Greeting
1 From Paul, slave of God and apostle of Jesus Christ, to keep on track the faith of God’s chosen ones and their devotion to the realization of the truth, 1 2 which is the hope of ageless life which God, who does not lie, made apparent in ages past. 3 At the chosen time I was considered trustworthy to announce his Word, according to the divine command of our Savior God.
4 To Titus, a genuine member of our common faith: Favor and peace to you from God our father and Christ Jesus our Savior.
Appointing elders
5 I left you in Crete to tie up loose ends, namely the appointing of elders in each city, based on the criteria I specified: 6 They must above reproach, faithful to their spouse, with children who are believers who cannot be accused of being wild or disrespectful. 7 A guardian has to be a manager for God who is above reproach, not self-centered, short-fused, given to addictions, violent, or unethical. 8 Instead, they should be hospitable, seeking the good, sensible, fair, pure, and self-controlled. 9 They must be reliable for staying faithful to the right teachings so they can expose false ones, while encouraging the teaching of that which is healthy.
The Judaizers must be contained
10 For there are many insubordinate babblers and impostors, especially those pushing circumcision. 11 They must be corralled because they subvert entire households and teach legalism as scams to make money. 12 One of their own prophets has even said, “Cretans are always liars, dangerous animals, lazy bellies.” 13 And that’s true! So expose them decisively, that they may be made healthy in the faith, 14 not listening to Judaic myths and the rules of people who turn from the truth. 15 Everything is clean to those who are clean, but nothing is clean to those whose mind and conscience is tainted. 16 They claim they have a familiarity with God, yet by their actions they deny it; they are repulsive and incorrigible, and good for nothing.
- 1 The word δουλος indicates willing slavery, whereas διακονος indicates service done by a free person. The elder/overseer was to shepherd/pastor the congregation and focus on spiritual teaching and guidance, while the servant (in the context of the whole congregation) was to ensure that the people's physical needs were met. An apostle was sent directly by Jesus himself.