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est, they are very weak, at worst, sick unto death as regards thefaith. Faith here must be understood in the objective sense, as thebody oftruth or doctrine taught in the Word ofGod. That truth isthe very opposite of the vain, futile, empty talk of the falseteachers. Ifthe latter will be sound, healthy in the faith, they willnee~ to repent oftheir vain talking and deceiving ofGod's peopleand they will teach the truth.That this is the correct sense of the passage is evident fromwhat the apostle writes in verse 14. These deceivers were turningthemselves away from the truth. There is only one truth, viz., thetruth revealed in God's Word! They were turning themselvesaway from that truth precisely by giving heed or applying themselvesto Jewish fables and commandments ofmen. Jewish fablesare literally myths, falsehoods, lies. The "commandmentsofmen.,are just that. They are commandments not given by God, but bymen! No doubt the reference is to their phariseeistic interpretationsof the Word and especially the law of God.In other words, the apostle is warning Titus concerning thesame falsehoods, myths which Jesus so sharply condemned in theSermon on the Mount (Matt. 5: 17 - 48). What our Lord called"therighteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees," the apostle calls,"Jewish fables and commandments of men." Repeatedly in theMatthew passage, Jesus exposes the error of these Jewish mythsand commandments ofmen with the formula "Ye have heard thatit hath been said ... but I say unto you," and then Jesus wouldexplain the true meaning of God's commandments. Not only didJesus expose these myths and commandments ofmen in Matthew5, but it may correctly be said that His entire ministry was apolemic against the Jewish fables and commandments of menabout which the apostle is here warning Titus.This passage teaches that in order that these Jewish, vain,unruly talkers may be sound in the faith, Titus must admonish themsharply from the Word·ofGod. These unruly, vain talkers will besound in the faith only when they cease turning away from the truthof God's Word and only when they cease applying themselves toJewish myths and falsehoods. Only when this happens will thechurchbe edified and preserved in the faith and truth ofGod's Word.10 PRTJ