WWUTT 736 Rebuking Those Who Contradict Sound Doctrine?

The word pastor means shepherd, and as a shepherd of the flock of God, one of a pastor's responsibilities is to defend the sheep from the wolves, false teachers who seek to devour the flock of God when we understand the text.

Many of the Bible stories and verses we think we know, we don't. When We Understand the Text is an online ministry dedicated to teaching the Word of God in context, promoting sound doctrine while exposing the faulty.

Here's your teacher, Pastor Gabe.

Titus 1:10-16 and the Duty to Rebuke False Teachers

Thank you, Becky. We come back to our study in the book of Titus. Chapter 1. I'm going to begin reading in verse 10 and read through to the end of the chapter. Paul wrote to Titus, for there are many who are insubordinate, empty talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision party.

They must be silenced since they are upsetting whole families by teaching for shameful gain what they ought not to teach. One of the Cretans, a prophet of their own, said that Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, and lazy gluttons.

This testimony is true. Therefore, rebuke them sharply that they may be sound in the faith, not devoting themselves to Jewish myths and the commands of people who turn away from the truth. To the pure, all things are pure, but to the defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure, but both their minds and their consciences are defiled.

They profess to know God, but they deny him by their works. They are detestable, disobedient, unfit for any good work. We come back to verse 10 here. There are many who are insubordinate, and this is following the qualifications that Paul gave for an overseer of the church, who a pastor is supposed to be, a man who is fit to hold that office and oversee the teaching in the church, is a person who must be above reproach.

That was the first qualification that was given. And the last thing that we read in verse 9 was that he must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also rebuke those who contradict it.

And then Paul gets more specific. He talks about those whom the elders in the church need to rebuke, those who are contradicting the truth. And that's who Paul is writing about in verses 10 through 16.

So remember, one of the things that I mentioned about having a pastor in the church is that since his role is as a shepherd, that's what pastor means. It means shepherd. He's going to defend the sheep from the wolves.

And these churches there on the island of Crete, many of them don't have any elders at all. Surely, a body of believers who desire to worship God and know the truth of the word of Christ, but they don't have anybody to teach them.

And so one of Paul's instructions to Titus is that he would put what remained into order, go to those churches, those who are the genuine converts who are meeting in these towns, appoint elders in every town as I directed you.

That was the instruction back in verse five. So that these men would be able to shepherd the flock of God. They would teach them the sound words of Christ and rebuke anyone who tries to teach them something different.

So they are defending the sheep from the wolves. Very similar to an instruction that Paul gave to Timothy at the start of first Timothy chapter one, where he says, don't let anyone teach any different doctrine except that which flows from the sound words of our Lord Christ.

And so with Titus, it's the same instruction, a qualification for that pastor as a shepherd, as someone who is defending the flock of God from the wolves who devour those who are agents of Satan, the thief who comes in to steal and kill and destroy.

Right. One of the the tasks for that shepherd is that he holds firm to the trustworthy word is taught. Again, just as Paul said to Timothy, do not delve into speculations and myths, but remain sure on the sound teaching of Christ.

So he holds firm to the trustworthy word is taught. It is trustworthy. It is good. It accords with godliness. It produces godly living in the lives of those who have heard the gospel and desire to obey it.

He holds firm to that sound word so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it. I have a friend who just came into a brand new church, a desire to sit down with the pastor and the elders of that church and learn a little something about the teaching.

And he was bringing up some things that he had learned in his previous church and saying that, you know, this is what my pastor taught. And I just want to know what your position is on these things, on these doctrines.

And the pastor immediately silenced him and says, we don't talk about that. We don't talk about doctrine and theology here. Those things divide. And I haven't yet followed up with that conversation yet to find out, well, what is it that they teach there?

Because if this man is saying anything of what's in the Bible, if he's actually preaching the Bible from his pulpit, what he's teaching is doctrine. And if he doesn't know sound doctrine, if he doesn't understand what doctrine means, what right theology is, and he's afraid of those terms, it's like, no, no, no, we're not going to use those words because they divide.

Then the likelihood is that he's teaching something false. He could even be teaching something heretical because he has not fixed himself on the sound doctrine that has come from our Lord Christ. Doctrine simply means teaching.

So if you're teaching anything, you're teaching doctrine. If it's not grounded, if it's not rooted or flows from historically sound orthodoxy, the true word of Christ that has been handed down to us through 2000 years of church history.

If that's not what the man is teaching, then he's probably being a heretic. This is one of the requirements of a pastor is that he teaches sound doctrine. I remember we had a young man that came in my church one time and he was a husband and a father, but his wife and kids were not yet with him.

They hadn't moved to the area yet. I've mentioned before that my church is very transient, exists in a transient area because of the military base that's right next door. And so he moved to the area first and his wife and kids were going to be joining him later.

And so he joined us for, I think, a Sunday or two. And after that second Sunday, he came to me and said, do you guys teach doctrine here? And I said, well, you heard me preaching a sermon, right? And he said, well, yeah, I said, that's doctrine.

And he laughed. He appreciated the humor. I think that indicated to him that at least I understood what doctrine was. And he said, well, let me get more specific. Do you go through doctrines and do you name them?

Like, do you talk about the doctrine of total depravity or the doctrine of original sin or the doctrine of election? And I said, we surely do. But I'm an expositor. So I'm going through entire books of the Bible at a time, verse by verse.

And if we come to a particular section in the book that we are studying that expounds upon a specific doctrine, we might stop there and talk about that for a while and do some systematic theology drawing from other parts of the scriptures.

And I'll say that in the history of the church, the study of this particular doctrine is called the doctrine of double imputation, which I draw that example because I'm going to be teaching on that in a couple of weeks in Second Corinthians 521.

And so he was very pleased with that answer, ended up becoming a member of the church and was with us for as long as he was living in our community. So this is one of the responsibilities as a pastor.

He must he must understand doctrine. And I would say that a pastor has to have a firm grasp on church history as well. It's Martin Lloyd Jones who said that church history is one of the most important subjects, if for any reason, to help prevent a person from falling into teaching heretical things.

If a person doesn't understand church history, then they're probably going to fall into the mistakes that church history has had to confront with these false teachers that have come preaching new doctrines.

And there's as Spurgeon has said, there are no new doctrines, only old heresies packaged in new labels. So the the pastor must have a firm grasp on sound doctrine and really needs to have at least a decent understanding of church history.

It really bothers me the number of pastors that I'll have conversations with that know very little about church history. But at the same time, I approach those those conversations with a lot of grace because I was that person when I became a pastor.

I had not attended seminary. So I did not know much about church history. And that's something that I've had to learn and I'm still learning as I go. This is what I've most of my study has been dedicated to, is understanding certain things within church history.

I knew the Bible extremely well, stepping into the pulpit, learning how to use scripture to interpret scripture, but understanding things about the history of the church. And I also did not have the experience in languages, understanding Hebrew and Greek.

I'm not as invested in that study as I've been invested in learning more about church history and reading the Puritans and some of those kinds of things. And so when I when I'm talking with a pastor and they really seem to display a lack of understanding in the names of certain doctrines and a lack of understanding in church history, I try graciously to encourage them to study those kinds of things, because if you're if you're not learning from these men of the past and the things that they've encountered with the false teachings that have tried to assail the church, there's a possibility that either you might repeat the same mistakes in teaching something that is not biblical or you won't be properly equipped to defend the flock against those false teachers that try to come in and mislead the people of God with teaching that is contrary to the word of Christ.

And that was certainly the case here with the Apostle Paul wanting Titus to appoint elders in these churches so that they would be able to defend the sheep from the false teachers. He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught so he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also rebuke those who contradict it.

We need to get really familiar with the real with what the truth is so that when something fake when a lie comes our way, we're able to immediately recognize that's not the truth. And the analogy that goes with this most often is is like a detective that tracks down counterfeiters.

He gets really familiar with the real money, what what a real hundred dollar bill printed by the US Mint looks like so that when a counterfeiter tries to pass something off that isn't legitimate, he's able to immediately recognize that's not real money.

And I've talked to guys that do this, but believe it or not, it's actually the US Secret Service, a branch of the Secret Service that tracks down counterfeiters. And I talked with a guy who's this was his job to track people who try to print and pass off counterfeit money.

And he had this big binder full of these bills that have been apprehended from criminals. It's kind of like you would have a binder that would be full of baseball cards or football cards in those slick sheets.

It looked kind of like that. And some of the bills were absurd, like people would actually try to cut out green construction paper and write a one in the corner for a one dollar bill and forge a picture of George Washington on the front.

I mean, it was that ridiculous that they would try to pass this off as money. But it might be something they would use to put in a vending machine. But it's still counterfeit. They would get in trouble for trying to pass something off as real.

That's actually counterfeit money. So there was stuff that was that ridiculous. But then there were also those bills that were so well printed, I couldn't tell the difference. It looked like a legitimate one hundred dollar bill to me.

But he would show me here's what it is that we're looking for. And here's the signs that this bill is not real. It did not actually come from the U .S. Mint. So this is a guy who's gotten really familiar with the real stuff that he can immediately spot a fake or is certainly trained and skilled in being able to spot the fake better than most.

At the same time, he's got this binder full of all the fake stuff that people have tried to pass off. So he's familiar with the tactics and things like that, that they will use. And this is what a pastor seasoned in sound doctrine also has an ability to do as he becomes better at this.

And he is confronting those false teachers that are trying to mislead the flock. He also will become very familiar with the kind of tactics that false teachers and liars will try to use to lead people astray.

And so he is he is skilled in sound doctrine and knows how to give instruction. He knows how to encourage and rebuke according to the word of Christ, encourage and admonish, as Paul says in Colossians chapter three, verse 16.

And then he also rebukes those who contradict it. He calls them to correction, calls them to repentance. And if they don't repent, at least being able to tell the flock of God, this man is a liar. This teaching is false.

And here's why you've got to watch out for it. So this is one of his responsibilities. And as a as a pastor, it's been one of my responsibilities. And I'm constantly confronted with critics who will say, hey, man, why can't you just you just teach the truth in love?

Why can't you do that? Why do you have to be calling out these false teachers? Well, calling out false teachers is not everything that I do. As a matter of fact, it's a very small portion of what it is that I do.

But they'll hear me do that and think that that's my entire ministry or something. And so they'll say, hey, just just teach the gospel, man. And this is the passage that I come to Titus one nine. Part of teaching the gospel means rebuking those who contradict the gospel, who are teaching a different gospel or who are trying to malign the sound words of our Lord Christ.

This is a responsibility of a pastor holding firm to the trustworthy word as taught so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it. Remember the warning that Paul gave Timothy, a time was coming when people would not endure sound doctrine, but they would accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions.

There is a plethora of them out there. In fact, my friends, I would say to you, there are way more false teachers than there are sound teachers. So we must be on guard and we must be familiar with the truth.

And even though teachers will be judged more strictly, as it says in James three one, you still have a responsibility to know the truth so that who you are listening to, who is teaching the truth to you, is teaching the sound word of Christ to grow you in your sanctification and is not leading you astray with fanciful thoughts, lacking temperance and delving into myths and speculations.

But we need to be faithful enough to the word to know the difference between a righteous teacher who is teaching the sound word of Christ and a false teacher who is teaching just, you know, whatever his fancy is to tickle the ears of his hearers.

The reason why people go after false teachers is because they like what the false teacher says. You need to be so in love with Christ and his word that you will settle for nothing else and you will be filled up with the sound words of Christ and be submissive to that word and also respecting the authority of the elders in the church that are sound in the teaching of the word of Christ.

As Paul goes on here in verse 10 to say, there are many who are insubordinate, meaning that they do not submit to authority. And specifically, the authority that Paul is talking about here is the authority of the word of Christ.

There are many who are who are not submitting to the sound word of Christ. And instead, they're trying to put themselves over that word as though as though what they have to say has more authority than whatever it is that Christ has taught.

And it would specifically be the apostolic teaching, the apostolic tradition, which is what we have in the New Testament. This is what Christ has taught. What has been said by his apostles is the teaching of Christ.

And this is why Paul said in second, sorry, Second Thessalonians, chapter three, verse 14, if anyone does not obey what we say in this letter, take note of that person and have nothing to do with him that he may be ashamed.

Do not regard him as an enemy, but warn him as a brother. So if they will not submit to the authoritative teaching from the apostles, it's the same as if they were rejecting the word of Christ. So what a pastor is teaching should come from that apostolic tradition, that which we have taught to us through the New Testament, through the the apostles that gave us these words that Jesus spoke.

They were witnesses to these words, and they speak the words of Christ. As John said in his first epistle, in first John, chapter one, we were eyewitnesses to these things that Jesus taught. And then in his third epistle, third John, he mentions a guy named diatrophies.

This is in verse nine. I've written something to the church, but diatrophies who likes to put himself first does not acknowledge our authority. Does not acknowledge the apostolic authority, the word of Christ that has been taught from the apostles.

So if I come, John goes on to say in verse 10, I will bring up what he is doing, talking wicked nonsense against us and not content with that. He refuses to welcome the brothers and also stops those who want to and puts them out of the church.

Not only is the teaching that he's doing false, not only is it full of lies, but you can see by his actions that he is contrary to the brotherhood of Christ. Peter wrote this in second Peter three verses 15 and 16 count the patience of our Lord as salvation.

Just as our beloved brother, Paul also wrote to you, according to the wisdom given him as he does in all of his letters. When he speaks in them of these matters, there are some things in them that are hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction as they do the other scriptures.

Peter equating the letters that Paul has written to the other scriptures, including the Old Testament, that which was given to us by the apostles. You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, take care that you are not carried away with the error of lawless people and lose your own stability.

But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ to him. Be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen. Can't think of a better place to conclude than that. But these are the instructions that Titus is giving, or I'm sorry that Paul is giving to Titus that those elders that are appointed are sound in their doctrinal teaching, and they're also able to rebuke those who contradict that teaching.

He must have that skill. As Paul said to Timothy in 1 Timothy chapter 3, one of the qualifications for a pastor is that he must be able to teach. And Paul is kind of expounding upon that very same qualification here in Titus 1 9.

Part of the ability to teach is he has to rebuke those who teach something contrary to the sound words of our Lord Christ. For there are many who are insubordinate. They are empty talkers and deceivers.

And that's what we will come back to again tomorrow. Let's conclude with prayer. Our wonderful God and Savior, we thank you for the sound teaching that you have given us and faithful men who are dedicated to that teaching that they would guide us in an understanding of the true words of Christ and also warning us about those who are trying to deceive us by teaching something contrary to what Christ taught.

Knowing this beforehand, may we take care not to be carried away by the error of lawless people and that we would lose our own stability, but we would remain steadfast in the sound words that we have been taught.

Growing in the grace that has been given to us through Jesus Christ and the knowledge of our Lord and Savior as it has been handed down to us by the apostles. To Christ be the glory both now and to the day of eternity.

In Jesus name we pray.

Amen. Gabriel Hughes is the pastor of First Southern Baptist Church in Junction City, Kansas. Find out more online at www .utt .com.