Titus 1:7-9 ESV
“For an overseer, as God's steward, must be above reproach. He must not be arrogant or quick-tempered or a drunkard or violent or greedy for gain, but hospitable, a lover of good, self-controlled, upright, holy, and disciplined. He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it.”
In the church, which is the body of Christ, we who are
followers of Jesus Christ are all given roles which we are to fulfill, and
these are assigned to us by God, not by humans. And we are all given gifts of
the Spirit by the Spirit which are to be used in these assigned roles within
the body of Christ to minister to one another within the body of Christ (1
Corinthians 12:1-31). And this is not speaking about ministry positions within
the institutional church (the IC) which are assigned by other humans and not by
God.
Now within the body of Christ, overseers for the body of
Christ (the church) are to be appointed by other men in the church who are
godly men within the church who are in spiritual positions which qualify them
to appoint elders (overseers), like Titus was. And there are to be spiritual
requirements for the appointment of elders (overseers). They must be above
reproach, not arrogant, not quick-tempered, not a drunkard or violent or greedy
for gain, but hospitable, a lover of good, self-controlled, upright, holy, and
disciplined.
They must also be men of God who hold firm to the
trustworthy word as taught by the NT apostles, so that they may be able to give
instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it. This
is the way it is supposed to be done in the church, the body of Christ, per our
Lord’s instructions. And yet so many overseers (pastors, elders, deacons, etc.)
in what is called church today in America do not fit these biblical
qualifications, neither by what they practice nor by what they are teaching.
[Matt 5:13-16; Matt 28:18-20; Jn 4:31-38; Jn 13:13-17; Jn
14:12; Acts 1:8; Acts 2:42-47; Acts 26:18; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-17; Rom.
10:14-15; Rom 12:1-8; 1 Co 3:17; 1 Co 5:1-13; 1 Co 6:19-20; 1 Co 12:1-31; Eph
1:4,22; Eph 2:19-22; Eph 4:1-16; Eph 5:17-30; Col 1:18-22; Col 2:19; Col 3:12-16;
2 Tim 1:9; 2 Tim 2:21; Heb 3:13; Heb 10:23-31; Titus 1:4-16; Titus 2:11-14; 1
Pet 1:13-16; 1 Pet. 2:4-9,21]
Titus 1:10-13a ESV
“For there are many who are insubordinate, empty talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision party. They must be silenced, since they are upsetting whole families by teaching for shameful gain what they ought not to teach. One of the Cretans, a prophet of their own, said, ‘Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.’ This testimony is true.”
Exactly! There are many such men (and women) serving in
positions of pastors, elders, and deacons within the body of Christ, and/or in
these institutional churches, which are creations of man. And they are indeed
empty talkers and deceivers, who are insubordinate (rebellious, defiant), for
they are teaching for shameful gain what they ought not to teach. And some of
them are liars, evil beasts, and lazy gluttons whose god is their stomachs and
who are busy building their own earthly kingdoms, and not God’s.
For what they are teaching and living, by example, is not of
sound doctrine, but it is of the teachings and philosophies and marketing
schemes of human beings who are building their own kingdoms and not God’s. And
so many of them all appear to have been following the leadership of one man, at
least initially, who spearheaded the whole thing, but it has certainly branched
out and expanded to include other influencers since this all began. And this
secular religious movement is not of God, but of the flesh of man.
For they are fostering a false gospel which is a half-truth
(lie) gospel created in the minds of humans who were looking to appeal to the
people of the world and to human flesh. Thus, what they are largely teaching
conflicts with the teachings of Christ and of his New Testament (NT) apostles, for
the gospel many are teaching does not slay the sinner but entertains him. And they
coddle people in their sins rather than to confront them and to call them to
genuine repentance and to obedient walks of faith in Jesus Christ.
So their gospel delivers no one from their addiction
(slavery) to sin but it leaves them still bound in their sin, still wandering,
still lost in their sins, still living in habitual and deliberate sin against
the Lord. It leaves them still wandering in the wilderness, still living in
sexual immorality and in secretive sinful practices and then lying to coverup
their secretive lifestyles. And it leads them on journeys which are of the self,
and into the self, and back into the ways of the world and of the flesh, and
not to holy and godly living.
For they make no demands for death to sin nor for living to
God and to his righteousness. So all they have to do is profess faith in Jesus
Christ and they are being told all their sins are forgiven and covered by the
blood of Christ (past, present, and future) and that heaven is now guaranteed
them when they die regardless of how they live from this point forward. And
many are teaching them that no works are required by God, not even repentance
or obedience to the Lord, for they call that “works salvation.”
And so truly those who have bought into this
human-manufactured gospel message are still wandering in the wilderness, still
going in circles, still living in habitual and addictive sin, still living in
open rebellion against the Lord, and many without conscience or compassion or
remorse. And they make this choice of their own free wills to take this broad
road which leads to destruction, which many travel, rather than to take the
narrow road which leads to everlasting life with God, and which few travel
(Matthew 7:13-14).
Titus 1:15-16 ESV
“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. They profess to know God, but they deny him by their works. They are detestable, disobedient, unfit for any good work.”
Sadly this appears to describe the vast majority of those
professing faith in Jesus Christ in America these days. For so many professers
of faith in Jesus Christ are still living in slavery to sin and not as servants
of God and of his righteousness. They may go through forms of religious
practice, but their hearts are far from God for they are still living for the
pleasures of the flesh and not in surrender to the Lord to do his will. They
are still living largely for self and they are continuing in the ways of the
world.
And so if this is where you are, still living to please your
flesh, still doing what your own mind and heart dictates and craves, and not
living holy lives pleasing to God in obedience to his commands, then please
know this. The Scriptures teach that you do not know God, that you are not born
of God, but that you are of the devil, and you will not inherit eternal life
with God because your life is not surrender to the Lord Jesus to do his will, for
you are still choosing the flesh over God, over and over again.
Broken
Cord
An
Original Work / August 29, 2018
Your bond is broken with your Lord and Savior
And your testimony is separate from Him.
Your words not matching your actions today.
Repent of your sin and bow down and pray.
Live what you testify in truth always.
Purity’s lacking in your life and witness,
For you profess one thing, but other you do.
Not moral, spiritual. Still of the flesh.
Not living in truth to what you confess.
Lying about it puts you in a mess.
Living a lie is your practice, ‘tis true of you.
Masquerade righteousness – none of it true.
Your heart is not given to your Lord God.
Because of how you live, you are a fraud.
Turn from your sin and give your life to God.
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