Titus 3:9
“But avoid foolish questions, and genealogies, and contentions, and strivings about the law; for they are unprofitable and vain.”
King James Version (KJV)
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Read Full Chapter →Believers are to avoid foolish controversies, genealogies, and quarrels about the law, since they are unprofitable and worthless.
What Does Titus 3:9 Mean?
In contrast to the profitable good works just commended, Paul names what to avoid: foolish controversies, genealogies, and quarrels and disputes about the law. These were the obsessions of the false teachers, endless wrangling that produced nothing. Paul's verdict is blunt; such things are unprofitable and empty.
The contrast is deliberate. Good works profit people; these disputes profit no one. Religious argument can feel important while accomplishing nothing, draining energy that belongs to genuine service and truth. For the reader, this is a freeing word. Not every question deserves a fight, and not every controversy is worth our time. We are called to invest ourselves in what builds others up and honors Christ, not in quarrels that go nowhere. Wisdom knows the difference and turns away from what merely consumes us without bearing fruit.