The Danger of Distorting the Message of God’s Church

Introduction

Sometimes messages can get a little distorted, or mixed up. Have you ever played the telephone game where one person is told a message and they pass it on, and so on and so forth, until it finally arrives at the last person and they share the message again. Do you think that message ever gets distorted? Almost always! That’s a fun game, so there’s not really a lot of danger in distorting the message other than maybe a little bit of embarrassment.

Sometimes in school messages can get a little distorted as well. A teacher is explaining something and you’re writing it down to prepare for a test, and between listening and writing, sometimes we miss certain things and the message gets mixed up. In school, if you don’t completely understand the message, you might miss a question or two on an exam.

Sometimes in sports, the play call or the decision from the coach is distorted. A coach wants the team to run this play or the coach wants the baseball player to stop at 3rd base, but in the moment, the message is distorted and the player does something different… in sports, if you don’t completely understand the play, you might make a mistake and cost your team the game.

We might not think that these things are a big deal… You lose a competition, you miss out on a couple points, you lose a game. But there is grave danger in getting certain messages wrong. Consider the message of the Gospel this morning. The message that we have all sinned and stand separated from God, but out of His love and mercy, God sent His Son to take our sins upon Himself and die in our place on the cross and by repenting from our sins and placing our faith in Jesus, we can be made new! This Gospel message changes everything! But what happens if it gets twisted a little bit? What if instead of it being just Jesus, it’s Jesus Plus something else? Is that a big deal? What is the danger of getting the Gospel wrong? This morning in Titus 1:10-16, Paul is going to caution Titus and the church on the island of Crete that there are false teachers who are teaching things in opposition to the Gospel and that to get the Gospel wrong is to get everything else wrong

Titus 1:10–16 CSB

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. 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. 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.

The Bible calls these individuals rebellious people who claim to know God, but who deny God with their works. Eternity is too long to get the Gospel wrong. This morning let’s pray and ask God to help us examine our hearts and ensure that we not only have believed in the Gospel with our head, but that the Gospel message has also changed our heart.

Death by Divisiveness (10-11)

False teaching is a big deal. In fact, of the 27 books in the New Testament, all but one deals specifically with false teaching and the only one that doesn’t is Philemon - one of the shortest books in the New Testament. Why does the Bible talk so much and so seriously about false teaching? Because souls are at stake! This isn’t the telephone game where it doesn’t really matter if you mix up the message… this is the Gospel message that is the only message that provides us with eternal life and everlasting hope! So, why would people twist the Gospel? Why intentionally preach something false?

Do you know who the first false teacher was? The devil in the Garden. What was his methodology? How did he convince Adam and Eve that his false message was right? By twisting God’s the Word of God. Look at this with me in Genesis 3.

Genesis 3:1 CSB

1 Now the serpent was the most cunning of all the wild animals that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You can’t eat from any tree in the garden’?”

What did he do? He attacked God’s Words - and twisted them, just a little bit. Did God really say?

Genesis 3:2–5 CSB

2 The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit from the trees in the garden. 3 But about the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden, God said, ‘You must not eat it or touch it, or you will die.’ ” 4 “No! You will certainly not die,” the serpent said to the woman. 5 “In fact, God knows that when you eat it your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

What got Eve in trouble? She didn’t get God’s Word right - what did God actually say? You must not eat of it, God didn’t say anything about touching it. Does that really matter? One tiny difference often makes all the difference. Eve didn’t stand on God’s Word, Adam didn’t step in and get between Eve and the Serpent, and Satan twisted God’s Word to make it sound appealing. This is what false teachers do, they prey on those who have read the Bible, but often not those who know their Bible incredibly well. This is why it is so important to be people of the Word! This is why Paul in Acts 17 exhorts the Bereans because they always checked what he said with the Scriptures - this is always a good thing, church, to check the Scriptures and to stand on what the Bible says. Because it just takes one little deviation, one little twist, to completely distort the message.

This is what is happening on Crete. No, it was not literally the serpent, but it is exactly what the serpent started thousands of years before, distorting God’s message. In fact, Titus 1:10 tells us that there are many rebellious people doing this! Not just a few, certainly not one, but many of them. Why did we spend all of last Sunday on the qualifications of Pastors/Elders/Overseers? Because this all ties together. This church has leadership issues as there are people teaching false things and leading people astray, and the solution to this problem is to appoint Godly leaders. Men who not only preach and teach truth, but men who live out the truth. The solution to this problem of rebellion is Biblical authority. We sometimes wrestle with authority, don’t we? We love the idea of being in control and not having authority. Teenagers especially like this idea as they think that authority, wether it’s a parent or a teacher, isn’t necessary and that they know better! As we get older we feel the same way often times about authority. Yet, Biblical authority is there for our good. Biblical authority is for the good of the church and for the good of the leader. Because these churches didn’t have Biblical authority, we see that there are problems because of these rebellious teachers. Paul says that they are full of empty talk and deception. Not only this, but they are ruining entire households! False teaching causes serious problems, and this is why the church needs Biblical authority to deal with false teaching for the health of the body… and for the good of the leaders. This is why Paul says what he does about church structure because leadership matters. Say you have a system in place where there is only one pastor and there is a false teaching problem in the church that this pastor is called to oversee and shepherd. Hundreds of people and dozens of problems, but this takes precedence and can take much time to solve. Who has his back? Who helps hold him accountable in the process? He’s the only overseer and is on his own, Biblically speaking. This is why Paul plants churches and does so with a plurality of pastors. Not a plurality of ministers or staff members. But a plurality of pastors. Of men who meet these requirements in Titus 1:5-9 and 1 Timothy 3:1-7. This is a big deal, because if you don’t have this, you open yourself up to serious problems.

The teaching problem on Crete was from members of the Circumcision Party. In the early church you had people who were raised Jewish who became Christians, and you had people who were Gentile or we might say agnostic or atheistic, who became Christians. What some of the Jewish converts started telling the Gentile converts was that they needed to adopt some of the Jewish rules. These are the members of the Circumcision Party and Paul says this about them in Galatians 2:12

Galatians 2:12 CSB

12 For he regularly ate with the Gentiles before certain men came from James. However, when they came, he withdrew and separated himself, because he feared those from the circumcision party.

This is a divisive teaching - telling a new convert to Christianity that they not only had to believe in Jesus, but they also had to keep the Jewish laws. In other words, to be saved, faith in Jesus is not sufficient… you have to add Jewish laws and rules and keep them. For the men, this meant that to be a Christian, you had to be circumcised. That might sound crazy to us today, but this was a serious threat to these early Christians and there are similar ideas tossed around in our world. Think of some of them. I’ve heard some say that to be a Christian, you have to speak in tongues. It’s faith in Jesus + this action. Maybe you’ve heard things added to being a Christian, like you have to have faith in Jesus, and you have to do certain things like give money, help others, and if you do enough good things then you will be saved. It’s Jesus plus good works… it’s Jesus plus this or that. Friends, Jesus plus anything equals nothing! This is the message of false teachers, though, and it spreads like wildfire. It ruins households. It is like a cancer that doesn’t stop with one cell but moves from cell to cell infecting the body with something deadly. Man-centered messages might sound pleasing and make wonderful promises, but they distract from the finished work of Christ and this divisive message leads to death and destruction. For this reason, the instruction to the elders that Titus is to appoint to shepherd and oversee these churches is to silence them. Silence teachers who teach a false message. Silence teachers whose goal is to get money dishonestly.

Church, hear this: Damaged Doctrine Damages People. The Health and Wealth Gospel damages people. The Prosperity Gospel damages people. The signs and wonders Gospel damages people. This Americanized Gospel of work really hard and God will accept you just as you are, damages people. This divisive message of adding to Jesus and profiting from others didn’t die out 2000 years ago, it is still alive today. Do this, do that, try harder, do better. Can I give you some assurance today, friend? The message of the Gospel in one word is not DO, it is DONE. This doesn’t mean our actions don’t matter, a saved person will be a changed person… but the message of the Gospel is that Jesus does for you what you could never do for yourself. In a world that has always been focused on self-help and being a self-made person, we must realize that this type of division leads to death. We can’t do enough… but Jesus already did. Don’t be deceived by the music and sweet sounding message of false teachers, trust alone in the finished work of Jesus!

Answer to problem? Titus 1:9 - Confront with the Gospel

Depression by Deception (12-14)

Not only do we live in a divided world, we live in a world full of deception. Not that long ago I heard a story of an individual who received a phone call from an anonymous number and the person answered the phone and the person knew her name and said that he had some exciting news for her! He explained that someone had entered her into a drawing for an all expenses paid cruise and that she had won this drawing. This sounded a little too good to be true, so the woman asked who had entered her into the drawing and the man gave a name and, sure enough, that name was a friend of this woman. She continued to provide some information to the man on the phone, and then he asked for some financial information to be able to place a charge on her account so that he could send her the prize papers to sign. She quickly realized what was happening - this was a scam, and most things that sound too good to be true, are in fact, too good to be true. We live in a world where some people are simply deceptive. Sneaky. Manipulative. If you’ve been deceived by someone, you know that that can scar you for a little while. Once your trust is broken, it takes quite a while for it to be built back up. These false teachers that deceive people, lead them into depression.

Consider the false teaching that if you just have enough faith, God will heal you because, God wants you to be happy, healthy, and wealthy. This is a false teaching, it’s not Biblical, but many people believe it because many people teach it. Consider what happens in this system whenever a genuine believer gets sick, but they are taught this nonsense. What do they do? They ask their pastor for advice. The pastor says “You just need more faith.” Ok, how do I have more faith? “Believe that God can deliver you!” I do. “Claim healing in the name of Jesus.” Ok, I claim it. But what happens after the naming and claiming? What happens whenever sickness stays? What does your theology tell you about suffering? That false doctrine, the “It is always God’s will to heal” doctrine propagated by the Bill Johnson’s of the world, says that the problem when healing doesn’t come has to be you. It’s certainly not God. It’s certainly not the pastor. If it’s always God’s will to heal, and you don’t get healed, then the problem is you. Do you see how this leads to depression? Bad theology hurts people.

Look at what Paul says about these false teachers from the words of a Cretan philosopher hundreds of years before Paul, Epimenides. “Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.” 88.3’s motto is “Positive, Encouraging, and Uplifting” this message is none of the above, is it? This is quite the statement! The message paraphrase words it like this

Titus 1:12 MSG

12 One of their own prophets said it best: The Cretans are liars from the womb, barking dogs, lazy bellies.

Paul isn’t saying that everyone from Crete is this way, but these false teachers demonstrate these characteristics. They lie, they are controlled by their passions and don’t care where they get their money from, even if it’s from people who have next to nothing to give, and they have no self-control. The feast on the dime of others… now this sounds a lot like the prosperity gospel teachers of today, doesn’t it? What should the response be to such teaching? Verse 13 - rebuke them sharply!

Sometimes we get a little uncomfortable when it comes to rebuking others and we absolutely have to do this carefully and prayerfully. Think about what a doctor does whenever there is an infection that is causing serious issues for a person. The doctor doesn’t say, “You know, everything is fine.” He doesn’t say, “Things could be better, but I think it will take care of itself.” He isn’t passive or lax or hesitant, he cuts to the chase and attacks the problem head on and removes the diseased tissue… and this is what Paul says must be done in the local church too. Not everything that grows is healthy. Not everything that is popular is Biblical. There are some things that might be big and strong, but they need to be cut away because the health of the body is at stake. Paul wants pastors who rightly divide God’s Word and to stand on God’s Word lovingly. This means that whenever there is a situation where someone is teaching something that doesn’t line up with God’s Word, there should be a burden to lovingly point this person to the truth of Scripture.

So often people who are deceived don’t even realize that they are deceived. Imagine being taught from birth that 2 + 2 = 5. That’s all you’ve ever known. That throws off the rest of math that you try to do. You are deceived and this deception is going to cause problems as you grow up, but you don’t know that you’re deceived… because it’s all you’ve ever known. Maybe this is you today, you have been deceived by a message in the past and you try so hard to hold up this weight above your head… to these people, we have a wonderful message of hope: Lay it down and rest in Jesus. To those who teach a message of man-made works, Paul shares to rebuke them sharply… not to beat around the bush. But to do so in order for the person to become sound in the faith. The goal of confrontation in the body should be redemptive, not vindictive. It’s not about revenge, it’s about restoration. There are so many who turn people away from the truth with these myths and man-made commands, and Paul instructs the church, specifically pastors, to correct these false teachings. To rebuke them.

Answer to problem? Titus 1:9 - Encourage with the Gospel

Defiled by Denial (15-16)

Where is all of this headed? God gives His church elders, or we might say pastors, to help his church grow. Men who love Jesus and love their people and love the Word of God so much that they take seriously their God-given charge to defend the flock from those who would do them harm. We live in a fallen, broken, messed up world, friends. We see this with things all around the world. Things that we look at and they make us say, “That’s simply not how things should be!” We see fires, tornadoes, hurricanes, and storms causing destruction. We see children suffering with sicknesses. We see wolves who disguise themselves as sheep and seek to cause division, disaster, and despair. Jesus talks about this in Matthew 7:15

Matthew 7:15 CSB

15 “Be on your guard against false prophets who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravaging wolves.

Jude talks about these false teachers in his letter and says this

Jude 17–19 CSB

17 But you, dear friends, remember what was predicted by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ. 18 They told you, “In the end time there will be scoffers living according to their own ungodly desires.” 19 These people create divisions and are worldly, not having the Spirit.

These wolves create divisions. They live according to their evil desires. They seek to devour. Why? Because they themselves are defiled, or unclean. Verse 15 tells us that these false teachers have a mind and conscience that is defiled, unclean, or we might say depraved which means fallen. They reject the truth. They deny the truth. They might say the right words, they have the right claim, but they don’t produce fruit. We might call this kind of person a legalist… someone who knows the right things, who says the right words, but who doesn’t apply them or demonstrate them correctly.

Now, there are some things that are black and white, right and wrong. Pornography - always wrong. Drunkenness - always wrong. The legalist wants to turn everything black and white, and their definition of black and white. What is the true problem with areas of Christian liberty? The heart of the person. Pure or Defiled? Inner purity produces outer purity… the opposite is also true. Inner impurity produces outer impurity. Your root will produce fruit. Consider one of the greatest verses in Titus, Titus 3:5

Titus 3:5 CSB

5 he saved us—not by works of righteousness that we had done, but according to his mercy—through the washing of regeneration and renewal by the Holy Spirit.

This tells us that we are not saved through our works, but through His work. His mercy. His washing away of our sins through the cross of Christ. Denying the Gospel, salvation through the finished work of Christ, not through our works, denying this message, will defile ones heart and one’s entire life. As we realize the gift of the Gospel, that Jesus changes our heart and in changing our heart, our actions change too, we grow in godliness, which is what Titus is all about as Grace Generates Godliness! Think about this in your life, someone claims to know God but they are living a life that doesn’t align, their fruit doesn’t match up with God’s Word. And you are weighing what to do. Do I go along with this sinful practice? Do I go with the flow? I don’t want to be the weird one! What do I do? The legalist says, “I shouldn’t do this sinful thing” and stops there. What does the Gospel tell us? “I don’t need to do this because God is better than sin.” The heart of the matter is the matter of our heart! Do we believe in God’s Word that He has our best interests at heart? If I do then the reason that I don’t look at temptation and say I’m going to try my best to not do this because I know I shouldn’t is because I know that God has something better. Bonhoeffer once shared that being a Christian is less about cautiously avoiding sin and more about courageously and actively doing God’s will! These people, who claim to know God, through their actions actually deny God. Paul calls them detestable, disobedient, and unfit for any good work. This person is lost.

Romans 1:22 CSB

22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools

Twisting the Gospel to gain a platform, turn a profit, or attract followers might seem to be wise from an earthly standpoint, but it is foolish from an eternal one. One can have the right profession with their mouth, but profession without possession doesn’t equal salvation. Romans 10:9

Romans 10:9 CSB

9 If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

Many profess and Christ but are not possessed by Christ because though they confess Him, they don’t believe in Him. They don’t follow Him. Paul is addressing rebellious people in these churches, and there are two types of rebellious people… those who teach false things and distort the Gospel, and those who are in positions that they don’t qualify to be in. We know a lot about the first type of rebellious person because they’re all over social media saying things that are completely false. But the second type of rebellious person is more pervasive in our world. Claiming to be born again, but not actually being born again. Being in a position within the church that they don’t qualify to be in based on Titus 1 and 1 Timothy 3. What is the end for those who rebel against the Word of God and the God of the Word? Eternal separation from God - friends, what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and lose His soul? It’s not a worthwhile tradeoff! If you are here this morning and you have not yet placed your faith in Jesus, if you have not responded in faith to the Gospel message, hear this today: you must.

I’m not talking about an emotional decision based on excitement… Spurgeon once shared that

It very often happens that the converts that are born in excitement die when the excitement is over.

Charles Spurgeon

That’s not where it’s at! It can’t just be an emotional feeling. It can’t be about the thing that you think that Jesus will give to you if you come to Him in faith - that’s elevating the gift above the Giver which is idolatry. There are so many messages out there built on emotion that make grand promises, but they will never come through. They are like empty wells in the desert, they look promising, but they don’t offer life, only death. There is a fountain filled with blood drawn from Immanuel’s veins, and sinners plunge beneath that flood lose all their guilty stains. Jesus alone offers living water that never runs dry.

False teaching is a serious problem that we face today and that Christians have faced for thousands of years. How do you fix this problem in the church? Better yet, how do you fix leadership problems that everyone knows about in the church? Leadership problems create scars. What do you do with one of these things? Some say you just need a single stitch and you can call it good because you fixed the problem! In reality, you just fixed part of it and failed to address the big problem. Others might suggest a bandaid approach. Just cover it up, and hope that it doesn’t get injured again! In reality, you’re just patching it up and making today’s problem tomorrow’s problem as you fail to address it. What do churches do with leadership problems? Paul prescribes the solution in Titus 1 and throughout Acts. There is a Biblical way. There is a correct way to stitch the entire scar… A Plurality of Pastors in the local church who fit these character qualifications and desire to see the Gospel advance as it is faithfully proclaimed. This is the answer to the danger of distorting the Gospel. There will always be rogue leaders teaching false things… the solution is pastors to hold one another accountable and to shepherd the church and to preach the true Gospel that alone has the power to bring about life transformation! South Gate, this is God’s plan that is for His glory and our good.

What is the cure for divisiveness in the church? Gospel Confrontation

What is the cure for deception in the church? Gospel Encouragement

What is the cure for defilement in the church? God’s Grace… because Grace Generates Godliness

The stakes are high. God takes His Word seriously. Truth matters. Truth is important.

John 8:32 CSB

32 You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

Do you know the truth of the Gospel? There is freedom in Jesus. Freedom from the stain and pain of sin… and freedom from the weight of legalism. There is freedom for our church in following the clear path of Scripture. South Gate, let’s stand unashamedly on God’s truth today, tomorrow, and until Christ calls us home.

Answer to problem? Titus 1:1 - Grace Generates Godliness

How this passage could point to Christ: In this context, Christ is the embodiment of truth who fulfills the Gospel's promise. The need for godly leaders reflects Christ’s leadership and His call for the church to reflect His character.

Big Idea: To preserve the integrity of the church, we must uphold the Gospel through the appointment of godly leaders committed to sound doctrine.