In this age of apostasy, what the church needs more than anything else is an army of faithful pastors who will hold high the Word of God against all error. In fact, Scripture makes it clear that this is one qualification of being an elder.

“[the overseer must be] holding fast the faithful word which is in accordance with the teaching, that he may be able both to exhort in sound doctrine and to refute those who contradict” (Titus 1:9).

To be a man of the Word requires that a spiritual overseer be committed to Truth with a capital T. Holding fast means “to be committed to, to be steadfast.” In other words, he must be loyal to the faithful Word; that which is reliable and trustworthy. At the very first, he must be committed to the doctrines of inerrancy, inspiration, and infallibility of the Scriptures or all other doctrines will fall. Martin Luther reminded us,

Doctrine is not ours but God’s...Therefore, we may not yield or change even one tittle of it...Accursed be that love which is preserved to the detriment of the doctrine of faith...For doctrine is our sole light which...shows us the way to heaven. If it becomes wobbly in one part, it must necessarily become wobbly altogether. When that happens, love cannot help us. (cited by Ernest Pickering, Tragedy of Compromise)

Paul explains the reason for this qualification, that he may be able [to do] both. The pastor-elder must be committed to sound doctrine so that he is equipped to perform two tasks.

· To exhort in sound doctrine

The word (parakalew) means “to come alongside, to urge, admonish, and encourage.” It is used in Romans 12:1, “I urge you.” The pastor-elder is to feed believers with sound or healthy doctrine. Paul instructed Timothy, In pointing out these things to the brethren, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, constantly nourished on the words of the faith and of the sound doctrine which you have been following (1 Tim 4:6). Sound doctrine produces healthy Christians which in turn build healthy churches. The spiritual health of a congregation is directly dependent on the regular teaching of sound doctrine and the urging of believers to obey.

Healthy growth, however, also requires rebuke when necessary. Before he died, Paul urged Timothy, I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction (2 Tim 4:1-2). There are times when pastors must reprove, rebuke, and exhort their sheep. With what? With the Word. Therefore, if a pastor never bothers to correct his people in his preaching, then he is an unfaithful shepherd. Of course, this is not to be done harshly, in anger, but “with great patience and instruction.”

· To refute those who contradict

To be faithful to God’s Word also requires that the pastor be able to defend the truth against error. He must be able to handle the Word in the face of those who contradict. This comes from a compound word (antilegw) meaning “to speak against.” There will always be those who speak against the truth; that oppose the truth. Apostates are not new! Satan has always sought to destroy God’s church from within. These wolves in sheep’s clothing are described as “rebellious, empty talkers, deceivers” (1:10). And these demon-empowered voices cannot be ignored. Instead, spiritual leaders must be able to refute them because their teachings “are upsetting whole families.” Luke said that Paul was so skilled in the Word that he refuted the Jews in public, demonstrating by the Scriptures that Jesus was the Christ (Acts 18:28).

Rather than being marketing experts, movie critics, world peace advocates, or polished CEO’s, God’s prescription for pastors is that they be first and foremost men of the Word, men of Truth, men who defend the reliability of the Scriptures. This is where change is most needed! If “judgment must first begin with the household of God” (1 Pet. 4:17), then repentance must begin with pastors. Once repentance takes hold in the pulpit, the power of God will again fall upon the church. Let us heed Spurgeon’s counsel: “Let us hold fast, tenaciously, doggedly, with a death grip, to the truth of the inspiration of God’s Word…Everything in the railway service depends on the accuracy of the signals: when these are wrong, life will be sacrificed. On the road to heaven we need unerring signals, or the catastrophe will be far more terrible.” (Cited by Iain Murray, Spurgeon vs. Hyper-Calvinism).