“For there are many disorderly and
unruly men who are idle (vain, empty) and misleading talkers and
self-deceivers and deceivers of others. [This is true] especially of
those of the circumcision party [who have come over from Judaism].
Their mouths must be stopped, for they
are mentally distressing and subverting whole families by teaching what
they ought not to teach, for the purpose of getting base advantage and
disreputable gain.
One of their [very] number, a prophet of
their own, said, Cretans are always liars, hurtful beasts, idle and lazy
gluttons.
And this account of them is [really]
true. Because it is [true], rebuke them sharply [deal sternly, even severely
with them], so that they may be sound in the faith and free from error, 14 [And may show their soundness
by] ceasing to give attention to Jewish myths and fables or to rules
[laid down] by [mere] men who reject and turn their backs on the Truth.
To the pure [in heart and conscience]
all things are pure, but to the defiled and corrupt and unbelieving
nothing is pure; their very minds and consciences are defiled and
polluted.
They profess to know God [to recognize,
perceive, and be acquainted with Him], but deny and disown and
renounce Him by what they do; they are detestable and loathsome,
unbelieving and disobedient and disloyal and rebellious,
and [they are] unfit and worthless for good work (deed or enterprise) of
any kind.” Titus 1:10-16 AMP
False teachers promote legalism, not God’s grace. Paul says that these false teachers promoted
“the commandments of men” (1:14; Col. 2:20-23). Legalism involves emphasizing certain
non-essential external matters to the neglect of essential heart matters. Legalism focuses on outward conformity to
man-made rules, rather than an inward conformity to God’s righteous commands in
Scripture.
Legalism always appeals to the flesh. It feeds the proud
human heart that thinks that it can attain righteousness apart from being
humbled before the cross. Legalists congratulate themselves for doing their
religious duties and they self-righteously condemn those who do not do these
things. But they do not judge the sin in
their hearts or seek to please God from the heart.
That’s what verse 15 refers to: “To the pure, all things are
pure; but to those who are defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure, but both
their mind and their conscience are defiled.” Paul does not mean that if you think something
is not sinful, then it is okay. Rather, he was referring to the Jewish
ceremonial and dietary laws.
The false teachers claimed to be pure because they kept
these rules, but in God’s sight, they were unclean because their minds and
consciences were defiled. Only the blood
of Jesus can cleanse our consciences so that we can serve God (Heb. 9:14;
10:22).
Paul is making the same point that Jesus made where He
indicted the Pharisees because they kept all of their manmade rituals, but their
hearts were far from God. Jesus said
that external things, such as eating certain foods, could not defile a man, but
rather, what defiles a man is the sin that comes from the heart (Mark 7:1-23) .
Bad doctrine always results in evil behavior. On the surface, false teachers often seem like
nice, moral people. Sometimes, the veneer of morality is due to their legalism.
But as Jesus pointed out to the
Pharisees, legalists look like beautiful, whitewashed tombs, but inside they
are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness (Matt. 23:27).
Their hearts remained corrupted because their trust was in
what they did to make themselves pure rather than relying upon the
righteousness of Christ on their behalf.
Note how Paul describes the behavior of these false
teachers:
They were “rebellious” (1:10). This is always at the root of false teaching.
Sinners refuse to submit to God’s Word, so they invent
teaching that fits with their sinful lifestyles. Paul went on to say, they were empty talkers
and deceivers (1:10). Like a
dishonest salesman, they could talk well, but their motive was to deceive for
their own advantage. These men were greedy
(1:11).
False teachers often exploit their followers, milking them
for more money while the false teacher goes first class all the way.
Furthermore, Paul continues to say, they are liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons
and they are defiled, unbelieving, detestable (the word means to
stink), disobedient and worthless for any good deed (1:12, 15, 16).
False teachers are not usually so honest as to say that they
are atheists or the antichrist. However, “they profess to know God, but by
their deeds they deny Him” (1:16). As
first John makes clear, the true test of genuine faith is our behavior; “By
this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments. The one who says, ‘I have come to know Him,’
and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him” (I
John 2:3-4). Jesus said that you can identify these wolves
in sheep’s clothing by their fruit (Matt. 7:15-16).
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