Titus 1:9 “Holding fast the faithful word as he hath been taught, that he may be able by sound doctrine both to exhort and to convince the gainsayers.”
Download To exhort and to convince
There are numerous prescribed attributes for a Bishop in this passage.
Here we see he must hold firm to what he has been taught, showing both determination and knowledge.
Some mistakenly behave as though the latter (knowledge) is enough.
Bible college can furnish a man with facts, but it cannot endow him with courage to stand.
This can only come as a result of character development above and beyond textual understanding.
He should also be capable of using his education for both exhortation and Biblical defense. In this we more typically see an emphasis on the former.
Exhorting is a constant task in ministry, but one must also be ready to meet critical attack on the scripture.
A Biblically learned man, able to encourage believers in teaching is a fine person indeed, but a Bishop must also have some measure of toughness and sharp apologetic skills.
Let us praise God for pastors who have both and pray the next generation will also.
Titus 1:9 “Holding fast the faithful word as he hath been taught, that he may be able by sound doctrine both to exhort and to convince the gainsayers.”