READING:
One-year plan: Jeremiah 27-30, Titus 1
Two-year plan: 2 Kings 11-12, John 10:31-42
———
They are painful words not only because of what Paul meant when he wrote them, but also because many of us know someone whose life looks like this description: “They profess to know God, but by their deeds they deny Him” (Titus 1:16). The opponents to the gospel Paul spoke of were adding religious rituals to the requirements for salvation; that is, they were promoting a works righteousness rather than a grace-centered salvation. So off base was this teaching that Paul described these false teachers as “detestable and disobedient and worthless” (Titus 1:16).
These teachers claimed to be God-followers, but their actions showed otherwise. While the specifics of each situation are different, I wonder how many people I know who genuinely believe they are Christian, but their actions suggest otherwise. Some look good on the outside. Others may well assume they’re believers. They may, in fact (sometimes because they fall into the trap of works-based legalism) seem more committed than others. On the inside, though, they just don’t know God. Others believe they are Christian, but their lifestyle choices give no evidence of a walk with God. They show no proof of a heart changed by God through His grace. They “profess to know God, but by their deeds they deny Him.”
May God help us to examine our own lives, follow Christ genuinely, and help others do the same.
PERSONAL REFLECTION: How does your life show your commitment to God?
DAILY PRAYER: “Father, help us examine ourselves—and guide us to help others whose lives deny a relationship with You.”
TOMORROW’S READINGS:
One-year plan: Jeremiah 31-32, Titus 2-3
Two-year plan: 2 Kings 13-14, John 11:1-16
