Titus 1:10-16
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
Missions in Illinois- join us this week in prayer for the different ministries all across Illinois that are supported in this.
Main Point: We must Hold to God’s Truth, not to what the world says.
Main Point: We must Hold to God’s Truth, not to what the world says.
Body
Body
As we start today in verse 10, I think it’s important to remember what has just come before this passage.
Remember, Titus contains 5 sets of instructions for HOW TO PUT THE CHURCHES ON CRETE IN ORDER!
Titus 1:5-9 contains instructions on eldership and it ends with Titus 1:9
9 holding to the faithful message as taught, so that he will be able both to encourage with sound teaching and to refute those who contradict it.
So verse 9 talks specifically about the importance of teaching and preaching for an elder.
In Titus 1:10 we continue on with that. Read this with me- Titus 1:10-11
10 For there are many rebellious people, full of empty talk and deception, especially those from the circumcision party. 11 It is necessary to silence them; they are ruining entire households by teaching what they shouldn’t in order to get money dishonestly.
Verse 10 builds directly off of verse 9- Verse 10 tells us that TEACHING AND PREACHING MATTERS SO MUCH IN PART BECAUSE THE CRETAN CHURCH IS FULL OF REBELLIOUS PEOPLE!
Many people in the cretan church walk in sin. They are rebellious against God!
They live out their rebellion through empty talk and deception, or we could simplify it as FALSE TEACHING!
Paul is showing a contrast here in verses 9 and 10 between what it looks like to live righteously and what it looks like to live in rebellion!
See, last week Paul gives us 17 qualifications, 16 that were unique. All of them were built around the idea of being RIGHTEOUS AND WALKING IN RIGHTEOUSNESS!
But here in verse 10, Paul begins to talk about the rebellion of the Cretans, or literally how the Cretans are DISOBEDIENT AND OUT OF CONTROL!
Paul says that the Cretans are rebellious people who are full of two things- Empty talk and deception.
In other words, they cannot be trusted! They talk a lot about meaningless things and they deceive people by DRAGGING THEM FROM THE TRUTH OF THE GOSPEL!
See, the Cretan Church would rather talk about silly disagreements, or genealogies, or obscure interpretations than what actually matters- the GOSPEL!
And we face that same temptation to become more transfixed on meaningless things, or empty things, then on MEANINGFUL THINGS!
Paul then singles out one group in particular- the circumcision party.
So who or what is the circumcision party?
The Circumcision party is sometimes called the Judaizers and it is not unique to Crete. In fact, Galatians deals heavily with the circumcision party.
Let me take us just for a second to Galatians 3:1-6 which is the MOST CLEAR summary of what is going on inside a church battling these Judaizers.
1 You foolish Galatians! Who has cast a spell on you, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified? 2 I only want to learn this from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law or by believing what you heard? 3 Are you so foolish? After beginning by the Spirit, are you now finishing by the flesh? 4 Did you experience so much for nothing—if in fact it was for nothing? 5 So then, does God give you the Spirit and work miracles among you by your doing the works of the law? Or is it by believing what you heard—6 just like Abraham who believed God, and it was credited to him for righteousness?
See, the Judaizers teach that Faith alone can’t save someone. Instead, the Judaizers say that you have to also be circumcised AND live by the OT law to be saved!
Notice how Paul talks about these Judaizers- They are FULL OF EMPTY TALK AND DECEPTION!
They are an issue on Crete. They are not the only issue- but they are the MOST PROMINENT GROUP!
But Paul doesn’t JUST say that they are wrong. He also tells Titus what to do with these false teachers.
11 It is necessary to silence them; they are ruining entire households by teaching what they shouldn’t in order to get money dishonestly.
SILENCE THEM TITUS!
Paul doesn’t say, “Put it to a vote” or “have a few meetings” or “let it go to preserve peace.”
Instead, this divisive false teaching needs to be stopped by SILENCING THEM IMMEDIATELY!
It cannot continue.
Titus is to ensure that truth and ONLY TRUTH IS TAUGHT!
Paul also shares that these Judaizers are feasting on households- RUINING THEM!
This word for ruining is used twice by Paul- both times in the Pastoral Epistles- once in Titus 1:11 and once in 2 Timothy 2:18, which also addresses false teachers.
These households are being RIPPED APART! They are being destroyed by these false teachers because people don’t know what is true anymore!
Now, people are struggling to understand if they are actually saved or if they are MISSING THE MARK!
Titus is told that these teachers seek to profit financially and with power.
That isn’t the mark of a true leader of God’s people!
Instead, think about what we see in Titus 1:5-9!
God-Centered leaders are more concerned with the GOSPEL SPREADING than with their own reputation!
Gospel-Centered, God-Centered, BIBLICAL leaders, who are led by the Holy Spirit aren’t about their own reputation; they are about GOD’S KINGDOM!
Paul identifies that this is an issue- that these false teachers seek their own personal gain and he tells Titus to address it clearly- SILENCE IT!
Don’t entertain it, don’t permit it, SILENCE IT! Notice- Titus is given responsibility for this! It is his job and then the job of the elders to protect the flock from ALL FALSE TEACHERS!
Titus 1:12-14
Titus 1:12-14
12 One of their very own prophets said, “Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.” 13 This testimony is true. For this reason, rebuke them sharply, so that they may be sound in the faith 14 and may not pay attention to Jewish myths and the commands of people who reject the truth.
Paul continues in his point about handling division and false teachers by quoting from Epimenides (epi-men-eed-ees), who was a Greek Poet between the 7th-6th century BC. Paul also quotes Epimenides in Acts 17- he was a pretty famous Greek philosopher and poet.
Even after hundreds of years his words were remembered and were used to describe the Cretans because they were seen as accurate!
He says that the Cretans are LIARS, EVIL BEASTS, LAZY GLUTTONS!
Let me remind us- Paul has been to Crete and has spent time on the island, so he can affirm these words. He can honestly backup the fact that Cretans tend to be liars, evil beasts, and lazy gluttons.
Like we said in our intro to the series, Crete was known as a resort for Pirates and Robbers.
Let’s be clear- it’s a generality that Cretans are liars, evil beasts and lazy gluttons, but it seems to accurately describe the overall state of Crete.
Before we point the finger at the Cretans about their sin and say something like, “Wow, they are awful,” let’s be honest- we have sin too and our culture has sin issues also.
There’s many sins that our culture struggles with- Americans are busy, they are focused on image and on position, feeding into a large ego, they are hypersexualized as a culture, and let’s be honest, Americans in 2024 can’t agree on something like gender!
Americans have many things that we can be accused of. So I just want to challenge us that the Cretan’s struggle isn’t quite as foreign as it may seem at first.
This is a deeply applicable thing for us.
Paul doesn’t just call it out- he also says that it needs to be addressed.
Let’s look at that together- Paul states that the testimony of Epimenides is true and then he says that Titus needs to REBUKE THEM SHARPLY!
REUKE THE SIN OF THE CRETAN BROTHERS AND SISTERS TITUS!
Notice something- Titus isn’t to rebuke every random Cretan he meets- rather, he is to rebuke the CRETAN BELIEVERS WHO DO THIS!
When we see sin in our church we need to REBUKE IT SHARPLY!
(If Paul was to send a letter to the church in America this meme has really bothered me because— first off, it’s called the Bible, secondly, it wouldn’t be a laughing matter
and thirdly, it would DEFINITELY REBUKE SIN!
(This has almost become a joke like “what would the letter be like?” Well, I can promise you, it wouldn’t be what everyone wants it to be! I do think it would rebuke sin, but I think more specifically it would rebuke our LACK OF CALLING SIN OUT!
Paul also tells us WHY it is so important that we rebuke sin!
We rebuke sin so that people may be SOUND IN THE FAITH!
In other words, we call one another as Christians out on sin because we can sharpen one another.
That’s Proverbs 27:17
17 Iron sharpens iron,
and one person sharpens another.
Parents, you may have disciplined your child at some point. You didn’t do it because you hated them, you did it to correct a behavior that needed to be corrected.
Discipline is part of being a parent and rebuking sin is part of discipleship! Remember- discipleship is where we come alongside one another to help each other FOLLOW CHRIST and BECOME MORE LIKE JESUS!
We have to do it as individuals and we have to address sin head-on from the pulpit because we want to see one another walking SOUNDLY IN OUR SHARED FAITH!
So if we have an issue in our culture in rebuking sin, then what we really have is a DISCIPLESHIP ISSUE!
Paul also emphasizes how rebuking false teaching protects the truth!
Titus could have sat back and let the Judaizers do their thing. But that isn’t helpful!
Instead, he needed to call them out so that people understood that it was falsehood!
When people understood that it was false, then they could HOLD FAST TO THE TRUTH!
So hear me on this- if you see sin growing in the church, in your community group? Maybe you see laziness, or arrogance, or self-centeredness?
Then you need to call it out in love!
And let me just emphasize that for a second. Titus isn’t to call this out by screaming at people. Instead, he is to call people to live differently; to live according to scripture and his heart posture needs to be two things- humility and love.
Consider the qualifications for an elder who is to do this after Titus leaves!
Those qualifications required the men to rely on God!
They were to MIRROR JESUS!
And Jesus LOVED PEOPLE AND JESUS CAME AS A SERVANT, not as a king!
Our rebukes should also not be from a position of anger, but rather from a place of love!
We call out sin because we LOVE people and we want them to walk with God! Not because we are jealous, or angry, or we are upset!
Titus 1:15-16
Titus 1:15-16
15 To the pure, everything is pure, but to those who are defiled and unbelieving nothing is pure; in fact, both their mind and conscience are defiled. 16 They claim to know God, but they deny him by their works. They are detestable, disobedient, and unfit for any good work.
In verses 15 and 16 Paul gives us almost a summary statement of sorts.
He says this- to the pure, everything is pure.
Then he says that to the people who are defiled- to those who DON’T KNOW GOD- nothing is pure. I want to be clear- Paul is speaking in absolutes here and he means it- he uses the word Panta here for everything and nothing in verse 15 and then for “unfit for any good work” in verse 16. Remember- that word painted a clear picture in Greek- EVERYTHING, EVERY KIND OF, ALL OF IT!
Now, There’s a few ways to look at this saying- but I think that in true Pauline fashion he’s actually referencing back to something from the Old Testament- remember, Paul knew the OT well from his time as a Pharisee!
See, we are made pure by JESUS AND ONLY JESUS! We are living under the NEW COVENANT! We have been bought by the blood of CHRIST!
But these Judaizers are trying to force the Old Covenant into our salvation.
Let me explain the paradigm that Paul is working with because it may sound a little foreign to us- under the Old Covenant, if someone was defiled, if they were unclean, then ANYTHING THEY TOUCHED BECAME UNCLEAN!
The same is true about the people of God not following God!
Listen to what the Lord had Haggai speak in Haggai 2:13-14 (Hag-eye)
13 Then Haggai asked, “If someone defiled by contact with a corpse touches any of these, does it become defiled?”
The priests answered, “It becomes defiled.”
14 Then Haggai replied, “So is this people, and so is this nation before me—this is the Lord’s declaration. And so is every work of their hands; even what they offer there is defiled.
See, the people of Israel had turned from God and were walking in sin. We are actually going to have a short series this fall in Haggai, but for now, here’s what matters- the people of Israel were DEFILED BY SIN!
And under the Old Covenant, this meant that everything that they touched was defiled.
They couldn’t just make themselves better somehow!
The Judaizers are saying that Christians can’t be made pure by God, instead, they somehow need to MAKE THEMSELVES PURE!
The logic of this false teaching totally crumbles! It can’t happen! It’s impossible for someone to be both able and unable to save themselves!
Look at what Paul says about them- THEY CLAIM TO KNOW GOD, but they DENY HIM BY THEIR WORKS!
Their sin denies God! Despite what they claim, their very actions on a DAILY BASIS deny GOD!
Every day!
Paul says that these false teachers are detestable- unable to stand before God; disobedient- they disobey Jesus by not having their faith in Him for salvation and by leading others astray; and they are “unfit for any good work” or to use language from Titus 1:5-9, they are DISQUALIFIED!
They are DEFILED!
These false teachers need to be corrected.
And as Titus corrects these false teachers, he also needs to encourage those who are walking with Jesus, through discipleship!
That’s what we’ll see in Titus 2- How Titus should encourage believers through DISCIPLESHIP!
Application
Application
Each week we take time to apply the Word of God to our lives because the WORD OF GOD IS ALIVE AND IS MOVING!
Today, I have two applications for us.
We must Know God and Be Pure!
We must Know God and Be Pure!
First, we must know God and be pure!
There’s two parts to this really. first, we need to KNOW GOD!
So what does that mean? (GOSPEL! THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING THAT WE COULD EVER KNOW! AND TODAY YOU NEED TO PUT YOUR FAITH IN JESUS! PLEAD!!!)
But we aren’t called just to know God, we need to be pure. And that’s possible because when we put our faith in Jesus, we are actually made new- unlike what the Judaizers on Crete thought. See, we aren’t called to change our physical appearance or our diet to follow Christ, instead, our entire lives are transformed because we are a NEW CREATION!
17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, and see, the new has come!
Cornerstone Family, we are made new and we are called to live differently!
Paul tells us about this in 2 Corinthians 5:20
20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us. We plead on Christ’s behalf, “Be reconciled to God.”
Rather than living how we used to in sin, defiled, detestable, disobedient and unfit, we can live PURE LIVES!
Not because of anything we’ve done, but because of what JESUS CHRIST OUR LORD AND SAVIOR HAS DONE!
SO TO PUT IT SIMPLY, WE NEED TO BE PURE!
Practically, let me give a very simple reality here- You cannot “Be pure” on your own!
First it takes Jesus and- please hear me on this you- will NOT be able to walk in purity on your own!
God’s design was never for you to walk on your own. God’s design HAS ALWAYS BEEN for HIS PEOPLE to be in community and fellowship.
Whether it was Zerubbabel and Joshua the High Priest in Haggai, or a plurality of elders like we saw last week, or intentional discipleship like we’ll see next week. God has MADE US FOR COMMUNITY!
And in fact, that is actually the reason that Jesus established the Church!
The Church EXISTS to provide community for believers to walk together as we obey God and give God the PRAISE AND GLORY THAT GOD DESERVES!
So practically- we need to be engaged as a church body.
But we aren’t just to be engaged in this building; instead, we are called to be engaged as we work together reaching our community!
See, if we truly believe that verse 15 is true, and I do, then we need to take PURITY TO THE WORLD!
What that really means is that we need to take THE GOOD NEWS OF JESUS TO THE WORLD!
We have to TAKE THE GOSPEL TO THE PEOPLE AROUND US WHO DON’t KNOW JESUS!
So it all starts simple- you need to know Jesus! Get into the Bible daily, get engaged here at Cornerstone as we seek to follow God together. And then, we are called to BRING THAT HOPE TO THE WORLD! BRING THE HOPE OF JESUS- THE TRUTH OF THE GOSPEL WITH YOU EVERY SINGLE DAY! IN HOW YOU LIVE, IN HOW YOU SPEAK, IN EVERYTHING- BRING CHRIST TO THE PEOPLE AROUND YOU!
And we are called to do that together. Know God; and KNOW THAT CHRIST HAS CALLED YOU TO FOLLOW HIM!
We must Confront Sin
We must Confront Sin
In order to be pure, we have to walk in faith. But, we also have to be willing to walk together confronting sin in each other’s lives.
It’s not always comfortable, but it’s a necessity; because here’s the truth- our hearts are quick to run after sin! Our hearts are quick to desire sin!
What we see in Titus 1:10-16 is a really clear call to confront sin both from the pulpit and also on an individual basis.
My challenge to us is to really examine our hearts.
Would I confront sin? Why or why not?
What would hold me back?
If I did confront sin, would I do it from a loving place, or from a vengeful place?
Here’s what I can promise- our preaching will confront sin. Our discipleship will confront sin; our community groups need to confront sin.
Hear me on this- WE NEED THIS BECAUSE WE WANT TO KNOW GOD AND BE PURE!
We want to hold firm to the truth of the Gospel and we want to REFLECT THAT TO THE WORLD!
So let me end by asking you a question- who in your life do you trust to call out sin? Who in your life keeps you accountable?
If you don’t have someone, find someone that you trust- NOT YOUR SPOUSE!
Sometimes we think that is a sign of weakness, but it isn’t. Instead, throughout scripture we see so many examples of Godly leaders being corrected! If we want to grow in our faith, we have to be willing to be corrected!
Let me pray for us.
