Titus 3

10-11 Paul tells Titus to give just two warnings to the person who is divisive, who persists in quarreling and arguing. If he doesn’t heed the two warnings, then Titus should have nothing to do with him.⁵ He should not try to argue with such a person; it will do no good. Such a person is warped and sinful (verse 11). It is not possible to reason with him. He will not listen to any further warnings. Because of his divisiveness and his opposition to others, such a man sins against the church. He is self-condemned; that is, he is condemned by his own words and actions.

Men leave true doctrine and teaching because they want to walk in their own way and do as they please. Such men are selfish, proud, and ignorant. And after they leave the truth, they become even more enslaved by sin and their minds become even more hardened and corrupt (see 1 Timothy 6:3-5; 2 Timothy 2:16 and comments).

12 Paul was about to send Artemas⁶ or Tychicus⁷ to Crete, so that Titus might then be free to come to Paul in Nicopolis.⁸

13 Paul asks Titus to help Zenas and Apollos on their journey. Apollos was a famous preacher; he was a colleague of Paul’s (Acts 18:24-28; 1 Corinthians 3:46). Nothing else is known about Zenas.

14-15 Our people—that is, the believers in Crete—must be ready to help each other in all practical ways. They must especially give help and hospitality to travelers, such as Zenas and Apollos.

¹  Crete is a large island in the Mediterranean Sea south of Greece (see Acts 27:7-8, 12-13).

² Some Bible scholars believe that the title elder mentioned in verse 5 and the title overseer mentioned in verse 7 refer to two distinct kinds of church leader. The reason they believe this is because the word blameless occurs both in verse 6 and verse 7—as if Paul was talking about two different types of leader, both of whom had to be blameless. These scholars say that if Paul had been talking about only one type of leader, he wouldn’t have mentioned twice that they must be “blameless.” For further discussion, see General Article: Church Government.

³ The ceremony of baptism in itself does not save us. But true baptism in faith signifies the washing away of our sins, in which we were once dead (Ephesians 2:1), and our resulting spiritual rebirth. The washing away of our sins and our being reborn by the Spirit always go together. For further discussion, see Word List: Baptism.

⁴ Here we see that we have been saved by all three persons of the triune God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—working together. For further discussion, see General Articles: Jesus Christ, Holy Spirit.

⁵ Paul does not say here that such a person must be expelled from the church after two warnings; but certainly if he continues being divisive, he should be expelled (see 1 Corinthians 5:11,13 and comment).

⁶  Artemas is not mentioned elsewhere in the New Testament.

⁷ Tychicus is mentioned in Ephesians 6:2; Colossians 4:7; 2 Timothy 4:12.

⁸ Nicopolis is a city in western Greece.