Theological term
Insubordination
2 sermons · All terms
The Refutation of Heretics
Titus 1:10–16 identifies the threat posed by false teachers within the churches of Crete, describes their character and conduct, and prescribes the elder's task of refuting them. The passage exposes these men as insubordinate, deceptive, motivated by greed, and — paradoxically — more deeply defiled by their very attempts at self-imposed purity. Purity belongs not to those who abstain from foods under defunct old-covenant categories, but to those cleansed by the blood of Christ; any effort to supplement Christ's merit by legal observance strips away that merit entirely. The sermon closes with a call to robust ecclesiology: biblically qualified elders are the God-ordained safeguard against heresy, and the gospel that went to Crete proves that Christ is a real Savior for real sinners.
1 Samuel 13
In 1 Samuel 13, Saul's impatient offering at Gilgal before Samuel's arrival exposes two intertwined sins: the rejection of God's word through unsanctioned religious innovation, and the self-justifying spin that follows disobedience. The study traces Samuel's sharp rebuke — 'you have done foolishly' — and the catastrophic consequence: the termination of the Saulide dynasty and, far worse, the withdrawal of the prophetic word from Israel. The sermon presses three lessons upon the hearers: the danger of pious innovation, the absolute necessity of obedience to God's word, and the supreme value of that word — whose absence, not the shortage of weapons or troops, is the deepest demoralization any people can suffer.