Posted on by Jeff Englund

Titus 1:6 (c) — Fruit & Tree

[An elder must be]… a man whose children believe …

Summary: The offspring of a marriage are like the fruit of a tree. Good fruit comes from a good tree. 

This passage is deceptively simple. It sounds like an easy test. If a man’s children believe in God, then another bar has been cleared in deciding if he qualifies as an elder. Yet, the more I think about it, the more danger I see in oversimplification. 

Is Paul talking about little children or adult children? Is he talking about any child a man might have fathered? The Greek does not draw any distinctions. Another word that would fit is“offspring.” 

So let’s go back and look at the picture Paul paints of this person who qualifies to be an elder. 

First, they are blameless. Not perfect, but someone whose life has avoided the pitfall of drawing accusations from others in the community. 

Second, they are faithful to their wife. We concluded that a man who is faithful to God will be faithful in their marriage. Thus, faithfulness in marriage is a good sign of faithfulness to God. 

Third, Paul points to the children of the marriage. The children of a marriage are sometimes called the “fruit” of the marriage. Interesting analogy, isn’t it? If the fruit of a tree is consistently bad, it tells us something about the tree it is. If the fruit is good, that is the sign of a good tree. 

Like the fruit on a tree, a child can be influenced by outside forces. Worms can cause rot. This is why I think this passage is deceptively simple. Jesus taught us to, “Stop judging by mere appearances, but instead judge correctly.” (John 7:24) We need to be cautious in all judgments about people. Yet judgments have to be made. And from this passage, we are pointed to a secondary indicator of a man’s character — his offspring. 

Application: Judge correctly and wisely in all things. Look not just at the tree, but also at the fruit. 

Food for Thought: How do you know if someone believes? 

12 Replies to “Titus 1:6 (c) — Fruit & Tree”

  1. I’d much rather had an elder and a father and offspring, who know how to fail, get up, be honest, make the necessary corrections and allow their character to be developed. It’s so harmful when perfection is demanded over honesty, especially when it comes to elders and parenting. As a father and having been in church leadership, this passage is also very encouraging, as it reminds me to train my children and especially sons in the way of blameless living, and teaching them the pitfalls that may cost them opportunities to serve God and the church in leadership capacity.

    1. Ben,

      Thank you for your thoughts today.

      I found this a difficult passage to write about. A couple of takeaways I see that mirror yours. Our God is a God of restoration and forgiveness. We need to teach that to our children and model it. The other takeaway is that behaviors are secondary to the heart. Behaviors can be cultural, the heart is where we see the light of God. We have to be discerning when we look at others to see if they believe.

  4. Thank you brother. I agree with JEC. The fruit speaks volumes. Their behavior and actions say something about what they believe. And similarly, what they profess is critical. Do they profess Jesus and do they live what they profess? The Scriptures JEC pointed to are excellent.

  5. How do you know if someone believes? 

    I once met a man visiting our church who talked the talk of a Believer, even carried a bible. He asked me if we could have coffee together soon for continued conversation. I explained I had a lot going on, but would get back with him. Something was just not right, I felt very uneasy, and I checked him out on a professional contact website I belong to. He was listed and I was very disturbed as I reviewed His profile which showed he was a member of several secular self improvement groups.. I contacted him, told him I would gladly have coffee with him at church, but would not meet with him outside. We had coffee at church a couple weeks later, he said he saw I’d read his profile, and asked me what gave him away! He wanted to be 50%-85% Christian and I explained how God requires either 100% or nothing. He chose to disregard what I told him, and I never saw him again.

    WE MUST BE SURE WE ARE BEING TAUGHT GODS WORD: As Gods people, we are called to prove all things. How does what we see and hear compare with what we know to be true in Gods word? Hold fast that which is good, and do not without question, believe every spirit. We are to test the spirits, distinguish good from evil. This can be done by engaging in a conversation if we are firmly grounded in Gods word and being lead by the Holy Spirit, or referring to Gods word for wisdom.
    1 Thessalonians 5:21, 1John 4:1, Hebrews 5:14.

    WE MUST RECOGNIZE OPPORTUNITIES TO MINISTER: Jesus tells us, by their fruit ( their deeds ) you will recognize them. Are grapes gathered from thorn-bushes, or figs from thistles? These are communicated over time but are far more accurate then words. We need to know our limits, boundaries and fully understand we can only see and hear what a person chooses to communicates while God sees the hearts of all.
    Matthew 9:4, 1 Samuel 16:7, Matthew 7:16.

    WE MUST LEARN TO SUBMIT TO GODS AUTHORITY: There is a critically important point here. WE ARE NOT TO JUDGE THE PERSON. We have no authority to judge others. This is Gods position and we need to stay out of His place or face judgement ourselves. God has given us discernment and we have plenty of work to do as we apply this gift to ourselves. The discerning sets his face toward wisdom, but the eyes of a fool are on the ends of the earth
    Matthew 7:1-2, Romans 14:10, Proverbs 17:24

    WE MUST BE PREPARED TO HELP NEW BELIEVERS: Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ, is born of God. Which means they take on the new divine nature, become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!
    1. They do not make a practice of sinning
    2. They overcome the world (as opposed to embracing it)
    3. They have love for fellow believers
    1 John 5:1, 2 Corinthians 5:17

    Mature believers can help new believers in their growth, lead nonbelievers into His Grace, or run from false teachings. Recognizing a nonbeliever is Gods way of showing each of us where to minister.

    1. Ron,

      There is a lot to ponder today in your comments. I appreciate how you sum it all up: Recognizing spiritual need is how we know where God’s light is needed.

  6. Thank you for all your comments. All very good. Ben, I love your honesty and absolutely agree that failure is not the measure of a believer. As you say here, if they fail but get up and follow Jesus and work toward holiness, that is spiritual fruit. Spiritual growth and character development after failure is a sign that God is at work.

  7. I find it interesting that a child who is generally walking with the Lord may not agree in certain respects with their parent(s). But if there is an orthodox belief and consistency in the fruit bearing on both parties part it would be best if grace is extended.
    Whether either serves in the position of an elder I would believe potential for this calling would be possible, should the Lord desire it.
    This is a fascinating qualification.
    Thanks for your work on this.

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