True Claims

They claim to know God, but by their actions they deny him. They are detestable, disobedient and unfit for doing anything good.

-   Titus 1:16

Let’s get straight to the point. Is this verse talking about you? The context here is the apostle Paul writing to Titus. He is talking about a specific group of Jewish leaders who he calls “liars, evil beasts, and gluttonous”. These are people that claim to know God! They claim to serve him and be a “Christian” (though that term was not used at the time) and yet Paul describes them in this way.

How would Paul describe you? Would he describe you as someone who claims to know God and yet doesn’t act like it? Would he describe you as detestable and unfit to be a part of anything that might be labeled “good”? That is straight up harsh…but it was true of the Jewish leaders Paul is referring to.

If you claim to know God and are living in a way that says you don’t then you have a problem. If you claim the name of Jesus but no one could tell from looking at you that there is something different, then you have a problem. If you claim that you are following God and serving him but your actions are completely focused on you, then you have a problem.

Jesus changes people! A genuine encounter with someone as beautiful and powerful as Jesus Christ will not leave a person unchanged. There is nothing so overwhelming and life-changing as a face-to-face rendezvous our King. Do not become like the Jewish leaders of Crete that Paul is talking about. Do not claim to know God if you have not been changed. Instead, seek this change and never stop seeking it because Jesus will never stop seeking after you. Only a pure and true encounter with Jesus can change our very nature to the point where we finally gain the courage to stop worshipping ourselves and begin to worship the King.