The Sound Doctrine of Freedom

Titus 1:9-16

 

In Verse 9, A Pastor is told to hold to sound doctrine.  He needs to know the Word of God, what he believes and why.  The reason we need to hold fast to sound doctrine is because there are many empty talkers.  Many people today would rather listen to a preacher that uses flowery words and stays off of toes, than someone who preaches the Word of God in its entirety.    Actually, one of the signs that the return of Christ is drawing near is that most people no longer wish to endure sound doctrine.  II Timothy 4:3,4 Many would rather go to a church and hear what they wish to hear than to go where the Word of God is taught.   People are not looking for someone to tell them the truth about the sin and their lives.  People are looking for someone to tell them how good they are.  People want to placate the symptoms of sin, instead of finding the cure.  Jesus is the answer.  Jesus is the cure for sin.  Why not find true permanent relief from sin instead of looking for a temporary fix.  Believing on the Lord Jesus Christ and accepting the free gift of salvation is a permanent cure to the curse of sin.  Many people would rather continue in their sins and find a church that placates their actions with feel good words and never spurs them to change.  Many people think ‘why go where the Holy Spirit convicts when you can go someplace where the devil deceives?’  They of course do not see it that way, they would put it that they feel good at XYZ church or that every time they go to that Fundamental church they feel under conviction, so they avoid the pain of conviction favoring a church that tickles the ears with the doctrines of deception.  A church that teaches that there is a heaven and a hell, everyone is a sinner and headed to hell if they don’t accept Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior, a church that teaches God loves them and wishes to forgive them of their sins if they will repent of sin and ask Jesus to be their personal Lord and Savior.  A church where sin is called sin and the love and forgiveness of Jesus Christ is preached.  The church that teaches the truth truly loves.  A church that teaches what people want to hear teaches lies and that isn’t love.  Love doesn’t deceive.  That is the difference between a church that teaches sound doctrine and one that merely tickles the ears.  At this church, I pray that we always teach sound doctrine. 

 

A church should be a hospital for those who are in spiritual need.  Would you rather go to a doctor that told you what you wanted to hear or what you needed to hear?  Say you have a tumor that was cancerous, you might wish to hear take two aspirins and you’ll be fine, but what you need to hear is that some surgery is needed to cut out the cancer.  Same is of sin in our lives.  The Word of God cuts out the cancer of sin in our lives.  Even as more and more so-called churches spring up teaching things that people want to hear instead of what they need to hear, we need to be more diligent in preaching and teaching the Word of God.  I care more about preaching the Word of God and accurately handling His Word, than hurting someone’s feelings.  We need to speak the truth in love, but we must speak the truth. 

 

The context that Paul is writing to is those of legalism.  There were teachers who were teaching a false salvation.  The false teachers were teaching that people had to keep the law to be saved.  They were the legalists of the day.  Paul exhorts Titus to preach that true salvation comes only through Jesus Christ.  Today, we have many churches and only a handful preach the Word of God in truth.  There are some that don’t require salvation for membership.  Many have strayed from the truth.  We need to be diligent in teaching the Word of God.

 

The false teachers of Paul’s day did it (verse 11) “for the sake of sordid gain.”  Probably the same reason the false teachers today do it.  Instead of building a church out of love for God and people, many just wish to build a social club for sordid gain. It is easier to build a so-called church by telling people what they want to hear, than by teaching the truth of God’s Word.  There are many people in pulpits who are serving the almighty dollar instead of the almighty God.  They put on a good show, make people feel good, and collect the money.  The job of Pastor is to teach and preach the Word of God.  You know sometimes the Word of God doesn’t make you feel good.  When the Word of God shows us sin in our lives, the Bible convicts us.  Conviction doesn’t feel good.  Having our toes stepped on may not feel good, but that is exactly what we need.  We need to go where the Word of God is taught, when it is taught, and apply what is taught to our lives. 

A pastor is to love God and those whom he preaches to.  We must preach the truth.  A pastor that preaches the truth loves even as a parent that tells their kids the truth loves their kids.  A parent would be horrible if they told their kid they really didn’t need the cough syrup for their cough and let their kid develop pneumonia.   Making a child take medication isn’t done out of meanness but out of love.  Preaching the truth is to be done out of love.  Failure to preach the truth is just like a parent telling their kid, that it’s all right not to take their antibiotics and cough syrup.

 

Paul tells Titus to reprove the false teachers severely.  Paul didn’t beat around the bush.  When something was in error, Paul reproved it without apology.  We should witness to those who are heaping to themselves teachers having itching ears.  We should share the truth of God’s Word with those who try to avoid it by going to the social club churches. 

 

Verse 16.  The false teachers profess to know God.  They will talk a good talk, but notice by their deeds they deny Him.  Mere profession doesn’t make anyone a Christian.  There are many unsaved people in pulpits today.   They can sound good, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.  Profession alone does not produce a good preacher, neither does it produce a Christian.

 

We are not saved by just making a profession or a “decision”, we are saved by believing with our hearts.  Romans 10:9,10  Salvation is not just in the head, but it is in the heart!  When we are saved we yield ourselves to God and give Him our hearts.  We are to repent and be converted that our sins may be blotted out.  In order to convert something, it has to be radically changed.  Even so when we come to Christ we must be willing to allow Him to radically change us.  Romans 10:13  Salvation is free for the asking, but with the asking we must take Jesus as our Lord and Savior.  John 3:16  Our new life in Christ is one that is from the heart.  With the heart man believes resulting in righteousness, then with the mouth confession is made known.   We must accept Jesus Christ in our hearts.  True salvation is not just a head knowledge, it is accepting God from the heart.  We must give to the Lord our lives.  After all, Jesus gave His all for us on the cross of calvary.  He took our sins in His own body on the cross.  He paid the debt of our sins and carried them away.  What we must do is come to Jesus and accept Him as our Lord and Savior.

Mere profession doesn’t do a thing, but true heart conversion does.

 

In order for a pastor to preach the truth about salvation, he first must be saved.  There are many unsaved in pulpits across America today.  Those who don’t know the truth of course preach falsehoods.  The legalists of Paul’s day are no different than the ones today.  The ones today judge people based on what they wear, how they look, if they smoke or drink, etc.  We need to love everyone and not be critical of people.  Man looks on the outward appearance, but God looks on the heart.  We need to love the sinner.  We don’t have to love their sin, but we do need to love the sinner.  Legalists abound in America today and they attract a following, but Jesus wasn’t a legalist.  Jesus was a friend to sinners.  He spoke to the woman at the well, who was living in sin and a Samaritan.  He accepted her for who she was, even though He didn’t approve of her sin.  Jesus went to dinner with Zacheus, a tax collector.  Jesus worried more about the person and their need of salvation, then what they were.  When a person comes to Christ, God will change them.  We just need to love people for who they are.  If we do that, then we won’t fall into the hypocritical trap of legalism. 

 

False teachers profess to know God, but by their deeds they deny Him.  By being critical of people and rejecting those who don’t fall into their legalistic mold, the legalists deny God in their deeds.  Our example is Jesus Christ, He is the only perfect person to walk the top side of this earth.  He is both God and man incarnate in one flesh.  Since, Jesus is perfect, He needs to be our example.  We need to avoid the traps of legalism and love the way Jesus loved.  When we show God’s love through our lives we are helping point people to Christ.  After all the cure for sin is faith in Jesus Christ.  Let’s lead people to the cure for sin and not placate the symptoms.  Let’s show God’s love by speaking the truth of Christ in love to this lost and dying world!

 

Invitation.  Every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.  Will you make Jesus Christ the Lord of your life today?  The blood of Christ is the remedy for the penalty of sin.

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