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Bibles to Titus chapter 1. Titus 
chapter 1, our focus this evening will be verses 10 to 16, but 
I do want to read the chapter, so I'll begin reading in verse 
1 of Titus 1. Paul, a bondservant of God and 
an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God's elect and 
the acknowledgement of the truth which accords with godliness, 
in hope of eternal life which God, who cannot lie, promised 
before time began, but has in due time manifested His word 
through preaching, which was committed to me according to 
the commandment of God our Savior. To Titus, a true son in our common 
faith, grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and the Lord 
Jesus Christ our Savior. 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. If a man 
is blameless, the husband of one wife, having faithful children, 
not accused of dissipation or insubordination. For a bishop 
must be blameless, as a steward of God, not self-willed, not 
quick-tempered, not given to wine, not violent, not greedy 
for money, but hospitable, a lover of what is good, sober-minded, 
just, holy, self-controlled, holding fast the faithful word 
as he has been taught, that he may be able, by sound doctrine, 
both to exhort and convict those who contradict. 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. One of them, 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 
giving heed to Jewish fables and commandments of men who turn 
from the truth. To the pure all things are pure, 
but to those who are defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure. 
But even their mind and conscience are defiled. They profess to 
know God, but in works they deny Him, being abominable, disobedient, 
and disqualified for every good work." Amen. Well, let us pray. 
Father, thank you for this account of the book of Titus. We thank 
you for the specific reason for Titus' ministry there on the 
island of Crete. And God, I pray that we would 
learn many good things from this book as we go through its contents. 
We pray the Holy Spirit would be our guide, our teacher, the 
one who impresses these things upon our hearts and minds, not 
only as individuals in a church, but as a church as a whole. We 
know these pastoral epistles are tasked primarily with addressing 
things affecting the church as a whole. And God, we thank you 
that you've not left us alone in the world. You've given us 
specific documents addressing specific issues, and give us 
grace, wisdom, and strength to apply these things in our own 
context. Again, forgive us now for our 
sin and our unrighteousness. Fill us with your Holy Spirit. 
We pray through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. Well, last week 
we considered the qualifications for elders there in chapter 1. 
at verses five to nine. And one of the things that we 
saw there, or a couple of the things that we saw, we saw the 
characteristics that need to be in the heart of a man. In 
other words, there are many sort of qualities or virtues that 
a man must have in order to be considered qualified for the 
Christian eldership. But there is one particular aspect 
of gift, and that's addressed in verse nine. The elder must 
hold fast the faithful word as he has been taught, So he must 
be trained, he must know the Bible, he must know theology, 
he must appropriate in his own heart the doctrine of the knowledge 
of God. So he himself has assimilated 
that truth, but that then furnishes him or gives him the ability, 
this is what he goes on to say, for a two-fold task. That he 
may be able, by sound doctrine, that doctrine that he has assimilated, 
that doctrine that he has received, it is now incumbent upon him 
to articulate it to others. And the first group is to exhort. And when he says exhort, he means 
the people of God. And he's going to give a detailed 
sort of instruction on that from chapter 2, verse 1, to chapter 
3, verse 8. The exhortation of the people 
of God, instruction on how to conduct themselves as believers 
in the church. But that second task is convict 
those who contradict, or refute those, or rebuke those who contradict. And it's to that group he turns 
initially, and that's what's described in verses 10 to 16. 
And verse 10 begins with 4. That's a connective word to show 
us that there is connection. between the qualifications for 
elders and this group of heretics that need to be silenced. In 
other words, set in order the things that are lacking. Titus, 
you have to refute the heresy. You have to appoint elders that 
know the word in such a way that they too will be able to refute 
heretics. Now, I said heresy, but we need 
to understand, Paul isn't just talking about bad teaching, he's 
talking about bad teachers. Not just heresy, but heretics. He is giving these elders instruction, 
or Titus, and then who would in turn instruct the elders on 
how they deal with heretics in their midst. So I want to look 
first at the description of the heretics in verses 10 and 11. 
Secondly, the corroboration concerning the heretics in verses 12 to 
13a. And then finally, the refutation 
of the heretics in verses 13b to 16. But when we look at the 
description of the heretics, we see a twofold emphasis. He 
first describes their character, and then he indicates something 
concerning their conduct. Notice with reference to their 
character. In the first place, he says, there are many. Verse 
10 starts off, for there are many. In other words, the history 
of the church bears evidence of this. Wherever the truth has 
been preached, there will be detractors. Wherever the truth 
of God is maintained, there will be the opposition. There will 
always be the enemies of Christ, not just out there, but within 
the confines of the church. Old Covenant Israel had threat 
from external enemies, Philistines, and Hivites, and Hittites, and 
the various other ites that occupied Canaan. But they also had internal 
threat. They had their own sin. They 
had their own false teachers. They had a whole host of things 
that tried to jeopardize their tenure in the land. Well, the 
church is no different. We certainly have the external 
threat. We have oppressive government at times. We have false religion. 
We have other things that come upon us. But what is even more 
difficult is the threat from within. And that's what Paul 
is addressing here. There are many, and the prevalence 
of heresy and heretics necessitates qualified eldership within the 
context of the local church so that men may be able to convict 
or refute or rebuke those who contradict. We cannot allow such 
things to go on. Our hearts have a natural tendency 
to that which is dark. We have a natural tendency to 
that which is twisted and distorted. If we don't deal with heresy 
in the midst of the church, then it will spread like gangrene 
and it will affect a whole host of people. So in the first place, 
he says they are many. Secondly, he says they are insubordinate. Notice verse 10, for there are 
many insubordinate. If you look back for just a moment 
at 1 Timothy chapter one, 1 Timothy 1. We see this insubordination 
fleshed out in the false teachers that Paul is dealing with with 
Timothy in Ephesus. 1 Timothy 1, verse 3. As I urged you when I went into 
Macedonia, remain in Ephesus, that you may charge some that 
they teach no other doctrine, nor give heed to fables and endless 
genealogies, which cause disputes rather than godly edification, 
which is in faith. Now, the purpose of the commandment 
is love from a pure heart, from a good conscience, and from sincere 
faith, from which some, having strayed, have turned aside to 
idle talk. Notice what verse 7 says, desiring 
to be teachers of the law. They haven't been recognized 
as teachers of the law. They haven't been approved by 
the church as teachers of the law. They simply desire to be 
teachers of the law. And they, in their arrogance 
and in their insubordination, have assumed for themselves that 
particular posture, desiring to be teachers of the law, understanding 
neither what they say nor the things which they affirm. In 
the very qualifications given by Paul to Titus, in Titus chapter 
1 at verse 6, notice that he describes the elder as blameless. Blamelessness certainly includes 
subordination to lawful authority. Insubordinate men are not blameless 
men. Insubordinate men are in sin, 
and that is wrong. As well, when we look at this 
particular section, notice in Titus 1.8, He is to be self-control. Again, that is not consistent 
with a spirit of insubordination. So with reference to these false 
teachers plaguing the churches in Crete, they are insubordinate. They have gone unsent. They have 
irrigated to themselves positions of teaching authority, and it's 
wrong. John Gill says, persons who are 
not subject to the law of God or gospel of Christ, whose spirits 
are not subject to the prophets, and who will not submit themselves 
to them that have the rule over them, nor attend to the admonitions 
of the church. nor be brought into any regularity 
and order. And there are many of this sort 
who are not sent forth by Christ or his churches, but went forth 
of themselves and were corruptors of the word." Brethren, that 
is a big problem plaguing the churches today. Remember, as 
we went through this list of qualifications with reference 
to eldership, it's not only the subjective desire on the part 
of the candidate, but it must be the objective affirmation 
by the church. It can never be that we just 
allow people who desire to be teachers to be teachers. They 
have to meet the qualifications. They have to be vetted. They 
have to be proved. They have to be investigated. 
Even then, there are problems associated with eldership, but 
at least we've done our jobs and we have kept out men that 
have no business whatsoever occupying Christian pulpits. This is wrong. I've often thought, or not often, 
perhaps that's an overstretch, but in a man's testing or qualification 
period, we ought to say, you know what, we were going to ordain 
you in this, you know, next month, but we're going to put it off 
for another eight months and just see how he deals with that. If 
he gets upset, if he gets irritated, if he gets unrighteous about 
that, and he feels like he's been gypped or slighted, I don't 
think that is manifesting a good sort of attitude. Now, if we're 
doing it just to pick on him, I can see why he might not like 
that. So strike that. We'll not do that. But a man 
can be seen the way that it responds with reference to lawful authority 
over him, even if he doesn't agree with that authority. There 
are instances and seasons and times where we will not agree 
with the lawful authority over us, but we still must be subordinate 
for conscience sake. And that definitely holds true 
in the church of the Lord Jesus Christ. So there are many, they 
are insubordinate. He says thirdly, they're liars. 
He describes them with two terms here. He says both idle talkers 
and deceivers. Again, we see that in 1 Timothy 
1, verses six and seven, but then notice in 2 Timothy 2. 2 Timothy 2, an admonition by 
Paul to Timothy, verse 16, he says, shun profane and idle babblings, 
for they will increase to more ungodliness. So he describes 
these heretics first as idle talkers, and then secondly, as 
deceivers. The deceiver one is obvious. 
If you are preaching contrary to the gospel of Jesus Christ, 
our Lord, you are lying. If under the guise of religion, 
you are subverting the very word of the living and true God, you're 
a deceiver, you're a liar, and no one should ever listen to 
you. But this idle talk, it's kind of an interesting statement. 
And I think John Gill, as he describes the meaning behind 
this, is essentially describing much of what passes for Christian 
preaching today. He says, who deliver out in their 
discourses empty, trifling, superficial, and frivolous things, which have 
no solidity and substance in them, nor do they tend to edification, 
only great swelling words of vanity, vain jangling and babbling 
about things to no profit. Again, I think that's an apt 
description, at least to some of the guys I've seen on YouTube, 
that really marks or characterizes or describes the way of their 
sermonizing. It is precisely how John Dill 
describes this idol talk. So there are many, they're insubordinate, 
they're liars, but then notice, fourthly, they include Jews. 
He says at the end of verse 10, especially those of the circumcision. By that he means they are Jewish 
people who have professed faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. Now 
it's a bit tough to try and profile specifically the heretics and 
their heresy in Titus and in 1 Timothy and 2 Timothy. It's 
not strictly Judaizing the way that we see in the book of Galatians. 
Rather, it seems to be more of a preoccupation with esoteric 
things, sort of attaching themselves to the Jewish religion. He mentions 
Jewish fables in verse 14. It isn't, again, necessarily 
Judy Ising, but sort of a mishmash of all kinds of things, a mingling 
together of various strands or elements of Jewish sort of religion. and fable and myth and bringing 
them together. It included asceticism, which 
is that idea that as long as we stay away from certain things, 
if we don't touch certain things, if we don't eat certain things, 
if we don't handle certain things, well then we're going to be fine. 
That's his reference to the pure and the defiled later on. in 
verse 15. So again, it's difficult to know 
with absolute certainty, but when we compare 1st and 2nd Timothy 
and Titus, I think George Knight is right. He sort of collates 
the data and he says the false teachers of the pastoral epistles 
are characterized by an interest in myths. and genealogies, a 
concern with the law or a Jewish orientation, an interest in antitheses 
that they identify as knowledge, a tendency toward controversy, 
argumentation, and speculation, deceptiveness, immorality, and 
a desire to get material gained by means of their teaching. He's 
got the text specified there, and I think he's right. So it's 
not just a one-for-one Judaizing that affected the churches of 
Galatia that Paul combats in the epistle to the Galatians. 
That's cotton dry, no pun intended, it hinged upon circumcision. 
For those who thought they could add to their faith circumcision 
or ceremonies in order to be received by God, Paul pronounces 
a strong anathema on that distortion of the gospel. When it comes 
to the pastorals, again, there is this sort of mingling of sort 
of mystical elements and myth and fable and emphasis still 
on the Jewish code in terms of what they could eat and what 
they couldn't eat. But then if you look at verse 
12, we see that Cretans were a problem as well. And we're 
gonna look at verse 12 in a bit more detail. So the reference 
to the Cretans in verse 12 indicates it wasn't just a Jewish problem, 
but Cretans were involved too. So you had a problem on the churches 
or in the cities on Crete where there were churches. You had 
both Cretans and Jews that professed faith in Jesus Christ, but they 
were troubling the churches of our Lord Jesus. Gordon Clark 
says, the Cretan churches contain both Jews and native Cretans. 
Here the Jews caused the most trouble. They above all could 
be called fallacious reasoners. But the Christians converted 
from paganism also had their faults. Paul addresses both groups. There is also the additional 
possibility that even some Jews, after having lived in Crete for 
a generation or two, may have succumbed to Cretan characteristics 
and so merited Epimenides' condemnation. Now, Epimenides is the prophet 
of their own who said that Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, 
and lazy gluttons. So all that to say, the particular 
heresy affecting the churches on the island of Crete had a 
Jewish influence, but as well a Cretan influence. And from 
our context, and from the broader context, we can see that there 
was a preoccupation with Jewish fables and myths, there was a 
preoccupation with the commandments of men, because Paul says in 
verse 14, they're not to go after the commandments of men, and 
as well issues surrounding purity. Now, George Knight makes one 
other step that I think is good in terms of a connection. Turn 
to 1 Timothy chapter 4. Based on the language of purity 
and defilement that we find in Titus 1.15, I think Knight is 
on the right track connecting 1 Timothy 4 and the problems 
associated in Ephesus with Titus chapter 1 and the problems associated 
with Crete. If you look at 1 Timothy 4.1, 
Now, the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will 
depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and 
doctrines of demons, speaking lies and hypocrisy, having their 
own conscience seared with a hot iron. Think about that description 
before we look at the exact content of the heresy. I mean, you would 
think that Paul is describing mass murderers. You would think 
that Paul is describing meth manufacturers. You would think 
that he's describing a team of prostitutes that show up at the 
church door. Listen to what he says. Giving 
heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, speaking 
lies and hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a 
hot iron. Look at what the text goes on to identify as their 
sin. Forbidding to marry. and commanding 
to abstain from foods which God created to be received with thanksgiving 
by those who believe and know the truth. It was a form of what 
is called asceticism, this idea that holiness comes by what we 
don't touch. Holiness comes by what we don't 
eat. Holiness comes by what we avoid. And in this particular instance, 
you ought to avoid marriage and you ought to avoid meat, because 
both of them are physical, both of them are base, both of them 
are wrong, and it will never commend you to God. There seems 
to be a degree of gnosticism and a view that matter is evil, 
sort of latent in the heretics of this particular timeframe. 
Paul says this is wrong. Notice what he says in verse 
4. So when we compare these passages, we see, again, not strictly Judaizing. 
You have to be circumcised along with faith in order to be saved. 
But Jewish myths, preoccupation with the law, not in terms of the threefold 
use and the threefold division and ways that we might be preoccupied 
with it, but ways that were wrong, desiring to be teachers of the 
law, having no idea what they're even talking about, Paul says 
in 1 Timothy chapter 1 at verse 7. So these are dangerous men, 
and notice their conduct. We see the description in terms 
of character. Now note their conduct. Verse 11, it says, they 
subvert households. whose mouths must be stopped, 
we'll visit that in a few moments, who subvert whole households. You see that in 2 Timothy 3, 
you probably are right there. Look at 2 Timothy 3, verse 6. For of this sort are those who 
creep into households and make captives of gullible women loaded 
down with sins, led away by various lusts. You see it in Jude 4 as 
well. Certain persons crept in unnoticed, 
ungodly men. You see, they don't come to churches 
that have a functioning, qualified eldership that actually teach 
the Word of God in truth. They rather pick off the weak 
ones. They rather go to the small Bible study, and there they infect 
people with their heresy and their heretical views and doctrines. 
They subvert whole households. Brethren, we need to take heed 
to this relative to the internet age. I'm not going to say here's 
10 lists or 10 sites you should never visit, but you should be 
well aware that not everything that purports to be the biblical 
study on whatever is necessarily so. Just because somebody is 
on YouTube and just because somebody has a Bible doesn't mean they're 
orthodox. It doesn't mean they're consistent. 
It doesn't mean they're right. Brethren, you will find safety 
in the church of the Lord Jesus Christ that takes seriously qualifications 
for elders, applies them to men, and then brings those men into 
places of teaching and leadership in the context of the local church. 
So these heretics subvert whole households, and then notice they 
do it for money. At the end of verse 11, teaching 
things which they ought not for the sake of dishonest gain. Paul does command that the churches 
pay her pastors. 1 Timothy 5, verse 17. Paul's own example in 1 Corinthians 
9. If we make our living by preaching 
the gospel, shouldn't we receive money from it as well? Again, 
he's not looking for a summer home. He's not looking for a 
jet. He's not looking for, you know, a third sort of place where 
he can go reside when he's a little bit worn out, but he does say 
that men, that labor and the word and doctrine ought to be 
counted worthy of double honor. It's greediness that he prohibits. You see a prohibition against 
greediness or not a love of money, both in 1 Timothy 3 and here 
in Titus 1. This is not to mark the man of 
God. A man of God who sees his task 
connected to making money is not the sort of guy that you 
want. And that's the sort of guy that 
Crete had plenty of. So Paul commanded the church 
to pay pastors, but he also highlighted in the qualifications for elders 
that they be not greedy. The Apostle condemns such men 
in 1 Timothy 6, verses 3 and following. He says, From such, withdraw yourself." 
1 Peter chapter 5, look at the admonition of Peter, the apostle. 1 Peter 5.1, he says, the elders 
who are among you, I exhort, I who am a fellow elder and a 
witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also partaker of 
the glory that will be revealed, shepherd the flock of God, which 
is among you, serving as overseers, not by compulsion, but willingly, 
not for dishonest gain, but eagerly. There's that whole idea of a 
desire for it as well. Notice the text, shepherd the 
flock of God, which is among you, serving as overseers, not 
by compulsion, not because the church has a quota to fill, not 
because it's our time or your time, and now you must serve. 
No, there must be a willingness. There must be a desire. There 
must be in the heart of a man, a desire not only for the love 
of God, but for the love of the people to minister the word, 
to help lead, to help govern. But he is to do so in a way, 
not by compulsion, but willingly, and then not for dishonest gain, 
but eagerly. So back in Titus chapter 1, we 
see their character, we see their conduct, and the sorts of men 
that we want to avoid at all costs. Paul tells Timothy that 
much in 1 Timothy chapter 6. Now notice, secondly, the corroboration 
concerning the heretics. Again, not just Jews, but Cretans 
as well, were troubling the church. Notice the testimony of one of 
their own, and then the confirmation by Paul. In verse 12, he says, 
one of them, a prophet of their own, said, Cretans are always 
liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons. Now again, this was Epimenides. 
He was a poet in the 6th century BC. He was, in fact, a Cretan, 
and this was his indictment upon the particular situation in which 
he lived. But it wasn't just Epimenides. Polybius, he was a Greek historian 
that lived from 208 to 125 BC. He said this about the Cretans. 
So much, in fact, do sordid love of gain and lust for wealth prevail 
among them that the Cretans are the only people in the world 
in whose eyes no gain is disgraceful. And then Cicero, Roman statesman 
and a lawyer in 106 to 43 BC, he said, moral principles are 
so divergent that the Cretans consider highway robbery honorable. So you're dealing with a pretty 
messed up group of people there. And what he describes them specifically 
as is always liars. In fact, there was a verb that 
developed, praetizo, which means play the Cretan, which means 
to lie. In Corinth, the city of Corinth 
received a verb off their name, Corinthianize. It was to engage 
in sexual immorality. And the same thing is true with 
these Cretans. So to Cretanize simply meant 
to lie. They were evil beasts. According 
to history, I don't know. I've never been to Crete. But 
according to what I've read, there's no evil beasts or no 
wild animals on the island of Crete. I think New Zealand is 
the same way. From what I understand, Australia, 
just about anything that moves can kill you. But in New Zealand, 
you're probably pretty safe. But Crete was sort of like that 
as well. But notice the irony. It's the 
Cretans who are the evil beasts. It's the Cretans who are the 
menacing creatures on their island. It's the Cretans who've got big 
problems. So you're dealing in a particular 
situation that for Titus and the men that he appoints to the 
eldership is going to be no small task. Titus is probably reading 
this saying, oh great, this is wonderful. Look at what my work 
is for me cut out. Actually, he probably did in 
a way that was godly and honorable. And then he says they were lazy 
gluttons. Again, this is Epimenides, the 
poet in the sixth century. Now look at the confirmation 
by the Apostle Paul in verse 13a. He says, this testimony 
is true. You'll notice that Paul never 
does that when he cites Jeremiah, when he cites Isaiah, when he 
cites the prophets of the Old Testament. He never has to tell 
you, this testimony is true. It goes without saying. It is 
fundamental. It is a realism. It is a truism. That whatever the Old Testament 
prophets said, this testimony is true. But he has to affirm 
that what Epimenides said was in fact true. Now imagine Paul, 
today, interviewed by CNN, and him suggesting that Epimenides, 
a prophet of their own, was right when he indicted them for this 
three-fold transgression of God's law. He would be castigated. He would be called a racist. 
He would be called a xenophobe. It doesn't matter that it's true. 
It only matters that you're not supposed to say such things, 
Paul. I really don't think Paul would survive today. I really 
don't think Jesus would survive. I speak as a man. Obviously, 
they live and breathe and move and all that sort of thing, but 
nobody would tolerate that. Who would tolerate John the Baptist 
wagging his finger in the face of the king, telling him it was 
not lawful for him to have his brother's wife? Brethren, Christianity 
throughout the millennia has had a backbone. It hasn't been 
this passive, weak-wristed sort of lie down for everybody. John 
the Baptist, King David of Israel, the prophets, the apostles, the 
men we sang of in the hymns that we sang tonight. Christianity 
is about backbone. It is about solidity. It is about 
strength. And if this is the accurate indictment, 
then Paul the apostle will tell you that is the case. This testimony 
is true. Now, in terms of this, it probably 
offends us and our delicate sensitivities because we've sucked in at the 
world and we don't like that sort of thing. But listen to 
what Gil says. He said it was a sin they were addicted to. 
Some countries are distinguished by their vices. You're looking 
at me, I hope you're not looking at me like you're gonna make 
a call to the agents after I'm done and turn me in. But brethren, 
people before us recognized true things. And they weren't afraid 
to affirm true things under the fear of being labeled a xenophobe 
or a racist. But it's true. If it's true, 
that's the reality that we have. He says, it was a sin they were 
addicted to. Some countries are distinguished 
by their vices, some for pride, some for levity, vanity, and 
inconstancy, some for boasting and bragging, some for covetousness, 
some for idleness, some for effeminacy, some for hypocrisy and deceit, 
and others as the Cretans, it seems, for lying. This was their 
national sin. That's not wrong to point that 
out. It is the first step in trying 
to address problems in a particular culture. If we don't recognize 
the sin, if we don't identify the sin, if we don't articulate 
the sin, we'll never deal with the sin. We'll just continue 
in rebellion against the living and true God. George Knight says 
Paul is not making an ethnic slur. Now, Rat Knight wrote his 
commentary in 1992. I realized things were a bit 
wonky and weird then, but not as weird and wonky as they are 
today. Again, if Paul was interviewed on CNN and he said Epimenides 
was right concerning Crete, they would just castigate him. So 
Knight says, Paul is not making an ethnic slur, but is merely 
accurately observing, as the Cretans themselves and others 
did, how the sin that affects the whole human race comes to 
particular expression in this group. Doesn't Solomon teach 
us this in the book of Ecclesiastes? Behold, I have found this. God 
made man upright, but they sought out many devices. I'm sure that 
if you and I took a piece of paper and wrote down our top 
10 sins, there might be some overlap. in terms of what we 
see, but there might be some distinctions as well. We've sought 
out our own devices. Your sin may not be my sin. My 
sin may not be your sin, but sin we all have. And in terms 
of nations and groups of people, there are oftentimes the manifestation 
of particular characteristic sins. And that's Paul's point. But before we leave this section, 
I want to encourage us. The gospel came to Crete. You see, God didn't say they're 
always liars, they're evil beasts and they're lazy gluttons, so 
forget about them. That's not what God says. God 
says they definitely need the gospel. Paul, you and Titus go. Paul, if you can't stay, then 
let Titus stay and have him set in order the things that are 
lacking. Have him appoint elders to manifest and preach the glorious 
gospel of Jesus Christ, our Lord, because these cretins, these 
liars, these evil beasts and lazy gluttons, they need the 
truth. They need deliverance. They need 
forgiveness. They need the imputed righteousness 
of Jesus Christ, our Lord. So the testimony being true reflects 
certainly on Crete as a people group, but it reflects upon the 
glory and the sovereignty and the majesty of our great God 
who does save sinners. Christ is a real savior for real 
sinners. Now notice thirdly, the refutation 
of the heretics. We have the pastoral, task, verses 
11, 13b and 14, and then the severity of the threat in verses 
15 and 16. But in terms of the pastoral 
task, that's either Titus or Titus and the elders that are 
appointed after they sufficiently show their qualifications vis-a-vis 
verses 5 to 9, They're installed, they're appointed, they become 
functioning elders. So both Titus and his elders are supposed to 
engage in this refutation of heritance. Paul's already established 
that in verse 9. See, the man holds on to the 
word as he's been taught. for a two-fold reason. He does 
encourage and exhort the people of God, the people that already 
believe what he has to say, and he's a means of encouragement, 
further instruction, further amplification, further hopefully 
shining the spotlight upon the Lord Jesus, but he must also 
refute heretics. Brethren, this is part of the 
church. This is what we do. This is why 
we have confessions of faith. This is why we have clearly defined 
parameters. This is why we have articulations 
of truth so that we can vet, so that we can discover, so that 
we can determine who is off. Now, it may be that they often 
need to be encouraged, they need to be strengthened, they need 
to be taught. But if they're off and they're in teaching positions, 
they need to be fired until they show some competence with reference 
to true Bible and true theology. So with reference to heretics, 
the church isn't just to hope they go away, but the church 
must actively oppose them. In the first place, the elder 
must silence the heretics. Notice in verse 11a, whose mouths 
must be stopped. In other words, don't give them 
a platform. The church is not a share your 
heart session. The church isn't let everybody 
give whatever it is they want. No, that is never the way it's 
supposed to be. The church is the house of the 
household of the living and true God. It is the pillar and the 
ground of the truth. We don't just let anybody wander 
into the pulpit and start teaching. That is absolutely inconceivable 
that churches would ever entertain that sort of an approach. So 
the elder must silence the heretics. He does this by a positive declaration 
of the truth of Holy Scripture. A way to silence heresy is to 
so instruct people that they understand the truth. The elder 
does so by a refutation of heretical doctrines. We see that again 
in verse 9, both to exhort and convict those who contradict. 
Verse 13, we'll see this as well. Therefore, rebuke them sharply. 
So the elder has that task. He teaches, he exposes, he refutes 
them. But if those men are not redeemable, 
then the church disciplines them. Titus chapter 3, you can turn 
there. Titus chapter 3, verse 9. So 
you have a task that the elders are to engage, positively preaching 
the truth of God's Word, positively preaching theology, and then 
as well, identifying and exposing heretical doctrines, refuting 
them, showing them how they're heretical, showing how they're 
not consistent with the Bible and with theology. But if that 
does not work, If these men continue in penitent, if these men continue 
in their heresy, notice what the church is called to do in 
3.9, but avoid foolish disputes, genealogies, contentions, and 
strivings about the law, for they are unprofitable and useless. See, that again gives us a shade 
of the heresy affecting those ministers, Titus and Timothy, 
a lot of similarities. In Ephesus, a mature church, 
but as well in Crete, an immature church. And when he speaks about 
strivings about the law, again, he's not talking about a right 
use of the law. He's not talking about the threefold 
use or the threefold division of those things that are good 
for theology. But these are people that just like to engage in idle 
talk. They just like to blab. They just like to open their 
mouths and let their brains come out. It's just a terrible thing. 
But then notice what the church does. Verse 10, reject a divisive 
man after the first and second admonition, knowing that such 
a person is warped in sinning, being self-condemned. He doesn't 
give an outline, a rather comprehensive statement on church discipline, 
assuming that Titus already knows the process and knows the procedure, 
but he comes to that place, if we were to compare Matthew chapter 
18, that fourth step. When the man won't hear the church, 
then you rebuke him. Then you brand him as a tax collector 
and a heathen. You reject a divisive man. That is what Paul's counsel is 
relative to heretics. Again, don't give them pulpits, 
don't give them Bible studies, don't give them an opportunity 
to show themselves, rather shut them up because what they are 
doing is hurting the people of God. So the elder, rather the 
pastor must engage in a refutation, and then the elder as well must 
rebuke them. Notice verse 13, this testimony 
is true, therefore rebuke them sharply. And then note the grace 
and the kindness and the mercy, first and foremost of God, and 
then of his apostle Paul. Verse 13, therefore rebuke them 
sharply, that they may be sound in the faith. The first goal 
is remedial. We want to recover them. We want 
to set them straight. If they're messed up on the Trinity, 
we want to teach them the truth. If they're messed up on justification 
by faith, we want to teach them the truth. If they're messed 
up on the perfections of God, we want to teach them the truth. 
That's Paul's first design and first desire. Remember, the rejected 
divisive man comes after a process. Early on in the process, it's 
remedial, redemptive. We want to see the sort of recovery 
of those who've engaged in lawless behavior. So Paul says, rebuke 
them sharply that they may be sound in the faith. And then 
notice not giving heed to Jewish fables and commandments of men 
who turn from the truth. Again, I think that gives us 
more facets or fills out for us the nature of the heresy affecting 
the churches of Crete and Ephesus in the first century. Giving 
heed to Jewish fables. These are not strictly Judy Iser's 
teaching circumcision for salvation. They're occupied with fables 
and with myths and with the esoteric. And then with this commandments 
of men who turn from the truth, we saw that in 1 Timothy chapter 
4, those doctrines of demons, where men would forbid to marry 
and forbid to eat certain types of meat. But look at Colossians 
2 for a bit more amplification on this commandments of men. You certainly see it in Jesus' 
ministry as well when the Pharisees come and rebuke Jesus because 
his disciples ate and didn't first wash their hands. So Christ 
appeals to the prophet Isaiah and says, in vain do these people 
worship me. They teach as the commandments 
of God, they teach the doctrines or the teachings of men. They 
hold it up as if it is the commandment of God. But here in Colossae, 
the same sort of kind of sin is prevalent. It's got Jewish 
overtones, there's asceticism, there's commandments of men, 
there's myth, there's fable. There seemed to be an attachment 
to angels with reference to the Colossian heresy. Again, part 
of it probably owing to Jews and their mischief in the churches 
in terms of some of their emphases. But if you look at Colossians 
2, specifically at verse 16, there's a warning against mystical 
legalism in verses 16 to 19. We've seen that passage before 
in our studies on the Sabbath. But then he deals with asceticism 
in verses 20 to 23. Again, asceticism, kids, is the 
idea that if we don't get married and we don't eat certain kinds 
of meat, then we'll be holy. Everything will be great. Probably 
behind the scenes of Titus 1.15 and his discussion on defilement 
and purity is Haggai, the prophet. In Haggai chapter 2, there was 
a question concerning holiness. Is it contagious? There was a 
question concerning impurity. Is it contagious? That was basically 
an issue that the prophet needed to settle with reference to Israel. But if you look at Colossians 
2.20, therefore, if you died with Christ from the basic principles 
of the world, Why is the living in the world do you subject yourself 
to regulations? Do not touch, do not taste, do 
not handle, which all concern things which perish with the 
using, notice, according to the commandments and doctrines of 
men. Certainly the food laws were 
imposed for a time by Yahweh upon the covenant people of Israel. For those who are reading the 
McShane calendar, you read that today in Hebrews chapter 9. There 
were those types that obtained in the Old Testament until the 
time of Reformation, not the Protestant Reformation, but the 
new covenant under our Lord Jesus Christ. So those food laws were 
extant for old covenant Israel to distinguish them and to separate 
them from the nations around them. But when Christ came, those 
types having been fulfilled are no longer binding upon the people 
of God. So they are now relegated to 
the commandments of men. Somebody that maintains in a 
new covenant era that you can't eat bacon, that you can't eat 
lobster, that you can't eat shrimp, that you must be circumcised. 
That person has rejected the very coming of our Lord Jesus 
Christ. In essence, that's Paul's point 
here in Colossians chapter two. He says, verse 21, do not touch, 
do not taste, do not handle, which all concern things which 
perish with the using, according to the commandments and doctrines 
of men. Now note what Paul says in terms of commentary in verse 
23. These things indeed have an appearance 
of wisdom in self-imposed religion. False humility and neglect of 
the body, but are of no value against the indulgence of the 
flesh. There's an appearance. Look at that holy, righteous 
man who doesn't eat, who doesn't taste, who doesn't touch. Look 
at that holy, righteous man and the way that he keeps himself 
separate. Well, that would be great if God told us that that's 
how holy, righteous men live. But God hasn't told us that. 
God tells us that holy righteous men marry women. Holy righteous 
men eat steak. Holy righteous men are men. They 
are not disembodied spirits sort of hovering above the face of 
the earth. They are real live people. They 
are engaged in the creation that God has given. And insofar as 
they thank the Lord for that good steak, they ought to receive 
it with joy and praise God almighty that he gave us that animal to 
eat. It is a wonderful thing. Asceticism 
has an appearance. These things, these commandments 
of men look good because that's why people seem to flock to it, 
but it's useless. It is vile. It is reprehensible. It is a rejection of the very 
gospel of Jesus Christ. They are of no value against 
the indulgence of the flesh. I think I've told you before, 
the man Jerome, you should probably all know that name in the history 
of the church. Jerome was basically responsible 
for the production of the Latin Vulgate. And Jerome spent a lot 
of time out in the desert. He says when he was out there 
in the desert, he fantasized about dancing girls. Now I'm 
not saying, you know, this is the way it is. You think in a 
desert, you think removing yourself from all that out there, you'd 
be okay. Brethren, if you and I ever go 
to a deserted place, we're still with one of our biggest enemies. It is our own heart. It is our 
own remaining corruption. It is that tension that Paul 
speaks of in Galatians 5. The spirit lusts against the 
flesh, the flesh against the spirit, and these two are contrary 
to one another so that you don't do the things that you want. 
We cannot just leave the context of bad, withdraw ourselves and 
think now we'll be good. Now certainly that's good counsel 
when, you know, people are doing horrific things and you shouldn't 
do it. That's a good piece of advice. But you're not holy just 
because of what you remove yourself from. And that's his point there 
in Colossians 2. So back to Titus 1. Notice what 
he says concerning these men in verses 15 and 16. Verse 15, 
he draws out a contrast. He says to the pure, all things 
are pure. Again, I think the language that 
he is picking up is reflective of the Jewish emphasis, not so 
much the Cretan heresy, the Cretan error, the Cretan sort of problems 
that were affecting the churches, but this idea of purity and defilement. Perhaps, like in Colossae, these 
errorists were saying, oh no, you can't eat bacon, can't eat 
shrimp, gotta maintain those Jewish food laws, gotta be holy, 
gotta be righteous, gotta be godly. Well, look at what Paul 
says by way of contrast to the pure, all things are pure. How 
does purity come to the people of God in this new covenant era? 
It ain't coming because we don't eat shellfish. It ain't coming 
because we don't eat bacon. It's come through the precious 
blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, and that's the apostles' emphasis. Notice in 2.14, speaking of our 
great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us, that 
he might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for himself 
his own special people zealous for good works. And then over 
in three, five to seven, not by works of righteousness, which 
we have done, but according to his mercy, he saved us through 
the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, 
whom he poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ, our Savior, 
that having been justified by his grace, we should become heirs 
according to the hope of eternal life. So back to Titus 1.15, 
to the pure, all things are pure. To those who've been cleansed 
in the precious blood of Jesus Christ, eat a steak. To those 
who've been cleansed in the precious blood of Jesus Christ, get a 
lobster. To those who have been cleansed 
in the precious blood of Jesus Christ, to the pure all things 
are pure. They're the creature given by 
God for our good. Us avoiding them is not holiness. It may be good health if you're 
convinced that steak and lobster are bad for you, and you've got 
that mindset, you're free to do that. But if you think out 
of religious significance, abstaining from these things are meritorious, 
you have missed a large swath of biblical redemptive history. The very coming of the Lord Jesus 
Christ, He fulfills those ceremonies, He fulfills those types, He fulfills 
that, And in him we have forgiveness, we have an imputed righteousness 
received by faith, and those things owing to old covenant 
Israel are no longer binding on us. There's no holiness just 
by avoiding lobster. There may be savings in terms 
of money, but there's no holiness by avoiding lobster. Now notice 
what he goes on to say in verse 15, and this is paradoxical. 
See, these people thought that by abstaining from certain foods, 
by abstaining from certain things, by engaging in asceticism, this 
would bring on purity. Well, it is by their action seeking 
purity that they bring on even more defilement. Notice what 
he says in verse 15. To the pure, all things are pure, 
but to those who are defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure. See, they haven't been redeemed 
in the blood of Jesus. They haven't been washed in the 
blood of the Lamb. They are not pure. They are defiled. And so their further attempts 
at seeking purity through things that are no longer commanded 
by God is actually a means of further defilement. And then 
he sort of summarizes there at the end of verse 15. Even their 
mind and conscience are defiled. So we have it all wrong. We think 
that the people that abstain from everything, the people that 
are so holy they could never eat a steak and lobster, they're 
the holy ones. No, Paul says they're the defiled 
ones. It's the guy eating the steak. 
He's believing in Jesus. He's washed in the blood. He 
can enjoy a steak. This isn't going to keep him 
from heaven. This isn't something God's going to wag his finger 
in his face over. It's a blessed gift to be received 
with joy and thanksgiving by creatures to their creator. for 
his kindness and his provision. And then notice Paul's final 
indictment concerning them in verse 16. And this is why I say 
the severity of the threat. These men purport to be godly. These men purport to be pure. These men purport to be teachers 
of the law. These men claim to be teachers 
of God's holy word. But look at how Paul defines 
or describes them in verse 16. They profess to know God, but 
in works, they deny Him. They profess to know God, but 
in works, they deny Him. The doctrine that we hold to, 
the truth of Christianity accords with godliness according to 1 
Timothy 6. As well, we see it here in Titus 
2-3. The truth accords with godliness 
and heresy does not. Notice Titus 2.10, which indicates 
that right Christian doctrine will adorn the doctrine of God 
our Savior in all things. That further demonstrates, according 
to Paul in Titus 3.8, that we have believed in God. So with 
reference to these people, they profess to know God, They profess, 
as we look at the context, to be teachers on behalf of God, 
but in their works they deny Him. Now again, all our works 
that are sinful, every remaining corruption that we have, every 
act of transgression, every lack of conformity unto the law of 
God, in a sense denies God. It's essentially siding with 
the devil or siding with our flesh or siding with the world 
in opposition to God. He's not dealing with that. He's 
dealing with these false teachers. Their works, their greed for 
money, their subversion of whole households, their characteristics, 
their insubordinate, their idle talkers, their liars. There are 
those not only of the Cretans, but also of the circumcision. 
By their works, they deny the knowledge of God Most High, and 
then using a series of identifiers, he says they're abominable, that 
probably goes back to Old Covenant, reference to idolatry and an 
abomination in the sight of God for being a false teacher. They're 
disobedient and disqualified for every good work. Gordon Clark 
says today, Many preachers would not condemn ascetics so harshly. Is it such a sin not to eat pork? Yes, it is. Avoiding pork is 
a major sin if we put more trust in not eating pork than we put 
in Jesus Christ. That's the rub. And then this 
last statement is gold. Anyone who tries to supplement 
the merit of Christ deprives himself of Christ's merit. You try to supplement it, you 
are stripping it away. You who think that circumcision 
is the pathway to God's favor, Galatians 5, you have fallen 
from grace. This is absolutely contrary to 
the gospel of Jesus Christ our Lord. Well, in conclusion, I 
think that you will see, based on this brief description in 
verses 10 to 16, the necessity for biblically qualified elders. the necessity for biblically 
qualified elders. If these were the kinds of people 
that were in the churches, in the cities, on the island of 
Crete, then there would need to be elders that fit those qualifications 
in verses five to nine, that would be sent into those churches 
to begin to preach, to begin to shut the mouths of the heretics 
and to rebuke them sharply, both of the Jews and of the Cretans, 
to set in order the things that were lacking. Secondly, the true 
condition of heretics. Again, we're not dealing just 
with your sort of garden variety heretic that just embraces bad 
theology, but men who arrogate to themselves teaching positions, 
men who are desiring to be teachers of the law. men who desire to 
be Bible teachers, or teachers or instructors of theology. They 
profess to know God, but in works they deny Him. They profess to 
be pure, when in reality, their attempts at pursuing purity is 
another means of defilement. If you are pursuing purity by 
not eating shellfish, you are furthering your defilement under 
God, because you are rejecting the very sacrifice and offering 
of our Lord Jesus Christ, and opting rather for law and obedience 
and compliance on your part instead of looking unto Jesus. They are 
abominable, disobedient, and disqualified. And I would argue 
they are still among us. We may not have Cretans in Chilliwack, 
we may not have Cretans in Canada, but we certainly have insubordinate 
men, men that appoint themselves, men that aren't recognized by 
churches, men that have, you know, ascended to some level 
of celebrity. I mean, there was a famous preacher 
several years ago who gloated, who boasted openly in his autobiography. Who writes an autobiography in 
their 30s? I mean, that right there is just 
horrific that any man writes an autobiography in his 30s. 
Come on, he shouldn't be a preacher in Christ's church, but he gloated 
about how they ordained themselves in front of the congregation. 
That is horrific. If you get anything from these 
missionary journeys in the book of Acts, if you get anything 
from us pursuing an expository series through the book of Titus, 
please Please, please, achieve for yourself a good ecclesiology. Churchmanship is absolutely crucial. The church is central in God's 
redemptive plan. Now, I know the church can't 
save, but the church preaches the Savior. And therefore, the 
church must be occupied with people that can actually do the 
job, insubordinate men, idle talkers. Again, I think what 
John Gill sort of glosses with reference to idle talkers describes 
much of what goes for preaching today, who deliver out in their 
discourses empty, trifling, superficial, and frivolous things. Come on, 
you've heard those, you know, birdbath theology. Birdbath theology 
is that deep. It's just not good. We don't 
want birdbath theology. The God of heaven and earth deserves 
more from his servants than giving out birdbath theology. He says, 
which have no solidity and substance in them, nor do they tend to 
edification, only great swelling words of vanity, vain jangling 
and babbling about things to no profit. Again, no, I don't 
even want to recommend that. I was going to say, go to YouTube 
and start looking up. No, don't do that. You'll be 
there forever because you'll find this fully on display in 
the name of Jesus, of course. Brethren, we need to guard our 
hearts and our minds with reference to these things. As well, we 
have deceivers. We have those who subvert whole 
households. They subvert whole households. 
We have men seeking dishonest gain through preaching heresy 
or just being in it for money. We have people that are fascinated 
with the frivolous. In this context, it's Jewish 
fables. In other contexts, it's meanderings 
about things that don't matter. Give us Christ. Sirs, we would 
see Jesus, the Greek said to the disciples in John's gospel. That's the point of an appointed 
ministry is to make much of Jesus, not a bunch of frivolity and 
not a bunch of things that really don't matter in the grand scheme 
of things. And then this idea of giving 
heed to the commandments of men rather than the law of God. These things are still among 
us, and we need to be on guard, we need to watch and pray, and 
we need to take seriously verses 5 to 9. When it comes to men 
in our own context that want to be elders, they need to be 
vetted, they need to be checked, they need to be distinguished 
to make sure that they fall in line with God's purpose. And 
then the final point, if you are reflecting properly on this 
passage, you will see there's great hope for you. If there 
was great hope, if you happen to be unsaved, there's hope for 
us if we happen to be saved. But unsaved people, the gospel 
went to Crete. The gospel went to a group of 
people that are described as liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons. An inspired apostle, hence the 
Holy Spirit himself, confirms one of their own prophets who 
in the 6th century made this testimony. See, when Paul says 
this testimony is true, therefore rebuke them sharply. It's not 
just Paul. We believe that Paul is right 
when he says that all Scripture is given by inspiration of God. 
So this testimony is true, much to the chagrin of the CNN commentator 
that's got his microphone in front of Paul. This is God's 
affirmation concerning the island of Crete. And if God's affirmation 
is true, as we know it is, these people were a mess. And as a 
result, God sends his apostle, God sends Titus, so that they 
can preach Christ and him crucified to the salvation of sinners. 
You may not be a Cretan, but you're certainly a sinner. And 
the same Savior for the Cretans in the first century is the same 
Savior for sinners in the 21st century. The point is, is that 
we look and we live. We look to our great God and 
Savior, even the Lord Jesus Christ, who redeems us with his own precious 
blood. Believe on him and you will be 
saved. Well, let us pray. Our Father, 
we thank You for Your Word. We thank You for the clarity 
of Titus 1. And God, we know that these things 
are the case. We see that sort of thing happening 
in our own day. Just a quick survey of YouTube 
or a quick survey online shows that these kinds of idle talkers 
are out there. We pray that You would guard 
us and protect us and help us to be faithful as individuals. 
Help us as families to protect our wives and our children from 
having subversion in our households as a result of false teaching. 
God, what a sober warning and what a sober reality that we 
all need to take heed to. Help us not to be like Eli with 
his sons who didn't restrain them, but rather help us to be 
active in the bringing up of our children and the training 
and admonition of the Lord. And God, how we thank you as 
well that you have provided for us the qualifications, you have 
provided for us an objective standard by which we check the 
subjective desire of men. And God, I pray that going forward, 
you would bless this church, that you'd raise men up among 
us, and that you would indeed provide men to the churches that 
would be faithful, and that they would be in earnest, not only 
exhorting the people of God, but refuting heretics, shutting 
the mouths of those who would teach things contrary to the 
Word of God. Thank you for this Sabbath. Thank you for the opportunity 
that we've had to enjoy fellowship with one another. And again, 
we pray that in all of this, you would be glorified, praised, 
and honored. And we ask through Jesus Christ, our Lord, amen.