This section has two verses

Titus 1:10-11
10 For there are many unruly and vain talkers and deceivers, specially they of the circumcision:
11 Whose mouths must be stopped, who subvert whole houses, teaching things which they ought not, for filthy lucre's sake.

We will begin with the Barclay.
 

THE FALSE TEACHERS OF CRETE
Titus 1:10–11

[the verses paraphrased]: For there are many who are undisciplined, empty talkers, deceivers. Those of the circumcision are especially so. They must be muzzled. They are the kind of people who upset whole households, by teaching things which should not be taught in order to acquire a shameful gain.

HERE we have a picture of the false teachers who were troubling Crete. The worst offenders were apparently Jews. They tried to persuade the Cretan converts of two things.  They tried to persuade them that the simple story of Jesus and the cross [stake] was not sufficient, but that, to be really wise, they needed all the subtle stories and the long genealogies and the elaborate allegories of the Rabbis. Further, they tried to teach them that grace was not enough, but that, to be really good, they needed to take upon themselves all the rules and regulations about foods and washings which were so characteristic of Judaism. The false teachers were seeking to persuade people that they needed more than Christ and more than grace in order to be saved. They were intellectuals for whom the truth of God was too simple and too good to be true.

One by one, the characteristics of these false teachers are described.

They were undisciplined; they were like disloyal soldiers who refused to obey the word of command. They refused to accept the creed or the control of the Church. It is perfectly true that the Church does not seek to impose a flat uniformity of belief on people; but there are certain things which everyone must believe in order to be Christians, the greatest of which is the all-sufficiency of Christ. Even in the Church today, discipline has its place.

Note: Discipline has its place in every aspect of our lives. See the sermon on discipline: Zucht

Now back to the commentary and these undisciplined false teachers being described.

They were empty talkers; the word is mataiologoi, and the

adjective mataios, meaning vain, empty, profitless, was the

adjective applied to the ancient worship of Greece and Rome.

The main idea was of a worship which produced no goodness of life. These people in Crete could talk glibly [thoughtlessly, superficially, insincerely], but all their talk was ineffective in bringing anyone a single step nearer to goodness. The Cynics used to say that all knowledge which is not profitable for virtue is pointless. The teacher who simply provides pupils with a forum for pleasant intellectual and speculative discussion teaches in vain.

They were deceivers. Instead of leading people to the truth, they led them away from it.

Their teaching upset whole households. There are two things to notice there. First, their teaching was fundamentally upsetting. It is true that truth must often make people rethink their ideas and that Christianity does not run away from doubts and questions but faces them fairly and squarely. But it is also true that teaching which ends in nothing but doubts and questionings is bad teaching. In true teaching, the challenging questioning that so often disturbs should in the end lead to a new and greater certainty. Second, they upset households. That is to say, they had a bad effect on family life. Any teaching which tends to disrupt the family is false, for the Christian Church is built on the basis of the Christian family.

Their teaching was designed for gain. They were more concerned with what they could get out of the people when they were teaching than with what they could put into them.  In his commentary, [R. John Parry] has said that this is indeed the greatest temptation for professional teachers. When they look on their teaching simply as a career designed for personal advancement and profit, they are in a perilous state.  These false teachers are to be muzzled. That does not imply that they are to be silenced by violence or by persecution.  The Greek (epistomizein) does mean to muzzle, but it became the normal word for to silence a person by reason. The way to combat false teaching is to offer true teaching, and the only truly unanswerable teaching is the teaching of a Christian life. ~Barclay Commentary

Now to the other commentaries.  We will begin with the general and move to the specific.

Let us begin with the Matthew Henry Main. We are breaking into a long commentary that covers verses 6-16. I am including the commentary just on verse 10.

II. The apostle's directory shows whom he should reject or avoid - men of another character, the mention of whom is brought in as a reason of the care he had recommended about the qualifications of ministers, why they should be such, and only such, as he had described. The reasons he takes both from bad teachers and hearers among them, Titus 1:10, to the end.

1. From bad teachers.

(1.) Those false teachers are described. They were unruly, headstrong and ambitious of power, refractory [stubborn, disobedient, resisting] and untractable (as some render it) [not easily managed or controlled], and such as would not bear nor submit themselves to the discipline and necessary order in the church, impatient of good government and of sound doctrine. And vain talkers and deceivers, conceiting themselves to be wise, but really foolish, and thence great talkers, falling into errors and mistakes, and fond of them, and studious and industrious to draw others into the same. Many such there were, especially those of the circumcision, converts as they pretended, at least, from the Jews, who yet were for mingling Judaism and Christianity together, and so making a corrupt medley. These were the false teachers. ~Matthew Henry

Now to the Matthew Henry Concise which we have read since verse 10 as it covers verses 10-16.

False teachers are described. Faithful ministers must oppose such in good time, that their folly being made manifest, they may go no further They had a base end in what they did; serving a worldly interest under pretence of religion: for the love of money is the root of all evil. Such should be resisted, and put to shame, by sound doctrine from the Scriptures. Shameful actions, the reproach of heathens, should be far from Christians; falsehood and lying, envious craft and cruelty, brutal and sensual practices, and idleness and sloth, are sins condemned even by the light of nature. But Christian meekness is as far from cowardly passing over sin and error, as from anger and impatience. And though there may be national differences of character, yet the heart of man in every age and place is deceitful and desperately wicked. But the sharpest reproofs must aim at the good of the reproved; and soundness in the faith is most desirable and necessary. To those who are defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure; they abuse, and turn things lawful and good into sin. Many profess to know God, yet in their lives deny and reject him. See the miserable state of hypocrites, such as have a form of godliness, but are without the power; yet let us not be so ready to fix this charge on others, as careful that it does not apply to ourselves. ~Matthew Henry Concise

Now to the Biblical Illustrator for some pieces there.

Hindrances to religion
I. The chief hindrances to religion are often in the church itself. The persons alluded to were members and professed teachers.

1. Words without sincerity are “vain.”
2. Great attention may be paid to the letter of the law, while its spirit is violated—“they of the circumcision.”
3. The distinction between good and bad preachers—the former live to preach, while the latter preach to live.

II. Hindrances in the church must be removed. “Whose mouths must be stopped.”

1. Discipline must be exercised in love.
2. The prosperity of the Church of God must be considered before that of individuals.
3. Every age has its own obstructions to the truth—intemperance, covetousness, selfishness, the chief hindrances of the present.

III. Communities are affected by the conduct of individuals. The characters of men are transferred to their country; here the Cretians became a byword. So, drunken Englishmen abroad, compromise the character of their fellow countrymen. Four vices

1. Untruthfulness.
2. Passion—“evil beasts.”
3. Sensuality.
4. Slothfulness. ~Biblical Illustrator

Here is another one.

The characteristics of false teachers
I. In that the first thing taxed in these false teachers by the apostle is disobedience, we learn that disobedience commonly is the ground of false doctrine. For

1. It is just with God to give up those to errors and delusion that receive not the truth in the love of it, for wheresoever it is received in love obedience cannot but be yielded unto it.

2. The nature of sin is ever to be excusing itself, and is loath to be crossed, although never so justly, but studieth how to defend itself as long as it can, even by wresting the Scriptures, and by taking up one error for the maintenance of another.

II. Preachers who themselves are disobedient unto the word, for most part become in their ministry no better than vain talkers.

1. In regard of themselves, being vain glorious persons, affect applause rather than Godly edifying, which is a most vain thing.

2. In respect of their labour, which is all in vain, never attaining the end and right scope of the preaching of the gospel unto salvation; for he that soweth vanity what else can he look to reap?

3. In regard of the hearers, who also spend their pains in vain: they hear a great noise and pomp of words, and a glorious show of human wisdom, which may wrap the simple into admiration, but they are left without reformation; their ear is perhaps a little tickled, but their hearts remain untouched; neither are their souls soundly instructed nor fed with knowledge, but they go away as wise as they came.

These Paul calleth vain talkers and vain janglers (1 Timothy 1:6), and again, profane and vain babblers, and that justly.

Quoted verse:
1 Timothy 1:6 ...one of our key verses of 1 Timothy [see Lesson]
From which some having swerved have turned aside unto vain jangling;

1. Because their puffed discourses proceed from the profanity of their hearts.

2. They are as strange fire from the Lord’s altar, opposed to that which the Lord hath sanctified to the salvation of His people.

3. They are so far from the edifying of the Church that they cause men to increase unto more ungodliness and profaneness.

III. How did these false teachers deceive men’s minds?

1. By suppressing the truth; for by their vain jangling and speaking, liker poets, philosophers, historians, than prophets, apostles, or any successors of theirs, they made a cleanly conveyance of the light from the people, and, withholding the truth and light, they led them from Christ, from the right knowledge of the Scriptures, from sound godliness and religion in judgment and practice, and so they remained as dark in their understanding, as erroneous in their judgments, as froward in their affections, and as wicked in their lives as ever before.

2. By flattery; for they would not deal directly against the sins of the age, as godly ministers do, but deceitfully, that they might not displease; herein imitating Satan himself, who was wont of old to answer in riddles, as he answered Cresus, that if he would transport himself over the river Halys he should overthrow a most mighty kingdom, namely, his own. But Micaiah will not deceive nor flatter with Ahab, although it stand upon his life.

3. By letting men see their estate in false glasses, so as they never see the truth of it, for people taught by fables and novelties think, and are borne in hand, that they are in [The Kingdom's] highway; their souls are brought on sleep, and coming from such frothy [empty] discourses, they sit down and please themselves in that they have done their task required, especially if they can bring home a jest or some witty sentence, when perhaps they scarce heard a word of Christ, of their justification, of their mortification, or of their glory.

4. By placing religion in bodily exercises, not in matters of spirit and truth (Colossians 2:20); thus did the Pharisees in their times, the Papists in these, and whosoever urge the decrees of men more than the commandments of God.

Quoted verse:
Colossians 2:20
Wherefore if ye be dead with Christ from the rudiments of the world, why, as though living in the world, are ye subject to ordinances,

IV. But whose minds are deceived.
1. First their own and then others, for they are blind leaders of the blind, deceiving, and being deceived, and although our apostle expresseth not here who they be that are deceived, yet elsewhere he doth, as Romans 16:18, “they deceive the hearts of the simple,” and 2 Timothy 3:6, “they lead captive simple women,” and 2 Peter 2:14, “they beguile [fool, mislead, delude] unstable souls,” whence we see that ignorant, inconstant, and unsettled souls, which hand over head receive any doctrine without examination or trial, whose simplicity disableth them to judge between truth and falsehood, and whose levity makes them like shaken reeds, these are the carouses [engage in drunken revel] on which such vultures do seize. ~Biblical Illustrator

Quoted verses:
Romans 16:18
For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple.

2 Timothy 3:6 [see Lesson]
For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts,

2 Peter 2:14
Having eyes full of adultery, and that cannot cease from sin; beguiling unstable souls: an heart they have exercised with covetous practices; cursed children:

Now to the specific commentaries.  The verse, as I and some commentaries see it is in two parts, though some will break out single words and phrases.

1] For there are many unruly and vain talkers and deceivers.
2] Specially they of the circumcision.

1] For there are many unruly and vain talkers and deceivers.

For there are many unruly and vain talkers and deceivers - There are many persons who are indisposed to submit to authority (see the word unruly in Titus1:6); many who are vain talkers - who are more given to talk than to the duties of practical religion; and many who live to deceive others under the mask of religion. They make great pretensions to piety; they are fluent in argument, and they urge their views in a plausible manner [see Ministers Notebook piece, "The Era of Slick Arguments"]. ~Barnes Notes

Quoted verse:
Titus 1:6 [see Lesson]
If any be blameless, the husband of one wife, having faithful children not accused of riot or unruly.

There are many unruly - Persons who will not receive the sound doctrine, nor come under wholesome discipline. ~Adam Clarke

Vain talkers - Empty boasters of knowledge, rights, and particular privileges; all noise, empty parade, and no work. ~Adam Clarke

Deceivers - Of the souls of men by their specious pretensions. ~Adam Clarke

For there are many unruly - Persons who are not subject to the law of God, or Gospel of Christ; whose spirits are not subject to the prophets; and who will not submit themselves to them that have the rule over them, nor attend to the admonitions of the church, nor be brought into any regularity and order; and there were many of this sort, who were not sent forth by Christ, or his churches, but went forth of themselves, and were corrupters of the word; and therefore Christ's ministers ought to hold fast the faithful word, and convince such opposers by sound doctrine; ~John Gill

And vain talkers - who deliver out in their discourses empty, trifling, superficial, and frivolous things; which have no solidity and substance in them, nor do they tend to edification; only great swelling words of vanity, vain jangling and babbling about things to no profit. ~John Gill

And deceivers - both of themselves and others; who lie in wait to deceive, and are deceitful workers; and by their good words, and fair speeches, deceive the hearts of the simple; and so are dangerous persons, and of pernicious consequence: ~John Gill

2] Specially they of the circumcision.

Specially they of the circumcision - Jews, spoken of here as “of the circumcision” particularly, because they urged the necessity of circumcision in order that men might be saved. This proves that there were not a few Jews in the island of Crete. ~Barnes Notes

They of the circumcision - The Judaizing teachers, who maintained the necessity of circumcision, and of observing the rites and ceremonies of the Mosaic law, in order to the perfecting of the Gospel. ~Adam Clarke

Especially they of the circumcision - or "of the Jews", as the Ethiopic version renders it; that is, not the unbelieving Jews, but such as professed Christianity, judaizing Christians, who joined Moses and Christ and blended the law and Gospel together; who taught that circumcision, and the observance of other ceremonies of the law, were necessary to justification and salvation; and hereby did a great deal of mischief among the churches. ~John Gill