BIG IDEA:
REPROVE REBELLIOUS TROUBLEMAKERS WHO SUBVERT SOUND DOCTRINE AND DENY GOD BY THEIR DEEDS
INTRODUCTION:
Thomas Long: Having set forth the desired credentials and qualities of church leaders, Paul goes on to alert Titus to the hard truth that good leaders with excellent credentials will always encounter their opposites in the life of the church. “You can count on it,” Paul seems to be saying. “You remember it happened to me in my ministry when I defended my work to those in Jerusalem—you were there—and it will happen in your ministry too. That’s the way things go, so be prepared.”
William Barclay: Here we have a picture of the false teachers who were troubling Crete. The worst offenders were apparently Jews. They tried to persuade the Cretan converts of two things. They tried to persuade them that the simple story of Jesus and the cross was not sufficient, but that, to be really wise, they needed all the subtle stories and the long genealogies and the elaborate allegories of the Rabbis. Further, they tried to teach them that grace was not enough, but that, to be really good, they needed to take upon themselves all the rules and regulations about foods and washings which were so characteristic of Judaism. The false teachers were seeking to persuade people that they needed more than Christ and more than grace in order to be saved. They were intellectuals for whom the truth of God was too simple and too good to be true.
Thomas Lea: The source of this recurrent problem of works righteousness is found in the very nature of humans. Proud, self-centered human nature desires to have some control and to make some contribution toward salvation. To become utterly dependent on God’s grace for forgiveness and salvation requires a genuine confession aptly summed up in the words of a familiar hymn: “Nothing in my hand I bring, simply to Thy cross I cling” (A. M. Toplady). The free gift of salvation involves repentance and acceptance of God’s grace alone, but self-sufficient humans would rather add something that can be externally observed and for which they can claim credit.
Because of this serious perversion of the doctrine of salvation, it is evident how much the churches of Crete needed strong, qualified leaders. Godly leaders should be capable of protecting the gospel, particularly in light of Titus’s impending departure. The leaders should also be qualified by their own personal integrity and conduct so as to validate what they profess to be true. So it is in any age.
John MacArthur: In Titus 1:10-16, Paul first gives a general description of false teachers in the church who are to be silenced (vv. 10—13a). He then specifies what the reaction to such men should be (vv. 13b—14) and evaluates their lives (vv. 15-16).
I. (:10-11) SILENCE THE FALSE TEACHERS
Key: “who must be silenced“
William Hendriksen: Paul uses a rare verb which has as its primary meaning “to stop the mouth by means of a bridle, muzzle, or gag.” The deceivers, then must not be tolerated but be silenced, and this should be done by Titus and by the elders…
William Barclay: These false teachers are to be muzzled. That does not imply that they are to be silenced by violence or by persecution. The Greek (epistomizein) does mean to muzzle, but it became the normal word for to silence a person by reason. The way to combat false teaching is to offer true teaching, and the only truly unanswerable teaching is the teaching of a Christian life.
Paul Zehr: Titus 1:10 and 11 comprise one sentence in Greek, in which Paul gives three reasons for the need to rebuke these opponents.
- First, their teaching grows out of their rebellion, and it is idle talk and deceptive (10a).
- Second, they are upsetting whole households ( 11a).
- And third, they are teaching for sordid gain ( 11b).
A. Their Number — “For there are many”
Christopher Hutson: The conjunction “for” (gar, 1:10) marks this paragraph as explaining the reason for the prior directives about elders. But it is also the context for the instruction to the community in the rest of the letter, as is clear from the closing charge (3:8b–11). Elders, and all faithful Christians, should avoid behaving like these “insubordinate” teachers whose shameful behavior invites criticism from outsiders.
B. Their Character — “rebellious men”
refusing to submit to any authority
John MacArthur: First of all, the false teachers on Crete were rebellious, as such people always are. They are spiritual and moral insurgents—the enemies of God, His truth, and His people. Being a law unto themselves and representing the rebel Satan, they do not recognize the authority of God’s Word or of His Spirit, much less that of His divinely called preachers and teachers. Even when their erroneous doctrine and immoral living are exposed, they are inclined to defy correction and discipline by the true church.
C. Their Methodology and Results
- “empty talkers“
William Barclay: These people in Crete could talk glibly, but all their talk was ineffective in bringing anyone a single step nearer to goodness. The Cynics used to say that all knowledge which is not profitable for virtue is pointless. The teacher who simply provides pupils with a forum for pleasant intellectual and speculative discussion teaches in vain.
John MacArthur: Their words are smooth and they cleverly disguise their falsehoods in terms that make them seem truthful, frequently using biblical words and phrases that are distorted and taken out of context. But what they teach is bereft of truth. Their preaching and teaching is based on the musings of their own warped imaginations, speculations, and knowledge set up against the Word of God.
- “deceivers“
William Hendriksen: achieving no useful purpose, with their fictitious tales about Adam, Moses, Elijah, etc., and with their legalistic hair-splitting (cf. 1 Tim. 1:6); yet deceiving the minds of the weak.
David Platt: In the situation at Crete, the peddlers of “theological pornography” were Judaizers who offered a Jesus plus theology, which is always a minus Jesus theology. Add to Christ and you subtract Christ. This is the spiritual mathematics of these masters of deception. Corrupted in their own thinking, they corrupt the thinking of others and “overthrow whole households.” Like a fast-spreading cancer they do not infect one but many. This is how effective they can be. Propagators of a “man-centered message” and a “what-I-can-do gospel,” they deflect our focus from Christ and His adoration to ourselves and our accomplishments. The beauty and greatness of Jesus is at best ignored and at worst denied. This is why “it is necessary to silence them” (v. 11). They are ruining the unity of the church, its witness in the community, and ultimately the name of “our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ” (2:13).
D. Their Primary Background — “especially those of the circumcision”
E. Their Disruptive Impact — “because they are upsetting whole families”
Jouette Bassler: The picture that emerges is one of a somewhat less than cohesive church structure in which a lot of the teaching activity takes place in various households.
William Hendriksen: In the church of God there is no such thing as “freedom of misleading speech.” Reason: it would be too dangerous.
Robert Yarbrough: “Households” could refer to domestic life-settings, the seat of family life, exclusively. But since the early congregations were household churches, the tie between domestic household and local Christian assembly could be quite close. The havoc needing to be checked, and malicious energy needing redirection, may have been playing out in homes, congregations, or both.
F. Their Message — “teaching things they should not teach”
G. Their Motivation — “for the sake of sordid gain”
II. (:12-14) RESCUE THE GULLIBLE
A. (:12-13A) This Problem of False Teaching in Crete Should be no Surprise
(once you understand both:
– the character of the false teachers
– the susceptibility of the people to error)
2 or 3 different groups in view here — false teachers inside the church who were possibly true believers and needed correction; false teachers either inside or outside the church who were false professors of faith with a strong Jewish background; and those gullible church members who were being unduly influenced away from the faith
- Confirmed by their Own Testimony
“One of themselves, a prophet of their own, said“
Paul not speaking in some type of harsh, judgmental spirit
Thomas Lea: In an almost parenthetical manner, Paul quoted Epimenides, a well-known and highly esteemed sixth-century Cretan philosopher. The line, which offers an unflattering assessment of the Cretan character, is introduced by Paul in a direct manner to emphasize its source to be none other than a revered Cretan: “Even one of their own prophets has said, ‘Cretans are always liars, evil brutes, lazy gluttons.’” Paul evidently applied this quotation to the Cretan false teachers, not to Cretans in general. As applied to these false teachers, Paul agreed with this assessment, declaring, “This testimony is true.”
- Character of the False Teachers
(and to a lesser extent of the Gullible People)
a. “Cretans are always liars“
explains how they can embrace a false message
William Barclay: So notorious were the Cretans that the Greeks actually formed a verb krētizein, to cretize, which meant to lie and to cheat; and they had a proverbial phrase, krētizein pros Krēta, to cretize against a Cretan, which meant to match lies with lies, as diamond cuts diamond.
N.T. Wright: There is a famous puzzle which young philosophers love. Imagine a postcard, blank on both sides except for a single sentence on each. You pick it up and read it.The side you’re looking at says, ‘The statement on the other side of this card is true.’ Intrigued, you turn it over. On the back it says, ‘The statement on the other side of this card is false.’ Slowly, you turn it back again and start to figure it out. If you are determined, or patient, or perhaps just stubborn, you may still be standing there many hours later.
Another version of the same puzzle is found in this passage, and has become known as the ‘Cretan liar paradox’. Paul certainly regarded it as funny. (This should alert us to the fact that he is probably writing ‘tongue in cheek’ for at least some of the time in this passage. This is part of the difficulty of reading ancient texts, and even some modern ones; something which the author intended to be taken with a twinkle in the eye can come across on the page as though it’s heavy-handed and dismissive.) He quotes someone from Crete saying, ‘Everybody in Crete always tells lies’ – and then he says that this testimony is true! We turn the postcard over and find . . . that Paul is laughing, not unkindly, but finding ways of warning Titus that he’s going to have to be robust and be prepared to work with the people of Crete. Paul has left him there with a job to do (1.5), in order to instruct them and change their famous, or perhaps we should say notorious, national characteristic.
b. “evil beasts“
explains how they can exert such an evil, disruptive influence
Paul Zehr: the Cretans are known for wild behavior, much like animals. The term evil combined with the term brutes suggests beasts of prey and was applied to rude, course people in Greek literature (I. H. Marshall 1999: 201).
c. “lazy gluttons“
explains their motivation of seeking to profit by attracting a following
- Validity of this Testimony — “This testimony is true“
B. (:13B-14) Necessity for Correction in order to Rescue the Gullible
- Confrontation — “Reprove them severely“
- Goal — “that they may be sound in the faith“
Homer Kent: “Some broaden the scope of ‘they‘ (subject of the verb ‘be healthy’) to include not just the false teachers, but the victims of their teaching as well.”
Paul Zehr: Urgent action is needed to correct the situation, with the goal of leading the opponents and their followers to spiritual health. Paul believes the Cretan opponents may repent and turn back to the true faith. The phrase sound in the faith means to be healthy in the faith. By affirming the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ, in contrast to the opponents’ denial of it, Titus will promote a healthy faith (1 Tim 1:10-11).
“the faith” = the body of truth that is in accordance with sound doctrine
- Warning Against Distractions and Disruptive Influences
a. “not paying attention to Jewish myths“
John MacArthur: Paul does not identify the particular Jewish myths and man-made commandments that were being promulgated. Some insight can be gained by remembering that ancient Hebrew had no numerals as such, but instead used a complex system that assigned a numerical value to each letter in the alphabet and to various combinations of letters, which, until the eighth or ninth century A.D., included no written vowels. The first Hebrew word (brshth, “in the beginning”) in Genesis 1:1, for example, had the numerical value of 913. Brm (“Abram”) had the value of 318. A century or so after the Babylonian Captivity, many rabbis began adapting gnostic Greek numerology—the practice of assigning mystical meanings to numbers—to the Hebrew language. Under one such scheme (and there were many), it was believed that the secret in the letter-numbers in Abram’s name meant that he had 318 servants.
Hebrew numerology was applied not only to the Hebrew Scriptures but also to the Talmud, a collection of authorized rabbinical interpretations of Scripture, especially the Mosaic Law, that began during the time of Ezra (ca. 450 B.C.) and continued until about A.D. 500. By New Testament times, many rabbis and other learned Jews—especially those who lived in areas where Greek philosophy was still dominant (as it was on Crete)—mixed ideas from Hebrew and Greek numerology and added their own allegorical fancies, making the resulting interpretations more bizarre than ever.
b. “and commandments of men who turn away from the truth“
Mark 7:5-9; Isa. 29:13; Matt. 15:9
David Platt: Paul readily saw the gangrene of “Jewish myths” (fables) and “commands of men” (man-made rules) that turn from the truth. Religious speculations that go either beyond or against Scripture and rules and regulations that add works to grace are man centered rather than Christ centered, are humanistic rather than Christocentric. Paul says we must confront and denounce them for the lies they are.
III. (:15-16) DISCERN THE FALSE FROM THE TRUE — LOOK AT THEIR DEEDS
Two Contrasts presented:
A. (:15) Contrast Between Pure and Defiled
- “To the pure, all things are pure“
Thomas Lea: a significant element of the false teaching concerned Jewish ceremonial practices (e.g., dietary regulations), which were being taught as necessary for true Christian living. Paul stated: “To the pure [clean], all things are pure [clean], but to those who are corrupted and do not believe, nothing is pure [clean].” “The pure” are those persons who are pure by virtue of their faith alone. This is clear because “those who are corrupted” (i.e., “unclean”) are specifically referred to as “those who do not believe.” Therefore, to those who are pure, all things are pure in the sense that ceremonial cleanliness is totally unnecessary and of no value.
- “but to those who are defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure“
William Barclay: If we allow impurity to infect the mind, we will see all things through a mist of uncleanness. The infected mind soils every thought that enters into it; the imagination turns every picture which it forms into a source of lust. Every motive is misinterpreted. Every statement is given a double meaning. To escape that uncleanness, we must walk in the cleansing presence of Jesus Christ.
- Total Depravity — Pervasive Defilement
a. “but both their mind“
b. “and their conscience are defiled“
Jouette Bassler: instead of becoming or keeping themselves pure by eating only pure things, the very fact that they consider anything impure and therefore need regulations for their own purity is the demonstration that the false teachers are themselves defiled. They are so precisely because they are also unbelieving, that is, not putting their trust in Christ. Thus in the new Age, everything is new. The one who seeks purity by obedience to regulations, that is, human commandments, turns out not to be one of God’s people at all, but among the unbelieving.
D. Edmond Hiebert: A moral perversion has taken place in their whole being. Their ‘minds,’ their rational nature enabling them to think and reflect on things moral and spiritual, have become polluted, and their conscience has lost its ability to make correct moral judgments, leaving them unable to make true distinctions between good and evil.
B. (:16) Contrast Between False Profession of Faith and Lack of Good Deeds
Robert Yarbrough: Paul summarizes the error of those who detract from the gospel message in ways that threaten the integrity of Christian congregations in Crete. Their deficiency has two aspects:
(1) there is a disconnect between their confession and their behavior, and
(2) they are unsuited to furnish leadership for God’s people.
- False Profession of Faith — “They profess to know God“
- Practical Denial — “but by their deeds they deny Him“
- Total Depravity — Void of Good Deeds
a. “being detestable“
b. “and disobedient“
c. “and worthless for any good deed“
D. Edmond Hiebert: The false teachers also stand condemned by the test of conduct. They publicly confess that they “know God,” are fully informed about him, and stand in intimate relations with him. (“God” is emphatic by position.) The claim may be pride in assumed Jewish religious privilege or an expression of the Gnostic claim to an esoteric knowledge of God.
William Barclay: The word used for useless (adokimos) is interesting. It is used to describe a counterfeit coin which is below standard weight. It is used to describe a cowardly soldier who fails in the testing hour of battle. It is used of a candidate rejected for public office, someone whom the citizens regarded as useless. It is used of a stone which the builders rejected. (If a stone had a flaw in it, it was marked with a capital A, for adokimos, and left to one side, as being unfit to have any place in the building.) The ultimate test of life is usefulness, and those who are a bad influence and who have a contaminating effect are of no use to God or to other people. Instead of helping God’s work in the world, they hinder it; and uselessness always invites disaster.
Paul Zehr: With an interpretive triad, Paul comes to an exaggerated conclusion that the opponents are detestable, disobedient, unfit for any good work (Titus 1:16b). First, they are abominable because they pervert moral distinctions. They do not make good moral decisions and thus are guilty of defilement. Second, they are disobedient in that they do not yield to the gospel as taught by the apostles. In reality, they are like pagan unbelievers. And third, they disqualify themselves from any good work in that they fail to stand the test of Christian character. Their lack of true faith produces only illegitimate fruit. Hence, the opponents are worthless and unqualified for any good work. These three “d” words—detestable, disobedient, and disqualified—sadly describe in a derogatory way the condition of the Cretans who have corrupted their minds and consciences by turning away from the true word of God, the gospel of Jesus Christ.