Αἱρετικὸν ἄνθρωπον μετὰ μίαν καὶ δευτέραν νουθεσίαν παραιτοῦ, εἰδὼς ὅτι ἐξέστραπται ὁ τοιοῦτος καὶ ἁμαρτάνει ὢν αὐτοκατάκριτος. (Titus 3:10–11)
Reject a divisive person after a first and second warning, knowing that such a one has turned aside and is sinning, being self-condemned.
The Anatomy of Discipline
The instruction begins with αἱρετικὸν ἄνθρωπον, literally “a sectarian man” or “a man of division.” The adjective αἱρετικός stems from αἵρεσις, meaning “choice,” “party,” or “sect,” which in this context conveys willful separation from communal truth. The imperative παραιτοῦ (“reject” or “avoid”) marks a decisive pastoral boundary. Paul’s syntax—μετὰ μίαν καὶ δευτέραν νουθεσίαν—reveals a measured process: the first and second admonitions precede any rejection. The sequence reflects patient correction tempered by accountability. The participial balance of the verse implies that correction is not punitive but restorative; rejection occurs only after grace has been offered and refused. Paul’s pastoral grammar breathes both compassion and firmness: love warns, but love also withdraws when warning is despised.
The Grammar of Turning Aside
The participle εἰδὼς (“knowing”) introduces the rationale for rejection. Discipline is not arbitrary but informed: ὅτι ἐξέστραπται ὁ τοιοῦτος—“that such a one has turned aside.” The perfect tense of ἐξέστραπται from ἐκστρέφω (“to turn out, to pervert”) indicates a completed moral deflection with enduring effect. It is not a momentary error but a settled distortion. Paul’s language fuses cognition and corruption: the false teacher’s mind and path twist together. The next clause, καὶ ἁμαρτάνει (“and is sinning”), moves from perversion to ongoing action—the present tense portrays habitual rebellion. The grammar thus constructs a timeline of apostasy: warned, turned, persisting. Each verbal form charts spiritual decline with grammatical precision.
Auto-Condemnation and the Tragedy of Isolation
The final participial phrase ὢν αὐτοκατάκριτος (“being self-condemned”) encapsulates the theological climax. The compound adjective joins αὐτός (“self”) and κατάκριτος (“condemned”), describing a person whose judgment arises from within. Paul presents a paradox: divine law requires no external verdict because rebellion has already rendered its own sentence. The participle ὢν (present active) implies a continual state of self-condemnation, a conscience hardened yet accusing. The word order, placing αὐτοκατάκριτος at the end, emphasizes the tragic finality. In this syntax, moral collapse is not inflicted but self-inflicted. The man of division becomes both his own accuser and his own executioner.
Lexical and Morphological Table
| Greek Term | Root | Form | Meaning | Exegetical Insight |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| αἱρετικὸν | αἵρεσις | Adjective accusative masculine singular | Divisive, sectarian | Depicts self-willed division born of prideful choice. |
| νουθεσίαν | νουθεσία | Noun accusative feminine singular | Admonition, correction | Implies moral instruction guided by love and patience. |
| ἐξέστραπται | ἐκστρέφω | Perfect passive indicative 3rd singular | Has turned aside, been perverted | Denotes completed moral deflection with lasting distortion. |
| αὐτοκατάκριτος | αὐτός + κατάκριτος | Adjective nominative masculine singular | Self-condemned | Expresses internal moral judgment; conscience as courtroom. |
The Grammar of Grace and Finality
This brief but potent instruction unites grammar and grace in delicate tension. The process – warning once, warning twice – shows the patience of truth; the command to “reject” shows the holiness of community boundaries. The false teacher’s self-condemnation does not negate mercy but confirms that grace unheeded becomes judgment. Paul’s Greek conveys a solemn realism: the church is called not to endless argument but to disciplined love. Every participle, every tense carries ethical weight. To teach is to heal; to warn is to love; to withdraw is to let the self-condemned face his own echo. In the apostle’s syntax, discipline is not cruelty but the final language of grace spoken to a heart unwilling to listen.
