OPEN: A 3 year old boy went with his father to see a litter of kittens. On returning home, he breathlessly informed his mother, "There were two boy kittens and two girl kittens."
"How did you know that?" his mother asked.
"Daddy picked them up and looked underneath," he replied. "I think it’s printed on the bottom."
APPLY: As far as that little boy was concerned it was obvious:
Daddy was the authority.
Daddy knew how to decide whether those kittens were male or female.
Daddy had picked them up – looked underneath… and from there his little mind reached the obvious conclusion that the information had to be printed on the bottom side of those cats.
Now, that little boy was right about the which kittens were male and female. And the reason he was right was because he started with trusting the right authority.
But he was wrong about how he could know the difference.
Hold that thought.
In the chapter we just read, Paul is writing to a young preacher named Titus and told him “The reason I left you in Crete was that you might straighten out what was left unfinished and appoint elders in every town, as I directed you.” Titus 1:5
This Greek word translated “straighten out” is actually a medical term.
The Greek word is “epidi-orthoo”, from which we get the words orthopedist and orthodontist, and I’ve been told it refers to the practice of “setting a bone that’s been broken.”
Have you ever had a broken bone and gone to the ER or to your doctor?
What do they do there?
They “set” the bone.
They take the two broken ends of the bone and they put them back together so they “fit” properly. If they don’t do that - if they allow the bone to heal without setting it – the bone can grow back together crookedly and lead to weakness in that bone later in life.
And if the bone has already begun to knit, but it isn’t properly set, the doctor may break the bone again and put it back together properly so it’ll heal right.
Thus, what Paul’s was telling Titus was this: the churches on Crete were broken.
They hadn’t “set” right.
They needed medical attention or their faith would grow crooked and warped.
Titus has to “straighten out” what was broken so they’d heal properly and be strong in Christ.
Now, there’s a couple of things that aggravated that brokenness.
1st – the people there on Crete weren’t the easiest folks to work with.
Paul noted that “Even one of their own prophets has said, ‘Cretans are always liars, evil brutes, lazy gluttons.’” Titus 1:12
To this day the word “Cretan” is used to describe someone who is uncouth and untrustworthy.
And it seems ALL the Cretans of Paul’s day were bent that way.
These folks needed healing and Titus needed to realize he was working with damaged goods.
Cretans were (pause) the MTV crowd of Paul’s day.
ILLUS: Not so long ago, the MTV Video Awards was hosted by a man named Russell Brand. He is crude and lewd comedian and his comments that night were filled with comments on homosexuality and promiscuous sex. He especially took aim at the youth band “The Jonas Brothers” for wearing purity rings (rings which they wore to encourage other teenagers to avoid sex until they were married), and Brand made vulgar comments about their supposed hypocrisy in doing so.
The Los Angeles Times declared: “Russell Brand is a bad, bad boy. Thank the punk saints for that!… Brand’s banter, overflowing with outré political statements … juvenile sex jokes and relentless mockery of the well-groomed pop stars surrounding him, was totally, deliriously in the spirit of transgressive rock and roll."
Entertainment Weekly said “Many commentators thought Brand was hilarious and spoke truth to power."
(pause)
No, Brand didn’t speak truth to power.
He wasn’t some great man who was tweaking the hypocrisy of others.
He wasn’t a heroic comedian standing up for truth.
He was a Cretan, speaking lies to the youth of our nation.
He was an evil brute of a man who did what he did that night for the sake of the money MTV was paying him to perform. He did what he did for “dishonest gain.”
He was the kind of perverse and depraved individual that dominated the culture of Crete.
That’s why Paul laid such emphasis on the importance of Elders being men of principle. That’s why they were to be good fathers and good husbands, and examples of Christian purity and righteousness.
Christians needed to know what GOOD men looked like so they would know what to imitate in their own lives.
Youth! Look at the Elders in this church.
Make them your models of what you want to be like when you grow up.
Good Elders go a long way toward fixing the things that are broken in people’s lives, because they show that such lives can be lived. And because they live lives like that, these Elders can show others how to change their lives for the better.
Now, frankly, it’s pretty easy to pick up on folks like Russell Brand. He’s so obviously evil – such an obvious liar – that most Christians would never be fooled by someone like him.
But WHAT IF a different kind of liar came knocking at our door?
What if that liar looked kind of like us?
What if such a liar looked clean cut, holy, righteous, pleasant?
What if they carried a Bible and even read from it to us?
Paul warned Titus to be on guard for heretics known as “the circumcision group”. Now, the Circumcision group were Jews that had once been Christians. These people believed that – in order to be saved – every Christian had to be circumcised.
They would quote extensively from Scripture to prove that.
They could quote from the Law and the Prophets.
And they sounded like they knew what they were talking about.
But the only way they could teach their heresy was by ignoring the teachings of the church. Years before, God had revealed to the Apostles and leaders of the church that “physical” circumcision was no longer necessary.
As Paul taught the Gentile believers at Colossae:
“In him you were also circumcised, in the putting off of the sinful nature, not with a circumcision done by the hands of men but with the circumcision done by Christ, having been buried with him in baptism and raised with him through your faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead.” Colossians 2:11-12
Circumcision was no longer necessary.
Baptism had replaced it as the sign of God’s covenant.
Physical circumcision was no longer sound doctrine.
But the Circumcisers refused to give up.
They’d slip into unsuspecting churches and pass themselves off as being Christians just like everyone else… and then they’d start teaching their heresy.
Things haven’t changed in 2000 years.
There are still heretics out there who try to pass themselves off as being just like us.
An excellent example are the Jehovah Witnesses.
Does anybody know the name of the Bible they use? (New World Translation).
Does anybody know what color the cover used to be? (Green).
You could always tell their "mistranslation” of the Bible by sight, because of its sickly green color.
But it’s not green anymore.
Now it has a black cover… so it looks like a real Bible.
ILLUS: One of my friends told of having a couple of Jehovah Witnesses come to his door and want to offer him some of their pamphlets. When he explained that he was a preacher at the Church of Christ, they smiled and said “we’re both trying to do the same thing.”
To which he replied “no… we’re not.”
If you were to let these folks into your house, they could recite Bible verses that could make you think they were right about the heresies they teach. They’re very good, and they practice almost relentlessly at it.
That is – if you allowed them in your home.
But John warns us about such heretics: "If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not take him into your house or welcome him." 2 John 1:10
You might think it’s just good neighborliness - it’s only Christian - to invite these folks in for a cookie. Don’t do it!
Don’t let them in your house!
Because if you do, John says “Anyone who welcomes him shares in his wicked work.” 2 John 1:11
You see, if you let them in your home, you could make others believe that these folks are harmless. You could make others believe their teachings are acceptable.
If you let them into your house, it must be ok to let them into theirs.
Don’t do it.
Mormons do much the same thing as the JW’s.
They disguise themselves and pretend they’re just like us.
When Mitt Romney ran for the Presidency, there were many commentators that tried to imply he was from a Christian group.
He wasn’t. Mormons are not Christians. They’re not even close.
Mormons will buy advertising on TV and Radio and the Internet describing themselves as “the other Church of Jesus Christ.” Their objective is to make you think they’re just like you and I. But they’re not.
ILLUS: I talked with a local businessman who had allowed the Mormon missionaries to put their display on his counter. I realized he probably didn’t realize what he’d done, so I casually said “I see you’ve got some religious literature on your counter.”
“Yeah,” he said, “those Mormon kids brought it in and asked if they could put it there.”
I said “Do you know what the Mormon church teaches?”
“No” he replied.
“Well, for one thing, they teach that you and I can become gods. We can even become greater gods than Jesus if we work hard enough at it.” I said “The Bible tells us not to even let folks like that into our homes. If I were you, I’d get rid of that stuff.”
You see, by displaying their materials, this businessman was tacitly implying that they were ok.
Now, Mormons and Jehovah Witnesses are whipping boys of heresy. Their doctrines are demonstrably different for the Bible teachings we’re used to. Once you know what they’re up to, they’re easy to recognize.
But there’s another group that you need to particularly careful of.
It’s a group that looks more like us that any other.
They’re called TV evangelists.
Now, not every preacher or teacher that appears on TV is a heretic… but many of them are.
In researching this sermon I ran across one evangelist who denied the Trinity.
Another one taught that Jesus didn’t fully pay for our sins on the Cross.
There’s a lot of false teaching that can take place by TV evangelists, because TV is such a powerful visual tool. As you watch these folks preach, the cameras will pan the audience and show you people with open Bibles eagerly studying the words the Evangelist is preaching.
ILLUS: Years ago, a couple of families asked me to look at a TV evangelist they enjoyed. This preacher was a big confident man who wore a cowboy hat and boots.
And he was good. In fact, at first I was impressed. He taught things I would be proud to teach, and he taught with authority.
But the closer I looked at his teachings, the more I realized the guy was a bigot.
One of his principal teachings turned out to be the idea that Eve had sex with the serpent and they had a child: Cain.
And of course, Cain sinned by killing his brother and God marked Cain so he wouldn’t be killed as well. According to this evangelist Cain’s mark turned his skin a different color. Can you guess what color Cain’s skin supposedly turned?
That’s right – black.
The guy was a bigot and his teaching was pure and unmitigated heresy.
I tried to explain that this was heresy to the people who’d invited me to their home, but they’d already made up their mind that this man was right. They had bought his books, his tapes, they sent contributions to his program, and as he taught his lessons the Evangelist had warned his listeners that close minded preachers and church leaders would reject his glorious insights.
How did these families get taken in by this charlatan?
Well, they decided for themselves that he was right.
They loved God and wanted to please Him.
And they had decided that since this man taught from the Bible he had to be right.
They never bothered to ask their Elders first to find out if the man was trustworthy.
They were like that little boy with the kittens.
They knew they could trust God.
And they knew the Bible was God’s word (they had the right idea)
But they decided THEY knew best what was… good teaching.
Now, these were intelligent people.
They weren’t uneducated.
They’d been to church most of their lives.
So, how did they get taken in?
Answer: they weren’t under the authority of their Elders… (pause)
THEY were the authority.
They decided they could figure out on their own what was good doctrine and what wasn’t.
Let me repeat, there’s a lot of false teaching going on TV.
And many of those TV evangelists are out to get sheep for their own flocks.
Why? Because sheep have wool, and these folks are out to fleece as many sheep as they can get hold of. They’re out to get ALL the money they can get from those who listen.
They’ll say things like “Give til it hurts, and God will bless you.”
And to prove that God blesses such behavior, they live in million dollar homes and drive big fancy cars.
And they get that money every time someone buys their books and tapes when they send in donations, attend their seminars… etc.
Now folks, I can tell you without fear of contradiction that Jesus didn’t die on the cross to set up TV evangelists. He died on the cross to set up His church - and he placed that church under the protection of the Elders/ preacher
Paul tells Titus “(the Elder) must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it.” Titus 1:9
The Elders are the shepherds God placed here for your protection because, like sheep, we can be led astray by folks who sound like us. By folks who look like us. By folks who even read from the same Bible.
Think about it… why should the TV evangelists care for you?
They don’t know you.
They don’t know your family.
You’re just one of thousands of viewers and followers.
You don’t matter to them.
The only reason you’re important to them is that they make their living off of folks like you.
By contrast, Elders don’t make a dime.
(I turned to one of our Elders) Dave, how much do we pay you here?
He replied “nothing.”
Why would such good men be willing to labor for nothing?
Because these Elders are your shepherds.
They know you and they care for you.
And (more than that) Jesus has entrusted to them your care and protection.
CLOSE: John M. Braaten tells of an American tourist who was traveling in the Mid East. He came upon several shepherds whose flocks had intermingled while drinking water from a brook. After an exchange of greetings, one of the shepherds turned toward the sheep and called out, "Manah. Manah. Manah." (Manah means "follow me" in Arabic.)
Immediately his sheep separated themselves from the rest and followed him.
Then another shepherd called out, "Manah. Manah." and his sheep left the common flock to follow him.
The traveler then said to the third shepherd, "I would like to try that. Let me put on your cloak and turban and see if I can get the rest of the sheep to follow me."
The shepherd smiled knowingly as the traveler wrapped himself in the cloak, put the turban on his head and called out, "Manah. Manah." The sheep did not respond to the stranger’s voice.
Not one of them moved toward him.
“Why didn’t they come to me?” he asked.
The shepherd said: “They don’t know you or your voice. I have spent hours with them, and I’ve walked with them and talked to them as we walked. They know my voice because I am their shepherd.”
"Will the sheep ever follow someone other than you?" The traveler asked.
"Oh yes," the shepherd replied, "sometimes a sheep gets sick, and then it will follow anyone."
(from "The Greatest Wonder of All", C.S.S Publishing – with some modification)
