Titus 1:15,16 - Purifying the Mind.

Tit.1:15, 16; Purifying the Mind.

Titus 1:15 (KJV)  Unto the pure all things are pure: but unto
them that are defiled and unbelieving is nothing pure; but even their
mind and conscience is defiled.
Titus 1:16 (KJV)  They profess that they know God; but in works
they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good
work reprobate.

Titus 1:15 (NIV)  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 1:16 (NIV)  They claim to know God, but by their actions
they deny him. They are detestable, disobedient and unfit for doing
anything good.

Titus 1:15 (NCV)  To those who are pure, all things are pure,
but to those who are full of sin and do not believe, nothing is
pure. Both their minds and their consciences have been ruined.
Titus 1:16 (NCV)  They say they know God, but their actions show
they do not accept him. They are hateful people, they refuse to obey,
and they are useless for doing anything good.

Titus 1:15 (CEV)  Everything is pure for someone whose heart is
pure.  But nothing is pure for an unbeliever with a dirty mind.  That
person's mind and conscience are destroyed.
Titus 1:16 (CEV)  Such people claim to know God, but their
actions prove that they really don't.  They are disgusting.  They won't
obey God, and they are too worthless to do anything good.

Titus 1:15 (EAV)  To the pure [in heart and conscience] all
things are pure, but to the defiled and corrupt and unbelieving nothing
is pure; their very minds and consciences are defiled and
polluted.
Titus 1:16 (EAV)  They profess to know God [to recognize,
perceive, and be acquainted with Him], but deny and disown and renounce
Him by what they do; they are detestable and loathsome, unbelieving
and disobedient and disloyal and rebellious, and [they are] unfit
and worthless for good work (deed or enterprise) of any kind.

Titus 1:15 (CWB)  Those who are honest and pure in heart see
goodness in everything, but those who are defiled and unbelieving see
evil in everything, because their minds and consciences have lost
their ability to make sound moral judgments.
Titus 1:16 (CWB)  They claim to know God, but their actions deny
it.  Because of the detestable things they do and their disobedient
and rebellious spirits, they're unfit to do anything good.

Titus 1:15 (TLB)  A person who is pure of heart sees goodness
and purity in everything; but a person whose own heart is evil and
untrusting finds evil in everything, for his dirty mind and rebellious
heart color all he sees and hears.
Titus 1:16 (TLB)  Such persons claim they know God, but from
seeing the way they act, one knows they don't. They are rotten and
disobedient, worthless so far as doing anything good is concerned.

CONTEXT/OVERVIEW

Titus 1:16 expresses the major theme of Titus: "A believer's
character and conduct must be consistent with his confession." This is the
basic message of the epistle of James: faith without works is a
fallacy. [New Bible Companion]

DEFINITIONS

16 Reprobate or Worthless. Tested and found unfit, disapproved
(1 Cor. 9:27). [Ryrie SB]

INTRODUCTION

Paul's maxim does not mean that nothing is impure unless
thinking makes it so. It does not invalidate the revelation that certain
things are morally wrong. [Expositors Bible Commentary]

The principle of this verse does not conflict with the many NT
teachings against practices that are morally and spiritually wrong. [NIV
SB]

Paul does not here imply that the Christian is free to engage in
practices condemned elsewhere in Scripture, or that Biblical prohibitions
regarding moral conduct or dietary practices do not apply to Christians.
[SDA Commentary]

It is unfortunate that v. 15 has been so grossly abused by
misinformed Christians. Some Christians use it to support their own sinful
practices, saying, "To the pure, all things are pure--so what I am doing is
not wrong." Paul had nothing of this sort in mind when he dictated
these words. [Wiersbe Expository Outlines]

A person who is a true child of God will not use this passage to
attempt to prove that all things are right and lawful for the Christian.
There are those who say that if you think something is not sin, then
to you it is not sin; but such reasoning is not to be found in the
Word of God. The Bible clearly teaches that we are to 'have no
fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness', [Preacher's  Outline &
Sermon Bible]

This passage, therefore, should not be interpreted as proving
that all things are right and lawful for a Christian, or that
whatever he may choose to do will be regarded as pure, (Barnes' Notes)

KEY TEXT

The consciousness of moral right and wrong is dulled when the
mind elects to dwell on unsanctified desires. Under such
circumstances the conscience cannot function effectively.... The "defiled and
unbelieving" allow their minds to be governed by unsanctified desires. [SDA
Commentary]

The unbeliever (and the false teacher) has a defiled mind and
conscience and therefore sees nothing as pure. [Wiersbe Expository
Outlines]

Those who continually engage in sin will become morally
bankrupt. Their minds and consciences become so corrupted they have no
moral values. Religious people are included among the morally
bankrupt. Such a lack of true faith becomes readily apparent through
sinful actions. [Disciple SB]

A moral perversion has taken place in their whole being. Their
"minds," their rational nature enabling them to think and reflect on
things moral and spiritual, have become polluted, and their conscience
has lost its ability to make correct moral judgments, leaving them
unable to make true distinctions between good and evil. [Expositors
Bible Commentary]

They hear the truth, but do not fully understand it, because
they do not conform their lives to it, and therefore are not
sanctified through obeying it. 1T406,7

Fellowship with God acts to clarify moral perception, but
indulgence in evil stultifies the powers of moral discrimination.
[Expositors Bible Commentary]

The pure in heart tend to see things in a pure light. The pure
see others as persons God loves--the impure see them as sex objects.
The pure ascribe the best of intentions to others, and so are seldom
hurt by remarks the impure see as slights or attacks. The pure
rejoice over another's success, the impure feel jealous. The purity of
your heart will shape the way you look at all things. A heart
purified by God protects from much hurt and harm. [The 365-Day Devotional
Commentary]

The man with a dirty mind makes all things dirty.  He can take
the loveliest things and cover them with smut.  [Barclay
Commentary]

APPLICATION

A man must keep the white shield of his innocence unstained. If
he lets impurity infect his mind, he sees all things through a mist
of uncleanness. His mind soils every thought that enters into it;
his imagination turns to lust every picture which it forms; he
misinterprets every motive; he gives a double meaning to every statement. To
escape that uncleanness we must walk in the cleansing presence of Jesus
Christ.
When a man gets into this state of impurity, he may know God
intellectually but his life is a denial of that knowledge.  Three things are
singled out here about such a man.
(i) He is repulsive.... There is something repulsive about a man
with an obscene mind, who makes sniggering jests and is a master of
the unclean innuendo.
(ii) He is disobedient. Such a man cannot obey the will of God.
His conscience is darkened. He has made himself such that he can
hardly hear the voice of God, let alone obey it.  A man like that
cannot be anything else but an evil influence and is therefore unfit to
be an instrument in the hand of God.
(iii) That is just another way of saying that he has become
useless to God and to his fellow-men. [Barclay Commentary]

Some people see good all around them, while others see nothing
but evil. What is the difference? Our soul becomes a filter through
which we perceive goodness or evil. The pure of heart (those who have
Christ in control of their lives) learn to see good even in the midst
of evil. But evil people learn to see evil even in the midst of
good. Turn your thoughts to God and his Word, and you will discover
goodness more and more, even in this evil world. Whatever you choose to
fill your mind with will affect the way you think and act. Fill your
mind with what is good, and then there will be little room for what
is evil. [Small Group SB]

Some people see good all around them, while others see nothing
but evil. What is the difference? Our souls become filters through
which we perceive goodness or evil. The pure (those who have Christ in
control of their lives) learn to see goodness and purity even in this
evil world. But corrupt and unbelieving people find evil in
everything because their evil minds and hearts color even the good they see
and hear. Whatever you choose to fill your mind with will affect the
way you think and act. Turn your thoughts to God and his Word, and
you will discover more and more goodness, even in this evil world. A
mind filled with good has little room for what is evil (see Philip.
4:8). [Life Application SB]

RELATED THOUGHTS

Paul stresses that ritual purity is dependent on moral purity
and not the other way around. (UBS Translator Handbook Series)

Our conduct speaks volumes about what we believe (see 1 John
2:4-6). [Life Application SB]

The works are the decisive evidence of the condition of the
heart (Mt 7:20; I Jn 4:20). [Wycliffe Bible Commentary]

Religion without morality is a sham. [Victor Bible Reader's
Companion]

They had the name of God's people; but they were counterfeit.
(Adam Clarke Commentary)

Many of the professed, peculiar people of God are so conformed
to the world that their peculiar character is not discerned, and it
is difficult to distinguish "between him that serveth God and him
that serveth Him not."... Many believe that they are on the right
foundation, that they have the truth; they rejoice in its clearness and
boast of the powerful arguments in proof of the correctness of our
position. Such reckon themselves among the chosen, peculiar people of God,
yet they experience not His presence and power to save them from
yielding to temptation and folly. These profess to know God, yet in works
deny Him. How great is their darkness! 2T125,6

OTHER THOUGHTS

Once the church compromises on the truth, the truth will be
swallowed up in lies. [Wiersbe Expository Outlines]

Jewish fables (legalism) and the commandments of men
(traditionalism). [Wiersbe Expository Outlines]