13 This testimony is true. Therefore rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith, 14 not devoting themselves to Jewish myths and the commands of people who turn away from the truth.15 To the pure, all things are pure, but to the defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure; but both their minds and their consciences are defiled.16 They profess to know God, but they deny him by their works. They are detestable, disobedient, unfit for any good work.
Titus 1:13-16
Last week we saw that it was Paul’s recognition of the presence of opponents of the Gospel that necessitated the appointment of biblically qualified elders. These opponents were upsetting the faith of believers in the churches by teaching things that did not lead to growth in grace and he continues in 1:13-16 to further describe them. Although they were outwardly religious, their legalistic claims were antithetical to the true Gospel and, in reality, accomplished the exact opposite of what there adherents desired.
In 1:13, Paul affirms the truth of the Cretan stereotype in order to demonstrate to Titus the necessity of rebuking the false teachers and those that follow them. In doing so, Titus will serve as an example to those who would be appointed as elders in the churches of what it means to serve as an overseer of God’s people. The goal of the rebuke is that these people would be ‘sound’ or ‘healthy’ in the faith, repenting of their unhealthy doctrine (‘Jewish myths’) and practices (following the commands of men) and embracing the true, biblical Gospel.
Paul then goes into detail about the nature of the false teaching that has infiltrated the churches. The reference in 1:15 to purity serves to illustrate that the false teachers seem to have been Judaizers (those who argued that Christians must follow the OT Law) who emphasized ritual purity practices. Those who held to these views completely failed to understand the nature of Christ’s work and therefore the true Gospel. Because those who believe this insufficient ‘gospel’ have not been made new in Christ, they remain defiled in spite of their emphasis on purity. In order to illustrate the seriousness of this, Paul appropriates language from the OT that was associated with the defilement of idolatry (Lev. 11, Deut. 27:15). The reality is that although these people seek external purity, they are defiled internally (in their minds and consciences). True ‘purity’ comes only through Christ who does not merely cleanse his people temporarily, but completely through the ‘renewal of the Holy Spirit’ (Titus 3:5). Although these false teachers claim to know God and seek to demonstrate that through their legalism, they are actually unfit for any good work in service to Him.
It is vital that the churches understand the true Gospel so that they might recognize counterfeit ones. Titus must set the example of calling out false teaching and proclaiming healthy doctrine in order that believers might be encouraged and strengthened and that perhaps even some of the opponents might repent. Although legalism has an outward vernier of godliness, it is always dead on the inside and never equips people for Gospel ministry because it is primarily self-focused. In Christ, God fits His people for His service by regenerating them. It is only those who are complete in Christ who can lay down their lives to love and serve others in His name.
Join us this Sunday as we gather together to be reminded of these glorious truths in order that we might be fit for the good works that God has prepared for us!
Soli Deo Gloria.
-Thomas