“Trouble-Shooting With Titus”
“Silencing the Rebels” 1:10-11
The word ‘for’ commencing v10 now reveals the strong leadership required and what he has to contend with. Notice to will you that the early church had its fair share of difficulty and disturbance. God has declared war in heaven, we are in the midst of a battle, we must always remember that. The only place you will find where there is no conflict or disturbance is in a graveyard, where they are all dead. That there is no trouble within a congregation is not necessarily a good sign. There is something worse than an empty church. A thoroughly displeased God. Crete, Titus is told, has a number of miserable rebels in their midst who are teaching error and destroying the work of God and the cause of Christ. So Titus is told what he must do with them. It may surprise you that he is not told forbear with them in loving sweet tones, gracious and refined. Silence them Titus!
These are doing their own thing. The unteachable, ever talking therefore never hearing and learning. And because they have the appearance of being spiritual, they deceive many v10. Worse still it is money that is their only interest. The “get the buckets” out brigade, prosperity merchants. Or today the Christian music and Bibles and books producers to which there appears to be no end. But a tidy earner, no matter it may not be quite sound. So long as the tills are ringing. The ‘circumcisers’ were superior, they had that something else, that added, second blessing that made them ‘real’ Christians. Unlike the rest. Paul was hounded by these through the entirety of his ministry (Galatians 5:1-4). You know, you have heard it today even, the certain thing, or experience that folk tell you are essential for salvation, over and above Christ and his gospel. That is a denial of Christ and the gospel. Paul is blunt, these rebels must be silenced!
(© James R Hamilton, written September, 1998)
