10 For there are many who are insubordinate, empty talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision party. 11 They must be silenced, since they are upsetting whole families by teaching for shameful gain what they ought not to teach. 12 One of the Cretans, a prophet of their own, said, “Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.”13 This testimony is true.
Titus 1:10-13a
We plan to resume our Titus study this Sunday, considering 1:10-13a. Here, Paul gives the basis for his instructions about elders, particularly the necessity that they know sound doctrine and have both the ability and willingness to rebuke those who deviate from it. The situation among the churches on the island of Crete made these requirements all the more important, something Paul emphasizes as he transitions to speak more directly about the false teachers among them.
In his description of the false teachers found in this passage (1:10-13a), we should note a contrast with his prior description of godly leaders. While elders “hold to the trustworthy word as taught,” these false teachers are insubordinate (rebellious) and the things they teach do not promote health but are “empty” because they are not in accordance with the truth. He then identifies many of these teachers as Jews (“of the circumcision”). Because wider church on Crete appear to be in its infancy, it is possible that these believers were still gathering in synagogues and were around religious Jews as well as Jews who claimed to be Christians and yet had not understood the Gospel and its implications. It seems clear that there were some from among these various factions who were teaching false doctrine. Paul states clearly and forcefully that these people must be silenced because their teaching was damaging the spiritual health of many of the believers in Crete.
In his descriptions of these false teachers, the apostle calls to mind two sets of stereotypes. First, these false teachers are acting in the manner of the traveling teachers of the ancient world. It was common for teachers of that time to have been trained in rhetoric and for them to offer their services both for entertainment and instruction. It seems that this was the case for some of these false teachers who appear to have been making money off of Cretan believers by teaching things that did not align with the truth of the Gospel. In light of this, Paul associates them with a second sect of stereotypes associated with Cretan culture itself. The quotation in v. 12 is associated with the writings of several ancient authors and is attributed to someone from Crete itself, establishing its authority. The specifics of the quote identify Cretans as liars whose lives are associated with out of control living. The apostle affirms the truth of these general stereotypes and associates these false teachers with them. The irony of this is that many of these false teachers were Jews who would’ve considered themselves beyond such things. The reality, however, is that both their lives and their teachings reflected these cultural stereotypes much more than they did the call from God for His people to be holy as He is holy.
Paul’s willingness to identify these stereotypes and to speak directly of them showed his confidence in the power of the gospel to transform. Stereotypes, while not always 100% accurate, are there for a reason. Because of our family, ethnic, educational, religious, and national backgrounds, we are all subject to certain tendencies. Although we live in a culture that rejects any kind of general characterization of people based on stereotypes, the apostle Paul seems to see value in speaking about them, not for the purpose of mockery, but in order that we might properly assess ourselves. Paul can make use of such controversial subject matter because of his confidence that in the Gospel our cultural distinctions are redeemed while we are at the same time given a new identity in Christ. Although they were still Cretans, these believers were to reflect more the image of their Savior than the image of their surrounding culture. The main issue with these false teachers is that they personally imaged the culture and the things that they taught meant that their hearers would also have this image reinforced within themselves. In order for the churches to be healthy, godly leaders must therefore identify these false teachers and prevent them from propagating error because only the true Gospel has the power to deliver people from their sinful tendencies and give them new life in Christ.
Join us this Sunday as we worship Jesus Christ who delivers us from the sinful aspects of our cultural background, forgiving our sin and giving us a new identity as citizens of heaven!
Soli Deo Gloria.
-Thomas