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4. Identifying Spiritual Disease (Titus 1:10-16)

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7/10/2011

I. Announcements.

II. Introduction and Recap

a. Overview of Titus thus far:

i. Titus 1:1-4- The gospel leads to godliness.

1. He will apply this to the church, the home, and the world.

ii. Titus 1:5-9- The qualification for elders.

1. They are to be specific kind of men.

2. They are to be godly.

3. They are to be servant-leaders.

4. They are not to be like the world, and lead like the world.

5. Elders are to know and defend sound doctrine.

6. Elders are to refute and expose false teaching.

b. The transition…

i. After giving the qualifications for pastor-elders in the church, Paul keys off of his statement in Titus 1:9, and focuses on silencing false teachers.

ii. Big Idea: It isn’t enough to know correct doctrine, Paul say that false teaching needs to be exposed and silenced.

iii. This is Paul’s strategy for dealing with false teachers.

1. Get elders in churches teaching the truth.

2. Defeat falsehood with the truth.

3. Expose falsehood with the truth.

c. Falsehood and error spread like a disease. Like germs and pathogens.

d. Satan’s Strategy

e. Why does Paul write Titus 1:10-16?

III. Who are These False Teachers? (Titus 1:10)

a. There are many of them.

b. Their character is horrendous.

IV. What is the Influence of these False Teachers? (Titus 1:11)

a. “They are upsetting whole families”

b. They do it for “shameful gain”

c. What is Titus to do about these False Teachers?

V. What is the Character of these False Teachers? (Titus 1:12-14a)

a. “One of the Cretans, a prophet of their own, said, “Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.” This testimony is true.

b. Something else needs to be noted here. (Cultural Characteristics)

c. “Therefore rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith…”

VI. What are the Errors of these False Teachers? (Titus 1:14b-16) (4 errors)

a. #1- They are more interested in the “commands of people” than the “commands of God.”

b. #2- They have a twisted understanding of purity.

c. #3- They claim to know the gospel, but their lives don’t match. (Titus 1:16)

d. #4- Their message is off focus. (Titus 1:14)

VII. Application: Dealing with Spiritual Disease.

a. Identifying Spiritual Disease in our Culture.

b. Identifying Spiritual Disease in our Church. Where are we vulnerable?

i. Distraction

ii. Sexual Immorality

iii. Alcohol

iv. Self-focus

v. We need to guard against trying to make the message of the gospel be cool and culturally relevant.

c. Identifying Spiritual Disease in Ourselves.

VIII. The Charge!

a. Pray for the young people.

b. There is a battle for the hearts and souls of our young people!

c. There is a war for the family!

d. There is a very real war going on for this Church!

e. The cultural headwinds are strong and the false teaching is all around us!

f. You want to be spiritually healthy?

g. You want to avoid spiritual disease?

h. Don’t be among those who limp along spiritually, who are biblically emaciated.

i. For the sake of your soul, for the sake of your family, for the sake of your kids, for the sake of this church, rededicate yourself anew to God’s Word and to prayer.

j. May LBC be known being people of sound doctrine. People of the Bible! People who are prayer warriors! People who have godly, strong families! People who adorn the gospel with the lives!

k. May we throw off the cultural disease the entangles us, along with our sins, and may we run the race that is before us!

Related Topics: Ecclesiology (The Church), False Teachers, Issues in Church Leadership/Ministry

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