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"To the pure all things are pure..."

Text: Titus 1:15

AN ASTUTE OBSERVATION

The apostle Paul made an astute observation as he wrote to advise Titus on how he may understand the problems that had troubled the Cretan church.

“To the pure all things are pure, but to those
who are defiled and unbelieving nothing is pure;
but even their mind and conscience are defiled.”
Titus 1:15

1. “To the pure all things are pure”

a) The word “pure” must be traced back to “being made clean”.

b) The one who has come to the Lord for cleansing has been made pure.

c) He now sees and does things from the standpoint of one who has been cleansed.

i) He sees and appreciates purity.

ii) His love is for things that are pure.

2. “But to those who are defiled and unbelieving”

a) These have not come to faith in the Lord Jesus.

b) They have thus not been cleansed by the Lord and so the heart and mind remain unclean.

3. “Nothing is pure”

a) They see through lenses of sin.

b) They cannot appreciate the purity of the Word of God.

c) Fables and the commandments of men cannot be compared to the pure word of God.

But this truth is lost on those whose hearts and minds have not come to faith in the Lord Jesus

4. “But even their mind and conscience are defiled”

a) What is the state of those who are not made pure?

i) Their minds are affected adversely.

ii) Their consciences are also badly affected.

b) Defiled

i) This word is even stronger in the Greek text.

ii) It speaks of a defilement that had taken place some time back.

iii) The state of defilement continued to exist right up to the present moment.

c) This was an astute observation about the false teachers who were ruinous to the health of the church in Crete.