Confronting Corruption: Truth in an Age of Deception

Titus 1:10-16

Theme:

Standing firm against false teaching by upholding the truth through the teaching of sound doctrine and Godly living.

Introduction

The book of Titus is one of the three pastoral epistles in the New Testament.

Written by Paul to Titus

Titus was a Gentile (Gal. 2:3) who was led to faith in Christ by Paul (Titus 1:4).

He was drawn to the ministry and became a co-worker alongside Paul.

Titus joined alongside Paul and Barnabas as they went about their missionary journeys, and we see here a prime example of true biblical discipleship being carried out and lived out.

Titus served the church in Corinth.

Some years later, Paul and Titus traveled to the island of Crete, where Titus would be left behind by Paul to continue and strengthen the work within the churches there.

Crete is a long, narrow mountainous island south of mainland Greece

READ THE SCRIPTURE

There’s a well known practice used by the U.S. Secret Service when training agents to detect counterfeit money. Instead of spending most of their time studying fake bill, trainees spend hours upon hours studying the real thing—the feel, the look, the weight, the ink, the tiny details of genuine currency. Why? Because when you know the real thing so well, the fake becomes instantly recognizable.

As Christians we have to be deeply familiar with the truth of God’s Word and what sound doctrine looks like.

In this passage, Paul warns Titus about those who are rebellious, full of meaningless talk, and deception within Crete and in the churches their.

The church here was one of the early churches and it did not take long for false teachers to arise.

Wherever God sows the Truth, Satan comes to sow lies.

Titus is facing an enemy that is a mixture of Jewish legalism, man-made traditions, and mysticism.

It was no accident that Paul entrusted Titus with this job in Crete.

MacArthur Bible Commentary says it this way, “The very fact that he was entrusted with such assignments indicates Paul’s great confidence in his doctrine, his spiritual maturity, his leadership, his dependability, and his genuine love for those he shepherded.”

I. The Reality of Rebellion (v. 10)

“For there are many rebellious people, full of meaningless talk and deception...”

The Prevalence of Rebellion

Paul is writing to Titus here and says, “there are MANY rebellious people...”

Sounds very similar to the world we live in today, doesn’t it?

Characteristics of the False Teachers

they are unruly or “rebellious” as Paul writes here.

those who are full of empty talk and deception

Empty talk meaning conversations that lack substance, truth, and spiritual edification.

They were vain talkers. What they said sounded good, but it had no substance.

In reality it was just a bunch of hot air.

This leads to the ungodliness and deception that Paul is referring to.

Audience Paul was Targeting

‘Circumcision Party’

Ain’t no party like a circumcision party. That is a party I don’t want to be invited too.

Story of the circumcision parties is Kenya

They are the Judaizers

Judaizers were the Jewish Christians who sought to induce Gentiles to observe Jewish religious customs

They were more concerned with “ritualistic” type of purity but were nevertheless defiled by their own unbelief and sin.

At this time the Cretans had adopted a culture of rebellion.

This culture of rebellion was fueled by the lies of the enemy, and now was filtering into the church.

II. The Necessity of Silence (v. 11)

“It is necessary to silence them; they are ruining entire households by teaching what they shouldn’t in order to get money dishonestly.”

The Damage Caused - What they did.

They told lies from house to house and upset the faith of the people there.

Whole families were being affected by the unhealthy doctrine.

All through the spread of Deception

Jesus taught in the Sermon on the Mount - “Let your yes mean yes, and your no mean no.”

Deception is easily picked up on when you live a life of truth.

However, when you listen to something long enough you start believing it.

It was Jewish legalism.

A “check the box” view toward Christianity.

I’m just saying… We aren’t just a long ways off from that today.

This causes damage.

There are churches all over America (not all are bad) that are preaching people straight to hell.

Why did they do it? Because of their love of money.

The love of money fueled their desires despite how dishonest it was.

There is a reason the Bible and Jesus warn us of money so many times.

It is because that money will lie to you. It will tell you, “get just a little more so you can buy you something nice then you will be happy” and we find out it doesn’t fully satisfy, then we do it all over again. We believe the lie of the enemy through the acquisition of money to buy us happiness.

You can’t serve two masters. You can have every dollar and not have Jesus and you have nothing. You can have Jesus but not have a single dollar and you have nothing.

These deceivers’ love for money caused them to teach false doctrine and live false lives, and the result was a defiled conscience that did not convict them.

That is a bad place to be when you will teach false doctrine to gain a few bucks despite the effect of destroying entire families being the aftermath of it.

People do this everyday. Say whatever they have to say to persuade people to believe something despite the effects.

That is what the Cretans did:

And they did not care about the effects of entire households being destroyed.

When the family is broken the enemy is winning. He has a good start for his desire of total corruption and destruction.

III. The Testimony of Truth (v. 12-13a)

“One of their very own prophets said, “Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.” This testimony is true...”

Harsh but Honest Assessment

Paul was not scared of stepping of peoples toes or hurting their feelings.

What he did care about was the condition of their hearts.

Culture of Corruption

Strategy does not defeat the present culture found in certain areas or churches.

If you want to defeat the current culture you have to create a new culture.

Culture will eat strategy for breakfast.

The culture of today would run you out of town with flaming torches and pitch forks for talking about them this way.

Culture today says if you do not agree with me then you hate me. If you do not accept my ideologies then you despise me.

Paul didn’t care about any of that. Paul recognized that he was to stand up boldy for Jesus Christ and to get the point across and sometimes it does sound harsh.

Call to Rebuke

You see there is a misconception amongst people of today that often read a passage of Scripture and only see the meaning of the Scripture for the people of that time.

There is a reason it is called the living Word of God, and that is because the application of the passage from then to now has not changed very much.

Paul was writing to Titus informing him of the call to rebuke the Cretans.

That is the application from this passage of Scripture today as well. We must rebuke the false teachers. We have been called to rebuke the false teachers.

IV. The Goal of Correction (v. 13b-14)

“For this reason, rebuke them sharply, so that they may be sound in the faith and may not pay attention to Jewish myth’s and the commands of people who reject the truth.”

Restoration Through Rebuke

The goal is not to poke your chest out and have that “hey look at me type of mindset”

Instead it must be approach with a humble heart geared toward restoration

We know, for Paul, throughout his preaching and teachings that rebuke is never the end. Instead it is the means to an end.

He wanted church members in Crete to be sound in the faith and to ignore those who reject the truth.

Notice here that Paul writes rebuke them sharply, gentleness would not correct such perverse offenders. Paul recognizes this.

The ultimate goal here is for the Cretans to focus on Realignment with God’s Word.

The only weapon to combat the lies of the enemy is the truth found in the Word of God.

John 8:32 “You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.””

V. The Test of Purity (v. 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.”

Heart Condition vs. Physical Action

Outwardly focused, while spiritually bankrupt.

Often we see this legalistic approach to righteousness when there is a sense of impurity within.

If the heart is defiled, so will the conscience, and if the conscience is defiled there will be no conviction of sin therefore actions will be defiled or impure as well.

Legalism Cannot Cleanse

Legalism can be viewed as a sense of unbelief. The maintaining of a bunch of things instead of living your life identifying with the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross.

ONLY THE BLOOD OF JESUS CHRIST CAN CLEANSE.

Praise God for the blood of Jesus.

That should make us all shout hallelujah. For the Son of Man came to cleanse us wretched sinners. Not the maintaining of the law.

In fact, in the sermon on the mount Jesus says, “I came to fulfill the law not to abolish it.”

Meaning that it is not about the outward action of keeping the law. It is about the inward conditions of the heart.

Unbelief Defiles Everything

The Gospel of Jesus Christ cleanses everything.

VI. Exposure of the False (v. 16)

“They claim to know God, but they deny him by their works. They are detestable, disobedient and unfit for any good work.”

Lip Service vs. Life Service

They talk the talk but don’t walk the walk.

They say one thing and do another.

They live outwardly focused while internally bankrupt.

False teaching is not just bad theology—it is spiritual poison.

Divine Diagnosis

Paul was not writing this to make these people mad. Paul was writing this as an apostle of Jesus Christ.

Paul delivered to Titus the message God had laid upon his heart.

A Call to Discernment

We must all live our lives aligned with Spirit’s guidance so that we are able to discern our thoughts, feelings, and actions.

If Paul went about this in a way of selfishness, instead of seeking guidance from the Lord first then who knows what this would have turned into.

This is not a call to run around telling everyone you disagree with that they are ugly, evil beasts, and gluttons who have circumcision parties.

This is a call to Spiritual discernment through a life lived in constant contact with Jesus.

None of us are equipped for this work if we are not standing firm in the faith, with a healthy daily diet of prayer, Bible reading, and drawing near to the Lord.

Conclusion

Only by conforming your thinking to God’s truth can you live a life that is pleasing to God.

Lips that claim to praise God mean nothing when they are combined with a lifestyle that denies him.

The Word of God is clear: there are many voices in the world—loud, persuasive, even religious—that claim to speak truth but are full of deception.

This passage of Scripture is not a gentle suggestion; it is a siren blast, warning the Church of America to wake up, to discern the truth, and to stand on a firm foundation built on the sound doctrine of God’s Word.

So I ask you today:

Are you clinging to the truth or flirting with deception?

Are you grounded in the Word, or swayed by the winds of culture?

Are you willing to ground yourselves through faithful discernment of Scripture or does compromise seem easier?

Jesus didn’t compromise. It was never about convenience for him.. It should not for us either.

Let us be a people who know the truth, speak the truth, and live the truth—without apology for what Scripture says and without fear for what man says.

A church that boldly proclaims the truth of Jesus Christ is a light that cannot be hidden.

Closing Prayer

Dear Heavenly Father,

We come before you this morning to say thank you. Thank You for the cleansing power of the blood of your son, Jesus. Thank you for the truth of your Word. God I pray for boldness to stand firm in sound doctrine, wisdom to discern what is false, and grace to speak with love and conviction. God purify the innermost depths of our hearts, strengthen your Church. Empower us God to be faithful witnesses, not ashamed of your name, in a world that so desperately needs you. For it is in your son Jesus Christ’s name that we pray.

Amen.