TITUS 1:5-162008 Teaching by Jerry B Simmons

Teaching Transcript: Titus 1:5-16

You are listening to FerventWord, an online Bible study ministry with teachings and tools to help you grow deeper in your relationship with God. The following message was taught by Jerry Simmons in 2008. Well, this morning we're here in Titus and continuing our study through the book of Titus. We're looking at this letter that was written by the Apostle Paul to Titus, who was a young man. He was called of God, a servant of God, and he had a difficult task ahead of him.

Paul and Titus had been on the island of Crete at some point together, and Paul had to continue on his journey, and so he left Titus behind in Crete because there were some things that needed to be taken care of. He has a task at hand, and it's not such an easy task.

The first part of this task is that he is to appoint elders, he tells him in verse 5. He says, for this reason I left you in Crete, that you should set in order the things that are lacking and appoint elders in every city as I commanded you. I already told you, Titus, what you're there to do. And now he's reminding him the command he has already given, that he is to appoint elders. He needs to establish leadership there in the island of Crete.

Now, he'll use the word bishop in verse 7, and those words are used pretty much interchangeably throughout the scriptures. So, elder and bishop are the same position, same role within the body of Christ. But also, today we consider that role as the pastor. And so, elder, bishop, pastor, all synonymous in our thinking today.

And the reason why there needs to be this appointment of elders in every city, he says, is because the churches in that day were a little bit different than today. There was not...

And so every city in Crete would have their own gathering of believers together. And so every city in Crete would have their own gathering of believers together.

and the gathering there would meet in one of the person's homes. And so what Paul is saying is that in every city, because Christians are gathered there in every city, there needs to be an appointment of elders. There needs to be some leadership amongst all those who gather. Essentially, Paul is saying, wherever Christians are gathering together, there needs to be among them a qualified leader. These qualified leaders are people who take the Christian life seriously,

and seek to live by God's word. These qualifications that we see this morning, I want to share first of all with you that they're not standards that are only applied to leaders. These are not things that only pertain to those who are called to be a pastor or to have some type of leadership capacity within the church or outside of the church. These are standards that God has set for

And he set them because they're the marks of a mature believer. Essentially what is happening is Paul is telling Titus, you need to appoint elders, but when you appoint elders, make sure that you're selecting someone who is a mature Christian. Someone who's been around, someone who walks with the Lord, someone whose life has been transformed by God.

Leaders must be chosen by their proven ability to walk the talk, not just professing and proclaiming that they're Christians and that they walk with God, but that their life demonstrates it. And as a result, these standards, these qualifications also apply to you and I, not to just those who are on Crete and called to be elders or bishops there within the churches, but

But to you and I, because these characteristics are the characteristics of a mature believer in Jesus Christ. And none of us, there's not one single person who is called to be a baby Christian. That God would say, I just want you to be immature as a Christian, and I want you to be a baby, and I don't want you to grow. That's not God's will for anybody. God's will for every single one of us is to grow and to be brought into maturity in our relationship with Him.

and our walk with Him. And so Paul is telling Titus, this is what a mature Christian looks like. And so we can hold up this, and we can hold up our own lives, and compare, and see, am I mature? Am I walking with God? Am I really serious about, as serious about God as I say that I am? Do I really live the life that a Christian is called to live? Paul tells Titus, you need to set in order the things that are lacking.

What was lacking in the church of Crete? Well, there was several things, but the first one that Paul deals with is spiritual leadership. There was in the church of Crete, in the churches there that met in all the cities, severely lacking spiritual leadership. The body of Christ needs leaders. And the body of Christ needs leadership. Now, sometimes people will give the impression by the things that they say

by the way that they respond or the attitude that they have, that having leaders is somewhat of a weakness or a lack of maturity. And so sometimes there'll be groups that gather together and they proclaim, we have no leader, you know, we're just all gathered together. And it's promoted as, you know, it's such a wonderful thing and it's a great move and it's a great act of maturity. But we need to understand that having leaders in the body of Christ was not a man-made idea.

Jesus did not ascend into heaven and then disciples get together and figure, what are we going to do? We need some kind of leaders. Let's appoint leaders and we'll be leaders and then we can establish our own leadership. It wasn't their idea. They didn't come up with this. It was Jesus' idea because Jesus recognized and knew that his body was going to need those who had authority, those who were able to direct, to correct, and to encourage people

the rest of the body of Christ. In Ephesians chapter 4, it tells us that Jesus gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers. It was Jesus' idea. He's the one who gave to his body roles of authority and positions of leadership. Paul says, I want you to set in order the things that are lacking and appoint elders in every city as I commanded you.

Just as Jesus commanded, just as Paul commanded, there is to be order and there is to be leadership. God is a God of order and the church should reflect that. And Titus, that starts by selecting and appointing elders. Without leadership, there is chaos. Without leadership, there is disorganization. And that is not the way that God works.

And so Paul will now go on to talk about the qualifications of these leaders and what they're to do. And we'll see five things about leaders within the body of Christ, what they're called to be and what they're called to do. But again, these things are not just for those who lead within this church or within the body of Christ in general, but they're for you because you are called to be a mature believer in Jesus Christ. And you are called to ministry because you're called to make disciples.

And there's people in your life, whether children or relatives, neighbors or friends or co-workers, that God has placed you in their lives so that you would be an impact to them. And to be an impact, you need to really be walking with the Lord. And not just have a fake facade and proclaim, but walk otherwise. It needs to be for real. You need to be a mature believer in Jesus Christ. And that starts, number one, be blameless at home. Verse 6 says,

He says, if a man is blameless, the husband of one wife, having faithful children, not accused of dissipation or insubordination. So the first thing Paul deals with as he's dealing with these leaders, how is Titus to appoint, how is he to select who it is that will be these elders and leaders within the body? Well, notice the word is right there at the beginning of verse 6. If a man is blameless, right?

If a man is blameless, not if a man will become blameless, or not if a man hopes to be blameless, not if a man has great intentions to become blameless one day, but if a man is blameless, that's already is. First and foremost, Paul says, in the home, the man must already be blameless.

You and I, we need to be blameless in our homes. I think many times the Christian life is hardest to live at home, and yet that's what we're called to live. Not just at church. It's easy to live the Christian life at church a couple hours a week. That's not too difficult. We can do almost anything for two hours a week, and that's not too bad. But to live the Christian life on the clock and off...

When you wake up on the wrong side of the bed or the right side of the bed. When there's those difficult days and problems with the bills. To live the Christian life and have the character and nature of God is difficult. That's when it is most difficult. And yet, within the home, Paul says, here's your criteria. Here's where we start. If a man is already blameless. Now, Crete was a difficult place.

We already read it. We'll see it again. The people there on the island of Crete were known as liars, evil beasts, and lazy gluttons. The moral standard there was low. Yet, that did not lower God's standard for leaders. And that's important.

because it takes away all of our excuses for why we're not mature Christians. It takes away all of our excuses for why we don't match up and why we don't qualify. Well, I'm quick-tempered because I was raised in this environment and lived in this neighborhood and had these relatives and had this situation and my parents separated when I was young and I have all these issues because of all these things. But here in the worst of the worst place, there in the island of Crete, where things were really bad and morality was very, very low.

God's standard was the same. He keeps us all to the same standard.

The standard of perfection. And He calls us to maturity. Which means that no matter what your conditions, no matter what your background, no matter what you've been through, God can touch your life. He can change you. He can transform you and make you into the Christian, make you into the person that He desires for you to be. God is not limited by our backgrounds and by our environments. He's not limited by those things. The standard for us is the same. We need to walk with God and be fully surrendered to Him.

So he gives this criteria, if a man is blameless. Blameless, it means to be unreprovable, meaning that there's nothing in his life that needs correcting. Things are in order, things are in line. He's not disregarding God in particular areas of his life. Sometimes we do that. We walk with God real strong in these areas, but we have those side issues that we still allow ourselves to run and we're not fully submitted to God.

but not so with one who is qualified. He is blameless, unreprovable. Now, I should point out, all leaders are still human and all leaders still have a sinful nature. What Paul is saying here is not that

A man or a leader, a woman of God, a man of God, can never fall short or fail in some area. No, you will fall short, and I will fall short in areas. We will sin. We all sin and fall short of the glory of God. And it's not, okay, three strikes and you're out. You mess up three times, that's it. No more for you. What Paul is dealing with here is a pattern of life, a lifestyle and the conduct that is lived in the pattern of

of blamelessness, of godliness, or ungodlessness. He's talking about the pattern of life. How is it going to show if you're mature as a believer in Jesus Christ in the way that you live and the pattern of your life if you are blameless in the home? It's an evidence of maturity for us as believers in Jesus Christ. It's in the home because he deals with the things of the home. He goes on to talk about the husband of one wife and having faithful children, not accused of dissipation or insubordination.

Now notice the language here. He says, the husband of one wife, indicating for us that Paul is talking about men within the body of Christ. In his body, in the church, God has chosen to give the place of leadership to men.

It's not a slam on women. It's not a downplay of their importance or priority. It's just the order that God has given. It does not mean that there are not women who are spiritual leaders. And it does not mean that these things that we're talking about today don't apply to ladies. It just means that within the church, God has ordained

that the men should be leading. Now, we dealt with this more in depth in 1 Timothy 2. If you want to dig in, I encourage you to do so. It's verses 12 through 15 of 1 Timothy 2. You can get the CD and some other study resources and have a good time. But we're going to move on. So, the husband of one wife. Now, also a lot of people have taken this to mean that a person who has been divorced and remarried can never be in a position of spiritual leadership.

And then some even add on to this that a person has to be married to be in a position of spiritual leadership. So saying you can't be single and you can't have been divorced and remarried. Now, that is taking what Paul is saying here too far. We need a little bit to understand the culture that Paul was dealing with. Essentially, here's what he's saying. No polygamy and no immorality.

The Greek culture of the day had this saying or this concept that every man should have three women in his life. One, a mistress for conversation. Two, a concubine for pleasure. And three, a wife to bear his children. That was the mindset of the day. Paul says, none of that in the church. None of that among mature believers. That is not a characteristic of someone who walks with God and knows God and has a real relationship with God.

This phrase could also be translated a one-woman man. That is, if he is married, he is faithful to his wife. He's not a player. He's not, you know, with other ladies. He's not with other girls. He's not going beyond the bounds and the bonds of marriage. But he's devoted to that one woman that he committed his life to.

So he's to be a one-woman man. But he's also to have his children in order. He says, and faithful children not accused of dissipation or insubordination. Now here again, many people, I believe, take this too far, saying that a pastor or leader cannot have children who are rebellious or that do not walk with the Lord. Paul is saying that the leader cannot be one who just lets their kids do whatever they want and get away with everything. The example for this is,

It's in 1 Samuel chapter 2, and you don't have to turn there, but you can look there later if you're interested. And the picture is of Eli, the priest, and his two sons. If you're familiar with the story, Eli was a pretty good priest for a while. Later in his years, he didn't do so well. And his two sons, well, they were never good, really, at all to begin with.

And his two sons were serving with him in the priesthood. They were serving at the temple, actually at the tabernacle at that point. And as they're serving at the tabernacle, well, they're doing lots of wicked things. They're ripping off people's offerings that they're bringing to the Lord and taking their pick and taking the things that they want. They're actually committing sexual immorality with some of the ladies that would come and gather at the tabernacle.

And so there was this great wickedness that was going on in Eli's household with his two sons. Now it tells us in 1 Samuel 2 that Eli hears about these things. He hears what his sons have been doing. And so verse 23 says, So Eli confronts his sons and says, Why do you do these things? What are you guys doing? I hear about all these evil things. Why are you doing these things?

But the problem is that Eli never went beyond that question. That was a good starting point. But he never applied any discipline. And he didn't correct the situation. He didn't take steps to make sure that it wouldn't happen again. He just asked them the question and then let them continue to live and do the things that they were doing. And so later in the chapter, in verse 29 of 1 Samuel 2, God sends a prophet to him.

saying several different things, but among them asking the question, why do you honor your sons more than me? God asked him. God is saying, look, you're not correcting this situation. You're not dealing with it. You're allowing your sons to defile the temple, to defile the ministry. You're allowing your sons to do all of this stuff. Why are you honoring them more than me? Because you're not correcting them. You're not being obedient to me. You're not following me. In 1 Samuel 3,

The Lord speaks again to Eli, this time through the prophet Samuel when he was just a little boy. And through Samuel he tells them, I will judge his house forever for the iniquity which he knows because his sons made themselves vile and he did not restrain them. Here was God's beef with Eli.

You knew it and you did nothing about it. You didn't restrain them. You didn't correct the situation. And so that's what Paul is dealing with here. Not that, hey, kids are going to be rebellious. But if you allow them, well, that's a whole different thing. And if you don't deal with and if you don't apply restraint and if you don't apply correction, well, that's a whole different issue. And it's not the quality, it's not the characteristic of a mature believer.

So those who are called to lead within the body of Christ, all of us as we're called to be mature believers, we're not to have children accused of dissipation or insubordination, but we're to take care of our household and let it be in decency and in order. So number one, Paul says, the qualification, the qualities of a mature believer is they're blameless at home. They really live the Christian life. They don't just pretend it while at church. But then number two,

Is there also blameless at church? Look at verse 7 through 9. It says,

So now Paul focuses on the church. He says, As his steward, as his servant, he is to be blameless.

So in the ministry as well, these men are to be blameless. Again, it means to be unreprovable, that there's nothing that needs correcting. Same word that was used before. And he deals with three areas really. What he is not, what he is, and what he does. What he is not, he's not self-willed.

A mature Christian is not self-willed, not a person who says, my will be done, and it's my way that needs to take place, and I'm trying to accomplish my purposes and meet my goals and fulfill the objectives that I have placed. It's not my will be done, and I want to do what I want to do. Instead, like Jesus, we say, your will be done, not mine. God's will be done. So a mature believer is not self-willed. A mature believer is also not quick-tempered.

The idea here of quick tempered is not someone who's really passive and really calm and then all of a sudden just has a real bad temper all of a sudden. But the picture is that of someone who's always angry. And because he's always angry, anytime there's a bump, anytime there's a conflict, anytime there's something that's not according to his own will, because he's self-willed, anytime such event happens, then...

there comes the explosion. He's prone to anger because there's this anger and bitterness within him that is ready to come out at any time. He's also to be not given to wine. A mature Christian is not given to wine. They're not a drunkard. They're not captivated. And that's the idea of being given to wine. That being held captive and in bondage to it and enslaved and continually, again, the pattern is drunkenness. And that's not a characteristic of a Christian, a mature Christian.

Not violent is the next one. To be violent is to be contentious, ready for a blow. It's not someone who's always looking to start a fight. He's not someone who's trying to stir up arguments and ready at any time just to throw down with anybody who'll do it with them. We're not to be contentious. Mature believer, not violent. And not greedy for money. Not greedy for money. Remember Paul tells us in Timothy 1,

I think it's 1 Timothy 6 that the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. This is the idea here. A mature believer is not greedy for money, not caught up in the love of money because God is the passion of their life and not material things and not the things of this life. And so they're not greedy for money because they're passionate about God. So those are the things that a mature believer is not. Verse 8 is the things that a mature believer is. Here's what a mature believer is. Hospitable.

It simply means to be generous to guests. I think it's a word that we can all understand. It's not very complicated for us. It would be especially important in those days because the churches would meet in the homes. And so it would be necessary, you're inviting people and having people over to your home to minister to them that you would be generous and hospitable towards them. A mature believer is also a lover of what is good. A lover of what is good.

Do you love what is good? Now, a lot of times we love, you know, the juicy details of the gossip that's going around or we enjoy things that are not good. But for a mature believer, one of the marks, one of the characteristics is a love, a passion for the things that are good. Sometimes we think the things that are good are boring, don't we? Like church sometimes. It's boring. It's like 45 minutes already. We just end the message. We need to be a lover of what is good.

A mature believer is sober-minded. It means really to be of sound mind, to have self-control of your mind, to be with judgment and discernment when things are appropriate and when things are not appropriate. For me personally, I have to be very careful with this one because I love to just joke around and be silly and goof off. You can ask my wife and she'll verify that probably tenfold.

It's true. I just, I do. I'm always messing around. I'm always goofing off. But I have to be sober-minded at the same time. And there's a time to have a good time and make jokes and be silly and goofy. And there's a time to be serious and do the work that God has before us. A mature believer is sober-minded. A mature believer is just. A mature believer is just, meaning they obey or observe God's laws.

They see what God says in the scriptures. They see how God has called us to live, what He has called us to do, and they obey what God has said. Going along with that, a mature believer is holy. It's the other side of the coin for being just. Holy is to be free from wickedness or undefiled by sin, to be separate from it. And so a mature believer is not defiled by sin. They're free from wickedness. Now again,

We all sin and we all fall short of the glory of God. We all stumble. We have a sinful nature. But when it's a pattern and when it's your lifestyle, that's when it's an issue. That's when it's an indication that you are not a mature believer and that is not what God has called you to. Finally, for the is's, verse 8, a mature believer is self-controlled. Sound mind is self-control of your own mind. Self-control means

Now it's self-control over your body. You have power over self, mastering and controlling yourself, your body, its appetites and needs. A mature believer cannot say, I couldn't help it in regards to sin. I tried not to, but I just couldn't help it. Or the devil made me do it. Those don't fly. No, a mature believer has self-control. Their life is not lived in a pattern of uncontrol.

of being out of control, of not being able to limit, to be disciplined, to do the things that God has called us to do. So a mature believer is not, a mature believer is. And what does a mature believer do? Verse 9, a mature believer holds fast the faithful word. He says, holding fast the faithful word as he has been taught, that he may be able by sound doctrine. The product of

of holding fast to the Word of God is sound doctrine. Sticking to the Word of God, clinging to it is the idea here. Clinging to the Word of God produces sound doctrine. And so a mature believer clings to the Word of God and as a result, a mature believer has sound doctrine. Sound doctrine is the solid biblical truth. Let me give you an example. Some people don't cling to the Word of God.

It's not the authority. And so they take a little bit of the Scripture, but then they also include a little bit of what this TV personality says and what this family member said and what this friend said, and they kind of mix it all together and have a great confusion. It's not sound doctrine, but it sounds good. It sounds right. But if it doesn't line up with Scripture, there's a big problem. Sound doctrine is the truth that is taught throughout the Scriptures, truth that is consistent with what the whole Bible teaches.

And that is why we need to cling to the Word of God and stick to the Word of God. That we would have God's truth and know what God says and be relying upon what He says, not what the people around us say. Now, it's kind of like steps. So step one, you cling to the Word of God. Step two, you have sound doctrine. Step three, now you're able to exhort. That's there in verse nine. Both to exhort and convict those who contradict.

To exhort means to call to one side. It means to encourage. The idea is mature believers...

They've clung to the Word of God. They have the truth of God's Word. And so they're able now to come alongside other believers, perhaps those who are struggling, perhaps those who are weaker, those who are younger Christians in the faith, and they're able to encourage them and help them and bring them along. They're able to come alongside them to help them overcome trials and difficulties and temptations. They're able to instruct them and all of the things that go along with that.

And we all need that kind of exhortation. We all need those who would come alongside of us to encourage us. So a mature believer exhorts, but also a mature believer convicts. Some people enjoy this a little bit too much. Some of us don't enjoy it at all. The word convict means to correct with conviction on the part of the one who is receiving correction. Sometimes it's necessary. Yes, we must rebuke. We must correct.

Because lives are going in the wrong direction. Bad choices are being made. And there needs to be conviction. And they need to respond and turn based upon what the Word of God says. And it's the Word of God which is our standard. It's the Word of God with which we exhort. It's the Word of God with which we convict. We can't convict with our own personal preferences and rebuke about our own opinions. But we can convict and rebuke based upon what the Word of God says and where it is being violated.

So mature believer number one, blameless at home. Number two, blameless at church. Number three, stops the mouths of those who are teaching what they ought not. Verse 10 and 11. For there are many insubordinate, both idle talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision, whose mouths must be stopped, who subvert whole households, teaching things which they ought not for the sake of dishonest gain.

Here Paul is giving us insight why there needs to be these leaders appointed there in Crete. What is the purpose? Why are leaders necessary? Paul says, for there are many insubordinate. The reason why, Titus, you have to appoint these elders, you have to get to work, is because there's a lot of people who are insubordinate. They're unruly and they're out of control. And that's why we need leaders. This word insubordinate is the same word that's used in verse 6

talking about the children. Having faithful children not accused of dissipation or insubordination. And so here's the point. It starts in verse 6. If a person cannot deal with insubordinate kids, with their own insubordinate kids, they will not be able to deal with insubordinate people within the church. It needs to be applied and dealt with at home first, and then we learn how to apply it within the body of Christ.

Paul says this as well in 1 Timothy 3, 5. He says, For if a man does not know how to rule his own house, how will he take care of the church of God? We need to look first at our own homes, at our own personal lives, and find out, am I a mature believer? Do I line up with the characteristics that God has laid out here? Because there needs to be leadership within the body of Christ. Because Paul says there's many who are insubordinate. They're both idle talkers and deceivers.

Some of those who are out of control, some of those who are unsubmissive are idle talkers. Let me take a moment before I get to that part. Insubordinate, okay? Insubordinate means not under submission. They're not submitted to authority. Now here's kind of the great irony. God gave authority to the church because there's many who do not submit to authority. There's many who are insubordinate. They do not submit to the authority of God.

They disobey God. They disregard God. They do not follow Him. And as a result, God gave authority to the body of Christ, positions and roles of authority, so that there would be leaders to help those who do not submit to God to be corrected, to be brought into right relationship, that they would be submitted to authority. We need authority over us.

We need to be submitted to the authority of God and those that he's placed in our lives as spiritual leaders. It's important for us. It's necessary for us. It's why Jesus gave us authority within the body of Christ. So Paul says, there's many insubordinate, both idle talkers and deceivers. Some of the insubordinate are idle talkers, meaning they speak nonsense, they speak nothing. In a sense, they're just being a distraction.

But then there's also some who are deceivers, who are actually there and they're leading people astray. They're pulling people away from a relationship with God. And Paul says their mouths must be stopped. One of the things a leader must do is stop the mouths of those who are idle talkers and deceivers. They cannot allow that to go on in the realm of their authority.

There's those people who are teaching what they ought not. And this is why a spiritual leader must hold fast to the Word of God. Because there's people who do not hold fast to the Word of God. And they're idle talkers and deceivers. They teach things that ought not to be taught, that are meaningless, that are worthless, or that are plain out incorrect and wrong and would lead people astray and away from God. And that is why we must hold fast to the Word of God. We need to know the truth.

It's often said, you know, the way that banks train employees to spot counterfeits is not to have them study the fakes, but to have them study the real thing. I agree that that's true. I've seen it in my wife, Kim. Very often, pretty regularly actually, which is kind of scary, but she'll come home with some story about how someone tried to pass something fake by her, either a counterfeit bill, very often fraudulent checks,

with all kinds of fake identification and all those types of things. But, you know, Citibank did not send her to, you know, months and years of schooling to study all the fake things so that she would know how to spot a fake. They just taught her what the real thing looks like and how it's supposed to look and the way it's supposed to be.

And when you study the real thing, then the fake is clear. It's obvious. It's apparent. In the same way with the Word of God. Study and know the truth. Study and know what the Bible teaches and you'll be able to spot the counterfeits however they come to you.

in conversation over the airwaves, on the radio, however it comes, you'll be able to spot the counterfeits because you cling to the Word of God and you'll understand that mouth needs to be stopped. That is not the truth. That is not in agreement with the Word of God. There are some people that are teaching what they ought not. And so God has given a place of authority and leadership within the body of Christ that that would be taken care of. But also in your own realm of authority. Every one of us is called to make disciples.

To every Christian, God has entrusted those that we're called to exhort and minister to and disciple. And under the realm of influence and authority that God has given to us, we need to make sure that when things that are not true come in, when there's mouths that need to be stopped, that we do it, that we take action, that we put an end to it because we know the truth. Number four, mature believer faith.

A leader in the body of Christ rebukes those who turn away. Verse 12. One of them, a prophet of their own, said, Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, and lazy gluttons. This testimony is true. Therefore, rebuke them sharply that they may be sound in the faith, not giving heed to Jewish fables and commandments of men who turn from the truth. Verse 13.

Now, verse 12 is interesting. In the Greek, it really says, one of them, a prophet of their own, said, Californians are always liars, evil beasts, and lazy gluttons. Okay, I'm just kidding. It doesn't say that. There's me joking and not being sober-minded, right? But it could apply. Here, the Cretans, one of their own people, one of their own writers, said, Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, and lazy gluttons. And Paul says, this testimony is true.

This is the reality of the kind of people that were there on the island of Crete that Titus was trying to minister to and among which the church was born. This is the tendency. This is the caliber of the people there within the church. Paul says, Rebuke them sharply, not softly, not vaguely, not kindly, but sharply. Why? Because life is at stake.

And they need to not give heed to Jewish fables and the commandments of men who turn from the truth. These people are leading them astray. So Timothy, I'm sorry, Titus, I'll probably do that a lot. Titus, you need to rebuke them sharply.

I read an article this morning about a woman who was rescued yesterday, and perhaps you heard this story. She's a woman here from Corona. She's 21 years old, and she got lost in the mountains, San Gorgonio. She was climbing to the top, and she started out, she was with a bunch of people. There was a whole group that was going up, and she started getting ahead of everybody. She was walking faster, going up the path faster, and she was

And pretty soon she was out of sight and she couldn't see them and they couldn't see her and she got lost. And she was out there in the wilderness for two nights. When they finally rescued her, she was dehydrated. She'd been in the cold temperature at 6,000 feet. And it all started because she was walking faster than the rest of the group. One of the locals there said that the switchback trails that go up

are very faint and easy to lose when it begins to get dim, when the sun is not in full light. And it's easy to lose the trail. And so she got ahead, she lost the trail, and she was out there for two days. Very fortunate that she is alive. Now, if you were there and you see her, the faint trail, she's wandering from it, she's lost sight of it, would you kind of suggest that

Maybe you might want to consider thinking about possibly one day coming back onto the trail over here. It would be a sharp rebuke, right? Hey, get back on the trail. You're going to get lost. You could lose your life out there in the wilderness. Stay on the path. Stay on the marked areas where you're supposed to be so that you don't get lost. In the same way, this is what Paul is saying, rebuke them sharply.

There needs to be sharp instruction, sharp correction that they would recognize, that they would be awakened to the fact that they're straying from the trail. Jesus said, narrow is the road that leads to life. Wide is the road that leads to destruction. And we need to not be shy, but we need to speak up and say, hey,

You're leaving the trail. You're getting off the narrow path and you're entering the wide road of destruction. You need to get back where God wants you to be. You need to get back on the right path. Not, oh, maybe it's a good idea. Hey, you're going the wrong way. This is what the scripture says. Again, we can't rebuke based on our own opinions and preferences, but we need to hold fast to the word of God and show where the word of God says what they need to do.

Because they're turning from the truth, Paul is saying. We're not talking about minor issues, although those need to be addressed too, but Paul is dealing with some major things here. People are turning from the truth and there needs to be sharp rebuke when that is taking place. It needs to be dealt with strongly because a person's life is at stake. Finally, number five. A mature believer, a leader in the body of Christ, recognizes those who are defiled. Look at verse 15.

Several times in this portion, Paul has brought out the Jewish element of these things. Look at verse 10 again. He said at the end there,

Both idle talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision. The circumcision is a title that was given to a group of people who come from a Jewish background. They come from Judaism because that's where Jesus ministered to. Jesus himself was Jewish. He ministered to the Jews. That's where God sent him to. It was his disciples that were to go into all the rest of the world. But so many of the Jews responded. Many of the Jews received Jesus Christ and they got saved.

But some of them had a hard time letting go of the old covenant and letting go of some of the things that God had once required but no longer required. The circumcision is one of those groups. They believed in Jesus Christ. They loved Jesus Christ. But they insisted that in order to be saved, in order for a person to experience salvation, they had to become a Jew.

Which means the males had to be circumcised. They had to become Jewish and practice Judaism and believe in Jesus Christ and then they would be saved. In verse 14, he mentions that they would not give heed to Jewish fables. There's some issues going on there within the church. A big problem in Paul's day.

Many of the Jews who would believe in Jesus had a hard time keeping it as simple as the gospel. And so they would be teaching, you also have to keep the law in order to be saved. Now here's the problem. Jesus plus anything equals denying God.

When you say you need to believe in Jesus Christ to be saved, plus, and in addition to, you have to be circumcised, or you have to keep the law, or you have to be baptized, or you have to do these things. When you add other things onto belief in Jesus Christ for salvation, now the formula equals denying God. Because to add anything onto believing in Jesus Christ is a statement, a pronouncement of unbelief.

That's why Paul says, to the pure are all things who are pure. Now, this Jewish element was very restrictive and very legalistic. And you can't do that because that's not pure. And you can't eat that because that's not pure. And you can't have this. Remember Peter? He was like that at first too. In Acts chapter 10, God brings down the blanket from heaven with all the different animals. And it's a vision. And he tells Peter, arise, kill, and eat. And he said, oh, I've never touched an unclean thing. And God tells Peter, don't call unclean what I have called clean.

And then, immediately after that, God sends him to the household of Cornelius, who is a Gentile. That was not what Jewish men were supposed to do. They weren't to enter the house of a Gentile and have that type of fellowship. But Peter had learned the lesson. God had instructed him and corrected him. To the pure, all things are pure. To those who believe in Jesus Christ, all things are pure. Like Paul would say, all things are lawful for me. But those who are defiled and unbelieving...

It's those who do not believe in the fullness of what Christ has done for us, the fullness of His payment upon the cross, that He took my punishment in my place, that He fulfilled the whole law on my behalf there at the cross. Those who do not believe that, their mind and their conscience are defiled. Nothing is pure to them. The result is that though they profess to know God, in works they deny Him.

The real issue is they did not believe in the fullness of salvation that Jesus offered. And as a result, they were defiled. Paul says, being abominable, that it is disgusting to God, disobedient and disqualified for every good work. They pulled themselves out. They disqualified themselves because the one thing required for salvation is to believe in Jesus Christ and the fullness of what He did for us upon the cross. Taking our sin away

Taking our place of punishment and judgment and providing for us an opportunity for eternal life. This last verse, verse 16, is a sobering verse. They profess to know God, but in works they deny Him. A person can profess anything they want, but the reality is demonstrated by how they live, by their works, by how they conduct themselves, by the pattern by which they live.

Again, going back to the beginning, these criteria, these things that Titus was to use in selecting leaders is not just something that's limited to leaders, but it's what God has set forth that will be the characteristics of all mature believers. And he's just telling Titus, make sure when you pick a leader that you pick someone who is mature in their relationship with God. And so we can hold up this list and we can hold up our lives and we can see how we line up.

Do we fit the description of a mature believer? Do I fit the description of someone who truly has a relationship with God and is walking with God? Just before I came up, we were singing the song and one of the songs, I'm forgetting the words at the moment, bring me back to an undivided heart. An undivided heart. Scripture talks about having a simple heart for God. When you have a divided heart, it makes things complicated.

Because this portion of you, this segment of you is devoted to God. But then there's these other portions that are devoted to other things. And so there's this competition for the place of priority.

And sometimes it's like you have dual personalities or maybe more than that because sometimes you really love God and you want to follow God because that's a part of your heart. But then other times you're following your own thoughts and your own will and the things that you want to do because that's also a part of your heart. And God calls us to have a simple heart, which means not divided, not complicated, one whole heart devoted to Him. This is what God calls us to do.

Not that we're one way with some people and another way with other people and we're one way at church, we're one way at home, but that we have a simple heart towards God. That we have an undivided heart. That we're completely, 100% sold out for Jesus Christ. It's what God requires and desires from us. If you don't measure up to the criteria, if you don't match the list, what do you do? This list was not intended for you to...

read it every day and try to, okay, I'm going to try to be more blameless today and I'm going to try not to be given to wine and I'm going to try to be hospitable and I'm going to try this, I'm going to try that. That's not the purpose of this list. We have a very difficult time trying to do anything to change ourselves. It just doesn't work. God can do it, but He's got to do it. We can't do it on ourselves. So I can't look at this list and try to be a better Christian and try to be a better person and try to fulfill what God has set forth here.

No, what happens is when I fall short in this list, when I see and I look and I measure my life and I say, man, I'm blowing it here and I'm blowing it there, then it's an indication to me of something that's going on within my heart and that I need to surrender my heart completely to God so that He can continue to transform me and do that work. It's not that I measure up and I try to fix those areas that I fall short in, but that I surrender to God even more so.

that I walk closer with Him, that I surrender myself and give myself to Him, that He could do the work that He wants to do in my life. This is a list that will be true of you when you are a mature believer who is walking with God. That's why Paul says, He is blameless. God's already done the work. And it doesn't matter our background. It doesn't matter what difficulties we've had. It doesn't matter what family we grew up with, what struggles we've had in the past. This is a work that God can do in anyone.

who would be surrendered to Him. So if there's things out of line, it goes back to your heart and your relationship with God. And again, I challenge you, do you profess to know God, but in works deny Him? Do they not match up? This is heavy. I mean, this is really sobering. There's lots of people who call themselves Christians, but in their life, in the way that they live, they deny Him. Don't be deceived. God is not mott. Whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.

If he sows to the Spirit, he will reap everlasting life. But if he sows to the flesh, he will reap everlasting destruction. The way that we live shows where we stand with God. Now we might not like to think about it too much and we might not like to care about it too much and we might wish we kind of could blow over this whole thing. But the reality is, you know where you stand by the way that you live. And your family knows where you stand by the way that you live. The world around you knows where you stand.

by the way that you live. The way that you live shows where your heart is at. And God wants us to have hearts that are fully surrendered to Him, that He could bring us to maturity, that He could transform us into the people that He desires for us to be. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, Lord, there is a need for leadership, Lord, in our lives, in the realms of authority that You've given to us. But Lord, first things first, in order for us to lead,

We need to be right with you. And so God, I pray for those who would say this morning that they don't measure up, there's areas that are out of line, they're not in maturity walking with you. God, I pray that you would draw them close to you. Lord, I pray that you would help them surrender to you completely. Lord, that you would be faithful to complete the work that you began in them. Lord, that you would bring them to maturity. God, I pray that you would do that work in us.

Lord, I pray for those who profess to know God but in works deny Him. Lord, for those who are just faking it, for those who are just playing the part, for those who are just...

Not really live in the life. God, maybe they're even deceived. Even though your word says not to be deceived, but maybe they are. Maybe they're deceived and they've said the prayer, they made the profession of faith, but their life has never changed. God, I pray that you would open their eyes. Lord, that you would bring them to repentance. Lord, that they wouldn't just have the name Christ or name Christian, but Lord, that they would live the life that you've called them to live. And God, I pray that you would help us to lead in our homes, with our families. Lord, help us to lead.

to come alongside, to exhort, to encourage, to correct when necessary, holding fast to the Word of God. Help us to lead, Lord. Lord, for those that You've placed in our lives for us to disciple, help us to lead, God. Help us to feed them Your Word, to encourage them and help them that they might grow up in You. Lord, in our workplaces, in our neighborhoods, in our church, Lord, I pray that You would help us to lead well, to lead strong. Lord, that You would use us

to impact the people around us for the rest of eternity. Help us, Lord, to minister to your body. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.