Bible Commentaries
Titus 1

Verses 10-16

1. Intro:
   1. Title: Angry Birds
      1. These stylized wingless birds have 2 billion downloads so far.
      2. 200 million minutes are played each day.
      3. But I want to introduce to a few other angry birds this morning.
   2. Outline: Woodpeckers on the Ark & Cuckoo Birds in the Nest.
2. WOODPECKERS ON THE ARK (10-12)
   1. ​​​​​​​Woodpeckers come in all shapes & sizes (3 1/4”-23”). They have strong bills for drilling & hammering on trees. They have long sticky tongues for grabbing & extracting their prey(insects). We also now know they have very small brains (maximize area between the brain/skull).
      1. I think this also defines our spiritual woodpeckers here, pecking away at a young churches good doctrine. Drilling in them legalism & hammering home bad doctrine.
   2. Damaged doctrine & harmed households.
   3. (11) Whole families were affected by their unhealthy doctrines.
      1. Since the early church assemblies usually met in private homes, it is easy to understand how whole houses could be upset by false teachers.
      2. People today who have Bible studies in their homes must be careful lest visitors/ guests/friends come in with strange doctrines.
   4. Here they were teaching Jewish legalism, those of the circumcision, which Paul rejected.
   5. They were also teaching Jewish fables, which probably described their fanciful interpretations of the genealogies in the OT. (see 1 Tim.1:4)
      1. And as the old adage goes, When the plain sense of Scripture makes good sense, seek no other sense.
   6. (11) Teaching things that they ought not - George Lucas accepting a lifetime achievement award at the Academy Award ceremonies, March 1992 said, “I've always tried to be aware of what I say in my films because all of us who make motion pictures are teachers, teachers with very loud voices.” (George Lucas, accepting a lifetime achievement award at the Academy Award ceremonies, March 1992 (quoted by Edwin A. Roberts, Jr., in the Tampa Tribune, April 5, 1992). Christianity Today, Vol. 36, no. 8.)
   7. (12) This quote wasn’t invented by some tourist who had a bad stay at Crete’s Quality Inn.
      1. Paul quotes from Epimenides, a famous figure of Crete, who was considered to be a prophet…who condemns his own people. [although being a Cretan himself...that would make him a liar]
   8. It must have been hard ministering in the island of Crete. It was full of problems & challenges.
      1. But this group was nothing more than people with a reputation.
   9. Cities, towns, or states are known for, or have a reputation for, different things: (+ or -)
      1. Corinth/excessive immorality. What happens in Vegas…_______. Texas/known for everything big. N.Y. City, the Big Apple. (from its horse-racing in the 20’s. Apple referred to the prizesbeing awarded). Temecula/Vineyards. Murrieta/again awarded 2nd Safest City by FBI.
   10. But let’s remember, God loves the Cretans. He placed churches there. (vs.5)
       1. Some towns are more difficult then others w/ministry.
       2. Some experience a very transient vacation population (Maui)
       3. Some near military bases have a constantly rotating congregation.
       4. Crete bustled w/many sea-weary sailors on shore leave.
          1. But Praise God...He loves the dirty, the bad reputations, the cussing, lying, cheating types…that’s who He’s after.
          2. What a great place to plant a church...with those who need a Physician. Not to those who think they don’t.
   11. Stop; Look; Listen [3 practical tips that will protect us from woodpeckers on the ark]
       1. Stop - Compare the views being taught w/the clear teaching of Holy Scripture & the central doctrines of the orthodox faith. [orthos straight or right + doxa opinion]
       2. Look - Ask...Do they model Christlike values & virtues? Do they point to Christ or to themselves? Do you see accountability & transparency? Do they exhibit true humility? Authenticity? Love? Do they submit themselves to the authority of God’s Word? Do they submit themselves to any other authority? What do their followers look like?
       3. Listen - Listen closely; Think critically.
3. COCKOO BIRDS IN THE NEST (13-16)
   1. Cuckoo Bird – Did you know the female Cuckoo Bird lays her eggs in the nests of smaller birds of different species, which raise the young cuckoos, usually at the expense of their own young (brood parasitism, Being larger, they get most of the food) [pic: Reed Warbler raising common cuckoo]
      1. Satan is the “mother cuckoo”, laying his young cuckoos (false teachers) in different church nests. And often, if undetected by the church leadership, it will be at the expense of many of the churches young.
   2. (13) So, Rebuke them sharply - Is it right to warn about Cults, false teachers or even friends w/bad doctrine…or, is that being mean & judgmental?
      1. Why is it not seen as mean when a doctor informs a patient, that he has a terminal illness? Or, when one yells “fire! fire!” awaking a sleeping family that is about to perish? Or, roughly grabbing a child out of the street, just being missed by an on coming car?
      2. No patient would respond to the doctor “you are mean”; nor to the yeller “we were sleeping!”; nor to the child saver, “hey don’t grab my child that way!”
      3. And yet, the Pastor/Bible Study leader is seen as mean or judgmental if he warns his listeners of wolves, or bad wolf teachings, that might creep in unaware?
      4. Here Paul warns the church not of wolves in wolves clothing (unbel’s that persecute the church); not even wolves in sheep’s clothing (unbelievers posing as Christians); but wolves, dressed like sheep, & sporting clerical collars! (unbelievers posing as spiritual leaders)
   3. (13b) Don’t miss the bottom of vs.13...That they may be sound/healthy in the faith - Goal of the rebuke? – healing, not destroying.
   4. (15,16) Defiled conscience - Remember, the conscience is that internal judge that either accuses or excuses our actions.
      1. ​​​​​​​The only compelling argument is the argument of the Christian life.
      2. I like the illustration of the conscience being like a window that lets in the light of God’s truth. If we persist in disobeying…the window gets dirtier & dirtier.
         1. A defiled conscience is like this dirty window: no light can enter.
         2. Caution...a defiled conscience (Titus 1:15); leads to a seared conscience (1 Tim. 4:2); & ultimately to an evil conscience (Heb.10:22) if it’s not dealt with.
            1. Saints, keep your window clean. So God’s Word can shine in & for the world to peer in.
   5. Paul reminds his readers of his Lord’s teachings that purification is largely a matter of the internal rather than the external. There is nothing that enters a man from outside which can defile him; but the things which come out of him, those are the things that defile a man.
      1. ​​​​​​​Nothing outside can corrupt one who is internally pure; but someone who is internally impure corrupts all he touches. BKC
      2. The false teachers were corrupt to the core (mind & conscience)
      3. Result? Even though they claimed to know God, their corrupt actions belied their true natures.
         1. The man who says, I know him, but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him.
      4. Their impure interiors thus rendered them externally detestable.
   6. Once again Paul connected theological error with moral deficiency.
   7. CHANGED HEARTS CHANGE CULTURE [Crete Culture, California Culture, Calvary culture, Crazy Culture]
      1. Paul’s basic premise at the beginning of this passage was false teachers and religions are not going to change that culture.
      2. The Cretans needed to be released from their bondage.
      3. They were enslaved to sinful lives, which produce a sinful culture. Only Jesus can change a sinful culture.
   8. Good Morals Can’t Change Bad Hearts
      1. ​​​​​​​One of the big disappointments of Christianity in our lifetime has been the religious right. The concept of the religious right was that if we pass the right kind of laws and elect the right kind of Christians, then we could change our country.
      2. We’ve tried to put 10 commandments back on school walls; put prayer back in public school; & keep in God we trust on our coins. I read, from the mid 80s to the mid 90s there were more Christian based legislation reforms in our country than any other time in modern history. Yet we strayed further from God.
      3. I’m not saying good legislation doesn’t work, we need it, we must work for it, but we must understand...it only goes so far.
   9. Good Works Can’t Change Bad Habits
      1. ​​​​​​​The religious left followed on the heels of the religious right. Their thought was if we do enough good works, the hearts of the people served would be changed.
      2. They wanted to get back to the roots of social justice through Christianity via a social gospel and press good works upon Americans. The heart of the country still didn’t change.
      3. Again, I’m not saying social justice is bad, only when its infused with a social gospel. The social gospel is a gospel that is more social than gospel.
         1. We must fulfill the great commission and live the great commandment. That’s the motivation behind our pursuit of justice. Learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow’s cause. (Is.1:17)
   10. Changed Hearts Produce Good Morals And Good Works
       1. ​​​​​​​The religious right and the religious left haven’t worked.
       2. Like the Cretans, the only hope we have for changed hearts is through preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ. The old heart needs to be replaced with a new heart - one that’s redeemed and regenerated by Jesus.
       3. When people clearly hear the gospel and receive forgiveness through Christ, then their hearts are changed.
       4. Out of that changed heart comes a changed culture of good morals and good works.
   11. Msg - For there are a lot of rebels out there, full of loose, confusing, and deceiving talk. Those who were brought up religious and ought to know better are the worst. They’ve got to be shut up. They’re disrupting entire families with their teaching, and all for the sake of a fast buck. One of their own prophets said it best: The Cretans are liars from the womb, barking dogs, lazy bellies. He certainly spoke the truth. Get on them right away. Stop that diseased talk of Jewish make-believe and made-up rules so they can recover a robust faith. Everything is clean to the clean-minded; nothing is clean to dirty-minded unbelievers. They leave their dirty fingerprints on every thought and act. They say they know God, but their actions speak louder than their words. They’re real creeps, disobedient good-for-nothings.