What a Pastor Should Do

What a Pastor Should Do

Titus 1:9 – 11
9 holding fast the faithful word as he has been taught, that he may be able, by sound doctrine, both to exhort and convict those who contradict.
10 For there are many insubordinate, both idle talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision,
11 whose mouths must be stopped, who subvert whole households, teaching things which they ought not, for the sake of dishonest gain.


   Paul is instructing Titus, his son in the faith, in what he needs to do when he gets to Crete and meets with the churches there.  Paul founded the churches when he traveled there on one of his missionary trips, and now he wants Titus to oversee the appointment of qualified leaders over these congregations.
   He lays out general qualifications in verses 6 through 8, and then in verse 9 he gives Titus a qualification he must have felt strongly about to separate it and emphasize it.  He says to be sure the new pastor is faithful to hold fast to the Word he has been taught.  To do this, Titus must first be sure the new pastor has been taught.  There weren’t any seminaries or Bible schools yet, but Paul had left many Christians in his wake who he had had time to train himself before moving on.  Titus would need to examine the men to be sure they had received instruction in the Word and were mature enough to be able to faithfully teach the Word to others.
   Being faithful to the Word also meant that they were not to bring personal opinions to the new congregations but were to teach the Gospel as Paul taught it: Christ and Him crucified and resurrected.  When I was a new Christian, a mature man in the church “took me under his wing” to help me.  He taught the Word but then unfortunately added his personal views on what we had studied.  He was one who tried to “explain” miraculous things in the scriptures by saying that these things could have happened by – and here he would mention earthquakes, floods, coincidences, etc.  In no time at all he had me questioning everything trying to see how it could have happened by some natural means.  This placed a seed of doubt in my heart which grew up and strangled my spiritual life.  It took me a couple of years before the Holy Spirit convicted me of my doubts and I asked forgiveness and began to believe God’s Word at face value.  Had this man been faithful to share the Word with me it would have saved me years of doubts and unbelief.
   Titus was also instructed to appoint leaders who would use the Word properly.  They needed to not only be trained in the Word but had to be trained to both to exhort and convict those who would come into the congregation and spread false teachings.  Martin Luther once said, “A preacher must be both soldier and shepherd. He must nourish, defend, and teach; he must have teeth in his mouth and be able to bite and fight."  Sounds a bit extreme, but we are in a spiritual fight and we need to go into battle prepared to defend our faith.
   When a good pastor, a Godly pastor confronts someone who is contradicting the Gospel, they have a strong, reliable weapon at their disposal: sound doctrine.  When confronting untruths, the best thing to use is truth.  Not bluster or demands to respect proper authority, but the plain truth.  A pastor who does not have a basis in sound doctrine shouldn't be placed in that position.  Leaders need to stand on the foundation of the word and have the Word in their hearts before they should try to lead others into a knowledge of the truth.
   Today, as in the days of Paul and Titus, there are "problem people" among God's people who spread false doctrine and undermine the Word in our churches.  Some don’t do this for evil reasons, they do it from ignorance or because they have a strong opinion about some idea that is not a truth of the Gospel.  But a bad idea spread among a congregation is harmful whether or not it is done with evil intent.  Some do this for personal gain, either money or fame or notoriety.  Some do it “because we always did it that way.”  Whatever the reason, a false idea is still a false idea.
   A Godly pastor must be able to know the truth and be willing to stand up and call a lie a lie.  Just because an idea is popular does not make it right.  A pastor needs to know the difference and steer his flock onto the narrow path.

Stephen Cram                            July 29, 2012                            Colossians 2:8

Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ.  Colossians 2:8

For The Good of the Fellowship

For The Good of the Fellowship

Titus 1:4&5
4 To Titus, a true son in our common faith:
Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ our Savior.
5 For this reason I left you in Crete, that you should set in order the things that are lacking, and appoint elders in every city as I commanded you—

   In the Epistle to Titus, Paul greets him warmly as “a true son in the faith.”  Paul always has a warm greeting for those are true believers.  He supports the need for a common faith, and not an isolated faith.  He founded churches and left the roots of leadership and leadership training everywhere he traveled.
   We don’t know a lot about Titus, he’s not mentioned in the Book of Acts at all, but in Galatians we know he traveled with Paul to Jerusalem.  Now Paul is calling on him to become a missionary and take on a huge task.
   For this reason I left you in Crete, that you should set in order the things that are lacking, and appoint elders in every city as I commanded you;
   Paul had had a successful evangelistic trip to Crete, an island of Greece; he wanted to have someone there to help the new churches establish themselves both in the faith and under proper leadership.  Paul did not want the new churches to have to stumble around trying to figure things out on their own; he knew they would grow faster and stronger with the right kind of leadership.  This problem was made worse by the nature of the Cretans themselves.  One of their own prophets called them “liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons” – verse 12.
   Titus’ first job was to find and train great pastors for the Christians of this island.  The church needs order and leadership.  Titus was commanded to set in order the churches, and to do it by appointing Godly leaders.  I’ve been in churches that were between pastors and when an experienced pastor helped out as Interim Pastor, we got along well.  But when the congregation chose to “just wing it” on their own, it has never gone well.  Even with the best of intentions, church boards are not adequate for the task.  (Boy, am I stepping on toes here.)  I believe it is simply that the Pastor, if he (or she) is a Godly Pastor, will have the support of the Holy Spirit in their work.  They will be dedicated to praying for their congregation in a way others won’t be.  They will have the call of God in their lives and He will lead them to make decisions and to preach the right words when they are needed.
   Note:  I use the word “Pastors” but the Book of Titus calls them “Bishops” and others have used the “Shepherds.”  For our purposes here I’ll use Pastors to mean any of these.
   Also note that Paul uses the word “Elders” a lot in his writings, but if you read the Books of Timothy you’ll note that Timothy was not elder in an age sense.  Paul is referring to an Elder as someone who is mature in the faith, but not necessarily an elder in age.  In some people, age and wisdom do not always go together.
   Paul tells Titus to appoint the new leaders.  They were not to be put in positions of authority by popular vote nor be self-promotion.  Titus was to pray and seek the guidance of the Holy Spirit and make the best choices for the churches.  It was Titus’ job to look for men of the kind of character Paul described in the following passage of his letter to Titus.
   Time to drag out my soapbox.  Now I’ll climb up and get standing on it.  There!  All set.
   I’ve been part of, if I remember rightly, 2 churches/ fellowships where we didn’t make use of an Interim Pastor while looking for a new pastor.  I’ve also been in at least 4 studies / prayer groups where the pastor was not asked to be involved.  The group just decided to meet on our own.  None of these attempts were successful in any way you chose to measure.  Indeed, one prayer group actually led to the two leaders beginning a feud and one went off to join a leaderless church and failed again, the other stopped going to church for over a year before finding another to attend.   One of the churches looking for a pastor voted down the three men sent to us by the District leadership before electing a man by popular vote who proved to be unprepared for being a pastor and finally quit after two years of frustration.  I confess to aiding this situation and deeply regret my actions.
   Off the soapbox and putting it away now.
   If you are not part of a church or fellowship and do not have a church family to associate with you are in a dangerous place.  You need the strength and support of others and should find a church and settle in as soon as possible.  Good, Godly leaders are necessary to the health of a church and the growth of the saints in the church.  Listening to your Pastor and seeking his advice is always a good idea.  Cultivating a good relationship with your pastor and others in your church will be a good investment on your part.


Stephen Cram                               July 22, 2012                     Colossians 2:8

Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ.  Colossians 2:8

A Tough Message to Stomach

A Tough Message to Stomach

1 Corinthians 1:18 NKJV

For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

   I have discovered, on several occasions, that the message of the Gospel is very offensive to the human nature of an unsaved person.  To better understand why this is, we should first understand what the true gospel is.

   I like the simple description of the Gospel given by Paul in 1 Corinthians 15: 1-4.

3 For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 

4 and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures,

   What is there in that statement that causes so much anger and hatred from the world towards us? 

   First, this Gospel offends the pride of a prideful person.  It tells us we need a savior, and that we cannot save ourselves.   It gives no credit to us at all for our salvation.  All the work was done by Christ and He receives all the credit. 

Second, the gospel offends our wisdom.  It saves us by something many consider foolishness.  God becoming man and being born poor in an animal stable and growing up to die a humiliating, painful death on our behalf.  

Third, the gospel offends our knowledge.  It tells us to believe something which goes against scientific knowledge and personal experience.  We have to believe that a dead man rose back to life and walked out of a sealed tomb in a glorious new body that would never die again and because of that WE can have a glorious new body and never die again.  If you look at it like that, it is a strange story.  As Paul wrote, the Gospel is foolishness to those who are perishing.

   Paul did not make up this gospel.  He received it from Jesus Christ directly.  And as he describes the Gospel in these verses, it’s important to remember that he’s not relating a story or a homily.  At the core of the gospel are things that happened, actual, real, events.  The gospel isn't a matter of religious opinions; it is a matter of record, having been witnessed by many people who recorded what they saw.

   They record that Christ died.  His death is the very center of the Gospel message.  I have encountered a few people whose main objection seems to be that we are glorifying the death of an innocent man.  Yet the fact He was innocent was the very reason His death is so important.  This is a point that is so hard for people to understand.  But He had to be the perfect sacrifice, so He had to be innocent. 

   They also record that He was buried.  Seems like a small point in the story, but the burial of Jesus is important for many reasons.  It is proof positive that He really died, because you don't bury someone unless they are really dead.  Jesus' burial is also important because it fulfilled the Scriptures which declared, And they made His grave with the wicked; but with the rich at His death.  Isaiah 53:9.  Jesus was buried and He was placed in the tomb of a wealthy man. 

   Then they record the part of the story we really like – He arose.  If He had not risen and walked out of that tomb, the Gospel would be just another story of a charismatic leader beginning a cult and then dying.  People would go to His grave and have their picture taken in front of a sign proclaiming, “The last resting place of Jesus,” then life would go on.  But His resurrection is not just an “add on” to the story, it becomes the final proof of the Gospel.  If we look at the cross as the payment for our sins, then the empty tomb is our receipt for the debt paid.  Lots of religious leaders have died for their causes, but only One has come back from the grave.     

   They also record that He rose again the third day.  The fact that Jesus rose again the third day is part of the gospel.   Jesus did not just die randomly and then God decided on the spot to resurrect Him.  This was all planned in advance and carried out to God’s timetable.  He preached that He would be in the grave three days, and He was in the grave three days. 

   Paul writes that all this was according to the Scriptures.  Paul repeats this twice in these verses.  This all happened just as it was planned and nothing happened by accident.  The Old Testament has many references to the events of the Gospel.  His death is describes in Psalm 22 and Isaiah 53.  His resurrection in Hosea 6:2, Jonah 1:17, Psalm 16:10.  And we know that their understanding of these things was vague and incomplete, but the writers in the Old Testament were faithful to write about Him even though they did not fully understand what was to happen.

   Lastly, remember that there were witnesses to all this. 

1 Corinthians 15

5 and that He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve. 

6 After that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain to the present, but some have fallen asleep. 

7 After that He was seen by James, then by all the apostles. 

8 Then last of all He was seen by me also, as by one born out of due time.

No one saw the actual resurrection of Jesus, no one was present in the tomb with Him when His body transformed into a resurrection body.  Though no one saw the actual resurrection of Jesus, many people saw the resurrected Jesus.  

Stephen Cram                            June 15, 2012               Colossians 2:8

Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ.  Colossians 2:8 

Who I Am

Who I Am

Galatians 2:20
I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

   There was a story going around some years ago about a man who went to confessional and began to tell his priest all about his many sins.  He listed the sins and then went into excruciating details.  The priest finally stopped him and said, “My son, I do believe you have gone past confessing and went on to bragging.”
   At a church I went to some years ago the pastor would often ask for testimonies.  I would cringe when he did because we had a few Saints who would also go past testifying and go on to bragging.  It seems they were more proud of the sinful lives they had lived than the Christian life they now living.  They were the ones you hoped you didn’t sit near during After Glows, Pot Lucks and Picnics.  Drinking, drugs, fooling around, mistreating spouses and kids, cheating on taxes and business associates, oh my!
   Then there were those who had failed at something in life, and usually failed big.  They would confess about how badly they had screwed up their lives.  And no one had ever done as badly in life as they had.
   I’ve made some major-league mistakes in life, too.  One of my failings is to keep going over past mistakes in my mind and play the game of “What I Should Have Done.”  Why do we choose to spend so much time in the past, which is over and done and cannot be altered, and fail to spend our energy living in the present, where we live in the middle of endless possibilities?
   Is it that we feel so bad about our lives that we dwell on past failings to make us feel better about our lives today?  Are we so unsatisfied with our lives that we’d rather live in past failures?  Why are we so caught up in who we were that we don’t appreciate who we’ve become?  I wish I had an answer because so many people need an answer.
   These people seem to live under a type of “victim mentality” and spend a lot of time either blaming someone else for their failures or blaming themselves.  They often begin a sentence with something like, "If only . . ." and "My life would be so much better today if. . ."  Living like that just sucks the joy out of your life.  You can always find bad decisions in your past and places where a different action on your part would change the outcome of some past event and make it a better memory.  But the past is closed to you, you cannot change it.  You can only learn from it.
   One of the most liberating things I have ever learned was that I can let go of my past.  When I got saved and let Jesus into my heart, a "great exchange" occurred.  I took my past failures and mistakes and bad judgment calls and placed them at the foot of the cross.  Then Jesus gave me a new life – His life.  Christ came to live in me.  So my life isn't my own anymore, it belongs to Jesus.  I am now just "managing" the new life Jesus gave me.
   And I’ll admit, I’ve tried to go back from time to time and visit those old bad memories.  But the Holy Spirit has been faithful in reminding me that those are gone and aren’t really there anymore.  He has taught me to look at what my new life is and to look at the world around me through new eyes.  I am who I am and I survive life by God’s love and God’s grace.  By letting go of the past I can embrace this love and this grace with both arms.  I can experience life without the pain of old wounds and I have forgiven those who caused me to stumble.  Living without bitterness is so freeing!
   Do you need to take this step today?  Don't put it off. The past is gone, the future without God is uncertain, but today is here and loaded with possibilities!  Pray today and give your past to God.  Let Him have it and walk away, and let today open up for you.


Stephen Cram                                  July 8, 2012                             Colossians 2:8

Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ.  Colossians 2:8

The Challenge of a Different Gospel

The Challenge of a Different Gospel

Galatians 1: 6-9

6 I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel,

7 which is not another; but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ. 

8 But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed. 

9 As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed.

   Paul begins his letter to the Galatian Christians by establishing his authority as coming from God alone and not from men or from any church organization.  He is saying, in essence, “here’s my credentials..”  But he quickly gets into the reason for his letter. 

   He tells them he is aware that they turned away from the true Gospel he preached to them and to a different gospel.  “I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel.”  And he says what amazed him was that it happened so quickly. 

   This is the part of the letter where Paul traditionally gives thanks for the saints he is writing to or tells them how well they are doing.  But in the letter to the Galatians, there is no thanks and no kind words.   Instead, Paul tells them they have turned away from Christ and from His Grace and turning to a false idea.

   First he says the false ideas they are following is not really a different gospel, but a distortion of the Gospel.  He writes that those who have come into the Galatian churches and promoted these false ideas came with smooth manners and gain their confidence.  They gave the people the idea that Paul had his truth and they had their truth.  Paul had his Gospel and they had their gospel

   The word Gospel means “good news,” so any gospel that is not of Christ can’t be really a gospel because it cannot contain the “good news” that Christ died for your sins and you now have a way to obtain grace and eternal life.  Their message isn’t “good news,” it’s “bad news” and is not the truth.  I repeat myself here, but there is only one Door and one Way and that is through the Blood of Jesus.

   The King James Version translates this passage: “unto another gospel: Which is not another.”  There are two Greek words used here that make a distinction between different and another.  Different has the idea of “another of a different kind.”  If I have a ham and cheese sandwich and ask for “another” sandwich, I could be asking for another ham and cheese or I could be asking for another of a different kind, such as a peanut butter and jam.  Depending on how I word my request, you can tell if I want another of the same kind or another of a different kind.  This passage is saying that Paul is making the distinction that this different gospel is not different but alike, it is different all together.   He is saying that these false teachers brought a completely different gospel.  Their claim was it is just an alternative gospel of the same kind, but Paul’s warning was that it isn’t the same kind, it was a false gospel.  Any supposed “good news” that is not of Christ is definitely not good news. 

   False teachers are everywhere and they have been at this for centuries now.  And they don’t show up at the door of your church wearing a sign that reads, “False Teacher – warning!”  False gospels don’t just happen; people bring them, and the people who bring them may be sincere, and have charisma, and they may even believe what they are teaching.  They may just be deceived themselves.  But their sincerity does not make them any less dangerous. 

   Most of these “other gospels” are actually a distortion or a perversion of the true gospel of Christ.  The devil doesn’t make up a new god, he uses names and ideas familiar to Christians, but slightly twists the ideas, and this makes the message more deceptive.  Se we need to take Paul’s warning to heart.  “But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed.”

   Paul is asking God for a double curse here, a curse on the false message and a curse on those who spread this false message.  Paul’s love is for souls that are in danger of hell, and he is protective of those he considers his children in the faith.

Stephen Cram                            July 1, 2012                       Colossians 2:8

Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ.  Colossians 2:8