Health Teachers

“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” (v9).

Do you remember you favorite teacher growing up? I’m not talking about that “Hot for Teacher” crush you had. Get your mind out of the gutter. Instead, who was that person who did so much more than stand in front of a blackboard (yeah, I said “blackboard; I am THAT old!) and made sure you learned your multiplication tables? Sure the Three Rs are important, but there are those teachers that taught us the big lessons in life that we still use today. Here in his letter to Titus, Paul tells his protege to address the teacher shortage on the island of Crete. Specifically, he’s looking for health teachers. No, not some gym coach to teach health class. There’s a huge need for instructors who teach in a healthy and complete way. They don’t leave anything out. Their instruction is strong and accurate. 

The first item on the apostle’s to-do list for Titus is to find spiritual leaders for the local churches on Crete. The Good News has turned the island on its head. There’s a boatload of new believers, but no leaders. Paul tells the Big T to scour the place for “elders” (Titus 1:4), spiritually mature men of integrity who demonstrate what it means to follow Jesus. He lets his go-to guy know the “must have” qualities for leadership. That list concludes with the ability to teach people what they’ve learned about Jesus. 

So just what’s their lesson plan? What’s in the curriculum? Elders in the local church must “be able to give instruction in sound doctrine” (v9). Oh boy, there’s the dreaded “D” word. “Doctrine.” Most of us roll our eyes when the subject comes up. I know I did. For a lot of us, doctrine equals boring. For Pete’s sake, I’m didn’t enroll in seminary. I just wanted to get to know Jesus better. But a closer look at the original language tells us to cool our jets. The Greek word Paul uses for “doctrine” is actually didaskalia. It literally means the act of teaching or the content being taught. 

Let’s be clear about something. This is NOT about filling your head with all sorts of weird trivia from Leviticus. We’re not asking you to memorize how many cubits are in a homer (is that even a thing?). I’m not saying there’s not good stuff to be learned from some of the more obscure books of the Bible. But the big lesson we learn from the God’s Word is that there is one Hero of the story. The entire message of Scripture is about Jesus. In a nutshell, this is what the Bible tells us. God handcrafted a perfect and spectacular universe. Not long after He created us, we completely jacked up the whole deal and rebelled against our Creator. God then personally came to our rescue in the form of a Rabbi/Carpenter named Jesus. He lived the perfect life that we failed to live. He died the death for our rebellion and sin that we should have died. He rose to an amazing new life that we don’t deserve. He did all of that to fix what we broke and restore our relationship with God. Jesus is THE Hero of THE Story. Now THAT’S the curriculum! That’s doctrine! If you and I trust in what He’s done for us, you don’t have to worry what’s going to be on the final. And God promises there will be no math.

The backbone of teaching in the local church is to be the elders. And their curriculum must be “sound” (v9). Here Paul drops the Greek verb hugiaino. It’s actually a medical term that means to be whole, healthy, and strong. We shouldn’t be shocked that Dr. Luke uses this term when he writes. When the religious police get all hot and bothered when Jesus parties with the wrong crowd, He lets them know, “Those who are well (Gr. hugiaino) have no need of a physician, but those who are sick” (Lk 5:31). After Jesus healed the Centurian’s employee from long distance, when folks got back home to check on him, “they found the servant well (Gr. hugiaino)” (Lk 7:10). And in His legendary parable of the Prodigal Son, Christ tells the crowd how the father is ecstatic because his boy is back in one piece, “safe and sound (Gr. hugiaino)” (Lk 15:27). Teaching about Jesus certainly needs to be correct and accurate. But also must be in top shape. A weak gospel won’t do us any good when the fecal matter hits the whirling device. When life falls apart, I don’t want weeny doctrine. I desperately need it to be BIG and POWERFUL! 

Elders must possess a strong and healthy message about Jesus because they’re getting ready for a fight. Not a physical one anyway. They’re training for the time they must “rebuke those who contradict it” (v9). Paul literally calls these contradictors “back talkers.” There’s always going to be folks to challenge who Jesus is and what He’s done. Our spiritual leaders should have the skills and heart to lovingly but firmly confront those who attempt to challenge Scripture. This was a very big deal to believers on the island of Crete. The second item on Titus’ list of assignments is to shut up and shut down a crew of false teachers that are corrupting the Gospel (Titus 1:10-11). And these spiritual con artists and hucksters are still up to their tricks today. Elders need to be ready to step into the scriptural cage and put submission hold on these trouble makers. And that takes a strong and healthy understanding of the Gospel.