Titus 1:15
Verse
Context
Correcting False Teachers
14and will pay no attention to Jewish myths or to the commands of men who have rejected the truth.15To the pure, all things are pure; but to the defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure. Indeed, both their minds and their consciences are defiled.16They profess to know God, but by their actions they deny Him. They are detestable, disobedient, and unfit for any good deed.
Sermons
J. Edwin Orr
E.A. Johnston
Henry Law
A.W. Tozer
Andrew Murray
David Smithers
Ernest O'NeillSummary
Commentary
- Adam Clarke
- Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
- John Gill
- Tyndale
Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
Unto the pure all things are pure - This appears to have been spoken in reference to the Jewish distinctions of clean and unclean meats. To the genuine Christian every kind of meat proper for human nourishment is pure, is lawful, and may be used without scruple. This our Lord had long before decided. See on Luk 11:39-41 (note). But unto them that are defiled - In their consciences, and unbelieving, απιστοις, unfaithful both to offered and received grace, nothing is pure - they have no part in Christ, and the wrath of God abides upon them. Their mind is contaminated with impure and unholy images and ideas, and their conscience is defiled with the guilt of sins already committed against God.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
all things--external, "are pure" in themselves; the distinction of pure and impure is not in the things, but in the disposition of him who uses them; in opposition to "the commandments of men" (Tit 1:14), which forbade certain things as if impure intrinsically. "To the pure" inwardly, that is, those purified in heart by faith (Act 15:9; Rom 14:20; Ti1 4:3), all outward things are pure; all are open to, their use. Sin alone touches and defiles the soul (Mat 23:26; Luk 11:41). nothing pure--either within or without (Rom 14:23). mind--their mental sense and intelligence. conscience--their moral consciousness of the conformity or discrepancy between their motives and acts on the one hand, and God's law on the other. A conscience and a mind defiled are represented as the source of the errors opposed in the Pastoral Epistles (Ti1 1:19; Ti1 3:9; Ti1 6:5).
John Gill Bible Commentary
Unto the pure all things are pure,.... The apostle having made mention of Jewish fables, and the traditions of the elders, takes notice of some darling notions, that these judaizing Christians had imbibed or retained; that there were some things, which being touched, or handled, or tasted, occasioned uncleanness, and which the apostle denies to them that are "pure"; by whom are meant, not such who are so in their own eyes, who yet may not be cleansed from their filthiness; nor do any become pure through ceremonial, moral, or evangelical performances, done by them; they are only pure, who are justified from all sin by Christ's righteousness, and are clean through the word or sentence of absolution spoken by him; and who are washed from their sins in his blood, and have that sprinkled upon their consciences, by which they are purged and cleansed from all sin; and who have the clean water of sanctifying grace sprinkled upon them, and have clean hearts, and right spirits created in them; and whose hearts are purified by faith, and have true principles of grace and holiness formed in them; whose graces are pure and genuine, their faith is unfeigned, their love is without dissimulation, and their hope without hypocrisy; and who, in consequence of all this, love pureness of heart, speak the pure language of Canaan, hold the mystery of the faith in a pure conscience, and follow after purity of life and conversation: to these "all things are pure"; whatever they touch, or handle, or eat, nothing can defile them; for it is not what enters into man that can pollute him; nor is any creature unclean of itself, but good, and to be received with thanksgiving; see Mat 15:11. But unto them that are defiled and unbelieving is nothing pure; all mankind are defiled with sin; they are altogether become filthy; there is none good, no, not one; and all of them, or that belong to them, are unclean; the members of their body, and the powers and faculties of their soul, their mind and conscience, understanding, will, and affections; there is no place clean: they are originally so, from their first conception and birth; and they are actually defiled by their own evil thoughts, words, and doings: some are openly impure, like the dog and the swine, who wallow in their impieties, such are the profane part of the world; others are more secretly so, as those of a pharisaical complexion, nominal Christians, and formal professors; and such the apostle has here in view: and who, notwithstanding their profession of the Christian religion, were "unbelieving"; they had not true faith in Christ, though they professed it; they were not indeed unbelieving, as the Jews, who rejected Jesus as the Messiah: yet they did not purely and cordially embrace the doctrines of the Gospel, nor yield a spiritual and cheerful subjection to the ordinances of it; but were for mixing the ceremonies of the law with the institutions of Christ: and to these were "nothing pure"; right and lawful to be done, or not done, even in the case supposed, about eating things forbidden by the ceremonial law; to eat them would be to eat with offence, to their own consciences, on their principles, and so be evil, Rom 14:20 and to abstain from them on account of laws not in force, would be superstition and will worship, and so criminal, Col 2:21. There is nothing that defiled persons can do, but what is unclean; as are their persons, so are their offerings and works, Hag 2:14, and being destitute of true faith, whatever they do is sin, and not anything they do can be acceptable and well pleasing to God, Rom 14:23. There were some things among the Jews, which were prohibited to them that were defiled, and were free to them that were pure: thus, for instance (u), "the flesh of the most holy things, and the flesh of those which are lightly holy, boiled with flesh of delight, (or common flesh,) are forbidden "to the defiled", but are free "to the pure".'' Which one of their commentators (w) thus explains; "the flesh of the most holy things is forbidden to strangers, though pure; the flesh of things lightly holy is free to strangers that are pure, but forbidden to them that are defiled.'' Whether there may be any allusion to this, may be considered: however, the reason the apostle gives why nothing is pure to the impure, is, because of the pollution of the superior powers and faculties of their soul: but even their mind and conscience is defiled; there is nothing in them, or that belongs to them, that is pure; their mind or understanding, which conceives and judges of things, and forms notions of them; and the conscience, which draws conclusions from them, are both defiled with sin; and what then must the thoughts, the words and actions of such persons be? it matters not what they do, or abstain from, what they touch, taste, or handle, or if they do not, they sin in all they do. (u) Minn. Orla, c. 2. sect. 17. (w) Bartenora, in Misn. Orla, c. 2. sect. 17.
Tyndale Open Study Notes
1:15-16 These two verses comment on the people of 1:14 and their commands, while transitioning to a discussion of wholesome teaching (2:1–3:11). 1:15 Cp. 1 Tim 4:3-5.
Titus 1:15
Correcting False Teachers
14and will pay no attention to Jewish myths or to the commands of men who have rejected the truth.15To the pure, all things are pure; but to the defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure. Indeed, both their minds and their consciences are defiled.16They profess to know God, but by their actions they deny Him. They are detestable, disobedient, and unfit for any good deed.
- Scripture
- Sermons
- Commentary
Garland, Texas - Conscience
By J. Edwin Orr4.0K52:57PSA 139:23ISA 1:18JHN 16:8ROM 2:15ROM 8:1ROM 14:232CO 1:12TIT 1:15HEB 9:14HEB 10:22
This sermon delves into the historical context of moral decline post-American Revolution, highlighting the societal issues of drunkenness, immorality, and lawlessness. It transitions to the importance of conscience and the role of the Holy Spirit in convicting individuals of sin, emphasizing the need for genuine repentance and cleansing through the blood of Christ. The speaker challenges the congregation to be open to God's conviction and willing to address any areas of wrongdoing in their lives to pave the way for personal revival and spiritual growth.
America: Reprobate Nation?
By E.A. Johnston1.2K19:01AmericaGEN 19:24HOS 4:171TI 4:2TIT 1:15In this sermon, the preacher highlights the excessive use of cell phones and the internet in today's society, suggesting that it has led to a disconnection from God's creation. The preacher also warns that this addiction to technology could potentially be used by the Antichrist to control the masses. The sermon then shifts focus to the decline of religious denominations and the changing moral landscape of America. The preacher points out the economic crisis, natural disasters, and increase in violent crimes as signs of God's judgment on the nation due to its acceptance of sexual perversion.
The Tabernacle
By Henry Law0LUK 24:45ROM 1:28ROM 12:21CO 1:10EPH 4:17PHP 4:7COL 2:182TH 2:21TI 6:5TIT 1:15Greek Word Studies delves into the concept of 'nous,' which refers to the human intellectual perception and moral judgment, representing the God-given faculty of understanding and discernment. The preacher emphasizes that the mind is a dynamic organ that can be depraved, defiled, futile, or renewed, highlighting the importance of renewing our minds through God's Word and the Holy Spirit. The sermon explores how the mind plays a crucial role in determining one's actions and spiritual condition, emphasizing the need for believers to have their minds aligned with God's truth and wisdom.
Spiritual Confirmation
By A.W. Tozer01SA 12:23PSA 139:23MAT 5:23ACT 23:1ROM 2:15ROM 9:21CO 8:72CO 1:121TI 1:52TI 1:3TIT 1:15HEB 9:91PE 2:19Paul, in his letter to Timothy, emphasizes the significance of conscience, describing it as a 'knowing with' oneself, a witness to one's conduct based on the apprehension of God's will. He highlights the importance of maintaining a clear conscience, not necessarily free from sin, but habitually seeking to obey and please God, facing acts of sin before Him. Paul's prayers for Timothy day and night serve as a powerful example of intercession and encouragement in times of challenge and spiritual warfare.
The Holy Spirit and Conscience
By Andrew Murray0ConscienceThe Holy SpiritROM 8:16ROM 9:12CO 1:12COL 1:101TI 1:51TI 1:19TIT 1:15HEB 9:14HEB 12:281JN 3:21Andrew Murray emphasizes the vital role of conscience in the believer's life, asserting that it serves as a reflection of God's holiness and a guide towards righteousness. He explains that the Holy Spirit works in harmony with our conscience, leading us to recognize sin and embrace God's grace through Christ's blood. The cleansing of the conscience is essential for spiritual growth and maintaining a close relationship with God, as it allows believers to walk in the light of His favor. Murray encourages believers to yield to their conscience, ensuring it remains pure and responsive to God's will, which in turn strengthens their faith and assurance of salvation. Ultimately, he calls for a life characterized by a clear conscience, testifying to the transformative work of the Holy Spirit.
Jonathan Goforth
By David Smithers0EXO 25:11LEV 6:11MAT 5:8TIT 1:15HEB 10:22The preacher delves into the concept of purity, emphasizing the biblical roots of cleansing in both the Old and New Testaments. While the Old Testament focused on ceremonial cleanliness, the New Testament shifts the focus to inward purity of the heart and conscience. The term 'katharos' is explored, describing blamelessness, innocence, and being unstained by guilt, highlighting the importance of inner purity over external rituals. The sermon underscores the significance of having a pure heart and mind, which leads to a perspective of purity in all aspects of life, as true purity lies in the redeemed and regenerated heart, not just adherence to external commandments.
Your Hot-Line
By Ernest O'Neill0PRO 3:5ISA 30:21ACT 24:16ROM 2:15TIT 1:15Ernest O'Neill emphasizes the importance of conscience as our personal 'hot-line' to God, guiding us to His original purpose for our lives. Conscience, a supernatural part of our spirit, has been overshadowed by societal standards, leading many to wander through life without true direction. By listening to our conscience, which reflects God's desires for us, we can experience a sense of fulfillment and purpose that transcends worldly influences.
Heart Purity
By Thomas Watson0HolinessHeart PurityPSA 51:10PSA 119:30EZK 36:25MAT 5:8ROM 8:282CO 7:1TIT 1:15HEB 12:141PE 1:161JN 3:2Thomas Watson emphasizes the necessity of heart purity, explaining that true purity is not merely external but must originate from the heart, which is the seat of true religion. He outlines the nature of purity, distinguishing between divine, created, and evangelical purity, and stresses that only the pure in heart will see God, both in this life and in the life to come. Watson warns against the dangers of hypocrisy and self-righteousness, urging believers to seek genuine holiness and to avoid sin, as well as the company of the wicked. He concludes by encouraging Christians to pursue heart purity through prayer, the Word of God, and the Holy Spirit, as this purity is essential for a relationship with God and for eternal life.
- Adam Clarke
- Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
- John Gill
- Tyndale
Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
Unto the pure all things are pure - This appears to have been spoken in reference to the Jewish distinctions of clean and unclean meats. To the genuine Christian every kind of meat proper for human nourishment is pure, is lawful, and may be used without scruple. This our Lord had long before decided. See on Luk 11:39-41 (note). But unto them that are defiled - In their consciences, and unbelieving, απιστοις, unfaithful both to offered and received grace, nothing is pure - they have no part in Christ, and the wrath of God abides upon them. Their mind is contaminated with impure and unholy images and ideas, and their conscience is defiled with the guilt of sins already committed against God.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
all things--external, "are pure" in themselves; the distinction of pure and impure is not in the things, but in the disposition of him who uses them; in opposition to "the commandments of men" (Tit 1:14), which forbade certain things as if impure intrinsically. "To the pure" inwardly, that is, those purified in heart by faith (Act 15:9; Rom 14:20; Ti1 4:3), all outward things are pure; all are open to, their use. Sin alone touches and defiles the soul (Mat 23:26; Luk 11:41). nothing pure--either within or without (Rom 14:23). mind--their mental sense and intelligence. conscience--their moral consciousness of the conformity or discrepancy between their motives and acts on the one hand, and God's law on the other. A conscience and a mind defiled are represented as the source of the errors opposed in the Pastoral Epistles (Ti1 1:19; Ti1 3:9; Ti1 6:5).
John Gill Bible Commentary
Unto the pure all things are pure,.... The apostle having made mention of Jewish fables, and the traditions of the elders, takes notice of some darling notions, that these judaizing Christians had imbibed or retained; that there were some things, which being touched, or handled, or tasted, occasioned uncleanness, and which the apostle denies to them that are "pure"; by whom are meant, not such who are so in their own eyes, who yet may not be cleansed from their filthiness; nor do any become pure through ceremonial, moral, or evangelical performances, done by them; they are only pure, who are justified from all sin by Christ's righteousness, and are clean through the word or sentence of absolution spoken by him; and who are washed from their sins in his blood, and have that sprinkled upon their consciences, by which they are purged and cleansed from all sin; and who have the clean water of sanctifying grace sprinkled upon them, and have clean hearts, and right spirits created in them; and whose hearts are purified by faith, and have true principles of grace and holiness formed in them; whose graces are pure and genuine, their faith is unfeigned, their love is without dissimulation, and their hope without hypocrisy; and who, in consequence of all this, love pureness of heart, speak the pure language of Canaan, hold the mystery of the faith in a pure conscience, and follow after purity of life and conversation: to these "all things are pure"; whatever they touch, or handle, or eat, nothing can defile them; for it is not what enters into man that can pollute him; nor is any creature unclean of itself, but good, and to be received with thanksgiving; see Mat 15:11. But unto them that are defiled and unbelieving is nothing pure; all mankind are defiled with sin; they are altogether become filthy; there is none good, no, not one; and all of them, or that belong to them, are unclean; the members of their body, and the powers and faculties of their soul, their mind and conscience, understanding, will, and affections; there is no place clean: they are originally so, from their first conception and birth; and they are actually defiled by their own evil thoughts, words, and doings: some are openly impure, like the dog and the swine, who wallow in their impieties, such are the profane part of the world; others are more secretly so, as those of a pharisaical complexion, nominal Christians, and formal professors; and such the apostle has here in view: and who, notwithstanding their profession of the Christian religion, were "unbelieving"; they had not true faith in Christ, though they professed it; they were not indeed unbelieving, as the Jews, who rejected Jesus as the Messiah: yet they did not purely and cordially embrace the doctrines of the Gospel, nor yield a spiritual and cheerful subjection to the ordinances of it; but were for mixing the ceremonies of the law with the institutions of Christ: and to these were "nothing pure"; right and lawful to be done, or not done, even in the case supposed, about eating things forbidden by the ceremonial law; to eat them would be to eat with offence, to their own consciences, on their principles, and so be evil, Rom 14:20 and to abstain from them on account of laws not in force, would be superstition and will worship, and so criminal, Col 2:21. There is nothing that defiled persons can do, but what is unclean; as are their persons, so are their offerings and works, Hag 2:14, and being destitute of true faith, whatever they do is sin, and not anything they do can be acceptable and well pleasing to God, Rom 14:23. There were some things among the Jews, which were prohibited to them that were defiled, and were free to them that were pure: thus, for instance (u), "the flesh of the most holy things, and the flesh of those which are lightly holy, boiled with flesh of delight, (or common flesh,) are forbidden "to the defiled", but are free "to the pure".'' Which one of their commentators (w) thus explains; "the flesh of the most holy things is forbidden to strangers, though pure; the flesh of things lightly holy is free to strangers that are pure, but forbidden to them that are defiled.'' Whether there may be any allusion to this, may be considered: however, the reason the apostle gives why nothing is pure to the impure, is, because of the pollution of the superior powers and faculties of their soul: but even their mind and conscience is defiled; there is nothing in them, or that belongs to them, that is pure; their mind or understanding, which conceives and judges of things, and forms notions of them; and the conscience, which draws conclusions from them, are both defiled with sin; and what then must the thoughts, the words and actions of such persons be? it matters not what they do, or abstain from, what they touch, taste, or handle, or if they do not, they sin in all they do. (u) Minn. Orla, c. 2. sect. 17. (w) Bartenora, in Misn. Orla, c. 2. sect. 17.
Tyndale Open Study Notes
1:15-16 These two verses comment on the people of 1:14 and their commands, while transitioning to a discussion of wholesome teaching (2:1–3:11). 1:15 Cp. 1 Tim 4:3-5.