In previous blog posts, we saw that Paul repeatedly calls for distancing oneself from those who deviate from the truth. In Romans 16, the issue concerned those who taught things other than Paul’s teaching. In 2 Thessalonians 3, it concerned brothers who did not walk according to the tradition they had received. We find a similar instruction in the letter to Titus as well.
Titus 3 ISA
10 Reject a divisive person after a first and second warning.
A heretic?
Many translations render this verse as: “Reject a heretical person.” Consequently, most readers immediately think of someone proclaiming false doctrine. That is understandable. In our language, the word “heretic” has come to mean primarily someone who deviates from official doctrine or church teaching. Yet, that is not the meaning of the Greek word Paul uses here.
The word is related to the Greek hairesis. Originally, this meant a party, a school of thought, or a movement. In the book of Acts, the same word is used for the party of the Sadducees (Acts 5:17), the party of the Pharisees (Acts 15:5), and even for believers in Jesus as Messiah, who are called “the sect of the Nazarenes” by their opponents (Acts 24:5). Thus, the word is not negative in itself.
Factions
It becomes negative when someone causes the formation of factions within the ecclesia. That is precisely the problem Paul addresses in his first letter to the Corinthians.
1 Corinthians 1 ISA
10 Now I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all say the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you align yourselves in the same mind and the same opinion.
A little further on, he mentions the cause of that division:
12 I say this, that each of you says: “I am of Paul,” and “I am of Apollos,” and “I am of Cephas,” and “I am of Christ.”
Then Paul asks a number of rhetorical questions:
13 Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?
And in 1 Corinthians 11, he writes:
1 Corinthians 11 ISA
19 For there must also be factions among you, so that those who are approved may become evident among you.
It did not surprise Paul that factions would arise. He even says that they must exist so that the approved ones may be revealed. It is precisely in such situations that it becomes clear who the approved ones are: those who do not join in factionalism but preserve the unity that Christ has given.
first draw attention
It is striking that Paul does not immediately say that such a person must be rejected.
He writes:
“…after a first and second admonition.”
The Greek word translated as “admonition” (or “reproof”) in most translations, literally means drawing someone’s attention to something or placing something in their mind. First, he is given the opportunity to reconsider his attitude. Only when it becomes apparent that he persists in it does the instruction to reject him follow.
he condemns himself
Paul also gives the reason for this.
11 You know that such a person has gone astray and is sinning; he condemns himself.
It is striking that Paul does not say Titus should condemn him. He says that such a person condemns himself. By clinging to his divisiveness and continuing to sow discord, he places himself outside the community. Paul mentions no further measures. The divisive person himself severs the fellowship that Christ has established.
The same pattern
Here, too, we see the same pattern as in the previous blog posts. In Romans, the issue was deviant teaching; in 2 Thessalonians, it was a deviant way of life. Here, it concerns the formation of factions. Although the situations differ, Paul’s fundamental principle remains the same: holding fast to the teaching he had passed on and preserving the unity based upon it.
Where people deviate from that teaching and thereby cause factionalism, Paul calls for clear boundaries to be drawn. Not because Titus ought to condemn someone, but because the divisive person places himself outside the community. Whoever forms a separate group breaks what Christ has joined together. Therefore, Paul’s instruction is brief and clear:
“Reject a divisive person.”