Paul's Exhortations & Instructions to Brother Titus Volume 8

Paul Gives Titus the Elders Job in the Church Part 2

Titus 1:11 Whose mouths must be stopped, who subvert whole houses, teaching things which they ought not, for filthy lucre's sake. KJV

Paul tells Brother Titus in no uncertain terms that the Elders are to put a stop to the error or the erroneousness teaching coming into the Church of our Lord, Master, and Savior Jesus Christ, for the enemy (the devil) has found that he cannot disconnect, disintegrate, or destroy the faith of true believers in Christ Jesus our Lord, but what he can do is get false believers into the Churches and see them become teachers and leaders in the Churches and then through error prevent those who come into the Church for the truth from hearing it declared or proclaimed. Through this method the enemy has rendered hundreds and thousands of once thriving Churches to become dead spiritually and cold and unaffective in reaching lost sinners in the world with the true Gospel because it has now been compromised. Therefore, these are Pauls next instructions to Brother Titus warning him and us today and of every era and generation of these type of people who have slid, slipped, and slithered into the Church of Jesus Christ, "Whose mouths must be stopped, who subvert whole houses, teaching things which they ought not, for filthy lucre's sake." (Titus 1:11) (KJV).

The English phrase 'mouths must be stopped' is translated by the Greek word epistomizō (used this one time only in the New Testament) it means to put something over the mouth, that is, (figuratively) to silence: - stop mouths. The Psalmist King David wrote these words declaring this same concept, "But the king shall rejoice in God; everyone who swears by Him shall glory; but the mouth of those who speak lies shall be stopped." (Psalm 63:11) (MKJV).  In other words, just like an unruly horse has a bit placed into its mouth to control his unruly behavior, the Elders job is to use the Word of God to refute the heretical teaching of others, so that every soul who is seeking the truth of God will find it. As it has been said by many in the past, we must use the Word of God itself to prove the Word of God, for God has never been unclear or ambiguous or contradictory in what He has declared and He has stated 'The Truth' many times in His Word through many different prophets. Here is what Dr. John Gill had to say about stopping their mouths, "They be silenced, by reasons and arguments fetched out of the Word of God; as were the Sadducees and Pharisees by Christ, so that they durst ask Him no more questions; and as the Jews at Damascus were by Saul, who confounded them, proving in the clearest and strongest manner, that Jesus was the very Christ." Here is what Adam Clarke had to say about stopping their mouths, "Unmask them at once; exhibit them to the people; make manifest their ignorance and hypocrisy; and let them be confounded before the people whom they are endeavoring to seduce."

When Paul writes, 'who subvert whole houses', he means that these false teachers win over the parents with their false gospel and subsequently the children are then ruined as well. The English word 'subvert' is translated by the Greek word anatrepō meaning to overturn (figuratively): - overthrow, subvert; cause the downfall of spiritually. In other words, these false teachers declare a false gospel and in so doing they make the faith of those hearing it and receiving it as false, fake, and fraudulent as the one declaring it to them. These men and women who did this then and continue to do this today are instruments and tools of the devil to draw sinners away from the truth of the Gospel of Grace (that is Jesus plus nothing = salvation) into a gospel where you need to do this or do that outside of Jesus Christ and you will be saved or the false gospel that Jesus wants you to be healthy and wealthy, and saved. Whatever is proclaimed outside of the Cross of Jesus Christ is false and has no power to save souls (none). When Paul writes, 'teaching things which they ought not', he means what we just said and that is adding something to the Cross of Jesus Christ. Then, these false teachers were teaching that people still needed to be circumcised and follow the Jewish law of Moses, even Gentile converts. However, today there are many things being added to Christ death on the Cross, His buriel, and His resurrection from the dead, for example there are some who teach water baptismal regeneration, some teach you need to speak in tongues in order to be truly saved, and there are many more false teachings that must be stopped by simply declaring the simplicity of the Gospel of Christ (2 Corinthians 11:3).

The purpose of these false teachers then and now is exactly the same and that is to make merchandise of the Gospel. Paul wrote this same concept to Brother Titus with these words, 'for filthy lucre's sake', which simply means they wanted to tell people what they wanted to hear so they could get their money from them. Greed is the primary motivation of the false teacher, for he or she is not really and truly concerned about seeing the sinner's soul being saved from sin and hell, but only about living their heaven on earth by gaining wealth from deceiving people. What they are doing and being is just like their father the devil as our Lord Jesus told the Jewish religious rulers when He walked the earth, "Why do you not know My speech? Because you cannot hear My Word. You are of the Devil as father, and the lusts of your father you will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and did not abide in the truth because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks of his own, for he is a liar and the father of it." (John 8:43-44) (MKJV). You see salvation is free to every true seeking sinner and it cost him or her nothing to come to Christ and they have nothing they can bring to Him but their sin. Our Lord Jesus Christ also showed His displeasure, disappointment, and disgust with those who were using God's Temple as a house of merchandise as documented for us by the Apostle John with these words, "And the Passover of the Jews was near, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. And He found in the temple those who sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the money-changers sitting. And when He had made a scourge of small cords, He drove them all out of the temple, also the sheep and the oxen. And He poured out the money-changers' money and overthrew the tables. And He said to those who sold doves, Take these things away from here. Do not make My Father's house a house of merchandise." (John 2:13-16) (MKJV).

Here is what Albert Barnes had to say about these false teachers doing this for filthy lucre's sake, "For gain. That is, they inculcate such doctrines as will make themselves popular, and as will give them access to the confidence of the people. They make it their first object to acquire influence as ministers of religion, and then abuse that in order to obtain money from the people. This they would doubtless do under many pretences; such as that it was needful for the support of the Gospel, or for the relief of the poor, or perhaps for the assistance of distant Christians in persecution. Religion is the most powerful principle that ever governs the mind; and if a man has the control of that, it is no difficult thing to induce men to give up their worldly possessions. In all ages, there have been impostors who have taken advantage of the powerful principle of religion to obtain money from their deluded followers. No people can be too vigilant in regard to pretended religious teachers; and while it is undoubtedly their duty to contribute liberally for the support of the Gospel, and the promotion of every good cause, it is no less their duty to examine with care every proposed object of benevolence, and to watch with an eagle eye those who have the disbursement of the charities of the Church. It is very rare that ministers ought to have much to do with disposing of the funds given for benevolent purposes; and when they do, they should in all cases be associated with their lay brethren."

If you do not know the Lord Jesus Christ and His amazing healing power, pray this from your heart to the Lord Jesus Christ (you speaking directly to Him), Dear Lord Jesus, I confess to You that I am a sinner and I need Your forgiveness. I believe You shed Your Blood and died for my sins. I believe that You rose from the dead proving that You alone are God. I repent of my sins. I want to turn from my sins. I ask You Dear Lord Jesus to come into my heart and take control of my life. I want You to be my Lord, Savior, and my God. Amen...

Sincerely in Christ,

Clifford D. Tate, Sr.

Author of “Silent Assassins of the Soul - Are you Broken by Pornography and Masturbation? You can be Restored by the Lord Jesus Christ and brought into Deliverance, Freedom, and Victory! A Guide for Men and Women in the Enemy’s Crosshairs” e-book available now @ Amazon Kindle, @ Apple I Bookstore for IPod, Barnes and Noble for Nook, Reader Store for Sony Reade, Kobo, Copia, Gardners, Baker and Taylor, and eBookPie…