Titus 3:10 tells a church leader to step back from someone who keeps stirring up factions after being corrected twice. The instruction is not about cutting off anyone who simply disagrees, but about dealing with a person who repeatedly divides the community and refuses to change course. The apostle Paul wrote these words to Titus, a young leader he had left on the island of Crete to organize the churches there, and the verse gives Titus a clear, patient process for handling trouble.
Avoid a factious man after a first and second warning…
Titus 3:10 (WEB)
What Titus 3:10 Means
The verse begins by naming the problem: a “factious” man, meaning someone who deliberately creates splits, rivalries, and camps within the congregation. Paul is not describing an honest difference of opinion. He is describing a pattern of behavior that pulls people apart and makes the community less healthy.
Next comes the process. Titus is to give a first warning, then a second, and only then step away from the person. This is a patient, two-step approach that gives the individual real chances to hear correction and change. The phrase “avoid” does not mean hatred or public shaming. It means withdrawing from the role of leading or endorsing that person’s divisive agenda, so the church is not damaged further.
What the verse does not promise is an instant or automatic response. It does not give leaders permission to label anyone they disagree with as factious. It asks for careful discernment, repeated attempts at correction, and a sincere desire to restore the person if possible.
The Context of Titus 3:10
The letter to Titus is traditionally attributed to Paul and written to a younger co-worker who was given the task of setting right what was lacking in the Cretan churches. Paul’s concerns throughout the letter are order, sound teaching, good conduct, and unity. Titus is told to appoint elders, teach sound doctrine, and encourage believers to live in ways that reflect the grace of God.
Just before verse 10, Paul urges Titus to avoid “foolish questionings, genealogies, strife, and disputes about the law,” because those things are unprofitable and vain. Verse 10 follows naturally: when people insist on arguments that produce division rather than good works, the leader must address the person stirring them up. Reading the verse in this setting shows that the goal is protecting the church’s shared life and its focus on doing good, not winning every debate.
Key Phrases in Titus 3:10
Romans 16:17
Now I beg you, brothers, look out for those who are causing the divisions and occasions of stumbling, contrary to the doctrine which you learned, and turn away from them.
(WEB)
Paul gives a similar warning about those who create divisions and obstacles against the teaching believers have learned. Reading it alongside Titus 3:10 shows that guarding the church from people who cause division was a consistent concern in the early Christian communities.
Matthew 18:15-17
15 “If your brother sins against you, go, show him his fault between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained back your brother. 16 But if he doesn’t listen, take one or two more with you, that at the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established. 17 If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the assembly. If he refuses to hear the assembly also, let him be to you as a Gentile or a tax collector.
(WEB)
Jesus lays out a patient process for addressing a brother or sister who sins, beginning privately and moving to witnesses only if needed. This passage parallels Titus 3:10 in its emphasis on careful, step-by-step correction before the community takes firmer action.
A Short Prayer From Titus 3:10
Lord, you know the places where my words or actions have sown division instead of peace. Help me to speak truthfully and patiently, and to pursue reconciliation before anything else. Give wisdom to every leader who must correct someone who is causing harm, so that the correction is firm, honest, and full of hope for restoration. Keep your church united in good works and in love for one another. Amen.
