Encouraging Others with Healthy Teaching
by Unverified Author
__________________________________
In an age when Christianity seems to be assaulted on every side by a post-Christian culture, the need is greater than ever for biblically sound leadership in the Body of Christ. We should therefore take careful note of what the Word of God says about those who would be leaders in perilous times. Fortunately, Titus 1:9 gives us a nutshell description of the responsibility of Christian leaders in such times. Whether we are called to lead, or looking for an authentic leader to follow responsibly, we can profit from knowing what God’s Word says about those who would lead God’s people through dark times.
In this study, we will see that the focus of Christian leadership should be on encouraging God’s people with sound or healthy teaching. We will see that having “right” doctrine should not actually be the focus of the true Christian servant/leader’s heart. Being “right” in one’s doctrine without being truly oriented toward the benefit of others can lead to spiritual abuse and toxic faith.
Titus 1:9 will tell us one thing to do (“hold fast’) so that we can do two other things (“encourage” and refute”). The reason we hold fast is so that we can encourage others with “healthy” teaching, or that which encourages health in body, mind and spirit. Helping people become spiritually, mentally and physically healthy is a more godly enterprise than just trying to be correct biblically for its own sake. The idea that “he who dies with the most right doctrine wins,” falls considerably short of the heart of God and should not be the objective of true Christian leadership.
It is an interesting fact to those of us who were taught that “doctrine” meant “right believing” or “right teaching” that the terms “right” and “doctrine” (or “teaching”) never occur together in the New Testament. What is coupled are the terms “healthy” (or “sound”) and “doctrine.” A commitment to being right, even about the Bible, is about self; promoting what is healthy or sound is about others. To be Christ-like servant/leaders requires us to be all about the welfare of others. We use our knowledge appropriately to serve others, and to wash their feet, not to elevate ourselves above them because we are “right” and they are “wrong.”
We will now look at the whole passage in Titus, noting verse 9 in its context.
Titus 1:6-11 (NIV)
(6) An elder must be blameless, the husband of but one wife, a man whose children believe and are not open to the charge of being wild and disobedient.
(7) 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.
(8) Rather he must be hospitable, one who loves what is good, who is self-controlled, upright, holy and disciplined.
(9) 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.
(10) For there are many rebellious people, mere talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision group.
(11) They must be silenced, because they are ruining whole households by teaching things they ought not to teach--and that for the sake of dishonest gain.
Verses 6-8 give us a general description of the qualifications of elders or “overseers.” These qualifications are in the category of character traits that must be in evidence for a Christian leader, in either perilous or peaceful times. A similar list of qualities can be found in 1 Timothy 3:1-7. Then verse 9 gives a charge that is particularly relevant to times marked by opposition and rebellion, which is described in verses 10 and 11. Against this backdrop of serious challenges to the faith, verse 9 should speak loudly to us because of its relevance to our own times.
You Must Hold On…To What You Got…
Let us take a detailed look at the first half of verse 9: “He must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught…” “He” is of course the elder/overseer mentioned in verses 6 and 7. The word “overseer” in verse 7 is episkopos, meaning “superintendent,” or “supervisor.” He is one who would take responsibility for the spiritual well-being of people in the Church to some degree. The reason there are so many particular character traits mentioned for the Christian leader is because of the potential that he has to hurt God’s people. The word “must” indicates that these qualities are not optional. If any of them are lacking, the Enemy will work in that weak area to discredit the leader and hurt the people that trust him or her.
The next words of verse 9 are: “he must hold firmly…” We all know what it means to hold something firmly. Picture a woman holding onto her baby for dear life while bouncing around in a small boat in a hurricane. Or, the way a running back holds onto the football when he runs into a menacing linebacker on the goal line in the last two minutes of the Super Bowl. Or, the way a child holds onto a toy that some other child is trying to take away from her.
Why does the leader need to “hold firmly to the trustworthy message?” Because there are many thieves, wolves and howling winds of competing teaching. Is this not the picture painted in Scripture?
John 10:10
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
Acts 20:28-29
(28) Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood.
(29) I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock.
Ephesians 4:14
Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming.
Have things changed enough since the first century that we can let our guard down? Actually, the winds are blowing more strongly than ever. Instead of just dealing with two major doctrinal errors, the pseudo spirituality of Gnosticism and the works-righteousness of the Judaizers, we are dealing with many additional myths and errors. The first century apostles and disciples had never heard of a “Trinity,” “evolution,” or the idea that God was in absolute control of everything, just to name a few things. And the idea that resurrection was irrelevant because the dead are already alive was not promoted as universally as it is today.
The trustworthy message is the word of God, when correctly handled. The Word is always faithful but when it is mishandled, people suffer. Note that the trustworthy message is to be held firmly as it has been taught. What was taught was also known as “the apostle’s doctrine.” This was the body of teaching that came from the Lord Jesus Christ. It includes the writings of the apostle Paul, who said about his own teaching that “I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ” (Gal. 1:11,12).
The testimony of history is that the first century Church did not hold fast the trustworthy message as it had been taught. Instead, what happened was exactly what was predicted by Paul at the end of his life:
2 Timothy 4:1-4
(1) In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge:
(2) Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage--with great patience and careful instruction.
(3) For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.
(4) They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.
Defenders of orthodox Christianity are hard pressed to cite a single example of a myth that was embraced by the Christian Church in its history. In fact, mainstream Christianity is united in the belief that “the historic faith” has included belief in the Trinity, “heaven” as the destiny of the faithful, “hell” as a place of eternal torment for sinners, the dead being alive, etc., etc. Not only did early Church leaders not prove faithful to Paul’s imperative for them to “hold firmly,” but their error has been compounded by modern Christian apologists who are “holding firmly” to myths that were substituted for “the apostle’s doctrine.” This may not make us popular to point this out, but holding fast to the trustworthy message requires that we identify the “untrustworthy messages” that were added to it. We can also take comfort in the fact that history is still being made, and many other myths held as truth in human history were eventually found out and replaced.
For instance, Luther and the other reformers identified a few myths taught by the Roman Church, like the myth of indulgences, transubstantiation, and the assumption of Mary. Many Enlightenment scientists demolished myths that had been completely accepted as facts, like the earth-centered universe, the flat earth, and the spontaneous generation of life. Enlightenment political reformers demolished the myth of “the divine right of kings.” It could be said that all advancement of civilization has necessitated the debunking of some myth that held the minds of the people in captivity.
Encourage With “Healthful” Teaching
The second half of Titus 1:9 gives the twofold purpose of Christian leadership: to encourage with “sound doctrine” and refute those who oppose it. It is very significant that we are exhorted “to encourage” and not just “to correct error.” If our focus were directed to the problem of error, we would tend to become fixated on correcting errors instead of encouraging people with the good stuff. Plus, we would become obsessed with just being right instead of being right in relation to what is good for the other person.
The error that people believe is like a thorn in their foot or a tear in a muscle. It hurts them and hinders them from walking as effectively as they might. Our desire should be to encourage them by introducing them to a healthier diet. Showing people a better way that will give people some practical benefit is the heart of leadership. Notice that this verse is instructing us to lead out with a heart to encourage before identifying and correcting errors. Identifying and correcting problems is a part of what we are to do, but leading out with this intention usually just causes resistance. We may win arguments but we don’t win people.
It might help us to know the meaning of the English word “encourage”: “To foster the development of, to give support to, to raise the spirits of, to make firmer in a particular conviction or habit, to impart courage, inspiration, and resolution to.” Every one of these facets of the definition of “encourage” come into play when we exercise true Christian servant/leadership. And we are able to encourage others in all these aspects when we have healthy teaching.
As mentioned, sound teaching is literally “healthy” teaching. It is the word hugiays, meaning sound, whole, healthy. It is translated good health(1), healed(1), normal(1), restored(1), sound(1), well(7). We all understand what it is to have a healthy body: we are energetic, productive, able to do what we need to do. There are six main characteristics or effects of physical health:
Strength and vitality
Lack of pain
Proper functioning of the body according to design
Fulfilling and appropriate relationships with others
Good immune system; able to endure stress
Good balance
Healthful teaching leads to a healthy spiritual heart, and Proverbs 17:22 says “A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.” A “crushed” heart is one that needs “encouragement.” Healthful teaching also promotes mental health, which is one of the least understood and appreciated aspects of the field of health. Mental illness is not as obvious as physical illness, but is characterized by deviations from the above general indicators of health:
Weakness and apathy
Emotional pain
Improper brain function; fixation, obsession, addictions, reactive, fearfulness
Rigid; unable to endure stress; unadaptable to new situations
Imbalanced; tends toward extremes in beliefs, emotions, attitudes and actions.
Strained or broken relationships; inability to have or sustain appropriate relationships with others
The U.S. Surgeon General’s Report on Mental Health (1999) defined “mental health” as “a state of successful performance of mental function, resulting in: productive activities, fulfilling relationships with other people, the ability to adapt to change and to cope with adversity.” This definition is based on the consensus of mental health practitioners.
It is almost axiomatic that unhealthful teaching of the Word of God feeds and even causes mental illness, or “bad fruit,” in biblical terms. This would explain why there are so many professing Christians in mental hospitals. They have digested so many lies, myths and toxic teachings that weaken them to the point that the stresses and demands of life cause them to disconnect from reality. “Insanity” is characterized by a disconnection from reality and a withdrawal into one’s own mind and experience. A person is recognized as being on the road to recovery when he begins to take an interest in people and things outside of himself. To the extent that we are self-absorbed we are quite literally and technically “insane” to some extent.
It is our belief that mental imbalance is created in Christians in no small measure by the contradictory notions they are asked to swallow. Only God knows how psychologically destructive those things are. Think of the following errors not in terms of their “wrongness,” but in terms of the mental and physical anguish that they cause, sometimes unconsciously. These errors are so entrenched by religious belief and devotion to God that in many cases they are beyond questioning by the person who believes them.
The following teachings, though not universal in mainstream Christendom, are common enough that it is fair to say that most Christians experience at some level the mental bondage they create. The fruit of these contradictory ideas is anguish of mind, not the peace of mind that should result from healthful teaching that breeds genuine faith and love in and for God.
They are taught to believe that Jesus is “God in the flesh” and then told that they are supposed to live like Jesus did. Sometimes they are taught that their salvation even depends upon modeling their behavior after Christ. But how are they going to live like God did when he was a human? This is impossible. The Holy Spirit is supposed to be a helper in this process but “He” is a person who comes and goes and will leave your body if you sin. He will turn from you like He turned from Jesus on the cross when he became sin. He will leave you if you sin because you are His temple and He won’t live in a defiled house.
Healthful Teaching Promotes Balance
As we have continued to learn to “correctly handle the word of truth” (2 Tim. 2:15), we have also noticed that healthy teaching is almost always balanced between erroneous extremes. It should be clear that imbalanced teaching produces mental imbalance in those who believe it.
Healthy teaching on faith is balanced between the extreme idea that faith is a force in its own right and the other extreme idea that God is in control of everything. Healthy faith is trust in God and His promises, and this is evidenced by obedient action. It acknowledges the reciprocal relationship between God and the believer. Healthy faith enables us to face reality with courage and grounded optimism, not deny reality and become weird.
Healthy teaching on our hope for the future is balanced between the extreme notion that Christ is coming immediately (maybe next Tuesday) and that he is never coming, has already come, or is waiting until we get his work done for him before he comes. The former breeds wacky behavior that discredits God’s Word, while the latter burdens the believer with a compromised hope. Healthy teaching on the Lord’s appearing combines the possibility of his imminent coming with a deep motivation to do the work of the Lord until he comes because of the rewards we will be given at that time.
Healthy teaching on authority is balanced between the extremes of authoritarianism and radical egalitarianism. The former supports a system that demands absolute obedience, while the latter sees every person as totally equal to every other in responsibility and authority. A balanced view acknowledges that God has given authority to husbands, parents, employers and leaders in the Church, but that this authority is relative and limited. It produces responsible exercise of authority in those who have it, and responsible submission in those who are under it. And all human authority is relative to the Lordship of Christ.
Healthy teaching is balanced teaching, and balanced teaching produces mentally balanced believers. Mentally balanced believers manifest the good fruit of healthy thinking and healthy attitudes, and are able to invest their energies in productive activities, have fulfilling relationships with other people (both Christians and non-Christians), and demonstrate the ability to adapt to change and to cope with adversity.
Refuting Those Who Teach Error
When we look at the last phrase of Titus 1:9, we are faced with a challenge that many of us are unprepared to accept: “and refute those who teach it [error].” We should now be able to understand why this is important, having seen the relationship between healthy teaching and healthy hearts. If we truly love people we should care about them enough to protect them from the ravages of physical, mental, and spiritual illness caused by “sick” teachings.
We should also notice that this refutation is directed to the person who is promoting error and not to the error itself. This really offends the sensibilities of post-modern Christians, who believe that doctrinal differences should never interfere with relationships between believers. It is apparent that Paul practiced what he preached in identifying by name a number of his contemporaries who were teaching error (e.g. Hymenaeus and Alexander-- 1 Tim. 1:20).
Not all doctrinal differences are created equal, and we would be wise not to be equally offended at any teaching that we deem “wrong.” We need to connect with the practical consequences of the erroneous teaching and how it is hurting or limiting the person influenced by it. We need to ask, “Is the error affecting their physical, mental and spiritual health in some way?” Some teachings have more effect on a person’s mental and physical health than other teachings. A teaching on the others crucified with Christ is not going to mess with your mind nearly as much as one on faith that leads you to think you can make your life like paradise on earth if you only have enough faith. Such an idea is eventually going to have disastrous consequences and leave a person shipwrecked.
Refutation of error requires courage, knowledge, and love. It requires courage because it is always easier to let someone else do it, or tell yourself that it isn’t such a big deal. It takes knowledge because those who promote error usually believe that they are right also. You have to be prepared to point out the errors in their thinking. It takes love because love “always protects” (1 Cor 13:7), and God’s people need to be protected from the wolves who scatter the sheep and lay burdens on them.
Whether we like it or not, we are in a war in which words are the chief weapons used by both sides. These words carry the power of life or death and either impart truth, life and love or spread lies and death. Ephesians 6:16 refers to “the flaming arrows of the evil one.” To “extinguish” them we must have faith grounded in the health-giving words of God’s Word.
Conclusions
Thus, to be a true Christian leader is to hold firmly to “the apostle’s doctrine,” encourage others with healthful teaching, and refute those who promote unhealthful teaching. The fruit of healthy teaching is like the fruit of mental health: productive activities, fulfilling relationships with other people, and the ability to adapt to change and to cope with adversity. We are either promoting health or sickness, life or death by the words we speak.
Thus, in these perilous times that we live in, we should be looking for Christian leaders who a) are holding fast to the trustworthy message (aka “the apostle’s doctrine”), b) are focused on encouraging people with healthy teaching, and c) are engaging those who are promoting error, refuting their arguments and false doctrines that bring God’s people into bondage and various forms of illness.