Lesson 2995

Lesson (2995)(03-13-20) Titus Chapter 1
    “ Paul, a servant of God, and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God's elect, and the acknowledging of the truth which is after godliness; In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began; But hath in due times manifested his word through preaching, which is committed unto me according to the commandment of God our Saviour; To Titus, mine own son after the common faith: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ our Saviour. For this cause left I thee in Crete, that thou shouldest set in order the things that are wanting, and ordain elders in every city, as I had appointed thee: If any be blameless, the husband of one wife, having faithful children not accused of riot or unruly. For a bishop must be blameless, as the steward of God; not selfwilled, not soon angry, not given to wine, no striker, not given to filthy lucre; But a lover of hospitality, a lover of good men, sober, just, holy, temperate; Holding fast the faithful word as he hath been taught, that he may be able by sound doctrine both to exhort and to convince the gainsayers. For there are many unruly and vain talkers and deceivers, specially they of the circumcision: Whose mouths must be stopped, who subvert whole houses, teaching things which they ought not, for filthy lucre's sake. One of themselves, even a prophet of their own, said, the Cretians are alway liars, evil beasts, slow bellies. This witness is true. Wherefore rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith; Not giving heed to Jewish fables, and commandments of men, that turn from the truth. Unto the pure all things are pure: but unto them that are defiled and unbelieving is nothing pure; but even their mind and conscience is defiled. They profess that they know God; but in works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate.”

   In today’s quote, Paul instructed Titus as to how, and who, he should select form those who would be preachers of the gospel. Preachers, (bishops), were to be morally decent men, respected in thier communities, who were/are fully knowledgable of and solidly grounded in the faith.
    One of those basic qualifications for a preacher was that he be someone “not given to filthy lucre”. In today’s Mega churches, and many of the smaller ones, it seems that the vast majority of the preachers are absolutely and totally “given to filthy lucre”.
    Also in the quote, Paul made a point of saying that, among the earliest churches, it was the Jews (the circumcision), who were causing the most problems by trying to distort the doctrine of Jesus Christ. They did so by demanding that the churches enact and obey certain elements of the old Hebrew laws. That influence, from what I have been able to establish, was a major factor in the creation of the Catholic church. Catholicism, with its demanded pomp and ritual, in my opinion, is a Satanic distortion of the gospel of Jesus Christ, a dukes mixture of Christianity, Paganism, and Judaism.
    As Paul instructed Timothy, It behooves every bible student to “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.“ (2 Timothy 2:15)~