Understanding Scripture: Leadership, Culture, and Discernment

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In other words, we are believing you to open our eyes to see. We want to see things the way you see. We want to see things, not the way the world sees things. The world and you do not agree. No, the way you see things. And Lord, open our hearts to see that. And have the courage and the boldness to acknowledge that and to embrace that and to do something about it. [00:00:52] (25 seconds)


So this is why he's asking him to set up, set up a system of eldership, is to address this problem. For there are many who are insubordinate, they're empty talkers, and they are deceivers, especially those of the circumcision party. So what Paul does here is that he makes general statements about the kind of people that are causing problems in the Cretan church. [00:03:17] (22 seconds)


Next year, we're going to be doing a lot of this. So, you know, I've been talking about us doing an inductive, reading the Bible, studying the Bible inductively. And when you study the Bible inductively, you are approaching the Bible and let the Bible say what it is. It wants to say. You're not coming with your bias, right? [00:06:15] (17 seconds)


So if your mind is always about what I am going to get, you can't cooperate with his plan because you're always going to be thinking about your gain in it. I was doing my own thing and this came to me. Um, and, um, and the, the, the language was this. Listen to this because it's going to tell you your thinking. [00:09:07] (18 seconds)


And actually, other translations say, if any woman. That's a follow -on from verse 8. Can anybody see this? Did you see what I just said there? So, if it says, when it's saying in verse 16, if any man or woman that believes has widows, let them relieve them, and let not the church. So, that's a continuation of the thought in 1 Timothy 5, 8. [00:14:29] (25 seconds)


So, in the culture that we live in, it's not good to rebuke somebody publicly. In the culture that I not a problem. No. So this is the overarching principle. And I want to read it out because I don't want to miss it. And then I'll explain something else. So I said it. Note, if you come, if all you know is an individualistic culture, right, and that's all you're familiar with, unless you are familiar with the Scriptures, you may see things that collectivist cultures do as being cultural and not scriptural. [00:25:56] (46 seconds)


This is really deep ways of thinking about the Bible. You can't be on basic level and get this. Right? So actually, you could be looking at someone's behavior and say what they're doing is cultural. But actually, what they're doing is biblical. But if you don't know what the Bible says, you can't even judge it. You have no position to judge. You don't know what the Bible says on it. [00:28:06] (19 seconds)


So here, Paul says to Titus, the way we're going to address the problems that I've listed in the previous chapter, even though it wasn't in verses, but the way we're going to address these liars, these deceivers, these insubordinates, these detestables, the way we're going to address all of them, right, is by teaching what accords, or what is in line with sound doctrine. [00:32:37] (26 seconds)


You know, you hear me quote this scripture often, where I say, Paul says, I think he was talking about teaching, but he says, no, you need to appoint people that are faithful to teach. So my philosophy of life is actually, the person is not faithful. I can't give them any room. and every time I violated that rule, he comes back and burns me. [00:56:47] (19 seconds)


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