To The Word – Day 135

₁From Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ.

I was chosen and sent to help the faith of God's chosen people and to lead them to the truth taught by our religion, ₂which is based on the hope for eternal life. God, who does not lie, promised us this life before the beginning of time, ₃and at the right time he revealed it in his message. This was entrusted to me, and I proclaim it by order of God our Saviour.

₄I write to Titus, my true son in the faith that we have in common.

May God the Father and Christ Jesus our Saviour give you grace and peace.

₅I left you in Crete, so that you could put in order the things that still needed doing and appoint church elders in every town. Remember my instructions: ₆an elder must be blameless; he must have only one wife, and his children must be believers and not have the reputation of being wild or disobedient. ₇For since a church leader is in charge of God's work, he should be blameless. He must not be arrogant or quick-tempered, or a drunkard or violent or greedy for money. ₈He must be hospitable and love what is good. He must be self-controlled, upright, holy, and disciplined. ₉He must hold firmly to the message which can be trusted and which agrees with the doctrine. In this way he will be able to encourage others with the true teaching and also to show the error of those who are opposed to it.

₁₀For there are many, especially converts from Judaism, who rebel and deceive others with their nonsense. ₁₁It is necessary to stop their talk, because they are upsetting whole families by teaching what they should not, and all for the shameful purpose of making money. _12-13It was a Cretan himself, one of their own prophets, who spoke the truth when he said, “Cretans are always liars, wicked beasts, and lazy gluttons.” For this reason you must rebuke them sharply, so that they may have a healthy faith ₁₄and no longer hold on to Jewish legends and to human commandments which come from people who have rejected the truth. ₁₅Everything is pure to those who are themselves pure; but nothing is pure to those who are defiled and unbelieving, for their minds and consciences have been defiled. ₁₆They claim that they know God, but their actions deny it. They are hateful and disobedient, not fit to do anything good.

₁But you must teach what agrees with sound doctrine. ₂Instruct the older men to be sober, sensible, and self-controlled; to be sound in their faith, love, and endurance. ₃In the same way instruct the older women to behave as women should who live a holy life. They must not be slanderers or slaves to wine. They must teach what is good, ₄in order to train the younger women to love their husbands and children, ₅to be self-controlled and pure, and to be good housewives who submit to their husbands, so that no one will speak evil of the message that comes from God.

₆In the same way urge the young men to be self-controlled. ₇In all things you yourself must be an example of good behaviour. Be sincere and serious in your teaching. ₈Use sound words that cannot be criticized, so that your enemies may be put to shame by not having anything bad to say about us.

₉Slaves are to submit to their masters and please them in all things. They must not answer them back ₁₀or steal from them. Instead, they must show that they are always good and faithful, so as to bring credit to the teaching about God our Saviour in all they do.

₁₁For God has revealed his grace for the salvation of the whole human race. ₁₂That grace instructs us to give up ungodly living and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in this world, ₁₃as we wait for the blessed Day we hope for, when the glory of our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ will appear. ₁₄He gave himself for us, to rescue us from all wickedness and to make us a pure people who belong to him alone and are eager to do good.

₁₅Teach these things and use your full authority as you encourage and rebuke your hearers. Let none of them look down on you.

₁Remind your people to submit to rulers and authorities, to obey them, and to be ready to do good in every way. ₂Tell them not to speak evil of anyone, but to be peaceful and friendly, and always to show a gentle attitude towards everyone. ₃For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, and wrong. We were slaves to passions and pleasures of all kinds. We spent our lives in malice and envy; others hated us and we hated them. ₄But when the kindness and love of God our Saviour was revealed, ₅he saved us. It was not because of any good deeds that we ourselves had done, but because of his own mercy that he saved us, through the Holy Spirit, who gives us new birth and new life by washing us. ₆God poured out the Holy Spirit abundantly on us through Jesus Christ our Saviour, ₇so that by his grace we might be put right with God and come into possession of the eternal life we hope for. ₈This is a true saying.

I want you to give special emphasis to these matters, so that those who believe in God may be concerned with giving their time to doing good deeds, which are good and useful for everyone. ₉But avoid stupid arguments, long lists of ancestors, quarrels, and fights about the Law. They are useless and worthless. ₁₀Give at least two warnings to those who cause divisions, and then have nothing more to do with them. ₁₁You know that such people are corrupt, and their sins prove that they are wrong.

₁₂When I send Artemas or Tychicus to you, do your best to come to me in Nicopolis, because I have decided to spend the winter there. ₁₃Do your best to help Zenas the lawyer and Apollos to get started on their travels, and see to it that they have everything they need. ₁₄Our people must learn to spend their time doing good, in order to provide for real needs; they should not live useless lives.

₁₅All who are with me send you greetings. Give our greetings to our friends in the faith.

God's grace be with you all.

₁Those who love knowledge want to be told when they are wrong. It is stupid to hate being corrected.

₂The LORD is pleased with good people, but condemns those who plan evil.

₃Wickedness does not give security, but righteous people stand firm.

₄A good wife is her husband's pride and joy; but a wife who brings shame on her husband is like a cancer in his bones.

₅Honest people will treat you fairly; the wicked only want to deceive you.

₆The words of the wicked are murderous, but the words of the righteous rescue those who are threatened.

₇The wicked meet their downfall and leave no descendants, but the families of the righteous live on.

₈If you are intelligent, you will be praised; if you are stupid, people will look down on you.

₉It is better to be an ordinary person working for a living than to play the part of someone great but go hungry.

₁₀Good people take care of their animals, but wicked people are cruel to theirs.

₁₁A hard-working farmer has plenty to eat, but it is stupid to waste time on useless projects.

₁₂All that wicked people want is to find evil things to do, but the righteous stand firm.

₁₃The wicked are trapped by their own words, but honest people get themselves out of trouble.

₁₄Your reward depends on what you say and what you do; you will get what you deserve.

₁₅Stupid people always think they are right. Wise people listen to advice.

₁₆When a fool is annoyed, he quickly lets it be known. Sensible people will ignore an insult.

₁₇When you tell the truth, justice is done, but lies lead to injustice.

₁₈Thoughtless words can wound as deeply as any sword, but wisely spoken words can heal.

₁₉A lie has a short life, but truth lives on for ever.

₂₀Those who plan evil are in for a rude surprise, but those who work for good will find happiness.

₂₁Nothing bad happens to righteous people, but the wicked have nothing but trouble.

₂₂The LORD hates liars, but is pleased with those who keep their word.

₂₃Sensible people keep quiet about what they know, but stupid people advertise their ignorance.

₂₄Hard work will give you power; being lazy will make you a slave.

₂₅Worry can rob you of happiness, but kind words will cheer you up.

₂₆The righteous person is a guide to his friend, but the path of the wicked leads them astray.

₂₇If you are lazy, you will never get what you are after, but if you work hard, you will get a fortune.

₂₈Righteousness is the road to life; wickedness is the road to death.