He saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit.”
So this gospel—this promise of eternal life, God’s saving grace, Christ’s redeeming work, the Spirit’s regenerating power—and all of this produces justification by grace. Look at chapter 3, verse 7: “So that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.”
Listen, revitalization focuses on establishing a culture of discipleship, and a culture of discipleship is anchored in the gospel. That’s the point that Paul is making throughout this letter.
Training Members to Disciple One Another
But notice secondly: Revitalization focusing on establishing a culture of discipleship means that we train members to disciple and serve one another. We train members to disciple and serve one another.
Go back to chapter 2, look at verse 2: “Older men are to be sober-minded.”
So in a dying church, biblical teaching is often shallow, inconsistent, or disconnected from real life. But Paul shows Titus that revitalization in Crete requires building a culture of discipleship that teaches truth to every demographic within the congregation.
Begins with older men. He says, “Teach them to be sober-minded, dignified, self-controlled, sound in faith, in love, and in steadfastness.”
And then in verse 3, he speaks about training and discipling the older women. Train them to be reverent, not slanderers, not slaves to much wine, teachers of what is good.
And then he speaks to the younger women, verse 4. The older women are to train the younger to love their husbands, to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands.
Then he speaks to young men in verse 6. They are to be self-controlled, a model of good works, integrity, and sound speech.
And then he speaks to employer-employee relationships in verse 9. Bondservants are to be submissive to their own masters in everything. Notice what he says. They’re to be submissive to their boss, they’re to be well-pleasing, not argumentative, not pilfering, but showing all good faith.
You see, discipleship is the progression of the gospel that teaches us how to live as a recipient of God’s grace. If we have been justified by faith through God’s grace, discipleship now is the means by which we connect the reality of our new life in Christ to the everyday, nitty-gritty, down on the pavement where the shoe leather hits the road type of everyday life and decisions. All of this happens through discipleship.
Grace That Trains
You see that in verses 11 through 15 of chapter 2: “For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people.”What does this grace that appeared that brought our salvation, what does it do? It trains us. It trains us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age.
In other words, in our context in Kitwe, discipleship—the application of the gospel to our everyday lives—teaches us how to reject the sinful and to enact and to live out in real time, morally and in decisions and in everything that we do, in a way that exalts and glorifies this One who has redeemed us.
This is the work that we are sending you to, brother, in Dar es Salaam.
The Key Principle
Here’s the principle: Revitalization happens when doctrine transforms daily living. A revitalized church is marked by older saints discipling younger ones, families formed by truth, and all Christians living self-controlled, godly lives. That is how discipleship works in our congregation and in the congregation at Oasis Baptist Church.
Principle Three: Revitalization Must Develop a Culture of Healthy Relationships
And that brings us to the final point. Revitalization, number three: Revitalization must develop a culture of healthy relationships. And you see that in chapter 3.
So if you notice, we’ve looked at chapter 1, chapter 2—here’s chapter 3. Revitalization must develop a culture of healthy relationships.
Scripture Reading: Titus 3:1-11
Look at chapter 3, verse 1:
“Remind them to be submissive to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work, to speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all people. For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another. But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. The saying is trustworthy, and I want you to insist on these things, so that those who have believed in God may be careful to devote themselves to good works. These things are excellent and profitable for people. But avoid foolish controversies, genealogies, dissensions, and quarrels about the law, for they are unprofitable and worthless. As for a person who stirs up division, after warning him once and then twice, have nothing more to do with him, knowing that such a person is warped and sinful; he is self-condemned.”
Submit to God-Ordained Authority
So revitalization must develop a culture of healthy relationships. Number one, you must teach them to submit to God-ordained authority.
Begins in verse 1 by submitting to government authority. Obey the laws. Pay your taxes. Live a quiet and peaceful life within the context that God has placed you.
Number two, we are to submit to family authority structure. Husbands in Ephesians were told to love their wives, and wives are to submit to their husbands, and children are to obey. And all of this is done for the sake of Jesus Christ and following His example.
In verse 9 here in chapter 3, there’s the exhortation to submit to our boss or our employer. To the degree that that employer is within the confines of biblical truth, then we are to submit ourselves and to obey joyfully and willingly. We are not to pilfer, as the text says. We are not to create confusion in the workplace. We are to submit to God-ordained authority.
And Hebrews 13:17 reminds us that we are to submit to our shepherds: “Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you.”
Serve Christ by Serving One Another
Revitalization must develop a culture of healthy relationships. Teach them to submit to God-ordained authority. And number two, teach them to serve Christ by serving one another. And you see that in chapter 3, verses 8-15.
Verse 2, he says, be patient. Don’t be argumentative.
Again, in chapter 3 verse 2, he exhorts that we are to be gentle towards one another.
Again, in chapter 2, we are to be courteous towards everyone.
Chapter 3, verse 3, we are to be loving towards others, not filled with malice, envy, and hatred.
In verse 8, and again in verse 14, we are to be devoted to good works.
And verses 10 and 11, be protective of the flock by not tolerating a divisive person.
It’s quite interesting. Paul says a divisive person within the congregation—rebuke them once, rebuke them twice, and then have nothing else to do with them.
Application and Conclusion
So you might say to me, “Pastor Phil, what’s the point here?”
As we send you, Pastor Gideon, and your family to Dar es Salaam, and as you begin your work with the brethren there, I want to remind you that Paul exhorts Titus and reminds us that church revitalization is not optional. It’s essential to the Great Commission. When churches die or drift, the gospel witness dims and disciples are no longer being made. God’s pattern for advancing His kingdom has always been through healthy, reproducing churches. And this is our prayer. This is what we work for and pray for in Dar es Salaam.
Today, we commission Gideon Mpeni, one of our own elders, and Chiletso, and their children, Jerry and Josie, to a work of revitalization at Oasis Baptist Church in Dar es Salaam. This is not a secondary calling. It’s not a lesser task than church planting. Revitalization of a dying church is frontline gospel work that requires the same courage, the same wisdom, and the same dependence on God as does pioneering a new work in an uncharted place.
Gideon is going to Dar es Salaam to put in order what remains. Just as Titus did. He is going to establish godly leadership that embodies the gospel. He is going to build a culture of discipleship where sound doctrine transforms daily living. And he is going to cultivate healthy relationships marked by submission, service, and sacrificial love for one another. Those are the marks of a healthy church.
This work will be hard. There will be opposition from false teachers. There will be resistance from cultural compromise and the weariness that comes from laboring in difficult soil. But this is the very work to which God has called him and the very work that we as Kitwe Church are called to support through our financial giving to missions and through our undying, unfailing prayer.
How We Respond
So, how do we respond to this this morning? Well, church family, one way we express our love to Pastor Gideon is by praying faithfully and giving generously. Pray faithfully and give generously.
Gideon, as you arrive in Dar, preach the gospel. Make disciples and appoint leaders in the church.
And for all of us, let’s pray. Let’s be faithful to pray. Let’s pray for:
- Full financial support—that the budget that we have created together and has been approved for this work, that this financial support will be forthcoming. Let’s pray for that.
- The coming move and transition—I believe Wednesday our brother will drive to Malawi for a brief visit over Christmas with his family there and then at the end of December on into Dar es Salaam. Let’s pray for this coming move and transition.
- God’s church there to grow strong and increase in number—pray for conversions of the lost and that those lost would be brought in and baptized and become new members of this church and that this church might grow numerically from 17 to 70 to 700 as God would see fit.
Pastor Gideon, we send you with our love and we send you with our greetings to the saints who have faithfully held on for these years at Oasis Baptist Church.
Benediction
Perhaps the best way to conclude this to you, our brother and sister, is with the words of the Apostle Paul in chapter 3, verse 15:
“All who are with me send greetings to you. Greet those who love us in the faith. Grace be with you all.”
And all God’s people say, Amen.
This is such a wonderful letter that Paul wrote to Titus. And while we have sought this morning to take a 30,000-foot view of this letter and its content, we pray that the three principles we have seen might remain with us: that revitalization must develop a culture of healthy relationships, must focus on establishing a culture of discipleship, and must begin by preparing and appointing godly leadership. May all of these things be true and become reality there in Dar es Salaam.
Closing Prayer
And Father, may those truths and those realities, may those three functions, as it were, be true of us. We pray that You would protect us at Kitwe Church, that You would empower us at Kitwe Church. We pray that You would continue to raise up leaders through our church. Father, we are sending an elder and we ask that You would replace that elder from among us. We pray for hearts willing to serve Jesus by serving others. Eyes on Jesus, hands towards others. May that be what Kitwe Church is known for.
I pray, Lord, that we would be disciplers of one another, encouragers of one another, investing in one another’s lives. The older men with the younger, the older ladies with the younger, all with each other, exhorting, building up in the faith, coming alongside to encourage and help and hold a trembling hand. We pray, Lord, that we might have deep, sweet, Christ-centered, gospel-focused relationships within our church. Protect us from these vices that Paul was warning Titus of—anger and evil speaking and divisiveness and all of these things that flow from our flesh and are fueled by satanic influence even sometimes to create disruption and disunity.
Lord, thank You for the unity at Kitwe Church. Lord, preserve it for us, that these principles might continue to be true of our congregation. And Lord, we are not where we want to be. May each of us grow and may our church grow in each of these areas. We thank You. Thank You for Your Word. Thank You for the opportunity to be part of Your mission. And we pray Your blessing upon our brother and his family as we send them to this good work. We pray in Jesus’ name, amen.