To the Pure All Things Are Pure

Day 299: Titus 1:1-16

"To the pure, all things are pure, but to those who are corrupted and do not believe, nothing is pure. In fact, both their minds and consciences are corrupted." - Titus 1:15 NIV

During Jesus' earthly ministry, He showed us what it looks like to see things and people as sacred, not as mere products to use for our own purposes.

The word the NIV translates as corrupted here is μιαίνω miainō. The ESV uses the word defiled. It is a word that is primarily used to describe something that has been stained or dyed. This isn't a surface-level issue that will somehow work itself out on its own. Instead, this is a problem that has seeped deep into the fabric of their hearts.

This verse comes after Paul describes those from Crete as liars, brutes, and gluttons. For these people, all that was around them was for their consumption, selfish purposes, and desires.

One of our main reasons for existing as Christians is to redeem the culture around us. Jesus hasn't just placed us in this world to blend into the cultural norms.

These elders Titus is being commissioned to appoint were going to be on the front lines of showing those in Crete a brand new way to live. This is the charge for us today as well.