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，保罗明确指出了提多必须反对的人：“因为有许多人不服约束，说虚空话，欺哄人。”（多 1:10）。按理说，那些用错误教导扰乱教会的人，是不尊重领袖的权威的。威廉·巴克利将他们比作“拒绝服从命令的不忠诚士兵”。此外，他们是“空谈者（合和本译作“说虚空话”的人）”，也就是说，他们的教义不会给听众的生活带来成圣的改变。此外，他们还是“骗子（合和本译作“欺哄人”的人）。假教师可能会掩盖其教义的真实轨迹。他们常常打着虚假的幌子，比如神学院的教授签署了维护圣经无误的誓言，然后在课堂上破坏圣经。