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 1:15
Unto the pure all things are pure; what an unusual statement! Some Christians have used this text to claim that it’s OK for them to view immoral and pornographic materials without being contaminated by it. They claim this verse means they are immune to the degrading and deeply sinful impact of watching immoral movies or of reading material that is graphically sexual and violent in nature. Because to the pure all things are pure, they say, their thinking is not contaminated by such material. They are wrong. They are wrong for two very important reasons: Scripture must be interpreted by Scripture, and Scripture must never be taken out of context.
To view this text as a license for a Christian to expose themselves to vile reading and other entertainment is to ignore everything else that the Bible has to say about the purity of the Lord’s people. Why, for example, if all things are pure to a Christian, does the apostle Paul urge Timothy to keep himself pure (1 Timothy 5:22)? God instructed the Israelites that when they entered Canaan they must not even to inquire into the practices of the pagan religions in that land, lest they be tempted to follow such rites (Deuteronomy 12:30). Those religions were heavily steeped in immoral practices as well as idolatry, and the less the Israelites knew about them, the better off they were. The same thought is contained in Romans 16:19: ‘I would have you wise unto that which is good, and simple concerning evil’. Many other Scriptures urge the Lord’s people to purity and separation from the filth of the world, including 2 Corinthians 6:17: ‘Wherefore come out from among them and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing’. If we interpret Scripture by Scripture, we cannot view our text as license for dabbling in immoral things.
Viewing our verse in light of its context will also destroy such a concept. Paul in this portion of his letter is instructing Titus as to how he is to shepherd the Christians on the island of Crete. Specifically, he is addressing the issue of eating certain foods, which the false legalizing teachers have been telling the Cretian believers they must adhere to the requirements of Jewish law and tradition. According to these false teachers, Christianity must include those legal requirements. In response to such a claim, we point to Paul’s warning about such a doctrine in 1 Timothy 4: ‘in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils, speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their conscience seared with a hot iron, forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth. For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving’.
While our text serves as a warning to us to always interpret Scripture with Scripture, and to never take a text from its context, it also serves to remind us of the grace of God to us. No longer need we be concerned about struggling to meet the requirements of a law that is beyond out ability to meet, because the work of our Saviour has purified us to serve and worship our God. – Jim MacIntosh