Titus 1:7-14 “For a bishop must be blameless, as a steward of God, … (9) holding fast the faithful word as he has been taught, that he may be able, by sound doctrine, both to exhort and convict those who contradict. (10) For there are many insubordinate, both idle talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision, (11) whose mouths must be stopped, who subvert whole households, teaching things which they ought not, for the sake of dishonest gain. (12) One of them, a prophet of their own, said, "Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons." (13) This testimony is true. Therefore rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith, (14) not giving heed to Jewish fables and commandments of men who turn from the truth.”
The apostle Paul had similar problems among the churches on the island of Crete, for in the above quoted passage of scripture the apostle Paul admonished Titus to teach sound doctrine to those churches so that the mouths of idle talkers and deceivers could be stopped. Paul goes on in this passage to tell us that these false ministers had already subverted whole households. In other words these households had been led away from following after Christ. It is important to note that Paul highlights Jewish fables in this passage. So why is that important? The reason is because Satan knows that in order to deceive believers to follow false doctrine, that there must be an element of scriptural truth in the fable being taught. And so, invariably the fables use Old Testament scriptures to give an air of legitimacy to the false doctrine being taught. Nevertheless even though the fables are Jewish in their origin, the result is always the same, i.e. the believers who continue down the path of listening to Jewish fables eventually commit the sin to death.
Galatians 5:1-4 “Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage. (2) Indeed I, Paul, say to you that if you become circumcised, Christ will profit you nothing. (3) And I testify again to every man who becomes circumcised that he is a debtor to keep the whole law. (4) You have become estranged from Christ, you who attempt to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace.”
Another example of false doctrine leading believers to committing the sin to death is given to us in the above quoted passage of scripture. In this passage the apostle Paul warned the Christians in Galatia not to continue on the path that they were contemplating. In context, what had happened was that certain false teachers had come into the church, and were spreading their doctrine that believing in Christ Jesus and accepting His sacrifice for the cleansing of their sins was not enough in order to be saved. They were teaching that gentile believers also had to be circumcised and follow the Law of Moses in order to be saved (Acts 15:1). In other words the gentile believers had to convert to Judaism. Paul was very clear in his warning to the churches in Galatia however, that if they decided to follow that doctrine then they would fall from grace and they would be separated from Christ. In other words they would commit the sin to death. Sadly there are some believers even today, who get caught up in the law, and begin to observe the Sabbath and the various feasts prescribed to the Jews under the Old Covenant. And so they walk down that path embracing more and more of Judaism, until eventually they end up walking away from Christ and thus committing the sin to death. And so we have seen very clearly in this section, that turning away from the truth to follow after teachings that contradict sound doctrine is a sure way to reach the point of committing the sin to death.
Michael E.B. Maher
Comments