Titus 1:16 They claim to know God, but by their actions they deny him. They are detestable, disobedient and unfit for doing anything good.
We all know people who claim something for themselves, or about themselves, but it is just a claim with no substance to back it up. I can claim to be the richest person on planet Earth, but if you looked at my bank account, the true story would be told. My net worth would not match my claim.
We have had leaders who claimed to be the smartest in their field. But for some, their field was very small with very little competition, and assessed by a scale devised by them to ensure they came out on top. We used to say people like this were filled with hot air.
This art of claiming one thing and doing another seems to be in the process of being perfected in our current day and age. It has always been present as part of the human condition after the Fall, but perhaps because of Social Media, there seems to be an explosion of self-congratulatory boastings. Yikes! We need to run from this stuff.
The worst claim to make is that you know God, but then have your life send a contrary message. We say we trust God with our life, but then cower behind our closed doors when the seasonal flu gets a fancy name. Again, the news gets us in trouble, fanning the flames of fear and despair.
Our text comes from this short letter Paul wrote to a fellow Jesus-follower, a leader in the emerging Church. Paul writes to reinforce what he has already taught Titus in the past, that our actions need to match our profession of faith. And there were some in Titus’ circle that were living mismatched lives.
Paul is not afraid to call out these people living mismatched lives, their actions not matching their profession. He is very politically incorrect, not at all woke, seemingly judgmental without regard to the feelings of those he is pointing out.
Our text records that these mismatched people were detestable, disobedient and unfit. This might seem mild compared to the accusations being bantered about these days, but Paul is very confrontational with these words. These people made the claim that they were followers of the Way, but their lives demonstrated that they were followers of the day.
They might have had intention to be obedient, but when the moment came, disobedience became the norm in their lives. They chose rebellion rather than holiness. They ruined their lives.
I have a small cup that I use for measuring my weed killer concentrate before adding the water in the proper proportions. I would never think of using that cup for anything else. I wouldn’t use it to offer my grandchildren a drink. It is no longer fit for that purpose.
So it was with these people who didn’t live out their profession of faith. They were not fit to be spokespeople for the LORD. They were dirty vessels, and their filth tainted everything that came out of their lives.
I don’t want to be a tainted vessel. I want to be useful. But this requires an open heart, a heart willing to turn away from sin and self-interest, and turn to a life of sacrifice and self-denial.
And to be honest, not many of us want sacrifice and self-denial. We would rather have other people sacrifice and be self-indulgent instead.
The Arnold Journey 