how do you profess?
Titus 1:16 They profess to know God, but they deny Him by their works. They are detestable, disobedient, and disqualified for any good work.
Some context for the book of Titus in case you haven’t read it yet, Paul is the author of this book and he is writing to Titus. Titus is beginning to minister in Crete, which is a place that is notorious for sexual immorality, violence, and greed. Already in Crete, were leaders who claimed to be followers of Christ but were corrupt and ruining the Church. So, Titus is going to Crete to get things straightened out & this book lays out some instructions for him for his time there in Crete.
Now that we know the context, I also would like to define one word just so we are all on the same page. What does profess mean? Profess is to claim that one has a quality or a feeling. Another is to declare or admit openly or freely. So, this verse is getting straight to it. “They” are saying they know God, but their works are showing otherwise. Before becoming a believer, this was DEFINITELY me. I said I was a Christian, went to church every now and then, posted scripture (not like this, more like Proverbs 3:5-6), and hid my sins very well. After reading this, maybe someone, or even yourself came to mind. Someone who posts every Facebook status, tweet, or encouraging scripture, but their day to day looks no different than someone who doesn’t have a personal relationship with Jesus. There are even some people who look the part as well. They are in church every Sunday, pray before meals, and maybe even in a small group… but, they just check it off their list to look the part and to be right with God. An example I often talk about is how we are with someone we really love. For example, I tell my husband every day that I love him. I profess that to not only him, but to everyone. You probably wouldn’t believe me if I never spent time with him, made more time in my day for others, cheated on him, and the list could go on. I can say I love my husband all day long, but if I lived a life that was straight up a contradiction, there’s no way you would believe me. My words and my actions must match for not only you, but my husband to believe that I actually love him.
So, now what do we do with that? We must truly get to know Him, so we know what it means to love Him with our minds, heart, soul, and strength. We get to know Him by reading His Word, prayer, and community to name a few. As believers, we should look different because we are different. Jesus’ love should transform us from the inside out. That means we don’t desire the things of our flesh, but of the Spirit (Galatians 5:16-26). A quote that I love that is in Jackie Hill Perry’s book, Gay Girl, Good God says, “Jesus is so much greater than the greatest thing and much more glorious than the most glorious glory the eyes could see. Know this, He becomes the aim of all our doing.” When we realize this, our love for Jesus will be more than words, but our entire being. We will want our desires to match His and our hearts will grieve when we choose our flesh over Him. Now hear me out, this does not mean we won’t mess up, but it does mean we will want God to take control of every part of our life, not just the parts that are convenient to us. We’re living in a time where we treat people better than we treat God. We make sacrifices for our friends, siblings, parents (which are not bad things), but then we simply forget about the Creator of the universe.
What does it look like to really get to know Him? I listed a few earlier (reading His Word, prayer, and community) that I want to expound on. John 17:17 says, sanctify them by the truth, your Word is true. This is telling us that God uses His word to sanctify us. He gives us this truth so we can be set apart and be holy, as He is holy. What I love about the Bible (and God) is that we won’t ever know it all; even if you’ve read the Bible fifty times, there is always so much more that God will reveal to us.
The next one that I want to talk about is prayer. Just like we get to know friends by communicating, the same should apply with God (John 15:15). Prayer doesn’t always have to be this deep and theological prayer, but simply communicating with the King. Not communicating in hopes to change Him, but for Him to change you.
The last one that I want to talk about is community. The journey of sanctification shouldn’t be done alone. Proverbs 27:17 says, “as iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.” Community in my life has been such a blessing that I don’t want to ever take for granted. I have been poured into, loved on, and even rebuked that has helped me grow closer to Jesus. Surrounding yourself with people who can do those things for you goes such a long way. Hebrews 10:24-25 says, “Let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another…”
I’ve written a blog post already about how God feels about lukewarm Christianity (Rev. 3:16), but I want to encourage you that His mercy is new every single morning (Lamentations 3:22-23). If you are professing Jesus as Lord and Savior, I pray that those around you can see the fruit in your life. If you’re reading this and a friend comes to mind, I pray that you can find boldness to lovingly confront them. Proverbs 27:5 says that an open rebuke is better than hidden love.
Lastly! If you’ve made it this far, phew, thanks for reading. I wrote this a few years ago (with some much-needed tweaks now) and I literally read a page in the book I am currently reading that is so so good & relatable to the topic. Rosaria Butterfield first quoted Krummacher out of his book, A Series of Devotional Meditations (speaking about Judas), “‘He entered into too close contact with the Savior not to become entirely His or wholly Satan’s.’ In other words, you should never boast about a relationship with Jesus that is based on what you hope to get out of it. Dare never to get close to Jesus just for the public appearance. Never confuse knowing facts with knowing the Shepherd. It’s all or nothing. Either Jesus owns your heart, or you are exalting yourself to your immanent destruction.”
How do you profess?
“‘He entered into too close contact with the Savior not to become entirely His or wholly Satan’s.’ In other words, you should never boast about a relationship with Jesus that is based on what you hope to get out of it. Dare never to get close to Jesus just for the public appearance. Never confuse knowing facts with knowing the Shepherd. It’s all or nothing. Either Jesus owns your heart, or you are exalting yourself to your immanent destruction.”
Krummacher (A Series of Devotional Meditations), Butterfield (The Gospel Comes with a House Key)
