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 that leads to godliness--

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a faith and knowledge resting on the hope of eternal life,

which God, who does not lie, promised before the beginning of time,

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and at his appointed season he brought his word to light through

the preaching entrusted to me by the command of God our Savior,

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To Titus, my true son in our common faith:

Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior.

5

The reason I left you in Crete was that you might straighten out

what was left unfinished and appoint elders in every town, as I directed you.

6

An elder must be blameless, the husband of but one wife,

a man whose children believe and are not open to the charge

of being wild and disobedient.

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Since an overseer is entrusted with God's work, he must be blameless--

not overbearing, not quick-tempered, not given to drunkenness,

not violent, not pursuing dishonest gain.

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Rather he must be hospitable, one who loves what is good,

who is self-controlled, upright, holy and disciplined.

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He must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught,

so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it.

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For there are many rebellious people, mere talkers and deceivers,

especially those of the circumcision group.

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They must be silenced, because they are ruining whole households

by teaching things they ought not to teach--and that for the sake of dishonest gain.

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Even one of their own prophets has said,

"Cretans are always liars, evil brutes, lazy gluttons."

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This testimony is true. Therefore, rebuke them sharply,

so that they will be sound in the faith

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and will pay no attention to Jewish myths or to the commands of those

who reject the truth.

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To the pure, all things are pure, but to those who are corrupted and do not believe,

nothing is pure. In fact, both their minds and consciences are corrupted.

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They claim to know God, but by their actions they deny him.

They are detestable, disobedient and unfit for doing anything good.