Titus 1

Paul, a slave of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the faith of God's chosen ones and the knowledge of the truth that accords with godliness, in hope of eternal life, which God, who does not lie, promised before the ages began, but at the proper times revealed his word in the proclamation entrusted to me by the command of God our Savior, to Titus, a true child according to our shared faith: grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior. For this reason I left you in Crete, so that you might put in order what remained and appoint elders in every town, as I directed you: if anyone is beyond accusation, the husband of one wife, having believing children who are neither accused of reckless living nor rebellious. For the overseer must be beyond accusation as God's steward, not self-willed, not quick-tempered, not given to wine, not violent, not greedy for dishonest gain, but hospitable, loving what is good, sensible, righteous, holy, self-controlled, holding fast to the trustworthy word according to the teaching, so that he may be able both to exhort in sound teaching and to refute those who contradict it. For there are many who are rebellious, empty talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision, who must be silenced, because they overturn entire households, teaching what they should not for the sake of dishonest gain. One of them, a prophet of their own, said, “Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.” This testimony is true. For this reason rebuke them sharply, so that they may be sound in the faith, not devoting themselves to Jewish myths or to commands of people who turn away from the truth. All things are pure to the pure, but to the defiled and unbelieving nothing is pure; both their mind and their conscience are defiled. They profess to know God, but deny him by their works, being detestable and disobedient and unfit for every good work.

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