Quick Note – Titus 1:16

Titus 1:16 – “They profess to know God, but they deny Him by their works.  They are detestable, disobedient, unfit for any good work.”

One of the most common comments that those who are unbelievers make about Christians and the church are that they are filled with hypocrisy.  Although I would like to tell them that that isn’t true and that Christians are what they preach, if I were to be honest and critical, I would have to agree with them in a majority of cases.  Too many people today are associating their name with Christ and yet do not do anything to follow His Word.  These are hypocrites.  Too many Christians today are out telling the world that He loves them yet do nothing to display that love to the world.  These are hypocrites.  Too many Christians have conformed to this world and began to look so much like it that there are more just and admirable people who are not Christians.  These conformed Christians are hypocrites.  As Christians and disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ, we are called to give our lives as a living sacrifice to Him – to live lives that are transformed before the world not conformed to it (Romans 12:1-2).  This transformed life means that our actions, our characters, and our desires are all in line with God’s.  But too many of us today have allowed the cares and worries of this world to choke the fruit that Christ wants to bring out from us; instead what we produce are works that deny the name of Christ.  Our verse today reminds us that those who claim to know God must be obedient to Him and show faithfulness through their works.  On the other hand those who make that claim of knowing God yet never living for Him are likely not Christians at all.  There is nothing worse than a “Christian” who professes to know God but who does not live according to His Word – who is detestable, disobedient, and unfit for any good work.  I would rather he not say that he is a “Christian” then to allow Him to continue to defame the name of Christ through his actions. When a Christian makes a profession of faith, the eyes of the world begin to watch him, keeping track of his daily actions; therefore, it is important that his daily walk matches his daily talk and both are pleasing to God.  Let us not be like these false teachers in the book of Titus, who profess to know God but deny Him by their works; instead, may our works be the light that draws people in to hear the Gospel.