The Unflinching Word: The Minister's Mandate Text: Titus 2:15
Introduction: The Lost Voice of Authority
We live in an age that is allergic to authority. Our generation has cultivated a deep suspicion of anyone who claims to speak with a definitive voice, particularly if that voice comes from a pulpit. The modern evangelical church, in a desperate and misguided attempt to be winsome, has largely capitulated to this sentiment. We have traded the authoritative thunder of the divine imperative for the gentle whisper of the therapeutic suggestion. Pastors have become life coaches, sermons have become pep talks, and the sharp sword of the Spirit has been traded in for a soft pillow.
The result is a church that is broad but shallow, a mile wide and an inch deep. It is a church full of people who have been affirmed, but not sanctified; comforted, but not confronted. We have produced a generation of Christians who believe that God's primary role is to validate their feelings and that the minister's job is to make them feel good about themselves. Any hint of reproof or authoritative command is met with accusations of being judgmental, harsh, or unloving. The prevailing spirit is one of perpetual adolescence, where no one is allowed to tell anyone else what to do.
Into this timid and neutered landscape, the Apostle Paul's charge to Titus lands with the force of a battering ram. This verse is the capstone of a chapter filled with glorious doctrine and intensely practical instruction. After laying out the magnificent reality of salvation by grace, which trains us to deny ungodliness, Paul does not tell Titus to gently suggest these things as helpful lifestyle tips. He gives him a threefold, iron-spined mandate that defines the very nature of faithful pastoral ministry. This is not a suggestion; it is a command. And it is a command that our soft-handed generation of churchmen needs to hear, and hear urgently.
This verse is a job description. It tells the minister what he is to do, how he is to do it, and what he is to expect. It is a call to courage, a summons to speak the truth without flinching, and a reminder that the authority of the pulpit comes not from the man in it, but from the God who sent him.
The Text
These things speak and exhort and reprove with all authority. Let no one disregard you.
(Titus 2:15 LSB)
The Minister's Threefold Task (v. 15a)
The first part of the verse lays out the three essential actions of a faithful preacher.
"These things speak and exhort and reprove..." (Titus 2:15)
First, he is to "speak." The word here is laleo, which means to declare, to proclaim. This is the foundational task. The minister is a herald. He is not a philosopher, inventing new ideas. He is not a poet, crafting beautiful sentiments. He is a messenger with a message that is not his own. What is he to speak? "These things." Which things? The glorious doctrines and practical duties that Paul has just laid out in the preceding verses. He is to speak of the grace of God that brings salvation, the command to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts, the call to live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present age, and the blessed hope of Christ's return. The preacher's first duty is to simply say what God has said. He must be a man of the Book, tethered to the text. His authority begins and ends with "Thus saith the Lord."
Second, he is to "exhort." The Greek is parakaleo. This word carries the idea of coming alongside to encourage, to urge, to implore. This is the pastoral application of the proclamation. It is not enough to simply state the truth as a set of abstract propositions. The minister must press that truth upon the hearts and lives of his people. He is to urge them toward holiness. He is to encourage the faint-hearted, strengthen the weak, and call everyone to run the race with endurance. This is the forward-looking aspect of preaching. It is the "therefore" that follows the doctrine. Because God's grace has appeared, therefore, live this way. This is not cheerleading; it is a robust, doctrinal encouragement. It is calling men up to their duty in Christ.
Third, he is to "reprove." The Greek is elegcho, a strong word that means to rebuke, to convict, to expose. This is the aspect of ministry that our generation most despises, and which is therefore most needed. The minister must not only encourage good behavior; he must confront and rebuke sin. He is to hold up the perfect law of God as a mirror, so that sin might be exposed for what it is. This is not a personal attack. It is not the venting of a pastor's frustrations. It is a judicial act, done in the name of God, for the good of the sinner and the purity of the church. A shepherd who will not use his rod to drive off wolves is no shepherd at all. A preacher who never reproves is a man who does not love his people enough to tell them the truth. He is a hireling who values his own popularity above the spiritual health of his flock.
The Manner of Ministry (v. 15b)
Paul then specifies the manner in which this speaking, exhorting, and reproving is to be done.
"...with all authority." (Titus 2:15)
This is the key that unlocks the whole verse. The minister's work is to be done "with all authority." The Greek is epitage, which signifies a command, an injunction, a charge from a superior. This is not the pastor's personal authority. He is not to be a petty tyrant or a domineering bully. The authority is delegated. It is the authority of King Jesus, whose ambassador he is. When the minister speaks from the Word of God, he is not offering his opinion. He is delivering a royal summons. He speaks for the King.
This is why the scribes and Pharisees were so astonished at Jesus' teaching. He taught as one having authority, and not as they did (Matthew 7:29). They quoted other rabbis. They offered learned opinions. Jesus spoke the Word of God directly. The faithful minister must do the same. His confidence is not in his own eloquence or intellect, but in the power of the Word he preaches. He does not say, "It seems to me..." or "I feel that..." He says, "The Word of God says..."
This "all authority" applies to all three tasks. He speaks with authority, declaring God's non-negotiable truth. He exhorts with authority, commanding his people to obey their Lord. And he reproves with authority, exercising the discipline of the Word against sin. To strip the pulpit of this authority is to render it powerless. It turns the lion of the Word into a domesticated house cat. It is a profound act of disobedience to the Head of the Church.
The Necessary Consequence (v. 15c)
The final clause is a direct command to Titus, and by extension to every faithful minister. It is the logical and necessary result of a ministry conducted with divine authority.
"Let no one disregard you." (Titus 2:15)
The word for "disregard" is periphroneo, which means to think around something, to despise, to look down upon. Paul is telling Titus that he must not allow his office or his message to be treated with contempt. This is not a matter of personal pride. Titus is not to be concerned with his own reputation for its own sake. Rather, he must be jealous for the honor of the One who sent him. To allow the congregation to disregard the preacher when he is faithfully preaching the Word is to allow them to disregard Christ Himself.
How does a minister do this? He does it first by ensuring his life and doctrine are aligned with Scripture. As Paul told Timothy, he must set an example in speech, conduct, love, faith, and purity (1 Timothy 4:12). A minister whose life is a mess has no platform from which to speak with authority. He will be disregarded, and rightly so. Hypocrisy is the fastest way to forfeit authority.
But second, he does it by refusing to back down when his authoritative preaching is challenged. When he reproves sin and the sinner objects, he must not apologize. When he exhorts the congregation to a difficult duty and they grumble, he must not soften the command. He must stand his ground, not out of stubbornness, but out of faithfulness to his commission. He must make it clear, by his gravity and his courage, that to disregard his message is to disregard the Word of God. This requires a spine of steel and a deep-seated fear of God that eclipses all fear of man.
Conclusion: Reclaiming the Authoritative Pulpit
This verse is a potent antidote to the weak and anemic state of the modern pulpit. It is a call to recover our nerve. We have been entrusted with the very oracles of God, a message of life and death, a declaration from the throne of Heaven. We have absolutely no business being timid about it.
The world is not looking for a church that offers helpful hints. It is dying for lack of a church that speaks with authority. People are drowning in the sea of relativism, and we are offering them a choice of swimming strokes. What they need is a life-raft, a solid rock, an authoritative Word from outside their own confused minds.
For the minister, this is your commission. Speak the whole counsel of God. Exhort your people to radical, joyful obedience. Reprove sin without fear or favor. Do it all with the authority of the risen Christ who stands behind you. And do not, for the sake of your people's souls and the glory of your King, allow anyone to treat that glorious message with contempt.
And for the congregation, this is your duty. When the Word of God is faithfully preached, receive it not as the word of men, but as what it actually is, the Word of God (1 Thessalonians 2:13). Submit to it. Obey it. Honor the man who brings it to you, not for his own sake, but for the sake of the message he carries. A church that honors the authority of the Word in the pulpit is a church that will be strong, healthy, and ready to take on the world. A church that despises it will wither and die. May God grant us a generation of preachers who will obey this text, and a generation of Christians who will receive it with joy.