Titus 1-2 “Discerning the Traits of False Teachers”

READ: Titus 1-2

Verses chosen for meditation: Titus 1:13-16

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.

REFLECT

The name Titus appears 14 times in Paul’s letters. Galatians 2:1-5 introduces him as a Greek, proving that a Gentile can be a fully acceptable Christian. Furthermore, Titus became one of Paul’s most trusted associates, and seemed to specialise in managing crisis churches. Twice he was dispatched to the rowdy church in Corinth. Here, he’s facing another challenging task on Crete, an island in the Mediterranean.

Titus 1:5-6 gave reasons why Paul left Titus in Crete, for him to put things in order and appoint leaders in every town who could teach sound doctrine and rebuke those who contradict it. This was due to the prevalence of false teachings in the church. In today’s meditation verses, Paul exposed the errors of these false teachers.

1^st, they paid more attention to “the commands of people who turn away from the truth” (v14). This means that they are more concerned with human and public opinion over divine revelation. Jesus charged the Pharisees with the same error, accusing them of forsaking the commands of God to hold on to human traditions (Mark 7:6-8).

2^nd, they have a wrong understanding of purity. Like the Pharisees, they valued external and ritual purity over true purity, which is internal and moral. “To the pure, all things are pure” (v15), including God’s good gifts of marriage and food, things that false teachers may wrongly suggest as unclean. Once we are made clean inwardly, Jesus says everything will be clean for us (Luke 11:41). In contrast, to those who are corrupted inwardly, their minds (what they believe) and their conscience (what they think they are allowed to do) would be corrupt (v15).

3^rd, they claim to know God, but deny Him with their actions (v16). There is a difference between what they say and what they are. They display hypocrisy, having ritual without reality, form without power, claims without character to back up, and faith without works.

 

RELATE

The thing about false teachers is that they genuinely believe what they are teaching. They are not knowingly misleading people, like what professional scammers do these days. Like Paul in the past who believed his persecution of Christians was good work for God, these false teachers spread wrong doctrine in the name of God, but lack the discernment to see how off the mark they are.

This may happen to us also. We may grow up in the faith learning doctrines that originate from a mix of divine revelation and human tradition, yet lack the discernment to differentiate. Up to a point, we somehow become confident in our views and may lack the humility to accept we may be wrong, or lack the diligence to study the word more completely to check our understanding. We then face the danger of not knowing how to tell what is sound, or become false teachers ourselves.

The 3 characteristics Paul exposed of false teachers provide us with 3 valid tests to discern false teachings from sound doctrine. When we hear any teaching, we can 1^st ask, is the origin of the teaching divine or human? Is the source God’s revelation, or human tradition? 2^nd, we can ask, is the essence of what is taught inward or outward (“wayang” and for show)? Is it spiritual or ritual? 3^rd, we can ask if the result of the teaching leads to a transformed life or a mere formal creed? Sound doctrine is divine in its origin, spiritual in its essence and moral in its effect.

Paul was very disturbed by the prevalence of false teachings in the churches. He spoke about it in all his letters. No doubt, the prevalence is also there in modern churches. But how did Paul react to this phenomenon? He did not remain idle or silent, accepting that everyone can do whatever they want with their opinions. He did not give up and leave the church too, thinking that they are incorrigible. Instead, his strategy was to raise more true teachers. That was his instruction to Titus in Titus 1:5.

When we hear questionable teachings/perspectives from some in any church, we should not be too quick to judge the church and leave to find another one. We should not be idle and leave it be too. Instead, we strive to make disciples of one another, raising more true teachers to educate in love those who may have misconstrued the faith.

REST

Lord, help us know what true worship is. As we honour you with our lips, may our hearts also be near you. May we worship with love and sincerity flowing from inside, and with deeds that honour you. Help us be on guard if we learn of worship that shows otherwise. Amen.

Chris Chong