whose mouths must be
stopped, who subvert whole households, teaching things which they ought not,
for the sake of dishonest gain.
Titus 1:10
Dear Heavenly
Father, as we begin the summer, help us not to lose focus on You. Whatever darkness may befall us, let us be
secure in the knowledge that You are there and You never forget us or forsake
us. In all things, let God be the
glory. In Jesus's name I pray, Amen.
We are still in the
body portion of the letter which focuses on doctrine and encouragement. We are transitioning from the qualifications
of an elder to their responsibilities.
To bring deeper understanding to today's text, let's examine some key
words and their companion or similar verses.
"Mouths must be
stopped" in the Greek is epistomizo
which means stop the mouth, muzzle, silence, to bridle the mouth, reduce to
silence. This word only appears in
Titus. This verse is a continuation of the previous verse which discussed false teacher, bad leadership. In this verse, these deceiving leaders must be silenced like putting a bridle in a horse's mouth.
"Subvert"
in the Greek is anatrepo which means
overturn, destroy, overthrow, corrupt, upsetting, turning away, disrupting. "Household"
in the Greek is oikos which means house,
dwelling, lineage, nation, descendants, families, home, all the persons forming
one family. These deceiving leaders destroy families thus they will destroy the church.
"Teaching"
in the Greek is didasko which means
direct, admonish, cause to learn, instruct, impart knowledge, prescribe a
thing, explain, expound, warn or reprimand someone firmly. These deceiving leaders reprimand people on their activities whether good or for Christ.
"Sake" in
the Greek is charin which means in favor
of, for the pleasure of, by reason of, on account of, for this cause, incite
pleasure of. "Dishonest"
in the Greek is aischros which means
base, shameful, disgraceful, improper, sordid, dishonorable, venal, filthy,
without moral principles, ignoble, wicked, evil, wretched, susceptibility to
bribery, corruptible. "Gain" in
the Greek is kerdos which means
advantage, profit, acquired through faith trading, lucre, money gained in a
dishonest way. These deceiving leaders do all these thing for greed.
Deceivers who must
be muzzled to silence them, who corrupt, disrupt, and upset whole families, and
who warn and reprimand which they shouldn't do.
All their activities are for money that they gain dishonestly. Who does that remind you of? Televangelists! Cults! If the purpose of their work is not for the
mission to evangelize the lost and disciple the believer in Biblical teaching,
than they are a false teacher.
Romans 16:17-18
states "Now I urge you, brethren, note those who cause divisions and
offenses, contrary to the doctrine which you learned, and avoid them. For those
who are such do not serve our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly, and by
smooth words and flattering speech deceive the hearts of the simple." Don't be swayed by their encouraging,
persuasive speech. Know the Bible to be
able discern false teaching and bad leadership. Be wary of
people trying to use you to get ahead.
Focus your life on Christ.
They must be
silenced, because they are upsetting whole families by teaching things they
should not teach for the purpose of dishonest financial gain.
Amplified Bible
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