Titus, Chapter 1

1. Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ (according to the faith of God's elect, in the acknowledging of the truth which is according to godliness    2. on hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, promised before the eternal times,    3. but revealed in its own times in a proclamation of His word, with which I was entrusted by the command of God our Savior,)    4. to Titus, a true child according to our common faith. Grace mercy and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ our Savior.    5. For this cause I left you in Crete, that you should set in order the things that are lacking and ordain elders in every city, as I had appointed you,    6. if anyone is blameless, husband of one wife, having believing children, not accused of loose behavior, or disobedient.    7. For an overseer must be blameless, as a steward of God, not self-willed, not full of passion, not given to wine, not quarrelsome, not greedy for ill gain;    8. but hospitable, a lover of good, discreet, just, holy, temperate    9. holding fast the faithful word according to the doctrine, that he may be able, by sound doctrine, both to exhort and to convict the gainsayers.    10. For there are indeed many unruly men, vain talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision,    11. whose mouth you must stop, who subvert whole houses, teaching things not right for the sake of ill gain.    12. One of them, a prophet of their own, said, Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.    13. This witness is true; for which cause convict them sharply, so that they may be sound in the faith,    14. not giving heed to Jewish myths and commandments of men, turning away from the truth.    15. To the pure all things are pure. But to those who are defiled and unbelieving nothing is pure, but even their mind and conscience is defiled.    16. They profess that they know God, but in their works they deny Him , being abominable and disobedient and reprobate to every good work.