Confront Bad doctrine +Bad Deeds …>>> Sound Faith

God gave apostles, evangelists, pastors teachers so that we God’s people could deal with a wild beast who is not a bear but a roaring lion and that is Satan. God has given his gifts to the church to keep us spiritually safe.  I Timothy, II Timothy and the book of Titus are called the pastoral letters. The pastoral letters are written by the Apostle Paul to young Pastor Timothy and Pastor Titus who served as pastors or shepherds of God’s flock. Just as David described the work of the Lord as the work of the Shepherd so Jesus described his work of salvation as the work of the Good Shepherd. God gives those shepherds or pastors to protect God’s flock.  

 

Last week we looked at the qualifications for pastors. Titus was to appoint qualified elders or pastors in the various towns on the large mountainous island of Crete. Crete was an island of mixed races—Roman officials, Jewish traders, and others. His work was to carry out the task of keeping the ravenous lions in the form of false teachers from destroying God’s people. Confront Bad doctrine +Bad Deeds …>>> Sound Faith

 The opening chapter of Titus explains the work of a pastor. The pastors need a solid understanding of the deep truths of Scripture and the way of salvation. The pastors needed to live that message in their deeds that is their day to day life relationships and activities. Yet, the attacks on pastors and the followers of Jesus are constant. Paul addresses the critical work of an under-shepherd of Jesus Christ. Paul speaks bluntly, honestly and respectfully to Titus.    “For there are many rebellious people, mere talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision group. ¹¹They must be silenced, because they are ruining whole households by teaching things they ought not to teach—and that for the sake of dishonest gain. ¹²Even one of their own prophets has said, “Cretans are always liars, evil brutes, lazy gluttons.” ¹³This testimony is true. Therefore, rebuke them sharply, so that they will be sound in the faith. ¹⁴and will pay no attention to Jewish myths or to the commands of those who reject the truth.

Pastor Titus was to rebuke sharply that is hinder or prevent the rebellious, the mere talkers and deceivers. Paul calls them “rebellious people,” not willing to be subject to a higher authority like that of Scripture or Paul, the apostle of God. Today, a growing number of so-called Christian teachers and leaders will not recognize Scripture as an infallible authority. Every single one of us can fall into the devil’s deceitful trap. Such false teachers place their own reason and ideas above Scripture and refuse to follow its clear teaching. Such false teachers are “mere talkers and deceivers.” With empty talk they deceive people. They want to convince their listeners that they possess a higher and more profound understanding of Christianity and the Scriptures.

 There were many such false teachers in Crete, but the worst were “those of the circumcision group.” These were believers in Jesus who had a Jewish background who seemingly had converted to Christianity but insisted on the need for circumcision and certain Old Testament ceremonial laws. They had been dealt with at the council in Jerusalem (Acts 15). Paul opposed them in his letter to the Galatians: “Mark my words! I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you at all” (Galatians 5:2). This was a serious matter. “They must be silenced,” Paul writes to Titus. He was to proclaim sound doctrine that is the way of salvation described in the Scriptures. In Crete there were Christian churches all over the island.  In the midst of these Christian churches were people of the circumcision group who said believing in Jesus was not enough but you have to do this to be saved- be circumcised- not eat certain foods- keep certain commands. The result of their teaching was that whole households were being spiritually overturned and even destroyed spiritually.

Let me put this in a modern example. Let’s say a couple comes to Eastside. Jake and Sarah return from Alaska to enroll their oldest child in pre-school. They have a child in our pre-school. They want to learn more about what we teach at Eastside. They attend a Bible information class. For the first time they are confronted with the message that you have to be perfect to get to heaven. They are confused. Then, they are told that is why God sent Jesus. After a short time they come to know and be certain of eternal life and they will go to heaven that night if they die. This confidence comes through the good doctrine of knowing God the Father and his plan for us in Jesus who was born and obeyed his parents. Jesus lived and taught on this earth. He performed miracles. He died on the cross for the sins of all people. After a while Jake and Sarah get to know some other members and real close friends with Harry and Melissa. Harry and Melissa tell them that the pastors did not tell them enough. They have quit some of their bad habits before they can become certain of eternal life. Harry and Melissa need to be rebuked and silenced.    

God calls pastors to maintain a healthy faith of the individuals in this congregation. A healthy faith knows that by nature we are lost without trust in God’s plan of salvation. A healthy faith or sound faith trusts in God’s plan of salvation in His Son Jesus Christ who is the Son of God and true man. A healthy or sound faith looks to God the Holy Spirit the third person of the Trinity as the Creator of faith through the inspired and error free Word of God and the word in baptism and the Lord’s Supper. Our Father in heaven sent his Son Jesus to live, die and rise again so that we might believe that Jesus has taken away every one of our sins. Jesus is the only way to heaven. He declared that truth in John 14:6 “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life no one comes to the Father but by me.”

 

The pastor’s work is to silence and rebuke sharply those who teach another way of salvation. False teachers are like wild animals who try to tear precious souls from a clear understanding of God’s love and forgiveness. Faithful pastor maintain good doctrine and good deeds by faithfully knowing and using God’s Word. ^“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, ¹⁷ so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work (II Timothy 3:16-17.” The pastor will rebuke and put to silence false teachers out of love for the Good Shepherd Jesus and for the followers of Jesus who might be led astray. Paul was concerned about the people on Crete. Your pastors are concerned about your faith in Jesus. Families are destroyed spiritually when the promises of God are weakened or made uncertain by looking to ourselves and what we do for the certainty of salvation.

 

The call to silence and rebuke sharply is pertinent for what we face today among Christian churches. The common complaint is that it does not make a difference what you believe because all roads lead to heaven. That is a lie. Christian Churches should agree to disagree about doctrine. That is a lie. Why didn’t Paul say that to Titus? Why do we refuse to hold that stance today? Faithfulness to Jesus means rebuking those who teach different than the Scriptures. Jesus pointed out that truth in our gospel lesson when he pointed out to his disciples the damaging leaven or false teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees who led people away from believing the Christ for the certainty of salvation. The work of the pastor and God’s people is to confront bad doctrine and bad deeds so that we have a healthy faith in Christ Jesus certain of the love and forgiveness in Christ Jesus by God’s undeserved love.

The work of Titus and every pastor on Crete was clear. The work of your pastors is clear in the Scriptures. Every pastor is to guide and to direct God’s people as under shepherds for the Good Shepherd Jesus. In his work Jesus did the work of the Good Shepherd in obtaining our salvation. Jesus the Good Shepherd did everything that is necessary to save us from unbelief, the devil’s grip and the fires of hell itself. God and man in the flesh and blood kept the Law of God for us. He died on the cross for us. He rose from the dead for us. Good doctrine and good deeds proclaim the work of Jesus that is what doctrine is, Bad doctrine and bad deeds lead us to trust ourselves or to be uncertain of the love of God and his precious promises in the Scripture.