Chuck Larsen

Paul tells Titus that there are “many false teachers” abroad at his writing. I wonder what he would say today. There are certainly many more today than there has ever been in the history of Christianity. Of Course, Jesus himself, said there would be many false teachers and Paul told Timothy that there would come a time when people would reject “sound doctrine” and be turned to myths and follow dreamers and schemers of all kinds.

In Norm Geisler’s introduction to his book with Ron Brooks on recognizing the cults in our world today he writes, “Cults and new religions are exploding in unprecedented proportions on the American horizon. As the light of Christianity fades, darkness is flooding in from every side. Jehovah’s Witnesses, Mormons, and New Age religions galore are all seeking the souls of human beings. Each professes to have the latest way to enlightenment, the prophet for our time, or the sure way to universal peace. Some experts say there are about 700 cults, while others say there are as many as 3,000. Cults of one form or another involve more than 20 million people in the United States, and they are multiplying at an alarming rate. Worldwide there are now over 5 million Jehovah’s Witnesses (who spend over one billion man–hours per year proselytizing), almost 9 million Mormons (presently growing at a rate of 1,500 new members per day), and tens of millions of New Agers. World religions that are diametrically opposed to Christianity are also growing at a frightening rate. For example, there are nearly one billion Muslims in the world. That is about one out of every 5 persons on earth! In North America alone it is estimated that there are between 4 and 8 million Muslims. And there are more than 1,100 Muslim mosques in the United States.”

Paul instructs Titus on several aspects of these false teachers that will help Titus, and us, recognize them and deal with them effectively. Four characteristics are specifically mentioned in verse 10; they are insubordinate, empty talkers, deceivers, and divisive. The best defense for a cult is a well informed Christian. Another writer says, “The best way for you and me and our kids to be invulnerable to cults is to study the real thing. Really study the Bible so when cult members come to you and try to persuade you to follow them, your Biblical cult detector activates and says, ‘No, that is not what the Bible says, and you are wrong. There is only one Bible. There is only one God. There is only one Messiah. There will never be another Messiah after Jesus Christ.’”

Chuck
“Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world.” 1 John 4:1

After Paul described the characteristics of leadership by positive example, he turns to show leadership lessons by those who present us with a bad example. He refers to these bad examples as “false teachers.” They are the ones who illustrate by their example that they are not reliable witnesses of the Christian faith by their conduct as well as their teachings. In Philippians Paul refers to them as “dangerous dogs.” This is an interesting term because the Psalmist uses the image of wild dogs to represent the enemies of God’s people. Psalm 59:6 talks about how God’s enemies are regular: “Each evening they come back, howling like dogs and prowling about the city.” They are always part of the landscape and must be dealt with. It’s the same today.

The Jews always thought of themselves as God’s people and everyone else as dogs; goyim! But Paul reverses the image and insists that those who proclaim the Jewish traditions, such as circumcision, as the basis of one’s security in their relationship with God with the real dangerous dogs. He said that the ritualists of his day, that is, the Jews who were preaching salvation by ceremonies, were only “dogs”, while believers in Jesus were the children of God. The dangerous dogs are to be avoided at all costs according to Paul’s instruction to the Philippians.

These ritualists are so dangerous because they are always successful in some degree. There are always those who will get caught up in the false teaching and try to convert others to their opinion. If you’re reading this today, it means that the Rapture did not happen on October 21st as Harold Camping predicted again. Yet there were still those who sold their homes and believed this false teacher and tried to convince others of the lie. Every cult leader is dangerous and that’s why Paul prayed specifically for the Philippians when he talked to them about the dangerous dogs. In effect his prayer (according to one commentator) went something like this: “I pray that you will be continually controlled by the life-transforming knowledge of God’s will, which the Holy Spirit imparts as you prayerfully study and meditate on God’s Word.” You see the Scriptures give us all we need to live a godly life. The Holy Spirit gives us the power to do so. Many false teachers try to add to or take away from God’s Word. They divert our attention from the simplicity of devotion to Christ as His disciples. Paul warns Titus and instructs him to find leaders who are discerning enough not to fall for the false philosophies, psychologies, or a myriad of other hopeless alternatives. Christ is all we need! The Scriptures reveal Him as Savior and Lord. We must not be deterred from following Him.

Chuck
“So don’t be misled, my dear brothers and sisters.” James 1:16

I don’t know anyone who really likes confrontation. It’s always messy and uncomfortable and very often it doesn’t end well. We often do all we can to avoid it. Sometimes we’re just postpone the inevitable and actually making the situation worse. When we ignore an issue we allow the elephant to sit in the room indefinitely and the longer he’s there, the heavier he gets.

Confrontation is always difficult. But Paul tells Titus that true biblical leadership is exercised best by those who can manage confrontation well. With respect to biblical truth it is essential to confront error whenever it rears its head. To ignore it, as Paul tells Titus, will have detrimental effects on whole families as well as the eternal destinies of individuals. A Christian leader must be equipped to confront error when it settles down in the room. Correction, however, must include an element of encouragement. The New Living Translation says, “Cheer people up and give them hope. Correct them with full authority.” Proper confrontation is truly a sign of biblical leadership.

We read about the doctrinal errors of a teacher names Apollos in the book of Acts. It’s recorded in Chapter 18 and verse 26. It says, “He (Apollos) began to speak boldly in the synagogue, but when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately.” The gracious way Priscilla and Aquila dealt with Apollos is an example to us all. They saw the error in his teaching and didn’t avoid it, but rather confronted it with humility respecting the dignity of the young man. They might have stood up and corrected him publicly—making him embarrassed or defensive. Instead they remained quiet in public. They invited him to their home. They “explained … more adequately.” Rather than stress where Apollos was wrong, they affirmed what was right and went on from there. What a guide to correcting error without losing the person!

Chuck
“Better is open rebuke than hidden love.” Proverbs 27:5

Paul instructs Titus to look for leaders who walk the walk, i.e., lead by example. The last key area of exemplary living surrounds the role of God’s Word in their lives. They must be convinced of the trustworthy nature of the message, be educated in its contents, and then he adds that they should be able to express “sound doctrine” in an encouraging way. Doctrine has drawn much criticism today from our pluralistic society. When we teach biblical truths, we are said to “indoctrinate” others and this is always a bad thing. Of course we’re always indoctrinating others with our convictions.

A major wave of persecution of Christians broke out under the Roman Emperor Julian in 362 AD. He is known as Julian the Apostate. He ordered that all educators be licensed before teaching, in an effort to prevent the Christian education of young people. On this same day in 1963, the U.S. Supreme Court outlawed classroom prayer and Bible reading in American schools. Jesus commissions all true believers to make disciples. The means of doing that is twofold; baptizing and teaching. Baptizing refers to leading others to faith climaxing with their public profession of that faith and identification with others of the same faith. Teaching is concerned with “sound doctrine.” All teaching is “indoctrination.” Schools that eject Biblical instruction from the curriculum and ban prayer are indoctrinating students on the irrelevancy of the most important aspect in life. All teaching, or lack of teaching, serves to indoctrinate.

Sound doctrine is literally “healthy doctrine.” That’s why the NLT translation calls it “wholesome teaching.” Teaching biblical truth results in healthy, wholesome living and brings spiritual wellness as well as physical health. The same word used in 3 John 2 for physical health is used in Titus and other passages for spiritually healthy doctrine (1 Tim. 4:13, 16; 5:17; 2 Tim. 1:13; 4:3; Titus 1:9, 13; 2:1, 7). A. W. Tozer said, “Great saints have always been dogmatic.” J. I. Packer wrote, “There can be no spiritual health without doctrinal knowledge.” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones said, “We cannot have the benefits of Christianity if we shed its doctrines.” Paul predicted, “The time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine.” That’s why Jude tells us: “Contend earnestly for the faith.”

Chuck
“But as for you, teach what is consistent with sound doctrine” Titus 2:1

Paul instructs Titus on the importance of the gospel message that had been delivered once and for all to the saints. It was inspired by God, fulfilled in Christ, passed down by the Apostles and must be believed, embraced, and passed on to each succeeding generation. I was struck by the phrase in Titus 1:9, where Paul tells Titus that true biblical leaders “hold firm” to the “trustworthy message” as they were “taught.” It was the word “taught” that got my attention. The faith that was taught and handed down by Jesus to the Apostles to the church fathers and to us is often referred to as the historic faith. Titus was “taught” the historic faith and he was also to teach the historic faith to others. Passing on the truth from one generation to another is the prime responsibility of the Church.

In order to be effective leaders we must be taught the truths of biblical Christianity. We cannot lead the way if we do not know the way. We must submit our thoughts, our ideas, to the disciplines God entrusted to those who came before us, but more specifically, to those who came before us who hold to and hold out the historic Christian faith. Paul submitted himself to learn from others and Titus submitted himself to learn from Paul. We too must humble ourselves and learn from others. We don’t always like that.

During my years of higher education I’ve preferred some teachers over others. Those whose style I preferred always received high marks from me on my class appraisals at the end of the class. Others did not. Yet, as I look back some of the best lessons I learned were from those whose style I didn’t truly appreciate. One professor at Dallas Seminary in my first year seemed to me to be unprepared class after class. He’d take us out on the lawn on nice days and we’d just talk. He’d share personal stories frequently, but he seemed to ignore the syllabus and never fulfilled the lesson plans for the day. I was so glad to get out of his class with a good grade. I saw him look at my poor student appraisal of him at the end of the class. I swore I’d never take him again. Then during my last year I had two classes that I had to take to graduate. The only ones available to me were those that he taught. When those classes started I was again frustrated by his style, but prayed deeply for God’s help and humbled myself to his instruction. I was astounded to find that his personal stories and laid back way were designed to illustrate the lessons he was attempting to teach us. I was surprised at how stupid I was! We all need to be taught!

Chuck
“Surely I am more stupid than any man, and I do not have the understanding of a man.” Proverbs 30:1

Paul insists that Titus find those who hold firm to the trustworthy nature of God’s Word. Biblical leadership is nothing if it’s not biblical. We either make disciples for ourselves or we make disciples for Christ. If we are to make disciples for Christ we must hold firm to the truthfulness and reliability of His word. One commentator explained the relationship between Jesus Himself and the scriptures. He writes, “It is impossible, however, to take Jesus seriously and not take Scripture seriously. It is impossible to believe that Jesus spoke absolute truth and not to consider Scripture to be that absolute truth because that is precisely what Jesus taught it to be. If Jesus was mistaken or deluded on this point, there would be no reason to accept anything else that He said. At the outset of His ministry He makes clear that His authority and Scripture’s authority are the same; His truth and Scripture’s truth are identical and inseparable.”

One cannot ignore the fact that the Bible itself claims to be infallible. (See John 10:35; 17:17; Prov. 30:5–6). But many argue that it’s full of mistakes and misrepresentations and is simply a collection of fairy tales. One translation even begins the story of Noah with “once upon a time.” Some others, well meaning, argue that the Bible can only be trusted in religious matters, not scientific or historical. But the Bible argues that it is trustworthy in the smallest parts of words (see Matt. 5:17–18; Gal. 3:16). Furthermore, and this is the key issue, if the Bible is not infallible then its claim to be infallible is false. Another writer puts this dilemma this way, “If the Bible says that it is inerrant, but has errors, then we have no idea where those errors are and we have no reason to trust any part of it. If Jesus claimed to tell the truth in all things, but lied or was mistaken about some, then we have no reason to believe anything that he said. Errors would prove that he was not speaking as God’s spokesman, and he might be wrong at any time. The very claim to authority itself is wrong, so how can anything else be trusted?

Many assume a position above the Bible and become its judge. Those that do that are unfit for true biblical leadership according to Paul. The Scriptures, although sometimes difficult to understand, must be “over” our limited thinking and given its rightful place over us. The Bible is reliable in all it records because its authors were sovereignly guided in what they wrote by God himself, and hence infallible and inerrant. You can trust the Bible.

Chuck
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding…” Proverbs 3:5

True Biblical leaders must lead by example. Paul gave Titus some very specific instructions regarding what kind of example leaders should be setting. He addressed alcohol, sexual conduct, reputation, anger, greed and many other things. Then he turns to a leader’s relationship with God’s Word.

Jesus commissioned His followers to “Make Disciples” in what we often refer to as “The Great Commission.” He prefaces this commission with the phrase “all authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth, therefore go…” I’ve learned that the authority of Scripture is so rooted in and closely linked to the authority of Jesus Christ that the two are virtually indivisible. To attempt to distinguish them is like asking which blade of a pair of scissors is more important, or which leg of a pair of pants is more necessary. We know Christ through the Bible, and we understand the Bible through the knowledge of Christ and the Spirit he sent. Christ’s authority is given to us and we find that commission in the Bible.

The role of scripture in biblical leadership, disciple making, is indisputable. We can learn all about man’s social condition, his psychological makeup, his judicial systems, his educational disciplines, but the key to true leadership rests in a clear and comprehensive understanding of Scripture. Mortimer J. Adler, in “How to Read a Book,” has observed that the one time people read for all they are worth is when they are in love and are reading a love letter. They read every word three ways. They read between the lines and in the margins. They read the whole in terms of the parts, and each part in terms of the whole. They grow sensitive to context and ambiguity, to insinuation and implication. They perceive the color of words, the order of phrases, and the weight of sentences. They may even take the punctuation into account. Then, if never before or after, they read carefully and in depth.” Howard Henricks, a Professor at Dallas Theological Seminary, made us read that book and said that if you desire to be a leader of God’s people, you must Love God’s word and read it like a true lover. It’s God’s love letter to us. It is an absolute prerequisite to leadership and disciple making.

Chuck
“I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my portion of food.” Job 23:12