The Integrity of the Messenger
Uncorruptness also demands clarity. Corruption can occur not only by subtraction or addition but by obfuscation. When the truth is presented with needless complexity, with evasive language, or with deliberate ambiguity, it ceases to nourish. The goal of teaching is not to impress with erudition but to impart with understanding. Paul told the Corinthians, "We use great plainness of speech." The steward is not called to be clever. He is called to be clear. He must work to ensure that the doctrine he stewards is not corrupted by his own pride or his desire to appear profound. The test of uncorrupted doctrine is not whether the scholar is impressed, but whether the simplest saint is fed.
The Integrity of the Messenger Yet Paul's charge to Titus moves beyond the message to the messenger.
"In all things shewing thyself a pattern of good works." The life of the steward is to be an exegesis of the doctrine. If the doctrine is about grace, the life must demonstrate graciousness. If the doctrine is about holiness, the life must display purity. If the doctrine is about the lordship of Christ, the life must show submission. The term "pattern" is typon, the impression left by a die on metal. The teacher's life is to be the impression that the seal of doctrine makes upon him. The congregation should be able to look at the
life and see the truth etched in behavior, in speech, in priorities, in relationships.
This is why Paul links doctrine with "gravity" and "sincerity." Gravity, semnotes, refers to a dignity and seriousness of purpose. It is not moroseness, but a weightiness that understands the eternal matters being handled. The steward of doctrine is not a performer; he is an ambassador.
He is not executing a skit; he is exercising a sacred office. Sincerity, aphtharsian in some manuscripts, again carries the idea of incorruption, of being unmixed and genuine. The teacher must not be an actor playing a role. What he is in private must not contradict what he professes in public.
The New Testament has no category for a professional Christian life that is disconnected from personal discipleship. The steward is not exempt from the doctrine he stewards. He stands under it first.
The reason is clear: hypocrisy corrupts the message. When David sinned with Bathsheba, Nathan's rebuke was severe: "By this deed thou hast given great occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme." The sin of the messenger becomes an apologetic for the enemies of the message. The world is watching to see if the gospel we preach has any power to change the people who preach it. A corrupted life preaches a corrupted sermon, regardless of the orthodoxy of the notes. It tells the hearers that this truth,