March 20
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THE PURE AND THE DEFILED
15 To the pure, all things are pure; but to those who are defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure, but both their mind and their conscience are defiled. 16 They profess to know God, but by their deeds they deny Him, being detestable and disobedient and worthless for any good deed. – Titus 1:15-16
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Paul explains further to Titus in this letter that he needs to ensure that the believers’ faith and integrity are safeguarded. It is of utmost importance that believers in Christ stay pure and sanctified because they are set apart from the world. As he wrote to the Romans earlier than this letter to Titus, he says in Romans 12 :1 “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Paul also reiterates Jesus’ teaching in the Sermon in the Mount as “Blessed are the pure in hearts, for they shall see God” in Matthew 5:8. Paul’s letter to the Galatians were written between Ad 49-50. It was the first of all his letters written. This letter to Titus, according to records were written in AD 60-62. In Galatians 5:19, Paul tells the Galatian believers that impurity and debauchery are acts of the flesh. He guides the believers to walk in the Sprit so that they won’t gratify their flesh (Galatians 5:16-18).
Paul delegates his shepherding duties and his authority to Titus (since he was still in prison) in caring for the believers. He differentiates the pure against the defiled just as he explained in his letter to the Galatians, almost over a decade ago that you can only stay pure if you walk in the Spirit. Those who walk in the flesh will defile themselves and nothing will be pure because their minds and hearts are all after their own desires. In verse 16, Paul describes the hypocrisy of these people who says that they know God and yet their lives showcase the works of the evil one.
Matthew Henry comments on these passages as “To those who are defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure; they abuse, and turn things lawful and good into sin. Many profess to know God, yet in their lives deny and reject him. See the miserable state of hypocrites, such as have a form of godliness, but are without the power; yet let us not be so ready to fix this charge on others, as careful that it does not apply to ourselves.”
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REFLECTION
• How can a believer ensure that their purity stays intact in a world full of evil and deceit?