Titus 3:11
knowing that such a person is warped and sinful; he is self-condemned.
English Standard Version (ESV)
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Titus 3:11
knowing that such a person is warped and sinful; he is self-condemned.
English Standard Version (ESV)
This page isn't yet indexed by search engines.
The Greek word used here, literally meaning "turned inside out," suggests someone whose inner life is so disordered that their outward actions are completely warped. This isn't just a simple mistake, but a deep internal perversion that leads them to sin with full self-awareness, making their own conscience their judge.
Paul is concluding his instructions to Titus on how to lead the church in Crete. After detailing how believers should live and interact with the world, he turns to the difficult issue of dealing with divisive and disruptive individuals within the community. He commands Titus to reject those who persistently cause trouble after repeated warnings, emphasizing that such people are beyond simple correction and condemn themselves through their ongoing sin.
What does it mean to be 'warped' in our faith? This verse uses a powerful image for spiritual distortion.
The verse describes someone who is 'warped' (Greek: 'exestraptai'). This isn't just a slight deviation; it's like something turned inside out, completely flipped from its intended state.
A Complete Turnaround
Think of a perfectly good piece of fabric suddenly turned inside out. Its original beauty and purpose are hidden, and the seams and wrong side are exposed. This is what happens spiritually when someone rejects truth and guidance. They aren't just a little off; their entire inner being is disordered.
This 'warping' happens when people stubbornly refuse sound teaching and warnings. Instead of being corrected, they become more entrenched in their wrong thinking and behavior.
The verse mentions 'self-condemned.' What does this inner judgment mean for someone who keeps going their own way?
When Paul says such a person is 'self-condemned,' he's pointing to a profound spiritual reality. After rejecting God's messengers and truth, the person's own inner sense of right and wrong, their conscience, bears witness against them.
The Judge Within
This isn't necessarily about feeling deep remorse in the moment. Instead, it's about the objective truth that their actions and beliefs are contrary to what they know (or should know) is right. Their rejection of repeated warnings seals their own judgment. They are not condemned by an external force without cause; their own persistent refusal of truth is the basis of their condemnation.
This self-condemnation shows that the sin isn't due to ignorance, but a willful choice to remain in error.
Understand the original words
ekstrephō · Greek Adjective (participle)
A general term for deviating from the standard or moral path; in a theological context, it refers to a person whose moral or doctrinal integrity is twisted or perverted.
hamartanō · Greek Adjective (participle)
A state of missing the mark of God's standard, involving actions, thoughts, or states of being that fall short of His holiness and glory.
autokatakritos · Greek Adjective
A person who has passed judgment upon themselves through their own actions or choices, placing themselves outside the bounds of fellowship by rejecting correction.
Titus 3:11 speaks to the dire state of individuals who, despite clear warnings and opportunities for correction, stubbornly persist in divisive and sinful behavior within the early Christian communities.
c. AD 62— this verse
Paul Writes the Epistle to Titus
The Apostle Paul writes this letter to Titus, whom he had left on the island of Crete to organize the churches and appoint elders.
Early to Mid-1st Century AD
Spread of Christianity in Crete
Christianity had begun to take root in Crete, but the newly formed churches faced challenges from internal disputes and false teachers.
1st Century AD
Rise of False Teachers
Individuals within the Cretan churches were causing division, likely by promoting legalistic interpretations or divisive teachings, necessitating Paul's strong counsel to Titus.
1st Century AD
Paul's Instructions on Church Discipline
Paul provides specific instructions to Titus on how to deal with disruptive individuals, emphasizing repeated warnings before ultimately rejecting them.
This passage uses a similar strong verb to describe Israel's 'perverseness,' highlighting the profound deviation from God's path that Titus 3:11 speaks of when describing a 'perverted' person.
Romans 14:22Paul connects 'self-condemnation' to actions and beliefs that aren't based on full conviction, echoing the internal conflict and corrupted judgment implied in Titus 3:11.
2 Timothy 3:8This verse describes individuals like Jannes and Jambres who, like the 'perverted' person in Titus, resist truth and have 'corrupted' minds, showing a pattern of opposition to God's ways.
Proverbs 26:16The idea of being 'self-condemned' resonates with this proverb's observation that fools often think their own way is right, even when it leads to destruction, illustrating the blindness of willful sin.
ellicottTitus 3:11: "Knowing that he that is such is subverted, and sinneth, being condemned of himself."
(11) Knowing that he that is such is subverted, and sinneth, being condemned of himself. —Better rendered, is perverted and sinneth, being self-condemned. Inasmuch as thou knowest, seeing that thy reproofs and warnings have been of none effect, that he is “thoroughly perverted”—the expression is a very strong one, and signifies literally hath been turned inside out. The same verb is used in the LXX…
pooleTitus 3:11: "Knowing that he that is such is subverted, and sinneth, being condemned of himself."
Is subverted; ezestraptai, is turned out of the true and right way and road; and sinneth, and is a transgressor, being condemned of himself, condemned of his own conscience; for he who spends his time about questions and genealogies, and strifes of words, and little questions about the law, instead of preaching Christ, is told by his own conscience that he doth not do his duty.
The Greek word used here, literally meaning "turned inside out," suggests someone whose inner life is so disordered that their outward actions are completely warped. This isn't just a simple mistake, but a deep internal perversion that leads them to sin with full self-awareness, making their own conscience their judge.
Paul is concluding his instructions to Titus on how to lead the church in Crete. After detailing how believers should live and interact with the world, he turns to the difficult issue of dealing with divisive and disruptive individuals within the community. He commands Titus to reject those who persistently cause trouble after repeated warnings, emphasizing that such people are beyond simple correction and condemn themselves through their ongoing sin.
Paul is concluding his instructions to Titus on how to lead the church in Crete. After detailing how believers should live and interact with the world, he turns to the difficult issue of dealing with divisive and disruptive individuals within the community. He commands Titus to reject those who persistently cause trouble after repeated warnings, emphasizing that such people are beyond simple correction and condemn themselves through their ongoing sin.
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"knowing that such a person is warped and sinful; he is self-condemned." — The Greek word used here, literally meaning "turned inside out," suggests someone whose inner life is so disordered that their outward actions are completely warped. This isn't just a simple mistake,…