Titus 1
Quick devotions for those on the move.
“Whose mouths must be stopped, who subvert whole houses, teaching things which they ought not, for filthy lucre's sake.” (v. 11)
I feel a need to focus on the first line of this verse, “Whose mouths must be stopped”. We do not realize the danger of those who oppose the truth and spread their deceit as a plague and infect the hearts and minds of young Christians, and even seek to beguile the older and more mature believers who really want to do right. Their mouths must be stopped. How does this happen? By the saints speaking out against them and exposing their error.
The text speaks of “gainsayers”; if you were to divide this compound word, you would notice an explanation of what the text is saying. The first word in this compound word is “gain”; these are those who have personal interest in confusing the truth, and refuting its value. They seek after gain of some sort, whether money, or fame, or influence, whatever it may be; they are filled with “self exaltation” of some sort. The words ending our text verse speak mostly of money, but in the broader sense, there are many ways of making gain in mans thinking today. These are the false teachers, but with a twist; they do it deliberately for their own purposes, and not of a misunderstanding of truth. They must be stopped.
The second word we find in “gainsayers” is “sayers”. They use their mouths to destroy truth and to confound the opponents of truth; they use their mouths and not their hands. These “sayers” are always talking down, in abject subtlety, to the truth. They say a lot, but do little as far as works. They plant seeds of doubt and run their mouths in the backgrounds, and hide behind a cloak of truth. They must be stopped. The stopping of them is left to the opponents of that truth which the gainsayers seek to destroy, or to use to their own advantage.
We are so conditioned in the church today against criticism that we are afraid to speak openly and warn others about these gainsayers; in so doing, we encourage them further in their folly. They must be stopped; they must be opposed; they must be exposed. There are times when criticism is necessary. There are things that deserve criticism by their own merit, and if they are left alone, will further undermine the truth, which is a serious blow to the church and its people. They are the enemies of truth. Do not be afraid to criticize those things which stand as a threat to truth and righteousness; it is our OBligation to do so. We know that the Lord will take care of them, in due time, but does that excuse our OBligation to be defenders of the truth? Are we to allow them to continue deceiving others until they stand before God? I think not: But, let us be very sure that they are gainsayers, it is too easy to criticize one another otherwise.
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