"Sound Doctrine"

INTRODUCTION

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According to a 2015 survey conducted by the Evangelical Leaders these are the Top 5 priorities for Americans when looking for a church. (List). Wow! Is anyone surprised? Shocked? I think 4 & 5 are connected so that would increases that number to ____ %. Would any of those matter to you if you were looking for a new church home? Perhaps this is your first time at MBC and you’re looking for a church home – perhaps some of those are important for you today. If 4 & 5 are a priority to you (Sermon & Pastor), let me just say “I’m a really great guy” and “I hope this sermon won’t be like pulling teeth for you” (Haha). In all seriousness finding a good home is a very important.

Need

All too often the search for a church is driven by personal preferences instead of biblical priorities! When considering what church you will visit, belong to, and be committed to it’s vital that you know God’s design for His church and the biblical priorities that must be the foundation of a good church. This brings us to the heart of our current series through the book of Titus. In our journey through Titus we’re discovering “The Essential Building Blocks of an Effective Church” – we’re looking at the essential priorities that make up the foundation of a church that enable it to fulfill it’s mission – and so let’s review the first two essential building blocks from our time in Titus.

· Building Block #1: “Gospel- Centered Ministry” (Four Reasons gospel is essential)

· Building Block #2: “Godly Leadership” (Appointing qualified elders to shepherd)

· Building Block #3:

Preview

Take your Bible and turn to Titus. Titus Chapter 1. If you don’t have a bible feel free to follow along with those provided in the pew. You’ll find it in the NT – after the gospels, past Ephesians-Colossians, and 1-2 Timothy. This is God’s inspired Word, penned by the apostle Paul to his dear friend Titus who was left on the island of Crete to set things in order in the churches. Today we pick up where we left off – Titus was instructed to appoint godly leaders (elders) and today we see “why” that was such a priority in Crete. In we’re going to see “A Serious Problem” that required “A Serious Response” – which will highlight the third essential building block of an essential church and its implications for our lives today. (Read ).

I) A SERIOUS PROBLEM

A Group of False Teachers were destroying the Church (1:10-16)

Last week we considered the second essential building block—godly leadership—the appointment of elders who could encourage God’s people with sound doctrine and protect God’s people from false teaching. Now we see “why” this was a pressing priority in the churches in Crete and must be a priority for us as a church. highlights “A SERIOUS PROBLEM” on the island of Crete. A group of false teachers were impacting the churches on the island. The destructive impact of these false teachers couldn’t be ignored. The appointment of godly elders who could encourage God’s people with sound doctrine and protect God’s people from false teaching was a dire need because these young believers were gullible and susceptable. Therefore reveals “how” Titus (and the prospective elders) must address the serious problem of false teachers who were destroying the churches. Let’s take a closer look at the “Serious Problem” and the “Simple Solution” outlined in today’s passage as we discover the third essential building block of an effective church.

A) The False Teacher’s Identity (1:10-16)

We begin with “A Vivid Description of the False Teachers” – “A Vivid Description of the False Teachers” in Crete. In Paul painted a vivid portrait of the false teachers causing havoc in the churches on the island of Crete. Through Paul’s pen God painted a vivid portrait of the false teachers that Titus will have to confront.

1) A Group of Jewish “converts” (1:10)

First, we not the false teachers “Identity” (1:10). Many of the words used to describe the identity of the false teachers are also found in 1 Timothy. It seems that the false teacher’s Titus had to confront in Crete were similiar to the false teacher’s Timothy had to confront in Ephesus. You can do a comparison study on your own by reading & 4.

- Paul informed Titus that there were “many, especially those of the circumcision group” (1:10). There were group(s) of false teachers impacting the churches in Crete—the most dominant were the Jewish legalists—those identified as “the circumcision group.” The “circumcision” was a group of Jewish converts who insisted that Gentiles (non-Jews) had to be circumcised if they were to be regarded as true believers of Jesus Christ. Circumcision was the OT covenant sign that Israel was God’s chosen people and many believed that it was still necessary in the NT as a sign of being a child of God. Paul strongly opposed this legalistic teaching in Galatians and addresses the problem here in Titus. The circumcision group were Jewish “legalists” that added the work of circumcision to the finished work of Jesus. We also know that the Jewish legalists in Crete were promoting “Jewish myths (1:14). The false teachers were capturing the hearts and minds of the believers in Crete by teaching “Jewish myths”—legendary stories and accounts of supernatural beings, events, and cultural heroes of Judaism—and while we don’t know the exact content of these teachings we know that in some way distorting the gospel or distracting people from the truth of the gospel. The Jewish myths were simply tales and not God’s truth.

Rebellious (1:10)

The false teachers were rebelliously disobedient. They were unruly men who refused to submit God or be obedient to the gospel message. It’s very likely that this term reveals that these false teachers were coming from within the church as opposed to from outside the church. The false teachers were coming from within the ranks of those professing the Christian faith and yet they would not submit themselves to God’s truth.

Mere talkers (1:10)

The false teachers engaged in idle discussions, babbling on and on, and yet their words are void of truth and lacked God’s authority. The words they spoke were vain, empty, and possessed no value to those who heard them. Their speech was empty and senseless; it led to nowhere.

Deceivers (1:10)

The false teachers misled people with their empty, meaningless, and idle words. The false teachers led people down the wrong path through their deception.

· Group(s) of Jewish legalists (1:10, 14)

· J. Hampton Keathley -“Paul’s use of the term circumcision to refer to the Jews calls attention to the kind of issues that were at the heart of the false teaching facing the Cretans—some form of Judaistic religious works added to faith in Christ for salvation and or sanctification.”

2) Reputation (1:12-14a)

Secondly, Paul’s letter reveals their “Reputation.” In the midst of Paul’s description of the false teacher’s in Crete he inserted a quotation from one of the most well-known philosophers from Crete to highlight the ungodly reputation (character) of the false teachers. In this letter we have a quotation of one of Crete’s very own philosophers who said “Cretans are always liars, evil brutes, and lazy gluttons.” The quote is attributed to a well-respected philosopher Epimenides (ehp ih MEN ih deez) who once wrote about the general reputation of his own people. Epimenides did not speak well of his countryman when he had said that Cretans are always “liars, evil brutes, and lazy gluttons.” Of course this was not true of every Cretan but in general the people of Crete had bad reputation – and what was true for Cretans was true for the false teachers impacting the churches in Crete. Paul’s affirmation of Epimenides statement was not meant as an insult on the people but as condemnation of the false teachers. The three infamous characteristics of most Cretans were true of the false teachers on the island. (Cities reputation)

Liars (1:12)

The Cretan’s were known to be“untruthful” in their very nature. –The expression “to Cretize” mean “to lie” – and in fact in the Greek language the word “cretizo” means “to lie.” Also there was an ancient expression “to play a Cretan with a Cretan” that would be used to express “out tricking a trickster. Like the Cretans, the false teachers did not speak or teach the truth. In fact the phrase “To Cretize” became an expression that mean “to lie” and the phrase to “play Cretan with a Cretan” mean to “out trick a trickster. The false teachers (Jewish legalists) spoke falsehood to the families in Crete.

Evil brutes (1:12)

Secondly, the Cretan’s were by nature “ferocious” people In Like the Cretans, the false teachers were likened to ferocious animals that were very dangerous.

Lazy gluttons (1:12)

The Cretans had a reputation of being “lazy gluttons” – the Greek term “glutton” means one of with large belly due to their laziness (lack of hard work). Like the Cretans, the false teachers had a disdain for hard work but rather were earning money by deceiving people with their false teaching.

Paul’s quotation of Epimenides likened and linked the reputation of the Cretan people with the Cretan false teachers. The false teacher’s spouted lies, their dangerous influence likened them to be evil brutes, and their desire for dishonest gain proved they were lazy gluttons.

3) True Spiritual Condition (1:16)

The false teachers were impacting the churches by distorting the gospel. Secondly, we discover that the false teacher’s distortion of the gospel revealed their true spiritual condition. The false teachers distorted the truth of the gospel by adding circumcision and asceticism to the gospel, and this distortion of the gospel reveled their true spiritual condition. In we find the final assessment of the false teacher’s true spiritual condition.

Professors of the Faith (1:16)

First, the Jewish legalists were mere “Professors of the Faith.” The false teachers in Crete “professed to know God”—the publicly declared they had a personal relationship with God but by their deeds actually denied the very God they professed to know personally. The false teachers “way of life” (behavior) was in complete contrast to their profession of knowing God personally. The description is similar to the false teacher’s Timothy was dealing with in Ephesus () so it’s very likely that the “deeds” that denied their true profession of faith included the practice of asceticism (abstaining from specific things in obedience to God) when actually the God they profess to know declared all things to be good. Whatever the “deeds” they revealed a complete denial of knowing God.

Detestable (1:16)

Secondly, the Jewish legalists were “Detestable.” The false teachers practices, and themselves were to be abhored, thought to be extremely bad or even in some languages could mean never to be seen, and the false teachers are described as “detestable” because they judged the work of Christ to be inadequate for attaining true purity—teaching that more is needed beyond faith in Christ in order to be cleansed of one’s sin. Adding circumcision, or any other work, would be detestable in God’s sight because it’s a distortion of the gospel!

Disobedient (1:16)

The Jewish legalists were “Disobedient.” The false teachers in Crete were disobeying God and His gospel by teaching that circumcision or asceticism was the way to live the Christian life. To teach Christians must abstain from marriage or eating certain types of food was disobedient to God’s revealed truth which declared that He created good gifts to be received with thanksgiving. ()

Disqualified from doing good (1:16)

Finally, the Jewish legalists were “Disqualified” from doing good. Paul declared that the false teachers’ were “unfit for any good work.” The term “unfit’ means “worthless or valueless”—they have been tested and deemed disqualified from doing any good that is acceptable to God. Since the false teachers were deemed detestable as a result of judging the work of Christ as inadequate for attaining true purity, and deemed disobedient by teaching asceticism that rejects God’s good gifts of creation, then they are deemed by God as “disqualified” in God’s sight and as a result they are “unfit” to do anything good (benefit).

The false teacher’s distortion of the truth of the gospel revealed their true spiritual condition—they were mere professors of the faith instead of possessors of the faith, detestable, disobedient, and disqualified from doing good.

B) The False Teacher’s Conduct (1:11-16)

We now move from “A Vivid Description of the False Teachers” to “The Vicious Destruction by the False Teachers.” The letter highlights the false teachers character as well as their destructive conduct. Let’s take a closer look at the “Vicious Destruction” caused by the false teachers in Crete.

1) The false teachers were damaging the church by distorting the truth of the gospel (1:11-15)

First, “The false teachers were destroying families by distorting the gospel.” “The false teachers were destroying churches by distorting the truth of the gospel. In we discover that the Jewish legalists were “ruining whole households by teaching things they ought not to teach – and that for the sake of dishonest gain.” (1:11) The false teachers were “misleading whole families” (NET) or “upsetting whole families.” (ESV). The Jewish legalists were “overturning” and “upsetting the beliefs” of the believers who were meeting in local homes. The faith of the believers meeting as “house churches” were being destroyed by the false teachers.

The faith of the believers was being “unsettled” by the lies of the Jewish legalists. The description of their conduct in Paul’s letter highlights they were teaching legalism—adding laws to the gospel—adding their Jewish requirements to the finished work of Jesus Christ. In reveals that the false teachers were promoting ancient Jewish myths and introducing man-made commands (1:14). The Jewish myths were Jewish legends that were derived from the Jewish genealogies (3:9). The “man-made” commands were “human commandments” added to the good news of Jesus’s life, death, and resurrection as the only means for cleansing of sin and reconciliation with God. The Jewish legalists were adding man-made commands to the gospel—specifically the practice of ascetiscim as the means to be pure—ascetiscism is the belief that one can attain moral and ritual purity by practicing self-denial. We find this false teaching being addressed by Timothy in Ephesus (). The legalists in Ephesus were teaching that one had to abstain from marriage and certain foods in order to be ritually and morally pure—this is an outright distortion of the truth of the gospel which reveals the need for inner purity that comes from having one’s heart cleansed by faith in Jesus’ work on the cross ().

The Jewish legalists had introduced their own “man-made commands” that promoted asceticism as the path to purity which was and is a complete distortion of the gospel. Therefore in we find a “proverb”-like statement that confronts the issue of purity (1:15). In we read “To the pure, all things are pure, but to those who are corrupted and do not believe, nothing is pure.” The proverb contrasts those who are “pure” and those who are “corrupt.” The false teachers were teaching “man-made commands” The first statement declares that to “the pure” (those whose hearts have been cleansed by faith in Jesus) all the things are pure”—all things (like marriage and foods) can be enjoyed as a gift from God, thus asceticism (self-denial) being promoted by the false teachers is a distortion of God’s truth. The truth of the gospel heralds that “purity” is an inner need that only comes by faith in Christ’s death ()—and not through circumcision and asceticism. Any human commandment that requires anything beyond the finished work of Jesus Christ for purity or declares that anything must be abstained from in order to attain purity is an outright distortion and denial of the truth of the gospel. Christians do not have to abstain from certain things and do certain rituals to be accepted by God. Paul is coming against the same things he did in his letter to the Romans, to Timothy and the church in Colosse (, , & ).

In contrast those who are “corrupted” (the false teachers who promoted the need for circumcision and asceticism in order to attain purity)—to those who have not been cleansed because they are trusting in their own efforts by practicing circumcision and asceticism (denial of things to attain purity), nothing is pure. There is nothing that does not become defiled and distorted by their own unbelief and impurity. For the false teaching Jewish legalists who promoted circumcision and asceticism as the path to purity—they are polluted and perverted in their way of thinking and their moral consciousness.

2) The false teacher’s were motivated by money (1:14)

Professors of the Faith (1:16) ~ First, the Jewish legalists were mere “Professors of the Faith.” The false teachers in Crete “professed to know God”—the publicly declared they had a personal relationship with God but by their deeds actually denied the very God they professed to know personally. The false teachers “way of life” (behavior) was in complete contrast to their profession of knowing God personally. The description is similar to the false teacher’s Timothy was dealing with in Ephesus () so it’s very likely that the “deeds” that denied their true profession of faith included the practice of asceticism (abstaining from specific things in obedience to God) when actually the God they profess to know declared all things to be good. Whatever the “deeds” they revealed a complete denial of knowing God.

Detestable (1:16) ~ Secondly, the Jewish legalists were “Detestable.” The false teachers practices, and themselves were to be abhored, thought to be extremely bad or even in some languages could mean never to be seen, and the false teachers are described as “detestable” because they judged the work of Christ to be inadequate for attaining true purity—teaching that more is needed beyond faith in Christ in order to be cleansed of one’s sin. Adding circumcision, or any other work, would be detestable in God’s sight because it’s a distortion of the gospel!

Disobedient (1:16) ~ The Jewish legalists were “Disobedient.” The false teachers in Crete were disobeying God and His gospel by teaching that circumcision or asceticism was the way to live the Christian life. To teach Christians must abstain from marriage or eating certain types of food was disobedient to God’s revealed truth which declared that He created good gifts to be received with thanksgiving. ()

Disqualified from doing good (1:16) ~ Finally, the Jewish legalists were “Disqualified” from doing good. Paul declared that the false teachers’ were “unfit for any good work.” The term “unfit’ means “worthless or valueless”—they have been tested and deemed disqualified from doing any good that is acceptable to God. Since the false teachers were deemed detestable as a result of judging the work of Christ as inadequate for attaining true purity, and deemed disobedient by teaching asceticism that rejects God’s good gifts of creation, then they are deemed by God as “disqualified” in God’s sight and as a result they are “unfit” to do anything good (benefit).

The false teacher’s distortion of the truth of the gospel revealed their true spiritual condition—they were mere professors of the faith instead of possessors of the faith, detestable, disobedient, and disqualified from doing good.

II) A SERIOUS RESPONSE

False Teaching must be dealt with in the church (1:9, 11, 13)

Paul’s letter exposed the “Serious Problem” of False Teacher’s Destructive Impact on the churches on the island of Crete. A group of false teacher’s had infiltrated the churches on the island of Crete, upsetting the faith of the believers by promoting Jewish myths and man-made commands that promoted legalism and asceticism. Now that identity and impact of these false teacher’s had been exposed there needed to be “A Swift Response.” The false teacher’s upsetting the churches on the island of Crete had to be dealt with immediately. There is too much at stake to let false teaching go unchecked, that was true in the first century and remains true in the 21st century, so let’s consider the call to address the false teaching. We find three swift responses to false teaching in the church.

1) False teaching in the church must be stopped immediately (1:11)

First, false teachers in the church must be stopped. False teaching in the church must be stopped. Look at the instructions given to Titus—“they must be silenced” (1:11)—they must not be allowed to “speak.” Titus and the elders must take action to “muzzle” the mouths of the false teachers because their teaching is so dangerous. Silencing the false teachers might seem severe but it must be done because their actions have a destructive impact on the church. The false teaching was “ruining whole households”—they were upsetting the faith of the believers who were meeting in house churches—they were “misleading” the believers by their distortion of the gospel. Titus and the godly leaders appointed in Crete must keep these men from spewing their legalism and asceticism because it was misleading the believers in Crete. False teaching in the church must be stopped immediately.

· William Hendrickson – ‘there is no such thing as “freedom of misleading speech.”[1]

2) False teaching in the church must be corrected sharply (1:13)

Secondly, false teaching in the church must be corrected sharply. False teaching in the church must be corrected sharply. In we see the call for Titus and the newly appointed elders to “rebuke them sharply.” The term “rebuke” is the same word used in reference to an elder’s ability to “refute those who oppose sound doctrine” (1:9). Titus and the elders were being called to “come against” the teaching of the Jewish legalists—they must “point out their wrong doing” with a severe tone—it speaks of “frowning upon” the actions instead of “looking away” in an effort to be loving and kind to them. In situations where the gospel is being distorted and perverted there must be a “sharp correction” given because you love them. Just like a parent sharply corrects their children from a heart of love, the elders of the church will have to “sharply correct” false teaching in the family of God because they love their people.

In the situation at Crete – it seems that the “sharp rebuke” needed to be given to the false teachers (Jewish Legalists) as well as some of the believers who had embraced their teaching. It’s possible that a “rebuke” needs to be given to those who are teaching what is opposed to the gospel and to those who might have been deceived by their teaching. Regardless of you is being “rebuked” please highlight or underline the ultimate goal of a sharp rebuke. In reveals that each and every sharp rebuke should have the ultimate goal of restoration. Every false teacher must be sharply rebuked so they will become “sound in the faith” and turn away from being devoted to myths and man-made commands that distort the gospel. Every believer that has been deceived by a false teacher must be sharply rebuked so they will become “sound in the faith” and no longer committed to believing myths and man-made commands that distort the gospel. The ultimate goal of correction is restoration! The goal of correction is seeing people turn away from teaching or believing “erroneous, diseased doctrine that is unhealthy” and returning to teaching and believing “the sound truths of the Christian faith” so they will be nourished in their souls.

3) Sound doctrine must be taught in the church continually (1:9, 2:1)

Finally, “Sound doctrine must be taught in the church continually.” Sound doctrine must be taught in the church continually.” Look at the instruction given to Titus—“You must teach what is in accord with sound doctrine” (2:1)—in contrast to the false teachers Titus was challenged to “teach” what is fitting or aligned with sound doctrine. This is a present active imperative in the Greek text which means this is a continuous action that is done repeatedly over the course of life. Titus and the newly appointed elders have the responsibility to encourage God’s people with sound doctrine, rebuke those who contradict sound doctrine, and teach what behaviors are fitting of sound doctrine (formally and informally). This ongoing teaching of what aligns with sound doctrine will set the stage for all of the exhortations in the next major section of this letter. Titus must teach sound doctrine (God’s truth) and teach what behaviors are fitting of sound doctrine (God’s truth).

Titus highlights the “Serious Problem” of false teaching in the church and reveals that it requires “A Serious Response.” False teaching must be silenced and corrected in the church. I know some of you might find this hard to swallow but please notice how Titus is directed to deal with the false teachers! We’re can’t lovingly ignore false teaching, we can’t excuse false teaching, and we can’t tolerate false teaching because we’re afraid to hurt someone’s feelings or because Christians are nice people. We must confront false teaching head on without compromise. False teaching in the church must be silenced immediately, false teaching in the church must be corrected sharply, and sound doctrine must be taught in the church continuously.

III) Sound doctrine is the foundation for living the Christian life

In Titus we’re confronted with the third essential building block of an effective churc—Building Block #3 is “Sound Doctrine”—for God’s Word reveals the necessity of protecting the church from false teaching and promoting the embrace of sound doctrine in the life of every believer. The challenge to Titus in the first century has lingering implications for our lives as a church.

1) A “Wake-Up Call” for Every Believer in the Church

First, our time in Titus this morning is “A Wake-up Call” for Every Believer. “A Wake-Up Call” for every believer. Every follower of Jesus Christ is vulnerable to false teaching. Every believer can be misled by deceptive teaching that sounds so good. Satan – the father of lies, wants to deceive God’s people and turn them away from God’s truth. The destructive influence of false teaching has ravished from the first century to the 21st century. Heresy after heresy has assailed the church. The ancient creeds were written to confirm the orthodox beliefs of the Christian faith agreed upon throughout history. Some of the same false teaching that impacted the church in Crete is impacting the church worldwide.

· Doceticism – Jesus only “seemed” to be human

· Apollinarianism –

· Arianism –

· Modalism – one God who appeared in different “modes”

· Asceticism – holiness is attained by self-denial

· Mormonism – Jesus is a created being-the book of Mormon (additional testament)

· Jehovah’s Witness – Jesus was the arch-angel Michael before he became a man

· Universalism – all religions lead to God

· Karma ~ (cosmic force or energy in the universe - offset bad things with good things/good things will bring good things)

· Theraputic Moralistic Deism -

· Legalism to License – the most popular in our day; either man-made laws to earn God’s favor or freedom to sin since God is gracious

In the book of Jude we’re reminded that every follower of Jesus Christ must “contend for the faith.” I want us to be a church family that is deeply committed to learning, believing, and defending the essential truths of the Christian faith. I’m not calling everyone here to be biblical scholars but I do believe that every believer must be a theologian. I know that might seem craze but stick with me for a minute. Doctrine and theology are often viewed as an academic pursuit reserved for pastors and scholars. Doctrine is simply “instruction” or “teaching” of the Christian faith. Theology is simply “the study of God.” I’ll never forget this phrase from my theology professor Dr. Bingham – “The most important thing you think about, is what you think about, when you think about God.” I want all of us to be “theologians” think rightly about God and believe rightly about God. Therefore every follower of Jesus must have a basic understanding of the essential truths of the Christian faith (Ten Basic Doctrines – Jake/HO in Bible). I want you to be able to have a solid understanding of God’s truth so that you’ll be able to tell what’s sound teaching and what’s garbage. So this is a “Wake Up” Call for all of us to--

Be alert ~ says “Stay alert, be firm in the faith” and says “Stay alert the devil your enemy is prowling like a roaring lion” and he is a liar and a deceiver and all false teaching originates from him.

Be discerning ~ is a wake-up call for everyone who is attracted to offbeat teachings spouted by some t.v. preachers, Christian books, off-beat ideas & philosophies from promoted by some superstar t.v. personalities.

Be diligent in your reading and study God’s Word ~ Remember Paul’s charge to Timothy to “present yourself to be an approved workman who is not ashamed and who accurately handles the Word of God” () and become like Apollos who is described as a man was “well-versed in the scriptures. He had been instructed in the way of truth about Jesus.” ()

Today is “A Wake-Up Call” for every believer. Oh may the Lord help us know His truth, belief His truth, cling to His truth, and live His truth.

B) “A Call to Action” for every leader in the Church

Titus is “A Wake-Up Call” for every believer and it’s “A Call to Action” for every leader in the church. We cannot miss the connection of this passage with the previous instructions regarding the appointment of elders in . We’re reminded again this week of our need for godly leaders who will protect the church from false teaching.

This is first and foremost call to action for the elders of this church. Mike, Roger, Jake, and I must be ready to courageously defend sound doctrine in our body. Courageously protecting the church from false teachers is one of the most important responsibilities of an elder in a local church. We must be courageous elders who will confront false teaching, and we while we often think that false teaching is something that creeps into the church from the outside, Titus, Acts (), Jude reveals more often in originates inside the body. We can have people in the church who “profess to know God” but are teaching what is contrary to the gospel.

And we must consider applying this call for Courageous Leadership beyond the elder, extending it any leader in a local church—deacons, team leaders, and ministry leaders—men and women who must address false teaching head on if it infiltrates bible studies, conversations, and meetings. You must stay alert and be ready to defend sound doctrine by protecting the church from false teaching.

Be biblically sharp (Know the Scriptures)

Be doctrinally sound (Read good theology)

Leaders must be willing to courageously confront false teaching head on in order to protect the church so that it will grow in godliness as a result of them feasting on sound doctrine.

CONCLUSION

Refresh – According to the 2015 survey of Evangelistic Leaders the Top 5 priorities for Americans when choosing a church were…..

Renew -

We don’t need a survey – we need the Scriptures to reveal the essential building blocks (priorities) of an effective church:

· Building Block #1: “Gospel- Centered Ministry” (Four Reasons gospel is essential)

· Building Block #2: “Godly Leadership” (Appointing qualified elders to shepherd)

· Building Block #3: “Sound Doctrine”

Restate

Our series through Titus has uncovered three “Essential Building Blocks of an Effective Church”—Gospel-Centered Ministry, Godly Leadership, and Sound Doctrine—and I pray that we’ll apply these building blocks to our lives so that we’ll be an effective church that is used by God for His glory! Sound doctrine is the foundation for living the Christian life.

May we be a church that heeds this “Wake-Up Call”—Be alert, be discerning, and be diligent to read & study!

May the leaders of this church heed this “Call to Action” – courageously protecting the church from false teaching by following the exhortations in Titus

· Stop false teaching immediately

· Rebuke false teaching sharply

· Teach sound doctrine continuously

Pray

[1] David Campbell, Opening up Titus, Opening Up Commentary (Leominster: Day One Publications, 2007), 41.