The Ministry of Confrontation

Introduction

Story of Muffin defending Dave.

The scriptures contain many warnings and messages about the danger of false teaching. It’s a danger to the people of God. Even if we just look at the New Testament, we find this to be true. Jesus himself speaks of it:

Matthew 7:15 ESV

15 “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves.

Mark 13:22–23 ESV

22 For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform signs and wonders, to lead astray, if possible, the elect. 23 But be on guard; I have told you all things beforehand.

Obviously, as we are going to read today, the Apostle Paul dealt with this in Titus but he does so in other places as well.

Acts 20:29–30 ESV

29 I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; 30 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

2 For I feel a divine jealousy for you, since I betrothed you to one husband, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ. 3 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. 4 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

1 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, 2 through the insincerity of liars whose consciences are seared, 3 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

1 But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. 2 For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, 4 treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5 having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people. 6 For among them are those who creep into households and capture weak women, burdened with sins and led astray by various passions, 7 always learning and never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth. 8 Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so these men also oppose the truth, men corrupted in mind and disqualified regarding the faith. 9 But they will not get very far, for their folly will be plain to all, as was that of those two men.

John and Jude also address this danger of false teaching. We can see quite clearly that there is a danger even from those who seem like they are with us.

Many people dislike confrontation. Some people seem like the love confrontation. (smile) But what we are talking about here is what you might call a ministry of confrontation. This is not about looking for a fight or just wanting to get into a theological debate but is about correcting false teaching and protecting the bride of Christ from the infiltration of this teaching.

We don’t get the luxury of simply ignoring them. Paul is pretty clear that they need to be stopped cold and muzzled.

Titus 1:10–16 ESV

10 For there are many who are insubordinate, empty talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision party. 11 They must be silenced, since they are upsetting whole families by teaching for shameful gain what they ought not to teach. 12 One of the Cretans, a prophet of their own, said, “Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.” 13 This testimony is true. Therefore rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith, 14 not devoting themselves to Jewish myths and the commands of people who turn away from the truth. 15 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. 16 They profess to know God, but they deny him by their works. They are detestable, disobedient, unfit for any good work.

PRAY

I. Why had Paul laid these things out?

He had just given the qualifications of elders and this very next section is where it is on purpose. Why do we need qualified elders? Because there are many people like these.

A. Because many are:

Insubordinate -

- refusing submission to authority

What are the authorities?

The Lord Jesus, The Bible, church leadership

divisive - this comes from within. As a believer and as the church of Jesus Christ, there are far deeper dangers coming from within than from without… hear me again. The biggest dangers to your faith will likely come from inside the church and not outside. We see the warnings again and again. We get so worried about the outside and we overlook the false teaching coming from within.

Empty talkers

- their actions don’t match their lips

one scholar called them “cotton candy preachers” - lots of show but no substance.

a law unto themselves… they claimed a direct pipeline to God. Refused accountability to anyone.

Deceivers

Deceivers of themselves and others

They wrap their secret personal ambition and theological agenda in a seeming religiosity and prosperity.

Especially those in the circumcision party - legalists

Judaizers - Taught a “Jesus plus” theology.

B. What is the outcome of these teachings?

upsetting whole families

motivated by money… shameful gain… teaching false things for shameful gain.

II. Rebuke them sharply. (v.13)

Confront them with the truth of the gospel.

sharply - (Gr) severely, rigorously

The goal of the rebuke: That they may be sound in faith.

This is a correcting rebuke. It’s severe. It’s rigorous. It’s sharp. Cut away the falsity so they may be sound in their faith. It’s out of love. This is the guy who is on the end of a plank up in the air and he’s cutting the plank with a saw. You see that he’s going to fall to his death and so you don’t stay silent. You stop him in his tracks. You save his life because you care. If you wanted ill for him, you’d just let him cut the plank off and fall to his death.

The goal is godly correction. Just because you are sharply rebuking someone doesn’t mean you hate them. If done correctly, quite the opposite is true.

III. Pure vs Defiled

Clear, clean glass of water illustration.

One drop of sewage. Would you drink it then? No, because the whole thing is contaminated.

The gospel is pure and even a drop of false teaching can pervert it and take us to some other end. We must confront these because they lack purity. They are defiled. This saying here in verse 15 really echoes what Jesus says in

Mark 7:15–23 ESV

15 There is nothing outside a person that by going into him can defile him, but the things that come out of a person are what defile him.” 17 And when he had entered the house and left the people, his disciples asked him about the parable. 18 And he said to them, “Then are you also without understanding? Do you not see that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile him, 19 since it enters not his heart but his stomach, and is expelled?” (Thus he declared all foods clean.) 20 And he said, “What comes out of a person is what defiles him. 21 For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, 22 coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. 23 All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.”

John MacArthur writes,

“When a person is pure in heart and mind, his perspectives on all things are pure, and that inner purity produces outer purity”

The inverse is true as well. If a person is corrupt in their heart and mind, then their perspectives are corrupt and impure. Dirt on the inside produces dirt on the outside.

Charles Spurgeon years ago preached this:

“Glory be to God, if my mind and conscience are defiled, they need not always be so. There is cleansing. I cannot effect it for myself, nor can any outward forms do it. . . . But God has set forth Christ to be a Savior—and He shall save His people from their sins—from their sinfulness, too, and whoever believes in Christ Jesus, that is, trusts in Him, there is already in him the beginning of purity! God the Holy Spirit will give him more and more of the likeness of Christ, for he that believes shall be saved from sin, from indwelling sin, from all sin, from the power as well as from the guilt of it! Faith will cleanse him, applying to him the precious blood and the water which flows from the side of Christ! Faith will, by the Holy Spirit’s power, become a cleansing as well as a saving Grace! God grant it to us, and may we all be among the pure, unto whom all things shall be pure.”

Apply it:

Put the paint on the fence. (application)

Four ways to put this message to work in your life.

1. Know your doctrine.

Be a good Berean… book of Acts.

2. Watch your life.

Make sure it lines up with sound doctrine.

3. Hold others to truth in life and doctrine.

Watch out for each other in love.

4. Accept Godly rebuke with love.

Pray