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Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ for the faith of God's elect and the knowledge of the truth that leads to godliness--

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a faith and knowledge resting on the hope of eternal life, which God, who does not lie, promised before the beginning of time,

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and at his appointed season he brought his word to light through the preaching entrusted to me by the command of God our Saviour,

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To Titus, my true son in our common faith: Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Saviour.

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The reason I left you in Crete was that you might straighten out what was left unfinished and appoint elders in every town, as I directed you.

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An elder must be blameless, the husband of but one wife, a man whose children believe and are not open to the charge of being wild and disobedient.

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Since an overseer is entrusted with God's work, he must be blameless--not overbearing, not quick-tempered, not given to drunkenness, not violent, not pursuing dishonest gain.

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Rather he must be hospitable, one who loves what is good, who is self-controlled, upright, holy and disciplined.

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He must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it.

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For there are many rebellious people, mere talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision group.

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They must be silenced, because they are ruining whole households by teaching things they ought not to teach--and that for the sake of dishonest gain.

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Even one of their own prophets has said, "Cretans are always liars, evil brutes, lazy gluttons."

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This testimony is true. Therefore, rebuke them sharply, so that they will be sound in the faith

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and will pay no attention to Jewish myths or to the commands of those who reject the truth.

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To the pure, all things are pure, but to those who are corrupted and do not believe, nothing is pure. In fact, both their minds and consciences are corrupted.

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They claim to know God, but by their actions they deny him. They are detestable, disobedient and unfit for doing anything good.

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