Paul’s Greeting to Titus
1 Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God’s chosen ones and the knowledge of the truth which leads to godliness, 2 in hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, promised before time began. 3 In his own time he revealed his word in the message with which I was entrusted according to the commandment of God our Savior.
4 To Titus, my true child in our common faith:
Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ our Savior.
Appointment of Elders on Crete
5 I left you in Crete for this reason, that you would set in order the things that were lacking and appoint elders in every city, as I directed you. 6 The elder must be one who is blameless, the husband of one wife, having children who believe, who are not accused of loose or unruly behavior. 7 For the overseer must be blameless, as God’s steward, not self-pleasing, not easily angered, not given to wine, not violent, not greedy for dishonest gain, 8 but given to hospitality, a lover of good, sober minded, fair, holy, self-controlled, 9 holding to the faithful word which is according to the teaching, that he may be able to exhort through sound doctrine and to convict those who contradict him.
Correcting False Teachers
10 For there are also many unruly men, vain talkers and deceivers, especially among the Jewish believers promoting circumcision. 11 Their mouths must be stopped, these men who overthrow whole houses, teaching things which they ought not, for the sake of dishonest gain. 12 One of them, a prophet of their own, said, “Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, and idle gluttons.”
13 This testimony is true. For this reason, reprove them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith, 14 not paying attention to Jewish fables and commandments of men who turn away from the truth. 15 To the pure, all things are pure, but to those who are defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure, but both their mind and their conscience are defiled. 16 They profess that they know God, but by their deeds they deny him, being abominable, disobedient, and unfit for any good work.