Titus: Transformed by Grace: Part 4

True love doesn’t stay silent. Paul’s charge to Titus reminds us that confronting false teaching with courage and grace isn’t harshness, it’s faithfulness to the truth.

Some people imagine that love means never confronting anyone. To be kind is to stay quiet. To be spiritual is always keeping the peace, even when truth is at stake. But Paul gives Titus a different picture. He tells him, clearly and forcefully, that false teachers must be silenced. “For there are many who are insubordinate, empty talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision party. They must be silenced.” (Titus 1:10–11).¹

This charge is strong language. Paul is not warning about outsiders or fringe influencers. He talks about people inside the ecclesia, those with influence and persuasion but without spiritual integrity. The instruction is not to tolerate them, ignore them, or try to appease them. It is to silence them.

This article will explore why Paul uses such urgent language, what kind of people he is warning about, and how ecclesial leaders today can confront spiritual abuse without becoming abusive themselves. The goal is not to win arguments but to protect the vulnerable and uphold the truth.

When Words Do Damage

Paul describes these dangerous voices with a cluster of traits: insubordinate, empty talkers, and deceivers. Let’s unpack each one.

Insubordinate—These are people who resist accountability. They will not submit to sound teaching or healthy spiritual leadership. Instead, they stir unrest. They want influence without responsibility. They want to be above correction but central to conversation.

Empty talkers—These people use many words to say very little. Their speech may sound sophisticated, even spiritual, but it lacks depth. They use rhetoric instead of revelation. They chase shadows and miss the substance, generating fog rather than light. Their teachings do not nourish; they inflate, confuse, and distract.

Deceivers—These individuals are the most damaging. They aim to lead others astray. They may not always be aware of the harm they cause, but their teaching twists the gospel and undermines confidence in Christ. Whether by subtle additions to the gospel or by manipulative tones of authority, their influence weakens faith and divides ecclesias.

Paul singles out those “of the circumcision party.” These were likely legalistic teachers who insisted Gentiles conform to Jewish ceremonial law to be accepted. But their message added burdens Christ never gave. Their gospel was no gospel at all.

Paul’s verdict? They must be silenced. That’s not a call for censorship born of intolerance, but a pastoral directive born of love. Because what they were doing was dangerous. Legalism is dangerous.

Wrecking Households

They are upsetting whole families by teaching for shameful gain what they ought not to teach. (Titus 1:11).

False teachers don’t just distort ideas; they damage lives. Paul says entire households were being overturned. Perhaps these were literal families. Perhaps they were “house churches.” Either way, the impact was deeply personal.

And the motive? Shameful gain. Whether it was money, influence, control, or admiration, their teaching served themselves, not Christ. What ought to have been a ministry of edification had become a mechanism of exploitation.

This pattern repeats across history. Wherever spiritual authority is used for personal advantage, the gospel is obscured. Whenever teachers seek a platform more than the well-being of others, harm follows. When ecclesias do not take responsibility for their leadership, the vulnerable suffer. Paul says this cannot be tolerated. The gospel is too precious, and the people of God too valuable.

The Courage to Rebuke

Therefore rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith. (Titus 1:13).

Silencing false teachers is not just about exclusion. It’s about correction. Paul tells Titus to rebuke them sharply. That word means clearly, decisively, with firm conviction. Still, the goal is not humiliation. It’s healing. Paul added, “that they may be sound in the faith.” Paul still hopes for restoration. Even false teachers can be redeemed, but they won’t change without being challenged.

To rebuke with clarity is to love truth and people enough to say what must be said. It’s not easy, but it’s essential. Ecclesias need leaders who will guard doctrine without being doctrinaire, who will call out harm without becoming harsh, and who will protect the flock without posturing as saviors.

The courage to rebuke includes the grace to forgive. The grace to forgive includes the humility to confront, not to prove we’re right, but to restore what’s been harmed.

Cretans Are Always Liars? Discernment Without Cruelty

One of the Cretans, a prophet of their own, said, “Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.” This testimony is true. (Titus 1:12–13).

Paul quotes Epimenides, a Cretan philosopher, to describe the cultural backdrop Titus was working in. Crete was known for dishonesty, greed, and indulgence. Even Cretans admitted it. But Paul affirms this cultural diagnosis not to insult, but to prepare Titus for reality. He’s not stereotyping individuals; he’s naming the climate. In that context, the gospel must shine even more clearly. The ecclesia must not adopt the culture’s vices. It must display a new way of being human, life shaped by truth, self-control, and hope.

Discernment means recognizing the dangers without descending into disdain. We name sin but never dehumanize sinners. We acknowledge cultural brokenness but never assume people are beyond redemption. The grace that reached us in our sin can reach them in theirs.

Titus had a challenging task. He needed both realism and resolve. And Paul was giving him both.

Conclusion: Protecting the Flock with Courage and Grace

Paul ends this section of his letter with a serious charge: false teachers are defiled, unfit for any good work, and deny God by their deeds. That’s not hyperbole. It’s the sober truth of what happens when words and lives are no longer anchored in Christ. These leaders had slipped so far into deception that their very lives contradicted their confession. For Paul, this wasn’t just a doctrinal error; it was spiritual betrayal.

They profess to know God, but they deny him by their works. They are detestable, disobedient, unfit for any good work. (Titus 1:16).

This verse captures the gravity of spiritual leadership gone wrong. These men said the right things but lived a lie. Their leadership had the appearance of godliness but denied its power. Paul does not hesitate to name the outcome as being detestable in God’s sight, disobedient to His Word, and disqualified from any fruitful work.

This warning isn’t about minor disagreements. It’s not about the nuances of Scriptural interpretation or ecclesial style. It’s about the heart of the gospel being undermined. When leaders live contrary to the truth they preach, they bring dishonor to the name of Christ and danger to the people they are supposed to serve. And so, Paul calls Titus, and through him, all of us, to two essential and difficult tasks:

1. Have the Courage to Confront: Confrontation is uncomfortable. Many of us would rather avoid it. But Paul leaves no room for passivity. If a teaching is harming the body, it must be addressed. If a leader is leading people away from Christ, they must be challenged. Courage in this context is not the absence of fear, but the presence of conviction. It’s the willingness to speak the truth, not because it’s easy, but because it’s necessary. Silence in the face of deception is not neutrality; it’s negligence.

Confrontation must be rooted in love—love for the flock, love for the Truth, and even love for the one in error. That’s what makes it so hard. It’s not about vengeance or triumph. It’s about clarity, healing, and the hope of repentance. Still, it must be done. Leaders who refuse to protect the vulnerable are not qualified to lead.

2. Have the Grace to Restore: Paul never loses sight of grace. Even here, in a section full of strong language and sober warnings, the hope is restoration. The rebuke is not meant to end the story—it’s intended to create space for a new chapter. A chapter where false teachers become sound in the faith. Where wolves turn back into sheep. Where corrupted voices are silenced so that truth can once again be heard.

Restoration is never guaranteed. Some will harden. Some will resist. But the offer must remain open. Because grace is not just how we begin the Christian life—it’s how we lead, how we correct and how we hope. Ecclesias shaped by grace will be places where truth and love walk hand in hand—here the vulnerable are protected and the wayward are called back—not with shame, but with truth and tenderness.

This leadership is the kind the ecclesia desperately needs. Leadership that’s vigilant without being violent. That’s bold without being brash. That protects the weak and stands firm for truth—but always with an open hand, ready to restore, ready to forgive, ready to begin again.

Titus had a formidable assignment. So do many leaders today. But Paul did not send him into that role without tools. He gave him clarity. He gave him a strategy. God gave him grace. The same grace that saves us is the grace that strengthens us to serve, to speak, and to stand.

So, let’s be clear where the gospel must be clear. Let’s confront what threatens the flock, not with arrogance, but with resolve. Let’s rebuke with truth, not to tear down, but to build up. Above all, let’s never lose sight of the grace of God, which trains us, saves us, and transforms even the hardest hearts. That grace is our hope, and it is enough.

Andrew Weller,
Cumberland Ecclesia, SA