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In Titus 3 Paul is clear that before God saved us we were foolish, given to fleshly passions and were hating one another. That is great news! This is the GOSEPL of JESUS CHRIST! Because this is true, the scripture is very very very very clear…. did I say very? Yes, very clear that those who walk in the way Christ walked are in Christ, and if they do not, then they are not in Christ. So the purpose of my writing today is to answer one simple question: Why do so many pastors live in disharmony, hate, envy, gossip and murderous ways against each other and people among them? Scripture names the reasons, let’s look at a few today:
Unbelief
This means that the guy who walks around talking bad, gossiping, hating others, not loving the brethren and feeling envy against others is an unbeliever. He may have “professed” Christ, and he may have even been sincere, but this profession is just like the one that the devil will proclaim, worthless. It’s just words, nothing more. He may even have great training and knowledge of scripture, but because of his life, and his lack of love, he is a worthless nothing of wicked proportions. Now before you call these statements as the like of their “kind”, let me show you the same thing in the Word of God.
They profess to know God, but they deny him by their works. They are detestable, disobedient, unfit for any good work. (Titus 1:16 ESV)
Remind them to be submissive to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work, to speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all people. For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another. But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. The saying is trustworthy, and I want you to insist on these things, so that those who have believed in God may be careful to devote themselves to good works. These things are excellent and profitable for people. But avoid foolish controversies, genealogies, dissensions, and quarrels about the law, for they are unprofitable and worthless. As for a person who stirs up division, after warning him once and then twice, have nothing more to do with him, knowing that such a person is warped and sinful; he is self-condemned. (Titus 3:1-11 ESV)
If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. (1 John 1:6 ESV)
Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him: whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked. (1 John 2:4-6 ESV)
Whoever says he is in the light and hates his brother is still in darkness. Whoever loves his brother abides in the light, and in him there is no cause for stumbling. But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes. (1 John 2:9-11 ESV)
So, the man of “god” that hates his brother is a liar. He isn’t a man of God, he is a man of the god of this world, the devil.
Pride
Well, I could just really stop with the first one, because being a slave to pride is a mark of an unbeliever, not a true child in a common faith. But in all reality, many pastors hate their brothers and it is seen in pride. A sense of feeling better than others because of many things, including a “bigger” congregation, “better” social status, “brighter” fame and a “bolder” education. All of these things are of course NOT marks of the work of God, but things that even pagans do in the world with great success.
Murder
The heart of a murderer is one who covets and hates with a malicious zeal, not the heart of a lover of good works prepared by God before the world began. So the foolish heart holds on to the traditions of men, the culture of the day, and rips the fabric of the sheepgate, disallowing God’s people from entering into the fold because these men are not of the fold of God. They are deceivers and self condemned.
As for a person who stirs up division, after warning him once and then twice, have nothing more to do with him, knowing that such a person is warped and sinful; he is self-condemned. (Titus 3:10-11 ESV)
So the heart of the murderer bares false witness, makes lies, accusations, false-confessions, creates stories to suit the “gossip” and tears the man of God down in order to establish a “tabloid” false reality for himself. These men must be silenced, for they are destroying families and mocking the very name and face of God!
They must be silenced, since they are upsetting whole families by teaching for shameful gain what they ought not to teach. One of the Cretans, a prophet of their own, said, “Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.” This testimony is true. Therefore rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith, not devoting themselves to Jewish myths and the commands of people who turn away from the truth. (Titus 1:11-14 ESV)
In the end, the way of these men is either death and judgment or repentance and eternal life.
Who are they?
They are those leaders in high places who continuously put for the moral effort to be Godly, but lack the power of God in their lives in many ways:
- They lack the power of God in their knowledge of the truth
- They lack the power of God in their obedience to the scriptures
- They lack the power of God in their love for the brethren
- They lack the power of God in seeking wisdom
- They lack the power of God in proclaiming the gospel
- They lack the power of God in living as Christ lived
- They lack the power of God in ALL aspects of their lives because they only show the power of the flesh for the politics of their positions
These are the men who, for the most part, would be esteemed as the leaders of churches, the pastors of good repute, and yet they disallow the gospel’s power in their lives and have created a “new church” and a “new gospel” without any fear of what may befall them. They will not apologize NOR will they accept any open repentance from those who they say are guilty of falsehood. These men are seeds of iniquity and are awaiting a judgment that will not be quenched. They are known as the one’s who would be angry over this very writing and find fault with God’s word rather than standing on truth. They are pleasers of people and they SPEAK righteous things in public while condemning themselves to the lies of Satan behind closed doors.
These men will say that OTHERS are divisive and up to no good, while they refuse to allow any conversation for the sake of the faith of the elect of God. They do not care about the sheep, but just the monument of steeples, buildings, programs and faceless numbers that race into their presence to bow down to their oratory or charisma. They do not lead the people of God to His glory because they continually resist the spirit of God, and they preach man and his works, rather than God and His works. They deny the power of God as stated above, to the glory of their own kingdom that is nothing more than a fake castle at the base of the goldfish bowl. They refuse to reveal the love of Christ because it is not in them and they close their hearts to the needy, the broken the destitute, because “those people” do not look good on their arms.
Where are they?
They are among us, not on the TV, not in the obvious false teaching circles, but they are reading this message considering themselves the answer to the problem. They are preaching in pulpits across the world, this country, in the state of Georgia and in the pulpits of Evans and surrounding counties. They sit high above the masses and look pleased while the world is going to hell. They care more about their authority than their slavery to righteousness as they should lead people to that end; to the praise of the glorious grace of God. They may even be you and they could very well be me except by the grace of God.
What are we to do?
Repent and believe the gospel of Jesus Christ. Not just once, but always! Our faith is a gift from God by His marvelous grace and it IS ALWAYS effective and ultimately evident in the lives of His people! Pastors need to unite around the gospel and stand for THE ONLY ONE TRUE CHURCH, the Body of Jesus Christ who purchased her! We as the church, if we are not together in learning, ministry, reaching, worship and glory then we WILL NOT BE TOGETHER in ETERNITY. I am not talking about small differences, I am talking about LOVING each other at the cost of ourselves.
We are not ALLOWED to hate anyone in this world, period. Especially those that claim the name of Christ. So, two things must happen: First, we must CALL OUT the sin of hatred and the actions of professing pastors who live against the gospel and second, we must REJOICE when they repent. But wait, it’s not just for pastors, it’s for all of us. We all are held to the same standard. We must care for all people, speak ill of no one, never speak evil and thus prove that we are indeed in the faith. Our glory is our humility and our power is the word of God.
For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works. Declare these things; exhort and rebuke with all authority. Let no one disregard you. (Titus 2:11-15 ESV)
Remind them to be submissive to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work, to speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all people. For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another. But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. The saying is trustworthy, and I want you to insist on these things, so that those who have believed in God may be careful to devote themselves to good works. These things are excellent and profitable for people. (Titus 3:1-8 ESV)
See that we do well and prove God’s glorious grace rests in our hearts. The reckoning is coming brothers, the light OVERCOMES the darkness either by causing it to disperse and those in it walk in the light OR by shining light on the dark hearts so that the church will SEE THE TRUTH of it.
For His glory by His grace,
Pastor James Tippins