What is the meaning of Titus 3:11? Knowing Paul has just told Titus, “Reject a divisive man after a first and second admonition” (Titus 3:10). The next words—“knowing that…”—assume spiritual discernment that rests on revealed truth, not guesswork. When repeated warnings fail, we know the problem is no longer ignorance but hardened resistance. Jesus set the pattern: “By their fruit you will recognize them” (Matthew 7:20). Likewise, 1 Timothy 6:3-5 identifies teachers who “understand nothing” yet stir up strife; their ongoing behavior furnishes the knowledge Titus needs. Such a man The phrase narrows the focus to the individual who persists in causing factions. Scripture consistently personalizes accountability: Acts 13:10 calls Elymas “son of the devil” for opposing the gospel, and 3 John 9-10 names Diotrephes as one who loves preeminence. Titus must see beyond abstract error to the person who willingly spreads it. “Anyone who goes on ahead and does not abide in the teaching of Christ does not have God” (2 John 9). The man described has crossed that line. Is corrupt Corruption here points to an internal decay already at work. Jesus spoke of “bad trees” producing “bad fruit” (Matthew 7:17-18). Paul said deceivers are “corrupted in mind” (2 Timothy 3:8) and “their unbelieving mind is defiled” (Titus 1:15). The divisive person isn’t merely making a mistake; his heart and motives have rotted, twisting truth to serve self. And sinful The corruption overflows in ongoing, willful sin. “Everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin” (John 8:34). Unlike a brother who stumbles yet repents (Luke 17:3), this man persists, showing that sin, not Christ, rules him. Hebrews 10:26 warns that deliberate sin after receiving knowledge of the truth leaves no further sacrifice—only judgment. He is self-condemned No outside verdict is needed; his actions condemn him. “This is the judgment: The Light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than the Light” (John 3:19). By rejecting correction, he passes sentence on himself, much like the Jews who judged themselves “unworthy of eternal life” (Acts 13:46). Romans 2:15 says conscience bears witness; here, persistent divisiveness shouts guilt, sealing his own condemnation. summary Titus 3:11 teaches that when a person repeatedly rejects loving correction and continues to stir up division, we can know three things: he is already inwardly corrupted, actively sinning, and his own obstinate behavior has pronounced judgment upon him. Recognizing this protects the church, honors the truth, and leaves the unrepentant man to the consequences he himself has chosen. |
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