We somewhat rushed through verses 10 and 11 at the end of last Sunday, so

I’d like to revisit a few points from those verses just for a moment.

Titus Chapter 1 Verses 10 – 11

 (On the subject of insubordination) Being easy is a big part of

fellowship and a bigger part of the work of the ministry. There’s

enough difficulty and pushing already concerning the plow of the

ministry field. If someone adds friction, not good for ministry and it’s

as simple as that. Christians and especially leaders in the work of

Christ must be folks you rest upon. Not folks that take away from your

rest! We are sabbath/rest dwellers and also should be people that bring

rest into any situation. An ease. A lightning!

 Hebrews 4:9-11 says, “There is a rest reserved for the people of God.

For he who has entered into His rest has himself also ceased from his

works as God did from His. Let us therefore be diligent to enter that

rest, lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience.”

Another way to say disobedience? Insubordination or withholding the

grace, mercy, peace and love that we have been afforded.

 For it is by grace that you have been saved, not of works, lest anyone

should boast (Paul wrote in Ephesians), and so ceasing from our own

works to be perfect and good enough, we enter into the rest of God, a

Sabbath soul, by grace. So, we, Christians, should be extreme

gracists! Sabbath providers because we are sabbath dwellers. Rest and

ease infectors because we are the infected! Therefore, we ought to be

the presence of sabbath in the lives of others, especially those in the

work of the ministry. Are YOU!?

 Idle talkers and deceivers. Idle talking means wasting mental cycles

with empty, useless or unprofitable words. Ephesians 4:29 says, “Let

no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for

necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers.” Don’t

put someone in leadership in the ministry that have a significant habit

of talking about and bringing up secondary issues or doubtful doctrine.

And certainly, if you find someone to be untruthful, sheesh…

 And Paul calls out those especially of the circumcision not to single

out Jews but to shine a spotlight on legalists… Those that haven’t yet

grasped grace for themselves…

 Paul says their mouths must be stopped. Love that! If not, they can

pull down whole families and households, which at that time were

churches… And he knows that in the end, those folks aren’t trying to

set anyone free but to bring them into their ego feeding club.

Titus Chapter 1 Verses 12 – 13a

 HA! Tell us how you really feel about Cretans!? HA! As I’ve said

before, in those times, to be called a Cretan was to be called a liar, a

cheater, someone that was just nasty and it was known throughout the

culture. There was even a Greek word that was fashioned after the

word Creten. Kretizo meant to act like a Cretan, or to be called a liar

because ancient Cretans were notoriously regarded as habitual

deceivers and liars!

 Interestingly enough, Paul may be quoting a 6 th Century BC Cretan

philosopher named Epimenides and famously known as the

Epimenides Paradox because Epimenides himself was a Cretan! HA!

It’s paradoxical because his own statement, “All Cretans are liars,”

creates a self-referential contradiction. If the statement is true, he must

be lying; if it is false, the statement in not true! Have fun with that

one! Paul seems to agree with it in his experience!

Titus Chapter 1 Verses 13 - 14

 These words seem harsh however remember the English language is

quite weak compared to the Greek. Greek words often communicate

tone, intention, emotion, source…, much better than English. So, we

read the phrase, “rebuke them sharply,” and some Christians lose their

Sabbath personas. Go all Religious Rambo and then point to the Bible

to justify their flesh. Don’t ever do that…

 The word for rebuke can also be translated convince, or uncover the

error with confidence, and the word sharply has the connotation of

cutting in…, an abrupt and prompt response. So, while Paul is

certainly instructing Titus to stand his ground against Cretans, the

admonition implies a preparedness and confidence on the part of Titus.

 Being prepared is a secret super power to confidence. This is back

to verse 9 in what Paul said to Titus. To hold fast the faithful word that

he may be able to exhort and convict those who contradict.

 Paul said to Timothy in 2 Timothy 4:2-4, “Preach the word! Be ready

in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all

longsuffering and teaching. For the time will come when they will not

endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because

they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and

they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to

fables.” These times described what was happening in Crete and this

DEFINITELY describes the times we are living in now!

 Charlie Kirk was murdered not because he screamed at people and

protested and picketed but because he was able by sound doctrine to

give an answer to every person that contradicted the word of God or

the One true God. And they killed him for it!

 Church today! Pulpits across the world, this one included, giving the

clarity of the Word of God and full grown “Christian” adults on their

phones and the Word having no effect on them… These are the times

we live in today.

 And yet, confidence and character are instructed through

preparedness. Know the Word. Study it. Be ready. I am confident, and

I know that I’ll fail and that doesn’t scare me, I am confident that any

issue, any circumstance, any question, I can answer not by giving my

opinion or experience or feelings but by simply restating what the

Bible says on a subject. And so, I don’t care if they don’t like my

answer, it’s not mine. Doesn’t upset me, anger me, make me lose my

peace… “Here’s what the Bible says…” To be able to say that is a

sharp rebuke! Got Charlie shot…, and that’s all he did.

Titus Chapter 1 Verse 15

 This is a perfect example of why context is so important in rightfully

dividing the word of truth. One rule of studying the Bible, indeed a

law of teaching the Bible, is you teach the intent of the author. Not

your interpretation, not your thoughts, you don’t add to it and you

don’t take away from it. Find the intention of the author and explain it.

 The context of this statement is sound doctrine, not the flesh. I

have heard people use this to justify drug use, adultery, porn, on and

on. Absolutely ridiculous. If your doctrine doesn’t lead to you being

more holy then your doctrine isn’t doctrine, it’s a drug. Just something

you are using to feed your flesh and that’s why you’re so extremely

unprofitable. The flesh profits nothing but holiness abounds to profit!

 Paul is speaking about and giving weight to why Titus ought to be

focused on teaching sound doctrine and being prepared and confident

to refute and convince and teach those in Crete THE way, The truth

and THE life. Because a little leaven leavens the whole lump… SO

many don’t believe that…

 I’ll be righteous here but I’ll have some flex over here…, it darkens

everything! Just like people say to me, “I want to lose some weight

around my mid-section.” GOOD LUCK! That’s not how it works. You

lose weight all over or you don’t lose it at all. Just like purity and

power of mind. Just like profitability as a person. Just like maturity in

the faith and heart and mind. Growing up and becoming a better

person. A little leaven leavens the whole lump.

 Do it a different way, you’re welcome to… I see guys in the gym all

the time doing some wack-a-do workout and they are working hard,

man! Struggling and sweating and grunting, NO GAINS! Why?

They’re doing arms day! HA! Don’t do that with doctrine. To the

unbelieving in any aspect of sound doctrine, nothing is pure, not their

minds, hearts, perspectives, rationale, thinking, all of it…, and if you

really want to be honest, they aren’t concerned about conscience if

they have it at all…

Titus Chapter 1 Verse 16

 We aren’t saved by works, not a chance, the salvation of a perfect and

holy God unto perfect and eternal life is not and could never be by

works, it is by grace that you have been saved, through faith, not of

works and not of yourselves lest any of us could boast. BUT, works

most certainly reveal my salvation. You can get a good idea of the

state of the root by the health of the fruit…

 Profess, the word means they agree with you in your Biblical

counseling, can’t deny it, it’s true and its plain and its simple. They

promise, they give thanks, they confess, this is what this word means,

they declare openly that they know God, but in works they deny Him.

 The word for know is the key. This is not head knowledge, this is

personal, intimate, character, family, they profess to know God but

then aren’t forgiving, loving, accommodating, wanting things to be

right and good with my wife (prime example, you for your husband if

you are a wife), or with your boss, or with your pastor…, working

towards peace and mercy and grace and love at all times…, then you

don’t know God.

 1 John 1:6 says, “If we say we have fellowship with Him, and walk in

darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.” 1 John 4:20 says, “If

someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar…” So

profess whatever you want, your unprofitness reveals you!

Unprofitable for the glory and kingdom of God!

 Signs. Abominable. Bdelooktos in the Greek. It means what is not

acceptable in heaven. And to anyone who carries about with them the

heart of God, you identify the behavior as RIDICULOUS, and when

you tell them that…, itching ears don’t like that too much! HA!

 Disobedient. Not compliant with what is righteous. Excuses.

Justifications. Denials. Defenses. Deflections. Or lip service. Someone

is just find walking in some sort of something that ain’t gonna happen

in heaven and when you correct them, even if they accept it, nothing

changes.

 Disqualified for every good work. Simply put, unprofitable. Titus’ job,

and my job as a pastor, is to equip the church and each of us to go

from unprofitable for the kingdom, to profitable for the kingdom. To

bring glory to God and to then go and do the same. Jesus said it this

way, Matthew 28:19-20, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the

nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and

of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have

commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the

age.” Amen.” Pretty awesome. Paul wrote this to Titus, but he wrote it

to all of us too, along with Jesus!