Scripture
From Paul, the slave of God and messenger of Jesus Christ. I have been sent to bring faith to those God has chosen and to teach them to know God’s TRUTH–the kind of TRUTH that changes lives.
~Titus 1:1
Quote
I read through Titus today and I had never noticed Paul’s emphais on TRUTH. Truth or true is used four times in the first chapter {1,4,13,14}. Paul put heavy emphasis on Titus responsibility to teach the truth that salvation is by grace. I like the spin or the defintion the LNT puts on verse one…the kind of truth that changes lives. Wow, what a simple, yet profound insight: TRUTH CHANGES LIVES. Immediately, I thought of Jacob. The patriarch of the Israelites who lived for 20 years under the dark and diabolical cloud of a lie. Every day for twenty years, he grieved the death of his favorite son Joseph. Jacob’s grief was real but his son’s death was not. Jacob had been decieved by his own sons. What goes around comes around: Jacob had decieved his father Issac. When the older sons returned from Egypt and told Jacob that Joseph was alive and well, he didn’t believe them and who could blame him. All ten were perpetual liars and Jacob knew it but when he saw the wagons from Egypt, he believed and his heart was revived. Jacob moves from grief to joy in the blink of an eye. What brought about this miracelous change? The Truth!
Paul emphasised truth because it is vitally important: truth is transforming and liberating. A few months back, a concerned mother was telling me about her son, a young man who attended DBC for the first 12 years of his life. He got sucked into the Platt Calvinism. She said he was excited and on fire for a while; he even sold all his possessions and gave them to the poor but now she said, “He is depressed. He says he is not a part of the elect and is eternally doomed.” I haven’t made contact with him yet but I want to talk to this child and tell him the truth. He is not eternally doomed. God loves him and Jesus died for him. He is confused and mixed up because he has been falsely endoctrinated. Someone has filled his mind with error. He is believing a lie. People who have committed the unpardonable sin are hard as steel, they are cold and calous. They would think nothing of shaking their fist at God and cursing Him. These people have no desire to be saved. They have no desire to be in God’s heaven. This kid can be set free with the simple truth.
What lies are you believing?
- I can’t afford to tithe.
- I don’t have the time to read and study my bible each day.
- My sin and unfaithfulness hurts no one except me.
- Total surrender to Christ will bring me misery.
- The best way to deal with sin is keep it covered.
- If I give total allegience to Jesus Christ, it will hurt my relationship with my spouse.
- If I don’t look out for number one, who will?
- A few days ago, I had dust in the garden, now I have mud. I’ll take mud over dust any day.
- I hope you are planning to be in the LORD’s house tomorrow: please do not discourage others by forsaking the assembly and pray for your pastor, whoever that might be.
