1:1   From Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ. I encourage God's own people to have more faith and to understand the truth about religion.

1:2   Then they will have the hope of eternal life that God promised long ago. And God never tells a lie!

1:3   So, at the proper time, God our Savior gave this message and told me to announce what he had said.

1:4   Titus, because of our faith, you are like a son to me. I pray that God our Father and Christ Jesus our Savior will be kind to you and will bless you with peace!

1:5   I left you in Crete to do what had been left undone and to appoint leaders for the churches in each town. As I told you,

1:6   they must have a good reputation and be faithful in marriage. Their children must be followers of the Lord and not have a reputation for being wild and disobedient.

1:7   Church officials are in charge of God's work, and so they must also have a good reputation. They must not be bossy, quick-tempered, heavy drinkers, bullies, or dishonest in business.

1:8   Instead, they must be friendly to strangers and enjoy doing good things. They must also be sensible, fair, pure, and self-controlled.

1:9   They must stick to the true message they were taught, so that their good teaching can help others and correct everyone who opposes it.

1:10   There are many who don't respect authority, and they fool others by talking nonsense. This is especially true of some Jewish followers.

1:11   But you must make them be quiet. They are after money, and they upset whole families by teaching what they should not.

1:12   It is like one of their own prophets once said, "The people of Crete always tell lies. They are greedy and lazy like wild animals."

1:13   That surely is a true saying. And you should be hard on such people, so you can help them grow stronger in their faith.

1:14   Don't pay any attention to any of those senseless Jewish stories and human commands. These are made up by people who won't obey the truth.

1:15   Everything is pure for someone whose heart is pure. But nothing is pure for an unbeliever with a dirty mind. That person's mind and conscience are destroyed.

1:16   Such people claim to know God, but their actions prove that they really don't. They are disgusting. They won't obey God, and they are too worthless to do anything good.