The The Apostle Paul urged Titus to appoint elders in local churches, men who know and teach and live the truth of God's word, so that those under their care might be sound in their faith and able to discern false

teachers. There are dangerous people within the church, and today on Truth for Life weekend,

we'll learn how we are to deal with them. Alistair Begg is teaching from Titus chapter 1,

beginning with verse 10.

The problem here, he says, is a religious problem we're facing.

These people have a routine, but they have no reality.

These people have a creed, but their conduct does not match their creed.

These people have faith talk, but there is no fruit that is seen in their lives.

And so says Paul, summarizing it at the end of verse 16, professing to know God, denying them by their works, they are detestable, they're disobedient, and they're disqualified, unfit for any good

work. He then just very briefly mentions that the impact of these people is such that they

have to be dealt with properly. And he tells us what's going on, that they are unsettling, verse 11, unsettling whole families. In the

NIV, I think it is, ruining households. Now, again, Paul, and it's just one page over

if you want to turn to it, one page back. Paul addresses the same problem in Ephesus. And I wonder if he

doesn't, when he writes Second Timothy, if he doesn't have in the back of his mind the problem

that was there in Crete, there's nothing new under the sun when it comes to these things.

Because in verse 5 of 2 Timothy 3, he's talking about those

who have an appearance of godliness but deny its power. They're shams. They're hypocrites.

They're vacuous. And they're to be avoided. Avoid such people. Now, it's very important to

recognize. He's not saying avoid non-Christian people. He's saying avoid such people. Now, it's very important to recognize. He's not saying avoid non-Christian

people. He's saying, avoid hypocrites. Avoid people who are suggesting by their words that they are

orthodox, and yet they are denying him by their lives. And he says, let me tell you what they're

like. They are the kind who creep into households

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