Titus 3:8-11 – Edifying Conversation
After explaining the glorious Gospel and the rich blessings we receive in Christ Jesus, Paul states that these are all ‘trustworthy’ sayings, and we are to ‘insist on these things.’ The word ‘insist’ means to speak confidently about something. So what Paul is teaching us here is that our speech and conversation should be full of the glories of Christ. These are good and edifying things because they rebuke us from our sin, remind us of our blessings, and encourage us to do good works. When you meet up with fellow believers do you spend most of your time speaking about worldly matters or spiritual subjects? How spiritual we are can be evidenced by the things we speak most on when we are in fellowship with Christians. A mature Christian is full of the Spirit and can’t but speak about Christ. When in fellowship, the Christian is eager to feed his or her soul by discussing with believers ‘excellent and profitable’ things such as the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
On the other hand, we are warned against conversing about unedifying and foolish things. For Titus’s congregation it was the Judaizers and their endless and unprofitable discussion about the law. Questions such as: How many meters can a Christian walk on the Sabbath? Should a Christian read his Bible for 1 hour a day or 2 hours a day? These types of questions are useless and miss the point. There are rich things to discuss and useless questions such as these only harm spiritual fellowship. When we speak to fellow Christians we should ask ourselves, is this edifying to the brethren? Will my question help encourage and strengthen others? If the answer is no, then keep your thoughts to yourself. But if the answer is yes it is edifying, then experience the joy and encouragement of spiritual fellowship as you discuss the glories and excellences of the Christian religion.
Questions
- What things should Christian speak about to one another?
- Why is unprofitable conversation harmful?
Prayer Points
- Pray that we would be an encouragement to others.
- Use prayer points from your congregation.
- Pray for family matters.