Two Opposites. Titus 1:15-16.
To the pure, all things are pure, but nothing is pure to the defiled and unbelieving; both their minds and their consciences are defiled. They profess to know God, but they deny him by their works. They are detestable, disobedient, unfit for any good work.
Dear People who Belong to God,
Even while encouraging Titus and the elders of the church in Crete to rebuke the wayward, the stark reality that some will never see reason stares Paul in the face. There are two sides.
Purity (v. 15a). Purity is a disposition. It is a state of mind by which we see everything through the filter of purity. But purity also is a choice. It is developed through inputs that promote unpolluted thinking – images we see and words that we listen to (Psalm 119:9-11). These promote in our minds a perspective that views everything through the filter of purity. If you want purity, you need to pursue it.
Perversion (v. 15b). On the opposite side is the defiled mind. The corrupt view even holy things with an impure filter. The false teachers in Crete, for instance, were teaching falsehoods “for shameful gain” (v. 11). This state of mind is the result of a dichotomy in their lives:
Profession (v. 16). The perverted claimed to know God, but what they did negate what they said. Paul says of them that they are “unfit for any good work.” They arrived at this unfortunate point by the deliberate, hypocritical use of the truth for dishonest gain. We all fail God in our efforts. The willful twisting of God’s truth for personal advantage puts one in the league of people Paul calls detestable. If we fail, let it be despite the sincere effort to obey.
Your Loving Pastor Chris.