The most difficult of all Scripture texts for preachers and teachers to address might be the morally problematic ones. You may have been asked questions like, “How could a good God command or even permit this to happen?”
In morally problematic texts, what we deem as evil appears to be justified or even promoted; God seems to allow or even command murder, lying, slavery, and other morally bankrupt beliefs, actions, and systems. In such cases, what is a preacher or teacher to do? Should we just avoid them?
We are staunch believers in teaching and preaching all of Scripture. In 2 Timothy 3:16–17, Paul instructs, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” Every iota of God’s Word is significant to the lives of Christians today. The Bible is God’s perfect instruction manual for the Christian life, free from error in the original manuscripts and written for believers to pursue Christlikeness, holiness, and righteousness.
So where does that leave the Bible teacher? Is our role to be an apologist for God, making sense of and excuses for his behavior?
No, we are not called to answer for God. He does not need defending. What God does, allows, or demands in morally problematic texts can be more effectively explained once the context is more accurately understood. We might also pray that the Enemy would not succeed in luring us to distrust God and his Word about things that are impossible to fully comprehend.
Here’s an example of how you might handle just one passage that seems to run counter to our moral sensibilities.
Liars, Evil Brutes, and Lazy Gluttons
In the Book of Titus, the apostle Paul writes to one of his young protégés who was pastoring on the island of Crete. The purpose of the letter is to exhort Titus to “appoint elders in every town, as I directed you” (1:5) as well as to safeguard sound doctrine and encourage his people to be “eager to do what is good” (2:14). And in Titus 1, Paul disparages Titus’s ministry context, describing the inhabitants of Crete as “always liars, evil brutes, lazy gluttons” (v. 12). How do we make sense of the apostle Paul’s seemingly insensitive, derogatory, and even racist comment?
First, here are a few rules that should inform our biblical interpretation before teaching and preaching:
(1) Be mindful that we are centuries and miles away from the time and place these passages were written, but the timeless principles therein apply to all God’s people today. It is a living and active Word. Use all the necessary tools to take yourself back to the place and time the text was written.
(2) Use the Bible to interpret the Bible. Cross-referencing Scripture is an important tool to keep you from faulty interpretations. The Bible is consistent and does not contradict itself because it is inspired by the Holy Spirit, who does not lie, does not contradict himself, and is the author of truth.
(3) Finally, in your preparation, spend adequate time in prayer over a passage. Before you seek to master it, make sure it has mastered you.
With these things in mind, we can return to the passage at hand.
Teaching About (and Without) Using Stereotypes
Perhaps a better understanding of the historical and biblical contexts can help. The quote about Cretans being liars, brutes, and gluttons is attributed to a Cretan poet named Epimenides (sixth–fifth centuries BC). In his commentary on Paul’s letters to Timothy and Titus, Robert Yarbrough explains that a probable source for Paul’s generalization is taken from a third-century BC quotation: “Cretans are thieves from way back, pirates; they never think along legal lines.” Rather than qualifying his statement, Paul boldly confirms it in verse 13 of chapter 1: “This saying [about them] is true.”
The Faithlife Study Bible offers another perspective that limits the scope of Paul’s generalization: “Ancient writers popularized the verb ‘to Cretanize’ as slang for lying and cheating. Here Paul applies this well-known saying to the false teachers, using it rhetorically to make a point—not necessarily because he agrees with it being applied to all Cretans.”
Even if Paul had been using a Cretan stereotype to indict the false teachers on the island of Crete, can we conclude that it’s acceptable to label others? Moreover, by using a stereotype coined by a Cretan philosopher, is Paul doubly justified in his harsh generalization about Cretans? What might be a proper approach to stereotypes as we explain the Titus passage and related texts?
Stereotypes are sprinkled throughout both Testaments. Jonah didn’t want to preach a message of repentance to his enemies, the Ninevites, who were known as cruel and violent people (Jonah 1:2-3; 4:1–3). The Corinthians are characterized as sexually immoral people. In Habakkuk 1:6, God says, “I am raising up the Babylonians, that ruthless and impetuous people, who sweep across the whole earth to seize dwellings not their own.”
Whether or not the apostle Paul is justified in using his demeaning generalization toward Cretans in Titus 1:12 is beyond our purview. But we should not pass over this important section of Scripture, even if it makes us cringe. Remember to examine what the Bible teaches on a particular topic in a different location.
Jesus is our model for how to evaluate the use of stereotypes. Jews held a common prejudice against the Samaritans, for example, since Jews considered them to be half- breeds (a mixture of Jewish and Assyrian). In the parable of the good Samaritan (Luke 10:25–37), Jesus reverses a negative cultural-ethnic stereotype, commending a Samaritan person as a chief example of what it means to love our neighbor (v. 29, 36). The “half-breed” became the hero of Jesus’ story.
Likewise, preachers and teachers must oppose and seek to reverse negative stereotypes of other people and cultures.
One of the blind spots pastors often have in church contexts is stereotyping their own people. This can come out when we state that all the members of our congregation think, believe, and behave in exactly the same way. This kind of generalization may go something like this: “At First Baptist Church, we are ___.” And as we well know, stereotyping can also occur in hurtful ways when our congregations have a dominant racial or ethnic majority culture.
It is our responsibility as preachers and teachers of the gospel to help our people grow in discipleship and in their love for others rather than calling our sisters and brothers names or demonizing them. This requires a significant time commitment, but it will be well worth it. Perhaps if we model this kindness, generosity, and hospitality in our personal lives and from the pulpit we may help limit the damage from the use of stereotypes in our own vocabulary and in that of our church members.
While it might be difficult to preach and teach on morally fraught passages like Titus 1:12, doing so in a biblically responsible way will benefit our churches. God will bless the one who, in humility, does the hard work so that in all things the name of Jesus Christ will be glorified and worshiped.
Eric J. Bargerhuff is the vice president for academic affairs, dean of the college, and professor of Bible and Theology at Trinity College of Florida.
Matthew D. Kim is holder of the George W. Truett endowed chair in preaching and evangelism and director of the PhD in preaching program at Baylor University’s Truett Theological Seminary in Waco, Texas.
