Things to Avoid
October 31st, 2000Things to Avoid
Titus 3:9-11
In life there are many obvious things to avoid. If you are wise, unlike myself, you will avoid I-85 in Atlanta during rush hour traffic, especially when a gas line breaks. Sensible parents do not allow their children to watch anything they want to on TV - there are certain programs to avoid. If you have any sense at all, you don’t go walking down a dark alley alone in a rough part of town. However, there are some things in life we ought to avoid that are not so obvious. Some things seem relatively harmless that can actually be destructive. In the church, there are certain things that seem acceptable - even desirable that are actually unprofitable and even harmful.
Take theological discussion, for example. Normally, this is to be encouraged, but if it crosses the line into “foolish disputes, genealogies, contentions, and strivings about the law”, then we must avoid it. When someone in the church is very interested in knowing the truth and standing for it I am thrilled. There are far too few people who have a real hunger and thirst to study the Word. However, some in their zeal to defend what they believe to be true become divisive in the church. Such behavior is to be avoided, and there are times when such a person must be rejected.
In this passage Paul is making a contrast. Verse 9 begins with the adversative conjunction “but”, causing us to look back to verse 8 to identify the contrast. Essentially, the contrast that is made here is between good works, which are “good and profitable” with “foolish disputes, genealogies, contentions, and strivings about the law” which Paul says are “unprofitable and useless.” The Bible gives us a goal for the things we do in the church. That goal is edification of the body. Everything we do must be to build up the body of Christ in some way. 1 Thessalonians 5:11 says, “Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.” Romans 14:19 - “Let us then pursue what makes for peace and for mutual up building.” Romans 15:2 - “let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to edify him.” Ephesians 4:29 says, “Let no evil talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for edifying, as fits the occasion, that it may impart grace to those who hear.”
Do you want to be a person that God uses to edify the church? Then you must learn to avoid something and someone. You must avoid 1) Useless Discussion and 2) Divisive People.
As we study Titus 3:9-11, first of all,
I. YOU MUST LEARN TO AVOID USELESS DISCUSSION
What kind of discussion is Paul referring to? Of course he is talking about religious arguments - contentions about the Bible. First of all, he mentions “foolish disputes.” The Greek word for “foolish” in this sentence is “moros”, from which we get the English word “moron.” Avoid moronic disputes. We laugh at the questions and comments that children come up with about God. We think they are cute when they want to know if there will be toys in heaven. However, when adults in the church are fascinated by foolish disputes and arguments they are not cute. They are wasting time and energy on things that do not build themselves and others up in the faith.
How do you identify a foolish dispute? When there are no edifying results. John Calvin had a label for those persons who were always getting off onto unprofitable tangents. He called them “Questionarians.” He said, “Those who inquire curiously into everything, and are never at rest, may be truly called “Questionarians.” Are you a Questionarian?
If you have been in this church for a little while you know that we emphasize sound doctrine - biblically reformed theology. The book of Titus stresses sound doctrine. If you talk to some Christians, they talk as if doctrine itself were something to avoid. But the Bible never takes that approach. While the book of Titus stresses sound doctrine, it is always doctrine that leads to holiness and doing good works. All doctrine must have some practical purpose to it. Knowledge for knowledge’s sake does not build up - it puffs up with pride. Dr. Adams said, “The Bible was not intended to be debated academically in theological tomes; it was intended to be used to transform lives.”
Here is a test for theological inquiry or discussion: Does your pursuit lead you to 1) Love God with all your heart, soul, mind & strength, or 2) To love your neighbor as yourself? If your research and questioning does not lead down either of these two paths, then forget it - avoid it. Part of my duty, as pastor is to try and keep us all on track and to discourage foolish disputes, and refocus our discussions on that which will build up believers in a life of godliness. 1 Timothy 4:7-8 says, “But refuse profane and old-wives tales, and exercise yourself to godliness. For bodily exercise profits a little, but godliness is profitable to all things, having promise of the present life, and of that which is to come.” Godliness is what we are to aim at in all our study.
Someone might ask - “How does teaching such doctrines as predestination lead to godliness? Doesn’t it only lead to contentions and strivings?” That is a very good question. And I don’t think we Presbyterians always show the connection of such doctrines to life. Think for a minute - how could the doctrine of Predestination lead to godly living? Some would say that it leads to the very opposite because if God has chosen those who will be saved, then what difference does it make whether we believe in Christ or witness to others about Him? If God is in control of all things and foreordains whatsoever comes to pass, then why pray - God is going to do what He has planned to do anyway? But think about it - if God is in control of all things, then that is the very reason you ought to pray and witness to others, because you know and believe that God can change their hearts.
Knowing that God elected you for salvation also makes you very grateful to God because you know that if left to yourself you would have never turned to Him. It not only makes you more thankful, but this doctrine causes you to give God all the glory for your salvation. Knowing that God has chosen you should motivate you to “love Him with all your heart, soul, mind and strength.” Therefore, to study predestination and the sovereignty of God is not foolish or useless, but it builds your faith in Him. That is not to say that the attitude of some who argue for these things is always good. No, some are contentious and are not patient with others. Belief in the sovereignty of God ought to help you to be very patient in your theological discussions with others, because you know that God is able to change their thinking if He pleases.
In Titus 3:9 Paul mentions some specific foolish disputes - “genealogies, contentions, and strivings about the law.” Remember - there was a sizable Jewish contingency in the church. Titus 1:14 already warned against “giving heed to Jewish myths.” Paul told Timothy not to “to give heed to fables and endless genealogies.” Of course there are genealogies in the Bible and they are there for a purpose. But someone who begins to make a big deal over genealogies and other obscure parts of the law while neglecting the weightier matters of Scripture is off track. Paul was warning Titus not to get involved in the “many fanciful and allegorical interpretations of such genealogies that had fascinated many Jews for centuries.” (Milne)
2 Timothy 2:23 says, “But avoid foolish and unlearned questions, knowing that they give birth to strife.” Hairsplitting does not build up the body of Christ, but rather it tears it apart by strife. Which leads us something else we must avoid in the church:
II. YOU MUST LEARN TO AVOID DIVISIVE PEOPLE
Verse 10 says, “Reject a divisive man after the first and second admonition.” The King James Version translates “divisive man” as “heretic”. However, the use of the word “heretic” in 1611 when the KJV was written had not yet assumed the meaning that we give it today. So it is best to translate it as a “divisive person”. Today we define a heretic as someone who believes and promotes a doctrine at variance with accepted orthodox doctrine. Certainly a person who holds false doctrines would be divisive, but the divisive person is not always a heretic as we use the word today.
In his commentary on this verse, Douglas Milne says, “A divisive person is a schismatic, who for no valid reason breaks away from the fellowship of God’s people. Such behavior is a work of the flesh and shows an unspiritual condition, even though the individual concerned may defend it on religious grounds.” Such a person is not a threat so much in teaching false doctrine, but in disturbing the peace and unity of the church. The divisive person often is simply looking for a platform to express his or her views. Those who don’t agree with such a person are painted out to be bad guys that aren’t theologically sound.
I tell you, we need to be careful in that we are a doctrinally conscientious church. Not everyone who disagrees with us and our beliefs is to be ostracized. Calvin said, “But we must exercise moderation, so as not instantly to declare every man to be a ‘heretic’ who does not agree with our opinion.” He said, “There are some matters on which Christians may differ from each other, without being divided into sects.” We live in a day of theological ignorance and apathy. There are some who want to say theology doesn’t matter, “as long as we all love Jesus.” We stand against such reductionism. But we don’t want to go to the other extreme and make all our particular views the standard that every other Christian must accept before we can fellowship with them. Dr. Gordon Fee said that “Unfortunately, all too often in the church the ‘orthodox’, in ferreting out ‘heretics’ (i.e., people who hold different views than mine), have become the divisive ones!”
Since today is Reformation Day, let’s talk about two of the most famous reformers - Luther and Calvin. Martin Luther and John Calvin both broke off from the Roman Catholic Church. Were they schismatics? The Roman Catholic Church certainly declared them to be such. Luther in particular did not want to leave the church and start a new church. He simply wanted to reform the Catholic Church and help straighten it out. The church was teaching another gospel, and Luther began to teach the true gospel of salvation by faith alone. When they told Luther to stop teaching his doctrines against the church, he refused, because his conscience was bound by the Holy Scriptures. Luther was no schismatic, but a true reformer who did a great service for the church of Jesus Christ.
How are we to deal with those who are true schismatics? Paul said that we are to “reject a divisive man after the first and second admonition (or warning).” There should be at least two clear warnings given. Such a person cannot be ignored because he can split the church before you know it. Dealing with a divisive person should not be a long drawn out process because too much damage can be done in a short amount of time. Proverbs 22:10 says, “Cast out the scorner, and fighting shall go out; yes, quarrels and shame shall cease.” One must be rejected in order to save the many.
What we are talking about here is church discipline. The goal of church discipline is not only to keep the church pure or to keep a split from occurring. The purpose of discipline is to produce a sense of shame and lead to repentance. Its ultimate goal is to restore the guilty person after they have repented. Jesus outlined the basic procedure in Matthew 18. Beginning with v. 15 He said, “But if your brother shall trespass against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have gained your brother. But if he will not hear you, take one or two more with you, so that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established. And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it to the church. But if he neglects to hear the church, let him be to you as a heathen and a tax-collector.”
If more churches put into practice this process that Christ has given us, what power we would have! Is it any wonder that the church has little or no impact on the world when it will do nothing to purge out sin within itself? When the church gets serious about the sins of its members, then maybe we can get the world to take us more seriously when we say “repent and believe the gospel, or suffer eternal punishment.” Remember, discipline, when done correctly, is a loving act. The Bible says that God “disciplines those He loves.”
Why is this person mentioned in verse 10 divisive? What causes such behavior? Verse 11 says, “knowing that such a person is warped and sinning, being self-condemned.” The person in question who would divide the church over non-essentials is warped. They have a twisted view of things, a warped perspective. They overestimate the importance of their own opinions. They have a twisted view of the level of importance of certain teachings. Such a person makes mountains out of molehills! What about you? Have you been guilty of this? If you suspect that you might have, then ask the Lord to show you your fault and restore to you the clear perspective that you need. You need to repent, if you have been divisive, because verse 11 says that such a person is “SINNING.”
A divisive person is also self-condemned. If you are guilty of spreading dissension, by gossip or an argumentative spirit, then you know it. You are self-condemned. But even if you don’t see it, you are still condemning yourself by your behavior. The divisive person will, by his own behavior, effectively put himself outside the church.
May we learn from God’s Word today, what things to avoid in the church. May we take hold of those things that are truly useful and profitable and focus on these. Let us not be guilty of majoring on the minors, or of minoring on the majors. We need to focus on sound doctrine that will build us up in the faith and lead to godliness. In order to do so, we must have the wisdom to avoid the unprofitable and useless and even to reject those who are divisive when necessary. God takes His church seriously. He cares for His flock - for its spiritual health and peace. Do you?
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