Letters to the Churches

Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ for the faith of God’s elect and their knowledge of the truth that leads to godliness,

in the hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, promised before time began.

In His own time He has made His word evident in the proclamation entrusted to me by the command of God our Savior.

To Titus, my true child in our common faith: Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior.

The reason I left you in Crete was that you would set in order what was unfinished and appoint elders in every town, as I directed you.

An elder must be blameless, the husband of but one wife, having children who are believers and who are not open to accusation of indiscretion or insubordination.

As God’s steward, an overseer must be above reproach—not self-absorbed, not quick-tempered, not given to drunkenness, not violent, not greedy for money.

Instead, he must be hospitable, a lover of good, self-controlled, upright, holy, and disciplined.

He must hold firmly to the faithful word as it was taught, so that he can encourage others by sound teaching and refute those who contradict it.

For many are rebellious and full of empty talk and deception, especially those of the circumcision,

who must be silenced. For the sake of dishonorable gain, they undermine entire households and teach things they should not.

As one of their own prophets has said, “Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.”

This testimony is true. Therefore rebuke them sternly, so that they will be sound in the faith

and will pay no attention to Jewish myths or to the commands of men who have rejected the truth.

To the pure, all things are pure; but to the defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure. Indeed, both their minds and their consciences are defiled.

They profess to know God, but by their actions they deny Him. They are detestable, disobedient, and unfit for any good deed.

But as for you, speak the things that are consistent with sound doctrine.

Older men are to be temperate, dignified, self-controlled, and sound in faith, love, and perseverance.

Older women, likewise, are to be reverent in their behavior, not slanderers or addicted to much wine, but teachers of good.

In this way they can train the young women to love their husbands and children,

to be self-controlled, pure, managers of their households, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, so that the word of God will not be discredited.

In the same way, urge the younger men to be self-controlled.

In everything, show yourself to be an example by doing good works. In your teaching show integrity, dignity,

and wholesome speech that is above reproach, so that anyone who opposes us will be ashamed, having nothing bad to say about us.

Slaves are to submit to their own masters in everything, to be well-pleasing, not argumentative,