Silencing Satan's Soldiers (Titus 1:10-16)

The Gospel of God's amazing grace in Jesus Christ is the most precious message known to man, and as such, it should be cherished by every Christian who has embraced it and been transformed by its power. So why then are so many of us quiet when the gospel is under attack in the church? As a working Pastor, that's the question I'm confronted with, especially as I am preaching through the first chapter of Titus.

The apostle Paul instructs Titus and the elders of the churches of Crete to "silence" those who are "teaching things they should not teach for the sake of sordid gain" (Tit. 1:11). Paul's admonition to Titus is as relevant today as it was then because just as then the church is now being infiltrated by greedy false teachers on all fronts. The battle is raging, the gospel is at stake, and we are called to fight. And personally, I am amazed at how little is being said about greedy false teachers who are making sport of unsuspecting and undiscerning folks who are seemingly ready to pay for prosperity in the name of Christ. The great reformer, Martin Luther, once said,

"If I profess with the loudest voice and clearest exposition every portion of the truth of God except precisely that little point which the world and the devil are at that moment attacking, I am not confessing Christ, however boldly I may be professing Christ. Where the battle rages, there the loyalty of the soldier is proved; and to be steady on all the battlefield besides, is mere flight and disgrace if he flinches at that point."

What a stinging indictment of the contemporary church--so many of us soldiers fighting where there is little threat, and ignoring the constant barrage of prosperity heresy bombs exploding in our midst. So, from the text, I see five actions that we must take in silencing those who seek to destroy the purity of the gospel:

1. We must acknowledge the existence of false teachers (Titus 1:10)

2. We must consider the character of false teachers (Titus 1:10, 11c)

3. We must mute the mouths of false teachers (Titus 1:11)

4. We must warn the victims of false teachers (Titus 1:12-14)

5. We must realize the condition of false teachers (Titus 1:15-16)

And in the end, Pastors and Elders will have to give an account to our Commander-N-Chief as to how we fought the fight at the point where the battle raged most intensely. So, let us take a stand against those who are perverting sound doctrine by peddling the Word of God for profit. These pitiful prophets for pay are no better than Judas, the treasonous treasurer who traded the Savior for 30 silver shekels.