LEARNING DAILY

Titus 1:9, holding fast the faithful word as he has been taught, that he may be able, by sound doctrine, both to exhort and convict those who contradict.

I have begun reading the letter Paul wrote to Titus and was particularly struck by the words “sound doctrine” in this verse. Paul is writing about the qualifications to be a bishop in the church and being one of “sound doctrine” was the last qualification he wrote about. It seems to me that we live in times where this is important for every Believer, not just leaders in the church. Paul wrote about the need to “hold fast” or “hold firm” to sound doctrine because of the false teachings being taught today and because the world’s philosophies seem to be getting farther and farther away from the Word of God. There are growing numbers of people who claim to have a heard new direction, a new interpretation of God’s Word. In the days when Titus lived, he faced many false teachings; Believers, today, experience this as well.

The question that must be asked is, “What is sound doctrine”? David Jeremiah writes, “Sound doctrine comes from studying, teaching, and applying God’s Word.” Paul wrote to Timothy in     2 Timothy 2:15, “Be diligent to present yourselves approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth”.  In Acts 17:11, Luke wrote this about the Bereans, “These were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so.” The Bereans willingly heard what Paul had to say. But instead of immediately condemning or believing him for his teaching, the doctrine he taught, they “searched the Scriptures” themselves to find out if what he taught was really true. It is important for every Believer to do that same thing instead of believing what they read or hear with no questions.

To do this it is important to understand “rightly dividing the word of truth” to know “sound doctrine”. Paul wrote to both Timothy and Titus to encourage them to live their lives, including their ministry, to please God, not men. Their ministry was not to make people happy, to build a large following because they spoke what people wanted to hear, but to please God. This is in contrast to false teachers who argue over their words, trying to convince others their thoughts, their words are right and everyone else (past and present) have been wrong in their interpretation of God’s Word. Paul wrote to tell them they had been taught God’s Word and how to accurately handle it form their youth.

I have considered this for some time. I have decided it is pointless to argue, bicker, need to be right over when something is going to happen as stated in the Word, or if something has already happened or not. Continue to do as the Bereans – study the Scriptures daily to show yourself approved by God. This will help Believers to defend their faith and to know the difference between something worth arguing about and something that is just a distracting argument.