Dual Panel1FROM Paul, a 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 Godfearing life, and
2in the hope of the everlasting life which God, who cannot lie, promised before the beginning of time.
3At the moment of his choice he made his Word known in the declaration which has been entrusted to me by the command of the God who saves us.
4To Titus, my true son in our common faith, be grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our saviour.
5I left you in Crete to set right matters which needed attention, and told you to appoint elders in every city according, to my direction.
6They 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 lawbreaking.
7To 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 hottempered or overfond of wine; nor must he be g violent or greedy for financial gain.
8On the contrary, he must be hospitable, a genuine lover of what is good, a man who is discreet, fairminded, holy and selfcontrolled:
9a man who takes his stand on the true faith, so that he can by sound teaching both stimulate faith and confute opposition.
10For there are many, especially among the Jews,
11who will not recognise 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.
12One of them, yes, one of their own prophets, has said: "Men of Crete were always liars, evil and beastly, lazy and greedy."
13There is truth in this testimonial! Don't hesitate therefore to reprimand them sharply, for you want them to be sound and healthy Christians,
14with a proper contempt for Jewish fairy tales and orders issued by tram who have forsaken the path of truth.
15Everything is clean to those who have clean minds. But nothing is wholesome to those who are themselves corrupt and who have no faith in Godtheir very minds and consciences are diseased.
16They profess to know God, but their behaviour contradicts their profession. They are vile and disobedient and when it comes to doing any real good they are palpable frauds.