Guidelines for Christian Living

2 Tell believers to live the kind of life that goes along with accurate teachings. ² Tell older men to be sober. Tell them to be men of good character, to use good judgment, and to be well-grounded in faith, love, and endurance.

³ Tell older women to live their lives in a way that shows they are dedicated to God. Tell them not to be gossips or addicted to alcohol, but to be examples of virtue. ⁴ In this way they will teach young women to show love to their husbands and children, ⁵ to use good judgment, and to be morally pure. Also, tell them to teach young women to be homemakers, to be kind, and to place themselves under their husbands’ authority. Then no one can speak evil of God’s word.

⁶ Encourage young men to use good judgment. ⁷ Always set an example by doing good things. When you teach, be an example of moral purity and dignity. ⁸ Speak an accurate message that cannot be condemned. Then those who oppose us will be ashamed because they cannot say anything bad about us.

⁹ Tell slaves who are believers to place themselves under their masters’ authority in everything they do. Tell them to please their masters, not to argue with them ¹⁰ or steal from them. Instead, tell slaves to show their masters how good and completely loyal they can be. Then they will show the beauty of the teachings about God our Savior in everything they do.

¹¹ After all, God’s saving kindness ^[a] has appeared for the benefit of all people. ¹² It trains us to avoid ungodly lives filled with worldly desires so that we can live self-controlled, moral, and godly lives in this present world. ¹³ At the same time we can expect what we hope for—the appearance of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. ¹⁴ He gave himself for us to set us free from every sin and to cleanse us so that we can be his special people who are enthusiastic about doing good things.

¹⁵ Tell these things to the believers. Encourage and correct them, using your full authority. Don’t let anyone ignore you.