Inductive Study: Titus 1:14

Not giving heed to Jewish fables and commandments of men who turn from the truth.

Titus 1:14

Dear Heavenly Father, life is tough but you taught us not to worry about tomorrow.  I rest in your provision.  Please encourage me and my family and help us lean on you.  I thank You and praise You for everything.  You are awesome!   In Jesus's name I pray, Amen.

We are still in the body portion of the letter which focuses on doctrine and encouragement.  This verse describes how NOT to be "sound in the faith" from verse 13.  To bring deeper understanding to today's text, let's examine some key words and their companion or similar verses.

"Giving heed" in the Greek is prosecho which means hold to, attend to, turn to, to give full attention, to set a course and keep it, hold or cleave to a person or a thing.  1 Timothy 1:4 states "nor give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which cause disputes rather than godly edification which is in faith."  "Fables" in the Greek is muthos which means speech, story, idle tale, fanciful story, myth, false account yet posing as true, fabrication which subverts what is actually true, invention, fiction, illusion.  Being sound in the faith is NOT holding onto or cleaving or giving full attention to fabrications that subvert what is true.  These false accounts that pose as being true will cause disputes and divisions among believers.

"Commandments" in the Greek is entole which means injunction, order, ordinance, law, end result of a command, authoritative order or warning.  Colossians 2:22 states "which all concern things which perish with the using—according to the commandments and doctrines of men?"

"Men" in the Greek is anthropos which means human, mankind, people including men and women.  "Turn" in the Greek is apostrepho which means turn away, turn back, pervert, remove, restore, replace, desert, reject.  "Truth" in the Greek is alethia which means but not merely truth as spoken, truth of idea, reality, sincerity, truth in moral sphere, divine truth revealed to man, straightforwardness, opposite of illusion, certainty, veracity, accuracy, conformance to facts.  1 Timothy 6:20 states "O Timothy! Guard what was committed to your trust, avoiding the profane and idle babblings and contradictions of what is falsely called knowledge—."  Being sound in the faith is NOT keeping warnings or laws or orders from humans who replace the truth for a lie.

What myths do people hold onto today?  The answer is anything that they want.  For example, in Australia in a recent census, 70,000 people cling to the Jedi Faith.   The Jedi Religion movement is based on the Star Wars fictional entertainment universe.  What warnings do people hold onto today? We are warned about what we eat all the way to the end of the world.  "Modern doomsayers have been predicting climate and environmental disaster since the 1960s. They continue to do so today. None of the apocalyptic predictions with due dates as of today have come true." Quote from https://cei.org/blog/wrong-again-50-years-failed-eco-pocalyptic-predictions.  In 1967, dire famine by 1975.  In 1969, pollution will make everyone disappear by 1989.  In 1970, the next ice age will arrive in 2000.   In 1988, Maldives islands completely under water by 2018.  In 2002, famine in 10 years.  In 2008, Ice-free Artic by 2013. 

There is a reason why there is more dystopia entertainment than utopia.  People crave, cleave to doom, death, destruction, or some other terrible fate.  People also tend to exaggerate to make a point or get accomplished what they want.  People also want to believe in what they want no matter how fanciful, preposterous, and false.  However, as believers, we are instructed not to give any attention to these myths and warnings.  In Matthew 6, Jesus instructs us about worrying about tomorrow.

25 “Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27 Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?

28 “So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; 29 and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?

31 “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

Don't worry about tomorrow.  Cling to Christ.

Not paying attention to Jewish myths and the commandments and rules of men who turn their backs on the truth.

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Inductive Study: Titus 1:13

This testimony is true. Therefore rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith,

Titus 1:13

Dear Heavenly Father, although I and my family face adversity, I'm secure in my faith and trust in You.  I give You all the honor and glory.  Continue to protect us.  Thank You for all the kindness and healing that You have given us.  Please help me to stay diligent in my study so I will draw closer to Your will.  In Jesus's name I pray, Amen.

We are still in the body portion of the letter which focuses on doctrine and encouragement.  "This testimony is true" refers to the previous verses.  The testimony is that Cretans are liars, evil beasts, and lazy gluttons.  To bring deeper understanding to today's text, let's examine some key words and their companion or similar verses.

"Testimony" in the Greek is maturia which means witness, evidence, reputation, evidence given.  "True" in the Greek is alethes which means unconcealed, true in fact, worthy of credit, truthful, true as it accords to fact, what can't be hidden, stresses undeniable reality when something is tested and ultimately found as fact.  The evidence demonstrating that Cretans are liars, evil beasts, and lazy gluttons has been proven true as an undeniable reality.

"Rebuke" in the Greek is elegcho which means expose, convict, discipline, show as guilty, convince with solid compelling evidence, prove wrong, admonish, reprehend severely, chasten, punish.  "Sharply" in the Greek is apotomos which means abruptly, curtly, severely, precipitously.  Expose the Cretans to these facts immediately.

"Sound" in the Greek is hugiaino which means healthy, I am right, reasonable, pure, uncorrupted, in good working order, free of debilitation. "Faith" in the Greek is pistis which means belief, trust, confidence, fidelity, faithfulness, persuaded, come to trust, a gift of God not produced by people, guarantee, divine persuasion.  Witness to the Cretans so they may be uncorrupted and free from doctrinal error.

For most people, the easier road is to ignore laziness, corruption, or brutality from fellow employees than to address the issue head on and honestly.  This avoidance will always lead to more difficult struggles later on to the point where good employees leave.  We must stick to the facts when acknowledging these problems and avoid making it personal.   We must hold people accountable to their responsibilities and their failures.

As a Christian, this accountability is just as difficult.  When we discover other believers in sin, we tend to not meddle stating it's none of our business.  However, if one Christian wallows in the World, that act will show badly on the church and Christ.  Furthermore, this Christian could drag others along with them and turn away unbelievers from the faith.  Shining light on sin is never easy and always difficult, but avoiding it is just as bad as the sin.

This description is true. So rebuke them sharply so that they will be sound in the faith and free from doctrinal error,

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Inductive Study: Titus 1:12

One of them, a prophet of their own, said, “Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.”

Titus 1:12

Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for Your provision and healing.  Although there are bumps in the road, I know that You are there.  Please continue to be with me and my family.  Help us to live for You.  Grant us the knowledge and wisdom to aspire to Your will for our lives.  We praise and glorify Your name.    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 examining who is not an elder.   "A prophet of their own" refers to Epimenides of Knossos who was a highly regarded 600 B.C. poet and philosopher from Crete.  Knossos known as the location of the Labyrinth was originally called Gnossos which is the root word for Gnostics.  His description of his own people had become a proverb. To bring deeper understanding to today's text, let's examine some key words and their companion or similar verses.

"Prophet" in the Greek is prophetes which means interpreter, forth teller of divine will, poet (because poets were believed to sing under divine inspiration).  The prophet referred to here is generally accepted as Epimenides who was a philosopher poet.  He is most famous for his paradox or Liar's Paradox.  In a poem, Minos addresses Zeus who Epimenides considered immortal.  The poem states "They fashioned a tomb for you, holy and high one, Cretans, always liars, evil beasts, idle bellies.  But you are not dead, you live and abide forever.  For you we live and move and have our being."  So the question becomes, if Cretans always lie and Epimenides is a Cretan, is anything he says true?  Are the Cretans lying that Zeus is mortal or is the prophet lying by saying Zeus is immortal?  A better way to understand this paradox is in the Star Trek episode "I, Mudd."  Captain Kirk tells an android that Mudd is a liar.  Then Mudd says, "I am lying."  If Mudd is indeed lying, then Mudd is telling the truth, which means Mudd just lied.

"Cretans" in the Greek is Kres which means an inhabitant of Crete.  The island of Crete is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands and lies about 99 miles south of the Greek mainland.  It was the center of the first civilization called the Minoans (2700 to 1420 BC).  Over the years, they have be ruled by the Mycenaens, Romans, Byzantines, Arabs, Venetians, and the Ottomans.  The Labyrinth built there supposedly housed the Minotaur who has a head and tail of a bull and a body of a man.  "Cretan" often is confused with "Cretin" which means a stupid person.  However, there is no etymological link between the words.

"Always" in the Greek is aei which means unceasingly, perpetually, on every occasion, constantly, incessantly.  "Liars" in the Greek is pseutes which means deceiver, person who falsifies, alter information and evidence so as to mislead, distorts, misrepresents.  At every opportunity, Cretans lie.

"Evil" in the Greek is kakos which means bad, inward malice, inwardly foul, poisoned, morally rotten, wickedness, inner evil, troublesome, injurious, pernicious, destructive, baneful, wildness, ferocity, harmful effect.  "Beasts" in the Greek is therion which means wild animal, brutal, bestial man, savage, ferocious.  Cretans are inwardly poisoned, wild, brutal, harmful men.

"Lazy" in the Greek is argos which means inactive, idle, thoughtless, unprofitable, injurious, likely to cause damage or harm, shunning labor one ought to perform.  "Gluttons" in the Greek is gaster which means the belly, the womb, stomach, a man who is as if he were all stomach, gormandizer, eat good food to excess.  Cretans shun activities that they should perform in order to eat endlessly.

Cretans are of the World.  Therefore from this verse, we see that the World focuses on themselves, deceives others and themselves, are morally corrupt, are unmotivated, and are concerned only with their own passions.  Conversely, Christians focus on others, have high moral standards, are role models, are ambitious, are zealous, and are concerned for God's passion which is to see everyone saved.  2 Peter 3:9 states "The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance."  Obviously, there are more "Cretans" than Christians.  Only through God's grace can someone become a Christian.  Only then through the Holy Spirit can a Christian be not of this World.  Don't be a Cretan.  Believe in Christ.

One of them [Epimenides, a Cretan], a prophet of their own, said, “Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.”

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