THERE are only 7 verses in this passage, but they have a great deal for us to think about and contemplate, specially for the health of the church today.

In our previous study we saw that great stress was laid on the responsibility of the ordained minister to encourage sound doctrine and oppose error. In the verses before us Paul speaks of the reason for this. Satan is always active to pervert the truth and do harm to souls and weaken the witness of the church. He does this by sowing error. These days standing up for the truth and opposing error is hugely unpopular. It is thought to be wrong and divisive to stand for the truth, and the thought seems to be that every insight, even if it is not according to God's revelation in the Bible, is valid, and that criticising and changing Bible revelation is thought quite proper. Paul's instruction to Titus here is a shower of correction on this view.

In the first place people who distort, change, add to, or turn from the truth of God's revelation and instruction in the Bible, are called rebels. Paul says they are rebellious people. This seems too strong and uncharitable to modern ears, but it is in fact the truth, because such action is refusing God's word, and so rebellion against God.

These people are also called deceivers. This describes the result of their teaching. Their teaching, because it is not the truth of God, or changes or denies the truth of God in some way, deceives people, and teaches them to hold to and believe that which will result in their eternal damnation. There is only one way to escape damnation of the soul, and that is to receive the truth as it is in Jesus, and believe it wholly and wholeheartedly.

Those who rebel and deceive in this way are 'mere talkers'. In other words they speak words which have no power in them. They may inform and titivate the mind, but they can't give life to the soul or lead people to know God.

The example of this rebellion against the truth in Paul's day was the 'Circumcision group'. These were those who professed faith in Jesus, but said that it was necessary for salvation to continue also in the law of Moses. By this they meant people should be circumcised and follow the ritual practices of the Jewish faith.

We may say that his is not relevant today, but the Catholic emphasis in the church is doing just this, and we need to be aware of this and that it is so.

Such groups, and such teaching must be silenced. This sounds offensive to our ears, but in days gone by this instruction was taken very seriously, as it was at the Reformation, and in setting up confessions of faith like the Westminster Confession which sought to hold fast to the truth during the time of the restoration of the monarchy after Cromwell. At the Reformation the Church of England took the importance of silencing error very seriously and so gave us our doctrinal confession in the 39 articles. It is significant that the importance of ministers swearing allegiance to this doctrine has now been removed.

The trouble with error is that in the end it can't promote or produce true godliness. Paul points out that Titus will find that the motives of those who are of the Circumcision Group had impure motives. They taught for dishonesty gain. Now this may not be true of all those who promote error, but because there is no power in error, and God does not own it, purity begins to decline.

So Titus is told to rebuke sharply (v.13) all who teach or hold to error. The reason given is that they may turn from the error and hold to soundness in faith. Sharp rebuke is not unkind or wrong, but an act of love in order to keep people in the truth which saves the soul, and prevent others being led aaway from God and salvation of their souls.

What is lacking today is the realisation and understanding that the salvation of immortal souls are at stake. Only the truth as it is in Jesus saves the soul. Error leads to eternal darkness and death.

The result when a person espouses error, even in the smallest way, is that their mind and consciences become corrupted (v.15). The corruption begins in the fact that, though they may confess to know God, they have in fact alienated themselves from God. All error and living that is contrary to the Bible is a denial of God. Because the world is without God, the world is full os sin and grief.