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Titus Studies | 1:1-8 | 1:9-16 | 2:1-5 | 2:6-10 | 2:11-15 | 3:1-7 | 3:8-15 | PDF |

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These small group Bible studies of Titus 3:8-15 contain cross-references, Bible study discussion questions, and applications.  Visit our library of inductive Bible studies for more in depth inductive studies on this and other books of the Bible you can use in your small group.

Titus 3:8-15 Bible Study Guide – Avoid Foolish Controversies

Outline

I. Avoid foolish controversies (8-11)
II. Personal instructions to Titus (12-14)
III. Final greetings (15)

I. Avoid foolish controversies (8-11)

Discussion Questions

• What are “these things” that Titus was to insist on?
• Are some things worth arguing about? If so, what?
• Based on verse 8, how could “good works” be defined?
• What type of topics should be avoided? Why?
• Why do people care about these things since they are clearly useless?
• What are some examples of discussions which fall into these categories in verse 9?
• If we should avoid those things, what should we then pursue?
• How can you help guide people to think about and focus on important topics rather than frivolous ones?
• How should we deal with people who stir up division?
• Is it loving to cut off communications with such a person?
• What does it mean that such a person is warped?

Cross-References

2 Timothy 2:14 – Remind them of these things, and charge them before God not to quarrel about words, which does no good, but only ruins the hearers.

2 Timothy 2:23-25 – Have nothing to do with foolish, ignorant controversies; you know that they breed quarrels. And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth

2 Corinthians 10:5 – We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ.

Verse by Verse Commentary

1. The saying is trustworthy – Paul refers to the foundational elements of the gospel he shared in the previous passage. The core principle is seen in verse 5:

“He saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit.”

Paul is reminding Titus not to be distracted. The gospel is to be the key focus of his teaching and ministry. He can trust it and rely upon it. He will never go wrong when he sticks to the gospel.

Application – Just as “all roads lead to Rome,” all Scripture leads to Christ. Ministries should focus on the gospel rather than peripheral issues.

2. I want you to insist on these things – God calls us to follow Jesus’ example in being meek. Jesus taught that we should “turn the other cheek.”

Reflect – How can these teachings be harmonized with Paul telling Titus to “insist” on these things?

Being meek is not equal to not having a backbone. Many arguments are not worth having. Turning the other cheek refers to being on the receiving end of personal injury or insult.

However, some arguments are worth having. Some things are worth fighting for. A shepherd over the flock must not allow false teachers to come among the sheep and spread division, heresy, or bad teaching. Paul charged Titus to “insist” on the foundational truths of the gospel.

When disagreements centered on core gospel truths, Titus could not compromise or just “let it go.”

A Bible teacher should not be argumentative (Titus 1:7). Neither should he insist on his own opinion. However, he must hold firm to the Word of God. He must insist on issues where the Bible speaks clearly.

Reflect – What are some teachings/truths that Bible teachers should insist on? What are some issues that are acceptable to compromise on?

3. So those who believe in God may be careful to devote themselves to good works –

Here, we see the cause and effect of good doctrine. Good doctrine should result in good works. The purpose of sound doctrine is not only to provide head knowledge but also to change our actions and behavior.

It is easy for well-meaning Christians to be led astray into useless pursuits and speculation (as Paul will discuss in verse 9).

Titus was to fend off arguments that would distract the believers from simple and straightforward good works in serving God.

He describes good works as “excellent” and “profitable for people.” Therefore, one question we can use to test our own pursuits is simply asking, “Is this profitable for people?”

Here are some things that are profitable for people:

• Sharing the gospel.
• Teaching the Bible.
• Exercising hospitality.
• Sharing our testimony.
• Praying for others.
• Doing work projects that help the needy.

Reflect – What are some examples of things people spend time on that are not profitable?

Application – Is the majority of your time spent doing things that are profitable for people? Take some time to evaluate your daily activities and schedule, asking the simple question, “Is that profitable?”

4. Avoid foolish controversies, genealogies, etc., for they are unprofitable and worthless –

Paul directs Titus to focus on the gospel and teach people to live simple, godly, and obedient Christian lives in service to God. In addition, he was to avoid getting involved in worthless debates, speculation, and arguments.

How do we know whether an action or discussion topic is worthy? The simple test, “Is it profitable?” should be applied. Does discussing this issue help equip people to serve God?

Here are some topics of debate that would fall into the “worthless” category:

• One of the oldest debates in the church is “how many angels can fit on the head of a pin?” It is foolish speculation. Knowing the answer would not make any practical difference in our behavior. Perhaps the only use of this debate is serving as a good object lesson of the types of things that are a total waste of time.
• More and more books coming out about people’s experiences of dying and going to heaven. Are these real? Did people really go to heaven? Which parts of the books are accurate? A lot of time could go into this black hole. But how do those discussions profit us? God already revealed to us what we need to know about heaven. We should still share the gospel, teach the Word, and live obedient Christian lives. The time spent debating the credibility of these stories would be far better served going out and sharing the gospel with someone.
• What is on the little scroll in Revelation 10? God did not reveal it to us. Guessing is idle speculation.
• Who is the antichrist? His identity is a mystery until he is revealed. Time spent speculating is wasted.

And there are still more topics that might be reasonable to discuss and spend some time on, but they can become a distraction and waste our time if we are not careful.

• Who wrote the book of Hebrews? Knowing the answer would be nice, but it would not significantly change our Christian life.
• What type of chairs should we buy for our auditorium? It’s useful to consider various ideas (cost and comfort, etc.), but it should not become a point of division, and excessive time should not be spent on it.

Reflect – What should you do when people in your church or Bible study group want to discuss these types of unprofitable things? How can you graciously bring the conversation back to fruitful topics?

5. As for a person who stirs up division, warn him twice and then have nothing more to do with him –

Paul gives Titus clear instructions on how to deal with a divisive person in the church. Firstly, Titus should approach such a person and warn him. That could involve addressing his teachings with biblical truth, encouraging him to get back on track and focus on profitable discussions, or directly using his authority as a leader in the church to command the divisive person to cease and desist.

If the person continues sowing seeds of division in the church, Titus was to warn them again.

If that failed, the next step was to cut off ties. At first glance, that might seem to be unloving. Shouldn’t we continue to chase after the lost sheep?

A person who ignores multiple warnings from church leadership should not be counted as a sheep (though only God knows for sure). There are several reasons why such behavior cannot be tolerated.

A. It will be a distraction that would waste the time of the church leader, which could be better spent elsewhere. Divisive people generally only want to argue. And they are not interested in wisdom or learning. Giving them more attention tends to feed their morbid desire to argue even more.

In the past, I have engaged with cult members and attempted to answer their arguments with sound Biblical teaching. In almost every case, my careful Bible hermeneutics were ignored, and the cult evangelists would be energized to continue sending email after email, seemingly without end.

Such conversations can quickly become a black hole. It was regarding cases like this that Jesus advised not to “cast pearls before swine.” In other words, it is better to invest our time in ministering to hungry people who desire to grow rather than divisive ones whose only interest is arguing.

B. Proceeding to allow people a platform for airing their divisiveness could enable sheep to be negatively influenced and potentially even led astray. Church leaders have a responsibility to everyone in their flock. One of their responsibilities is to protect the community from false teaching and anything that may lead them astray.

For the group’s good, a person who repeatedly influences the sheep negatively may need to be removed from the group.

C. Continuing to engage with such a person may give them legitimacy (at least in their minds). Such a person needs to know in no uncertain terms that their behavior is unacceptable for a child of God. Cutting all ties as the final warning would hopefully serve as a wake-up call, encouraging that person to repent.

Application – The meaning of the verse is simple and clear. Don’t spend a lot of time arguing with someone who just wants to cause trouble.

6. Such a person is warped and sinful; he is self-condemned – A divisive person has twisted motives. He is not seeking the good of others. Much like a vandal finds joy in destroying others’ property, the divisive person enjoys causing trouble in the body of Christ.

II. Personal instructions to Titus (12-14)

Discussion Questions

• What do you know about Tychicus?
• What personal instructions did Paul give Titus?
• What do these verses show us about the team?
• What do they show us about Paul’s ministry?
• What final reminder does Paul give Timothy?
• How important is the reminder in verse 14?
• What are some specific ways you can devote yourself to good deeds this week?

Cross-References

Acts 20:4, Ephesians 6:21, Colossians 4:7, 2 Timothy 4:12 – All of these verses mention Tychicus.

1 Corinthians 12:20-25 – As it is, there are many parts, yet one body. The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you,” nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and on those parts of the body that we think less honorable we bestow the greater honor, and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty, which our more presentable parts do not require. But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it, that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another.

Ephesians 4:16 – From whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.

Verse by Verse Commentary

1. Paul’s team –

John MacArthur, in his commentary, calls this section of the book a “verbal group photograph,” which is a very apt description. Here, Paul includes a greeting from, and a mention of, many members of his team. Many of these were helping him in his ministry. Some were fellow workers who ministered together with him. Others were vital because they could come alongside Paul and encourage him in this difficult time while he was imprisoned. For every Paul, Peter, David, or Moses in the Bible, there are fifty or a hundred Tychicuses and Artemases. These are the people serving in the background, the “unsung heroes” of the early church.

At first glance, we may think that this passage is boring. There is not much in-depth teaching. But actually, this passage gives us a vital look behind the scenes of Paul’s ministry. The key point we can get from this is that Paul could not do this on his own. Paul was not a lone wolf. He didn’t and couldn’t carry out an effective ministry alone. God has not designed the church to function with a single alpha leader.

1 Corinthians 12 shows us that God designed the church like a body, giving each member his own gift to fulfill his individual function properly. Even “Paul the Great” needed support. He needed prayer warriors to help him shoulder the burden of praying for churches and individuals stretched across the Roman Empire. He himself needed people to come alongside him, praying for and encouraging him when times were tough. Paul could not have accomplished what he did without these people to help, support, encourage, and work together with him. He would have burned out long before.

Moses realized more than a thousand years before that he could not shoulder the load of ministry on his own. (See Numbers 11:11-17.) God answered Moses’ prayer by giving him the help he needed.

All of us need to be sharpened by other believers around us. We need to be humble and teachable so that we can be supported and helped by others. We also need to willingly offer support and encouragement for others to sharpen those who may grow dull otherwise.

You would think if there were ever a time that Paul would be alone, it would be while he was in prison. But even during this time, he was surrounded by brothers working together with him.
What can we learn from this? What lessons can we apply to our lives?

These guys took a serious risk associating with a “criminal” like Paul. There was no monetary benefit and little recognition for interacting with Paul. But they sacrificed their own time and energy to help him. Let’s take a closer look at some of the eight guys mentioned here.

Artemas – Unknown except for this one mention.

Tychicus – The Man with the Servant’s Heart.

• Mentioned five times in the NT
• He was going to travel with Paul to Jerusalem (1 Cor 16:1-9).
• He was going to deliver this letter to the Colossians.
• He delivered the letter of Ephesians (Ephesians 6:21) and probably Philemon.
• Beloved brother
• Fellow bond-servant
• A faithful steward of the ministry (1 Cor 4:2)
• An encourager

Zenas the lawyer – This is the only time he is mentioned in Scripture. He evidently served as part of Paul’s team. Perhaps he used his skills as a lawyer to defend believers who were being persecuted for their faith. Every person can use their skills, resources, and gifts to serve in the body of Christ.

Apollos –

• He is mentioned ten times in the Bible.
• He first preached the gospel from John the Baptist. Later, he was corrected by Priscilla and Aquila and came to personal faith in Jesus.
• He was a powerful speaker and mighty in the Scriptures (Acts 19:1).
• Served faithfully in the church in Corinth (Acts 19:1, 1 Corinthians 1:12, 1 Corinthians 3)

Application – Are you part of a team? Do you work well with others? Spend some time evaluating your ability to cooperate with others as part of a team. Are there any areas you need to grow in?

2. Let our people learn to devote themselves to good works…and not be unfruitful –

This is the second time Paul used this exact phrase, “devote…to good works,” in this passage.

Reflect – What is the significance of the word “devote”? What are some practical ways you can devote yourselves to good deeds?

III. Final greetings (15)

Discussion Questions

• How does Paul close this letter?
• What can we learn from that?

Verse by Verse Commentary

1. Closing greetings – Paul is always very polite and gives a closing greeting from himself and the team members around him.

Reflect – What are the key points you learned from this book? Which principles from this book can transform your life, attitude, or service for God? And how?

Titus Bible Study Guide – If this study is helpful, you can download the complete Titus study in PDF or get the paperback from Amazon.

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