Have you recently thought about the culture we live in? If popular music, movies and television are any indication of what it is like, there are many serious problems. People don’t fear the Lord anymore. Sin is no longer something to be ashamed of. And to make matters worse, many of the sins in the world today are showing up in churches. As bad as it has become, we are not alone.
The people of Paul’s day faced the same thing. Bad character and bad teaching were combined to turn people away from God’s truth. So, Paul instructed Titus to gather a group of qualified men who could confront the people causing these problems. These elders needed to be grounded in Christian truth so that they could exhort and convict those who were against God’s truth. In today’s passage, we will see a description of the people they would need to confront.
- What does it say? (Titus 1:10-16)
There were a lot of people there who were rebellious, vain talkers, and seducers—predominantly Jewish people. They needed to be silenced because they had destroyed entire households by teaching disgraceful things for their own gain. One of their own poets from Crete stated that the people from Crete were liars, evil animals, and lazy gluttons. Sadly, Paul knew that this accusation was true. Because of these things, Titus was supposed to address the problem by severely rebuking them. The goal was for them to become spiritually healthy and to be on guard against Jewish myths and commands from men who had turned from the faith. To those who were pure all things were pure. However, the corrupted and unbelieving people would see nothing as pure because their mind and conscience were corrupted. These people declared that they knew God, but their actions denied that. They were detestable, uncompliant, and disqualified for any good work. - What does it mean?
There was a serious problem (Titus 1:10-12).
The problem in Crete was the bad character of the people there. Paul describes them as people who were unwilling to take orders, who talked big, and who wanted to seduce people. These people thought so highly of themselves that they were unwilling to listen to anyone else. Deep down they knew what they were doing was wrong, but they wanted to seduce others to join in their sinful actions for the sake of personal gain. To make matters worse, many of these problematic people were Jews who should have known better. If these people were not silenced, they would convince entire households to follow their sinful ideas and would make merchandise of them. At the time, this had already happened, but it needed to be stopped.
We don’t like to acknowledge the fact that certain people groups are known for specific character flaws. Are all white people the same? Are all black people the same? No, they are different. But when the majority of a people group acts a certain way, it affects the reputation of the others and bad character qualities often rub off on others. It is sad but true. In the case of Crete, one of their own prophets, Epimenides, described them as liars, evil beasts, and lazy gluttons in a poem called Cretica1. It was so bad that the Greek “verb kretizo was invented to mean ‘to lie.'”2 This is not particularly flattering, but coupled with what the prophet from Crete said, it must have been a fitting description of Cretan character.
Paul told Titus that the people who were promoting these ungodly actions needed to be silenced. Their influence needed to be stopped. Just as a muzzled dog is unable to bite the mailman, so these ungodly deceivers needed to be silenced and kept from influencing others—especially those who were new believers. It was a big problem that needed to be addressed. But what could one person do?
There was a specific solution (Titus 1:13-14).
If you were asked to handle this situation, what would you suggest? Today, many Christians feel that a loving approach is always best. We are to speak the truth in love, right? And yet, Jesus didn’t always have a kind word for the religious leaders of his day. In fact, Jesus overturned tables in the temple and chased merchants out of the temple with a handmade whip. This gives us the idea that kind words are not always the best response—especially when addressing ungodly influences.
Paul told Titus that he needed to rebuke these ungodly people sharply. This means that he was not to tiptoe around the issue, but to address it head on. He was to speak directly to these people with the hope of turning them from their sinful ways. This would show them how serious their error was. Did you notice something? Paul told Titus that after rebuking them sharply he was to disciple them toward being sound in the faith. That is surprising to me. Apparently, true believers had been deceived into following bad examples as well as corrupt teaching. They needed to be discipled to recognize the truth. Note that “the ultimate goal of discipline should be to recover the one who is in error (Gal. 6:1; 2 Thes. 3:14-15).”3
Being sound in the faith is something that takes time. A lot can be learned from a Sunday School lesson or a sermon. But much more can be accomplished in one-on-one conversations that address the person’s specific needs. In the case of the Cretan believers, they had been listening to Jewish myths. Instead of resting on the truths of the Bible, they were more interested in fabulous stories that were beyond belief. They were also influenced by certain manmade rules promoted by people who had turned from the truth. Instead of focusing on what Jesus said, they followed regulations that turned them away from the truth.
The only way to combat this error was to rebuke it sharply. Titus would have to point out sin and name names. But this was God’s way of addressing the issues that were badly influencing the believers in Crete.
There was a sad reality (Titus 1:15-16).
Before addressing a difficult problem, it is good to take stock of what the situation is. In verse 14, Paul warned against manmade commandments from those who turn from the truth. These extra rules were supposedly intended to “make” people pure. For instance, in 1 Timothy 4:1-5, Paul warned about people who forbad people to marry or to eat certain foods. These extra, non-biblical rules turned people away from God’s gracious gifts of marriage and food. Homer Kent reminds us that “the distinctions between clean and unclean meats of Jewish ceremonialism were ended by God Himself, as announced to Peter on the housetop in Joppa (Acts 10:15).”4 It seems that those who trusted in these rules thought they would gain a higher level of purity if they kept themselves from these things. But their adherence to these prohibitions had a different result. They caused people to put their trust in their own actions instead of simply trusting in Jesus and living for Him.
With that in mind, Paul shows the difference between the pure and those defiled with these wrong ideas. When someone is pure, he considers all good things to be pure. But those who have given in to these extra, manmade rules often leave the truth of the gospel and become defiled by false teaching and sinful practices. To them even what is good becomes impure to them. True purity is something that is the result of being born again and living a life aided by God’s Holy Spirit. Paul noted that when someone is pure in heart, it affects all of his life. While nobody is perfect, someone who is striving to be holy for the Lord will have a life that matches that desire. He or she will be pure in heart and action. But those who have been corrupted by sinful ideas and who do not believe have a different result. They are not pure but have a defiled mind and conscience.
At that time, many people made a profession of knowing God, but their lives proved otherwise. Jesus talked about people like this. In Matthew 7:21-23, Jesus said that there would be those who addressed Him as Lord but who would be rejected because they practiced lawlessness. In other words, what they said was contradicted by their actions. First, they were detestable or disgusting to be around because of their twisted thinking and ungodly actions. Second, they were uncompliant, meaning they never complied with what God truly wanted them to do. Thirdly, they were unfit for every good work because they didn’t live up to the qualification given by God.
The sad reality was that there were many people who professed to know God but whose lives showed that they did not. They were headed in the wrong direction and would be in big trouble without a change of heart. They needed to be confronted, sharply rebuked, and, if possible, discipled in the truth. Otherwise, they would turn from the truth and become rebels against God. - How does it apply?
Have you been misled?
The false teachers whom Titus would confront were known for a variety of problems. Some promoted ungodly character while others were focused on extrabiblical stories and manmade rules that turned people away from the truth. Both had turned people away from what God wanted for Christians.
There are some today who teach a false freedom which sounds good but produces bad character. Be on your guard. There are also some today who focus on manmade rules and extrabiblical stories. The focus on these things has caused people to focus on what actually turns them away from the truth. When you hear people talking about new teachings that conflict with what you have been taught, take out your Bible and find out if it is true. But be very careful.
Does your life match your profession?
At the end of the chapter, Paul describes people who profess to know God but have lives that show otherwise. When people observed their lives, they disregarded their profession because of the way they acted. What a terrible result. People didn’t believe they were Christians because of the way they were living.
How about you? Every Christian has been called to live a holy life that reflects the change God has made in him or her. But there should also be a continuing desire to please Him in every area of our lives. If you are a Christian, you have professed your faith in Jesus, but does your life back that up? If not, be sure to repent of any sin in your life that goes against God’s ways. And then with God’s help, seek to be a godly example to those around you.
Conclusion
Can you imagine living in a society where nobody could be trusted, people talked without thinking, and everyone believed whatever they were told? Hmm… the fact is that the same things that were a problem on the island of Crete are still present today. The specifics may be a little different, but the same things are still here today. Instead of shaking our heads at the problems, let’s bow our heads and ask God for the ability to speak the truth to those around us. Jesus is still the answer.
Bibliography
Kent Jr., Homer A., The Pastoral Epistles, Chicago: Moody Press, 1986, orig. 1958.
Litfin, A. Duane, “Titus” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary New Testament, USA: SP Publications, 1983.
McGee, J. Vernon, Thru the Bible with J. Vernon McGee Vol. V, 1 Corinthians through Revelation, Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1983.
Footnotes
- This link provides a quotation from Cretica by Epimenides. Supposedly, this is the poem quoted by Paul in Titus 1:12. https://intertextual.bible/text/epimenides-cretica-1-acts-17.28#:~:text=They%20fashioned%20a%20tomb%20for,move%20and%20have%20our%20being. ↩︎
- Litfin 763. ↩︎
- Litfin 763. ↩︎
- Kent 219. ↩︎