One clear qualification of all elders, (bishops, pastors) is to be theologically trained. This qualification is stated succinctly in the list of qualifications that Paul gave to Titus. He said it is necessary for an elder (bishop, pastor) to be – “holding fast the faithful word as he has been taught, that he may be able, by sound doctrine, both to exhort and convince” those gainsayers who like to contradict (Titus 1:9).
This qualification points clearly to “holding fast” to sound doctrine, and to being able to positively “exhort and convince” those with wrong theology, or what should be called “unsound doctrine.” It would be helpful to look more closely at what Paul meant by the terms – “holding fast”, “sound doctrine”, and by “exhort” and “convince.” But before describing those ideas further, it cannot be overlooked that Paul said – “as he has been taught.”
This phrase is paralleled in Paul’s exhortations to Timothy – “And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men who shall be able to teach others also” (2Tim 2:2), and, “But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them” (2Tim 3:14). Timothy “learned” because Paul and others taught him. Timothy was to train others in the same teaching he had been trained in.
How structured or formal Timothy’s training might have been is not the issue. Maybe Timothy had personal sessions of instruction, or maybe he had formal sessions of training with others for two years in the rented “school of Tyrannus” (Acts 19:9). Probably, his training was a little bit of both. But what really matters is that Timothy became the biblical example of the importance of learning from those who have gone before as faithful ministers of God’s Word.
It can be argued that this exhortation to be theologically trained can also be seen in Paul’s use of the phrase – “able to teach”, which is translated from one original word that has a suffix that means more than just ability, when it used at the end of other words. The idea of being “doctrinal” fits well with the meaning of “able to teach”, implying this qualification includes training, ability, and doctrinal content requirements for bishops (1Tim 3:2) and for servants of the Lord (2Timothy 2:24).
But how does a believer discern what is “sound doctrine”? If pastors must hold fast to it, and if believers are to be able to recognize qualified pastors by it, sound doctrine must be objectively stated clearly enough in Scripture for any believer with normal education to read and understand. If it is not, the believer is at the mercy of any subjective interpretation that might be given by those whom that believer thinks are the most persuasive leaders, who also might say that they speak for God! Such thinking puts those leaders above the Scriptures, and it encourages people to follow theologians over Scripture. Paul clearly spoke against such choosing of human subjective authorities when he said – “And these things, brethren, I have in a figure transferred to myself and to Apollos for your sakes, that ye might learn in us not to think of men above that which is written, that no one of you be puffed up for one against the other” (1Cor 4:6).
“Sound doctrine” means, according to the definition offered in God’s Word, “the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which is according to godliness” (1 Tim. 6:3). And sound doctrine includes more than the teachings that produce “life,” (i.e., teachings related to the gospel). Sound doctrine also consists of teachings that produce soundness of mind and spirit (i.e., essential for spiritual health and growth).
“Sound” is an adjective translated in the NT from the adjective ὑγιής, (hugiēs), or found mainly in the form of an adjectival participle from the verb form, ὑγιαίνω, (hugiainō). In all, there are twenty-three verses of Scripture in which this adjective and verb are used in the NT, thirteen are located in the gospels and consistently mean only physical health. But nine of the uses are found in the pastoral epistles of Paul, and exclusively they are related to spiritual health as a result of correct teaching (1Tim 1:9-11, 6:3-5; 2Tim 1:13-14, 4:3; Titus 1:9-13, 2:1-8). The remaining passage is 3 John 1:2 where both spiritual health and physical health are wished for by John, using the one term.
This exclusive use of spiritual health by Paul in his Pastoral Epistles becomes highly significant, for the very reason that it identifies a category of doctrine necessary for spiritual health and Paul relates it to the qualification of pastoral leadership. It would be very helpful to look at each use of “sound” in each context to help recognize this significance. One can do this on their own using books produced for theological training, like concordances and theological lexicons.
But, better still would be formal instruction from those already well skilled in using those study tools, as well those very experienced in how to “exhort and convict those who contradict” such sound doctrine. Such formal instruction is received from those who can be questioned for clarification, whereas books are often just silent “instructors” who cause more questions than they answer. And sometimes what those silent instructors have written are accepted too quickly as authoritative voices for sound doctrine. What is needed is a personal instructor’s critique to help the one being trained theologically to test how biblically sound a book’s teaching might not be.
This blog post has provided some written “theological training”, which only introduced the Bible’s meaning of “sound doctrine.” It did not even cover the meaning of the terms – “holding fast”, “exhort” and “convict”. Maybe the reader will consider getting some quality personal theological training from Veritas Baptist College to understand better the sound doctrine tied to those other biblical terms! You could even get some personal further follow-up on the instruction found in this blog post!