Titus

VIN(i) 1 Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the faith of God's elect and the knowledge of the truth which leads to godliness, 2 Which rests in the hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, promised before the beginning of time; 3 In His own time, He has revealed His message in the proclamation entrusted to me by the command of God our Savior. 4 To Titus, my true child in our common faith: Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior. 5 For this reason I left you in Crete, that you might straighten out what was left unfinished, and appoint elders in every town as I directed you, 6 namely, if any man is blameless, the husband of one wife, and his children believe and are not open to the charge of being wild or rebellious. 7 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. 8 Instead, he must be hospitable, a lover of good, self-controlled, upright, holy, and disciplined. 9 He must be devoted to the trustworthy message that agrees with what we teach, so that he may be able to encourage others with healthy doctrine and refute those who oppose it. 10 For there are many rebellious people, idle talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision, 11 They must be silenced, for such men upset whole households by teaching things they ought not to teach, for the sake of dishonest gain. 12 As one of their own prophets has said, “Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.” 13 This testimony is true. Therefore rebuke them sternly, so that they will be sound in the faith, 14 and will pay no attention to Jewish myths or to the commands of men who reject the truth. 15 To the pure, all things are pure; but to those who are corrupted and unbelieving, nothing is pure, but both their minds and consciences are corrupted. 16 They profess to know God, but by their actions they disown Him; they are detestable, disobedient, and useless for anything good.