Wednesday, June 4, 2025 PM

Across the board and erase what you're doing. So I was kind of doing this thing. If you would open your Bibles tonight to Titus chapter 3 verse 9 I get the distinct pleasure to close out the book of Titus and I think it's a great honor and I'm very thankful for it.

So I appreciate everything that has been taught thus far. It's really helped me. It's a really minister to me. If everybody's there is everybody open. Okay if you would read with me Titus chapter 3 verse 9 through 15 verse 9.

But avoid foolish disputes genealogies contentions and strivings about the law for they are unprofitable and useless. Reject a divisive man after the first and second admonition knowing that such a person is warped and sinning being self-condemned.

When I send Artemus to you or Titicus be diligent to come to me at Nicopolis for I have decided to spend the winter there. Send Zenus the lawyer and Apollos on their journey with haste that they may lack nothing and let our people also learn and maintain good works to meet urgent needs that they may not be unfruitful.

All who are with me greet you. Greet those who love us in the faith. Grace be with you all. Amen. If you would bow your heads and pray with me Heavenly Father we thank you that we can gather together at Sunnyside and worship you through the reading and teaching of your word.

I thank you for each person here. I pray that you would open our ears tonight that you would help the teaching to be clear. That you would honor yourself Lord. We praise you so much for the precious work that your son has done for us on the cross redeeming us Lord and saving us.

We thank you for all that you've done. And it's in Jesus's holy name. I pray amen. So we're gonna go through verse 9 tonight. And the theme of verse 9 false doctrines addressed. I kind of had a sub theme dissension avoided so I didn't try to get too witty.

I just tried to like stick to what this passage is about. So you know my intro tonight. I thought a lot about this and I really went back to John chapter 18 verse 36 when Jesus was brought to Pilate on the day of his crucifixion and Pilate questioned Jesus.

And we can jump right into the middle of that passage. John 18 verses 36 through 38 a. And we find what in the account to really what is one of the most important questions I think any of us could ever ask.

So listen closely as I read verse 36 Jesus answered my kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world my servants would fight so that I should not be delivered to the Jews. But now my kingdom is not from here.

Pilate therefore said to him are you a king. Then Jesus answered you say rightly that I am a king. For this cause I was born and for this cause I have come into the world that I should bear witness to the truth.

Everyone who is of the truth hears my voice. Pilate said to him what is truth. And I think that's the question for us brothers and sisters what is truth. Paul knew what the answer was. Jesus in John 17 17 prayed for us sanctified them by the truth.

Your word is truth. So Jesus knew what truth was. He was the living embodiment of truth. Paul testified to the truth throughout Asia Galatia Greece Cappadocia Syria Crete and even Rome. Paul's whole life was built upon the truth of Scripture the proclamation of it as well as the defense of it.

Which is why do we come to the last verses of Titus right here think this is the crux of the issue. In closing what do we do in the defense of truth. How do we defend it. What is sound doctrine. And how do we deal with those that undermine truth manufacture truth teach what is false proclaim lies and deny the sufficiency of Scripture by fabricating vain tales.

So if you look back to Titus chapter 3 verse 9 Paul starts verse 9 out with what Ryan has previously pointed out as a conjunction that's the word but shows us that there's a contrast between the previous verse and passage.

In this case verse 8 provides the context for that and there's a contrasting command found within verse 9. So I want to read verse 8 and so we can get some of the context out of it and into verse 9. So read with me now verse 8 Titus chapter 3 this is a faithful saying and I want you to affirm these things constantly that those who have believed in God should be careful to maintain good works.

These things are good and profitable to men but avoid foolish disputes genealogies contentions and strivings about the law for they are unprofitable and useless. Now in my reading I found a lot of commentators that would write about verse 8 and they would imply that it was maybe a Christian principle or a suggestion that Paul was giving.

I don't see that. What I see is the Apostle Paul is not giving advice to Titus he's giving clear direction. In fact the whole of verse 8 is a positive and affirming command for the maintaining of good works and the profitability and usefulness of good works for all men.

And when considering what we know about Crete and the pagan nature and culture of its people which are described in Titus 1 verse 12 as liars evil beasts lazy gluttons. I don't think it's by chance that the Apostle Paul is so insistent on prioritizing Christian works as an outward display of the inward result of the gospel taking root and transforming from within those that have been born again on the island of Crete.

So remember what Ryan said and pointed out as the theme of verses 4 through 7 and even 8 he saved us. And because he saved us there's a difference that should be clearly visible. The work of salvation should set us apart.

Instead of liars we should be truth tellers and truth lovers. Instead of evil beasts we should be holy and set apart. And instead of lazy gluttons we should be fruitful workers. So as we flow from verse 8 and it's positive prescribed command for believers we come into verse 9 and we see the tenor change of the Apostle Paul into a negative command.

And we find an action word in this verse avoid. So verse 9 but avoid now avoid this word itself denotes something to be wary of it. Avoids definition means to physically distance oneself from something or someone.

And I believe the word avoid should register within our minds as a warning right here. Avoid could be described in this passage as a scriptural danger sign and should be treated as such and truthfully when verse 9 is coupled with verses 10 and 11 and we see the descent of people into error and rejection of the truth.

Avoid indicates that judgment and death are beyond for those that do not take the following warnings. So Paul says but avoid. And then he tells Titus four distinct things in verse 9 that must be avoided.

So the first one foolish disputes says. But avoid foolish disputes. What exactly are foolish disputes. I'm glad you asked. So hey uh I use blue letter Bible. It's helped me study. It helps me get to the root of words.

I'm so thankful that faithful people have labored for God's Word in this way because somebody like me that doesn't know biblical languages can get to the root of things. So I commend it to you. So this word foolish in the Greek is pronounced moros.

Moros might sound a little more familiar to you if you replace the s on the end with an in yep it means also means absurd foolishness. So the word foolish in this sense is moronic. Now what about disputes.

This word in the in the Greek actually means questions inquiries debates or matters of controversy. So moronic inquiries moronic debates moronic matters of controversy. That's what we have here. Paul in 2nd Timothy chapter 2 verse 23 says.

But avoid foolish and ignorant disputes knowing that they generate strife very similar very familiar almost the exact words. So I think there's very something very important for us to learn from both Titus and 2nd Timothy chapter 2 when we read almost the same thing.

So foolish disputes are mindless and ignorant argue arguing and should cause us to reflect back on Titus chapter 1 verse 10. You know Paul's giving direction to Titus and he's characterizing the actions and speech of a certain group of people that are in subordinate.

And he says they are idle talkers. Well idle talkers are those that are the moronic debaters the foolish disputers. So we need to avoid foolish disputes. Let's go to the second thing. Back to Titus 3 9.

The second thing to avoid genealogies. Now genealogies. It's not something that you and I are probably itching to argue about today in church and truly within the context of Scripture especially considering the Lord Jesus and the context of his birth.

The genealogies provided in Matthew and Luke are very important and just another example of God's fulfillment of his promise to provide of Messiah for his people through the line of David. But this is not what we're talking about.

Alright the genealogies that the Apostle Paul is warning about were most certainly contrary to sound doctrine in Scripture. They were unnecessary to even reference. And some things that I read and heard as I studied for this passage even indicated that these genealogies were riddled with mysticism.

So this type of unsound doctrine is is the cause for Paul to command in Titus chapter 1 verses 13 and 14 that they meaning the Cretans may be sound in the faith not giving heed to Jewish fables. That's what he's referencing when he says you know genealogies there's a bunch of mysticism about.

I'm related to this person via genealogy and a lot of it was completely wrong. It was Jewish myth. So the the genealogies reference were nothing but mythology and legends contrived in the minds of men that desired to seek to teach something interesting and ear-tickling.

And along the same lines in first Timothy 1 verses 3 through 4 Paul says to Timothy while he's an overseer at the Church of Ephesus as I urged you when I went into Macedonia remain in Ephesus that you may charge some that they teach no other doctrine nor give heed to fables and enlist genealogies which cause disputes rather than godly edification.

Paul's concern is for the proclamation of truth and the avoidance of false doctrine. If you keep going back to the verses I'm referencing he's talking about these same things out of Titus in to Timothy.

And he's constantly concerned with sound teaching sound doctrine. So fables and endless genealogies disputes they're all contrary to sound doctrine all contrary to what should be taught for the edification for the hearers.

Now this is a side note you and I while we may not be concerned about genealogies I don't want us to you know think that that's not something still happening today. We were in Bricktown just two weeks ago eating ice cream and there was some men out there Hebrew Israelites and they have taken God's Holy Word and they have twisted it so much.

And what should be meant to save is damning and condemning. And they are bludgeoning people with lies. So it is error and it is unsound. And that started somewhere and I wish that the men that started that would have had a faithful overseer elder to correct them.

But instead they waited off into error and now condemnation if they don't come to know the truth about the gospel. Avoid genealogies. So back to chapter 3 verse 9. And the third thing to avoid contentions but of but avoid foolish disputes genealogies and contentions.

Contentions. This word in the Greek is Eris and its biblical usage is either contention strife or wranglings. It's used in several passages of scripture many that you and I are familiar with already but I want to look at just three of them.

Romans 129. Now we know Romans chapter 1. We know what Paul is talking about in Romans chapter 1. And it's not good. It's a chilling passage. It pronounces judgment and wrath of a holy God upon wicked men.

And here's one of Paul's famous lists that seem to cover every form of evil that you could imagine within the heart of a lost man verse 29. So Romans 129. I'm just going to kind of start just read a portion of it being filled with all unrighteousness sexual immorality wickedness covetousness maliciousness full of envy murder strife.

That's the same word as contentions. There's the word Galatians 520. We're gonna reference this. You'll remember Galatians chapter 5. We have the fruit of the Spirit in that chapter. But we also have the works of the flesh.

Verse 20 lists idolatry sorcery hatred contentions. There's the word the works of the flesh. This is important. He goes on to say jealousies outbursts of wrath selfish ambitions dissensions heresies envy murders revelries and the like of which I tell you beforehand just as I told you in time past that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

There there it is death separation. That is what happens. That's the descent into error. It ultimately reaps death separation. The last reference which I believe frames the use of the word in its closest context to what we have learned thus far about false doctrines is found in 1st Timothy 6 3 through 5.

Paul's specifically writing about sound doctrine versus unsound doctrine in this in this portion of Scripture. And here Paul says 1st Timothy 6 verses 3 through 5. If anyone teaches otherwise and does not consent to wholesome words even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ into the doctrine which accords with godliness.

He is proud knowing nothing but is obsessed with disputes and arguments over words from which come envy strife. There's the word contentions reviling evil suspicions useless wranglings of men of corrupt minds and destitute of the truth.

Avoid contentions. Brothers and sisters lastly and I know we're getting close to time. But the fourth thing to avoid strivings about the law. But avoid foolish disputes genealogies contentions and strivings about the law.

It's no doubt that the strivings about the law references the Judaizers in Crete that are obviously undermining the teaching and preaching of the gospel as we see them in chapter 1 verse 10. Let me read that for you.

For there are many insubordinate both idle talkers and deceivers especially those of the circumcision whose mouths must be stopped and subvert whole households teaching things they ought not for the sake of dishonest gain.

That's the ploy and that's the goal of the false teacher. Dishonest gain it's for himself. It's not for the exaltation of the Lord Jesus. I think we could teach for years just on the topic of the law.

Paul addresses it in Romans Galatians. If it's throughout it's just throughout the entire New Testament Hebrews. I mean Jesus is better than that's what brother Ken has been teaching us. And he's better than the law.

He's better than any priest he is better than all things. So you know Paul faced this issue in almost every place that he traveled he constantly had to respond to those that would argue over the law and ordinances.

And everywhere you read throughout the New Testament and Acts and the epistles it seems that wherever a new covenant body was meeting those that wanted to dispute about the law would drag the chains of the old covenant up to believers in Christ and attempt to shackle them all over again with burdens they could not break.

It's no different in Crete and it can be no different for us. You know in studying for this I wanted to reference something about this and it's just myriad throughout Scripture. But uh you know really Paul throughout Romans chapter 7 talks about the law.

He's talking about himself personally. It's his personal testimony about what the law did and how it exposed him to his sin created rebellious desires within him ultimately produced death within him from which he cried out Oh wretched man that I am who will deliver me.

And I think we have all been there and praise and thanks and glory be to God alone who gave us Romans 8 1. There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus. And I think we all can rejoice in that.

So brothers and sisters avoid strivings about the law. Now to the last portion of verse 9 let me read it. But avoid foolish disputes genealogies contentions and strivings about the law. For they are unprofitable and useless.

Unprofitable literally means what it says. There's no merit to it. It's not worth anything. Useless. This word in the Greek means vain or devoid of truth. So we could read Titus chapter 3 verse 9 a little bit like this.

But avoid foolish disputes genealogies contentions and strivings about the law. For they are unprofitable and devoid of truth. They're useless. So our application for tonight in the negative it would sound like this.

But avoid false and unsound doctrine in the positive. Preach the gospel Titus. And for us preach the gospel sunny side. Thank you if you would pray with me.