Titus #5: SilencedAndover Baptist Church-February 2nd, 2014

OpeningA. Text for today is Titus 1:10-16 and our sermon is titled Silenced B. Scripture NET:“10 For there are many rebellious people, idle talkers, and deceivers, especially those with Jewish connections,11 who must be silenced because they mislead whole families by teaching for dishonest gain what ought not to be taught. 12 A certain one of them, in fact, one of their own prophets, said, “Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.”13 Such testimony is true. For this reason rebuke them sharply that they may be healthy in the faith 14

and not pay attention to Jewish myths and commands of people who reject the truth. 15 All is pure to those who are pure. But to those who are corrupt and unbelieving, nothing is pure, but both their minds and consciences are corrupted. 16 They profess to know God but with their deeds they deny him, since they are detestable, disobedient, and unfit for any good deed.”C. Introduction /Children’s Sermon

1. I have the kids come forward1. Ian comes up front after 2. Ian starts saying, ‘Now I want you to know that you

shouldn’t believe this Bible!’3. Me: ‘Ian the Bible is God’s Word and it is useful for all

things’4. Ian: ‘Whatever. We all descended from tree lemurs….’5. Me: ‘Brian, Richard’ (Brian and Richard come forward

and grab Ian)6. I have the kids put duct tape over Ian’s mouth (he’s

talking through it but muffled) and Brian and Richard take him out of service

7. Me: ‘Now Ian was just pretending in what he said. But we shouldn’t listen to anyone who says anything different than what the Bible says!’ (Pray with them)

8. Dismiss kids, explain that today we are going to talk about dealing with false teachers and trouble makers in the church (1)

SermonREAD: Titus 1:10, 11 (Scripture slide)

“10 For there are many rebellious people, idle talkers, and deceivers, especially those with Jewish connections,11 who must be silenced because they mislead whole families by teaching for dishonest gain what ought not to be taught.”

A. Notice that it starts with the word 'For….' 

1. This informs us that it pertains to that which was already mentioned

2. In this case it would be mainly Titus 1:9

“(NET) He must hold firmly to the faithful message as it has been taught, so that he will be able to give exhortation in such healthy teaching and correct those who speak against it.”  

3. Titus had been given instructions on what type of men he was to call to pastor the churches that Paul had planted on Crete

a. These men were to be highly qualified men because they people they were ministering to were highly messed up!

b. We will see that there were many in their congregations that were rebellious, empty talkers, false teachers, liars and people swayed by the false teachers

c. In reality this is the culture that every minister faces in every church in one shape or another

d. So Paul tells Titus to counter this he needed to pick godly men who know and handle the Word of God and will use it to teach and rebuke when necessary  (2)

B. Paul gives us, as just mentioned, one of the characteristics of the type of people pastors will deal with: ‘there will be many rebellious people’ 

1. The KJV translates rebellious as ‘unruly’ and I like the New Century Version that translates it, ‘people who refuse to cooperate’  

2. It simply means that there will be people that will be disobedient to God’s Word, unwilling to subject themselves to it or God

3. This is a problem that pastors face in every church, because every church has their problem people  

4. I really wish Paul would have said ‘one or two’ or even ‘a few’ but he states there are ‘many’

5. They are all over, maybe you are one of them  

C. Another characteristic of trouble people is that some of them are ‘idle talkers’ 

1. This is a subdivision of the rebellious people just mentioned 

2. These are the gossips, the back biters and those who the Holman Study Bible calls ‘people full of empty talk’ 

3. They smile at you out of one side of their mouth and try to bite you with the other

a. Years ago when I lived in Augusta, I opened my door to go outside

b. In front of my was this little bulldog on the porch just as happy to see me, his little behind shaking back and forth just begging me to pet him (3)

c. I reached down to pet him and he tried to bite my fingers off

d. I thought to myself, well James you simply tried to pet him too fast, so I nicely reached down again and he tried it again

e. I gave him the right foot of fellowship off the porch after than

4. There are people in churches like that their words are as slick as if they were rubbed in Brylcreem but inside they are broken people trying to break things

5. Those of you who gossip and backbite within the church, I’d be fearful of God’s dealing with you. Proverbs 6:19 tells us that one of the things that God hates is a person who spreads discord among brothers

D. Some of these rebellious people are ‘deceivers’ 

1. These are the people that for one reason or another seek to manipulate people for their own advantage, whatever that may be  

2. They speak their native language: in lies

3. Paul also warned Timothy of people like that  2 Timothy 3:13 (NET) “But evil people and charlatans will go from bad to worse, deceiving others and being deceived themselves.’  

4. Paul goes on to state that there will be a group of deceivers with ‘Jewish connections’

a. These are those who want to destroy grace

b. They want the law reinstated (4)

c. These are the legalists who were pushing for the dietary laws and circumcision to be enforced within the church   Philippians 3:2–3 (NET) “2 Beware of the dogs, beware of the evil workers, beware of those who mutilate the flesh!3 For we are the circumcision, the ones who worship by the Spirit of God, exult in Christ Jesus, and do not rely on human credentials”   1 Timothy 4:3–5 (NET) “3 They will prohibit marriage and require abstinence from foods that God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth. 4 For every creation of God is good and no food is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving. 5 For it is sanctified by God’s word and by prayer.”

E. What should be done about rebellious people like this within the church? Paul emphatically tells Titus they ‘must be silenced’ 

1. You see, the devil does not sit by idly when God’s Word is being taught  

a. He will do anything to get people’s mind of the word

b. To distract the body and to attack those who would dare preach and teach the truth

c. So he takes his seeds of discord, gossip, bitterness, backbiting and false teaching and he throws it into the garden where God’s Word is seeking to be planted 

d. And sometimes, unfortunately many times, these seeds take root in the lives of people within the church and whether they know it or not they become a plant of the devil in the Family of God  (5)

2. How does Paul feel about such people?

a. Literally he finds them as people ‘whom it is necessary to silence’

b. The KJV translates it as ‘whose mouths must be stopped’ 

c. He used very powerful words here, words that indicate ‘to stop the mouth by means of a bridle, muzzle, or gag’ 

d. Simply put Paul indicated that some people need to be muzzled

3. This is the part of a pastor’s calling that is unpleasant

a. We are called to not only to guard our lives and our doctrines closely, but to shepherd and protect the flock we have been put in watch over by the Great Shepherd  

b. When we stand before Christ we will give an account for how faithfully we watched over His flocks

c. And in order to be faithful there are some that the pastor must silence because they ought not be talking

d. We see Jesus doing the same thing in His ministry with the Pharisees and Sadducees to whom He told it like it was Matthew 23:13 (NET) “But woe to you, experts in the law and you Pharisees, hypocrites! You keep locking people out of the kingdom of heaven! For you neither enter nor permit those trying to enter to go in.” (6) 

e. This is not something that is optional for the pastor as Paul says it ‘must’ be done 

1. A pastor just can’t stand idly by and let this kind of idle talk and false teaching going on 2 Timothy 4:2 (NET) “Preach the message, be ready whether it is convenient or not, reprove, rebuke, exhort with complete patience and instruction.”    2. The book of James speaks about how dangerous an unchecked tongue can be, set on fire by hell, and the Word of God needs to put it out

3. Nothing that contradicts the Gospel should be taught 

4. False teachers are not to be given the floor or the pulpit to spread heresy

5. I will never forget the advice I received from Tommy Henson, our associational missionary before Tom Edwards. He told me, ‘James be very careful who you let in your pull-pit’

6. The only thing that a false teacher should be given is a sharp, but loving rebuke and if they refuse that, than the door! 

4. This is one of those issues we don’t like to talk about: the confrontation of sin 

a But there are lots of people who shouldn’t be talking in this world, whether it be in classrooms, radio, television and even from the pulpit

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b. And at times radical surgery is needed

1. Someone goes to the doctor and the doctor says you have an aggressive tumor that needs to be removed ASAP

2. You don’t play around with that and likewise we are not to tolerate people who seek to undermine the Word of God in our churches

c. Here is how you are to deal with someone teaching false doctrines or sowing dissention:

1. Please stop you are wrong and here is why (i.e. sound doctrine)

2. Stop or you will be told to leave

3. Pack your bags and hit the door Jack! Titus 3:10 (NET) “Reject a divisive person after one or two warnings.”  F. Paul tells us why they must be dealt with like this: ‘because they mislead whole families’ 

1. Mislead could be translated as ruining, subvert, upsetting or overthrow 

2. Many churches of that day were churches that met in the homes of others, hence it is easy to see entire homes overtaken by these false teachings  

3. And heresy is like Moser grass fire, if you don’t put it out it spreads 

4. Galatians 5:9 reminds us that it only takes a little yeast to spread throughout the dough 

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5. Paul warned repeatedly that such people would try and infiltrate the church and that we are to be ready for such an attack 

Acts 20:29 (NET) “I know that after I am gone fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock.”

Romans 16:17–18 (NET) “17 Now I urge you, brothers and sisters, to watch out for those who create dissensions and obstacles contrary to the teaching that you learned. Avoid them! 18 For these are the kind who do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. By their smooth talk and flattery they deceive the minds of the naive.”  Ephesians 4:14 (NET) “So we are no longer to be children, tossed back and forth by waves and carried about by every wind of teaching by the trickery of people who craftily carry out their deceitful schemes.”  G. Why do these type of people teach false doctrine?

1. They do it for ‘dishonest gain’

2. Dishonest is something that is shameful or disgraceful

3. There is lots of money to be made today in the realm of religion and greed has been the motivator for cults like Scientology and the Word of Faith Movement

4. These people will tear down a church to pad their wallet

5. It’s shameful for people to make a living selling and peddling a gospel that is no gospel

6. Jesus told us emphatically that we cannot serve both God and money 

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READ: Titus 1:12-14 (Scripture slide)

“12 A certain one of them, in fact, one of their own prophets, said, “Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.”13 Such testimony is true. For this reason rebuke them sharply that they may be healthy in the faith 14 and not pay attention to Jewish myths and commands of people who reject the truth.”

A. This ‘certain one of them’ was a Cretan philosopher by the name of Epimenides 

1. He lived 500-600 years before Christ

2. His description of the people of Crete is brutal

a. They are all liarsb. They act like evil animalsc. They don’t want to workd. They have insatiable sinful appetitese. Sounds like America today! 

3. It wasn’t just Epimenides who felt this way as even the distinguished Roman politician and Philosopher Cicero said about Cretans, ‘Moral principles are so divergent that the Cretans consider highway robbery honorable.’ 

B. Paul agrees with Epimenides saying, ‘Such testimony is true’ 

1. Paul is agreeing with their own prophet against them 

2. This is one time a non-prophet of God was right (we don’t have to state that the Biblical prophets were true because they have shown themselves to be true) 

3. It's just the overall attitude and actions of those on Crete at that time

C. So Paul gives Titus the method of handling people like this: ‘For this reason rebuke them sharply’  (10)

1. When people are doctrinally wrong, dangerously so (i.e. not in non-essential doctrines but in the core doctrines of the faith), they need to be told firmly that they are in Biblical error 

2. When someone is sharp or to the point about something they don’t beat around the bush they get to the point, and that is what the pastor is to do with heresy

D. Next Paul tells us the reason we are to deal with them in such a way: ‘that they may be healthy in the faith’   1. Could state so they could be ‘sound in the faith’ or ‘may become strong in the faith’

2. When we correct someone doctrinally it is not to hurt them, belittle them or destroy them. No, we do it to protect them and restore them. It should never be done with malicious or prideful intent 

2 Timothy 2:25–26 (NET) “25 correcting opponents with gentleness. Perhaps God will grant them repentance and then knowledge of the truth26 and they will come to their senses and escape the devil’s trap where they are held captive to do his will.”  2 Timothy 4:2 (NET) “Preach the message, be ready whether it is convenient or not, reprove, rebuke, exhort with complete patience and instruction.”

3. Paul in 2 Corinthians 7:8-12 told the Corinthians that the rebuking he gave them was to produce ‘repentance’ and that he didn’t like having to do what he did  E. Not only are they to be healthy in the faith, but also they are not ‘to pay attention to Jewish myths and commands of people who reject the truth’ 

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1. The false teachers that had infiltrated the churches in Crete were mainly Jewish in origin

2. These Jewish false teachers had all kinds of back stories and angelology that were made up and add nothing to Scripture

3. On top of these they were also making legalistic rules up for people to follow

a. Teaching people they needed to be circumcised and follow the law

b. Teaching that marriage was forbidden in cases

c. Teaching that certain foods should be abstained from

d. That works and not grace was the means to salvation

4. Jesus dealt with this with the Pharisees and experts in the law

Mark 7:5–9 (NET) “5 The Pharisees and the experts in the law asked him, “Why do your disciples not live according to the tradition of the elders, but eat with unwashed hands?” 6 He said to them, “Isaiah prophesied correctly about you hypocrites, as it is written: ‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. 7 They worship me in vain, teaching as doctrine the commandments of men.’ 8 Having no regard for the command of God, you hold fast to human tradition.”9 He also said to them, “You neatly reject the commandment of God in order to set up your tradition.”

5. These people and their teachings are to be rejected 

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READ: Titus 1:15, 16 (Scripture slide)

“15 All is pure to those who are pure. But to those who are corrupt and unbelieving, nothing is pure, but both their minds and consciences are corrupted. 16 They profess to know God but with their deeds they deny him, since they are detestable, disobedient, and unfit for any good deed.”

A. Believers in Christ are not controlled by our sin nature, but those who have rejected Him are ruled by it

1. A believer can look at something and see how God intends it

2. The ungodly, look at all things in light of how it can be be made ungodly

3. For example think of sex. God created for husband and wife. Those who are godly see it as such. But the world invents prostitution and pornography 

4. Another example: God gave us food to live, but the glutton lives to eat food

B. Just a matter of days ago the institution of marriage was desecrated on national television during the Grammy awards

1. Christians were mocked2. God’s Word was mocked3. God Himself was mocked

C. This is what those who don’t know Jesus do, they seek to make God in their own image 

1. They reject the true God and His Word2. And yet hypocritically they try and claim Him3. You cannot claim God and yet deny His Word 

 (13)Application (slide)

A. Jesus told us that in John 8:32 that in Him we ‘will know the truth, and the truth will set you free’

B. We need to stand on nothing less than God’s Word. It is His platform for the Gospel and truth. 

C. We need to make sure that our doctrines and our lives match up with His Word

D. So as we close, I ask you: Does your life match His Word? Or are you one of the rebellious that Paul was speaking about today?

E. Friends if you don’t get right with Him now, you may stand before Christ and have Him silence you.

Romans 3:19 (NET) “Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world may be held accountable to God.”

Invitation

Let us sing our last song # ,

Lord’s Supper

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