INTRO.- ILL.- William Penn Adair "Will" Rogers (November 4, 1879 – August 15, 1935) was an American cowboy, vaudeville performer, humorist, social commentator and motion picture actor. He was one of the world's best-known celebrities in the 1920s and 1930s.
Known as "Oklahoma's Favorite Son," Rogers was born to a prominent Cherokee Nation family in Indian Territory (now part of Oklahoma). He traveled around the world three times, made 71 movies (50 silent films and 21 "talkies"), wrote more than 4,000 nationally-syndicated newspaper columns, and became a world-famous figure. By the mid-1930s, Rogers was adored by the American people. He was the leading political wit of the Progressive Era, and was the top-paid Hollywood movie star at the time. Rogers died in 1935 with aviator Wiley Post, when their small airplane crashed in Alaska.
Will Rogers’ quotes:
- “Everything is funny as long as it is happening to somebody else.”
- “Everyone is ignorant, only on different subjects.”
- “Don't let yesterday take up too much of today.”
- “A man only learns in two ways, one by reading, and the other by association with smarter people. ”
- “If stupidity got us in this mess, how come it can't get us out.”
- “I don't make jokes. I just watch the government and report the facts.”
- “A fool and his money are soon elected.”
- “The more you observe politics, the more you've got to admit that each party is worse than the other.”
- “The trouble with practical jokes is that very often they get elected.”
- “The difference between death and taxes is death doesn’t get worse every time Congress meets.”
Will Rogers was hard on politicians and it isn’t hard to figure out why. If they were bad back in the 20‘s and 30‘s, then what about today? What would Will Rogers say about politicians today? Would he call them liars and deceivers?
Rebellious talkers and deceivers. I think most of us feel like some politicians are definitely deceivers. They say one thing in order to get elected and then do another after they are elected.
I don’t think all politicians are deceptive or are corrupt but some are. And they shouldn’t be in office. Citizens need to vote on politicians, not according to their party, but based on their person. Are they honest? Do they honestly care about the people? Do they want to do what is right for America?
The people that Titus is talking about in the text were not politicians but some may well have been preachers. Rebellious talkers and deceivers. Some preachers shouldn’t be preaching. If they are liars, deceptive, rebellious, etc., there is no way they should be in the pulpit.
PROP.- Who are these rebellious people and how are we supposed to respond to them?
1- They were religious but rebellious
2- They were teachers but liars
3- They were to be rebuked and silenced
I. THEY WERE RELIGIOUS BUT REBELLIOUS
10 For there are many rebellious people, mere talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision group.
Of the circumcision group. Who were they?
Albert Barnes said: “Jews, spoken of here as "of the circumcision" particularly, because they urged the necessity of circumcision in order that men might be saved.”
They were apparently converted Jews who said that men needed to be circumcised in order to be saved. That’s false teaching. They were religious but in a sense, rebels. They rebelled against God’s grace. People love to add to God’s grace. They may be sincere but they are sincerely mistaken.
ILL.- When I was a young preacher I had the idea that if my people didn’t attend church on Sunday morning, Sunday night and at the midweek Bible study then they wouldn’t be saved. I don’t believe that any more. I was sincere in my devotion to the Lord but mistaken. I was adding to God’s grace and by doing so, was rebelling against Him by leading back into law.
The people that Titus is talking about, however, were far worse than just being ignorant about salvation by God’s grace. They went off the deep end and were rebellious.
12 Even one of their own prophets has said, "Cretans are always liars, evil brutes, lazy gluttons." Whoa! Liars, evil brutes, lazy gluttons. Wow! I would hate to be called by those words and be guilty of those things.
16 They claim to know God, but by their actions they deny him. They are detestable, disobedient and unfit for doing anything good. They apparently said one thing and did another.
ILL.- Do you remember Mayor Rob Ford of Toronto, Canada? What is he famous for? November 2013. Rob Ford has admitted during a heated city council debate that he bought illegal drugs while in office – but adamantly refused to step down despite calls from nearly every councillor to take a leave of absence and get help.
"I'm most definitely keeping this job," the 44-year-old Ford said, insisting he was "a positive role model for kids". A positive role model for kids??? Ford publicly acknowledged that he smoked crack cocaine while in a "drunken stupor" last year.
Mayor Rob Ford sounds like a guy who shouldn’t be a mayor. And the people that Titus was talking about didn’t need to be teaching or preaching. They were not “walking the talk.”
11 They must be silenced, because they are ruining whole households by teaching things they ought not to teach--and that for the sake of dishonest gain.
Some people will do anything for money.
ILL.- November 13, 2013. Federal prosecutors are accusing three senior Navy intelligence officials of taking part in an alleged contracting scheme that charged the Navy $1.6 million for homemade rifle silencers that cost only $8,000 to produce, according to court records.
Likewise, we’ve all heard stories about so-called prophets or preachers who were preaching things that they shouldn’t and making tons of money in the process.
ILL.- Most people remember Jim Bakker on the PTL Club in the 1980‘s. A sex scandal led to his resignation from the ministry. Subsequent revelations of accounting fraud brought about his imprisonment and divorce. He later remarried and returned to televangelism. PTL's fund raising activities between 1984–1987 underwent scrutiny by The Charlotte Observer newspaper, eventually leading to criminal charges against Jim Bakker. From 1984 to 1987, Bakker and his PTL associates sold $1,000 "lifetime memberships," which entitled buyers to a three-night stay annually at a luxury hotel at Heritage USA.
According to the prosecution at Bakker's later fraud trial, tens of thousands of memberships had been sold, but only one 500-room hotel was ever completed. Bakker "sold" more "exclusive partnerships" than could be accommodated, while raising more than twice the money needed to build the actual hotel. A good deal of the money went into Heritage USA's operating expenses, and Bakker kept $3.4 million in bonuses for himself.
Sometime later, after Jim Bakker got out of prison he wrote a book entitled, “I WAS WRONG.” And he was. He wrote: “The more I studied the Bible, however, I had to admit that the prosperity message did not line up with the tenor of Scripture. My heart was crushed to think that I led so many people astray. I was appalled that I could have been so wrong, and I was deeply grateful that God had not struck me dead as a false prophet!”
II. THEY WERE TEACHERS BUT LIARS
11 They must be silenced, because they are ruining whole households by teaching things they ought not to teach--and that for the sake of dishonest gain. 12 Even one of their own prophets has said, "Cretans are always liars, evil brutes, lazy gluttons."
ILL.- “How did you like the bishop’s sermon?” Mrs. Smith asked her husband on the way home from church. “Well, frankly,” he confessed, “I like our own minister better.”
“Why is that?” his wife wanted to know. “It’s the words they use,” explained Mr. Smith. “Our minister says, ‘In conclusion,’ and then he concludes. The bishop says, ‘Lastly,’ and he lasts.”
Would a preacher ever lie to his congregation? Would he ever knowingly lie? Just because a person claims to be honest or be God’s messenger it doesn’t mean he will always speak the truth.
ILL.- Someone wrote: Scriptural Truth vs. Pulpit Lies
Put Christ on your credit card
Go out on a limb for the Lord
Be thou a faithful steward
Give much more than thou canst afford.
The Scriptures are elastic
Just stretch God’s truth a bit
Whip out that handy plastic
Faith always runs a risk.
Ignore uneasy feelings within
Don’t go against the flow
If you’ve got money throw it in
It’s time for suckers to sow.
Those big bandwagon slogans
That make rich preachers richer
Are they spun out of emotions
Or do they stack up with Scripture?
IF THE MAFIA CAN HAVE A CADILLAC, WHY CAN’T I? That may be the philosophy of some preachers. Give me, give me. And there are other ways to lie.
ILL.- One preacher wrote: I remember when I was in seminary our preaching professor shared about telling a story in a sermon that was not true. He related to us that while flying to a speaking engagement he had read a compelling story. As a part of his sermon that night, he used the story, but framed it as if it had happened to him.
After the sermon a woman came up and ask, “Did that really happen to you?” He quickly came clean to her and said that, no, the event had been something that he had read about, but in wanting to make his point. he had put himself in the story.
He saw the obvious disappointment in the eyes of the lady questioner. The professor said that while he had meant it harmlessly, it had destroyed his credibility with at least that woman, if not with others. Of course, many preachers have told far worse stories or lies in the pulpit. And we all may be guilty in some form.
I Cannot Say Lord’s Prayer—If
I cannot say “Our” if I live only for myself.
I cannot say “Father” if I do not endeavor each day to act like his child.
I cannot say “who art in heaven” if I am laying up no treasure there.
I cannot say “hallowed be thy name” if I am not striving for holiness.
I cannot say “thy Kingdom come” if I am not doing all in my power to hasten that wonderful event.
I cannot say “thy will be done” if I am disobedient to his Word.
I cannot say “on earth as it is in heaven” if I’ll not serve him here and now.
I cannot say “give us this day our daily bread” if I am dishonest or am seeking things by dishonesty.
I cannot say “forgive us our debts” if I harbor a grudge against anyone.
I cannot say “lead us not into temptation” if I deliberately place myself in its path.
I cannot say “deliver us from evil” if I do not put on the whole armor of God.
I cannot say “thine is the kingdom” if I do not give the King the loyalty due him from a faithful subject.
I cannot attribute to him “the power” if I fear what men may do.
I cannot ascribe to him “the glory” if I’m seeking honor only for myself, and I cannot say “forever” if the horizon of my life is bounded completely by time.
Could it be that we all have lied when it comes to Christ and Christianity? If nothing else, we have said one thing and did another. We all must work at living up to what we claim to believe! Or practice what we preach.
III. THEY WERE TO BE REBUKED AND SILENCED
11 They must be silenced, because they are ruining whole households by teaching things they ought not to teach--and that for the sake of dishonest gain. 12 Even one of their own prophets has said, "Cretans are always liars, evil brutes, lazy gluttons." 13 This testimony is true. Therefore, rebuke them sharply, so that they will be sound in the faith 14 and will pay no attention to Jewish myths or to the commands of those who reject the truth.
ILL.- The preacher was disturbed during a sermon by some noisy man. He did not scold or manifest any sign of anger. “I am always reluctant,” he said quietly, “to expose those who misbehave during services, because of an experience I had some years ago. A young man who sat in front of me was laughing and making gestures. I was annoyed and rebuked him strongly. Later I was told that I had made a grave mistake. The man I had rebuked was an idiot.” Then suddenly the troublemaker became quiet.
I have never had the experience of someone causing deliberate trouble when I was preaching. The only time that my preaching was ever disturbed during church was when we had so many babies in the audience and it seemed like all of them were crying at the same time. WHAT TO DO? I stopped my sermon and said, “THANK GOD FOR BABIES!” We were glad to have them in church rather than somewhere else on a Sunday morning.
What do you do to those who are disturbing the faith of many people by teaching false doctrine for money? It may depend on several things. If a church had a preacher who was guilty of preaching false doctrine then the leaders of the church, primarily the elders, should call him aside and try to correct the problem.
ILL.- I know of one church where the preacher said that he did not believe in the resurrection of Jesus. What happened? I don’t know if the leaders talked to him about his position or not but I do know that he caused a split in the church. Some of the people who held to scripture and believed in the resurrection left the church and those who believed that preacher followed him.
Galatians 6:1-2 “Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted. Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.”
It is most certainly a sin to teach false doctrine, particularly a false doctrine that could lead people away from Christ. If this was obvious in a church then the leaders or elders should try to correct the problem. If the preacher wouldn’t listen or repent then the leaders would have to take more desperate moves, such as letting him go.
If you heard an obvious false doctrine being preached on TV, what should you do about it? What could you do about it? Maybe not much. You could write letters to the leadership of that ministry or church and pray for them. Otherwise, we would have to let the Lord handle that situation. False teachers will eventually be brought down.
If we can do something to combat false teaching anywhere, any time then we should if we are so motivated. If not, we must continue to pray and pray hard that the Lord will put a stop to such evil.
CONCLUSION----------------------
Much could be about false teachers but what Jesus said is best.
Matthew 7:15-23 “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. 16 By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17 Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them. 21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ 23 Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’
Steve Shepherd, Cape Girardeau, MO
shepherd111@hotmail.com
