THIS EPISTLE WAS WRITTEN TO CORRECT THOSE WHO WERE CARELESS WITH THE TRUTH

• Paul's words are quite strong against the liars on Crete; they were destroying souls with lies
• Paul presented the Word of God, the God of All Truth, and His Son who is THE TRUTH.
• Some of the Cretians have moved to Phoenix; we need to re-emphasize telling & believing Truth

Let's examine what the Word of God says about the words of men.

I. GOD'S WORD IS TRUTH

Only the Bible is True enough to stand the onslaught of centuries without erosion

A. PAUL WAS CALLED AN APOSTLE TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE TRUTH OF GOD!  Titus 1:1

• Paul's purpose in life after Salvation was to promote the knowledge of THE TRUTH- Jesus
• The Truth he promoted came from God- "Who cannot lie." - Cf Heb 6:18 "Impossible for God to lie"
• This Truth brings Godliness, through the Hope of Eternal Life that is found in God's Son

B. BUT PAUL URGED TITUS TO EXHORT AND CONVINCE THE GAINSAYERS Titus 1:9

• Titus was to seek out men to lead the Church- True to the Word of God v.9a, and to stay True
• These men must be able to hold fast to God's word, and to defend it against the gainsayers
• There are gainsayers (to say against) who would fight against God's Truth - for profit

C. FOR THE UNRULY, VAIN TALKERS, AND DECEIVERS MUST BE STOPPED Titus 1:10-11a

• No matter what God might say, some were unruly, insubordinate, would rebel against God
• With their vain talk they sought to establish their own way- the way of Cain, Balaam, Core
• They would first of all deceive themselves, believing their own lie, then ensnare others

So God's servant must use God's tools to fight against Untruth - Isaiah, Jeremiah, Micah

II. MAN'S WORD IS FALSE

There is such a thing as a bad man!  Cf v.11- and they would subvert nations, the world

A. AS WITH CRETIANS, SO WITH ALL MEN Titus 1:12

• Cretians are Liars- their words; evil beasts- their morals; & slow bellies- Appetites WRONG
• The Bible accuses all men of sin, lying- Rom 3:4 & 3:23 "All have sinned" "Every man a liar"
• An election weekend is a good time to preach against lying, & people believing a lie willingly

B. "UNTO THE PURE, ALL THINGS ARE PURE" Titus 1:15

• Some in Crete accused the Christians of impurity in diet, like they did Jesus, to cover their own deep sinfulness
• But this does not mean that Christians should be gullible, God does not want us to be deceived
• To be fooled by a lie is as bad as telling one, Rev 21:8 "Liars have part in the Lake of Fire"

C. BUT WHAT SOME PROFESS, THEY DO NOT POSSESS, Titus 1:16

• Some of the liars and deceivers claim to be Christians- don't be fooled- Matt 7:21- Jesus answered
• The book "Hidden Persuaders" show the psychological tricks used to sell, tricks in advertising
• Political parties have used psychological tricks- arouse emotions, win elections, with lies & tricks

Even some churches claim to be the only one right, "Full Gospel", "Whole Bible", emotion, not reason.

III. WHICH WORD WILL YOU BELIEVE?

God's has seen fit to manifest His Word through preaching, so listen carefully v.3

A. THE WORD OF MAN IS THE WAY OF THE LIE AND OF DEATH, SO BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU BELIEVE FROM HIM

• The Big Lie Technique - Satan's Best, Hitler was an amateur compared with some we hear today!
• Anti-Christ Communism is a master at promising paradise, giving death- by 62-69 million souls (see Readers Digest November 1968)
• Today's Detroit News front page accuses our President- Bomb Halt Trick-

B. THE WORD OF THE LORD IS THE WAY OF LIFE, AND YOU CAN BELIEVE WHAT HE SAYS TO YOU

• God's Word will never pass away- Come reason with Him, Jesus is The Way, The Truth, & The Life
• God's Word tells you Jesus died to save you, to free you from giving and living the lie
• If you will believe God, believe in His Son, He will give you life, & a guide to all truth

C. WHICH WORD WILL YOU BELIEVE IN THE CONFUSED STATE WE ARE IN TODAY?

• In Tuesday's election you have a choice:
  1. Some NCC groups are supporting Humphrey- or others
  2. Bob Jones -& Fundamentalists- supporting Wallace
  3. Billy Graham & NAE groups - supporting Nixon
• But you have to cast YOUR own vote.  Do it prayerfully.  Your nation depends on it!
• But what you have is even more important, YOUR OWN SOUL IN ETERNITY depends on what you do with Jesus

The Island of Crete could have had a revival if the people had believed and confessed - TRUTH

IF GOD'S PEOPLE BELIEVE THE TRUTH, AND VOTE GOD'S WILL, OUR NATION CAN HAVE A REVIVAL!

• But only YOU can cast the deciding vote to turn your soul over to Jesus Christ-
• Only YOU can make yourself decide to DO RIGHTEOUSNESS, so God can bless you spiritually-
• Whether or not your country deserves to live, depends on Christians stopping the mouths of the wicked as Paul plead with Titus on the Island of Crete.