PAUL'S LETTER TO TITUS

CHAPTER 1

1:1-4 - Paul, servant of God and messenger of Jesus Christ in the faith God gives to his
chosen, in the knowledge of the truth that comes from a God-fearing life, and in the
hope of the everlasting life which God, who cannot lie, promised before the beginning of
time - (at the right moment he made his Word known in the declaration which has been
entrusted to me by his command) to Titus, my true son in our common faith, be grace,
mercy and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ our savior.

Men who are appointed to the ministry must be of the highest character

1:5-9 - I left you in Crete to set right matters which needed attention, and gave you
instructions to appoint elders in every city. They were to be men of unquestioned
integrity with only one wife, and with children brought up as Christians and not likely to
be accused of loose living or law-breaking. To exercise spiritual oversight, a man must
be of unimpeachable virtue, for he is God's agent in the affairs of his household. He
must not be aggressive or hot-tempered or over-fond of wine; nor must he be violent or
greedy for financial gain. On the contrary, he must be hospitable, a genuine lover of
what is good, a man who is discreet, fair-minded, holy and self-controlled: a man who
takes his stand on the orthodox faith, so that he can by sound teaching both stimulate
faith and confute opposition.

Be on your guard against counterfeit Christians

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1:10-16 - But there are many, especially among the Jews, who will not recognize
authority, who talk nonsense and yet in so doing have managed to deceive men's minds.
They must be silenced, for they upset the faith of whole households, teaching what they
have no business to teach for the sake of what they can get. One of them, yes, one of
their prophets, has said: "Men of Crete are always liars, evil and beastly, lazy and
greedy." There is truth in this testimonial of theirs! Don't hesitate to reprimand them
sharply for you want them to be sound and healthy Christians, with a proper contempt
for Jewish fairy tales and orders issued by men who have abandoned the path of truth.
Everything is wholesome to those who are themselves wholesome. But nothing is
wholesome to those who are themselves unwholesome and who have no faith in God -
their very minds and consciences are diseased. They profess to know God, but their
actual behavior denies their profession, for they are obviously vile and rebellious, and
when it comes to doing any real good, they are palpable frauds.

CHAPTER 2

Good character should follow good teaching

2:1-8 - Now you must tell them the sort of character which should spring from sound
teaching. The old men should be temperate, serious, wise - spiritually healthy through
their faith and love and patience. Similarly the old women should be reverent in their
behavior, should not make unfounded complaints and should not be over-fond of wine.
They should be examples of the good life, so that the younger women may learn to love
their husbands and their children, to be morally pure and sensible, home-lovers, kind-
hearted and willing to adapt themselves to their husbands - a good advertisement for
the Christian faith. The young men, too, you should urge to take life seriously, letting
your own life stand as a pattern of good living. In all your teaching show the strictest
regard for truth, and show that you appreciate the seriousness of the matters you are
dealing with. Your speech should be unaffected and logical, so that your opponent may
feel ashamed at finding nothing in which to pick holes.

The duty of slaves - and of us all

2:9-10 - Slaves should be told that it is their duty as Christians to obey their masters and
to give them satisfactory service in every way. They are not to "answer back" or to be
light-fingered, but they are to show themselves utterly trustworthy, a living testimonial
to the teaching of God our savior.

2:11-14 - For the grace of God, which can save every man, has now become known, and it
teaches us to have no more to do with godlessness or the desires of this world but to live,
here and now, responsible, honorable and God-fearing lives. And while we live this life,
we hope and wait for the glorious conclusion of the Great God and of Jesus Christ our
savior. For he gave himself for us all, that he might rescue us from all our evil ways and
make for himself a people of his own, clean and pure, with our hearts set upon living a
life that is good.

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2:15 - Tell men of these things, Titus. Urge them to action, using a reprimand where
necessary with all the authority of God's minister - and as such let no one treat you with
contempt.

CHAPTER 3

Instructions for the Christians of Crete

3:1-2 - Remind your people to recognize the power of those who rule and bear authority.
They must obey the laws of the state and be prepared to render whatever good service
they can. They are not to speak evil of any man; they must not be argumentative but
gentle, showing themselves agreeable to everybody.

3:3-8a - For we ourselves have known what it is to be ignorant, disobedient and

deceived, the slaves of various desires and pleasant feelings, while our lives were spent
in malice and jealousy - we were hateful and we hated each other. But when the
kindness of God our savior and his love towards man appeared, he saved us - not by
virtue of any moral achievements of ours, but by the cleansing power of a new birth and
the moral renewal of the Holy Spirit, which he gave us so generously through Jesus
Christ our Savior. The result is that we are acquitted by his grace, and can look forward
to inheriting life for evermore. This is solid truth.

3:8b-11 - Subjects like this are always good and useful, but mind you steer clear of stupid
arguments, genealogies, controversies and quarrels over the Law. They settle nothing
and lead nowhere. If a man is still argumentative after the second warning, you should
reject him. You can be sure that he has a moral twist, and he knows it.

Final messages

3:12-13 - As soon as I send Artemas to you (or perhaps it will be Tychicus), do your best
to come to me at Nicopolis, for I have made up my mind to spend the winter there. See
that Zenas the lawyer and Apollos have what they require and give them a good send-off.

3:14 - And our people should learn to earn what they require by leading an honest life
and so be self-supporting.

3:15 - All those here with me send you greetings, Please give our greetings to all who love
us in the faith. Grace be with you all.

PAUL

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