First, Paul specified the men against whom Titus must contend: “For there are many who are insubordinate, empty talkers and deceivers” (Titus 1:10). It stands to reason that those who trouble the church with false teaching do not respect the authority of leaders. William Barclay compares them to “disloyal soldiers who refused to obey the word of command.” They are, further, “empty talkers,” that is, teachers whose doctrine produces no sanctifying change in the lives of their hearers. Moreover, they are “deceivers.” False teachers can be counted on to conceal the real trajectory of their doctrine. They often fly under false covers, such as seminary professors who sign a pledge to uphold biblical inerrancy and proceed to undermine the Bible in their classrooms.

首先，保羅明確指出了提多必須反對的人：“因為有許多人不服約束，說虛空話，欺哄人。”（多 1:10）。按理說，那些用錯誤教導擾亂教會的人，是不尊重領袖的權威的。威廉·巴克利將他們比作“拒絕服從命令的不忠誠士兵”。此外，他們是“空談者（合和本譯作“說虛空話”的人）”，也就是說，他們的教義不會給聽眾的生活帶來成聖的改變。此外，他們還是“騙子（合和本譯作“欺哄人”的人）。假教師可能會掩蓋其教義的真實軌跡。他們常常打着虛假的幌子，比如神學院的教授簽署了維護聖經無誤的誓言，然後在課堂上破壞聖經。