At the start of the book of Titus, Paul tells us precisely why he is writing: ‘for the faith of God’s elect and their knowledge of the truth that leads to godliness’. He writes to help the Cretans become more godly. Faith in Christ plus knowledge of the truth leads to godliness. So, Paul says in 1:5-16, Titus has been left in Crete in order to appoint elders in the church. Elders are needed, Paul says, if the church is to become godly.

So, what are these elders to be like? In vv6-8, they are fairly ordinary examples of what every Christian person is supposed to be. There is not a single criteria for eldership in vv6-8 that isn’t otherwise commanded of every believer. Almost all of them are not skills or abilities but character qualifications. The only skill or ability (which is not demanded of all believers) is the ability to teach (v9). The bar to eldership – despite what some might suppose – is really not that high. Elders are examples of ordinary godly blokes who can teach the Bible.

The ability to teach the Bible – given Paul’s view that knowledge of the truth when received in faith will lead to godliness – is going to be fairly important in the life of a church aiming to grow in godliness. But the character criteria, demanded of all believers, exist to help the church grow in godliness in the life of an elder. Indeed, that the bar to eldership is relatively low similarly functions to help the church grow in godliness. The question is, how does that work? I think the following way.

First, if all believers are expected to exhibit these character qualifications, elders exist as examples to be copied. These men are given to the church so that the church have a clear model of what godliness in the ordinary run of life looks like in practice. If the church members imitate their elders, they too will be godly. Elders function on an exemplary basis. The church is able to copy these men and it is expected that they are perfectly able to do so. Elders are specifically ordinary men so the church can emulate them.

Second, if the church recognises that the bar to eldership is not so high, and these men are there to to emulated, the fact that they’re just ordinary Christian blokes makes godliness more attainable than many seem to believe. As I said recently to my church: if you don’t think my godliness is any great shakes, and yet you can see I meet these criteria here, that should encourage every member that godliness is absolutely attainable. If even I can be affirmed as godly, how much more can you be affirmed as godly? I might be able to teach the Bible a bit, but if I’m godly according to these standards – and you don’t think I am especially unattainably godly (a view which has the benefit of being correct) – then it, by definition, means you can be godly too and it is not beyond your grasp.

Whilst there is a required teaching role – the one skill or ability in the list of qualifications – that elders must fulfil, for the most part they are examples, pretty rudimentary and basic examples at that, of godliness for the church. They exist as ordinary examples so the church can see what godliness looks like in practice. On that understanding alone, godliness is not the unattainably high bar many of us think it is! However, elders also exist to show the ordinary church member that, yes, they too can be godly. If even someone such as me can be weighed against the criteria and considered godly, there is no reason at all anybody else in the church couldn’t be considered godly. Indeed, it is likely there will be members of our church who, whilst maybe not having the ability to teach the Bible, far outstrip their elders in godliness. But for everyone else, if your elders can be called godly – and if they meet the criteria in Titus 1:6-8 then they are – you can surely be godly too.

You can grow in godliness; and you will when you have ordinary, normal, totally mimicable examples to follow. That’s what elders are. They are ordinary blokes you can imitate. Everything asked of elders in Titus 1:6-8 is asked of you by Jesus. If your elders can do it, you can do it. Jesus hasn’t asked you to do what is impossible or to meet a standard of godliness you can’t reach. How do I know? Because I am an elder!

If you don’t think your elders are super-godly men (and you’d be right), that should encourage you because the Bible says they are godly by this criteria. Which means, if they are godly, you can be godly too because godliness looks like this. The measure of godliness is not unattainable; it is the fairly ordinary, basic stuff that Paul lists in Titus 1:6-8.