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Minds and Consciences Defiled
Titus 1:10-11, 15-16 ESV
Not everyone who calls himself a pastor or a preacher or an evangelist or Bible teacher is teaching the truth of the Scriptures. They aren’t all followers of Jesus Christ, either. Many of them are human cockroaches, i.e., they are liars, deceivers, opportunists, manipulators, unclean, and hypocrites.
They disguise themselves as servants of righteousness while they are impure, defiled and unbelieving. They are empty talkers and deceivers whose goal it is to lead you astray. They give you the false impression that what they are teaching is the truth, but it is a mixture of truth and lies.
They are usually smooth talkers, charming, entertaining, and manipulative, who know how to convince people that what they are telling them is the truth. For, what they are teaching is usually what the people’s itching ears want to hear, which is what appeases their flesh.
What they are teaching does not accord with sound doctrine. They are teaching what they ought not to teach, for what they are teaching is the doctrines of people who are turning away from the truth. They are teaching that people can believe in Jesus and have eternal life with God but that they can continue in habitual, deliberate, and premeditated sin against God.
And although they profess to know God, they deny him by their works. Their lifestyles, their behaviors, their habits, their words, and their deeds speak the opposite of what they profess with their lips. For, they are disobedient to the Lord and to the truth of his word, which makes them unfit for any good works God had prepared in advance that they should walk in them.
Thus, we must be discerning about who and what we listen to. And we must test everything we hear against the word of God, IN CONTEXT.
What Accords with Sound Doctrine
Titus 2:1 ESV
So, how do we know what is “sound doctrine”? We can’t go by it just sounding good because it may be bad. And we can’t accept it just because someone shows us a verse in the Bible which they say teaches it. The best way to know sound doctrine is to read the Scriptures in context.
When I was growing up I was taught many Scriptures out of context, and a good number of those I was taught wrong. But I didn’t know they were wrong for certain until I began reading the Bible book by book and chapter by chapter. The context began to make things clear for me, though.
As I read the Scriptures in their context, and as I read the teachings in the New Testament on the gospel message, as a whole, the pieces I had been taught all began coming together and I could see how there were certain things I was taught early on which did not agree with the context.
So, this is why we are encouraged in the Scriptures to test the spirits to see if they are of God. Instead of being lazy and just accepting what we hear because it sounds good, we must study the word of God in its context in order to get the whole picture and not disjointed parts of the whole.
For the Grace of God
Titus 2:11-14 ESV
Many people today are teaching a false grace gospel, which is only half true but half a lie. They are teaching that God’s grace forgives us our sins and it promises us eternal life with God, but that forgiveness means that our sins no longer matter to God, and that he can’t even see our sins anymore.
While it is true that Jesus forgives sin, and he does promise eternal life to those believing in him, there is a whole lot more than that to the gospel of our salvation, which context will provide. In context we will learn what it means to believe in Jesus and the conditions for receiving eternal life.
We will learn that coming to Jesus Christ means self-denial, and it means dying with Christ to sin and living to Christ and to his righteousness, and that it means walking with him in obedience to his commands, and it means surrendering our lives to him as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to him.
We will learn that it means submitting to Christ as Lord (owner-master) of our lives, and that our lives are no longer our own, for we were bought back for God with the blood of Christ. And we will learn that our Lord does see when we sin, and that if we continue in habitual and deliberate sin against him, and if we refuse to obey him, that we don’t know him, and that we will die in our sins, and we won’t have eternal life with God.
For, God’s grace which brings salvation does not overlook our sins. It does not pacify us in our sins or give us a free pass to continue living in sin, only now without guilt. God’s grace delivers us out of our slavery to sin and it empowers us to live godly and holy lives to the glory of God.
And his grace trains (teaches, instructs, commands) us to say “NO!” to ungodliness and fleshly lusts, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives while we wait for our Lord’s soon return. We are taught that we must now walk (in conduct) according to the Spirit and no longer according to our sinful flesh.
For, when Jesus Christ died on that cross for us it was so that we might die with him to sin and live to him and to his righteousness. He freed us from our enslavement to sin that we might become slaves of his righteousness. He gave his life blood for us on that cross that we might now be his possession and that we might now honor God with our lives.
For, if we continue in habitual and deliberate sin against God, while claiming Jesus as our Savior and heaven as our eternal home, we must know that we will die in our sins. We will not inherit eternal life with God. But if we return to our Lord in repentance, he will restore us and revive us and we will have the hope of eternal life with God.
[Lu 9:23-26; Jn 6:35-58; Jn 15:1-11; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-17; Eph 4:17-24; 1 Jn 1:5-9; 1 Jn 2:3-6; 1 Pet 2:24; 1 Co 6:9-10, 19-20; 2 Co 5:10, 15; Gal 5:16-21; Eph 5:3-6; Gal 6:7-8; Rom 2:6-8; Tit 2:11-14; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Rom 12:1-8; 1 Co 12:1-31; Eph 4:1-16; Jn 6:44; Eph 2:8-10; Heb 12:1-2]
Jesus, Rescue Me
An Original Work / September 18, 2011
Based off of Romans 7:7-8:39
Jesus, rescue me today.
Listen while I bow and pray.
I need Your help to obey You;
Live for You always.
Meet me in my hour of need, Lord,
As I pray to You.
Help me walk in fellowship, Lord,
Living in Your truth.
Jesus, how I long for You to
Change my heart anew.
Father, God, my heart’s desire
Is to live for You this hour
In Your Holy Spirit’s power
Living in me now.
Teach me to walk in Your love, Lord,
Guiding me each day.
Help me to show love and kindness
To the lost, I pray.
Father, teach me to love others
As You love always.
Holy Spirit come in pow’r.
Revive our hearts in this hour.
Change our hearts to be like You, Lord;
Live for You each day.
Help us to forsake our sins, Lord,
As we humbly pray.
Teach us how to live for You, Lord,
Obey You always.
Holy Spirit come in power,
Revive us today.
Titus 1:10-11, 15-16 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.”
“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.”
Not everyone who calls himself a pastor or a preacher or an evangelist or Bible teacher is teaching the truth of the Scriptures. They aren’t all followers of Jesus Christ, either. Many of them are human cockroaches, i.e., they are liars, deceivers, opportunists, manipulators, unclean, and hypocrites.
They disguise themselves as servants of righteousness while they are impure, defiled and unbelieving. They are empty talkers and deceivers whose goal it is to lead you astray. They give you the false impression that what they are teaching is the truth, but it is a mixture of truth and lies.
They are usually smooth talkers, charming, entertaining, and manipulative, who know how to convince people that what they are telling them is the truth. For, what they are teaching is usually what the people’s itching ears want to hear, which is what appeases their flesh.
What they are teaching does not accord with sound doctrine. They are teaching what they ought not to teach, for what they are teaching is the doctrines of people who are turning away from the truth. They are teaching that people can believe in Jesus and have eternal life with God but that they can continue in habitual, deliberate, and premeditated sin against God.
And although they profess to know God, they deny him by their works. Their lifestyles, their behaviors, their habits, their words, and their deeds speak the opposite of what they profess with their lips. For, they are disobedient to the Lord and to the truth of his word, which makes them unfit for any good works God had prepared in advance that they should walk in them.
Thus, we must be discerning about who and what we listen to. And we must test everything we hear against the word of God, IN CONTEXT.
What Accords with Sound Doctrine
Titus 2:1 ESV
“But as for you, teach what accords with sound doctrine.”
So, how do we know what is “sound doctrine”? We can’t go by it just sounding good because it may be bad. And we can’t accept it just because someone shows us a verse in the Bible which they say teaches it. The best way to know sound doctrine is to read the Scriptures in context.
When I was growing up I was taught many Scriptures out of context, and a good number of those I was taught wrong. But I didn’t know they were wrong for certain until I began reading the Bible book by book and chapter by chapter. The context began to make things clear for me, though.
As I read the Scriptures in their context, and as I read the teachings in the New Testament on the gospel message, as a whole, the pieces I had been taught all began coming together and I could see how there were certain things I was taught early on which did not agree with the context.
So, this is why we are encouraged in the Scriptures to test the spirits to see if they are of God. Instead of being lazy and just accepting what we hear because it sounds good, we must study the word of God in its context in order to get the whole picture and not disjointed parts of the whole.
For the Grace of God
Titus 2:11-14 ESV
“For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.”
Many people today are teaching a false grace gospel, which is only half true but half a lie. They are teaching that God’s grace forgives us our sins and it promises us eternal life with God, but that forgiveness means that our sins no longer matter to God, and that he can’t even see our sins anymore.
While it is true that Jesus forgives sin, and he does promise eternal life to those believing in him, there is a whole lot more than that to the gospel of our salvation, which context will provide. In context we will learn what it means to believe in Jesus and the conditions for receiving eternal life.
We will learn that coming to Jesus Christ means self-denial, and it means dying with Christ to sin and living to Christ and to his righteousness, and that it means walking with him in obedience to his commands, and it means surrendering our lives to him as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to him.
We will learn that it means submitting to Christ as Lord (owner-master) of our lives, and that our lives are no longer our own, for we were bought back for God with the blood of Christ. And we will learn that our Lord does see when we sin, and that if we continue in habitual and deliberate sin against him, and if we refuse to obey him, that we don’t know him, and that we will die in our sins, and we won’t have eternal life with God.
For, God’s grace which brings salvation does not overlook our sins. It does not pacify us in our sins or give us a free pass to continue living in sin, only now without guilt. God’s grace delivers us out of our slavery to sin and it empowers us to live godly and holy lives to the glory of God.
And his grace trains (teaches, instructs, commands) us to say “NO!” to ungodliness and fleshly lusts, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives while we wait for our Lord’s soon return. We are taught that we must now walk (in conduct) according to the Spirit and no longer according to our sinful flesh.
For, when Jesus Christ died on that cross for us it was so that we might die with him to sin and live to him and to his righteousness. He freed us from our enslavement to sin that we might become slaves of his righteousness. He gave his life blood for us on that cross that we might now be his possession and that we might now honor God with our lives.
For, if we continue in habitual and deliberate sin against God, while claiming Jesus as our Savior and heaven as our eternal home, we must know that we will die in our sins. We will not inherit eternal life with God. But if we return to our Lord in repentance, he will restore us and revive us and we will have the hope of eternal life with God.
[Lu 9:23-26; Jn 6:35-58; Jn 15:1-11; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-17; Eph 4:17-24; 1 Jn 1:5-9; 1 Jn 2:3-6; 1 Pet 2:24; 1 Co 6:9-10, 19-20; 2 Co 5:10, 15; Gal 5:16-21; Eph 5:3-6; Gal 6:7-8; Rom 2:6-8; Tit 2:11-14; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Rom 12:1-8; 1 Co 12:1-31; Eph 4:1-16; Jn 6:44; Eph 2:8-10; Heb 12:1-2]
Jesus, Rescue Me
An Original Work / September 18, 2011
Based off of Romans 7:7-8:39
Jesus, rescue me today.
Listen while I bow and pray.
I need Your help to obey You;
Live for You always.
Meet me in my hour of need, Lord,
As I pray to You.
Help me walk in fellowship, Lord,
Living in Your truth.
Jesus, how I long for You to
Change my heart anew.
Father, God, my heart’s desire
Is to live for You this hour
In Your Holy Spirit’s power
Living in me now.
Teach me to walk in Your love, Lord,
Guiding me each day.
Help me to show love and kindness
To the lost, I pray.
Father, teach me to love others
As You love always.
Holy Spirit come in pow’r.
Revive our hearts in this hour.
Change our hearts to be like You, Lord;
Live for You each day.
Help us to forsake our sins, Lord,
As we humbly pray.
Teach us how to live for You, Lord,
Obey You always.
Holy Spirit come in power,
Revive us today.
