What is the meaning of Titus 1:15? To the pure, all things are pure Purity in Scripture always begins with the cleansing work of God. When Paul says “the pure,” he is speaking of people who have been washed by the blood of Christ and are now set apart for Him. • Christ-centered purity – “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God” (Matthew 5:8). – “He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit” (Titus 3:5). • A sanctified outlook – Because God has declared them clean, everyday matters—food, relationships, vocations—can be approached with gratitude and freedom. “For every creature of God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving” (1 Timothy 4:4). – Peter heard the same lesson on the rooftop in Joppa: “What God has made clean, you must not call impure” (Acts 10:15). • Living out that purity – The pure heart seeks to honor God in all circumstances (1 Corinthians 10:31). – When motives are right, believers can use created things properly without fear of contamination (Romans 14:14). But to the defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure Paul now contrasts those outside of Christ whose hearts remain stained by sin and hardened in unbelief. • The root problem—unbelief – “The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God” (Romans 8:7). – Unbelief twists perception so that even good gifts appear suspect or are misused (John 3:19-20). • Defilement that spreads – Sin affects every arena: words, relationships, and even worship rituals (Isaiah 1:13-15). – “They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God” (Ephesians 4:18-19). • Nothing is pure for them – Because the inner person is corrupt, external practices cannot make them clean (Mark 7:20-23). – They label holy things as common and common things as holy, reflecting Proverbs 17:20: “One with a perverse heart finds no good.” Indeed, both their minds and their consciences are defiled Paul drills deeper: the seat of thought (mind) and the moral compass (conscience) are both polluted. • A blinded mind – “God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done” (Romans 1:28). – They “cannot understand them because they are spiritually discerned” (1 Corinthians 2:14). • A seared conscience – “Their consciences are seared as with a hot iron” (1 Timothy 4:2). – What once pricked now lies dull; they justify what God condemns (Jeremiah 17:9). • The inevitable outcome – Teaching, worship, and daily choices become corrupted, leading others astray (Matthew 15:14). – Only a new heart can reverse the condition (Ezekiel 36:26). summary Titus 1:15 draws a sharp line between those cleansed by Christ and those still stained by sin. The pure, redeemed by grace, can approach God’s gifts with confident gratitude, using them in ways that honor Him. The defiled and unbelieving, however, view everything through a lens darkened by sin; their thoughts and moral judgments are twisted, leaving them incapable of true purity. The verse reminds believers of the transforming power of salvation and the need to guard both heart and conscience as they live in the freedom Christ provides. |
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