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From Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ. I encourage God's own people to have more faith and to understand the truth about religion.
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So, at the proper time, God our Savior gave this message and told me to announce what he had said.
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Titus, because of our faith, you are like a son to me. I pray that God our Father and Christ Jesus our Savior will be kind to you and will bless you with peace!
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Church officials are in charge of God's work, and so they must also have a good reputation. They must not be bossy, quick-tempered, heavy drinkers, bullies, or dishonest in business.
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Instead, they must be friendly to strangers and enjoy doing good things. They must also be sensible, fair, pure, and self-controlled.
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They must stick to the true message they were taught, so their good teaching can help others and correct everyone who opposes it.
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There are many who don't respect authority, and they fool others by talking nonsense. This is especially true of some Jewish followers.
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But you must make them be quiet. They are after money, and they upset whole families by teaching what they should not.
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It is like one of their own prophets once said, “The people of Crete always tell lies. They are greedy and lazy like wild animals.”
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This surely is a true saying. And you should be hard on such people, so you can help them grow stronger in their faith.
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Don't pay any attention to any of those senseless Jewish stories and human commands. These are made up by people who won't obey the truth.
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Everything is pure for someone whose heart is pure. But nothing is pure for an unbeliever with a dirty mind. That person's mind and conscience are destroyed.
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Such people claim to know God, but their actions prove they really don't. They are disgusting. They won't obey God, and they are too worthless to do anything good.
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Tell the older men to have self-control and to be serious and sensible. Their faith, love, and patience must never fail.
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Tell the older women to behave as those who love the Lord should. They must not gossip about others or be slaves of wine. They must teach what is proper,
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so the younger women will be loving wives and mothers.
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Each of the younger women must be sensible and kind, as well as a good homemaker, who puts her own husband first. Then no one can say insulting things about God's message.
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Tell the young men to have self-control in everything.
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Always set a good example for others. Be sincere and serious when you teach.
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Use clean language that no one can criticize. Do this, and your enemies will be too ashamed to say anything against you.
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Tell slaves always to please their owners by obeying them in everything. Slaves must not talk back to their owners
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or steal from them. They must be completely honest and trustworthy. Then everyone will show great respect for what is taught about God our Savior.
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God's Kindness and the New Life
God has shown us undeserved grace by coming to save all people.
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We are filled with hope, as we wait for the glorious return of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ.
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Teach these things, as you use your full authority to encourage and correct people. Make sure you earn everyone's respect.