GOD CANNOT LIE
Titus 1.2
"GOD cannot lie." This words echoing the previous statement of Paul in which he said, "GOD remains faithful, He cannot deny Himself." By these words Paul reassure all Christians that GOD does not changing His Mind as human do, but He always faithful to His Own words, promises, oaths, and covenants. Sometimes GOD does change His mind, but He do it not because He is unstable in His words and promises like humans do, but for the sake and love of those who plead to Him (Exodus 32.11-14) (Amos 7.1-6).
And no matter how many times humans break with GOD they own promises, oaths, and agreements with Him, GOD always faithful and keep His words, His vows, and His promises intact. His own Holy nature does not allow Him to lie.
This cause GOD constantly to renew His covenants with His people of Israel, because if one generation kept His Commandments and Statutes and faithful to Him, the next generation may be not and would not keep His Commandments and go astray. GOD promised to Israel to be their GOD forever, and because of this promise He constantly renew His covenant after every fall generation, in order to continue to keep His people under His Covenant.
Such faithfulness is impossible to find among humans, but GOD is not a human being and His Own Principals and Ideals are His Own substance, matter, and core of His Own Holy Spirit. His Own personality and character made of love, compassion, mercy, and faith, He cannot defile His Own Being by a lie.
SORDID GAIN
Titus 1.5-9
In verses from 5 to 9 Paul commanded Titus to appoint oversees (leaders, pastors, authority) in the cities of the Crete where are churches started to function. Paul also described what kind of people should be put in position of the leader-overseer. In his descriptions of such people Paul concentrated on the Spiritual qualities and morality of the leaders of the church, and not on their education, status among people, or their position in society.
Particularly Paul mentioned one important and very common sin among humans, defect, which is greed and love for sordid gain (7.11). Unfortunately, beside all other problems in the churches and transgressions, the greed for sordid gain remains one of the worse transgressions that is common to all churches throughout the ages.
Leaders of the churches still do not understand that they can't serve two Masters, Mammon and GOD. Collecting money, paying salaries to church clergy, acquiring properties, playing on the stock market and investing donated money to make more money, all of these do not make the church the church of GOD but the church of Mammon.
Churches are no longer the House of Prayer, Repent, Learning Centers, and workers of GOD'S will, but became the house of rubbers, sellers and peddlers, just like Jerusalem Temple during the time of Christ. Paul foreseeing all of these dysfunctions and greedy pursuits in the churches, and he warned Corinthians, Timothy, and Titus, to fight this corruption and not allow this transgression to take a root in their church.
~ 7.11. Teaching for monetary gain: (Micah 3.11) (Acts 20.33-35) (2Corinthians 2.17) (John 10.1-12-13-16) (1Timothy 6.3-5) (Titus 1.10-7.11-16) (1Peter 5.2-4).
COMMANDMENTS OF MEN
Titus 1.14-16
This is also very important issue and perhaps stands second after "sordid gain" in the corruption of the church. Every church on Earth is inflicted and penetrated by this particular and very specific dishonesty and fraud. The commandments of men completely overshadow the Commandments of GOD, and people follow not the Truth of GOD that in His Word, but the lie and deceit of the commandments of men.
In time of Paul these deceitful commandments were Jewish myths as Paul describe them, based on the Jewish traditions beside the Traditions of GOD. The Christians do not fall far away and from this iniquity of false teachings, and false traditions and their false doctrines. It is common in every church the establishment of their own customs, traditions, and doctrines that goes against GOD Commandments and His true Word.
Christians like to blame Jews for their disobedience and resistance against GOD, but they themselves do the same thing by resisting GOD with their own false myths, doctrines, traditions, customs, rituals, and teachings. Some forbid to drink coffee, some forbid to eat certain foods, some imply certain rituals and ceremonies to be perform which are not consistent or relevant with the Bible teachings.
Against such corruption of the church Paul made very precise and to the point statement, "To the pure all things are pure." Ignoring the Statutes and Commandments of GOD already make a person impure, because such person defiling himself/herself by the physical traditional doctrine of prejudges and assumptions, and neglected the Spiritual aspect of the Word of GOD, because physical things no longer matter, but the Spiritual Qualities and their Properties are everything for the life in Christ.
In verse 16 Paul writes about False teachers who profess to know GOD, but by their own deeds of false doctrines, rituals, customs, ceremonies, and traditions, they are worthless for any GOOD DEEDS, by these they are denying GOD'S Spirituality and consequently GOD Himself.
