Titus 2 Men And Women

John 14:6 "Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me."

I would like for you to take a few seconds and think about that verse. Do you really believe what John 14:6 says?

I am: first person, singular, and present tense, emphatic. The Greek word corresponds to the Hebrew word that was used in

Exodus 3:14 "And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you."

Jesus was declaring His deity, I AM the ever existent God who spoke the worlds into being.

The Way: route, progress, journey. Jesus was declaring that the path, the progress, the actual journey through life is in Him.

The Truth: truly, verity (agrees with facts, verifiable). Jesus was declaring that there is no room for guessing or supposition...all facts validate Him.

The Life: literally or figuratively lifetime. Jesus was declaring His control of the actual days, hours, and seconds of our lives.

Then Jesus concludes by saying that He is the only way for mankind to reach the Father.

When each of us accepts the way, the truth, and the life of Jesus for salvation, we are secure for eternity, but are we walking daily in His Way, His Truth, and His Life?

God has told us in the Bible that there may be some curvy roads ahead, depending on the path we choose to travel.

Jeremiah 17:9 "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?"

Deuteronomy 11:16 "Take heed to yourselves, that your heart be not deceived, and ye turn aside, and serve other gods, and worship them;"

Now I want to emphatically state that ‘deception’ and ‘lie’ are not synonymous words. Lie means to declare by word or action an untruth as being truth. Deception is to use trickery of word or deed to cause someone to believe a lie. Remember in the Garden of Eden when the serpent spoke to Eve, he didn’t say: "God didn’t say that!" Satan made Eve doubt by asking "Hath God said?" Satan led Eve into sin by deceit, by trickery, by causing her to question truth.

God does not intend for us to blindly follow the teaching of one teacher, pastor, or missionary. Please, read for yourself,

Acts 17:11 "These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so."

When the Word is preached we are to make note of anything new to us, go home and double check what was taught. Does the teaching align with all of scripture? The scripture is truth whether it is popular or in agreement with our modern society.

2Timothy 4:1-4 "I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick (alive) and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom; Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables."

The world’s philosophy today wants us to believe that many sins are sicknesses. Satan is deceitful. If he can convince us that something is a sickness then he can convince us that it’s not our fault. Let’s look at this idea in a very basic manor. Can you go to the store and buy a pint of measles? Perhaps a case of mumps, or a syringe full of appendicitis is on your shopping list. That sounds pretty foolish doesn’t it?

Many of the addictions that our society says are illnesses are learned activities caused by lack of self-control. No one ever drinks one beer and becomes an alcoholic. No one ever looks at one pornographic picture and becomes a sex addict. No one ever takes a cookie from the cookie jar and becomes an instant kleptomaniac. No one ever enjoys their first cigarette let alone becomes hooked on nicotine from just that one smoke. No one ever eats one ice cream cone and becomes a glutton. We could go on and on.

1Corinthians 6:9-11 "Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God."

Calling sin "SIN" is never popular whether it is in the church, school, work place, or home. When declaring the truth of the Bible, a Christian often hears.

Matthew 7:1 "Judge not, that ye be not judged."

 And that verse is in the Bible but lets study the context of this verse.

Matthew 7:2-5  "For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye."

The problem is not in judging, the problem is in not first self-judging. If I smoked a pack of cigarettes a day, I would be entirely out of line to teach about the sin of smoking. First I must repent and turn from my sin, then I can believably teach against smoking and be living proof of the victory a person can have in Christ.

Galations 6:7 "Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap."

Our society is full of people with very real health problems, both mental and physical, that are the result of wanton living. People who have bought into the deception that feeling good and being approved of by others is more important than living a righteous life.

In order to reap love, kindness, and goodness we must sow those seeds in our homes, in the church, and in our community. Satan would love for us to believe that because we are saved and secure how we live is not important. That we need to look like the world so the un-saved will want to be like us. Far to many Christians have accepted this deception!

2Corinthians 3:2-3 "Ye are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read of all men: Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart."

2Corinthians 6:14-18"Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty."

In the light of scripture we are told that the world...the people around us... read us! We are a billboard for Christ. If the people who read us see nothing different about us, why would they choose to change?

2Peter 2:2 "And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of."

If we are in His Way, His Truth and His Life then our lives should agree with Jesus’ life. Jesus loved sinners but He hated sin. There is no justifiable reason to continue in sin.

When a person professes to know Christ as their personal Savior but exhibits habitual public sin they bring shame and disgrace to the whole church body.

Ignoring the sinful activity condones the sin and does not bring the sinner to repentance.

1Corinthians 15:33 "Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners."

At any time when an individual repents and seeks forgiveness from those he has offended, he is restored to fellowship. However, the restored fellowship should entail a time of proving and growth before the individual resumes any position of teaching or authority.

Daniel 9:3-6 "And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes: (visible signs of repentance) And I prayed unto the LORD my God, and made my confession, and said, O Lord, the great and dreadful God, keeping the covenant and mercy to them that love him, and to them that keep his commandments; We have sinned, and have committed iniquity, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled, even by departing from thy precepts and from thy judgments: Neither have we hearkened unto thy servants the prophets, which spake in thy name to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land."

Beware of Satan’s deceptions in your life. When we walk in Jesus’ Way, Jesus’ Truth and Jesus’ Life, especially in the hard places, our faith and testimony are easily seen by the world.

Psalm 119:30 "I have chosen the way of truth: thy judgments have I laid before me."

As individuals, public confession makes us un-comfortable. We each remember our own sin and squirm at the reality; trying to justify the sin of humanity. It is very important that we remember that God forgives sin that is confessed. Convicting of sin is the work of the Holy Spirit and not all people are convicted at the same time. Healing and freedom from the bondage of sin comes with confession of sin.

James 5:16 "Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much."

To be actively growing and serving God requires confession of sin rather than excuses for sin.

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