Titus 1:16 16They profess to know God, but by their works they deny him, being. They are detestable and disobedient and unfit for every good work.
Paul digs into the opponents in Crete in this verse with a strong statement of their problem. Profess (homologousin) implies some type of outward statement of their faith. They verbally claimed to know God, but how they lived betrayed their inner thoughts. The difference between what they said and what they did was clear enough evidence that they lacked genuine faith in God. Their faith was directed towards themselves. This is the danger of legalism, which is the effort of being righteous by one’s own actions. Deep down, however, legalism deteriorates into selfishness. These false teachers may have sounded smart with impressive words, but inside, they lacked saving faith. Their works (ergois) refuted any verbal claim they made.
Paul illustrates this denial with three descriptions in the last part of this verse. These character qualities contrast with those expected from the elders Titus needs to appoint. First, they are detestable (bdelyktoi). This word only occurs here in the New Testament and means “repugnant,” “abhorrent,” “repulsive,” or “disgusting.” There is nothing attractive about these people when their inner persons are revealed. They may look impressive until one digs deeper down into their character. Second, they are disobedient (apeitheis). They claimed to have special insight into God’s laws and Jewish traditions (verse 14) but they do not obey these law and are deceived by the myths. They missed the whole point of the law, which is to lead people to depend on God’s grace, mercy, and forgiveness. Third, all this makes them unfit or unqualified(adokimoi) for doing anything good. They are not able to do the very things they attempt to do. “unqualified” to do good works, the thing they attempt to do. All of this is because they were building themselves up and not putting God first. As a result, they would pull the whole church down.
The quality of the leaders of a church is so crucial. As ministers are prepared by academic institutions, teachers must not forget the importance of character formation. The qualities that Titus needed to look for in the elders and overseers in Crete grow out of submission, consecration, and love for God. They are built on a solid foundation of knowledge and wisdom. One of the reasons Titus needed to be involved in this situation was to ensure that the truth of the gospel was being taught and that the leaders knew it well.
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