Hello, here we are with broadcast number eight in the little book of Titus. Paul has some instructions for the young preacher. Stay tuned. Well, we've seen the aged Apostle Paul has been writing back to young Timothy, who's the pastor of the church at Crete, and he has some instructions for him. Instructions are simply information telling how things are to be done. And what he tells him to do here, first of all, right off the bat, he doesn't waste any time here. He says, for this cause, verse five, chapter one, left I thee in Crete that thou should have set in order the things that are wanting. Set in order. That's number one. He didn't say, now, I want you to go out there and double the attendance. I want you to get some kind of a promotion together and figure out, you know, how you can get a whole lot of people to listen to you there on Sunday morning. He didn't say that. What he did say immediately was set in order the things that are wanting. Some years ago, I read an article where they deal with people who are mentally slow and trying to help them, and after they work with them for a while, they have this little test. They have a tap that comes out of the wall, and they turn it on, and water comes out, and it's just running on the floor. And they give the person a mop to see. Now, we'll just see. He says, now, what you need to do is to clean up the water here. Well, if they take the mop and start mopping the floor without turning the tap off, we haven't made much progress. If they go over and turn the tap off first and then begin mopping the floor, they can determine that they have made some progress. Well, exactly the same thing is true in our churches. You want to keep the tap of apostasy open while we keep on bringing in more and more people? No, what we need to do is shut off the tap. What we need to do is to set in order the things that are wanting before we go out there and get another hundred people in here to sit down in a church that hasn't set in order the things that are wanting. And so Paul says, number one, this is what you need to do. So the problem that they had, what was wanting here? Well, we read in verse number 10, there was some unruly talkers, Verse number 11 says their mouths had to be stopped. Why did they have to stop their mouths? Well, because of the influence. Verse 11 says they're teaching things they ought not to teach, and they are subverting whole houses. Well, there's nothing new under the sun. The same problem is with us here 2,000 years later. The only difference is young Titus was ready to listen to Paul and do what he was supposed to do. There's not too many people who are in leadership positions in our churches today that are willing to do what Paul says to do here. So what did Paul say to do? Well, in chapter two and verse number one, he says, but speak thou the things which become sound doctrine. He said in verse number 15 of chapter two, these things speak and exhort and rebuke. Now he said, they're speaking, they're speaking things they ought not to speak. And you're going to sit there and be silent. What happens there? Silence gives consent. Verse 11, he says to Titus, they are subverting your people. Speak up and say what needs to be said. You need to earnestly contend for the faith. Well, Jude wrote about this back then a couple of thousand years ago, same problem, and he said it was needful for him to write that God's people, the leadership, especially in our churches, should earnestly contend for the faith. Now, something that is needful, that means there's circumstances that require a course of immediate action. This is needful. And Jude wrote, and he said, you need to earnestly contend for The faith. Well, we're trying to determine about how to contend for the faith. First of all, we need to figure out what do we need to contend for. When we look at the subject of faith, that's a pretty broad spectrum of belief. You look at our doctrinal statements in our churches, there's quite a bit of stuff there. It's a body of belief, and that's what it's talking about here when it's talking about the faith. It's talking about keep the faith, keep that doctrine. Well, what should we contend for? Well, whatever is under attack. The issues may change, and what we need to be sure of is that when the issues arise, that those of us who are in positions of leadership know what the Bible says about that particular subject. Now, when Jude was writing, he said it was necessary that he should write that they should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered And he immediately turns to one aspect, and that aspect, or the issue that he was confronted there, was the issue of salvation. He said, I need to write to you about this common salvation. Now, there's a lot of nonsense in Bible commentaries about Jude changing his mind. didn't change his mind about anything he said there's a common salvation out there that word common that Greek word in Mark chapter 7 and verse number 2 has been translated defiled in Romans chapter 14 and verse 14 it's translated unclean three times In Hebrews 10, verse number 29, it's translated an unholy thing. It was the same issue that Paul the Apostle had in Galatians 1, when he wrote to them about them falling for another gospel. He said, there be some that pervert the gospel. So he's talking about another gospel. He's talking about a perverted gospel. Jude is talking about a defiled, unclean, unholy gospel plan of salvation. Well, that's the issue today. We're facing that exact issue today. Now, this is a no-brainer. We may say, well, I don't know how I need to take a stand on some of these other issues. Well, it's a no-brainer when it comes to salvation. You should know very plainly here that this is a damnable heresy if we're going to teach some other kind of doctrine other than what the plan of salvation really is. It's another gospel. It's perverted. So Paul told Titus, you need to speak up. Silence gives consent. You don't let someone promote another gospel and just sit there with your mouth shut. They'll subvert whole houses. You need, he said, to speak thou these things. He said, these things speak and rebuke with all authority. Well, how do we contend for the faith? If we're going to contend for the faith, how do we do it? What manner? What is the way in which something is to be done? What action and what means do I need to take in order to contend for the faith? I can't put on a set of boxing gloves. What do I need to do? Well, the first thing is very obvious here. We've seen it, and that is speak up. Contend. To contend is to assert something as a position. Speak up, he said, verse number 1 of chapter 2. Speak up, he said, verse number 15 of chapter 2. Rebuke, what is that? It's sharp disapproval. Today we have a lot of strange silence in our pulpits about this damnable heresy that is being promoted that you do not need to repent in order to be saved if you believe that you're going to hell i'm going to sit here and be quiet about that i'm not going to speak up so how we contend for the faith is we speak up and so the second thing about this contending thing not only to speak but to separate it says in first thessalonians 3 6 now we command you Brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye withdraw yourselves from every brother that walketh disorderly, and not after the tradition which he received of us." He said, withdraw yourselves from every brother that is going to be promoting this damnable heresy, this other gospel, this perverted gospel, this unclean, unholy, defiled presentation of the plan of salvation, we're going to sit around and just be quiet while that happens? No, the Bible says speak up, say what needs to be said, and then withdraw yourselves from every brother that walketh disorderly. It says in Romans chapter 16 and verse number 17, mark them which cause divisions and offenses contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned, and avoid them, avoid them. Now, the truth of the matter is, if you do the first part, and that is you speak up, you won't have to worry too much about the separation part, because they won't have anything to do with you. You don't have to worry about the fellowship. If you're going to rebuke them sharply, if you're going to do what the Bible says in this area of speaking up and reproving and rebuking and doing what is necessary in order to let your people know what the apostasy is and who's promoting it, you really won't have a big deal problem about worrying about who you're going to fellowship with. They won't fellowship with you. Now, we need to understand that there's two aspects of apostasy. Jude, he deals with unsaved people who are promoting apostasy. The Bible says that hell is reserved for them there in Jude chapter 1. And then there's a second area, and that area has to do with Christians promoting apostasy. So we'll pick that up tomorrow in our next broadcast. Be sure and tune in.