Confronting the Lies that Kill

Good evening- grab your Bibles and make your way back to Titus 1.

Let me start off this evening with a question? Do you see yourself as a spiritual watchman on the wall?

Do you see yourself as a spiritual watchman looking at the horizon like Aragon in that tower in the Lord of the Rings: the Return of the King, ready to see that the beacon of Gondor has been lite and that Gondor calls for aid? You don’t understand that reference and that is ok.

Or maybe as a “spiritual physician,” doing the spiritual equivalent of pulling out a scalpel before the doctrinal cancer spreads?

Or even as a “spiritual detective,” piecing together the clues like Sherlock Holmes when the game is afoot?

Because you should. Here’s the thing—the Bible never treats false teaching like a quirky side plot. It doesn’t wink at it like it’s just another lovable rogue in the story. No, it treats it like the villain in the final act. And if we just focus on the New Testament, we find Jesus, Paul, Peter, John, and Jude all on the same page—warning us, pleading with us, and telling us to guard the flock like their eternal health depends on it… because it does.

Jesus:

Matthew 7:15 (ESV) “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves.”

Mark 13:22–23 (ESV) “For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform signs and wonders, to lead astray, if possible, the elect. But be on guard; I have told you all things beforehand.”

Paul:

Acts 20:29–30 (ESV) “I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them.”

2 Corinthians 11:2–4 (ESV) “For I feel a divine jealousy for you, since I betrothed you to one husband, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ. But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ. For if someone comes and proclaims another Jesus than the one we proclaimed, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or if you accept a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it readily enough.”

1 Timothy 4:1–3 (ESV) “Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons, through the insincerity of liars whose consciences are seared, who forbid marriage and require abstinence from foods that God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth.”

2 Timothy 3:1–9 (ESV) “But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people. For among them are those who creep into households and capture weak women, burdened with sins and led astray by various passions, always learning and never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth. Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so these men also oppose the truth, men corrupted in mind and disqualified regarding the faith. But they will not get very far, for their folly will be plain to all, as was that of those two men.”

Peter:

2 Peter 2:1–3 (ESV) “But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction. And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed. And in their greed they will exploit you with false words. Their condemnation from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.”

John:

1 John 2:18–23 (ESV) “Children, it is the last hour, and as you have heard that antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists have come. Therefore we know that it is the last hour. They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us. But you have been anointed by the Holy One, and you all have knowledge. I write to you, not because you do not know the truth, but because you know it, and because no lie is of the truth. Who is the liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, he who denies the Father and the Son. No one who denies the Son has the Father. Whoever confesses the Son has the Father also.”

1 John 4:1–3 (ESV) “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already.”

2 John 7 (ESV) “For many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not confess the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh. Such a one is the deceiver and the antichrist.”

Jude:

Jude 3–4 (ESV) “Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints. For certain people have crept in unnoticed who long ago were designated for this condemnation, ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.”

Jude 17–19 (ESV) “But you must remember, beloved, the predictions of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ. They said to you, ‘In the last time there will be scoffers, following their own ungodly passions.’ It is these who cause divisions, worldly people, devoid of the Spirit.”

So we see over and over and over in throughout the New Testament that God is calling us to know His Word and to not fall to the false teachings of this world. He’s called us to comfort the hurting, and He’s also called us to confront the harmful. And right here in Titus 1:10–16, Paul leans heavy on that second one—rebuke and confrontation.

In the verses just before this (1:1–9), Paul laid out what a faithful mature follower of Christ should look like—free to serve the Savior, full of integrity, grounded in the truth. But now, the focus shifts. He’s talking about the people who need to be stopped dead in their tracks. He says their mouths need to be muzzled. Why? Because they’re divisive, they’re deceived, and they’re defiled. And Paul’s point is crystal clear—you can’t just look the other way. You’ve got to confront them.

Titus 1:10–16 (ESV) For there are many who are insubordinate, empty talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision party. They must be silenced, since they are upsetting whole families by teaching for shameful gain what they ought not to teach. One of the Cretans, a prophet of their own, said, “Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.” This testimony is true. Therefore rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith, not devoting themselves to Jewish myths and the commands of people who turn away from the truth. To the pure, all things are pure, but to the defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure; but both their minds and their consciences are defiled. They profess to know God, but they deny him by their works. They are detestable, disobedient, unfit for any good work.

Pray

1. We Must Confront Those Who Are Divisive

Titus 1:10–16 is tied tight to verses 5–9—you can see it in the very first word of verse 10: “for.” Paul’s saying, “Here’s why all that stuff about godly pastors and solid doctrine matters so much.” We’re called to both encourage and to refute—because there are plenty of folks out there who can, in Paul’s words, “overthrow whole households.”

That’s why appointing qualified pastors matters. Men who are rock-solid in character and anchored in the Word. Because the false teachers aren’t walking in with a flashing “HERETIC” sign on their foreheads. No, they’re personable. They’re persuasive. They can be attractive and ambitious. What they teach has just enough truth to hook the immature and just enough charm to rope in the gullible.

It’s like this— I had a buddy recently buy a used truck. Looked great on the outside, shiny paint, clean interior, nice lift, big mud tires on it. It’s a good looking truck and he thought he got an amazing deal. But about a week later, the “check engine” light came on, and when he took it in, the mechanic started listing problems like he was reading the Old Testament genealogies. Turns out, underneath all that polish was a mess that was ready to break down.

Paul’s saying that’s how these false teachers work. On the surface, they look impressive—smooth talk, sharp presentation, maybe even a little charisma. But if you pop the hood and take a closer look, you find something’s not right. And just like ignoring a warning light will wreck your truck, ignoring the warning signs in their teaching can wreck entire households—and entire churches.

Paul’s saying the same thing here—take a closer look at what’s being taught. Underneath the smooth words and nice smiles, you might just find the malignant disease of deadly doctrine. And that can take down more than a wall—it can destroy souls.

There are a few tell tell signs.

They Are Destitute in How They Talk (Titus 1:10)

Paul says there weren’t just a couple of false teachers on Crete—there were “many.” These weren’t fringe voices whispering from the sidelines; they’d gained some real influence in the churches. And here’s how he describes them: “rebellious people, full of empty talk and deception, especially those of the circumcision party.”

“Rebellious” is about their attitude—they don’t answer to anybody. “Empty talk” is about their actions—big words, no weight. These guys were basically a law unto themselves, claiming some kind of private hotline to God. No elders to submit to. No accountability. Just them, their ego, and their so-called revelations.

Paul says that kind of spirit produces nothing but “empty talk.” It’s useless words—noise without truth. I like to call them cotton candy preachers—lots of color, lots of fluff, looks impressive under the lights, but take one bite and it disappears in your mouth, leaving you with nothing but a sugar crash. And here’s the danger—cotton candy might work for the county fair, but it won’t feed your soul.

They Are Dangerous in What They Think (Titus 1:10–11)

One of the scariest things about false teachers is that they’re not just good at deceiving others—they’ve already deceived themselves. They are spiritual seducers, hiding personal ambition and theological agendas under the disguise of religious piety and, sometimes, a little prosperity sparkle.

On Crete, these particular hustlers were Judaizers selling a “Jesus plus” theology. But here’s the thing—Jesus plus anything is always Jesus minus everything. You add to Christ, and you just subtracted Christ. That’s the spiritual math Paul is working with here. Corrupted in their own thinking, they corrupt the thinking of others—and they don’t just mess up an individual; Paul says they can “overthrow whole households.”

It’s like cancer—it doesn’t politely stay in one spot. It spreads, fast and lethal. That’s how effective they can be. They preach a man-centered message and a “what-I-can-do” gospel, shifting the focus from the glory of Christ to the glory of me. And when that happens, the beauty and greatness of Jesus isn’t just blurred—it’s ignored or even denied.

This is why Paul doesn’t say, “Be patient with them and hope they figure it out.” No—he says, “It is necessary to silence them.” Because if you let them run unchecked, they’ll tear apart the unity of the church, stain its witness in the community, and drag through the mud the name of “our great God and Savior Jesus Christ” (Titus 2:13).

They Are Dishonest in Why They Teach (Titus 1:11)

Paul doesn’t tiptoe here—he goes full throttle. These guys have to be stopped. Muzzled. Shut down. How? Not with clever comebacks or angry rants, but with the truth of the gospel. That’s our primary weapon. Expose what their teaching actually does—it wrecks entire households. And expose why they’re really doing it—it’s not love for God or love for people. It’s love for money.

Paul calls them out as ministerial mercenaries—hired guns in the pulpit. They’re in it for the paycheck. They crave money, they talk about money, they dream about money. Just like 1 Timothy 6:4–5 says, they “imagine that godliness is a means of gain.” It’s the same mindset you hear from that prosperity preacher in Atlanta who said, “You’re a fool for Christ, so you might as well be a rich fool.”

Now here’s the thing—we’ve got to be careful ourselves. Because the prosperity itch doesn’t always come in a Rolex and a private jet. Sometimes it’s a subtle “entitlement mentality” that creeps into our own hearts. The expectation that people owe us, that we deserve special treatment, that ministry is about what we can get instead of what we can give. Paul says in this ministry of confrontation, we’ve got to confront the divisive—but at the same time, keep examining our own hearts so we don’t end up with the same rotten motives.

We Must Confront Those Who Are Deceived (Titus 1:12–14)

Paul doesn’t mince words here—he’s strong, he’s clear, and he’s got a purpose. This isn’t about picking a fight; it’s about saving a life. He says, “Rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith.” That’s the heart of confrontation. It’s not to embarrass. It’s not to win an argument. It’s to wake someone up before they drive off a cliff they don’t even see coming.

The spiritual danger here is serious—it’s not a slow leak in the tire, it’s a blowout at 70 miles an hour. So Paul goes straight at it. He calls out the religious charlatans, the spiritual imposters, the ones wearing a cross around their neck but carrying poison in their pocket. And his goal? Not to destroy them—but to bring them back to health, to get them sound in the faith again.

Who They Are Is Clear (Titus 1:12–13)

If you take the time to really listen to a teacher—watch their life, weigh their words on the scales of God’s Word—you’ll see their true colors. That’s the only standard we measure by. Not charisma. Not popularity. Not “how many followers they’ve got.” God’s Word is the plumb line.

Paul makes his point by pulling a quote from one of Crete’s own cultural heroes, the sixth-century poet and prophet Epimenides. And let me tell you—this guy didn’t do “nice” when he talked about his people. He said, “Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.” Eugene Peterson paraphrased it as “Liars from the womb, barking dogs, lazy bellies.” That’s not exactly a tourism slogan. In fact, the lying was so bad that in the ancient world, “to Cretanize” literally meant “to lie.”

Paul’s point? You can’t believe or trust false teachers because dishonesty is baked into their way of life. They lie to themselves, and they’ll lie to you. “Evil beasts” means they’re ruled by their appetites and passions—driven by lust, greed, and selfishness—ripping people apart without care for the damage. And “lazy gluttons”? That’s self-indulgence at full throttle—overfed, undisciplined, and happy to feast off others without lifting a finger to serve.

And Paul doesn’t soften it. He simply says, “This testimony is true.” But don’t miss the nuance—he’s not labeling every Cretan this way. He’s aiming straight at the false teachers who were spreading spiritual rot—both in their doctrine and in their lifestyle. And Paul’s verdict? When it comes to people like this, the church can’t shrug and look away. We’ve got to respond.

What They Believe Must Be Confronted (Titus 1:13–14)

Paul doesn’t waste words here—his solution is direct, but it’s also pastoral. There’s a balance in this kind of confrontation. He says, “Rebuke them sharply.” Not to humiliate. Not to get the last word. But because truth and love aren’t enemies—they’re teammates.

Think of it like a surgeon with a scalpel. He’s not cutting just to cut—he’s cutting to save a life. That’s exactly what Paul’s talking about here. You deal with diseased doctrine the same way you deal with diseased tissue—you remove it before it infects the whole body. And the goal? Redemption. Restoration. That the one who’s deceived—and deceiving others—might actually become “sound in the faith.” We cut to cure. We operate to liberate people trapped in the quicksand of spiritual lies and starvation.

Paul says the cancer on Crete was “Jewish myths” and “commands of men”—religious stories and man-made rules that either go beyond Scripture or straight-up against it. Add anything to grace and you no longer have grace. Center the gospel on man instead of Christ and you no longer have the gospel. These teachings were man-focused, not Christ-centered. They were humanistic, not Christocentric. And Paul says they must be confronted for what they are—lies.

The tragedy is these teachers once knew the truth. Once they lived it. But now they’ve walked away from it. And that’s what makes them all the more dangerous—because a person who’s abandoned the truth will often work twice as hard to pull others away from it too.

We Must Confront Those Who Are Defiled (Titus 1:15–16)

Paul’s driving the same point home again—belief and behavior are welded together. You can’t separate them. Sound doctrine and good works always travel in pairs. And here’s the flip side—false teaching never stays contained. It’s not harmless. It contaminates everything it touches.

It’s like dropping a single shot of ink into a glass of crystal-clear water. You can’t drink around it. It’s ruined. In the same way, even one drop of false teaching will twist and poison the pure gospel of grace and mercy in Jesus Christ. It doesn’t just stain—it spreads.

That’s why we have to confront it. Not because we’re trying to win an argument, but because we’re guarding the purity of the gospel and the health of the church. Paul’s saying, Don’t ignore the infection, because it won’t ignore you.

They Lack Purity (Titus 1:15)

Paul drops a line here that’s basically a proverb: “To the pure, everything is pure.” It’s short, punchy, and right to the point. And it echoes what Jesus said in Mark 7: It’s not what goes into a person that defiles them—it’s what comes out. Food doesn’t make you unclean, but the stuff that spills out of your heart sure will. Jesus rattles off the list: evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, greed, pride, foolishness—you name it. Those things don’t come from your diet; they come from deep inside.

Philip Towner nails it: “Purity that counts comes only through faith in Christ.” In other words, you can scrub the outside all you want, but if your heart is filthy, you’re still defiled.

And Paul says the opposite is just as true: “To the defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure.” It’s not just that their actions are corrupt—their minds (how they think) and their consciences (how they judge right and wrong) are defiled. Their whole inner life is polluted, and it shows up in how they live. No wonder they reject the truth.

John MacArthur puts it like this: “When a person is pure in heart and mind, his perspectives on all things are pure, and that inner purity produces outer purity.” Tragically, the reverse is also true—when the inside is corrupt, the outside will be too. This is why Paul says these false teachers are so dangerous. They’re not just teaching bad ideas; they’re teaching from a heart that’s already poisoned. And poison always spreads.

They Lack Purity (Titus 1:15)

Paul drops a line here that’s almost like a spiritual one-liner: “To the pure, everything is pure.” It’s short, it’s sharp, and it’s loaded. He’s echoing what Jesus said in Mark 7—it’s not what goes into a person that makes them unclean; it’s what comes out. Your problem isn’t your menu; it’s your heart. Jesus lays it out plain: evil thoughts, sexual sin, theft, murder, greed, pride, foolishness—those don’t come from your diet. They come from deep down inside.

Philip Towner says it perfectly: “Purity that counts comes only through faith in Christ.” Translation—you can bleach the outside all day long, but if the heart is still filthy, you’re just a clean cup full of dirty water.

And Paul says the opposite’s also true: “To the defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure.” It’s not just that their actions are corrupt—their thinking is warped, their moral compass is busted, and their whole inner life is polluted. No wonder they reject the truth.

John MacArthur puts it this way: “When a person is pure in heart and mind, his perspectives on all things are pure, and that inner purity produces outer purity.” But flip that around, and you’ve got the tragic reality—when the inside is rotten, the outside’s going to be rotten too. That’s why these false teachers are so dangerous. They’re not just passing along bad ideas—they’re speaking from a heart that’s already poisoned. And poison always spreads.

Charles Spurgeon gives us the perfect landing spot for why the ministry of confrontation matters so much. He basically says—if you look in the mirror and realize your mind isn’t pure, you don’t have to end the story there. There’s hope. There’s cleansing. And here’s the best news—you can’t pull it off yourself, and no religious ritual will do it for you. But God has already provided the way—Jesus Christ, the Savior, who doesn’t just save His people from the penalty of sin, but from the power of it too.

Spurgeon says that whoever believes in Jesus already has the beginnings of purity planted inside them. And the Holy Spirit is going to grow that seed into more and more of the likeness of Christ. Faith in Christ doesn’t just rescue you—it scrubs you clean. It applies the precious blood and living water from His side, washing you from the inside out. By the Spirit’s power, faith is both a saving grace and a cleansing grace.

That’s the ultimate aim of confrontation—it’s not about winning the argument; it’s about winning the soul. But let’s be honest—this ministry isn’t easy. It’s hard. Sometimes it’s messy. Sometimes you lose sleep over it. But when the integrity of the gospel is on the line, you can’t run and hide. You’ve got to stand and fight—armed with truth, motivated by love, and wearing a life of purity.

Jude says it like this: “Save others by snatching them from the fire; have mercy on others but with fear, hating even the garment defiled by the flesh” (Jude 23). Why? Because truth matters. It’s not optional. Jesus Himself said, “You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:32).

And when you’ve been set free by the truth, you can’t just sit on it—you’ve got to fight for it.