You know, the wolf in sheep's clothing

 

Today, we start the final passage of chapter one, the book of Titus. This is the last admonition from Paul to Titus, as the younger minister tries to make wise choices for the leadership of the churches in Crete.

Back when we started into the book of Titus, we noted that Paul trusted Titus because of his experiences with the younger man. Titus had handled his assignments in church life quite well, and so Paul was asking him to work now with the new congregations on the island of Crete. Crete is the largest and most heavily populated of the Greek islands. They were known (in fact, they were notorious) for their way of life.... 

The island of Crete has been described as a kind of first-century Wild-Wild-West. (Grin) It was a semi-anarchist type of society, and the people didn't really have a whole lot of social savvy. Sophisticated? Nope. Mostly what would be called "independent spirits" nowadays. I guess it would be like a combination of a Texas cowboy telling tall tales, a prospector from the American Gold Rush who wants to strike it rich quick, and a "I'm-a-do-it-yourselfer"!!

Paul quoted a poet of Crete, Epimendes of Cnossus, in verse twelve of our passage, when he said "Cretans are always liars, pernicious beasts, idle bellies." Their behavior was so well-known in the ancient world that the verb "to cretize" meant to lie or cheat! This is the kind of world that Titus needed to work in. He had to find elders for the churches. This was going to take some discernment! There were plenty of wolves in sheep's clothing in this community!

For there are many rebellious people, full of meaningless talk and deception, especially those of the circumcision group. They must be silenced, because they are disrupting whole households by teaching things they ought not to teach—and that for the sake of dishonest gain. One of Crete’s own prophets has said it: “Cretans are always liars, evil brutes, lazy gluttons.” This saying is true. Therefore rebuke them sharply, so that they will be sound in the faith and will pay no attention to Jewish myths or to the merely human commands of those who reject the truth. To the pure, all things are pure, but to those who are corrupted and do not believe, nothing is pure. In fact, both their minds and consciences are corrupted. They claim to know God, but by their actions they deny him. They are detestable, disobedient and unfit for doing anything good. (Titus 1:10-16)

You see, without discernment, we put ourselves in serious jeopardy. Remember the tale of Little Red Riding Hood? It took her a little longer than it should have, but she finally did realize the danger she was in, and escaped with her life!

Many Christians need to take to heart the lesson of Little Red Riding Hood. Discernment will keep you from enemies who want to destroy you. Many wolves prey upon God's flock, and some are masters of deception AND disguise. They can talk like Christians. They can use the Bible. They seem like nice people. But they will draw us in and eat us for dinner!

There have always been false teachers who SAY that they know God, but when we check out their deeds, they deny Him. Satan is always busily raising up false teachers to oppose the teachers of truth. It was happening in Crete, since Paul says "many" deceivers.

Because of Satan's efforts, elders must be men of the Word who will vigilantly guard the flock. They must do two things, according to Paul: they must refute the false teachers and they must also correct any believers who have been drawn in. These are not pleasant tasks, but they must be done. We'll study HOW it's done, next time.