Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Titus 3:11
Knowing that he that is such is subverted, and sinneth, being condemned of himself.
11. he that is such is subverted ] Is perverted, the word is used by Lucian for ‘turning inside out,’ in LXX. for ‘a very froward generation,’ Deu 32:20. Vulg. has ‘subversus,’ but Theod. Mops. Lat. ‘perversus.’ it does not occur again in N.T., the usual compound being with the preposition ‘through and through’ instead of ‘out and out.’ Cf. Act 20:30 ‘speaking perverse things,’ Php 2:15 ‘in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation.’ It cannot, as Professor Reynolds thinks, describe ‘the effect of the isolation’ recommended, but is rather the state of obstinate wrongheadedness (to use a similar English metaphor), which, after two chances of enlightenment rejected, becomes wilful sin. The present tense should have its full force, is a wilful sinner. Cf. Eph 4:26 ‘Be ye angry and sin not,’ 1Jn 3:6 ‘Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not,’ is not a sinner in wilful purpose and habit.
being condemned of himself ] Self-condemned, as such, by callousness to the two approaches of God’s minister: the word does not occur again in N.T.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Knowing that he that is such is subverted – Literally, is turned out; or, is changed, i. e., for the worse. He has gone from the right way, and therefore he should be rejected.
And sinneth, being condemned of himself – His own conscience condemns him. He will approve the sentence, for he knows that he is wrong; and his self-condemnation will be punishment sufficient. His own course, in attempting a division or schism in the church, shows him that it is right that he should be separated from the communion of Christians. He that attempts to rend the church, without a good reason, should himself be separated from it.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 11. Is subverted] Is turned out of the way in which he may be saved, and consequently sinneth-enters into that way that leads to destruction.
Being condemned of himself.] This refers to the Judaizing teacher, who maintained his party and opinions for filthy lucre’s sake. He was conscious of his own insincerity; and that he proclaimed not his system from a conscientious love of truth, but from a desire to get his livelihood. Were the Church in all countries, whether established by law or unestablished, strictly scrutinized, multitudes of heretics of this kind would be found. And perhaps this is the only bad sense in which the word should be understood.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
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.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
11. is . . . subverted“isbecome perverse.”
condemned of himselfHecannot say, no one told him better: continuing the same afterfrequent admonition, he is self-condemned. “He sinneth”wilfully against knowledge.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Knowing that he that is such is subverted,…. Or overturned and demolished; he is like an edifice, that is not only decaying, and falling, but is entirely everted, and pulled down; so that there is no hopes of a restoration or recovery; he is in a desperate condition, having opposed the person, or office, or sacrifice of Christ; having either trodden the Son of God underfoot, or counted his blood common, or done despite unto the spirit of grace; in either of which cases there is no more sacrifice for sin:
and sinneth; not practically, but doctrinally, and wilfully after he has received the knowledge of the truth; by denying the truth he received, in which he continues, notwithstanding the evidence of the word of God is against him; and; notwithstanding the arguments taken from it by the ministers of the Gospel, to convince him; and notwithstanding the admonitions of the church to recover him out of the snare of the devil:
being condemned of himself; not that an heretic is one that is convinced in his own conscience that he is in an error, and that that is a truth which he opposes; and yet he obstinately persists in the one, and continues to set himself against the other; for then, none but an hypocrite, that conceals his true sentiment, can be an heretic; nor can any man be known to be one unless he accuses himself; since no man can know the heart of another; and it would be impracticable in a church to deal with heretics, or reject and excommunicate them: but either the meaning is, that he is such an one, who by his own practice has condemned himself; for whereas he has separated himself not only from the faith of the church, but from the church itself; by so doing he practically condemns himself, or judges himself unworthy of the communion of the church, and so justifies the church in their rejection and exclusion of him: or rather, an heretic is one who having professed Christianity, and received the Scriptures as the only rule of faith and practice, and still professes to abide by the same, and that all doctrine is to be tried by them, and to be approved or condemned as that agrees or disagrees with them, stands condemned by those Scriptures, which he himself allows to be the rule of decision and determination; and so may be said to be self-condemned.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Is perverted (). Perfect passive indicative of , old word to turn inside out, to twist, to pervert. Only here in N.T.
Self-condemned (). Only known example of this double compound verbal adjective (, , ).
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
Is subverted [] . N. T. o. More than turned away from the right path : rather, turned inside out. Comp. LXX, Deu 32:20. Sinneth [] . See on 1Jo 1:9; Mt 1:21, and trespasses, Mt 6:14.
Condemned of himself [] . Better as Rev., self – condemned. N. T. o. o LXX, o Class.
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
1) “Knowing that he that is such.” (eidos hoti ho toioutos) “Perceiving or recognizing that such a man,” or this kind of a man.
2) “Is subverted, and sinneth.” (eksestraptai kai amartanei) “has been perverted and misses the mark of righteousness in his behavior.”
3) “Being condemned of himself.” (hon autokatakritos) “being self-condemned.” His very speech betrays his nature of enmity and rebellion against God, Mat 26:47-49; Mat 26:73.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
11 Knowing that he who is such is ruined He declares that man to be “ruined,” as to whom there is no hope of repentance, because, if our labor could bring back any man to the right path, it should by no means be withheld. The metaphor is taken from a building, which is not merely decayed in some part, but completely demolished, so that it is incapable of being repaired.
He next points out the sign of this ruin — an evil conscience, when he says, that they who do not yield to admonitions are condemned by themselves; for, since they obstinately reject the truth, it is certain that they sin willfully and of their own accord, and therefore it would be of no advantage to admonish them.
At the same time, we learn from Paul’s words that we must not rashly or at random pronounce any man to be a heretic; for he says, “Knowing that he who is such is ruined.” Let the bishop therefore beware lest, by indulging his passionate temper, he treat with excessive harshness, as a heretic, one whom he does not yet know to be such.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(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 pervertedthe expression is a very strong one, and signifies literally hath been turned inside out. The same verb is used in the LXX. translation of Deu. 32:20, the very froward generation of the English versionhaving been warned once and again, he is without the excuse of ignorance, but sins on in the full consciousness of his wilful and seditious life. His perverse conduct in stirring up party-feeling in the Church publicly convicts him of doing the very wrong which in general he professes to condemn. With these words the public or official portion of the Letter to the presiding presbyter in Crete closes. Paul had begun with directions how the church life of the islandup to this period apparently devoid of organisationwas to be arranged; he concludes with instructions how to deal with any who presumed to set themselves in opposition to his plans for the government of the community. The central portion of the letter is occupied in discussing how Christian doctrine is to influence the lives of those accepting it, and especially it treats of the conduct of Christians towards the Pagan world, with whom they will necessarily be brought in contact.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
11. Subverted He has ceased to be a believer, and has become, perhaps, a Gnostic. He has gone over from St. Paul to Simon Magus. He has ceased to be a true Christian, and has become a true Cretan.
Condemned of himself By his persistent maintenance of his heresy he pronounces his own anti-Christianity. He is, therefore, self-defined and self-judged. You need not utter any excommunication nor any anathema, he is condemned of himself.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
11 Knowing that he that is such is subverted, and sinneth, being condemned of himself.
Ver. 11. Is subverted ] Gr. , Is turned topsy turvy, as a tumbler that hath his heels in the air and his head on the earth; as a ship turns up her keel, or as a man “wipeth a dish and turneth it upside down,” 2Ki 21:13 ; some render it thus, He hath the fairest side outward, and make it a metaphor from foul linen, the foul side turned inward; as if he should have said, such a man, whatsoever shows he maketh, is a naughty man. (Mr Cranford on 2Ti 2:17 )
Condemned of himself ] Since, as a headstrong horse, he gets the bit between his teeth, and runs away. Thus did the Pharisees, Toties puncti, et repuncti, minime tamen ad resipiscentiam compuncti, as one saith; they shut the windows lest the light should come in, and so were condemned, by their own consciences. Or, “he is condemned of himself” by excommunicating himself from the holy assemblies (as our church forsakers do), which other sinners are condemned to by the Church. The fornicator, the adulterer, the murderer, &c., are cast out of the Church by the Church officers. But heretics condemn themselves by a wilful departure from the Church; quae recessio propriae conscientiae videtur esse damnatio, and this seems to be the sense of the apostle’s self-condemned, saith Jerome upon this text.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Tit 3:11 . : since thou mayest know .
: subversus est . Argument with a man whose basal mental convictions differ from your own, or whose mind has had a twist, is mere waste of breath.
: proprio iudicio condemnatus (Vulg.). He is self-condemned because his separation from the Church is due to his own acknowledged act. He cannot deny that his views are antagonistic to those which he once accepted as true; he is condemned by his former, and, as St. Paul would say, his more enlightened self.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
Knowing. App-132.
subverted. Greek. ekstrephomai. Only here.
sinneth. App-128.
condemned, &c. Greek. autokatakritos. Only here.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Tit 3:11. ) It is thus the LXX. translate the Hebrew , Deu 32:20.-, sins) Whatever he does and thinks, he is wrong.- ) , his own judgment, accompanies sin (), and , condemnation, follows close after; Rom 14:22-23.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
Tit 3:11
knowing that such a one is perverted, and sinneth, being self-condemned.-He that brings such things into the church is turned away from the way of salvation. The way of salvation is to walk only in the way God has marked out-do only the things he has required. A man who persists in introducing things not commanded by God walks directly against the way of salvation, sins, and brings condemnation upon himself.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
sinneth
Sin. (See Scofield “Rom 3:23”) .
Fuente: Scofield Reference Bible Notes
is subverted: Tit 1:11, Act 15:24, 1Ti 1:19, 1Ti 1:20, 2Ti 2:14, Heb 10:26
being: Mat 25:26-28, Luk 7:30, Luk 19:22, Joh 3:18, Act 13:46, Rom 3:19
Reciprocal: Mat 22:12 – And he was 1Jo 3:20 – if
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Tit 3:11. Subverted means to be turned aside from the proper course. Since nothing outside the proper course can be right, it follows that when a man leaves that course he sinneth as it is here stated. Condemned of himself. Not that he acknowledges his wrong, but is condemned by the things he himself is doing.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Tit 3:11. Such failure in admonishing shows the man had become perverted a self-condemned sinner, because doing in his own case what in general he condemns (Ellicott).