Titus 1:10-16 (Day 3)

*I wanted to mention 1st, that as I type it is 6:03 in the morning! I've been praying that God would help me get up when it was necessary (at least till school starts). We have to be out of the house today at 8:30 so I was HOPING to get up at 7. Well, I couldn't sleep anymore, looked at my clock and it said 5:13 a.m. I even tried to lay there but I had to pee SO bad. by 5:22 my Bible was open and I was in Titus. Now granted, I had to remain obedient by not going back to bed (and to get to bed by 10), but the Lord was faithful to get me up. Hopefully, it will become a habit soon and won't be such a pain - I really love my sleep.*

Titus 1:10-16 (New International Version, ©2010)

Rebuking Those Who Fail to Do Good

 ¹⁰ For there are many rebellious people, full of meaningless talk and deception, especially those of the circumcision group. ¹¹ They must be silenced, because they are disrupting whole households by teaching things they ought not to teach—and that for the sake of dishonest gain.¹² One of Crete’s own prophets has said it: “Cretans are always liars, evil brutes, lazy gluttons.”^[a] 13 This saying is true. Therefore rebuke them sharply, so that they will be sound in the faith ¹⁴ and will pay no attention to Jewish myths or to the merely human commands of those who reject the truth. ¹⁵ To the pure, all things are pure, but to those who are corrupted and do not believe, nothing is pure. In fact, both their minds and consciences are corrupted. ¹⁶ They claim to know God, but by their actions they deny him. They are detestable, disobedient and unfit for doing anything good.

1:10 - 3 Characteristics of those who oppose the truth: 1) rebellious, 2) mere talkers 3) deceivers. All 3 were present in Timothy's opponents, but in Crete Titus had to deal with a Jewish element (the circumcision group) in whom these characteristics stood out prominently. 

1:11 - These false teachers must be silenced because of the damage they were doing to families in the congregation. They had to teach certain things or they would be excommunicated - their motive? Dishonest gain caused them to destroy lives. 

Honestly, I've seen this happen numerous times. And the gain isn't aways money, sometimes it's control. When leaders of the church use their power and position to work things the way they want it peoples lives really do fall apart. It's heartbreaking and horrible. And that's just how I feel - I can't imagine God's stance . . . 

1:12 - The quote originated from the lie that Zeus died in Crete. By Paul's day it was just a general reputation for the Cretans. The verb kretizo was invented to mean "to lie" which shows the general understanding of the Cretan people. 

1:13-14 - "This is true" the false teachers fit the stereotype of the Cretans. Titus was to "rebuke them sharply so that they will be sound ("healthy") in the faith." The ultimate goal in discipline is to recover the pone who is in error. 

1:15-16 - Paul was trying to bring to light the Jewish influences of rules about eating, drinking and purification (Col 2:20-23). 

• Paul had to remind his readers about what Jesus thought of these things: purification is largely a matter of the internal rather than the external (Mark 7:15; Luke 11:39-41).  
• "Nothing outside can corrupt one how is internally pure; but someone who is internally impure corrupts all he touches." The minds and consciences of the false teachers were impure. So though they claimed to know God, their corrupt actions showed their true natures (1 John 2:4).
• Their impure interiors rendered them externally detestable ("abominable") to God, disobedient, and unfit ("disapproved") for doing anything good (2 Tim 3:17). Paul connected their theological error with moral deficiency. 

     Dear Jesus, I pray that You will create in me a clean and pure heart that beats for You. Father, I ask that by renewing my mind through Your Word, You can transform my mind, will, and emotions, making me more like You. Help me to help people in the church without the pursuit of dishonest gain - not for myself but for You. Help me to rebuke people when it needs to be done in the way way it should be done. Give me a love for Your Word that defines my life. Help me to have Your Name on my lips when I wake up and give my heart instruction as I sleep. You are wonderful, You are faithful, and Your goodness to me is so deep I can't wrap my head around it. Jesus, help me to love You first, and help me to love others in the way that You did. Change me moment by moment and help me to be the Morgan You dreamed of. Amen.